Chapter 246 Lu Nian
Xie Chaoyin and Gu Zhenjun grew up together and know Gu Zhenjun very well.
In his early years, Gu Zhenjun was known as the "smiling tiger" in the business world because he always appeared amiable and easy to talk to, seemingly honest and easy to bully. However, those who had suffered at his hands knew that this heir of the Gu family was actually ruthless, bold, and decisive. When dealing with business rivals, he was no less ruthless than Gu Jinhong.
Yet, this same person is a complete coward when facing close friends and family, especially when he has made a mistake and feels guilty, he can't help but cower into a ball.
Seeing Gu Zhenjun cowering in fear, Xie Chaoyin knew that Gu Zhenjun indeed knew about his relationship with Yun Si.
She kept Yun Si's true identity a secret from him, kept the fact that Yun Si had given birth to a daughter for him a secret, kept the fact that Yun Si had passed away a secret... and kept it a secret for so many years.
His childhood friend, whom he considered like a brother, had kept the secret from him for a very long time.
The ward was quiet.
Gu Suixing had already limped away from the battlefield with a thermal lunchbox and hid in the kitchen.
Xie Chaoyin stared at the quilt, her hands clenching and unclenching on her lap. After a long while, she said in a hoarse voice, "Give me an explanation."
The blanket stopped shaking.
It seemed like a long time had passed, but it also seemed like only two minutes had passed before the blanket was slowly lifted.
Gu Zhenjun sat up, his face pale. "It's my fault. I'm sorry, Chaoyin."
Xie Chaoyin didn't want to hear an apology; he just wanted an explanation.
"After I took you home that day after drinking, the more I thought about it, the more something seemed off..." Although more than 20 years have passed, Gu Zhenjun has never forgotten what happened that day and still remembers it vividly. "The next day, I made an excuse to visit Uncle Lu at the Lu residence and test Sister Yun Si."
After visiting the Lu family, he went to Lu Yunsi's studio to find her.
He looked at the easel in front of Lu Yunsi and said casually, "I have a friend who can also paint traditional Chinese paintings, but he's even better at oil paintings."
Lu Yunsi smiled at him, handed him a plate of candy, and whispered, "Hide it well, don't let Feng Hehe and Feng Yang see it."
Knowing that he liked sweets, Lu Yunsi would secretly give him candy every time he came to the Lu residence.
Who wouldn't like such a gentle and beautiful older sister?
But he didn't answer, staring at Lu Yunsi and asking, "I have a friend named Xie Chaoyin. Sister Yunsi, do you know him?"
"Bang—"
The porcelain plate hit the ground and shattered instantly.
Colorful candies were scattered all over the ground.
Lu Yunsi turned pale and looked at him in a panic.
Seeing Lu Yunsi's appearance, he didn't need to ask any more questions.
So he said, "Chaoyin is looking for you everywhere."
Lu Yunsi snapped back to her senses, grabbed his sleeve, bit her lower lip, and shook her head desperately, "No, no..."
He understood what Lu Yunsi meant and asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Lu Yunsi shook her head again.
He started speaking well of his best friend: "I grew up with Chaoyin, and I've never seen him like anyone else. He really likes you."
Lu Yunsi shook her head again, but this time she spoke up: "Don't tell him."
He had a gut feeling that there must be some misunderstanding between Lu Yunsi and Xie Chaoyin. Just as he was about to speak again, he saw two lines of tears slide down Lu Yunsi's cheeks.
"Don't say it," Lu Yunsi said, choking back tears. "Zhenjun, please."
That was the first time in his life he had ever seen Lu Yunsi cry.
He wanted to ask why, but when Lu Yunsi saw that he wouldn't agree, she was about to kneel down in front of him.
He quickly helped the person up and blurted out, "I won't say, I won't say."
Lu Yunsi grabbed him. "Swear it."
"I..." He was caught in a dilemma, hating his own soft heart for the first time.
Lu Yunsi stared intently at him. "Zhenjun, swear it."
Looking into those pleading, tearful eyes, he heard himself say, "I swear."
More than a decade ago, Gu Jinhong brought two illegitimate sons back to the Gu family, but he never acknowledged those two as his brothers. He only recognized Xie Chaoyin as his brother in this life, but in the end, he still agreed to Lu Yunsi's request and betrayed Xie Chaoyin.
At that time, Xie Chaoyin was already being pressured by his family to get engaged to Tang Ya. He thought to himself, since Lu Yunsi didn't want to see Xie Chaoyin, then so be it. Seeing him would only add to the sorrow and trouble. Besides, Lu Yunsi was so much older than Xie Chaoyin, and the two of them were not a good match in the first place.
If he had known at the time that Lu Yunsi was already pregnant, he would never have agreed to it under any circumstances.
Lu Yunsi was a person who rarely left the house, and in addition, the Lu family kept it a secret, so he only found out about Lu Yunsi's pregnancy on the day she gave birth.
It just so happened that he was taking his wife to that hospital for a prenatal checkup that day. When he received the news and rushed over, Lu Yunsi was still asleep, and the baby had been sent to an incubator.
Looking at Lu Yunsi lying on the hospital bed, he became more and more anxious.
Leaving his wife sitting in the ward, he quietly slipped out to ask the doctor. The doctor told him that the child's gestational age was 30 weeks, and based on that, Lu Yunsi should have conceived in July of last year.
At that time, Xie Chao was out traveling, and Lu Yunsi was also...
He had a feeling that Lu Yunsi's child was most likely Xie Chaoyin's.
At that moment, he realized he had done something wrong.
He shouldn't have agreed to Lu Yunsi's request.
He stood in the corridor, unsure of what to do.
Should we tell Xie Chaoyin?
Fearing he would give himself away, he hadn't seen Xie Chaoyin for quite some time.
Just as he was hesitating, his wife came out and told him that Lu Yunsi had woken up.
He turned and walked back to the ward. When he looked up, he met Lu Yunsi's pleading gaze. In an instant, he recalled the scene at the Lu residence that day when she cried and begged him.
He was still holding his phone in his pocket.
He didn't know what to do.
After returning home, he said to his wife in a low voice, "Ayao, I think I did something wrong."
Huo Yao: "Looks like it?"
He didn't know what to say.
His wife leaned over and grabbed his ear, saying, "Don't tell me Lu Yunsi's child is yours."
He was immediately startled and blurted out, "How is that possible!"
He loves his wife very much. He went through a lot of trouble to win her over. He wouldn't dare to do anything to betray her even if he had a hundred lives!
Huo Yao released his ear, "I knew you wouldn't dare."
Afraid that his wife might say something he didn't want to hear, he quickly hugged her, saying, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."
And so he hesitated day after day.
On one side is his older sister who treats him like a younger brother, and on the other side is his best friend who grew up with him. He can't say sorry to his best friend, but he can say sorry to his older sister.
The Xie and Tang families have already started preparing for the wedding. The best time to bring it up has passed. If he brings it up now, the wedding will definitely fall through. Not only will the Xie and Lu families suffer, but he will also be in trouble.
If Lu Yunsi were willing, he wouldn't mind being the culprit who ruined someone else's marriage alliance. The problem is that Lu Yunsi herself isn't willing. If he insists on going his own way, not only will the marriage alliance between the Xie and Tang families fall through, but if Xie Chaoyin fails to win Lu Yunsi's heart, he will have offended all three families at once.
He wasn't afraid of offending people, but he had a wife who was pregnant, so he had to consider things more carefully.
After Lu Yunsi finished her postpartum confinement, he took his wife to the Lu residence to see her, and finally saw the child.
It was a girl, chubby and pink, with a pair of big, dark eyes that seemed to speak volumes; she was extremely beautiful.
His wife loved it so much.
He was the only one who couldn't be happy.
He saw Xie Chaoyin's shadow in that small face.
The last glimmer of hope that had been lingering in my heart vanished without a trace in an instant.
Is Ayao carrying a boy or a girl?
"I don't know, I haven't checked yet."
"I hope it's a boy, so we can be in-laws."
"I also hope it's a boy. I don't want to have a second child."
He turned around and asked Lu Yunsi, "What's the little girl's name?"
Lu Yunsi said, "Lu Nian. The 'Nian' in 'longing'."
Lu Nian, Lu...
The child's name is closely related to his mother, but has nothing to do with his father.
He understood that Lu Yunsi intended to raise the child herself and was determined not to let Xie Chaoyin know.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com