Chapter 458 You're the only single dog
Although he didn't want to admit it, his daughter looked exactly like him, even down to the slight tremor in her eyes when she blinked.
Cui Xiao stretched out her fingertips and carefully brushed across the wrinkles between her daughter's eyebrows, her movements as gentle as if afraid of disturbing the little angel in her dream.
For five years, she deliberately avoided touching any trace of her past in Hong Kong. The day before she was to leave, she changed her phone number, deleted all her old friends' contact information, and even completely cut off contact with her family.
She never even returned to Hong Kong once.
She had speculated about his current situation more than once.
Given the Zhou family's background and capabilities, they must have been married long ago, right?
Marry a wealthy heiress of equal social standing, have a lovely child, and perhaps a gentle wife to manage the household affairs. The whole family lives in a mansion on the hillside of the port city, leading a happy life that everyone envies.
When this thought arose, she felt no emotion; she simply tucked her daughter's blanket in gently.
Neon lights from outside shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting a long, thin shadow on the wall. Cui Xiao lowered her head and kissed her daughter's forehead.
Compared to those distant speculations, the warm little life beside her is the whole world she is protecting with all her might.
——
The port city's late nights are more tranquil and gentle than Shanghai's. In the study of the hillside villa, only a bronze-plated floor lamp is lit, its warm yellow light slanting across the large mahogany desk, casting a soft halo over the piled-up project reports.
Zhou Mubin held a silver fountain pen between his fingers, the pen warm from the heat of his palm, his gaze fixed on the person's documents.
But his dark eyes were completely unfocused, and the pen hovered half an inch above the page for a full ten minutes without writing a single word.
Outside the window, the lights were dazzling. Suddenly, she remembered someone's face. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the cap of her fountain pen, her fingertips tracing the familiar lines.
Zhou Weicheng's voice came through the door with a soft thud, "It's so late, why aren't you asleep?"
He was holding a glass of amber-colored whiskey, with fine water droplets clinging to the glass, clearly indicating that it had just been taken from the liquor cabinet and warmed.
As I entered, I subconsciously glanced at the desk, my gaze shifting from the neatly stacked documents and the empty ashtray to Zhou Mubin's excessively clean phone screen.
There were no ambiguous chat logs, no goodnight messages from women, and the screensaver was still the law firm's gold-plated logo. This was completely different from the younger brother who used to treat bars like home and have pretty girls coming and going around him.
He gently placed his glass on the coaster on the desk, deliberately drawing out his words in a teasing tone, "I mean, have you been under some kind of spell these past five years? Before, you'd be all over women at parties, and then turn around and take pretty girls to see the sunrise. Now, at a dinner party, you can't even get a drink from a female companion without giving her a cold shoulder. Not even a female fly can get near you. If I hadn't grown up with you and known how crazy you used to be, I'd start to wonder if you've changed and started liking men."
As she spoke, she deliberately moved closer to Zhou Mubin and added in a low voice, "Last time, a business partner secretly asked me if I should introduce you to some promising young talents."
Zhou Mubin finally withdrew his gaze, the dazed look fading from his dark eyes, replaced by his usual coldness. He twirled the pen neatly between his fingers, then glared at Zhou Weicheng with annoyance. "Brother, can't you curse me for something better?"
Zhou Weicheng raised an eyebrow, pulled over the leather sofa next to him and sat down, swirling the whiskey in his hand. "I'm just concerned about you. You used to be the wildest party girl ever, partying at bars until 3 a.m. Now you've become a bookish old man in your study. Could it be that you really exhausted yourself playing around too much a few years ago and that's why you've settled down?"
No sooner had he said that than a thick document came flying at him. Zhou Weicheng was prepared and dodged it by stepping to the side. The document hit the armrest of the sofa with a "thud," and two pages of paper were scattered.
He smiled as he picked it up and handed it back, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Zhou Mubin lowering his head again, his fingertips suddenly clenching the old fountain pen.
Five years have passed, and the patterns on the metal surface have become somewhat blurred from wear, but he still cherishes it and keeps it with him.
Zhou Weicheng, as if he understood perfectly, paused in his hand holding the wine glass, the smile in his eyes fading slightly. In the end, he didn't continue the topic, but only said softly, "If you're tired, get some rest early, don't stay up too late."
Zhou Mubin hummed in agreement.
Then, Zhou Weicheng took another sip of wine before changing the subject, "There's something else, Mom asked me to pass on a message to you."
Zhou Mubin paused, his hand holding the pen still, without looking up. "What is it?"
Looking at his tense profile, Zhou Weicheng softened his tone, "Mom has arranged a blind date for you. It's with Uncle Chen's daughter, Chen Yuwei. She studied abroad and works in architectural design. She and our family are a good match. Mom said you two should meet this Sunday afternoon at two o'clock. She told me to make sure you go."
Zhou Mubin drew a sharp ink mark on the paper with his pen, frowned, and threw the pen directly onto the pen holder. "I'm not going."
“I knew you would say that,” Zhou Weicheng had anticipated. “Mom said that if you don’t go, the surgery on Monday will be canceled, and you can just wait to collect her corpse.”
Zhou's mother has a minor heart problem, and the doctor recommends that she have a coronary stent implanted.
Zhou Mubin's face darkened, and his fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the pen, his knuckles turning white.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhou Weicheng took it as a tacit agreement, stood up and said, "I've delivered the message, and I've sent the address to your phone. Don't forget, Mom's life is in your hands."
Zhou Mubin said coldly, "So long-winded."
Having completed the task, Zhou Weicheng felt a great sense of relief. "Second brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're not getting any younger. It's time to get married and have kids. Look around you, everyone has a wife, kids, and a warm bed. Even that unreliable Xu Chenghao got married last year. You're the only single dog left. Do you even have anything in common with him?"
Xu Chenghao is the one in his circle who hates marriage the most. He always complains that there's nothing good about getting married, even dogs don't get married, but he got married last year anyway.
The worst part is that Xu Chenghao listens to his wife very much. Now he has to apply three days in advance to go out, and he can only go if his wife approves his leave.
Zhou Mubin raised an eyebrow. "I believe it. As for whether Miss Lin will take a liking to me, that's beyond my control."
Actually, Zhou's mother didn't expect Zhou Mubin to marry into a powerful family to strengthen the Zhou family. She was a very insightful person. She sent him on blind dates simply because she hoped he could move on from the past.
Although Zhou Mubin is now behaving himself, no longer a troublemaker, and his career is thriving, his mother knows that he is not happy, not happy at all.
That's why I arranged a blind date for him, hoping he would take that step.
Zhou Weicheng said with a smile, "If you can go, then I've completed my mission."
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