Agreed
like.
To Zhou Min, this word was both familiar and unfamiliar.
The familiarity lies in that after countless beatings in the past, the word "love" was always said so lightly, but over time, it actually weighed heavily on my heart.
The "love" she received in the past was nothing but an overflowing falsehood and an overflowing emptiness.
Things that you have never truly obtained are naturally unfamiliar.
So when Zhou Min heard Zhou Qiting say that he would love her well, her mind went blank for a moment, and then a long-lasting sweetness came out.
It is an unprecedented reality that truly fills my heart.
But at this moment, she is just like her childhood self more than ten years ago, and seems to have nothing equivalent to repay this love.
Zhou Min hesitated, not knowing how to respond. The hand that was not held was behind his back, and his thumb nervously pressed on the knuckles of his index finger.
"Zhou Min..." Unlike the gentleness just now, Zhou Qiting's voice at this moment was very soft, and seemed to be weak and a little vague as if he was enduring pain.
Zhou Min noticed something was wrong and quickly leaned over to get closer to her, asking softly, "What's wrong? Does the wound hurt?"
When Zhou Min got closer, Zhou Qiting let go of Zhou Min's hand and hooked her neck with unexpected determination.
Zhou Min was caught off guard and was pulled down by this not-so-heavy force. The next second, a slightly cool yet soft touch was imprinted on her lips.
The sudden movement made Zhou Min's eyes widen slightly, and her breathing stagnated for a moment. She could even clearly feel Zhou Qiting's breath sweeping across her skin, and could smell a hint of Zhou Qiting's unique scent beneath the smell of disinfectant in the ward.
The kiss was light, without any erotic color, more like a brand, a solemn declaration.
"If you don't answer, I'll take it as your consent."
As the hand that was hooked around her neck loosened, Zhou Min came back to her senses and saw beads of sweat oozing out of Zhou Qiting's forehead again. Her face darkened. She carefully lifted a corner of the hospital gown and confirmed that there was no bleeding from the bandage before she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Zhou Qiting," Zhou Min's fingertips brushed her sweaty hair, tucking the stray strands from her temples. His tone was angry and helpless, "You really don't repent."
Hearing that the words he had used to evaluate Zhou Min were repeated to him by the other party exactly as they were, Zhou Qiting was obviously stunned for a moment, and then a light snort with an ambiguous meaning escaped from his nose.
Although Zhou Qiting didn't say anything at the time, Zhou Min always felt that she was secretly taking note of him in her heart, waiting to repay him double someday.
But after saying all that, before Zhou Min could utter any more words of advice, he was interrupted by Zhou Qiting's next words.
Zhou Qiting looked at Zhou Min's haggard appearance and dark circles under his eyes. His voice was a little weak but carried undeniable concern: "Have you not rested at all?"
Zhou Min did not answer when he heard this. He avoided Zhou Qiting's inquiring gaze and remained silent as if escaping.
This silence finally made Zhou Qiting feel a little regretful, and her apology once again carried a hint of admitting fault: "I'm sorry... for making you worry."
Zhou Min did not respond immediately, but took a deep breath. Then, under Zhou Yiting's somewhat guilty gaze, he slowly reached out his hand and held her slightly cold fingertips.
"I know why you did this, and I should say sorry to you."
Zhou Min's voice was choked with a barely perceptible sob, yet filled with gentle determination: "I promise you that I will never leave you again. And you promise me that you won't make decisions that will hurt yourself again, okay?"
After saying that, Zhou Min leaned over and placed a pious kiss on Zhou Qiting's forehead, silently responding to Zhou Qiting's feelings.
Zhou Qiting's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she softly agreed: "Okay."
-
Zhou Min originally thought that Zhou Xihe would be furious at Zhou Qiting's excessive behavior this time.
But after she was forced to "eavesdrop" on the video call between the mother and daughter in a corner, she found that except for a brief silence at the beginning and a sigh at the end, Zhou Xihe spent the rest of the time discussing undecided official business with Zhou Qiting.
There wasn't even a small outburst of anger. Is there anyone who can control the lawless eldest daughter? Zhou Min didn't understand this.
Zhou Qiting closed his laptop, glanced at the person beside him who seemed to be secretly feeling regretful, chuckled meaningfully, and said, "She knows you're here."
Is that why you didn't scold your daughter in front of outsiders?
"Did she say anything to you when you left the prison?" Zhou Yiting asked suddenly.
Even though she knew Zhou Min was by her side, her mother didn't say much during the call just now. Zhou Qiting noticed something unusual.
Hearing this, Zhou Min turned his face away guiltily and said half-truthfully, "She apologized to me and said... I can't remember exactly, but it roughly meant to let me go wherever I wanted."
But in fact, Zhou Min remembered it very clearly.
On the day she was released from prison, Zhou Xihe met her in person.
"A large part of the responsibility for what happened in the past lies with me." Zhou Xihe paused, as if every word weighed heavily on his mind. "But later on, I still developed an unjustifiable prejudice against you."
"I found out that the accident at the orphanage was actually man-made, but you assumed it was caused by a personal grudge between you and someone else."
"I told you the truth because I thought you would take the money I gave you and disappear after your revenge. But I didn't expect... I didn't expect you to choose to surrender along with the villain."
"You suffered that because you saved Qi Ting, and yet I've wrongly blamed you." Zhou Xihe's always straight spine now bent downward. She lowered her head to Zhou Min and said, "I want to apologize for this. I'm sorry."
"I'm not asking for your forgiveness when I say this, I just hope you can calmly accept my compensation and the freedom you deserve."
At the end, Zhou Xihe added: "After this, you can go wherever you want and live the life you want."
It seemed like he had some hidden meaning, but Zhou Min, who had been listening to Zhou Xihe silently, just said "hmm" coldly and turned away.
That last sentence, after being simplified and refined, is not it "Go wherever you want"? He is not lying. Thinking of this, Zhou Min suddenly felt more confident.
But how could Zhou Qiting possibly believe such ambiguous statements? She looked at Zhou Min, whose face had gone from guilty to clear conscience, and after a moment's thought, coupled with her mother's indifference to her finding Zhou Min, she understood.
Zhou Qiting raised the corners of her lips for a fleeting moment, temporarily putting the matter aside, and turned to talk to Zhou Min about another thing that she would definitely care about.
"Chen Shu has been taken back to the Investigation Bureau. This time, she will not be able to escape legal sanctions." Zhou Qiting was very sure of this.
Although the power she currently holds is not enough to clean out the termites within the Investigation Bureau, Zhou Xihe has the ability to do so.
Zhou Yiting has always known that her mother only truly cares about things related to her.
For example, in the initial kidnapping case, the mother put all her energy into hunting down the mastermind, but if she had cared a little more about Zhou Min, who rescued her, perhaps she would not have allowed the mastermind to adopt Zhou Min so openly.
But reality is always so twisted and turned.
When Chen Shu was imprisoned three years ago, my mother did not let the people from the investigation office keep a close watch on her just because Chen Shu was able to bribe people to tamper with the accident investigation report and conceal the truth, which allowed her to find an opportunity to escape.
Initially, Zhou's donation to the welfare home was only for the benefit of the group's external image. Later, he was kidnapped in the welfare home, and the former director was found to have conspired with the kidnappers to kidnap and embezzle funds. As a result, Zhou's donation lost this positive impact, which was the main reason why my mother decided to stop the donation.
Logically, these timely cut-loss practices are impeccable. But emotionally, they are also cruelly rational.
So at the beginning of the plan, Zhou Yiting took this into consideration. Only when she was involved would her mother take it seriously and use Zhou's resources to resolve potential dangers.
But from Zhou Min's words, it can be guessed that his mother should have realized her own mistakes as early as when she helped Zhou Min get out of prison. Her actions this time seem a bit unnecessary, and her behavior of putting herself in danger is even more extreme.
However, she had made a thorough plan before the operation, arranging snipers and ambulances, just in case. Fortunately, she was only slightly injured in the end. She could only consider it a small punishment for her and her mother's usual arrogance.
After Zhou Qiting finished explaining the news about Chen Shu, Zhou Min fell silent. After a long pause, he murmured, "I understand."
Zhou Qiting's eyes were bright and moist as she looked at Zhou Min seriously. Although her voice was weak, it was still unquestionable. Her clear words reached Zhou Min's ears directly: "That incident was not your fault from beginning to end. Don't blame yourself for the sins committed by others."
Seeing that Zhou Min was still depressed, Zhou Qiting wanted to get up from the hospital bed to comfort her, but he remembered that she was angry because of his movement before, so he had to report to her in advance.
"The doctor said I can move around properly. Can you help me up?"
Zhou Min was a little surprised by the eldest lady's unprecedented obedience. He ignored his disappointment and stepped forward to hold her arm and help her up from the bed.
As soon as Zhou Qiting stood firm, he put his arms around Zhou Min's waist and hugged her tightly.
A familiar aura enveloped him, and the weight of his chin resting on his shoulders was not heavy, but had a presence that could not be ignored.
Zhou Min could feel the slight rise and fall of Zhou Qiting's chest through her clothes, like a gentle tide, lapping against her arms. The deep sense of peace made her body relax unconsciously, and she immersed herself in this lost and regained embrace.
So, Zhou Min also gently put his arms around Zhou Yiting's shoulders, rubbed his cheek against the hair hanging down beside her ear, and took in all the comfort that this embrace conveyed.
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