"Goodbye, Song Jiaxi." Ruan Bei nodded to him and turned to leave.
Qin Gu went up to him and extended his hand. Ruan Bei smiled and took his hand. The two walked out of the coffee shop side by side.
The sun was shining brightly outside. Ruan Bei raised his hand to shield his forehead from the sun, then suddenly smiled and said, "Such a nice day, let's go swimming."
“Sure, if you like it, you can mention it to my dad.” Qin Gu took out his phone to check nearby swimming pools.
Ruan Bei asked curiously, "Why did you mention it to Uncle Qin?"
Qin Gu: "Tell him we still need a villa with a swimming pool."
Ruan Bei: "...What are you doing, hahaha..."
The two walked away laughing, and Song Wanzhou sneaked into the coffee shop and sat down in front of Song Jiaxi.
Song Jiaxi had been expressionless with red eyes since earlier, and showed no reaction to Song Wanzhou's arrival.
Song Wanzhou looked at him worriedly: "Son, how about I go talk to Ruan Bei again?"
To be honest, the conversation he overheard today changed his opinion of Ruan Bei quite a bit. This kid is young, but he has a lot of ideas, and he is kind but doesn't lose his principles.
To be fair, Ruan Bei has no responsibility for his son. Although they are related by blood, he is still alive, so it is not Ruan Bei's place to be responsible for Song Jiaxi's future.
But how could Song Wanzhou not feel sorry for his son in this condition? He couldn't help but think that if Ruan Bei were to be closer to him, his child would be happier and easier to cure.
"No." Song Jiaxi's voice was hoarse, with a hint of sobbing.
He gritted his teeth, trying hard not to cry: "Dad, I need to see a doctor."
"Oh? Good, good! Dad will have someone find you a doctor right away." Song Wanzhou was overjoyed and readily agreed.
"dad……"
"Hey, I'm here, Dad's here." Song Wanzhou's heart softened like that of an old father, feeling that his son was too pitiful and had suffered a great injustice.
"Get up." Song Jiaxi stared at him with red eyes.
"?"
Song Wanzhou stood up in confusion. Song Jiaxi stared at the empty seat for a while, then sniffed hard: "My brother just smiled at me."
"Ah? Yes, yes..."
"He even hugged me." Song Jiaxi laughed through her tears.
Song Wanzhou: "..." Has this child's illness gotten worse...?
"My brother is so good. I want to get better soon so I can keep my promise to him." Song Jiaxi cried and laughed at the same time, tears streaming down her face, but she forced a smile.
Song Wanzhou: "...Then he told you to forget him..."
Song Jiaxi wiped away her tears: "My brother said he would do everything he could. I will get treatment, listen to him, study hard, travel, make friends, and date. I will do all of that."
"But what if I can't forget?"
“I could feel that he was very sad. I didn’t know why he was sad. I was so stupid. Maybe it was because I was sick. Maybe I’ll understand when I’m cured.”
Seeing him crying so hard, Song Wanzhou felt a pang of sadness. For the first time in his life, he regretted not fulfilling his responsibilities as a father to this child, which had led to his current state.
"Okay, Dad will find you the best doctor, and we'll get you cured first."
"Yes!" Song Jiaxi nodded vigorously.
The summer vacation seemed to pass by quickly. At the beginning, Qin Gu was taken by his father to the trending searches anonymously. Qin's father was too clever. He didn't even mention his own son's real name or Qin Zhengping's family. They collapsed on their own.
Later, Ruan Bei heard some news from Qin's father—Qin Zhengze preferred to text his son-in-law rather than chat with his own son.
Qin Zhengze told Ruan Bei that Qin Zhengping had gone back to the Qin family's old house and gone crazy, had a falling out with the old man, and was beaten and thrown out.
What he didn't say was that Old Master Qin had approached him repeatedly, asking him to bring Qin Gu back.
The old man thought that since his son had been recognized, he should naturally be taken back to the Qin family to be properly raised, and at the very least, he should be allowed to meet his grandfather.
Qin Zhengze brushed them off, but he wasn't like Old Master Qin, thinking Qin Gu was the kind of young man who was easy to fool.
He's almost twenty, we've barely met before, and we don't have any feelings for each other. Why should he suddenly be asked to do this and that? He won't agree to it.
Old Master Qin was incredibly stubborn. Qin Zhengze was, after all, his son, and there were some situations he couldn't handle, so he simply brought up his uncle.
Fu Zhao wasn't actually that much older than Qin Zhengze, but he was a generation older. He stepped in to stop Old Master Qin, and the old man was so angry he was jumping up and down but there was nothing he could do.
Later, Ruan Bei heard many other things, such as that the Qin family planned to send Qin Shen to study abroad. It was probably after Qin Zhengping discovered that the old man didn't really care about his son that he sent Qin Shen to the capital for a while, hoping that the old man wouldn't be able to be harsh on his grandson.
However, it was no use, so he gave up and sent his son abroad to find a way out.
Qin Shen was going abroad, and Lu Sibai was naturally unwilling to stay in the country. His college entrance examination results were so bad that Lu Minghai sighed, "Luckily he's not my biological son, it's too embarrassing."
The original plan was to have him repeat a year, but with his grades, it wouldn't be easy to get a place in school even with money, unless it was a less prestigious school.
Now that Qin Shen is going abroad, Lu Sibai immediately made an excuse to go with him to cultivate their relationship. The Lu family is not short of money. Although it is clear that Qin Zhengping's family is not going to recover, Lu Minghai still agreed to send Lu Sibai and Qin Shen abroad after thinking it over.
Ruan Bei was initially worried that if Lu Sibai went abroad, his biological parents might contact him without him knowing.
As a result, Lu Sibai was stopped at the airport and barred from leaving the country.
Qin Shen was stunned. To say that he still had much affection for Lu Sibai would be a lie. The insults he received in the engagement banquet lounge that day were like a rift between them. They both knew that there was no going back.
The reason he didn't break off the engagement with Lu Sibai was to save face and not let people think that he was guilty or that Lu Sibai had really cheated on him.
But he didn't expect that Lu Sibai might have other illegal and criminal acts on his mind, otherwise why would he be restricted in his situation?
"What else are you hiding from me?" Qin Shen said to Lu Sibai as his last question. Ignoring Lu Sibai's pleas for help, he picked up his suitcase and left without looking back.
When Lu Sibai returned to the Lu family, Lu Minghai learned the reason for his return and spent the whole day in the study. The next day, he made Lu Sibai move out of the Lu family.
He was kicked out again.
Ruan Bei saw Lu Sibai again half a year later in winter. It was almost Chinese New Year, and he and Qin Gu went to buy New Year's goods.
It snowed heavily that day. Ruan Bei grabbed a handful of snow from a tree branch, made a snowball, and threw it at Qin Gu. Qin Gu immediately made an even bigger snowball and threw it back. Ruan Bei dodged and laughed, then rushed over and stuffed his icy hands into Qin Gu's neck.
Qin Gu was startled by the cold, grabbed his hand and pulled it out, but didn't let go. He rubbed his hand with his breath and held it in his palm.
Ruan Bei looked at the boy with a few specks of snow in his hair and couldn't help but smile. Her boyfriend was so handsome!
He tilted his head back to kiss his chin, and Qin Gu smiled and lowered his head to kiss the corner of his lips.
“We’re outside, so be a little more reserved.” Ruan Bei smiled and pushed him away. In the brief moment they passed each other, she caught a glimpse of someone staring at them from the street corner.
Ruan Bei's smile froze. They weren't very close, and with the snow falling, he couldn't see clearly for a moment, but even from this distance, the man's eyes exuded a chilling malice.
Qin Gu noticed that something was wrong with his expression, turned around, and immediately stood in front of him.
Ruan Bei peeked out from beside him: "It's Lu Sibai."
He has changed so much; he is completely different from the glamorous and popular man that Ruan Bei remembers.
He was frighteningly thin, with prominent cheekbones, which diminished his once handsome appearance by several levels. His hair was messy and tangled, and his exposed skin was not clean, covered with dark red and black sores, resembling some kind of skin disease.
Ruan Bei had long since stopped paying attention to Lu Sibai. He had his own life. Dongjiao Gui, having received his payment, would still keep an eye on Lu Sibai for him, but would not report unless something major happened.
So Ruan Bei hadn't heard anyone mention him for a long time. Even Bai Miaomiao had lost the interest in gossiping about him. She only knew that he had become much more well-behaved after being kicked out again.
At first glance, Ruan Bei was quite surprised by his sudden change.
Although he was kicked out of the Lu family, the apartment that Feng Zhihui had given him was not taken back. He had a place to live, and Lu Minghai would not take back his pocket money or watches and jewelry.
With a house and money, he should be living better than most people. How did he end up like this in just six months?
"Shall we go over there?" Qin Gu asked.
"No need...he ran away..."
Lu Sibai suddenly turned and ran away, as if this meeting was just an accident.
Ruan Bei felt uneasy, so he asked the ghosts in the eastern suburbs. They didn't know what was going on either. It seemed that Lu Sibai had suddenly had a whim and came to the vicinity of the Ruan family's house, where he happened to block Ruan Bei's way.
As for Lu Sibai's situation, Dongjiao Gui said that Lu Sibai often doesn't leave the house for months at a time, relies on takeout for meals, and his home is like a garbage dump.
The scars on his body didn't appear suddenly. He stayed at home, eating and sleeping all the time. He didn't gain weight, but his health deteriorated.
He started getting sores, initially just a few on his hands. He cried and screamed, but refused to see a doctor, just kept them at home, and then they got worse and worse.
At first, Feng Zhihui and Lu Siyuan visited him a few times, but they were disgusted by his slovenly appearance. Feng Zhihui, in particular, refused to even go inside and ran away.
Ruan Bei couldn't describe his feelings. He certainly didn't feel sympathy or pity. Lu Sibai had walked his own path, and whatever the outcome, he deserved it.
After that day, nothing happened, and Ruan Bei put the matter out of his mind.
Before the New Year, Qin Zheng asked Qin Gu if he wanted to go to the capital for the New Year, but Qin Gu refused and instead invited his father to Jincheng.
Qin Zheng chuckled and scolded, knowing in his heart that the child was slowly beginning to accept him.
However, since the old man was still alive, he couldn't really leave him behind to accompany his son, so he stayed in the capital.
But I made an agreement with Qin Gu that I would go to the capital after the New Year to visit my relatives.
This is leading him to the forefront, first to appear among relatives and friends, and then to formally introduce his identity as the heir of the Qin family.
Qin Gu agreed. He had enjoyed the benefits of the Qin family, taken advantage of their connections, called them "father," and received airplanes, villas, and other gifts. He wouldn't shirk the responsibilities that were his to bear.
In February, Qin Gu followed his father to visit the old master of the Fu family.
That was his father's maternal grandfather, Old Master Fu, who was over ninety years old, a truly advanced age. In recent years, he had basically stopped seeing outsiders, and the younger generation of the Fu family rarely saw him.
But this time, the old man met Qin Gu. He held Qin Gu's hand and looked at him for a long time before finally giving him a pair of jade pendants that could be put together as one piece or separated.
The old man's voice was hoarse and aged: "These are things left by your great-grandmother. Your father said you have a boyfriend now, so you and that child should each have one."
Qin Gu looked at Qin Zhengze, who lowered his eyes and said, "It's from Grandfather, take it."
The pair of jade pendants were originally given to his mother by his maternal grandmother. His mother was in poor health, and the Fu family did not intend to arrange a marriage for her. The man they chose for her was his maternal grandmother's student.
But his mother didn't marry the man the Fu family favored; instead, she chose his father.
The Qin family was not bad, and they were considered a good match, so they agreed. However, the maternal grandmother was extremely dissatisfied with her father, believing that he was unreliable.
The old man had sharp eyes and was right. Because of Qin Zhengping's appearance, the Fu family almost broke ties with the Qin family.
After his mother died, his maternal grandparents, who were both elderly, had to bury their child. Not long after, his maternal grandmother passed away.
Qin Gu noticed that his father was in a bad mood, so he silently put away the pendant without asking anything, but simply moved a little closer.
After meeting the old master and some of the collateral branches of the Qin family, Qin Gu didn't need to visit them in person; he could simply wait at home.
In March, Qin Gu celebrated his twentieth birthday, and the Qin family held a grand celebration, inviting many relatives and friends.
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