Father
Although he said he was accompanying Zhou Jingxing to work, Shen Zhou only went to the Provincial Museum with him before diving into the special exhibition. Zhou Jingxing wanted to follow, but Shen Zhou chased him away, saying, "Go to work. We can't both be shirking our duties."
Zhou Jingxing had no choice but to go to the workshop with a long face. It seemed like even God was against him today. The Longquan kiln fragments he was supposed to repair were not only shattered into pieces, but also covered in dirt. Resigned, Zhou Jingxing picked up a soft brush and began to clean them.
Before he knew it, the morning had passed. His colleagues left work one after another, but Zhou Jingxing was so engrossed in the pile of porcelain shards that he lost all sense of time and place.
"Teacher Zhou, I have your phone number."
Zhou Jingxing then stood up and took the receiver of the office phone. "Hello, this is Zhou Jingxing."
A gentle laugh came from the other end of the phone, "Hello, this is Chen Zhou."
Zhou Jingxing laughed too, "Have you seen the special exhibition?"
"Hmm, the exhibition hall has already closed for the morning. Are you off work yet? Want to go out for lunch together?"
Zhou Jingxing then realized how much time had passed. "Ah! Sorry, I forgot about the time while washing the dishes. I'll be right there!"
At noon, Chen Zhou suddenly had a whimsical idea, "How about you take me to eat at your cafeteria? Is that alright? Can I bring a stranger along?"
Zhou Jingxing tried to please him with his smooth talk, "What outsider? Aren't you my wife?" He said with a smile, "What's wrong with that? It's just that the food in our cafeteria is too bland. I'm afraid you won't be used to it."
Chen Zhou was very interested. "Come on, take me there."
The provincial museum's canteen is located in a side building next to the office building. It has an open kitchen and a clean and tidy dining area. The food wasn't as bad as Zhou Jingxing had described; in fact, it was quite delicious. The restaurant also has its own coffee shop and bakery. Zhou Jingxing bought a cup of coffee for both of them, planning to take Chen Zhou for a walk in the nearby park after dinner.
As the two walked out of the cafeteria with their coffee, a young and pretty girl walked towards them and recognized them as they passed by.
"Teacher Zhou! Teacher Shen!"
Zhou Jingxing stopped and looked at her with some confusion. He couldn't remember which colleague she was.
After Shen Zhou started exchanging pleasantries with the girl, Zhou Jingxing finally remembered that this was the girl he and Shen Zhou had met at the movie theater last time, the one who had been deceived by Kyle.
The girl thanked them both, and then she said to Shen Zhou, "Teacher Shen, there's something I need to tell you."
It turns out that Kyle and she had lived together for a while. Some time ago, after the girl broke up with Kyle, she lost some pieces of jewelry. She suspected that Kyle had taken them when he moved out, so she checked the security camera hidden in the corner of the living room that she used to watch the cat. What she saw there was extremely shocking.
Kyle brought a thin, frail-looking boy to her home and had sex with him. She was immediately disgusted, but when she tried to turn off the security camera, she overheard Kyle and the boy plotting to frame Shenzhou.
The girl was indignant. "That man is a real scoundrel. He wants to ruin Teacher Shen's career and even said he'll make sure Teacher Shen can't work in this industry anymore!"
The two immediately realized who Kyle was having an affair with. They couldn't believe Bai Lian was so shameless, capable of such a disgraceful act. And Kyle was the worst of the worst.
"I wanted to tell Teacher Zhou as soon as I saw the surveillance footage yesterday, but we don't have each other's contact information, so I had to come to tell you today since I'm at work." She asked Shen Zhou with concern, "Teacher Shen, how have you been lately? Did their schemes harm you?"
Shen Zhou sincerely said to her, "Thank you for telling me this. I was not harmed by their conspiracy."
The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I've been worried about this all day."
Zhou Jingxing, as if remembering something, asked her, "Did you delete that surveillance footage?"
The girl looked annoyed. "No, because my jewelry was indeed stolen by these two people. I've already called the police, and the surveillance video is the evidence."
Zhou Jingxing and Shen Zhou exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. Shen Zhou said to the girl, "Could you also give me a copy of that video? It's like this..."
Shen Zhou still had a smile on his face when he and Zhou Jingxing arrived at the park. Zhou Jingxing was also infected by his smile, and his mood soared along with the sunny weather. There seemed to be some kind of event going on in the park, and the small square was bustling with activity, so the two of them strolled around the square leisurely.
Zhou Jingxing asked Shen Zhou, "Are you so happy to have obtained the evidence?"
Shen Zhou smiled and said, "I am a little happy. Kyle is now very arrogant because of President Zhang's influence. Like the last time when the cultural relic restoration exhibition was held, all the annoying things he did were eventually smoothed over by President Zhang."
Chen Zhou sighed, "There's no such thing as a thief who can be on guard against a thief for a thousand days. Although his methods didn't harm me, they were still very annoying. This time, the evidence is irrefutable, and he has completely betrayed Boss Zhang and the others. Boss Zhang will definitely not help him anymore once he finds out."
Zhou Jingxing looked at him, a smile playing on his lips, "I've helped you get rid of a major threat. How do you plan to thank me?"
Chen Zhou pinched his cheek and laughed, "How shameless! It was clearly that kind little girl who helped me, and she hasn't even said anything yet, but you're already acting like a good girl!"
Zhou Jingxing grabbed his hand and kissed it, then shamelessly said, "If it weren't for me, would you have known her? How can this not be my achievement?"
Chen Zhou laughed out loud, "Alright, alright, it's all thanks to you, I..."
A stern and authoritative voice suddenly rang out behind them, "Zhou Jingxing. What are you doing?"
Hearing the familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Zhou Jingxing couldn't help but frown. He still held Chen Zhou's hand, turned around, and said coldly, "What are you doing here?" He reluctantly added a title, "Dad."
dad?
When Shen Zhou realized who it was, he was taken aback, and then felt a little embarrassed about meeting the parents.
Zhou's father gave Zhou Jingxing a critical look and replied, "We're holding an event in this park, so I came to take a look." He then glanced at Chen Zhou and asked, "What's this?"
Zhou Jingxing reluctantly said to his father, "This is Chenzhou." Then, he proudly raised his head, "My girlfriend."
Zhou's father's expression was unreadable. Shen Zhou nervously realized that he seemed unwilling to talk to him. Zhou's father whispered to Zhou Jingxing, "This is utter nonsense! What kind of relationship is this between two men? Is it to have children or something? You better get your act together. I'm telling you, I don't approve!"
Zhou Jingxing laughed angrily, "Nobody here is asking for your opinion, is they? My relationship with my partner is consensual, who cares if others agree or not!"
Mr. Zhou said sternly, "You're playing the rebellious card again. You're not a high school student in your teens anymore. Are you still trying to get my attention with this? How childish! You're an adult now and should be responsible for your actions!"
Zhou Jingxing was speechless. "Your attention is meaningless to me. What would I do with it? I know what I'm doing. Chen Zhou is my lover, and I want to spend my whole life with him."
Shen Zhou was shocked. He hadn't expected Zhou Jingxing to make such a promise in front of his elders, even though Zhou's father completely disapproved of the two of them.
Mr. Zhou seemed even angrier. "A lifetime? Do you even realize the weight of what you just said? How many couples with families and children can't make it a lifetime together? How can two men possibly make it a lifetime together?"
Zhou Jingxing quickly replied, "Why not? As long as there's affection, it's possible. The affection between us is no less than that between any couple of opposite sexes!"
"How can you be so naive! Let me ask you, what will you do when you get old? Couples have children to take care of them in their old age, do you have that? If one of you gets sick, the other won't even have the right to receive a critical condition notice! For the rest of your lives?" Zhou's father sneered, "How can you so easily say such irresponsible things!"
Shen Zhou subconsciously tightened his grip on Zhou Jingxing's hand, and Zhou Jingxing squeezed his palm. "I'm prepared to become Shen Zhou's designated guardian." He looked at Shen Zhou. "Of course, that's on the condition that you agree."
Shen Zhou was just as bewildered as Zhou's father, "What's this about a designated guardian?"
“Once the designated guardianship is established, when Shenzhou becomes old and loses his capacity for civil conduct, I will become his legally recognized guardian,” Zhou Jingxing said firmly. “In other words, I will take care of him for the rest of my life.”
Zhou's father was taken aback, not expecting him to actually have a plan, and was momentarily speechless. Chen Zhou, on the other hand, was completely stunned by his words. After a long while, he asked Zhou Jingxing in a low voice, "When did you come up with this?"
“After returning from Senior Brother Dai’s place, Zhang Jin told me that there was another way, so I decided to try it.”
"But we had only just started dating back then..."
Zhou Jingxing looked at Shen Zhou without saying anything, but Shen Zhou understood everything.
Seeing the two of them like this, Zhou's father became furious. "What will you do when you get old? You've really grown up, deciding on your own life's most important matters!"
Zhou Jingxing looked at him calmly, "Actually, I've always been quite independent. I wasn't an adult when Grandma passed away, and I've been living alone all these years since you left."
Mr. Zhou was furious. "Are you blaming me for not caring enough about you?"
Zhou Jingxing looked at him calmly. "No, I've never blamed you for neglecting your family in pursuit of academic advancement. It's just that I've gotten used to this self-reliant lifestyle. Let's continue like this. Isn't it better to leave each other alone?"
Mr. Zhou's eyes widened. "You want to sever ties with me?"
Zhou Jingxing said helplessly, "I didn't mean that. You are my father, and I will fulfill my responsibilities and obligations. But please don't interfere in my affairs, so as not to make yourself unhappy."
Mr. Zhou was clearly not comforted by these words. With a dark face, he threw down the words, "Anyway, I absolutely disagree with this!" and then turned and left.
Zhou Jingxing didn't care much. He said to Shen Zhou, "Ignore him. The fossil has come to life."
Chen Zhou's expression softened. "Don't say that. He's just concerned about you." He sighed, "Are you stupid? I'm only two years older than you. By the time I'm old, you'll be a little old man too. How will you take care of me then?"
"Anyway, I won't let you go to the nursing home alone and get slapped by the caregivers." Zhou Jingxing couldn't help but complain, thinking of what Chen Zhou had said before. "Last time you said you wanted to buy care services in advance when you get old, and it hurt me to death to hear that. Didn't you even think about me?"
After thinking for a while, Shen Zhou remembered that they had discussed the topic of elderly care after he visited his teacher. He couldn't help but laugh, "What I meant was to prepare elderly care services for the two of us in advance. You're really something, you never tell me what you're thinking and you just sulk."
He said seriously, "You said I don't share with you, but you haven't communicated with me in a timely manner either. From now on, you have to tell me whatever you're thinking, otherwise I won't know what you're thinking."
Zhou Jingxing kissed his cheek. "Okay, I promise you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
