Chapter 52 [VIP]
Chapter summary: "I don't need anything, I just want you to be well."
Xu Tianzhou had long noticed that the temperature in hospitals was always lower than in other places. Perhaps this place was destined to be full of sadness. He had lost all hope, and now the only bond between him and Ni Zhenzhen was about to be taken away.
The baby, who was fast asleep, suddenly burst into tears. The baby cried so hard that he could hardly breathe, and Xu Tianzhou's heart clenched.
He knelt down in front of Ni Zhenzhen, choking back tears, and asked, "What did you say?"
He genuinely didn't want to believe it, which is why he asked the question when he already knew the answer.
Ni Zhenzhen thought he was indirectly rejecting her, and her face flushed instantly, becoming flustered and uneasy. She wanted to take back what she had just said, but the harsh reality forced her to beg Xu Tianzhou again in a humble voice.
She didn't dare look him in the eye, her hands nervously twisting together, her voice even lower, "I said... could you please give me back my part of the down payment?"
The baby continued to cry, but that didn't stop Xu Tianzhou from hearing every word she said clearly.
Ni Zhenzhen looked haggard, her face deathly pale, and she looked extremely pitiful.
She wanted him to agree, yet she was also afraid he would. After saying the last word, she looked over anxiously, her red eyes seeming as if they might overflow with tears at any moment.
Xu Tianzhou couldn't bear it after all. He forced a smile and said, "Okay, I'll say it even if you don't bring it up."
In fact, he had already thought of this as the most effective way to solve Ni Zhenzhen's urgent problem, but he pretended not to have thought of it. He would rather give her half of his property and help her pay off all her debts than touch that house.
Xu Tianzhou still doesn't want to think about that day. When he first learned that Ni Zhenzhen was going to sell the house, he was so angry that he immediately called the real estate agent and told them not to sell the house.
The agent immediately swore.
He was most afraid of encountering this kind of situation. Last time, the couple wanted to go east and west respectively, which put him in the middle. No matter which side he took, he would be blamed. Then, a couple of days later, the couple made up and turned around to scold him for trying to sow discord between them.
The agent was angry and spoke in a particularly aggressive tone, "What's going on with you two? One of you says I can sell, and the other says I can't. Whom should I listen to?"
"You listen to whoever pays you."
The agent immediately replied respectfully, "Okay, bro, no problem, bro."
In fact, Xu Tianzhou was overthinking it. The house they owned hadn't been owned for two years, so if they wanted to sell it, the seller would have to bear a higher tax, and that tax would be almost the same as Ni Zhenzhen's down payment. In other words, the house couldn't be sold at the original price, and if they sold it at a lower price, she would lose her down payment.
What's the point of selling the house if I can't get my down payment back?
From this perspective, it's the best outcome that Xu Tianzhou took over; she should really be grateful.
Ni Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you."
After so long, she finally had enough money to pay off her debts, all thanks to Xu Tianzhou's generosity.
Ni Zhenzhen smiled calmly. Ironically, she finally realized the benefits of having a wealthy husband.
"How can I thank you?" She didn't want to owe him anything, but she had nothing to offer in return. Ni Zhenzhen knew very well that Xu Tianzhou wouldn't care about the money, but she would feel uneasy if she did nothing.
Afraid that Xu Tianzhou would refuse, she instinctively grabbed his arm, as if she were an ant on a hot pan, and said anxiously, "What do you need me to do? I can do anything."
Ni Zhenzhen suddenly remembered that Xu Tianzhou had just asked her for help with something.
"You want me to come to the hospital tomorrow? For a blood test? No problem, I promise you, the day after tomorrow is fine too, as many times as you need..."
Xu Tianzhou noticed that Ni Zhenzhen's emotions were off. Her eyes were unfocused, and her expression was listless. She was like a frightened bird, and the slightest disturbance could bring her to the brink of collapse. She couldn't stop for a moment, but instead of flying any further, she crashed headfirst into the iron cage, bleeding profusely.
He suddenly realized that perhaps her strength and rationality were just a facade, and that her true nature was sensitivity and vulnerability.
Ni Zhenzhen seemed to have been provoked, and kept repeating, "What do you want me to do? I'll do anything..."
"That's all." Seeing her like this, Xu Tianzhou didn't dare ask her to do anything more.
He pulled her into his arms and comforted her like a baby seeking security, saying, "I don't need anything, I just want you to be alright."
Perhaps it was because of those words, or perhaps it was because she clearly felt a strong hand stroking her back again and again, that Ni Zhenzhen gradually calmed down.
"I'm sorry." Ni Zhenzhen sat up straight and apologized to him for her outburst. At this moment, she returned to her strong and rational self.
Xu Tianzhou gently patted her head and said softly, "Shall I take you home?"
"Go home?" Ni Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "No need." She didn't want her parents to worry.
"How about we have dinner together?"
Ni Zhenzhen continued to shake her head; she really had no appetite.
Xu Tianzhou added, "Consider it a thank you."
She had said she would thank him, so this was fine; she wouldn't owe him anything now. Ni Zhenzhen stared at him intently for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
The two went to a Michelin-recommended Huaiyang cuisine restaurant. Ni Zhenzhen didn't want to eat anything, and only reluctantly drank some soup.
After finishing the meal, Xu Tianzhou naturally went to pay the bill as usual, but Ni Zhenzhen stopped him.
She said in a serious tone, "It's a promise that I'm thanking you." If she made him pay, what kind of thanks would that be?
Xu Tianzhou was still shaken by her distraught appearance and didn't insist.
After leaving the restaurant, Ni Zhenzhen decided to return to the company.
After today's negotiations with Xinda, the company will adjust the cooperation terms again based on the issues raised in the negotiations. Although Li Xiang gave her a day off, her workload will not be reduced because of her absence. If she is not there, her work will have to be done by others, and she does not want to make her colleagues work overtime.
After the two got into the car, they discovered that there was a problem with it; Xu Tianzhou tried to start it several times but couldn't.
This car was quite old, and it had always had minor problems. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher, and Xu Tianzhou had thus developed a knack for repairing cars. He opened the hood, fiddled with it for a while, and quickly fixed it.
"I'm sorry." Xu Tianzhou got back into the driver's seat and apologized to Ni Zhenzhen.
Ni Zhenzhen said thoughtfully, "You should get a new car."
She had brought this up a long time ago, but Xu Tianzhou always changed the subject.
Ni Zhenzhen understood that Xu Tianzhou was unwilling to change the car because it held childhood memories for her. Now that they were about to separate, he didn't need to keep it anymore. Besides, given Xu Tianzhou's status, it didn't seem appropriate for him to drive such a car.
However, Xu Tianzhou said, "I'm used to it, there's no need to change it."
Whether it was intentional or not, Xu Tianzhou drove very slowly, but even at a slow speed, the car would eventually reach its destination.
Upon arriving at the company gate, Ni Zhenzhen opened the door and got out of the car.
She hadn't taken two steps when a skinny boy wearing a baseball cap rushed up to her.
The boy held up a card with four large, bright red characters that read "Charity Donation." Along with the card was a message explaining that he was deaf and mute, and despite his misfortune, he still believed in human kindness. He was volunteering to raise funds for disabled people and hoped Ni Zhenzhen could donate a few yuan from her allowance to help them.
Ni Zhenzhen was moved by the words "pocket money".
She wasn't unaware that she still owed others millions, but even the biggest debts can be paid off one day. However, the handsome young man in front of her could no longer hear her voice.
Just as Ni Zhenzhen was about to give him the money, she suddenly remembered that someone had told her more than once that all beggars on the street were frauds. And this person had taught her a lesson through his actions: you can't completely trust even your bedmate.
Ni Zhenzhen hesitated and stood there without moving.
When the boy saw that she had no intention of donating money, he turned and left, and the disappointment and frustration on his face deeply stung her.
Just as Ni Zhenzhen was about to ask him to wait, someone had already stopped the boy before she could.
Xu Tianzhou took out his phone and donated the amount the boy had requested.
Xu Tianzhou's action surprised Ni Zhenzhen. She stared blankly as Xu Tianzhou took the pen from the boy and wrote his name on the paper.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't understand why he did this.
An answer was about to be revealed, but Ni Zhenzhen was unwilling to think about it further.
In a panic, she took out her phone, scanned the QR code to donate, and then hesitated when she was about to write her name on it, because her name was already on the paper.
Ni Zhenzhen gave a wry smile and wrote "Xu Tianzhou" under the three characters "Ni Zhenzhen".
The two people each donated money and then wrote down each other's names, a bizarre act that resembled some strange ritual.
Overjoyed to receive donations from two people, the boy bowed to them in thanks before disappearing into the crowd.
Because of this incident, Ni Zhenzhen felt much better. She walked briskly into the company building and waited for the elevator with the others.
After entering the elevator, the lingering aroma of coffee seemed to be a reminder of something, and Ni Zhenzhen rushed out before the elevator doors closed.
Completely disregarding the fact that she was wearing high heels, she jogged to the building entrance, looked around for a while, but unfortunately, she didn't see the person she was looking for. Instead, she spotted Xu Tianzhou at a glance.
He hadn't left yet; he was standing where they had parted, his head slightly tilted back, seemingly looking at something.
Ni Zhenzhen was panting until Xu Tianzhou came over.
"What's wrong?" Xu Tianzhou asked.
“I suddenly remembered that our company’s coffee shop is hiring, and they specifically stated that people with disabilities are given priority.”
"You want him to apply for the job?"
"Um."
Xu Tianzhou pressed her arm. "Wait here for me, I'll go find it."
A few minutes later, Xu Tianzhou returned. "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him." He comforted Ni Zhenzhen, "It's okay, maybe he'll come back in a couple of days."
Ni Zhenzhen nodded, "Okay."
This time, Ni Zhenzhen was really going up. She turned around, took a few steps, then stopped and looked back.
"Is there anything else?"
Ni Zhenzhen hesitated, then said, "Don't forget to go to court for mediation the day after tomorrow."
The day finally came. Xu Tianzhou's throat was dry and hoarse, as if he had lost the ability to speak. After a long while, he finally found his voice again in the bright sunshine, "Okay."
[Author's Note]
I just remembered how I was young and naive back then, and I was cheated out of ten yuan by a "deaf-mute" person. I'm so angry!
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