Chapter 64 Zhou Jinbai is crazy!
Li Zhuzhu was just thinking that Zhou Zexi's reaction when he heard Su Li's name was not right. He reacted so strongly when he heard Su Li's name, so there must be something wrong.
Before she could say anything, she heard Jiang Wen's cold voice, clearly trying to get rid of her. "Ms. Li, if you're any later, you won't be able to make it to the banquet. You're dressed so beautifully, you can't let it go to waste here when there aren't many people around, right?"
Li Zhuzhu felt something was wrong. The attitudes of both Jiang Wen and Zhou Zexi were too strange. So what exactly made them act like this?
She didn't know, but she thought it was better to keep quiet. So when Zhou Zexi looked over at her, wanting to get to the bottom of it, Li Zhuzhu changed the subject. She smiled and asked Zhou Zexi, "Isn't she pretty? You must have collaborated before, right? I'm her fan. I'm completely captivated by her beauty. If you run into her next time, can you please get her an autograph?"
Zhou Zexi's expression darkened. "We were talking about my dad, why are you suddenly bringing her up? I thought you were going to say my dad and Su Li were having an affair. I was so scared. But my dad proposed today, why didn't he tell me? I have to go see it."
Li Zhuzhu saw that it was getting late, so she had to leave quickly to avoid causing unnecessary trouble. She said goodbye to Jiang Wen and Zhou Zexi, "I really have to go. If I don't go now, Uncle Zhou will be worried."
Zhou Zexi called out to her, "I'll go with you. Get in the car. It must be at that five-star hotel that Uncle Hou owns, right?"
Jiang Wen was about to say something when Zhou Zexi stopped him. "Don't try to play that trick on me. I'm not buying it. I just want to know what my dad has done that he has to hide his proposal from me. As his only relative, am I not even qualified to be a witness?"
Jiang Wen didn't say anything else. In fact, he couldn't stop Zhou Zexi. Zhou Jinbai would have to face Zhou Zexi sooner or later.
Li Zhuzhu ignored him and left. After Zhou Zexi got in the car, he left the Zhou residence without stopping for a moment.
Jiang Wen had to go back and call Zhou Jinbai to tell him about Zhou Zexi.
After the call was connected, you could even hear the melodious piano music in the venue.
Jiang Wen glanced in the direction Zhou Zexi left and said, "Master, the young master is here to look for you."
Zhou Zexi was silent for a moment after hearing this, "When did you leave?"
Jiang Wen replied, "Just now, Miss Li Zhuzhu went to the wrong place and ran into the young master. She almost let the cat out of the bag. I tried to stop her, but she couldn't stop me. She insisted on looking for you."
Zhou Jinbai hummed, "Got it."
The proposal ceremony had not started yet and everyone else was busy. Zhou Jinbai took Su Li directly to the VIP suite to wait for the time. There was no chance to change the already arranged time. Hou Jiangyong's people had been busy for several days. Everyone was waiting for the opportunity to act.
Su Li still didn't know anything. She walked around the room bored and asked Zhou Jinbai, "When does it start, Uncle Zhou? I'm hungry."
Zhou Jinbai asked her to sit for a while, "It will be ready soon, sit down first, come here."
Su Li walked towards him reluctantly, and Zhou Jinbai held her in his arms and let her sit on his lap.
He helped her fix her hair so that it wouldn't get messy in his arms.
He glanced at the time and patted her shoulder gently. "If you feel tired, just lean on me and sleep for a while. I'll call you later."
Su Li was not sleepy, but just felt bored. She came here to eat, but ended up not seeing anyone she knew.
Her fingers gently wrapped around Zhou Jinbai's tie. "I'm not sleepy. It's okay. I can wait a little longer."
She reached out and touched her belly, "Be good, it's not time for dinner yet, don't be hungry yet."
Zhou Jinbai lowered his eyes and touched her flat belly, "He gets hungry too?"
Su Li nodded, "You'll definitely be hungry, but it's okay, there will be delicious food later."
Zhou Jinbai kissed her forehead, but she pushed his chin.
"Don't kiss me, don't mess up my makeup."
Zhou Jinbai stopped, "Okay, okay, no more kissing."
Still waiting for time, it’s probably too late to complete the ceremony before Zhou Zexi arrives.
The scene was beautifully decorated, golden and shining, like a huge stage. Above the stage was a dreamy cloud made of stacked balloons, and the patterns of these balloons just happened to spell out three words: Marry me.
Lin Youqin, Zhang Qingchi and others arrived early, but they didn't see Zhou Jinbai. The seats below the stage were already full of people, all of whom were bigwigs from the Beijing circle who had accepted the invitation.
Lin Youqin couldn't help but ask, "Who on earth is it? Why is it so mysterious?"
Zhang Qingchi told her to be patient, "She will definitely come out when the time comes."
Looking at the magnificent scene, Lin Youqin couldn't help but sigh, "Who said Lao Zhou is frigid and can't get along with women? Look at this scene today, does it look like something a straight man with cancer could have put together?"
Zhang Qingchi thought to himself, there is no such thing as an absolute straight man in this world. If there really is one, it must be because he has not met someone he truly likes.
Everyone was waiting for time to pass. The ceremony was scheduled for 8 o'clock in the evening, and there were still 20 minutes until 8 o'clock.
Hou Jiangyong asked the hotel managers to be more responsible, not to make any mistakes, and to strictly follow his instructions. No one without an invitation letter was allowed in to avoid any trouble.
Zhou Jinbai has made such a grand display, if reporters get in, something will definitely happen.
Because of the strict rules, Zhou Zexi's car was stopped outside the hotel. After Li Zhuzhu got out of the car, she said goodbye to Zhou Zexi with a forced smile, "I have an invitation, I'll go in first."
Zhou Zexi was very angry and insisted on forcing his way in, but Hou Jiangyong went down to stop him. Hou Jiangyong actually didn't know why Zhou Jinbai didn't let Zhou Zexi know about his proposal. After all, Zhou Zexi was his son. Was it really okay to hide it from him?
Although he was puzzled, he didn't ask. Zhou Zexi was so angry that he kept pounding the steering wheel. When he saw Hou Jiangyong coming, he got out of the car and questioned him, "Uncle Hou, why didn't my dad see me? He proposed to me here today, right? If he had told me honestly, I would definitely agree to his marriage. What's the point of him being so secretive?"
Hou Jiangyong asked him to calm down, and smiled to smooth things over. "Your father certainly has his reasons for doing that. Don't cause him any trouble. If there's anything, we can talk about it after today. Will you be obedient?"
Zhou Zexi persisted, "I must ask him clearly why he treats me like this. He has been very cold to me these past two years. He's different from before. This is not the father I know anymore."
Seeing that he couldn't get rid of him, Hou Jiangyong called Zhou Jinbai and asked him, "Old Zhou, your son is here. Do you want to let him in? He doesn't have an invitation letter, so our security definitely can't let him in."
Zhou Jinbai was silent for a moment and said, "Take him directly to the reception room and wait for me."
Hou Jiangyong heard this and said, "Okay, I'll take him upstairs."
Zhou Jinbai added, "Don't let him run around, and don't let him disrupt the order of the venue."
Hou Jiangyong responded, "Don't worry."
After he hung up the phone, he asked Zhou Zexi to park the car in the parking lot, and Hou Jiangyong took him directly to the meeting room on the first floor. The ceremony venue was on the fifth floor.
When they arrived at the reception room, he sent a message to Zhou Jinbai: "It's in the reception room on the first floor. Please come down."
Zhou Jinbai had no choice but to get up. He asked Su Li to play by herself for a while and not to leave the room to avoid any danger.
Su Li asked him where he was going, and he said he was taking care of some personal matters. Su Li thought that it was impossible for him to leave her and run away, right?
She asked when he would be back, and Zhou Jinbai said, "Before eight o'clock."
Su Li looked at her phone and saw that it was already past seven forty. She nodded.
Zhou Jinbai left, and Su Li locked the door to prevent anything from happening.
Zhou Jinbai walked around the venue and headed to the first-floor reception room. He could hear Zhou Zexi complaining from a distance, "Uncle Hou, please judge. Is my dad's behavior excessive? He wants to get married, and I'm not some monster, but he didn't let me know. What on earth has he done to sin?"
Hou Jiangyong smiled tactfully, laughing, "There must be a reason for hiding it from you."
Hou Jiangyong didn't know what was going on between this father and son. He just thought that Zhou Jinbai had found a young beauty and was afraid that his son would scold him, so he didn't let them get married and kept it a secret.
Otherwise I can't think of any reason.
While enduring Zhou Zexi's complaints, Zhou Jinbai was led to the reception room by the waiter.
As soon as his tall figure entered the room, Zhou Zexi felt oppressed.
Zhou Zexi glanced at him, and all his anger was slowly swallowed away by Zhou Jinbai's cold eyes.
Zhou Jinbai and Hou Jiangyong nodded slightly. "Thank you for your help. Go ahead and close the door to the reception room."
Hou Jiangyong advised Zhou Jinbai, "If you have anything to say, talk it out nicely. We are father and son, so we can't fight."
Zhou Jinbai assured him, "I won't do anything, don't worry."
Hou Jiangyong then left and closed the door.
Zhou Zexi scratched his hair irritably. "Why did you hide your marriage from me? Are you so afraid that I would object?"
Zhou Jinbai didn't answer him, but calmly lit a cigarette and took a puff.
Zhou Zexi looked at his cold expression, which was exactly the same as when he was at Zhou's house. It was really hard to imagine that he would be so upset for a woman.
Zhou Zexi asked him, "You always told me to be careful when looking for a girlfriend, lest someone covet my value, but what are you doing now?"
Zhou Jinbai's cold eyes were calm and indifferent. "Let me tell you a story."
Zhou Zexi was stunned. "What story?"
Zhou Jinbai flicked the ash into the ashtray beside him. "A story about two orphans."
Zhou Zexi was confused, "What does it have to do with me?"
He didn't answer, but kept talking to himself, "Some people are abandoned by the world from the moment they are born, and they are not as lucky as you."
Zhou Zexi felt that there was something else behind his words. "What are you talking about?"
Zhou Jinbai was silent for a moment. "Tell me a story, please listen patiently."
Zhou Zexi wanted to refute again, but he didn't dare to say anything more. "You say."
Zhou Jinbai continued, "More than forty years ago, the orphanage in the south of the city, which was later sued and bankrupted, picked up a baby boy. Perhaps he was picked up, after all, no parents would send their child to an orphanage while still alive."
Zhou Zexi, “…”
Zhou Jinbai, "Let's just assume he was picked up. He grew up there until he was five, and he doesn't remember anything until he was five. As far as he can remember, he had endless chores to do, like washing clothes and cooking. If he didn't do them well, he'd get beaten. He was often beaten to a pulp by the orphanage's managers, and no one would sympathize with him. His life was born worthless."
Zhou Zexi looked at his expression and asked, "Who are you talking about?"
Zhou Jinbai didn't answer him, his voice slow and drawn out, "Perhaps the value of his existence was to work like a slave for others, and then one day die in the oppression of darkness, never reaching adulthood. But perhaps God had mercy on him. When he was beaten and unable to get out of bed again, a little girl three years older than him saw him. The little girl was beautiful, eloquent, and sweet-spoken, and the adults all liked her."
Zhou Zexi, “…”
Zhou Jinbai's cigarette was half burned to ash. He looked down and said, "Because the adults all liked her, his life became better after she saw him. She would help him with many chores and even take beatings with him. He thought his dark days had finally seen a little light."
Zhou Zexi observed his emotions and saw that he spoke calmly, so he didn't know whether to interrupt him.
Zhou Jinbai remained emotionless. "But he had no idea that the adults' affection for her was based on such a dirty thing. He ignorantly spent several years under her care, thinking that it would always be like this, even if it was a little dirty and hard. But the beastly headmaster saw her graceful and beautiful fifteen-year-old and stretched out his claws to her. In a rage, he beat the headmaster until his head was bleeding and fled the orphanage with her."
Zhou Zexi, “…”
Zhou Jinbai said, "Then she wandered around for three years. In order to let him study, she suffered a lot. When she was eighteen, she was finally deceived by an old man and became pregnant."
Zhou Zexi, “…”
Zhou Jinbai said, "The old man had a family and children, but when he found out she was pregnant, he decisively abandoned her. She had no money, and neither did he, so she decided to give birth to the child. But no one could have imagined the tragedy that would happen. When she was fifteen, her sister, who had been dependent on him for everything, lost her life for an old man."
Zhou Zexi's heart skipped a beat. "Fifteen years old?"
Zhou Jinbai glanced at him and said, "Yes, when he was fifteen. That year, his sky darkened and never cleared up again. In order to raise her only child, he suffered a lot from the age of fifteen. He finally raised the child to adulthood and watched him get married and divorced."
Zhou Zexi's thin lips trembled twice. "The person you are talking about is you? Her only child is me?"
After realizing what he meant, Zhou Zexi felt his mind go blank.
For so many years, Zhou Jinbai has given everything to him without asking for anything in return, and he has never doubted that he is not Zhou Jinbai's child.
How could a stranger treat a child who is not his own like this?
Zhou Zexi's eyes gradually became red.
Zhou Jinbai said calmly, "Whether you understood or not, so many years have passed, and you're no longer a child. I think you should be sensible. In the past, you felt that I was embarrassing you and always wanted to sever our father-son relationship. It was me who comforted you and indulged you time and time again. I never took your feeling of embarrassment to heart. I have done my best for you, Zhou Zexi."
Zhou Zexi, “…”
Zhou Jinbai said, "You are already 27 years old now. In two years, you will be 30. You should be successful in your career and have made some progress. You don't need me to worry about you anymore, so I plan to live for myself from now on."
Zhou Zexi's throat felt dry, and there was a suspicious red mark at the corner of his eye. He felt like tears would burst out the next moment. "So you don't want me anymore, just because of a woman? You can even sever the bond we've had for so many years? Even if I'm not your biological child, isn't this too much?"
Zhou Jinbai looked at him, his expression still calm. "I have my reasons for telling you this. I just want you to know that as a person, you should repay kindness. If you don't appreciate my efforts for you over the years, then I won't miss our relationship. After all, I raised you, and you are like my own child in my eyes. I don't want you to bear a grudge against me because of something. If you are going to bear a grudge against me, then it's better to cut it off as soon as possible. You go your way, I'll go mine, and from now on, neither of us should be implicated."
Zhou Zexi's tears finally fell. In front of Zhou Jinbai, he was still a child, a child who could not take responsibility.
His throat choked several times, feeling angry and uncomfortable. His bony hands clenched into fists. "You're just getting married? Do you have to be so heartless to me? You're planning on having a biological child and don't want me anymore, right?"
Zhou Jinbai shook his head and put out the burned cigarette in the ashtray. "I'm giving you a heads-up. Perhaps something I did was truly beyond your tolerance. I hope you can understand what I'm saying and leave on your own. I don't want to cause any trouble with you at this critical moment."
Zhou Zexi refused to leave. "I won't leave. Don't try to make up a story to lie to me. I didn't stop you from getting married. I just can't understand why you didn't tell me. I'm not unreasonable. I can't turn against you just because of a woman. How bad am I in your heart?"
Zhou Jinbai exhaled slowly, "Don't talk too early, are you still in touch with Su Li?"
Zhou Zexi wiped away his tears and said, "No, she doesn't pay any attention to me at all. But as long as she doesn't get married, I have no intention of giving up. I will win her back sooner or later."
Zhou Jinbai's expression remained calm and composed. "Perseverance is a good thing, but it has to be used in the right place. If a woman stumbles twice in the same place, she deserves it. I don't think she's that kind of person."
Zhou Zexi looked at him in confusion. "What exactly do you want to say? You've gone around in circles, made up a story, told me I'm not your biological child, and now you're mentioning Su Li. It can't be Su Li who's marrying you, right?"
Zhou Jinbai looked into his eyes, showing no sign of retreating. "What if I say yes?"
Zhou Zexi's heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if it had been cut by some sharp instrument. He was obviously in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? How could you and Su Li be together? You two have nothing to do with each other, and she used to be your daughter-in-law. You..."
Zhou Zexi suddenly reacted and suddenly felt as if the blood in his body was flowing backwards.
The bloodshot eyes were terrifying. "You've laid so much groundwork, and you just want me to accept that the woman you've been hiding is Su Li. You're going to propose to her today? Zhou Jinbai, are you crazy? Do you want to listen to what you're saying? You're an elderly man, do you have any shame? Incest with your ex-daughter-in-law?"
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