Lu Zhaochong said calmly, “Teacher Mao was very happy when he heard that Zhou Niao had regained consciousness. After looking at the paintings he had drawn before and after regaining consciousness, he said that his paintings still retained their original spirituality and told him to keep this mindset.
Then, the teacher's wife mentioned marrying her eldest daughter to Zhou Niao, and Zhou Niao took me away."
Zhou Xiang frowned. Teacher Mao's eldest daughter must be at least twenty-four or twenty-five years old, right? In a place where early marriage is common, she is considered an old maid.
"I'm going to see big brother."
Zhou Xiang knocked lightly on the studio door. After a while, the door opened. Zhou Xiang looked at the easel covered with a cloth and said with a smile, "Brother, don't you put away your paintings when you're done? Do you cover them up so people can't see them? Or are you done?"
Zhou Niao closed the studio door and pointed to the only two stools, "Sit down and talk."
After sitting down, Zhou Niao asked straight to the point: "Sister, you want to ask about Mao Xiaolu, right?"
Zhou Xiang nodded, "Yes, I want to know clearly what you think about marriage. After all, Big Brother is already 31 years old. After you sober up, the first thing you have to face is marriage."
Zhou Niao pondered for a moment, walked to the easel, and lifted the cloth. Covered by the cloth was a picture of a beauty. The beauty in the painting was the one whose illusion only his eldest brother could see through, and the one in the sketch his eldest brother had drawn for himself.
Zhou Xiang's face turned ugly. "Brother, do you like her?"
Zhou Niao nodded and said lightly: "I like you, I like you very much, so I don't want other women."
"Brother!" Zhou Xiang's voice was filled with anger, heartache and helplessness.
Zhou Niao used the cloth to cover the painting again, "Sister, you said she was a bad woman and an enemy. I want to know."
Zhou Xiang looked at the determination in his elder brother's eyes and nodded, "Okay! I'll tell you everything."
…
After listening to this, Zhou Niao patted his sister's head and said, "It's okay. No matter what the final outcome of the two families is, it has nothing to do with my love for them.
I just want to tell you that there is someone living in my heart, and I will not accept other women, so don’t think about introducing me to someone.
I am willing to keep this love until I grow old. You can see that if I fall in love with a woman like this, how can I like anyone else?
If you just picked someone for me and let me live with the burden of a family, facing the daily necessities of life and the upbringing and education of my children, would I still have time to paint? Would I still be able to maintain my spirituality? Would I still be able to travel and collect inspiration?
You've already pulled the kite down to the roof, and you still expect it to fly freely, is that possible?"
Zhou Xiang was stunned. All his elder brother wanted was freedom. Artists all like freedom and romance. If their hearts are bound, they can't fly. How can they still have creative inspiration?
"Brother, what you mean is that you just like her. Even if it's love, you won't pursue her or ask for results. You just like her and love her, right?"
Zhou Niao nodded. "Yes, I just want to keep this love. Don't worry. But don't force me into the necessities of life. I don't like that. I like the freedom I had before, and I also like the clarity I have now. I hope to combine the two."
"Well, what if Big Brother is free enough? What if you want to return to the hustle and bustle of life?"
"When I am old and healthy, if you are willing, you can take care of me in my old age. If not, you can hire someone to take care of me."
The eldest brother avoided answering the question about marriage. Looking at the covered easel, Zhou Xiang sighed and thought, forget it. Her ultimate goal was to make her eldest brother happy. Since he could control himself and keep his unrequited love, then so be it!
If she forced him, she would only drift further and further away from her elder brother. Even if her elder brother agreed to marry her, in the end, as he said, he would be bound by the family and lose his spirituality and inspiration.
"Okay! Just be as free as before, go when you want to, stop when you want to! I hope your sobriety will not make your parents regret it!
"When you're alive, you should have your own ideas and opinions. You've found your own goals and advocated for your own opinions. That's great! I feel relieved when you do that."
"Thank you for your understanding, sister! Can you help me hide these paintings? I don't want anyone to see them."
"OK."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Niao took down dozens of paintings from the bookshelf. He sealed them all and marked the date on the sealing paper.
"Big brother, have you been hiding in the studio these days, just painting these pictures?"
"Yeah! I'm afraid I'll forget it after a while, so I'll draw it while my memory is still fresh."
After hearing this, Zhou felt relieved. His elder brother really had no intention of being with the other person, so that was good.
After putting away the painting, Zhou Xiang went downstairs. His mother immediately came to ask her eldest son what he thought.
Zhou Xiang shook his head. "Big brother has no plans to get married. He's used to being free and likes to travel around to collect folk songs and find inspiration. Family would tie him down and make him physically and mentally exhausted. His talent might be lost in the dust, and he would eventually achieve nothing and become a mediocre person.
This is not the result I want to see. Since he doesn't like it, forget it. Forcing him will only make both us lose. Whether he insists on his own opinion or not, the family affection and relationship between him and us cannot be restored.
It's better to just leave it like this. The feelings are there, he's there, so let's not get married! Before, when he wasn't sober, wasn't it fine? Now that he's sober and can arrange everything for himself, you don't have to worry about him anymore."
Zhou's mother's enthusiasm and positivity were completely shattered. She sighed deeply, "Alas! You're right. If we force him, the relationship will be hurt. Let him be! When he's old, he won't be lonely with you and Jiankang looking after him."
After convincing his mother, Zhou Xiang felt relieved. However, he did not want to cure his elder brother, as this would cause family conflicts.
After a peaceful Laba Festival, the atmosphere in the Zhou family began to become tense because Zhonglan's due date had already arrived and there was no sign of pregnancy. They invited Doctor Cao to take her pulse, and Doctor Cao said there was no problem.
The child was reluctant to come out, which made everyone anxious. However, Zhong Lan herself was not anxious at all. She insisted on walking around with her hands on her belly every day.
On the morning of the 30th, the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Yu's stomach moved. Zhou's mother asked Zhu Hang to rush her to the hospital, and she took her things and went there afterwards.
Lu Zhaochong was assigned to drive the nanny car to send someone there, so Zhou Xiang went to accompany Zhong Lan on purpose, for fear that Zhong Lan would be nervous and then have a fit, which would cause chaos in the house.
Zhong Lan still strolled around holding her belly, and comforted Zhou Xiang not to be nervous, "Don't be nervous, I can feel that the baby doesn't want to come out yet."
In the afternoon, Zhu Hang came back with a happy smile and reported that he had a daughter.
Ling Ran was so jealous that he wanted to slap his smile to death. He tried very hard, so why didn't the little girl's stomach react?
Zhou wanted to congratulate his brother-in-law on having a son and a daughter.
Zhu Hang smiled so hard that his teeth were showing, and went back to the hospital with millet porridge and brown sugar.
Ling Ran took the little girl's hand and said, "Wife, I like children too?"
Zhou Xiang raised his eyebrows, "Have you changed your mind?"
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