Chapter 20. What is there to be happy about?
The vehicle recognition system detected the license plate number, the barrier automatically lifted, and the white Audi drove into the provincial station. Security guard Lao Xia, clinging to the gate frame, stuck his head out and shouted at the rear of the car, "Director Qin!"
With the car windows completely closed, Qin Qiao could hear Lao Xia's voice, but she was lost in thought. By the time she came to her senses and stepped on the brakes, the car had already rolled nearly a hundred meters.
In the rearview mirror, Lao Xia was carrying a delivery box and running towards her, his figure getting bigger and bigger.
Old Xia is a fifty-year-old man, the father-in-law of the editor-in-chief. He is strong and looks very powerful. According to him, he goes to the park to exercise whenever he has free time, and he really doesn't have any excess fat.
The car window rolled down, and Old Xia said without taking a breath, "Director Qin, I forgot to give you your things."
Qin Qiao hadn't received any deliveries recently, and stared at the box with a puzzled look.
The small square box looked brand new, with the logo of a certain biscuit brand printed on it. It did resemble a common express delivery box, and there was even transparent tape used for sealing the box.
However, the waybill is incomplete... It's not unusual to reuse a delivery box, but this waybill is clearly cut open, which is very strange.
Qin Qiao overthought things, worried about taking the wrong one, so she didn't reach out. Old Xia slapped his forehead: "On Tuesday afternoon, a luxury car stopped at the door, and a young man got out. He gave me this box and asked me to give it to you, Director Qin. At the time, I had something urgent to attend to at home, so I told Xiao Yang, who was on duty, but he forgot. I only remembered it today when I found this unclaimed box while tidying up the parcel shelf."
After Lao Xia's explanation, Qin Qiao finally felt relieved and took the package. She went to her office, placed the package on her desk, and carefully examined the sender and recipient information on the shipping label.
The sender was a biscuit flagship store, and the recipient's name was Zhang Xin; even his mobile phone number was still listed.
Since it was for her, Qin Qiao didn't care anymore. She opened the drawer, took out a small pair of scissors, cut the sealing tape, and the lid of the box was loose. She opened it by pinching one side with each hand.
Forehead……
Qin Qiao took out plasters for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, pain-relieving sprays, blood-activating ointments, and Panax notoginseng tablets and placed them on the table one by one.
Luxury cars... these drugs were undoubtedly arranged by Chen Jiashu.
Tuesday was the day after she had "heartlessly" vowed never to forgive him. How could he still act as if nothing had happened and care about her?
The two bumped into each other at a private club on Friday, and he ignored her coldly. It was the same today... Qin Qiao was increasingly unable to understand Chen Jiashu. What exactly did he mean?
Her injuries had long since healed. Qin Qiao put the medicines into the bottom drawer, closed it, sat down in her office chair, rested her arms on the armrests, and tapped them lightly with her fingertips.
late at night.
Chen Jiashu tried dialing Qin Qiao's phone number again, but the call was disconnected after two rings. Although he didn't think he could have accidentally blocked Qin Qiao, he still found the old phone after returning from the hospital that day and checked it repeatedly, but found nothing wrong.
The only possibility is that they blocked him, but based on his understanding of Qin Qiao, she wouldn't lie.
However... her hatred for him was also real.
*
The next day, Qin Qiao met Chen Jiashu downstairs in Zhang's apartment building.
Just as she was wondering what a coincidence it was, Zhang Yicheng immediately let go of her hand, ran over, grabbed Chen Jiashu's arm, and shook it:
"Godfather, Godmother said she'll take me to the amusement park."
She came today to take Zhang Yicheng out for fun; she had already informed the elderly couple yesterday.
Did the two elders forget to tell Chen Jiashu?
Qin Qiao glanced at Chen Jiashu, who was blocking her way and didn't seem to be moving.
The man wore a black short-sleeved polo shirt with one button undone. The dark color made his figure appear even taller and slimmer, and his skin looked radiantly white in the sunlight.
Many years ago, when Chen Jiashu was starting his business, he often worked in the sun and wind, which made his skin very dark. Later, Qin Qiao witnessed him getting fairer and fairer, and he became the "pretty boy" that Zhang Shuang often joked about.
“Since your godmother is taking you out to play, your godfather will go back first,” Chen Jiashu said to Qin Qiao.
Zhang Yicheng gripped his fingers tightly: "I want to be with my godfather!"
Qin Qiao was quite envious of the close interaction between the 'father and son'.
When will I be able to be this close to Zhang Yicheng? But this kid is bold and lively, I believe it won't be long.
That day, after learning from Zhang's parents that Zhang Mi and her current foreign husband had settled abroad and returned custody of their child to them, Qin Qiao made a decision: this child would also be her child in the future, and she would treat them equally.
"Chengcheng, your godmother will buy you something delicious. Will you come with your godmother?" Qin Qiao bent down to coax the child.
Zhang Yicheng wanted to go to the amusement park but also wanted to be with his godfather. He had a sudden idea: "Godfather, how about you come to the amusement park with us?"
"OK."
Before Qin Qiao could finish speaking, Chen Jiashu smiled and readily agreed.
She actually wanted to tell Chen Jiashu about the indoor amusement park, but seeing his happy smile, Qin Qiao swallowed her words.
Chen Jiashu told the driver to go back first, and he accompanied Zhang Yicheng to get into Qin Qiao's Audi.
The father and son sat in the back row, and Zhang Yicheng climbed onto Chen Jiashu's lap and was held in his arms.
Qin Qiao's phone vibrated, and she quietly withdrew her gaze from the rearview mirror, looking down at the WeChat message from Yang Shuhua.
Yang Shuhua: [Then let's do it another day. Zhaoye and Xixi would rather go downstairs to play with Huanhuan.]
Qin Qiao lied to Yang Shuhua, saying that he had to go to the station for something and couldn't play with the children today. Yang Shuhua didn't suspect anything and readily agreed.
The mall was bustling on Sunday. The first floor was crowded with people, and the escalators were packed with people. Most of the people there were young couples holding hands, and there were also many families of three or three or four people traveling together.
The aroma of coffee wafting from the first coffee shop at the entrance of the mall was so enticing that it whetted people's appetites.
Qin Qiao walked ahead, clearing the way, and occasionally looked back at them.
Chen Jiashu leaned on his white cane with his right hand and held Zhang Yicheng's hand with his left. His eyes shone with tenderness, making him look like a loving father.
The amusement park was on the fourth floor of the mall. Considering that Chen Jiashu had difficulty getting around, Qin Qiao took them to ride the sightseeing elevator.
The three of them squeezed out of the elevator and immediately saw the huge amusement park gate. Zhang Yicheng's eyes lit up, and he let go of Chen Jiashu's hand and ran straight there.
This floor has two large amusement areas: an indoor playground for children and a game room for adults to relax. Therefore, this floor is the busiest and noisiest in the entire mall.
Qin Qiao saw Zhang Yicheng standing at the amusement park entrance and called out, "Chengcheng, don't run around!"
Turning around and seeing Chen Jiashu's slightly bewildered eyes, Qin Qiao took two steps back to his side and looked at him sideways. Because it was too noisy here, Qin Qiao had to raise her voice and say, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things. Chengcheng is right in front of us. Come with me."
Qin Qiao had originally bought tickets for six people on her phone, but since the tickets were unused, she could cancel them. As she stood in front of the cashier, the cashier smiled and asked, "Excuse me, is this two adults and one child?"
She wasn't sure if Chen Jiashu would be allowed in. One child must be supervised by one parent, but several parents can supervise together...
Chen Jiashu called out, "Two adults and one child." He turned to Qin Qiao and said, "I've never been to an indoor amusement park like this before, and I'd like to go in and take a look."
Although big cities are very tolerant of people with disabilities, people like Chen Jiashu, who are both handsome and visually impaired, still receive a lot of curious and scrutinizing glances.
Chen Jiashu reached for his wallet, but Qin Qiao gently pressed the back of his hand, saying, "I've already bought the tickets on my phone."
After scanning the verification code, Qin Qiao received three pairs of socks from the cashier.
Zhang Yicheng led Chen Jiashu into the shoe-changing area. He sat on a stool, took off his shoes, and put on these special non-slip socks. Qin Qiao sat on another stool to change.
Several children were looking at the white cane in Chen Jiashu's hand with curious eyes.
The shoes that had been brought in should be placed on the shoe rack under the wardrobe. It was Chen Jiashu’s first time in such a place. He stood up with his cane and ignored the shoes on the ground.
Qin Qiao walked over, bent down, picked up the shoes of the two people on the ground, and put them into the third shoe rack.
There was another main entrance to the amusement park, and the three of them scanned the magnetic watches on their wrists and went in.
Kids have no resistance to places like this. As soon as he entered, Zhang Yicheng ran off like a happy little rabbit and disappeared in a flash.
"Is that person blind?" asked two children, around six or seven years old, pointing at Chen Jiashu.
The girl in the red dress exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle can't see!"
An eight- or nine-year-old boy ran over and exclaimed dramatically, "Uncle is blind!"
The children were caught by their parents, who covered their mouths and pulled them away.
Qin Qiao was right next to Chen Jiashu, and turned to look at him. The man's gaze was calm, and a smile remained on his lips as usual; he probably didn't take the child's words to heart.
Sensing Qin Qiao's gaze, Chen Jiashu turned and asked, "Qiao Qiao... is there a place to sit here?"
The floor was covered with soft mats, all in a uniform light blue, making it difficult for him to distinguish the shapes of the objects. Children running around or squatting on the ground could accidentally hit him when he waved his cane. In short, it was difficult to move around.
This trip finally taught me what an indoor amusement park is, and I finally understood what Qin Qiao wanted to say to him outside but didn't.
Suddenly, Qin Qiao's hand enveloped his forearm, the warmth of her palm flowing like lukewarm water. Chen Jiashu lowered his eyes and heard her say, "There's a rest area with free drinks. I'll take you up there. You wait for us there, and I'll watch over Chengcheng."
The rest area that Qin Qiao mentioned was on the second floor of the park, and the two of them became the focus of the children's attention again on the way up. Children's curiosity about unfamiliar things is expressed through their eyes and mouths.
Once upstairs, Chen Jiashu touched the glass tabletop, then put away his white cane and sat down: "Go find Chengcheng."
Qin Qiao hummed in agreement, but seeing Chen Jiashu's somewhat melancholy, she pursed her lips and said, "What children need is for their parents to put aside their work to be with them. Chairman Chen, by 'condescending' to come here, Chengcheng will feel your special love for him."
Chen Jiashu raised his chin, met her eyes, and smiled knowingly: "Thank you... I've never seen a place like this before, and I wanted to satisfy my curiosity. I didn't expect this amusement park to be different from that one. But as long as the child is happy, that's all that matters."
His long, dark eyes gleamed with a restrained, obsidian-like brilliance, and there lay within them strands of tenderness and some inappropriate emotions.
Has he forgotten again?
Qin Qiao quickly looked away, calmed herself down, and strode away.
After that, Chen Jiashu waited for them there until 11:30 a.m.
The three of them then left the amusement park, took the elevator to the fifth floor, and turned into the Western restaurant opposite the escalator.
When ordering via mobile phone, Chengcheng told Qin Qiao that he wanted meat sauce noodles and pizza. Chen Jiashu laughed and said that Chengcheng only wants to eat these two things every time he goes out.
After ordering, Qin Qiao looked up and said, "The meat sauce noodles are indeed delicious."
There seemed to be something on her face, and Chen Jiashu just stared straight at her.
"I like to eat it too."
The man's tone was slightly raised, but it was unclear what he was happy about.
Qin Qiao half-closed her eyes, and the light reflected from the silver fork as she twirled it in her hand flashed into her eyes.
She subconsciously turned her eyes away, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of Dr. Du, who had treated Yang Shuhua at the beginning of the year, chatting with a friend, with an empty table between them.
As luck would have it, Dr. Du also saw her and immediately stopped chatting with his friend, giving her a gentle and polite smile.
Qin Qiao smiled faintly, but before the smile could fade from her lips, Dr. Du stood up and strode confidently toward her.
A note from the author:
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