Chapter 25 Excellent waist strength
Five days later, it rained in the morning, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth.
Qin Qiao breathed in the fresh air on the balcony for a few minutes, then turned back into the room and went into the bathroom, where Chen Jiashu was washing his face in front of the sink.
After rinsing off the facial cleanser foam with clean water, Chen Jiashu took two face towels and wiped the water off his face. The trash can on the table was against the corner of the table, and as always, he threw the tissues in. But no matter how skilled he was, he couldn't locate it at a glance like a sighted person. He still needed to test the distance slightly, and his fingertips always touched the object first to calibrate.
Finish.
He opened the middle drawer, took out an electric shaver, and before turning it on, he touched his chin with his other hand. The stiff stubble wasn't very noticeable. Then he turned on the shaver and started shaving his chin.
The razor made almost no buzzing noise. Qin Qiao turned her head to look at him. Chen Jiashu's beard was concentrated on his chin. It was very sparse and grew very slowly. When he was busy with his business, he often didn't go home for several days or go out to meet clients. So he didn't take care of himself. Even after several days and nights, he only had a light stubble.
After turning off the razor, Chen Jiashu touched his chin again to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He put the razor back in its place and heard Qin Qiao's footsteps beside him, as if she had turned around.
"Qiao Qiao".
He immediately called out to them.
Qin Qiao nodded and stopped.
He turned halfway to face Qin Qiao: "I've always wanted to ask you, am I getting old?"
Qin Qiaozai carefully examined him from top to bottom and then from bottom to top, finally fixing her gaze on the faint smile at the corner of his eye.
His exceptional bone structure provides a solid foundation for resisting the signs of aging, while his full face and well-defined jawline allow him to retain a youthful appearance.
She shook her head and said truthfully, "I haven't aged, I've just matured." She asked, "What about me?"
"You haven't changed much; you look mature but are still a little girl at heart..."
Chen Jiashu stepped forward. Qin Qiao was 168 cm tall, but she was a whole head shorter than the 1.9-meter-tall man. Qin Qiao liked his height; it was like a tall, straight tree trunk that sheltered her from the wind and rain. She felt very safe when she encountered 'danger' outside and hid by his side.
He paused, then smiled: "She's still that little girl who would tell me the 'double bubble tea story'."
This happened a long time ago. It's not made up, it's true, and it's being shared to encourage Chen Jiashu when he was feeling down.
If she scores 120 on a math test, she rewards herself with a cup of milk tea; if she scores below 120, she buys two cups, one as fuel for studying and the other to comfort herself. In the second case, there's an unexpected bonus: the milk tea is sweeter than expected.
The two of them recalled that little incident without prior arrangement, laughed for a while, and Chen Jiashu added, "Actually, I've always been mentally prepared, just like last year when I had to use a white cane, which gave me a buffer for three nights..."
Qin Qiao was surprised that he changed the subject so quickly. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder: "Actually, I bought a white cane a year ago..."
Being prepared for a rainy day is very much in line with Chen Jiashu's personality. But the two "actually"s made Qin Qiao feel a little sore. People act before they think. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. The man was stunned, his back as taut as a bowstring. She ignored him and nestled into his arms.
"Jiayue told me it was because of Shuang Ge's matter... that it was delayed."
Chen Jiashu's eyelids trembled slightly: "At the time, I didn't feel much... but after being admitted to the hospital, I recalled having flashes of light. Because it was accompanied by glaucoma, I managed to recover some vision, but it was to the point where I had to use it."
Qin Qiao knew Zhang Shuang's place in Chen Jiashu's heart. After Chen Jiashu was robbed that year, Zhang Shuang went alone to beat up those people and almost blinded one of them. Because of this, Zhang Shuang almost got into a lawsuit, but fortunately, Chen Jiashu had the help of a famous lawyer, and in the end, she only had to pay 80,000 to 90,000 yuan to settle the matter.
In those few days, Zhang Shuang's critical condition notice was issued several times. Chen Jiashu was exhausted and had no time to care about himself.
But she remembered that Tian Jiayue had mentioned another time she had broken free from the internet in the past six years. Qin Qiao opened her mouth to ask, but her phone rang on the bedside table outside. Chen Jiashu released her at the right moment, and she ran out to pick up the phone and answer it.
Yang Shuhua asked, "Qiaoqiao, are you working overtime again tonight?"
"This project has a long cycle and will take some more time."
Qin Qiao picked up a strand of hair, wrapped it around her fingertip, tightened it and let it go, then wrapped it around again.
"Oh, by the way, I just ran into Dr. Du,"
Yang Shuhua was walking around, her footsteps mingling with the surrounding noise, which came through the receiver to her ears.
The background noise is so loud that it must be in a supermarket.
Dr. Du...
Chen Jiashu appeared at the bathroom door, his hand on the door frame, his gaze fixed precisely on her face. Qin Qiao quickly put her index finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture.
She immediately realized that Chen Jiashu couldn't see clearly, so she tiptoed over, and Chen Jiashu stood quietly waiting for her.
"Oh, he said he saw you having dinner with a man," Yang Shuhua said over there.
Qin Qiao gave a perfunctory "hmm," then stretched the hand holding the phone far away and brought her lips close to Chen Jiashu's ear: "My mom, don't talk."
After getting her phone back, Qin Qiao asked in a normal tone, "Mom, what did you just say?"
"I told him I ran into Dr. Du, and he said he saw you having dinner with a man, was it your boyfriend?"
"No, we're just colleagues." As she said this, she slightly raised her eyes and glanced at Chen Jiashu.
His expression was very indifferent, one could even say he had no expression at all.
“I said it was impossible, and that’s what I told Dr. Du.”
"Mom, I'm driving. By the way, I'm not coming back tonight, so don't wait for me." Qin Qiao pretended to be very busy.
Yang Shuhua said "oh" as if she had something else to say, but Qin Qiao hurriedly hung up the phone.
Meeting Chen Jiashu's slightly fluctuating gaze, Qin Qiao clutched her phone, her left cheek burning: "Um... sometimes my mom really likes to 'get to the bottom of things,' so if I want to end the conversation quickly, I can only..."
Chen Jiashu didn't delve into the matter further. He pursed his lips and asked in a low voice, "How is Mom... how is Auntie doing?"
"She's always been in good health, but she sprained her ankle about two months ago. The attending physician was Dr. Du, and the two of them got along quite well... Then my mother invited him to our house for her birthday..."
Because she had just woken up, her mind was still a little foggy. She talked more and more, and her words went off-topic, forcing her to make an abrupt turn: "I have never thought about remarrying."
*
Today was the day Chen Jiashu went to the hospital to have his cast removed. At 10 a.m., Qin Qiao received a full-body photo of Chen Jiashu on her phone.
With a gentle tap of the finger, the photo was enlarged. In the picture, Chen Jiashu, holding a white cane, stood upright in the hospital corridor, with two nurses accidentally appearing in the background.
Before she could reply, her assistant knocked on the door, poked his head in, and told her, "Director, everyone has arrived."
Because she was going to watch a movie with Chen Jiashu that evening, Qin Qiao moved the afternoon meeting to the relatively free morning so that she could have time to finish dealing with the backlog of documents.
On the screen hanging on the white wall, several colorful lines flickered, with different colors corresponding to the index intraday line and the volume moving average line.
“Look at the screen, the Singapore A50 has a very obvious movement, it just jumped 0.8 points in a straight line.” Qin Qiao put down the tablet, turned around in her chair, and raised her beautiful chin: “Keep an eye on the real-time market. This is not a small move, and it could very well trigger a chain reaction. Don’t let your guard down.”
After a moment of deep thought, the two finance colleagues lowered their heads and began typing on their computer keyboards.
Huo Lanke nodded: "Received."
After the meeting, Qin Qiao walked out of the conference room with her notebook.
As I passed by the break room, I heard hushed conversation coming from inside:
Reporter A: "Every time Huo Lanke focuses on analyzing a certain field on the show, Hengke immediately makes a move. Last time it was semiconductors, this time it's new energy... It's uncannyly accurate."
Reporter B: "The station ordered an investigation this time, reportedly because someone filed a real-name report. But then again, you have to be discreet when doing this kind of thing. Huo Lan is practically blatantly biased."
"If this is confirmed, anchor Huo's career is over," reporter C remarked.
Recently, there have been some rumors circulating about Hollande, which are being investigated by the review department and have spread to other departments.
The core competitiveness of financial anchors lies in their professional credibility. Deep interaction with controversial companies could instantly erode public trust. Even if the interaction is compliant with regulations, it could still be amplified and misinterpreted by the media.
Qin Qiao returned to her office, sat down wearily in her office chair, reached for her phone on the table, and swiped to Chen Jiashu's WeChat.
Chen Jiashu could no longer call her from her original phone number, and he couldn't add her on WeChat either. They had previously added each other on WeChat because Chen Jiashu had registered with a different phone number.
The two eventually concluded that it was probably a problem with the mobile carrier, and they decided to ignore this "legacy" issue. A couple of days ago, she gave Chen Jiashu her backup phone number.
CJS [Jiayue told me that there's a movie she recently watched that she really liked, called "Star Trek".]
Qin Qiao used to enjoy watching movies and drinking milk tea. Now she drinks milk tea less, but watching movies is still a hobby, though she only watches them when she's bored at home. Often, after watching a movie, she has no idea what it was about. Sometimes it's not that the movie is bad, but that she's changed; she's easily restless and tired, and falling asleep halfway through is a common occurrence.
Unlike back then, every time she watched a movie with Chen Jiashu, if it was a good movie, she would analyze it at length, and Chen Jiashu would not just agree but would also express his own opinions. If it was a movie that really excited them, they would watch it a second time.
Qin Qiao edited the previous post: [Sure, Chairman Chen will treat us.]
*
Zhu Ao placed a newly negotiated letter of intent for cooperation on Chen Jiashu's desk.
He had just returned from Italy and heard that Chen Jiashu had broken his leg and was resting at home for a week.
Zhu Ao frowned and asked, "What... are you injured?"
Because of his poor eyesight, Chen Jiashu was prone to bumps and bruises, and his face and legs were often covered in small injuries. Once, when he was at the factory, he was listening intently to the workers' feedback, and when he looked up, his forehead hit the corner of a machine hard. Another time, a cleaning lady forgot a bucket full of water in the office. Chen Jiashu walked straight in without using his cane to check carefully and knocked over the bucket, spilling water all over the floor and bruising his calves.
"It was an accident," Chen Jiashu replied casually.
But Jiayue also told him that during the meeting this morning, this usually very serious person suddenly smiled for no reason, which startled them all.
Zhu Ao has known Chen Jiashu for fifteen years, and he was one of the best men at Chen Jiashu's wedding. After the divorce, his imprisonment, and now, he seems to be missing a piece of his soul.
When Lao Zhang was around, the three of them could relax in private, and Jia Shu could occasionally join in their lame jokes. After Lao Zhang left, coupled with his worsening eye condition, he became less and less like a living person.
Even though he often wears a smile, it's like a mask, changing depending on the situation. For example, his smile is polite and courteous when facing the bosses, approachable and friendly in front of his subordinates, but a forced smile at the board meeting.
Today, his face is all smiles and glowing, full of life, something's not right.
Jia Yue deliberately kept everyone in suspense, saying that Chairman Chen's good news was coming soon. Zhu Ao leaned against his desk, insisting on getting to the bottom of it: "Brother Shu, you're keeping something from your brother, aren't you?"
To outsiders, they are addressed as General Manager Zhu and Chairman Chen, but here it's just the two of them.
Zhu Ao is a year younger than Chen Jiashu. When he met Chen Jiashu, he was a struggling junior majoring in software engineering. He found Chen Jiashu, a nearby repairman with a good reputation, because his computer had been damaged by an unscrupulous repairman.
Chen Jiashu not only fixed his computer, but the two of them also collected evidence to punish the merchant's fraudulent behavior and brought down the shop. However, they also offended the scoundrel boss, which led to Chen Jiashu's shop being burned down overnight.
Zhu Ao greatly admired this courageous, resourceful, and righteous man. Later, whenever he had time, he would go to the store to find Chen Jiashu, and they eventually became friends.
The year Chen Jiashu became a supplier in the province, he applied for a job at his company to be responsible for supply chain technology optimization. Although it was not as good as the big factories, he was happy to work hard with Chen Jiashu.
Then some things happened. Jia Shu went to jail and Lao Zhang fell ill. He took on the responsibility of protecting the group and often went to the prison to verbally explain the business situation to Jia Shu so that he could make decisions and plan for the long term.
Chen Jiashu is a man of great talent. In eighteen years, he rose from a repair shop owner to a key provincial enterprise. It was a road full of thorns and obstacles, but he relied on his tenacious will and firm determination to break through the rock of fate and build Qiaoshu Group into what it is today.
"I've gotten back together with... Qin Qiao." Chen Jiashu didn't hide it from him anymore; he genuinely wanted to share the news with his friend.
As expected, only Qin Qiao had the ability to influence Chen Jiashu.
"Congratulations, congratulations! Chairman Chen, you must treat us to a meal!"
Zhu Ao was happy for him; he had witnessed firsthand the difficult journey of their relationship.
"Another day, definitely." Chen Jiashu straightened up and picked up the agreement on the table. "Is it settled?"
"After a month of work, it's done." Zhu Ao pushed up his glasses and put one hand in his pocket. "Take a look and see if there are any details that need to be checked. I have another appointment to attend to, so I'll be going now."
After Zhu Ao left, Chen Jiashu put on his vision glasses, lowered his head, and silently read the terms of the agreement word by word.
He had tried using AI assistants to scan and read contracts and letters of intent before, but they made many mistakes. The simplest errors, such as confusing "deposit" with "down payment" or misreading 1 million with 10 million, required him to go back and review them again.
Another difference between humans and machines is that humans can recognize the 'tone' in a contract. Even vague clauses, supplementary explanations, or differences in punctuation can alter the meaning of a contract.
Just as he was meticulously examining each word and getting to the crucial point, Assistant Ye knocked on the door and came in, standing in front of the table to report: "Chairman Chen, there's an aunt downstairs who says she's Qin Qiao's mother."
After putting down his work, Chen Jiashu went downstairs, only to be told by the receptionist that the woman had received a phone call and left in a hurry.
After the rain, Chen Jiashu was bathed in light, the brilliant rays of which seemed to drape him like a golden veil.
He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window for a moment, then raised his hand, pressed the screen against his face, and dialed the phone number he knew by heart. But no one answered.
Chen Jiashu had no choice but to call Qin Qiao.
When the phone rang, Qin Qiao had just come out of the station director's office. She answered the call while walking towards the elevator.
Chen Jiashu's slightly anxious voice came through the receiver: "Qiaoqiao, Auntie came to the company to see me just now, but she had already left when I got downstairs."
Auntie… Qin Qiao took a second or two to react.
etc!
Why would Mom go to see Chen Jiashu? Qin Qiao gripped the phone tightly, her pupils shrinking: "You mean Mom came to see you?"
“Yes, the receptionist told me that she received a phone call and left in a hurry, and she didn’t look well.” Chen Jiashu’s tone became unsteady and revealed his worry: “I called the aunt, but she didn’t answer.”
After hanging up with Chen Jiashu, Qin Qiao immediately dialed Yang Shuhua's number.
After hearing more than a dozen beeps, Qin Qiao felt a mix of worry and anxiety. Her back felt slightly hot, and her fingertips were white from pressing so hard.
Just as the call was about to end, it connected.
Qin Qiao suddenly stopped and asked urgently, "Mom, where are you?!"
"I'm in the car, getting ready to pick up the children after school," Yang Shuhua replied with a smile.
All three children attend the same institution for extracurricular classes.
"Jia Shu called you?" Yang Shuhua still smiled. "I just passed by his company and thought I'd say hello since we haven't seen each other for years. Zhao Ye's art class is about to end, isn't it? I have to hurry and pick him up. That kid... if I'm even a few minutes late, he'll start crying."
Qin Qiao hung up the phone without any suspicion, and Yang Shuhua stared at the system interface on the screen until it went dark. She put her phone in the storage compartment, let out a long-held sigh, and leaned wearily back in her chair.
Outside the car window, the traffic light was red, and people were coming and going on the crosswalk. Under the scorching sun, they were either walking slowly or running quickly, and everyone was full of vitality.
She just received a call from the hospital.
"Hello Ms. Yang, this is Dr. Huang Xing from the Breast Surgery Department of the First Municipal Hospital. The results of your mammogram from last week have come back. The hospital needs to inform you that an abnormal shadow measuring 3×6 cm was found in your left breast. We recommend that you come to the Breast Surgery Clinic for further evaluation as soon as possible."
The hospital doesn't call easily, so it seems her test results have already been confirmed.
When the light turned green, Yang Shuhua stood up, stepped on the gas, and followed the car in front. After driving for a kilometer or two, she turned on her right turn signal, slowed down, and slowly pulled over to the side of the road to stop.
The hazard lights flashed on the display screen, and amidst the ticking sound, Yang Shuhua called Sister Lan to tell her not to cook, as she was going out to pick up the three children.
She restarted the car, drove to the intersection, turned around, and went to the hospital.
*
The night breeze still carried the heat of the day, and the neon lights on the street flickered. This place was the only commercial center in the area, and the only place where residents of the nearby villa district and two residential areas could take a walk.
So every evening, the square is packed with people. The elderly people who used to practice Tai Chi and swordplay in the center of the square now wear matching red tracksuits and dance in unison, with lively music floating in the air.
Qin Qiao and Chen Jiashu took the escalator downstairs. She linked arms with Chen Jiashu's right arm and walked around the perimeter of the square.
"There are steps," Qin Qiao whispered a reminder.
Chen Jiashu tested the height with his toes, stepped onto one step, and then climbed five steps in a row. When he reached the platform, he thought there were more steps, and when he stepped on it, he caused Qin Qiao to stumble along with him.
"I...I forgot to remind you." Qin Qiao felt a little guilty.
Unlike back then, when Chen Jiashu was night blind, he wasn't completely blind, and he always carried a flashlight when he went out. He didn't have to be so cautious with every step he took, as if there were traps everywhere ahead.
He tripped over the steps several times at the movie theater. It's been so long since we've been together, so long that I don't know how to interact with him anymore.
Sensing the tension in Qin Qiao's arm, Chen Jiashu gradually slowed his pace. He turned his head, looking straight ahead. There were streetlights on the road, and what he could see was a pale yellow haze of light, along with some darker patches of color moving about—those were people.
“Qiaoqiao…When I go out with my assistant, they always tell me how many steps there are and how many centimeters high they are.” Their reminders are accurate to the centimeter.
It turned out that her reminder was too vague. Qin Qiao turned to look at Chen Jiashu. His bright eyes reflected the colorful neon lights, which seemed to recede in his eyes.
"My reminder was too vague." Qin Qiao looked down at the white cane hanging on his wrist, which swayed as Chen Jiashu walked: "Isn't it more convenient to walk with a white cane?"
"It will be much better, but there are also drawbacks... for example, the ball flying over, the kids rushing out... I still need your cooperation."
He still couldn't control the dynamic environment. Chen Jiashu smiled faintly. The two of them were already walking slowly, so he stopped directly, turned halfway to face her, and said with a slight smile, "In short, you have to accommodate me."
When Qin Qiao saw him talk to her about these inconveniences as if they were other people's business, she comforted him while feeling a little heartache.
"You once said that I would be your 'navigator' at night, it seems I need to update and upgrade."
He gently pulled his arm away from hers, put his arm around Qin Qiao's slender shoulders and back, silently recited the navigation, and the two continued walking forward until they reached the road.
While waiting at a traffic light, Qin Qiao tugged at his arm: "You bought the ticket without even asking what movie it was?"
Chen Jiashu smiled and said, "Jiayue said it's a relatively popular movie recently." Who would have guessed it would be an animated film?
"The special effects are pretty good. How many years has it been since you last watched a movie?" Qin Qiao asked him.
Without a second thought, Chen Jiashu replied, "Seven years."
"You remember it so clearly." Qin Qiao was surprised.
"Yes, I haven't been to see it since I married you."
At that time, Qin Qiao was even busier than him, going out on fieldwork everywhere and occasionally staying abroad for short periods.
Chen Jiashu's tone contained not only regret but also a hint of grievance. Qin Qiao glanced at him with a smile, saying that sometimes Chairman Chen was quite fragile or rather, had a particularly soft heart.
She explained to him, "The movie is now on a giant screen, the screen is about five stories high, the picture is very realistic, when that little short sword just flew over, it felt like I was really going to be stabbed."
After listening to her description, Chen Jiashu began to visualize the scene. Back then, he had night blindness, and when the movie theater screen was bright, he could vaguely see blurry images, but now he could only see indistinct blocks of color.
However, watching a movie doesn't necessarily require using your eyes; you can listen too. I just didn't expect today's movie to be an animation. I guess the selling point is the special effects. The dialogue is actually quite childish, and Chen Jiashu almost dozed off several times.
After crossing the street, Qin Qiao saw a milk tea shop and suddenly wanted to drink milk tea.
"I'm going to bubble tea. There are about a dozen people in line. Wait for me."
Chen Jiashu opened his white cane and stood there waiting for her.
He hasn't been here since he broke up with Qin Qiao. The overall layout hasn't changed; it's still the same commercial street and the same road, but everything else has probably changed drastically.
In his memory, there used to be a cake shop across the zebra crossing, but now it's a milk tea shop. The sweet aroma of milk tea mixes with the salty and spicy smells from the surrounding area, and the place next door looks like a barbecue restaurant.
There were many people, all walking around him, but he could still feel a few strange glances from time to time.
After queuing for three minutes and waiting for three minutes, Qin Qiao returned with a large cup of room-temperature, sugar-free milk tea.
"Let's have a drink." Inserting a straw, Qin Qiao first held it to Chen Jiashu's lips, the tip of the straw lightly touching his lips. "Now it's all fresh milk tea, supposedly healthier."
Chen Jiashu took a sip. The taste was very light, but the milk and tea flavors were strong. He also got to eat the long-lost tapioca pearls, which tasted almost exactly the same as he remembered.
"It's delicious." He gave it a thumbs up.
Qin Qiao took a big gulp, swallowed it, and asked, "You're not going to tell me you haven't had milk tea in a long time, are you?"
“I don’t usually think about drinking it. Sometimes Jia Yue buys it and shares it with us, and we’ll have a sip or two, but that’s been going on for several years now.”
Passersby kept turning to look at them. Qin Qiao walked around to Chen Jiashu's left side, hooked her arm again, and tugged at it: "Let's go."
Chatting back and forth, the two quickly entered the inner road of the villa area. The moon was sparse in the sky, and the unidentified trees on both sides of the road blocked out the moon, with dappled light and shadows flickering on the two of them.
Chen Jiashu suddenly stopped, his handsome brows furrowed slightly, and he turned his head to look at a certain spot behind him.
He heard footsteps following him.
Qin Qiao, who had been brought to a stop, followed his gaze and saw light streaks of varying shapes filtering through the leaves and swaying on the ground; nothing else.
Qin Qiao asked, "What's wrong?"
The light was dim, and Chen Jiashu's eyes were deep: "Is someone following us?"
Being followed? Qin Qiao was a little scared...
"No." Her voice trembled.
Chen Jiashu chuckled, "I was just kidding. Let's go."
After the two had walked a short distance, Chen Jiashu suddenly said, "If you encounter danger, just run and call the police."
Qin Qiao glanced at him, looking quite serious.
After walking a while longer, she asked, "Chairman Chen, which way are we going now?"
Chen Jiashu, unsure of her meaning, answered earnestly, "Today the wind is from the southwest, and the wind feels on the left cheek. Based on the curve of our turn, we should be facing north now."
Qin Qiao looked straight ahead where the lights were on; it was their home. "Before we had GPS, you would always give me directions when we went on road trips. Your sense of direction is always better than mine. I would get lost without you."
Chen Jiashu lowered his head and smiled knowingly. This was Qin Qiao; she never offered direct comfort but instead subtly helped him recognize his own value.
When they arrived at his doorstep, Chen Jiashu remembered something: "Which key did you use to open the door that day?"
When Qin Qiao recalled this later, she almost laughed herself to death.
After a few seconds of calm, she whispered, "Car keys."
Chen Jiashu couldn't help but chuckle, his face contorting slightly. After suppressing his laughter, he said, "As expected, drunk people are capable of anything."
Qin Qiao pushed the small door shut behind her, and said indignantly, "Who was it that got drunk back then? Why did you make me go to a hotel room?"
Chen Jiashu was taken aback.
"Back then we were just friends, right? Mr. Chen, who really went too far?"
It was all a misunderstanding. He was too drunk that day. Back then, cell phones were still flip phones, and his eyesight wasn't good at night, so he thought the phone was off. He wanted to ask Qin Qiao to help him turn it on, but somehow he misspoke and said "book a room".
The thing is, this silly girl actually helped him to a hotel room, wasn't she afraid of him at all...
*
Before going to bed, Chen Jiashu opened the safe, took out a pink square velvet box, held it in both hands, and walked into the bedroom.
After drying her hair, Qin Qiao sat down to rest in front of the vanity mirror. Under the white light, every fold of her rose-pink silk robe gleamed with a smooth, lustrous sheen.
Chen Jiashu's image appeared in the mirror, and Qin Qiao turned around on the stool. When she saw the flat, square box in his hand, Qin Qiao was slightly surprised.
The man walked straight up to her and said softly, "Every year on your birthday, I will buy you a pearl necklace."
When Qin Qiao was a child, she watched Western movies and liked the pearl necklaces worn by the actresses in them. She thought they were pure white, gentle, and noble, and that's how she developed a hobby of collecting them.
However, she was just a poor student, and buying herself a pearl every year was simply a way to fulfill a sense of ritual. Later, she told Chen Jiashu this 'secret,' and after that, he would give her one every birthday. She didn't know the price, but the pearls became rounder, fuller, and shinier with each passing year.
She knew that this man always gave her the best within his means.
The box contained seven pearl necklaces, each with a different design. Some featured two large pearls with a small pearl sandwiched between them; others had a single, perfectly round, translucent pearl in the center of a string of small pearls; the most unique was a string of gold pearls…
Her long eyelashes were heavy with tears. Qin Qiao raised her arm and wrapped it around Chen Jiashu's neck, then kissed him.
It seemed like a long time had passed, until salty tears welled up in her eyes. She looked up and met his reddened eyes.
Because he was leaning over, Chen Jiashu's eyes were brimming with tears, looking like they were about to fall.
"You've prepared all this... what if I don't come back?" Her voice was nasal, as if she had a cold.
All her belongings were still in the house. He had the nanny wash her pajamas and robes every two weeks, and even the teddy bear she used to buy was taken out to remove mites every month.
Chen Jiashu smiled slightly and told her in a low voice, "Then keep preparing."
His fingertips traced across her lips, and the next moment, he sealed her lips with his.
The south-facing window wasn't closed tightly, and the heat from outside was carried in by the wind, making me feel hot all over.
Her body was suddenly suspended in mid-air. Before she could even cry out in surprise, he had already picked her up. Tears welled up in her eyes. Afraid of falling, she could only cling to his waist like a koala, while inwardly marveling at his incredible strength.
Qin Qiao subconsciously used her script to fan her burning cheeks, trying to clear away the fragments of memories from last night. Then she got up, walked to the east-facing bookshelf, opened the glass door, and took out the reports she needed for the meeting…
The phone rang at that moment.
Qin Qiao turned around, first put the report on the table, and then picked up the phone on the table.
The screen displays "Mom".
Qin Qiao, multitasking as she flipped through the reports, asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Qiaoqiao, Mom... Mom has breast cancer." Yang Shuhua's voice trembled heavily, filled with sobs.
As if struck by a club, Qin Qiao's head throbbed, and her phone nearly slipped from her hand.
"Mom, where are you?"
The traffic wasn't heavy in the afternoon, and it took me fifteen minutes to get to the First Municipal Hospital, a journey of five or six kilometers through the city.
Qin Qiao ran to the gynecology clinic and saw her mother sitting alone on a bench.
She ran up to Yang Shuhua and hugged her, saying, "It's okay, it's okay, she can be cured."
Yang Shuhua handed her the three sheets of paper. Qin Qiao took them and told her mother not to be afraid, but her fingertips were trembling violently.
She discovered that these forms were all from a few days ago, and one was from last week.
"Mom, why didn't you tell me..."
Yang Shuhua choked up, "Qiaoqiao, I was wondering if there was a mistake in the test. I was afraid you would worry, so I only dared to tell you after all the results came out today."
The words "breast cancer" on those diagnostic reports felt like red-hot needles piercing her eyes. Qin Qiao abruptly stood up: "Where's the doctor? Is he still inside?"
Qin Qiao walked into the clinic alone and asked the doctor a few questions. The doctor did not give a definite answer, but said that the cure rate in the first five years was over 90%, and that he must actively cooperate with the treatment.
The fact that the success rate exceeded 90% gave her immense hope.
Qin Qiao immediately arranged for Yang Shuhua to be hospitalized. Ms. Yang, who had worked hard all her life, was still worried about her three children's daily meals. Qin Qiao felt both heartache and helplessness.
"Mom, I'll figure something out."
In fact, she had been considering all night whether to send one of the children to Chen Jiashu first.
If she hadn't spent these past few days in close proximity to Chen Jiashu, she wouldn't have known that his eye condition had progressed to this extent, and that he might go blind one day. She couldn't be so cruel as to deprive him of the time to see his child.
Unexpectedly, Yang Shuhua whispered in her ear, "Qiaoqiao, you can't tell Jiashu about the child."
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