Chapter 29 My Hand is Bleeding
It's already mid-November, and the ginkgo leaves are turning mostly yellow. As cars drive through the streets lined with shops, their wheels kick up a cloud of yellow leaves that drift down gently, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
The three children chattered like little sparrows, skipping and hopping ahead of Qin Qiao, while the two nannies, carrying shopping bags, walked slowly behind her.
The children are all very good-looking, especially Daine, who has blonde hair and blue eyes and an exotic appearance that attracts a lot of attention from passersby.
Zhaoye stopped in front of an ice cream shop, his watery eyes fixed on the ice cream the waiter had just made for a customer, his eyes filled with longing.
Qin Qiao made a fierce face: "No, it's not ice cream season now."
Qin Lexi tugged at Qin Qiao's sleeve: "Last time we went to the park with Dad, Dad bought us ice cream."
Last time, wasn't it just a week ago? Men are so unreliable. Don't they even know what season it is? What if they get an upset stomach?
Forget it, she won't interfere with what Chen Jiashu does, but the child absolutely cannot be in her hands.
Daine remained silent throughout, her blue eyes revealing anticipation.
She dragged the children into a Chinese restaurant, but she refused to order any of the fried foods or desserts. With their disappointed expressions, Qin Qiao chose a few delicate home-style dishes.
Xi Xi pouted: "Mom, you secretly drank milk tea by yourself last time."
Putting her phone on the table, Qin Qiao turned to her daughter and said earnestly, "Mom is an adult. It's okay to drink milk tea or coffee occasionally, sometimes just to stay awake."
"Mom is lying, she just wants to drink it herself," Qin Zhaoye muttered indignantly in a low voice.
This child has changed a lot since following Chen Jiashu. In the past, when she felt wronged or couldn't get what she wanted, she would just tug at her sleeve and squeeze out tears, often "playing the victim" to soften her heart.
Now he even talks back.
But none of these methods worked for her.
A strong wind blew outside the window, and the yellow leaves swirled and fluttered in the air, falling like snowflakes, creating a rather spectacular scene.
The two-way road is so narrow that it can only accommodate two vehicles traveling in opposite directions.
A rich, sweet aroma of milk wafted from a milk tea shop. Several customers were gathered around the counter. Among them, a man in a black suit took a milk tea from the waiter, jogged over to a Bentley parked around the corner with its hazard lights flashing, and said something to the waiter.
The car window slowly rolled down.
A forearm extends from inside the car, its black suit sleeve, inlaid with gold thread, shimmering subtly in the sunlight. The slender, jade-like fingers are exquisitely beautiful, a feast for the eyes.
Gently wrap your fingertips around the cup and bring the milk tea into the car.
Before the car window rolled up, a passerby caught a glimpse of the man's profile inside. He had deep-set eyes, a high nose, and well-defined bones, resembling the sharp contours of mountains. A straw was inserted between his thin lips, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, exuding an indescribable sexiness.
With the car windows completely closed, Xiao Jun gripped the steering wheel with both hands, turned his head and asked, "Chairman Chen, shall we go back to the company now?"
I've been parked for more than ten minutes. On this kind of narrow road, even temporary parking is a roadblock. If I don't leave soon, the traffic police will probably come and give me a ticket.
Chen Jiashu put down the milk tea he was holding, raised his eyes, and said, "Let's go."
As the direction of travel changed, a patch of sunlight shone on my face, just like that morning.
After the rain, the faint morning sunlight streamed into the room through the south-facing glass. Chen Jiashu turned over, turning his back to the light that pierced his eyelids.
Suddenly, he remembered that he was supposed to wait for her at the entrance of Qin Qiao's residential complex. He sat up abruptly, a sharp pain shooting through the back of his right hand, followed by a male voice:
"Chairman Chen!"
With his arms restrained, Xiao Jun dared not use much force, and even his exclamations were deliberately suppressed.
"You are receiving an IV drip."
Intravenous infusion...
Chen Jiashu gradually recalled that after several attempts to call Qin Qiao, she did not answer or even turned off her phone. He rushed to the residential area where Qin Qiao lived, but he did not know which building she lived in.
The light rain turned into a downpour just before dawn. Xiao Jun came to hold an umbrella for him, but he seemed to lose his mind and pushed Xiao Jun away, falling to the ground in the process.
The surrounding voices were noisy, men and women, some hoarse, some sharp... all talking about his pathetic state of not being able to even crawl up. It went on for a while, and then the noise finally stopped.
I remember, I fainted.
What time is it?
Xiao Jun stepped back half a step and answered him respectfully, "8:05."
He pulled out the IV needle, lowered his legs, and stepped barefoot onto the cold, hard tile floor: "Where's my phone?"
Blood was flowing from the needle, dripping down the man's fingertips.
Drop by drop, it fell onto the white tiles.
Xiao Jun picked up the phone on the table, which was probably already damaged by the rain, and lightly touched Chen Jiashu's fingertips with one corner of the phone. The phone was immediately wrapped around his fingertips.
"Your phone might be broken." Xiao Jun hesitated for a moment, then added, "Chairman Chen, your hand is bleeding."
Chen Jiashu sat down on the edge of the bed, his bleeding hand gripping the edge, blood staining the white sheets: "Use your phone to make a call for me."
Chen Jiashu gave out his phone number, speaking a little too quickly. Xiao Jun quickly tapped the screen, dialed the number, and handed it to Chen Jiashu.
A few seconds later, the call connected. Without Chen Jiashu's prompting, Xiao Jun held his breath and left the ward.
"Qiaoqiao is me."
Qin Qiao's voice was soft and hoarse: "I turned off my phone last night. What about your phone? Is it broken?"
You must have called him before asking those questions.
"It got soaked," Chen Jiashu told her, his grip on the machine tightening. "...What happened?"
Qin Qiao said, "There's something I've never told you. Not long after I went abroad, I found out I was pregnant after an unexpected incident... with your child."
She paused, seemingly giving him time to process it.
He knew that Yang Shuhua had told him everything: they had a child, and Qin Qiao had almost died during childbirth. He had caused his beloved woman such great suffering, and he had failed in his responsibilities as a husband. He was... unforgivable.
However, I still want to seek her forgiveness.
Chen Jiashu kept swallowing, wanting to tell Qin Qiao what he wanted to say, but all his words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't make a sound.
Qin Qiao spoke again: "I know that my mother lied to you and said I had another man's child..."
"Qiaoqiao," he finally managed to say, his voice trembling and choked with emotion.
Three months after his release from prison, he went to England and found the address where Qin Qiaoxian lived, according to the address recorded on the marriage certificate.
He stood outside the fence, gazing at the villa's entrance, and was confronted with a scene that looked warm but was actually jarring.
Qin Qiao and the white man sat under a parasol, with a stroller between them. The stroller was larger than a regular stroller and was parked sideways. He had seen it at his aunt's house; it was a twin stroller.
Three months ago, Yang Shuhua told him that it was because he hurt Qiaoqiao that Qiaoqiao fell in love with the British photographer with a broken heart. When they got married, Qiaoqiao was already two months pregnant. Although the child was born prematurely, it was healthy and is now more than two months pregnant.
"In my second month in the UK, I encountered extremists retaliating against society while on a reporting assignment. The scene was very chaotic. I was knocked down while running away. Just as I got up, a pre-planted bomb exploded in the building in front of me. I was slightly injured. They were almost three months pregnant at that time. I stayed in bed for five months and three days after that. They were very strong. Although they were premature, they were both healthy."
Compared to his emotional outburst, Qin Qiao's tone was calm and his pronunciation was clear, as if he were broadcasting a news report.
Every word felt like an awl piercing his chest, leaving bloody holes, the excruciating pain stuck in his throat, preventing him from even groaning.
Qin Qiao, always reasonable, said tolerantly, "It's not your fault, really. Jia Shu, I understand you. After more than twenty years of life-long ties, I would have done the same."
A glint of light flashed in Chen Jiashu's dark eyes. He wanted to thank her for always being so understanding and promised her that he would never do it again.
She spoke first: "Do you know what I've always resented about you? It's not taking the blame for Shuang Ge, it's not the division of property in the divorce, it's not even your absence during my most difficult days... It's that you deprived me of the right to share hardships with you; you arbitrarily judged that I couldn't bear the truth, and assumed that I would back down and collapse. You... are too selfish."
Chen Jiashu sat on the edge of the bed, but it felt as if he were sitting on the edge of a cliff. The cold wind was cutting his face. He was about to fall, and there was an abyss below. He braced his feet against the ground and tightened his back, afraid that if he lost his strength, he would fall and be doomed.
Six years ago, he acted arbitrarily without communicating with Qin Qiao. Four years ago, he believed Yang Shuhua's words without a doubt. Later, based on his own belief that "seeing is believing," he destroyed his relationship with Qin Qiao with his own hands.
Qiaoqiao is absolutely right.
With tears in his eyes and his breath ragged, he confessed: "I made decisions for you in the name of love, but it was fundamentally selfish... I was afraid you would see me in such a pathetic state, afraid you would think I was useless, afraid that one day I would have nothing left and you wouldn't be able to bear it and would leave... I didn't even give you the most basic trust... and I still thought I was protecting you..."
However, the sense of emptiness brought about by this long self-revelation did not last long, and it plummeted to the bottom in the shallow and indifferent response on the other end of the phone.
The air solidifies directly into a gel.
After a long while, Qin Qiao's soft yet distant voice came through the receiver: "Do you still remember that year I said I would never come to find you again? But later in the disaster area, you came to find me. You dug through the rubble and mud, your hands covered in blood, and pulled me out of the car. In the hospital, I said, 'Next time you act as a "hero," I will never forgive you again.'"
Upon hearing "Goodbye" once again, Chen Jiashu's eyes widened in horror, for the utterly desolate silence was far more terrifying than his angry stubbornness in the car that day.
His bent fingers dug into the bed, the pads of his knuckles turning blue, as he pleaded humbly, "Qiaoqiao, don't do this, I'll change. In the future... no matter what happens, I will never leave you again. Please believe me one more time, give me another chance, okay?"
“Qiaoqiao…”
"Jiashu!"
Qin Qiao suddenly raised her voice, not giving him a chance to speak, and making sure he heard it clearly:
Respect and choice.
Her choice was to leave.
How could he? He was a hundred times, a million times unwilling. Over the years, he had fantasized countless times about her returning to his side. These seemingly impossible dreams were the driving force that had propelled him to where he was today.
Didn't Heaven hear his plea? So it returned her to him, didn't it?
But how can I put it...?
Chen Jiashu's lips were pale and his face was as white as paper. He finally couldn't hold on any longer and slid off the bed. His back pressed against the edge of the bed, as if he had fallen from a great height into a cold lake. The damp and bone-chilling cold seeped into his body, and he trembled like a leaf.
And the slightly hurried, subtle breaths from the other end sounded like repeated cries of "I'm tired."
A long time passed, and the man's body stopped trembling. He gradually calmed down, his eyes losing their focus, as if the last glimmer of light in the darkness had been burned out. His prominent Adam's apple bobbed several times, and his voice became hoarse and strained.
"Okay, I respect your choice."
I'll change it.
*
Before reuniting with the children, Qin Qiao spent the entire month of October filming a public service documentary on rural revitalization in Jimin County, City A, and only returned to Lanchuan yesterday.
After dropping Xi Xi and Daine off at their apartment building and handing them over to Yang Shuhua, Qin Qiao turned around and drove back to the provincial TV station. Halfway there, her phone rang. She tapped the car's display screen with her index finger to answer the call.
She looked out the car window, continuing to observe the road conditions: "What happened to Chen Cheng?"
"Sister Qiao, I have good news to tell you."
Her clear and pure voice, tinged with joy, sounded somewhat different from her usual feigned maturity.
“Our smart health monitors have achieved monthly sales of over 10,000 units on two platforms, with a repurchase rate of 18%, far exceeding the industry average. Far East Medical even asked us if we could customize a corporate health management solution.”
The sound of keyboard typing was amplified by the Bluetooth speaker and filled the car.
Qin Qiao raised her eyebrows, happy for him: "That's good news, congratulations."
Chen Cheng: "You were the one who woke me up. The saying 'First, let us have enough to eat, then let us pursue our ideals' has become my compass."
After the car made a sharp turn and the steering wheel was straightened, Qin Qiao offered a small suggestion: "I think what you should be looking for isn't the one offering the most money, but rather a strategic shareholder who can bring resources. Health monitoring devices fall under the category of home health equipment. If you can place them in the display cases of home appliance stores like Tianxi, Qiaoshu, and Xingsheng, selling them alongside refrigerators and washing machines, it would be equivalent to displaying them as offline sales points. Before the next round of financing, you could consider developing a 'Home Appliance Channel Integration Plan' to attract investors in the home appliance industry for cooperation."
As the keyboard clicks stopped, Chen Cheng said gratefully, "Sister Qiao, you not only became my angel investor, but also my strategic advisor. I really don't know how to thank you enough."
Qin Qiao smiled faintly: "You've helped me a lot, and besides, I also own 10% of the shares, so I'm not losing out no matter how you look at it."
The light turned red, so she gently applied the brakes and came to a smooth stop. Just then, a low balance warning popped up on her phone screen. She glanced at it briefly, but since her phone bill was automatically deducted, she ignored it.
"Sister Qiao..."
Qin Qiao turned around, tapped her fingertip on the steering wheel, and hummed in agreement.
Chen Cheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'd like to invite you to dinner tonight."
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The author says: Jia Shu has never been a father, so he doesn't have the mindset of thinking about his child first. Qiao Qiao is the most important person in his heart.
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