Chapter 133 I'm not changing it.
"No need, Uncle. Just sending me a 'Happy Birthday' message will make me happy."
He never missed this day in previous years.
No matter which city she is in, even if she is thousands of miles away, he will find a way to appear in front of her.
Once, she was studying in New York.
In the dead of winter, heavy snow blocked the roads.
He still insisted on taking a flight of more than ten hours just to share a bite of cake with her.
On another occasion, she had her class rescheduled at the last minute and missed the agreed time.
When he got home, he found a box of still-warm tiramisu on the windowsill, with a note attached.
Uncle knows you're busy, so the desserts are served to me first.
But this time, she didn't mention it, and he didn't ask.
There was no urging, no complaints, and not even the slightest emotional fluctuation between the two.
She remembered all those little acts of kindness.
Zhou Yuze pretended to be angry, deliberately drawing out his words in a heavy tone.
"What? You've grown wings now, and you're even annoyed by the things I give you?"
Song Zhiwei quickly waved his hand, even though he knew the other person couldn't see him.
But she still made the movement instinctively.
"No! That's not what I meant at all. I just don't want to bother you all the time."
She paused, her voice lowering slightly.
“You’ve been tired too, worrying about me all these years. Now that I’m grown up, it’s time for me to learn to shoulder my own responsibilities.”
After returning to China, a whole host of things came rushing in.
Project restart, team reorganization, and network rebuilding.
She was no longer the little girl who would run into his arms and cry whenever something happened.
She learned to negotiate, socialize, and face failure alone.
After listening to her, Zhou Yuze sighed softly.
“Zhiwei, you and your uncle are growing further and further apart.”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. In the end, she forced a smile.
"No, we're not strangers."
She tried to make her voice sound relaxed.
"Uncle, you've been so good to me all these years. I just... want to be my own person. I don't want to live under your protection forever, otherwise I'll never grow up."
Zhou Yuze didn't speak; his chest felt like it was stuffed with cotton, making it hard for him to breathe.
The little girl in my memory wore a floral dress and had pigtails.
If she falls, she should look back at him and wait for him to run over and hug her.
Later, as she grew older, she began to stubbornly shake off his hand, saying, "I can do it myself."
Later, she went abroad, and he stood at the airport watching her leave.
He knew that she was more stubborn than anyone else at heart.
On the surface, she appears gentle and weak, doesn't talk much, and has a sweet and quiet smile.
But once a decision is made, nothing can change it.
She said she wanted to leave, and no one could stop her.
He recalled what happened after she returned to China.
A woman moved into a new apartment, and the living room was filled with cardboard boxes. She squatted on the floor and sorted them one by one.
A person worked overtime until the early hours of the morning, fell asleep on their desk, and their phone screen was still lit up with unread messages.
A person faces criticism from their superiors and exclusion from their colleagues, gritting their teeth and bearing it all in silence.
He suddenly realized that he had never truly understood her.
It turned out that she no longer needed him.
"Okay, get some rest."
"good."
Song Zhiwei responded and hung up the phone.
She drifted off to sleep during the night.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the photograph on the bedside table.
In her dream, she returned to her childhood.
Pale purple hibiscus flowers bloom in the courtyard, and sunlight filters through the leaves, dappling the ground.
The little sandals made a crisp sound as they stepped on the bluestone slabs.
A little girl skipped and hopped towards a tall figure, threw herself into his arms, and sweetly called out, "Uncle!"
Zhou Zhuoye deliberately pushed her into the water.
He stood by the pool, a smirk playing on his lips, and turned back to beckon a bunch of classmates to come and watch the spectacle.
The old lady rushed over when she heard the commotion, her face turning pale with anger and her lips trembling.
Without saying a word, they dragged her ashore, pulled her back into the house, locked the door, and forbade her to take a single step out.
That night, a cold wind seeped in through the cracks in the window, chilling us to the bone.
The lights were off and there was no heating in the room.
She huddled in the corner of the room, hugging her arms and trembling.
Her stomach was already cramping with hunger, but she had no strength left.
Tears fell drop by drop, landing on the cold floor.
Just as she was about to lose consciousness.
The door clicked softly as Zhou Yuze pushed it open and entered.
He was wearing a dark coat, his shoulders still damp with night dew, and he was carefully holding a perfectly packaged cream cake in his hand.
He walked over, squatted down, and gently placed the cake beside her hand.
"Don't cry," he whispered. "It's not your fault. You're still young and don't understand anything. What are you afraid of? I'm here for you."
When she woke up, she was still sitting on the bed, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees.
The corner of the blanket was soaked with tears and clung coldly to my arm.
She raised her hand and wiped her face, her fingertips damp with moisture.
At exactly eight o'clock in the morning, the alarm clock rang on time.
She got up to wash up, took out the neatly ironed silver-gray suit from her suitcase, and put it on piece by piece.
She straightened her bow tie in front of the mirror, then pushed open the door and went out.
Just then, the door to the next room opened.
The two met face to face in the corridor.
The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze for a beat.
He was also wearing a silver-gray suit.
The top button of the white shirt was fastened tightly.
He looked refined and polite, with a cool and aloof demeanor.
His gaze slowly slid down from her suit jacket, finally settling on the tight-fitting dress that accentuated her leg lines.
"What a coincidence today."
Song Zhiwei's heart tightened, and her fingertips unconsciously curled up.
"How about... I change into another outfit?"
Even if someone wears the same black outfit as another person, it can be explained as a coincidence, but this particular silver-gray is different.
Understated yet sophisticated, rare yet timeless.
The two of them made the exact same choice.
Standing together, from a distance, they look like they've been wearing matching outfits beforehand.
Moreover, today's meeting is a high-level industry conference, a serious and formal occasion.
She didn't want her outfit to cause unnecessary controversy.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Tingzhou slightly turned his head to glance at her, his gaze indifferent.
"What? You feel ashamed to wear the same clothes as me?"
Song Zhiwei was startled and quickly denied it in her mind.
How could she dare to think that?
She was just afraid of causing misunderstandings, being talked about, and things getting complicated.
She hesitated for a few seconds, then finally mustered the courage to ask in a low voice, "Then... I won't change it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sheng Tingzhou glanced at her again.
"Go ahead and change it if you want, who's stopping you?"
She stared at him for a few seconds, thinking to herself.
Does this person genuinely agree, or is he just using words to insult her?
The way he looked at her clearly meant he was laughing at her for overthinking.
But instead of saying it outright, they deliberately left a loophole for her to fall into on her own.
As if sensing her inner struggle, Sheng Tingzhou slowly added a sentence.
"However, before you change it, let me tell you what color you want. I'll help you choose."
Song Zhiwei: "..."
She fell completely silent, unable to utter a single word.
Finally, she simply ignored him, turned around his tall figure, and walked straight into the living room.
"We have another meeting later, so let's eat breakfast quickly."
She really didn't want to argue with him about this trivial matter anymore.
The meeting is important, but the state of mind is even more important.
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