This time his studies abroad had not yet ended, and he returned home early because of a call from Qu's father. He did not say what he was going to do, but just asked Qu Bowen to come back as soon as possible.
After Qu Bowen came back, he just called his father, but never went back since then, as he was always busy with project matters.
His father was also quite strange. He was extremely anxious before, but when he really returned to China, he didn't urge him to go home.
Qu Bowen asked his aunt and it seemed that his father asked him to come back because of the family store.
The Qu family had a storefront that was passed down from Qu Mazu, and later Qu Bowen’s grandfather gave it as a dowry to his daughter.
Originally, the location of the storefront was not very good, being close to the suburbs, but fortunately there was a middle school nearby, so it was easy to rent out.
Even though this storefront is not too big, the annual rent is about 100,000 yuan.
This was the price before Qu Bowen went abroad. Now, after a few years, the rent must have increased a bit.
Although this storefront alone cannot fully support the Qu family of four, it allows them to live a much more comfortable life.
Even so, Qu Bowen had to put in a lot of effort to study abroad.
During his years abroad, Qu Bowen rarely called his father. Even if he did, it was mostly because there was no money in the card for living expenses.
Later, Qu Bowen was able to take on some orders with his mentor and gradually started to earn some income. He used the money in the card less and less. But after returning to China, he checked and found that the balance on the card that had not been used for several years was less than 100,000 yuan!
This time when Qu's father asked him to come back, Qu Bowen specifically asked his aunt the reason.
It turned out that the Qu family’s storefront was going to be demolished.
That area was becoming more and more prosperous, and these decades-old buildings could no longer keep up with the development of the times, so the government planned to demolish that area and rebuild high-rise buildings in its place.
Since the Qu family's house is a storefront, the demolition price will naturally be different from that of a residential building, and it will be a huge amount of money.
The money from the demolition can be used to buy at least two commercial houses with good locations and communities.
The storefront was previously in the name of Qu's mother, and she had it notarized during her lifetime that after her death, the house belonged solely to Qu Bowen.
So after Qu Bowen became an adult, the house was transferred to his name.
However, Qu Bowen felt that the family should not be too concerned about it. The rent was collected by Qu's father every year and it was considered as household expenses.
But today the master said that he was arranged to marry someone in the afterlife, and no one except his family members could know his birth date and time.
Qu Bowen’s first reaction: This mother and daughter must be up to no good and wish he would die soon.
But how could Bao Yunping, a stepmother, know the time of his birth? Could it be that his father told her?
Does he know about this?
Lin Zihang spoke frankly, "Call Uncle Qu and tell him about the situation. He is your biological father after all. I don't think he will just sit back and do nothing."
Qu Bowen was a little hesitant.
He was afraid that the result would be unbearable for him.
On one side is him, and on the other side are his wife and children who have been with him for more than ten years. Even though they have been father and son for more than twenty years, he cannot guess what his father is thinking.
But Lin Zihang's words gave him the same expectation in his heart. What if his father didn't know?
What if Bao Yunping deceived him, and he misunderstood?
As he was daydreaming about this, Qu Bowen unconsciously took out his cell phone and called his father, whom he hadn't contacted for a long time.
The moment the phone was connected, Qu Bowen's eyes couldn't help but turn red. Thinking of the happy life of the family of three when his mother was still alive, his voice was unconsciously choked with sobs.
"dad."
When Qu's father received a call from his son, he just asked him as usual whether he had eaten. After getting his confirmation, he asked what was the matter with his call.
Both father and son are like this. They will never call each other when there is nothing to do. It has been like this for years. The longest time they have not contacted each other is almost a year.
Feeling that his father's attitude had not changed from usual, Qu Bowen felt that he might be overthinking it.
He felt relieved, then tentatively asked, "Dad, has anyone asked you for my birth date recently?"
Qu's father immediately denied it, "No, who wants that? It's not something you can eat or drink, so what's the point of having it?"
But as he said this, Qu's father tightened his grip on the phone, a hint of guilt flashed across his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by anger.
Thinking of his son's inexplicable question, his heart skipped a beat.
If Qu Bowen stood in front of Qu's father at this time, he would be able to see his ugly expression.
Qu Bowen felt a little relieved, thinking that if Bao Yunping did it, how could he explain it to his father so that he would think that he was not trying to sow discord between them.
He thought over and over again before finally speaking, "Dad, I haven't been feeling well lately. I've been to many hospitals and they all said there's nothing wrong, but I still feel something is wrong. Today, Zihang took me to see a master, and the master said I was destined for a ghost marriage. Dad, have you heard of ghost marriages?"
Upon hearing this, Qu's father's face immediately changed. He hurriedly replied, "I haven't heard of it. What nonsense! I told you to trust science. If you feel unwell, go see a doctor. Don't believe in those superstitious things."
Qu's father didn't know that his hasty answer alone was enough to arouse suspicion, not to mention the meaning behind his words.
Qu Bowen's heart sank slightly. He found it hard to accept that his suspicions might have come true. He continued, "But I think it's quite believable. The master said that as long as I pay, this ghost marriage can be resolved. Since it has nothing to do with my family, I will ask the master for help tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Qu's father became anxious. "No! I've already told you not to believe in these feudal superstitions. There's no such thing as a ghost marriage in this world. You're still looking for a master. Isn't that just throwing money away? Don't bother with it. It's a waste!"
Qu Bowen closed his eyes. His father had just said that this kind of thing could not be believed, and now he was telling him not to solve it. This changed too quickly. Qu Bowen didn't believe that there was no trick involved.
"But I've been feeling unwell lately. I've been feeling weak and sweating, and I've fainted several times."
A hint of joy flashed across Qu's father's eyes. At this moment, his expression was crazy, as if his long-cherished wish was finally about to come true.
"If you feel unwell, go see a doctor. If one doctor doesn't work, see several. You're already such a grown-up, and you still need me to tell you this? Okay, I'm busy, let's talk later."
Qu Bowen looked at the phone that was suddenly hung up. He was silent for a while and suddenly laughed at himself.
It turns out it wasn't an illusion.
Lin Zihang was an outsider after all. He only knew that his father cared little about him and thought that he was like most fathers in the world and was not good at expressing himself.
But only Qu Bowen, the person involved, knew that his father's attitude towards him was very subtle.
He had a vague feeling.
My father doesn't like me, he even hates me.
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