Challenges and Growth
On the evening of October 20, 2016, Zhou Yang had just brought his twins home and was urging the little rascals to wash their hands when he noticed Xiao Feng standing at the sink with a fixed look in her eyes. He shook the water off his hands and gently rubbed her cheek with his knuckles: "Who made my babies unhappy?"
Xiaofeng mechanically tugged at the children's towels, her eyelashes casting a small shadow under the light. "I video-called Dad this afternoon... He accidentally hurt his hand while riding a motorcycle."
Zhou Yang immediately took a half step closer: "Is it serious?" Hearing the answer "Just a scratch," he deliberately patted his chest exaggeratedly: "Oh my god, thank God! Then why are your eyebrows twisted like a knot?"
"He insisted on going to work despite being injured..."
Zhou Yang suddenly laughed out loud, grabbed her hand and shook it, "So you're worried about our dad. I didn't dare interrupt." Then he pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "I left him some living expenses before I left. If I really can't hold on any longer, he won't force me to bear it."
Xiao Feng's shoulders suddenly relaxed, and he rested his forehead on Zhou Yang's chest and asked sullenly, "When did you give it to me?"
"This is our little secret." Just as he finished speaking, he felt the person in his arms sniff lightly.
The two little kids suddenly rushed over and hugged their legs, looking up and imitating in a baby voice: "Uncle, cry!"
Xiao Feng immediately broke into laughter, her eyes still red as she squatted down. She pinched the children's chubby hands and corrected them: "This is called heartache, not crying."
"Let's go back for Christmas."
"OK!"
"Before that, you should have a physical examination. Uncle has reminded me several times."
"Yes, Brother Zhou Yang."
In the kitchen, the roar of the range hood mixed with the laughter of the two people. In the steaming hot air, the days seemed to be stewed soft, sweet and fragrant.
On the morning of December 16, 2016, Zhou Yang wrapped Xiaofeng tightly in a cashmere scarf and brushed her red, frozen ears with her fingertips. "I'll go back this afternoon to have dinner with grandpa and grandma and then I'll be back. Thanks for picking up the kids."
"Yeah." Xiaofeng was held in his arms, her arms around his waist, reluctant to let go.
With Zhou Yang's remaining body temperature, Xiaofeng went to Manlin Hospital. The accompanying nurse enthusiastically guided her to register: "Ms. Rao, the gynecological examination needs to confirm whether you are menstruating?"
"No." Xiaofeng took the tablet and filled in the information. When the nurse asked, "Is there any possibility of pregnancy in the near future?", she suddenly remembered Zhou Yang laughing at her sleepiness last night. Her fingertips unconsciously stroked the screen: "Maybe... I need to confirm it?"
The aromatherapy machine in the VIP waiting room belched citrus-scented mist, and Xiaofeng felt a little uneasy—she couldn't even remember her last period. She pulled out her phone and texted Zhou Yang, "When was your last period?" A large, embarrassed emoji ended the message. Before she could get a reply, the nurse brought a pregnancy test stick: "Ms. Rao, there are instructions at the back. The bathroom is the second door on the left."
The pregnancy test kit rustled as the packaging was torn open. The warm breeze from the bathroom stirred the strands of hair on her cheeks, tickling her ears. When two distinct red lines appeared in the center of the white test paper, Xiaofeng's knuckles turned white as she held onto the sink. When the nurse smiled and nodded, she instinctively touched her belly. She remembered Zhou Yang always saying she wanted a daughter like her, and a sweet feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
Back in the clinic, the nurse was explaining the precautions: "CT scans cannot be performed during early pregnancy. Gynecological screenings may increase the risk of bleeding, and tumor markers may also be falsely elevated..."
Xiaofeng's mind had long drifted away, and at this moment she only wanted to tell Zhou Yang the news.
"Then I won't do anything today."
"Okay, I'll transfer you to the gynecology department. Wait a minute while I make a call."
"Thanks."
While waiting, she called Zhou Yang, but there was only a monotonous "beep" sound in the receiver.
On the other side, Zhou Yang had just entered the office and hadn't even hung up his suit jacket when he was "invited" home by Fan Weiwei.
Wang Lanjun put down her teacup. "Yangyang, this suit really suits your style. Grandma specifically asked your mother to call you back. Will it delay your work?"
Zhou Yang unbuttoned his cuffs and sat down: "The company meeting just ended. Where's Dad?"
Fan Weiwei sat down at the dining table and said calmly, "Your father has been away on business for a long time. He didn't know since you weren't back."
Fan Zhenguo sat down with a serious look on his face and got straight to the point: "Living at your girlfriend's place? That's not right."
Fan Weiwei sighed and continued, "There's something even more outrageous—divorce with two children."
"Mom!" Zhou Yang clenched his napkin tightly, his knuckles turning white. "She even donated bone marrow to save Grandpa's life!"
Fan Zhenguo slammed his teacup on the table. "Isn't 20% of the shares enough for her to make a dignified exit?"
Fan Weiwei also leaned forward: "She cheated on me with her husband's brother and was kicked out by the Jiang family. She is not worthy of entering the Zhou family at all."
Zhou Yang stood up and was about to leave, but was stopped by his grandfather: "Are you so rude? Sit down!" Fan Weiwei pushed a document over to him. Zhou Yang flipped through a few pages in a daze, his face becoming more and more gloomy.
"The dowry from Chen's shipping business can just solve the problem of our new energy project." Fan Zhenguo said slowly.
Zhou Yang stared at the figure "20 billion" on the document and looked up to meet his mother's evasive gaze. He suddenly remembered her unusual enthusiasm when he last came home - it turned out to be all calculation.
"Mom, I won't give in on Xiaofeng's matter."
The air froze in an instant. Fan Weiwei raised her hand to hit him, but stopped mid-air. Her voice was so low it sounded like a sigh: "You like her, and you've played with her for so long. That's enough. Listen to your grandparents and go back to America."
Zhou Yang's voice was choked with sobs: "I'm not kidding."
"Zhou Yang, we weren't born with the right to live just for ourselves." She handed over the plane ticket. "Based on my understanding of women, Xiaofeng loves Jiang Wenqing."
Thunder roared outside the window, and rain slithered across the glass like a river. Zhou Yang looked at the words "Auckland" on his plane ticket and felt a surge of regret. He should have hugged Xiaofeng more when he left the house that morning.
Xiaofeng waited at the hospital until the rain subsided before carefully riding her motorcycle home. She changed cars and headed to the orphanage, where she couldn't suppress her joy and excitement as she waited for the children to leave.
She hurriedly put the two brothers into their safety seats and drove straight to Zhou Yang's house. Holding the children, she rang the doorbell, but Fan Weiwei, who opened the door, was like a silent wall, blocking her way.
"Call grandma." Xiaofeng called the child.
"I don't deserve it." Fan Weiwei's tone was sarcastic.
"Auntie, is Brother Zhou Yang here?"
"He's back in the United States. He's already flown away."
"What?" Xiaofeng dug his nails deep into his palm.
"You don't really think you can get into our house?"
Xiaofeng suddenly squatted down and tried to cover the children's ears, but her fingertips couldn't stop shaking.
She took the children and turned to leave when Fan Weiwei spoke up from behind, "These two are Jiang Wen...Feng's children, right?" She crossed her arms and humiliated them, "You're a married woman, and you can't even tell who you're having sex with. Only Zhou Yang is stupid enough to believe you."
Xiaofeng bowed deeply and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry to bother you." Then she stepped on the accelerator and drove away from Zhou's house.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
