After the press conference for the launch of Yi Fan, Yue Wanqing brought Zhou Heng to the flower fields of Yi Fan winery. The flowers and grass here were still seedlings, and they were all flower buds.
Ever since Grandma had passed away, Zhou Heng got more frail as the days went by. He had taken a few steps with much effort during the press launch, and he needed to use the wheelchair to move around now.
Zhou Heng looked at those seedlings and asked, “What flowers are these?”
Ning Qing went forward and gently said, “Grandpa, these are the seeds of dandelion.”
“Dandelion? Great, great….” Zhou Heng had a smile on his frail face, and he lifted his head to look in the distance. “This is in the centre of the city. After two or three months, the dandelion flowers would be like snowflakes as they invade the entire city. At that time, what kind of beautiful scene would it be?”
Yue Wanqing controlled the sadness in her heart. She smiled and said, “Dad, after two to three months, you would know, right?”
Zhou Heng shook his head and said, “I am afraid that I won’t be able to wait that long.”
Tears quickly appeared in Yue Wanqing’s eyes.
Zhou Heng turned his gaze back and looked at Zhou Dayuan, who was approaching him slowly.
He stretched his elderly right hand out and said, “Dayuan, things are already like this. Could it actually be that you are still unwilling to call me…Dad?”
Zhou Dayuan’s expression was serious and hurt. He slowly bent over and held Zhou Heng’s hand that was stretched out, before he struggled to say, “Dad.”
“Good, good.” Zhou Heng nodded his head and said, “Good child, everything that happened in the past was the folly of the adults. It has nothing to do with you. You are an innocent party. You are my son. With you and Dou Dou, Dad thinks that I have no other regrets.”
Yue Wanqing also bent her body down. She stretched her hand out to hold the hands of the father and son pair, and choked up.
Zhou Heng held the siblings’ hands together and addressed them softly. “Dou Dou, you are the older sister. Dayuan hasn’t had a mother ever since he was young. Now that I am about to leave, his older sister would be like his mother. In the future, you have to take care of him in many ways. Dayuan, you are the man of the family. After I leave, you are the pillar of the Zhou family. I am handing Dou Dou over to you.”
Zhou Dayuan and Yue Wanqing nodded their heads and said, “Dad, you don’t have to worry. We are a family.”
“Okay, in this life of mine, I admit that I made one mistake. I am sorry towards Xiao Hui. I am going to look for her now, and pay for my sins… Qingqing is in charge of the winery. The Zhou family has both of you. Dad can be relieved now.”
Zhou Dayuan’s heart was in intense pain. He lifted his thin lips wanting to speak, but he was unable to say a single word.
Zhou Heng lifted his head up to look at the azure blue sky and the white clouds, he could imagine that when the summer winds blew over, the dandelions would sweep over the entire land in a grand scene.
The things he could not do, his descendants had completed it for him. In this life of his, what other regrets could he have?
Zhou Heng closed his eyes slowly.
Three months later, spring passed and summer came.
Ning Qing handed the work studio officially over to Xiao Zhou for her to manage, and she also left the entertainment industry. She channelled her focus and energy into her red wine career.
There was a day when she returned to the Tea Pavilion Villa but met an uninvited guest in front of the villa.
Zhou Zhilei.
Ning Qing looked at Zhou Zhilei briefly and almost could not recognize her. Zhou Zhilei did not look glorious and delighted like she once was six months ago. Her face was wax-yellow, and her entire being was slim like a wooden stick. There were severe eye bags below her eyes, and her clouded eyes made her seem insane.
Zhou Zhilei saw her and was very emotional. She wanted to leap onto Ning Qing to catch her, but the bodyguards at the villa stopped her. She was muttering something under her breath, “Ning Qing, it was you who harmed me. You put me in the state I am in right now.”
Ning Qing felt what she was saying was funny, and she straightened her small waist upright as she said, “Zhou Zhilei, explain it; how did I harm you? Didn’t I give you the assets and the Zhou family winery that you coveted?”
“Ning Qing, where did you give it to me? The amount that you gave me, you are making me vomit it all out right now. You have snatched all of those clients that have been working with Zhou Corporation. Even the suppliers of raw materials are all unwilling to honour their contract and work with me anymore. A few days ago, the bank raided my company, and I am unable to repay my loans, and they have froze all of my accounts and properties. Ning Qing, I am worthless right now.”
Ning Qing listened on as she lifted her eyebrows up. She had a confident and gracious smile on her face as she said, “Zhou Zhilei, this is known as survival of the fittest in the market. You had the abilities to snatch Zhou Corporation away. How could you not have the abilities to protect it then? I gave everything in the Zhou family over to you. Why do I still need to guarantee that you are going to lead a luxurious life?”
As she spoke, Ning Qing went forward, and her eyes landed on Zhou Zhilei’s soulless body. “Tsk tsk, worthless? Zhou Zhilei, you still have a choice. Your father is a beggar. If your father returns to his old occupation, bringing his wife and daughter along, I can guarantee that all of you would not starve to death.”
“You!” Zhou Zhilei was absolutely furious, but she suddenly burst out into tears again. She used both of her hands to cup her face as she choked up painfully. “Ning Qing, my parents are already in jail now. I know everything that is happening right now is all your doing. Even if it is not you, it would be Lu Shaoming. He would not let us have an easy time.”
Her parents were in jail?
Ning Qing really did not know.
She had no time to care about those two useless people.
Zhou Zhilei slumped onto the floor numbly. “What am I going to do now? I don’t have a single person by my side right now. There is no one willing to speak to me. I have nightmares every night. I dreamt that Tang Xueli came back, and he brought those men along to torture me. I was in so much pain. I am so afraid. What is the point of me being alive right now? It feels even worse than death. I do not dare to sleep. I am not human, and not a ghost either.”
Ning Qing was not in the mood to listen to her speak. She looked at the security guards and said, “Drag her out, and throw her to the streets.”
Ning Qing walked through the main doors of the villa.
Auntie Yang had prepared dinner, and it was around 7 o’ clock when Lu Shaoming brought Little Qinwen back home.
Ning Qing saw her son and bent down. She stretched her hand to pick him up. “Little Qinwen, Mama will carry you.”
“I don’t want to be carried, Mama. I want to go bathe.” Little Qinwen was drenched in sweat after playing for a long time, and he stomped upstairs with Auntie Yang trailing behind him quickly.
Ning Qing shook her head ,feeling frustrated. She walked over beside Lu Shaoming and took the document bag in his hands. “What did Little Qinwen play with today? He sweat so much.”
Lu Shaoming changed his shoes in the foyer of the house. He lifted his hand to undo the first button on his black shirt. The button was on his collar, so he lifted his head up slightly and exposed his masculine Adam’s apple. It was exquisite and sexy, and he said, “I went to attend a business gathering for a while, and Zhu Rui accompanied him to play soccer for a bit.”
“Oh.” Ning Qing answered him, and it was only then that she had a whiff of the smell of alcohol on his body. “You drank?”
“Yeah, I drank a little. I will go and take a shower.” Lu Shaoming went in the direction of the bedroom.
Ning Qing placed his document bag in the study, then she went into the bedroom. The door of the bathroom was not closed, and there was cold air coming from inside. She walked to the side of the door, took a set of home clothes, and sent it inside.
When she walked into the bathroom, she saw that the frosted grass door was half closed, exposing his sculpted, toned back. He was washing his head. With his waist bent, the water droplets dripped onto his firm muscles, looking mesmerizing and attractive.
Ning Qing’s small face turned red immediately, enchanted by this masculine look of his.
She placed the clothes in the clean clothes basket, and she turned around, wanting to leave.
But at this moment, the man who was showering in front of her look at her and said, “Come back.”
Ning Qing froze and turned her gaze sideways to look at him.
The man who was covered in the mist stretched his hand out to her. His short hair was on his forehead, looking very wild, and he looked at her covered with sparkling eyes.
Ning Qing froze for a moment. She bit down on her pink bottom lip and shook her head.
She couldn’t…
Lu Shaoming had a frown on his face without saying a word. He had a serious expression on his face as he unhappily said, “Wifey.”
Ning Qing quickly drooped her small head downwards and accepted her fate as she went in.
She did not know how to reject him.
She’d only put one foot in, and her slim waist was firmly pinned down by him. The cold water drenched her body as she shouted, “Ah!” She had no time to get used to it, and her entire being was flipped over by him….
“Wifey, how long has it been, huh? If we drag it on any longer, I do not know whether I would be able to use it anymore…” The man had a frown on his face while he shut his eyes.
Around half an hour later, Ning Qing lay on the soft bed. The man leaned back against the headboard of the bed as he smoked. He spat out a mouthful of smoke while he was surrounded by a cloud of smoke. His bare, sculptured upper torso had some eye catching scratches on it.
She was not a woman who liked to scratch, and she was really forced to do so when he pressured her.
Lu Shaoming bit the cigarette in his mouth as he took a breath of smoke. Some ashes landed on the bed sheet, and he slowly went to flick them away. He turned his head to look at the small back profile of the woman who was frustrated and angry. He lay back on the headboard lazily. There was still a glow that had yet to fade on his handsome face. “You are really angry? How about counting how long has it been since the last time yourself? You are still feeling wronged and still not allowing me to touch you now?”
In this time of half a year, Grandpa and Grandma left the world one after another. The entire Ning family was engulfed in sadness. She took much time from her schedule to accompany her mother, and she had in fact neglected him a bit.
But, Ning Qing was still not won over. She pouted her red lips that were swollen after he kissed her. “Don’t defend yourself. I think that you are making use of the alcohol to do as you please,” she said in a coy tone.
He behaved like this every time. He was dominating as he demanded it from her. He only bothered about himself being comfortable, and it was after he was comfortable that he would come and coax her.
In the bathroom just now, Little Qinwen came to knock on the door. She begged him non stop, and he was unwilling to let go. He gave a slap in frustration, and roguely told her, ” Our son will naturally go away when he sees that door will not open; he is used to it already.”
These were the words that a father would say?
He was totally shameless.
Lu Shaoming took one last puff of his cigarette, and he used two fingers to stub the cigarette in the ashtray. He turned his body sideways, and his long arm went over to take her into his embrace. He coaxed her pampering and softly, “Okay, little wife, don’t be angry any longer, okay? It has really been too long, so I was really unable to control myself. I will apologize to you now.”
Hearing him apologize, it was only then that Ning Qing felt her heart become comfortable. Her small hand crawled on his chest as she said, “Hubby, I saw Zhou Zhilei today.”
“Huh?” He snorted for a moment and did not even open his eyes. He only used his long fingers to have a whiff of her hair as he curled her hair with his fingers.
“Did Zhou Zhilei’s parents go to jail? Also, I noticed that Zhou Zhilei does not seem to be in the right mind. She seems unstable… Do you have anything to do with all of this?”
Lu Shaoming pulled the blanket over her small shoulders/ He kissed her hair off and on as he said, “Yeah… Ever since Zhou Dao had his hands on the fortune of the Zhou family, he became even more greedy. I asked someone to give him some medicine, and arranged a woman for him. How could Kong Lan not be angry? She went to throw a tantrum on the spot. This matter blew up and both of them were locked up in jail without a chance of getting out… As for Zhou Zhilei, she is guilty herself. I asked someone to pretend to be Tang Xueli and scare her at night. Heh. Looking at her behave like that, she will be unable to hold on for much longer.”
