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墨書 Inktalez
Miss Wen.
Junxi pressed her lips together. Just those three words had erected a high barrier between her and Zhou Xuan Yong. She realized that perhaps Zhou Xuan Yong did not wish to reminisce as she did.
“Why isn’t Miss Wen speaking? I have some acquaintance with your parents, so it shouldn’t be inappropriate to ask about their well-being.”
“Being trapped in a cage, no matter how good it is, it’s still just a life of hardship. Thank you for your concern, Uncle Zhou.”
Junxi replied, her voice light yet carrying a hint of stubbornness.
Zhou Xuanyu instinctively glanced at her. Her expression showed no softness, resembling a little hedgehog unwilling to yield, bristling with quills and ready for battle at any moment.
“Junxi, you’ve been at the hospital with Zhou Ziyan for half the day; you must be tired. Let me have someone take you home first…”
“I’m not leaving. I promised Zhou Ziyan I would wait for him to come out. Since I said it, I don’t want to go back on my word.”
Without even looking at Zhou Xuanyu, Junxi interrupted him decisively.
Although she knew that Zhou Xuanyu was only trying to help her out of the situation, she didn’t want to appear as a coward in front of him. After all, she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“And that young lady is?”
Zhou Xuan Yong’s gaze shifted directly past Junxi, landing on Liu Xianghan, who had been standing by the door. Liu Xianghan had been paying attention to the situation here, and upon hearing the conversation turn toward her, she immediately walked over politely.
“Hello, Uncle. I am a friend of Zhou Ziyan.”
Liu Xianghan appeared somewhat awkward, showing even less composure than Junxi. Junxi thought that perhaps she was quite nervous. For some reason, she could understand this kind of nervousness.
Zhou Xuan Yong smiled and turned to Zhou Xuanyu, saying meaningfully, "It's about time Zhou Ziyan got serious about finding a girlfriend."
Liu Xianghan became even more flustered. "Uncle, we're not what you think. We're really just ordinary friends."
The way he kept saying "we" was rather endearing.
Zhou Xuan Yong smiled even more kindly. "No need to be nervous. I'm not a conservative parent. As long as it's a decent person's child, I won't oppose it."
At such a sensitive moment, Zhou Xuan Yong seemed to emphasize the words "decent person."
The speaker was oblivious, but the listener was attentive.
In that instant, Junxi impulsively stepped forward. However, Zhou Xuanyu had somehow appeared behind her.
He subtly blocked her path.
Junxi turned her face away, suppressing a hint of grievance.
The atmosphere in the corridor felt slightly awkward, but fortunately, at that moment, the operating room door suddenly swung open.
"Doctor, how is it?"
Liu Xianghan was the first to rush forward. Junxi followed closely behind, with Zhou Xuanyu and Zhou Xuan Yong trailing after her.
"The surgery was even more successful than expected. Everyone can rest assured."
Jason smiled slightly and winked at Zhou Xuanyu.
Zhou Xuanyu nodded and let out a sigh of relief.
Zhou Ziyan was wheeled out of the operating room, the procedure having been done under local anesthesia, leaving him awake. The crowd at the door surprised him a bit. His gaze swept around until it landed on Zhou Xuan Yong, but he quickly looked away.
"Uncle, I'm tired today and want to sleep. You all should go back," he said, directing his words at Zhou Xuanyu, but Junxi knew he meant something else.
Sure enough, Zhou Xuan Yong's expression darkened.
"Zhou Ziyan," Zhou Xuan Yong called out.
Zhou Ziyan didn't even glance at him and directly told the medical staff, "Take me back to my room."
"Zhou Ziyan..."
"Brother." Zhou Xuan Yong still wanted to say something, but Zhou Xuanyu pressed down on his shoulder. "It's getting late. Now that we know he's fine, you should feel relieved. Let's go back. I'll notify you if anything comes up."
Zhou Xuan Yong seemed to be holding back a lot of anger, but with so many people around, he couldn't lose his composure and had no choice but to remain silent. Zhou Xuanyu raised his eyes and signaled the butler with a glance.
The Zhou family's butler approached, nodded in farewell to Zhou Xuanyu, and wheeled the chair back the way they came.
Junxi watched the lonely figure retreating, lost in thought.
In this world, everything has its counterpart. Everyone has their vulnerabilities; however, the most important thing is that one's backbone must never bend.
"Let's go," Zhou Xuanyu said as he stepped forward. "I'll take you all back."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Liu Xianghan while his hand rested on Junxi's shoulder.
"No need, I can go back by myself," Liu Xianghan refused.
"It's not safe for a girl to be out at night," Zhou Xuanyu insisted.
Liu Xianghan lowered her head, perhaps surprised that the seemingly aloof man before her was so considerate. A faint blush appeared on her dark complexion.
"Thank you then." Liu Xianghan paused, having deliberated for a long time but still couldn't bring herself to call him "uncle."
She simply couldn't do it; addressing a man who looked only a few years older than her with such a distant term felt impossible. If it weren't for the fear that Zhou Ziyan might think she was taking advantage of him, she would have preferred to call Zhou Xuanyu "big brother"... He reminded her of a neighbor from her childhood who had once made her feel as if she were basking in spring sunshine.
The incident at the parking lot had been resolved, and Zhou Xuanyu easily retrieved the car. Since Liu Xianghan's home was closer to the hospital, he offered to take her back first. Junxi had no objections.
In fact, regardless of where Xianghan lived, he would have insisted on taking her home first. He couldn't let Junxi leave without saying anything; he just didn't feel comfortable with that.
To give directions, Xianghan took the passenger seat. Junxi sat quietly in the back, listening to her conversation with Zhou Xuanyu.
It turned out that Liu Xianghan's shyness was directed towards people; she was clearly much more enthusiastic when talking to Zhou Xuanyu than she was with Junxi.
But where did her hostility towards Junxi come from? They had only met twice.
The car drove into the residential area where Liu Xianghan lived. It was an ordinary neighborhood, with unremarkable houses and not particularly desirable location. Since it was late, only a few lights remained on in the entire area, which was quiet and peaceful, showing no signs of conflict... It was a place where respectable ordinary families lived.
"We're here, thank you!" Liu Xianghan opened the door, thanked him, and closed it after glancing at Junxi as she said goodbye.
Zhou Xuanyu did not get out of the car; he simply waited inside until Xianghan entered her home before starting the engine.
Junxi rested her arms on the windowsill, watching as the hallway lights turned on and Xianghan jogged up the stairs. Her slender and delicate figure looked nothing like that of a woman who raced cars.
"Are you tired?" Zhou Xuanyu glanced at her through the rearview mirror, noticing her lazy demeanor.
"I just wonder why a girl like Xiang Han would want to challenge such dangerous racing."
"Everyone has their own aspirations."
"I don't," Junxi leaned back in the seat and closed the window. "Ever since my parents went to prison, all my previous ambitions have vanished."
"Junxi..."
"I only think about how to survive, how to keep Jun Xuan alive."
"My brother didn't mean those words; I apologize on his behalf."
Junxi shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. I've heard worse things and seen colder gazes. I've built up a resistance to it."
But today, in front of him, her fierce pride was suddenly trampled underfoot by others. It hurt her. She didn't know what he would think of her, of her parents, of her family.
"Honestly, I don't believe my parents would do something like that. But right now, I have no ability to help them. Once I do, I'll hire the best lawyer for them..." As she spoke, her gaze dimmed. The star-like brightness in her eyes suddenly seemed to be covered by a layer of dust. "Zhou Xuanyu, do you believe what I'm saying?"
Zhou Xuanyu was taken aback; he didn't know which part of her words she was referring to.
He was simply surprised by the way she called his name just now, evoking memories of their childhood when she would call him that whenever she desperately sought affirmation.
"I believe you."
He answered without hesitation, firmly.
?
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Ziyan's legs were recovering quite well.
Junxi would visit him at the hospital whenever she had the time, and occasionally she would run into Liu Xianghan. However, she had not seen Zhou Xuan Yong even once since then. Zhou Xuanyu also hadn't visited in a long while.
After finalizing the project in Italy, Zhou Xuanyu shifted his focus to other cases. He had been frequently traveling on business with Galen, not to very far places, so he could return every few days. Yet, his schedule was packed back-to-back, leaving him little time to come back to the office.
Junxi hadn't seen him in ages, and during those times when she couldn't see him, she found herself missing him particularly. Every day after work, she would take a stroll around the parking lot to check if his car was there.
The uncle managing the parking lot noticed her frequent visits and would curiously ask if she was driving again and what she was doing there.
She would just smile and come up with a rather lame excuse, saying that she was planning to buy a car and wanted to check out some models.
The uncle was a genuine person and believed her without doubt. When he had some free time, he would even recommend a few economical models based on his years of experience in car observation. Junxi felt embarrassed about repeatedly lying and wasting his goodwill, so eventually, she stopped going.
Xiaolin did have Zhou Xuanyu's schedule on hand, but Junxi didn't dare to ask for it. Continuously asking someone for the president's itinerary seemed inappropriate. Xiaolin was nice but not one to keep secrets; Junxi feared gossip and didn’t want to burden Xiaolin with her thoughts.
She could only comfort herself with the notion that he would return when the time was right.
After thinking this way, he indeed returned quite soon, and he brought back a woman with him.
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