Qu Wei, who had been having a great time, unexpectedly got beaten up by her lover and demanded that she return the money.
Furious, she relied on the upcoming million-dollar property deal to push her lover away and sever all ties with him. She had never planned on raising the child, so this situation suited her perfectly. She could live her life as a wealthy woman without any worries.
To ensure there was no evidence of who the child’s father was, Qu Wei decided to get an abortion after resolving her lover’s issue. She did it without any hesitation.
The next day, she received the money and the house, making her ecstatic. At that moment, one of her real estate friends messaged her.
“Wei Wei, I have an even bigger house here. Do you want to exchange? It’s a luxurious layout, just a couple million more, but you get tens of square meters more!”
Qu Wei’s eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed.
This was like a gift from the money god!
“Yes, yes, please keep it for me!”
She didn’t have over a million at the moment; she had practically spent everything. But she could get a loan and sell some assets; it wouldn’t take long to come up with the money.
To celebrate her imminent promotion to a top-tier wealthy woman, Qu Wei went out with a group of girlfriends for drinks, and she was treating them.
After a day and night of heavy drinking, Qu Wei finally crawled out of bed and put on some clothes to leave. She tried calling her best friend but couldn’t reach her.
Panicked, Qu Wei quickly hailed a taxi to go to the location of the property. Her frantic appearance caught the attention of the security guards, and a few of them stopped her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I want to see my friend! I bought a property here; I’m the owner!”
The security guards exchanged glances, as if they had encountered a lunatic. “Sorry, ma’am, but this building is abandoned. It ran out of funds a long time ago and even had quality issues exposed. The investors ran off, and they owe many workers their wages. Inside, they’ve stripped it clean, even the steel reinforcements are almost gone. We’re here for regular patrols. It’s absolutely impossible for someone to sell you a house here! This building has been abandoned for several months!”
Qu Wei’s heart sank heavily. She felt like she was drowning. She and her best friend had pulled off many schemes to make money, and she trusted her friend completely.
But she never expected that the person she trusted most would deceive her like this!
Qu Wei’s vision blurred. She couldn’t help but think of the past when her friend had constantly recommended this property to her after they had discussed making some money. She had been bombarding Qu Wei with all sorts of people and information. She had been completely taken in!
She had lost every single penny!
The thought of her hard-earned money going down the drain made her want to smash her head against a wall.
She slapped herself tremblingly and collapsed on the ground in front of the astonished security guards.
“Lady! Lady!”
…
Perhaps because she had been searching for wedding dresses recently, Ruan Jiujiu felt like any software she used was sending her information about wedding dresses. She almost suspected her phone had a virus.
Ruan Jiujiu felt both frustrated and strangely complicated about her mood.
She glanced sideways at Cheng Jun.
Cheng Jun had never worn a suit in front of her before. She wondered if he looked handsome when he wore one.
Thinking of suits led to thoughts of weddings, and thoughts of weddings led to thoughts of wedding nights… Ahem, ahem.
What was she thinking?
Cheng Jun was looking down at his phone, not lifting his head, and said, “You’re peeking at me.”
Caught red-handed, Ruan Jiujiu hummed in embarrassment. “You’re thinking too much!”
To appear more casual, she picked up a slice of strawberry cream cake from the table, scooped a bite with her fork, and let the sweet, cool cream melt on her tongue. Ruan Jiujiu took another bite.
Cheng Jun, as if he had turned into a ghost, silently floated over to her.
Ruan Jiujiu was startled.
With a fork in one hand, she asked, “What are you doing?”
Cheng Jun leaned against the back of the couch, gradually getting closer to Ruan Jiujiu.
His gaze was fixed on Ruan Jiujiu’s soft lips, his eyelids drooping, and his eyes flashing with a seductive light.
Nervously, Ruan Jiujiu stiffened her body, her cheeks blushing as she waited for Cheng Jun to kiss her.
If she could take advantage of him, why not?
Considering Cheng Jun’s looks, it wasn’t clear who would take advantage of whom.
Ruan Jiujiu waited for a while but didn’t receive the kiss she expected. Instead, she heard Cheng Jun’s muffled question near her ear, “Why did you close your eyes?”
Ruan Jiujiu: “?”
Cheng Jun: “?”
She opened her eyes, only to find that the piece of cake on her fork had disappeared.
It was gone.
So, Cheng Jun, this sly guy, had just stolen a bite of her cake!
Ruan Jiujiu felt both embarrassed and angry and wished she could send Cheng Jun flying with a single blow.
Cheng Jun only stopped his antics after being hit.
He sat obediently beside her, saying, “Sorry, I won’t steal food next time.”
Ruan Jiujiu’s cheeks flushed even more at his words.
Cheng Jun had never expected that she had a different reason.
She silently processed her emotions while sitting next to Cheng Jun. After a while, he called her name.
“Jiujiu.”
“What…” Ruan Jiujiu looked at him, dragging out her words impatiently.
Her voice faded into a kiss.
Cheng Jun wanted to go further and pushed Ruan Jiujiu down onto the couch with soft, lingering kisses, completely forgetting about the strawberry cake that fell to the floor.
Ruan Jiujiu, feeling a bit dazed, wondered why Cheng Jun, who was usually so composed even while eating, had such an intense and devouring manner of kissing.
Cheng Jun’s phone rang.
He impatiently silenced it, but not long after, the ringtone sounded again.
Listening to the ringtone, Ruan Jiujiu, who had been kissed senseless, suddenly realized that her collar had been unbuttoned by Cheng Jun at some point, exposing her fair and tender skin, leaving much to the imagination.
She hastily pushed Cheng Jun away, red-faced, and fixed her clothes.
When Cheng Jun answered the call, his voice was so icy that it startled Xiao Fan on the other end of the line.
“Boss… Mr. Cheng has woken up and said he wants to see you one last time. He doesn’t seem to be in a good condition, and I don’t think he’ll last much longer.”
Upon receiving the news, Cheng Jun remained silent.
“Do you want me to arrange it?” Xiao Fan asked.
Cheng Jun continued his silence.
Ruan Jiujiu sensed that something was wrong and asked in a hushed tone, “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
After a long pause, Cheng Jun slowly said, “I might need to go to the hospital.”
Ruan Jiujiu blinked and in her mind, thoughts about Father Cheng instantly surfaced.
She didn’t voice her guess but instead lowered her voice and said, “I’ll go with you.”
Cheng Jun didn’t refuse, so that was an agreement.
They took a taxi to the hospital, and Cheng Jun remained silent throughout the journey. Ruan Jiujiu comfortingly held his hand. Cheng Jun turned to her and said, “It’s alright, no need to worry.”
“I know.”
When they arrived at the hospital, a well-dressed man with a briefcase stood at the hospital entrance. Upon seeing Cheng Jun and Ruan Jiujiu, he respectfully addressed them as boss and madam.
Ruan Jiujiu felt uncomfortable being addressed as “madam” and involuntarily cleared her throat.
Upon reaching the ward, Ruan Jiujiu subconsciously stopped in her tracks.
Cheng Jun turned around, gave her a glance, and reached for Ruan Jiujiu’s pinky finger, pulling her inside.
“There’s nothing embarrassing to see here.”
Being pulled into the ward, Ruan Jiujiu felt uneasy.
Father Cheng was lying on the hospital bed, slightly elevated so he could sit up a bit. His eyes sparkled with vitality, as if he were more spirited than a year or two ago.
However, when he spoke, his hoarse voice revealed his physical condition.
“I thought you wouldn’t come to see me.”
Cheng Jun remained emotionless, not displaying any unnecessary expressions. He looked at his biological father as if he were a complete stranger.
Father Cheng forced a smile that looked even more painful than crying.
“I heard… that you cleaned up the mess for me.”
Cheng Jun didn’t respond.
Speaking was a bit difficult for him; he had to pause for breath every few words. Still, he continued, “Ever since you… since you started high school, I had high hopes for you… I thought you could inherit the family business. But you, this worthless guy… you had no interest at all.”
“You were utterly useless… a waste, and I’ve been scolding you for over a decade.”
Father Cheng smiled bitterly. “Over a decade.”
Since Cheng Jun’s mother passed away, they had become little more than unfamiliar strangers. They hardly contacted each other even during holidays.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside the door, clearly caused by Qu Wei.
She was blocked at the door but still insisted on coming in.
Cheng Jun turned around, opened the door directly, and when Qu Wei saw Cheng Jun, her angry expression froze in place. Her messy hair made her look ridiculous and laughable.
Tears welled up in Qu Wei’s eyes, and she knelt on the ground with a thud. “It’s my fault… I beg for your forgiveness! I didn’t mean to!”
Without money, how was she supposed to live!
Qu Wei suppressed her anger and pleaded, “I’ll take care of him! I’ll come to take care of him. Please, just consider our marital bond…”
Cheng Jun’s tone remained calm and composed. “First, focus on repaying the money.”
Qu Wei suddenly froze in place.
Wait! Cheng Jun, Cheng Jun knows about all of this?
Her mind buzzed, and she couldn’t believe her eyes as she stared at him with wide-open eyes.
Before Qu Wei could erupt, several security guards behind her dragged her out, and she yelled angrily, “I’m still your mother! You can’t treat me like this! Cheng Jun!”
Medical staff in the hallway began discussing.
“Is this person’s mind okay?”
“I think they might have gone crazy.”
…
The room returned to a deathly silence.
Father Cheng had laughed enough and coughed for a while. “You… you! Cough, cough, cough, now you have your day…”
Cheng Jun’s calm and expressionless gaze was fixed on his father, and he remained silent.
With his life coming to an end, his wife had betrayed him, and his son refused to acknowledge him, Father Cheng gave a bitter smile.
It could be said that everything was a result of his own actions, and he couldn’t blame anyone else.
If he hadn’t had an affair within his marriage, if his wife hadn’t had an accident at just the right time, perhaps he would have had a warm and harmonious family now, lying on his deathbed without anyone to visit him.
He still remembered the year Cheng Jun started primary school; he had a happy family, his wife prepared a cake for him, and Cheng Jun even gave him a model he had made himself, a delicate work that didn’t look like it was made by a child.
At that time, he thought he was the happiest person in the world.
But later, as he earned more money, he mingled with a group of people who frequented the nightlife, and he changed beyond recognition.
The model that was once proudly displayed on the shelf accidentally fell and shattered one day, and he didn’t care.
Just like how he treated his family, he became a fake and insincere caregiver.
And then, he had nothing.
Not even someone to claim his body.
Trembling, Father Cheng slowly reached out with his shaky hand and covered his face. Sorrow and shame rolled through him, and through his fingers, tears burst forth.
“I’m sorry…”
The hospital room was very quiet, with only Father Cheng’s intermittent sobs.
However, it was unclear to whom he was apologizing.
Author’s note: Two chapters combined!
This can be considered as a resolution for Father Cheng. Ultimately, it’s Cheng Jun who is the most pitiable, with only distant memories remaining of the warmth of their family.
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