I Got Rich in Period Fiction-Chapter 552 - 546: What You Owe Others, You Must Eventually Repay
Chapter 552: Chapter 546: What You Owe Others, You Must Eventually Repay
Brother Zhou and Zhou Hai came down from upstairs, feeling mentally and physically exhausted, only to see the old patriarch return home with a dark expression on his face.
The patriarch said, "I know what you two went upstairs to do. There’s no need to ask; I’ll tell you the reason..."
Brother Zhou and Zhou Hai exchanged a glance, then followed the old man to the study. An hour later, they emerged with indescribably complex and awkward expressions.
Brother Zhou hurriedly left, while Zhou Hai, having nowhere to go, locked himself in his room, not even coming out for dinner, and the old patriarch didn’t go upstairs to check on his wife.
He never thought that this woman had kept secrets from him for a lifetime.
But at their age, what could be done? They’d have to continue living muddled lives.
Liu Ying peeked through the crack of the door and saw the old patriarch summoning the Zhou brothers into the study, a smirk played at the corners of her mouth. She knew for sure that the old man must have learned why the old lady protected her and disliked Xiao Wei so much.
Forget about the eldest, it wasn’t just the second; everyone was more or less the same. If this got out, it wasn’t just her, Liu Ying, who would be shamed.
In fact, she had known all along, but she had never told Zhou Hai.
And at this moment, Zhou Hai speculated that Liu Ying was so confident because she probably knew about this relationship already; he tended to believe that the old lady had spoken to her in secret.
Therefore, Zhou Hai felt a chill in his heart, realizing that in this family they were all outsiders, while perhaps Liu Ying and his own mother were the real family.
How awkward, it was an indescribable awkwardness.
Zhou Hai closed his eyes, no longer thinking about the predicaments in front of him, but instead recalled the past.
His marriage to Xiao Wei had been arranged by his father and Xiao Wei’s father.
At that time, he had a liking for Xiao Wei.
Xiao Wei was like the sun, with everyone wanting to revolve around her.
He was no exception.
Knowing that she could very likely become his wife, he had been so happy that he couldn’t sleep for several nights.
He was a man, with a rather thick skin, and Xiao Wei was not one to speak of grievances; moreover, she was very skilled in handling affairs and wouldn’t easily conflict with his mother. Any minor grievances she faced, she wouldn’t tell him about, so he never noticed.
Now that he thought about it, his own mother always had a cold face when she saw Xiao Wei, and that was not without reason.
These were things between the previous generation, very simple and not complicated at all.
His own mother had once had a potential marriage partner who sacrificed himself to save Xiao Wei’s mother.
Even though she had married his father, she was still haunted by the past.
It was only that Xiao Wei’s mother was unaware of this affair.
If his mother had been willing to reveal this event back then, he believed the Xiao Family wouldn’t have allowed Xiao Wei to marry him. So who would he have married?
At the age he got married, he would never have married Liu Ying.
So it seems, life’s choices are truly unpredictable.
One event could change the entire direction of one’s life.
Zhou Hai had always believed that humans could conquer fate, convinced that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it, nothing he couldn’t accomplish if he tried. But now, he realized there were many things beyond his control, as if everything was predetermined.
The debts owed to others, after all, had to be repaid.
...
After much consideration, Zhou Hai eventually took the initiative to seek out Ye Hongyuan.
Medical technology really has advanced. The confiscated items were from the underground lab that Wu Xiujie, that old man, set up. The identification equipment was very state-of-the-art, and then it was taken over by the higher-ups. Now it has become a medical institution, directly managed by them, so there is no need to go abroad—you can get it done domestically.
It just takes half a month for the results to come out.
Zhou Hai tried his best not to take his anger out on Zhou Ruoruo. Whether she was his daughter or not, the love he had for his child over the years wasn’t fake. Yet, precisely because of this, his heart really ached every time he thought of his eldest daughter and son.
His son looked like Xiao Wei, but those eyes were just like his.
Jiao Jiao resembled him, especially when she was younger.
In recent years, the girl had grown up and changed a lot, becoming more attractive, but she still looked a lot like him.
However, Ruoruo looked like Liu Ying, very much so.
...
In the end, Zhou Hai took Liu Ying and Zhou Ruoruo back to the Tenghai Research Base.
Zhou Ruoruo was extremely dejected and had lost a lot of weight. Even though Liu Ying was careful and always tried to cheer her up, it did no good because her father, whom she loved dearly, had changed his attitude.
Zhou Hai also lost a lot of weight but pulled himself together and brought many things to the neighbors.
This family took care of both children and even offered advice for college entrance choices—He Xiuyu and Qiao Qingyu were the consultants.
With the advice of these two, Jiao Jiao’s college preferences wouldn’t be wasted. He was assured of that, but his sense of obligation grew heavier.
After all, his home was still here. He brought back all the things that Xiao Wei mailed over the years that he could carry.
Among them was something he, a grown man, couldn’t talk about: Liu Ying had not spent that sum of money; it was still saved up now. That was the only thing that gave him some comfort. But was he a man short of money?
Although Liu Ying didn’t spend that money, she used the things Xiao Wei mailed for Jiao Jiao for herself.
A grown man, no matter how much he liked Liu Ying, wouldn’t care about what she used during her period.
He is, after all, a man.
He couldn’t speak of this; even thinking about it made him feel disgusted.
It was certain that he could no longer be a husband to Liu Ying, and he didn’t care if this meant severing ties with the Zhou Family and his own mother.
But the prerequisite was to confirm who Zhou Ruoruo’s father really was. If she was his, what could he do? He now knew that a child without their biological mother is pitiful.
Liu Ying might have countless faults, but her love for Ruoruo was genuine, as precious as the apple of her eye. If the child wasn’t his own, it wouldn’t matter, but if she truly was, then she would definitely go with her mother after the divorce.
Liu Ying was a restless woman. Now young and beautiful, she could easily remarry if she wanted.
But Ruoruo was only twelve—how could he possibly be at ease letting the child live with a stepfather?
But as it turned out, he wasn’t a good father himself.
To remarry, wouldn’t she also have a stepmother?
So after thinking it over, Zhou Hai simply stopped thinking about it altogether. He would wait for the results of the paternity test before making any decisions.
He couldn’t possibly talk about the family issues with He Xiuyu and the others, but it was obvious that Zhou Hai wasn’t his usual self. He told He Xiuyu that he would take a week off to rest at home before returning to work.
Meanwhile, He Xiuyu and Qiao Qingyu actually knew what was happening in his household.
Who had told them?
It was Yuan Hengzhi.
After learning about it, Yuan Hengzhi was indifferent towards Zhou Hai, but Liu Ying lived next door to the He Family—this woman was too scheming, and pitilessly so. While the blame couldn’t all be dumped on her alone, she was certainly not free from guilt.
