Chapter 41:

Xiaoning was getting a bit restless staying in the hospital, so with the doctor’s permission, Shen Qingzhou brought him home for a couple of days.

Coincidentally, Lin Weiming had just been discharged from the hospital during these two days. Since Lin Qiao no longer needed to take care of her father, she obediently went over when Shen Qingzhou asked her to.

Before heading over, Lin Qiao stopped by a toy store to buy Xiaoning a gift. Since he had loved the car model she had given him last time, she decided to get him something else this time.

While browsing the toys, Lin Qiao ran into a man she had seen twice before—Qi Zheng, the doctor from the hospital where Lin Weiming had stayed.

Qi Zheng was carrying a briefcase, and his crisp white shirt complemented his fair complexion. He looked to be in his early thirties. Seeing him picking out toys, Lin Qiao guessed he was probably buying a gift for someone’s child. She wasn’t particularly fond of socializing, but ignoring him would seem impolite. Therefore, she quietly avoided him and walked around to another aisle.

As always, the more you try to avoid something, the more likely it is to happen.

While Lin Qiao was choosing toys on this aisle, Qi Zheng somehow appeared beside her. His long, pale fingers brushed over the toys on the counter, and just then, his fingers accidentally touched hers.

They both jerked back as if shocked, stepping away and staring at each other in surprise.

“It’s you?” Qi Zheng spoke first, his tone gentle and slightly surprised. “What a coincidence. Hello, Miss Lin.”

He greeted her naturally, so Lin Qiao couldn’t feign indifference. She smiled and nodded. “Doctor, you’re buying toys too? For a child?”

He nodded. “For a friend’s child.”

“Oh,” Lin Qiao exclaimed, “I thought it was for your own child.”

Qi Zheng hesitated slightly, then replied normally, “No, I don’t have children.”

Realizing her blunder, Lin Qiao quickly added, “Oh, that’s okay. You’ll have them someday. No rush.”

Qi Zheng smiled. “Miss Lin, it’s fine. My wife passed away a long time ago, and I haven’t considered remarrying yet.”

“…” Lin Qiao felt like she couldn’t say anything right today.

“By the way, I’m Qi Zheng. And you, Miss?” As if to ease her discomfort, he tactfully changed the topic.

“I’m Lin Qiao. Just call me Qiao, please.”

Qi Zheng nodded slightly. “Then, Lin Qiao, you keep picking. I need to go to work, so I’ll go first.” He waved the toy in his hand as a farewell.

Lin Qiao said goodbye and, after checking out, watched his tall figure leave, feeling a bit dazed.

Actually, whether Qi Zheng was single or divorced would have been easier for her to accept. But the fact that he was a widower surprised her.

Judging from Qi Zheng’s demeanor, he didn’t seem to be still grieving his wife’s death, so she must have passed away a long time ago.

Indeed, there’s no such thing as a perfect life. Everyone has their own destined hardships. People may feel inferior when comparing themselves to others, but switching comparison targets might turn that inferiority into superiority.

In the end, Lin Qiao bought a Transformer for Xiaoning and then drove to the villa Shen Qingzhou had bought in Beijing.

With Shen Qingzhou’s extravagant lifestyle, whenever he stayed somewhere for a while, he’d buy a house. Only someone with his wealth could afford such a habit.

When she arrived, the one who opened the door was Du Xinling, holding a tray of washed cherry tomatoes. The vibrant red color was incredibly tempting.

“You’re here,” Du Xinling stepped aside to let her in, speaking softly. “Shi Heng just took a call, and whoever it was, after the call, he seemed pretty upset. He’s having one of his moods now.”

“Having a mood?” Lin Qiao asked, puzzled as she stepped inside.

Du Xinling shut the door and nodded. “Go in and see for yourself.”

Lin Qiao entered hesitantly. The further she walked in, the louder the violin music drifting through the house became.

The villa’s first floor was spacious. The entrance was partitioned off separately, requiring a short walk to reach the living room.

When Lin Qiao reached the living room, she saw Shen Qingzhou standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the lawn and flowerbeds outside while playing the violin. The melody was familiar—it was “Schindler’s List,” a complex and sorrowful violin piece. Lin Qiao had thought it was beautiful when she watched the movie, but now, it seemed, as Du Xinling described, Shen Qingzhou was indeed having one of his “moods.”

Even his way of “having a mood” was so refined. Lin Qiao couldn’t help but admire silently. Truly a master.

Xiaoning was sitting on the carpet behind Shen Qingzhou playing with toys. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and, upon seeing Lin Qiao, immediately scrambled up and ran toward her with his arms open.

Lin Qiao hurriedly put down her things and squatted to catch him, hugging him tightly and nuzzling his cheek.

“Shhh, Auntie Lin,” Xiaoning whispered into her ear. “Don’t make noise or Dad will scold me.”

Lin Qiao nodded and carried Xiaoning to a corner, lowering her voice to ask, “Does your dad often act like this?”

“Not really. But there were a couple of times when he got really angry after I interrupted him, so I remember it clearly,” Xiaoning replied in a serious, grown-up tone.

Lin Qiao guessed that Shen Qingzhou hadn’t meant to take his anger out on the child. He must have already been in a bad mood, which made him act harshly.

After sitting with Xiaoning on the sofa for a while, Shen Qingzhou finally stopped playing. He turned toward them, lowering his violin. His handsome, aloof face squinted slightly, probably because of the sunlight. He walked forward with the violin in hand, approaching the case, and bent down carefully to place the violin inside. After arranging it neatly, he wiped his hands with a clean handkerchief and walked toward them.

“You’ve been here a while?” He asked casually, sitting beside Xiaoning, with Lin Qiao on the other side, sandwiching the boy between them. “Go wash your hands. We’ll eat soon.” He pinched Xiaoning’s cheek gently. Although his expression was cold, his tone was clearly full of affection.

Shen Qingzhou would definitely make a good father—somehow, Lin Qiao suddenly thought.

Thinking about that, she couldn’t help but recall their two intimate encounters. They hadn’t used any protection—could something like an unexpected pregnancy happen?

With this suspicion, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but furrow her brows. She looked at Shen Qingzhou, who was gazing at her with his dark eyes. There was still a small distance between them, where Xiaoning had just been. He didn’t move closer but simply patted the space beside him and said indifferently, “What are you thinking about? Come over.”

How should she describe it? Although Shen Qingzhou now appeared composed and reserved, his voice and expression carried an indescribable audacity—polite yet somehow brazen. It was hard to put into words, like… being elegantly and cleanly flirtatious?

No, not quite.

“Do I have to come over myself?” Seeing that Lin Qiao hesitated, Shen Qingzhou murmured, then actually moved to sit beside her.

Sitting close to him made her heart race. Even though they had known each other for a while and even shared a bed, she still felt her heart flutter every time she saw him.

Du Xinling sat across from them, eating cherry tomatoes with a smile on his face, as if watching his little brother grow up.

Shen Qingzhou looked at him with clear displeasure, stretching his arm along the back of the sofa behind Lin Qiao, leaning back casually and watching Du Xinling. Their eyes met for less than half a minute before Du Xinling, clearly defeated, hugged the tray and headed upstairs.

“I’ll go check if Xiaoning has washed his hands,” he said as he climbed.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh. In truth, a man like Du Xinling would be the ideal husband—humorous, considerate, not too principled, yet ambitious, capable of making money, owning a house, a car, and having financial security—truly perfect. Someone like Shen Qingzhou, on the other hand, was like the ideal man everyone imagines—like the Wu Yanzu we often see on Weibo. Everything Wu Yanzu does is right, while even Wu Mandu’s breathing feels wrong. If given a choice, would you rather eat a pancake with Wu Yanzu or go to Dubai with Wang Baoqiang to eat your favorite dish?

We all fantasize about being with Wu Yanzu, but we never truly believe he would ever be with us because it’s simply impossible. Yet, this impossibility had happened to Lin Qiao.

“You’ve got quite a lot going on in that small head of yours,” Shen Qingzhou suddenly tapped her head, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure from being ignored.

Lin Qiao covered her forehead and winced, looking at him reproachfully. “Why did you hit so hard? You might have made me stupid.”

Shen Qingzhou replied, “You were already stupid without me hitting you.”

“…Who says?” Lin Qiao retorted indignantly.

Shen Qingzhou didn’t continue the pointless banter. Instead, he said directly, “Lin Qiao, move in with me.”

Caught off guard by his abrupt shift in topic, Lin Qiao stared at him for a while without speaking. He didn’t rush her, silently waiting alongside her before finally saying, “This morning, Mr. Lin already sent your belongings over.”

“What?” Lin Qiao exclaimed, standing up in shock.

Shen Qingzhou reached out and pulled her back onto the sofa, calm and composed. “Here’s what happened. Mr. Lin is probably already on the plane to Dubai by now. I arranged a luxurious solo ten-day trip for him so he can relax. During his absence, as a major shareholder of Lin Group, I’ll handle the company matters. As for Mr. Lin’s personal affairs—” he looked at her, his tone serious, “that would be you. I’ll handle that too.”

“…Wait a second,” Lin Qiao’s mind was spinning. “You said you’re a shareholder of our family?”

Shen Qingzhou corrected her, “I’m a major shareholder of Lin Group, not your family’s shareholder. If you insist on calling me something related to your family, then in the future, I will be your family’s son-in-law.”

Lin Qiao asked hesitantly, “When did this happen?”

Shen Qingzhou stood up, hands in his pants pockets, looking down at her. “When your family was about to collapse.”

“…” That was like receiving help in a time of need. If he said he was a “major” shareholder, he must have invested a significant amount. After thinking for a while, Lin Qiao asked, “How much money did you invest?”

“Not much,” Shen Qingzhou avoided the topic. “You’ll live with me in the master bedroom on the second floor. Your luggage is already there. Go tidy up, and then come upstairs for dinner.” With that, he turned and walked upstairs.

Lin Qiao grabbed his arm, protesting weakly, “This isn’t right… We’ve only just met, and now we’re cohabiting? People will laugh at us! >_<”

Shen Qingzhou said in surprise, “Lin Qiao, I didn’t expect you to be so conservative. But don’t worry—when people find out you’re cohabiting with me, they won’t think you lack self-respect. Instead, they’ll think you’re incredibly lucky.”

“…” It felt like he had twisted her thoughts, but somehow, it actually made sense.

It was an odd situation—everything felt wrong, yet somehow perfectly logical at the same time…