Chapter 69:

Shen Qingzhou rarely showed mercy and agreed to do a reading for Lin Qiao, who, although inclined to joke around, didn’t miss the opportunity.

After their playful moment ended, Lin Qiao grabbed a pen and paper, sat cross-legged with the paper on her knees, holding the pen in one hand and supporting her belly with the other. She looked up and asked, “Can I write an extra character?”

Shen Qingzhou gestured with a “please go ahead” motion, silently watching the white paper on her lap with a slightly raised brow. His dark eyes were large and expressive, his lips slightly pursed in concentration, his tall and slender frame seemingly brimming with boundless energy.

After a moment of thought, Lin Qiao wrote down the words “black smoke.” Seeing this, Shen Qingzhou couldn’t help but lift his gaze to her. When he slightly furrowed his brow, Lin Qiao asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong?”

Shen Qingzhou shook his head and asked, “Why did you write those two characters?”

Lin Qiao replied honestly, “I always feel that Zhao Chunjun is just like black smoke—omnipresent and full of ill intentions. It’s annoying.”

Shen Qingzhou slightly curved his lips and continued to look at the characters on the paper. Lin Qiao simply handed the paper to him, curled up beside him, leaned against his body, and looked at the two characters with gentle eyes. His profile, illuminated by the lamp light, was pale and bloodless.

“Did you see anything?” Lin Qiao asked curiously.

Shen Qingzhou nodded slightly and murmured, “Not something I really want to say.”

“Why not?” Lin Qiao asked, puzzled.

Shen Qingzhou turned to look at her, his expression flickering. “Divining about your entanglement with another man—do you think I’d be in the mood for that?”

Lin Qiao was taken aback, then couldn’t help laughing and lightly punched him, pouting, “Don’t mess around.”

Shen Qingzhou didn’t evade and began to explain directly: “The character ‘hei’ (black) belongs to water and corresponds to the north. You live in Beijing, and so does he. You will meet in the north—that’s already known.” He turned the paper to face Lin Qiao directly and continued smoothly, “This character ‘hei’ you wrote looks at first glance like a cat, staring at you with its eyes wide, lying still with its legs stretched forward… Hmm.”

He ended with a vague sound, then added a few unsettling remarks that made Lin Qiao feel uneasy.

“What does that mean?” she asked nervously.

Shen Qingzhou reached out to stroke her head, calming her. His eyes remained fixed on the characters.

“Nothing much—it’s just a rather ominous character. Looking at it another way, ‘hei’ also corresponds to ‘hai’ (the twelfth Earthly Branch), which refers to time. This month happens to be the Guihai month. The structure of ‘hei’ consists of si (four) sitting on tu (earth), which in turn sits on shui (water), indicating you will travel north in the Guihai month to a place with water and meet this cat. Cats and tigers belong to the same family, which corresponds to ‘yin’ (the third Earthly Branch). Do you remember what time you met Zhao Chunjun yesterday afternoon?”

Lin Qiao recalled and replied dryly, “Around five o’clock, I think…”

Shen Qingzhou nodded and said casually, “’Yin’ also refers to time—it’s the time you met him, between three and five o’clock.”

Lin Qiao stared at him in astonishment, then muttered after a pause, “You’re just too amazing…”

Shen Qingzhou slightly lifted his lips without smiling and continued: “The first character is explained. The second one is simpler. ‘Yan’ (smoke) can be split into ‘huo’ (fire) and ‘yin’ (cause). ‘Huo’ matches your birth chart, indicating a relatively prosperous fortune at the end of the year. But ‘yin’ is not so auspicious.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Lin Qiao asked.

Shen Qingzhou rolled up the paper into a ball and threw it into the trash bin, then looked at her with a calm expression and said, “’Yin’ missing one stroke becomes ‘kun’ (entrapment), which means your ‘huo’ is just a false joy. Also, you won’t gain any advantage from the person associated with the ‘hei’ character.”

After saying this, Shen Qingzhou got off the bed and took off his suit jacket. As he unbuttoned his shirt, he said, “Road and air laughter at the mountain, only after removing the crown can one see the moon shining bright. Do not blame heaven for too many blessings; brilliance lies in hardship. The meaning behind your two characters is to learn independence, not always rely on others’ help. Success must come from your own hands.” He paused, hung his shirt and jacket on the hanger, and walked toward the balcony.

Lin Qiao sat up straight and asked, “Where are you going? So, were these characters auspicious or ominous? Are they a bad omen?”

Before opening the balcony sliding door, Shen Qingzhou glanced back at her and said, “Nothing particularly auspicious or ominous—just ordinary. Anyway, as long as you’re with me, everything will be fine. Besides, I was strong in the western direction today, and helping you recognize characters consumed a lot of my mental energy. I need to go out for some fresh air—it will bring great auspiciousness.”

Although Shen Qingzhou said he was going out for fresh air, Lin Qiao always felt he meant to “absorb spiritual energy,” so she didn’t stop him.

She leaned back on the pillow, resting her chin in her hand, watching his tall silhouette outside the sliding door. The blurred shadow softened by the glass appeared as if lit by a soft glow, much gentler than usual. He stood with his back to her, gazing ahead in deep thought, his arms resting on the railing, one hand supporting his forehead. His expression was hidden, but she could see the handsome lines of his profile—the sharp bridge of his nose and his strong jaw.

The accuracy of his reading unsettled Lin Qiao. For the first time, she directly felt the wonder of these mystical things, and her heart couldn’t calm down. Shen Qingzhou, who usually seemed unapproachable, now appeared even more mysterious and insightful, giving her the impression of a transcendent immortal. Even his back view outside the window suddenly seemed ethereal, surrounded by a halo of light, both near and far—like the tide, appearing and disappearing.

Unconsciously, Lin Qiao took out her phone, opened the message interface, and sent him a message: “Goodnight” with a teary emoji. After sending it, she looked at him again, watching him take out his phone and idly play with it. Soon, she received his reply.

He asked: “Crying yourself to sleep?”

For some reason, Lin Qiao suddenly felt a surge of girlish affection and happiness, so she replied in a sweet tone: “I should rest early—it’s better for the baby. And I plan to return to Beijing tomorrow to stay calm and prepare for the birth. Aren’t you proud of me for being so sensible and responsible?”

After sending the message, Lin Qiao nervously held her phone and stared at Shen Qingzhou’s back. He held the phone in his hand, pressed a few simple keys on the bright screen, and soon Lin Qiao received a reply: three dots followed by two words: …Fine.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile slightly, looked at his back again, and softly murmured to herself, “I love you.” Then she pulled the covers over herself and obediently fell asleep.

Shen Qingzhou stayed on the balcony for a while, gazing at the city lights below the tall buildings in the night. The sea breeze brushed across his expressionless face, making his pale complexion appear even more somber.

Reading the characters for Lin Qiao was, in a way, also reading for himself. Learning that Zhao Chunjun was still so persistently entangled with her naturally made Shen Qingzhou uneasy. He didn’t want to show his displeasure or worry in front of Lin Qiao, fearing she might get anxious, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel those emotions.

The case involving Fang Zheng had already concluded. The man was locked away in prison and wouldn’t be getting out for many years. But Shen Qingzhou had never forgotten about others—Qi Zheng, who had his eyes on Xiao Ning; Fang Mingjun, who wanted revenge; and Zhao Chunjun, who had taken the initiative to provoke him for self-protection.

Shen Qingzhou understood all their intentions well. He knew each person’s selfishness and weaknesses, but he never showed it outright. Because he knew that revealing his cards to the enemy and thinking you had the upper hand was actually a grave mistake.

He was still young and not in a hurry. There was plenty of time. Right now, the most important thing was for Lin Qiao to give birth safely and for their whole family to remain healthy and peaceful. After all, no matter how great one’s achievements, they meant nothing without good health.

As Lin Qiao had said, they returned to Beijing the next day. Immediately after their departure, Zhao Chunjun went to their former room looking for them. Not finding them there, he rushed to the front desk to inquire. When told they had checked out early that morning, his mood immediately soured, almost scaring the receptionist.

It was certainly not good news.

Zhao Chunjun immediately took a taxi to the airport and caught the earliest flight back to Beijing. He called Fang Mingjun to ask if there had been any results regarding the matter he had previously requested.

Fang Mingjun was older than them and naturally more ruthless in his methods. What he set out to do was rarely left unfinished. Zhao Chunjun successfully obtained from him the name of the hospital where Lin Qiao would be staying during her pregnancy. He then returned to the psychiatric hospital where he worked, arranged some affairs, and under the pretense of academic study, applied for the necessary procedures to transfer to that hospital.

Although Zhao Chunjun’s character left much to be desired, his achievements in the medical field were indeed impressive. He was a well-known doctor in his field. His application to study psychiatry at that hospital was more like a teaching assignment than a student exchange, so naturally, it was approved without issue.

As the new year entered February, Lin Qiao’s due date approached, and it also marked the first birthday she would spend with Shen Qingzhou.

Shen Qingzhou’s birthday was on February 15th. The weather was still cold, and since Lin Qiao was heavily pregnant, she couldn’t organize anything elaborate. In the end, at her insistence, he simply cooked a bowl of longevity noodles, which counted as celebrating his birthday.

As the delivery date neared, Xie Jiayi and Lin Weiming stayed at the hospital every day to help out. Seeing the young couple celebrate so simply, they both felt a bit guilty. So they secretly bought flowers and a cake and brought them to the hospital in the evening, giving Shen Qingzhou a surprise.

Shen Qingzhou wasn’t particularly moved. He was deeply worried about Lin Qiao’s health and feared complications during delivery.

A few days earlier, he had seen Zhao Chunjun at the hospital. Although he wasn’t surprised, he wasn’t entirely at ease either.

Even though he had made thorough preparations and believed Zhao Chunjun wouldn’t dare do anything to the expectant mother, the fact that he kept appearing around the hospital still annoyed him a little.

After half-heartedly blowing out the candles, Shen Qingzhou was forced by Lin Qiao to take a bite of cake. As he sat there distractedly, he suddenly heard Lin Qiao cry out in pain: “It hurts so much!”

Shen Qingzhou snapped back to reality instantly, immediately setting the cake aside to check on Lin Qiao. Xie Jiayi and Lin Weiming had already rushed to get the doctor, who arrived at the ward at top speed, prepared everything, and wheeled Lin Qiao into the delivery room.

And so, on the very day of Shen Qingzhou’s birthday, their child was born—an amazing coincidence that the baby shared the same birthday as her father.

As expected, the baby was a girl, and Lin Qiao’s delivery went smoothly. She didn’t suffer for long, and both mother and child were safe and healthy, finally easing the worries of the anxious family.

Shen Qingzhou looked at the little girl wrapped tightly in the nurse’s arms. Her little face hadn’t fully developed yet, but although it might sound exaggerated, he thought her eyebrows and eyes looked very much like Lin Qiao’s.

Xie Jiayi stood beside, smiling as he asked, “Have you decided on a name for the baby yet?”

Shen Qingzhou looked at him and said, “Shen Ailin?”

Xie Jiayi had a black line across his forehead: “Are you sure? That’s a bit too common…”

Shen Qingzhou smiled slightly and said casually, “No, I was just kidding with you.”

“…” Unfilial son (╯_-_╰)!