Chapter 54:

Shen Qingzhou drove Lin Qiao back home. He parked the car outside the gate, unlocked the door, and said, “Go back first.”

Lin Qiao asked, “What about you?”

Shen Qingzhou glanced at the back seat, implying, “I need to take care of these things.”

Without him needing to explain further, Lin Qiao already understood that dealing with those things wouldn’t be pleasant. She had been quite scared already, so she definitely wouldn’t insist on going along.

“Then when will you come back?” Lin Qiao asked, unfastening her seatbelt.

Shen Qingzhou looked at his watch, his deep eyes slightly narrowing as he softly replied, “Not sure. If I’m too late, don’t wait for me. Have dinner and go to sleep.”

Lin Qiao quickly said, “No, I’m scared being alone at home.”

Shen Qingzhou held her hand and kissed it lightly. His brows slightly furrowed as if in thought. After a moment, he said, “Then go to the hospital. Duxinling and Xiaoning are there. There’s an empty bed in the ward. You can drive Duxinling out and sleep there tonight.”

Lin Qiao thought this plan was feasible, but she still hoped he would come back: “If you finish early, come pick me up. I still want to be with you.”

Shen Qingzhou tightened his grip on her hand, slightly lifting the corner of his lips in a gentle “Mm,” before restarting the car and driving toward the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, Lin Qiao got out to say goodbye. Shen Qingzhou gave her a few instructions before preparing to roll up the window and leave. Before he could close it, Lin Qiao said, “Be careful yourself.”

Shen Qingzhou didn’t respond directly, waving at her to go in first. Lin Qiao shook her head and said, “You go first. I’ll watch you leave.”

Shen Qingzhou’s lips curved upward, his dark eyes sparkling like stars. He simply said, “Okay.”

Seeing his smile, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile too. After saying goodbye, Shen Qingzhou turned the steering wheel and drove in the opposite direction. Watching his car disappear, Lin Qiao felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy.

Lin Qiao hadn’t informed Duxinling beforehand about coming to the hospital, so he was quite surprised when he saw her.

His surprise wasn’t the only one—others in the ward were also taken aback.

Besides Xiaoning and Duxinling, there were two unexpected guests: Qi Zheng and Jian Shi.

Jian Shi was the secretary of Fang Mingjun, Fang Zheng’s father. She was probably there partly because Fang Mingjun had sent her, and partly because she wanted to come herself.

Lin Qiao hadn’t seen her in a long time. Seeing her here with Xiaoning was quite unexpected.

Compared to Jian Shi, seeing Qi Zheng was more understandable. After all, Lin Qiao already knew about Qi Zheng’s connection with Xiaoning’s parents. Xiaoning’s blood might even partly be his.

“Lin Qiao, why are you here?” Duxinling asked, stepping forward. “Great, come in. I’m entertaining guests. Why don’t you keep Xiaoning company for a while?”

With just the word “guests,” the distance between them was clearly defined. Neither Qi Zheng nor Jian Shi spoke, but they watched Lin Qiao, who didn’t even look at them.

Lin Qiao nodded at Duxinling, closed the door quietly, and walked over to the bed. She sat beside Xiaoning and gently touched his face. He instinctively snuggled into her arms, looking slightly frightened toward Qi Zheng.

Why was Xiaoning afraid of Qi Zheng? Had Qi Zheng said something to him? Lin Qiao subtly looked toward Qi Zheng, who was also watching them. He gazed at Xiaoning in her arms, as if sighing, then shifted his eyes to meet Lin Qiao’s. His dark eyes were filled with embarrassment.

Lin Qiao turned her gaze away, patted Xiaoning’s shoulder gently, and whispered, “It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping? Aren’t you tired?”

Xiaoning said unhappily, “They’re too noisy. I can’t sleep.”

Qi Zheng lowered his head in shame, rubbing his throbbing forehead.

Jian Shi pursed her lips and softly said, “Mr. Du, I think I came at a bad time. I’ll come another day. I’ll leave now. Goodbye.” She looked at Xiaoning and waved, “Xiaoning, rest well. Auntie is leaving now.”

Xiaoning ignored her, burying his face into Lin Qiao’s arms, which left Jian Shi somewhat embarrassed.

Lin Qiao said calmly, “The child is a bit shy. Miss Jian, please don’t take it to heart.”

Hearing this, Jian Shi felt even more embarrassed. She coughed slightly and quickly left.

With Jian Shi gone, only Qi Zheng remained as an outsider. Knowing he shouldn’t stay too long, Qi Zheng sighed and said, “Mr. Du, I still hope you can seriously consider my suggestion. After all, I have the right to know the truth.”

Duxinling smiled and said, “Sir, talking to me is useless. You should go to Shen Qingzhou. He is Xiaoning’s father and legal guardian. Xiaoning’s surname is Shen, not Du. His name is Shen Ning, not Du Ning.”

Hearing this, Xiaoning protested, “Yes, Du Ning sounds terrible. Shen Ning sounds much better!”

Duxinling looked back at Xiaoning helplessly, smiling slightly with a hint of委屈as he touched his nose.

Xiaoning smiled sweetly, his cute and handsome face melting Lin Qiao’s heart. She couldn’t help but pat his head.

Qi Zheng also saw Xiaoning’s smile. His gaze was somewhat dazed. After a while, he said, “Then, could I trouble Mr. Du to convey a message to Mr. Shen? I suppose he probably won’t agree to meet me.”

Duxinling shrugged and said, “You probably don’t know this yet, but I’m just his business partner. He won’t listen to me when I talk about anything outside of work. It’s always me taking care of him, while he’s always the master. Who asked him to be a master? I can’t do anything about it. People with ability naturally have the right to be proud, right?”

The words might have been rough, but the meaning was clear. Not only did it politely refuse Qi Zheng’s request, but it also made it impossible for Qi Zheng to ask anything else from him.

Qi Zheng sighed, hoping to turn to Lin Qiao for help. As soon as he looked at Lin Qiao, she understood his intention and immediately said, “Don’t count on me. I’m on the same side as Shen Qingzhou.”

Qi Zheng seemed to have a headache, looked at Xiaoning with reluctance, and finally sighed and left.

After he left, Lin Qiao put Xiaoning to sleep. Once Xiaoning was asleep, she called Duxinling out to talk.

“Why is Qi Zheng here?” Lin Qiao asked softly.

Duxinling whispered, “Because of the child, of course. He wants to take Xiaoning for a paternity test to see if Xiaoning is his son or someone else’s.”

Lin Qiao said coldly, “What does he mean? If it turns out to be his, does he want to take the child back?”

Duxinling replied, “Of course. Can’t you tell? If the child is really his, he will definitely want to take him back. He didn’t come before because he couldn’t find us, but now we’re all in Beijing, and the hospital is fixed. How can he not come?”

Lin Qiao said, “Absolutely not. He shouldn’t even think about it. What paternity test? If he’s truly remorseful, he should be willing to take the child regardless of whether he’s the biological father or not.”

Duxinling pursed his lips and said, “Even if he is truly remorseful, Shiheng won’t agree to let him take the child. As for you, I find it amusing. Other girls don’t want to become stepmothers once they enter a family, but you actually don’t mind having this little burden around.”

Lin Qiao gave him a sidelong glance and said, “Xiaoning is not a burden. Don’t talk nonsense. It’s not like Shen Qingzhou can’t afford to raise a few more kids. It won’t kill him to raise a few more.”

“I guess you’re saying this because Xiaoning likes you. What if he didn’t like you and pressured Shen Qingzhou to break up with you, would you still think the same way?” Duxinling asked sharply.

Lin Qiao sighed helplessly, “Let me put it this way: everything has its order. I came later, so if Xiaoning doesn’t like me, he naturally has the right to suggest to his father not to be with me. But that’s just a hypothesis. He likes me quite a bit, doesn’t he?” Lin Qiao smirked proudly, “Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Why did Jian Shi come here?”

Duxinling groaned, “I was going to ask you the same thing. Why don’t you keep an eye on your man? He’s attracting all sorts of attention. That woman comes to the hospital every few days. People might think she’s Xiaoning’s stepmother!”

Lin Qiao frowned, “Didn’t you tell her not to come anymore?”

“How could I say that? She’s a woman, and I’m a man. I can’t bring myself to say such harsh words.”

In this aspect, he was quite different from Shen Qingzhou. Lin Qiao nodded and said, “Alright then. I’ll think about how to handle this. You go rest first. I’ll stay with Xiaoning tonight.”

“I’ll just rest in the next room. If anything happens, call me. I don’t have anywhere else to go anyway.”

“Then goodnight. Get some rest.”

After saying goodbye to Duxinling, Lin Qiao returned to Xiaoning’s ward and found him awake again.

Lin Qiao was surprised, “Why are you up again?”

Xiaoning sat half-up on the bed, his eyes drowsy, pouting, “I can’t sleep.”

Lin Qiao closed the ward door, turned off the main light, and left only the soft light on. She sat on the chair beside the bed, facing Xiaoning, and said, “Liar. Your eyes are so tired they can’t even stay open. How can you not be sleepy?”

Xiaoning pursed his lips, as if he couldn’t hold back anymore, and said, “Auntie Lin, where did my dad go? I haven’t seen him for days.”

The child must have been scared by Qi Zheng today and really missed his father. Lin Qiao couldn’t help but worry about Shen Qingzhou, who was out handling important matters. She softly sighed and said, “Be a good boy, Xiaoning. Go to sleep tonight. Auntie Lin is here with you. Tomorrow, when you wake up, Auntie Lin will take you to find your dad, okay?”

Xiaoning lay back down, pulled the blanket over himself, turned to look at Lin Qiao for a long time, and softly said, “Auntie Lin, can I call Dad?”

Lin Qiao was taken aback. She thought Shen Qingzhou might be busy and might not have time to answer the call, but she couldn’t bear to see Xiaoning upset. So she took out her phone and called Shen Qingzhou.

Luckily, Shen Qingzhou wasn’t too busy to answer. The call was picked up after just a few rings. His side was very quiet, and his voice came through the phone, deep and magnetic.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Lin Qiao looked at Xiaoning, who was full of hope. He had already climbed out of bed and was waiting beside her to take the phone. She quickly said, “Xiaoning really misses you. He wants to say a few words to you.”

Shen Qingzhou was silent for a few seconds on the other end. Then his voice became even softer, “Give him the phone.”

Lin Qiao complied, handing the phone to Xiaoning. Xiaoning immediately took it and called out, “Dad!”

Since the phone was in Xiaoning’s hand, Lin Qiao couldn’t hear what Shen Qingzhou said, but she could hear Xiaoning’s responses.

Xiaoning seemed very happy, constantly saying “Mm-hmm.” Shen Qingzhou must have been talking to him. After listening for a while, Xiaoning asked, “Dad, will you come to see me tomorrow?”

Shen Qingzhou must have agreed because Xiaoning immediately said joyfully, “Okay! I’ll be good. I’ll protect Auntie Lin. Don’t worry!”

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but be startled. She hadn’t expected Shen Qingzhou to say these things to Xiaoning. While she was still in shock, Xiaoning continued, “Yes, I’m a real man. I definitely won’t let Dad down.”

Hearing these words, Lin Qiao’s eyes couldn’t help but well up—not because she was particularly moved or had a low threshold for tears—but because she suddenly felt that having such a good child somewhere who missed and cared about you was truly a wonderful thing.

Unconsciously, she touched her stomach, wondering when she could have a child like this too.