When Zhan arrived at work, he went to the office and typed a resignation letter before going to Lixian’s office.
Lixian didn’t approve resignation letter, but he knew Zhan determination, but he did not want to lose such an excellent designer.
***
Zhan drove back to Cloud Recesses Community and placed a letter he printed at work on the bedside table.
He then took out two suitcases and packed, one for Fei and one for himself.
After he finished packing, he took a taxi and left to pick Fei up from kindergarten and headed for the airport.
After security screening, they waited in the lounge to board the plane.
“Mom, where are we going? Where’s Dad? Isn’t he coming with us?” Fei sat down and slightly swayed her tiny feet.
“We’re going back to Tianjin. Dad is too busy with work. We need to do what we can. We don’t want to trouble him,” Zhan touched Fei soft black hair and replied.
“Will dad come to us when he finishes work? Grandpa said that he would let dad take us back to Beijing,” Fei said.
“Probably. We’ll wait for him in Tianjin.” Zhan held Fei in his arms.
Afterward, they heard a boarding announcement, boarded the plane smoothly, and flew to Tianjin.
They then took a long-distance bus and arrived in the countryside after a few transfers.
Zhan took Fei and followed the path in his memory to a house whose wooden doors were on a latch.
Zhan reached out and pushed the door open to see a large courtyard and a house with blue tiles and grey walls. Everything was simple and old.
There were chickens and ducks in the yard. There were also flowers and plants.
Zhan walked in with Fei.
At this moment, an old man in his seventies came out of the central room with corn in his hand.
When he saw Zhan, he froze and was so excited that the sieve in his hand fell to the ground, spilling corn everywhere.
“Zhan?” the old man asked.
“Grandpa.” Zhan stepped forward and fell into the arms of the old man like he did when he was a child. “Grandpa, I’m back to see you.”
“I’m happy that you are back.” Grandpa patted his on the back and looked at Fei, who was not far away.
“Great-grandpa, I am Fei, your great-granddaughter.”
“I’m surprised that not only did Zhan grow up, but his daughter did as well. It’s too bad your grandma won’t ever see,” Grandpa’s voice was choked when he spoke of grandma.
Zhan let go of his grandpa. “Grandma is watching from heaven.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Grandpa agreed. He asked the cute little Fei, “Fei, where’s dad?”
When Fei was about to answer, Zhan said to her, “Honey, put your suitcase in that room.”
Zhan pointed to the room on the left side of the central room, which used to be his room.
“Okay.” Fei took her cartoon panda suitcase to the room.
Grandpa and Zhan watched as Fei’ small body pulled her suitcase and found her very cute.
After Fei walked away, Grandpa took Zhan and walked a few steps away from the eaves to a place where Fei could not hear, He said, “What’s wrong between you and your child’s dad?”
“Grandpa, it’s nothing.” Zhan smiled. “It’s just that we are not suitable.”
“Your child is already this old, yet you now think that you guys aren’t suited for each other?” Grandpa asked rhetorically and then added, “Did he let you down?”
“No.” Zhan shook his head, feeling very bitter. “I let him down. I don’t know how to face him because of some things.”
“So you took your child to hide in the countryside? You wanted to escape?” Grandpa understood very clearly. “Zhan, escaping the problem doesn’t solve it. If you want to solve the problem, you must face reality.”
“Grandpa, I know, but I am a mess right now. I just want to find a place to calm down, Would you look down on me and despise me?” The only place that Zhan could think of was his grandpa’s place.
Only this place could make him feel at ease and keep him away from those troubles.
Yibo was busy, so he would not bother coming to this place. Zhan just wanted to be apart from him for a while, so both of them could calm down.
“How could grandpa despise you? I’m very happy that you came to see grandpa, but grandpa doesn’t want you to treat yourself badly,” Grandpa said sincerely. He reached out to pat him on the shoulder. “Grandpa supports any decision you make as long as you feel that it’s right and you are happy.”
“Thank you, grandpa.” Zhan reached out and hugged Grandpa again.
“You are my good grandson. What are you thanking me for?”
“Grandpa, I’ll go put my suitcase away first.” Zhan trot away with a smile.
Zhan put his suitcase in the room, Fei had already opened her suitcase and was searching for something.
“What are you doing?” Zhan was puzzled.
“I have something to give to great-grandpa.” Fei finally found the picture she drew in the corner of her suitcase after searching. It was all wrinkled.
Zhan shook his head helplessly, put his suitcase away, “I’m going to help grandpa shuck corn. You play by yourself.”
“Mom, I’m also going to help great-grandpa.” Fei took Zhan’s hand as they walked out of the room together and went into the central room.
Grandpa was picking up the corn that had just fallen on the ground and putting them into the round sieve.
“Great-grandpa, we’re here to help you.” Fei approached him happily.
Zhan and Fei squatted down and finished picking up the corn with Grandpa.
They then carried the corn to a square table in the corner of the yard.
“Grandpa, look at my drawing.” Fei showed her drawing as if she was presenting a treasure. “This is a gift from me.”
“Thank you.” Grandpa touched Fei’ head. “Come here and let great-grandpa see what you drew.”
Grandpa unfolded the A4 paper. It was a drawing of a man in superhero clothes holding hands with a man in a white dress and holding a little girl in a pink dress in his arms under a dark blue starry sky.
“Great-grandpa, this is me, this is mom, and this is dad. My dad is amazing. He loves Fei and protects mom and me like a superhero,” Fei explained the meaning of the drawing to Grandpa.
“Oh, dad is so amazing…” Grandpa glanced at Zhan, who held corn in his hand. “Then Fei has a good dad, right?”
“Of course, my dad is the best dad in the world.” Fei’s tone was particularly proud. “Great-grandpa, let me tell you. When I was hurt and bled, dad donated 600cc of blood to me…
“Fei, come and help your great-grandpa shuck corn.” Zhan picked up corn for her. “It must be shucked before dark, come on.”
“What do you shuck the corn for?” Fei asked curiously.
“Corn can be used to feed chickens and ducks.” Grandpa pointed to the chickens and ducks on the other side of the bamboo fence.
Fei nodded. “We humans can eat it too.”
“This is dried corn. If you want to eat it, you have to grind it into corn flour.” Grandpa cut the hard corn off the cob. “If you want to eat it, there is some corn flour at home.”
“I like to eat fresh corn,” Fei expressed her thoughts.
“I see,” Grandpa laughed.
The three of them shucked corn while talking and laughing together until the sun went down and Grandpa was ready to cook dinner.
Zhan helped start a fire. It was the first time that Fei saw a firewood stove, so she was interested and wanted to have a try. But the soot turned her into a little spotted cat.
“Hurry up and take Fei to wash her face and hands. It’s time to eat,” Grandpa urged Zhan..
Zhan went to well in the yard to manually retrieve water, but when he took out his phone, it slipped from his hand and fell into the bucket of water in front of him. It was damaged beyond repair.
Fei picked up his phone from the bucket, and it was dripping with water.
Fei looked upset. “Mom, the phone is broken… I can’t call dad anymore…”
“It’s okay, let’s fix it. If we can’t fix it, then let’s buy another one,” Zhan comforted Fei.
In fact, the call just now was from Yibo. It seemed that he had already seen the letter he left.
“After we wash our hands, let’s eat.” Zhan took the phone and went to the central room with Fei, The dining table in the central room was already set, Meat and vegetables from the countryside were fresher and more delicious than those from the city.
***
Yibo was in Chongqing and after he called Zhan, he only heard a beep before his phone shutdown.
He was very puzzled and called several times, but the response he received from all of them was that his phone was turned off.
He was busy today and did not pick up Fei with Zhan. He just got home and heard from the maid that Zhan and Fei both did not come back.
He call Zhan, but his phone was turned off. He felt uneasy that he could not get in contact with Zhan.
He went upstairs, opened the bedroom door, and saw a letter at the bedside when he walked to the bed.
He pulled out the letter from under the lamp.
The words on the envelope were indeed written by Zhan – “Private and confidential – to Yibo”.
This made him feel uneasy.
He opened the envelope and took out the printed letter. The content of the letter was as follows:
[Yibo, Please allow me to say sorry to you first of all.
I feel apologetic towards you for what happened five years ago, but I had no choice. I don’t regret what I did, but the only thing that I feel guilty about is that I used you and Fei.
The secret that Fei is your biological daughter has been like a stone in my heart that made me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid to tell you.
Now that you know, I feel a lot more at ease but a lot guiltier at the same time.
Because of your kindness to me, I couldn’t face you. My heart is a mess. I don’t think I am worthy of your kindness.
Yibo, I couldn’t persuade myself to accept your kindness with peace of mind. This would only make me hate myself even more.
Sorry, I ran away, I wanted to find a place to calm down.
I don’t know when I’ll come back. Maybe I’ll never come back… Don’t wait for me and don’t look for me.
I’ll be good by myself. I’ll also take care of Fei. Don’t worry. You should also pay attention to your health. Don’t forget to eat and rest after being busy with work.
Your health is your most precious asset. Only by having a healthy body would you have what you want.
Yibo, please forgive my cowardice and selfishness.
Therefore, I have signed the divorce agreement that you gave me. You can be free after you sign.
Finally, I wish you happiness, and sorry.
Xiao Zhan.]
After reading the short letter word by word, Yibo’s inner peace was destroyed bit by bit.
He squeezed the letter with his fingers so hard that he punctured the paper.
“Zhan, you are indeed selfish!” Yibo felt very angry and then balled the letter in his hand and threw it away.
His heart was crumpled up like this paper.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number. The call was soon answered. “Mr. Lixian, did Zhan take a leave of absence?”
Since Zhan left Chongqing, he must have gone through handover procedures at work.
Lixian was surprised at first because he did not expect Yibo to not know about Zhan’s resignation.
But Lixian still told the truth, “He came to me to resign, but I didn’t approve. I promised him that he can come back to work at any time, so he was given a long vacation… Is there something going on between you two? I’m sorry for asking.”
“Thank you for telling me.” Yibo was rarely polite.
After finishing the conversation with Lixian, he sat on the edge of the bed and exhaled deeply and in a depressed manner.
He rested his hands on the edge of the bed and tightened his grip so strongly that the veins on the back of his hands popped out and his joints turned pale.
It seemed that Zhan had thought about all of this last night, but I had no idea like an idiot.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became that he was on the verge of going on a rampage.
He could understand the embarrassment and discomfort that Zhan felt from having his secret revealed. But he could not accept that Zhan ran away without a word, like a deserter, and without clearing things up with him face to face.
He would not forgive him for being so capricious. If Zhan wanted to leave, then he would just let him go. He would not chase after him anymore.
He also had his pride and self-esteem.
Before this, no one had ever dared to treat him like this.
The fire in Yibo’s chest burned so hard that he could not say anything. He had tried his best to restrain his anger, but when he saw the divorce agreement, his blood burned.
With a swing of his long arm, he knocked off the lamp on the bedside table to the floor.
The ceramic on the lamp cover was so shattered that it could never be put together again.
At this time, the bedroom door was pushed open in a hurry.
The person who came in saw the broken lamp on the floor and a disheveled man but had no idea what was going on.
“What made you so furious?” Meng Yao stepped over, looking down at the poor lamp. “Didn’t this cost you money?”
“Get out,” Yibo just said coldly.
Now he was not in the mood for jokes and did not want to vent his anger on his good friend.
Yao ignored his “rude” attitude and glanced at the divorce agreement on the bedside table.
It seemed that he was in a bad mood because of it.
Yao did not ask about it. “You need to eat.”
“I’m not in the mood or appetite and don’t want to eat.” Yibo sat back on the edge of the bed. “I told you to get out.”
“Okay, getting out.” Yao turned and left..
Yibo sat there alone and thought that it would finally be quiet, but Yao returned within a few minutes with a small first aid kit in his hand.
He saw Yibo’s right-hand bleeding just now, so he went downstairs to ask the maid for a first aid kit..
Yao opened the first aid kit and took out a disinfectant, cotton swabs, and scissors.
“Didn’t I tell you to leave? What are you back for?” Yibo was a little impatient.
“After I help you treat the wound, I’ll leave even if you don’t ask me to.” Yao reached out and took his hand.
Yibo tightly clenched his hand, not wanting him to be nosy.
“Relax,” Yao became unhappy. “There’s no way I’m just going to watch you bleed. The earlier I treat it, the earlier I can leave.”
Only then did Yibo slowly unclenched his hand. His palm was most likely scratched by ceramic and was now stained red by his blood.
Fortunately, the wound was not deep. Otherwise, he would have to go to the hospital for stitches.
Yao used a cotton swab that was moistened with a disinfectant to clean the bloodstains on his palm. It was inevitable that he would touch the wound, but Yibo only frowned and did not say anything, as if it was not his wound that was being treated.
Yao wrapped up his work. “Something as small as this was enough to give you a big blow? This isn’t like you.”
Yibo looked at the layers of white gauze wrapped around his palm and did not speak.
“Anyway, you said that you are going to divorce three years later when you got married three years ago. You are only fulfilling the original contract now. What? You can’t part from him?” Yao packed up the first aid kit.
“Before is before. Now is now. I never thought that there would be such a day.” Yibo let out a long breath, “Forget it, this is already the case anyway. So be it.”
“No one can help you with this kind of thing. Only you can reason with yourself. Yibo, look on the bright side, it’s just a contract.” Yao reached out and patted both of his shoulders a couple of times.
Yao lifted the first aid kit to leave. Yibo also got up from the edge of the bed and left the bedroom with him.
The two went downstairs one after the other.
Yao gave the first aid kit to the maid and turned around to say to Yibo, “I’ll be going back to the hotel. Call me if you need something.”
“Who told you to leave? Eat here.” Yibo glared at him lightly before heading for the dining room.
Yao shrugged slightly and went to the dining room with him.
“Why did you come to Chongqing?” Since Yibo was not in his right mind just now, he did not ask much about Yao’s sudden appearance.
“I came to Chongqing to hold a film festival. I heard from Uncle Wang that you were here, so I came to see you.” Yao scooped a bowl of soup for himself.
“You are happy and free.” Yibo was a little envious of him for being able to wander everywhere, unlike him, who was burdened with the Wang Group. There was not a moment for him to relax.
“How can the Meng family compare your family? The Wang family is very big while the Meng family is only so big.” Yao smiled.
Yibo really wanted to tear this guy’s smile into pieces, “Everyone knows that the Meng family has power in Kynto. You don’t have to fool me here.”
“That has nothing to do with me.” Yao picked up the soup bowl and drank the soup. “This soup is very good.”
“You are fooling Grandpa Meng. Aren’t you afraid of being caught and grounded?” Yibo met his gaze.
“There’s no use in being afraid. Grandpa has arranged everything anyway. I’m just a puppet.” Yao leaned back in the chair. “Grandpa’s birthday is next month. Although he said that it’s going to be low-key, you know that he has ulterior motives.”
“Grandpa wants to host a blind date party for you.” Yibo had experienced it before, but he ended up choosing Zhan, a man who had no connection with their social circle.
It was just that some things happen when least expected. It not only made him abandon the original three-year agreement, but also hurt him all over.
Yibo felt a headache when he thought of this. He rose up from his chair but brought red wine and wine glasses over.
He poured half a glass of wine and handed it to Yao. He then poured one for himself and picked up the glass. “Have a couple of drinks with me.”
“Cheers.” Yao picked up the wine glasses and clinked with Yibo’s, creating a crisp sound.
Both of them drank half a glass of red wine in one gulp, and Yibo refilled their wine glasses again.
The two of them didn’t eat much but drank a lot of wine.
The two sat on the sofa contentedly, and Yibo felt very happy.
“Yibo, you came to Chongqing for a man, but he gave up on you, Was it worth it?” Yao asked him.
Yibo put his long legs on the coffee table in a comfortable posture. “Let me tell you a story…”
He told Yao about what happened five years ago and what happened between himself and Zhan.
Meng Yao showed a look of surprise as he listened and finally understood.
“It turned out that you were entangled with each other five years ago, and your contractual wife was also him… Is it fate that you two are destined to meet?” Yao laughed gently. “Yibo, he may be your nemesis in this life.”
Yibo said, “I will definitely be there on the day of Grandpa Meng’s birthday, and I will see who your nemesis is.”
“How will that ever be a nemesis? It just means I’ll stop being single. Unlike you, who lost your virginity, your heart, and your man, yet you don’t even know whether he likes you…” Yao smiled smugly at Yibo’s misfortune.
“Yibo, to be honest, I look down on you a little bit. What have you been doing in the past thirty years of your life?”
“Since you like him, you should chase after him. Even if you get a divorce, you have to make it clear. Ask him if he likes you or his ex. If he likes you, then it’s a good thing, and you can reunite with your family. If he doesn’t, then you cut your losses, You are drinking your sorrows away and guessing what lies in his heart. People’s hearts are the hardest to guess…. You need to know the reason.”
Yibo did not reply and only indulged himself in wine.
Time was almost up, so Yao got up. “Don’t drink too much and rest earlier.”
“Where are you going?” Yibo asked him, looking up.
“The hotel. The organizer booked it a long time ago. My team is in the hotel, and there are many things to do.” Yao patted him on the shoulder. “I won’t be able to keep you company anymore.”
“I’m not interested in you.” Yibo gave him a blank look, “Take your time. Bye.”
After Yao left, Yibo stayed alone in the huge and quiet living room…
It was nighttime, yet he did not have anyone to lean on.
***
Jin Group.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Rex placed a pile of documents on Darren’s desk.
“Mr. Jin, I finally found out the real donor that year was Mr Xiao Zhan….”
Darren’s hand trembled while holding a document. His face turned pale, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
“How is it possible?” Darren could not accept this fact.
“I couldn’t believe it either, so I only dared tell you after verifying.” Rex also looked incredulous. “The document you are holding contains the clues from that time.”
Darren hurriedly looked at the document.
Rex also explained, “It wasn’t easy for me to find out that a classmate of mine was at the luxurious maternity hospital where Mr Zhan stayed at the time. He remembered that Mr Zhan asked them to give the umbilical cord blood to his sister, who was Miss Xiao Lingjao.”
“And this umbilical cord blood is the one that Miss Lingjao used to save you, which means it belonged to Mr Zhan’s daughter. It’s Mr Zhan who saved you.”
“Who is the biological father of that child?” Darren asked.
“I don’t have a clue yet because Mr Xiao’s activities before admission have not been found yet. I only know that he suddenly disappeared and then checked into this hospital before delivery and gave birth to the baby. Then you were there when he was discharged from the hospital…”
Darren held the document tightly. It had more detailed records.
It turned out that he mistook his saviour for someone else. He mistakenly treated his saviour as his betrayer and instead, turned a fake saviour into his wife.
He was the world’s biggest fool, the biggest joke.
At this moment, Darren felt waves of emotions sweeping and surging.
When the momentum passed, it felt as if he was sapped of energy and was only an empty shell, too weak to even hold the document.
The truth of this incident caused a huge shock to his body and mind, making him unable to immediately face such a cruel situation with a clear mind.
“Hahaha…” Darren finally laughed after a while.
The more he laughed, the louder he was and the more miserable he felt,
The rim of his eyes turned red from sorrow and grief. The man he had hated for so long saved his life…
And what did he do to him!
He deserted and betrayed him in public, proposed to his sister, and trampled on his dignity!
He even watched as their parents scolded and humiliated him and media reporters slandered him!
He loved him so much, but he became the culprit who pushed him away.
“Ah-” Darren angrily swept the documents on the desk to the floor.
“Mr. Jin, you were not aware, so don’t blame yourself too much.” Rex looked at Darren’s red eyes and could only persuade him this way.
Darren pushed against the table with both hands as his chest rose and fell violently because of anger.
“If only I was more sensible back then and listened to his explanation! Do you know how much I hate myself now? It was me who caused him so much suffering! It was me! I let him down! I’m just a bastard!”
Darren raised his hand and hit his left atrium fiercely as he blamed himself and felt guilty.
“Mr. Jin, if you feel apologetic toward Mr Zhan, then go and make up to him now.” Rex felt bad for Darren.
No one thought that the truth would be like this. Anyone would have a hard time accepting it.
“Make up to him? He doesn’t need it anymore… and I’ve forever lost the right to.” Darren slumped back into the executive chair.
“Mr. Jin, it’s better late than never. Besides, Mr Zhan once loved you so much… and even gave birth to a child to save you.” Rex thought that there was still hope. “If you don’t want to part from Mr Zhan and truly want to get him back, then go for it.”
Now Darren was miserable in a tizzy and he thought, “Do I still have any chance for his forgiveness?”
“Mr. Jin, though it’s indeed a grievous hurt to Mr Zhan, you’re a victim too. Miss Lingjao not only hid the truth that the cord blood was collected from Mr Zhan’s baby, but also lied that it was she that found the blood, Both you and Mr Zhan to her bait and your hurtful behaviors were made on madness as you care too much about him.”
“The more you love, the more you hate. Explain it to Mr Zhan with your 100% sincerity, I think he will understand you as he is reasonable. Mr. Jin, now there is a chance right before your eyes.”
“What chance?” A glimmer of hope lit up in this man’s gloomy eyes.
“I will ask someone to trace Mr Zhan and it’s noticed that he has left Liu Group yesterday with his daughter for Tianjin.” Rex was wholeheartedly considerate to his master.
“He left for Tianjin?” Darren murmured, “He worked there before. It makes sense.”
“No, he’s not back to work there, but returned to his grandfather’s home instead,” Rex stopped and continued, “Mr. Wang wasn’t with him.”
“His absence doesn’t mean anything,” Darren thought of Yibo, his strong rival in love, and said, “Anyway, he’s Zhan’s legal husband while I also have a wife.”
“Mr. Jin, everything is to be blamed to Miss Lingjao. She is cunny.” This over-weight scheming female under a sweet and vulnerable look was also beyond Rex’s expectation and her sinister mind made his hair stand on end.
The saying of being careful of evil women was a clear proof of some kind of women like Lingjao.
“Lingjao, damn it!” Darren slightly squinted, looking murderous.
At this moment the gentle Darren had the intent of killing and he realized that the woman he loved was the real manipulator behind her playing him off against Zhan.
And he had even slept with her for so many years. What a sheer irony it was!
Darren stood up and went around the office table to leave his office.
When passing by Rex, he gave a cold order, “No more penny to Lingjao except for necessary expenses! I will make her suffer from what Zhan did before, even a hundred and thousand times more. That’s all she deserves!”
Zhan was driven away from the Xiao family and was forced to leave Chongqing. How did he lead a penniless life for the last five years with a new-born baby?
Darren hated himself when thinking of how abjectly Zhan had lived.
“Yes, sir,” said Rex.
“I’m out for a while. Cancel all appointments.”
Now there was something important that Darren was going to do. “Send me Lingjao’s address.”
☆~~~~~~◇~~~❌~~~◇~~~~~~☆
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I am obsessed with WangXian and YiZhan so much… currently love to read and write stories about them…
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I hope the author will finish this story. It’s almost two years yet no update