DBSNTM-73 It Is Hard to Be Together for Long

---

The next day.

New Year’s Eve.

Zhan was awakened by the sound of footsteps outside the door.

“What time is it?”

He asked Yibo in a daze.

Yibo’s voice was hoarse as he woke up, “It’s still early. Have some sleep?”

Zhan shook his head, “No.”

Although he was woken up, he was no longer sleepy.

They got up, changed their clothes and went out together.

After all, it was the most important festival of the year, and all the servants they met looked cheerful and excited.

Just as they were about to arrive at the dining room, Zhan’s phone rang.

It was Jingtong.

Zhan hesitated for a moment before picking it up.

“Zhan, when are you coming back? So I can get everything ready in advance.” Jingtong asked tentatively.

Zhan hadn’t thought much about returning to his mother’s house to pay her New Year greetings.

There was no bond between him and the Xiao Family. Jingtong was only his legal mother.

Zhan instantly made a decision: “I will send someone to deliver presents. You can just let the servants take them.”

His words shattered Jingtong’s last hope.

But Jingtong thought of the day when she went to Zhan but was sent away by Yibo.

So she asked, “Did Yibo forbid you from coming back?”

“What?” Zhan did not know why Jingtong would mention Yibo.

“Last time I quarreled with your father, I went to your house to look for you, but they lied to me that you weren’t at home, so I waited outside. When Yibo came back at night, he just made me go away.”

The fear came back when she thought of Yibo’s face that day.

Zhan froze for a moment, “You mean the day when Jason took you in?”

“Right.”

Zhan did not know that Jingtong had gone to look for him that time.

Yibo did not mention that.

Because Zhan was on the phone, he walked slowly. Originally, he was walking side by side with Yibo, but now he had already fallen behind Yibo.

Zhan heard Jingtong’s words and raised his head to look at Yibo.

Yibo found that Zhan hadn’t caught up with him, so he turned around to look at him.

Seeing Zhan staring at him with his phone in hand, Yibo raised his eyebrows and said, “Come here quickly.”

“Zhan?” Jingtong said on the phone, “Why aren’t you talking now?”

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll hang up,” Zhan said coldly.

He hung up the phone directly and walked to Yibo.

Yibo felt that something was wrong with him. He frowned but did not ask him. He held his hand and walked into the dining room.

Zhan sat down at the dining table and did not look at Yibo. Yibo put food in Zhan’s bowl, but Zhan did not have any reaction.

It looked as if Zhan was completely in his own thought.

Yibo thought about the phone call Zhan had just got and guessed that his statement had something to do with it.

After breakfast, Zhan did not return to his room.

He stood up and said to Yibo, “I’m going to take a walk in the courtyard.”

Without waiting for Yibo’s reply, Zhan walked out.

Yijun ran over and sat down beside Yibo. “Where is Zhan going? Aren’t you going with him? You two have been always together these days. I can’t even find a chance to play with Zhan.”

Yibo did not say anything. Yijun didn’t know what he was thinking.

Yijun felt bored and was about to get up and leave when he heard Yibo said, “Follow him and see what he is doing now. Don’t let him get into trouble.”

After all, Zhan was not familiar with the old house, so Yibo was still afraid that something unexpected would happen.

Yiun said subconsciously, “Why don’t you go out with him? Did you have a quarrel?”

As a result, Yibo stared at him coldly. Yijun stuck his tongue out at him and ran out.

Yibo looked at Yijun until he ran out of the door. Then he pursed his lips and withdrew his gaze.

Zhan looked at him with a complex expression and he couldn’t understand Zhan’s emotion at that time.

It might be better for him not to interrupt Zhan.

When Zhan calmed down a little, he would naturally be willing to talk to him.

---

Yijun went to the courtyard and found Zhan in a pavilion.

The old house was a retro building, so there were pools and pavilions in the courtyard.

Zhan leaned against the pillar of the pavilion and looked at the water absentmindedly.

“Zhan, what are you looking at?”

Yijun ran over. A gust of cold wind blew over, and he trembled.

“It’s so cold.”

“What are you doing here?” Zhan turned to look at him.

Yijun put on the hat of his down jacket and sat down beside Zhan. “Yibo told me to come over.”

Zhan smiled but did not say anything.

“Did you have a quarrel?” Yijun felt that  Zhan was not very happy.

Zhan shook his head. “No.”

Yibo did not tell him that Jingtong had come to look for him.

His motive was for Zhan’s good. This was not a big deal.

Zhan would not quarrel with Yibo over this matter.

Even if he knew that Jingtong had come to him at that time, he would not take her in. He would probably send Jingtong back to the Xiao Family.

If Jingtong did not want to go back, he would probably let her live in the hotel.

And Yibo didn’t go too far.

After all, Yibo didn’t even like the Wangs, let alone Jingtong.

However, Zhan was still unhappy about that. No matter what, Jingtong was Zhan’s mother. Yibo should have told him that he had driven Jingtong away.

Yibo looked cold, but he was a cautious and considerate man.

His actions made Zhan suddenly realize that they were not equal.

Yibo would make a decision for him and not tell him about this matter, probably because in his heart, Zhan could not handle these things on his own.

After thinking carefully, Zhan really felt that he did not have anything.

He had no good career, no particular merit, and no intelligence.

Therefore, Yibo drove Jingtong away on behalf of him and he even felt that there was no need to tell him.

There was a large gap between him and Yibo.

Apart from being slightly different from ordinary people in personality. Yibo was indeed perfect.

Zhan knew that Yibo’s motive might be for his good.

But he couldn’t only view this matter in a positive aspect and only thought that he was for his good.

It is difficult for two people who had a large gap to be together for long.

Recently, he had been too dependent on Yibo.

He didn’t want to always depend on a man and let him to help him arrange everything.

Yijun tilted his head and frowned thoughtfully. “Then what happened to you guys?”

Zhan laughed. “Little brat, it’s none of your business.”

Yijun curled his lips, and made a gesture of number eight, “Don’t call me little brat all the time. You are only eight years older than me. And we are still of the same generation. How can you call me little brat?”

Zhan said, “It’s too cold. Let’s go back.”

When he came out, he felt it was okay, but now he felt a little cold.

He and Yijun had just left the pavilion when they saw Yibo walking over with his coat in hand.

Zhan walked over quickly and said, “Yibo.”

Yibo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, like an inextricable knot.

He silently draped the coat over Zhan’s shoulder.

They walked inside together.

Yibo thought that Zhan would say something to him, but he didn’t.

Yibo remembered that Zhan was actually a person who could hide his thoughts well.

If he had known earlier, he should have asked Zhan directly instead of giving him a chance to consider things on his own.

Now Zhan had thought about it for so long, he would not tell him anything.

Zhan remembered that Dilraba had given him a phone number at that time.

Although he had rejected Dilraba at that time, he still had her phone number.

Dilraba said that she was willing to help him. As long as her words were sincere, she would definitely help Zhan find someone reliable.

Zhan found Dilraba’s phone number. After thinking for a while, he did not dial the number directly.

Instead, he searched Dilraba’s WeChat account using the phone number.

It would definitely be awkward to call Dilraba all of a sudden.

It could be considered a tentative approach to contact her on WeChat first.

Zhan sent a request with his name.

After all, today was New Year’s Eve, and he thought that it would take Dilraba a long time to reply, or she would simply ignore it.

However, not long after his message was sent, Dilraba agreed his request.

Zhan was a little surprised.

The next moment, a message from Dilraba appeared on the screen.

“Zhan, you want my help now?”

It looked like she remembered what she said earlier.

Zhan did not beat around the bush. “Yes, does what you said before still count?”

“Of course.”

Then, Dilraba sent a message to him. “What kind of script are you writing? Send me a part of it first. I may not have time recently. I’m still working overtime. Wait for my messages. I may contact you after the Lantern Festival.”

“I know. Thank you.” Zhan was very sincere to thank her.

“Don’t thank me so early. If your script is too bad, I can only get you an unknown director.”

Dilraba’s words were straightforward, but Zhan did not feel bad at all.

“Alright.”

“I still have work to do. I’m so busy. I’ll talk to you later.”

Just as Zhan was about to say “goodbye”, he saw that Dilraba was editing a message now.

Soon, Dilraba sent a message. “Are you at the Wangs’ old house now? Did Zhouxuan go home alone to celebrate the New Year?”

“What do you want to know?” Zhan remembered that when Zhouxuan and Dilraba fought last time.

Zhan smiled and replied, “She went home alone. Don’t worry.”

Dilraba said, “What should I worry about? That bitch Zhouxuan. I don’t think she can get married!”

“Who are you chatting with?”

Yibo walked over.

Zhan quickly shifted the APP and pretend to be reading news as if nothing had happened.

“My friend.”

Yibo sat down in front of him and said, “Zhan.”

His tone was serious, making Zhan look up at him.

“Who called you before breakfast?” Because Zhan didn’t say anything, Yibo now asked directly.

Zhan did not lie. “My mother.”

“And then?” Yibo remembered the way Zhan looked at him and immediately guessed what Jingtong had said.

“She asked me when I would return to the Xiao Family and mentioned that she came to find me earlier.” Zhan looked very clam and showed no emotion.

Yibo narrowed his eyes and carefully observed Zhan’s expression, but he did not see anything unusual from his expression.

Of course, he did not think it was wrong to drive Jingtong away at that time and not tell him about it.

He remembered the doctor had said that pregnant person were fickle and emotional.

After that, he no longer felt puzzled why Zhan was suddenly unhappy.

“She was dreaming!” Jingtong actually dared to call Zhan and ask him when he would return.

Zhan did not seem to be emotional, but said indifferently, “I won’t go back. Just send them something.”

Yibo raised his eyebrows and said, “It’s up to you.”

---

At the New Year’s Eve dinner, everyone from the Wang Family gathered together.

The old house was very big. Apart from the dining hall where they often ate, there was also a dining hall dedicated to gatherings.

The dining hall was so big that they can almost hold a small party there.

As it turned out, so many relatives of the Wangs gathered together for the New Year’s Eve dinner and it was already a small party.

There were too many people. Zhan turned around and whispered to Yibo, “I don’t know who these people are.”

Yibo held Zhan’s hand and said with a faint smile, “It’s okay, they know who you are.”

Zhan thought for a while and felt that it made sense.

Zhan would also give red envelopes whenever a child came. The red envelopes were sent to Zhan by Qiren in advance by his servant.

Qiren really loved Yibo.

Everyone was in a good mood for the New Year, and the atmosphere in the dining hall was also good.

After dinner, they gathered together to chat and play.

However, Yibo did not want to stay with these people. He held Zhan’s hand and said, “Let’s go.”

“What?” Zhan looked at him and soon understood that he meant to go back to his room to sleep.

Zhan was indeed pregnant, but the doctor said that he was in good health now. He could stay up late for one night.

In Yibo’s view, Zhan was too fragile.

Zhan looked in the direction of Qiren and said, “I’m fine. It doesn’t matter to stay up late for one night. Everyone is here. It’s been a long time since you went back to the old house to celebrate the New Year. How many years have you not celebrated the New Year with your grandfather?”

The expression of Yibo changed slightly. It was obvious that he was moved by Zhan’s words.

“Let’s go. We can stay with grandpa.”

Zhan pulled Yibo towards Qiren, and Yibo followed.

As soon as Zhan went there, Yijun also followed.

“Zhan, let’s play cards!” Yijun took out a set of poker.

Zhan smiled. “Alright, I’ll let Yibo play cards with you.”

Yijun was not happy to hear that. “Well, forget it.”

Zhan could not play cards, but he was very good at playing dice.

Yibo, on the other hand, was good at playing everything.

“You guys go and play. Why are you here with an old man like me?”

Because of the Spring Festival, the expression on Qiren’s face was not as serious and cold as before. Instead, he looked gentle and benevolent.

Zhan quietly pushed Yibo to Qiren.

Yibo sat down beside Qiren.

Zhan turned around and saw Qiren looking at him with a smile.

Zhan felt a little embarrassed and also smiled.

“You guys can chat. I’m going to the bathroom.” After getting pregnant, he always wanted to go to the bathroom.

After saying that, Zhan got up and walked out.

Actually, he was not familiar with the old house, so he decided to go back to the bathroom in his room after thinking for a while.

As he walked up the stairs, he saw Wang Yizhou and Wang Cici.

They walked in a line and looked around vigilantly from time to time.

Yizhou and Cici were siblings. Judging from their behaviors in the past two days, they got along pretty well.

If they were just walking and chatting together, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

However, they had vigilant expressions as if they were afraid of being discovered by others.

They looked extremely suspicious and sneaky.

Zhan pursed his lips and followed them.

Because it was New Year’s Eve, there were fewer servants in the old house than usual.

They had just finished their New Year’s Eve dinner, and now those servants were also having their New Year’s Eve dinner.

As a result, Zhan followed them all the way and almost didn’t encounter any servants.

Along the way, he followed Yizhou and Cici and saw Yizhou bring Cici to his own room.

When he closed the door, Yizhou even looked around for a while.

Zhan dodged to a corner with great vigilance.

When he came out again, the door was already closed.

Zhan walked to Yizhou’s door and carefully listened to what they were saying.

He felt that they must have some sort of secret.

Cici was Haoxuan’ mother. Haoxuan had suddenly turned against Yibo in the past two months, and Yibo was obviously not close to Cici.

Previously, Yibo got along pretty well with Haoxuan and Yijun. Naturally, his relationship with Cici was not bad either. He would not keep a distance from Cici for no reason.

Even if Haoxuan had turned against him, it was impossible for him to treat Cici coldly because of Haoxuan.

It could be seen from Yibo relationship with Yijun. He did not treat Yijun coldly because of his grudge with Haoxuan.

So, there must be something wrong with Cici.

After thinking so much, Zhan felt that a wealthy family was really troublesome.

They had so many secrets.

The room was soundproof and Zhan could not hear anything at all.

Since he couldn’t hear anything, Zhan could only turn around and leave.

Not long after he left, he heard the sound of the door opening behind him.

Zhan was afraid of being discovered by them and ran away.

He ran to the corner and gasped for a moment before looking over. He found that Yizhou and Cici had already left from the other side.

Only then did Zhan let out a sigh of relief and go to the bathroom in his room and then back to the dining room.

When he reached the door of the dining room, he met Yibo who was in a hurry.

As soon as Yibo saw him, he stopped and frowned. “What took you so long?”

Zhan pursed his lips. He felt that what had happened just now was not enough to prove anything but that Yizhou and Cici might have some secrets.

But anybody could have secrets.

Therefore, he did not tell Yibo and said unwillingly, “Constipation.”

Yibo raised his eyebrows, touched Zhan’s head, and held his hand.

When Zhan entered there, he discovered that Yizhou was already in the dining room.

Yizhou seemed to feel Zhan’s gaze, and he turned around to look at him and smiled.

Because of what happened just now, when Zhan saw Yizhou’s smile, he felt that it was a little strange.

However, he did not show it on his face and only smiled at Yizhou.

After a while, Cici also came in.

Zhan and Yibo sat next to Qiren, and Cici sat down on the other side of Qiren.

Cici asked gently, “How long have you been pregnant? It can’t be seen that you are pregnant.”

“Less than two months.” Zhan involuntarily touched her belly.

Yibo turned to look at him, his eyes being gentle.

Cici looked at them for a while and smiled.

The smile looked gentle and kind.

Zhan suddenly felt puzzled. A woman like Cici was so soft and weak. The two children she brought up were completely different from her.

No, it was just that Yijun was very different from her.

Haoxuan had always been gentle. No one expected him to do such a despicable thing.

Could it be possible that Haoxuan becoming such an inconsistent person had something to do with his family?

If that was the case, was Cici also pretending to be weak and gentle?

“Zhan? What’s wrong with you?”

Zhan suddenly regained his senses and realized that he was staring at Cici absentmindedly.

He smiled and said, “Aunt Cici, what’s wrong?”

“I just asked you a few times. Do you want to go to the hospital to check if it’s a boy or a girl?” Cici’s tone was still gentle.

“Probably not,” Zhan said as he turned to look at Yibo.

Yibo raised his eyebrows and looked at Cici. He said with a cold tone, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl.”

The atmosphere was somewhat strange.

A family like the Wang naturally wanted Zhan to give birth to a boy.

Cici’s expression changed slightly when she heard Yibo’s words. She forced a smile and stopped speaking.

Zhan quietly reached out and pinched Yibo’s hand.

After all, today was New Year’s Eve, so he felt that Yibo shouldn’t be angry.

However, Yibo just turned around and glanced at him coldly.

After twelve o’clock, people started to say “Happy New Year” to each other.

Qiren gave both Yibo and Zhan a big red envelope.

“Happy New Year.”

Zhan smiled and said, “Thank you, Grandpa.”

Of course, the other grandsons and granddaughters of the family also received red envelopes from Qiren.

Back in their room, Zhan opened the red envelope while observing Yibo’s expression, Yibo didn’t look happy after Cici asked that question.

“Yibo!” Zhan called him.

Yibo looked at him expressionlessly “What?”

“Aunt Cici just asked if we wanted to check the child’s gender. Why are you so angry?”

Yibo didn’t say anything.

Zhan got out of bed and walked to him. “She didn’t have a bad intention, you…”

“I don’t care!” Yibo turned to look at him and said with a cold expression, “Zhan, I agreed to go back to the old house with you for the New Year at that time. I don’t want you to have any grievance.”

Zhan was stunned.

So that’s what he was angry about.

“I indeed have no grievance.”

Zhan wanted to laugh. In the past few days, Yibo had treated him so seriously and carefully that he felt like he was the center of the world. How could he have grievance?

Yibo stared at him for a few seconds, as if he was confirming that Zhan wasn’t lying.

Then, he sighed softly “Go to sleep.”

---

The next day.

When Zhan woke up, Yibo was not on the bed.

The servant said from outside, “Mrs. Wang, are you awake? Mr. Qiren asked you to come over. Mr. Wang is also waiting for you there.”

When Zhan heard this, he immediately sat up and said, “I’m awake. I’ll be right there.”

He looked at the clock. It was already eleven o’clock.

He quickly got up, rinsed himself up, and changed clothes. Then he went to Qiren’s room.

Qiren’s door was wide open, but there was no one inside.

When he came out of the room, he heard some noises coming from the stairs.

“Grandpa?”

He called him but no one replied, so he walked over.

Suddenly, he heard a dull sound of heavy objects rolling down the stairs.

Zhan’s heart tightened as he ran towards the stairs.

When he got there, he found that Qiren had already rolled down the stairs to the ground.

A large amount of blood was on the white floor.

Zhan’s eyes widened. It took a few seconds for him to regain his senses.

He shouted in a trembling voice, “Grandpa!”

A servant passed by and screamed.

“Help! Mr. Qiren has fallen down the stairs!”

“What’s going on? Mr. Qiren!”

“Call a doctor!”

The servant called the others over.

Zhan was a little dumbfounded by what happened in front of him.

Seeing everyone was around Qiren, Zhan started to run downstairs.

“Dad! What’s wrong with you, Dad?” Cici also came over.

Zhan only took two steps down the stairs when he saw Yibo and Yizhou came over in a hurry.

Yibo looked up in Zhan’s direction as if he had sensed something.

He frowned slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only glanced at him and didn’t say anything.

His eyes were extremely cold.

Zhan walked over and knelt on the ground, calling Qiren, “Grandpa?”

Qiren fell down from such a high staircase and lost so much blood. And he was already very old, so no one dared to touch him.

Qiren didn’t have any reaction and had already fainted.

The family doctor quickly came over and bound up Qiren’s wounds. He was then taken to the hospital.

The Wang all followed to the hospital.

Before leaving, Yizhou turned his head to look at the servant who had first discovered Qiren and said, “You come with us.”

Fortunately, the Wang had a private hospital and Qiren could have a surgery immediately.

“We have a preliminary diagnosis of intracranial hemorrhage and multiple fractures. His condition is not optimistic. He needs an operation immediately.”

The doctor’s words made everyone’s expression to change abruptly, and the atmosphere became intense.

The door to the operating room was closed and everyone was waiting outside.

Zhan looked at Yibo beside him. Seeing his cold expression, he reached out and held his hand.

However, Yibo did not hold his hand as usual, nor did he look back at him.

At this moment, Yizhou started to inquiry in the silent corridor.

“Who discovered Dad first?” His voice was solemn.

“It’s me.” A servant who had come with them answered.

The servant seemed to be afraid that Yizhou would blame her for this matter. Her expression was extremely pale and her voice was filled with panic.

As if she suddenly remembered something, she pointed at Zhan and said, “I heard the voice of Mrs. Wang. When I went over, Mr. Qiren had already fallen downstairs.”

Hearing this, Yizhou looked at Zhan and said, “Zhan, tell me, what happened?”

As soon as he said those words, everyone stared at Zhan.

Zhan suddenly got a bad feeling.

They thought I pushed Grandfather down the stairs?

Zhan calmed down and said, “Previously, a servant came to call me and told me that Grandpa wanted me to come over. When I went over, there was no one in his room. I heard some noises from the stairs. When I walked over, Grandpa had already fallen.”

Hearing this, Yizhou asked in a deep voice, “Which servant told you to go over?”

Zhan shook his head. “I don’t know. That servant called me from outside the room.”

Hearing this, Yizhou frowned and looked at Zhan as if he was about to say something.

Yibo, who was standing besides, walked forward and stood in front of Zhan. With a cold expression, he said, “Are you suspecting that Zhan pushed Grandpa down?”

Yizhou raised his head and looked at Yibo, “Since something like this happened to Dad at home, of course we need to question all the people concerning this matter.”

Yibo sneered disapprovingly. “Everyone can tell that Grandpa likes Zhan very much. What reason does he have to do such a thing to Grandpa?”

“Of course he has a reason to do such a thing!”

They heard Wang Zhouxuan’s voice suddenly.

Everyone turned around and saw Zhouxuan, Haoxuan come over in a hurry.

They got the news that Qiren had fallen downstairs later and then came over.

“Zhouxuan, do you know what you’re talking about?” Yizhou scolded Zhouxuan sternly.

“Of course I know what I’m talking about!”

As Zhouxuan said that, she turned to look at Zhan and sneered.

“Zhan, you held a grudge against Grandpa for sending other women to Yibo, so you attacked him today, right?”

Zhan’s expression changed slightly as he looked at Zhouxuan in disbelief. “I didn’t.”

“No?” Zhouxuan smiled. “You are the only one who is not from the Wang in the old house. Who else could it be other than you? Who else would attack an old man? You said you didn’t do it. Does Yibo believe you?”

Hearing this, Zhan’s heart tightened.

Based on his intuition, Zhan felt that Yibo would believe him.

However, that was only his intuition.

He couldn’t help but turn to look at Yibo.

Yibo slowly pulled his hand out of Zhan’s hand. His black eyes stared at him. “Do you really hate Grandpa for that?”

Zhan was stunned.

Was Yibo suspecting me?

He did not say that he believed me directly, but questioned me.

Zhan felt cold all of a sudden and got extremely disappointed. He shook his head as before and denied. “I didn’t.”

Yibo only glanced at him and looked away. He continued to ask coldly. “Do you have an alibi? Was there anyone else near there at that time?”

Zhan took a step back and looked at Yibo in disbelief.

“Yibo, what do you mean? Now that you have determined that I am suspected of attacking Grandpa and you start interrogating me?”

“Answer my question,” Yibo said emotionlessly.

“I won’t answer you!” Zhan said loudly.

“I didn’t attack Grandpa, why should I be interrogated!”

If the person asking him these questions was Yizhou, Zhan would not have resisted so much.

He did not expect that Yibo would suspect him.

Yizhou stood out and patted Yibo on the shoulder.

“Yibo, don’t be like that. Zhan is still pregnant. Dad is still in the operating room and nobody knows what happened. Everyone can be suspected, but Zhan is your wife. You shouldn’t suspect him like this.”

Yizhou’s words sounded very reasonable at first, but Zhan felt that something was wrong after thinking about it.

It was Yizhou who asked who saw Qiren first, but now he stood out to be a peacemaker, saying that no one knew what had happened.

Zhouxuan heard Yizhou’s words and said with an unconvinced expression, “Uncle Yizhou, it definitely has something to do with this man!”

“Zhouxuan, don’t speak so loudly, Dad is still in the operating room. We’ll deal with this matter after he has done surgery, but…”

Yizhou paused for a moment and looked around at the people present.

Finally, he stared at Zhan’s face and said, “No one can leave here without my permission.”