Hearing the commotion, everyone turned to look toward the doorway.
“You’re back?”
Cheng Fangqiu watched as Zhou Yinghuai walked in. Her peach blossom eyes curved into the shape of a crescent moon, and her clear black pupils shone brightly, like a fawn in a mountain stream.
“There were quite a few people in the cafeteria.” Zhou Yinghuai explained briefly why he had returned late. His gaze inadvertently swept over the peach Cheng Fangqiu had just received in her hands, then, without a sound, he stepped forward and squeezed Yuan Zheng aside from her.
“Eat first. Have your medicine later, then eat the peach.”
Yuan Zheng frowned slightly, just about to say something when he saw Xu Qiqi waving at him.
“Yuan Zheng, come over here. There’s still a chair here.”
The implication was clear—she was telling him to give up his spot to Zhou Yinghuai.
Yuan Zheng pressed his lips together and instinctively looked toward Cheng Fangqiu, only to see her obediently hand the peach over to Zhou Yinghuai. The latter casually placed it on the bedside table.
The peach in his hand suddenly felt a little colder.
He half-closed his eyes, a bitter smile curling at his lips, then moved his feet and walked toward the seat beside Xu Qiqi. Silently, he peeled a few peaches, eating one himself. Everyone had one—except for Zhou Yinghuai.
Unable to resist, he glanced at him again, only to witness a scene that made him want to turn and leave.
Cheng Fangqiu was eating while chatting with them, and Zhou Yinghuai simply sat beside her, quietly listening. Every so often, he would hand her water or tissues. There was nothing overly intimate between them, yet the air around them carried an undeniable sense of tenderness and ambiguity.
Yuan Zheng immediately felt even more uncomfortable. He simply used the excuse of washing his hands to stand up and leave.
“You two have such a great relationship.” Xu Qiqi sighed with emotion.
“Aren’t you and Deputy Director Chang the same?” Cheng Fangqiu did not deny it but instead smiled teasingly.
Hearing her mention Chang Yan’an, Xu Qiqi’s face flushed red. She coughed lightly and muttered, “He’s like a block of wood all day, always meddling in everything. He’s nowhere near as considerate as your husband.”
Cheng Fangqiu dared not respond to that. Fortunately, she didn’t, and Xu Qiqi didn’t press the topic further. Instead, she said, “It’s getting late. We won’t disturb your recovery any longer.”
“Alright, let’s keep in touch. Yinghuai, walk them out.”
Zhou Yinghuai stood up as expected. “Yuan Zheng hasn’t come back yet. I’ll go look for him.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Yinghuai stepped out of the hospital room and headed straight for the public sinks on each floor. As he turned a corner, he spotted Yuan Zheng standing in front of a sink, staring into space. It was unclear what he was thinking about, but a faint sense of loneliness lingered around him.
Seeing this, Zhou Yinghuai let out a soft scoff, took a few steps forward, and asked coolly, “What are you thinking about?”
The sudden presence of another person startled Yuan Zheng out of his thoughts. He abruptly turned his head and, upon seeing that it was Zhou Yinghuai, a guarded look instantly appeared in his eyes. He tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible.
“Nothing.”
Zhou Yinghuai had only asked casually. He wasn’t particularly concerned, and since he had already vaguely guessed the answer, he had no intention of pressing further.
Neither of them spoke again, and the atmosphere fell into silence.
Zhou Yinghuai withdrew his gaze and reached out to turn on the faucet in front of him. Clear water flowed from the small opening, wrapping around his broad palm. His well-defined fingers rubbed against each other, forming an aesthetically pleasing image.
“I heard you and my wife’s younger brother go to the same high school?”
Amid the sound of flowing water, Zhou Yinghuai’s slow and unhurried voice blended in. His tone was obviously lazy, yet for some reason, it made Yuan Zheng’s heart tighten inexplicably. He nodded slowly and responded with a quiet “Mm.”
“If you two become friends in the future, you’re welcome to visit our house often.”
“Alright, thank you.”
Realizing his own compliance, Yuan Zheng shut his eyes in frustration.
Zhou Yinghuai let out a light chuckle and turned off the faucet. “Your sister Qiqi and the others are leaving. I’ll walk you all downstairs.”
Without waiting for Yuan Zheng to respond, he took the lead and walked toward the hospital room.
Yuan Zheng stood in place, stunned for a few seconds, but eventually followed behind him. As he walked forward, he couldn’t help but think—he had said nothing, yet it felt as though he had said everything.
From beginning to end, Zhou Yinghuai had never regarded him as a peer. The way he looked at him was more like how one would look at an ignorant junior.
In front of others, he called Cheng Fangqiu “Qiuqiu,” but in front of him, he deliberately addressed her as his wife. Wasn’t this, in its own way, a warning not to covet someone else’s spouse?
Now, bringing up the topic of school only served to further emphasize the age gap between them, subtly reminding him that, from start to finish, Cheng Fangqiu had only ever seen him as someone of the same generation as her younger brother.
Never once had Zhou Yinghuai directly exposed his thoughts, yet everything had been made abundantly clear.
A silent, effortless kill.
A bitter taste spread through Yuan Zheng’s heart. In the end, he didn’t even return to the hospital room. Instead, when Xu Qiqi and the others came out, he left with them.
Zhou Yinghuai watched them go, raising an eyebrow as he observed the lost and dejected figure of that “kid.” Only after they were out of sight did he turn back into the hospital room.
In the afternoon, someone from the photography studio came by, dropping off some fruit and various Mid-Autumn Festival benefits distributed by the studio. After chatting briefly, they left without lingering.
That evening, Cheng Fangqiu initially wanted to be discharged and return home. After all, staying in the hospital was inconvenient and far less comfortable than home. However, the doctor warned that she was likely to develop a fever again during the night, and coming back and forth would only cause more trouble. With no better option, she obediently stayed, planning to go home the next day after finishing her IV treatment.
Given the limited conditions, Cheng Fangqiu washed up and prepared to go to bed early.
Zhou Yinghuai turned off the lights, walked over, leaned down to kiss her on the face, then went to sleep on the neighboring hospital bed. But his sleep was restless—every so often, he would get up to touch her forehead, checking for signs of fever. Only after confirming that she wasn’t running hot did he return to his bed.
Sure enough, in the latter half of the night, her fever flared up again. After getting another IV drip, the fever gradually subsided.
With this happening, Zhou Yinghuai didn’t dare to sleep anymore. He simply sat beside her bed, keeping watch. Only after her IV finished did he rest his head on her bedside and take a short nap.
By the time Cheng Fangqiu woke up, the two of them packed up, preparing for discharge.
“Get some proper sleep when we get home.” Cheng Fangqiu looked at Zhou Yinghuai’s exhausted face after two sleepless nights. Her brows furrowed, and a wave of guilt and heartache welled up inside her.
Zhou Yinghuai nodded, raising his hand to gently ruffle her hair before smiling faintly. “Alright.”
The two walked out of the hospital room. As they passed through the hallway, someone suddenly stood up and greeted them.
“Supervisor Zhou.”
Following the voice, Zhou Yinghuai looked over and saw a somewhat familiar but ultimately unrecognizable face. After thinking for a moment, he barely recalled that she was the woman holding a child whom he had encountered the previous night.
Since they worked in the same factory, he gave a brief nod out of politeness before intending to walk past her. However, she smiled and shifted the topic toward Cheng Fangqiu.
“Comrade Cheng, are you feeling better now?”
If Zhou Yinghuai didn’t recognize her, then Cheng Fangqiu certainly didn’t either. She responded with a polite smile. “Mm, more or less.”
Li Qinxing had come today for her child’s follow-up examination. She hadn’t expected to run into Zhou Yinghuai and his wife just as they were being discharged.
Her gaze subconsciously swept over the two of them, back and forth. Seeing that Zhou Yinghuai was carrying everything while Cheng Fangqiu’s hands were completely empty, a trace of envy and jealousy flickered through her eyes.
“We have things to take care of, so we’ll be going now.”
“Oh, oh, alright.”
Li Qinxing stepped aside to make way. Zhou Yinghuai naturally wrapped his arm around Cheng Fangqiu’s shoulders and walked out of the hospital.
“You know her?” Cheng Fangqiu had not missed Li Qinxing’s subtle movements just now.
Zhou Yinghuai shook his head. “No.”
“Looks like our Supervisor Zhou is quite the popular figure in the factory.”
Cheng Fangqiu curled her lips into a smile, teasing him. But her words weren’t wrong—Zhou Yinghuai had always been well-known in the factory due to his competence. Now that his research had been publicly recognized and even featured in the newspaper, he had become an even bigger sensation, known by practically everyone.
“You mocking me?” Zhou Yinghuai narrowed his deep eyes. His sharp and commanding features carried an imposing aura—enough to intimidate most people. But Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t afraid of him at all. Instead, she playfully stuck out her tongue at him.
“Yes, I am. What about it?”
Her bold and self-assured expression made Zhou Yinghuai so exasperated that he laughed instead. He reached out and pinched the soft flesh at her waist. “I’ll deal with you once you’re better.”
His husky voice, paired with his deep gaze, made the tips of Cheng Fangqiu’s ears flush red. She instantly understood that the “dealing with” he meant was far from innocent. Biting her lower lip, she blinked her misty eyes and pitifully pleaded.
“You still remember I’m sick? I’m like this, and yet you’re still thinking about nonsense… Wuwuwu.”
Her soft, sweet complaint, with its slightly coquettish tone, made it impossible for anyone to bear upsetting her further.
Zhou Yinghuai lifted his fist to his lips, trying to hide the smile creeping up on his face. Involuntarily, he softened his tone and coaxed her. “Alright, alright, my dear wife, I was wrong. Let’s go home?”
Cheng Fangqiu huffed lightly but didn’t say anything more. The two of them walked home, shoulder to shoulder.
After two days of IV drips, her fever had completely subsided. However, she was still coughing a little, her body ached, and she felt sluggish all over. She was so drained that, on the day Ding Ximei and the others arrived in Rongzhou, she wasn’t even able to go to the station to meet them. Zhou Yinghuai went alone to pick them up.
“Qiuqiu, you’re sick?”
Ding Ximei had already heard about it from Zhou Yinghuai on the way, so as soon as she arrived, she headed straight for Cheng Fangqiu’s bedroom. Even before entering, she could hear the intermittent sounds of coughing.
“Mom.” Cheng Fangqiu sat up in bed. When she saw Cheng Baokuan and Cheng Xuejun following behind Ding Ximei, she greeted them one by one. “Dad, Xuejun, you’re here?”
“Oh dear, how can you be coughing this badly? I’ll make you some rock sugar pear soup.” Ding Ximei rolled up her sleeves and marched straight to the kitchen before anyone could stop her.
In the living room, Cheng Baokuan pointed at the pile of large bags on the dining table. “The village distributed some grain recently. We won’t be able to finish it all, so we brought some over for you. Saves you the trouble of spending money and ration tickets at the supply and marketing cooperative.”
Following the direction of his finger, Cheng Fangqiu saw a heap of packages filled with long-lasting grains. She stepped forward to try lifting one—it was heavy. She had no idea how the three of them had managed to carry it all this way. Her eyes reddened with emotion.
“Next time, don’t bring anything. It’s such a hassle to carry it all this way.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Your dad doesn’t have much, but he does have strength.” Cheng Baokuan patted his chest with a hearty laugh.
Cheng Fangqiu pursed her lips, suppressing the lump in her throat. She smiled. “That’s true. My dad is one of the few men in our village who can earn full labor points.”