Chapter 16: An’an’s Birthday
After Yu Tingzhou finished discussing the cooperation with Mike, at Shen Zhouyue’s request, they went to France.
There was still half a month left of the honeymoon.
Staying in the hotel, Shen Zhouyue frowned. Thinking that tomorrow was An’an’s birthday and he still hadn’t found a suitable excuse, he appeared somewhat conflicted.
“Zhouyue, I’m going to meet a friend from my study abroad days tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?”
Talk about a stroke of luck!
Now he didn’t need to rack his brains to find an excuse.
“No thanks. I don’t know your classmate, so I’d feel uncomfortable going. I’ll pass; you just go by yourself.”
Yu Tingzhou didn’t say much more and nodded. “Then you’ll wander around by yourself tomorrow?”
Shen Zhouyue nodded impatiently, looking as if he wished tomorrow would arrive as soon as possible.
Early the next morning, Shen Zhouyue simply tidied up and set off for the hospital.
He carried the gift he had bought for An’an earlier, his face showing worry and excitement.
I haven’t seen An’an for so long. I wonder if An’an misses me…
With this mood, he slowly walked toward the ward where An’an lived.
The Shen family was quite well-off, and Shen Zhouyue himself was a relatively famous painter. Although An’an lived in the hospital, he was in a VIP ward on the top floor.
There were many toys and dolls in the ward, all prepared by the family who doted on An’an.
If one didn’t know this was a hospital, many would suspect this was some small amusement park.
Shen Zhouyue walked quickly toward the ward.
The ward was very lively at this time. Not only was An’an there, but Yun Xing and the others were also present.
Seeing Shen Zhouyue appear carrying a gift, everyone seemed very surprised.
Shen Yunyou was still sitting in a wheelchair. Seeing Shen Zhouyue, he hurriedly signaled Xie Qingfeng behind him to push him over to Shen Zhouyue.
“Where have you been all this time? Every time I called you, you said it wasn’t convenient!”
Shen Zhouyue dared not say.
He lowered his head, remaining silent, and walked directly toward An’an.
His guilty appearance made Shen Yunyou realize that this son of his must be doing something behind his back.
“You said you were returning to China to find a way to save An’an. What is your way?”
Shen Yunyou’s face was dark, looking somewhat grim.
An’an watched their suppressed manner. The excitement of seeing his father faded, turning into bewilderment.
“Daddy…”
He held onto the corner of Shen Zhouyue’s clothes dependently, scared until his eyes turned red, stealing glances at Shen Yunyou from time to time.
“Dad, let’s talk about things later. Today is An’an’s birthday after all, and Zhouyue rarely comes back. Let it go!”
Xie Qingfeng also spoke up for Shen Zhouyue.
Shen Yunyou glanced sideways at him. “So you guys are the good people, and I’m the only bad guy, right?”
“Forget it. Today is An’an’s birthday, so I’ll let you off.”
Shen Zhouyue breathed a sigh of relief immediately.
He carefully took out the gift he bought for An’an from the gift bag and handed it to An’an.
“This is the Rubik’s Cube you always wanted. Daddy saw it in the US before and specially brought it back for you. Do you like it?”
Looking at the limited-edition Rubik’s Cube in Shen Zhouyue’s hand, An’an’s face immediately showed excitement.
Wearing a patient’s gown, he jumped into Shen Zhouyue’s arms, but inadvertently noticed the wound on Shen Zhouyue’s palm.
He carefully cupped Shen Zhouyue’s palm and blew on it distressedly. “Daddy… does it hurt?”
Shen Zhouyue had almost forgotten about the existence of this injury. Seeing An’an so sensible and well-behaved, his eyes instantly reddened with emotion.
“Daddy doesn’t hurt.”
“As long as An’an gets better, Daddy will do anything.”
Seeing the atmosphere about to turn sorrowful again, Yun Xing on the side quickly spoke up, “I bought a cake for An’an. The doctor said it’s okay for An’an to eat a little occasionally.”
Huo Yangzhou stood aside, cut the cake into pieces, and handed them over.
An’an got a small piece.
Because he had been sick since he was very small, An’an’s diet was strictly monitored, and he often had to eat tasteless food.
Seeing the cake now, his eyes lit up instantly.
But An’an didn’t rush to eat. Instead, he dug out a big spoonful and held it to Shen Zhouyue’s mouth. “Daddy eat first!”
An’an’s thoughtfulness made Shen Zhouyue even more determined in his thoughts. He even planned to act as soon as possible so he could return to An’an’s side earlier.
He smiled, took the spoon and cake, but didn’t eat it. Instead, he fed it into An’an’s mouth.
“Daddy has more over there. An’an eat your own!”
The sweet taste spread through his entire mouth. An’an, whose mouth was bitter from taking medicine year-round, had eyes that lit up instantly, and he couldn’t help but kick his feet happily.
Yun Xing took this opportunity to pull Shen Zhouyue aside and asked, “Why not just tell the Senior that An’an is his son? The Senior would definitely agree.”
Shen Zhouyue refused immediately.
He would absolutely not reveal An’an’s identity to Yu Tingzhou.
He looked at Yun Xing solemnly. “If you tell Yu Tingzhou about An’an’s existence, I will pretend I don’t have you as a relative anymore.”
For Yun Xing, who always cared about family, Shen Zhouyue’s words were undoubtedly very severe.
He helplessly gave up the words on the tip of his tongue.
“Where is Tingxuan? Why isn’t he here?”
Yun Tingxuan was the son of Huo Yangzhou and Yun Xing. He was three years old now. An’an was a few months older than him and turned four today.
The two children had spent time together since childhood, and their relationship was incredibly good.
An’an liked this younger brother, Yun Tingxuan, very much, and Yun Tingxuan always clung to An’an, his older brother. Not seeing Yun Tingxuan now, Shen Zhouyue was naturally a bit surprised.
Yun Xing rubbed his brow helplessly. “That kid ate too much ice cream yesterday and has a stomachache. His grandma is taking care of him at home!”
With Yun Tingxuan, the pistachio, the atmosphere in the family was much better.
Yun Xing had also been successfully accepted by Huo Yangzhou’s family, though Huo Yangzhou’s mother wasn’t satisfied with Yun Tingxuan’s name. However, since Huo Yangzhou always protected Yun Xing, there were no major issues.
“How did you let him eat so much ice cream?”
Speaking of his own little monkey, Yun Xing was somewhat helpless. “He secretly opened the fridge in the middle of the night while we were asleep. If he didn’t have a stomachache this morning, no one would have known he stole ice cream.”
“Are you going back later?”
Shen Zhouyue nodded. Before he could talk about other things, he heard An’an’s voice.
“Daddy, where did you go?”
An’an’s voice revealed anxiety and helplessness. Hearing it made Shen Zhouyue’s heart ache, and he immediately walked toward An’an.
Shen Zhouyue picked An’an up and asked gently, “Daddy is right here. What’s wrong, An’an?”
“I… I thought… Daddy left again…”
An’an cried and sobbed. His eyes were red, his nose was red, and there were traces of the cream he had just eaten at the corner of his mouth. He looked wretched yet cute.
Shen Zhouyue helplessly picked up a handkerchief to wipe An’an’s face clean, then said gently, “When Daddy has to leave, I will tell An’an. I won’t sneak away. An’an, don’t be afraid!”
But An’an didn’t want Shen Zhouyue to leave at all, so he hugged Shen Zhouyue’s arm tightly and refused to let go.
“Can Daddy not go?”
Shen Zhouyue looked at An’an apologetically and said, “At most one year, Daddy will definitely come back. Then An’an won’t have to live in the hospital and can be like other children.”
“An’an wait for Daddy a little longer, okay?”
An’an didn’t speak. He just pouted, tears falling patter patter, his hand still clutching Shen Zhouyue’s clothes tightly, looking like he wouldn’t let go.
Seeing An’an like this, Shen Zhouyue’s heart was about to break, and his voice became even gentler.
“An’an can still video call Daddy!”
Shen Yunyou knew how much Shen Zhouyue valued An’an. Seeing An’an crying like this yet Shen Zhouyue still insisting on leaving, he became curious about what he was doing.
But even if asked, Shen Zhouyue wouldn’t say much. Shen Yunyou planned to investigate it himself.
Shen Zhouyue coaxed An’an until the child fell asleep. He sat by the bed looking at An’an’s pale cheeks, his heart aching endlessly.
Perhaps afraid that Shen Zhouyue would leave while he was asleep, An’an grabbed onto the corner of Shen Zhouyue’s clothes even in his rest.
The sky outside was getting darker. Worried that if he didn’t go back, Yu Tingzhou would be suspicious, Shen Zhouyue carefully pulled his clothes from An’an’s hand, stood up, looked at Yun Xing, and instructed, “I entrust An’an to you and Dad.”
“I will come back as soon as possible.”
Yun Xing knew how stubborn Shen Zhouyue was. Seeing him like this, he nodded somewhat helplessly.
“I know. I’ll take care of An’an. With Tingxuan here, he shouldn’t be too agitated.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. If there’s something you can’t solve, remember to contact me. I won’t refuse anything I can help with.”
Shen Zhouyue nodded, his gaze never moving from An’an.
Worried that An’an would cry uncontrollably again when he woke up and didn’t see him, Shen Zhouyue wrote a long letter for An’an. In it, he wrote that Daddy would video call An’an every day, and even if Daddy wasn’t by An’an’s side, he would always be thinking of An’an.
He didn’t know how An’an would react seeing this letter, but if he stayed longer, it would be very late when he returned to the hotel. Shen Zhouyue could only prepare to leave reluctantly.
Just as he walked out of the ward, he saw a familiar figure walking out of a ward not far away.
Damn it, why is he here?
Did he follow me?
Shen Zhouyue retreated back into the ward, his heart beating violently.
He didn’t know if the other party had seen him, but he knew he couldn’t rush out now.
Standing at the ward door for about ten minutes, Shen Zhouyue carefully opened the door and looked out.
Yu Tingzhou’s figure had completely disappeared. Shen Zhouyue breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Facing Yun Xing’s confused look, Shen Zhouyue didn’t explain but hurried out.
But at the hospital entrance, he still bumped into Yu Tingzhou.
One walking in, one walking out, they ran right into each other.
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