Chapter 41: A Call from Mother
Wen Qiuning remained in low spirits after meeting with Wen Qiusheng.
Worried that he might harbor dark thoughts if he went back alone, Shen Zhouyue warmly invited Wen Qiuning to stay with them for a while.
Wen Qiuning looked conflicted.
The villa where he lived was under surveillance. If he didn’t return for a long time and Qiu Xingqiu couldn’t see him on the cameras, the man would undoubtedly be furious and punish him again.
The thought of Qiu Xingqiuās methods made Wen Qiuning shudder, a chill running through his body.
He hurriedly rejected Shen Zhouyue’s kindness. “Iād better not. If he comes back and doesn’t see me, he’ll be angry.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhouyue looked helpless. “You can’t always go on like this. You shouldn’t do things you don’t want to do. It will only make him cross the line more and more.”
Although Shen Zhouyue hadn’t experienced these things personally, he had witnessed them. After all, things had been similar between Yunxing and Huo Yangzhou in the past.
“He helped me, after all, and he hasn’t done anything too excessive. You don’t need to worry so much.”
“It’s getting late. I’ve troubled you enough for today. I’ll head back now.”
Before Shen Zhouyue could say anything else, Wen Qiuning rushed toward the door.
However, just as he reached the entrance, a figure walked in from the outside, and the two collided.
Shen Zhouyue frowned. Before he could see who had entered, he hurried forward to help Wen Qiuning up.
“Are you okay?”
But before Shen Zhouyue could help him sit up, the newcomer grabbed Wen Qiuning by the arm. “I was wondering why you’ve been so distracted these past few days. Turns out you were thinking about meeting a lover!”
“Wen Qiuning, you really do enjoy degrading yourself!”
The familiar voice rang in his ears, draining the color from Wen Qiuning’s face. He looked up toward the door to see a figure standing against the lightāit was Qiu Xingqiu.
“I had always been skeptical about the things your brother told me. I even felt regret every time I bullied you. But now it seems I thought too highly of you!”
“You’ve only met him twice, yet you’re already this intimate. It seems my decision back then actually hindered your ‘development’!”
Qiu Xingqiuās words were incredibly nasty.
Hearing them, Wen Qiuning swayed unsteadily. Pale and trembling, he stammered, “No… it’s not like that… we’re just friends, he…”
Qiu Xingqiu raised his arm as if to slap Wen Qiuning, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do it. He silently lowered his arm, his face ashen, and turned to walk out.
Disregarding everything else, Wen Qiuning hurriedly chased after him.
Shen Zhouyue intended to follow them, but he had only taken a few steps when he was blocked by Yu Tingzhou, who had just rushed back.
“Do you think you haven’t caused enough trouble? If you go over there now, you’ll only add to their problems. You won’t be able to solve anything.”
Shen Zhouyue frowned, looking at Yu Tingzhou in confusion. “Don’t you have work today? Why did you come back so suddenly?”
Yu Tingzhou rolled his eyes at Shen Zhouyue. “It’s all because of you!”
“What exactly did you do? Qiu Xingqiu ran to my office first thing in the morning. I thought he was there to discuss a partnership, but instead, he played on his phone for a while and then told me to stop you from interfering in his affairs with Wen Qiuning. He even told me to keep a tight leash on you and stop you from touching other people’s partners.”
Yu Tingzhou looked exasperated as he recounted this. “I know we’re only married by contract, but you don’t have to be this brazen, do you?”
“This is the first time someone has come to my door over something like this. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”
Shen Zhouyue didn’t feel he had done anything wrong. Being accused so inexplicably soured his mood instantly.
“Do I need your permission to make a friend now? Isn’t your desire for control a bit too strong?”
“You know the relationship between us perfectly well. do you really think you should be managing this much? We just need to maintain stability for this one year; anything else is none of your business.”
Leaving those words behind, Shen Zhouyue didn’t want to speak anymore. He walked straight toward the bedroom, completely failing to notice Wen Qiusheng hiding in the hallway.
Shen Zhouyue rested in his room for the night. When he woke up, he found that Wen Qiusheng was no longer in the house.
Looking at Yu Tingzhou sitting in the dining area, he frowned and asked, “Where did Wen Qiusheng go?”
Given that guy’s personality, he wouldn’t give up easily. Especially with Yu Tingzhou here, it was even less likely he would leave… so where had he gone?
“I had someone send him away,” Yu Tingzhou said calmly, signaling for Shen Zhouyue to sit. “Your goal in keeping him here has likely been achieved. There’s no need for him to stay.”
“Although this isn’t my primary residence, I’m not used to having a stranger live here. Plus, the man clearly has bad intentions. Why would I let him stay?”
Shen Zhouyue didn’t say much to that. After all, his objective had been met. There was no value in keeping Wen Qiusheng around.
Shen Zhouyue thought the matter would end there, but a few days later, early in the morning, Yu Tingzhou received a call from Fang Hanyun.
Over the phone, Fang Hanyun ordered in a stiff tone, “Bring Zhouyue back home immediately!”
Yu Tingzhou sensed something was wrong. He frowned. “Mom, I have a very important meeting today. I might not have time. How about another day?”
“If you don’t come back today, don’t bother coming back at all. I will consider myself as having no son.”
Yu Tingzhou was stunned.
This was the first time he had heard his mother speak in such a tone. He was momentarily at a loss as to what had happened.
Frowning in confusion, he asked, “What is so urgent that I have to come back immediately?”
“Don’t ask so many questions. Just bring Zhouyue back right now!”
“Don’t forget what I just said. If you aren’t back today, don’t come back ever. I’ll pretend I never had you as a son.”
With that ultimatum, Fang Hanyun didn’t even give Yu Tingzhou a chance to argue before hanging up.
Yu Tingzhou looked at the disconnected call with a helpless expression. He immediately contacted his assistant.
“Something came up today; I can’t make it to the meeting. Have the Vice President handle it.”
The assistant was very confused. “President Yu, what happened?”
“Nothing. Just arrange it.”
After hanging up, Yu Tingzhou walked into Shen Zhouyue’s room. “Get ready. We’re going back to the family home.”
Shen Zhouyue sat up groggily. The quilt slipped off his body, revealing his thin upper torso.
His fair skin was covered in blue and purple marks, evidence enough of how crazy they had been the night before.
Shen Zhouyue rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly dawn, so he had only slept for just over an hour. He didn’t want to get up at all, but Yu Tingzhou had woken him.
“Why are we going back all of a sudden? Did something happen?”
Shen Zhouyue’s voice was slurred, and his eyes weren’t fully open yet. He looked as if he might topple over and fall back asleep at any moment.
“I don’t know what happened either. Mom called early this morning and told us to come back immediately. She said if we don’t return today, she’ll pretend we don’t exist.”
“Something important must have happened. Otherwise, given Mom’s personality, she wouldn’t do this.”
Since it was Fang Hanyun’s request, Shen Zhouyue naturally couldn’t refuse.
After all, one of the most important clauses in their agreement was to help Yu Tingzhou put on a show in front of his mother.
Shen Zhouyue stood up unsteadily and sluggishly walked toward the bathroom. He put on a change of clothes, but because he was too exhausted and unfocused, he put his shirt on inside out without realizing it.
It wasn’t until he walked out of the bathroom that Yu Tingzhou pointed it out. “Why is your shirt inside out?”
Seeing that quite a bit of time had passed since the call, Yu Tingzhou stepped forward, intending to help Shen Zhouyue fix his clothes.
Shen Zhouyue felt a chill and his foggy brain instantly cleared. Looking at his clothes in Yu Tingzhou’s hands, he asked in confusion, “Didn’t you say we were going home? What are you doing?”
“You put your clothes on inside out. Didn’t I just tell you?”
“Alright, put it back on quickly. We’re leaving now. I don’t know what they want to talk about, but they sounded quite serious on the phone.”
Yu Tingzhou calmly handed the clothes back to Shen Zhouyue, ignoring the reddish marks behind his ears. Everything was perfect.
Shen Zhouyue’s brain had finally rebooted. He nimbly changed his clothes and washed his face simply; the cold water helped him wake up further.
With water droplets still on his face, he walked up to Yu Tingzhou. “Didn’t you say you had a meeting today? What about that?”
“What else can I do? Mom put it that way. I can’t just abandon my mother for a business partnership, can I?”
Yu Tingzhou was still puzzled by the morning call.
However, he felt it shouldn’t be a life-or-death emergency; otherwise, his father would have surely called as well.
Once they returned to the old mansion, they would find out what was going on.
“True. Let’s go then. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can figure out what happened.”
Saying this, Shen Zhouyue took the lead and walked toward the door. If they resolved this quickly, he could come back and rest sooner.
Walking too fast inadvertently pulled at a wound. He sucked in a breath of cold air, his legs going weak, and he nearly fell to the floor. Fortunately, Yu Tingzhou behind him caught him by the waist in time. “Be careful, don’t hurt yourself.”
Shen Zhouyue nodded, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
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