25
Hope is the Greatest Disappointment
Under the photographer’s guidance, the shoot proceeded in an orderly manner.
Fu Xinyue seemed to be bursting with joy, nearly leaning into Lin Chenghao several times.
Lin Yuxi sat on a bench, her fingertips gripping her pants as she asked, “Brother Mochen, do you know about Fu Tingchuan and Qin Ruoshi?”
Shen Mochen understood what she wanted to ask but couldn’t help much. “I’m sorry, I don’t know much about their situation.”
Fu Tingchuan was the most reserved among their university friends. After flying to the United States, he had virtually disappeared from social media, his presence almost nonexistent.
Lin Yuxi had anticipated this answer. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Actually, it’s better this way. Hope is the greatest disappointment, isn’t it?”
Her words sounded more like self-consolation, but during times of low spirits, any comforting words seemed hollow.
Shen Mochen shifted her focus. “I know a French restaurant nearby with even higher ratings than the last one. Should we take Haohao there for lunch to satisfy his cravings?”
Lin Yuxi agreed half-heartedly. “Sure, I’ll watch you two eat.”
Shen Mochen pressed further, “The top-rated French restaurant in the city, are you sure you don’t want to try it?”
Lin Yuxi looked at him, her lips parting slightly before she forced a smile that looked worse than tears. “Alright, let’s give it a try.”
“You need to eat well to have the energy for the exhibition. I don’t want to end up carrying a hypoglycemic patient to the hospital halfway through,” Shen Mochen joked while taking out his phone to make a reservation.
Lin Yuxi smiled through her tears. “I’ll try my best not to hold you back.”
After speaking, she turned her gaze into the distance, staring at Fu Xinyue’s face. The more she looked, the more it resembled Fu Tingchuan, while the head of black curly hair was likely inherited from Qin Ruoshi.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Qin Ruoshi watched Lin Yuxi, her mind racing to the point of overheating.
A relative’s child? What relatives did Lin Yuxi have left? Could it be that she was taking advantage of her close relationship with Shen Mochen, claiming his relative’s child as her own?
During that dinner, Lin Yuxi had called to ask for advice and later saved the contact as “baby” on her phone. It seemed they had long been lovers, perhaps even living together.
The thought made Qin Ruoshi’s heart ache. What was so great about Lin Yuxi that she could latch onto the Shen family’s young master?
Had Fu Tingchuan known about this all along? Was it really Lin Yuxi who initiated the divorce?
Qin Ruoshi stole a glance at Fu Tingchuan’s expression and cautiously probed, “Tingchuan, Yuxi and Young Master Shen seem quite close.”
Fu Tingchuan stood tall and straight, his hands in his pockets. “Are you interested?”
Qin Ruoshi was taken aback. “Huh?”
Fu Tingchuan’s stiff expression softened as he corrected his earlier behavior. “Their lives have nothing to do with me.”
Hearing this, Qin Ruoshi felt relieved. Regardless of who initiated the divorce, Lin Yuxi’s blatant affair was a fact, and Fu Tingchuan would surely not want her back.
With this thought, Qin Ruoshi smiled again, responding to Fu Tingchuan’s earlier remark. “Of course, we should focus on living our own lives well. There’s no need to worry about others.”
Fu Tingchuan said nothing more, his gaze fixed on Lin Chenghao’s face in the distance, gradually losing himself in thought.
…
The shoot lasted the entire morning, concluding promptly at eleven o’clock.
The first thing Fu Xinyue did after changing her clothes was to grab Lin Yuxi’s hand and plead, “Auntie, can’t you really let Haohao stay at my house? My house is very big, and we have all kinds of toys.”
Although Lin Yuxi had her reservations, facing a six-year-old child, her grievances melted away. She replied gently, “Auntie can’t decide that. You’ll have to ask Haohao yourself.”
Lin Chenghao immediately interjected, “I don’t want to.”
In his mind, his father was already a failure for having a child with another woman. If he were to live with the Fu family, he feared he wouldn’t survive to adulthood.
Fu Xinyue’s lips trembled, and she looked as if she were about to burst into tears again. Just then, Qin Ruoshi walked over, and Fu Xinyue ran toward her, sobbing, “Waa, I want to live with Haohao. I like him, I want to live with him…”
Qin Ruoshi gave an apologetic smile to Lin Yuxi. “Sorry, Yuxi. Yueyue has been spoiled by us. Please don’t mind her.”
“Why would I mind?” Lin Yuxi said, then took Haohao’s hand and walked away.
Realizing her request had been ignored, Fu Xinyue cried even louder.
Qin Ruoshi felt as if she were holding a loudspeaker, the noise giving her a headache. She had no choice but to turn to Fu Tingchuan, who was watching coldly from a distance. “If she keeps crying like this, Yueyue might develop vocal nodules again.”
Fu Tingchuan walked over, picked Fu Xinyue up, and wiped her tears with a tissue. “Everyone has their own thoughts. Forcing others is impolite.”
Fu Xinyue didn’t care about being polite or not. Since she was little, whatever she wanted had been granted immediately. “I don’t care! Waa, Tingchuan, can you help me take Haohao away, please…”
Fu Tingchuan frowned but didn’t respond. Instead, he carried her toward the car. “It’s immoral to take what belongs to others.”
Qin Ruoshi followed at a leisurely pace, smiling helplessly. “Tingchuan, how can a child understand such principles? Let’s go for a nice meal. She might forget all about it afterward.”
Fu Tingchuan thought this was a good idea. “You choose the restaurant.”
“No problem.”
Fu Xinyue’s cries gradually subsided into occasional sniffles. Only when Qin Ruoshi felt her eardrums had recovered did she quicken her pace to catch up.
Uncle Zhang was already waiting by the car. He opened the door respectfully and said, “President Fu, Miss Qin, Little Miss.”
Qin Ruoshi shared the restaurant she had chosen. “Let’s go here.”
Uncle Zhang started the car. “Of course.”
Fu Xinyue was strapped into her child seat, her face still streaked with tears, muttering under her breath, “I want Haohao…”
Fu Tingchuan sat beside her, ignoring her pleas. He lowered his gaze to read a message from Ji Chi: “President Fu, we’ve found out. The child’s name is Lin Chenghao, and his guardian is Miss Lin.”
Lin. His surname was actually Lin.
Fu Tingchuan raised his hand and rubbed his temples, leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes to rest.
Because of the child seat, Qin Ruoshi sat in the front passenger seat. Hearing Yueyue’s sniffles, she glanced back and noticed Fu Tingchuan’s expression seemed somewhat troubled.
“Tingchuan, are you carsick? Should we ask Uncle Zhang to pull over?”
“No need.”
Qin Ruoshi nodded, her gaze sweeping over Fu Xinyue’s face. She wanted to say something but was afraid it would only make the child cry louder. In the end, she chose to remain silent.
Soon, the car arrived at the French restaurant. Uncle Zhang got out first and walked around to open the door on the other side.
Fu Tingchuan lifted Fu Xinyue out and handed her to Qin Ruoshi. “You two go in first. I have some business to attend to.”
Qin Ruoshi nodded. “Alright, we’ll wait for you to order.”
“You two go ahead and order first.” Fu Tingchuan said nothing more, turning to walk to a quiet corner where he dialed Ji Chi’s number.
“President Fu, what can I do for you?”
Fu Tingchuan lowered his head, staring at the tips of his shoes. “Go check Lin Yuxi’s birth records.”
Ji Chi seemed to think he had misheard. “Huh?”
Fu Tingchuan lifted his head, gazing at the distant white clouds. He paused for a moment, then let out a long, slow breath. “You heard me correctly.”