Heng Shi did not have any particular tendencies of that sort. He had casually stroked the leaves and branches of the small tree sapling and, through a moment of carelessness, left behind that tiny speck of blood.
He stared at the minuscule injury for a moment, then, pretending it was nothing, tapped that very finger against his phone screen and sent the photo to Zou Beiqi.
He couldn’t even explain to himself why he had done such a thing.
…
Zou Beiqi replied with a few simple words while unconsciously speeding up his movements. Sheng Wanzhong glanced over sideways, as if rushing him along: “What’s the rush? What are you going to do if you accidentally slice your hand open in a minute? Leave the rest to me and go sit outside.”
“It’s fine, I can…”
“What ‘you can’? What if your husband comes looking for me to settle scores later? Go outside.”
Just like that, Zou Beiqi was unceremoniously chased out by Sheng Wanzhong. Sitting at the dining table, he suddenly calmed down. This felt completely wrong. Heng Shi had told him not to stay too long, and he was actually going to head back early just like that? Wasn’t he an adult? Even if Heng Shi was his husband, it was only in name. Even if it was for the sake of the child, the phrasing should have been about getting back early to rest—what was with telling him not to stay at someone else’s place for too long?
Heng Shi only had such a tiny scratch; it wasn’t worth rushing back to visit him over, right?
And so, twenty minutes later, he appeared at the entrance of the villa.
It wasn’t that he insisted on being an obedient wife, but rather that there was truly no need for him to go out of his way to cross Heng Shi—after all, he wasn’t a rebellious teenager going through a phase.
The moment he pushed the door open, he saw Heng Shi sitting on the sofa, staring unblinkingly at his laptop, presumably rushing to finish the report he had mentioned earlier. Zou Beiqi sat down beside him, not daring to make a sound or disturb him, but the other man spoke up first to greet him: “Have you eaten your fill?”
“Considered full, yes.” In truth, to rush back, he had barely tasted a few bites of the food.
“Good boy.”
“Is your hand alright?”
“It’s nothing. Just a small cut, once the blood was wiped away, it was fine.” Heng Shi changed the subject, “What did you have for dinner?”
“Very light things. Sheng Wanzhong usually likes heavy flavors, but this time because I was coming over, he specifically cooked lighter dishes.”
Heng Shi paused for a moment, completely without warning: “You even know what he usually likes to eat.”
“We ate at Lin Huixi’s place last time, and he mentioned it himself.”
“Then do you know what your husband likes to eat?” Heng Shi asked, as if a sudden whim of teasing had struck him, “Qiqi?”
“Light flavors?” Zou Beiqi recalled asking Heng Shi back at the Yanxin cafeteria, where the man had explicitly told him he usually ate food with that kind of profile.
“Me eating like that normally doesn’t mean I love it.”
“Huh?” Zou Beiqi was taken aback. It reminded him of how, back in middle and high school, he used to vow over and over again never to eat the street food by the school gates, only to end up patronizing the stalls every other day anyway. Unlike him, Heng Shi could actually suppress his personal food preferences for the sake of his health.
“I like braised eggplant. My grandfather used to make it for me all the time. Even though there was a nanny at home, he would still cook it himself.” Heng Shi met Zou Beiqi’s gaze. “Remember that.”
Zou Beiqi muttered an affirmative response. It wasn’t quite late yet, but due to the effects of his pregnancy, he was already starting to feel drowsy at this hour. Remembering Heng Shi’s claim that he would be up all night finishing his report, Zou Beiqi intended to muster up his energy to persuade the other man to rest early, but right on cue, the phrase “keep your distance” flashed back into his mind, and after much deliberation, he shut his mouth.
What was there to meddle in with other people’s business? Even if her husband suddenly dropped dead, he would inherit billions in assets and wouldn’t have to worry about finding a new husband.
…
At ten o’clock at night, Heng Shi returned to his bedroom. Zou Beiqi was lurking right by the crack in the door.
Probably influenced by the post-pregnancy hormones, Zou Beiqi felt his emotions were all over the place. When Heng Shi had told him face-to-face in the backyard to keep his distance, he hadn’t felt much of anything, but the moment he found his own actions restricted by those few words, he grew inexplicably furious.
He pressed his gaze into the narrow gap. Heng Shi was still typing away continuously on the computer keyboard, only finally stopping his work ten-odd minutes later.
Just as Zou Beiqi wondered if Heng Shi’s work efficiency was so high that he had finished his task early, the sudden ringtone of his mobile phone bursting from his pocket interrupted his train of thought. Flustered, he fumbled around to pull the device out, where two bold characters glared brightly on the caller ID screen: Heng Shi.
“…” Zou Beiqi hung up the phone, pushed the door open, and walked in. “Did you know I was there?”
“With a big person like you standing there, it’s pretty hard not to see you.” Heng Shi pointed to the spot by the bedside, signaling for Zou Beiqi to sit down.
Zou Beiqi sat on the edge of the bed, falling into a slight trance as he watched Heng Shi still sitting at the desk, intently staring at the computer screen. Before long, he couldn’t help but let out a yawn. Noticing the movement, Heng Shi said, “If you’re sleepy, go to sleep.”
“Then are you sleeping in my room tonight?”
“Mhm. Sleep easy, there are plenty of beds in the villa.”
Heng Shi switched off the room light for him, turning on a small desk lamp for himself instead. Without realizing it, Zou Beiqi drifted off to sleep, until he felt the other side of the bed sink down slightly. Only then did he hazily open his eyes a tiny crack: “You… huh? Why are you here?”
“Did I wake you?” Heng Shi’s voice was uncommonly soft.
“Not really, I wake up easily anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
“The air conditioning in your room is broken. I’ll have someone fix it tomorrow.”
“Didn’t you say there were plenty of beds?”
“Those rooms haven’t been used in too long; they’re covered in dust and can’t be cleaned up on short notice.” Even though Heng Shi’s voice could be described as faint as a mosquito’s hum, it remained extremely clear in the quiet room. “Go to sleep.”
Zou Beiqi was just about to let his eyes drift closed again when something suddenly occurred to him, and he forced his eyelids back open: “Heng Shi, can we cancel the contract clause about keeping our distance?”
Heng Shi didn’t answer. Assuming Heng Shi had fallen asleep instantly, Zou Beiqi subconsciously poked him, and the words slipped out from him once more: “What else? Tell me.”
“I have no way of ignoring you. You’re the father of the child, and legally speaking, you’re also my husband. I have no intention of living as a widow.” Zou Beiqi paused. “Even though I got angry for a moment today and thought that if you dropped dead, I’d just inherit your wealth and go find a new husband, I didn’t really mean it.”
“… I’m still alive and you’re already thinking about a new husband?”
“Just in case you die.”
“I’ll take care of my own child myself; I don’t need you finding a new husband to help.” Heng Shi’s tone dropped like it was falling into an icy abyss, sounding nothing like the gentle voice that had just coaxed him to sleep. “Besides, keeping our distance doesn’t mean I’ll die. That has nothing to do with whether you become a widow or not.”
“But it affects my mood. When you first found out I was pregnant, you said it yourself, you would make sure to avoid putting me in a bad mood so it wouldn’t affect the baby.”
“Tell me.” Heng Shi’s tone softened again. “When you’re unhappy, tell me. I’ll listen to you.”
“You said it.”
“Mhm, I said it.”
Hearing that reply, Zou Beiqi finally closed his eyes with peace of mind. In his hazy state of semi-consciousness, he seemed to hear Heng Shi’s voice: “Why do you care about me so much? Zou Beiqi, don’t tell me you actually thought you were going to be a widow.”
“Mhm…” Zou Beiqi wasn’t fully awake and answered instinctively, “Because you look a lot like my dad.”
Silence.
After a long while, his ears vaguely caught the sound of a voice: “I really have no way of dealing with you.”
“… Exactly what… are you thinking?”
…
Recalling the conversation he and Heng Shi had shared last night, Zou Beiqi felt inexplicably a lot more relaxed. Heng Shi would listen to him for the sake of the child; he felt a vague sense of riding on his child’s coattails to gain authority.
Heng Shi had previously mentioned to him that a potted bonsai sapling in the backyard wasn’t doing well. After consulting the gardener, Zou Beiqi learned that the fertilizer he had chosen wasn’t quite right. The gardener recommended a few options, and Zou Beiqi planned to head to an offline store to pick them up after breakfast.
He and Heng Shi dined together at the same table as usual. Clearing away the food on his plate, the man unhurriedly put down his knife and fork: “What did you mean when you said I look like your dad?”
“Huh?” Zou Beiqi froze mid-cut on his sausage. Had he really said that? Could he have been sleepwalking last night? Or talking in his sleep?
“Cat got your tongue?”
“What did I say last night, exactly?”
“…” Heng Shi slipped on his suit jacket. “Forget it if you don’t remember.”
Zou Beiqi knew for a fact that he must have said it, otherwise Heng Shi wouldn’t have brought it up out of nowhere. In Heng Shi’s mind, his father was merely a severely ill patient lying on a hospital bed. Thinking of this, Zou Beiqi breathed a sigh of relief—thank goodness Heng Shi didn’t press the issue, otherwise eight mouths wouldn’t be enough to explain it away.
Watching Heng Shi walk out the front door, Zou Beiqi tidied up his appearance and also prepared to head out to the gardening market, bringing his digital camera along the way.
Aside from fertilizers and other gardening supplies, the gardening market also sold plenty of fully grown bonsai trees and fresh flowers, making it a great photography spot for Zou Beiqi.
The morning gardening market was already bustling with noise. Along the crowded streets, there were countless small stalls displaying watering cans of all shapes and sizes, brand-new little shovels, gloves, and scissors. Naturally, there was also a dazzling array of fresh flowers and potted bonsai trees, weaving together to form a picturesque corner.
Even though the paths were narrow and the crowds hurried and dense, Zou Beiqi didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. He wove his way through them, capturing the vibrant atmosphere of everyday life with his camera.
Instead of making a beeline for the fertilizer, he leisurely strolled from the top of the street to the end, ending up with a pot of blooming freesias in his hands. By the time he had spent enough time browsing, he finally bought the fertilizer, placed it in the backseat of his car, and walked toward a nearby supermarket.
For a long time now, Zou Beiqi had nurtured an inexplicable fondness for browsing markets and supermarkets. For one, he loved the lively atmosphere; for another, he took pleasure in discovering all sorts of diverse goods, always managing to pick up a few useful little items by the time he left.
Many people were milling about the fruits and vegetables section picking out produce, and Zou Beiqi couldn’t help joining the crowd to see what was going on. Looking up, he spotted a bright red price tag sitting right on top of a pile of eggplants, marked as today’s special.
As if driven by some mysterious impulse, Zou Beiqi remembered that Heng Shi loved braised eggplant.
He picked and chose, weighed a single eggplant, and tossed it into the trunk alongside his fertilizer and freesias.
When he returned to the villa, it was nearly lunchtime. After finishing up his chores in the backyard, Zou Beiqi carried the discounted eggplant into the kitchen.
When his father was away for work, Zou Beiqi basically cooked for himself all the time. Although braised eggplant wasn’t something he made frequently, it wasn’t a complicated dish either, and he quickly got the hang of it.
The fragrant eggplant came out of the wok, and Zou Beiqi couldn’t resist sneaking a small piece to taste-test first. It looked like two months without cooking hadn’t made his skills rusty at all.
He carried the eggplant to the dining table, mixing it in with the dishes the nanny had just finished preparing. Before he could even sit down to eat, the main door of the villa was pushed open from the outside.
Zou Beiqi instinctively looked up: “Heng Shi? Why are you back?”
“I finished what I was doing, so I came back early.” Heng Shi’s nose was extraordinarily sharp. “Braised eggplant?”