Chapter 8 When the sky gets dark enough, the stars will shine brightly 1
The air conditioning in the office was freezing cold, and the atmosphere in the office was particularly solemn.
Zhong Jialiang sat on a chair opposite the desk and looked at Qiu Zhuoping. Liu Jiaran stood beside Zhong Jialiang and looked at Qiu Zhuoping with the same eyes.
After a while, Zhong Jialiang moved a contract in front of Qiu Zhuoping and said, "This contract was signed by you two years ago. I believe you still remember the contents above, right?"
"Brother Zhuoping, the company had such a big financial loophole back then. If it weren't for me, would you be able to sit in the position you are in today? But you humiliated me again and again for Chen Yiying. You really deserve me." Liu Jiaran snorted sarcastically. She looked at the signatures of the three of them on the contract. "Do you still remember the price you have to pay for violating the original agreement?"
"Do you choose to continue this contract or terminate it?" Zhong Jialiang continued.
Qiu Zhuoping glanced at the contract, which recorded an unequal treaty signed two years ago for some reason. He remained silent.
This was the first time he hesitated about his decision, and his hesitation was quickly ended , and he hurried to the hospital.
The nurse's voice on the phone lingered in my ears: "Excuse me, is this Mr. Qiu Zhuoping? Your father is in the emergency room now..."
When Qiu Zhuoping rushed to the hospital, the red light in the emergency room was still on. He was extremely anxious, but he could only sit on a chair in the corridor and wait, trying to remain calm. This wait reminded him of the situation two years ago.
That was the first time his father went to the hospital for a major operation. That day was the day when the school badminton friendly match ended. He didn't even have time to celebrate with Chen Yiying before he was called away by a phone call from the hospital.
That day was also the most complicated day in his life. Many memories of his father and mother kept flooding into his mind. His mother's vague smile and his father's increasingly vicissitudes of life face appeared alternately. He was afraid that his mother would take his father away early, and that the last relative in the world would leave him. He waited outside the emergency room for 24 hours, waiting for the red light to turn green. When his father was pushed out of the emergency room, his eyes were dark, as if he had not slept for several nights. The nurses and doctors on duty felt distressed when they saw him.
That was the first time he saw his father's pale hair and haggard face up close. He moved with the bedside, staying by the bedside to take care of his father.
The doctor told him that his father had suffered an acute heart attack due to stimulation. Although his life was saved, he must not be stimulated in the future and must control his condition well because the attack could occur at any time.
From that day on, Qiu Zhuoping became cautious and worried about gains and losses. He sold his villa and lived with his father. He began to learn how to cook so that he could take better care of his father.
He was so careful, but he still couldn't avoid sitting in the hospital corridor again and going through a long wait.
After Xu Shu arrived at his residence and put down his luggage, he called Qiu Zhuoping, but the other party did not answer the call until he called again the next morning.
Upon learning that Qiu's father was admitted to the hospital, Xu Shu called Chen Yiying, who was on vacation, hoping to repair the relationship between them.
"What? Uncle Qiu is in the hospital?" Yiying, who was curled up on the sofa watching TV and eating potato chips, sat up suddenly when she heard the news that Uncle Qiu was in the hospital.
"Yeah, I heard it was a heart attack. Do you want to go visit the patient?"
Xu Xishu's blunt answer made Yiying even more anxious. Uncle Qiu had invited her to dinner and asked about his health. She had to go visit him!
"I'll be there right now!"
"Just come down. My car is parked downstairs of your building." As Xu Shu said this, he honked the horn a few times.
When Chen Yiying opened the curtains, she saw a convertible sports car parked in front of the apartment door. Xu Shushu, who was in the driver's seat, was waving at her with his cell phone in his hand.
Chen Yiying walked into the Central Hospital carrying some fruit, and after asking the nurse at the front desk, she and Xu Shu walked to Qiu's father's ward. When they walked into the ward, Qiu Zhuoping was feeding his father porridge, while Qiu's father was talking in a confused manner.
"Didn't Yueju say she would buy me scallion pancakes? Why didn't she come back?"
"Dad, Mom is gone, have you forgotten?"
"Why is it gone? You clearly sewed the buttons on my clothes yesterday." Father Qiu said as he looked around for his clothes, "Where is my suit? The buttons on it were sewed by your mother yesterday."
"Zhuo Ping." Xu Shushu knocked on the door and walked in, followed by Chen Yiying.
Father Qiu looked at Chen Yiying with shining eyes, and smiled: "Yueju, you are here?"
"Yueju?" Yiying was confused.
Qiu Zhuoping put down the bowl of porridge, stood up and walked to Yiying, and said, "My dad is a little confused, Yueju is my mom."
"Yes, I'm here. Come, I'll feed you porridge." Yiying smiled hesitantly, sat on the chair beside the bed, picked up the porridge, and continued to feed Father Qiu.
Father Qiu's eyes were filled with happiness, as if he had returned to the days long ago when he was with Yueju: "Yueju, it's great to have you take care of me. They all said you wouldn't come back, they were all lying."
"Then you have to get better soon, then we can go home." Yiying blew on the porridge in the spoon and put it into Qiu's father's mouth.
Such a heartwarming scene made Qiu Zhuoping seem to see his mother. When his mother was still alive, she took care of his father in the same way.
Not long after Chen Yiying fed his father porridge, he fell asleep. Qiu Zhuoping covered his father with a blanket and took Chen Yiying out of the ward.
The two stopped in an empty corridor, and Qiu Zhuoping asked Yiying to take care of his father temporarily.
"Do you think I would be kind enough to take care of the father of someone who left me without saying a word?" Yiying sneered, preparing to turn around and leave.
"Two years ago, my dad's company ran into financial problems. My dad was stimulated and had a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. That was right after the school friendly game. I have been taking care of my dad and the company he has worked so hard to build. I didn't want to drag you down, so I chose to leave." Qiu Zhuoping spoke slowly, but did not elaborate on the specific reason for leaving, as that was what he was most reluctant to mention.
Yiying stopped and listened to Qiu Zhuoping's story.
"I have been in despair twice. The first time was when my mother passed away; the second time was when my father remained in the emergency room. There was only a door between them and me, but I didn't know whether it was heaven or hell behind that door. I was inexplicably terrified and helpless."
Yiying turned around and looked at the person she once loved standing lonely in the light and shadow.
He looked gloomy, hiding a hidden sadness. Yiying wanted to go up to him and give him a hug, to tell him that even if everyone left him, I would still be by his side.
But when she really walked up to him, she said an inspiring quote: "When the sky is dark enough, the stars will shine brightly."
I am willing to be your star, shining on you, so that you will not feel lonely even when you are lost and in the dark. This is what she added in her heart.
Chen Yiying finally agreed to let Qiu Zhuoping take care of his father. During her remaining one week of vacation, she went to the market with Qiu Zhuoping every day to buy some ingredients for stewing soup for Qiu's father.
Because Chen Yiying couldn't cook, she mostly watched Qiu Zhuoping cook in the kitchen. When she wanted to help, she ended up making things more troublesome and was eventually banned from entering the kitchen by Qiu Zhuoping.
Because Mr. Qiu was not in good health, the doctor recommended that he stay in the hospital for observation for a period of time. During this time, Chen Yiying would chat with him, feed him, and take care of him like a child. Mr. Qiu’s favorite thing every day was to sit in a wheelchair and be pushed by her to the yard to bask in the sun.
Father Qiu would tell her a lot about his and Yueju's past. How they met, how they fell in love, and how they struggled together until today. Father Qiu's memory seemed to have regressed to the time when Yueju was still alive. Sometimes he would suddenly wake up from his nap and look for Yiying everywhere. Later, Qiu Zhuoping and Yiying took turns to stay by his side. When he was in good spirits, he would call Yiying Yiying, and when he was confused, he would look at Yiying and ask Qiu Zhuoping to call her mom.
"Feed my dad." Qiu Zhuoping opened the thermal lunch box and handed the cooked porridge to Yiying.
"Zhuoping, how do you talk to your mother? You don't even use the name to address her, right?" Father Qiu immediately reprimanded Qiu Zhuoping for his impoliteness.
Under such pressure, Qiu Zhuoping awkwardly corrected his address: "Mom, you feed Dad."
"My son is so good." Yiying brought the porridge over, stroked Qiu Zhuoping's head like he was stroking a puppy, and burst out laughing.
Qiu Zhuoping blushed, turned around and walked out of the ward, leaving his father and Chen Yiying behind.
He stood in the corridor opposite the ward, looking through the glass window at Yiying feeding porridge to his father. The scene was very heartwarming, a warm feeling he hadn't had in a long time.
When I was a child, my father rarely came home because of his busy work. He would only rest at home when he was seriously ill. My mother would make porridge for him and make some nutritious food for him to eat. At that time, Qiu Zhuoping always thought that it would be great if my father was often sick, so that he would have more time to be with me and my mother, and I could often see my mother's warm smile. But later, my mother left them first, and the relationship between them lost its connection. Later, they lived separately.
The appearance of Chen Yiying made him recall these warm moments and bathed his heart in sunshine and love again. Perhaps Chen Yiying was his angel, using her light to melt the iceberg in his heart.
"Yueju, I want to go outside and bask in the sun. We haven't basked in the sun for a long time."
"Okay, I'll let my son help you."
Yiying smiled and nodded, then turned to the corridor and shouted, "Son, your dad wants to go out to bask in the sun, come and help him."