Chapter 58

Fan Xīng’s heart was delicate. Last night, things got chaotic in the middle of the night. When he left, he even remembered to run to the homestay where Eric stayed and brought his belongings back. So, at this moment, Eric’s passport was indeed in He Qingmo’s hands.

He Qingmo didn’t think about keeping him, casually throwing his backpack at him along with a remark, “Not going to say goodbye to your grandparents?”

Originally, He Qingmo wanted to add “dad,” but considering their awkward father-son relationship, he decided to leave out He Qing’an.

“I’ll call them when I get back,” Eric said, leaving these words behind and walking away with his backpack. When he reached the door, for some reason, he stopped, didn’t look back at He Qingmo, and his voice sounded a bit awkward, “Tell them I’m fine, no need to worry.” After saying this, he slammed the door shut without looking back and walked away.

He Qingmo stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned and walked to the balcony. A few minutes later, he saw Eric leaving.

Looking down from the twenty-seventh floor, the view was not very clear, but He Qingmo didn’t know if it was because he had been with Fan Xing for too long, he became somewhat sentimental. He could sense a thick sense of loneliness and desolation from that indistinct figure.

Eric’s figure quickly disappeared from his sight, but he still didn’t leave the balcony. He casually sat on the hanging chair, imitating Fan Xing, blowing the wind and looking at the scenery, but there was still some discomfort in his heart.

It wasn’t until Fan Xing’s call came that he finally moved to a different place and picked up the phone.

“Brother, how’s Eric? Is he awake?” Fan Xing’s voice came through the phone.

The momentary softness He Qingmo felt towards his romantic rival disappeared instantly, and he said with dissatisfaction, “Fan Xing, who are you talking to? Every word is about other men. Did you forget you have a husband?”

Fan Xing’s laughter came from the other end of the phone, and then his voice softened, “Of course, I’m talking to my husband. Don’t be angry, okay?”

Originally pretending to be upset, the man with a serious face suddenly broke into a helpless smile.

No choice, his wife was too cute to stay angry.

After learning that Eric had already left for home, Fan Xing was surprised. After a moment of silence, he sighed, “Well, it’s good. After all, he has friends there and can talk about his feelings. As for here…”

Fan Xing’s voice gradually lowered, swallowing the rest of the words, changing the topic, “Brother, you haven’t rested well these past two days. Have dinner and sleep early?”

“Let’s have dinner together. I’ll come to pick you up.” He Qingmo knew that Fan Xing was not feeling well either.

Fan Xing didn’t plan to meet the man tonight, especially since he had missed quite a few classes these days and wanted to spend the night organizing them at the library.

And He Qingmo must be tired recently. It was rare for him to rest well, and Fan Xing didn’t want him to come back and forth.

However, He Qingmo spoke, and Fan Xing couldn’t refuse. Besides, he felt a bit uneasy in his heart and wanted to see him.

“Okay.” So he agreed.

After hanging up the phone, he tidied up a bit, prepared to go out, and happened to meet Qin Xiuming coming back from outside. Seeing him about to go out, thinking he was going to the cafeteria, he turned and came out with him, smiling, “Eating alone is boring, let’s go together. Hey? Where are those two?”

Fan Xing was a bit surprised, feeling that Qin Xiuming today seemed unusual. No, it should be said that he seemed quite normal, just like the old Qin Xiuming.

He smiled and said, “I’m not going to the cafeteria. You can go find Yucheng and the others if you want.”

Qin Xiuming didn’t catch the hidden meaning and casually hooked Fan Xing’s shoulder, “Not going to the cafeteria is fine. Eating at the cafeteria every day, I’m also tired of it. Let’s go, let me treat you!”

Fan Xing, with a hint of apology, shook his head, “Next time, I’ll treat you. I have plans with someone tonight.”

Then he saw Qin Xiuming, for some reason, froze, and the arm on his shoulder retracted. He smiled awkwardly, “Oh, oh, a date, right? Okay, I won’t delay you. I’ll go to the cafeteria first. Goodbye!” After saying that, he ran away in three steps and two steps.

Fan Xing couldn’t help but frown.

Rarely did he feel that Qin Xiuming seemed to have become normal today, not avoiding him like he did in the past few days. However, why did he become strange again after just a few words?

He shook his head helplessly and followed him downstairs.

He Qingmo, being very close to Qing University, arrived faster than Fan Xing coming out of the dormitory. After waiting for a few minutes, he saw Fan Xing running out and carefully observing the surroundings, trying not to attract attention, quickly running over and slipping into the car.

The look on his face was somewhat like a thief.

He Qingmo couldn’t help but laugh, “Why do I feel like you think I came here to have an affair with you?”

Fan Xing, fastening his seatbelt, raised his head and made a funny face, “Isn’t it because you’re too famous, every little move of yours makes it to the hot search. I don’t want to be on it.”

He Qingmo laughed and poked his chubby cheek, “Are you rejecting your husband?”

“No, no!” Fan Xing immediately nodded in agreement and, very tactfully, changed the topic, “What do you want to eat tonight?”

“What do you want to eat?” the man asked.

“Um…” Fan Xing thought for a moment, shook his head, “Nothing specific that I want to eat.” Actually, he didn’t feel hungry at all.

He Qingmo also didn’t have any specific cravings, so the two of them found a random restaurant and had something to eat.

As they were about to leave after eating, He Qingmo’s phone rang. It was a call from He Qing’an.

He Qingmo had blocked calls from Ji Jin and his family, or else his phone wouldn’t have a moment of peace. However, he hadn’t received a call from He Qing’an the entire day.

He stared at He Qing’an’s name on the screen for a while before pressing the answer button.

However, there was silence on the other end, only a sigh of helplessness could be heard, as if the person wanted to speak but hesitated.

Fan Xing looked at He Qingmo with some concern. He always thought of He Qing’an as a stable middle-aged man, someone who had reasonable plans and full confidence in everything he did. So seeing him like this was genuinely worrying.

He Qingmo didn’t want to talk at first because he felt that He Qing’an had handled the situation with Susan and Eric poorly. This was probably the first time he had felt disappointed in his big brother. However, seeing his big brother in this state, he couldn’t bear it.

“He’s gone back,” He Qingmo finally spoke.

A sigh of relief came from the other end, “That’s good, is he okay?”

He Qingmo suddenly felt annoyed, “What do you mean ‘that’s good’? Are you especially afraid that he stays in the country and affects your relationship with your sister-in-law?”

“I…” He Qing’an sighed, his tone filled with deep helplessness, “Older brother, I know it’s all my fault. Whether it’s Ning Ning or your sister-in-law, I’ve let them down. But I really don’t know what to do. Do you think I don’t want my son to come home, and for the family to be happy? But can I ignore your sister-in-law’s feelings? Every time she hears Ning Ning’s name, she recalls her miscarriage. She can’t accept Ning Ning at all!”

“This is your…”

“Hey, big brother, Eric is fine. You spend some time with your sister-in-law.” Fan Xing quickly covered He Qingmo’s mouth, hurriedly said, and hung up the phone.

He Qingmo removed Fan Xing’s hand and looked a bit gloomy, “Why did you stop me? This is his responsibility.”

Actually, Fan Xing had sensed He Qingmo’s fluctuating emotions since last night. It wasn’t about Eric’s feelings for him; it was because He Qingmo had learned about the grievances between Eric and Susan. Although He seemed to dislike Eric, Fan Xing could sensitively perceive his discomfort.

And now, He Qing’an’s attitude had completely stimulated him. It was evident that He Qingmo was on the verge of exploding.

“I know you’re upset about Eric and Sister-in-law, but now is not the time to assign blame. The situation is already here, and even if you were in Big Brother’s position, you might not have handled it better. Besides, he’s probably more tortured than any of us. Don’t make it worse for him. If he reacts excessively, it will only make the situation worse and hurt either Sister-in-law or Eric. Both Sister-in-law and Eric are not at fault. They’re both victims. You don’t want them to be hurt, right? So don’t provoke Big Brother. Let him calm down. Maybe he can think of a solution,” Fan Xing said.

How to solve it? Fan Xing didn’t know. This situation had become a deadlock. He only said these words because he felt that scolding He Qing’an now would be meaningless.

He Qingmo, in fact, didn’t intend to provoke He Qing’an at this moment. In this matter, his views aligned with Fan Xing’s. Since they couldn’t find a better solution, maintaining the current situation was the best. But when He Qing’an heard that Eric had gone back, he seemed to have a feeling of relief from the troubles. It made He Qingmo feel uneasy.

Clearly, it was He Qing’an’s mistakes that led to this, and now he was so afraid of his son returning to the country, potentially affecting his marriage.

He Qingmo felt quite disappointed.

However, what Fan Xing said was right. Being disappointed was of no use, and provoking He Qing’an would be even more futile.

Forget it, others couldn’t help, and he didn’t care anymore!

With these thoughts, he had already pushed this matter out of his mind and pulled Fan Xing out.

It was around 8 pm, and the area near the school was crowded at this time. He Qingmo didn’t want to drive, so to avoid the crowd, he led Fan Xing through various winding alleys, choosing those less traveled.

“Do you know your way around these places so well, big brother? You must have been quite playful when you were in school, right?”

The alleys had no streetlights, only occasionally illuminated by some old-fashioned incandescent lights hanging in front of residents’ doors, providing dim light.

He Qingmo, holding Fan Xing, strolled slowly.

Fan Xing, who initially planned to return early to study in the library, found himself quite interested and playfully stepped on the man’s shadow while walking, asking him questions.

He Qingmo was naturally more interested. He didn’t want to send Fan Xing back so soon.

“Yeah, I used to skip classes often. I didn’t even know some of the professors for major courses.”

“Wow, can you graduate like that? Did big brother buy his diploma with money?”

“Yeah, jealous?”

Thinking back to when he first learned about marrying this man, Fan Xing had searched for this name online. At that time, he had noticed more of his scandalous news, but if he remembered correctly, it seemed that his entrepreneurial history had also been mentioned, and Ge Wei Technology seemed to be established during his school days.

So He Qingmo skipping classes back then was probably true.

“Jealous. What did big brother do when skipping classes back then?” Fan Xing asked with a smile, stepping up to the man.

“Um…”

The man pondered, not immediately responding. It was clear he was about to make up a story to amuse Fan Xing. Quickly interrupting him, Fan Xing, with a soft and obedient tone, said, “I want to hear the truth. I want to hear about big brother’s entrepreneurial history.”

In the dim light, the child’s clear eyes revealed a faint desire and admiration.

He Qingmo pinched his hand, feeling in a good mood. “It’s not as exciting as in TV dramas. Do you really want to hear?”

Fan Xing nodded, “Yes, I want to.”

So, He Qingmo, in a rare moment of leisure, began to chat.

Actually, the process of starting a business is generally similar for everyone. He probably had it easier than most people because his family background destined him to have a higher starting point. But being young and ambitious, he wanted to establish something of his own without relying much on family connections initially, so it was still challenging at first.

But overall, the process was quite mundane, especially for someone like Fan Xing, who had no interest in business. Yet, he listened with great interest, forgetting that he was supposed to go back for self-study.

Unconsciously, they had been circling this small alley for several rounds, and it was already close to eleven o’clock.

Although Fan Xing wanted to continue listening, he had to go back to school.

So, grabbing the man who wanted to continue wandering, he pointed at the time on his phone. “I have to go back to school. Next time, big brother can continue.”

Looking at the approaching eleven o’clock, the man was a bit surprised. He rarely spoke so much, and he had never pulled someone to walk the streets for such a long time, especially feeling unsatisfied now.

But the little one really had to go back to school, so he had to let go.

He escorted him to the mouth of the alley and stopped. Going further ahead meant encountering more people, and he might be recognized.

“I’m leaving. Big brother, don’t drive back home so late. Stay here for another night,” Fan Xing advised and waved before turning and quickly running away.

He Qingmo stood there and watched him enter the school before turning away.

Instead of going to the room he stayed in last night, he drove to the He family’s mansion.

After hanging up He Qing’an’s call, he had set his phone to silent. During this time, Ji Jin had probably called him countless times using different numbers.

Without a doubt, He Qing’an must have told them that Eric had already returned.

At this moment, Ji Jin was probably making a scene at home because she couldn’t see her grandson safe and sound.

He had ignored Ji Jin all day, and now it was time to say something, or else this mother of his would not stop.

Indeed, as expected, when He Qingmo was on the way, a call from Song Yang came complaining.

“Boss, give me a way out, will you? If you don’t answer the phone again, your wife is going to kill me. She can’t find you, so she’s crazily calling me. The key is, I can’t not answer. This is my work phone. If I miss any important calls, you can’t blame me!”

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