Chapter 60
Though not an accusation or criticism, it sounded like he was being blamed for acting on his own. Ye Zhi’s expression stiffened, an indescribable feeling surging up in his heart. He was timid by nature, easily yielding to others. Once his courage was shattered, it was difficult to gather again. So the words he wanted to explain rose to his lips, but he swallowed them silently. In the end, he could only take out the thick envelope and place it on the table. “Big Brother, the money I borrowed from you last time and the medical expenses you helped me pay are all in here. Thank you for your help.”
Huo Youqiao glanced at the envelope, still speaking calmly, “You’re welcome.” Then he unfolded the newspaper and started reading, showing no intention of continuing the conversation.
Ye Zhi’s face turned pale, and he awkwardly packed up his things and went to work.
The fact that Huo Youqiao kept his distance from him and his daughter hit him harder than he imagined. Ye Zhi was someone who easily gave up on things, but during this time, he always wanted to gather the courage to explain the situation and restore their relationship.
For this, he was even willing to pay any price.
But no matter how anxious he felt, taking that step was extremely difficult. Either he couldn’t wait for Huo Youqiao to return, or when he saw the man’s cold face, he faltered first. Thus, opportunities slipped away time and again, until he heard that Huo Youqiao was looking for a new house to move out of this one.
He heard it from Huo Ran’s nanny, Aunty Wang, while she was on the phone, presumably with her husband.
Ye Zhi didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but as soon as he heard the man’s voice, he wanted to avoid him. He didn’t expect the following words to break through his defenses instantly.
Huo Youqiao was moving? Leaving the old Huo family mansion and moving to another area? Was it to deliberately avoid him?
Had his self-loathing reached such a level?
This incident completely shattered Ye Zhi’s resolve, leaving him with no courage to face Huo Youqiao anymore.
“Xiao Ye, why haven’t you resumed making lunchboxes?” Shen Feiyu was the most sensitive to Ye Zhi’s emotions, after all, it affected his appetite. He had gotten used to coming to Ye Zhi’s place for something delicious. After Ye Zhi stopped bringing lunch, Shen Feiyu mourned silently every day.
Ye Zhi now understood that he was “annoying,” so he tried to minimize his presence. When he stayed at the Huo family’s house, he basically stayed in his room, trying not to appear in common areas to avoid awkwardness. Of course, he wouldn’t go to the kitchen to prepare lunch anymore. Besides, his appetite hadn’t been good lately, and he felt no desire to cook. Today’s lunch was instant noodles again, just add hot water and wait for three minutes.
Instant noodles would emit a very enticing aroma, but he had no appetite at all. He only picked up a few noodles with his fork and brought them to his mouth when faced with Shen Feiyu’s inquiry, just softly “mmh.”
Shen Feiyu frowned, looking at him with some concern. “You’re in such a bad state, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Ye Zhi naturally wouldn’t confide his troubles to others, because he knew that even if he did, he would only appear more annoying.
Unable to pry into gossip, Shen Feiyu didn’t leave. His mouth never stopped, either eating or talking. So he started talking about the recent big news, “The bribery case is making a huge fuss. That corrupt official actually took twelve billion in bribes. He’s only been in office for eight years, and yet so many people gave him twelve billion! I’ve never seen so much money in my life, I don’t even know if I could earn a fraction of it. Fortunately, it was exposed. Otherwise, if such a parasite continued to hold office, who knows how much more he would embezzle. But thirty years of imprisonment is still too light for him.”
Ye Zhi remained silent, thinking of his mother’s scolding a few days ago. An Yongnan was sentenced to twenty years, and he was fined a lot of money, which could be considered bankrupt, even Ye Mu didn’t gain much.
This matter had nothing to do with Ye Zhi, but the blame still fell on him, as if he were the criminal.
It was always like this. Whenever there was any trouble in this family, he was the easiest target for reproach because he was too weak and useless, because he couldn’t help.
“I hope they both stay in prison for the rest of their lives and never come out.” Shen Feiyu still looked indignant, then quickly came over with a playful smile. “Brother Xiao Ye, can you help me check the report later? I’ve finished it, but I’m worried about making mistakes.”
Ye Zhi couldn’t refuse.
That’s how he was—unable to refuse any request, whether it was from someone with a good attitude or a dominant one. And so, he ended up with a bunch of extra work on his plate that wasn’t part of his job. But he didn’t feel troubled by it because only when he immersed himself in those data could he slightly alleviate the pain in his heart and have a legitimate reason to stay late at the office.
The report Shen Feiyu sent wasn’t simple at all; it had a huge workload. Ye Zhi spent a lot of time checking each item, marking the places that needed to be corrected, then sending the file back to Shen Feiyu’s email. When he was about to leave, he said to him, “I’ve marked the areas that need to be modified for you. Remember to make the changes.”
Shen Feiyu was busy getting ready to leave and absentmindedly nodded before hurriedly running off.
He forgot about it the next day and submitted the original file to the supervisor, who quickly found the errors in it.
