“What are you looking at?”
Qin Shou chuckled, sitting cross-legged in front of the tombstone.
“You sit too.”
The two of them sat quietly together in front of the tombstone, close enough that they could see the photo on it at eye level.
The person in the photo looked very young.
Their features weren’t the striking kind, but together, they gave a comfortable feeling—making you think this must be a gentle person.
Thinking this, Su Yu said it out loud as well, “Auntie, you look like a very gentle person.”
Qin Shou gazed at the photo with a nostalgic look, a faint smile on his lips.
“She was just too gentle.”
She always thought of others, never herself.
“You’re still calling her ‘Auntie’? Shouldn’t you… change how you address her?”
Qin Shou teased.
Su Yu’s face flushed red.
Seeing the expectation in Qin Shou’s eyes, he swallowed his embarrassment, faced the photo, and made a sincere promise, “Mom, from now on, I’ll take care of Qin Shou.”
The boy looked so serious and adorable as he spoke to the photo that Qin Shou’s heart softened, and he pulled Su Yu tightly into his embrace.
The fluffy big head nuzzled into Su Yu’s neck.
Qin Shou said in a muffled voice, “From now on, I’m yours.”
Su Yu squirmed a bit in embarrassment, feeling it was a bit disrespectful to do this in front of someone’s mother’s memorial.
But Qin Shou didn’t care at all, pressing him closer and saying with a hint of barely detectable pride, “My mom loved me the most. She’d only be at ease seeing us like this.”
Su Yu tugged at his hair speechlessly and turned his face away, embarrassed to look at the photo again.
They held each other quietly for a while.
Suddenly, Qin Shou said, “Do you want to know my parents’ story?”
Su Yu was startled and smoothed the hair of the person in his arms.
“If you want to talk, I’ll listen.”
Qin Shou’s parents’ story wasn’t complicated.
A young heir from an influential family, hiding his identity to study, fell in love with a gentle Cinderella.
Qin Shou’s mother was an orphan—gentle and resilient.
Through her own efforts, she got into one of the top universities in the country.
It was at school that she met Qin Shou’s father, Qin Feng, and they fell in love.
Qin Feng’s family would never have allowed him to marry an orphan, but as the ever-filial son, Qin Feng was willing to defy his father for Wang Ruo.
As the eldest son, Qin Feng was flawless in both ability and learning.
If nothing unexpected happened, the position of head of the Qin Family would have been his.
Old Master Qin couldn’t win against his son and had no choice but to accept the marriage.
And for the following ten years, the two of them truly lived happily.
Wang Ruo was a capable woman, managing the Qin Family’s old residence in perfect order.
A year after their wedding, she gave birth to Qin Shou, making the family harmonious and happy.
With no worries at home, Qin Feng performed even better at the company.
Qin Feng’s status as the heir was recognized by the shareholders, and the old man was very satisfied.
Everything was moving in a better direction.
At this point, Qin Shou paused, a flash of red in his eyes, his voice hoarse.
“If it weren’t for Qin… If it weren’t for Qin Rui, how could the family have been destroyed?”
The turning point began when he was ten years old.
At that time, Wang Ruo was five months pregnant.
Qin Feng went out for a business dinner, got drunk, and was set up—he ended up sleeping with another woman, and Wang Ruo happened to catch him in the act.
Wang Ruo’s mood was already unstable during her second pregnancy, and now she caught her husband cheating. The once-happy family was shattered, and she nearly broke down.
Qin Feng regretted it deeply when he sobered up.
Maybe out of guilt, maybe not wanting to upset his pregnant wife, he chose to stay elsewhere.
Five months pregnant was a fragile time.
Wang Ruo, first discovering her husband’s affair, then facing his avoidance, and with others fanning the flames, her prenatal depression grew even worse.
She became extremely emotional, suspicious, and paranoid.
Then Qin Rui brought in a psychologist to treat Wang Ruo.
“You know what happened after that.” Qin Shou held Su Yu tightly, as if desperately absorbing his warmth.
In the end, Wang Ruo’s depression didn’t improve.
In fact, because of the psychologist’s deliberate manipulation and medication, her emotions became so agitated that she chose to jump from a building.
When Qin Shou arrived, all he saw was his mother’s falling figure and the blood spreading across the ground.
All because of Qin Rui’s greed, his mother and the child in her belly were both lost.
How could he not hate him?
If Qin Rui doesn’t die, it’s not enough to comfort the dead.
Su Yu hadn’t expected the past to be so tragic.
He hugged the person in his arms even tighter, feeling heartbroken, but he didn’t know what to say to comfort her.
To witness his mother’s death at such a young age, to live under the same roof as his enemy for over ten years, always suppressing himself—how much pain must he have carried inside?
Su Yu didn’t dare to ask.
“You still have me.”
All Su Yu could do was quietly accompany him.
“Mm, I’m lucky to have you.”
Qin Shou’s voice carried a faint smile, the darkness in his eyes slowly dissolving.
Su Yu was his light. If not for Su Yu, Qin Shou’s original plan was to perish together with the Qin Family.
He had no family, no friends, nothing in this world to make him stay.
The only thing keeping him living normally and rationally was his hatred for the Qin Family.
His original plan was to bring down the Qin Family, then drag its filthy members to hell with him.
Living or dying—there wasn’t much difference to him.
Until he met Zai Zai.
Maybe it was his mother’s influence, or maybe it was his longing for warmth, but he’d always liked warm, fluffy things.
He never showed this preference, and the fluffy creatures always instinctively avoided him, never showing any affection.
Over time, he stopped expecting anything.
Still, somewhere deep inside, there was a small regret.
But Zai Zai was different. Zai Zai was the first fluffy creature to approach him on its own.
It would hug his leg and look at him with pitiful eyes, meow softly at him, and out of all the people there, it chose him alone.
So Qin Shou chose it too.
Later, their time together proved that Qin Shou had made the right choice.
Zai Zai brought him so many feelings he’d never experienced before.
The world became clearer and more adorable in his eyes—not as ugly and unapproachable as before.
Zai Zai was like a beam of light, barging straight into his dark heart, and after that came more and more light and warmth.
He couldn’t bear to let go.
Qin Shou hugged Su Yu tightly, feeling the warmth of his body and the beat of his heart.
Having you is really wonderful.
Su Xiao Yu had no idea that Qin Shou’s inner monologue was already full of “barrage comments.”
In his eyes, Qin Shou had always been cold on the outside and a bit of a chuunibyou at heart, but the Qin Family’s string of events made him realize that the person he’d fallen in love with wasn’t as simple as he seemed.
But so what?
Su Yu turned his head to look at Qin Shou.
The warm sunlight at that moment gilded the man’s profile with a soft, fluffy glow, making him look gentle and fragile.
Su Yu thought, he loves me, and I just happen to love him too.
That’s enough.
The two of them walked out of the cemetery holding hands.
Behind them, the sun slowly emerged from the clouds, its bright, warm rays dispelling the gloom.
Their shadows stretched out behind them, eventually overlapping, so that from afar, they looked like one person.
“A-Shou, let’s raise another cat, one just like Zai Zai.”
Qin Shou turned his face and smiled gently.
“Okay.”
After meeting Qin Shou’s mother, the two became even closer. If before they missed each other after just a few days apart, now they wanted to stick together all the time.
Luo Xiaoman looked at their clinginess and couldn’t help but feel a toothache.
Cui Ming Bo, on the other hand, looked on enviously, regretfully glancing at the person he still hadn’t managed to win over.
They’d agreed that day to raise another cat.
Su Yu scrolled through several famous pet bloggers’ Weibo posts, and actually found one seeking adoption.
It was a newborn kitten, the blogger said, found at the roadside—born to a stray cat.
Unfortunately, the mother cat didn’t survive childbirth and died soon after, leaving only a tiny kitten crying for milk.
Su Yu’s eyes lit up as he looked at the photo.
The kitten was golden all over, its emerald eyes gazing innocently at the camera.
—It looked exactly like Zai Zai.
The blogger’s address wasn’t far from the capital, so Su Yu thought about it and decided to give Qin Shou a surprise.
He sent a private message to the blogger, waiting anxiously for a reply.
Please don’t let it have already been adopted.
Luckily, the blogger soon replied—the kitten was still available.
Su Yu was delighted, exchanged contact info, and set up a meeting place.
The blogger happened to be free that day, so Su Yu couldn’t wait to drive out and pick up the kitten.
The meeting spot was at a plaza.
The plaza was bustling with people.
Su Yu parked the car, looked around in confusion, then simply picked up his phone and called the other person.