After autumn began, time flew by like nothing else.
Especially as the weather grew colder day by day.
Just a few days ago, people were still wearing short sleeves.
After one autumn rain, pedestrians on the street all wrapped themselves in a layer of coats.
Even Meng Chu was no exception.
After getting up in the morning, listening to the howling wind outside.
She somewhat did not want to get out of bed.
She looked at the empty space beside the bed and could not help but sigh.
Previously, Cheng Jinyu seemed to have consciously reduced the number of business trips, so he spent a lot of time in Shanghai.
But starting in November, perhaps because it was the end of the year, or for some other reason, company matters suddenly increased.
He actually went on business trips continuously.
This time he even flew to the United States and would stay for more than ten days.
Originally, they had planned to go see her mother, but that was delayed because of this.
However, Meng Chu was not completely alone at home.
This month, there happened to be an opening ceremony for a sports event.
It was quite large, over in Nanjing.
Gu Ting personally secured the official cooperation for the event.
At the opening ceremony, there was a performance by the Starry Origin Robot Dog.
They also had several robots personally serving as official event introductions.
They attracted many children who came to watch the competition.
Because of this, Meng Chu also went to Nanjing on a business trip for a few days and only returned last night.
After she got up and brushed her teeth, she heard Cheng Jinyu calling.
Meng Chu immediately rinsed her mouth urgently several times and hurriedly answered the phone.
“Are you up?” Cheng Jinyu asked in a low voice.
Meng Chu chuckled. “Just got up.”
Cheng Jinyu: “Oh, I was just about to head back to the hotel.”
Meng Chu was surprised. “Now?”
“Yeah,” Cheng Jinyu said. On his end, there was the sound of a car horn, sounding a bit noisy.
Meng Chu: “Then be careful.”
Be careful. This was the sentence Meng Chu said most to Cheng Jinyu these past few days.
Actually, Cheng Jinyu himself was more familiar with the United States than anyone.
After all, he had attended university there.
Right after graduating, he had worked at Goldman Sachs for a while before returning home.
But the news Meng Chu saw online about the United States was all quite chaotic.
Gun proliferation, that was the most worrying thing.
These past few days, every time Meng Chu called, although she did not want to say much, she could not help but remind him.
Cheng Jinyu said softly, “The hotel I’m staying at is very safe. Don’t worry. And besides work, I haven’t gone anywhere else.”
Meng Chu hummed in acknowledgment.
“Of course I’m worried about you. I’m just not worried about the public safety in the United States.”
In the end, it still could not compare to home.
“I’ll be back soon,” Cheng Jinyu said.
Meng Chu suddenly reminded him, “By the way, before you come back, tell me in advance.”
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Jinyu seemed puzzled.
Meng Chu: “Although I’m indeed pleasantly surprised when you come back suddenly, I also want to experience counting down the days and looking forward to you coming home.”
She said it so directly that Cheng Jinyu was instead stunned.
After a while, he said, “You want me to come home that much?”
“It’s not that I want you to come home,” Meng Chu said softly to the person on the other end of the phone. “I miss you.”
Actually, Meng Chu rarely said such things. She was a person raised with pure Chinese-style education.
Reserved and restrained, unlike people abroad who hang things like liking, missing, and love on their lips.
But distance really made her longing overflow.
When she got up and faced the empty bed, she suddenly realized that she had completely adapted to the feeling of Cheng Jinyu being by her side.
She thought of him across the ocean.
“I’ll come back as soon as possible.” Cheng Jinyu lowered his voice.
Although Meng Chu was happy inside, she could not help but remind him, “Still, don’t delay your work.”
Cheng Jinyu did not say anything else, because he was afraid that if he kept talking like this.
He really would ignore everything and return home.
Previously, when he went on business trips, the most exaggerated was flying to different cities around the world for a whole month.
Staying a few days here, a few days there, for an entire month without returning to Shanghai.
At that time, he did not care at all. Every day when he opened his eyes, he still thought about work.
But now, especially this morning.
The first thought when he woke up was that in three more days, he should be able to return home.
At this moment, hearing Meng Chu’s words on the phone, the longing in his heart also reached its peak.
Sure enough, on the morning of the third day, Meng Chu received a photo sent by Cheng Jinyu.
It was actually a photo of an airport in the United States.
Meng Chu: [You finished work?]
Cheng Jinyu: [Yeah, I’m already at the airport.]
Cheng Jinyu: [There’s still an hour before boarding.]
Meng Chu never expected that he would still do such a good job keeping secrets.
He only told her this news when he was almost back home.
Cheng Jinyu: [I didn’t want to make you wait too long.]
Obviously, that was his explanation for why he only told her his return time after arriving at the airport.
Meng Chu: [I’ll wait for you to come home.]
She calculated the time. When she got off work, she would just be able to go to the airport to pick him up.
Previously, Meng Chu had gone to the airport to see Cheng Jinyu off.
Although she said she would wait for him to come home, she had actually already planned to go to the airport to pick him up.
Because of Cheng Jinyu’s flight, Meng Chu was not in a hurry to go home either.
She planned to work overtime at the company until eight, then go directly to the airport.
That evening, she was working in the office as usual. Who would have thought she suddenly received a call from Meng Haichuan.
Meng Chu looked at the name on the phone screen and let out a low sigh.
It rang a few more times.
“Hello, Dad. Sorry, I was busy just now.”
She tucked the phone between her neck and shoulder, her hand.
But Meng Haichuan had already spoken directly. “Are you at the company?”
Although Meng Chu did not know why he was asking, she still told the truth. “I’m at the company.”
“I happen to be downstairs at your company right now.”
Meng Haichuan said.
“You’re downstairs at my company?” Meng Chu was surprised.
Meng Haichuan: “Yes, come down for a trip. I have some things I want to say to you.”
Although Meng Chu could hear that Meng Haichuan’s tone was very serious, she really could not imagine what he would have to ask her.
But since he had already arrived downstairs, Meng Chu could not avoid seeing him.
It was almost eight o’clock anyway, so she packed up her things and prepared to go to the airport.
When Meng Chu arrived downstairs, she saw a Mercedes-Benz parked not far away.
Meng Chu recognized it at a glance as Meng Haichuan’s car.
So she walked over and saw the car window roll down.
“Chuchu, get in quickly,” Meng Haichuan, sitting in the driver’s seat, called to her.
Meng Chu walked directly to the passenger seat and got in.
After getting in, Meng Chu asked directly, “Why did you come?”
Meng Haichuan started the car directly.
“You’ve been working overtime until now. Have you eaten? Let’s find a place to eat first.”
Meng Chu quickly stopped him. “No need, I’ve already eaten.”
“Let’s find a place first anyway. I happen to have something to tell you.” Although Meng Haichuan’s tone was calm, there was a kind of unquestionable decisiveness.
Meng Chu frowned, not knowing what was wrong with him.
Before she knew it, Meng Haichuan kept driving.
Meng Chu glanced at the phone screen in her hand. It was almost eight.
“How about we go have a cup of coffee?” Meng Chu happened to see a coffee shop by the roadside.
Meng Haichuan saw it too. He nodded. “All right, I’ll find a place to park.”
At this hour, parking spaces were not easy to find. Meng Haichuan finally managed to park the car.
Meng Chu saw that it was already past eight, and she was indeed a little anxious inside.
After entering the shop, she directly ordered an iced Americano and looked up at Meng Haichuan.
“Dad, is something the matter?”
Meng Haichuan saw her undisguised anxiety.
He held it in, but still could not help saying, “You just sat down, and you already want to leave?”
Meng Chu saw that he had misunderstood and explained, “No, I still have to go to the airport later.”
Meng Haichuan was clearly also distracted.
He looked at Meng Chu and suddenly asked, “Where are you living now?”
“The same place as before,” Meng Chu said casually.
She did not usually tell Meng Haichuan much about her affairs.
The less trouble, the better.
But she did not expect that as soon as she said it, Meng Haichuan’s expression across from her immediately changed.
Perhaps he had been holding it in all along, and her words made him unable to hold back anymore.
Meng Haichuan: “You’re still lying to me even now?”
Meng Chu was startled. Suddenly realizing something, she looked at Meng Haichuan. “You went to where I live?”
“Yes,” Meng Haichuan nodded.
He had originally barely held it in, but at this moment he looked at Meng Chu.
“Chuchu, am I not worth relying on? You’re not without anyone in Shanghai. Why, when something like this happened, did you never think to tell me?”
Meng Chu listened to his words, parted her lips slightly, but did not know what to say.
Meng Haichuan indeed had not seen Meng Chu for a long time.
She knew Meng Chu did not like going to his current home.
The father and daughter, aside from occasionally calling, had almost no communication.
It just so happened that this time a friend had given him Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs.
This season was already the final stage for hairy crabs on the market.
He knew Meng Chu liked to eat them, so he specially drove over to deliver them.
Before coming, he indeed had not contacted Meng Chu.
He did not want to always hear her refuse him.
When he arrived at the doorstep, he knocked for a long time, but no one was there.
Meng Haichuan thought she might still be working overtime at the company, so he prepared to deliver the things to the company.
As a result, before he left, he happened to run into the neighbor next door.
The neighbor saw him and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
“The young girl who lives here,” Meng Haichuan quickly said.
The neighbor looked at him strangely. “That young girl moved away long ago. Don’t you know?”
Meng Haichuan was surprised. “She moved away? When?”
The neighbor: “She moved away after that incident last time. This apartment still hasn’t been rented out recently.”
“Incident?” Meng Haichuan became anxious at once.
He asked, “What happened to her?”
The neighbor looked at him suspiciously. “Who are you?”
Meng Haichuan: “I’m her father.”
“Oh my, so you’re her father,” this time the neighbor was the elderly auntie from next door, very warmhearted.
As soon as she heard Meng Haichuan say he was Meng Chu’s father, she quickly said, “Your family’s young girl is pitiful. Last time she ran into a drunk man, right at this doorway, and he dragged her into the house. At the time it caused a big commotion. Even the police came.”
When Meng Haichuan heard this, he only felt his head buzzing.
“Is she all right?” he asked urgently.
The auntie said, “Fortunately, at the time we heard it at home and quickly came out to look. We happened to catch that man, and then the police came and took them away.”
“I guess your young girl didn’t dare tell you adults,” the auntie said, seeming to understand.
In the end, Meng Haichuan carried two boxes of hairy crabs and left this place.
He then drove directly to Meng Chu’s company.
Meng Haichuan, of course, still understood everything about his daughter.
When Meng Chu first started her business, Meng Haichuan had wanted to invest and be their initial investor.
But Meng Chu refused.
Fortunately, the company was indeed developing very well now. Meng Chu had always been proud of her in her heart.
Meng Chu considered for a moment, then still said, “Dad, I don’t want you to worry. I’m already an adult who can handle problems independently. I can’t just think about relying on you whenever something happens.”
“I said before, the community you live in has a bad environment. I offered to buy you an apartment, you didn’t want it. I offered to rent one for you, you refused. And what happened? You nearly got yourself into trouble.”
Meng Haichuan had never scolded Meng Chu since she was little. Even now, although he was worried, his tone was still as gentle as possible.
Meng Chu said softly, “I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Why are you saying sorry to your dad? It’s me who failed to protect you.”
Meng Haichuan looked at Meng Chu, and suddenly there was an indescribable pain in his heart.
One wrong step leads to everlasting regret.
One mistake of his had made him completely lose the person he loved most in this life, and also his daughter.