Chapter 268: 268: Xu Fang, the Doting Uncle Madman, Lu Sheng’s Confession (First Update)

Zhou Xufang: “You’re pregnant now, you can’t eat too much hotpot.”

Fang Lixiang deflated in a second: “Maybe in a few days, I won’t be.”

Zhou Xufang felt like she was really attached to the ‘Little Dog’ in her stomach, she felt like she liked the ‘Little Dog’s dad, ‘Big Doggy’.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xufang felt dejected for her good friend for a while, but soon she got happy again because she had an uncle now, and she was overjoyed, she wanted to share.

She messaged Wen Baiyang on WeChat, “Bai Yang, I have an uncle now.”

She messaged Ah Wan on WeChat, “Ah Wan, I have an uncle now.”

She messaged Xue Bingxue on WeChat, “Mr. Xue, I have an uncle now.”

She messaged Qiao Nanchu on WeChat, “Mr. Qiao, I have an uncle now.”

She messaged Jiang Wei’er on WeChat, “Wei’er, I have an uncle now.” There was no copy and paste; she typed each word with a heart full of excitement and joy. She even sent happy WeChat messages to the boss lady of the restaurant that often delivered takeout and the group leader of the crowd actors.

The only person left in her friends list now was ‘Little Dog’s dad, ‘Big Doggy’–the one in Fang Lixiang’s stomach.

Well, Mr. Xiao Xue might be a bit of a jerk towards Lixiang, but she still wanted to share her happiness with him, so she sent him a message, “Mr. Xiao Xue, I have an uncle now.”

Everyone: “…”

Girl, you could have just posted a Moment.

A minute later, Zhou Xufang, who almost never posted Moments, did post one.

“I have an uncle now. ”

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “When you had a boyfriend, you never posted in Moments.” It was only after he kept pressing her that she posted one.

Oh, how sour!

Fangbao replied to Fangbao’s Boyfriend, “”

Fangbao’s Boyfriend replied to Fangbao, “+^+”

This damn sourness.

Zhou Xufang’s friends all commented below the post, with congratulations and dog food consumers alike, she read all the comments and politely replied with thanks and smileys.

At that moment, Jiang Zhi sent her a message.

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “Zhou Xufang.”

Zhou Xufang replied instantly.

Fangbao: “Here.”

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “Now that you have an uncle, do you not love me anymore?”

Fangbao: “No.”

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “Then do you love me?”

Zhou Xufang felt embarrassed and after looking around, she sent a little heart.

Jiang Zhi replied with a voice message to her.

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “I love you too.”

He was the least shy of all.

Zhou Xufang blushed secretly.

Fangbao: “Have you arrived at the police station yet?”

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “Almost there.”

Fangbao: “.”

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “Don’t send me just a period. If you have nothing to say and still want to end the conversation last, just send me ‘I love you’.”

Of course, one thing had to be emphasized.

Fangbao’s Boyfriend: “You can only send it to me, send others off any way you want.”

Fangbao: “.”

Jiang Zhi felt like he was given the brush-off.

Zhou Xufang put away her phone and continued to wait outside the ward. She could hear the voices inside, Lu Sheng was asking, “Are you feeling better?”

Zhou Qingrang nodded.

He was not very talkative while Lu Sheng had a lot more to say, “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”

“It’s not necessary.” Because he had inhaled a lot of smoke last night, his voice hadn’t recovered yet and was somewhat hoarse.

“It’s no trouble.”

She was just about to go out to buy something when he called her back, “Lu Sheng.”

Lu Sheng turned around.

The hospital gown was white with blue checks; he was thin and it hung loosely on his frame, she could even see the faint bluish veins under his neck.

“Go back, I’m fine here, I don’t want to delay you.”

The attitude was distant, somewhat rejecting people thousands of miles away.

Lu Sheng felt a loss in her heart and couldn’t hold back, she blurted out what was on her mind, “If I go back, I will still keep thinking of you and won’t be able to do anything either.”

For a girl to say she misses you is equivalent to saying she likes you.

He just looked at her, said nothing, his eyes deep and fluctuating, light and shadow chaotically dancing.

Lu Sheng stood by the bed, not like a young girl in her early twenties, her eyes devoid of frivolity, serious and stubborn but also open and honest. She asked, “Zhou Qingrang, can’t you see it?”

She liked him so much; it was so obvious that she liked him.

Zhou Qingrang restrained his gaze, his tone flat and indifferent, he said: “You can go back now.”

“You should go back.”

This sentence was equivalent to a rejection.

No leeway was given, not even a moment’s consideration. Usually gentle, he was uncompromising on this matter. As soon as she made it clear, he immediately took a stance.

Lu Sheng had actually guessed this outcome, but no matter how mentally prepared he was, it was still tough to take.

He wanted her to leave…

She walked to the door, turned around, and looked at him with eager eyes: “I haven’t had my dinner yet.”

It sounded pitiable.

Zhou Xufang felt it was her cue to step in. She walked to the door and knocked: “I’ve bought some porridge.”

Lu Sheng opened the door and looked at her as if seeing a family member.

“Eat before you leave.”

Zhou Qingrang was still soft-hearted.

Lu Sheng nodded eagerly, looking both miserable and content: “Okay.”

After she had eaten, she left. Zhou Qingrang made no effort to keep her there, and she didn’t dare linger, afraid of annoying him.

Her departing figure looked so pitiable…

“Auntie,” Zhou Xufang felt it was magical that, for someone as slow to warm up as her, calling him uncle didn’t feel strange but very familiar and natural, “do you not like Lu Sheng?”

He didn’t answer directly: “How old is she?”

“Not young anymore.”

Lu Sheng was twenty-three. She herself had gotten involved with Jiang Zhi at twenty-two.

Zhou Xufang had a particularly good impression of Lu Sheng. It’d be great if Lu Sheng could become her aunt. She guessed that her uncle must have his concerns.

So Zhou Xufang comforted him: “Uncle, don’t worry, Jiang Zhi’s family is in the healthcare industry. You’ll definitely live to a ripe old age.”

Live to a ripe old age.

Eight years ago, his primary doctor had told him, live one day, earn one day–how could he dare to hope for a century?

Zhou Qingrang did not continue this topic: “Enough about me. What about you? Is Jiang Zhi good to you?”

Zhou Xufang honestly replied: “Very good.”

Whenever she mentioned Jiang Zhi, her eyes sparkled differently; she couldn’t lie about it.

“After the Luo Family fire, where did you go? Did you live alone?” He wanted to know more about her, to understand what she had been through, to learn how she, destitute and alone, had grown up by herself.

Zhou Xufang pulled up a stool and sat in front of the hospital bed: “I was sent overseas by Luo Qinghe’s uncle, where I met a benefactor. Five years ago, he sent me back to the country.”

She only mentioned the positives, cutting out the negatives.

She didn’t want to tell her uncle about the things in the lab, so she skirted around it. But she didn’t lie–she truly had come across a benefactor, otherwise, she couldn’t have escaped the lab.

She went on to say only the good things: “I’ve had a good life. I’ve made a lot of money and even bought a house.” After that, she asked Zhou Qingrang, “And you, uncle?”

His mouth curved into a faint smile, softening the handsomeness of his face, making him seem less ethereal: “One of my high school teachers supported me. After the adult college entrance examination, I studied broadcasting. After graduating, I went to work at a TV station. The director was very kind and took good care of me. Everything went smoothly.”

Zhou Qingrang did the same, mentioning only the positive things.

But how could everything go smoothly? He had been bedridden in the hospital for so long. To reintegrate into the world, he would have had to endure so much, not to mention his ill health and difficulty walking.

Zhou Xufang had seen him walking with a limp, proud yet lonely.

“Xufang,” his gaze was tender, with a hint of light twinkling within, “it’s all uncle’s fault for not going to find you at the Luo Family earlier.”

Eight years ago, when he first woke up, he underwent three major surgeries in succession and received more than a dozen critical condition notices. He couldn’t stand up and stayed in the hospital for a long time. Just rehab took over a year–Zhou Xufang knew all this.

Her uncle had suffered far more than she had.

She said: “I haven’t suffered much. When I was at the Luo Family, Aunt Xiu and her family took good care of me. And once I went overseas, I didn’t worry about food and clothing.”

She wasn’t lying. Eating medicine and wearing hospital gowns every day, she indeed did not worry about food and clothing.

What was most important was: “My boyfriend is also a good person.”

She couldn’t stop mentioning Jiang Zhi.

Zhou Qingrang smiled without reply. Whether Jiang Zhi was a good person, he knew some about that. But it didn’t matter if someone was good or not, as long as they were good to her.

“Little uncle.”

It was Tang Xiang who arrived, carrying a basket of fruit.

Just then, Zhou Xufang received a message from Fang Lixiang: “Tang Xiang, can you look after my uncle for me? My friend is coming for a consult, and I need to pick her up.”

“Go ahead, leave him to me, the jobless wanderer.”

So Zhou Xufang went ahead to meet Fang Lixiang.

She knew that her uncle would definitely ask about her affairs. She had already told Tang Xiang in advance to keep it light, to report only the good and spare the sorrows.

Fang Lixiang parked the car in the hospital’s private lot, which was off-limits to outsiders. It was an arrangement Zhou Xufang had made with Vice President Sun.

“Xufang, Xufang.”

As soon as Zhou Xufang reached the parking garage, she spotted Fang Lixiang sneakily hiding behind a pillar.

She donned a hat that covered everything from her head to her neck, revealing only her eyes: “With this getup, no one should recognize me, right?” She looked around nervously like a thief.

Zhou Xufang thought she could use such a hat on her next mission, but wearing it in broad daylight seemed odd: “You seem more conspicuous like that.”

As if she was there to rob a bank.

“Really?” It did seem so! Fang Lixiang took off her heist-appropriate scarf and hat, exhaling deeply, “I’m dying of heat.”

Without the hat, Zhou Xufang noticed: “Lixiang, you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Fang Lixiang touched her stomach, also feeling helpless: “The little monster inside is tormenting me; it won’t let me eat a bite of meat. If I eat a bite, it makes me throw up ten.”