Chapter 3

Chapter 3

By dawn, Zhou Shiyu still hadn’t shown up.

I didn’t know what he was trying to do. Back then, the Zhou Family had fought so ugly for custody, yet now they were acting like they didn’t want him anymore.

I woke Zhou Yi’an up early and hailed a taxi to take him to school. The kindergarten he attended wasn’t in the same city as I was, but fortunately, it was only an hour’s drive away.

Before getting out of the car, he made me promise repeatedly that I would come to pick him up after school, clinging to me and whimpering, refusing to let go.

That was until he spotted a car in front of the kindergarten gates.

His eyes lit up, and he hurriedly pulled me out of the taxi. As we drew closer, he deliberately slowed his pace, pretending to nonchalantly block the path of a chubby little boy who had just stepped out of a car.

As if intentionally making sure the boy saw, Zhou Yi’an swung my hand back and forth in front of him.

Then, in a loud voice that everyone could hear, he asked me, “Mom, you’re coming to pick me up after school, right?”

This was the first time Zhou Yi’an had called me “Mom.”

Perhaps because I had been absent for six whole years, he had never once proactively called me “Mom,” even when he was knocking on my bedroom door.

The chubby boy stared straight at me, saying skeptically, “If you have a mom, why didn’t she ever take you to school before?”

Zhou Yi’an huffed, his gaze full of disdain. “My mom is busy with work. She specifically took the day off today just to take me to school.”

He put heavy emphasis on the word “specifically.”

He led me by the hand, walking to the kindergarten gates in front of everyone as if showing me off, wanting the whole world to see.

Before we parted, he asked again sheepishly, “…You will come to pick me up, right?”

Seeing that I didn’t immediately respond, he glared at me and then said in a panicked whisper, “You promised me in the car! Grown-ups aren’t supposed to lie!”

Helpless, I crouched down, smoothing out his upturned collar and ruffling his hair. His hair was black and soft, feeling wonderful to the touch.

“Okay, I’ll come pick you up.”

He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile, though he tried his best to keep a straight face. He lifted his chin with a feigned air of maturity and said reservedly, “Mm, I’ll remember to wait for you.”

I didn’t look away until his figure had completely disappeared from sight.

I found his teacher to ask about Zhou Yi’an’s situation at school. The teacher hesitated, finally sighing and complaining with a furrowed brow.

“I know the Zhou Family is powerful and influential, and what I say might not matter much. But Yi’an’s mother, no matter how busy you are, you can’t just ignore the child, can you? Since he started school, no one has ever come for a Parent-Teacher Conference! Now the other children are spreading rumors that he doesn’t have a mother. This is very bad for a child’s physical and mental development if it continues.”

No one had ever come for a Parent-Teacher Conference?

Even if Zhou Shiyu was busy and disliked this child, was he too lazy to even have an assistant handle it?

I frowned, feeling for the first time that I might have made the wrong decision. …Perhaps I shouldn’t have given up custody back then.

But at that time, I was penniless. My parents were in comas in the hospital, and I couldn’t even support myself. How could I talk about raising a fragile child?

I pulled up Zhou Shiyu’s number. After a moment’s hesitation, I dialed it.

I decided I needed to have a proper talk with him. If Zhou Shiyu really didn’t want to raise him anymore, I would take him in. Although I couldn’t provide the same luxurious conditions as the Zhou Family now, I earned enough to raise a child.

Just as the call went through, a ringtone sounded behind me.

Realizing something, my fingertips trembled as I turned around. There, I saw Zhou Shiyu stepping out of a black Bentley.

Six years had passed. He seemed changed, yet also the same. He looked down at the glowing screen with half-lidded eyes, his wrist bones prominent and sharp, his cold face partially hidden in the shadows. He unhurriedly quirked an eyebrow and suddenly looked up.

“You’ve been hiding from me for so many years.”

“Shall we talk?”

Unlike my wretched state over these years, Zhou Shiyu remained calm and composed. His features were just as they had always been, but the gaze he directed at me was inexplicably deep. Even the light and shadows cast by the treetops seemed to favor him.

I had heard that he had taken over the entire Zhou Family estate from Old Master Zhou. I had heard that the brand he founded was a global sensation. I had heard that he had married in secret years ago and had always kept a low profile.

Memories of over a dozen years that I had deliberately suppressed came surging back with destructive force, and a stinging pain bloomed in my chest.

It wasn’t until the moment I saw him that I realized something.

I thought I had moved on. It turned out I hadn’t.

Back when we were young, he would weave a Grass Ring for me and kick anyone who bullied me into the swimming pool. No one could have imagined we would end up in such an embarrassing state.

In truth, he hadn’t changed; he just didn’t love me anymore. That was all.

It really has been a long, long time, Zhou Shiyu.