nucmednet Chapter 878 Are you worthy?
Chapter 878 Are you worthy?
Teng Zijing started the engine, and the black commercial vehicle slowly drove away from Dongheng Community. The tires made a crackling sound as they rolled over the fallen leaves on the roadside.
As soon as I turned the corner of the apartment building, I saw Zhu Ling, Jie Xinyu and others walking into the building. They bumped into each other head-on.
The girls saw who was in the car and quickly stopped. Their faces still showed the panic from before, but they nodded politely: "Master Jing, President Jiang."
Jiang Chengyu rolled down the car window, and the cold wind blew the sunlight in. He ordered in a calm tone:
"Go up and spend more time with Yu Qianqian. Call me immediately if anything happens."
Several people nodded in agreement and stepped into the unit door in a hurry. The sound of high heels hitting the ground went all the way up and disappeared into the depths of the corridor.
The car merged back into the traffic flow. Jiang Chengyu leaned back in the back seat and rubbed his swollen temples.
The thrill on the rooftop and the confrontation in the rental house revolved in his mind like a kaleidoscope, making his thoughts confused.
At this moment, a rapid cell phone ring suddenly rang, breaking the silence in the car.
He took out his cell phone, and the words "Gu Ze" flashing on the screen made his fingertips pause slightly, and then he pressed the answer button.
Before he could speak, Gu Ze's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone, with obvious worry in the ending tone:
"Cheng Yu? Don't you have a severe headache? I just went to the kitchen to make you some porridge, and Feng Tao said you left in a hurry. Where are you now? What happened?"
"Sorry, something urgent happened," Jiang Chengyu's voice was filled with a hint of barely perceptible fatigue, "I'm on my way back now."
When I received Jiang Li's call at noon, my mind was so focused on Yu Qianqian's safety that I even forgot about the headache from my hangover.
When Gu Ze mentioned this, his temples felt like something was gripping them tightly, and a dull pain spread along his nerves, as if countless needles were pricking his brain.
Gu Ze's tone softened instantly, like warm water flowing over rocks: "Drive slowly on the road and be sure to pay attention to safety."
"Yeah." Jiang Chengyu responded and hung up the phone.
Teng Zijing in the front row glanced at him through the rearview mirror, a meaningful smile on his lips: "Is it Gu Ze?"
Jiang Chengyu hummed, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the phone.
"That boy's acting skills are top-notch among those I've ever met," Teng Zijing turned the steering wheel, and the car smoothly overtook. "Can you see through his little tricks?"
Jiang Chengyu heard this and a faint smile spread across his lips, with a bit of admiration for Gu Ze:
"He is truly gifted in this area. It would be a waste of his talent if he didn't join the entertainment industry."
Seeing that he didn't answer the question, Teng Zijing said bluntly: "Don't you see? The way he looks at you is as sticky as glue. That's not what ordinary friends should be like."
The smile on Jiang Chengyu's face faded a little, and his tone was light: "Mr. Jing, you are too kind.
When he was suffering from severe depression, I was his attending physician. Maybe he was too dependent on me at that time.
Now that he can't change that habit for the time being, I'm afraid Master Jing must have misunderstood him."
Deng Zhouyi, who was sitting next to him, was already furious because Jiang Chengyu was "meddling in other people's business".
I was speechless in the rental house just now, and hearing these words at this moment was like a firecracker being lit.
She rolled her eyes, glanced at Jiang Chengyu as if he were an idiot, and blurted out in a bad mood: "Stupid B."
Jiang Chengyu's eyes suddenly turned cold. He looked at him sideways, and the coldness in his eyes was like ice.
Deng Zhouyi, however, stiffened his neck and turned his head away, looking straight out the window. The sunlight cast flickering spots of light on his tense profile, and he refused to say another word.
The air in the car froze instantly, with only the roar of the engine and the sound of the wind passing by the window, creating a subtle tension in the silence.
The business car drove smoothly into the parking lot downstairs of Fengteng International. The dim sunset was slowly climbing up along the glass curtain wall.
The entire building was coated with a layer of flowing golden light, and even tiny particles of light were floating in the air.
The three of them pushed the door and got out of the car, their leather shoes making crisp sounds as they stepped on the smooth floor.
Teng Zijing brushed off his suit jacket and said in his usual cheerful tone, "Come upstairs for a cup of tea? We've just got the Rain-Predawn Longjing tea."
Jiang Chengyu raised his hand and pinched his swollen eyebrows, his brows condensed with inextricable fatigue:
"No, I have to go back." After saying that, he turned around, opened his car door, and sat in the driver's seat.
Teng Zijing looked at his pale face and reminded him, "You don't look well. How about I ask the security to take you there?"
"Thanks, I can do it myself." Jiang Chengyu waved at him, the engine started slightly, the car slowly drove out of the parking lot, and soon merged into the traffic on the main road.
Teng Zijing retracted his gaze and said to Deng Zhouyi behind him, "Go drive and go home."
Deng Zhouyi didn't respond, but turned and walked towards his car with heavy steps.
A moment later, the black car stopped steadily beside Teng Zijing. He opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. The car drove towards home without saying a word all the way.
When I opened the door, a warm breath hit me in the living room. Ling Ya was sitting on the sofa, whispering something to Teng Junhao.
Seeing Teng Zijing come in, a kind smile immediately appeared on his face: "Zijing is back?"
His gaze turned and fell on Deng Zhouyi behind him, and his smile froze instantly - the bruise on Deng Zhouyi's right cheek was particularly eye-catching under the light.
"Zhou Yi, what's wrong with your face?" Ling Ya stood up suddenly and nervously pulled his arm.
When he turned to look at Teng Zijing, his tone was questioning, "Did you bully him again?"
Deng Zhouyi's eyes flickered, avoiding Ling Ya's gaze, and whispered, "Aunt Ling, it's none of Master Jing's fault. I accidentally did it myself."
"Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner." Ling Ya breathed a sigh of relief and touched his cheek lovingly. "I'll ask your mother to boil an egg and apply a hot compress to you later."
Teng Zijing walked up to Teng Junhao and nodded slightly: "Dad."
Teng Junhao put down the newspaper in his hand, his face expressionless, but his eyes were undeniably sharp:
"This afternoon, Jiang Chengyu stormed into the company furiously with a sullen expression. What happened?"
Teng Zijing sat down on the sofa next to him, his fingertips unconsciously stroking his knees, and he spoke carefully:
"Last night, Jiang Chengyu was having dinner with his friends at Xingteng Restaurant. We happened to meet and had a few drinks together. Deng...fell in love with a girl who was traveling with him, and they started dating."
Teng Junhao turned his gaze to Deng Zhouyi who was standing beside him and said calmly, "Come and sit down."
Deng Zhouyi's usual cleverness outside was gone, like an eggplant wilted by the rain.
He walked over with his head down and sat obediently beside Teng Zijing, his hands clenched into fists nervously.
"It's not that simple." Teng Junhao's tone was emotionless, but it carried the certainty of someone who understood everything.
Teng Zijing sighed and confessed, "Dad, I didn't mean to hide it from you. Deng did have a crush on that girl, and last night...they had sex.
But the girl couldn't accept that he only cared about her body and not her heart, and she was so upset that she wanted to jump off the building. Jiang Chengyu came here because of this."
Deng Min prepared dinner and came out to the living room to invite them to the dining room for dinner. As soon as she approached everyone, she heard her son making a fuss outside.
He stepped forward, grabbed Deng Zhouyi's ear, and scolded him, "You troublesome thing, kneel down."
Deng Zhouyi's ears were pinched by Deng Min, and it hurt. "Hiss—" He gasped in pain.
His ears were pulled back, but he did not struggle. He took a step forward and knelt in front of Teng Junhao with a plop, his back straight.
"Deng Min, what are you doing?" Ling Ya hurried forward to pull her back. "Let's talk it over. Let the child go first and find out what's going on!"
Deng Min acted as if he hadn't heard anything, and raised his other hand, about to slap Deng Zhouyi in the face.
This was the posture Deng Zhouyi had seen since he was a child. He even closed his eyes, ready to take it.
"Aunt Deng!" Teng Zijing suddenly stood up and grabbed Deng Min's wrist with such force that she couldn't move.
"What are you doing? Is it wrong for Deng Zhouyi to have a normal relationship?"
Deng Min's eyes instantly turned red, filled with hatred that had been pent up for more than twenty years.
I hate Deng Zhouyi's father because he raped me without even seeing his true face.
Now his son still wants to have a normal relationship, "Bah, you still want to have a normal relationship, are you worthy of it?" Deng Min cursed.
Deng Zhouyi kept his head down, with his hair covering his eyes, so no one could see his expression.
The knees on the ground were trembling slightly, and the earlobe that had been pulled red had cracked a little.
Blood flowed down the earlobe, staining the collar of the white shirt red, like a suddenly blooming red plum blossom.
Teng Zijing looked at the glaring red, and his heart suddenly tightened. He squatted down and held Deng Zhouyi's shoulders.
When he looked up at Deng Min, his tone was more serious than ever before: "Aunt Deng,
I deeply sympathize with your experience and feel heartbroken. But you can't put all your hatred on Deng Zhouyi. What did he do wrong?
"If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to be born with the label of 'shame'. You are innocent, and he is even more innocent."
Teng Zijing took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision, "Dad, I've decided. After this matter is settled, Zhou Yi and I will hold the wedding together.
Why shouldn't he be able to have a relationship? Why shouldn't he be able to start his own family? He deserves everything he deserves."
Teng Junhao's back, which was sitting upright, relaxed slightly. His eyes fell on the newspaper spread out on his knees, but his fingertips tightened invisibly.
He looked at the unquestionable determination in his son's eyes, and vaguely recalled many years ago - when Teng Zijing was only five years old,
She dared to pull Deng Zhouyi, who was punished by Deng Min to kneel in the rain, into her room and wrapped him in a small quilt to warm his hands;
Later, when Deng Zhouyi was called a "bastard" at school, Teng Zijing rushed up with his schoolbag to fight. When he came back, he was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall, but he refused to admit his mistake.
Now, this passion for protecting his child has not changed at all.
Teng Junhao slowly raised his eyes, his gaze passed over the blood-stained collar of the kneeling Deng Zhouyi, and then fell back on Teng Zijing's face.
There was no emotion in his voice, but there was some understanding in it: “If you want to protect him, Dad won’t stop you.
But marriage is not a joke, nor is it a bargaining chip used for anger. Dad believes in you, after handling this matter.
Daddy will prepare a grand wedding for you and give you all the blessings and expectations that a parent should have."
Deng Min froze in place, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.
Those nightmares that came back to him at midnight - the gloom in the nightclub box, the hurt caused by his mother's feather duster, the biting cold of the sea water - were all stirred up by Teng Zijing's words.
It’s not that she doesn’t want her son to get better, but the scar is too deep, so deep that she can’t even get out of it, and she is even more afraid that her son will repeat the same mistake.
The living room was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the wall clock. Deng Zhouyi was still kneeling, but his clenched fists slowly loosened. A tear fell on the smooth floor, leaving a small wet mark.