Chapter 126: “Wishful Thinking”

Hao Ting’s case was reopened in October, and by mid-December there was finally a verdict: the former chairman of Hao Ting, Su Ruini, was acquitted and released. The nationwide high-profile case involving violent forced demolitions had been completely overturned, revealing a shocking conspiracy sparked by malicious business rivalry. The public was in an uproar, and the topic trended on social media multiple times until the mastermind behind it all, Yuan Jianxin, was finally arrested by the police, which helped calm things down.

Since November, Hou Zihao had been trying to persuade Zhou Leqi to go with him to pick up Su Ruini upon her release, but he was repeatedly refused.

Her initial reason was: “I have nothing to do with you, it wouldn’t be appropriate to go together.”

After he persistently and attentively tried for a month, she started to soften. One time when they were at his place in Beijing, she let her guard down and honestly said, “I really shouldn’t go to pick her up... Auntie would feel awkward, and it would make things difficult between us later.”

She definitely didn’t want others to see her in a vulnerable or embarrassing state.

The word “later” stuck with Hou Zihao. Not only did he give up trying to persuade her, but he also got a little cheeky. Pulling her into his arms, he said, “What’s there to be afraid of? My mom definitely likes you as much as I do.”

There was a hint of pride in his tone, which made Zhou Leqi realize she had accidentally revealed some true feelings earlier. Feeling a little unwilling, she pushed him away and turned her back, sulking.

He just smiled, wrapped his arms around her again from behind, and they cuddled on the sofa. Outside the window was the dry autumn of Beijing, while the humidifier quietly worked, sending out a faint mist in the room.

On December 17th, Hou Zihao went alone to pick up Su Ruini. The retrial was held in another province—Hebei, not far from Beijing. They returned the next day. Then Hou Zihao came to pick up Zhou Leqi to go meet his mother together.

There was something funny about this: Yu Qing still didn’t know that his daughter had started seeing Hou Zihao again. Zhou Leqi didn’t dare to tell him and had to sneak out secretly to meet him, always lying that she was going to visit Milan. For this, she even had to get Milan to be in on the lie.

Milan often teased her about it, saying, “Honestly, I’m impressed. You guys used to introduce each other to your parents when you were seventeen or eighteen. Now you’re twenty-five or twenty-six, why are you suddenly sneaking around? Is this energy conservation law or something?”

This made Zhou Leqi very awkward.

But whether awkward or not was a minor issue compared to the real challenge—how to overcome her nervousness. This was Zhou Leqi’s first time meeting Su Ruini. She had no idea how to behave with this elder or how to make her like her.

Hou Zihao held her hand the entire way to comfort her, but it barely helped. Zhou Leqi was so nervous she didn’t recognize the route. After a long time, she realized the taxi was not going to the apartment she had been to many times before; instead, it was heading toward the Xishan area. She asked him, “...Where exactly are we going?”

He raised an eyebrow and replied, “To meet my mom.”

“That’s the wrong direction,” Zhou Leqi frowned. “Isn’t that the Xishan villa district?”

One of Beijing’s nine major villa districts, located in Haidian, not far from Tsinghua University. When she was in school, classmates joked about getting rich someday and buying a house there.

Hou Zihao said “Oh” after realizing what she meant, then answered, “My mom lives over there. She thinks my place in Chaoyang is too small.”

Zhou Leqi was stunned. She looked at him strangely, then glanced at the driver and whispered, “...How many houses does your family actually have in Beijing?”

He frowned, seeming unsure how to answer at first. After thinking a moment, he said, “I’m not really sure... Maybe I’ll ask my mom later?”

Zhou Leqi was speechless.

When they arrived, Su Ruini was already waiting at the villa gate.

She was truly a beautiful woman. Even though seven years of imprisonment inevitably aged her somewhat, anyone who met her could feel the richness of her inner world, which made her aura strong and beautiful without losing an ounce of grace.

Her hair wasn’t grown out yet—it was a half-short style—but carefully groomed. It was clear she loved beauty and cared about quality of life. When she saw Zhou Leqi, her eyes lit up with a warm smile, and she reached out her hand, saying, “You must be Leqi, right? So pretty.”

Zhou Leqi was still nervous but relaxed a little after sensing Su Ruini’s kindness. She stepped forward and said, “Hello, Auntie,” then was pulled inside by Su Ruini.

She glanced back at Hou Zihao, who was following behind. All she saw in his eyes was tenderness.

The villa was large but obviously hadn’t been lived in for years. It wasn’t fully tidied up yet, looking a bit empty. Su Ruini sat down with Zhou Leqi and complained about Hou Zihao, saying, “That kid really insisted on living in that small place. Doesn’t even think to clean up the house. Sigh.”

This was very much in line with Hou Zihao’s usual style.

He seemed to be someone who didn’t demand much from material life. He had been like that since his student days—despite coming from a privileged family background, he never showed it to others. Even Zhou Leqi had always thought his family was middle-class, never imagining it was actually so...

And it was the same now. She originally thought that after Hao Ting’s troubles seven years ago, he would be financially strained. But although the company’s market value had evaporated significantly, their family’s personal assets were still there. He had never flaunted anything, living quite plainly in terms of food, clothing, and expenses.

...and she had even once considered helping him financially.

At this moment, Hou Zihao quietly listened to Su Ruini’s complaints without arguing. If you looked closely, you’d see a faint glow in his eyes. Although he didn’t say it, he probably missed being scolded by his mother—after all, he had lost all that for more than seven years. Now that he had regained some semblance of his old life, it was only natural for him to feel emotional.

Su Ruini complained about her son for a while, then gently looked at Zhou Leqi with a grateful expression and said, “Zihao told me you helped a lot with the case this time... Auntie really wants to thank you.”

She held Zhou Leqi’s hand a little tighter, making Zhou Leqi feel both flustered and awkward, shaking her head repeatedly: “No, no, I just did a little bit within my ability. Hou Zihao worked the hardest... Auntie, you don’t need to thank me.”

That was the truth.

She, Yan Lin, and Milan had all done their best to help with the case, but the one who bore the greatest mental and physical burden was undoubtedly Hou Zihao. Since August, he had lost weight and been worn out.

This difficult experience had been painfully harsh for everyone. Even a strong woman like Su Ruini couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. She didn’t want to cry in front of the younger generation, so she quickly changed the subject with a smile: “Enough about these unhappy things. Let’s talk about you two.”

“When do you plan to get married?”

This question instantly hit a sore spot for both of them. They both fell silent—especially Hou Zihao, whose posture stiffened noticeably.

Su Ruini hadn’t expected such a reaction. She thought they would lovingly talk about marriage and was briefly stunned. Hesitantly, she asked, “What’s wrong? You... don’t want to get married yet?”

Hou Zihao felt even worse hearing that.

Did he not want to get married? He had wanted to marry her ever since he was still in high school, before he even had his diploma.

But the current situation was far from optimistic... His future mother-in-law was still mad at him, Zhou Leqi herself wasn’t cooperating much, and she hadn’t even told her mother about him. How could he bring up marriage? Even... their status as a couple was still ambiguous...

It was driving him crazy.

At the same time, Zhou Leqi was also embarrassed and didn’t know how to answer Su Ruini’s question. She gave Hou Zihao a look, hoping he’d handle it, but to her shock, he dared to “betray” her—he looked at her in front of his mother as if waiting for her to explain, which made her inwardly furious.

With no choice, she had to handle the situation herself. Quietly, she said to Su Ruini, “Auntie, about that matter…”

Just then, a commotion came from outside the door. Not long after, the housekeeper hurried in and told Su Ruini, “Madam, that family is here again... We tried to persuade them to leave, but they won’t go. They’re just sitting at the door crying...”

Zhou Leqi was confused and didn’t understand what was happening, but she saw Su Ruini’s brow furrow, her expression growing complicated and hard to describe. Hou Zihao’s face also changed, showing pure disgust and coldness.

He stood up directly and said to Su Ruini, “I’ll handle this. Mom, don’t worry about it.”

He turned and headed toward the door.

But Su Ruini called him back. Zhou Leqi looked at her and saw this strong woman’s face reveal rare signs of sorrow and bitterness. After a pause, she sighed and said, “I’ll go... Some things have to be made clear.”

The visitors were Zhang Min and Yuan Jiahui.

They had come right after Su Ruini returned from Hebei to Beijing yesterday. They had blocked the door, crying and begging Su Ruini to show mercy to Yuan Jianxin, hoping to secure a reduced sentence for him.

Su Ruini and Zhang Min had been friends since university—they lived in adjacent dorm rooms. She knew Zhang Min didn’t understand what Yuan Jianxin had done back then and, like Yuan Jiahui, was innocent. So she couldn’t help but be somewhat polite to them, listening to their pleas.

Hou Zihao didn’t have much patience. Although rationally he knew Zhang Min and Yuan Jiahui were unrelated to the past events, emotionally he couldn’t help but resent them. He hated seeing them and didn’t want them to bother his mother. Ever since he heard they had come again, his face had darkened.

Su Ruini had no choice but to say to Zhou Leqi, “Good girl, you and Zihao go upstairs for a while. Auntie will come up soon.”

This was to prevent Hou Zihao from losing his temper.

Zhou Leqi nodded obediently, pulled Hou Zihao upstairs, found a room, went inside, and closed the door behind them.

But it didn’t really help—Su Ruini didn’t let Zhang Min and Yuan Jiahui into the house. They stood outside the door. From the window of the room where Zhou Leqi and Hou Zihao were, the entire scene was clearly visible.

Hou Zihao stood by the window, silently watching from above. Zhou Leqi came over and saw Zhang Min pulling Yuan Jiahui down to kneel before Su Ruini, both women crying with tear-streaked faces, truly looking pitiful and desperate.

But who had pitied Hou Feng when he fell bleeding on the ground back then?

Who would compensate for the seven years Su Ruini wasted in prison?

Outside the window, Zhang Min’s hoarse sobbing echoed—

“Ruini, please spare him... Huihui and I have lost everything and given you the entire Runyuan. Please spare him... Our family can’t be without him...”

Zhou Leqi stood beside Hou Zihao, clearly sensing his mood growing even darker. The violent anger that had been subtly revealed back in Italy surged up again, making her feel both heartache and unease.

She couldn’t help but reach out and hug him, gently rubbing her cheek against his chest. Her voice was very soft as she said, “Auntie coming back is the best thing… don’t get angry over things that aren’t worth it, okay?”

The last three words, “okay?” were spoken very lightly, especially gently. It was hard for him to resist, but he still couldn’t suppress the hatred in his heart toward everything related to Yuan Jianxin, so his tension remained.

Just then, Yuan Jiahui, who was downstairs crying with Zhang Min, felt the gaze from upstairs. She suddenly looked up toward the window and seemed to see Hou Zihao’s silhouette. Her crying intensified, as if still hoping he would pity her and forgive her. But unfortunately, his aura had grown even colder. Zhou Leqi even noticed the veins bulging on the back of his hand.

She sighed, then decisively pulled the thick curtains shut, cutting off the line of sight between inside and outside. She then looked up and gently kissed him on the chin.

His breathing faltered for a moment, and after a while, his tense body slowly relaxed.

His rationality was returning. He felt her hug tighten, and her voice was small, half coaxing, half scolding him, saying, “Don’t do that again, okay… it’s really scary.”

Her words softened his heart.

He had just realized he had scared her a little, so he gently wrapped his arms around her and apologized, “...I’m sorry.”

Actually, he hadn’t done anything wrong — he was just used to yielding to all her demands.

She seemed somewhat pleased with that, hugging him gently and rocking him a little. Then he sighed and teased, “What does this mean… I get a hug every time I get angry?”

“Then I’ll pretend to be angry every day.”

His tone was casual, playful. She knew he wasn’t just joking, but was telling her in his own way that he was okay now.

She felt reassured, then playfully hit him and said, “Pah, wishful thinking.”

She wasn’t good at cursing; “wishful thinking” was her go-to phrase to tease him. He was pretty much immune to it by now and could even ride the joke, saying, “I’m wishful thinking? I also want you to take me to meet Auntie — my mom already asked about it, you see, maybe you should start caring too?”

“Zhou Leqi, honestly,” he sighed, his voice low and soft, the embrace as tender as his tone, “...let’s get married.”