SWTHTC - 36

Chapter 36: “Help Me”

Autumn had truly arrived, and the weather was growing colder.

That day, Zhou Leqi rode the 301 bus home with Yu Qing for the first time.

Yu Qing remained silent throughout the ride, sitting silently beside her. She didn’t cry; it was as if her soul had left her body, wandering off to a place beyond Zhou Leqi’s reach.

Zhou Leqi’s heart was filled with panic and unease. She hoped Yu Qing would say something to her, but deep down, she knew they were both too exhausted to muster the strength. So, she stayed silent as well.

The bus driver who knew Zhou Leqi noticed her looking down, dejected, and wondered why that boy wasn’t with her today.

When he was around, she never looked this heartbroken.

Before Zhou Leqi and Yu Qing reached home, Zhou Lei had already returned to Butterfly Bay in his Audi A8 with his stepdaughter.

Gao Xiang hadn’t cooked dinner today; she had gone for a prenatal checkup and had just returned home. She had already ordered takeout and was now resting on the couch.

As soon as Zhou Lei entered the door, she immediately sensed that his demeanor was off today—something must have happened. While he went upstairs to change clothes, she seized the opportunity to ask Luo Siyu what had transpired at school.

Luo Siyu sneered disdainfully and replied in a low voice, “What else could it be? He just saw his ex-wife and daughter.”

Gao Xiang: “….”

The reason Zhou Lei attended the parent-teacher meeting today was partly due to Luo Siyu’s scheming.

She had always wanted to flaunt her current affluent family situation in front of her new classmates. Her biological father was a small-time businessman—poor and lacking refinement—always making her feel ashamed. But Zhou Lei was different. His attire and mannerisms set him apart from ordinary people, and he drove an expensive car. She wanted everyone to know he was her father, and more importantly, she wanted Zhou Leqi to see Zhou Lei attending her parent-teacher meeting.

So, she insisted that Gao Xiang go for her prenatal checkup today, leaving Zhou Lei no choice but to attend the meeting for her.

In truth, whether Zhou Leqi saw all this made no real difference to Luo Siyu. But she wanted to make her suffer—to see her upset, angry, her grades plummeting, and failing the college entrance exam again. That way, she wouldn’t be able to stay together with Hou Zihao.

Her wish came true.

She was certain she had caught a glimpse of Zhou Leqi’s momentary loss of composure—she was hurt, she was angry. Good. The more pain, the better.

Luo Siyu felt a wave of satisfaction and relief.

Gao Xiang’s thoughts, however, were more complicated.

Her marriage to Zhou Lei was still unstable. Before the child was born, she needed to work hard to secure what she had gained. At a time like this, letting Zhou Lei see his ex-wife and daughter was not a good thing. Most cheating men were hypocritical—they would betray while pretending to feel guilt and regret. She couldn’t give Zhou Lei any chance to regret, nor could she let him betray her.

Gao Xiang had originally thought that her daughter’s insistence on having Zhou Lei attend the parent-teacher meeting was merely to show off in front of her classmates. She hadn’t expected Luo Siyu also harbored intentions to upset Zhou Lei’s daughter. This revelation left her both amused and irritated, struggling for words.

She wanted to scold Luo Siyu, but just then Zhou Lei came downstairs. Gao Xiang and her daughter lost their chance to whisper, so they once again put on their gentle and obedient masks. Gao Xiang even asked Luo Siyu to peel some fruit for Zhou Lei.

On the surface, Zhou Lei calmly accepted Gao Xiang and her daughter’s attentions, but inside, his emotions were turbulent.

After divorcing Yu Qing, things hadn’t been particularly smooth for him. During their affair, Gao Xiang seemed irresistibly alluring, the thrill of forbidden love intoxicating. But now that they lived together and were legally married, that excitement naturally faded.

Gao Xiang had become an ordinary woman, less beautiful than Yu Qing, and she came with a child—a child he had to treat as his own.

It was impossible not to feel stifled.

And people inevitably compared. For example, when he attended the parent-teacher meeting for Luo Siyu today, he felt deeply uncomfortable. When he used to attend meetings for his own daughter, he was proud—his daughter was always ranked first, the top student, and other parents envied him. But Luo Siyu was at the bottom of her class, scoring forty or fifty points on exams, with her highest score being eighty. It made Zhou Lei feel ashamed, unable to hold his head high.

And today, he had seen Yu Qing and Zhou Leqi.

Yu Qing seemed younger, wearing a beautiful dress, and his daughter was wonderful—she was his flesh and blood.

But the way they looked at him was cold—especially Zhou Leqi, whose gaze carried hatred.

He realized he could never return to that family.

Never.

So, he had to convince himself to accept his current life. Gao Xiang wasn’t bad. When she gave birth to his son, everything would be perfect.

Zhou Lei repeated these thoughts over and over, and gradually, his mood began to calm.

The following weekend appeared calm on the surface.

Yu Qing acted as if nothing had happened, cooking, watching TV, and taking walks with Zhou Leqi every day. She didn’t cry or vent—it was as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Leqi thought this was good on one hand, but it made her even more uneasy. She knew her mother wasn’t this strong, and she hadn’t fully come to terms with Zhou Lei’s betrayal. Seeing him at school must have stirred something in her. According to Zhou Leqi’s original estimation, Yu Qing should have cried and thrown a fit.

But she remained calm, and Zhou Leqi couldn’t force her to cry. So, she consoled herself, thinking she had overthought everything. The storm had passed, and they could move forward with their lives.

She tried to convince herself with these words, but a lingering sense of unease persisted, making her reluctant to even open her phone. As a result, she didn’t reply to Hou Zihao’s messages for the entire weekend.

Thus, when school resumed on Monday, Zhou Leqi found herself locked in Hou Zihao’s resentful gaze.

He was clearly dissatisfied, sitting at his desk with crossed arms, staring at her without expression. Zhou Leqi felt as if her back was about to be burned through by his gaze—it was unbearable. During the break, she called him out, and they exchanged a few words.

“Never expected to see you so soon,” he said sarcastically. “I thought buying a drink would take at least two or three days, maybe even two or three months.”

Zhou Leqi: “….”

He continued, “Ignoring me for a day is one thing, but three whole days? Isn’t that a bit harsh? Or did I do something wrong to upset you?”

He looked both angry and aggrieved.

Zhou Leqi realized he was genuinely upset this time, and she felt guilty. During the National Day holiday, she had felt uneasy after he didn’t contact her for just one day. Now, ignoring him for three days was indeed excessive.

“I’m sorry…”

Her apology was sincere, but she had never faced such a situation before, unsure of what else to say. After uttering “I’m sorry,” she fell silent.

Hou Zihao was somewhat speechless, feeling her apology lacked sincerity. But because he adored her, he didn’t dwell on it and simply asked why she had been unreachable.

Zhou Leqi didn’t know how to explain everything—how her father had cheated, divorced her mother, and attended the parent-teacher meeting for his stepdaughter, only to be caught by her mother. That would be too awkward.

So, she lied, saying, “My phone ran out of credit.”

Hou Zihao was stunned by this excuse. “What?”

Zhou Leqi cleared her throat, sticking to her story and even shifting the blame. “We sent too many texts before, so my phone ran out of credit and stopped working.”

Hou Zihao: “….”

Such an obvious attempt to shift responsibility would make anyone angry, but Hou Zihao, smitten with her, was willing to buy into whatever she said. Eventually, he even started to believe he bore some responsibility.

After considering it, he felt slightly appeased and said, “Alright, I’ll recharge your phone credit later.”

Zhou Leqi hadn’t expected him to be so easily placated, which shocked her a bit. She suppressed a laugh, pursed her lips, and solemnly said, “No need, I’ll recharge it today.”

Hou Zihao eyed her suspiciously. “Really?”

“Really, really,” Zhou Leqi quickly nodded and took out the cola she had bought for him on Friday. “Here’s the cola I got you. Do you still want it?”

He scoffed, feigning indifference with his hands in his pockets, trying to look cool. But his eyes had already softened. Soon, he reached out and took the cola, opening it and taking a sip. “Might as well drink it.”

Zhou Leqi burst into laughter, agreeing, “Exactly.”

Later, Hou Zihao realized that occasionally making Zhou Leqi feel a little guilty toward him was quite beneficial. Her attitude toward him noticeably improved and lasted longer.

Throughout Monday, she treated him kindly, responded more frequently to his notes, and didn’t bury herself in her vocabulary book during their bus rides. Instead, she chatted with him the whole time. Even on the way home from the station, she walked slower than usual, as if compensating him.

He was pleased.

When they parted ways downstairs, he felt even more reluctant to leave her, fearing she might disappear again. So, he grew serious and asked, “What’s the first thing you plan to do when you get home?”

Zhou Leqi paused, realizing what he meant. She smiled and played along. “Recharge my phone.”

This answer satisfied him. He nodded, and they exchanged a glance, both smiling. A sense of joy bubbled up in Zhou Leqi’s heart, like mist nourishing a barren, dry land.

“See you tomorrow,” she bid him farewell.

“See you tomorrow,” he replied as usual.

She went upstairs.

Hou Zihao watched the lights in the stairwell turn on one by one until he heard her door open and close before turning to leave.

Walking alone on the dark, narrow street outside her neighborhood, he still thought of her, wondering if she had turned on her phone, recharged it, and when the money would arrive. He also wondered when she would reply to him…

He was exasperated by his own overly meticulous thoughts when his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was Zhou Leqi calling.

He smiled, his eyes bright with joy, thinking she had finally come to her senses. He quickly answered.

“Hello?”

His voice carried a smile, but the person on the other end was crying.

“Hou Zihao…” Her trembling sobs came through the cold receiver. “…Help me.”