Volume One, Chapter 10: He Is Her Son-in-Law
Yu Jin looked up at him, her eyes calm and unruffled.
“Why?”
“You heard it yourself. Your daughter needs a large sum for surgery, and only her foster parents can afford it.”
Your daughter...
Yes, Xiao Jing is her daughter alone.
“I’ll find a way to raise the money. Can you...?”
She wanted to plead with him to reconsider. She didn’t need triple compensation; she needed a lawyer.
Her words were cut off.
“No.”
Zhou Jincheng’s tone was cold, his jaw tense, lips pressed into a hard, straight line.
Yu Jin knew him too well; the shorter his words and the colder his expression, the less room there was for negotiation.
Zhou Jincheng stared at her face; something surged violently in his abyssal eyes.
Before, there was a woman by his side who couldn’t understand simple refusals and kept asking despite being told no.
In the end, he had no choice but to give in.
He turned and left, one hand in the pocket of his dress pants, not looking back once.
Yu Jin’s phone suddenly rang in her pocket.
“Is this Miss Yu? Aunt Jin refuses to take her medicine. We’re really at a loss.”
It was a call from the nursing home.
“I’m coming right away.”
Yu Jin changed out of her shoe covers in the car, packed her interview notes into her bag, and drove straight to the suburban nursing home.
She had visited her mother the same day she was released from prison.
Jin Suyi, her hair completely white, sat on the terrace, her gaze vacant, staring endlessly toward the west of the city.
Several nurses coaxed her to take her medicine, but she neither opened her mouth nor spoke.
“Aunt Jin.”
At the familiar voice, she slowly turned, and upon seeing Yu Jin, a flicker of expression finally appeared on her face.
“Qingqing... my child...”
Jin Suyi trembled as she stood, ignoring the nurses’ protests, staggering toward Yu Jin.
Yu Jin shook her head at the nurses behind her, signaling them not to follow.
She supported Jin Suyi back to the ward.
The nurses came in, placing several medicine bottles of various sizes on the table.
Jin Suyi had a private room in the nursing home, with a dedicated nurse attending to her.
---
Yu Jin suddenly had a thought and caught up to the nurse outside the door.
“How much does Aunt Jin owe for her stay here?”
The nurse’s tone was gentle.
“Aunt Jin’s daughter paid a large sum upfront; there is no outstanding fee.”
Yu Jin was stunned. How could she not know about the payment?
She had been taken from school by the police and hadn’t even seen her mother.
It was only from the news in prison that she learned after Chu Group’s bankruptcy, Chu Tingchun’s wife had gone mad and disappeared.
“That sum is enough to cover Aunt Jin’s treatment here for six years,” the nurse added.
“Six years...” Yu Jin murmured, repeating the number.
Isn’t that the same as the sentence she received?
Perhaps it was due to a former friend of her father’s—she remembered uncles visiting during holidays—maybe they had offered help.
“I understand. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Yu.”
Back in the ward, the medicine was still untouched on the table.
She picked up the pills, cupped them in her palm, and with a warm cup of water in hand, approached Jin Suyi.
“Please take your medicine.”
Jin Suyi’s eyes were hollow, raising her head to look at Yu Jin with a fixed, almost frightening stare.
She reached out, grabbing Yu Jin’s wrist.
“Nán Qīng, tell your mother where you’ve been all this time. Why haven’t you come to see me?”
“And your father—no matter how busy his business is, he should come home. It’s been so long since I last saw him.”
Yu Jin’s hand holding the cup trembled; water spilled onto Jin Suyi’s hand.
Afraid to meet her mother’s gaze, she placed the pills into her palm again, softly repeating, “Please take your medicine.”
“I’m not sick!”
Jin Suyi flung her hand up, scattering pills across the floor. The cup crashed down, glass shards spreading everywhere.
Yu Jin wiped the water from her face and knelt to gather the pills one by one.
Her movements were slow, no match for Jin Suyi’s frantic speed. Pillows and bedding tumbled to the floor along with books from the table.
A thick foreign language book struck the back of her head precisely, causing her to cry out in pain.
Holding her head, clutching a handful of pills, she turned to Jin Suyi, lowering her voice.
“Mom.”
Jin Suyi’s throwing hand froze mid-air; a vase clattered to the floor.
She rushed over and embraced Yu Jin.
“Mom’s here. Don’t be afraid, Nán Qīng, don’t be afraid.”
---
“Your father didn’t commit a crime. The police will bring him home in a few days. Our family will be together again.”
Yu Jin stood and helped her sit at the bedside.
She opened her palm; the pills were soaked in water and now unusable.
The nurse returned with more medicine, unfazed by the mess on the floor.
“Miss Yu, you’re really dedicated, taking such good care of Aunt Jin.”
Yu Jin took another cup of warm water and accepted the medicine from the nurse.
“My mother and Aunt Jin have been friends for years. I happen to work nearby, so I take care of her as well.”
The nurse added, “Do you know where Aunt Jin’s daughter has been? She hasn’t visited in all these years, but there’s a man who comes often.”
Yu Jin was startled, a bad feeling rising. She hurriedly asked, “What’s that man’s name?”
“I don’t know. He only looks in from outside, leaving fruit and flowers at the door but never enters the ward.”
The nurse could say no more.
Back at the nurse’s station, she happened to see the man who often visited Aunt Jin.
Dressed in a custom-made black shirt and trousers, his sharp, sculpted features framed by rimless glasses, his dark eyes always carried a cold, restrained aura.
He held a bouquet of carnations and carried a fruit basket.
The director came out of the consultation room, stopped by him, and shook his hand deliberately.
“Lawyer Zhou, it’s been a few days since you last came.”
“I’ve taken on a case recently, been busy,” the young man replied politely, pressing the elevator button and going upstairs with the director.
The nurse watched his retreating figure, captivated for a moment.
A colleague elbowed her gently, whispering, “Don’t stare. I heard the handsome guy who visits Aunt Jin often is her son-in-law.”
“Son-in-law?”
The nurse was dumbfounded.
The daughter had been absent for five years, yet the son-in-law visited every few days—such a strange situation in the world.
---
Zhou Jincheng walked upstairs and paused outside the ward, about to place the flowers and fruit basket on the floor.
He heard a voice inside.
“Mom, it’s Nán Qīng...”
He bent down, gripping the basket handle tightly, and through the glass window on the door, he saw inside.
A slender, bony woman with a high ponytail, facing away from the door, half-squatting by the bed.
She wore a fitted light blue suit dress that hugged her waist and hips.