Hard work after winning the lottery

In the vast courtyard, it was so quiet that only the leaves on the grapevines, their edges curled from the sun, occasionally made a soft rustling sound.

Also, when Huayun was drying clothes, water droplets fell onto the scorching hot stone slab and evaporated instantly.

She had just finished washing the sweaty clothes her three little ones had changed out of and was hanging them one by one on the clothesline.

The height supported by the bamboo pole forced her to stand on tiptoe and stretch out her arms.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the grapevines, scattering into golden dappled patterns that danced on her plain cotton dress and on the tips of her slightly damp hair.

Sweat slid down her smooth, full forehead, past her long, curled eyelashes, and she blinked uncomfortably.

And not far away, Zhou Yanjin sat at the stone table.

A seemingly important document in English lay open in front of him, but his dark eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were not focused on the densely packed business terms.

His gaze had long since moved beyond the edge of the document, precisely tracing, inch by inch, the busy figure in the sunlight.

Her waist was very slender, and the movement of tiptoeing created a breathtaking curve.

Her neck was long and fair, with a few strands of hair damp with sweat clinging to it, giving her an indescribable air of fragility and sensuality.

Her movements as she hung the clothes out to dry were practiced, carrying a simple yet vivid rhythm that belonged to life itself.

Zhou Yanjin's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

He felt his breath become somewhat sluggish, both from the afternoon heat and the scene before him.

His fingers, resting on the table, unconsciously tightened, creating several distinct creases in the valuable contract document.

Finally, he closed the file.

The soft "click" sound seemed particularly abrupt in the extreme silence.

He took off his glasses, casually placed them on the table, and then stood up.

The stone bench rubbed against the ground, producing a short, sharp creaking sound.

The sound was like a thunderclap, instantly shattering the silence in the courtyard.

Hua Yun's body suddenly froze at that moment.

She didn't even need to turn around to feel that familiar, powerfully oppressive aura approaching her step by step.

The sound of his leather shoes on the bluestone slabs was very light and steady.

Each blow felt like a footstep on her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She didn't turn around, but after a one-second pause, her movements became faster, even somewhat flustered.

She grabbed the last of Sanbao's little T-shirts from the basin, wrung it out forcefully, and then haphazardly tossed it onto the clothesline, desperately wanting to end it all and escape this suffocating space.

Behind her, the shadow had already enveloped her, swallowing up her and the mottled light spots on her body.

The crisp scent of cedar mixed with a faint tobacco emanating from him forcefully entered her nostrils, leaving her mind blank.

"Hua Yun, let's talk."

He spoke.

Her voice was as deep and magnetic as ever, but because of the silence at this moment, and the suppressed, unavoidable force within it, it sounded exceptionally clear, like a pebble that had crashed heavily into her already turbulent heart.

Hua Yun's fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

She forced herself to calm down, her hands still moving, trying to cover up her panic by tidying up the clothes on the hanger.

Her voice, squeezed out of her throat, was cold and hard, like a stone that had been frozen for a long time.

"We have nothing to talk about, Mr. Zhou."

She deliberately emphasized the words "President Zhou," as if erecting a cold and solid barrier between them.

Zhou Yanjin seemed to have anticipated her resistance.

His voice was deeper and closer than before, almost ringing in her ear.

Six years ago.

He ignored her resistance and went straight to the core of their unspoken understanding, which neither of them dared to touch.

"Why did you leave without a word after that night? You even resigned and disappeared completely."

"boom--"

Something seemed to explode in Hua Yun's mind.

She suddenly stopped hanging the clothes.

His fingers gripped the damp, cotton T-shirt that belonged to Sanbao tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

The soft garment was crumpled in her hand, and icy water dripped from between her fingers, one drop at a time, onto her bare insteps.

The coolness could not extinguish the flames burning in her heart.

Six years.

She thought this topic would be buried in the dust of time forever.

She thought he would never ask.

Or rather, he simply didn't bother to ask.

Zhou Yanjin's gaze was like two sharp knives, scraping across her stiff and tense back.

He took another step forward.

This tiny step completely shattered the last remaining, pitiful safe distance between the two.

His hot breath almost sprayed onto the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.

His voice carried a hint of questioning and anger that he himself was unaware of, a anger that had been suppressed for too long.

"And then there's the matter of the children."

These five words, like five towering mountains, crashed down, making it difficult for Hua Yun to even breathe.

He stared at her thin yet stubborn back, each word spoken with a clarity that bordered on cruel.

"Why did you never tell me? You made me miss five whole years of their growth."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a heavy hammer, striking Hua Yun's most vulnerable heart again and again.

Five years have passed...

These words were like a poisoned dagger, piercing her heart precisely and then twisting it violently.

Yes, he missed it.

He missed the first time his eldest child mumbled "Mommy".

I missed my second child's first unsteady steps.

I missed the first time my three babies grew teeth that were as small as millet grains.

She missed the anxiety she felt every time they were sick, holding them and staying up all night with her eyes closed.

She missed the heartfelt joy she felt every time they made even the smallest progress.

He was completely absent from those countless days and nights, those five years that were filled with bitterness, exhaustion, poverty and happiness, belonging to her and her children.

But who can be blamed for this?

The immense grievances and emotions that had been suppressed for far too long burst forth like a flood, instantly shattering all her reason and pretense.

Hua Yun suddenly turned around.

Because he moved so quickly, the wind he created even lifted the cuffs of his neatly pressed dress pants.

She tilted her head back, her usually clear and resolute eyes now covered with a thick layer of moisture, churning with anger, grievance, mockery, and a hint of defensiveness as she was driven to the brink.

"Tell you?"

Her voice trembled slightly with excitement, yet carried a sharp, desperate edge.

"And then what, Zhou Yanjin?"

She called him by his full name, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Do you think I, Hua Yun, am a woman with ulterior motives, trying to use the child to blackmail you and demand an exorbitant amount of child support?"

"Or would you rather be high and mighty, throw a check in my face, and tell me to get as far away as possible?"

"Or perhaps, you could have your efficient chief secretary, Ying Zhiyao, handle this huge mess you left behind after your drunken escapade!"

With red eyes, she stared at his handsome but expressionless face, her voice sharp and accusatory, like a trapped beast forced to the edge of a cliff, forced to reveal all its sharp quills.

"Mr. Zhou, tell me, if I had told you back then, what would the outcome have been?"