Chapter 226: Birth (Part Three)
The middle-aged fat man was worried about his wife's safety, so he took out his phone, preparing to call her.
However, before dialing, the middle-aged fat man still considered Zhong Siyu. Regardless of whether his wife had genuinely met with an accident or simply hadn't returned for other reasons, he felt it best not to let their child know, so as not to upset her.
"Siyu, you go play with Old Butler first, Daddy needs to make a call. " The middle-aged fat man said, smiling at Zhong Siyu.
Noticing the middle-aged fat man's unusual expression, Zhong Siyu couldn't help but show a puzzled look on her face, asking, "Daddy, what happened?"
"Just some business matters, nothing serious. You go play; Daddy will sort it out soon. " The middle-aged fat man said, smiling.
Zhong Siyu was half-convinced by the middle-aged fat man's words, but she still nodded and went off to play with the Old Butler and the servants.
After all, she was still just a child. Even if she sensed something was off with her dad, she wouldn't delve too deeply into the matter.
After Zhong Siyu left, the middle-aged fat man dialed his wife's phone number.
The call connected, but no one answered. With each "beep," his heart inexplicably sank a notch.
"Husband, what is it?"
Hearing that familiar voice, the middle-aged fat man felt a great weight lift from his heart. Clearly relieved, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
"Heh heh, what are you doing? Why did it take you so long to answer? " The middle-aged fat man asked, his tone gentle and smiling.
"I was playing with Siyu, so I didn't notice my phone. That little rascal is getting naughtier and naughtier; she's such a headache. While she may have my looks, I think her mischievous personality definitely comes from you. " His wife's voice was equally gentle, but her tone hinted at a touch of helplessness.
"Heh heh, how could you be playing with Siyu? She's currently having a blast with the Old Butler and servants, and I'm also here in the villa—"
The middle-aged fat man subconsciously began to respond, but before he could finish, he realized his wife's words didn't add up. The smile on his face instantly froze, and his voice died in his throat.
His wife on the other end of the line was clearly stunned by the middle-aged fat man's words, and she didn't respond for a long time.
The silence that suddenly filled the air was chilling. After a few breaths, the middle-aged fat man spoke again to confirm, "You're at home?"
His voice, compared to before, was less gentle and held a hint of coldness.
"You're at home?"
The woman didn't answer the middle-aged fat man's question. Instead, she asked for confirmation again, but compared to before, her voice lacked conviction, betraying a guilty conscience.
This time, the middle-aged fat man gave a firm answer: "That's right, I'm at home."
"Oh dear, when did you get back? I was just playing with Siyu, and now I've just stepped out to buy something."
The woman feigned surprise, responding with an awkward laugh. However, her actions only fueled the middle-aged fat man's anger even more.
"Your ability to lie so brazenly is truly pathetic. Don't even talk about me; a child wouldn't believe that. Siyu already told me you haven't been home since you left last night. Are you still going to pretend?"
The middle-aged fat man's tone grew colder and colder, while the woman on the other end stammered, unable to utter a single coherent word for a long time.
However, precisely at that moment, an extremely impatient urging voice suddenly came from the other end of the line.
"Damn it, why are you wasting so much breath on him? Just lay it all out for him. Let him do whatever he wants; I'm barefoot, so I'm not afraid of those wearing shoes! If he pisses me off, I'll kill him!"
The speaker was a man; judging by his voice, he shouldn't have been old. His tone was rough, and his mouth was full of curses—one could tell immediately he wasn't a decent person.
The man's words were like adding fuel to the fire for the middle-aged fat man. From the moment his wife began lying, he had realized she might have betrayed him, betrayed their home.
However, he had still held a shred of hope, thinking it might just be a misunderstanding, that his wife perhaps had some unmentionable hardship that forced her to lie to him.
But when the man's impatient voice rang out, he felt as if his entire being had plunged into an ice cellar.
He wasn't frightened by the man's verbal threats; his heart was wounded by his wife's betrayal.
Before he could say anything more, the woman frantically hung up the phone. But what good would hanging up the phone do at this point? It was merely burying her head in the sand, deceiving herself.
The middle-aged fat man put away his phone, his expression turning grim. He looked towards the Old Butler's location, and seeing that the Old Butler was coincidentally looking at him too, he beckoned to the Old Butler.
The latter dared not delay in the slightest, immediately scurrying towards the middle-aged fat man.
Zhong Siyu saw that her dad's face was very grim, and for some reason, a vague sense of unease rose in her heart. To figure out what had happened, she ran towards her dad along with the Old Butler.
"Master, did you need me? " The Old Butler asked, bowing respectfully to the middle-aged fat man.
"Daddy, your face looks so grim. What happened? " Zhong Siyu asked, her face filled with worry.
The middle-aged fat man didn't respond to the Old Butler. Instead, he forced a smile onto his face and said to Zhong Siyu, "Daddy had a big business deal, one I've been managing for years, stolen from me, which is why my face looks a bit grim. But you don't need to worry; Daddy knows how to handle it. Go quickly and play, don't bother Daddy."
Zhong Siyu uttered an "Oh," her expression clearly showing disbelief. She had wanted to ask more questions, but seeing the strained smile her dad had forced onto his face, she couldn't bear to press him further and left with her doubts.
After Zhong Siyu left, the middle-aged fat man dropped the smile that looked worse than a grimace. He looked at the Old Butler and said coldly, "Come with me, I have something to ask you."
The Old Butler felt a little puzzled. He didn't know what had happened to make his master's face so grim. As for the reason the master had just given, even Zhong Siyu didn't believe it, so how could he?
Though he was puzzled, the Old Butler didn't dare ask any more questions. After respectfully assenting, he quickly followed.
Inside the study, the Old Butler locked the door from the inside, then looked at the middle-aged fat man with a puzzled expression and asked, "Master, what's wrong? Has something major happened?"
It would have been better if the Old Butler hadn't spoken. The moment he did, the anger that the middle-aged fat man had been suppressing finally erupted, no longer containable.
"What's wrong? ! You still have the nerve to ask me what's wrong? ! The madam hasn't come home since she went out last night, didn't you notice? ! " The middle-aged fat man roared.
"This old man knows about that, Master. Last night, before Madam left, she specifically instructed me that she was going back to her maiden home to see her mother, and that I should take good care of Siyu. She also told me not to tell Siyu about it, lest Siyu worry. " The Old Butler replied.
"Maiden home? ! Go back to her mother's *damn* maiden home!"
The middle-aged fat man flew into a rage, sweeping a self-help book off the table in front of him, sending it flying.
Seeing the middle-aged fat man's sudden outburst of fury, the Old Butler immediately understood that the matter was likely far more complicated than he had imagined. However, since the middle-aged fat man was in a fit of rage, he didn't dare speak carelessly.
Taking a few deep breaths, the middle-aged fat man finally spoke to the Old Butler again: "How many times a week does she go back to her maiden home?"
"Sometimes two to three times, sometimes she'd be gone for a whole week."
The Old Butler's words made the middle-aged fat man's body tremble with rage. He slumped into a chair, his head buzzing, feeling as if everything he saw had turned green.
He gnashed his teeth and asked the Old Butler, "Such a huge matter, why didn't you tell me sooner? !"
The Old Butler's face crumpled with grievance. He said with a bitter expression, "Master, I told you about this many years ago, but back then, you said it was a good thing, that it was a daughter's filial piety for Madam to constantly think of her mother. You even told me to give Madam more New Beginning Coins so she could buy more gifts to take back to her mother."
The anger on the middle-aged fat man's face froze. He remembered that indeed such an exchange had taken place. Recalling his own words from back then, he felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, choking him.
What the middle-aged fat man found most unacceptable were those four words in the Old Butler's reply: "many years ago."
Those four words were like a cruel reminder, suggesting that his wife's betrayal might have begun many, many years ago.
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