Chapter 52.2

Lin Meizhi had been on edge ever since Gu Qinghan spoke to her.

The next day, she heard Gu Qingsong mention that Gu Qinghan was leaving, saying he was busy with matters in the military.

Lin Meizhi then finally relaxed, asking Gu Qingsong to wash the baby’s diapers.

Another month passed.

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After Gu Qinghan completed his mission on Qiongzhou Island and returned home again, he asked Zhao Baogang to take him to the cadre’s compound.

Mother Xu knew Zhao Baogang, and upon learning that Gu Qinghan was a soldier, she treated him with great courtesy.

After a few exchanges of pleasantries, Zhao Baogang found an excuse to go to the restroom, and Gu Qinghan, not wishing to make small talk with Mother Xu, said, “Vice Director Xu, may I ask if you know Lin Meizhi?”

Upon hearing that name, Mother Xu, despite having weathered countless storms, couldn’t help but shudder slightly. “Comrade Gu, please just say what you mean.”

Seeing that she was a straightforward person, Gu Qinghan didn’t want to beat around the bush. He directly stated, “Lin Meizhi married my brother and gave birth to a son last month.”

Gu Qinghan paused for a moment when he noticed the panic in Mother Xu’s eyes and continued, “However, this child, I’m afraid, is not my brother’s but belongs to your son.”

“Impossible!” Mother Xu’s expression twisted, seemingly unwilling to accept this statement.

Gu Qinghan did not want to waste words with her and said, “Whether you believe it or not is my business. I have already told you the truth.”

Gu Qinghan stood up, intending to leave. After walking a few steps, he turned back and added, “She confirmed her relationship with my brother only at the end of October last year. However, Lin Meizhi went to the hospital for an early pregnancy checkup at the beginning of October. The hospital still has records of it, and Vice Director Xu can find out easily.”

After speaking, Gu Qinghan left the cadre’s compound.

The next day, Gu Qinghan waited at home all morning, but no one from the Xu family came.

He began to pack his luggage.

These past few days, Lin Meizhi’s heart had been in turmoil. Last month, she thought Gu Qinghan had returned to Northern City, but unexpectedly, Gu Qinghan suddenly came back last night.

However, this time, Gu Qinghan said nothing to her and acted as if nothing had happened, which relieved her greatly.

She hoped that Gu Qinghan would leave this time and not return for at least three to five years.

However, at noon, the family sat together silently at the table, eating.

After a while, Zhao Wuzhu asked about Wen Nuan and Lele’s situation, “How are your wife and child doing in the family compound?”

Gu Qinghan responded with an “Mm,” “They’re doing quite well.”

Seeing that Gu Qinghan’s expression seemed fine, Zhao Wuzhu continued, “Qinghan, who is taking care of your salary savings book?”

Zhao Wuzhu had been keeping a record ever since Gu Qinghan had sent less money home, firmly believing that it was because Wen Nuan refused to send money to the family.

“I’m taking care of it. What’s wrong?” Gu Qinghan looked up at Zhao Wuzhu.

Zhao Wuzhu didn’t hold back and said, “It’s nothing. It’s just that now Qingsong has a child to raise, and your salary is so much higher than his. Shouldn’t you take on more of the family expenses?”

Although Gu Qingsong was in good health after the child was born, he was still very concerned about his baby. He bought a lot of malted milk powder, claiming it was for the child’s nourishment.

As for Lin Meizhi, Gu Qingsong made chicken soup and fish soup for her almost every day. In just over a month, she had gained several pounds. Everyone said she was lucky to have married a good husband.

But the one suffering was Lin Meizhi. Not only did she have to help cook and fetch water, but she also had to wash diapers. However, she had yet to have any of the chicken or fish soup that Gu Qingsong made.

Zhao Wuzhu understood that the second son was unreliable; at crucial moments, it had to be the elder son, Gu Qinghan.

Moreover, Gu Qinghan’s salary was high, but sending only 10 yuan every 15 days was truly insufficient.

Gu Qinghan let out a cold laugh, “I have to raise a child too.”

“This can’t be the same!” Zhao Wuzhu put down her chopsticks. “You all have nothing to worry about in the military. Besides, Zhaodi is only a little over a year old; how much can she eat?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Qinghan dropped his chopsticks, looked at Zhao Wuzhu, and said, “Don’t call her Zhaodi anymore. Wen Nuan and I named her Gu Wanyue, and her nickname is Lele.”

Zhao Wuzhu was taken aback by Gu Qinghan’s glare. She frowned as she said: “What kind of name is that? Who gave her that strange name?”

Gu Qinghan shot her a cold look. “I’ll say it again: the child is called Gu Wanyue. You can also call her Lele.”

Zhao Wuzhu was frightened by Gu Qinghan’s gaze and stammered, “Alright, Lele it is. But I’m telling you, the family is short on money. Starting next month, you need to send me twenty yuan like before!”

Gu Qinghan let out a cold laugh. “Fine, but if Qingsong can also send you 20 yuan, I’ll do the same.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingsong immediately refused, “Mom, 20 yuan is too much! That’s 20 yuan a month! What do you need so much money for?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp kick on his leg. He saw Zhao Wuzhu’s face turn red with anger as she glared at him fiercely.

Gu Qingsong instantly realized he had misspoken, but he was still thinking about the child’s name and hadn’t fully processed it.

Feeling a chill from Zhao Wuzhu’s glare, he quickly picked up his rice bowl and said, “I’m going to see if Meizhi is done eating.”

After saying that, he walked into the room.

The next moment, two figures appeared at the entrance, and it was Mother Xu, whom they had seen last night.

In the hot southern weather, the residents of the family compound had basically opened their doors for ventilation.

Mother Xu, standing at the door, met Gu Qinghan’s gaze and instinctively felt nervous. Nevertheless, she knocked on the door panel and asked, “Excuse me, is Lin Meizhi living here?”

Zhao Wuzhu noticed that the visitor was well-dressed and had an air of authority, so she smiled and approached, saying, “Hello, Meizhi is at home; please come in.”

Zhao Wuzhu regarded Mother Xu as one of Lin Meizhi’s relatives. She had heard Gu Qingsong mention that Lin Meizhi had many relatives, some of whom worked in various government departments.

Not long ago, when the baby turned one month old, Lin Meizhi’s relatives had been coming over to visit. Those visitors brought red envelopes for the child, each quite substantial, with two of them containing ten yuan each!

Thinking of this, Zhao Wuzhu treated Mother Xu very courteously, even pouring a cup of tea on her and her companion. “Comrade, please have some tea.”

Mother Xu accepted the tea and replied, “Thank you.”

“Oh, by the way, have you all eaten? We just happened to be having a meal. Would you like to join us?” Zhao Wuzhu, being very hospitable, prepared to head back to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks.

Mother Xu put down the cup in her hand and said, “Comrade, you don’t need to busy yourself; I have already eaten and just want to chat with Meizhi for a bit.”

The next second, Gu Qingsong, who was in the room, raised his voice and asked, “Mom, who’s here?”

“It’s Meizhi’s relative,” Zhao Wuzhu turned and walked into Gu Qingsong’s room, saying, “Meizhi, your relative has come over. Have you finished your meal? Do you want me to let your relative in first?”

Lin Meizhi knew that Gu Qinghan’s train would return to Northern City in the afternoon, which reminded her that the anxious days would finally come to an end, making her feel particularly good.

She glanced into the living room and hadn’t spoken yet when she saw Mother Xu’s figure appear at the door, softly calling, “Meizhi, it’s me.”

The bowl containing chicken soup slipped from Lin Meizhi’s hand and fell to the floor, making a piercing “bang” sound.

“Get out—” Lin Meizhi suddenly shouted angrily, “Qingsong, quickly drive this person away; I don’t know her, hurry, let her go!”

Gu Qingsong was a bit bewildered, but seeing his wife suddenly furious, he did not think too much and hurriedly ran to the door, intending to drive the visitor away.

However, Mother Xu had already knelt down first, crying out, “Meizhi, I’m sorry. I lied…”

“Guoming didn’t abandon you; Guoming, he…”

Lin Meizhi heard the name again and couldn’t help but tremble all over, tears falling like beads.

She clutched her head, suddenly seeming to go mad, shouting, “I won’t listen, I won’t listen, I don’t want to hear…”

“Qingsong, hurry up and get her out; don’t believe anything she says; she’s a liar!”

At that moment, the sleeping child suddenly began to cry again, the sound so loud it seemed it would tear the roof off.

However, Mother Xu felt that the crying was like a heavenly sound as if the heavens were helping her.

Without the slightest hesitation, the moment Gu Qingsong walked over, she said to Lin Meizhi, “Meizhi, Guoming is dead.”

“It’s my fault he died… I’m sorry to him, and I’m sorry to you…”

Mother Xu had initially opposed the two of them dating. When she found out that Xu Guoming planned to secretly take the household registration book to register their marriage, she sent him to the army, thinking that they wouldn’t see each other, and naturally, they would part ways.

But unexpectedly, an accident occurred with the vehicle, and her son died just like that.

At first, she could not accept this fact, not even daring to tell Grandma Xu and Grandpa Xu about it. Instead, she made up a lie, telling them that Xu Guoming had gone to the frontier to serve in the military and would not be returning for several years.

Deep down, she always believed that Lin Meizhi had caused his death; if it weren’t for Lin Meizhi, her son wouldn’t have died.

Later, she found out that not long after Xu Guoming’s death, Lin Meizhi had started dating another man, which made her even more furious.

She even deliberately went in front of Lin Meizhi to say, “Guoming has already gone to the army and is dating a female comrade there; that female comrade is even the granddaughter of the commander, and she’s a doctor.”

What she didn’t expect was that at that time, Lin Meizhi was already pregnant with her son’s child, and the reason she was in such a hurry to find a partner might have been to give birth to the baby.

She had wrongly accused Lin Meizhi.

Upon hearing Mother Xu’s words, Lin Meizhi instantly scrambled up from the bed and walked over to Mother Xu, shaking her shoulders vigorously: “You… what are you saying? Xu Guoming… is dead?”

Lin Meizhi did not expect that the next time she heard Xu Guoming’s name, it would be in the context of his death.

This name, which had been sealed in her heart for nearly a year, unexpectedly resurfaced at that moment.

But how did he die?

Compared to hearing about his death, Lin Meizhi would have preferred if he had merely fallen in love with someone else; at least, that would mean he was still alive.

Gu Qingsong looked at Lin Meizhi, who appeared lost and dazed, and furrowed his brows, asking, “Xu Guoming… who is he?”

In an instant, countless thoughts swirled in his mind as if something had gripped his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

But no matter how hard Gu Qingsong tried, he could not remember who Xu Guoming was.

He only heard Mother Xu, with a choked voice, say, “Meizhi, I’m sorry. I deceived you. Guoming didn’t marry anyone else; he… he actually wanted to sneakily take the household registration book to register his marriage with you.”

“It’s my fault; I sent him to the army, and that led to his accident…”

Upon hearing these words, Gu Qingsong suddenly shouted in anger, “Lin Meizhi, who the hell is Xu Guoming?!”

Then he looked at the child in Zhao Wuzhu’s arms, who was being soothed, and a ridiculous thought flashed through his mind: “Son, my son…”

Lin Meizhi abruptly turned her face away, panic written all over her face as she said, “Qingsong, the child is yours.”

“Don’t listen to her! I only dated Xu Guoming; we didn’t do anything. You have to believe me!”

During their time together, Lin Meizhi had indeed fallen in love with Gu Qingsong and thought of him as a good man. Even Xu Guoming had never cared for her as much as he did.

Originally, Lin Meizhi did not want this child, and falling down the stairs was part of the plan. However…

Gu Qingsong couldn’t bear to lose the child and insisted on keeping him.

They could have lived a good life; they were just one step away from happiness.

Lin Meizhi didn’t want to miss out on Gu Qingsong for the sake of a deceased person, so she couldn’t just give up like that!

Gu Qingsong looked at Lin Meizhi, hoping to see some sincerity in her expression, but the next moment, Mother Xu shouted, “Liar! You’re lying!”

“This child belongs to our Xu family!”

Upon hearing this, Lin Meizhi finally understood why Mother Xu, who had always been dissatisfied with her, had come to confront her.

It was all because of this child.

With Xu Guoming’s death, the Xu family would be left without heirs, which was why Mother Xu came to take the child!

Lin Meizhi clung to Gu Qingsong and cried her heart out: “Qingsong, quickly get her out of here! She wants to take our son; don’t believe her!”

“She has lost her son, and her family will be left without an heir, so she’s trying to take our child!”

Gu Qingsong suddenly felt overwhelmed, unsure of whom to believe…

“Lin Meizhi, you’re lying!” Mother Xu suddenly stood up and pulled out Lin Meizhi’s pregnancy test report from October of the previous year, saying, “You were already found to be pregnant last October. And this child is clearly full-term; how can you insist he’s a premature baby?”

After saying this, Mother Xu threw the test report right at Gu Qingsong’s face.

Gu Qingsong pushed Lin Meizhi away from him and grabbed the report to look:

Patient Name: Lin Meizhi.

Test Result: Early Pregnancy.

It even had the hospital’s stamp on it.

Gu Qingsong stared at the bright red stamp, feeling a mixture of shock, pain, disappointment, and anger. He suddenly collapsed to the ground, gazing at Lin Meizhi, wanting to see some sincerity in her face.

But there was none. Lin Meizhi’s small face was devoid of color, replaced only by panic, making her look utterly pitiable.

In the past, he would have wanted to hold her tightly in his arms, but at that moment, he raised one hand and slapped Lin Meizhi hard across the face, leaving several red marks on her fair skin.

With red eyes, he said, “Lin Meizhi, you shouldn’t have lied to me!”

“I love you so much, and you actually deceived me?!”

“Qingsong, I didn’t lie to you.” Lin Meizhi tried to grab Gu Qingsong, but he had already run out, shouting, “Qingsong…”

Zhao Wuzhu watched as Gu Qingsong suddenly ran off, then looked at Lin Meizhi, who was sitting on the floor, wailing uncontrollably. She scolded fiercely, “You… you… you… this vile woman, how could you deceive us! You deserve a terrible fate—”

As she spoke, Zhao Wuzhu prepared to rush forward, but Gu Qinghan stopped her and said: “Mom, the child is innocent; don’t hurt the child.”

Not mentioning the child was one thing, but as soon as it was brought up, Zhao Wuzhu felt a deep despair wash over her.

Suddenly, she sat on the floor, holding the child, and began crying along with him—continuously cursing Lin Meizhi.

Seeing Gu Qingsong’s figure disappear at the door, Lin Meizhi suddenly went into a frenzy—she ran to Mother Xu wildly.

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T/N: What I hate about Meizhi’s action was pushing the blame on Qinglan. If the child died at that time, Qinglan would fall into despair. Even if she knew that she had never pushed Meizhi, she would have felt guilty about the situation. The child’s death would never be investigated; they will never know that Mezhi cheated. Okay, sorry for the rambling~

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