Chapter 82: Gu Jiali’s Miscarriage

Shen Yunhe had a few more drinks with his uncle and father. Now that his wife was better, he felt half of his worries lift. Once his eldest son’s illness was also treated, he would have no worries left.

Jiang Baiyue leaned close to his ear and muttered, “You’ve had too much to drink, you reek of alcohol.”

“Really?” Shen Yunhe moved closer to her face, his breath mixed with the smell of alcohol, which made her face flush from the warmth.

“You can tell for yourself,” Jiang Baiyue replied, retreating to sit back in her seat. Her heart was beating irregularly as she picked up her cup and took a sip of a cold drink to cool her face.

The drinking continued into the afternoon. The women sat on the sofa chatting, the children played on the living room floor, while the men stayed at the table drinking and talking.

Ji Laotai saw them getting red in the face from drinking and commanded, “No more drinking! Everyone’s tired. Go rest in your rooms!”

Jiang Baiyue went over to help Shen Yunhe up. Ji Laotai added, “Banyue, the first bedroom on the second floor is prepared for you two. Everything inside is new. Go rest now.”

“Okay, thank you, Grandma.”

Ji Wanting smiled and said, “Go ahead and rest. We’ll look after the kids, you don’t need to worry about them.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Jiang Baiyue helped Shen Yunhe upstairs. Once they entered the room and closed the door, Shen Yunhe pulled her into a kiss.

———

Gu Yalan had gone missing. The police contacted the Ji family. Ji Yunfeng was pacing angrily.

“Could someone have saved her? Last time at the hospital, she… There might be someone who helped her escape.”

Ji Changfeng spoke in a deep voice, “We’ve also sent people to investigate. We can’t just rely on the police.”

Ji Wanting anxiously reminded everyone, “Everyone, be careful when going out recently. Be on guard, Gu Yalan might be seeking revenge!”

Jiang Huaijin lowered his head, playing with blocks, listening to the adults chat around him. He hummed a little tune, feeling happy. Jiang Huairou had built a castle out of the blocks.

“Brother, look! Is it nice?”

“It’s nice.” Jiang Huaijin picked up a black rectangular block and placed it in front of the castle.

“This looks even better.”

Jiang Huairou couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“But… this feels a bit weird.”

Jiang Huaiyu squeezed over to have a look. “Ah! It looks like a tomb!”

“A tomb?” Shen Yunshuang walked over and sat down on the carpet, cross-legged, mimicking the children.

“Aunt, this is the castle I made. Brother put a stone in front, and it feels a little strange.”

Shen Yunshuang took the black block, removed it, and tossed it aside.

“There, that’s much better!”

Jiang Huaijin stared at the black block, his gaze distant, then lowered his head to continue playing with the blocks.

Meanwhile, the Gu family was also in disarray. Gu Yalan had gone missing and couldn’t be found anywhere. Gu Father was frantic, pacing back and forth. Gu Jiali, however, was completely indifferent to her aunt’s disappearance, carelessly tossing her son into the house and running off to play wildly.

That evening, she drunkenly stumbled home. Gu Father, shaking with rage, sat in the living room with a stick, waiting for her. As Gu Jiali stumbled in reeking of alcohol, Gu Father roared.

“Stop right there! Your aunt is missing, and you don’t care at all! You don’t even take care of your son, and you’re out there drinking yourself into a stupor! Do you want to make me die of anger?”

Gu Jiali hiccupped, swaying as she stood and pointed at him.

“You’re scolding me? What does my drinking have to do with you? When I was abroad, I drank all the time, and no one cared. Since I came back to the country, everything’s been going wrong. If I had known this would happen, I should’ve stayed abroad!”

Gu Father was so angry he raised the stick in his hand, shouting, “You ungrateful child! There are so many things happening at home, and you don’t even try to help, yet you’re causing more trouble for me! Do you even look like a girl? Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson!”

Gu Jiali raised her eyebrows, challenging him, “Go ahead, hit me. If you’re too scared to hit me, you’re nothing but a coward!”

“You wretched girl! I’m your father! How dare you talk to me like that!”

Gu Father, furious, struck her with the stick over and over. Gu Jiali, however, was stubborn and didn’t dodge, taking the blows without a word, glaring at her father.

Gu Father, enraged, hit harder and harder.

Gu Mother and Gu Jiaqi heard the commotion and rushed out to protect her. When Gu Mother saw her daughter’s legs bleeding, she screamed in shock.

“Stop! Don’t hit her anymore! She’s bleeding!”

Gu Father froze, looking down at his daughter, who had collapsed, pale, on the ground.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and take her to the hospital!”

Gu Mother shouted desperately. Finally, Gu Father reacted, threw the stick away, and scooped his daughter up, rushing out of the house. Blood dripped down her legs, and Gu Mother and Gu Jiaqi quickly followed, getting into the car.

At the hospital, the doctor examined Gu Jiali and spoke to Gu Father and Gu Mother.

“She’s had a miscarriage. It’s serious. If you want to save her life, we’ll need to remove her uterus. You must decide quickly!”

“What!” Gu Father and Gu Mother were stunned. Their daughter had already been divorced; how could she be pregnant?

The doctor urged them, “Do you want to remove the uterus? Make a decision quickly!”

Gu Mother, panicking, replied, “Yes, yes, take it out. Saving her life is more important!”

The doctor performed a hysterectomy on Gu Jiali. When she woke up, Gu Mother couldn’t help but scold her lightly.

“What on earth is wrong with you? How did you get pregnant again? Who is the father of this child?”

Gu Jiali, lying on the hospital bed, had an indifferent attitude.

“I don’t know. I’ve been with so many men; how could I know whose child it is?”

“You…” Gu Mother was so angry she couldn’t find words. How did she raise such a shameless daughter? What a disgrace!

“You’re a woman! Your reputation is important! Can’t you stop acting recklessly outside?”

“Reputation?” Gu Jiali sneered.

“I’m a divorced woman with a child; what reputation do I need? Now, it’s all good. I don’t have a uterus anymore, and all my future problems are solved!”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly what I said!”

“You…” Gu Mother raised her hand, but Gu Jiali didn’t fear her. She raised her head, slapping her own face.

“Go ahead, hit me. Hit me as hard as you can. If you kill me, buy a coffin and bury me. Hahaha…”

Gu Mother, disappointed, lowered her hand, her head hanging as she walked out of the room.

“This is karma… it’s all karma. If I had just managed her properly, maybe she wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

Gu Jiaqi stood dazed at the door. Ever since his parents’ divorce and his return to the Gu family, his mother had ignored him, his grandfather didn’t like him, and his grandmother didn’t care about him. Overnight, he became someone no one paid attention to.

He longed to return to his father, where his grandmother cared for him, and his father treated him well. He didn’t want to stay here anymore.

In a fit of madness, Gu Jiaqi ran out. He was determined to leave this place and never return.