Gu Yanqing’s face looked unpleasant for a while, but he finally decided to ignore the topic and said, “He’s pretty cute.”

“Of course, just look at the genes from his parents.”

Gu Yanqing was speechless again: “…”

Xu Han stifled her laughter, knowing that someone of Gu Yanqing’s high status probably rarely encountered anyone who dared to speak to him so bluntly.

Fortunately, Xu Han was polite enough to say, “Mr. Gu, please eat first. It won’t taste as good once it gets cold.”

Gu Yanqing washed his hands and sat down at their dining table.

The dish Xu Han prepared for him looked even better than the one she had served herself earlier.

The rice noodle rolls were neatly rolled and cut into sections, beautifully arranged on a white plate, and glistening with sauce.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and took a bite.

To his surprise, it was even more delicious than he had expected.

The rice noodle rolls, made from stone-milled rice batter, were chewy and flavorful, perfectly absorbing the sauce.

The small shrimp in the sauce added a delightful freshness, and the more he chewed, the tastier it became.

The most impressive part was that the rolls were not only filled with minced meat and eggs but also with lettuce. Gu Yanqing usually didn’t like lettuce, finding its taste a bit strange.

However, this lettuce changed his perception.

It was crisp and fresh, with a unique sweetness that complemented the rice noodle rolls perfectly, like adding the finishing touch to a masterpiece.

Gu Yanqing hadn’t expected Qiao Wanqing to be such a skilled cook.

He was very surprised.

At first glance, he thought she was the type who never did any housework, so it just goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Gu Yanqing ate with refined manners, his movements slow and graceful.

Everything about him exuded the elegance of someone born into nobility, making even the act of eating rice noodle rolls a pleasant sight.

Because of such a person raising him, the male lead in the story turned out to be excellent.

The male lead in the book was particularly charming, inheriting all of Gu Yanqing’s best qualities.

In addition, the male lead had a bit of the unique swagger of a rich second generation.

He was cool and gentlemanly in front of others but a bit roguish in front of the female lead, occasionally making cheeky remarks that left her blushing.

When Xu Han read the book, she especially loved the interactions between the male and female leads.

It always made her heart flutter and brought a big, silly smile to her face.

Xu Han’s mind wandered to the plot of the book, while she unabashedly observed Gu Yanqing’s reaction.

Seeing him take the first bite, she asked, “Don’t you think the lettuce tastes especially good?”

Gu Yanqing felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze but nodded and said, “Yes, it’s very delicious.”

Xu Han smiled, knowing he would never guess that the lettuce was fertilized with his son’s urine. ( LOL )

At that moment, Kou Kou, who had been sleeping in his little bed, woke up.

In the past, he would cry as soon as he woke up, but now that he was a bit older, he would play by himself for a while.

If no one came to pick him up within his tolerance limit, then he would start crying.

And when he cried, it was usually a big show with loud wails but no actual tears.

Xu Han picked him up.

Three-month-old Kou Kou was starting to recognize his mom.

Seeing her, he broke into a big smile, eagerly reaching out his little hands.

He could now lift his hands, and every time he did, Xu Han would hold his hands.

He seemed to know this and really enjoyed it.

His first reaction upon seeing Xu Han was to raise his hands.

Xu Han grabbed his little hands and shook them gently, making the little guy giggle.

Seeing this warm scene, Gu Yanqing felt a strange emotion he couldn’t quite identify.

Then he heard Xu Han say, “Take your time eating. I’m going to feed the baby.”

With that, she carried Kou Kou into the room.

After feeding him and changing his diaper, Xu Han came out of the room to find Gu Yanqing had finished eating and was now sitting in the living room playing with his phone.

When he saw Kou Kou, his gaze lingered for a moment, but he only reached out to play with him briefly and didn’t ask to hold him.

Xu Han understood his feelings towards the child.

She asked Grandma Qiao to take the well-fed and excited Kou Kou for a walk in the stroller, then sat down next to Gu Yanqing.

“Last time, Wang Xiao spoke out of turn and offended Miss Qiao. I apologize for that,” Gu Yanqing began, getting to the main point.

Xu Han hadn’t expected him to apologize. It was quite surprising; she thought these wealthy young masters would think she was the one being unreasonable.

Clearly, Gu Yanqing was much more polite and gentlemanly than Wang Xiao.

Xu Han had long since let go of her anger and replied, “It’s okay.”

“As an unmarried woman, taking care of a child must be very inconvenient. Are you sure you don’t want him to come back to the Gu family with me?” Gu Yanqing asked.

“Thank you for your concern, but it’s not necessary.”

Seeing her firm resolve, Gu Yanqing didn’t press the matter further.

Instead, he said, “In that case, I won’t force you. But if you change your mind, you can contact me anytime. This is my phone number.”

With that, Gu Yanqing handed her a business card.

Xu Han looked at the card and felt a bit ironic.

The original owner of her body had tried so hard to get close to Gu Yanqing, even sacrificing her dignity, but apart from spending one night with him, she got nothing.

If she had Gu Yanqing’s phone number back then, she might have been able to stay in touch with him while he was developing his career in another province.

Even if she didn’t achieve her goal of leveraging the child to secure her position, given Gu Yanqing’s demeanor, he would have at least acknowledged Gu Siqiao and provided some compensation.

This would have prevented the subsequent tragedies for Gu Siqiao.

But novels are novels; any “what ifs” would disrupt the author’s intended plot.

Now, having transmigrated into this world, Xu Han inadvertently obtained his contact information and even had him come over twice to negotiate.

Gu Yanqing noticed her staring blankly at the business card and, not knowing what she was thinking, continued, “As for the child, as his father, I’ll transfer money to this card every month. The PIN is 123456.”

This time, Gu Yanqing handed her a bank card.

Xu Han’s eye twitched at this.

His domineering CEO style perfectly matched his character in the book.

However, Xu Han pushed the card back, saying, “That’s not necessary either.”

“Hmm?” Gu Yanqing looked puzzled.

“I’ve thought it over. I have the ability to raise Kou Kou. There’s no need to trouble you. Besides, there are plenty of women willing to have children for you. Just pretend Kou Kou doesn’t exist. I don’t want to have too many ties with you.”

Xu Han had made up her mind.

She’d rather endure hardship herself than let Kou Kou know he had such an impressive father.

Otherwise, even if Gu Yanqing treated him well, he would likely end up competing with the male lead, such as both falling for the female lead.

The male lead had the protagonist’s halo, while her son, as the villain, would only serve to make the male lead look better.

The thought of her own son being used to benefit someone else made Xu Han’s heart ache.

So, it was better not to have any ties with Gu Yanqing at all.

Although she didn’t know if she could fight against the fate set by the author, she had to try.

It was better than waiting for doom to come.

She just wanted Kou Kou to live a peaceful and stable life.

Gu Yanqing was displeased by her words and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Xu Han spread her hands. “Just what I said.”

Gu Yanqing frowned. “Miss Qiao, please cooperate to resolve this matter. Stop playing these little games in your mind. Don’t waste our time. It’s not easy for me to find free time to come here. Don’t test my patience repeatedly.”

Pfft, this conversation was getting more and more like a domineering CEO drama.

Xu Han bluntly said, “There’s nothing I can do. To get your attention, I have to act like this. Don’t men always want what they can’t have? Then you’ll think, ‘Women are interesting. You’ve successfully caught my attention.'”

Gu Yanqing: “…”

In the end, Gu Yanqing’s patience ran out.

He left with a displeased look on his face—driven away by Xu Han.

Watching his retreating figure, Xu Han regretfully sighed. “At least a million yuan,” she thought.

She actually did like money.

But now, after this mess, Gu Yanqing probably wouldn’t come back.

With his pride, two failed attempts were enough to conclude that she was ungrateful.

Given his character, he wouldn’t come back to face rejection a third time.

…

A couple of days later, Qiao Wanqing’s uncle, Qiao Xinde, and his wife, Luo Yangxiu, indeed came storming over from town.

They started by swearing at the entrance to Xu Han’s courtyard, accusing them of being thieves trying to take over everyone’s land.

Their insults were extremely harsh, suggesting they wanted to use the land as their burial ground and saying they had no shame.

Xu Han, not one to curse back, didn’t intend to reason with them either.

She stayed silent, letting them yell.

After they finished their tirade, they went to the field and began destroying her crops.

Not only did they trample the plants, but they also uprooted them and threw the uprooted plants and weeds into her courtyard, acting with extreme arrogance.

Xu Han brought a stool and sat under the eaves, watching the mess in the courtyard.

She hoped they would throw more into her yard; the more aggressive they were, the more justified she would be.

However, she couldn’t help but pity Grandma Qiao.

An elderly rural woman with no support, trying to tend to her small plot of land while being bullied by awful relatives.

It was truly pitiful.

Xu Han waited until they had completely destroyed her crops before slowly getting up.

She walked outside and saw them swaggering out of her field.

Luo Yangxiu looked her up and down and sneered, “I wondered where that old lady got her courage from. Turns out you came back. I thought you’d run off with some man.”

Xu Han had returned quietly and rarely went out, so many villagers didn’t know she was back.

Her uncle and aunt lived in town, so it wasn’t surprising they were unaware.

“I’m not as bold as you think,” Xu Han said calmly, glancing at her with a faint smile. “Did you enjoy your rant?”

“Hmph,” Luo Yangxiu said. “Don’t think this is over. If you dare claim that land, I’ll scatter glass shards all over it. None of us will get anything.”

“It’s not over, of course. After all, you still have to compensate me for all the vegetables you destroyed.”

Luo Yangxiu laughed. “In your dreams.”

“Whether it’s a dream or not, let the police decide.”

Luo Yangxiu’s face changed as she turned to look at the road.

Sure enough, a police car was pulling up in front of their house, and two officers got out.

Xu Han had called the police as soon as the trouble started.

She was surprised at how quickly they arrived.

Since reasoning with them was futile, she decided to let the police handle it.

In the countryside, the presence of police officers carried a certain authority.

Most people wouldn’t dare cause trouble in front of them.

Xu Han knew this and chose this route to resolve the issue.

Sure enough, while Luo Yangxiu and her husband acted tough, they were just ordinary citizens who only dared to bully timid Grandma Qiao.

In front of the police, they immediately backed down.

They initially tried to argue that the land belonged to them, but Xu Han had the land ownership certificate.

The final resolution was that the land belonged to Xu Han.

Luo Yangxiu and her family were prohibited from coming over to destroy their crops.

If they did, Xu Han had the right to seek compensation from them.

However, this time they would let it go as long as Luo Yangxiu and her family cleaned up the mess they had made in the courtyard.

“But what if they scatter glass shards on our land and prevent us from planting?” Xu Han asked innocently. “They just said they would.”

“Is that so?” The police officer glanced at Luo Yangxiu and said, “That would be considered intentional harm. It’s a criminal offense and could lead to jail time.”

The officer emphasized the word “jail,” causing Luo Yangxiu to shiver.

Qiao Wanqing’s uncle, Qiao Xinde, quickly stepped in. “We were just joking. My wife was talking nonsense. Officer, don’t take her words seriously. She wouldn’t actually do something like that.”

“It better stay that way.”

The police officers gave the couple a stern lecture before they grudgingly cleaned up Xu Han’s courtyard and left.

Before leaving, Luo Yangxiu shot Xu Han a vicious look, as if to say, “You’ll see.”

Xu Han wasn’t afraid.

She was ready to face whatever came her way.

As she watched them retreat, she smirked.

If everyone were reasonable, there wouldn’t be any need for the police.