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Chapter 30: Absolutely Not

At this time, Gu Leyou brought her future son to Brother Zhang’s house.

Brother Zhang looked at the young neighbor girl holding a child in her arms with some confusion and asked, “Sis, whose child are you holding?”

Sister-in-law Zhang heard the commotion and came out. After glancing at the child, she joined the conversation.

“This is the child from the hunter’s family—the one you’re going to marry into soon. I’ve seen him before. Yes, that’s definitely him.”

“Come on in, you must be here to talk about the restaurant, right?” Sister-in-law Zhang warmly welcomed the mother and child into the house.

Seeing another child, Lu Yao spoke in his childish voice to Gu Leyou: “Big sister, I want to go down and play with the other kids.”

Gu Leyou smiled and put him down.

The three adults then sat around a small table in the courtyard and began chatting.

“Sis, your brother-in-law and I have thought it through. We’re going to open that restaurant. If we go fishing instead, it’ll be winter in a little over a month. The rivers will be frozen solid in the cold. If we fall through the ice while fishing, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“The first step to opening a restaurant is choosing the right location. Have you thought about where to open it? The last time you gave us those two sheets of paper, you wrote clearly that it must be in a bustling area. If it’s in some remote place, hardly anyone will come.”

Brother Zhang added, “Don’t worry. I had someone explain everything you wrote last time, and now I know exactly what to do. The first step is choosing a location. After that, we’ll buy tables and chairs, decorate the place, and then pick a name.”

When it came to naming the restaurant, Gu Leyou volunteered.

“Brother, Sister-in-law, I may not be able to help much with the other tasks—maybe in a few days I won’t be able to leave the house—but I can help name the restaurant. My younger brother is more educated than I am and knows more characters. I’ll ask him to help come up with a few names, and then you can pick your favorite. This will be my contribution to the opening.”

“No problem! Consider yourself the restaurant’s biggest partner. We definitely won’t let you lose out. You’re a good girl—very kind—and we both know that well,” said Sister-in-law Zhang.

…

Meanwhile, Lu Yan returned home only to be blocked by Yang Shi. He tried to suppress his anger and said coldly, “Get out of my way. Don’t stop me from finding my son.”

“I’m not moving. You still owe me money. And until you explain everything to me clearly, you’re not going anywhere!”

The surrounding people began to persuade Yang Shi.

“Step aside. Don’t stop him from finding his child. If he gets angry and hits you, we won’t step in.”

Hearing their words and seeing the fierce look in Lu Yan’s eyes, Yang Shi backed down. She was the type who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

She obediently moved aside.

As the sun was about to set and still no sign of the child, Lu Yan grew increasingly anxious.

Just then, an elderly woman told him, “Young man, don’t worry. Your son is fine. Leyou took him out to play. They should be back soon. Go home and wait.”

Relieved by the old lady’s words, Lu Yan headed home.

Gu Leyou noticed the sun was setting and knew her parents would be home soon. She needed to take the child back quickly.

Just as she was about to say goodbye, an unexpected visitor arrived at Brother Zhang’s house.

It was Young Master Zheng Yuanhao—the lecherous man who previously had bad intentions toward her.

Seeing Zheng Yuanhao arrive made Brother Zhang extremely nervous, and even Sister-in-law Zhang noticed something was off.

Brother Zhang quickly invited him in.

“Young Master Zheng, what brings you here?”

When Zheng Yuanhao saw Gu Leyou, his eyes narrowed with a lecherous gleam.

He thought to himself, Looks like I came at just the right time. The beauty is here. If I can take her back and make her mine, she’ll belong to me forever.

Gu Leyou felt a chill from the way he was looking at her. She knew nothing good would come from staying any longer.

She called to Lu Yao, “Yao, it’s time to go find your daddy. We’ve been out long enough.”

“Okay, big sister.”

Hearing him say that, Zheng Yuanhao, who didn’t know better, assumed Lu Yao was her little brother.

Gu Leyou picked up Lu Yao and tried to leave, but Zheng Yuanhao blocked her way.

He said lewdly, “Why the rush, beauty? Sit and chat with me. Let’s have dinner together. Better yet, come home with me.”

Go home with him? She’d never have her innocence intact again.

Trying not to provoke him, Gu Leyou forced a smile and said, “Young Master Zheng, it’s getting late. I need to take the child home. My parents will worry if I’m late.”

But Zheng Yuanhao refused to move and continued staring at her lecherously.

Seeing the situation take a bad turn, Brother Zhang quickly stepped between them.

“Young Master Zheng, I know I owe you money. I’ll find a way to repay you. Here, have some tea and calm down. She’s just a girl. Please, don’t take offense.”

But Zheng Yuanhao had no intention of letting the beauty get away.

He ordered his men to block their path.

Sister-in-law Zhang saw what was happening and quietly slipped inside to get money to try to send the man away.

But then Zheng Yuanhao warned, “Stay out of this, or your wife will belong to me. This is between me and her—outsiders, stay out of it.”

Hearing this, Brother Zhang hesitated, unsure of what to do. Before he could react, Zheng Yuanhao’s men shoved him to the side.

Sister-in-law Zhang was furious seeing her husband bullied and tried to fight back.

But Zheng Yuanhao’s men grabbed their child.

The little boy screamed in fear, crying loudly.

Distraught, Sister-in-law Zhang dropped to her knees.

She tearfully begged, “Young Master Zheng, please let the child go. He’s innocent. If my husband and I have done anything to offend you, punish us instead.”

Seeing how desperate they were made Zheng Yuanhao even more excited.

He smirked wickedly and asked, “How about this—you come back to my house with me for one night, and I’ll let your son go?”

Sister-in-law Zhang was a righteous woman. If she weren’t being threatened, she would never stoop so low.

Gu Leyou, seeing the couple being tormented like this, decided to step in and deal with Zheng Yuanhao herself. She didn’t want to drag innocent people into her trouble.

She put Lu Yao down and walked over to Zheng Yuanhao.

Then she knelt in front of him.

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