As Cen Xi's figure disappeared into the distance, Xu Licheng lowered his head in defeat. He knew that he and Cen Xi would never have a chance again. If only... he had understood his own heart sooner.
When Nian Suian returned, Gu Junxing was already back.
Nian Suian walked over and asked him, "Where's Butler Su? Wasn't he with you?"
"He went home. Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to build a shelf for Tang Yuan's room? The workers came today, so I told him to go home first. Where's Zhijing?"
Nian Suian nodded and sat down next to him. "Zhijing finished his competition and went to play basketball. We'll go home together after he's done."
After briefly greeting Gu Junxing, Jiang Yun also sat down next to Nian Suian.
Nian Suian thought that since they had some free time now, she could ask Gu Junxing about the lawyer situation.
However, there was something else Nian Suian wanted to mention first. "Zhijing had a high jump competition. Aren't you going to ask about his results?"
"No need to ask."
"?"
"If he had placed, he'd definitely come back to brag about it, rather than going straight to play basketball. Besides, I saw him high jump in middle school, and his level was..."
Fair enough, Nian Suian had nothing to say. As they say, no one knows a son better than his father. Gu Junxing had Gu Zhijing all figured out.
"I have something else I want to ask you about."
"Go ahead."
Nian Suian turned to Jiang Yun, "Why don't you explain? You know the details better."
Jiang Yun didn't hesitate and immediately told Gu Junxing about Xiaxia's situation, then said, "Xiaxia has no relatives or friends here. The Wei Family is definitely planning to fight for Jiaojiao's custody. I wanted to ask, what are the chances of the Wei Family getting custody of Jiaojiao? If you know any good lawyers, could you introduce us? If it really goes to court, we'll definitely need a lawyer."
Nian Suian quickly added, "Is it possible to demand child support from him?"
Gu Junxing had studied law, but aside from commercial law, he wasn't very familiar with other areas like family law.
"If the child has always been in the mother's care, logically, custody shouldn't be given to the father, unless they have evidence proving the mother is incapable of caring for the child or has a mental illness or something similar. As for child support, of course, she has the right to demand it." However, Gu Junxing didn't want to make any definitive statements about the father's inability to get custody. Professional matters should be left to professionals.
Gu Junxing said to Nian Suian, "I'll ask Zhongyun later. If he's available, he can meet with Xiaxia that you mentioned and discuss it."
"You mean Lawyer He from the police station last time?" Nian Suian remembered that when she and Gu Zhijing were at the police station, Gu Junxing had brought this lawyer to bail them out.
"Yes, although his main focus isn't family law. But it's fine, if he can't handle it, there are lawyers in his firm who specialize in marriage cases."
Jiang Yun finally felt a bit relieved and kept thanking Gu Junxing. "I'll tell Xiaxia when I get home not to rush to move out. She can't hide forever, especially with a child. It's best to resolve everything once and for all."
As she spoke, Jiang Yun thought of that Wei guy who was still pretending to be heartbroken at the bottom of the building. "It's all that Wei's fault. He didn't want her then, but now that he knows about the child, he comes running back!"
Nian Suian also sighed, "Their family probably doesn't really want Jiaojiao. It's more likely they want to assert their authority. Can the Wei family let their son stay single forever? Obviously not. When he marries a woman of equal status and has children, what will happen to Jiaojiao? Just for this reason, Jiaojiao shouldn't be taken back by their family. Besides, when Jiaojiao was born, they had already broken up. What does this child have to do with that man?"
In novels, the male lead would accidentally discover that the female lead had given birth to his child. Then, miraculously, he would fall in love with the child at first sight, transform into a great father overnight, and most likely, after clearing up misunderstandings, they would become a happy family again.
But what if the novel wasn't just a novel? The female lead endured ten months of pregnancy alone, faced dangerous childbirth, and experienced the hardships of raising a child. Could all of that be erased just because the male lead showed up, stood at the bottom of the building for two days, and got rained on twice?
These emotions persisted until they got home.
On the way home, Gu Junxing was driving. Nian Suian told Gu Zhijing to sit in the front passenger seat while she sat alone in the back, brooding.
As soon as Gu Zhijing got in the car, he sensed something was off. He immediately questioned Gu Junxing, "Dad, did you make Little Mom angry?"
Gu Junxing helplessly replied, "It wasn't me."
"Then what happened?"
When no one answered, Gu Zhijing turned around to look at Nian Suian in the back seat.
"What's wrong, Little Mom? Who made you angry? I'll deal with them!"
"Don't talk to me. I don't want to talk to men right now."
Would Gu Zhijing listen? Of course not.
He grinned, showing his teeth, and said to Nian Suian, "You can talk to me then! I'm not a man, I'm still a boy."
Seeing Gu Zhijing's silly expression, Nian Suian found it hard to imagine him transforming into an overbearing CEO breaking young girls' hearts in the future. Her anger subsided a bit.
Nian Suian relented, "Alright, I'll temporarily declare you not guilty."
"So can you tell me what happened now?"
"I don't feel like talking about it now. We'll discuss it when we get home. Let your dad tell you."
Gu Junxing didn't dare to speak the entire way. His past actions left him without the confidence to speak. He didn't regret having Zhijing, but he regretted that it happened so early.
In this matter, the price paid by men and women was unequal. He didn't want to make excuses about taking precautions and the pregnancy being an accident. The fact was that because of him, the other party had to bear the risks and pain of pregnancy too early.
Gu Junxing said nothing, driving with pursed lips. Nian Suian also remained silent, staring fixedly out the car window. Gu Zhijing looked at both of them and wisely kept quiet.
After returning home, Gu Junxing called Gu Zhijing to his study. After omitting names and some information, he briefly told him about what he had heard today.
Then he asked, "Now that you've heard it, what do you think?"
"I think that guy is shameless! Back then, when his parents didn't approve of his girlfriend, he didn't say a word and went on blind dates. Now what's he coming back for? And also..."
"And what? It's okay, go on."
Thinking of his own family situation, Gu Zhijing hesitated.
"And if they weren't married, he shouldn't have let the girl get pregnant." After saying this, Gu Zhijing glanced cautiously at Gu Junxing.
"What are you afraid of? You're right. In this matter, I was indeed wrong."
"Dad..." Gu Zhijing wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. His dad had indeed made a mistake, and he was the "evidence" of that mistake.
Looking at his son before him, Gu Junxing's gaze softened. "Your mother and I separated because we no longer had the emotional foundation to live together. But that doesn't mean we regret having you. Your grandparents on both sides were all very happy when you were born. I'm telling you these things today because I want you to remember not to repeat my mistakes."
After returning to his room, Gu Zhijing sent a WeChat message to Lin Qingwei.
[Mom, I love you (heart heart heart)]
[Transfer ￥20000]
[Transfer ￥20000]
[Transfer ￥20000]
[Transfer ￥20000]
[Mom, it's not that I'm short on money...]
[I know, Mom loves you too]
