Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Wang Xiaowei’s Ordeal

Children are very sensitive; they can sense the kindness or malice of others toward them.

Although Gu Lanting wasn’t entirely satisfied with Xu Huaian, he was always gentle and caring toward the children, so both of them were very fond of this gentle, jade-like uncle.

Ming Ruxue was startled.

“Are they… Sister Huanhuan’s children?” How could Sister Huanhuan have two kids this big?

Gu Lanting didn’t explain. He crouched down, picked up Beibei, and headed inside, with Ming Ruxue quickly following behind.

“Sis, I’m here! Brother-in-law.” Only after entering did she see her “discount” brother-in-law doing laundry in the yard.

Not bad, he actually helps out with housework.

Gu Lanting’s resentment eased a little.

“Lanting, you’re here—and you brought a guest? Qinghuan, we have company!” Xu Huaian called out toward the kitchen.

Gu Qinghuan poked her head out, holding a little green lobster in her hand.

“Lanting, is this your friend? Please, invite her in. There are some snacks on the table, have some first—dinner will be ready soon.”

Ming Ruxue stepped forward with a smile. “Sister Huanhuan, don’t you recognize me? I’m Ruxue, Ming Ruxue.”

Gu Qinghuan’s mind raced, and finally she remembered—wasn’t this Lanting’s childhood friend?

Looking at the two of them, she couldn’t help but smile like an aunt. “Ruxue, didn’t your whole family go abroad? Why are you back? Haha, you’ve grown so much and gotten prettier—I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Sister Huanhuan, you’re the pretty one! It’s a long story, let’s chat while I help you in the kitchen.” Ming Ruxue rolled up her sleeves and headed straight in, not the least bit shy.

Gu Lanting quickly put down the child and followed—she was wearing such a beautiful dress, it would be a shame to get it dirty.

“Let me do it, you go rest. How can I let a guest help out?”

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but laugh. So Lanting could be so considerate—very nice, very nice.

Childhood friends really are powerful—no wonder stories always say they’re hard to let go of. If Ming Ruxue were in a novel, she’d definitely be the “white moonlight”—beautiful and kind-hearted.

Look at Gu Lanting—can’t bear to watch. He must secretly like her, right?

Ming Ruxue was quick and efficient, both in speech and action, and soon shooed Gu Lanting out of the kitchen.

“I haven’t seen Sister Huanhuan in so long—don’t get in the way, go on out.”

Gu Lanting had no choice but to go out and play with the two kids.

He actually liked children a lot. He made Dabao and Beibei laugh out loud, even letting Beibei ride on his shoulders like a horse.

Dabao watched enviously from below, so Gu Lanting lifted him up high as well.

The three of them played happily together.

Xu Huaian wasn’t a strict or rigid father, but he was never this lively with the kids—he just didn’t have it in him.

So the two children liked their uncle even more.

Inside, the two women were happily chatting as they cooked.

Xu Huaian, meanwhile, was left to do the laundry by himself.

Luckily, Gu Qinghuan had prepared plenty of food, so they could properly entertain their guest.

The table was filled with delicious-looking dishes:

Garlic baby lobster, pickled fish, stir-fried prawns, steamed hairy crab, sweet and sour ribs, candied potatoes, and tomato-egg soup.

It was a rare family gathering, and everyone was in high spirits, chatting as they ate.

Ming Ruxue was considered one of their own, so Gu Qinghuan didn’t hide anything from her. She shared her plan to deal with Gu Yunchuan, that scumbag.

Why should her family suffer while he lived well—successful career, beautiful wife, a child in his old age, everything going smoothly?

Gu Lanting had long hated his father. Half of his life’s suffering had come from that man, so of course he had no objections.

Ming Ruxue was an interesting girl—she joined in enthusiastically, suggesting everything from throwing rotten eggs to dumping manure or writing big-character posters. Who knows where she got these ideas.

Of course, those methods wouldn’t do. What Gu Qinghuan wanted wasn’t just to vent her anger, but to completely destroy Gu Yunchuan, to shatter his sense of superiority and his happy life.

Xu Huaian naturally supported her wholeheartedly.

But the most pressing matter was Gu Lanting—he had to return to school tomorrow and resume his studies after several months of delay.

As soon as Ming Ruxue heard this, she said she’d be going to school too, so the two could go together.

After dinner, Gu Lanting walked Ming Ruxue back to her hotel before returning to his own dormitory building.

—

As soon as he reached the building, he heard a baby crying in the stairwell, along with the sounds of adults arguing.

A family on the second floor was having a loud fight.

Many people in the stairwell were secretly eavesdropping.

As Gu Lanting passed by, the door to that apartment suddenly opened from the inside. A young woman holding a baby was shoved out; the hallway was narrow, and she bumped right into him. Luckily, he caught her, or she would have fallen.

“Just go! Our Fulai doesn’t even know you. Don’t try to scam my grandson!” an old woman said viciously.

The woman’s face was streaked with tears, and the baby was crying hard.

“Grandma, I really am the wife he married back in the countryside. He said he’d come get us as soon as he returned to the city. Didn’t he tell you?”

The old woman spat. “You see our Fulai got a good job and now you want to scam us? Who do you think you are? A country bumpkin with a bastard child—how dare you claim to be my Fulai’s wife? Get lost, or I’ll chase you out with a broom!”

“Grandma, please, just let me in. When Fulai comes back, you can ask him yourself. I really am the wife he married when he was working in the countryside, and this child is really your great-grandson. I spent all my money getting here—if you won’t take me in, at least let the child stay. It’s cold at night, what if he gets sick?”

Her pleas didn’t move the old woman at all. She grabbed a big broom from behind the door and started swinging it at the woman.

“I don’t have any great-grandson! Get out!”

Gu Lanting hadn’t planned to get involved, but seeing this, he had no choice but to pull the woman aside, helping her dodge the broom.

The old woman, seeing this, slammed the door shut.

The woman was Wang Xiaowei. After saying goodbye to Gu Qinghuan and the others that morning, she had gone to the machinery factory to find her husband, only to be told by the gatekeeper that outsiders weren’t allowed in and she should go to his home instead.

Luckily, she had an envelope with the address Chen Fulai had used to send letters home.

She had no money left, so she carried her baby and asked for directions all the way there.

When she finally arrived, she found that the family living there was not Chen Fulai’s. They told her he had moved.

The trail went cold, but a neighbor knew where they had moved and gave her directions. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known what to do.

After a whole day’s ordeal, she finally found the Chen family.

But Chen Fulai wasn’t home—only his grandmother was there. No matter what she said, the old woman wouldn’t believe her, and Wang Xiaowei was left completely dejected.

It was late, and she had no money to stay at a guesthouse.

If it were just her, she could tough it out for a night, but she had a baby…

She had no choice but to huddle with her child at the bottom of the dorm building, hoping that as long as she waited, she’d eventually see Chen Fulai.

It was cold. She put on every piece of clothing she had to stay warm.

She’d only had a little food in the morning, and since noon, all she’d eaten was a cold bun. Her stomach was empty, so she had no milk for the baby.

The baby sucked a few times but got nothing, and cried from hunger.

She cried, too.

She’d never faced anything this hard in her life.

Back in the village, she’d been the pampered daughter of her parents.

She’d thought that finding her husband would make things better, but now, seeing their attitude, she couldn’t help but worry.

No matter how hard it was, she had to endure. She turned on a tap in the hallway—she didn’t know whose it was—and gulped down some water to fill her stomach.

The baby finally fell asleep after suckling.

She leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on the door, but as she stared, her vision blurred and sleepiness crept in.

Gu Lanting returned home, still feeling uneasy. He looked out the window and saw the woman curled up in the corner, holding her baby, apparently asleep.

She wouldn’t find the person she was looking for tonight.

He saw that young man from that family almost every morning—he’d be coming home from the night shift just as Gu Lanting was leaving for work. He probably worked nights.

In this weather, spending the night outside would land her in the hospital for sure.

An adult might manage, but what about the baby? He couldn’t be more than a few months old.

Gu Lanting liked children, and seeing the mother and child like this made him feel uneasy.

He waited a while, but no one came to help them. With a sigh, he put on his padded jacket and went out.

Wang Xiaowei was half-asleep when a shadow loomed over her. She thought someone was trying to steal her baby and woke with a start, clutching her son in terror.

Then she saw it was the young man who’d helped her in the hallway earlier, and relaxed a little.

“The person you’re looking for probably works the night shift. He usually comes home around eight in the morning,” Gu Lanting said.

Wang Xiaowei’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, comrade! I’ll just wait here for him.”

Gu Lanting hesitated, then said, “You’ll freeze out here. If you don’t mind, you can stay in my place for the night.”

Afraid she’d misunderstand, he quickly added, “I won’t be staying here tonight—I’ll be at my sister’s. You’ll have the place to yourself.”

Wang Xiaowei had been worried about going, afraid of gossip or that Chen Fulai would be angry, but she and her baby really needed shelter.

Now that he’d explained, she had no more concerns. She got up and thanked him with a bright smile. “I really don’t know how to thank you, comrade. You’re such a good person.”

Gu Lanting was a little uncomfortable with the praise. He turned away and led her to his small room.

It was small, but had everything she needed.

Wang Xiaowei’s stomach growled with hunger, and she lowered her head in embarrassment as she entered.

“There are some pastries here—help yourself,” Gu Lanting said, pointing to the snacks his sister had given him.

“Comrade, I really don’t know how to thank you. You seem so kind.”

Gu Lanting just took it as polite words and didn’t think much of it.

After settling the mother and child, he left again for his sister’s house, planning to crash there for the night."