Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 343 is filled with lingering regrets.

Lin Qingping turned around and went to pick up Zhiyuan and Xiaomai from school, and then took the two children to eat roast duck.

Xiaomai even asked her, "Auntie, what day is it today? Why are we going to eat roast duck? Aunt Lin... Aunt Lin..."

Xiaomai is always like this; she'll blurt out "Auntie," but then she'll remember and weakly call her "Aunt Lin."

Lin Qingping never corrected her; she let her call her whatever she wanted. She was just a child, yet she was so sensitive.

Zhiyuan looked at her expectantly.

Lin Qingping held one child in each hand, smiled and looked down, "It's not a special occasion, well, I just wanted to eat roast duck, so I asked you two to come with me, is that alright?"

"Of course!" Zhiyuan, the glutton, was overjoyed at the mention of food.

Xiaomai pursed her lips and gave a small smile, but immediately added, "Is my mother going too?"

“Your mother is busy today, so she won’t go out for dinner. You can come home with me tonight and stay at our house. You can do your homework with Zhiyuan, okay?” Lin Qingping asked softly.

Xiaomai nodded and gave a soft "okay," but her eyes couldn't hide her joy. She liked going to her aunt's house, or rather, Aunt Lin's house.

That night, Xiaomai spent the night quietly at Lin Qingping's house.

I did my homework and read books with Zhiyuan, ate watermelon and drank mung bean soup to cool off, and then I took a shower by myself.

Tonight, Xiaomai will sleep with Sister Zhao. After taking a shower, she dressed herself up tightly so that the marks on her body from being beaten wouldn't be visible.

The next day, Lin Qingping took Xiaomai and Zhiyuan to school as usual, and then went to school herself. In the afternoon, she ran into Gu Youlian at the shop.

When Gu Youlian saw her, she lowered her head with some guilt.

Lin Qingping had actually anticipated this outcome.

Although she had never been married in her previous life, she had witnessed other people's entanglements and knew that divorces usually didn't happen without going through several rounds of back and forth, and only when people couldn't bear it anymore.

"Bottle, I'm sorry, I...I..." Gu Youlian was too ashamed to speak.

“It’s alright, I understand,” Lin Qingping said.

Gu Youlian then mustered up her courage and raised her head. "Pingzi, I'm really not reconciled. Du Gen and I have gone through so much hardship, and now that we finally have hope, some random person is trying to steal our glory. Pingzi, I really can't swallow this."

Lin Qingping nodded again. Many people think this way: they go through hardship together, and when the hardship is over, they can't share the happiness. How many people can remain calm about that?

There are many unresolved issues in the relationships between couples in this world.

“Bottle, Dugen promised me that Lifen will have an abortion. As for his money, he will talk to Meili and transfer it directly to my savings account.” Gu Youlian’s eyes showed helplessness but also confidence. “He also wrote a guarantee that if he violates the agreement, the house and all the property will be given to me in the event of a divorce.”

“That’s right.” Lin Qingping didn’t really believe Du Gen’s assurance, but Gu Youlian’s decision to let go would take time. In any case, it was right to get the money in hand, even though Du Gen’s income might be more than just his salary and bonuses.

As the two were talking, Du Gen arrived and stood at the shop entrance, looking at the two of them, especially at Lin Qingping with a wary gaze, as if afraid that Lin Qingping would instill some bad ideas in Gu Youlian.

Lin Qingping also looked at him and reminded Gu Youlian, "Du Gen is here."

Gu Youlian turned around and saw Du Gen waving at her, "Lianzi, let's go pick up the child."

Gu Youlian involuntarily turned back to look at Lin Qingping, her eyes filled with hesitation, but the joy and excitement in them were undeniable.

What else could Lin Qingping say? She smiled and said, "Go ahead, you guys just pick up Xiaomai. We'll pick up Zhiyuan ourselves."

Gu Youlian left happily, her expression revealing the joy of a young girl's first love.

Is the joy of something lost and found really that intoxicating?

When Lin Qingping went to pick up Zhiyuan, Gu Youlian and Du Gen had already picked up the two children and were going to take them and the Du family elders out for roast duck.

When Zhiyuan saw Lin Qingping, he quickly said, "My mom and I went back. We just had roast duck yesterday, so we won't be going today."

Lin Qingping felt the same way. It seemed that after she finally managed to get rid of the Du family elders, Gu Youlian had given in and let them go back.

Well then, it's better for Zhiyuan not to go.

Xiaomai looked at Zhiyuan with envy. She didn't want to eat with her grandparents, and she didn't want to go back to the house where her grandparents lived.

But, she can't.

Although she was young, she could still tell the difference. Zhiyuan was different from her; she was her parents' own daughter and couldn't be so willful...

So, Xiaomai went to eat roast duck again, but the same restaurant and the same dishes tasted bland today.

But her mother seemed very happy, so wasn't that enough? As long as her mother was happy...

After dinner, Dugan suggested going to see a movie.

The movie theater was showing a romance film, and when Dugen's parents heard that, they decided not to go and instead wanted to take Xiaomai home with them.

Upon hearing this, Xiaomai's face changed, turning pale and terrified. She instinctively clutched Gu Youlian's clothes tightly.

But Dugen insisted that Xiaomai go back to her parents, thinking that she could spend time alone with Gu Youlian and rekindle their relationship.

Gu Youlian's thoughts were the same as Du Gen's this time: the movie was not suitable for children.

As Xiaomai watched her parents about to abandon her, she panicked like a little rabbit about to be hunted, her eyes red, and she clung to her mother's clothes.

Du Genniang forcefully pulled her hand back, "Come back with us, let your parents see!"

Gu Youlian smiled and said to her, "Xiaomai, come home with Grandma. Your parents will bring you something delicious when they come back."

Xiaomai didn't want any treats; she just wanted to be with her mother, never wanting to be apart for a moment. But her mother didn't want that. Her mother wanted to be with her father, and she seemed genuinely happy—happy she hadn't been this happy in a long time. In the past few months, her mother had often cried in secret, though she tried to hide it from her. But Xiaomai knew her mother was crying…

Mom, I want to make you happy too, but Grandpa and Grandma are so scary, so very scary, I'm so frightened...

A tear welled up in Xiaomai's eye as she watched her parents' departing figures. The thought of facing her grandparents filled her with fear, making her tremble with dread and unable to even cry.

"Come back with us right now, you disobedient child!" Without Du Gen and Gu Youlian in front of her, Du Gen's mother started to act rudely. She grabbed Xiaomai's arm and pulled her back forcefully, cursing all the while, "So many eggs, milk powder, and meat every day, all fed to this brat, look at her arms, they've gotten so fat!"

Wheat was carried in Du Gen's hands, and she was dragged home like a frightened chick.