Chapter 249 (First Update) Not all romances are...

If it was an auspicious day, how could I possibly see that scumbag Yang Tao at a calligraphy exhibition?

Yang Tao, who was with three children, was also taken aback when he saw them.

Once she realized what was happening, almost instinctively, she grabbed her two children and turned to leave, not wanting to run into the Fu family at all.

Seeing this, another child called out "Dad!"

But Yang Tao didn't stop, and in his haste, he could only jog to catch up.

Suddenly, Fu's mother remembered something and asked her mother-in-law, "Was that child who ran just now Wencong?"

Yang Wencong, Gu Lin's son.

Even Madam Fu wasn't sure, "It looks a bit like it, but it also doesn't seem like it."

She remembered that Gu Lin's son was fair-skinned and chubby, but the child just now was dirty and looked like a skinny monkey.

Fu Ci gave the two elders an affirmative answer: "It is Yang Wencong."

Although the child had changed a lot, he still recognized him as his cousin's son.

After confirming it was Yang Wencong, Fu's mother said with some heartache, "How did it come to this? It's so tragic for a child without a mother."

Tang Mingli whispered a reminder to her mother-in-law: "This child doesn't recognize his mother."

"Yes."

Thinking back on everything, Fu's mother gritted her teeth again. But as a mother, seeing her child in this state still made her feel a pang of heartache.

Just now, Yang Tao was only concerned about the other two children and clearly ignored him.

"Alright, let's ignore him and continue looking at the exhibition."

After Madam Fu spoke, everyone stopped talking about the matter and continued viewing the exhibition.

After viewing the calligraphy and painting exhibition, the two families had lunch together and then spent half a day playing outside before returning to their respective homes.

On her way home, Tang Mingmei's upper eyelid kept twitching, and she felt inexplicably uneasy.

There's no reason for her to be uneasy.

Tang Mingli shook her head, forcefully banishing this inexplicable panic from her mind.

However, when she got home and saw the person standing in the corridor, she understood where that nameless unease came from.

That bastard Li Dazhu, he actually dares to guard their doorway. Hasn't he been beaten enough yet?

Tang Mingmei was furious.

Looking at the furious Tang Mingmei, Li Dazhu was actually a little scared.

But since he's already standing here, he certainly won't run away without achieving his goal.

As Tang Mingmei approached, he retreated repeatedly, even raising both hands to cover himself.

"Calm down first, I have something to tell you."

Tang Mingmei retorted, "I have nothing to say to a scumbag like you."

When she called him a scumbag, Li Dazhu got angry and called her a crazy woman.

Despite his insults, he quickly explained his purpose for coming.

“I’ve thought it through. It’s fine for our daughter to take your surname. After all, if the child doesn’t take your surname, your Tang family line will end.”

The first few words were fine, but the last one, "no descendants," made Tang Mingmei's anger, which had just subsided a little, flare up again.

"Li Dazhu, do you know what's most important in life? Knowing what's good for you! Ordinary people should just focus on making a living and stop thinking about carrying on the family line. What lineage? Are you going to carry on the poverty and misery of your ancestors?"

Upon hearing this, Li Dazhu exclaimed in shock, "You're really crazy!"

But he didn't care whether Tang Mingmei was crazy or not.

What he wanted to tell Tang Mingmei was that it was fine for their daughter to take her surname, but she had to compensate him financially.

"You want to sell your daughter's surname?" Tang Mingmei laughed angrily. "Who do you think you are?"

How come she never realized before that Li Dazhu was such a naive person?

Li Dazhu said matter-of-factly, "I am the child's father. Without me, you wouldn't have been able to have this child."

“I’m too lazy to waste my breath on you. You want money? Don’t even think about it. And let me tell you, not only will you not get a single penny from me, but you also have to pay back all the child support you owe me over the years.”

"What child support?"

"Don't play dumb, raising children doesn't cost money?"

"Since you chose to keep the children during the divorce, shouldn't you be the one to support them?"

Even so, you still have to pay child support.

"Who said that?"

“Our country’s laws stipulate that parents must support their children. Although we are divorced and the child is with me, you still have to pay child support.”

"You're crazy. I've already given you the child, why should I pay for it?"

"According to you, since you've given me the child, I can change the child's surname whenever I want. What's it to you?" Tang Mingmei practically shouted as she said this.

There's no way around it, talking to idiots is just exhausting.

“How is that different?” Li Dazhu used the same excuse: “The child takes the father’s surname.”

"You won't even raise the child, yet you want the child to take your surname?"

“The child is given to you, so naturally you should raise him/her. The child takes the father's surname; that's a rule passed down from our ancestors.”

"Go to hell with your ancestors. Li Dazhu, let me tell you, I didn't want to settle this score with you so soon, but you've really messed with me today. Even if it costs me a lot, I won't let you get away with this."

Tang Mingmei had already made up her mind. After the Spring Festival, she would immediately find a lawyer to pursue Li Dazhu for child support.

Even though she knew in her heart that Li Dazhu had no job and no money, and might not get a single penny, she just didn't want him to have an easy time.

She works so hard to earn money so that she and her family can live comfortably, right?

If paying a lawyer's fee can make Li Dazhu feel bad and make her feel better, then the money is well spent.

She really didn't plan to take this step so soon. She wanted to wait until the child was older and more resilient before letting the child know more about that bastard father.

However, it seems that the child is actually quite clear-headed, and there's no need for her to wait any longer.

"Li Dazhu, you'd better wait until you're summoned."

No matter how shameless Li Dazhu is, he is still afraid of law enforcement agencies.

He was completely terrified by Tang Mingmei, because he wasn't sure if not paying for the child's upbringing was illegal.

He dared not pressure Tang Mingmei for money anymore, fearing that if he pushed her too far, she might actually land him in jail.

After all, she has a cousin who married into the Fu family.

Li Dazhu became increasingly frightened and hurriedly fled.

Tang Mingmei laughed again at his cowardly appearance.

Once inside the house, after calming herself down, Tang Mingmei called her daughter over.

"Xin'er..."

Before Tang Mingmei could say anything more, Tang Xin said, "Mom, I know what you want to tell me."

You know?

"Okay." Tang Xin nodded. "Mom, do whatever you want with my so-called father. I'll definitely be on your side. What if he keeps harassing us every time we go back to our hometown if we don't teach him a lesson?"

My daughter really understands.

Tang Mingmei almost cried.

Her daughter was so sensible, which made her both gratified and sad.

Children who grow up surrounded by happiness should be as innocent, adorable, and fearless as Fu Yu.

In her memory, Tang Xin rarely saw her mother cry.

My mother is crying now; it must be because she's angry with that man surnamed Li. She really hates him.

Fearing that her mother might act impulsively and suffer the consequences, she suggested, "Mom, should we discuss this with Auntie?"

Tang Mingmei shook her head: "It's the New Year, let's not bother them with these things. Let them have a happy New Year."

Little did she know that while she was mindful of the New Year and didn't want to bother them with these troublesome matters, others were also bothering her.

The sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

A light drizzle began to fall.

Although the rain was light, it made the cold even more biting.

The weather was perfect for staying at home, so the Fu family decided to spend the day leisurely at home.

However, some people were so angry that they insisted on coming to his door, even in the rain.

When she saw Gu Dazhi and his wife, Madam Fu was not in a good mood.

She didn't believe they had come specifically to wish her a Happy New Year.

Why would someone come to pay New Year's visits in this weather? Do they really respect her that much?

Sure enough, as soon as he sat down, Gu Dazhi explained his purpose and directly questioned Fu Ci: "Gu Lin works in your factory, didn't you, as her cousin, keep an eye on her?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Ci frowned immediately. "She's not a child."

"But she's your cousin."

"She was fine."

Although the two rarely interacted at the factory, Fu Ci still kept track of Gu Lin's situation.

She was an excellent worker in the factory and always earned more bonuses than others each month.

Gu Dazhi exclaimed, "What do you mean nothing happened? She found a boyfriend at your factory."

"Is that so?" Fu Ci really didn't know, but his cousin was divorced and was only middle-aged, so it was normal for her to find a partner again.

Tang Mingli thought so too, but judging from her cousin and his wife's attitude, they were obviously not satisfied with Gu Lin's new partner, or rather, they were not satisfied with the new partner Gu Lin had found.

She needed to figure this out first, so she asked, "You don't want Gu Lin to find another boyfriend?"

“That’s not what we meant,” Gu Dazhi denied. “She’s still young, and she’ll definitely remarry, otherwise what would that look like? But we don’t want her to marry someone from another place.”

Tang Mingli understood. It must be because Gu Lin's boyfriend was from out of town that they were so angry, even coming to her door to confront her on a rainy day.

But what does this have to do with resignation?

Nowadays, everyone talks about freedom of love. Does Gu Lin need to report to Fu Ci when she finds a partner?

Tang Mingli cast a sympathetic look at her husband.

But this was just this once, and she didn't say anything more, believing that Fu Ci could handle it.

Sure enough, Fu Ci spoke up: "Gu Lin is not a child anymore, you should respect all her decisions."

Gu Dazhi was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Mother Gu clutched her chest and said to him, "Aci, how could you say such a thing? Can a marriage to someone from afar ever end well?"

"Are you worried that Gu Lin won't have a good life after marrying far away, or are you worried that she won't be able to take care of you if she marries too far away?"

Tang Mingli almost wanted to give her husband a thumbs up.

That hit the nail on the head, getting to the heart of the matter.

When asked the question, Gu Dazhi and his wife were unable to answer for a moment, or rather, they couldn't bring themselves to say it.

A complex expression flashed across his face, his eyes darted around, and he dared not meet the gaze of the person questioning him.

This reminded Tang Mingli of the look in the eyes of those hypocritical, sanctimonious people on television when their true colors were exposed.

Not being able to answer didn't mean Fu Ci would stop; he continued with his second probing question: "Did Gu Lin say she wants to marry him?"

Having answered the question, Gu's mother stammered, "Well, we haven't talked about getting married yet."

But since they're already dating, isn't marriage just a matter of time?

Tang Mingli blurted out, "That's not necessarily true, and not all relationships have to have a happy ending."

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Author's Note: Watching the game came at a high price; I stayed up until 3 AM to finish writing this. [Sigh]