Chapter 420: Sign or Not
The moment the call was connected, the lake breeze suddenly filled the receiver, accompanied by Xi Muxuan's chuckle: "I knew you would figure it out."
Han Lingcui's knuckles turned white as she clutched the broken screen of her phone. In the distance, Qi Moxun was holding Xunxun's small jacket in his arms, while Chen Hanxing was bending over to pick up the strawberry stems on the picnic mat. Their shadows were very close in the sunset.
She suddenly felt a fishy sensation in her throat, as if she had swallowed a rusty blade.
"See you at the usual place tomorrow morning at ten o'clock."
Xi Muxuan didn't give her any room for hesitation. "Bring your ID card and paternity test report. I'll have the lawyer prepare an agreement."
The busy tone after the phone was hung up was like a heavy hammer hitting my eardrum.
Han Lingcui looked at the lake. The fallen kite had drifted away, leaving only a blurry colorful dot, like a discarded candy wrapper.
Xunxun was still rubbing against Qi Moxun's arms, her little head resting on the man's chin, letting out a satisfied sigh.
It was an intimacy she had never experienced before, a scene she dared not even dream of.
"Lingcui, let's go."
Shen Hanxing came over, holding Xunxun's teddy bear doll in his hand, "The child is sleepy, we will take you back."
Her eyes fell on Han Lingcui's red wrist. "What's wrong with your hand? Did you get scratched by something?"
Han Lingcui suddenly put his hands behind his back, and his fingertips hit the business card in his pocket. The hard edges pricked his skin and hurt.
"It's okay," she forced a stiff smile, "I was just caught by a branch."
Shen Hanxing could sense that she was not in a good mood, but a mother was about to be separated from her child, and she would only find it strange if Han Lingcui was very happy.
So, seeing Han Lingcui like this now, I can understand it.
On the way back in the car, Xunxun was sleeping soundly on Shen Hanxing's legs, but her little eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, as if she was having an uneasy dream.
Qi Moxun looked at her through the rearview mirror, his eyes as heavy as the stones at the bottom of the lake: "The line at the convenience store is half an hour long?"
Han Lingcui's heart skipped a beat.
He actually remembered the excuse she had just made up.
“Yeah, a lot of people buy water.”
She stared at the street lights passing by outside the window and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, "Maybe it's because it's the weekend."
Chen Hanxing gently patted Xunxun's back and suddenly said, "Lingcui, is there something on your mind?"
Her voice was soft, like a feather brushing across my heart. "If you encounter any difficulties, you can tell us. We may be able to help."
Han Lingcui's eyes suddenly felt hot.
Shen Hanxing was always like this, so gentle that it made her feel guilty.
During this period of time, the other party never thought of being on guard against her, and even copied the complementary food recipes that Xunxun liked to eat for her.
But……
She was like a snake lurking in a warm lair, ready to deliver a fatal bite at any time.
"No," she blinked hard, holding back the moisture, "Maybe I'm too tired today."
When the car stopped at the gate of the residential complex where she rented, Chen Hanxing suddenly said, "Xunxun has made plans for tomorrow. If you're free in the morning, why don't we go to the amusement park together? He's been talking about it for several days."
Han Lingcui's heart felt like it was soaked in ice water.
Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock is exactly the time she is going to meet Xi Muxuan.
"No," she said, her hand shaking as she opened the car door. "I have to sort out the materials for the exhibition tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't have time."
Xunxun was awakened by the sound of the door closing. She rubbed her eyes and reached out to her: "Auntie Han, can you still make star carrots for me tomorrow?"
"able."
Han Lingcui gritted his teeth and nodded, then turned and walked quickly into the room.
It was not until the door closed that she slid down to the ground, leaning against the cold wall. Her tears fell on the broken screen of her phone, creating a small blur of light and shadow.
The next morning, Han Lingcui was cutting carrots in the kitchen when his hands shook so much that he could hardly hold the knife.
The stars on the chopping board were crooked, some were missing corners, and some were flat, just like her broken heart at the moment.
She searched for the stars she liked, but couldn't even cut them into a decent shape.
The cell phone vibrated in the apron pocket. It was the location sent by Xi Muxuan, on the terrace of the revolving restaurant by the lake.
She took a deep breath, put the cut carrots into the plastic container, and took out the yellowed paternity test report from the drawer.
Just as I was about to go out, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Han Lingcui looked through the peephole and saw Chen Hanxing holding Xunxun standing at the door, with the child holding a kite in his hand.
They went out to play by the lake early in the morning and are now back to have breakfast.
Xunxun pressed her little face against the door and said in a muffled voice, "Auntie Lingcui, I've fixed the kite. Can we fly it again today?"
Han Lingcui's fingers were hanging on the door handle, and his palms were covered in cold sweat.
"Auntie really has something to do today." She said to the peephole, her voice choked and almost inaudible.
"Xunxun, be good and go play with mom and dad. Auntie will make you pumpkin porridge tomorrow, okay?"
There was silence outside the door for a few seconds, and then the sound of sobbing, sounding aggrieved, was heard.
"But...but I dreamed that Aunt Lingcui left, flew away like a kite..."
Han Lingcui covered her mouth and tried hard not to cry out.
"Well, I didn't prepare breakfast. You guys can eat outside. I have other things to do."
She leaned against the door, listening to Shen Hanxing's gentle voice coaxing the child, Qi Moxun's low voice of comfort, and their footsteps gradually fading away.
Only when the corridor was completely quiet did she collapse onto the floor, burying her face in a plastic box filled with star-shaped carrots, crying like a lost child.
…
Xi Muxuan was already waiting on the terrace of the revolving restaurant.
She was wearing a wine-red cheongsam today, which made her skin look white. When she saw Han Lingcui come in, a meaningful smile appeared on her lips: "It seems you made the right choice."
Han Lingcui slammed the paternity test report on the table, the edge of the paper curling slightly from the pressure. "I have conditions."
"you say."
Xi Muxuan picked up the coffee with an elegant posture as if she was watching a play.
"I want the agreement the Xuanyuan family forced me to sign," Han Lingcui's voice trembled with excitement. "I also want them to publicly apologize. Not an apology and dismissal, but an admission that they once wanted to kill me!"
Xi Muxuan put down her coffee cup and tapped her fingertips lightly on the report.
"Okay. But you have to promise me one thing. After you get custody, you must take Xunxun away from here immediately. We must live in another country."
Han Lingcui looked up suddenly: "Why?"
"Because only in this way can Qi Moxun and Shen Hanxing be made to suffer unbearably."
Xi Muxuan's eyes suddenly turned cruel. "I want them to never see their child again in their lifetime. I want them to suffer in longing."
The lake breeze blew up Han Lingcui's hair, covering her pale face.
She remembered what Xunxun said by the lake yesterday: "Aunt Lingcui, will you always stay with me?"
She smiled and nodded at the time, but she knew in her heart how fragile this promise was.
"I need time to think about it." She put the report into her bag. Her fingertips touched the cold paper, as if touching Xunxun's hot little face.
"There's no time."
Xi Muxuan pulled a document from her purse. "The Xuanyuan family's debt is due this afternoon, and the bank has contacted Qi Moxun, wanting him to take over the mortgage. If you don't sign, Xunxun will simply become a child of the Qi family, and legally have no connection to you."
Han Lingcui looked at the clauses on the document, and each one seemed to be torturing her sanity.
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