Gu Qingyan's sudden kneeling shocked everyone. His eyes were filled with regret and pleading, and his voice trembled and was low.
Shen Zhi Qiu was stunned. A complex mix of emotions welled up inside her—anger, sadness, disappointment… all the negative feelings erupted at that moment. In an instant, she hated Gu Qing Yan, hated his betrayal, hated his selfishness, and hated even more his indifference towards the children.
In the past, she didn't want to hate Gu Qingyan because she felt he was a stranger. But now he has brought everything to the forefront and forced her to face it. How could she not hate him!
She gently pushed Rong Mo away, stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped Gu Qingyan with all her might. The crisp sound of the slap rang out, clean and decisive.
Her gaze was cold and resolute as she told him, word by word, "I advise you to give up on this idea as soon as possible! The children have nothing to do with you! From the moment you chose Xiao Wanqing, you no longer have the right to be the father of my children!"
Gu Qingyan staggered from the slap from Shen Zhi Qiu. He covered his cheek, staring at her with wide eyes filled with shock and pain, but even more so with regret and self-blame.
Looking into Shen Zhi Qiu's cold eyes and resolute expression, he felt an overwhelming sense of despair. He said in a trembling voice, "Zhi Qiu, are you really going to be so heartless?"
"I'm heartless?" Shen Zhi Qiu laughed in anger. "Gu Qing Yan, did you even think before you spoke? Or has your brain sunk to the bottom of the sea like Xiao Wan Qing's, and become unusable because it's flooded?!"
"What did you say?!" Upon hearing Xiao Wanqing's name, Gu Qingyan lost his temper again, abruptly standing up and grabbing Shen Zhiqiu's arm, gritting his teeth as he said, "Say it again?"
Wei Qiao stepped forward and kicked Gu Qingyan, saying, "Don't force me to beat you to a pulp at the Gu family's house!"
Gu Qingyan sneered, stood up, and his face regained its cold expression. "Wei Qiao, you know you're in the Gu family now?! Aren't you afraid of walking out of here all by yourself?"
After saying that, Gu Qingyan shouted "Uncle Chen!"
The butler arrived late, looked at Gu Qingyan with an awkward expression, walked up to him, and whispered a few words in his ear. Gu Qingyan's brows furrowed even more.
He waved his hand, signaling the butler to leave.
Shen Zhi Qiu ignored him and walked past him, saying, "Come over and let's talk." She then went straight to the living room and sat down.
Gu Qingyan, filled with anger, strode over and sat down.
Wei Qiao was about to go over when Rong Mo stopped her, saying, "If Zhi Qiu wants to talk, then let them talk."
"Speak, what do you want to talk about?" Gu Qingyan asked first.
“I hope you keep your promise. We discussed the children a long time ago. You chose not to have them, so don’t come to me to reason with me now,” Shen Zhi Qiu said bluntly. “This is my bottom line.”
"Zhiqiu, it was all my fault before." When talking about the child, Gu Qingyan's expression changed again. He put away his dissatisfaction and said sincerely.
"Gu Qingyan, which side of you is the real you?" Shen Zhi Qiu was confused by his rapid change of expression. "I really don't understand you. How can you yell at me one second and then apologize to me gently the next?"
Are you perhaps suffering from a mental breakdown? If so, you'd better see a doctor as soon as possible to avoid delaying the best treatment time.
Gu Qingyan, unusually, did not refute. He looked at Shen Zhi Qiu, took a deep breath, and said, "Zhi Qiu, I really apologize to you and hope to gain your forgiveness."
"These children are, after all, my own flesh and blood, and I have an obligation to raise them."
"Understanding is out of the question." Shen Zhi Qiu's attitude was very firm. "As for raising the children, I'm not stopping you. Since we're already divorced, and you didn't consider these things when you divorced, now that so much time has passed, you've finally had a change of heart and want to raise the children? There's no need to meet. You don't know how to take care of the children anyway, so, as a compromise, you can just pay child support every month. I don't object to that."
"You want my money, but not my help to look after the child? Shen Zhi Qiu, there's no such thing as fairness in the world, is there?" Gu Qing Yan frowned, indicating that he did not accept Shen Zhi Qiu's offer.
"Then you can choose not to pay and maintain the current situation, and so can I." Shen Zhi Qiu's voice was indifferent. "There are many unfair things in this world. Even a young master like you, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, feels it's unfair. There must be even more unfair things for others. I can't control that."
Besides, weren't you unfair to me before? Did I come to you asking for fairness?
"Heh," Gu Qingyan chuckled, "Shen Zhiqiu, your tongue has certainly improved. You weren't like this when we first got married."
"Was it like this when you got married?" Shen Zhi Qiu asked calmly, without getting angry.
Gu Qingyan pursed her lips and remained silent.
“People change, Gu Qingyan. Our relationship is over, so there’s no need to talk about the past anymore. It’s pointless,” Shen Zhi Qiu continued. “As for the children, you promised them back then. When you were busy pursuing your sweetheart, I didn’t make any demands on you. Now, you shouldn’t make any demands on me either.”
"You know I can't agree to that." Shen Zhi Qiu's attitude was cold, leaving no room for negotiation.
"But Dad is gone, and it's just Mom and me left at home. If we had grandchildren to keep Mom company, it would be a good thing for her. Don't you care about that? Mom treated you so well, shouldn't you do your best to be filial?" Gu Qingyan started to use moral blackmail, bringing up Mu Ziqi.
Shen Zhi Qiu remained silent, but reason prevailed. Just as she was about to reject Gu Qing Yan's statement, she heard a cold female voice coming from the stairwell.
“Qingyan, you don’t need to pressure Zhiqiu here.” Mu Ziqi appeared at the corner of the stairs with a haggard look on her face. She had just started walking down the stairs when she heard the two talking. “If I want to see the child, I can fly to the capital to see him.”
This was something Zhi Qiu and I had agreed on a long time ago, and she has never restricted me from seeing the children. You should reflect on why you are not allowed to see the children!
Putting everything else aside, have you ever changed your children's diapers or prepared their formula even once since they were born? Have you ever held your crying babies and gently comforted them at night?
You haven't done anything, so where do you get the nerve to make such a request?
Mu Ziqi stepped down and said coldly, "If you need more children, you can remarry and have more. Zhi Qiu's children agreed before your divorce that they would take the surname Rong, not Gu."
Since you agreed to it for Xiao Wanqing's sake, don't go back on your word now. This is the price you pay for your reckless behavior.
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