Chapter 216 The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
"yes."
Old Zhao turned around and went back to find someone to get his things.
The confidant glanced at it, his eyes brightening slightly, and gave Zheng Huaixin a thumbs up. "Secretary Zheng, this move was brilliant. Now that you have evidence that this woman is not your ex-wife A-Yue, she can't use your ex-wife's identity to cause trouble again."
Secretary Zheng hummed in agreement, stood in front of the bicycle, and slightly raised her eyes to look up at the building.
Seeing his approval, the confidant rolled his eyes and said, "...Keep the child and send the woman away. The woman will be afraid to make a big fuss, otherwise, it's hard to say what kind of treatment the child will receive."
Zheng Huaixin glanced at him.
She said coolly, "That's my biological son."
The confidant was stunned for a moment, then felt a chill on his neck and quickly forced a smile.
He said, "Yes, yes, this isn't just talk... We're just trying to scare the woman and make her back down. She definitely won't make things difficult for our little stone."
When Zheng Huaixin thought about leaving Northeast China and his last meeting with his ex-wife A Yue at the train station, when she was pregnant with his son even though she wasn't showing yet, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Why didn't A-Yue tell him that she had given birth to his son?
Do you think he's not good enough for you?
But if water flows downhill, shouldn't people strive to go uphill?
He wasn't wrong, and neither was A-Yue. The mistake lay with this era that valued status and family background; he was simply conforming to the times…
Zheng Huaixin made excuses for himself.
Little did they know, the aunt and nephew had already discovered their clumsy scheme inside the room.
The woman opened the wardrobe, pressed the power button, turned on the tape recorder, took out the cassette tape, and flipped through it. The blank tape had nothing written on it.
The little stone asked the woman, "Auntie, what is this?"
"Your dad wants to get evidence that I'm not your mom, A-Yue, so he can settle things between us without paying or by paying less."
"Auntie, I don't like Zheng Huaixin, I don't want to be his son," Little Stone said sullenly.
The woman glanced at him and hummed in agreement.
“No, we’ll take the money and leave. That young lady surnamed Li said she’s already contacting some very good doctors in Shanghai to see if he can perform the surgery. If he can’t, she’ll find someone else. She can help with the person, but we’ll have to figure out the money ourselves, so…”
The woman gripped the cassette tape tightly, her eyes turning cold.
"...He won't accept a single penny less!"
Little Stone leaned closer to her, resting against her, and asked softly, "Auntie, what if no one can cure my illness?"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
The woman glared at him, her expression cold and stern, and said, "It can definitely be cured! Your grandparents are gone, your mother and your little sister are gone, and now you're the only family your aunt has left. You have to live well, do you hear me?!"
Little Stone looked at the woman, grinned, and said, "Okay."
The woman looked at him tenderly and reached out to pat his head.
"Knock knock".
There was a knock on the door. "Guest, we're here to tidy up the room. Are you in your room?"
The aunt and nephew exchanged a glance, and the woman handed the cassette tape to Shi Tou, saying, "Hide it well."
Shi Tou hummed in agreement and casually stuffed the money into the pocket inside his cotton-padded jacket where he kept it.
"Yes, please wait a moment."
As the woman responded, she took another cassette tape from her tattered bag and stuffed it in, muttering, "City people really know how to play dirty tricks. Luckily, those two girls guessed it beforehand, or they would have really fallen for this bastard's scheme!"
Only after restoring the wardrobe to its original state did the woman allow Stone to open the door.
The two waiters smiled and one said, "...There will be dust flying around when we clean, so please wait in the corridor for a moment. We will be done soon."
One of them squeezed past the two of them and headed straight for the wardrobe.
The woman didn't expose him, but pulled Shi Tou out of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the waiter who had just entered the room already impatiently opening the wardrobe.
The two pretended to be busy in the room for a while, then took the cassette tape, put it in their pockets, and left.
Little Stone also asked, "How did you tidy up so quickly? Is it clean?"
"It's all swept clean, there wasn't much dirt to begin with..."
The waiter gave a curt reply, nodded, and quickly ran away.
The woman sneered, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, and said sarcastically, "They're not even pretending anymore."
The two entered the house. Xiao Shitou opened the wardrobe and saw that the tape recorder was empty. He looked up at the woman and said, "Auntie, they took the tape that you put in there."
"Well, whether we get the money or not depends on this." The woman looked down at the little boy and exhaled with a trembling breath.
Old Zhao waited at the front desk, received the tape, and frowned, "Didn't I tell you to bring the tape recorder out?"
"The guests are waiting in the hallway. The tape recorder is too big and difficult to carry."
Old Zhao glanced outside, then, having no other choice, packed up the tape and instructed the two men, "Neither of you is allowed to tell anyone about what happened today, or you'll both lose your jobs, understand?"
The two looked at each other and nodded.
Old Zhao then quickly walked out of the hotel without even saying thank you.
After watching him leave, the two exchanged glances, one whispering to the other, "Did that woman discover we were hiding things in the closet?"
"Whether we found out or not, it's all over now, it has nothing to do with us anymore. Hey, did you notice? That little boy looks a lot like that guy from earlier, could it be..."
Another waiter shushed, "Keep your voice down, haven't you noticed who that man is yet? He's been in the newspapers, the secretary who's always with our boss, surnamed Zheng!"
The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock.
One swallowed hard. "Secretary Zheng has rather...unique tastes. She can even stomach eating something from such an old lady."
Another looked disgusted. "No wonder I thought that little boy looked like both Secretary Zheng and that old lady, it turns out..."
The two looked on incredulously.
Outside, as Zheng Huaixin grew impatient, Old Zhao came out and handed him the cassette tape.
They said, "The tape recorder was too big to take out, so they only took the cassette tape."
Zheng Huaixin frowned and hummed in agreement.
He took the cassette tape, stopped a passing taxi, and told the two men, "I'll go back to the city hall first, give the tape to the leader, and you two can ride the bicycle back."
He got into the car and left immediately, leaving Old Zhao and his confidant looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Let's go."
The confidant patted Old Zhao on the shoulder and said with a sour tone, "You old rascal, you've really caught a lucky break. You're being given important responsibilities by Secretary Zheng."
Old Zhao smiled.
The two rode their bikes towards the city hall. Old Zhao held back for half the journey, but couldn't help asking Secretary Zheng's confidant.
He said, "Do you think Secretary Zheng's wife knows about this, given how big this matter has become?"
The confidant shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. The two have been married for so many years without children. I think Secretary Zheng is somewhat inclined to adopt this child. Who knows, she might keep it?"
"But I overheard him talking to that woman inside. Didn't he want her to take the child with her?" Old Zhao asked, puzzled.
The confidant glanced at him and chuckled, "When you went to get the tape, I probed her; Secretary Zheng wanted this child..."
"He wants it, but what about his wife?"
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