Read Novel Full Chapter 1212: Surprise
Chapter 1212: Surprise
The news of Lin Miao and her daughter being sentenced to prison swept through the residential compound like wildfire, igniting gossip and speculation at every corner. It wasn’t just another neighborhood scandal—it was a full-blown upheaval.
For Gu Shan, who had once believed that voluntarily admitting his mistakes to his superiors would be enough to save his political career, the fallout proved far more devastating. His attempt at damage control had failed miserably. Not only had he been dismissed, but he was now under investigation, effectively stripped of power and relegated to the confines of his home, living like an obsolete relic. Even stepping outside meant enduring curious stares and barely concealed whispers.
Forget about marrying Li Li—he couldn’t even get his own son registered in the Gu family household. When he went to file paperwork at the local registry, the officials turned him away with bureaucratic indifference: he was under disciplinary review, and all household matters would remain frozen until the investigation concluded. In other words, Gu Shan was now persona non grata in the very system he once served.
For Li Li, this was infuriating. Her dream of becoming a government wife had gone up in smoke. The son she bore for Gu Shan remained undocumented, his lineage unrecognized. The entire situation left her feeling as though she’d been duped a second time. Once abandoned, she could not bear the thought of being discarded again. Her anxiety flared into anger, and soon she was at Gu Shan’s throat.
“Gu Shan,” she shrieked, “admit it—you never intended to marry me! What nonsense is this about not being able to register our child? In this day and age, who can’t get on a household registry?”
Gu Shan was already at his wit’s end. First, Zhang Mei had argued with him, and now Li Li was taking up the baton. Was he simply doomed to quarrel with women for the rest of his life? At first, he tried to remain composed, giving her a few patient explanations. But now he snapped, flinging the words at her like stones. “Think whatever you want. You’re acting like a shrew! Not even Zhang Mei was this vulgar.”
Li Li was livid. The old bastard! Now that he was down and out, he suddenly thought she was beneath him? A mere village girl not fit to be by his side? And to think she had borne him a son!
She refused to leave empty-handed, refused to be humiliated again. So, swallowing her rage, she shifted tactics. Her voice softened, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked up at him with trembling vulnerability.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’m just scared. Scared that you don’t want me anymore. I have nowhere to go, and I’ve had your child. I can’t even marry someone else now.”
Her tear-streaked face, her youthful charm—far younger than Zhang Mei’s—finally melted the stone wall Gu Shan had built around himself. His anger began to subside. Reaching out, he tried to comfort her.
“Don’t worry,” he said gently. “The child you gave birth to is the only heir to the Gu family. I won’t abandon you or the boy. Just give me some time. Let me deal with the investigation first.”
Li Li sniffled but wasn’t ready to back down just yet. “But what about Gu Zi? Isn’t she your adopted daughter? You’re in trouble now, and her husband has connections. Why don’t you just ask her for help? Wouldn’t that solve everything?”
Gu Shan stiffened. His eyes reddened, and he looked away. He had no face left to show Gu Zi—not after everything. Still, not wanting to provoke another outburst from Li Li, he gave her a vague, noncommittal response.
Back at the Lin household, things were moving along briskly.
Li Hua’s belly had grown rounder by the day, and Lin Cheng had long since banned her from working at the shop. They had hired a new helper, and the newly opened restaurant was thriving with steady customer traffic.
Lin Cheng himself, his leg finally on the mend, had returned to helping manage the pig farm and was once again making deliveries by van.
Seeing that everything at home was in good order, Gu Zi packed her things and bid her family farewell. She had decided to surprise Su Shen and the children by returning to the capital quietly by train. The idea of making Su Shen travel all that way just to fetch her seemed far too troublesome.
Her brother Lin Cheng had gone ahead and purchased the ticket for her. It was the off-season, travel was light, and as a pregnant woman, she wasn’t too worried about getting jostled or bumped in the crowd.𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
On the day of her departure, Lin Cheng drove her to the station with their parents. Li Hua had wanted to come too, but Gu Zi wouldn’t allow it. She knew how exhausting pregnancy could be, and Li Hua’s constitution wasn’t strong—she was frequently nauseous, her legs were swollen, and she didn’t want her sister-in-law dragging herself to the station and back in that state.
Gu Zi boarded the train without issue, her journey smooth and uneventful. Lin Cheng had purchased a ticket that would get her to the capital by early afternoon, and sure enough, by 2 p.m., she was standing at the entrance of her home, suitcase in hand, a small smile playing at her lips as she anticipated surprising Su Shen and the children.
But before she could even lift a hand to ring the doorbell, she was the one who got surprised—by none other than Su Jing, who stood outside the door with her own luggage, looking equally stunned to see Gu Zi.
“Where did you spring from?” Gu Zi asked with a laugh. “Did you just get here?”
Su Jing’s eyes swept over Gu Zi’s travel-worn figure, pausing at the swell of her belly. She recalled the rumors she’d heard while digging around at Imperial Capital University, and things suddenly clicked into place. Without missing a beat, she reached out to take Gu Zi’s luggage from her hands.
“My brother is unbelievable,” Su Jing muttered as she took the suitcase. “How could he let you travel all this way by yourself when you’re pregnant? I just got here too—but I came from a city nearby. And… Sister-in-law, you and my brother have already found that heartless man’s family, haven’t you?”
Gu Zi heard the steel in her voice and instantly understood: Su Jing was here to fight for her sister, to seek justice from the Xu family.
“Let’s talk inside,” Gu Zi said calmly. “It’s… complicated.”