Chapter 80: A Chance Encounter with Meng Shutang and Her Little Girl

"Mom, I can't wait to go to school," Xin Xin exclaimed.

Meng Shutang looked at her daughter, her heart melting completely.

She immediately bent down, kissed her forehead, and said, "Alright, next Monday, Mom will personally take you to school."

At dinner that night, Meng Shutang asked about the hospital, "Li Ayi, you took Xin Xin to the hospital today, right?"

Li Ayi nodded, "Yes, Xin Xin was very well‑behaved, even massaged your mother's legs."

Xin Xin, hearing that, imitated perfectly, "I also massaged Grandma's hands, rubbed her joints, wiped her face.

Before leaving, I placed Grandma's hand on my face and said to her, 'Grandma, wake up quickly.'"

Several people at the table were amused by her sensible little demeanor.

Li Ayi, watching Xin Xin sit upright and eat at a moderate, refined pace, couldn't help but sigh, "I've cared for so many children, and I always feel Xin Xin is different."

This child has a dignified and delicate appearance, an aura of nobility that cannot be hidden, clearly a little princess raised by a family of status and depth.

After saying that, Li Ayi laughed cheerfully.

Meng Shutang felt a sudden heaviness in her chest, and the hand holding the white porcelain bowl paused slightly.

She kept a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were already quietly swirling with complexity.

The grandmother beside her seemed to sense it and glanced sideways.

Before bedtime at night, Meng Shutang never let Xin Xin read children's books; the light is too bright and not good for the child's sleep.

Dim lighting can cause nearsightedness.

She would accompany her to gaze at the stars for a while; when sleepiness came, she would hug her back to the bed to sleep.

After she fell asleep, she left to return to the master bedroom to work for a while.

On Saturday and Sunday, Meng Shutang mainly stayed home with Xin Xin; when the morning sun was good, she even took her to the nearby West Lake.

Gu Yunci took Song Yilin and mainly stayed at Qian Shui Wan.

Yesterday Zhang Ma even tried to reason with Gu Yunci, saying little boys are always this lively, a bit of mess at home is fine.

But after just one day, Zhang Ma also couldn't stand it any longer.

The imported Italian genuine leather sofa, when not watched, he scribbled on with a paintbrush until it was unrecognizable; the expensive cashmere carpet was covered with crumbs of broken biscuits; the beautiful coffee table had a series of small cuts…

Since she started working, Zhang Ma entered the Gu household and has taken care of Gu Yunci and her son, the two boys.

Gu Yunci and her son were also naughty when they were young, but not like this.

She knew the children were mischievous, also hearing it from others.

Looking at the mess before her, she placed the vegetable basket on the floor and felt her blood pressure rise.

"Oh dear, little ancestor, I was just stepping out for a moment, how did you make the house like this?"

Song Yilin didn't realize his own problem; at his age, in his innocent world, how could he know these things?

But from Zhang Ma's face, he could see she was angry.

He stood frozen on the sofa armrest, not daring to move.

Gu Yunci, hearing the commotion, saw everything, walked over, grabbed Song Yilin in one arm, and then went to Zhang Ma's side.

"Zhang Ma, just go ahead and make lunch; I'll have Qin Zheng come over to clean this up."

Zhang Ma didn't dare say more, sighing as she left.

Qin Zheng came over, took a look, hired a housekeeping company at his own expense; it took three hours to clean up completely.

During that time, Gu Yunci took Song Yilin to the garden and let him dig the soil.

He wasn't lacking energy, so let him release it properly.

Playing with soil is a man's nature, even for a small child; the whole afternoon, Song Yilin stayed in the garden.

Time quickly reached next Monday; after breakfast, Gu Yunci sent Song Yilin to the Montessori Bilingual Kindergarten.

When he dropped Song Yilin off, he saw through the rearview mirror Meng Shutang holding a little girl's hand, heading toward the kindergarten.

The scene flashed by; when he focused, the figure had already vanished.

He opened the car door and stepped out; the bustling crowd at the kindergarten entrance had no trace of the graceful figure he had been longing for day and night.

"It must be that I missed her too much and imagined it."

He got back into the car and headed to the office; he wanted to go to the second basement level, but as soon as he approached, he turned back.

He had no face to see Meng Shutang.

Meng Shutang also didn't want to see him.

He could imagine her disgust for him.

Indeed, four years ago, he actually colluded with her half‑sister… every time he thought of it, Gu Yunci's heart felt crushed, a bone‑gnawing pain, as if the world were overturning, apocalyptic.

He glanced at her from afar a few times, then left hastily and went to find Zhou Songyan.

"Senior brother, the future museum donation matters are still yours to handle."

At the company, everyone teased him using his senior‑brother title, but Gu Yunci never called him that.

It was the first time he called him senior brother at work.

Zhou Songyan realized the seriousness, "President Gu, what's going on between you and Shutang?"

He thought they were just having a quarrel; when strong people clash, a bit of friction is normal.

"She is my ex‑wife."

Gu Yunci looked at him, feeling desolate.

Zhou Songyan was doubly shocked; his mouth was truly slack.

After all these years, he only just found out.

"You want to make amends?"

"Of course I want to make amends, but looking now… there's hardly any chance."

He also opened up, and from now on, just being able to catch a glimpse of her from a distance would already satisfy him.

After speaking, Gu Yunci left, and Zhou Songyan began to worry about how to proceed with work from now on.

After all, as a workplace veteran, his previous relationship with Meng Shutang had been maliciously smeared, which the PR department had publicly clarified; work is work, and they would continue to do whatever the job requires.

After work in the afternoon, Meng Shutang went to the hospital, sat in the ward for a while, then went to the adjacent doctor's office.

"Doctor Huo, how has my mother been lately?"

Huo Yanchen replied, "Based on all the indicators, everything is developing in a positive direction."

Meng Shutang also thought so, because lately she had noticed that Zhou Xingfan's complexion had a hint of color.

She thanked Huo Yanchen, left the doctor's office, and ended up meeting Gu Yunci in the hallway.

The man, dressed in a tailor‑made suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, stood as upright as a pine; with one hand in his pocket, his refined eyebrows and eyes swept over, his gaze indifferent yet bearing undeniable authority.

Meng Shutang felt a tightness in her chest, and stared at his brows and eyes, momentarily dazed.

The words Aunt Li had said last night floated in her mind.

Xin Xin's eyebrows, eyes, and facial contours were strikingly similar to his.

Her chest tightened repeatedly, an inexplicable dread rose—what if one day he actually ran into Xin Xin…

She dared not think further.

The man saw Meng Shutang looking at him and was momentarily stunned.

In four years, it was still the first time she had looked at him so affectionately.

No, it seemed as if she were looking at another person through him.

He stepped closer, "Tang Tang…"

He had just spoken when Meng Shutang turned and walked away coldly; he stood beside her like an inconsequential wall.

He froze there, watching her indifferent back, his chest aching with a dense, prickling pain.

"She's not angry; she really… doesn't want you anymore."

Huo Yanchen, hands in his pockets, at an unknown moment stood at the doorway of the opposite office and shouted a line at him.

Gu Yunci silently withdrew his gaze and followed Huo Yanchen into the room.

Meng Shutang approached the payment window, "Hello, payment for Zhou Xingfan of the special care ward."

The staff took the medical insurance card, tapped the computer, and said, "Your fees have already been paid, a total of 9,000,000, paid for half a year."

"Already paid?"

"Who paid it?!"