Chapter 175: The Sensible and Well-Behaved Child is Always the Most Heartbreaking

Qin Shu's voice was cold and clear as she refused directly: "No need."

Qin Shu lifted her foot to walk upstairs: "I'm going to go check on the child."

Gu Tingyan's handsome face was shrouded in a layer of gloom; he did not stop her, his lips pressed tightly together: "Fine."

Qin Shu went upstairs, walked to Gu Yichen's room, and pushed open the door; she was slightly stunned, freezing in place, looking at the scene before her in disbelief.

Inside the room, the bed was empty and no one was there.

In a dark corner, Gu Yichen's small figure was curled up barefoot against the wall, having fallen asleep while huddled up.

He looked extremely insecure, able only to hold himself tightly.

He was sleeping very restlessly, his brows tightly furrowed as if having a terrible nightmare; his small face was pale, and his forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat.

Qin Shu took a deep breath, unable to suppress the trembling pain in her heart; she walked over on tiptoe and picked up Gu Yichen from the floor.

Almost as soon as Qin Shu touched Gu Yichen's shoulder, he woke up.

Gu Yichen opened his eyes and looked at Qin Shu before him; his pupils trembled slightly and contracted, his face still dazed, feeling as if he were dreaming.

He seemed unable to believe that Mom would appear here.

It's a dream, right...

It must be.

Because it was so real, as if Mom had really come back to find him.

Mom wouldn't come back.

Because Mom hated him, had long since abandoned him, and thought he was a little ingrate.

Mom had long since stopped wanting him.

He had broken her heart.

Gu Yichen looked at the incredibly real Qin Shu before him, the corners of his eyes slightly reddening; he stared at her intently, terrified that if he blinked, Mom would disappear.

Qin Shu gently placed him on the bed and looked down to see the child was awake; Qin Shu paused for a moment and said softly: "Chenchen."

"Why were you sleeping on the floor?"

Qin Shu's voice was still gentle and moving, the way it was in his memories from when he was five.

Gu Yichen was stunned; he raised his hand to touch Qin Shu cautiously, tentatively, wanting to feel her existence.

Only when his hand touched Qin Shu's arm did he realize that Mom was actually real.

She really had come to find him.

Gu Yichen's eye corners turned slightly red, crystalline teardrops hanging on his eyelashes, his eyes red-rimmed as he looked at his mom.

He had thought that Qin Shu didn't want him anymore.

He was a bad child.

Now that she had a new baby, she surely wouldn't come back to find him.

Seeing him cry, Qin Shu hurriedly and flusteredly raised her hand to wipe his tears, smiled gently, and said softly: "What's wrong, why are you crying?"

Gu Yichen grabbed her hand tightly with great force; Qin Shu felt some pain from his grip, but she didn't make a sound.

Qin Shu looked at the child and said: "Chenchen, why were you sleeping on the floor?"

"Did someone bully you?"

Qin Shu raised her hand to gently stroke his head, her eyes filled with worry.

Gu Tingyan had gotten engaged to Chu Sheng; Gu Yichen was born to her, so Chu Sheng would not be good to him.

Back then, when Qin Shu wanted to take him away, Gu Yichen did not leave with her, choosing instead to stay with the Gu Family.

The kindness Chu Sheng showed him was all calculated, meant to get close to Gu Tingyan, only because Lin Jingshu valued Gu Yichen.

Yet Qin Shu knew that Chu Sheng was not someone who would be good to her biological son; it was all just for show.

The child was still young and easily deceived by others.

Now that Chu Sheng and Gu Tingyan were engaged, her goal achieved, would she bully Chenchen?

In the future, when they had children of their own, would Gu Tingyan still protect Gu Yichen?

Hearing this from Qin Shu, Gu Yichen only shook his head silently, telling Qin Shu that no one had bullied him.

He did not speak.

Qin Shu also noticed this; from the moment she entered the room, Gu Yichen hadn't said a single word.

Qin Shu's heart tightened slightly, but she still raised her hand to stroke his head; she didn't know if Chenchen had been taught bad things during the four years she was gone.

Lin Jingshu would never say anything good about her, only slandering her behind her back, saying she wasn't a good mom and how she was bad to Gu Yichen.

She even never went to see him.

She had heard things like that too many times before.

But whenever she wanted to see the child, she simply couldn't.

Lin Jingshu would not allow her to visit Chenchen.

Qin Shu felt a sour ache in her heart, gently hugged Gu Yichen, and whispered: "Does Chenchen think Mom is a bad mom?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yichen shook his head incessantly; looking at Qin Shu, he was on the verge of tears.

Gu Yichen: Mom was never a bad mom; Mom is the best mom in the world.

Gu Yichen never felt that Qin Shu was a bad mom; he only knew that Mom was very good, but Grandma didn't like her and didn't like him getting close to her.

Grandma liked Auntie Chu Sheng.

Four years ago, Gu Yichen had wanted to go with Qin Shu, but if he had left with Mom, he would only have become a burden and a drag on her.

He wasn't a healthy baby; spending money to treat his legs would cost Qin Shu a lot of money and make her live in pain and self-reproach every day.

Gu Tingyan wouldn't let him tell Mom about his situation, and Gu Yichen didn't want her to know either.

If Mom knew, she would only live in even more pain.

The grandmother would not let him go with his mother, and she could not win back her own custody rights.

Gu Yichen was only five years old, yet living in such a family, he already understood his own situation, as well as Qin Shu's pain and helplessness.

His existence would only make his mother more miserable.

They say children are angels from heaven, sent by God to warm their mothers.

But he was the root of her suffering.

If it weren't for him, his mother would only live better.

Gu Yichen did not expect his mother to say this; he was so anxious that his fingers kept gesturing, his expression filled with worry and unease.

He did not want his mother to deny herself like that.

She was a good mother.

Qin Shu looked at his anxious appearance, reached out to hold his hand, and with reddened eyes said, "Do not believe what your grandmother and Chu Sheng say."

"Chenchen, you are still young, there are many things you do not understand."

Qin Shu did not want to involve the child in the grievances between adults.

Gu Yichen nodded and then shook his head; watching Qin Shu's self-reproachful look, he felt so distressed in his heart that he was about to cry.

He reached for the tablet by the pillow, opened it with force, typed a line of text on it, and handed it to Qin Shu to read: "You are the best mother I have ever met."

Seeing that line on the tablet, Qin Shu's eyes turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Suddenly, she stiffened, pressed her hand on Gu Yichen's shoulder, and said with a trembling voice, "Chenchen, can you call me 'Mom'?"

She seemed to have realized that Chenchen had never spoken.

Qin Shu had assumed that he didn't like her and only liked Chu Sheng, which was why he remained silent.

A child's temperament is unstable; when young, it is easy for them to be led astray by others, to be controlled and guided, influencing the child to think their mother is bad.

Qin Shu did not blame him; this was not his fault.

The fault lay in the fact that in front of those with power and influence, ordinary people are like ants.

The fault lay in the fact that back then, Qin Shu lacked the ability and could not protect him.

But now, things were different.

If Gu Huaiyuan and Lin Jingshu wanted to do something to her, or drive her out of Beijing, they would have to weigh it carefully; the current Qin Shu had the ability to contend with the Gu Family.

She was no longer the weak person from before who could only be manipulated by others, a fish on the chopping block.

Hearing Qin Shu's words, Gu Yichen stiffened, his little face turning slightly pale, his eyes filled with a hint of terror, as if he had thought of some nightmarish existence.

That was not the first time Chu Sheng had pressured him like that.

In places where Lin Jingshu could not see, Chu Sheng did not treat him well; she was sometimes gentle, but at other times, the way she stared at him was extremely cold and sinister.

She would not lay a hand on Gu Yichen in a way that left deep marks on his body, and she certainly wouldn't let Lin Jingshu discover it.

Sometimes, the silent verbal violence of adults is what causes fatal damage to a child's soul.

Chu Sheng would squat down and say to Gu Yichen with a beaming smile, "It's because you are disobedient that your mother doesn't want you anymore."

"Chenchen, when your mother left, she didn't take you with her because she doesn't love you; the only one who loves you is me."

"Chenchen, call me 'Mom' and let me hear it."

"I told you to call me that!"

Chu Sheng would raise her hand and pinch him hard in places where it was difficult to notice: "Can you not understand human speech?"

"You really are an annoying child; no wonder your mother doesn't like you."

"Your parents are divorced; she will have her own children in the future, and she won't want you."

"From now on, you and I are family, understand?"

"Chenchen, why did you get such a high score again?"

The woman looked at him gently with a smile, but those eyes made one feel horrified and incredibly cold.

She did not like him being excellent in his studies or getting high scores.

…………

Fragments kept surfacing in Gu Yichen's mind, his complexion growing paler; from the time he was five until he was nine, Chu Sheng had haunted the Gu Family like a vengeful ghost.

Lin Jingshu always insisted that he cultivate a relationship with her, and the two spent a very, very long time together.

He looked up at Qin Shu and tried hard to open his mouth, but although he opened his mouth, he couldn't say a single word.

He could no longer speak.

Gu Yichen did not hear his own voice, and his face showed a hint of impatience and unease; the more anxious he became, the less he could produce even a shred of sound.

Seeing how anxious he was, Qin Shu felt a pang of heartache and quickly comforted him: "It's okay, we won't call out anymore."

Seeing him trembling all over, Qin Shu felt a pain so sharp she couldn't breathe and quickly said, "Chenchen, take a deep breath, take a deep breath."

Seeing Gu Yichen like this, Qin Shu's heart was dripping blood, bleeding profusely.

She did not understand how, in just four short years, her son had become like this!

Didn't Lin Jingshu treat Chenchen like the apple of her eye? How could she allow others to hurt him?

Gu Yichen was the eldest grandson of the Gu Family and the grandson Lin Jingshu valued most, so why had Chenchen become like this?

Qin Shu held the child tightly in her arms, coaxing him to sleep just as she had when he was little.

After confirming the child was asleep.

A surge of anger swirled around Qin Shu; she walked downstairs furiously and went up to Gu Tingyan: "How did Chenchen become like this?"

"Why can he no longer speak?"