No matter how good-tempered Gu Zhengnan was, he was starting to lose his cool now.
“What’s wrong with you, comrade? You were beaten up at noon, and I kindly spoke up for you, yet now you’re trying to pin this on me. As a female comrade, you should conduct yourself properly. You can’t just find any man to be the father of your children just because you got pregnant before marriage.”
Luo Dajiang and the others couldn’t help but laugh. “Boss, it’s all your fault for being too outstanding. You’ve only just returned to the country and already someone’s got their eye on you.”
With that, he cast a contemptuous look at Jiang Shutang. “Comrade, our boss is outstanding, sure, but he’s not for just anyone. You’re not bad-looking, I’ll give you that, but you’ve already got three kids in tow. Coming after our boss like this—he wouldn’t be able to handle it either.”
He had initially thought this female comrade was quite pretty and couldn’t help stealing a few more glances, but he never expected her character to be so poor.
Jiang Shutang’s eyes reddened with anger. She was a woman, after all, and she had her dignity. If this man hadn’t truly taken her innocence, would she have pinned this on someone else?
“Gu Zhengnan, six years ago in the summer, at the guesthouse in Chengnan, you got drunk and slept with me. When I woke up, you were already gone. Even if your face turned to ashes, I wouldn’t mistake it. You’re supposed to be a grown man—if you don’t want to take responsibility, fine—but now you won’t even acknowledge your children? Do you have any idea how I’ve lived these past six years!”
Jiang Shutang had only been eighteen back then. Now she was twenty-four. In those six years, if she had ever once lost hope, she would have been dead by now.
Gu Zhengnan hadn’t expected Jiang Shutang to speak with such conviction. Getting drunk at a guesthouse six years ago?
Six years ago, he had been in a car accident. When he woke up, he had lost part of his memory. Fortunately, his professional knowledge remained intact, and a few days later, he had rushed abroad.
In his memory, there was no trace of Jiang Shutang.
“Stop spouting nonsense. Zhengnan barely drinks at all. Even if he stayed at a guesthouse, how could he have ended up in your room? Don’t tell me you saw that our boss is handsome and comes from a good family, so you’re trying to throw yourself at him. Let me tell you, plenty of people like him, and someone like you doesn’t even come close.”
Luo Dajiang was always blunt in his speech, and now he was treating Jiang Shutang like a fly, afraid she might latch onto Gu Zhengnan.
Jiang Shutang stared fixedly at Gu Zhengnan. “If you have any conscience left, give me some money. Raising these children hasn’t been easy all these years. My family has cut ties with me. Now the four of us don’t know where our next meal is coming from. You saw what happened at noon—if no one had lent me food stamps, we would have starved to death by now.”
Jiang Shutang felt wronged, but so did Gu Zhengnan.
He was a young man who had never even been in a relationship, and suddenly a woman shows up claiming she gave birth to his three sons. Who could handle that?
What Jiang Shutang said was pitiful, and if it had been anyone else, out of sympathy, he would have given them some money. But with Jiang Shutang saying all this, if he gave her money, it would confirm the relationship, and he would face endless trouble afterward.
“I deeply sympathize with your situation, but I’m sorry. If I did something, I’ll own up to it. But if I didn’t, there’s no point in you pressuring me here.”
With that, Gu Zhengnan walked around Jiang Shutang and headed straight for the gate.
Jiang Shutang naturally didn’t want to let it go just like that. Because she had come to find Gu Zhengnan today, she hadn’t worked overtime tonight, which meant even less income.
If she couldn’t get a clear answer, wouldn’t all this time have been wasted?
She chased after him with her children, only to be blocked by Luo Dajiang and the others.
Luo Dajiang seemed good-natured when he was joking around, but once angered, he was quite intimidating.
“You’re a female comrade, so we don’t want to say anything too harsh. But if you keep making a scene here, I’ll hit even a woman.”
Jiang Shutang was furious. When she had seen Gu Zhengnan today, she thought she had finally caught this scumbag, and that with a man to help her, life would get better.
But this man was nothing but an ungrateful wolf who refused to acknowledge them at all.
This Luo Dajiang looked like trouble—he might actually throw a punch, and that would scare the children.
With no other choice, Jiang Shutang could only watch them leave.
The three little ones clutched their mother’s hands tightly, grief and indignation in their eyes.
When they had first seen Gu Zhengnan, they had been somewhat happy, because he was tall and handsome. If their father were someone like that, he would be better than many of the fathers of the children in the compound.
Over the years, the three children had been bullied plenty. Other kids called them fatherless bastards, saying even their own father didn’t want them.
But when they heard Gu Zhengnan refuse to acknowledge their existence, the three little ones felt disappointed and, at the same time, heartbroken for their mother.
Seeing Jiang Shutang’s grim expression, the oldest quickly tried to comfort her. “Mommy, don’t cry. We’ll always be with you. From now on, me and my brothers will eat less, so you won’t have to work so hard.”
Jiang Shutang wiped the corner of her eye and forced a smile.
“Come on, let’s go home.”
Giving up was out of the question for her. Since Gu Zhengnan refused to acknowledge it, she would have to start from scratch. Once she had the evidence in hand, he would have no choice but to admit it.
After He Jingting and the others left the compound, they drove straight to the Guoying Fandian.
They were all sons of well-off families, and today He Jingting had taken out his father’s car.
Once they arrived at the Guoying Fandian, they entered a private room. While waiting for the food, they inevitably brought up Jiang Shutang again.
“Zhengnan, what was that woman’s deal today? Why did she just latch onto you out of nowhere? Need us brothers to help out? If she keeps going to your workplace and slinging mud at you, it’ll damage your reputation over time.”
Luo Dajiang’s meaning was to privately warn Jiang Shutang to stop causing trouble for Gu Zhengnan.
Although Gu Zhengnan was displeased, he wouldn’t go so far as to threaten a female comrade like that.
“I don’t know what’s going on either, but this is all trivial. It’s nothing.”
Yang Long, sitting nearby, also spoke up. “Zhengnan, it’s all because you’ve got a face like that. Never mind a young widow—what female comrade could resist it? It’s only natural she’d chase after you. By the way, hasn’t your family been pressuring you? You’re twenty-six now, it’s time you found someone. Any girl you’ve got your eye on?”
Mentioning this gave Gu Zhengnan a headache.
“I don’t want to think about marriage anytime soon.”
But just then, He Jingting, who had been hesitating, spoke up.
“Zhengnan, that female comrade might not have been lying.”
The others had been chatting animatedly, but at He Jingting’s words, they fell silent instantly.
Luo Dajiang recovered first and frowned. “This isn’t something to joke about. Jingting, don’t talk nonsense.”
He Jingting’s expression turned serious as well.
“Six years ago, in the summer, Zhengnan did stay at that guesthouse. We saw him off that day and drank quite a bit. You all went home early, but I took Zhengnan to the guesthouse. While I stepped out to buy cigarettes, when I came back, I found he wasn’t sleeping in his own room. I waited a long while before he showed up. At the time, Zhengnan said he’d gotten himself into trouble. I asked him what happened, but he wouldn’t say. Then the next day he got into that car accident. When he woke up, I asked him about it again, but he had no memory of it.”