“Forget the apology. If you really mean it, just give me some money. Raising three kids on my own is really tough.”
Jiang Shutang had no other demands now—money was all she wanted.
After all, if Gu Zhengnan flat-out denied it, there was nothing she could do, and she might end up with nothing at all.
“This isn’t really about money. Giving you money won’t solve the problem.”
Jiang Shutang frowned. “If money can’t solve it, what can? Don’t try to talk me into anything else—I don’t have that kind of noble spirit. What I need right now is money. I can already see your attitude. You don’t want to acknowledge these three kids. If you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do about it, since I can’t produce any proof. As long as you agree to pay child support, I’ll never cause you any trouble again, and I’ll stay out of your sight. I’ll be like invisible air—out of sight, out of mind!”
As she spoke, Jiang Shutang raised her hand as if to swear an oath, afraid Gu Zhengnan wouldn’t believe her.
Seeing Jiang Shutang like this, Gu Zhengnan felt uneasy inside.
Everything he’d done before must have made him look like a heartless scumbag who’d seduced and abandoned her in her eyes.
She didn’t even dare to hope for anything more now—she just wanted some money.
Gu Zhengnan’s gaze swept across Jiang Shutang’s stunningly beautiful face, emotions churning in his chest.
This woman was truly gorgeous—not just beautiful, but captivating.
Her reputation at Jixie Chang was terrible. She was known as someone who used her looks to swindle and deceive, a rat everyone wanted to drive out.
He had initially looked down on her too, but now, thinking about it, what right did he have to judge Jiang Shutang? Everything she’d done was to raise her children.
At that thought, Gu Zhengnan couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
“Don’t worry. If that man really was me, I’ll take responsibility for you. I’ve done a simple investigation into this matter, and what happened should be as you described. But because I lost my memory, I have no recollection of that day at all. I’m truly sorry—it’s not that I seduced and abandoned you, but that I genuinely forgot.”
Jiang Shutang was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe amnesia plots existed in real life too. Sleep with someone, run off, then come back claiming you lost your memory? What a clever trick.
No wonder people said fiction was inspired by reality—it was true.
“So how do you plan to take responsibility?”
Jiang Shutang perked up with interest, straightening her back involuntarily.
Gu Zhengnan’s gaze carried a hint of caution. “What are your thoughts? I’d like to hear your opinion first.”
Jiang Shutang didn’t budge. She wasn’t stupid—this was like negotiating a business deal. The other side should make the first offer. What if she asked for fifty yuan a month but they were willing to give a hundred? You never knew.
“You go first. What are you thinking?”
Gu Zhengnan seemed to have made some kind of decision. It took him a long moment before he spoke. “Since I had relations with you, and you’ve now given birth to children, as a man, I should take responsibility for you. So my decision is to marry you—to give you a proper status.”
Hearing the words “marry you,” Jiang Shutang couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
She honestly hadn’t expected Gu Zhengnan to marry her. After all, the gap between their positions was enormous.
Gu Zhengnan came from an extremely wealthy family. Young as he was, he was already a Ci Yuanshi, and his future achievements were immeasurable.
But she was just a disgraced woman with three children born out of wedlock.
Not that she ever thought she had bad character or poor abilities, but that didn’t change how others judged her.
Her reputation at Jixie Chang was thoroughly ruined.
For such an unattainable man to marry her—if word got out, not only would Gu Zhengnan be unable to hold his head up, the entire Gu family would lose face.
This wasn’t Jiang Shutang putting herself down; it was just the social reality, the plain truth.
Besides, the fact that the two of them had slept together in a muddled state wasn’t something that could be openly discussed. It wasn’t exactly a proud matter—wasn’t it just two people messing around while drunk?
If anyone actually asked, they could only explain it to their own families. Otherwise, it wouldn’t just affect her—it would affect Gu Zhengnan’s political career too.
Seeing that Jiang Shutang remained silent, Gu Zhengnan felt uncertain.
“Comrade Jiang, what do you think?”
Jiang Shutang was about to refuse, but the words died in her throat. Raising three kids alone—her life was worse than a donkey on a production team. Although she had no feelings for the man in front of her, if they got married, his parents would have to help look after the children, wouldn’t they? They were their biological grandchildren after all.
And the three little ones would be starting school next year. Without a father, they might get bullied by other kids at school.
Jiang Shutang’s heart ached for her three children. She didn’t want them to grow up without a father’s love, and she didn’t want them to be looked down on.
With that in mind, marriage was the better choice.
“I think what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. Although all of this happened by accident, it’s already a fact, and now there are children. Forming a family would be beneficial for them.”
Gu Zhengnan inexplicably felt a weight lift off his shoulders. For some reason, he’d had a vague feeling just now that Jiang Shutang was about to turn him down.
As they spoke, the waiter had already brought all the dishes to the table.
Jiang Shutang was starving, her stomach practically stuck to her back. She picked up her chopsticks and looked at Gu Zhengnan.
“Comrade Gu, I’ll go ahead and start eating then.”
Gu Zhengnan nodded. “Alright.”
With that, Jiang Shutang focused entirely on the meal. They had ordered quite a lot—six dishes for two people—but she was so hungry that she nearly finished everything within half an hour.
Even Gu Zhengnan, a grown man, hadn’t eaten as much as she had.
That said, although she ate quickly, her table manners were still quite good—she didn’t wolf down her food or make any smacking sounds.
Gu Zhengnan didn’t find it off-putting at all. In fact, he felt that eating with Jiang Shutang made the meal more enjoyable.
The key was that her face was simply pleasing to look at—even without a trace of makeup, she still stood out remarkably.
When Jiang Shutang finally came to her senses, she realized she had finished the entire table of food, which made her feel somewhat embarrassed.
Gu Zhengnan, however, said nothing about it. He stood up, settled the bill, and then turned to look at Jiang Shutang.
“Comrade Jiang, take a look at what you’d like to bring back for the kids.”
Jiang Shutang didn’t stand on ceremony. She directly ordered a few meat dishes. Those three little ones, despite their young age, were formidable when it came to eating meat.
In the past, when they managed to get some meat Rou Piao, every time they divided it up, each child would only get a few pieces. This time, at last, they could eat their fill.
Besides, Gu Zhengnan was the children’s father—there was no need to save him money.
After carrying the packed meals outside, Gu Zhengnan spoke again.
“I’ll walk you back. We can discuss the marriage on the way.”
Jiang Shutang nodded, and the two walked side by side, chatting as they went.
Gu Zhengnan said that after returning home tonight, he would come clean with his family, explain the situation briefly, and then have Jiang Shutang discuss it with her family as well.
But Jiang Shutang let out a bitter laugh. “My father doesn’t even acknowledge me anymore. Now the only one in my family who still recognizes me is my mother. When we get married, I can only bring my mother.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhengnan’s hand pushing the bicycle trembled slightly, and his heart grew even heavier.
He knew that all of this was his doing. If it weren’t for him, Jiang Shutang wouldn’t have had to go through any of this.
“I’ll pay a personal visit to your home. For something like marriage, it’s best if both parents can attend—after all, it only happens once in a lifetime.”
Jiang Shutang glanced at Gu Zhengnan but said nothing more.