Ever since she learned that she was carrying a little life inside her, Gu Wan had developed a habit. Whenever she had nothing to do, she liked to stroke her belly and chat with the baby.
A former coworker had told her that doing this could help the baby become accustomed to its mother’s voice early on and give it a sense of security. After the baby was born, hearing its mother’s voice would make it feel safe and less likely to be startled. It would also make it easier for the mother to soothe the baby.
The sight of Gu Wan sighing as she stroked her belly made the security guard uncle suspicious.
“Young comrade, are you… pregnant?”
Only then did Gu Wan realize that she had unconsciously started rubbing her belly again.
“Yes. I’m already three months along.”
The security guard’s expression became tense.
“Three months? Then why aren’t you staying safely at home? What are you doing out here buying lumber? Where’s your husband?”
“My husband is in the military. I’m the only one at home. The baby will be born soon, so I wanted to raise some chickens and ducks and collect their eggs. That way, I can give the baby some extra nutrition.”
“Sigh…”
The security guard let out a long sigh.
“You’re all alone at home, and you’re a woman at that. It really isn’t easy.”
“You’re just trying to build a chicken coop and a pigpen, right? You don’t need to buy good-quality lumber. Some scrap pieces will do. You don’t need a letter of introduction for those. You can buy them freely. All right, don’t bother yourself anymore. Wait here. I’ll go get some for you.”
Gu Wan thanked the security guard and then sat on the chair he brought out for her, enjoying the cool breeze while waiting for him.
Over the past few days, her belly seemed to have become noticeably more prominent. It felt as though the baby had grown quite a bit again.
There were only three days left before she would leave Beishi by train.
She still had many things to do, and she hadn’t yet found an opportunity to empty her scumbag father’s secret stash.
She could forcefully take it, of course, but that would expose her space, which wouldn’t do her much good.
She had to come up with a discreet plan that would kill two birds with one stone.
Just as she was thinking about it, the security guard directed a truck out.
The truck was loaded with lumber, most of it scrap pieces with incomplete bark still attached. There were also several good-quality boards mixed in, which the security guard had probably added specifically for her.
“Young comrade, is this enough? The whole load is twenty yuan!”
“What?”
Gu Wan was stunned.
An entire truckload of lumber only cost twenty yuan?
“These are all useless scraps. They aren’t worth much, but they’re perfectly fine for building a chicken coop or a pigpen.”
“Then thank you so much, Uncle! I’ll get the money for you.”
While pretending to take money out of her pocket, Gu Wan secretly took a bottle of liquor from her space.
She had just noticed a half-empty bottle of liquor on the security guard’s desk and realized that he liked strong liquor. Fortunately, among the bottled liquor she had bought, there was some strong baijiu.
She handed the money and the bottle to the security guard.
“Meeting you today really is my good fortune, Uncle. This bottle isn’t worth much. Please accept it as a small token of my appreciation.”
“Oh my, young comrade, you really… Thank you, thank you!”
“I should be the one thanking you. You’ve helped me so much.”
“Why are you being so polite? Get in the truck. I’ll have the driver take you home.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”
“No, no, it’s fine. Get in. I’ll tell him.”
Gu Wan had no choice but to thank the security guard and get into the truck. She would figure something out along the way.
There was no way she could actually let him take her all the way home.
The driver was also very helpful after receiving the security guard’s instructions.
“Where should I drive?”
Gu Wan had no choice but to tell him to keep going and that it wasn’t too far.
Eventually, they reached an area beside some fields. Far away, a house stood in the middle of the farmland.
Gu Wan hurriedly told the driver to stop.
“That’s it. Just unload it by the roadside.”
The driver looked toward the house in the middle of the fields.
“Want me to drive it over there for you?”
Gu Wan quickly waved her hands.
“No, no. The road over there is too narrow. The truck could easily get stuck. Just unload everything here. I’ll find someone to help me transport it later.”
The driver looked at the narrow dirt path between the fields and said nothing more. He unloaded the lumber beside the road.
Gu Wan took two packs of cigarettes from her space and placed them on the dashboard.
“Thank you, Big Brother. Sorry to trouble you with the extra trip.”
The driver’s eyes lit up when he saw the two packs of cigarettes.
This trip had turned out to be quite worthwhile.
Gu Wan got out of the truck and watched until it had driven far away and disappeared from sight.
Only then did she store all the lumber into her space.
Afterward, she walked to the nearest bus stop and took a bus home.
The makeup Gu Wan had used while pretending to be Li Mingyue had already been removed, but she had deliberately left some of it behind, making her complexion look somewhat ashen.
Her scumbag father, stepmother, Li Mingyue, and Zhang Xiaowei had waited at home for Gu Wan all day.
They had originally thought she would return with her divorce certificate before noon.
Instead, they waited all the way until afternoon without seeing her.
Everyone had their own thoughts, but they were all secretly regretting the same thing.
If we’d known this would happen, we should have gone with her to keep an eye on her.
Just as they were becoming increasingly suspicious, they saw Gu Wan return with a pale, ashen face.
Everyone was puzzled and gathered around her.
But Gu Wan simply stared straight at Zhang Xiaowei.
“Xiaowei, will you really marry me? Will you accept my child?”
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.
When it came to the child, they were all in agreement: the baby had to be aborted.
If this child were born, the baby would become an heir to Gu Wan’s inheritance.
That was something none of them wanted to see.
Moreover, they had planned to frame Gu Wan and send her to the countryside under the label of a capitalist heiress. That way, all the attention would be focused on her, while everyone who stayed behind could live peacefully without worry.
But if she were pregnant, then under the protective policies, she wouldn’t be required to go to the countryside.
That meant Li Mingyue would have to go instead.
Therefore, no matter what, the child had to be aborted.
Zhang Xiaowei’s expression darkened.
“Didn’t we agree? You’d get divorced, have the baby aborted, and then we’d get married and be together.”
Tears immediately streamed down Gu Wan’s face.
“So the staff at the office were right. You never truly intended to marry me!
“I’ve already divorced Li Xiaoyu. If I get rid of this child, then I’ll be completely cut off from him, and there’ll never be any possibility of us getting back together.
“If you won’t marry me, what am I supposed to do? I’ve already reached the point of no return.”
Gu Wan cried miserably, but everyone still caught the key point.
She had already divorced Li Xiaoyu!
That meant Li Xiaoyu had been eliminated from any possibility of inheriting her fortune. Gu Wan’s household registration must already have been transferred to the Li family’s household.
Now, as long as they got rid of the child in her belly, the entire inheritance would unquestionably belong to their family.
While everyone was thinking about how to get rid of the child, Gu Wan continued crying.
“The staff member said that if I get divorced and no longer have the baby in my belly, I’ll have to go to the countryside. There’ll be no way around it.
“I don’t want to go to the countryside, so I absolutely cannot get rid of my baby.”
Suddenly, Gu Wan hardened her expression.
“Zhang Xiaowei, if you refuse to marry me, I’ll just find someone else and marry him. Either way, I’m not leaving Beishi.”
The moment they heard this, everyone panicked.
What happened to her?
What kind of shock did she suffer while she was out?
She only went out to get divorced. What on earth did the staff member tell this foolish girl?
How did she go from getting divorced to wanting to marry some random man the moment she came home?