I really want to break her neck, so no one would harm my two children.
Gu Wenshu tried to pry his hands away, forcing herself to stay calm as she said, “Li Xiuran, what are you doing? Killing is against the law. Are you deliberately breaking the law?”
“Don’t forget, I’m the children’s mother. Do you want to kill their mother with your own hands?”
Hearing the word “children,” Li Xiuran calmed down a bit. He coldly glanced at the woman whose face was deathly pale and who was struggling to breathe. Just a little more force, and he could snap this woman’s neck.
If this woman died, the tragedies from his dreams would never happen.
But thinking of the children’s attachment to her, recalling her gentle demeanor when she had just comforted them, he closed his eyes and resignedly released his grip.
He thought to himself, as long as he kept a close watch, his two children would never suffer the miserable fate they did in his dreams.
Gu Wenshu collapsed to the ground, finally having escaped death. She felt immensely relieved. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the man’s furious, restrained expression, and in her heart, she cursed the woman who only dared to act tough outside but allowed herself to be bullied at home and even beat the children behind closed doors countless times.
Remembering all the despicable things the original owner had done, she realized she had no room to defend herself.
All she wanted to say now was: “What the hell? How did I end up in such a ridiculous situation?”
“Gu Wenshu, I witnessed you making the deal with them myself.”
Instantly, Gu Wenshu felt as if her heart had stopped.
She stared at Li Xiuran in disbelief, only to see him give a cold, mocking smile. “At that moment, I really wanted to go out and kill you.”
Three months ago, he had been injured and gone missing while carrying out a secret mission. During the days he lay unconscious, he was tormented by a recurring nightmare in which his two children were sold and met tragic ends.
Driven by fear and the desire to protect his children, he managed to survive.
Unexpectedly, his team had searched for half a month without finding any trace of him. The news of his sacrifice and the pension were sent to the Production Team. By the time he returned to his unit to complete his mission, it was too late to stop the message.
He had no choice but to rush back to his hometown.
Little did he expect that, after narrowly escaping death, he would return to witness his wife selling their two children. He couldn’t even describe how he felt at that moment.
Compounded by the vague, indistinct nightmares that haunted him, his frustration grew, and he felt an overwhelming urge to kill.
Gu Wenshu was stunned by the man’s words. She had assumed he had only uncovered some clues, never imagining he had seen it with his own eyes.
She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.
Truly, what a disaster.
Seeing her shocked expression, Li Xiuran’s eyes turned icy cold. Then he dropped another bombshell: “That couple were human traffickers.”
Gu Wenshu gasped, her hands and feet turning cold instantly. She couldn’t bear to imagine what would have happened to Xiao Ni’er and Sanbao if they had been taken away by those two. She felt immensely grateful that the children had been rescued by Li Xiuran.
She glanced at Li Xiuran and, in her heart, cursed the original owner over and over again. Biting her lip, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t know why, but whenever she thought of the children facing danger or being harmed, she felt an uncontrollable panic and fear. It was as if they were truly her own, born after ten months of pregnancy.
Without even looking at her, he turned away and said coldly, “Stay away from the children from now on. We’ll find time to get a divorce. The children will stay with me, and you will leave.”
“Impossible.”
Gu Wenshu looked agitated, staring intently at Li Xiuran. “Children need their mother. Can you guarantee you won’t remarry in the future? Or can you promise that if you do remarry, your new wife will wholeheartedly care for both children?”
“Have you ever seen a stepmother who genuinely treats children well?”
She didn’t know why she reacted so strongly upon hearing about divorce. Her heart felt as if struck by something heavy, aching terribly. A voice in her mind kept reminding her: Don’t divorce, never divorce, even if it means death. And never leave the children.
Just the thought of leaving made her so distressed she wanted to cry, as if leaving would mean losing something more precious than life itself.
Closing her eyes, images flooded her mind—a man tucking a woman into bed, washing her feet, gently rocking a child in his arms. Before leaving, he handed the woman a stack of money, urging her to hide it from the family.
Those memories felt both hers and not hers, relentlessly crashing through her mind.
Leaning against the wall, she breathed rapidly, her face pale, looking utterly disheveled.
“I will never divorce. You can give up on that idea.”
After saying this, the panic inside her unexpectedly vanished, and she found it easier to breathe.
Li Xiuran’s expression shifted at her words. He had indeed seen many stepmothers abuse or spoil stepchildren. Entrusting his children to someone else was out of the question, but he couldn’t leave them with this woman either.
He feared she might go mad and sell the children again—he couldn’t bear the pain of losing them.
“I won’t remarry.”
To protect his children from being mistreated, remaining unmarried was the only option.
Just as Gu Wenshu was about to say more, frantic knocking came from outside. “Gu Wenshu, you vixen! You’ve even brought your lover home!”
It was Chen Hongzhen’s voice.
Hearing the furious shouts, Gu Wenshu felt her temples throbbing. It seemed her earlier lesson hadn’t been harsh enough.
Her gaze swept over the stick the original owner used to beat the children, leaning against the wall. Without a second thought, she grabbed it and stormed out, swinging the stick hard at Chen Hongzhen as soon as she opened the door.
“How dare you spew filth! How dare you spread rumors! How dare you ruin my reputation!”
“You’re the vixen! Your whole family are vixens!”
Chen Hongzhen dodged while shouting, “I’m not lying! The Old Butcher from the neighboring village has already come for you. Why won’t you admit it?”
At that moment, a greasy voice came from behind. “Wenshu, I’ve come to take you home.”
“Come with me quickly. I’ve stewed meat at home. Let’s go eat.”
Gu Wenshu turned to see a short, plump, oily man in his forties leering at her. She quickly searched the original owner’s memories and identified him—the butcher from the slaughterhouse her malicious stepmother had arranged for her to marry. The original owner had met him once before.
Seeing his repulsive appearance, she felt her eyes burning. She wondered what the original owner saw in him—this greasy man was nothing compared to Li Xiuran.
A cold smile curled her lips as she raised the stick and swung it fiercely at the greasy man.
“Where did this lunatic come from, daring to tarnish my reputation?”
Her stick whistled through the air with formidable force, leaving the middle-aged butcher no chance to fight back as he could only cover his head and flee wildly.
“Call me Wenshu again, and I’ll kill you.”
The butcher dodged while shouting, “Your parents have already accepted fifty yuan in betrothal gifts. You have to marry me!”
Gu Wenshu’s stick came down even faster: “My mother died long ago. Whoever took your money should marry you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the butcher was sent flying by a kick from Li Xiuran.
Li Xiuran pulled Gu Wenshu behind him with one hand, his gaze icy and terrifying as he swept it over the middle-aged butcher: “Listen clearly. Gu Wenshu is my wife. Whoever took your money, just go and take them home.”
“But remember, you cannot touch anyone who belongs to Li Xiuran.”
Li Xiuran turned and gave the woman a calm glance: “Go back and watch the children.”
After saying this, he strode forward, grabbed the butcher, and dragged him outside. The butcher struggled repeatedly to break free but found that even with all his pig-slaughtering strength, he couldn’t escape Li Xiuran’s iron grip.
The onlookers in the courtyard quickly dispersed. Gu Wenshu shot a glance at Chen Hongzhen, who never learned her lesson: “Sister-in-law, if your skin feels tight, just let me know. I’ll help loosen it for you again.”
Chen Hongzhen’s face twisted with rage.
This woman had gone mad today, actually daring to fight back. No, she absolutely couldn’t let her stay in this house any longer.
She glared at Gu Wenshu: “Don’t get too cocky. There’ll be a day when you’re crying.”
With that, she swayed her hips and returned to her room, though her entire body ached with every step.
She hated Gu Wenshu to the core.
Gu Wenshu returned to the room and found the two little ones still asleep. Looking at their thin, gaunt faces and then thinking of Li Cuizhu’s plump, round cheeks, her heart ached. She gently stroked the children’s faces and whispered, “From now on, Mom will make sure you grow plump and healthy. You’ll never go hungry again.”
Xiaoni suddenly opened her eyes and giggled: “Mom, are you raising piglets?”
Startled by the little one’s sudden awakening, Gu Wenshu reached out with playful claws to pinch her cheeks: “Yes, from now on, Mom will be raising two little piglets.”
Xiaoni giggled under her mother’s teasing: “Brother, brother, wake up! Mom says we’re little piglets.”
Li Xiuran stood outside the door, watching the mother and daughter interact. Hearing their laughter, he saw them mischievously wake Sanbao, and soon the three of them were tumbling and playing together.
Listening to his children’s laughter, his expression softened involuntarily, and the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile.
His mind suddenly recalled Gu Wenshu’s words earlier, and then he thought about how her stepmother had sold her once and was trying to do it again. The thought of divorce suddenly faded away. Remembering what the two traffickers had said that day, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He strode toward Granny Li’s room.
Before long, Granny Li’s furious roar echoed from inside.