Chapter 183

Chapter 183: Chen Wan's Plan "Tangtang, it's over." Jiang Shixu's voice was low and slightly hoarse. "Fu Yuanzhou is dead. Everything is over." Chu Tang's heart suddenly began to race. "Are you... are you alright?" There was a brief pause on the other end. The next second, Jiang Shixu's voice came through the phone: "I'm fine." Thank goodness he was fine. Chu Tang let out a sigh of relief. Her heart, which had been suspended high in the air, finally settled back into place. She had been terrified that Jiang Shixu might get hurt going to Country A to deal with Fu Yuanzhou. "I'll hang up now. Time to eat," Chu Tang said. "Tangtang, wait for me." Jiang Shixu's voice was gentle. Chu Tang didn't reply. She hung up the phone directly. Her mind was a tangled mess right now. Fu Yuanzhou's matter was resolved, but what about Old Mrs. Jiang? And now Ruan Shaodong also held a lot of resentment toward the Jiang family. As for herself, she couldn't just ignore the harm she had suffered before and start over with him. "Tangtang, time to eat!" Yang Xuelian called out, pulling Chu Tang's thoughts back. "Coming." Chu Tang pushed aside the distracting thoughts in her head and walked toward the dining room. ... Ever since learning that Chen Wan was pregnant, Meng Yaqin had been beaming with joy every single day. Gu Zechuan hadn't yet told Meng Yaqin about the Gu Group's situation. He wanted to try to salvage things as much as possible, planning to tell her only when he truly couldn't hold on any longer. So Meng Yaqin remained completely in the dark. Even with the fire practically licking at their eyebrows, she still carried herself like a wealthy matriarch, dressed in jewels and finery, her face radiant and glowing. That afternoon, Meng Yaqin brought her housekeeper along to buy some nutritional supplements for pregnant women, then sent the housekeeper to a members-only supermarket to purchase premium organic vegetables and an old hen, preparing to go to Chen Wan's apartment to make her a nourishing old hen soup. When they arrived at Chen Wan's apartment. Meng Yaqin beamed as she took Chen Wan's hand, asking this and that, full of concern. Chen Wan, however, seemed low-spirited and merely gave perfunctory replies. Meng Yaqin assumed Chen Wan's mood was affected by pregnancy hormones, so she didn't take offense. She simply had the housekeeper put away the supplements and said, "Xiao Wang, go and start simmering the old hen soup for the young mistress." The housekeeper responded, "Yes, ma'am." That title—"young mistress"—was something Chen Wan had once dreamed of hearing. But now, hearing it only filled her with agitation and irritation. She didn't understand business matters, but she had heard people say that the Gu Group was now drowning in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. If she married into the Gu family at a time like this, she would be saddled with enormous debt, and her life would be ruined forever. "What's wrong, Wanwan? Are you feeling unwell?" Meng Yaqin noticed her strange demeanor and asked with concern. Chen Wan gave a blank "Mm" in response. "Pregnancy is like that. Sometimes your emotions dip and you feel irritable, sometimes you might even feel depressed." Meng Yaqin held Chen Wan's hand, putting on the airs of a doting mother-in-law, and said with a smile: "It was the same when I was pregnant with Zechuan. Sometimes when the mood hit, everything looked wrong to me. Why don't you move into our house? With servants to take care of you, I'd feel more at ease." "No need, Auntie Meng." Chen Wan subtly withdrew her hand. "I'm used to living here. I'm afraid I wouldn't be comfortable moving." Meng Yaqin didn't suspect anything and nodded. "That's true. Stay wherever you're most comfortable. How about I have Xiao Wang come over every day to look after you? Or would it be convenient for her to stay here? Having someone to take care of you would put my mind at ease. Zechuan is busy handling company matters and can't look after you properly." At this, Chen Wan's eyes darted around. Following Meng Yaqin's lead, she didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Auntie Meng, how's the company doing lately?" "Hm? What do you mean?" Meng Yaqin was a bit puzzled as to why Chen Wan would suddenly ask that. Chen Wan probed: "It's just that Zechuan has been nowhere to be seen for days. I went to the company to look for him, and he wasn't there many times. Has something happened at the company recently?" Meng Yaqin was a full-time housewife who kept her ears shut to the outside world. All she did all day was shop, get beauty treatments, play mahjong, and have afternoon tea. She had no idea how the company was doing. When Chen Wan asked this, Meng Yaqin didn't grow suspicious. She simply assumed Chen Wan genuinely cared about Gu Zechuan, so she smiled and replied, "It's the same as always. Zechuan and his father haven't told me anything. Maybe they've just been busy lately. I'll have a word with Zechuan—no matter how busy he is, he can't neglect his wife and child. I'll tell him to make more time for you." Seeing that Meng Yaqin knew nothing, Chen Wan stopped probing. "Auntie, there's no need to have the housekeeper move in. It wouldn't be convenient for me here." Meng Yaqin's expression showed some hesitation. "I'm worried something might happen to you living alone. A pregnant woman needs someone to keep an eye on her." What could possibly happen? Chen Wan rolled her eyes inwardly. She had already started entertaining the idea of an abortion. If Meng Yaqin arranged for someone to move in and watch her all day, how could she possibly go through with it? The Gu family was about to go bankrupt. There was absolutely no way she could have this child. The pregnancy was still early—it wasn't too late to terminate it. If the baby were actually born, there would be no putting it back. Even if she didn't marry Gu Zechuan and didn't have to bear the Gu family's debts, carrying around a burden would make it hard to find another match. Raising a child alone—how exhausting would that be? She wasn't that stupid. Chen Wan schemed about having an abortion in her mind, but on the surface, she remained composed. She smiled and made up a story: "My mother heard I'm pregnant and has already bought a plane ticket. With her here to take care of me, you don't need to worry." "Your mother is coming to Jiangcheng? That's wonderful." Meng Yaqin said with a smile. "What day does she arrive? I'll arrange a welcome banquet to receive her." The Gu Group had already moved its headquarters to Jiangcheng back when Sun Licheng invested. At that time, Gu Zechuan had bought a villa in Jiangcheng specifically to win Ruan Chutang back and settle down there. Now the whole Gu family lived in Jiangcheng. Chen Wan, imitating how Ruan Chutang had pestered Gu Zechuan to buy her a fully furnished apartment during her time as a willing stand-in, now lived in that apartment herself. Never mind that her mother hadn't actually bought a ticket—even if her mother really did come, there was no way she could let Meng Yaqin meet her. The Gu family was a blazing pit of fire right now. She couldn't dodge it fast enough; there was no way she'd let the Gu family meet her own family. Chen Wan put on a gentle, demure look, smiling softly, and said, "Auntie, no rush. We can talk about it later." Hearing this, Meng Yaqin furrowed her brow and asked, "What's wrong, Wanwan? Is it because Zechuan has been neglecting you lately, and you're upset, so you don't want the two families to meet so soon?" Chen Wan had been racking her brain for a suitable excuse. Meng Yaqin's words handed her the perfect pretext on a silver platter. Chen Wan pouted, putting on a wronged expression, and lowered her eyes as she said, "Yes, Auntie. I feel like Zechuan is caring less and less about me. He never wanted this child in the first place." She had only meant to fake sadness, but after saying those words, Chen Wan actually did feel a bit hurt. After all, her feelings for Gu Zechuan were genuine, and she had once looked forward to this child's arrival. Thinking back to the day she'd brought the pregnancy report to Gu Zechuan, and how he'd told her to abort the baby without a moment's hesitation, she felt a pang of grievance. Her words carried a measure of genuine emotion. But she was long past the age of being ruled by her heart. She did love Gu Zechuan, but love couldn't put food on the table. If she married him now, her life would be ruined. Hearing Chen Wan's words, Meng Yaqin gently patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Auntie will handle it for you. Tonight, I'll have Zechuan come over to keep you company." What use was his company now? Chen Wan muttered inwardly. "Forget it, Auntie. Zechuan is very busy, and I don't want to cause him trouble. Once he's done with this stretch of work, he should come and keep me company on his own." Hearing this, Meng Yaqin's eyes were full of approval. "Wanwan is so considerate. No wonder you're the daughter-in-law I've set my heart on."