Chapter 148: The Mistress Brings Back a Child

When Wen Zhixia received an affirmative answer from Xu Qichen, although she already had an inkling of the truth in her heart, hearing it confirmed still left her silent for a moment.

"It's just a normal commercial collaboration. Because Auntie is an old acquaintance of Wu Wenjing, she holds some hope for the Zhang Group," Xu Qichen explained, making sure to clarify that the matter had nothing to do with Gu Pingsheng.

Whether Wen Zhixia believed him or not was unclear, as she remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

Xu Qichen paused. "Xia Xia, are you still there?"

Wen Zhixia snapped back to her senses. "Mm, I know."

Hearing her normal tone, Xu Qichen relaxed slightly. "You shouldn't get too involved in this matter, after all..."

After all, the ties between her and Gu Pingsheng had not been completely severed, and the two of them had once been extremely close.

Wen Zhixia understood this completely. "Mm, okay."

Xu Qichen smiled. "In a couple of days, once I finish handling things here, I'll come back to keep you company."

Wen Zhixia replied, "Okay, take good care of yourself."

Ever since the incident with the commercial, not only had various unfavorable rumors begun to circulate within the Gu Xia Group, but even during their leisure moments at Yihe Zhixia, employees could be heard discussing the matter in the pantry.

"How long will it take to resolve the Gu Xia Group's current predicament? Bribery is a cardinal taboo in bidding, and this is a major project heavily prioritized by the higher-ups. Could they end up being directly disqualified?"

"I heard that in the past, anyone suspected of bribery who couldn't prove their innocence within a short period would immediately lose their bidding eligibility. My uncle's daughter's friend's classmate is an internal employee at the Gu Xia Group. They said everyone has been working hard on this bid for a long time. Setting aside the financial investment, the costs in terms of time and manpower are massive."

"The crime of bribery also carries a prison sentence. President Gu is truly pitiful..."

Outside the door, Wen Zhixia listened quietly.

Gu Pingsheng had to deal with internal affairs within the group while constantly being summoned for questioning. Ever since Wen Zhixia stopped returning to Mirror Lake Manor, Gu Youzhi had fallen back into a state of quiet isolation. All day long, he would press himself against the window, staring blankly outside, unresponsive when spoken to. The vibrancy and liveliness had completely vanished from his big eyes.

Auntie Zhao and Auntie Wang were worried sick. During this past period, the child had clearly become visibly more cheerful and lively, so why did he now seem even worse than before?

Therefore, that same night, around midnight when Gu Pingsheng returned home, Auntie Zhao recounted the situation to him.

Gu Pingsheng pinched the bridge of his nose, fell silent for a few seconds, and then stood up. "I'll go check on him."

Little Youzhi was already asleep at this hour, but he seemed to vaguely sense someone beside him. His fan-like eyelashes blinked, and he rubbed his eyes with chubby little hands. Upon seeing that it was Gu Pingsheng, he pushed back the duvet and burrowed straight into his arms.

Gu Pingsheng gently patted his back with his large palm. "What's wrong?"

"Why... why isn't Mommy staying with us?" The little fellow sniffed with a grievance, his eyes welling up with tears.

Gu Pingsheng let out a low sigh, his deep voice tinged with a lingering melancholy. "Mommy... she's just still mad at me."

"What did Daddy do wrong?" Little Youzhi looked up.

Gu Pingsheng had no way to answer this question. From his perspective, he did not feel he had done anything wrong. Perhaps even if given a second chance to choose, he would likely still have chosen the same path. The only difference might be...

This time, he would have executed it with greater meticulousness, ensuring she wouldn't perceive the slightest trace of it.

In truth, he was simply that kind of person—stubbornly persistent to the core.

His definition of a man protecting his woman was shielding her from every single storm. Call it chauvinism if you will, but it was largely an attempt to make up for his past feelings of helplessness.

He always felt that Wen Zhixia had suffered far too many hardships when they were first building the business together from scratch, to the extent that later on, he wanted to present her with every good thing in the world, sparing her from work and worries alike.

Yet it seemed that such intentions had invisibly pushed her further and further away, ultimately leading to the present deadlock.

Facing his son's question now, Gu Pingsheng stroked the boy's small head and said, "I made her unhappy."

"Can't Daddy apologize to Mommy?" In a child's world, once someone made a mistake, apologizing meant they could make up.

Gu Pingsheng pinched the boy's chubby cheek. "Mm, I'll apologize. Tomorrow I'll send you to her side. Will you apologize for Daddy, okay?"

The little fellow's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly like a pounding pestle. "Mm-hmm."

Gu Pingsheng chuckled softly. "You ungrateful little thing."

Once the boy reached her side, he would probably cast his father completely out of his mind.

When Wen Zhixia came home from work and stepped into the Jingyuan residence, she saw Gu Youzhi standing obediently right by the entrance, bundled up tightly like a little rice dumpling, with a suitcase almost as tall as himself placed right beside him.

The little fellow naturally looked like a tiny glutinous rice ball to begin with, and because of the cold weather, Gu Pingsheng had dressed him very thickly. He looked all fluffy, with only a soft, round little face exposed, making his large eyes appear even more crystalline and bright.

Surprised, Wen Zhixia squatted down and glanced around, seeing no familiar figures nearby. "Little Dumpling, why are you here?"

Recalling his father's words—*Your mommy has a soft heart; when you see her, look into her eyes and act pathetic, understand?*—Little Youzhi hesitated.

Gu Youzhi was still too young to understand what acting pathetic meant, so he just tilted his small head and looked at her in confusion.

Gu Pingsheng had paused then and said: *...Just look at her like that, then.*

Naturally, their child was exquisitely handsome in a way few could rival, even though he hadn't turned out to be a little girl as he had originally wished.

"Mommy, Dumpling is so cold. Can Mommy let Dumpling in?" The little fellow fluttered his round, doll-like eyes, his gloved little fingers nervously clutching at Wen Zhixia's clothes as he asked in a sweet, milky voice.

Wen Zhixia looked at the suitcase beside him and paused. "This suitcase... where is your father?"

"Daddy... he didn't have time, he'll be back very late." The little boy lowered his head, looking utterly dejected.

Wen Zhixia paused, naturally thinking of the bidding incident.

"Mommy, Dumpling is cold." He looked aggrieved and pitiful.

When Wen Zhixia walked into Jingyuan carrying a tiny toddler in her arms, the domestic helpers looked over in astonishment at the adorable little boy. "Madam, whose child is this? He looks so cute."

"Indeed, he looks like a little fairy child," another helper chimed in.

Wen Zhixia merely explained that he was the child of a friend. "Pour him a cup of warm milk to warm him up."

In unfamiliar surroundings, Gu Youzhi kept himself pressed tightly against Wen Zhixia, his eyes holding a trace of unease since he rarely interacted with outsiders.

Soothingly, Wen Zhixia pinched his cheek. "It's fine, they won't hurt you." She carried him over to the sofa, sat him down right beside her, took off his little scarf to set aside, and removed his heavy coat. "How did you get here?"

Gu Youzhi mumbled, "Zhou... Uncle Zhou." He brought me.

Wen Zhixia asked, "Why aren't you at Mirror Lake Manor? What are you doing here?"

Gu Youzhi pouted, looking as though he were about to burst into tears.

Unsure of what she had said wrong, Wen Zhixia stammered, "I..."

"Does Mommy not like Dumpling anymore? Is Mommy going to have another Dumpling with some other uncle? Is Dumpling not going to have a Mommy anymore? Wuwuwu..." The little fellow burst into tears, rubbing his eyes with his chubby little hands.

Unaccustomed to coaxing children, Wen Zhixia took the glass of milk handed over by a helper and used a tissue to wipe his tears. "Alright, I won't ask anymore. Drink your milk first."

Meanwhile, the nearby helpers were startled by the boy's repeated cries of "Mommy." Wen Zhixia and Xu Qichen didn't have any children, so where had this child come from?

The helpers exchanged glances, their gazes carrying a hint of strange speculation.

Wen Zhixia seemed to sense this as well, but in front of the sobbing child, she offered no further explanation to avoid distressing him further.

A child of this age was at the stage where he desperately craved parental companionship. Since Gu Pingsheng had told him she was his mommy, the little fellow had clearly fixated on her, a fact that gave Wen Zhixia quite a headache.

"Sir is back!"

Seeing a car pull up outside, a helper hurried out to greet him joyfully.

Hearing this, Wen Zhixia glanced at Gu Youzhi, who was holding his cup and sipping his milk, her brows knitting together slightly.

Jin Mao opened the car door, and Xu Qichen stepped out on his long legs. Originally scheduled to return tomorrow, he had decided to come back a day early without prior notice because he wanted to see her sooner.

Holding a gift box, he shed his outer coat. "Has Madam returned?"

While nodding, the helper hesitated with a hesitant expression. "She's back, but..."

Lifting his gaze slightly, Xu Qichen asked, "What happened?"

The helper lowered her voice. "It's just... Madam brought back a child, and that child keeps calling... calling Madam 'Mommy'."

Hearing this behind him, Jin Mao instinctively thought of Gu Pingsheng's child and cast a cautious, sidelong glance at Xu Qichen.

Without any drastic change in expression, Xu Qichen handed his coat to the helper. "Whose child is it?"

The helper replied, "...We aren't clear about that."

Without asking further, Xu Qichen stood in the entryway while a helper half-crouched to place slippers at his feet. After changing his shoes, Xu Qichen walked into the living room holding the gift box.

Seeing him return, Wen Zhixia stood up. "Didn't you say you were coming back tomorrow?"

Xu Qichen handed the gift to her and kissed her forehead. "I wanted to see you sooner, so I came back early."

Wen Zhixia smiled, lifting her eyes as if wanting to say something, but Xu Qichen's gaze had already fallen upon the little tail behind her.

Gu Youzhi was standing right behind Wen Zhixia—tiny, obedient, and looking so cute that anyone who saw him would instantly feel a sense of fondness.

"This child is..."

Wen Zhixia knew that even if she casually concocted an excuse to brush it off, she couldn't fool Xu Qichen. "He is..."

"Mommy, Dumpling wants to go to the restroom." Gu Youzhi tugged at Wen Zhixia's hand, holding his little belly with his other hand.

"I'll take him to the restroom first," Wen Zhixia said.

Xu Qichen nodded, his eyes deepening as he watched the two figures retreat.

"Sir, it's that child," Jin Mao stepped forward and whispered.