Chapter 360 - 358: The Result

Chapter 360: Chapter 358: The Result

"That’s the truth. Man proposes, but God disposes," Chen Shulan added with a sigh. "It’s one thing to be a little calculating in life, but you have to have a kind heart. If you don’t, karma will get you sooner or later."

Wen Xiu nodded nonstop. Just as she was about to say more, a group of people suddenly swarmed into the kitchen. Besides Lin Qin and Zhang Minzhen, Gu Nuan Nuan and Zhang Laodi were there too.

Wen Xiu was surprised to see Laidi with them. She immediately took her hand and said comfortingly, "Laidi, you must have been terrified these past two days. Don’t be afraid. Today, as soon as your aunt in the city heard what happened, she said you should come live with us. In a couple of days, after the holiday, we’ll have your uncle handle your school transfer paperwork. You’ll go to school in the city with us. Since your mom can’t stand you, we’ll just make sure you don’t have to see her anymore. Out of sight, out of mind. As for that father of yours... the less said, the better. He’s a hopeless fool."

"Okay, Grandma. I’ll do whatever you say," Zhang Laodi nodded, her eyes welling with tears.

"Don’t be sad. You’re better off without parents like that. Now that you’re away from them, your life will only get better from here on out," Chen Shulan chimed in, trying to console her. Zhang Laodi didn’t say a word, just kept nodding and crying. She’d already heard so many words of comfort just moments before, and she’d shed so many tears—all of them tears of gratitude...

"Stop crying now. We managed to get you out, and everything went so smoothly. You should be happy," Zhang Minzhen said, pulling out a handkerchief to help Zhang Laodi wipe away her tears.

"Okay," Zhang Laodi nodded. She took the handkerchief, wiped her tears away, and forced a small smile. "Auntie, I am happy. I really am."

"Silly girl, if you don’t feel like smiling, then don’t," Zhang Minzhen said, looking at her tenderly. "When you’re with family, you never have to force yourself to do anything."

"Take your time. Some things can’t be rushed," Wen Xiu added, casting a compassionate glance at Zhang Laodi before looking at the others. "It’s a good thing our kitchen is so big, otherwise it couldn’t fit all of you barging in at once. Since you’re here, make yourselves useful. Many hands make light work. We’ll eat early today so there’s plenty of time to relax and enjoy the meal. That way you won’t have to rush through dinner or hurry on the road home."

"Leaving so soon?" Chen Shulan exclaimed in surprise. "I thought they’d at least stay through the holiday! It’s only a few days away. It’s such a long drive, why not just wait and go back after?"

"They’re busy," Wen Xiu said offhandedly.

"That’s right. If this hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have come back early," Zhang Minzhen added. "There’s just too much to do at the company. We left in such a hurry that we didn’t get to hand things off properly, so we have to go back."

"That makes sense. You’re all busy with important work. People only see the money you make, not all the things you have to worry about. With an entire company to run, you can’t be gone for long. You barely have any freedom, do you?" Chen Shulan remarked with a sigh.

"Isn’t that the truth..."

Before Wen Xiu could even finish her thought, Zhang Minzhen grew impatient and nudged her. "Mom, stop talking about that. Hurry up and tell us what happened when you went over there!"

"The process? Heh. She did something shameful, so of course she had a guilty conscience. It only took a few sentences to scare her into submission."

Wen Xiu smiled triumphantly and began to recount the events in detail. Everyone listened intently; even Zhang Laodi perked up her ears. When Wen Xiu described how she’d slapped Guo Xiuying, a wave of satisfaction washed over the group. Zhang Laodi was no exception—in fact, she secretly felt a great deal of relief.

Just as Wen Xiu finished her story, Chen Shulan’s daughter-in-law, Xie Xuehua, arrived. When she asked what had happened, Wen Xiu had no choice but to repeat the whole tale from the beginning. Far from being impatient, everyone listened again with a strange excitement, the story sparking all kinds of new discussions.

Gu Nuan Nuan only heard the final outcome of the affair a few days later, after returning from gathering herbs in the mountains.

After returning to the city that day, Zhang Wei Qiang arranged things at his company. The very next morning, he sent the three marked blood samples to a hospital in the provincial capital for a rush DNA test. The results came back, and just as they suspected, Zhang Tianci was not Zhang Weimin’s son. He was Xu Banxian’s.

Even though Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu had been mentally prepared for it, the result still left them half-dead with rage. Coincidentally, Zhang Tianci, who had been hospitalized for treatment, had recovered enough to be sent home. So, the day they received the results, they immediately summoned Guo Xiuying’s family.

Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu didn’t mention Xu Banxian. They simply produced the DNA report proving Zhang Tianci was not Zhang Weimin’s biological son. When Guo Xiuying didn’t deny it and instead began to tremble like a leaf, Zhang Weimin, in front of her entire family, beat her half to death, demanding to know the name of her lover. Incredibly, Guo Xiuying remained tight-lipped. Who knows what kind of spell Xu Banxian had cast on her, but she refused to give him up.

The more she refused to talk, the more viciously Zhang Weimin hit her.

Guo Xiuying’s family couldn’t believe she was capable of such a disgraceful act. Instead of stopping Zhang Weimin, they joined in on the beating. If Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu hadn’t finally stepped in, unable to bear it and fearing she would be killed, Guo Xiuying might very well have been beaten to death right then and there.

The divorce went smoothly.

Guo Xiuying’s family had initially wanted to plead on her behalf. But then they learned she had tried to harm her own daughter—to send the girl to Xu Banxian to be defiled for some nonsensical reason. They also learned she was the one who had nearly gotten Zhang Tianci killed. After that, her family lost all face. They no longer had any grounds to ask for mercy for Zhang Laodi’s sake. Bitterly, they took Guo Xiuying and her son, Zhang Tianci, and went home.

Zhang Weimin and Guo Xiuying’s divorce became the talk of the village. When people heard that Zhang Tianci had been left mentally disabled, their first assumption was that the Zhang family had kicked the mother and son out because of it. The villagers gossiped endlessly. While no one dared to say it to their faces, many people whispered behind their backs that the Zhangs were being too cruel. That all stopped when the Zhang family let it slip that Zhang Tianci wasn’t Zhang Weimin’s biological son. After that, no one blamed the Zhangs. Instead, all eyes turned to Zhang Weimin—eyes filled with a mixture of pity, morbid curiosity, and ridicule.

’Zhang Tianci was left disabled?’ Gu Nuan Nuan was stunned for a moment. She had thought he was lucky this time around, that his life had been saved because his grandparents had called an ambulance. She never expected this outcome. It was truly hard to say which of his two lifetimes had been the luckier one.