The CEO's Substitute Ex-Wife-Chapter 169: A Mother’s Pain and a Friend’s Counsel

"Sister Xueru, please don’t cry. It’s okay, it’s okay, everything will be alright." Wen Nuan patted her shoulder, wiping away her tears. "Just explain everything clearly to Brother Shuwen. He’s a reasonable person; he’ll listen."

"He doesn’t believe a word I say. He’s always hated me, and now he hates me even more for ruining his relationship with Zhao Yuning. That day, he truly wanted to kill me. I don’t care how he treats me; I’ve endured everything. It’s just one person’s resentment; I can bear it. But how could he be so cold to Xiaonian, even calling him an ill-bred wild child... I can’t stand it." Tears streamed down Chen Xueru’s face. She could swallow all her grievances and accept all of Tang Shuwen’s resentment, whatever he pleased.

But she couldn’t bear to see her child suffer even a little bit.

Chen Xueru continued, "I couldn’t resist Mandong’s mother’s pleas and agreed to her request to bring the child back. My initial thought was naive; I thought if the Tang family helped me, Gu Rui wouldn’t be able to take my child away. Mandong’s father and mother seemed like very good people; even if it were their family’s child, they wouldn’t separate us. But I never imagined that bringing Xiaonian back would make him suffer harm from his own father. He’s been sensible since he was little, like a small angel. Although he knew he didn’t have a father and envied others who did, he never spoke to me about it or asked me. That day, he was so happy to know he had a father, and a brother, and a grandmother, and an aunt, and so many family members. But Tang Shuwen..."

Chen Xueru choked back her words. Those malicious, hurtful words, for a child who understood nothing, caused immense pain, especially for Xiaonian, who had always been sensitive.

He would never know that his father, deep down, didn’t acknowledge him. He saw the child as the perpetrator who ruined his relationship with Zhao Yuning, and he resented the child.

"Brother Shuwen went too far!" Wen Nuan hugged Chen Xueru, comforting her continuously. "Don’t cry, Sister Xueru, please don’t cry. Uncle Tang and Auntie aren’t unreasonable people. If you don’t like it, you and Xiaonian can leave. Gu Rui, knowing he’s not the father, won’t force you."

Chen Xueru bit her lip painfully, unsure how to explain her predicament clearly to Wen Nuan.

"Do you like Brother Shuwen?"

Chen Xueru shook her head. How could she like him? She barely knew Tang Shuwen. She had seen him in magazines before as someone who played around a lot, a playboy similar to Gu Rui.

Her impression of him was already poor. Furthermore, that night years ago was no different from rape for her. Being embraced by a stranger and fleeing in terror in the middle of the night had been a nightmare.

Now, Tang Shuwen’s actions towards Xiaonian had made Chen Xueru’s impression of him sink to rock bottom.

She even hated him.

She was also a victim of what happened that year, understanding nothing, abandoned by Gu Rui and then assaulted. If not for the child, she feared she wouldn’t have been able to carry on. No matter whose child this was, it was her child, her little angel.

She had been left bruised and battered by love and didn’t want to touch it again. Only this child was her everything. She could not forgive anyone who hurt her child. If Gu Rui hadn’t been so powerful, she couldn’t have resisted him alone.

He thought Xiaonian was his son and became quite extreme. She feared Gu Rui would harm the child if he knew he wasn’t the father. These many considerations led her to choose to rely on the Tang family, as no one else could protect her and her child.

But she never expected to escape one abyss only to fall into another.

"Since that’s the case, take Xiaonian and leave the Tang family. Uncle Tang and Auntie won’t be heartless enough to separate you two," Wen Nuan said. Although raising a child alone would be harder, it was better than letting the child get hurt.

Chen Xueru said, "Mandong’s parents want me to marry Tang Shuwen. I don’t want to, but Xiaonian... Xiaonian says that even though his father isn’t nice to him, speaks harshly, and has a bad temper, he likes Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, and that home. Mandong’s parents also have selfish reasons; they want me and the child to stay, so they constantly play the ’family affection’ card with the child. I’ve never been able to give him a home since he was little, and now that I can, I..."

"Sister Xueru, don’t do this. You’ll be miserable for the rest of your life," Wen Nuan urged. "A child is a child, and you are you. What about Brother Shuwen? What does he say?"

He has someone he loves; he shouldn’t agree to marriage.

"He’s the one who proposed marriage. He said since his parents like the child, he doesn’t want to disappoint them, so he wants me to marry him. But after marriage, we won’t interfere with each other. He’ll do whatever he wants, and I’m not allowed to control him."

"Absurd!" Wen Nuan said sternly. "How can such a thing happen?" Wen Nuan was indignant. "Isn’t that treating marriage as a joke? What does he intend to do? Is he going to keep Zhao Yuning as a mistress? And if Zhao Yuning also has a child, will he immediately kick you and your son out? There’s no such thing!"

Chen Xueru smiled bitterly. She was in a dilemma with this matter. Tang Shuwen on one side, Gu Rui on the other; escaping one would inevitably lead to entanglement with the other. Now, she truly wished she could take Xiaonian and live in America, never to return.

"Do you know what Tang Shuwen said? He said to let Xiaonian stay, and I shouldn’t see him again. He would marry Zhao Yuning, and they would treat Xiaonian as their biological son."

"Nonsense! Brother Shuwen is such an ass to say something like that!" Wen Nuan frowned.

Chen Xueru smiled bitterly. "He was determined. If I did that, I definitely wouldn’t agree, and if it escalated, his parents would definitely scold him. Tang Shuwen is somewhat filial and doesn’t want to trouble his parents, so he plans to marry, but I can’t interfere with him. This is a relatively good outcome for me, isn’t it? I don’t have to be separated from my son, and he has a grandpa, grandma, and aunt who dote on him. How I am doesn’t matter. Anyway, all I want in this life is to live peacefully with Xiaonian and not marry anyone. Now it’s just an extra formality; I don’t care. I don’t love Tang Shuwen, so whatever he does has nothing to do with me."

"Sister Xueru..." Wen Nuan didn’t know how to persuade her. Was getting married so rashly truly acceptable?

With so much hatred and conflict between them, could they find happiness if they married?

If they weren’t happy, how could the child be happy?

"If you were me, what would you do?"

"I don’t know," Wen Nuan said. "My life experience is too shallow; I can’t possibly understand what you’re going through, so I don’t know what to say. But Sister Xueru, you really need to think carefully. This isn’t a small matter; it’s about your entire life."

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