The 99th Divorce

She had never told him. When Wen Fenglin had revealed the fact to him, he had been stunned speechless. Chi Xian had a child? A child through surrogacy?

At the mention of this, Zhen Xianlang broke into laughter. He said, “To think that back then, we were together morning and night, and she never gave any hint of it. Shows you what a lacking husband I was.”

When Yu Lili heard that and observed the evident guilt in his eyes, she lowered her head.

To be honest, Zhen Xianlang wasn’t exactly to blame either. It was common knowledge that Xian’er was of very ill health. No one would have expected this tender and delicate lady to hire a surrogate for her child.

Furthermore, in those days, the technology for surrogacy wasn’t as advanced as it currently was. She’d probably approached the whole process with nothing more than a heart full of hope.

The more Yu Lili thought about it, the more her heart began to ache.

Chi Xian was of ill health and couldn’t bear a child. What about me? Am I going to have to hire a surrogate as well? Am I destined to walk the same path as my mother and daughter?

At this thought, Yu Lili felt unbearable pain. She turned her head and held on tightly to Ou Ming’s hand.

Ou Ming tilted his head to look at her questioningly. His eyes were gentle as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Lili shook her head lightly and said nothing.

That meal passed very quickly.

Yu Lili had initially been worried that if Zhen Xianlang brought her home, there’d be a shift in the dynamics within his family that would make her feel awkward.

After the meal, Yu Lili knew that she had thought too much. Whatever she had imagined would happen during the meal didn’t happen at all.

It was clear that Zhen Xianlang didn’t have much anticipation or expectations toward this daughter. He expressed no desire for her to call him “Father” and showed no signs of wanting to take her home. It was almost as if he’d come to meet someone completely unrelated.

Yu Lili’s heart felt empty. At the same time, she was a little disappointed. Her father had not welcomed her in the way she had hoped.

–

After Ou Ming left with Yu Lili, Wen Fenglin wanted to take Zhen Xianlang, who hadn’t been to Kingstown in a long time, out to meet with some old friends.

This was despite the fact that Wen Fenglin wasn’t in the best mood.

Just as Wen Fenglin was about to head to an old friend’s place, Zhen Xianlang spoke up. “Lao Wen, let’s talk.”

Wen Fenglin turned to look at him with uncertainty in his eyes. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I think we need to have a discussion regarding that child.” Zhen Xianlang slowly inhaled his cigarette and said something of profound significance. “Why are you so sure that the girl is my child?”

Wen Fenglin felt anger ignite within him when he heard that. His brows creased together in a frown. All warmth and amiability disappeared from his face as he asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying… I need that child to go for a DNA test,” Zhen Xianlang said.

Wen Fenglin’s anger intensified when he heard that. He turned around to face him and asked, “Are you suspecting that Lili isn’t your child at all?”

That explained everything. That explained why Zhen Xianlang hadn’t been more enthusiastic or welcoming at the dining table. As it turned out, that was what he had been thinking throughout it all.

Zhen Xianlang saw the ominous expression on Wen Fenglin’s face and said, “You can’t blame me for being suspicious. After all… oh!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Wen Fenglin landed a punch on him.

A firm, hard fist connected fiercely with Zhen Xianlang. It caught him unaware and almost sent him sprawling.

Holding the part of his face that was burning with pain, Zhen Xianlang’s temper immediately flared up. He yelled, “Wen Fenglin, you’re mad!”