Today is her stepson's third birthday.
He asked for an out-of-print C.K remote-control sports car, and Shen Weilan was overjoyed. This was the first time her stepson had asked her for a gift.
It proved that their hearts were growing closer day by day.
To buy the discontinued C.K remote-control sports car, Shen Weilan pulled every string and used all her connections, wanting nothing more than her stepson's approval.
To take good care of her stepson, Shen Weilan had resigned from her job after marriage to dedicate herself entirely to the family.
Shen Weilan carefully wrapped the gift and rushed straight home to cook, as Gu Yunze had said they would celebrate his birthday together tonight.
She bustled about until evening, getting everything ready, but Gu Yunze still hadn't returned.
With no other choice, she dialed Gu Yunze's phone. "Yunze, you..."
Before she could finish, she heard a familiar female voice. Instantly, her spine stiffened, her face turned pale, and her grip on the phone tightened.
"I'm very busy right now. I don't have time."
"Was that voice just now... her?" Shen Weilan's voice trembled slightly.
Gu Yunze sounded thoroughly annoyed and said coldly, "Is there anything else?"
"Today is Haoran's third birthday. Didn't we agree to celebrate as a family? I even bought Haoran the discontinued remote-control sports car he likes." Shen Weilan rushed to finish her words.
"Forget it. That's enough for now."
The phone was hung up, leaving a steady beep on the line.
Shen Weilan slumped weakly onto the sofa, the woman's voice from that phone call still echoing in her ears. It was unmistakably the voice of Lin Huichu—she was Haoran's birth mother and her husband's ex-wife!
The Shen and Gu families were family friends, and she and Gu Yunze had been betrothed since childhood.
Yet during his university years, Gu Yunze suddenly changed his mind and cheated with Lin Huichu, getting her pregnant. For the sake of the Gu Family's reputation, Old Master Gu had no choice but to let Lin Huichu into the family.
However, just two years into the marriage, red lights began flashing, and the Gu Group plunged into a bankruptcy crisis.
After the divorce, in order to help the Gu Group weather the storm, Gu Yunze immediately sought her out, because at that time only the Shen Corporation could save the Gu family.
And she had foolishly believed that Gu Yunze had changed his mind, a dignified heiress of the Shen Corporation actually stooping to become someone's stepmother! And without even a wedding.
Looking at the fine dishes on the dining table, Shen Weilan had no appetite at all. Restless and uneasy, her mind was filled with warm images of the three of them dining together as a family—yet she was his wife!
Unable to suppress the turmoil in her heart, Shen Weilan got up and went out.
She drove around for a drive. Autumn had arrived, and the wind blowing against her body was somewhat piercingly cold, but for some reason, her heart hurt far more.
The luxury car finally stopped in front of a restaurant—one that she and Gu Yunze used to frequent when she was still in college.
Parking the car, Shen Weilan was about to go inside when she saw the scene inside the restaurant, and her expression changed drastically.
Gu Yunze and Lin Huichu were sitting intimately together, with Gu Haoran sitting on their laps. Lin Huichu held up her phone to take pictures, posing like a happy family taking parent-child photos.
Shen Weilan's heart instantly plummeted to the bottom, a sour sensation burning in her nose as tears swirled in her eyes.
His claim of being "busy" turned out to be helping Haoran celebrate his birthday with Lin Huichu.
Wasn't everything she did today just making her look like a clown?
"Mommy, I love you so much~" Inside the restaurant, Gu Haoran puckered his little lips and gave Lin Huichu's cheek a loud smack, then leaned over and kissed Gu Yunze's cheek as well. "I love Daddy too."
The three of them were warm and loving. Standing at the entrance, Shen Weilan felt like a rat in a gutter peeking at someone else's happiness. How pathetic she was.
"Daddy, Mommy, our family of three will be together forever." Gu Haoran hugged Gu Yunze's arm and acted spoiled.
He pouted, letting out a disgruntled, cold huff. "I hate Shen Weilan the most. She's such a bad person; she often hits my palms, sometimes she doesn't even give me food, and she forces me to call her Mommy.
I'm not even her biological son, what right does she have to make me call her Mommy?! If it weren't for her, my mommy and I wouldn't have been separated."
Every single word Gu Haoran said reached Shen Weilan's ears. She let out a sudden, cold laugh, shaking her head in self-deprecation.
They were right: a child you didn't give birth to really couldn't be won over.
She *did* hit Gu Haoran's palm, but he was only three years old and had tortured a little bunny to death, and more than once.
She didn't give him food because he needed to undergo fasting medical tests the next morning.
She made him call her Mommy because it was requested by the teacher during a parent-child activity at kindergarten; she had never demanded that Gu Haoran call her Mommy. She knew her place—she was his stepmother.
Hearing Gu Haoran's accusations against Shen Weilan, Gu Yunze turned green with anger and snapped furiously, "How dare Shen Weilan abuse you? When we get back, I'll teach her a lesson."
Playing the good guy, Lin Huichu quickly interjected, "A-Ze, kids say whatever comes to their minds; children just babble nonsense. I don't think Miss Shen is that kind of person."
"Mommy, don't be fooled by Shen Weilan's looks, she is exactly that kind of person! She even stole your husband, and you're still sticking up for her," Gu Haoran said angrily.
"Haoran is right. You're just too kind!" Gu Yunze looked at Lin Huichu with a face full of regret, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh. "If you had been just a little more selfish back then, we..."
"Alright, A-Ze, we are already in the past. Now Miss Shen is your wife. Actually, I'm already very happy just being able to celebrate Haoran's birthday today," Lin Huichu said, cutting Gu Yunze off.
Gu Yunze pressed his thin lips together. "Mhm. Today is a happy day, let's not mention Shen Weilan and ruin the mood."
Shen Weilan heard every single word of the family of three's conversation—from Gu Haoran throwing dirt on her, to Gu Yunze's lack of trust and accusations, down to him looking at Lin Huichu with a face full of regret as he brought up the past.
At that moment, her heart died, and it was time for her to wake up.
A circle she couldn't fit into, a heart she couldn't melt—there was no need to force her way in.
Shen Weilan turned around, got back into her car, and drove back to the Gu Family residence.
"Weilan, you're finally back. I've been waiting for you for a long time," Mother Gu Chen Yujuan's voice drifted to her ears.
Only then did Shen Weilan notice Chen Yujuan sitting on the sofa. Even though Gu Yunze had wronged her, her attitude toward Chen Yujuan remained consistently good.
"Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Chen Yujuan pouted, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction. "It's all because I was waiting for you. Who knew you'd suddenly run off without a word, making me wait here for so long."
Hearing the mention of "medicine," Shen Weilan's delicate brows immediately furrowed tightly. The so-called "medicine" was actually a fertility amulet she had gotten from the temple!
Although Chen Yujuan came from a wealthy background, her mindset was extremely feudal and superstitious. For the past half year, she had been making her drink talisman water.
Naturally, she hadn't drunk it; every time Chen Yujuan left, she simply poured the talisman water down the drain.
"Be a good girl and drink your medicine quickly, so you can give our Gu Family a big, chubby boy." Chen Yujuan handed the bowl of talisman water to Shen Weilan. "Take it!"
This time she would properly watch Shen Weilan drink it. It had been over half a year; it was impossible for there to be no results yet.