Chapter 300
Before Shen Qingqing could react, Fu Jingshu grabbed her wrist, his attitude leaving no room for doubt.
"She doesn't need to go out. There's nothing I need to say behind her back."
Lu Wanying almost ground her teeth to dust. "Jingshu, Nuonuo misses you terribly. She wants to talk to you. Can you stay with her just for her illness?"
Fu Jingshu's response was, "No."
He glanced at the time; it was almost noon. "Let's go buy some food. You should rest well."
He turned and walked away with Shen Qingqing.
Once they reached the corridor, Shen Qingqing asked, "By acting like this, aren't you worried Nuonuo will overthink things even more?"
A nurse pushing a cart happened to pass by. Fu Jingshu pulled Shen Qingqing to his side to prevent her from being bumped. "I'm not her father. I can't give her false hope."
That was true. Giving hope only to have it dashed would be even more cruel.
Shen Qingqing, from the bottom of her heart, didn't want her husband to be overly affectionate with someone else's child. That image... she worried she might want to lash out if she saw it.
The two went to the cafeteria to buy some food. Not knowing what the mother and daughter liked, they bought a bit of everything.
However, they never expected to hear Lu Wanying scolding someone when they returned to the ward, just at the doorway.
"How can you be so stupid? You finally managed to get him here, and you couldn't even keep him. He's our last hope now. If you can't hold onto him, you'll end up on the streets!"
"No, I don't want to be on the streets..."
At such a young age, she already harbored a fear of these words, indicating she had deeply experienced their meaning.
*Clang.*
The door was pushed open. Lu Wanying jumped, startled, and quickly turned. Seeing Fu Jingshu, her face turned pale.
He had heard everything?
"Jingshu, when did you get back?"
Fu Jingshu's expression was cold. "Is this how you educate your child?"
Lu Wanying hadn't expected to be overheard. She panicked for a moment, then immediately put on a pitiful expression. "Jingshu, please don't misunderstand. I wasn't scolding her. I just don't know what to do. You're so distant towards her, yet she insists on staying close to you, no one else. I'm truly, truly helpless..."
She covered her face and started to cry, looking utterly miserable.
Shen Qingqing tutted and exposed her. "Stop changing the subject. You're clearly teaching your child improper words. She's so young, and you're already teaching her to scheme, how to use grievances and pretense to achieve her goals. You're a truly incompetent mother."
"You're spouting nonsense! I'm only doing this for her own good!"
Lu Wanying knew that after being overheard, nothing she said would matter, so she could only stubbornly maintain that she was a loving mother.
Perhaps this would make Fu Jingshu soften a little.
Shen Qingqing raised an eyebrow. "What kind of mother helps her child like this? Oh, right, I almost forgot. You're not Nuonuo's biological mommy, so it's easy for you to be heartless."
Nuonuo's eyes widened in shock.
Lu Wanying roared, "You're talking nonsense! I know you don't like me, but you can't treat us like this, my daughter and I. We rely on each other. She was born from my womb after ten months of pregnancy. I love her dearly!"
Hearing this, Nuonuo also felt Shen Qingqing was lying and quickly tugged at Lu Wanying's hem.
"Mommy, I believe you."
She said it with such conviction, overlooking a tiny shred of unease in her heart.
Lu Wanying felt Nuonuo's small hand filled with warmth for the first time. "That's right, we are biological mother and daughter. You're just slandering me!"
Shen Qingqing shook her head, too tired for a verbal argument. She directly produced the evidence she had specifically brought out that morning.
A paternity test.
This was something King had investigated abroad previously. The contents were absolutely real, performed by the most authoritative medical professors overseas.
If not for King's influence, the old professor wouldn't have agreed to do it.
"Take a look for yourself."
Upon seeing the name of the medical institution and the professor who performed the test on the paternity report, Lu Wanying was utterly dumbfounded. All her strength seemed to drain away like air from a balloon.
She could only tightly grip Nuonuo's small hand, lest she fall.
How could this be!
How did she know! How did she get someone to investigate a paternity test!
Nuonuo's hand hurt from being squeezed so tightly, but she said nothing. Her small face turned pale. She leaned in to look. She had attended school and could recognize a few characters. She couldn't understand complex things, but the simple ones she could.
The words "Non-biological Mother-Daughter Relationship" were clearly visible to her.
"Mommy..."
Her voice was small and trembling.
Lu Wanying immediately turned back, her hand trembling slightly. Nuonuo's small hand slipped away. She quickly grasped it again. The more indifferent she had been to this child before, the more panicked she was now.
"No, don't listen to her nonsense. You grew up with me by your side. We relied on each other. How could I not be your mother?"
Nuonuo looked at the paternity test. "But..."
"Then it must be fake!" Lu Wanying declared resolutely.
Nuonuo was momentarily confused.
Lu Wanying glanced at Shen Qingqing out of the corner of her eye and stated firmly, "Someone must have deliberately done this to sow discord between us. You have to believe Mommy. Mommy would never lie to you."
Compared to Mommy and Shen Qingqing, she naturally believed Mommy.
"Mhm, Mommy, I believe you."
Shen Qingqing looked at Fu Jingshu. "I've done my best."
Fu Jingshu frowned, looking at the mother and daughter who seemed to be the victims. He said, "Don't deceive yourselves. The paternity test is right here. Lu Wanying, I'll ask you: where exactly did you get this child from?"
Lu Wanying held Nuonuo tightly. "This is my child, I didn't get her from anywhere!"
Fu Jingshu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Since you refuse to say, I'll have to go through official channels. You must have had procedures and proof when you adopted a child. If you have neither..."
"Then this is a child you kidnapped!"
Shen Qingqing clapped her hands.
The two of them, acting in concert, saw Lu Wanying fume with anger. "I didn't, I didn't abduct a child!"
"Then tell the truth." Shen Qingqing took out her phone from her pocket and pretended to call the police. "If you don't speak, we'll let the police investigate."
"I'm sure the parents who lost their child would be very willing to take her back."
Cornered, Lu Wanying's eyes turned red. Helpless, she finally spoke, "I'll talk, just don't call the police. I'll tell you."
Shen Qingqing put her phone back in her pocket. The moment she withdrew her hand, Fu Jingshu grasped it. She tilted her head and smiled at him.
Seeing this scene made Lu Wanying's heart ache, but she forced herself to continue. "This is indeed not my child, but it is Chen Zhifeng's child. He was unfaithful."
Fu Jingshu's gaze turned cold. "What did you say?"
"When we were dating, he was very good to me at first. Later, I discovered he was cheating." Lu Wanying took a deep breath, speaking with difficulty. "He had another woman on the side, and that woman even had a child for him..."
"Later, Chen Zhifeng died. I couldn't bear for the child to be without parents, so I..."
"Lies."
Fu Jingshu's voice was laced with frost, piercing her heart.