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Chapter 419
"That's fine, you take your time thinking about it. Pei Shuangshuang is going to be in the hospital for a few days anyway, so there's no rush," Wang Yue said, understanding Pei Yong well. She knew he hadn't refused yet, so this matter already had an 80 percent chance of happening.
In fact, from Pei Yong's perspective, his thoughts were the same as Wang Yue's. It would be better to get out of town and avoid the limelight than to stick around here miserably.
Plus, with what had happened with his sister-in-law's family hating them to death now, he'd heard that it had even affected Xiang Xiang at the Cultural Work Troupe. She was originally up for a promotion but it got suppressed because of this.
And the kids were being pointed at in school too. Just the other day, PingAn and Little Sixth had gotten into a fight with some kids over it.
Even though they weren't helping Pei Shuangshuang, when people pointed and said things like, "Look, that's her auntie, drawing naked pictures of men, shameless, for shame," even PingAn, who disliked Pei Shuangshuang a lot, would still feel bad hearing talk like that.
Observing Pei Yong's expression, Wang Yue tried again when she saw he was seriously considering it. "The child is just too spoiled and naive. She hasn't experienced much in life and thinks too simply of people. As parents, we'd worry if she was sent somewhere unfamiliar and couldn't deal with other people. I think the place Pei Meng is at wouldn't be bad. Sure, the conditions are a bit lacking, but it's far away so news of things here might not reach there. And Little Third has been there for many years already, he knows all the friends and comrades, so with Pei Meng and his wife there too, Shuangshuang would have people to look after her if she went."
Previously she had been worried about offending Little Second's family over this, yet she still dared suggest sending Shuangshuang to stay with Pei Meng. If Shuangshuang really went, even if they didn't curse her it would be getting off lightly.
Considering how his younger sister and sister-in-law had been looking at him lately, Pei Yong already felt ashamed enough.
"Don't even think of such nice things. It'll be good enough if Mengmeng and Xiangxiang don't hate her, don't go expecting them to take care of her too." Pei Yong rejected it directly, "Since it's to avoid drawing attention for now, I'll arrange a remote place for you. You should know in your heart to keep a low profile when outside, cause less trouble, and trouble will naturally not come finding you."
...
Pei Jianguo met with Guo Momo at a tea house.
When they met this time, their emotions had stabilized compared to before when they were confrontational.
"I definitely want custody of PingAn," Guo Momo said firmly, trying to persuade Pei Jianguo. She didn't hesitate to use a sob story: "Pei Jianguo, you know that I was left infertile by your younger sister's harm. I won't be able to have any more children in my life, so PingAn is my one and only son. Of course I have to fight to get him back. But it's different for you - compared to me you have a healthy body, a gentle wife at home, you can totally have another child that belongs to you two. Why insist on fighting me for PingAn?"
She didn't believe he had much paternal love for PingAn. Back when she and PingAn had been under his nose, he hadn't paid much attention to PingAn either. Let alone now when the child was older and not by his side, he had probably been completely ignored.
She wasn't speaking groundlessly. Over the past couple years she had been paying attention to things in this area, constantly preparing to get PingAn back.
When Pei Jianguo was free he rarely came to Pei Yong Town, and he met up with his child even less. The child didn't have much affection for him either, this was something she understood.
So there really wasn't too much resistance against her getting PingAn back. The real biggest obstacles were PingAn himself and his grandfather Pei Yong.
But even so, she had no choice but to resolve to take the child back. While PingAn was still young, as long as she was willing to put in effort, she could still coax him over. If they waited until PingAn was older and his personality set, then he would only grow more distant from her, his mother.
Making this decision caused turmoil in Guo Momo's heart. But seeing how PingAn's heart was filled only with his grandfather, and his feelings toward her as his mother grew fainter and fainter, plus remembering the hardships she had suffered raising him those years, she felt truly awful inside.
"But PingAn is unwilling to go with you. If you insist on making things difficult like this, it will only make PingAn hate you more," Pei Jianguo said. "I admit I'm not a good father, but Guo Momo, you're not necessarily a good mother either. Fundamentally, the two of us are quite alike. You just hide it better and are more of a hypocrite. Whether it's PingAn or anything else, everything is measured on scales in your heart. You abandoned PingAn once before for your prospects, and if you had the chance, you would still abandon him a second time, just like after you left I also tried my best to be a good father, but I discovered I couldn't do it. We're both very selfish - we can't even bear our own lives, let alone bear responsibility for someone else's. PingAn is very happy living dependently with my father, you really shouldn't be talking about what's best for him as an excuse to make him leave his most beloved grandfather who also loves him the most."
"It's been a few years, and you've gotten quite glib," Guo Momo said, using a smile to conceal her expression as she raised her tea to drink.
What Pei Jianguo said was probably right, but back then, leaving PingAn really had been the only thing she could do. And now that she had succeeded and made a name for herself, she was completely capable of giving PingAn an even better life and education than Pei Yong could.
She believed Pei Yong's love for PingAn was no less than hers, but in the end she was still PingAn's mother while Pei Yong was only his grandfather.
In response to Guo Momo's not-a-compliment compliment, Pei Jianguo tugged at the corner of his lips. "Still not as good as you though. I looked down on you too much before, Guo Momo. You're very capable and outstanding."
"It really is rare to hear words of praise from your mouth." After all, their previous few meetings had been full of nasty words and complaints.
"I sincerely want what's best for PingAn, so I hope you'll withdraw the lawsuit and let PingAn live happily with my dad," Pei Jianguo said, understanding the purpose of his visit today. If they really went to court, he might not necessarily win, since whether it was background or anything else, Guo Momo was no worse off than him now.
His only advantage probably lay in PingAn himself. The child was very determined that he wanted to live with his grandfather and didn't want either parent.
"And you previously contacted Liu Chunhua, so you should have heard from her that I don't plan on having any more children. So PingAn will also be my one and only child."
Guo Momo said sarcastically, "You really are as cruelly impartial as always to every wife you've had."
That was the only phrase she could use to describe Pei Jianguo.
Pei Jianguo didn't deny it. Perhaps he was no good, but with Liu Chunhua, he had given her the right to choose more than once, and she had been willing.
"The rest doesn't matter, but I can't give up on PingAn. Pei Jianguo, you also know that you won't win if we go to court, so why not be more decisive about it and minimize disputes between us. At least then when you want to see your child in the future, we can still sit down peacefully instead of tearing our faces."