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Chapter 420

When PingAn was with Pei Yong, Pei JianGuo seldom went to see him, let alone if he went with Guo Momo.

It was likely that the father and son would truly become like strangers for the rest of their lives.

Neither person was willing to compromise, so this conversation was destined to end unhappily.

There were some divorce cases in the country now, but fighting over custody was really the first case.

People generally assumed the child belonged to the father by default, which was the traditional view passed down over thousands of years.

So this battle over custody attracted a lot of attention from all sides, especially since the man was the biological elder brother of the female lead in the recent nude painting scandal. This made many people feel the child would receive a better education if he was with his mother.

Pei JianGuo wanted to keep custody of his child, but he had no advantage on his own. His only hope now lay with PingAn.

As long as PingAn firmly insisted on staying with his grandfather, the court would carefully consider this point.

So in the few days before the trial opened, Pei JianGuo desperately tried to indoctrinate PingAn, telling him it wasn’t that they didn’t want him to live with Pei Yong, but that Guo Momo stubbornly refused to give up and pushed all the blame onto her.

He also told PingAn that if there was anywhere he needed to speak up, he had to firmly state that he wanted to stay with his grandfather and father.

Pei Yong was also busy with Pei Shuangshuang’s matters these past few days, and did admittedly neglect PingAn a bit, causing the already unsociable boy to become even more silent.

Wanqing heard about this from Little Sixth. But because she was affected by Pei Shuangshuang’s scandal herself, with her daughter nearly isolated at school, she had been busy comforting and accompanying her daughter these past few days. Even Pei Jing took extended leave from work and was simply too preoccupied to care for someone else’s child.

On the actual day the court opened, Pei Yong looked everywhere but couldn’t find PingAn. Finally, he came to ask Little Sixth if he knew PingAn’s whereabouts, since the two boys were usually very close.

Little Sixth shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t played with PingAn for many days already. He doesn’t even leave the house or come looking for me, and I haven’t gone to find him either.”

Only then did Wanqing and Pei Jing realize what had happened to PingAn over the past few days. They couldn’t help feeling resentful towards Pei JianGuo in their hearts for being so heartless.

They could understand his desire to keep PingAn, but to displace all that pressure onto a child was just asking for trouble. He was only 12 and at an emotionally unstable age. Having to bear such great pressure every day, how could something not go wrong?

Pei Jing asked Pei Yong, “When did you first notice PingAn was missing?”

“He left the house without even eating breakfast. I thought he went to find Little Sixth, so I didn’t think much of it. I even told him not to forget to come back early today for the trial. But when the time came and he still wasn’t found, we already searched the area...”

“Keep looking. After all, PingAn is still young. It’s possible he hid somewhere.” Pei Jing consoled.

Everyone was busy searching for PingAn, so Pei JianGuo could only attend the trial alone. The once loving couple now fought fiercely in court.

Pei JianGuo originally had little chance of winning, and then he lost the child too, giving Guo Momo even more leverage over him.

After much discussion, the judge finally decided to first find the child and listen to his wishes before making a ruling.

A 12-year-old already had his own opinions. His reason for running away likely had to do with the tremendous pressure he felt over the change in custody.

So the final decision still lay with PingAn.

...

The car had turned many corners. PingAn didn’t even know where he was anymore.

Under a bridge stood a tramp dressed in rags. His hair and beard were long and tangled, covering half his face and leaving only his eyes exposed.

For this outing, PingAn had brought his pocket money that he had painstakingly saved up over a long time, a good few dozen yuan in total. Most of it was given by his grandfather and step-grandmother.

He rarely spent money, because whenever his step-grandmother bought things for his uncle and aunt, she would also prepare a share for him. He never lacked food, clothing, or anything else.

PingAn used to think he was lucky, but recent events made him feel truly unfortunate instead.

No one truly loved him. Even as they fought over him, they were only trying to achieve their own ends. He used to believe his grandfather loved him the most, but upon seeing Pei Yong’s dedication to Pei Shuangshuang, PingAn understood that his grandfather also had his own children and likely only pitied him.

A child abandoned from birth, how could he possibly feel safe?

After listening to Pei JianGuo’s incessant brainwashing over the past couple days...

He said if he couldn’t keep custody, Guo Momo wouldn’t let PingAn see his grandfather again. And with no advantage on his side, PingAn could only rely on himself.

In court, even throwing a tantrum and insisting on staying with grandfather might not work.

PingAn had never done such things before.

He suddenly felt lost, not knowing what to do anymore, so he fled.

Two days later, Wanqing and Pei Jing drove out together. The car traveled for a very long time before stopping near an overpass.

Supported by Pei Jing, Wanqing walked with him towards the space under the bridge. There, they saw a ragged blanket spread out on the ground with someone lying on it.

PingAn sat to the side, before him a clay pot cooking something over a fire that smelled pretty good despite the vessel.

He still wore the same clothes from when he left home. After two days without washing or changing, plus catching fish and building fires, his outfit was now dirty and disheveled. His face was also smeared with mud and ashes, his hair knotted together.

Hearing footsteps, the beggar got up and glanced back, smiling at PingAn. “Kid, your elders have come for you. Go home with them. This is no place for a child like you.”

PingAn also saw Wanqing and Pei Jing. He pressed his lips together and silently added more firewood under the pot.

Pei Jing walked over to speak with the beggar and learned that he had taken PingAn in these past two days—or rather, kept him company.

After all, the space under the bridge didn’t belong to anyone. It was more that they accompanied each other.

Plus the boy had money on him, which he used to buy the beggar meals these past two days. They seemed to depend on each other for warmth.

In any case, the man did not take advantage of PingAn in this situation, so he could already be considered a good person.

Pei Jing gave the beggar some money in thanks, which he accepted without refusing.

A beggar could hardly stand on dignity.

Originally, Pei Jing asked if he needed any assistance, but the offer was declined.

They took PingAn away. He only lowered his head silently.

Wanqing and Pei Jing exchanged a look but said nothing more either. They quietly took PingAn to a hotel where he could wash himself clean and change into fresh clothes.

By the time PingAn finished cleaning up, Pei Jing had just returned with food.

PingAn ate quietly at first, but soon tears fell from his eyes. Choking up, he asked, “Did we lose? Do I have to leave all of you now?”

In truth, he understood many things. He just hesitated in that moment when asked to make a choice.

Because no matter what he picked, it meant a loss on one side.

He used to think he and his grandfather were the closest. But seeing Pei Yong’s dedication to Pei Shuangshuang allowed PingAn to realize his grandfather also had his own children and likely only pitied him out of kindness.

Making choices was the most difficult thing in the world.

The court wanted the child to choose for himself, but Wanqing couldn’t bear saying such words to PingAn.

Because she knew that no matter who he picked, some regret would remain.

And such pressure was sometimes too heavy even for adults. How much more should it not be placed upon a child?

Yet the result still demanded a choice.

After eating, they said they would bring PingAn back. He did not resist.

Running away from home was like a sudden burst of rebellion in his otherwise calm life. But as his emotions faded and reason slowly returned, he turned back into that obedient child from before.

PingAn thought that after seeing his grandfather again, his grandfather would beat him violently to teach him a lesson. But reality was not like this. His grandfather didn\'t even say a word of blame and was still taking good care of him very seriously.

Guo Momo came to find him again, trying to persuade him to follow her, and that she would never stop him from contacting people on this side again in the future.

Pei JianGuo no longer forced him to make a choice either. This runaway from home probably left him quite frightened too.

PingAn still chose to stay, firmly executing the words he had said before that he could do without his parents but not without his grandfather.

Because he had always known that his grandfather had given up a lot for him. With his position originally, if he had stayed in the army, he should have retired now and would have very good benefits.

But these were all given up because of him. If he left, there would only be his grandfather left in this family, and he would be very lonely.

In that autumn, Guo Momo chose to remarry.

She told PingAn, "Originally, mother had no intention to remarry. Mother only wanted to rely on each other with you, but PingAn, you were unwilling to follow me. You were worried your grandfather would be lonely, but mother would also be lonely."

At this moment, she still tried to make PingAn choose her.

After all, she would never give birth again in her life. Rather than raising children for others, she would rather put her heart into her own son.

It was just that this time it was PingAn who didn\'t want her.

PingAn generously gave his blessing. Apart from feelings, he had never had any other intentions towards them, and from now on, even his feelings would be gone.

When they forced him to make a choice, it had already made him understand that they didn\'t love him at all, all they wanted was victory.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the living room. Wanqing also came back from outside.

Auntie Zhang was just about to greet her when she saw Wanqing walk into the room without saying a word, slamming the door shut, completely blocking the view from outside.

Auntie Zhang sighed, also blaming Pei Shuangshuang in her heart.

A rat fouls the entire pot of soup. Her leaving may have settled everything, but she left such a reputation that implicated the whole family.

Wanqing was a child she had raised with her own hands, calling her Auntie Zhang sweetly since she was very little. She had always been so cheerful and active, but recently she had become increasingly gloomy.

Those few friends of hers who used to come over all the time hadn\'t come for several months either. She didn\'t live on campus anymore, came and left alone, which made people feel distressed just looking at her.

Zhifu saw Auntie Zhang standing outside with a frustrated look on her face, staring intently at Wanqing\'s room.

"Is she back?" These days, Zhifu also tried her best to stay at home when the kids came back, so that she could spend more time with them and chat more, to find out about things happening to her daughter at school in a timely manner.

"She came back and locked herself in the room alone, it\'s been like this these days." Auntie Zhang said worriedly, "Zhifu, this can\'t go on. You guys should think of something as soon as possible. If there\'s no other way, it\'d be good to transfer Wanqing to another school. Her coming and going alone like this all day, there\'s going to be problems in the long run."

How could Zhifu not understand this reason? But now that things had developed to this point, it was no longer a problem that could be solved by switching schools.

Unless she switched cities.

Like Pei Shuangshuang, fleeing far away, who else would know about her affairs in Jincheng?

But Pei Shuangshuang was paying the price for her own actions, while her daughter was the one implicated, suffering a calamity through no fault of her own, it was disgusting.

Zhifu tried opening Wanqing\'s room door, it wasn\'t locked.

She was lying on the desk doing homework, looking particularly serious.

Zhifu let out a sigh of relief and walked in to ask her, "A lot of homework? Auntie Zhang made fried dough sticks today, want to eat first before writing?"

Wanqing stopped, put down her pen on the homework notebook, and suddenly looked up, "Mom, can I make a slightly over-the-line request?"

"Of course, you\'re my darling. As long as it doesn\'t harm others, I\'ll be very happy if you want to make a request to me." Zhifu said.

"I want to study abroad." What Wanqing didn\'t dare to say was that actually she had been preparing for it these past few months already.

Her grades were absolutely not a problem. The problem lied in her family. This was no longer about leaving this city, but going abroad directly. She was afraid her parents and brother would not agree.

In the past, Zhifu really hoped to keep her daughter by her side, and Wanqing never wanted to leave them either. For her to suddenly have such an idea, it must not be a spur of the moment thing.

"It\'s still because of that incident, right?"

Wanqing nodded, "They don\'t dare discuss it in front of me, but I know they\'re talking about it behind my back. I don\'t want to be like this anymore, I want to change my environment." She had also thought about transferring schools, but there were only so many good universities, and news travelled fast among the circle of intellectuals. She didn\'t want to go into another environment like this. She heard that foreign countries were more open-minded. Every year, Hongfeng picked excellent students to support them to study abroad. Many people in her class were particularly concerned about this quota. So she also started having such thoughts.

Moreover, it was unlikely that this incident would spread abroad, so she wouldn\'t have to face those weird looks either.

"As long as you want to, mom will support you. But we\'ll have to discuss this with dad first before making a decision, alright?" Kids grow up and have to leave home eventually. Since she already had such thoughts, and the family was not lacking the means, Zhifu would support her.

It was better than being in a gloomy environment and repressing herself trying to stay strong.