Yan City.
Hospital.
In the heat of mid-August, waves of heat rolled in one after another, but they couldn't suppress the argument in Room 107.
"Zhang Xiuli, what is the meaning of this? Didn't we agree that you'd take care of Gu Zhiqi and I'd take care of Gu Chengan? What are you trying to pull now?" The woman's voice was cold, her tone suppressed with a hint of anger, but it was mostly indifferent.
"She's Gu Bo's daughter, who else is going to take care of her if not you?" Zhang Xiuli, slinging a designer bag over her shoulder and adorned with various expensive pieces of jewelry, had her hair delicately curled and didn't look at Tang Yun. Instead, she gazed slightly downward at her freshly done nails, her tone as cutting and indifferent as could be, even colder than Tang Yun's.
"She is Gu Bo's daughter, isn't she yours too?" Compared to Zhang Xiuli, Tang Yun was dressed much more plainly. Her clothes were wrinkled and had faded from repeated washing, and her makeup was simple. Her complexion was somewhat yellow, and her face was full of fatigue. But she still tried to muster some energy.
"Originally, the guardianship of Gu Xiyue was with you and Gu Bo. Now that Gu Xiyue has returned to the Gu family, the guardianship of Gu Zhiqi should be with you and Gu Bo as well." Zhang Xiuli's expression changed not at all; her attitude was just as resolute, making it clear she simply didn't want to take care of Gu Zhiqi.
"Is she your daughter or mine? Why should I be the one to take care of her?" Tang Yun grew increasingly angry, her hands gripping the corners of her clothing tightly, "You know very well Gu Bo's current situation, yet you still dump Gu Zhiqi on me. Do you even have a heart? She is your own daughter."
Hearing this, impatience flickered across Zhang Xiuli's face, "Anyway, I won't take care of her. She is Gu Bo's daughter, and since you're Gu Bo's wife now, you should take care of her. If you don't want to, fine, let her go back to the Gu family."
"You... You know full well that the Gu family has already..."
It was no secret in Yan City that Gu Zhiqi had been kicked out of the Gu family.
Although neither Zhang Xiuli nor Tang Yun were from Yan City, the Gu family had called them long ago, telling them to come and take someone away.
On several previous occasions, both sides had found excuses to delay.
But this time, the Gu family issued a final ultimatum: regardless of who it was, someone must come and take the person away within three days.
And today was precisely the third day.
Hearing Tang Yun's words, Zhang Xiuli remained impassive, showing no signs of giving in.
She had divorced Gu Bo five years ago, and when she remarried, she didn't even take her own son with her, let alone now... how could she possibly take in a Gu Zhiqi.
If Gu Zhiqi had been well-behaved, it might have been another matter. After all, she had been brought up in a wealthy family like the Gus, and not to mention her training in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, just her looks alone, by standing there like a decorative vase, could have earned her a lot of value.
When she first learned of the baby-switch, she did indeed have plans to take her to the Yu family.
But she was too much trouble.
Even the Gu family couldn't keep her in check.
A daughter like that, she couldn't afford to keep.
The more Tang Yun saw of Zhang Xiuli's attitude, the clearer she understood her intentions, but she didn't want to take care of Gu Zhiqi either. She wasn't her biological daughter, and with the condition of her household, even adding another pair of chopsticks was a burden.
The notoriety of Gu Zhiqi had even spread to Yueqi Village. She certainly didn't have the time to cater to a young lady's needs.
"If that's the case, let's have Gu Zhiqi choose for herself," Tang Yun bit her lip and said coldly to Zhang Xiuli.
After divorcing Gu Bo, Zhang Xiuli quickly remarried into a wealthy family in Yan City.
If Gu Zhiqi were smart, she'd definitely choose Zhang Xiuli given her nature.
Zhang Xiuli, hearing Tang Yun's suggestion, went cold in the face at a visible rate, clearly believing, just as Tang Yun did, that Gu Zhiqi would choose her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept clinging to the Gu family all this time.
"Let her choose? Even if she does, it's useless. I won't take care of her."
Upon hearing this, Tang Yun didn't care to argue any longer and stopped paying attention to Zhang Xiuli. She figured that once the person in the bed woke up, she could just decide for herself.
But as she turned around, she suddenly realized.
The girl in the bed had already woken up without them knowing.