The old man fell silent for a few seconds, then his tone turned solemn.
"Xu Tingyu, you can't blame others. If you have to blame someone, blame your Xu family and yourself for being so useless."
"I'm asking you, even if I give this child to you, can you raise him well? If you take him away, I won't pay off your debts."
"With hundreds of millions of debts on your back, how can you raise a child? Do you want your own son to suffer with you just for your so - called laughable motherly love?"
The angrier the old man got, the more he talked.
He hated disobedient people, especially someone as disobedient as Xu Tingyu.
He had already made so many concessions. What else did she want?
"You lied to me before that the child was a girl, and almost made me make a big mistake. To be fair, do you really love this child?"
"If you really loved this child, you wouldn't have cooperated with me on the induced abortion back then."
Finally, he lifted the last veil between them.
He was no longer the kind - hearted grandpa, and she was no longer the well - behaved daughter - in - law.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Xu Tingyu felt desolate inside.
On this point, she had no excuse.
Although she hadn't really lied to him back then, she had indeed given up on the child.
In every aspect, she wasn't a qualified mother.
But the fact couldn't be changed. She was the child's mother.
"I made a mistake before, Grandpa. I'll never make the same mistake again. Please, don't take Youyou away from me."
She could no longer be tough.
Because there was no one behind her. If the Qi family really wanted to take the child away, she had no chance of winning.
She even knew that Qi Shifeng had also sided with the old man. He had promised the old man that he would divorce.
The old man had lost all his patience. "I'm not here to discuss this with you. Shifeng asked me for a hundred days. On the day when the child celebrates his 100 - day birthday, you'll go abroad."
After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.
In front of the bodyguard, Xu Tingyu let out a heart - rending wail.
She even begged the bodyguard, "Can you help me call back? Please."
The bodyguard remained unmoved. He simply took the phone and left the ward, closing the door behind him.
She lay on the edge of the bed, crying uncontrollably.
As she was crying, the door suddenly opened. The nanny walked in with Youyou in her arms.
"Miss Xu, Youyou suddenly started crying and I couldn't calm him down no matter what. Maybe he misses his mom. You hold him."
Youyou was really wailing loudly.
He had been well - taken care of. His cries were loud. If you didn't look at his size, he didn't look like a premature baby at all.
Xu Tingyu quickly stopped crying and carefully took Youyou from the nanny.
Maybe it was mother - child telepathy. Youyou wriggled in her arms a couple of times and really stopped crying. Instead, he opened his eyes and stared at her.
The tears that Xu Tingyu had just stopped from falling started to flow again uncontrollably.
She knew that every word the old man said was right.
By herself, she simply couldn't take care of this child.
Once she lost the identity of Mrs. Qi, those creditors would pounce on her like hungry wolves and tear her to pieces.
She could barely take care of herself, let alone take care of a premature baby.
Moreover, even Qi Shifeng had compromised. In this family, she had no one to rely on.
A few days ago, she met Liu Ning in the ward.
Under her vigilant gaze, Liu Ning walked around the crib several times. Looking at the sleeping Youyou, there was even a hint of fondness in her eyes.
Finally, she even said, "He looks a lot like Shifeng."
Xu Tingyu didn't say a word. She just stared at her warily.
She was afraid that Liu Ning would suddenly go crazy and snatch the child away.
After all, the fact that she could appear here meant that many of the guards were the old man's people.
But Liu Ning didn't act as violently as she had imagined.
Maybe because she was sure of Xu Tingyu's fate, Liu Ning was in a good mood.
She withdrew her gaze from Youyou and sat down on the sofa leisurely. The first thing she said was, "Shifeng has agreed to the divorce."
It was a bit of a farce. Her husband had agreed to the divorce, but it was her mother - in - law who came to inform her.
But she knew that Liu Ning was waiting to see her lose her composure, so she tried her best to stay calm. "Okay, I want the custody of Youyou."
"Xu Tingyu, you're still dreaming. From the moment you got pregnant with him, you should have known that this child doesn't belong to you."
Liu Ning sneered.
Xu Tingyu couldn't believe it. "I gave birth to him. How can he not belong to me? Even if we get a divorce through legal proceedings, the custody of a child during the lactation period belongs to the mother."
Liu Ning seemed to hear a joke. "You still want to sue for divorce? Shifeng has really spoiled you so much that you don't know your place."
She looked at her with such disdain and ridicule, as if she was looking at some stinky fish and rotten shrimp.
"The Qi family wants this child not because they think the child you gave birth to is so noble. Shifeng will definitely marry again in the future, and he will have other children."
"But his bloodline cannot be raised by an outsider. After all, the Qi family is traditional. If the child is raised badly by you in the future, should we deal with it or not?"
Xu Tingyu and Qi Shifeng hadn't divorced yet, but in Liu Ning's mind, it was a done deal.
She didn't care about face at all and just discussed Qi Shifeng's next marriage with her like this.
For some reason, these words made Xu Tingyu feel cold inside.
Her face turned pale, and suddenly she said, "So, was Qi Ye also taken away from his mother like this and brought to you?"
They didn't allow the bloodline to flow outside, just like in feudal society when the children of concubines were raised under the name of the legal wife.
Even worse than feudal society.
After all, she was Qi Shifeng's wife through proper marriage procedures. If this was in ancient times, this child would be the legitimate eldest son.
But they used the banner of feudalism to do things that only benefited themselves.
They took her child away, threw her into the abyss, and still found all kinds of reasons.
What was even more terrifying was that Qi Shifeng had agreed.
She bit her lip and looked at Youyou in the cradle.
Just thinking about the fate he might have in the future, similar to Qi Ye's, made her tremble all over.
She definitely couldn't give the child to them.
Hearing her words, Liu Ning was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Your imagination is really rich, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. Qi Ye is also my own son."
After a pause, she continued, "I know what you mean, but the Qi family is just this cruel. The capable rise, the mediocre fall, and the inferior are eliminated."
"He has been sickly since birth, so he is doomed not to be able to take on important responsibilities. But the Qi family will take good care of him. Isn't that enough?"
Xu Tingyu didn't expect that she had guessed wrong.
She stared blankly at Liu Ning for a while, and her face became even uglier.
He was her own son, but just because he was in poor health and not the child they had hoped for, he was ignored to such an extent?
She suddenly understood why Liu Ning had only appeared now.
The Qi family had been observing and waiting to see if this premature baby, Youyou, was the one they wanted.
If he was as weak as Qi Ye, the Qi family would probably give up on him, just like they had given up on Qi Ye.
But now, Youyou had survived, so they paid more attention to him and wanted him to become a real member of the Qi family.