I stopped on the stairs.
Ling Wei.
Her son.
Two days.
So that was why Gu Zhengting had raised his voice.
Gu Yan still had not noticed me.
Inside the study, his father slammed his palm against the desk.
—You are married.
—Ling Wei is in trouble.
—Then find her a hotel!
Gu Yan sounded irritated.
—Her ex-husband has been harassing her. She doesn’t feel safe.
—And your solution is to bring her into the house where your wife lives?
Silence.
Then Gu Yan said the sentence that finally destroyed the little hope I still carried.
—Zhixia is reasonable. She’ll understand.
Behind me, a calm voice answered:
—No, she won’t.
Su Yuehua walked past me.
She entered the study wearing a dark robe, her hair perfectly tied despite the early hour.
Gu Yan turned.
—Mom.
She looked at him.
—Your wife saw you holding Ling Wei’s hand yesterday.
His face changed.
Only then did he notice me standing outside.
—Zhixia.
I said nothing.
He walked toward me.
—Listen. It’s not what it looks like.
For some reason, I almost smiled.
Every unfaithful husband seemed to be born knowing that sentence.
Su Yuehua stopped him.
—Don’t explain yet.
Gu Yan frowned.
—Mom, this is between me and my wife.
—Wrong.
Her voice remained gentle.
—The moment you decided to bring another woman into my house, it became my business too.
Gu Yan stared at her.
—I only said she could stay temporarily.
—Good.
Su Yuehua nodded.
—Then bring her.
Everyone froze.
Even I looked at her.
She turned toward me.
—Zhixia, go sleep.
Then she looked at Gu Yan.
—Bring Ling Wei and the child tomorrow.
Gu Yan seemed relieved.
He had no idea his mother was setting a trap.
Ling Wei arrived at noon.
She carried two suitcases.
Not one.
Two.
Her son, seven-year-old Xiaobao, held a tablet and immediately ran toward Gu Yan.
—Uncle Gu!
Gu Yan bent down and picked him up naturally.
Too naturally.
My stomach tightened.
Ling Wei smiled apologetically at me.
—Zhixia, I’m really sorry to bother you.
Before I could answer, Su Yuehua approached.
—No need to apologize.
She pointed upstairs.
—The guest room is ready.
Ling Wei’s eyes flickered toward Gu Yan.
—I thought maybe the room beside Gu Yan’s study would be more convenient. Xiaobao sometimes wakes up at night.
Su Yuehua smiled.
—Why would my married son need to be convenient for your child at night?
Silence.
Ling Wei’s face stiffened.
Gu Yan immediately intervened.
—Mom, don’t make things awkward.
Su Yuehua nodded.
—Then don’t create awkward situations.
For the first time, Gu Yan had nothing to say.
The following two days were revealing.
Ling Wei knew exactly how Gu Yan took his coffee.
She knew the password to his secondary phone.
She knew which medicine he kept in his briefcase.
And Xiaobao called him whenever he wanted something.
—Uncle Gu, cut my steak.
—Uncle Gu, fix my game.
—Uncle Gu, come sleep beside me until I fall asleep.
Every time, Gu Yan went.
Every time, Su Yuehua watched.
She never stopped him.
Neither did I.
On the third evening, she called everyone into the living room.
A lawyer was already waiting there.
Gu Yan frowned.
—What is this?
Su Yuehua placed a folder on the table.
—Since Ling Wei has nowhere to go, I thought we should clarify something before she stays any longer.
Ling Wei went pale.
—Clarify what?
The lawyer opened the folder.
Photographs.
Transfer records.
Apartment payments.
Private-school fees.
Hotel bookings.
All paid by Gu Yan.
My hands became cold.
He looked at his mother.
—You investigated me?
—Yes.
No hesitation.
Su Yuehua turned to Ling Wei.
—The apartment you claimed your ex-husband took from you?
She tapped one document.
—My son paid the deposit.
Another.
—Your son’s school tuition.
Another.
—Your car.
Ling Wei’s lips trembled.
—Gu Yan was only helping—
—Then why hide it from his wife?
No one answered.
Su Yuehua looked at me.
—Zhixia, there is one more thing you need to know.
Gu Yan suddenly stood.
—Mom.
Her eyes hardened.
—Sit down.
He actually did.
She placed one final document before me.
A paternity test request.
Not a result.
A request.
Submitted by Gu Yan six months earlier.
My heart stopped.
I looked at him.
—Why did you request this?
Ling Wei burst into tears.
Gu Yan closed his eyes.
—I thought Xiaobao might be mine.
The room went completely silent.
I heard my own breathing.
—Might be?
His voice became hoarse.
—Before our marriage… Ling Wei and I met once.
I laughed softly.
Five years of marriage.
Five years of believing his silence meant stability.
—And the result?
Su Yuehua answered.
—Negative.
I looked at Gu Yan.
—So you knew six months ago that he wasn’t yours.
—Yes.
—And you still continued paying for everything.
He looked desperate.
—She had nobody.
I nodded slowly.
—Except her ex-husband.
Ling Wei froze.
Su Yuehua smiled coldly.
—Exactly.
She slid another report across the table.
—Her ex-husband never harassed her.
Gu Yan stared at it.
—What?
—They finalized custody arrangements peacefully.
Su Yuehua looked at Ling Wei.
—You lied so my son would bring you here.
Ling Wei’s face collapsed.
—Auntie, I—
—Don’t call me that.
Her voice was still calm.
That made it more frightening.
Then she turned toward Gu Yan.
—And you.
He lowered his head.
—You betrayed your wife emotionally, financially and publicly because you enjoyed being needed by another woman.
Gu Yan whispered:
—Mom—
—Don’t.
She looked toward me.
—Zhixia, now you’ve seen everything.
My eyes burned.
But I didn’t cry.
Su Yuehua reached across the table and held my hand.
—Whatever you decide, I support you.
Gu Yan looked at me in panic.
—Zhixia, don’t do this.
I almost laughed.
—Do what?
—End everything because of Ling Wei.
I shook my head.
—I’m not ending it because of her.
I looked at him.
—I’m ending it because even after discovering her son wasn’t yours, you still chose to maintain a second family while calling me unreasonable for noticing.
His face turned white.
I filed for divorce the next morning.
Gu Yan refused at first.
His mother told him:
—If you force her to fight you in court, I will testify for her.
That finally silenced him.
Ling Wei left the Gu house that same day.
Su Yuehua personally carried one suitcase to the door.
—You wanted a place in this family.
She smiled politely.
—You chose the wrong woman’s marriage to enter.
Three months later, my divorce became final.
Gu Yan tried everything.
Flowers.
Letters.
Apologies.
He even waited outside my office in the rain once.
I didn’t go down.
The person who surprised me was Su Yuehua.
She continued calling every Sunday.
Not to pressure me.
Not to ask me to forgive him.
Just to ask:
—Have you eaten?
Months later, I finally told her:
—You don’t have to keep treating me like your daughter-in-law.
She answered calmly:
—I’m not.
A pause.
—I’m treating you like my daughter.
I cried then.
For the first time since the shopping mall.
Not because I missed Gu Yan.
But because losing a husband had not meant losing every person I had loved in that family.
A year later, I heard Gu Yan had moved cities.
Ling Wei remarried.
Xiaobao returned to living with both biological parents under a new custody arrangement.
And me?
I rebuilt my life slowly.
One ordinary afternoon, Su Yuehua and I passed the same shopping mall where everything had begun.
She stopped beside the fountain.
—Do you regret seeing them that day?
I thought for a moment.
Then smiled.
—No.
She nodded.
—Good.
I took her arm.
Because that day I thought I had discovered the worst thing that could happen to a wife.
I was wrong.
The worst thing would have been continuing to live beside a man whose betrayal I refused to see.
Gu Yan lost his marriage because he thought my patience was endless.
And I survived it because the first person who told me not to panic was the woman who loved her son enough to refuse to protect his mistakes
