Chapter 536: Chapter 535: Don’t Force What’s Not in Your Fate
"I know, but recently I just like sour food. There’s the old saying, ’sour for a boy, spicy for a girl.’ Do you prefer a daughter or a son?" He Qianhui asked.
Zhang Hao didn’t respond immediately, but instead really thought about this question in his mind.
If He Qianhui’s genes hadn’t mutated, then the child born would either be a son or a daughter.
If it were a daughter, he hoped she would be as beautiful as He Qianhui. If it were a son, he should also be like He Qianhui.
Definitely not so ugly that even he wouldn’t want to look.
"Having a son would be a lot of pressure, wouldn’t it? Our lives are just getting on track, and we have no worries about food and clothing."
"If a boy comes along, we’d need to earn money for his house, car, and dowry. Who knows, by the time we are in our fifties or sixties, we might still be laboring outside."
After He Qianhui said this, Zhang Hao immediately retorted, "What do you mean having a son is more pressure? Isn’t having a daughter just as stressful?"
"These days, boys and girls are the same. Even for a daughter, we have to save up for her dowry and buy a car and a house."
"How could we not prepare these things just because it’s a girl? We as parents can’t be too biased," Zhang Hao said.
He Qianhui leaned into Zhang Hao’s embrace, and couldn’t help but reminisce about her own past.
She used to always hear her parents say that a girl is a losing proposition once she gets married.
She has little to do with her family then, so there’s no need to buy anything too valuable for the daughter.
They even suggested investing less in the daughter, as all the investment might not yield any return to the parents.
If both person and property ended up belonging to someone else’s family, wouldn’t that be like making a losing deal?
Back then, He Qianhui didn’t quite understand and thought what her parents said was right.
So much so that later, when she was with Liu Gang and living a life without the need for a job, she felt she had scored a win.
After all, how many women could meet someone as down-to-earth and simple as Liu Gang?
But this down-to-earth simplicity couldn’t erase his other side.
She had thought Zhang Hao had the same mindset, but she never expected him to say that boys and girls are the same.
He Qianhui touched her still flat belly, and couldn’t help but feel fortunate for the unborn child.
"You’re right, whether it’s a boy or a girl, we should prepare everything for him," she said.
The next morning, accompanied by Zhang Hao, He Qianhui went to the hospital for a comprehensive checkup.
It was confirmed that she had been pregnant for two weeks, and from what could be seen at present, the development was healthy and robust.
Once it was confirmed that she indeed had their child in her belly, Zhang Hao quickly made a phone call home.
He shared the great news with his parents.
His parents were somewhat incredulous upon hearing the news, but they quickly came to terms.
This child couldn’t be born out of wedlock; they needed to hurry and settle the marriage between the two.
However, somehow the news of He Qianhui’s pregnancy got out, and Liu Gang, who was miles away, heard about it.
For a moment, he didn’t know whether to congratulate or to hate himself for not having the ability to get He Qianhui pregnant.
If He Qianhui had remained childless, he could still excuse it as his problem.
Now that she was already pregnant for two weeks, it was proof enough that she had no issues.
It was his seed that had a problem, Liu Gang couldn’t help but glance in the direction of the living room.
He also came to terms with something, some things are just not meant to be, and no amount of force can change that.
A month ago, he was working here when he went out to use the toilet late at night.
He accidentally heard some noises and followed them, only to find a woman cradling a child.
Hiding in a corner, secretly wiping her tears, he initially did not want to interfere, but then the woman noticed him.
Choking up, she asked if he could find her some food, but Liu Gang was alone on the construction site at the time.
There were only temporary stalls around the construction site, but where could he buy anything in the middle of the night?
He had no choice but to give the woman the instant noodles and bread he had stocked up, thinking it wasn’t much and could be seen as an act of charity.
Then, three or five days later, someone came looking for him, and Liu Gang was puzzled.
He had no relatives here, and even friends were only those he knew from the construction site. Who would come looking for him?
When he went to see, it turned out to be that woman, who took out a hundred yuan note from her pocket.
No matter what, she insisted he take it. Through this interaction, the two became familiar and he then learned the woman had fled with her daughter.
Her ex-husband was abusive when drunk and even intended to sell his daughter to an old man as a wife just for five thousand yuan.
She definitely did not want her young daughter to end up with an old man.
So, she packed up her belongings and quietly left while her man was passed out drunk.
She bought a ticket to an unknown destination fearing her man might wake up and chase after her once he realized his wife and child had run away.
That’s why she randomly got off at a station in the latter half of her journey, but the station was a chaotic place.
The cash she carried and even her ID were all stolen; otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up with no place to go late at night, and without having eaten.
Later, she found a police officer and explained her situation. They actually found her empty wallet discarded in a corner of the train station.
The money was gone, but fortunately, her ID was still there, and the police officer, concerned for her, gave her two hundred yuan to help her get by for a few days.
The woman quickly found a job in the area, and as for her child, she had no choice but to leave her alone at the place where they were staying.
After learning all of this, Liu Gang hesitated before saying.
Although he had been living in the dormitory on the construction site, he had bought a small house here.
The space wasn’t large, but it was enough for three people to live, and the woman was pretty good-looking.
This gave him some inappropriate ideas, but she was aware of his thoughts as well.
Since it was far from the emperor’s reach here, he could continue his life, and even if her ex-husband found out, he might not be able to find them immediately.
A month passed, and he, the woman, and the child were getting along quite pleasantly.
However, the little girl was likely frightened by her biological father and was always very cautious around Liu Gang.
To ease the relationship between them, Liu Gang also tried everything he could.
Whenever there was no work at the construction site, he would take the woman and child out to eat and have fun.
By now, though the child was still reluctant to change how she addressed him, she sweetly called him "uncle."
There were moments that made Liu Gang feel like the girl was his own daughter.
But when he learned that He Qianhui was really pregnant, he realized that what he considered his child was just emotional consolation.
The woman playing with the child in the living room seemed to sense the subtle shift in Liu Gang’s mood as well.
She cautiously glanced his way, but made no other move.
Liu Gang put down his phone, lit a cigarette, and began smoking until the woman came over and snuffed out his cigarette.
