Mother Chen felt faint. "What do you mean?! We've run out of money, how are we going to care for the triplets?!"
Chen Meili blinked. "Oh? Why didn't you say something?!" And then she opened her purse and casually took out a thick wad of cash. "Here. Buy whatever you want."
Mother Chen accepted the money in confusion. "Where did this come from?"
Chen Meili giggled. "I sold my diploma of course! I don't need it so why keep it?"
THUD!
Mother Chen's legs weakened and she fell to the ground. Chen Meili had sold her opthalmology diploma. That was their only hope for a comfortable standard of living.
She looked at her daughter from head to toe. If she'd put down her foot back then and forced Chen Meili to return to the Chen mansion after the death of Han Jinhai, would things have turned out differently? Probably.
Sadly, Mother Chen stood up and walked over to the sleeping boys. Looking down at the sweethearts, she blinked back tears and said, "They refused to go to sleep without seeing you. How about you take them to bed?"
Chen Meili looked from her mother to the triplets and waved dismissively. "I'm sure they can handle themselves. They have brother Tao's blood flowing through their veins, how could they allow themselves to be bullied?"
And then she held her shopping bags tighter and walked away.
Behind her, mother Chen didn't hold herself back anymore and burst into tears. Even as she cried, Chen Meili's words still confused her.
-------------------
It didn't take long for the money Chen Meili had gotten from selling her certificate to finish up and when it did, Mother Chen had no choice but to accept a job as a dishwasher in a small restaurant.
The pay wasn't very good and she felt humiliated but humiliation was much better than starving to death. At some point, she began hiding money from her daughter to keep Chen Meili from spending it foolishly.
On the other hand, Chen Meili was desperate. She made it her mission to go over to the Han mansion every single day but not once did she set eyes on Han Tao. She'd had to narrowly escape Han Rong's clutches a few times but other than that... Nothing else happened.
.
.
.
On a particular day, she ran into another person lurking outside the Han mansion and her eyes widened when she did. Although he looked much skinnier, older and covered in old bruises, she would recognize that person anywhere. "You!"
Gu Longwei's eyes widened in shock and he looked around in panic. When he saw who it was, he sneered. It was the woman who had ruined his life. He'd heard what happened to the Chens on the same day he was thrown out and he'd had a good laugh.
Until he, himself, had been caught by his loan sharks and taken away.
The sum he was owing was not small and he'd reached out to everyone but without success. He'd managed to reach Han Jiao and the girl had let slip the plan of Han Yuanjun giving the inheritance to one of them if they met the conditions and he was very happy so...
He had been lurking around the Han home lately to see if there was a way he could meet Han Rong. If one of his daughters bore a child then that meant riches for him!
Even though he could never return to the Han mansion, he couldn't afford to be on bad terms with Han Rong! She was probably very mad at him but a little coaxing might do the trick.
His only fear was Han Tao and Han Yuanjun!
The loan sharks had given him two weeks to pay up and today was the last day! If he was late then... He gulped.
Gu Longwei was about to dismiss Chen Meili when a bold thought suddenly crossed his mind. His heart trembled in excitement and he walked closer to her. "Meili, where are the triplets?"
Chen Meili frowned. "Where else would they be?"
Gu Longwei stared at Chen Meili from head to toe. Although she looked pretty good, it wasn't as good as she looked back then. He cleared his throat. "Let's face it, we both know the triplets are useless to you now that you no longer have Han Tao. In fact... they're more of burdens."
Chen Meili grit her teeth. "What nonsense are you saying?! They're brother Tao's chi-"
"I know a way you can meet Han Tao." Gu Longwei cut in and when Chen Meili stiffened and stared at him desperately, he continued with a smirk, "Think about this, if the triplets were gone, it would be as if your mistakes never happened and you could start over with Han Tao..."
Chen Meili froze. That... Actually made sense. Brother Tao was angry at her now and wouldn't see her because of the triplets. If they were out of the equation then...
A smile slowly covered her lips but then she froze and stared at Gu Longwei warily. "Even if the triplets were no longer in the picture, how would I see brother Tao?"
Gu Longwei lifted his chin. "Naturally, I would provide you with one opportunity. Just one and you have to use it well. What do you say?"
Chen Meili contemplated for several seconds before nodding.
Later that day, Chen Meili went over to the daycare where mother Chen usually dropped the boys off at before going to work and took all three of them away.
It took another six hours for Gu Longwei and Chen Meili to sell off the triplets to a willing buyer for a hefty sum.
.
.
.
Mother Chen returned from work a bit later that day. When she arrived, she looked around the house but couldn't find the twins. Confusion settled on her face. She had gone over to the daycare earlier and they told her Chen Meili had picked them up.
After thinking for a while, she went to freshen up. The time was only 4:00pm so maybe Chen Meili had taken them to the park to spend quality time. Although Chen Meili had never done this before, there was a first time for everything and she was glad that her daughter was finally stepping up.
By 5:00pm, Mother Chen took out some extra cash and ordered a large dinner. She was very proud of the fact that Chen Meili had come to her senses so she wanted to show her daughter how proud she was.
By 6:00pm, Mother Chen started to worry. The park wasn't that far from their house so what was taking so long? It wasn't good for a woman to be out alone with such small children at night.
7:00pm, Mother Chen went to the park to look for them. When she couldn't find them, she panicked and ran over to the nearest police station.
BANG!
"I can't find my daughter and grandchildren!"