inspire-indiana Chapter 231: Victory Seems to Be in the Balance
Chapter 231: Victory Seems to Be in the Balance
Yuan Bao slowly exited the game world, his consciousness returning. When he opened his eyes, he saw the morning sunlight filtering through the gaps in the curtains, casting bright shadows on the ground.
Stretching, Yuan Bao got up to wash up, and his eyes in the mirror showed the determination that came from the challenges of the game world.
After quickly tidying up, she stepped out of her bedroom, ready to start a new day, when a sudden, urgent, and forceful knocking broke the morning's tranquility.
She walked toward the door with a puzzled look in her eyes. The moment she opened the door, a familiar yet repulsive face came into view—it was her ex-husband.
Her ex-husband had an oily face, wore a wrinkled shirt with the collar open, revealing a dirty vest underneath, and his hair was a mess like a bird's nest.
Behind him stood a heavily made-up woman dressed provocatively, looking at Yuan Bao's house with a defiant gaze.
Looking at the two people in front of him, Yuan Bao couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
She recalled the helplessness she felt when she discovered she was pregnant after divorcing her ex-husband.
At that time, she went to her ex-husband full of hope, thinking that after all, they were each other's child, and even if the marriage was broken, they should face it together.
But her ex-husband scoffed at her arrival, showing no concern whatsoever and impatiently turning her away, leaving her to plead desperately at the door.
After the child was born, the process of raising him was difficult and long, and Yuan Bao shouldered everything alone.
Her ex-husband would only visit the child occasionally on a whim, and each time it was just a brief visit before he would leave in a hurry, leaving Yuan Bao and the child struggling to move forward in the mire of life.
During the years of the pandemic, they seemed to have vanished into thin air, and I never contacted them again.
I heard from a friend that he went back to his hometown to develop his career. Yuan Bao gradually got used to life without him and tried her best to live a peaceful life with her child.
Unexpectedly, he returned at this moment like a ghost.
"Yuan Bao, I heard you've struck it rich and bought this new house. You're living the high life!" The ex-husband's words were dripping with sarcasm as he barged into the house, treating her like family.
Yuan Bao frowned and instinctively reached out to stop him: "What are you doing here? You're not welcome here."
Her ex-husband, however, didn't seem to care. He flung Yuan Bao's hand away and sneered, "What am I doing here? I'm here to get back custody of my son. I have a share in this son too, so why should he stay with you?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Bao found it utterly absurd and laughed in anger: "Custody? Do you even remember you have a son? After the divorce, I came to you while I was pregnant, and how did you treat me? Over the years, how much of the hardships my child has endured growing up have you been involved in? Where were you during the pandemic? Now that I'm doing well, you want to take my child away?"
At this moment, the woman standing behind her ex-husband swayed her hips as she stepped forward and said in a coquettish voice, "Oh, sister, you can't say that. The child's father has now come to his senses and wants to take good care of the child. It's too hard for you to raise the child alone. Why don't you give the child to us, and everyone will have an easier time?"
Yuan Bao trembled with rage. He glared at the woman and demanded, "Who are you? What gives you the right to point fingers at me?"
The woman proudly linked arms with her ex-husband and said in a high-pitched voice, "I'm his girlfriend, and I'll be Xiaozhi's stepmother from now on."
The ex-husband impatiently chimed in, "Yes, I'm capable of giving the children a better life now. You'd better hand over custody right now. Otherwise, see you in court!"
Yuan Bao knew perfectly well that her ex-husband didn't genuinely want custody; he just wanted to take advantage of her now that she was rich.
She suppressed her anger and calmly said, "Want custody? Impossible. If you dare to cause trouble, I'll fight you to the end. Then we'll see whether the court believes you, the irresponsible father, or me, the mother who has always taken care of the child."
Upon hearing this, the ex-husband became enraged and took a step forward, raising his hand as if to hit Yuan Bao: "Don't be so stubborn!"
Just then, Brother Yuanbao and Xiaozhi heard the arguing and came out of the room.
When Xiao Zhi saw the tense scene at the door, his face turned pale with fright. After a moment of stunned silence, he recognized his father, who hadn't been seen for a long time. His eyes instantly reddened, and he shouted, "Dad, what are you doing! Don't bully Mom!"
When her ex-husband saw his son, a hint of unease flashed across his face, but he quickly put on a fake smile: "Son, I just missed you and wanted to bring you to live with me."
The eldest brother, Baoguo, stepped forward to protect Yuan Bao, shouting, "What do you want? Are you trying to beat someone up or kidnap them first thing in the morning?"
Xiao Zhi hugged Yuan Bao tightly, crying, "I don't want to go with you. You've never cared about me. I only have my mother."
Yuan Bao hugged Xiao Zhi tenderly, looking at her ex-husband with a determined gaze: "You see, the child doesn't want to stay with you. If you dare to bother him again, I'll call the police."
Seeing this, the ex-husband knew he wouldn't get away with it today. He glared at Yuan Bao fiercely and muttered, "You just wait, this isn't over."
Then he slunk away with the woman.
Watching their departing figures, Yuan Bao hugged Xiao Zhi tightly, secretly vowing to protect her son and never let her ex-husband's scheme succeed.
After being turned away, her ex-husband was not going to let it go.
A few days later, Yuan Bao suddenly received a summons from the court. Her ex-husband had indeed sued her in court, demanding custody of Xiao Zhi.
Looking at the summons in her hand, Yuan Bao felt a mix of anger and helplessness, but she also knew that she had to take proactive measures and absolutely could not let her son fall into her ex-husband's hands.
For this lawsuit, Yuan Bao traveled around looking for lawyers and collecting evidence.
She compiled all the evidence of her ex-husband's neglect of the children over the years, including chat logs, call records, and various proofs of his absence during the children's upbringing.
At the same time, she contacted her relatives and friends to testify that she was a responsible and good mother.
Meanwhile, in order to increase her leverage in the custody battle, the ex-husband began spreading rumors in his social circle and neighborhood, saying that Yuan Bao was too busy with work and neglected to take care of the child, and that Yuan Bao was immoral and unsuitable to raise the child.
These rumors quickly reached Yuan Bao's ears, and she was so angry that she trembled all over, but she knew that she could not be affected by these rumors and had to remain calm.
The atmosphere in the courtroom was so tense it was suffocating.
The ex-husband sat in the plaintiff's seat, looking smug, as if victory was assured.