Children are innocent. Give birth, and I will raise them

"So, I finally understood…"

"Yu Zhen may not know how to fish, but she is an expert at angling. I am just a fish in her pond."

"Tasteless to eat, yet a pity to throw away!"

"So…"

"She knows exactly when to pull the fishing line, when to loosen it, and when to tighten it."

"Making me linger around her all the time, willingly doing things for her, yet never letting me have my wish!"

When he said this, the expression on Guo Zhou’s face was no longer happy or sad—only a faint trace of determination remained, and even…

a hint of bitter hatred.

This left Zhang Shi stunned, not once, but twice.

Holy crap!

Good thing he had held his temper, or he would have wrongly accused an innocent man.

This Guo Zhou, though poor, making a living by fishing and appearing unremarkable, was able to quickly adjust his mindset in the face of feminine wiles and recognize the tactics of a woman like Yu Zhen.

This…

Had nothing to do with the Heartbound Alliance.

He had seen plenty of people from the Heartbound Alliance—they were the kind of ruthless folk who wouldn’t admit they were wrong even with a blade at their throats.

This Guo Zhou was clearly not one of them!

Zhang Shi’s interest grew. He brought Guo Zhou into the military camp, had him sit down, and let him continue telling the story of his emotional turmoil with Yu Zhen.

"After that, when Yu Zhen saw how wary I was becoming of her, she gave me a promise…"

"She said let her have another month, and she’d figure things out, and give me an answer—one I’d be satisfied with."

"A month later, she gave me her answer."

"She was pregnant!"

Zhang Shi raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"What?"

"Pregnant?"

"Is it your child?"

Guo Zhou shook his head, his face full of bitterness. "In that whole year I was by her side, Yu Zhen wouldn’t even let me touch her hand. How could it possibly be my child?"

"Then whose child is it?"

Guo Zhou shook his head again at first. "At the time, I didn’t know."

"I only knew that Yu Zhen and her girlfriends had gone to a polo match. At that event, she met a wealthy young master."

"That child belonged to that young master."

As he spoke, the hatred on Guo Zhou’s face grew even fiercer. "I spent over a year taking care of her, yet she wouldn’t even let me touch her hand."

"And yet, in just one month, she got pregnant by that young master."

"Hard not to imagine how crazy things were between her and that young master during that month."

Zhang Shi nodded.

He couldn’t fully grasp these things yet.

Seems his training was still lacking—his empathy for Guo Zhou wasn’t deep enough. In the future, he’d have to work harder on these matters, to truly understand the absurdity of such people and the genuine feelings of those wronged.

He said, "So, is that why you felt wronged and came to me, hoping I’d give you shelter?"

"Ha, rest assured."

"That Yu Zhen, toying with someone’s feelings—even in the Demon Suppression Division, that’s a crime. On that ground alone, I can get you justice."

"How about this: you lead the way, take me to find this Yu Zhen, and I’ll ask her face to face…"

"Whether she’s part of the Heartbound Alliance!"

Guo Zhou quickly said, "No, no…"

"General, it’s not like that."

"The matter isn’t over yet…"

Zhang Shi was startled. "There’s more?"

"What, did she do something else outrageous?"

Guo Zhou fell silent for a moment, and a hint of embarrassment gradually crept onto his face. Then he said, "Well, General, the outrageous thing after that… was something I did."

"To be honest, when I came to see you, part of me truly came because I saw your notice and wanted to seek your protection."

"Another part came to confess."

"I committed a crime."

"I wanted to voluntarily admit my fault to you and ask for leniency."

Zhang Shi frowned. "You committed a crime?"

"Tell me, what is it?"

Guo Zhou took a deep breath, and word by word, he laid out the whole story from start to finish, leaving Zhang Shi’s mouth hanging open in an "O" shape.

… Two years earlier …

"I’m pregnant!"

Yu Zhen’s face was expressionless, and her words were flat, but they struck Guo Zhou like thunder.

Even though he had long suspected Yu Zhen had no true feelings for him, his year of effort had drained his heart and soul.

It was the light of his most hopeful and innocent pursuit of love—everything he had poured into his most trusting youth.

What he got in return was a bubble, shattering not just his feelings for Yu Zhen, but his wholehearted faith in love itself.

Almost involuntarily, Guo Zhou’s voice trembled as he asked, "So… this is the result you made me wait so long for?"

Yu Zhen’s face showed no change; she remained cold. "I said I’d let you wait, but did I ever promise what kind of result you’d get?"

"Everything was your own choice."

"You can’t blame me for that, can you?"

Guo Zhou had already tried to calm his heart, but the wounds he had licked and healed alone in the dark nights—without the soothing passage of time—could not withstand even the slightest breeze.

Yu Zhen’s words were like a knife plunged into his heart!

The veins on Guo Zhou’s forehead bulged.

"So, are you planning to go with that man now?"

At this, Yu Zhen, who had been calm, flew into a rage—no, not just rage, but despair and collapse. "He, he, he ran away!"

"He slept with me and then left."

"He told me to abort the child, or he’d kill me."

"He, he, he doesn’t want me anymore!"

Before she finished speaking, Yu Zhen seemed to have exhausted all her strength. She crumpled to the ground, wailing loudly.

Her pitiful state sparked no sympathy in Guo Zhou’s heart—instead, it brought him a deep, heartfelt satisfaction!

Serves her right!

She deserves it!

She should end up just like this!

But then, like a flash of inspiration, a wild idea struck Guo Zhou—a crazy notion.

An idea that made him act immediately.

So Guo Zhou said, with a determined face, "The child can’t be aborted. It’s a little life—it’s innocent."

"Give birth to it!"

"I’ll raise it!"

Yu Zhen’s face was full of scorn. "His child—you’re not worthy of raising it!"

Without hesitation, Guo Zhou replied, "I’ll take the child’s surname!"

This time, Yu Zhen was stunned.

Take the child’s surname?

That… might actually be worth considering!