"Does Li Ya not know who her father is?"
Wen Shulin nodded, "Yes. She has always thought I had her out of wedlock."
Chen Cheng embraced her tighter with a heart full of sympathy, knowing the immense pressure and pain Wen Shulin had to bear alone over the years.
"Honey, do you think I..."
Chen Cheng placed a finger on Wen Shulin’s lips, "Don’t say anything, I understand everything."
Wen Shulin’s eyes reddened again; she knew that Chen Cheng understood everything, including her past helplessness and choices.
"Can I meet her?" Chen Cheng asked.
Wen Shulin was somewhat surprised, "You want to meet her?"
"How can we discuss if we don’t meet?" Chen Cheng retorted, continuing:
"We need to figure out what her terms for compromise are."
He smiled, "Haven’t you always said that in business, there’s no deal that can’t be made, only prices that can’t be agreed upon?"
Wen Shulin pursed her lips, "About that, I talked to her last night."
"She doesn’t want money, she just wants to take back everything Piert gave me."
Chen Cheng paused for half a second, "Isn’t that still about the money?"
Wen Shulin shook her head, "She said I make her sick."
"My acquaintance with Piert was because he came to Beijing to prepare for CGG."
"Afterward," Wen Shulin pointed to the documents on the table, "I signed this, and he arranged a work visa for me to go to London."
"I lived in London for five years, telling Alina that I was a Chinese teacher from Beijing."
This was clearly something Chen Cheng did not know.
"Later on, I got pregnant." Wen Shulin’s voice grew softer, "Piert then sent me to Hong Kong Island, where Li Ya was born."
She took a deep breath, "Alina had no idea about Piert having another daughter until she found this agreement a while ago, and after comparing it to my current situation, she figured it out."
Chen Cheng listened quietly, "Is she afraid that Li Ya will share in the inheritance?"
Wen Shulin nodded, "Part of the inheritance Piert left behind is a family trust, the beneficiaries being his children."
"If Li Ya didn’t exist, then this part would only go to his and Alina’s children."
"But now, there is suddenly a half-sister with the same father, and once Li Ya turns thirty, she will be eligible to receive the money."
Chen Cheng curiously asked, "How much is it?"
"I don’t know the exact amount," Wen Shulin shook her head, "Piert never told me, and Alina is even less likely to tell me."
Wen Shulin continued, "She feels that I tarnished her relationship with Piert, and making me return everything is just the first step."
With a wry smile, "She wants me to disappear completely, preferably never to appear before her again."
Chen Cheng pondered for a moment, "In other words, she just doesn’t want Li Ya to get a share, right?"
"That’s what I suspect."
Wen Shulin agreed with Chen Cheng’s statement, "But, I don’t want Li Ya to bear this unbearable past, nor do I want her to know that her existence is built upon me selling myself."
"You’ve already done very well. You are a great mother."
Chen Cheng paused for a moment, then asked, "So what’s the deadline Alina gave?"
Wen Shulin replied, "If she doesn’t see my resignation by then, the agreement she holds will come to light."
Chen Cheng checked the time on his phone, "Huh, that means we have three days left."
Wen Shulin gripped Chen Cheng’s hand anxiously, asking, "Honey, what should we do?"