'I pity you, Long Hui.'
The words echoed in Long Hui's mind, infuriating him, but he couldn't rashly act out in front of the people and media.
'Pity me? How dare you? You don't have the right to pity me. I'm a Long. You're just…nobody. That's right. You're just a nobody, Jiang Ying Yue. Don't be too full of yourself just because you have the support of Xiulan and Jin Liwei. One day, they'll abandon you too, just like how I abandoned you. Your only worth now is being the mother of my son, Long Jun.'
After shooting a last glare at the direction where her group disappeared from view, he also left with his less formidable and less impressive team of lawyers and bodyguards.
"I'm done with him."
"Good." He nodded. "It's a big shame that he doesn't realize that he should be thankful to you that he still received limited visitation rights after we presented the evidence of him barging in the condo and fighting with you in front of your son. If you hadn't emphasized to the judge that you won't deprive Mr. Long of his paternal rights, I'm certain that instead of visitation rights, he'll get a restraining order instead. His lawyers must know this, too, but decided not to tell him because they already lost, anyway."
"Thank you, Atty. Hong. I really appreciate all the hard work you, His Excellency Deng and Atty. Kang put into helping me retain custody of my son. I'm aware that it's because Xiulan asked you but I'm still very thankful."
He gave her a kind smile but his expression became serious again. "Although the judge's ruling is legally binding and therefore theoretically absolute, we live in a society where people do things that they're not supposed to do. For one, Mr. Long might appeal the custody ruling, so prepare for that."
"I don't think that he'll file an appeal," she replied.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because his pride took a massive hit today. I have not only you, Atty. Hong, to defend me but there's also His Excellency Deng and Atty. Kang. If he doesn't have anything substantial to prove that he's a better parent than me besides the fake cheating allegations, he knows that he'll lose again. His high pride won't be able to handle another public defeat in the same battle. And most importantly, I'm sure that the Long elders wouldn't tolerate another custody battle because it would make the clan lose face, especially since my son's status is…is not…legitimate."
Her expression darkened but she continued, "Long Hui won't push it too far because he doesn't want to risk losing too many supporters in the Long clan. That's why I don't think that he'll appeal the custody ruling."
"I see. That's good, then. One less worry for us," Atty. Hong Shaoqiang said. "Another thing is that you shouldn't be complacent just because the law sided with us today. You should keep a close eye on Mr. Long when he exercises his visitation rights for your son. We never know what may happen in the future so please be careful."
Jiang Ying Yue frowned and was about to tell the lawyer that Long Hui would never hurt their son, then she remembered how he roughly tried to wrench Little Jun from her when he barged in the condo. Although it was in the heat of the moment and his rough actions were directed more at her than at Little Jun, she decided to heed the lawyer's advice and not risk her son's safety just because she trusted in Long Hui's character as a father.
'Trust in his character? I don't know him anymore. He changed so much. No, maybe that's his real self and I never really knew him from the start.'
She closed her tired eyes and allowed herself to rest. Atty. Hong Shaoqiang didn't bother her and read some documents instead.
A ringing phone interrupted the silence.
Jiang Ying Yue opened her eyes and glanced at her phone. Her heart started beating fast when a certain name flashed on the phone screen. She answered the call before she could examine why her heart was racing all of a sudden.
"Hello?"
"Miss Jiang, it's me."
"Yes, I know, Mr. Lin."
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Little Jun didn't understand the meaning of Ice Cream's actions. All he knew was how delighted he was to be back home. His laughter filled the front foyer, bringing smiles to everyone's faces.
"Alright, Cornpop, that's enough! You running around in circles is making your great-grandpa dizzy! Are you actually a dog, not a cat? I want to know!" a booming voice interrupted the lovely scene.
"Grandpa Boss, his name is Popcorn, not Cornpop! Ehehe," Dom, who just appeared, corrected Grandpa Lu.
Little Jun's head turned to the new arrivals. His smile widened but then tears started gushing out of his eyes all of a sudden."
"Mommiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Jiang Ying Yue's eyes also watered and caught her smiling-crying son who barreled towards her and jumped into her embrace.
"Welcome home, Little Jun," she whispered, hugging him close.
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