"I'll give you three minutes. Say whatever you have to say quickly. I won't see you again after this."
Only three minutes?
Looking at her tall, handsome son, Mrs. Gao felt both nervous and excited, unsure where to begin.
Her trembling hand reached out to grasp his, but Hu Jiasheng dodged it.
She couldn't help but let out a sob and almost knelt on the ground.
"I know you hate me, hate me to death. I abandoned you from birth, but I want to tell you today, it wasn't intentional!"
"Asheng, I never thought of giving you up. I was powerless. Giving you up almost cost me half my life, do you know that?"
Hu Jiasheng didn't know.
She couldn't empathize with his past; it sounded like someone else's story, so distant.
"Do you know why you're called Hu Jiasheng? It's my surname. I never regretted giving birth to you; in fact, I felt proud because I had you!"
"Your name was given by me, and it was the only condition I had with your grandfather. If he agreed to let you take my surname and use my chosen name, I promised to never appear in Nancheng again."
"I really didn't mean to. I didn't know your father's identity."
"When he approached me, he was just an ordinary person blinded by love. We fell in love ordinarily, dated ordinarily. Who knew we would offend so many people?"
"I don't know what you've heard from them over the years that makes you not even want to look at me now. But I want to tell you, I am your mother, your biological mother, the only person in this world who shares your blood, the only one willing to live for you, die for you, and give you her all. Asheng, you shouldn't hate me."
It all came back to the same old things.
Hu Jiasheng impatiently raised his hand and checked his watch.
"I already know all this. There's no need to repeat it. My time is running out. If you have anything else to say, hurry up."
Mrs. Gao looked at his utterly indifferent expression and shook her head in disbelief.
"How could you be like this, Asheng? Back then, I saved money desperately, saved money desperately. After finding out where you lived, I went abroad for the first time in my life, just to hide outside your door and secretly watch you."
"Every year on your birthday, I would go to see you secretly. I even saw your first girlfriend, saw you when you were sick, saw you when you graduated, saw you on your first day at work, saw you when you returned to the country for the first time..."
"I loved you so much, truly loved you. I can say that the only belief that has kept me alive until now is you. Everything I've done has been for you. How can you be so cold to me?"
Hu Jiasheng turned his head.
"You love me? Everything you've done is for me? That's what you think, isn't it?"
"What is love? Giving me a lot of money, eliminating all the Zhan family members except me, is that loving me?"
"May I ask, did Zhan Beijue offend you? Did his sister offend you? Did my grandfather offend you? Your actions against them, intending to kill them, are all because of your love for me?"
Hearing this, Mrs. Gao suddenly became calm.
Her tears stopped flowing, and her expression was no longer one of sorrow.
She wiped her tears, stood up straight, and looked at Hu Jiasheng with an unyielding demeanor.
"Isn't it? I met your father first, and you were born first. The old man knew perfectly well that everything happened before your father got married, and our relationship was legitimate, yet he insisted on breaking us up."
"It doesn't matter that I didn't marry into the Zhan family. I'm an outsider after all. But you..."
"He made Zhan Beijue the sole heir. Then what are you? You're also of Zhan family blood. Zhan Beijue is known all over the country, but what about you?"
"Look at your current social status, and then look at his. Look at the assets under your name, and then look at his. Asheng, don't you think you should fight for it?"
"I knew it."
Hu Jiasheng smiled faintly, a smile devoid of warmth.
"I knew you would measure everything by your own standards, and try to gauge me. What would satisfy you?"
"Stealing someone else's fiancé, knowing they were about to get married and still insisting on having his child, is that what you call fighting for it?"
"The reason Zhan Beijue has everything he has today was fought for by his mother with half her life. You should know better than I do how much influence his maternal grandparents had on the Zhan Corporation back then."
"After my father passed away, you should also know better than I do who managed the company and who expanded it into the Zhan Group."
"Why doesn't Zhan Beijue deserve everything he has today? That's a legacy passed down to him by his ancestors. I think it's very fitting and most appropriate."
"Why should I compete with him? What do I have? Besides a surname Zhan, an irresponsible, selfish father, and a mother with no backing who became a mistress, what do I have to compare with him?"
"Being personally raised by my grandfather, receiving the same treatment as Zhan Beijue, and even sharing the family fortune with him, is already shameless enough. And you're telling me I should fight for more? Do you want everyone else to die, leaving only me with the surname Zhan, before you'll be satisfied?"
Mrs. Gao looked at Hu Jiasheng in disbelief, shaking her head repeatedly.
"Who brainwashed you, you foolish child? Who told you such nonsense?"
"How could they be so kind to you? This is just a tactic to make you give up the struggle!"
"I'm telling you, your father never loved Zhan Beijue's mother. The only person he ever loved was me! If your grandfather hadn't broken us up, we would have gotten married, and the Zhan family would have had only you!"
"With your father's ability, he could have developed the company just as well. Everything in the Zhan family would have belonged to you alone, and Zhang Beijue would never have been born into this world! Do you understand?"
Hu Jiasheng was truly speechless at her values.
He shook his head, unwilling to continue the conversation with her.
This must be what they meant by "When two people don't see eye to eye, half a word is too much."
"Alright, madam. You've said what you needed to say. I believe you feel much better. Whether you believe it or not is up to me. You can't force me, can you? I'm leaving. Please move aside."
Mrs. Gao blocked his path, preventing him from leaving.
"I have one last question for you. What is your relationship with Tang Nannan?"
To be honest, he was very surprised when Zhan Beijue said yesterday that Mrs. Gao was involved in Tang Nannan's accident.
He hadn't expected her to interfere so much.
They were complete strangers, so why would she meddle in his romantic relationships?
Now, it seemed Zhan Beijue was right.
She really thought too highly of herself.
"What is my relationship with her, and why does it concern you?"
Mrs. Gao stated it righteously.
"If you two are just ordinary friends, it has nothing to do with me. But if she is your girlfriend, or even your future wife, then it concerns me."