Chapter 508 Finding A Common Ground


    Le stared at Chris and said in a solemn voice,"Yeah, if you talk about love, I really had deep feelings


    for Mr. Lu. I cannot deny it. He is handsome, sessful at such a young age and more than anything


    else, he is a thorough gentleman. How could anyone ever resist his charm?


    Had it been a few years back, I would have been overjoyed to ept your proposal. I would have


    promised anything to be with Charles. But now my priorities have changed. Now, all my focus is on my


    son. As a mother, I have to be responsible for both of us. I need to pay attention to my behaviors. It''s


    important for me to set a good example. Besides, I don''t have much money. The first thing I think about


    when I wake up is how to make more money to support myself and my son. Love is merely a luxury for


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    me. But then one''s energy is limited. I can''t waste my energy on gaudy enjoyment." Le spoke in one


    breath. For the first time she sounded reasonable to Chris. Le was infamous for her deceitful and


    opportunistic attitude that had even affected Charles and Autumn''s marriage in the past.


    Le stood up and continued maintaining the earnestness in her voice,"Miss Lu, I am sorry. I can''t keep


    your request. It is no use persuading me. I won''t say yes." Speaking these words she turned her back


    towards Chris, trying to map her silence as she listened to her. Le yed her cards very well till now.


    She knew exactly how to win Chris''s confidence and use her to get Charles back in her life. All her


    good intentions as she revealed to Chris were fake. Her ultimate goal was to get married to Charles.


    And she was sure Chris would create opportunities for her to get close to Charles. ''After Autumn went


    missing, Charles'' loneliness has been a matter of concern for everyone in the Lu family. And who could


    be better than me to be with Charles?'' Le thought.


    "Wait!" Chris stopped Le by holding her arm as she was about to leave.


    No matter how much genuine Le tried to sound in front of Chris, her past activities stopped her from


    believing in her. ''How is it possible for a girl like Le to give up on Charles? My gut tells me she is


    lying, '' Chris thought to herself.


    ''However, I have no other choice. She is the only hope to save Charles from depression. Besides, she


    has a son from Charles. Anyhow, I have to help her win Charles''s affection.''


    Chris just could not let Le go. She had to stop her for Charles''s sake. She held Le''s arm and


    pleaded earnestly,"Le, please take a seat and listen to me for a moment. I promise it won''t take a


    long time." Le didn''t speak. Nor did she move from her ce. Chris pulled Le''s hand and got her


    seated on the chair.


    Then she sat down face to face with her and said,"Although you don''t admit that Charles is the father of


    your son, I am not blind. Nor am I a fool. He has such striking resemnce with Charles that you


    simply can''t deny that he is Charles''s son." Le lowered her eyes as she pretended to listen to Chris.


    However, heart of heart, she was ted and proud to be Charlie''s mother. Charlie was the gate pass


    for her to enter into Charles''s life and be his wife. But she showed no excitement in front of Chris.


    Rather, she presented herself to be a tender and considerate mother. Inside, her heart was taking


    leaps of fantasy by the thought of bing Charles''s wife and reigning over Dream Garden. But her


    face reflected humbleness as she sat with her head lowered in front of Chris.


    Inch by inch Le was getting closer to her target. She could not afford to make any mistake. She could


    not let Chris get the slightest hint of what was going on in her mind. Hence, she kept her eyes lowered


    lest Chris read her mind. In her mind, she said happily, ''Autumn did one good thing for me. She gave


    birth to a son and left him for me to bring him up. Now her son will help me to achieve my rightful ce


    in Charles''s life.''


    Keeping her ambitions concealed in a humble smile, Le replied to Chris,"Does it really matter?" Le


    forced a smile and said in a firm voice,"The moment I decided to give birth to the baby, I had told


    myself he is my child. Only mine. He has nothing to do with anyone else. I decided to stay away from


    Charles and raise him myself."


    Le''s statement proved Chris''s assumption to be true. Chris had a very strong intuition the moment


    she met Charlie that he could be Charles''s son. Little did she imagine how it was Le and her


    contriving ways that had brought her to this conclusion. It never even urred to her in her wildest


    thought that Charlie could be Charles''s son from Autumn. When she heard Le indicating towards


    Charlie being Charles''s son, she asked with a broad smile,"So you admit that Charles is the father of


    your son?" Chris stared at Le, waiting for her reply.


    Le sneered,"What if he is? And what if he is not? Why are you persistently asking about my son''s


    father? How does that change anything for me or my son?"


    Chris smiled and said politely,"Rx Le. I mean no harm. I have asked an unofficial consulting


    detective to investigate about your livelihood. I learnt that you didn''t live a good life. You had to take


    care of your son all by yourself and make enough money to earn a living. It has be more difficult


    for you when your savings are used up." Once Chris got confirmed about Charlie''s identity, she knew


    how to persuade Le foring into Charles''s life. Even Autumn would not have been happy to see


    the way Charles was wasting his life in loneliness and depression. She felt, if Charles epted Le,


    they would live a happy family.


    "Does it have anything to do with you?" Le pretended to be unconcerned and said in an indifferent


    tone. ''Stupid Chris, you will nevere to know how I used you to achieve my goal."


    Chris thought the simplest way to persuade Le was to depict a new life for her son. A mother could


    never deny afortable life and a bright future for her son. Hence she showed concern towards


    Charlie as she said in a persuasive manner,"Think about it Le. Your son is nearly four years old. Very


    soon you have to put him in a good school. And as you know it will be a huge expense. Will you be


    able to afford it all by yourself? Don''t you want your son to enter the best school?"


    "Of course I do," Le replied promptly without hesitation. Her eyes mellowed down when she thought


    about her financial situation. Slowly, the sparkle in her eyes disappeared. It was true that she couldn''t


    afford the expenses of sending Charlie to the best school. In fact, she didn''t have enough money for


    him to learn something like piano. "But, it would be totally impossible," Le said in a very soft voice.


    She looked humiliated and embarrassed as she admitted about her poor status. She felt herself going


    red in the face.


    "Nothing is impossible, Le," Chrisforted Le with a gentle smile. She went on to speak in the


    same persuasive manner and said,"You can take your son back to Dream Garden and tell all the truth.


    Since you are family, Charles will take good care of him and be responsible for his education."


    "No way," Le retorted firmly. She stared at Chris and announced,"I have told you once that my child


    is only mine. He has nothing to do with Charles."


    Chrisughed with disdain and contempt,"If you insist on that, you should leave Y City with your son."


    As the conversation proceeded, Chris gained a strong position. She knew Le''s intention and would


    be happy to help her if she stopped ying tricks and be honest.


    Chris was aware of Le''s little game and could see into her soul. Le stayed in Y City and dreamt of


    bing Charles''s wife and be able to live a rich life.


    Le couldn''t refute Chris''s words. What she said was absolutely true. Le had never giving up the


    idea of marrying Charles.


    "You came here to make fun of me?" Le asked feeling humiliated. She didn''t like the feeling of being


    mocked at. Chris attacked her in a very point-nk manner. True enough! If she did not want any help


    from Charles in her child''s upbringing, why didn''t she leave Y City once and for all? For the first time


    since they started conversing, Chris revealed that she waspletely aware of Le''s intentions. And


    this made Le feel a bit ufortable.


    "To be very honest with you Le, I really don''t like you," Chris twisted her mouth and said in an


    indifferent tone. "I used to dislike you. And even now, my feeling is the same." Chris knew she shouldn''t


    have said such words, but she couldn''t help letting out her disdain. Chris thought, ''What a fake woman!


    Charles deserves a woman like Autumn, not a hypocritical woman like Le. But after Autumn''s death,


    Charles needs apanion. And since Le is the mother of Charles''s son, it will be a good option for


    them to form a family. This way Charles can get rid of his loneliness and even his son will find a home.''


    "Really?" Le asked casually, curving her lips into a sarcastic smile. She couldn''t care less about


    Chris''s hatred towards her. After all, they wouldn''t live together.


    Chris had always thought Le was maniptive and scheming. But given the situation, she could not


    rely on anyone other than Le to save Charles from getting into depression.


    "I am asking you for thest time, is the child Charles''s or not?" Chris urged. Le didn''t speak. Chris


    became impatient and said,"If you don''t want, you don''t have to reply to my question quickly. If he is not


    Charles''s son, just pretend this meeting never happened. But if he is, I will help you marry Charles. You


    can consider my proposal carefully and give me your answer."


    Chris was in a strange dilemma. She knew Le was not the right person for Charles. But on the other


    hand, she could not see Charles being lost in Autumn''s memory and end his life in desperation. He


    needed to start a new life. And the only hope in front of Chris at the moment was Le. No matter how


    deceitful and cunning she was, she could at least help Charles to start a new life.


    Le maintained silence for a long time pretending to think over Chris''s proposal. Then she spoke


    narrowing her eyes,"Are you serious? You will help me?"


    Before Chris said anything, Le took a deep sigh and continued,"Yes, it is true. Charlie is Charles''s


    own blood. About four years ago, I went on a business trip to Europe with Mr. Lu. One night, he was


    drunk and we had sexual rtions. He had no idea what had happened that night. Before he woke up, I


    had left. I didn''t know how to face him and Autumn. I just kept it a secret. It was out of my expectation


    that I was pregnant. After serious consideration and struggling with myself for a long time, I decided to


    give birth to the baby. He is Charlie." Le finally yed her card. She had Chris hear what she wanted


    to hear. Also she made the story clear once and for all so that it could stop questioning Charlie''s


    identity over and over again.


    Le forced a smile and continued,"I have been worried about Charlie these days. He is growing to be


    more and more like Mr. Lu. He has asked me a thousand times why he doesn''t have his father. The


    other children all have their fathers. I have really been anxious about his mental health.


    If you can help me to be with Mr. Lu, Charlie will have his father and I will appreciate your help." Le


    stared at Chris with gratefulness written all over her face. Le could not believe her luck. Heart of


    heart, she was bouncing with joy. But she had to show integrity and self-respect in front of Chris. At


    least till the time she got married to Charles.


    Chris was not to be easily cheated either. She knew Le too well to believe every word uttered by her


    just on the face of it. Though Chris was looking at Le''s face, her mind kept hovering over the idea to


    see Le, Charles and Charlie as one happy family. And in the view of this, Le''s words could be


    partly trusted. She hesitated for a while and promised,"Since the child is Charles''s, we won''t let him live


    outside. I will consider it carefully and call you." Chris knew that Le was not telling theplete truth.


    And she was very well aware of Le''s intention. Chris was sure Le wanted to be Mrs. Lu.


    "Why are you helping me?" Le asked with the desperation venting out through her voice. Thest


    statement made by Chris put her into a dilemma once again. She thought, ''Chris doesn''t like me. Why


    did she offer to help me? And now she is saying that they won''t let Charlie live outside. What does she


    mean by that? What if she just takes away Charlie and ditch me?'' Thousands of questions came


    crowding her mind. It was important for her to know Chris''s real intentions.


    Chris smiled ruefully and exined,"In these years, Charles felt Autumn was still alive. He had meals


    on time, went to work in the day, sleepte at night. Whenever he was free, he would drink too much. I


    feel sorry for him and hope youring into his life will help him toe out of this life of quiet


    desperation. That''s why I will help you."


    Le nodded in a reassuring manner and promised,"I will."