645 Arrival at the Courthouse

Hearing their words of support, Jiang Ying Yue nodded. The uneasiness in her heart subsided for a bit.

Bravery wasn't something that could be trained in an instant. But for the sake of her son, she would fight a painful battle against the man she used to love. It would probably crush her even more than she already had, but she was willing to bleed just so her son could have a happy life and bright future.

She looked around and saw warm and loving people. This was family, regardless of whether they were connected by blood or not. They were now her son's family and hers as well. If something ever happened to her, Jiang Ying Yue knew that they would love and take care of her son as if he was their own, especially Little Jun's godparents, Xiulan and Sir Liwei.

Little Jun belonged with these loving and supportive people, not the self-serving and toxic environment of the Long clan.

"Thank you, everyone," she told them in her sincerest tone.

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[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]

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Inside the car, Clover held Jiang Ying Yue's cold, sweaty hands and squeezed it. "You'll be fine, Sis Ying Yue. You're not alone."

Jiang Ying Yue smiled at her friend who took the time to accompany her today. She was very grateful to Clover who just showed up earlier that morning and announced that she would be coming to court with her. Clover should be very busy with her preparations for her France mission and would be flying in a couple of days but she still dropped everything to share Jiang Ying Yue's burdens today.

Their friends, the other members of the girl squad, also wanted to come but were unable to do so even if they wanted to.

Iris was a popular celebrity. She would attract too much attention if she came. Her presence might negatively affect the custody case and attract unwanted scrutiny from unnecessary people, so it was better that she didn't come.

Dom was Iris' personal assistant, so he needed to accompany her at work, especially right now that her two music collaborations with Jin Chonglin became big hits. She was being flooded with new work offers in showbiz. In addition to this, she also had companies that needed her attention, her studies, and also her music compositions. Dom needed to be there in order to make her daily life run smoothly so that she could put her entire focus on her work.

According to Clover, Meimei was supposed to come as well but when she took a look at this friend's zombie-like appearance, Clover became frightened so she discouraged Meimei and told her to rest at home instead. Clover even asked Yang Jiahui to keep a close eye on Meimei because she might sneak out and follow them to court.

As for Long Jinjing and Chen Fei, the two of them were the CFO and COO of Orchidia Beauty respectively. With the company's current fast-growing success, they had their hands full in managing its operations and keeping it in the right track. After all, their President-CEO had a tendency to take the crazy, unconventional methods towards success. Iris'"high risk, high rewards" approach would always scare the shit out of both Long Jinjing and Chen Fei, so the two of them needed to provide the company a sense of being grounded to balance everything out. This meant that the two had to dedicate a lot of time working in the company.

Jiang Ying Yue understood her friends' busy schedules, so she dissuaded them from taking a leave of absence in order to accompany her today. She didn't expect that Clover would ignore her and just show up. Endless gratitude filled her.

"Miss Jiang, we're here," Hong Shaoqiang announced beside her.

She was sitting in the backseat between Clover and Iris' lawyer who was now hers as well. The three of them looked out of the window and saw the imposing building of the courthouse. Jiang Ying Yue's heart began jumping inside her tight chest. She paled and cold sweat began soaking her clothes.

"Breathe, Sis," Clover told her.

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, willing her tense body to relax even for just a little bit.

Their car drove slowly until it reached the front driveway leading to the courthouse.

"Huh? Why are there so many reporters outside the courthouse?" Clover asked, pointing at the building's main entrance.

Attorney Hong frowned when he saw the crowd of reporters.

"Maybe they're here for another case?" Jiang Ying Yue replied, her tone uncertain.

"I hope you're right. We want this custody case to reach a conclusion as swiftly as possible. Media attention will just turn it into a circus and might even complicate things," Atty. Hong said.

They were hoping that the reporters didn't come for them but for another case also happening today.

Although Little Jun's father was the eldest son of Long Tengfei, the current head of Long Industries and the aristocratic Long clan, Long Hui wasn't well-known or influential enough in his own right to garner this much media attention. Only Little Jun's aunt and godmother, Iris Long, had the star power to attract attention from the media.

The car stopped. The driver and his partner alighted from the front seat and opened the door for them. When Atty. Hong stepped out, the reporters recognized him and quickly ran towards them. The lawyer frowned upon seeing their reaction to their arrival.

"Oh no. It seems that the reporters really came for us," Clover said from behind.

Jiang Ying Yue became even more nervous. It was fortunate that her training as a bodyguard allowed her to maintain an impassive expression.

Atty. Hong blocked Jiang Ying Yue and Clover from stepping out of the car while the driver and his partner formed a protective barrier in front of them.

Despite this, the reporters still shouted questions at Jiang Ying Yue.

"Miss Jiang, is it true that you're refusing to give custody of your son to the father, Mr. Long Hui, because you're asking for an enormous amount of child support?"