168: Chapter 168 Exorbitant Demands

"Before, it was because I went bankrupt and my family situation wasn't great, so I didn't fight you for custody of the child."

"Now that my family situation has improved and my career is back on track, what makes you think I'll lose to you?"

Chen Ling remained silent, doing nothing but glaring at him.

Yang Jin looked left and right before chiming in, "Actually, I don't think this matter is complicated at all. Chen Ling and I are getting married."

"If you're willing, it's not impossible for you to take the child, but we must come to an agreement first."

As soon as Shen Yan heard this, he knew the man must have some crooked idea again.

His eyes darted around as he asked Yang Jin, "Oh? What do you want to discuss with me?"

Yang Jin cleared his throat and replied to Shen Yan, "What we want to discuss is simple. We've been raising the child until now, so you must first pay us back for the previous child support."

Money again?

Was it Yang Jin who was short on money, or Chen Ling?

While pondering this, Shen Yan replied with a straight face, "I can give you the child support, but don't forget that if custody transfers to me, you'll have to pay me child support as well."

"So, I think we can just offset the two. The previous child support can be waived, and you won't have to pay me any in the future."

Yang Jin's goal was to get money, so there was no way he would agree to Shen Yan's proposal.

"No, one thing is one thing. You must pay us the child support you owe first. As for the support we should pay later, we won't be short by a single cent."

The police officers on the side couldn't get a word in at all.

They had originally intended to mediate the conflict, but now it seemed both sides were quite calm, not looking like they needed any intervention.

Just as they thought this, Chen Ling spoke up.

"Yang Jin is right, one thing is one thing. I can give you custody of the child, but you must pay me all the previous child support in one lump sum."

Hearing this, Shen Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He didn't know why Chen Ling had suddenly changed her mind, but it certainly wouldn't be good for him.

After a moment, he asked Chen Ling, "How much child support do you want?"

Chen Ling lifted her eyelids and replied to Shen Yan, "Not much, three million in total."

Three million?!

The police officers' eyes widened when they heard the amount.

"Ms. Chen, isn't this a bit of an exorbitant demand?"

Chen Ling sneered and replied to the police, "What do you mean by exorbitant? Doesn't he want custody? Then give it to him, but if he wants it, he has to pay me three million in child support. Otherwise, no deal!"

Originally, she thought custody had to be in her hands because the child was hers, but she didn't think that way anymore.

Yang Jin had proposed to her and even wanted to transfer his company to her.

Just dealing with Yang Jin's company and her own would be enough to keep her spinning; she simply didn't have the energy to look after a child and fight a lawsuit against Shen Yan.

Rather than ending up with nothing, it was better to be decisive and discard what could be discarded first.

No matter what, Youyou was the child she had carried for ten months.

Even if she didn't have custody, she would still be Youyou's mother. That was an unchangeable fact. Thus, Youyou's custody was currently the easiest thing for her to give up.

Thinking this, she said to Shen Yan, "I believe you don't want to spend all your time and energy on a lawsuit either, right?"

"Three million is just a small sum of money, and I'm sure you can afford it. So, I'll give you half an hour to think it over."

"If you're still unwilling to agree after half an hour, then there's no need to talk further. We'll see each other in court, and I will take the child away."

Shen Yan didn't say a word after hearing that.

He was weighing whether or not to agree to Chen Ling's demand.

To be honest, he didn't really want to give her that three million.

The reason wasn't that he was stingy, but rather that he didn't want Chen Ling to take advantage of him.

After thinking for a long time, he replied to Chen Ling, "No need for half an hour. I can tell you my answer right now: I refuse."

"Up until now, you've already lost the child twice. I believe that in court, you won't be able to win against me."

"Since you can't win, why should I spend three million to buy out the custody?"

Having said that, he curled his lips and said to the police, "The child's emotions are unstable right now, so I will continue to let her stay here to rest. If you have any objections, feel free to sue me at any time."

"I have nothing else to say. You can leave."

Neither Chen Ling nor Yang Jin expected Shen Yan to forcibly detain the child even with the police present.

While secretly shocked, they questioned Shen Yan, "Are you planning to be a scoundrel?!"

Him, a scoundrel?

That was truly laughable.

"Say whatever you want. To deal with people like you, I can only fight fire with fire. Fine, leave now. If you don't, I'll have someone throw you out."

Seeing that both sides were about to start a direct shouting match, the police quickly stood up and said, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. The child's emotions are indeed unstable right now. How about this: let the child rest here for the night."

"You can come back and pick her up tomorrow."

Shen Yan lowered his head in silence, while Chen Ling was extremely indignant.

"Youyou is my child! Why should my child stay here with him?!"

"The divorce agreement stated that the child stays with me. What right does he have to see her? What right does he have to keep her!"

Seeing her agitation, the police quickly advised, "No matter what, the child comes first. Since she wants to stay with her father for the night, just come and get her tomorrow. Respect the child's wishes."

Chen Ling wanted to say more, but Yang Jin stopped her.

Yang Jin pulled Chen Ling aside and whispered, "Youyou is too resistant to me right now. Taking her back wouldn't be a good thing. Let's go home first and discuss how to handle the lawsuit..."

After listening, Chen Ling thought for a moment and then gritted her teeth in agreement.

"Fine! The child will stay here for one night, but I'm definitely coming back to get her tomorrow!"

Shen Yan turned a deaf ear to this.

Seeing that the child's final placement for the night had been decided, the police didn't plan to stay any longer.

"Alright, alright, it's settled then. It's late; let's head out and let the child rest in peace."