Campus Ace Girl-Chapter 754 - 755: Tang Yuan Won’t Live Long - 2600 Words

Chapter 754: Chapter 755: Tang Yuan Won’t Live Long - 2600 Words

Once they were seated, Gu Anxi looked at the woman before her, the former Mrs. Gu. She recalled how Tang Yuan used to be so finicky about her coffee, yet now, those particularities were gone. Gu Anxi couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

Tang Yuan took a sip of coffee. Life had dulled her palate to the point where she could no longer distinguish good from bad.

She sat there blankly for a good while before speaking. "Thank you for saving Mingzhu. I heard from Mr. Min that it was your decision."

Gu Anxi smiled faintly, completely unconcerned. "I would have saved anyone in her position."

Tang Yuan lowered her head, her voice soft. "Even if you say that, I know it wasn’t easy for you."

She took out her wallet and fumbled through it.

Gu Anxi watched her without trying to stop her.

Tang Yuan retrieved a check from her wallet and, after a moment’s hesitation, placed it on the table. Her hand resting on it, she said with great solemnity, "Mr. Min sent this over in the last couple of days. Consider it... closure. The amount is quite substantial, but I feel it’s most appropriate for you to have it."

Gu Anxi reached out, took the check, and glanced at it.

The sum was enormous, enough to purchase two of the finest villas in Beicheng.

She looked at it and chuckled softly. "This is Min Xin’s compensation for Gu Mingzhu. Why are you giving it to me? As a thank you? Or compensation? Neither is necessary."

Tang Yuan leaned forward slightly, her voice urgent. "Consider it compensation."

Gu Anxi stared at her.

Her eyes welled up. Even now, did she still think money could compensate for everything?

She gazed motionlessly at the woman before her.

After a long pause, Gu Anxi slowly leaned back into her chair and said softly, "I stopped needing that a long time ago."

Tang Yuan started to reach out to touch her, but quickly retracted her hand. They looked at each other for a long moment before Tang Yuan’s lips trembled as she spoke, "Anxi... back then... I was young too, about your age now. My family was very poor, and I desperately wanted a better life. So, I was terrified that the happiness I had worked so hard to find would vanish like a bubble."

Gu Anxi turned her face away, a bitter smile playing on her lips. "I can’t empathize with that. I’m sorry."

Tang Yuan seemed a little afraid of her and also felt deeply ashamed. This was probably one of the few truly humiliating moments of her life. The previous time had been when Gu Changqing’s mother caught her red-handed; she had been so utterly disgraced then. Another was when Zhou Yu had thrown a check at her, telling her to abort their child. This time, she was facing her own flesh and blood.

She understood clearly that Gu Anxi’s willingness to even have a cup of coffee with her was an act of mercy. Anything more was out of the question. Yet, she still harbored a desperate wish to... let go of the past.

Tang Yuan was no longer the celebrated woman who had once captivated Beicheng. She had become an ordinary woman, yearning for familial affection.

To her, Anxi was yearned for but unattainable.

Gu Anxi watched her silently, then finally spoke again. "I don’t understand. Did the happiness you sought include betraying Gu Yuanshan? You and Min Xin had Gu Mingzhu. Didn’t Gu Changqing’s mother’s death just become an insignificant sacrifice in your life?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Tang Yuan lowered her gaze, unable to answer Gu Anxi’s question.

Gu Anxi stared at her, her eyes growing warm.

As much as she wanted to put this woman out of her mind, sitting face-to-face like this, she couldn’t remain entirely unmoved.

She slowly stood up and said softly, "I’m leaving."

Tang Yuan’s head snapped up, and she clutched at Gu Anxi’s hand pleadingly. "Anxi."

Gu Anxi gently pulled her hand away and said calmly, "There’s no talk of forgiveness between us. I haven’t forgiven Gu Yuanshan either. I’m not a saint, so I’m sorry, Ms. Tang."

She addressed her as Ms. Tang, a term denoting extreme distance. In stark contrast, Tang Yuan knew Gu Anxi had even called Bo Jin ’Mom’, and Lin Yun was ’Mom’ to her. But to Tang Yuan, the mother who had given birth to her, she was like a stranger. She knew she had brought this upon herself...

Tang Yuan took a deep breath. "I just visited Bo Jin. I heard you’re getting married in a couple of months... I..."

Gu Anxi stared at her.

Tang Yuan struggled to get the words out. "Can I attend?"

Gu Anxi’s fingers slowly clenched, her knuckles turning white from the force, but she felt no pain.

After a long silence, she finally said, "That won’t be necessary."

With that, she turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Tang Yuan watched her straight, unyielding back, her resolute departure, and couldn’t stop herself from covering her face and bursting into tears.

She was ill; she wouldn’t live much longer. She only wanted Mingzhu to have someone to look after her. She also yearned to reconcile with her child before she passed. Once she was gone, Mingzhu would truly have no family left in this world. Only Anxi was her blood relative. Min Xin, with a single check, had already severed all ties...

Tang Yuan wept bitterly, all traces of her former renowned elegance in Beicheng gone.

As Gu Anxi walked out of the coffee shop, her ears seemed to catch the sound of a woman crying. She wasn’t sure if it was Tang Yuan, but she didn’t want to soften...

「At the hospital」

She dejectedly went to Bo Jin’s room.

Bo Jin was in particularly good spirits today. Uncle Robert was with her. Despite being married for so long, he still looked at Bo Jin as if she were Alice. The nurses there were always giggling, but Uncle Robert didn’t mind; in fact, his gaze only grew more tender and affectionate.

Ordinary people might find it cheesy, but Uncle Robert didn’t think so. In his heart, Aunt Bo Jin was his Juliet. Now that Juliet was carrying his child, the important man tried to get his work done at the hospital as much as possible, staying by his wife’s side the entire time. Who in Beicheng didn’t envy Bo Jin for marrying so well?

Even Mrs. Bo said that this fated connection was brought by Anxi (the ’cub’), and that Anxi was the Bo family’s mascot. Robert remembered this after hearing it said once, and he had always been very fond of Gu Anxi. So, when Gu Anxi arrived, Uncle Robert greeted her with a warm hug, exclaiming, "Our mascot is here!"

Bo Jin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and Gu Anxi was also somewhat stunned.

Bo Jin explained what Mrs. Bo had said, then directed her husband to work in another room. After Uncle Robert left, Bo Jin called Gu Anxi over.

Gu Anxi obediently went and sat down beside her.

Bo Jin looked closely at her eyes. "Did you see Tang Yuan?"

Gu Anxi didn’t answer, but leaned over lightly, her face pressed against Bo Jin’s belly. "Will my little sister move?"

"You child, I’m talking to you, you know?" Bo Jin patted her cheek.

Only then did Gu Anxi sit up, letting out a playful groan. "What could you possibly say that’s more important than my little sister?"

Bo Jin knew she didn’t want to bring up the subject, but she felt she had to, lest Anxi regret it later. She pondered for a moment before speaking. "Tang Yuan came to see me earlier. She had a check-up a few days ago, and her health wasn’t good. She was diagnosed in the last couple of days..."

Gu Anxi remained silent.

Bo Jin reached out, stroked her small head, and said softly, "She might not live much longer. Half a year at most, I’d say."

Gu Anxi froze for a moment.

Half a year? Only half a year left to live?

She slowly asked, "But she... she’s only in her early forties, isn’t she?"

Bo Jin sighed. "Perhaps from overthinking things too much. Anyway, her condition is already very bad."

Gu Anxi thought about Tang Yuan’s complexion; it really wasn’t good.

Bo Jin didn’t say anything else, just stroked her head.

After a while, Gu Anxi said, "I want to listen to my little sister."

Bo Jin smiled. "Alright."

Gu Anxi leaned her head over, pressing it gently against Bo Jin’s belly, careful not to put any weight on it...

After a long silence, she whispered, "Aunt, do you think... when she was pregnant with me, was she ever happy?"

"Probably," Bo Jin smiled.

Gu Anxi said no more.

Later, she returned to Bo Xichen’s office. He wasn’t there; he had probably gone to a meeting. She turned on his computer and looked up Tang Yuan’s medical condition.

When she saw the films, she froze again.

The six months Bo Jin had mentioned was actually an overestimation. What these scans showed... was probably only three or four months.

Gu Anxi sat there in a daze, from daylight until evening, forgetting to turn on the lights.

The blue light from the screen flickered across her face, illuminating it intermittently.

When Bo Xichen returned, he found her sitting there blankly and turned on the lights.

The light was glaring, and she quickly shielded her eyes.

"What’s wrong?" Bo Xichen went over, pulled her small head into his embrace, and asked her softly.

Gu Anxi nestled against him, feeling a slight chill. She hugged him tightly and whispered, her voice tiny, "Tang... Tang Yuan is ill. She probably won’t live much longer. She came to see me, and I rejected her."

Bo Xichen’s gaze fell on the computer screen. Then, his voice slightly hoarse, he said, "You’re planning to forgive her."

She shook her head, vehemently, then pressed closer into his embrace. After a long time, she said, "No. It’s just... someone I’ve disliked for so long will suddenly be... gone. My feelings are a bit complicated... It just means that, in the future, I might not even have the chance to dislike her anymore."

Bo Xichen sighed softly. His little one, always so soft-hearted, even if she was stubborn with her words and would never admit it.