Bo Xichen drove to the hospital, put on his white coat, and sat down. His assistant nurse promptly arrived, her voice sweet. "Professor Bo, here are the files you requested." She placed a set of files on his desk but didn’t leave right away.
Bo Xichen began skimming through them and asked casually, "Did Mrs. Tang co for her check-up today?"
The assistant smiled. "She’s already here, now in the examination room. Would you like to go, Professor Bo?"
Bo Xichen continued to look at the files and replied softly, "No need. Later, ask her attending physician to drop by."
The assistant nodded. "Alright, I’ll ask Dr. Li to co by when she’s free."
Just as she was about to walk away, Bo Xichen stopped her. "Don’t tell Dr. Gu about this when she cos."
The assistant hugged the files and smiled cheekily. "I know, Professor Bo. I won’t say anything."
Bo Xichen smiled as well. "What do you know!"
Without a word, the assistant turned and scurried off.
Bo Xichen watched her leave and then continued reading the files. About an hour later, Dr. Li arrived, removing her surgical mask as she spoke, "Professor Bo, you were looking for ?"
Bo Xichen looked up and gestured for her to sit. He glanced at the files one last ti and then slowly closed them.
Though Dr. Li was only a departnt head, she had a good ear for hospital gossip, especially concerning her patient, Tang Yuan. She assud Bo Xichen had summoned her regarding Tang Yuan’s case.
She thus took the initiative and said, "Mrs. Tang ca in for scans today, and the situation doesn’t look very promising."
She was prepared and handed over the films.
Bo Xichen took them, held them up, and examined them closely for a while, his brow furrowed in thought.
Dr. Li asked softly from the side, "Do you see any hope?"
Bo Xichen put the films down and looked at her quietly for a while before saying, "There isn’t much hope."
Hearing those words, Dr. Li figured the chances were slim, and her spirits sank.
Sigh, although... despite all that had happened, soone’s impending death was never a cause for happiness, especially not for Dr. Gu.
Bo Xichen handed the docunts back to her. "Keep these safe. Give them to Anxi if she asks."
Dr. Li nodded. "Alright."
She couldn’t help but ask, "And if she asks about it, what should I say?"
Bo Xichen pondered for a mont before giving a faint smile. "She’ll understand once she sees them."
It seed even a celestial being couldn’t save Tang Yuan now.
After Dr. Li left, she hadn’t been back in her office for long when she received an email.
It was from Gu Anxi, requesting Tang Yuan’s dical records.
Dr. Li sent the requested records over and, after so consideration, added a note stating that Professor Bo had already reviewed them.
Gu Anxi sat in her study, quietly looking at the email. She examined the lesions on Tang Yuan’s scans and read the note that her uncle had also seen them. For a long ti, she sat in silence...
From the doorway, a head peered in. It was none other than Old Mr. Bo.
Old Mr. Bo had been waiting for the little one to wake up for quite so ti. When he finally saw her get out of bed, his heart filled with joy.
But after she took a few steps, he noticed sothing seed off. The little one looked dazed, as if she had been crying.
Old Mr. Bo decided against going into the study. He tiptoed out and bumped into Mrs. Bo. Startled, he imdiately pulled her aside and blurted out, "She’s crying in there."
Mrs. Bo looked at him, then towards the room. "Our little one?"
Old Mr. Bo nodded vigorously.
"How could that be?" Mrs. Bo chuckled. "Our little one has hardly ever cried."
Old Mr. Bo rubbed his nose. "Just because you’ve never seen it doesn’t an she doesn’t cry."
He made his point earnestly. "She’s human, after all. She must have feelings. There has to be sothing that saddens her, right? For instance, having her family’s ager savings coveted by others, or a hard-won treasure being swindled away by an unfilial son. These are all things that would make soone cry, aren’t they?"
As he spoke with such seriousness, Mrs. Bo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "What are you talking about? The one thing our little one doesn’t lack is treasures, and our family fortune is more than abundant."
Old Mr. Bo gave a sly smile. "Or perhaps Xichen did sothing to wrong her?"
"Nonsense." Mrs. Bo glared at him. "Setting aside Xichen’s character, where in Beicheng could he find a girl more beautiful than our little one? Besides, if he dared, I’d be the first to break his legs."
Old Mr. Bo fell silent.
Mrs. Bo was about to go in when she suddenly halted. She recalled sothing Bo Jin had ntioned: Tang Yuan’s condition was deteriorating, and he had advised her to keep an eye on Anxi. Last night, Anxi had seed fine, so she hadn’t given it much thought. What did it matter if an unimportant woman died? But she hadn’t expected Anxi to be crying her eyes out now.
Mrs. Bo felt both angry and distressed. Tang Yuan brought so much suffering on herself, and now, even as she’s dying, she’s making our little one sad. It’s truly outrageous. She wanted to comfort Anxi but, thinking it over, felt it might not be appropriate.
She sighed. "Alright, let her be alone for a while."
With that, Mrs. Bo headed towards Bo Nianyao’s study. Old Mr. Bo glanced into the room one last ti before following. Trailing behind Mrs. Bo, he muttered to himself, Wasn’t she abandoned when she was little? Why is she so heartbroken now? I always thought this child was pretty tough. Turns out she’s still just a fledgling who hasn’t fully grown her feathers.
Mrs. Bo stopped in her tracks and snapped at him, "What do you know!"
Old Mr. Bo felt wronged but didn’t dare utter a sound...
Reaching the study, Mrs. Bo and Bo Nianyao inevitably began discussing the matter, both sighing. Old Mr. Bo, standing nearby, also sighed along. Even if he didn’t feel sorry, he had to put on a show. Alas, being an elder here was quite a humbling experience.
Gu Anxi sat alone in the study for a long ti. She had once wondered if her uncle might have a solution. She never asked, but now that Director Li had said what she did, Anxi understood that the illness was incurable.
She wasn’t soft-hearted. It was just that soone she had always disliked, soone she had always tried to ignore, soone who wasn’t doing well at all now, was about to depart from this world. She couldn’t quite describe her current feelings.
She sat there until almost noon. Mrs. Bo, finally unable to bear it any longer, feigned nonchalance and called her for lunch. Mrs. Bo didn’t ask anything, and Gu Anxi also pretended nothing was wrong, though the al was rather quiet.
After finishing the al, she said softly, "Mom Bo, I want to go to the company for a bit."
Mrs. Bo smiled. "Alright. But you don’t seem to be in good spirits. Let the driver take you."
Fearing she might not listen, Mrs. Bo added, "Xichen instructed this morning."
Gu Anxi murmured an "Oh," rested a bit more, and then went out.
The three mbers of the Bo family sighed in unison.
Outside, Gu Anxi got into the car. When the driver asked where she wanted to go, she shook her head. "Just drive around for a bit."
The driver sighed, then said, "The AC is on, but let’s open the windows a little too. I’ll drive slowly by the river. The breeze might make you feel a bit better."
"I’m not in a bad mood," she retorted stubbornly.
The driver just smiled and said nothing. Throughout the journey, he began telling amusing anecdotes, not expecting a response, just chatting away to himself. Gu Anxi leaned back in her seat, quietly gazing out the window...
After so ti, her phone rang. It was Gu Mingzhu.
She guessed why Gu Mingzhu was calling and quickly answered, her voice sowhat hoarse, "Hello."
On the other end, Gu Mingzhu’s voice was choked with sobs. "Gu Anxi, you knew, didn’t you?"
Gu Anxi’s voice was calm. "Know what?"
Gu Mingzhu burst into tears. "You knew my mother was sick! Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell ?"
Gu Anxi seed sowhat dazed for a mont, then let out a dry laugh. "You said it yourself, she’s *your* mother. Why should I tell you? What does this have to do with ?"
Gu Mingzhu choked, not expecting such an answer. Furious, she blurted out, "Gu Anxi, you’re heartless! She still gave birth to you, after all!"
"And?" Gu Anxi’s voice was indifferent. "So I have to take care of her every need, from cradle to grave? Isn’t she the one who needs *you* most right now?"
Gu Mingzhu was rendered speechless. After a long pause, she slamd the phone down, as if to vent her anger.
Gu Anxi felt a montary bewildernt... then gave a silent laugh.
Yes, what did it have to do with her?
She looked up. "Uncle Zhao, let’s go to the company."
Old Zhao brightened. "Feeling better now? That’s good, that’s good! Let’s head to the company right now."
Gu Anxi asked suspiciously, "Did Mom Bo tell you sothing?"
Old Zhao denied it at once. "Absolutely not! What could Madam possibly tell ? Heh, of course Madam wouldn’t say that you were in a bad mood, and that I should try to cheer you up, indulge you, buy you whatever you want to eat, and protect you wherever you want to go run wild..."
"Stop it." The young miss sniffled. "I don’t want to cry. It’s too embarrassing."
Uncle Zhao just laughed. "Nothing to be embarrassed about, nothing at all! Madam often says we only have one child in the family. What’s so embarrassing about a child crying a little?"
Gu Anxi thought about it. That was true. She had everything now; she didn’t need to be so petty anymore...
anwhile, just as Gu Mingzhu hung up the phone, she looked up to see Tang Yuan at the top of the stairs.
Tang Yuan’s complexion was terrible, ashen and gray. She looked at her younger daughter, her voice hoarse, "Mingzhu, you know?"
Gu Mingzhu pressed her lips tightly together, her gaze lowered. "I know."
Tang Yuan, leaning on the banister, slowly descended the stairs and stopped in front of her. "Then why did you call Anxi?"
Gu Mingzhu’s lips tightened further. She looked up at Tang Yuan. "Mom, why did you tell her first instead of ? Does that an you still care about her more? That I’m not the one you care about most!"
Tang Yuan gave a bitter, pained smile. "I told her because... in the future, you’ll need soone to look after you."
"I don’t need her to look after !" Gu Mingzhu retorted, her emotions flaring. "Mom, are you confused? Even if I need soone to look after , it should be Min Xin!"
"That check from Min Xin says it all." Tang Yuan clutched her abdon. "He won’t take care of , and he won’t take care of you. His child with Zhou Yu is about to be born."
Gu Mingzhu looked dazed. She stared at Tang Yuan for a long ti before finally speaking, "Mom, why? Why did you betray Dad? Why can’t I even be the young miss of the Gu family anymore? If you... if you’re gone, what will I do?"
A chill ran through Tang Yuan. She couldn’t believe her daughter would say such things.
She was sick, her days numbered. Yet, all her thoughts and plans were for this daughter. She had told Anxi, hoping Anxi would rember so past affection and look after Mingzhu. Who else could she count on now besides Anxi?
But Gu Mingzhu didn’t understand her mother’s heart at all. All Gu Mingzhu felt was that her sky was falling; she would have nothing left... She took a few steps back, then suddenly turned and ran out.
No matter how Tang Yuan called after her, she didn’t look back. Tang Yuan’s fingers dug into the sofa’s armrest, pain causing a cold sweat to break out all over her body. She slowly slid to the floor, startling the maid, who rushed over. "Madam! Madam!"
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