Min Xin walked over, sighed, and said, "Why do this, Tang Yuan? You were doing fine with Gu Yuanshan. Even if your deeds were exposed, he wouldn’t abandon you as long as you’d swallow your pride."

There was never any affection between them. She was not a naive girl who could not understand this.

Tang Yuan’s fingers began to quiver. After a moment, she gave a slight laugh. "Everyone is reluctant to care for Mingzhu, isn’t it? You don’t want to, Gu Yuanshan doesn’t want to, and Gu Anxi certainly doesn’t. She just came over and claimed it didn’t concern her."

As she spoke, anger spread across her face. "This child has always resented me. Even though she has everything, she still hasn’t let go."

Min Xin said calmly, "If it were me, I wouldn’t let go either."

The color drained from Tang Yuan’s face.

Min Xin continued, "By the way, she said something to me the last time she saw me. Do you want to hear it?"

Tang Yuan’s fingers trembled even more fiercely. She instinctively refused; she didn’t want to hear it.

Still, Min Xin spoke. The words he uttered shamed Tang Yuan and made her feel disgraced. "That girl certainly hasn’t forgiven you, and probably won’t forgive you and Gu Yuanshan. But she is fair. She told me that if you left, Mingzhu would be my responsibility."

"Did she really say that?" Tang Yuan’s voice was extremely raspy.

Min Xin replied indifferently, "Yes, she did. On reflection, I think she was right."

Tang Yuan became agitated. "Then, will you take Mingzhu back to the Min Family home?"

Min Xin shook his head. "No."

Actually, where does he have a home now? His pregnant wife isn’t willing to return with him. He’s still sleeping on the Zhou Family’s couch, without any status. Could he really bring a young woman in her twenties home at a time like this? Wouldn’t that utterly disgust Zhou Yu?

Hearing this, Tang Yuan seemed disappointed, murmuring, "Mingzhu is obedient."

Min Xin sat on a nearby couch and gave a wry smile. "Tang Yuan, you’re still the same as before, not changed one bit. You always want to gain every advantage. Mingzhu is a grown woman; she only needs a little guidance. Why do you insist on treating her like a child? Look at Anxi. She went to Beicheng to study when she was just a little girl. Now, at twenty-one, look at how much she has accomplished."

Tang Yuan was taken aback and quietly asked, "Do you think she’s better than Mingzhu?"

"Do we even need to discuss this?" Min Xin retorted bluntly.

Tang Yuan felt completely undermined and fell silent...

After a long while, Min Xin finally spoke frankly. "I came here today just to tell you that I will look after Mingzhu. If she misbehaves, I will have Zhou Yu discipline her. You know Zhou Yu’s temperament; she won’t be gentle, but it’s better than me doing it myself. Also, I won’t take Mingzhu home. I have to consider Zhou Yu’s feelings. This is the absolute limit of what I can promise you; anything more is impossible. Because the person I’ve wronged the most isn’t Mingzhu, it’s Zhou Yu."

When he finished speaking, Tang Yuan’s lips moved, but she remained speechless for a long time.

Min Xin patted his trouser leg and got up. "Alright, it’s getting late. I should leave now."

As he was about to leave, he placed a check on the table, a final compensation, perhaps.

Tang Yuan stared blankly at the check. Mulling over Min Xin’s words, she slowly began to come to terms with the situation.

Tears welled up in her eyes. After a long moment, she abruptly pulled out the IV needle, propped up her frail body, and ran out. She wanted to see Anxi.

I should thank her, she thought. If she hadn’t spoken up, Min Xin wouldn’t have agreed to look after Mingzhu.

I admit I was biased, she acknowledged to herself. I wronged her. I can only make it up to her in my next life.

Tang Yuan ran out and asked for directions to Bo Xichen’s office, then hurried in that direction. A nurse watched her go with a strange look in her eyes. However, by the time Tang Yuan reached the correct floor and asked again, she learned that Gu Anxi had already left with Bo Xichen.

The young assistant smiled as she finished explaining. Tang Yuan murmured, "They left, huh?"

She walked back slowly, somewhat dazed. Her hand was still stained with blood, yet she seemed oblivious to the pain. Upon reaching her hospital room, she lifted the covers and sat back down on the bed, still in a stupor.

After a long silence, she suddenly burst into tears.

Anxi will never forgive me, not in this lifetime. That child... I’ll never receive her forgiveness, not even when I die.

I’ve been so wicked. That child must hate me to death...

*

Indeed, Gu Anxi felt a bit heavy-hearted, but seeing Bo Xichen lightened her mood considerably. The moment he emerged from the operating room, she threw herself into his arms. "Uncle Bo, I’ve missed you!"

He let her hug him for a moment before gently easing her out of his embrace. "I just finished surgery. I need to take a shower first, then I’ll take you out for something delicious."

Gu Anxi hummed in response.

While he was showering, she picked up her phone. After a moment’s thought, she booked a presidential suite at the Cloud He Group’s affiliated hotel, casually using Bo Xichen’s card to pay.

Meanwhile, Bo Xichen emerged from the bathroom. As he was drying his hair, he heard a DING. He glanced at his phone—it was a bank notification. He raised an eyebrow...