"Congratulations?
An Xiangrong touched her belly, a child that was 'manufactured' as a tool, what was there to congratulate?
Oh yes, this child was An Ling's life.
An Xiangrong didn't respond, only raised her head to look at Gu Mingyu and offered him a bleak smile.
"Gu Mingyu, if one day you know the truth, will you regret it?"
Gu Mingyu's pupils contracted, but very quickly he scoffed mercilessly: "An Xiangrong, I've thoroughly understood how disgusting and scheming you are. At this point, I won't believe a word, not even half a word, you say! Regret? The biggest regret in my life is failing to protect An Ling! An Xiangrong, wouldn't it have been great if it was you who got leukemia? Someone like you deserves to suffer in the hospital!"
"Ha...ha... ha…" An Xiangrong lowered her head, her laughter hoarse, her eyes despairing and hollow, "Gu Mingyu, my biggest regret is falling in love with you."
After saying so, An Xiangrong lifted her head to look at Gu Mingyu: "But now it doesn't matter to me, because I don't love you anymore."
Gu Mingyu couldn't express what he felt at that moment, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck atop his head, knocking him off balance, causing him to step back. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but found no words. Ultimately, all he could do was leave in a huff.
Subsequently, An Xiangrong was locked up like a dog.
No, it was probably worse than a dog. At least dogs could be loved by their masters and taken out for walks, but her living space was no more than a few dozen square meters. Even the windows were welded shut with bars by Gu Mingyu, and security guards stood watch at the door 24 hours a day. The only people An Xiangrong saw on a daily basis were the maid who brought her meals, and the doctor who checked on her physical condition.
When she was six months pregnant, An Xiangrong heard Gu Mingyu's voice coming from outside the door.
The doctor told Gu Mingyu that it wasn't suitable to keep her locked up all the time. She needed to go out for walks and fresh air. Staying locked up for a long time could affect her mental health. Furthermore, appropriate exercise could help make her deliver smoothly.
At the time, Gu Mingyu said, "Who has time to care about this woman's mental health? What does it matter if she can deliver smoothly? When the time comes, just drag her onto the operating table and slice her belly open!"
Not long after that, An Xiangrong's legs started swelling up. They were so swollen it hurt, and aching as soon as she set foot on the ground. She simply stopped walking and spent her days lying in bed staring at the ceiling. The only one she could talk to was the little friend in her belly. The only thing that made her happy was feeling the baby move. She could clearly feel the baby's existence, and that was a wonderful feeling.
An Xiangrong even began thinking about the child's name. She thought of many names, finally deciding to name the child 'Wei', meaning "the only one", regardless of whether it was a boy or girl.
An Xiangrong was jolted awake one night by Gu Mingyu breaking into her room.
Gu Mingyu, with bloodshot eyes, looked at her: "Quick! Take her to the hospital! Now! Immediately!"
An Xiangrong was so startled that she shivered all over, and seeing the white coats approach her, she pulled her legs back in fright: "Gu Mingyu, what are you doing?"
"An Ling can't wait any longer! Woman, I'm going to cut open your belly! I want the child in your belly!"
An Xiangrong looked incredulously at Gu Mingyu, feeling that she hadn't completely understood him yet. The man was ruthlessly cruel, he was simply a devil!
"Gu Mingyu, I'm only... eight months pregnant!"
"Eight months! That's enough!"
Gu Mingyu's voice was cold as a demon's, he seemed to have forgotten entirely that what he was about to do was to cut open her belly, forcing an innocent child to be delivered prematurely!
Furthermore, this child was his own flesh and blood!
"Gu Mingyu, you may not care about my life and death, but the one in my belly is your child! How could you not care about him?"
"As long as An Ling can live, who cares about your fate?!"
Thus, An Xiangrong was taken to the hospital whilst tied up, and dragged onto the operating table. Her struggles were useless; a doctor forcefully restrained her on the operating table and emotionlessly administered anaesthesia.
"Oh no, Mr. Gu, the anesthesia isn't working on Mrs. Gu…"
"Then cut directly!"
"Gu Mingyu, why are you treating me this way?"
"Why? An Xiangrong, a woman like you deserves to experience what hellish suffering is! Not having anesthesia before surgery is merely a drop in the bucket compared to what An Ling is enduring. Oh, right, I should capture this scene and send it to your beloved brother. Let him see the kind of torture his misguided actions have caused his one and only sister!"
"Gu Mingyu, how dare you!"
"Hah!"
An Xiangrong saw the cold smile creep around Gu Mingyu's mouth. Then, he mercilessly took out his phone and pointed it directly at her.
An Xiangrong couldn't help but laugh out loud, laughing until her eyes brimmed with bloody tears. She wished she could slap herself as she watched the man in her line of sight blur.
"Gu Mingyu, why don't you go die! Why doesn't An Ling just die!"
The response An Xiangrong got was Gu Mingyu's ruthless sneer: "Proceed!"
An Xiangrong never thought she would experience such pain. When the cold scalpel cut across her belly, she felt all the pores of her body contract violently. And her heart, it hurt as if it was about to explode. The pain almost caused her to bite her tongue off, but the doctor plugged her mouth with something and stopped her.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she finally lost consciousness due to the pain.
Vaguely, she heard a man's disgusted voice.
"So ugly? It really does resemble that mother of his!"
"Tsk, if it can't be saved, so be it. In the end, its only use is providing cord blood for An Ling!"
"Just leave it, throw it in the incubator or something. If it can survive, it can rely on itself!"
Gu Mingyu, you... will not meet a good end!*
The first thing An Xiangrong did when she woke up was to struggle to see her own child.
This child might only be a tool the keep An Ling alive in Gu Mingyu's eyes, but it was her beloved baby, her treasure.
Every time she moved an inch, her belly wound would send pain shooting through her entire body. But even so, she summoned all her strength to open the door of the hospital room.
The sky outside the window was still dark. The hospital corridor was empty too, but as An Xiangrong walked down with her tired steps, she unexpectedly saw Gu Mingyu at the end of the corridor.
Gu Mingyu sat nervously on the ground outside the door of the operating room, leaning against the wall. The cold eyes that were always icy when facing her were now full of anxiety.