Chapter 1829 — An Jianwen Pays a Visit

"Never mind, let me think of another way. You've only just gotten back, so rest a while first!" Qing-bo rose to his feet. But though he said so, where was he to find another way? The words were nothing but self-consolation.

When the sect had been swallowed up all those years ago and **, his wife, and his daughter had vanished without a trace, Qing-bo had taken a false name—Li Fu—and attached himself to Gu Pengzhan's side. Apart from Gu Pengzhan, what other connections did he have left in this world?

"I want to go to the hospital and see Daddy..." Gu Mengyao said.

"That's fine too. Let's go!" Qing-bo nodded.

Once Wei Zhao was settled, Gu Mengyao led Shen Yushu and Qing-bo quietly out of the villa. Instinctively she moved to get in the car, but Qing-bo stopped her. "Yaoyao, don't drive. Refueling costs money—save it for when it's really needed."

"All right." Gu Mengyao let go of the car door with an apologetic air, and walked out of the villa together with Qing-bo...

Songshan City First People's Hospital.

A pale, delicate-featured young woman with a somewhat haggard expression stood quietly outside a thick pane of glass, gazing through it at the man on the white hospital bed within—tubes and wires running in and out of his body, his face strangely serene.

Beside her stood a middle-aged man and a young woman a head shorter than she, somewhat plump in figure.

"Yaoyao, I just asked the doctor. Barring any mishaps, Mr. Gu should be past the critical stage by tonight..." Qing-bo said. "You shouldn't worry too much."

"That's good..." Gu Mengyao let out a long breath of relief. "Qing-bo, I've put you to so much trouble these past days."

"What nonsense is that? Mr. Gu and I have been old friends for how many years." Qing-bo waved a hand. "Let's be off. There's no point in standing here..."

"Mm..." Gu Mengyao took one more reluctant look at her father on the sickbed, a bitter ache welling in her heart.

Why did it have to be now? Why had the people closest to her all met with misfortune one after another?

Her own father, her good friend Tang Yun, her ma—her male friend Wei Zhao—all of them, as if by prior agreement, struck down at the same time!

What it meant for misfortunes never to come singly, for troubles within and threats without—Gu Mengyao now knew it all too well.

But at least, thank heavens, everything was moving in a better direction. So long as her father could pull through this month, so long as Wei Zhao woke up, then everything would be all right! Yes, surely everything would be all right!

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu returned to the villa. Qing-bo had gone out to look into the matter of the medical fees.

But neither Gu Mengyao nor Shen Yushu could settle their minds, for when they got home and went to check on Wei Zhao, it suddenly struck them—Wei Zhao also needed money for his medicine!

The prescription Elder Zhang had given them called for any number of rare and precious herbs. They could be bought at the pharmacy, true enough, but the price would be nothing short of exorbitant. For the Gu Mengyao of before, this would have been nothing at all—a quick swipe of a credit card and it was done. But now...

Her father's medical fees, Wei Zhao's medicine—where was the money for all this to come from?

Was she to go back to the Snow Valley and ask Tang Yun for it?

Little Shu watched Gu Mengyao standing there with the prescription in hand, her face somewhat stiff, and naturally the same thought occurred to her. "Yaoyao-jie, is it that there's no money to buy medicine for Arrow-bro?"

"Mm..." Gu Mengyao nodded and sat down heavily by Wei Zhao's bedside, worn and dispirited, gazing at the somewhat gaunt lines of his face, a thousand feelings surging up in her all at once.

"If only there were some way to reach Xiaoxiao—borrowing a little from her would be better than nothing..." What Shen Yushu had in mind was her old partner in crime.

"Ai..." In that moment, Gu Mengyao suddenly realized that she herself was the most useless of them all!

Stripped of the aura of the young miss, she was not even Tang Yun's equal! Before, when Tang Yun had been down on herself, she had even consoled her. How laughable that seemed now. Tang Yun, at the very least, could earn money by grilling skewers—but what about her? She did not even know how to earn money!

And now Tang Yun, for Wei Zhao's sake, had made the greatest sacrifice of all. It could be said that no one could match what Tang Yun had given. And her? When she thought of how she had put on that proud air in front of Tang Yun before, her cheeks burned with shame.

"Ding-dong..." The crisp chime of the doorbell rang out. Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu found it rather odd—who could be calling at such an hour? Qing-bo had only just left; surely he would not have gone and come back again.

Yet when Gu Mengyao came to the villa's entrance, she saw a most unexpected person. The visitor was none other than An Jianwen!

At the sight of him, Gu Mengyao's face turned cold at once. In the past, out of consideration for her father, she had tolerated this man despite her dislike, keeping up appearances so as not to be openly estranged. But now, the time had come to tear off all pretense.

"An Jianwen? What are you doing here? Come to gloat?" Gu Mengyao's face was blank as she regarded him coldly, giving no sign of opening the door.

"Yaoyao, what kind of talk is that? Gloat over what? You and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and Uncle Chu is an elder of mine too. That such a thing should happen—it grieves me deeply!" An Jianwen said with a pained air. "No sooner did I hear you were back than I came straight over to see you..."

"You've been watching me?" Gu Mengyao asked coldly.

"Uh..." A look of embarrassment crossed An Jianwen's face, but he went on: "It's not that I've been watching you, it's just that... the villa property now belongs to the An family's company. The only reason it hasn't been repossessed is that I pressed Father to fight for it before my uncle and grandfather. But now that you've returned, the property management company would naturally call the An family."

"Then perhaps I should thank you?" Gu Mengyao gave a faint sniff, as though she held his words in contempt.

"Yaoyao... I know you may harbor grievances and doubts toward the An family over this matter, but what I want to say is that in this affair, the An family is a victim too!" An Jianwen said with a bitter smile.

"You're victims too? Playing the pity card?" Gu Mengyao did not believe a word of it.

"Yaoyao, let me come inside and I'll explain it all to you properly. I came here mainly to clear the air with you. Standing at the door like this for all the passersby to see isn't very fitting either..." An Jianwen said.

"Let you inside..." Gu Mengyao wanted to say, Let you inside? In your dreams! What right have you to enter my home? But then it struck her—this villa no longer belonged to her. An Jianwen was the true owner. She was the one living under another's roof!

At that thought, Gu Mengyao let out a weary sigh, opened the villa's door, and said, "Then come in. I want to see just what fine explanation you have!"

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