Campus Ace Girl-Chapter 548 - 549: Let’s divorce, Yuanyuan!
Gu Yuanshan’s words were extremely harsh, leaving Tang Yuan deeply embarrassed. Biting her lip, she uttered softly, "Yuanshan! Don’t you trust me?"
Gu Yuanshan squinted. "At this point, what is left between us that can be trusted?"
He continued, a note of desolation in his voice, "Perhaps it’s my karma. Betraying Changqing’s mother, choosing you as my woman, abandoning Anxi, raising someone else’s child for twenty years... You shameless woman! If you had the slightest conscience, you wouldn’t place such a large cuckold’s cap on my head. How am I supposed to face people in the future?"
Tang Yuan said nothing.
Seeing her like this, Gu Yuanshan was certain. Mingzhu was indeed Min Xin’s child, having no biological relation to him whatsoever. It was laughable; after Anxi returned to Beicheng, he had repeatedly defended this impostor, even hoping Mingzhu would be capable enough to inherit the Gu family business. He truly had been blind.
Tang Yuan, seeing his resolute attitude, was greatly dismayed. Biting her lip, she spoke softly, "Yuanshan, things have already come to this. Creating a scandal won’t do either of us any good, don’t you think?"
Gu Yuanshan laughed, a bitter sound full of anger. "Unbecoming? When you were climbing into another man’s bed, didn’t you think it was unbecoming then? Tell me, besides Min Xin, how many other men have there been?"
As he spoke, he seized Tang Yuan by her delicate throat. His strong hand gripped her so tightly that her skin turned purple, and she struggled to breathe. Tang Yuan, terrified of provoking his rage further, gasped, "No one else! Just him!"
Gu Yuanshan’s expression twisted with fury. He didn’t release her immediately. A crazy thought flashed through his mind: send this woman to her grave! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
But ultimately, he calmed down. His grip loosened, and he slumped onto the sofa, muttering to himself, "It’s all my own doing. I’m the one who failed Changqing’s mother. I’m the one who failed Anxi."
He thought about how Anxi was just a tiny child when he abandoned her, and how he had then transferred all his guilt onto Mingzhu, desperately treating her well, raising her like a national princess. The mere thought of it made him wish he were dead. He had abandoned his own daughter and cherished another man’s child.
The knowledge that his woman had been with another man, and the images his mind automatically conjured, was an unbearable blow to Gu Yuanshan’s pride. This realization gnawed at him, fueling his rage.
He sat there in a daze for a long time. Tang Yuan didn’t dare move, waiting for him to speak.
Finally, Gu Yuanshan spoke, his voice weary. "Yuanyuan, our marriage, this life we’ve shared as husband and wife, it’s over. I can’t pretend this never happened. However, for the sake of the Gu family’s reputation, I can’t kick you both out."
Tang Yuan’s heart lurched. She didn’t understand what he meant.
Gu Yuanshan elaborated softly, "We’ll go through with the divorce proceedings. You and Mingzhu can continue to live here..."
Tang Yuan, terrified, sank to her knees before him, clutching his legs. "Yuanshan, I don’t want a divorce! It was my fault, I was confused back then. But I was scared when I found out I was pregnant... I was afraid of the pain... Otherwise, I would never have kept this child."
Gu Yuanshan looked down at her, his voice soft but cold. "Didn’t you consider using this child to force Min Xin’s hand? If you had succeeded, you would be Mrs. Min. Why would the title of Mrs. Gu matter to you then? Tang Yuan, after all these years, I never knew you were such an insatiable woman. When I first met you, all the clothes you owned weren’t worth more than two hundred yuan. Now? A single outfit you wear costs no less than two hundred thousand. What more could you possibly be unsatisfied with? I betrayed Changqing’s mother, I betrayed Changqing for you, and this is how you repay me."
Tang Yuan’s face drained of color. Desperate, she pleaded tearfully, "I was wrong, Yuanshan! I was greedy and vain, it’s all my fault! Please forgive me this one time! Besides, Mingzhu is innocent! She respects and loves you so much. She doesn’t know anything! She only thinks of herself as the cherished pearl of the Gu family. Do you have the heart to let her become an illegitimate child? The other side wouldn’t accept her either! Our divorce doesn’t matter, but please, for Mingzhu’s sake—you doted on her with your own hands—give her a way to live! Yuanshan, I beg you! I beg you!"
Tang Yuan wept, a truly pitiful sight, like a pear blossom drenched in rain—a delicate beauty that could stir one’s heart. It was into such a tender embrace of gentleness that Gu Yuanshan had once fallen, leading him to betray his wife.
Now, looking at her in this fragile state, he only felt a biting irony.
Yet, Gu Yuanshan was somewhat soft-hearted. Mingzhu, he had indeed watched her grow up. That child... having a mother like Tang Yuan was truly her misfortune!
Gu Yuanshan closed his eyes, remaining silent.
Tang Yuan mustered her courage, moved closer, and wrapped her arms around his waist, murmuring, "Yuanshan, you still love me, don’t you? I was wrong before. From now on, I’ll treat you well. As long as we forget about this, everything will be fine. Mingzhu is so promising; her movie is about to be released. If you abandon us now, we truly will have no way to survive."
Tang Yuan was very clever. As Mrs. Gu, many things were easy for her to arrange. Once she was nothing, Mingzhu would likely be crushed in the film industry, and she herself would vanish from the upper social circles without a trace. She had spent decades building this life; she couldn’t let it all fall apart now!
Gu Yuanshan had heard everything she said. He sighed. "Let me think about it. Don’t disturb me before then."
Tang Yuan wept with relief. "Then I’ll go make you a cup of tea."
Gu Yuanshan sneered, "Didn’t I say not to disturb me? Besides, that’s something the servants should do, not the esteemed Mrs. Gu. Don’t use these tactics to curry favor with me in the future, or I’ll be reminded of those disgusting things."
Tang Yuan was thoroughly humiliated by his words. But with her secret exposed, she had to endure it for the sake of her future.
So, she said softly, "Then I’ll go keep Mingzhu company. Yuanshan, you should get some rest soon."
Gu Yuanshan, with his eyes still closed, said quietly, "Don’t keep mentioning another man’s child in my presence."
Tang Yuan was on the verge of tears. She fought them back, said, "Alright," and left the room.
The moment the door closed, the room erupted. CRASH! BANG! SMASH! It sounded like a battlefield inside as he smashed everything he could get his hands on.
To think that he, Gu Yuanshan, who prided himself on his worldly wisdom, his understanding of human nature, of past and present, capable of judging everyone but himself, had unknowingly been wearing a bright green cuckold’s hat—and for so many years!
This night was agonizingly long for Gu Yuanshan. All his self-respect and pride had been trampled to pieces by that woman!
Finally, as dawn broke, he raised his weary old eyes to the newborn sun. What did he have left? Anxi would never forgive him. Changqing wouldn’t acknowledge him either. And he never wanted to see that mother and daughter again in his life.
He thought of Gu Ning, his biological younger sister. He made a call, and Gu Ning came over.
When Gu Ning arrived, she was utterly aghast at the scene before her—
