Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Afraid of Losing
Gu Yan’s words once again struck Nie Rong’s heart, making it almost impossible for her to maintain her elegant and composed demeanor.
However, she had been mingling in high society for many years, cultivating a good facade, and she continued to maintain it with great effort.
"Then let’s wait and see."
Gu Yan also maintained the smile on her face. Their gazes collided in mid-air, competing invisibly.
The waiter brought the dishes, and Gu Yan ate without changing her expression.
Nie Rong hadn’t expected that after all their conversation, she could still eat, and her face stiffened slightly. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore and got up, "Please enjoy your meal, Miss Gu. I have to go now."
"Alright, take care, Miss Nie." Gu Yan smiled as she watched her leave.
She couldn’t wait for her to leave quickly; with Nie Rong gone, her appetite improved significantly.
Yet she still felt uncomfortable inside.
Gu Yan picked at her food, finishing just in time before work.
After work, everyone else had left, but she remained in her seat, lost in thought.
Ultimately, it was Nie Rong’s words that affected her deeply because she had no confidence in herself and had deliberately ignored the distance between her and Tang Yuxiu these days.
They were, in fact, worlds apart.
It wasn’t until Tang Yuxiu called that she snapped out of her daze.
"Where are you?"
Hearing his voice, Gu Yan paused for a moment before softly replying, "I’m still in the office."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Gu Yan could almost see him frown, "Come down, time to go home."
Going home...
But at that moment, Gu Yan was acutely aware that it wasn’t her home.
It was a place Tang Yuxiu had set up for her, and suddenly she didn’t want to go back.
"You go ahead, I’m not going back now." She said.
Tang Yuxiu had just turned off his computer to go downstairs, but suddenly hearing her words, he frowned slightly, "Is there something you need to do?"
"No, I just don’t want to go back so early."
Tang Yuxiu had a vague feeling that something was off with Gu Yan, "Let’s talk later."
Hanging up, Gu Yan stared blankly at her phone, suddenly feeling a bit lost inside.
They really wouldn’t end up together, would they?
After spacing out for a while, she eventually stood up, intending to leave the company.
Remembering the company’s access control, if she stayed any longer, she might get locked inside. Last time she was locked in the piano room, and that was enough for her; she didn’t want to stay in the dark again.
Just as she stood up, having sat for too long without moving, she realized with a shock that her lower body had gone numb.
Gu Yan couldn’t stand up properly, stumbled, and fell to the ground, bringing the chair down with her, striking her head heavily on the floor.
As luck would have it, there was a hard piece of debris right where she hit her head.
"Ah!" Gu Yan screamed in agony, feeling dizzy and holding her head in pain.
Feeling something wet and sticky on her hand, Gu Yan tragically thought, she was bleeding!
This kind of bad luck!
When Tang Yuxiu came downstairs to the music department office, he saw Gu Yan lying on the floor, motionless.
His heart tightened instantly, and he rushed over, his voice filled with an unexpected tension and fear, "Gu Yan!"
Upon hearing his voice, Gu Yan blinked her eyes and slowly raised her head.
It wasn’t that she wanted to move slowly; her head was just too painful to move quickly.
Seeing she was responsive, Tang Yuxiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then he saw her face covered in blood and his heart tightened again. Without a word, he picked her up.
Leaning against Tang Yuxiu’s firm chest, Gu Yan inexplicably felt reassured.
Tang Yuxiu naturally sat on her chair, and she sat on his lap.
Tang Yuxiu looked at her bloody face, his brows furrowed, eyes full of obvious concern.
"What happened?" They had just finished talking on the phone not long ago, and she was fine then. How had she ended up in such a sorry state in such a short time?
Gu Yan touched the blood on her face, feeling inexplicably guilty.
"It looks worse because of the amount of blood, but it’s nothing serious, just a small cut on my forehead that bled a lot."
What do you mean just a small cut that bled a lot?!
"If this isn’t serious, what would be? How old are you and still manage to bump your head?"
"I was trying to stand, but my legs were numb from sitting too long, and then I fell. Who knew there was something on the floor that I would hit my head on." Which also cracked her head open.
For a moment, Tang Yuxiu was speechless. Should he say you’re just unlucky?
"How is it now? Can you feel it?"
Gu Yan nodded after shaking a bit, "Yes, I’m okay."
"Let’s go, I’ll take you to the hospital."
Tang Yuxiu set Gu Yan down, letting her walk herself, but he kept his hands around her shoulders, supporting her with a sense of caution.
Gu Yan could feel it, but it only made her feel sadder.
She couldn’t tell if he was genuinely concerned or just intrigued for the time being.
Someone like him, so high and accomplished, surely had many women flocking to him. She didn’t think she had anything special, nor was her appearance remarkable enough to genuinely move him.
Ultimately, she still lacked confidence in herself and in the two of them.
From the beginning, she had drawn a line between them in her heart. He was at the other end of the world, and she was standing in the clouds beneath his world, seemingly able to reach out and touch him, but in reality, worlds apart, utterly untouchable.
Gu Yan used a tissue to wipe the excess blood off her face, sitting silently in Tang Yuxiu’s car.
Tang Yuxiu had noticed that she was acting oddly today. He had initially come down to ask her about it, but seeing that she was injured and didn’t want to talk, he decided to put the matter aside for the moment and let her tend to her forehead wound, intending to discuss it later.
Nie Rong emerged from the gynecology department, clutching a report sheet, her face pale and somewhat distraught.
She looked at the results on the report once more, still unable to believe it.
How could this happen!
Her hand reached for her stomach, gradually clenching, her eyes flashing with panic and malice.
Descending to the hospital lobby, stepping out of the elevator, she immediately saw two people at the hospital entrance.
Tang Yuxiu was embracing Gu Yan as they walked inside.
Though Tang Yuxiu appeared as aloof as always, she could feel the difference in how he treated the person beside him.
Careful, protective.
She had known him for so long, when had she ever seen him like this!
But he was not like this towards her; all this tenderness was for a woman who was inferior to her in every way!
Already in a bad mood, seeing the two of them made her feelings plunge even lower. She crushed the report in her hand, her fingernails piercing the paper. Her expression twisted and darkened.
Passersby curiously looked at her, puzzled as to why someone dressed so well would have such a frightening expression.
She watched as the two people completely ignored her, walking past to take a private elevator upstairs. Without thinking, she followed them.
Seeing the elevator number pause, she also took the elevator up.
Xiang Linghao’s office.
Tang Yuxiu suddenly bringing Gu Yan in left Xiang Linghao extremely surprised, but when he saw the injury on Gu Yan’s face, he knew they wouldn’t come without a reason.
He was a doctor, what else could it be for?
Yet he sighed, wondering why it was always Gu Yan getting hurt while Tang Yuxiu remained unscathed!
Could the guy be a woman beater?
If Xue Xianglan were to see this, she’d be heartbroken.
"What happened this time?" Xiang Linghao asked as he prepared disinfectant, gauze, cotton swabs, and other supplies.
"I accidentally fell," Gu Yan replied, looking somewhat embarrassed.
It was indeed quite embarrassing; at her age, she managed to fall in her own office and get hurt like this, a feat in itself.
As expected, Xiang Linghao was speechless.
But his gaze towards Tang Yuxiu was somewhat off.
Tang Yuxiu seemed to sense him thinking, "What kind of boyfriend are you, to let something like this happen?"
Tang Yuxiu, "..." He wasn’t even there, yet the blame landed on him.
Xiang Linghao applied the medication and bandaged Gu Yan, completing the task quickly.
"Remember not to let it get wet. Come to change the dressing once a day, or if it’s inconvenient, I can come to your place to do it."
"No, it’s not inconvenient. I will come."
"Will there be a scar?" Tang Yuxiu asked.
"No, I’ll give her some ointment. The scar will fade in a few days."
Tang Yuxiu nodded, reassured.
Girls are so concerned about their looks, and he didn’t want her face marred by a scar.
"We’ll head out first."
"Hey, wait, there’s something I need to tell you." Xiang Linghao stopped them.
Tang Yuxiu turned back, "What is it?"
Xiang Linghao was about to speak when Gu Yan interrupted, "If you two need to talk, I’ll step out."
"No, it’s nothing secret, you don’t need to leave."
"I just want some air and to see my dad."
Hearing this, they didn’t say more, just nodded.
"I’ll come find you later," Tang Yuxiu said.
"Okay," Gu Yan nodded and left first.
"What’s wrong?" Xiang Linghao asked Tang Yuxiu after Gu Yan left, "You both seem a bit off."
Tang Yuxiu paused, then replied, "It’s nothing."
Inside, Tang Yuxiu and Xiang Linghao discussed matters while outside, Gu Yan sat on a bench, uncertain of what to do next.
She wasn’t going to see Gu’s father with her injury, it was just an excuse.
Nie Rong’s words from noon still replayed in her mind, bothering her. She avoided staying with Tang Yuxiu as much as possible.
Moreover, she didn’t know how to ask Tang Yuxiu.
Was she supposed to ask if he and Nie Rong had been together?
But that was before they got together, what right did she have?
She feared the answer wouldn’t be what she wanted.
The fragile happiness and warmth she had grasped, she was terribly afraid of losing again.
Once you’ve gained something, you become apprehensive, unwilling to lose it again.
She sat for a while before getting up to leave.
She walked slowly down the corridor with her head down, only to be stopped at the corner.
She looked up, seeing the face she’d encountered around noon.