126: Chapter 227 The Night Before the Showdown

In a neighboring province, deep within a quiet valley surrounded by layers of mountains, lay a private vacation villa not open to the public.

With its white walls, dark tiles, and upturned eaves, it blended seamlessly with the surrounding bamboo forests and streams, appearing like a hermit's dwelling cut off from the world.

Only a very few knew that this place belonged to a consortium with deep connections, used specifically to host VIPs who preferred to stay out of the public eye or to handle matters that were "not suitable for public disclosure."

Tang Guo had been "placed" here, in an independent small courtyard.

The courtyard was exquisite, featuring rockeries, flowing water, and blooming camellias.

Pushing open the window revealed lush green mountains and swirling clouds, and the air was so fresh it tasted sweet.

Yet, in her eyes, all of this had become a cold, magnificent cage.

She had been cut off from all direct contact with the outside world.

Her mobile phone, computer, and even the landline in her room had been taken away.

Her only companions were the stern Dr. Zhao, whose medical skills seemed quite advanced, and two maids who were responsible for her daily needs and were as silent as shadows.

They took meticulous care of her; the meals were light and delicious, supplements were delivered on time, and the room was spotless.

However, they never spoke much to her, and their eyes were always lowered, avoiding her gaze.

She was like a precious commodity being carefully raised and waiting to be processed, or... a secret that could not see the light of day.

Her physical discomfort fluctuated.

The feeling of heaviness in her lower abdomen haunted her like a ghost, and nausea and fatigue followed her like shadows.

Dr. Zhao came every day to check on her, measure her blood pressure, listen to the fetal heartbeat (though it couldn't be heard yet, the instrument could monitor a weak signal), and then adjust her medication.

She didn't know exactly what those small white and brown pills were, only that they were for "stabilizing the situation."

Dr. Zhao would always watch her swallow the medicine before leaving.

"Is the... baby okay?" she would always ask, her voice hoarse.

"It is controlled by medication and is temporarily stable. But Miss Tang, your emotions and rest are crucial."

Dr. Zhao's answer was the same every time, with a tone as flat as if they were discussing the weather.

Stable. Just "temporarily stable."

And what about after that? How would Yu Bo "arrange" things? Would this baby even have an "after"?

This question gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.

During the day, she would stare blankly at the unchanging scenery outside the window, her mind empty.

At night, she was plagued by nightmares.

Sometimes she dreamed of the baby leaving her body in a pool of blood, sometimes she dreamed of Yu Bo coldly telling her to "get rid of it," and sometimes she dreamed of herself holding an infant with an indistinct face, standing on the edge of a cliff, with the tearful, accusing eyes of Tianxue below...

Fear, loneliness, helplessness, and a growing maternal attachment to the little life in her womb—an attachment that surprised even herself—tore through her heart.

She felt like she was going crazy.

Until the evening of the third day, when the heavy wooden door of the small courtyard, usually only opened for the maids and the doctor, was pushed open from the outside.

Yu Bo stood at the doorway.

He looked travel-worn, with an inescapable fatigue between his brows, but his eyes remained sharp, carrying the coldness of a long journey.

He was dressed in black casual wear; without his usual suit and leather shoes, he possessed a more formidable, stay-away-from-me air.

He waved his hand, and Dr. Zhao and the maids retreated silently, closing the courtyard gate.

In the small courtyard, only the two of them remained, along with the cold evening air of the mountains.

Tang Guo sat on a rattan chair under the veranda, wrapped in a thick wool shawl.

Her complexion was pale to the point of transparency, and the dark circles under her eyes were clearly visible.

Seeing Yu Bo suddenly appear, she first stiffened, her pupils constricting.

Then, a massive wave of grievance, fear, and a glimmer of hope—a hope she despised herself for feeling, like embers reigniting—instantly overwhelmed her.

She tried to stand up, but her legs went weak, and she fell back into the chair.

"Husband..." She opened her mouth, managing only two broken syllables, as tears rolled down uncontrollably.

Yu Bo did not walk over immediately.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, a few steps away, watching her quietly.

His gaze no longer held its usual gentleness or playfulness, but was instead one of scrutiny, assessment, and even a trace of imperceptible... irritation.

He was assessing her state, assessing the thorniness of this "trouble."

"How is your health?" he asked, his voice somewhat hoarse, his tone flat.

"It's... it's okay." Tang Guo wiped her tears indiscriminately, her voice choked with sobs, "Dr. Zhao said... it's temporarily stable. Husband, why... why are you here?"

Yu Bo did not answer her question; he walked to the veranda but did not sit down, instead looking down at her from above.

The afterglow of the setting sun cast a cold, golden rim on his profile.

"Tang Guo," he said her full name, his voice heavy, "let's talk."

These two words made Tang Guo's heart plummet to the bottom of a valley.

Subconsciously, she covered her lower abdomen.

"This child," Yu Bo's gaze landed on her lower abdomen, which was still flat with no signs of pregnancy, "cannot be kept."

Although she had a premonition, hearing him say these words so calmly and decisively still felt like being stabbed in the chest, the pain leaving her breathless.

She shook her head violently, tears surging forth: "No... Husband, this is our child... it's your own flesh and blood! Please, can we keep it? I'll hide away, I won't tell anyone, I promise I won't let Tianxue know! I... I can leave, go to a place where no one knows me, raise it on my own, and I definitely won't implicate you!"

She begged incoherently, sliding off the rattan chair until she was almost kneeling on the ground, reaching out to grab Yu Bo's pant leg.

Yu Bo stepped back, avoiding her touch.

His eyes did not waver in the slightest, containing only a frozen sense of determination.

"Tang Guo, get a grip." His voice was colder now, "Keeping it is a disaster for you, for me, and for the child.

Tianxue is already suspicious, the online turmoil hasn't fully subsided, and Young Master Yang is still watching from the shadows.

Once this child is exposed, you and I will be ruined, 'Yin Angel' will be completely finished, and Tianxue will hate me for the rest of her life.

Your so-called 'hiding it well' is simply impossible.

There are no airtight walls in this world."

"Then how can you bear to kill your own flesh and blood?" Tang Guo tilted her head up, face covered in tears, screaming in despair, "Yu Bo, how can you be so heartless!"

"Heartless?" Yu Bo twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a nearly cruel curve, "I am making the most rational choice that minimizes harm for all of us.

Giving birth to it would be the greatest cruelty.

Letting it become an illegitimate child who can never see the light of day? Letting it grow up amidst suspicion and contempt? Tang Guo, don't be so naive."

His words were like ice-quenched knives, slicing the last bit of fantasy and luck in Tang Guo's heart into fragments.

She looked at the man before her, the man she loved deeply, worshipped, and was even willing to betray her best friend for, and at this moment, he was so strange it chilled her heart.

In his world, there were only calculations of pros and cons, only control and the elimination of risks; there was no emotion, no reverence for life.

"So... you came today to... force me to abort the child, right?"

She stopped crying, her voice unusually calm, terrifyingly calm.

Yu Bo was silent for a moment.

"I have already contacted the top gynecological team abroad. I can arrange for you to go to an absolutely safe place and use the most advanced, least invasive method.

Afterward, I will give you a sum of money that will ensure you live without worry for the rest of your life, and I will send you and your family to a country of your choice to start a new life.

As for us... let's pretend it never happened."