Chapter 35 Unworthy
Gu Jinchao woke up from a daze, his temples throbbing with dull pain, and he felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body, making it difficult even to lift his hand.
But her first reaction was to instinctively cover her lower abdomen.
That place is where she and Chen Xuanqing's child is conceived, and it is her only concern at this moment.
"woke up?"
A familiar yet unsettling voice rang out from not far away.
Gu Jinchao suddenly looked up and looked toward the source of the sound. She saw Chen Yanyun sitting on a wooden chair not far away, wearing a plain cloak. Although his face was still a little pale, his eyes were fixed on her, filled with complex emotions that she could not understand.
"Father?" Gu Jinchao looked at Chen Yanyun, who was in a state of emotional turmoil, and called out subconsciously.
In her mind, he was always Chen Xuanqing's father, an elder she should respect.
But this form of address was like lighting a powder keg, instantly igniting Chen Yanyun's fury.
"Don't call me father!"
He suddenly raised his voice, his eyes filled with pain and obsession, which frightened Gu Jinzhao so much that he shrank back on the bed, his back pressed tightly against the cold wall, his whole body trembling.
Seeing her frightened appearance, Chen Yanyun suddenly realized that he had lost control.
His heart tightened, and he quickly slowed his pace to the bedside. He carefully reached out and gently pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her soft hair. His voice was extremely low, carrying a barely perceptible plea: "Don't call me father, Jinzhao, I'm not your father..."
His embrace was warm, but it made Gu Jinchao feel suffocated.
Fear overwhelmed her like a tidal wave, and tears welled up uncontrollably. The warm tears dripped onto Chen Yanyun's bare neck, burning his heart with a sharp pain.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you..."
Chen Yanyun gently patted Gu Jinchao's back, his tone deliberately gentle, but these words sent chills down Gu Jinchao's spine.
He only said he wouldn't hurt her, but what about the baby in her belly?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, it made her heart tighten.
Suppressing her fear, she raised her head, her voice tinged with pleading: "Father, Xuanqing and I have a child. Look, he's in my belly... In a few months, you'll be a grandfather!"
She desperately hoped that the child in her womb could awaken Chen Yanyun's conscience and make him forgive her and the child.
Little did she know that ever since she glimpsed her so-called "past life" in the illusion, Chen Yanyun's conscience had already been devoured by her obsession.
"Jin Chao, you don't know, do you?" Chen Yanyun suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with madness, "In my past life... you were my lawfully wedded wife, Chen Yanyun!"
These words struck Gu Jinchao like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving her frozen and her mind blank.
A past life?
Is he her husband?
How is that possible!
“And the child in your womb should have been our Xuanlin…” Chen Yanyun’s voice grew softer and softer, but his eyes became more and more obsessive. He said, word by word, “That bastard Chen Xuanqing dared to covet his own mother and even snatched you away from me. He deserves to die!”
Gu Jinchao trembled with fear at his insane words, struggling to push him away: "You're talking nonsense! You're lying! I'm not your wife from your past life at all, and Xuanqing isn't like that either!"
But Chen Yanyun ignored her explanations. He slowly placed his large hand on Gu Jinchao's lower abdomen. The warmth of his palm seeped through the fabric, but Gu Jinchao felt as cold as ice.
Then, he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, his tone carrying a chilling resolve: "Jinzhao, don't be afraid, it won't hurt much... This child shouldn't have come into this world. Only when he disappears can we go back to the way things were before."
"No! Let me go!" Gu Jinchao finally broke down, tears streaming down her face as she struggled desperately. "This is Xuanqing's and my child! You can't hurt him! Xuanqing, Xuanqing, save me!"
Her cries made Chen Yanyun's eyes flash with a hint of pity, but it was quickly covered by a deeper obsession.
He held down the struggling Gu Jinchao tightly and shouted towards the door, "Someone, bring the medicine in!"
"No!" Gu Jinchao mustered all her strength and pushed Chen Yanyun's hand away, shrinking back as tears streamed down her face. She bit her lip tightly, refusing to show any weakness.
"Father, I don't understand what you mean by past lives and present lives!" Her voice was choked with sobs, yet every word was clear, like a small hammer striking Chen Yanyun's heart. "I only know that in this life, I married Chen Xuanqing through proper channels. I am his wife, and the child in my womb is his!"
She took a deep breath, her eyes filled with determination: "I neither know nor want to know about the past life you speak of! Even if you are Xuanqing's father and an elder of the Chen family, you have no right to deprive me and Xuanqing of the power of life and death!"
These words pierced Chen Yanyun's heart like sharp blades. He looked at his empty palms, his face gradually turning pale, and the pain in his chest almost made it hard for him to breathe.
He opened his mouth, his voice trembling slightly: "Jinzhao, if this child comes into this world, what about my Xuanlin? My Xuanlin from my past life, where should he go?"
“Father!” Gu Jinchao shrank back again, his back against the cold wall, but his tone became more and more resolute. “Your Xuanlin should be born by your wife from your previous life! As for me, Gu Jinchao, I belong only to Chen Xuanqing in this life, and the child in my womb only recognizes him as his father! This person—has never been you!”
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.
Xuanqing, where are you?
Please come quickly and save me, save our child!
Any later and it might really be too late!
Chen Yanyun stood frozen in place, looking at the undisguised resistance and fear in Gu Jinchao's eyes. The pain in his heart washed over him like a tidal wave, almost drowning him.
She should be his wife.
It was Chen Xuanqing who defied fate and came back to this life with his memories of the past life, which is why he stole her from his side!
Fragments of the past surged through his mind.
He met Gu Jinchao while he was in Jiangnan.
It's clear that the Yu family refused to break off the engagement, but he himself lost his mind and forced the Yu family for Chen Xuanqing's so-called happiness, paving the way for him with his own hands.
Heaven gave him so many warnings, but he failed to seize them even once...
"Serves me right... I, Chen Yanyun, truly deserve it!"
He murmured softly, his voice filled with regret.
But regret was quickly replaced by a surge of resentment.
He suddenly looked up, his eyes rekindling with a fanatical flame.
On what grounds?
How did Chen Xuanqing manage to anticipate the situation and gain such an advantage?
How could he, with his memories of his past life, so easily rewrite everyone's fate?
“Chen Xuanqing…” He gritted his teeth and uttered the name, his voice full of resentment, “What is he to me, Chen Yanyun? He’s just a son of the Chen family, yet he dares to covet my wife and defy fate!”
He walked step by step toward Gu Jinzhao, who was huddled in the corner of the bed, his eyes filled with madness and pain: "Jinzhao, wait a little longer, give me another chance... As long as we get rid of this child, as long as Chen Xuanqing disappears, we can go back to the past, back to the days that should have been ours!"
Just as he reached out to grab Gu Jinchao, a heavy thud came from outside the door. Immediately afterward, Chen Xuanqing rushed in, exuding a chilling aura, his sword pointed directly at Chen Yanyun: "Father!"
As soon as Chen Xuanqing rushed into the house, Chen Li followed closely behind. He stood by the door with his head down and a complicated expression, not daring to look at the tense scene inside.
Chen Yanyun slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Chen Xuanqing, who was holding a long sword and whose eyes were full of anger, and then landing on Chen Li behind him. A smile suddenly appeared on his face.
That smile had no warmth whatsoever; instead, it exuded a chilling madness that made everyone present feel a tightness in their chest.
"Very good!" he said calmly, his voice eerily so, as if the confrontation before him had nothing to do with him. "You've come quickly!"
The moment Gu Jinchao saw Chen Xuanqing, his tense nerves collapsed instantly, and the fear in his eyes was replaced by ecstasy.
As if she had seen the only light in the darkness, she cried out in a sobbing voice, "Xuanqing!"
"Jin Chao!"
Chen Xuanqing's heart clenched instantly. He almost immediately wanted to rush over and protect her behind him, but Chen Yanyun took a step forward and blocked the bed, forcing him to stop.
Chen Xuanqing gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white, his eyes sharply fixed on Chen Yanyun: "Father, please release Jinchao! She is my wife, and she is carrying my child. If you dare to harm her in the slightest, I will never forgive you!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanyun's smile grew even colder: "Spare me? Chen Xuanqing, what right do you have to speak? She should have been mine all along. You defied fate, stole my wife, and ruined my life! Today, either you atone with your death, or you watch helplessly as your child dies in an 'accident'."
"Father!" Upon hearing Chen Yanyun's words, Chen Xuanqing's pupils shrank, his face filled with disbelief.
"Father?" Chen Yanyun suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter filled with mockery and madness. "What virtue or ability do I, Chen Yanyun, possess to deserve giving birth to a beast like you!"
Before he finished speaking, he pulled Gu Jinchao into his arms again, holding her tightly with his arms. Ignoring her struggles, he slowly leaned down and placed a cold kiss on her cheek in front of Chen Xuanqing.
Gu Jinchao's body stiffened, his lips trembled incessantly, fear tightened around his heart like vines, and he couldn't even utter a cry for help.
"Get out!" After a long while, Chen Yanyun shouted at Chen Xuanqing, his eyes filled with a fierce desire to drive him away.
But Chen Xuanqing remained unmoved, his feet seemingly nailed to the spot.
He never dared to tell Gu Jinchao the truth about his past and present lives, afraid that she would find out that he had used his memories to "scheme" against her, and afraid that she would find this relationship sordid and disgusting.
He had long feared this day would come.
She feared that her father also possessed memories of his past life, and that this entanglement spanning two lifetimes would be laid bare.
Now, this constant fear has finally become a knife held to his neck, slowly slicing through his heart.
“Father…” Chen Xuanqing’s voice was filled with undisguised pain. He looked up at the imprisoned Gu Jinzhao, his eyes filled with guilt, “Jinzhao, I’m sorry…”
The apology came too late, but it struck like a thunderbolt, leaving Gu Jinchao stunned for a moment.
Does his apology mean that his father's crazy talk about his "past life" was true?
Upon hearing the apology, Chen Yanyun laughed even more wildly: "Sorry? Chen Xuanqing, is one 'sorry' enough? You stole my life, you stole my wife, and now you're saying sorry to me?"
“Father…” Chen Xuanqing’s voice was choked with sobs, his eyes were red, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground with a soft clang.
“You only experienced one lifetime, but I endured two!” He raised his head, his voice filled with exhaustion and pain. “Those recurring dreams, those vividly etched memories of my past lives, I have never dared to tell anyone about them!”
Chen Yanyun frowned, his face terribly gloomy, but he didn't interrupt him, his eyes churning with complex emotions.
"Father, do you know the ending of the first life?" Chen Xuanqing took a deep breath, his voice trembling. "You died early in Zhang Julian's scheme, and Jinchao, she loved me from beginning to end in that life. We could have been together, but fate tore us apart!"
He paused, his eyes pleading. "But in the second life, many things changed—you didn't die, and you even became involved with her. Now this is the third life, Father, I beg you, please grant me this one wish, okay?"
"Jin Chao is carrying my child. We genuinely want to live a good life together, don't we..."
"Shut up!" Chen Xuanqing was interrupted by Chen Yanyun's angry roar before he could finish speaking.
He suddenly stood up and kicked Chen Xuanqing hard in the chest.
Chen Xuanqing groaned, staggered back a few steps, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"I, Chen Yanyun, have never been worthy of being your father!"
Chen Yanyun pointed at him, her eyes filled with a frenzied rage, "I don't want to hear any of that nonsense you're talking about! Get out! Get out now! Stay far away from me and your mother, and never show your face in front of us again!"
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