Dressed as the Scumbag Alpha Mom of the Tragic Female Lead (ABO, GL) - Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Today was the day Jiang Chuxie had her stitches removed. Gao Yuanxun’s skill was exceptional, leaving only a small incision that healed well, likely to fade into a faint scar.

“All done,” Gao Yuanxun said, removing the sutures with a smile. “Just a few more tests for safety.”

Jiang Chuxie pulled her shirt down, grateful. “Yuanxun-jie, thank you. You’ve been a huge help.”

“What are you saying? We’re all relieved you’re okay.”

As she spoke, Gao Yuanxun handed a form to Gu Lingjun, but Gu Lingjun passed it to Jiang Chuxie.

“Chuxie, I’ll ask Yuanxun-jie about post-recovery care. You go for the tests. I’ll find you later.”

Jiang Chuxie didn’t think much of it, taking the form. “Alright. If I finish early, I’ll come back here.”

After this ordeal, she trusted Gao Yuanxun completely. All signs pointed to her being reliable, so Jiang Chuxie felt at ease leaving Gu Lingjun with her.

Watching Jiang Chuxie leave, Gao Yuanxun leaned back in her chair, smiling at Gu Lingjun. “So, Lingjun, what do you want to ask?”

Gu Lingjun had deliberated for days before deciding to approach Gao Yuanxun, recalling the ambiguous words she’d said at their first meeting this cycle.

“Dr. Gao, what I want to ask isn’t—”

“I know,” Gao Yuanxun interrupted, fingers interlaced over her abdomen, her smile deepening. “I told you at our first meeting to come to me with any questions. Since you’re calling me Dr. Gao, you’ve remembered everything, haven’t you?”

Gu Lingjun took a deep breath. “You really do remember.”

Gao Yuanxun chuckled. “Is this kind of thing rare for you too?”

Gu Lingjun stared at her in silence, then nodded. “Yes. In all those times, you’re the only one.”

She’d sought many allies, but none retained memories after her “restarts.” Perhaps this was another change Jiang Chuxie brought.

“Only me?” Gao Yuanxun raised an eyebrow. “What about Jiang Chuxie? She’s different from what I remember.”

Gu Lingjun didn’t want to discuss Jiang Chuxie’s situation, shaking her head. “She’s different from before, but not like you.”

Gao Yuanxun saw she wouldn’t elaborate and didn’t press.

“So, since she’s different, she’s no longer your enemy?”

“Chuxie isn’t my enemy.”

“Your lover, then?”

Gu Lingjun didn’t answer directly. “Dr. Gao, I want to know your plans.”

Gao Yuanxun gave a wry smile. “Plans? I just want to protect my family.”

To Gu Lingjun, Gao Yuanxun was intelligent, steady, and thoughtful. She’d worked with many, even her parents, but Gao Yuanxun was the only one who didn’t dismiss her outright.

Gao Yuanxun had helped her significantly, though they’d disagreed on the critical issue, leading to her failure. She didn’t know what had happened to Gao Yuanxun afterward.

“Is the Lianping Association connected to you?”

“Why do you ask?”

Gu Lingjun frowned. “Because at this point, the Lianping Association shouldn’t be this large. You did something to boost their growth, didn’t you?”

Gao Yuanxun sighed, not denying it. “Lingjun, you need real power to resist. I did help, hoping they’d become a force for change. After thinking about your experiences, I realized it’s not just your fate that needs changing—it’s the whole world.”

“But wrong methods won’t bring right change.”

“Don’t misunderstand,” Gao Yuanxun said with a slight smile. “I provided some help but have no authority in the association. I’m not involved in their decisions. I told you, I just want to protect my family. While I hope this force can change the world, I don’t see myself as part of it. I only learned about Chuxie’s situation later and… you know, I didn’t have a good impression of her. I thought she framed the association until I investigated.”

Gu Lingjun’s brow furrowed, not fully convinced.

“Once it was clear, I wanted to help the association reform. As for Chuxie… haven’t I atoned by saving her?”

Mentioning her role in saving Jiang Chuxie softened Gu Lingjun’s expression. Indeed, Gao Yuanxun wasn’t a bad person. Her memories and association ties didn’t make her an enemy.

“So, the Lianping Association won’t target us anymore?”

“Of course. They haven’t bothered you since, I’m certain. Why? Are you and Chuxie worried about this?”

“Not just this…”

“Strange. If Jiang Chuxie’s no longer an enemy, you two could live happily. Why come to me?”

“It’s not that simple…”

Through countless loops, Gu Lingjun had noticed patterns. Except for the original Jiang Chuxie, everyone else had independent personalities and could engage rationally. Even if they didn’t believe her or thought she was mad, they reasoned normally.

As the source of all her tragedies, the original Jiang Chuxie was her greatest enemy in reality, likely a direct projection of the “world’s will.”

This might explain why only Jiang Chuxie’s body could be a vessel—it was an empty shell.

But even with Jiang Chuxie’s arrival, a force still drove events. The world’s cocoon hadn’t broken, tightening to prevent awakening, interfering more and more.

With the biggest boss gone, to maintain balance, that force might create another.

Gao Yuanxun listened quietly, chuckling. “The cocoon theory is interesting. So, you want my help to find this potential new enemy?”

“Maybe there’s no specific entity, but I know it’s not simple. Chuxie’s injury, the earlier incidents—they’re not ordinary coincidences. Causality still binds us.” Gu Lingjun frowned, thinking. “You’re right about one thing: it’s not just me or us who need change—it’s the world. I’m here for the same reason as before, to cooperate… I want to work with the Lianping Association.”

Gao Yuanxun raised an eyebrow. “You know how Chuxie views the Lianping Association now, right?”

Gu Lingjun knew. Jiang Chuxie was paranoid, jumping at falling leaves, let alone the association.

“She doesn’t need to know.”

“Isn’t she your lover?”

Gu Lingjun lowered her eyes. “What about you, Dr. Gao? Have you told your lover what you’ve done?”

Gao Yuanxun’s smile faded. Gu Lingjun, as if not noticing, continued softly, “I’m not seeking short-term cooperation. The Lianping Association lacks strength now, but I believe we’ll have many opportunities to work together soon.”

Gao Yuanxun thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, I’ll look forward to that day.”

Gu Lingjun smiled, standing to leave.

“I won’t disturb you further, Dr. Gao.”

The aura of the girl before her was growing closer to the Gu Lingjun in Gao Yuanxun’s memories. Staring at her face, Gao Yuanxun suddenly asked an unrelated question.

“Lingjun, do you think a butterfly and a caterpillar are the same creature?”

Gu Lingjun froze, confused.

“A butterfly develops from a caterpillar, right?”

“That’s one way to put it. Safe travels.”

Gu Lingjun nodded farewell, but Gao Yuanxun’s question lingered. Perhaps because she’d used the butterfly metaphor earlier, it prompted the query.

As a biomedical student, butterfly metamorphosis wasn’t complex for Gu Lingjun. Then she recalled a theory.

Are a caterpillar and a butterfly the same creature?

Macroscopically, it seems fine—a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis, emerging as a butterfly.

But in truth, it’s not the caterpillar that becomes the butterfly. The caterpillar’s body dissolves into a nutrient slurry under enzymes, nourishing the imaginal disc cells within to develop into a butterfly.

In other words, the butterfly “parasitizes” the larva, “consuming” it in the chrysalis when the larva is plump enough, transforming into a beautiful butterfly.

“Lingjun, you’re here already?”

Jiang Chuxie emerged to find Gu Lingjun waiting, looking odd.

“What’s wrong? Why’re you spacing out?” She took Gu Lingjun’s hand, finding it cold. “Are you cold? Feeling unwell? Should we get you checked? Did you catch a chill?”

Gu Lingjun gripped her hand tightly, her face paler than ever.

To become a butterfly requires not just strength but nourishment and life. Gao Yuanxun’s implication was clear.

Trapped in the cocoon, Jiang Chuxie was her variable, her catalyst, and in a way, her nourishment.

If Jiang Chuxie was part of her, in the script she’d envisioned, she was surely the part meant to be discarded.