Upon hearing Nian Suian's words, Gu Zhijing immediately turned his head to look at his father with wide, expectant eyes. In all his years, he had never heard his father thank him.
However, the thanks were not delivered in the end, as the doctor came over to check on Gu Junxing's post-surgery condition.
"Mr. Gu, how are you feeling?"
Gu Junxing answered indifferently, "I don't feel much right now."
"The anesthesia hasn't completely worn off yet. Once it does, you'll experience some pain and itchiness at the incision. That's normal," the doctor said, before he gave some post-operative care instructions and left.
The hospital assigned a dedicated caregiver to each surgical patient, relieving family members from the burdens of nursing. This gave Nian Suian a sigh of relief, for she thought she would have to take care of Gu Junxing's every need...
"Gu Zhijing, shouldn't you be going to school tomorrow?" With nothing better to do, Gu Junxing decided to tease his son a bit.
"Huh? What did you say? My nearsightedness has worsened, I can't hear clearly." Relying on the fact that his father couldn't get out of bed to hit him, Gu Zhijing decided to be daring. This stemmed from Gu Junxing's habit of settling scores on the spot without holding grudges...
"You're a high school student, you…" Gu Junxing wanted to say 'don't end up being unable to fend for yourself when you grow up, relying on me'. But on second thought, he felt the words were too harsh and swallowed them instead.
But even though he didn't utter those words, Gu Zhijing could guess what his father wanted to say next. He was mad that his father always belittled him, but didn't know how to argue back. Frustrated, he stormed out of the room.
"Zhijing, where are you going?" Nian Suian asked quickly.
"To the restroom!"
After Gu Zhijing left, Nian Suian started chastising Gu Junxing.
"I asked for three days off for him. There's still one day left tomorrow. Don’t always put him down. I've talked to his teacher; Zhijing's studies aren't bad. A child his age values his self-esteem more than anything else. And you scold him and never shower him with praises. Can we expect others to praise him when his own father doesn’t?"
"You chastise me ten times for the half sentence I said." Gu Junxing huffed, feeling like he was more of a stepfather in comparison.
"Don't you think you should say something nice? When have you ever said anything positive about him? He was more worried than anyone when you had surgery. He didn't ask for these days off to have fun; he did it because he cares about you! Yet this is how you repay him." Nian Suian continued to stand up for Gu Zhijing.
After hearing Nian Suian, Gu Junxing pursed his lips and said nothing, his thoughts unclear.
Nian Suian sighed inwardly. After all, she was a bystander, and it wasn't proper to say too much. Saying too much could make people think she was overstepping her boundaries, interfering with a real father's discipline on his son.
After a while, Gu Junxing suddenly blurted out, "Have you cried?”
Nian Suian didn't understand what he meant.
"Me?" When did she cry? How come she wasn't aware of it?
Gu Junxing did not reply. Instead, he handed over his phone, gesturing for her to take a look.
The screenshot must've been from an entertainment news page. As Nian Suian glanced at the screen, a string of eye-catching large words blew up in front of her eyes.
"CEO of Junxing Enterprise suspected to be seriously ill, young beautiful wife crying outside the operation room."
What on earth was this about!
As Nian Suian read on, there was even her photo. In it, she sat on a bench outside the operating room, slightly tilted her head, the red circles under her eyes were apparent. Especially with her sloppy low ponytail as she had not washed her hair today, it all contributed to a picture of utter grief. She couldn't believe someone caught this on camera!
Nian Suian recalled, "Why would I cry? It's way too early. I was just a bit tired, yawned, and rubbed my eyes." This hospital isn’t all that great, not even being able to protect a patient’s privacy."
"I can try and get the news removed." Gu Junxing prepared to make a call. These were screenshots sent by Liu Jian, even joking that Gu Junxing was fortunate to have such a loving wife. It's a good thing that Gu Junxing was somewhat self-aware, or he would’ve been misled.
"Nevermind." Nian Suian stopped him. "Why remove it? Let it stay. They took a rather nice picture of me, we'll get a taste of being an internet celebrity."
Since Nian Suian didn’t mind, Gu Junxing said nothing more. As for the online rumor about his severe illness, he didn’t care.
"By the way, Liu Jian and his team will be coming over this afternoon." Gu Junxing told Nian Suian. Liu Jian and his team were chiding him in their group chat for not letting them know about the surgery ahead of time. They found out from the news.
Upon asking what kind of news it was, just resulted in this whole fiasco.
“Alright, I get it. What should we perform this time? The role of a diligent and strong wife joyfully caring for her sick husband? Last time, I had fun playing the role of the CEO’s adorable wife. This time, I'd like to explore something different."
“Please don’t, just be yourself.” Gu Junxing was scared. He was still in bed, not ready for shock.
Gu Zhijing hadn't returned after quite a while, and Nian Suian was getting anxious.
"Did your son run away from home? This is all your fault!"
"That's impossible." Gu Junxing wasn’t worried. He knew his own son, he didn’t have a confrontational personality.
Nian Suian rolled her eyes at Gu Junxing, not bothering to engage him in conversation. She moved to the window to call Gu Zhijing herself.
"Where did you go?"
"I'm home," came the cheerful reply, "I'm at home, and Nanny Zhang has made delicious food!"
Upon hearing that he had returned home, Nian Suian eased up. She heard that Nanny Zhang was cooking, "What did Nanny Zhang make? Hospital food is fine, but I really miss Nanny Zhang’s home cooking!"
"Sweet and sour pork ribs, pickled cabbage fish, fried shrimp..."
"Can you bring some over? I want to eat some too."
"Why don't you come home to eat? Why are you still at the hospital with my dad?"
"I have matters to attend to this afternoon, accommodate me," she said. She still had to perform in the afternoon. How could she just quit acting for Gu Junxing's sake? That would remove all the joy. Besides, it's better to have a family member in the hospital for essential communicative purposes with the doctors.
After all, the conditions in the hospital were excellent, akin to a high-end hotel, and she didn't need to personally take care of Gu Junxing.
She also wanted to find time to go downstairs to check — what was the matter with the donation that he could or could not make? Who ended up donating?
In the afternoon, to enhance the performance effect, Nian Suian even deliberately put on a nude lipstick specially meant for requesting a sick leave.
However, the first visitor for Nian Suian and Gu Junxing wasn't Liu Jian and the others, but...
