Critical Illness

When Gu Ming rushed to the hospital following the address given by her second uncle, Gu Rong, she saw her second uncle and aunt with troubled faces, and her mother continuously crying in distress.

"Mom, where is Grandpa?" Gu Ming hurried over, anxiously pulling her mother's hand, Ji Yun.

Seeing Gu Ming arrive, Ji Yun wiped the tears from her face and said, "Ming Ming, you finally came. The doctor said your grandfather had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and was just rushed into the operating room."

"How did this happen?" Gu Ming was immediately stunned. Earlier, Gu Rong hadn't clarified the situation over the phone, and she had no idea her grandfather had suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

Although her grandfather, Gu Ning, had never been in the best of health, he had only dealt with common ailments typical for the elderly—nothing severe. This time, not only did he suffer a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, but he also needed surgery to treat it, which left Gu Ming utterly shocked.

"It's all because of your situation, knowing that that Mr. Du actually married another woman. Grandpa was so angry and distressed that his emotions got the better of him, causing him to suddenly fall ill," her aunt muttered softly.

Hearing this, Gu Rong quickly pulled his wife aside, signaling her to stop speaking recklessly.

Gu Ming felt a pang in her heart, filled with regret. She had never dared to tell her family about Du Hao marrying someone else. She had originally planned to bring it up appropriately over the weekend, but she hadn't expected her grandfather to be hospitalized first.

"You silly child, why didn't you tell the family when something like this happened? Everywhere there's news about Du Hao marrying that Qiao Qingya. Thankfully, Grandpa wasn't feeling well these past few days and couldn't read the newspaper, otherwise he would have known long ago. How could he wait until someone else mentioned it to find out?" Ji Yun couldn't help but pat Gu Ming's back firmly. Seeing her daughter with her head down, she felt sorry and pulled her into her arms.

Gu Ming's father had died early, and as his only daughter, Gu Ming was Ji Yun's lifeline. Seeing her daughter in distress, Ji Yun couldn't help but scold her for not speaking up sooner, but her primary feeling was one of heartbreak.

"Mama, I'm sorry." Gu Ming hugged Ji Yun tightly, forcing herself not to let her tears fall. At this moment, what was needed was not tears.

Yes, she was wrong.

She shouldn't have tried to hide from her family when everyone else already knew. If she had told her family herself, maybe her grandfather wouldn't have ended up in the hospital, and her mother wouldn't be so heartbroken.

Moreover, the truth always comes out. With such widespread news about Du Hao's marriage, her family would have found out eventually. Why was she trying to dodge it?

She could stand strong in front of others, so why couldn't she be open with her loving grandfather and mother?

She was abandoned by Du Hao, but she hadn't done anything wrong. It was Du Hao who was at fault. Why couldn't she be honest?

She had been close to her grandfather since childhood. After her father died, she received all of her grandfather's love and care. If her grandfather had suffered any harm because of her situation, she would never forgive herself in her lifetime.

"Earlier, when we brought Dad to the hospital, I went to pay the fees. But I didn't have enough money on me…" Gu Rong suddenly spoke up.

Ji Yun was startled, then wiped her tears and said to Gu Rong, "Look how anxious I was, how much is still missing? I'll go pay it right now."

Gu Rong quickly handed the bill to Ji Yun, urging her to hurry. She kept saying that fortunately, this hospital was decent. If it had been a different, unscrupulous hospital, they might not have been able to pay all the fees, and the surgery might not have been performed.

Gu Ming was worried about Ji Yun, so she decided to follow along.

"You don't need to worry too much. The doctor said it's a good thing you brought Grandpa in time. He'll definitely be okay," Ji Yun said while paying, noticing Gu Ming standing with her head down, worried that her daughter was feeling too guilty. She tried to comfort her.

"Mm." Gu Ming nodded slightly.

She knew that Ji Yun was mostly trying to comfort her. A sudden cerebral hemorrhage wasn't a minor illness—it could easily lead to death if not treated properly. Besides, Gu Ning was already old, and all this turmoil could lead to unknown consequences.

"Mom, isn't the family's money insufficient?" Gu Ming looked at the bank card in Ji Yun's hand.

"It's still enough. Don't worry, Mama has it covered." Ji Yun quickly put the card back into her purse.

Gu Ming grabbed Ji Yun's hand, her eyes filled with helplessness. "Mom, recently you and Grandpa just paid off the remaining balance for my house. How much money is left at home? Grandpa alone needs tens of thousands for the surgery, plus follow-up treatments. That's the major part. Why are you lying to me?"

"Don't worry, Mama still has savings. And don't we have your second uncle and aunt?" Ji Yun said, though her confidence wasn't strong.

"Mama, where are these savings from? For the house, you and Grandpa almost drained the funds. I always said that the housing prices were too high. Don't buy me a house, or at least don't pay the full amount at once. Your second uncle and aunt don't have much money either. You saw how they were earlier. How could we rely on them?" Gu Ming's chest heaved up and down, feeling even more guilty towards her grandfather and mother.

If Grandpa hadn't thought about Du Hao's wealthy family and not wanted her to marry into poverty, he wouldn't have spent so much on buying her a house. Unfortunately, Mama and Grandpa wanted to surprise her by secretly buying the house. By the time she found out, most of the arrangements were already in place, including the renovation. Otherwise, she would never have agreed.

Their family was never as wealthy as the Du family. Even if they bought her a house, it was just a drop in the bucket. Why should Mama and Grandpa drain their savings for that?

Since Du Hao was willing to marry her, he didn't care if she had a presentable house! Unfortunately, Du Hao had married someone else for his career, and nothing she said would change that now.

Ji Yun knew her daughter wasn't easy to fool and couldn't keep up the pretense anymore. She said, "At worst, Mama can cancel the insurance. There's quite a bit of money there."

"No way!" Gu Ming firmly opposed. "You bought the insurance less than five years ago. If you cancel it now, you can't get the bonuses, let alone the principal."

What Gu Ming hadn't said was that now that Grandpa was like this, what if Ji Yun also had something happen? Without insurance, what would they do?

Gu Ning had actually bought insurance, but insurance doesn't pay out immediately when you need it. You have to wait until all the medical bills are settled, and they have to investigate first.

Until then, all expenses have to be paid out of pocket.

Gu Ming bit her lip and said to Ji Yun, "Mama, just sell my house. I can't get married anyway, and that house is useless."

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't sell the house! It's a newly renovated house. Even if you can't use it now, it will be useful later. If you rush to sell it now, you'll have to lower the price, which is not worth it," Ji Yun hurriedly replied.

"The house is nothing compared to Grandpa. You can buy another one after selling the house. The most important thing now is Grandpa's health," Gu Ming insisted.

"But…" Ji Yun hesitated, torn between the house she had carefully prepared for her daughter and her grandfather's health.

She naturally knew her grandfather's health was more important, but selling her daughter's house was something she was very reluctant to do. She would rather cancel her own insurance or sell her accumulated jewelry than go through with it.

Her daughter being rejected by her fiancé was already distressing enough. Now, not even being able to keep the house, it really pained her as a mother.

"Stop hesitating. Once Grandpa comes out of the operating room, I'll handle it," Gu Ming firmly decided.

The mother and daughter composed themselves and returned outside the operating room, praying that Gu Ning's surgery would go smoothly.

They waited until it got dark. No one ate dinner, as everyone was in a heavy-hearted state, and no one mentioned going out to eat.

"He's out!" Gu Rong exclaimed happily.

Gu Ming was startled and quickly stood up, rushing towards Gu Ning.