Chapter 128

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Gu residence was lit up like day and in complete chaos.

Gu Huai, who had suddenly fainted, was rushed to the hospital. Gu Yanqiu, Gu Feiquan, and He Songjun waited together outside the operating room. He Songjun leaned against Gu Feiquan’s shoulder, while Gu Yanqiu stood against the wall with her phone in hand, glancing toward the far end of the corridor from time to time, as if she were waiting for something.

Gu Feiquan’s gaze landed on her; his eyes narrowed slightly.

Footsteps sounded behind them. The three of them turned together as Secretary Li hurried up, out of breath. “Where is Chairman Gu?” He was still clutching a stack of documents sealed in plastic bags.

Gu Yanqiu tipped her chin toward the operating room. “Inside.”

Gu Feiquan understood immediately and strode over. Standing well over six feet tall, he loomed before Secretary Li with considerable pressure. “Secretary Li, what happened?”

After following Gu Huai for so many years, Secretary Li was hardly the type to be intimidated by that sort of presence.

He looked at Gu Yanqiu, then at Gu Feiquan, and let out a long sigh.

He Songjun might not have been the sharpest person in the room, but she wasn’t foolish enough to miss the situation. Clicking over in her high heels, she came over too and jabbed a finger at Secretary Li’s nose. “You know something. Spit it out.”

Secretary Li frowned.

From the very beginning, he had disliked this new Mrs. Gu. She was nowhere near as good as Shen Huaiyu; not only did she flaunt her power like a villain who’d gotten lucky, she was also deeply suspicious of everyone around Gu Huai. It was only because he was a man that she hadn’t torn him apart yet. If he’d been a woman, she might have shredded him by now.

Still, Secretary Li was one of Gu Huai’s men; he mainly handled Gu Huai’s day-to-day affairs at the company and had little contact with He Songjun. So he held it in.

Gu Feiquan promptly pulled He Songjun’s hand down. She had just turned, ready to scold her son for embarrassing her in front of outsiders, when she saw Gu Feiquan give her a cold look.

At once, she fell silent.

Secretary Li glanced at Gu Feiquan, nodded slightly, then pushed up his glasses and said, “Chairman Gu’s health was actually never very good.”

He took the documents out of the bag; they were Gu Huai’s medical records, scans, and test reports. He Songjun snatched them away in one motion. The pages in front were filled with specialist terminology and doctors’ handwriting so wild it looked like flying dragons. She flipped through them quickly until she reached the final diagnosis.

Her pupils contracted sharply. The strength drained from her body, and she nearly sat down hard on the floor.

Gu Feiquan steadied her. Gu Yanqiu took the files from her hands; when she saw the last two words, her eyes widened abruptly. In disbelief, she rubbed hard over the page with her thumb, but the writing didn’t change at all.

She drew in a sharp breath and staggered. Gu Feiquan, who had leaned in to look, saw it too: two clear black characters.

Lung cancer.

Gu Yanqiu read through the file again, then from the back toward the front, then flipped through the X-ray scans and the corresponding physician notes. The examination dates were written at the top; the earliest showed it had been taken at the beginning of this year, some time before Gu Yanqiu returned to the country.

The doctor who came out later confirmed the authenticity of the reports.

A cancer patient.

Mid-stage lung cancer, already spreading, with further tests still needed before determining whether surgery was suitable.

Among everyone present, Secretary Li knew Gu Huai’s condition best. He had been the one accompanying him to every checkup and prescription refill, so he handled the communication with the doctor from start to finish, answering every question in detail.

The doctor cast a surprised glance at the two people standing quietly off to the side, said to be the patient’s son and daughter. They both looked like outstanding young elites, yet they seemed less informed about their own father’s condition than an outsider. The doctor couldn’t help shaking his head inwardly. Young people these days were all impossibly busy.

Secretary Li said, “All the tests were done at First Hospital before. Doctor, do you think it would be more convenient to transfer there once his condition stabilizes?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes. Once he wakes up and after two more days, you can handle the transfer paperwork. Dr. Fang Lin at First Hospital specializes in this area, and her surgical success rate is the highest.”

Gu Yanqiu remained silent until they finished speaking, then asked in a hoarse voice, “Is my dad in serious condition?”

Seeing her lips turn pale and both her hands clench into fists at her sides, the doctor felt a little pity and said, “It was discovered in time. The situation isn’t irreversible; there is still a chance of a cure.”

“How big is that chance?”

“It depends on your father’s physical condition and how things develop later. I can’t make any guarantees. Dr. Fang Lin at First Hospital is your father’s attending physician; she knows his case better than I do. You can ask her after the transfer.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Gu Feiquan also nodded. “Thank you.”

After explaining the precautions for the next two days, the doctor left.

Gu Feiquan pried apart Gu Yanqiu’s tightly clenched fingers. He put one hand on the back of her head and gently pressed her forehead against his shoulder, soothing her. “Nothing will happen. Trust me; trust… your brother.” The last word only formed silently on his lips, without sound.

It wasn’t fair to say Gu Feiquan felt nothing about Gu Huai’s illness. Even though he hadn’t spent much time with Gu Huai, boys were born with a kind of admiration for their fathers. That admiration was awakened through day after day of contact and understanding, becoming a new attachment.

But Gu Feiquan also understood that Gu Yanqiu was the one who had lived with Gu Huai for more than twenty years, the one he had raised under his protection. Her feelings for him were no doubt far deeper than his. The person suffering most right now should be her.

Gu Feiquan gently patted Gu Yanqiu’s back while his gaze shifted to He Songjun, who looked dazed.

Gu Huai hadn’t woken yet, so no one was allowed in for the time being.

He Songjun sat on the bench outside the ward, eyes empty, muttering to herself under her breath.

“It’s impossible… impossible… how could he get cancer… and he’s still so young…” Her hands and feet were icy. The words the doctor and Secretary Li had said kept echoing in her ears.

—Mid-stage lung cancer.

—It was found earlier, but they kept it from you all along. Sigh. Chairman Gu wouldn’t let anyone say anything. Aside from me and him, and the attending physician, no one knew.

—He always wanted to finish everything he needed to do while his body was still holding up, to leave no loose ends. He never expected that even with all his planning, heaven would still have the final say.

“He knew he had cancer… he knew…” He Songjun muttered, her mind flashing through countless chaotic thoughts that wouldn’t settle into shape.

“The things he needed to finish… what things did he need to finish…” Suddenly she shivered violently and asked herself in confusion, “Me?”

No loose ends? Then what was she?

Secretary Li was caught by the collar when He Songjun suddenly lunged at him, and he cried out in alarm before trying to pry her hand loose.

Somehow He Songjun had immense strength; an adult man like Secretary Li couldn’t break free. Gu Feiquan quickly stepped forward and pulled her hand away from Secretary Li’s lapel, then said sharply, “Mom, what are you doing?”

He Songjun turned and glared at him, her eyes red. “What am I doing? You tell me what I’m doing!”

Gu Feiquan frowned; his instincts told him this outburst was different from all the others.

He Songjun ignored Gu Feiquan and turned back to Secretary Li. “When was his cancer diagnosed?”

Secretary Li hesitated. “This…”

He Songjun shouted, “Speak!”

Secretary Li stepped back, dodging her hand as it came for him again, and said nothing.

He Songjun shouted, “Say it!”

A ward door opened. A nurse came out and reminded them, “Please keep your voices down outside the rooms.”

Anyone could see she was on the verge of collapse. Gu Feiquan wrapped both his arms around He Songjun, preventing her from doing anything more extreme. She struggled in his arms for a few moments, pounding hard against his chest. “Let go of me! Let go of me!”

Gu Feiquan endured it in silence.

At last He Songjun went still. Tears fell from her eyes in a rush. She looked up at Gu Feiquan, her gaze full of endless sorrow. “Your dad knew he wouldn’t live long, so why did he still marry me?”

Gu Feiquan’s eyes burned. “Mom.”

He Songjun broke down crying in his arms. “All these years, what exactly did he take me for?”

Perhaps Gu Yanqiu knew the answer to that question. She had once suspected that her father married He Songjun because it had been her mother’s dying wish; now it seemed that was likely true. With Gu Huai’s personality, if he wanted to make amends to someone, he would not, knowing he had little life left, deliberately provoke someone he had hurt years ago.

Did her mother know, before she died, that Gu Huai had been suffering from a terminal illness? If she had known, would she still have asked Gu Huai to do this?

And now, only Gu Huai, lying in the ward, knew the truth.

When Gu Feiquan came to knock on the door earlier, the phone call was still connected, so she had heard everything that followed. Lin Yuewei had originally planned to come to the hospital, but Gu Yanqiu refused, saying the situation was too chaotic and that she wouldn’t be of any help if she came. Lin Yuewei left her a message.

[I’m not sleeping tonight. Call me when things stabilize.]

Gu Yanqiu went to the end of the corridor to call Lin Yuewei. This time the call was answered instantly. Lin Yuewei asked in a tight voice, “How is your dad?”

Gu Yanqiu still felt a little dazed just thinking about the diagnosis. She took a light breath before saying, “Lung cancer. The doctor said it’s mid-stage, and they don’t know more than that yet.”

“How could this happen?”

“I don’t know either.” Gu Yanqiu’s voice caught with tears, but she swallowed them back down, cleared her throat, and said softly, “The doctor said there’s still a chance of a cure.”

“There definitely is. It’s only mid-stage; it’s not late stage yet. Don’t be afraid,” Lin Yuewei said. “Do you want me to come be with you?”

“I…” Gu Yanqiu had intended to say no, but then she realized she might not be as strong as she had imagined. She fell silent for several seconds.

There was the sound of fabric brushing against the sofa on the other end as Lin Yuewei hurried to the entryway in a few quick steps, picked up the car keys from the rack, and said, “I’m leaving now. Send me the hospital address.”

Then came another distant call, this time toward Ran Qingqing: “Mom, go to sleep. I’m going to the hospital.”

After Gu Huai was taken to the hospital, neither mother nor daughter had slept; they had both been sitting on the sofa, waiting.

Gu Yanqiu said, “Hang up first. I’ll send you the location.”

She ended the call and sent Lin Yuewei the location on WeChat. It would be about a forty-minute drive. After setting up the navigation, Lin Yuewei called back again.

Gu Yanqiu answered and asked softly, “What is it?”

Lin Yuewei floored the accelerator, driving out of the Lin residence in a hurry as the headlights lit the road ahead. “I’m not trusting you to handle this alone. Let’s just leave the call on.”

She asked, “Is your phone still charged?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “...Yes.” She had the habit of charging her phone every night; it had been fully charged before she left home.

“That’s good.” Lin Yuewei wasn’t good at comforting people, especially in a situation like this. All she could do was repeat, “Don’t be afraid,” “I’ll be there soon,” and “X minutes left.” But with the sound of the navigation in the background and Lin Yuewei’s constant live updates, Gu Yanqiu gradually began to feel steadier.

Lin Yuewei arrived in half an hour. She didn’t even care whether the car was parked properly; she yanked out her phone and sprinted into the hospital.

“Which floor?” she asked only after she was through the doors.

“Fourth floor. The elevator turns right.”

“The stairs?”

“Left side. Come up and you’ll see me.”

“Be right there.”

All her usual training had not been wasted; Lin Yuewei took the stairs directly, kicking up gusts of wind as she ran. Less than a minute after Gu Yanqiu finished speaking, Lin Yuewei was already in front of her, arms open in a warm embrace.

Gu Yanqiu sank into her arms, resting her face against the side of Lin Yuewei’s neck, still damp with a fine layer of sweat, and felt the strong beat of her carotid artery.

“I’m a little scared. My dad…” She clutched the fabric in front of Lin Yuewei, her voice trembling as she bared the fear deep in her heart.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.” Lin Yuewei tucked the long hair that had slipped down behind her ear and coaxed her gently, then nodded lightly at Gu Feiquan, who was looking over.

Gu Feiquan withdrew his gaze from Gu Yanqiu and sat down on the bench with the crying, exhausted He Songjun in his arms.

Lin Yuewei also led Gu Yanqiu to the chair opposite and sat down with her. A rush of unnatural warmth brushed against her neck. Lin Yuewei straightened her back and raised one hand to shield Gu Yanqiu’s face, blocking the prying looks of everyone passing by.

Gu Yanqiu cried quietly for a while, then lifted her face from Lin Yuewei’s chest. Her eyes were red. “Aren’t you supposed to go to the temple tomorrow—no, today? Go back and sleep first.”

“…” Lin Yuewei didn’t answer; she simply pressed Gu Yanqiu’s head back into her arms.

At a time like this, she was still talking about that.

Gu Yanqiu lifted her face again and changed the subject. “Did Auntie sleep? I just heard you talking to her.”

Lin Yuewei looked down at her. “I told her to sleep. She should be asleep.”

“Auntie worked hard. I need to apologize to her tomorrow for making her stay up so late.” It was too quiet. Gu Huai still hadn’t woken, which only made things feel more ominous; Gu Yanqiu couldn’t stop her thoughts from leaning toward the worst outcome, so she kept saying anything she could to ease her anxiety.

“Shut up.”

“Oh.”

Lin Yuewei looked at her, both pitiful and unwilling to be harsh, and said, “Then talk.”

“I don’t even know what to say anymore.”

“Is it because if you don’t talk, you get scared, and time feels like it’s passing especially slowly?”

Gu Yanqiu blinked slowly, startled by how in sync they were in this sudden moment.

“This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s go somewhere else.” Lin Yuewei turned and called to Gu Feiquan, “Big Brother.”

Back when she used to go to the Gu residence, Gu Feiquan and Gu Yanqiu were still putting on their fake plastic sibling act, so she had followed suit and called him Big Brother; now there was no awkwardness in saying it. Gu Feiquan, on the other hand, froze for a moment.

Gu Feiquan said, “What is it?”

Lin Yuewei said, “If Dad wakes up, call Gu Yanqiu. I’ll take her to sit by the stairs for a while.”

Gu Feiquan nodded. “Go on.”

He Songjun, who had been leaning against his shoulder, suddenly opened her eyes and glared hatefully at the two people sitting across from her, especially Gu Yanqiu. Lin Yuewei noticed her gaze and glared right back, bigger-eyed than she was, before leading Gu Yanqiu away.

The stairwell was cold; cold air could make a person clear-headed. Lin Yuewei took a packet of tissues from her pocket, pulled out a few sheets, and spread them on the steps. Then she wrapped an arm around Gu Yanqiu’s shoulders and sat down beside her.

Once they were outside, Gu Yanqiu stopped talking again. But the wavering and panic in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by the same calm she usually wore.

“I should have guessed,” Gu Yanqiu said. “It’s been almost a year, and he made his illness look so real. I didn’t notice a thing.”

“Your dad’s such a smart person; if he deliberately wanted to hide it…” Lin Yuewei had another thought, but didn’t say it. Cancer wasn’t an ordinary illness; even if someone noticed something was wrong, most people wouldn’t think in that direction.

“Why did he hide it from you all?” Lin Yuewei asked.

“Secretary Li said he wanted to finish what he had to do while his body was still holding up, with no loose ends.”

Lin Yuewei and He Songjun had reached the same conclusion. “Was he planning to go be with your mother?”

Gu Yanqiu had both hands tucked into Lin Yuewei’s coat pockets. She let out a soft sigh. “Maybe.”

“Your dad…” Lin Yuewei tugged at the corner of her mouth, not knowing how to continue.

“Pretty awful,” Gu Yanqiu finished for her.

“...”

“Whether for me and Gu Feiquan or for He Songjun, it was awful,” Gu Yanqiu said, not showing any favoritism toward Gu Huai. Looking at the floor in front of her, she went on, “He took on everything by himself and kept all of us in the dark. What is that supposed to be?”

Lin Yuewei also sighed.

Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m his daughter. He’s my dad. When he wakes up, I’m going to ask him what exactly was going through his head. Then I’ll persuade him to accept treatment properly. Is that okay?”

“Okay. I’ll help you persuade him too.” Lin Yuewei stroked her hair.

“And there’s my mom’s matter…” Gu Yanqiu frowned. Trouble never seemed to come alone; when would this ever end?

“Has Mr. Liu sent any word?”

“He’s still checking. Before he has definite proof and understands the whole story, he won’t draw a conclusion. We can only wait.”

“Oh, right, that He Songjun…” Lin Yuewei thought of the look she’d given her earlier and still felt a chill down her spine.

“What about her?”

“She just glared at you. It looked like she really hates you.”

“She hates my mom too. After my mom passed away, all that hate got transferred to me. If it really was my mom’s dying wish for my dad to marry her, then now that my dad has a terminal illness, if I were her, I’d hate him too.” Gu Yanqiu couldn’t say she felt much pity for He Songjun, but after what had happened tonight, she also couldn’t say she hated her. She was just a poor soul. If the guess was true, then her whole life had been ruined by Gu Huai and Shen Huaiyu.

“I still feel like…” Lin Yuewei was faintly uneasy.

“Feel like what?”

“Keep an eye on her,” Lin Yuewei said. She couldn’t explain it; it just felt wrong.

“I will.”

Gu Yanqiu shrank a little and said, “I’m a bit cold.”

Lin Yuewei opened her coat and slipped both of Gu Yanqiu’s hands into her sweater. Her sweater was warm skin underneath; when the icy hands went in, Lin Yuewei gasped from the cold, then quickly pressed down on Gu Yanqiu’s hands as she tried to pull away and gritted her teeth. “Wait until I get used to it.”

Gu Yanqiu stopped moving.

Lin Yuewei covered her hands, feeling the palms slowly warm up, and said, “This is my first time using my body to warm someone’s hands. When I was little, Jiang Congbi once played a winter prank and shoved her hands down my neck. I chased her three blocks and beat her up.”

“That violent?”

“If I didn’t beat her, she wouldn’t learn.”

“Looking at you two now, you don’t seem to fight anymore.”

“She can’t beat me,” Lin Yuewei said.

“I can’t beat you either.” Gu Yanqiu recalled the truly vicious kicks from last time and smiled.

“You don’t need to fight. Just say it, and I’d lie down right away.”

Gu Yanqiu laughed out loud.

Lin Yuewei turned her hands over to warm the backs of them too, then grinned. “I’m going to the temple tomorrow morning and ask for a protective charm for your dad as well. The Bodhisattva will bless him. Don’t worry.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t believe in it?”

“I do now. If you and my mom believe in it, how could I not?” Lin Yuewei said. “One of you is the person I’m closest to; the other is the person I like most. If you both say it’s right, I’ll handle the execution.”

“Like most?”

“Just like.” Lin Yuewei corrected herself.

Following the thread of the conversation, Gu Yanqiu suddenly remembered something. “You still have to go to the temple? Then aren’t you sleeping?”

“I am. I’ll sleep in the car. There’s no way I can fall asleep now anyway.”

Before Gu Yanqiu could speak, Lin Yuewei cut her off. “I pulled all-nighters filming night scenes in the crew before and I was fine. I’m professionally trained in staying up late, so don’t worry about me. Just lean on me and sleep a bit. Are you taking leave tomorrow?”

“No.”

Lin Yuewei clicked her tongue. “Look at you. And you still say that about me.”

The two people, equally matched, looked at each other and decided to close their eyes for a while. So they leaned shoulder to shoulder, neck to neck, like a pair of mandarin ducks with crossed necks, dozing off.

An abrupt ringtone shattered the long silence.

Gu Yanqiu opened her eyes at once; Lin Yuewei straightened up too. The caller ID showed Gu Feiquan. Gu Yanqiu answered it, and Lin Yuewei pushed open the stairwell door. The two of them went back inside together.

Gu Feiquan came up to meet them in a few steps. “Dad’s awake, but the doctor says only one person can go in.” He looked at Gu Yanqiu. “You go.”

Gu Yanqiu nodded. “Thank you.”

She followed the nurse to change into isolation clothing, then went into the intensive care room alone.

Outside, only Gu Feiquan and Lin Yuewei remained. Lin Yuewei wasn’t very familiar with him, so she still sat on the bench opposite him. After they nodded to each other in greeting, there was nothing to say.

Gu Feiquan’s lips moved. He looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back. His fingers were interlaced, elbows resting on his knees; his usually immaculate hair had been ruffled into disarray by his own hand, and he was still wearing a pair of slippers, bare feet and all. Every so often, he turned to look toward the ward door, his face clearly etched with concern.

Lin Yuewei’s actions were almost the same, except she was worrying about Gu Yanqiu more.

On her third time looking back at the ward door, she glanced at Gu Feiquan again, then looked once more, sensing that something was off.

Her brows knitted tightly. She lowered her head in thought, then remembered.

He Songjun was gone.