Chapter 52: Has Gu Changfeng Lost His Mind?

“Gu Ci?”

On their way here, Gu Changrong and Su Wan had already discussed it at length; it was simply impossible for the two of them to suddenly have another daughter. When Gu Changrong later called Gu Changfeng to inquire, Gu Changfeng was equally evasive, claiming it was too complicated to explain over the phone. After some discussion, they came to a conclusion.

It must be that his elder brother had an illegitimate daughter outside, who had now been discovered by others. To avoid a scandal, they decided to cover it up by registering her under their names. So, Gu Ci was actually his elder brother’s illegitimate child?

Hearing his so-called second uncle call her name so precisely, Gu Ci looked up as well.

She was startled when she saw Gu Changrong’s face. “Doctor Gu?”

Wasn’t the “second uncle” standing before her the very Doctor Gu she’d met that afternoon?

The two of them now found themselves facing two entirely different versions of the same story, exchanging a silent, resigned, awkward smile—a strange and yet mutual understanding.

Clearly, each believed the other was thinking the same thing. It was a remarkable coincidence.

“Doctor Gu?” Chu Shixian’s mind instantly jumped to the Doctor Gu whom Lady Bai had gone to great lengths to invite for Meng Yueling’s consultation.

Realizing her mistake, Chu Shixian couldn’t help but laugh at her own nerves. She had been troubled these past few days, trying to find this Doctor Gu for Lady Bai. It was as if she’d become obsessed; the moment she heard of a doctor surnamed Gu, she nearly mistook him for the one she sought.

She nearly forgot that Gu Changrong was also a doctor—though just a country doctor, with years of practice and not a shred of reputation, and now living in the countryside, tending to peasants and embarrassing the Gu family.

How could it be that both were doctors surnamed Gu, and yet worlds apart?

“You two know each other?” she asked, looking at them, holding herself with the dignity of a matriarch, covering her lips with a mocking smile. “Of course, Gu Ci lived in the village next to the one where you worked, didn’t she, Second Brother?”

She still remembered how Gu Changrong had embarrassed her just now. Seizing this opportunity, her words took on a mocking, vengeful edge.

Gu Ci and Gu Changrong both kept their eyes down, neither offering an explanation.

After another round of pleasantries, Chu Shixian adopted the tone of an elder sister-in-law preparing to discuss serious matters. “Changrong, don’t blame me for speaking out of turn. You and Su Wan aren’t young anymore. Always staying in the countryside—how can that be? You are from the Gu family after all. Spending your whole life in the countryside—aren’t you ashamed?”

“Just so happens, your brother knows the chief physician at Sacred Heart Hospital. Perhaps he can arrange a job for you there. Given your credentials, you’re not quite qualified for a doctor’s position, but working at reception is no problem. That’s surely better than staying in the country.”

Hearing this, Gu Ci almost thought she’d misheard, while Chu Shixian, oblivious, continued with self-satisfaction.

“And Su Wan, you—what’s the point of a woman spending all day in the fields? A woman should tend her family, be dignified. I think, once you settle in Songdu, you should just be a housewife, take good care of Changrong and the three children—that’s your proper place. If you really want to work, our Gu family can pay you three thousand a month. Treat looking after them as a job…”

Though the tone was all “I’m thinking of you,” and “I’ve planned it all out for your sake,” Chu Shixian’s attitude was lofty, her words patronizing as she dictated to the couple.

Gu Changrong felt his head buzzing from her shrill voice.

Su Wan was nearly beside herself with laughter. She interrupted, “Sister-in-law, just tell us what you want.”

She was supposed to work for the Gu family, for a meager three thousand a month? Who did they take for a fool!

Though still patronizing, Gu Changrong knew that if Gu Changfeng and Chu Shixian were acting so “concerned” and eager to find him a job, they must want something from him.

Chu Shixian choked, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “Ungrateful!”

She could not bring herself to discuss the less seemly parts, so she turned to her husband. “Changfeng, you explain.”

Gu Changfeng recounted the matter and explained their intention to register Gu Ci under Gu Changrong and Su Wan’s names.

When he finished, Su Wan was dumbfounded. “You want this girl to be our daughter?”

She truly hadn’t expected the depths of shamelessness to which this family would stoop!

This girl was indeed Gu Changfeng’s daughter—not some illegitimate child as she and her husband had guessed, but his and Chu Shixian’s own flesh and blood!

Instead of announcing the return of their lost daughter to the world, they would let an adopted daughter continue to parade as the Gu family’s heiress, while hiding their own daughter under another’s name? Had Gu Changfeng lost his mind?

Chu Shixian snapped irritably, “Who said she’d really be your daughter? It’s just her name on paper—you don’t even have to raise her.”

Gu Changfeng tacitly agreed.

Gu Changrong had never imagined his brother and sister-in-law could be so muddle-headed.

Instead of making amends to their daughter, who had suffered for nearly twenty years, they wanted to keep her hidden for the sake of the pampered adopted child, letting the latter keep her title as the Gu family’s heiress. All the while, they claimed it was to spare the adopted daughter’s feelings, since she wasn’t their biological child?

Gu Changrong even wanted to crack open their heads to see what was inside!

He tried one last time, “Can’t you just acknowledge Gu Ci as your own?”

Chu Shixian jumped up, her reaction extreme. “How could we? How would that make Zhiren feel? What would people think of her?”

Gu Changrong laughed in exasperation. “So your own daughter has suffered for over a decade, and now that she’s finally home, you want her to keep suffering?”

Chu Shixian’s face stiffened, but she justified herself, “She’s used to the countryside by now. It’s not like this will really hurt her. But Zhiren is different. How can you expect her to go from a wealthy heiress to a country girl?”

Gu Changrong was so angry he laughed, no longer willing to waste words.

His brother and sister-in-law were simply beyond reason.

He pitied Gu Ci—after so many hardships, she’d finally returned home, only to face such parents. How much must that hurt?

Gu Zhiren, who had been secretly infuriated at Gu Changrong for interrupting her father’s discipline, now put on a fragile, tearful face. “Second Uncle, Second Aunt, please don’t blame my parents. It’s all because of me…”