Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Still Somewhat Clear-Headed
As Gu Jiaojiao finished inserting the silver needles for Elder Ren, she asked, "Grandpa, were your legs still hurting last night?"
"Last night was much better than before. They didn’t hurt while I was sleeping, and I slept much longer than usual. I slept straight through until dawn."
"The pain stopped before you went to sleep last night, but that was because you took painkillers. If you can bear it, try to avoid them. Taking too many has side effects."
"Okay," Elder Ren agreed readily. His pain was always especially severe in the winter, and he had to take painkillers almost every day, but they didn’t have much of an effect.
"After five more days of these treatments, you can have the operation. It’s a minor, minimally invasive procedure. You’ll be able to walk on the same day."
The two of them only discussed the treatment for his chronic leg pain. Neither brought up Ren Cuiping.
It wasn’t that Gu Jiaojiao was too busy to ask; she just didn’t see the need. With Su Qinchun and the Dong Qiming siblings running a stall together, she could find out anything she wanted to know.
Elder Ren was too embarrassed to bring it up. His daughter, who had been so well-behaved and sensible for most of her life, was a completely different person now.
Even as Elder Ren was putting her in the car, Ren Cuiping still didn’t think she was the problem. She even tried to redirect the blame and hatred onto Gu Jiaojiao.
Elder Ren had been so furious he’d wanted to give her a couple of slaps. It was then that he finally understood why his son-in-law had been so insistent on a divorce.
If his son-in-law hadn’t divorced her, his daughter would have surely driven him to an early grave. Elder Ren had been suppressing a bellyful of anger, and it only dissipated when he saw Gu Jiaojiao at the Su family’s home.
Now, Gu Jiaojiao had him roaring with laughter again. Even after the acupuncture was finished, he was reluctant to leave.
But Gu Jiaojiao and her husband were busy. After seeing Elder Ren and Mr. Xie off, she drove Su Shuochi to the site.
Meanwhile, Sheng Yueyue freshened up and went to Sheng Shiwen’s hospital room. Seeing the bed empty, she asked around and learned that he had already been discharged.
She then rushed over to the Sheng Family estate. When she saw Sheng Shiwen sitting in a wheelchair, she couldn’t accept it.
’Everything has changed in this life. Mom and Dad got divorced, and the second fool is in a wheelchair... These are all things I never saw in my past life.’
"Second Brother, why are you in a wheelchair?" Sheng Yueyue asked, still in disbelief.
"I still can’t put any weight on my knee, and my ribs are still weak. Doctor Sun said it takes a hundred days to recover from injuries to bones and tendons."
"Then why aren’t you still in the hospital?"
"I was in the hospital for over a month. The doctor said I could be discharged."
"But you were discharged into a wheelchair! That’s not good, is it? Think about how many people laughed at Su Shuochi when he was in one!"
Sheng Shiwen was speechless.
’So Yueyue is embarrassed by me being in a wheelchair?’
’My own sister, for the sake of her own pride, doesn’t give a damn if I live or die!’
He’d taken a blow for her that broke his leg, yet Yueyue had never once said thank you. She hadn’t even asked if he was in pain.
He was nothing like his adopted sister, Jiaojiao. In the past, he’d once just scraped a bit of skin off the back of his hand.
But Jiaojiao had noticed right away. She’d gotten medicine for him and constantly reminded him to be careful not to let the wound get infected.
It wasn’t that Sheng Shiwen didn’t know about his own sister’s selfishness and petty schemes. He had just always sided with her without a second thought.
"Are you embarrassed by your Second Brother, Yueyue? I don’t have a choice. If I could stand up and walk, who would want to sit in a wheelchair and be a laughingstock?"
’Besides, I don’t have Su Shuochi’s strength. I can’t even push my own wheelchair around.’
’Sitting in this wheelchair, I need someone to push me just to move an inch. If no one pushes me, I can’t move at all.’
Sheng Shiwen was already incredibly depressed, and the moment Yueyue arrived, she started blaming him and making her disgust clear.
Sheng Yueyue saw that her "second fool" was unhappy. ’Right now, in the Sheng Family, he’s the only one still willing to be nice to me.’
So she forced a sweet smile. "Second Brother, I would never be embarrassed by you."
To Sheng Shiwen, Sheng Yueyue’s smile was a complete eyesore.
’I’ve ended up like this, and as my own sister, she can still smile so happily!’
’Calling her cruel and heartless would be an understatement!’
The contrast made him realize just how selfish and self-serving Yueyue had been in the past.
In the past, whenever Jiaojiao and Yueyue argued, if Jiaojiao tried to defend herself for more than a few sentences, Yueyue would faint.
They would all rush to check on Yueyue, burning with anxiety, without a single thought for who was actually right or wrong.
Whenever there was a misunderstanding between Jiaojiao and Yueyue, Jiaojiao always tried to explain herself, but none of them were ever willing to listen.
He remembered what Gu Jiaojiao had said when she berated him the time before last: "You’re sympathetic because your sister suffered a lot in the past.
You want to make it up to her, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Blindly giving to her isn’t your fault either, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with loving someone unconditionally.
What’s wrong is that you indulge her without any limits or principles, allowing her to hurt your adopted sister and others. In the end, you’re the ones who will have to bear the consequences."
’And what did I say back then? I said I would dote on my sister for my entire life, that I would hand her the best things in the world on a silver platter.’
’Well, look what happened. Because Mom favored Yueyue without any principles, Dad divorced her.’
’I favored Yueyue without any limits, and I ended up in a wheelchair.’
’When all of this happened, Jiaojiao was already married and no longer living with the Sheng Family. I can’t even blame her for this if I wanted to!’
He recalled how, after Jiaojiao got married, she was neither friendly nor cold whenever she saw him. She simply ignored his existence completely.
Back then, the reason he’d caused trouble for Jiaojiao wasn’t entirely for Yueyue’s sake. Part of it was because Jiaojiao had ignored him.
Her sudden arrogant and untouchable air, in particular, had driven him mad.
"Second Brother? Are you unhappy?" Sheng Yueyue asked, suppressing her impatience and feigning concern.
"Why don’t you try sitting in a wheelchair and see if you can still be happy?"
"You’re only in a wheelchair temporarily, Second Brother. The doctor said you’ll be fine in a little over a month."
"Yes, the doctor did say that. So, Yueyue, what brings you here today? I’m surprised you have the time."
"Second Brother... Did Mom and Dad really get a divorce? Did Mom really abandon us and go to Yun City all by herself? She’s so selfish!"
"Mom didn’t abandon us. Grandpa said she’s sick and needs to go to Yun City to recuperate for a while."
"Second Brother, you’re all I have left now! Let’s go to that bitch Gu Jiaojiao’s place right now. I heard she learned medicine from He Shen Yi of the Imperial City. We’ll make her treat your leg."
"There’s nothing else wrong with my leg. It will heal as long as I rest it properly. There’s no need to see another doctor."
"We’re not really going there for her to treat your leg. I just can’t stand to see that bitch doing so well."
"Yueyue, I can’t move my legs. Even if we go, there’s nothing we can do to Gu Jiaojiao!"
"We’re her older brother and sister. Are you saying we should be afraid of her hitting us?"
Sheng Shiwen was speechless.
’Yueyue isn’t even willing to put on an act anymore! Before, she at least pretended to be kind.’
"She beat us to the ground last time. Have you forgotten, Yueyue?"
Seeing that her "second fool" was still thinking somewhat clearly, Sheng Yueyue could only return to the Song Family home in disappointment.
"Take care, Second Brother. Song Zijin is getting off work soon, so I’ll head back first. I’ll come see you again tomorrow."
’Sheng Yueyue had plenty of time. She wasn’t worried about failing to persuade her "second fool." She would definitely get that little bitch into Song Zijin’s bed.’
’And then, she would utterly destroy that little bitch’s reputation.’
