Beep, beep, beep.
Shu Juan opened her eyes to a snow-white ceiling, the first thing she heard being the beeping of the monitor beside the hospital bed.
A voice full of concern came from nearby: “You’re finally awake.”
She slowly turned her head to look—it was Sister Hua, her business partner of these past years.
Shu Juan’s first question was: “Where’s the baby?”
Sister Hua replied, “The baby was born premature and is still under observation in the incubator. Your condition… the doctor has already told me.”
Shu Juan gave a pale smile and said, “The baby’s born, so I can relax now. Whatever treatment is needed, I’ll just go through with it.”
Sister Hua comforted her, “I know you’re strong-willed and won’t say anything. In today’s world, how many people can be as hardworking and persistent as you? You’ll definitely get better. If you’re short on money, just tell me.”
Shu Juan shook her head and said, “Don’t worry.”
The baby stayed in the incubator for half a month before finally being moved to a regular ward. It was a boy. Looking at this wrinkled little thing, a thousand mixed emotions churned within Shu Juan.
Shu Juan hesitated for a long time before finally reaching out to touch his tiny hand.
He was asleep, but as if sensing something, he moved his little fingers and tightly gripped hers in his palm.
Shu Juan named the child Shu Chen.
The doctor had already devised a surgical plan for her, coordinating with the oncology surgeons to perform a breast tumor removal during her delivery.
During her hospital stay, she actively cooperated with chemotherapy, taking handfuls of medication and losing handfuls of hair, yet she never backed down.
It was only after more than two months, when her treatment course ended, that she was discharged and returned home.
The moment Zhou Hui opened the door and saw her, she looked like a venomous little ghost, her face falling as she said sarcastically, “I thought you’d died out there. How come you’ve come back dragging that bastard child with you?”
Shu Juan didn’t respond and went straight to her room, vaguely hearing Zhou Hui hurriedly calling Gu Hong again to urge him to come back quickly.
Shu Juan discovered that during her one or two months in the hospital, many of her belongings in her room had already been cleared away.
They must have wished she’d died out there and never come back.
Gu Jianguo went to pick up Gu Qianqian from kindergarten. When Gu Qianqian heard the baby crying, he found his way to Shu Juan’s door and said in disbelief, “Didn’t you die out there? Why are you back again?”
That’s probably what the family had told him.
Shu Juan felt as if another knife had been stabbed into her heart out of nowhere.
Gu Qianqian, full of disgust, cursed at the stroller: “Bastard!”
Afraid that Shu Juan would scold him, he turned and ran off right after saying it.
In the evening, Gu Hong came back. Seeing Shu Juan and the baby, he said with a dark face, “You still have the nerve to come back! Breast cancer and giving birth—how are you so lucky to have survived, not dying on the operating table?”
Shu Juan had changed greatly compared to before. She had lost a lot of weight, her energy wasn’t what it used to be, and she simply didn’t have the strength to fight with this family anymore.
Shu Juan said flatly, “I guess I wasn’t meant to die.”
Gu Hong said with intense hatred, “In that case, I’ll go do a paternity test tomorrow. Once the results come out, if this bastard isn’t mine, you’d better divorce me and get out on your own; otherwise, wait for the court’s divorce decree. When it becomes public knowledge that you’re an adulteress who cheated on her husband, don’t blame me!”
Shu Juan heard Gu Hong lay everything out so clearly, and she was exceptionally calm. She suddenly said, “I can divorce you.”
Zhou Hui sneered twice and said, “Now that the bastard is here, do you even get a say in whether you divorce or not?”
Shu Juan raised her head and looked straight at Zhou Hui. “Of course, I could also choose not to divorce and let Gu Hong file a lawsuit. Between the cooling-off period, the mediation period, and the judgment period, dragging it out for a year or two wouldn’t be a problem.”
Zhou Hui’s smile immediately vanished. She pointed at Shu Juan, furious, and said, “You rotten woman, you’re dreaming!”
Shu Juan said very rationally, “Also, even if this child isn’t Gu Hong’s, I have a video—Gu Hong personally sent me out. Even if it can’t serve as decisive evidence, I believe it can still influence the judge’s ruling. I’m not afraid of what people say; the question is whether Gu Hong is.”
The veins on Gu Hong’s face were bulging as he ground his teeth and said, “Shu Juan, are you determined to fight me to the bitter end?!”
Shu Juan said with clear logic, “Moreover, I’m currently suffering from a major illness. The judge has to take that into consideration, and the final outcome may not be as favorable as you imagine.”
Zhou Hui was so angry her nose twisted, cursing viciously and venomously.
Shu Juan lowered her head and stroked the baby’s little hand in her arms. Strangely, the child, having been fed, slept soundly and peacefully in her embrace, completely unaffected by the commotion.
Shu Juan said again, “I said I can divorce you.”