Every penny Shu Juan earned came from her design drafts. The Gu family knew nothing about this, but she was quite renowned in the industry.
Many big names had tried to recruit her as their designer, but she only ever enjoyed free creative work, which was why she rarely appeared in the industry.
During her pregnancy, she continued to draw design drafts as usual, because she needed the money. Not just for household expenses—she also had to make plans for the child to come.
As for her three meals a day, she made no pretense of politeness. Whatever she wanted to eat, she told Zhou Hui directly. If Zhou Hui didn’t cater to her wishes, then she would make life difficult for everyone.
For prenatal checkups, Shu Juan always went alone.
A nurse asked her, “Where’s the child’s father?”
Shu Juan smiled and answered lightly, “Dead.”
The nurses couldn’t help but feel great sympathy for her, and every time she came for an examination, they gave her extra care.
But when Shu Juan had her first systematic prenatal checkup, a nodule was found on her left breast.
She had always known she had a nodule and had never taken it seriously all these years.
But recently, she had clearly felt breast swelling and pain, assuming it was a normal pregnancy reaction. After reviewing the test results, however, the doctor said the nodule’s morphology wasn’t looking good and required continuous close monitoring.
Later, Shu Juan went for several follow-up examinations and found that the nodule kept growing. The chest pain and swelling also became increasingly frequent.
The doctor told her, “It’s possible that pregnancy hormones have stimulated the nodule, causing it to grow quickly. Given your condition, you must undergo a needle biopsy to determine as soon as possible whether the nodule is benign or malignant.”
Shu Juan’s reaction was remarkably calm. “Then let’s do it.”
When the doctor received the biopsy report and specifically called her to come to the hospital, the moment Shu Juan walked into the consultation room, she could see the doctor’s expression was extremely grave.
The doctor asked her first, “You’ve been coming to the hospital alone all this time—don’t you have any other family members?”
Caught off guard by the question, Shu Juan felt a sudden pang of bitterness in her heart, though her face betrayed nothing. “No.”
She was an orphan, raised in an orphanage since childhood. She had finally thought she’d found a good man in Gu Hong and finally had a home of her own. She had poured her heart and soul into it with all her passion, only to end up alone again in the end.
The doctor said, “The test results are back. The nodule in your breast is a malignant lesion. If treatment isn’t started promptly, the condition will worsen and progress.”
Shu Juan’s heart sank. From the moment she’d walked in and seen the doctor’s expression, she’d more or less known this would be the result. She asked, “What kind of treatment?”
The doctor was silent for a moment, then looked at her heavily and said, “Your condition is progressing rather quickly. The plan we recommend is to induce labor first, and then you can be admitted to the hospital for systematic treatment.”
Despite having braced herself mentally, Shu Juan’s mind still went blank for a moment.
She was already five months pregnant.
Not long ago, she had felt the baby move.
That wonderful sensation—as if the little one was interacting with her.
It had been so long since she’d felt that kind of bond between mother and child.
She felt utterly lost. Why did plans never outpace surprises?
In the end, she chose the second option—she would continue the pregnancy, but she would also be admitted to the hospital for treatment.
However, the risks of this option were far greater than the first.
When Shu Juan returned home, Zhou Hui was as usual making snide, veiled remarks. But Shu Juan was completely drained, so she couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Zhou Hui noticed that Shu Juan had been off lately and slyly kept an eye on her. While Shu Juan was in the bathroom, she secretly rummaged through her bag.
What she found was a stack of report forms.
Zhou Hui quickly hid a summary report before Shu Juan came out of the bathroom, then immediately called Gu Hong.
Gu Hong came back that very night and took the initiative to knock on Shu Juan’s door. When she opened it, she was greeted by his smug, self-satisfied face, which made her nauseous.
Gu Hong cut straight to the chase: “You’re sick? You have breast cancer?”
Shu Juan saw the report in his hand, then looked up at him. At that moment, her head spinning, she could swear she saw the corners of his mouth curl upward.
A chill ran through her entire body. This husband of hers, who had shared her bed for years—upon learning she was ill, he seemed even happier than when she had given birth to Gu Qianqian…
Shu Juan let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Your mouth’s practically grinning up to the sky.”