Rebirth: Solely Cherished by the Devoted Commander-Chapter 592 - 620: A Grown-Up’s Troubled Matters 4

The call finally went through, and the moment she heard Gu Juntao's voice, she started crying and complaining to her son, saying she had cancer and that no one cared about her life or death.

"I really don't want to live anymore! But just think about how happy your father must be now. He's been waiting for me to die for a long time, and once I'm gone, he can freely find someone else to annoy. Son, you're all I have left, right? You wouldn't just leave me alone, would you? You wouldn't want me to die, would you?" she said, crying pitifully as she spoke.

For Gu Juntao, it felt like a bolt from the blue. His mother diagnosed with cancer? After all these years of fuss, there never seemed to be anything wrong with her health? He was shocked and heartbroken, wanting to console her, but in the end, he felt it was meaningless; she was going to die, she had cancer, and he could only try to comfort his mother with difficulty.

"Medical science is advanced now, it won't be a problem. Mom, as long as you cooperate with the treatment, there should be no issue."

"Okay, I believe you. Let's not talk about this for now," Wang Guihua then immediately came up with all sorts of requests, such as having him bring his wife to take care of her.

"All these years, I haven't lived with my daughter-in-law. Wouldn't it be nice if I could enjoy being taken care of by my daughter-in-law for once? I believe you wouldn't oppose this, right?"

Gu Juntao could hear the bitterness in her voice; she wanted to make things difficult for Yang Hongying. He said, "My wife is not in town lately, she's gone to the suburbs for a business trip, I'll go back first, and we can discuss it when she returns."

"You're reluctant to have your wife come? What about Nannan? Are you just going to ignore me? Does your whole family not care about me? You all better come, otherwise, I won't get treated, and I'll just let myself suffer until death, what will you do then?"

"Mom!"

"If I can't be cared for by you all, what's the point of me living? Do you all really think that my living is just wasting money and none of you wants to help me? Even my only son doesn't care! I'm going to die right away!"

"Alright, I get it, I'll say it," Gu Juntao said helplessly.

Only then was Wang Guihua satisfied, and after nagging for a long time, she finally hung up the phone.

Gu Juntao sighed, rubbing his forehead, feeling there was no other way but to talk to his wife.

Back home, he felt like his legs were filled with lead, making it extremely difficult to move, especially when Yang Hongying was preparing dinner and saw from his expression that something had happened.

She sighed at Gu Juntao, "Alright, tell me, what's up with your mom this time?"

Gu Juntao told her everything, "I didn't expect Mom to have cancer, not in the slightest. I know you're upset, but I have no choice. You should go see her, I'll protect you and make sure you don't have to take care of her, just show your face, and that's it. You're so busy, you can't have your work disrupted because of her, we'll spend money to hire a caregiver for Mom."

"Okay, I'll pay more money, but that's all I can do. If you want me to act like a servant, doing all the dirty work and still taking her scolding, then I'll only have divorce left as an option," she said faintly.

Gu Juntao looked at his wife's face, filled with grievance and sadness. Over the years, no matter how tough things were for them, she never turned to her in-laws for help, knowing that Wang Guihua would never assist, only dish out harsh criticism and sarcasm. Now that her mother-in-law is ill, Yang Hongying couldn't possibly act all filial. Giving money and visiting her in-law once was already the best scenario.

Neither of them ate much dinner that night; they each called in to take leave from work and arranged matters. After washing up, they lay in bed, both looking like they were enveloped in gloom.

Suddenly, Gu Juntao smiled and kissed his wife's cheek.

She gently hit his shoulder, "You can still laugh now? Your mom would be furious if she knew."

"Yeah, she's like a powder keg now, ready to explode at a spark. We should be careful, and when we visit, be extra cautious. If she says anything harsh, you must endure it. Just see her and leave, I'll cover for you. We should also persuade our daughter to visit as well."

Yang Hongying looked at her husband, whose hair had turned quite gray; these years must have been really tough on him.

She touched his hair, "It's all gray now, and you haven't even dyed it. How old are you, anyway, looking like this already?"

"I don't need to. I'm not some kind of model or actor, looking good is useless. You go to sleep. Otherwise, you'll end up with gray hair too."

Yang Hongying chuckled, "I'm older than you, yet I don't have a speck of gray hair. It's because you care for me, otherwise, I'd have aged terribly by now."

"Is that a compliment?" Gu Juntao patted her behind, "Go to sleep. You're my wife, who else should I care for if not you?"

Yang Hongying nestled in her husband's arms, thinking that she was quite lucky with him. Many husbands seemed nice on the surface but were so blindly filial, making their wives endure endless suffering from their in-laws. She was a widow who remarried. At first, she was afraid to marry Gu Juntao, but thinking back, he's been so good to her. Any grievances from back then were truly worth it.

With that thought, she hugged her husband's arm and fell asleep.

But Gu Juntao barely slept all night, worry gnawing at him—worried that his mother would end up causing a bigger scene with his father, and with her health issue besides. And then there's the enormous medical costs. Although his wife has money, he can't just keep using hers, right? But his salary was only so much—real headache.

The next morning, the two of them set off back home.

In the car, Gu Juntao called Nannan. Actually, she already knew, as Junjun had texted her. Nannan was annoyed but couldn't just not go, so she agreed to visit just once.

"Sweetheart, no matter what your grandmother says, just endure it, and later, Daddy will buy you something tasty."

"Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore." It used to be like that when Grandmother was cold to her, her father would take her out for food. But now, such coaxing wouldn't work on Nannan.

Gu Juntao said, "No matter when, you're always my beloved daughter, alright?"

"Got it, you look pitiful enough, I agree."

Such words left Gu Juntao shaking his head helplessly, but at least getting his wife and children to visit was something.

Gu Juntao felt uneasy, while Yang Hongying and Nannan steeled themselves for what they feared meeting the old woman would entail.

Like they were visiting a debtor rather than family.

Despite all the preparations, when their family of three arrived at the hospital to see her, they found Gu Zishan sitting dazed in the corridor, holding his head with a pained expression.

They rushed over, and Gu Juntao said, "Dad, what's wrong? Did Mom have another fit?"

Gu Zishan sighed, "No, son, your mother is gone. Just now."