The Slacker Stepmother and the Non-Domineering CEO

Chapter 22

No matter who you are in everyday life, most people tend to panic when faced with illness.

Gu Junxing was no exception. He carefully read the report several times before accepting it as reality.

"Mr. Gu, there's no need to worry too much. At present, it's just a nodule. A minor surgery will take care of it," the doctor reassured him. "If you have no other concerns, we can arrange for your hospitalization and surgery right away. You should also notify your family. Although it's not considered a high-risk procedure, we still require a family member to accompany you."

"Alright, I understand. Thank you." After hearing the doctor's words, Gu Junxing reverted to his usual composed self: the cool and collected CEO. At the same time, he felt somewhat relieved, grateful that he hadn't postponed his physical examination and had discovered the issue before it became a major problem.

Because of this, when the doctor mentioned calling a family member to accompany him, Gu Junxing, on an impulse, called Nian Suian.

"Hello." As soon as the call connected, Gu Junxing rubbed his nose, realizing he might have acted a bit rashly. He should have called his assistant or Butler Su to arrange for a caregiver instead. As for signing the consent form, he could easily do that himself for such a minor procedure.

"What is it? Why are you calling me?" Nian Suian was puzzled by the long silence after the call connected.

"Well, I got my physical examination results. I need to have a minor surgery, and the doctor said I should notify family members. You know, I don't have any other relatives, and Zhijing is still just a child. It wouldn't be appropriate to call him." Gu Junxing felt a bit embarrassed and found himself explaining.

However, Nian Suian barely heard anything after "I need to have surgery." Having watched too many Korean dramas lately, this phrase sounded to her almost like "I have a terminal illness."

"What?! What's wrong? Can it be cured? Is it serious?" Nian Suian was genuinely concerned. After all, they were husband and wife in name, if not lovers, at least they could be considered ordinary friends. When a friend falls ill, it's impossible not to worry. Moreover, she was counting on him to stay healthy, live a long life, and take the company to greater heights.

Hearing the change in Nian Suian's voice, Gu Junxing could tell she was truly worried about him. Although he knew her concern wasn't out of love for him, the fact that she cared at all, regardless of the reason, made him feel good.

"You don't need to worry so much. It's just a small nodule in my lung. The surgery is very minor. The hospital just needs to notify family as a routine procedure. You know, even for an appendectomy, they require a family member's signature." Gu Junxing, despite being the patient, found himself comforting her instead. "Come to think of it, I should thank you for scheduling that physical exam for me. Otherwise, I might not have discovered this for a while."

"This is hardly the time to mention that," Nian Suian replied. She had only arranged the physical exam as a gesture of gratitude and hadn't intended to take credit for it, especially not now. "When is your surgery? I'll come to the hospital soon. Do you need me to bring anything?"

"I'll be fasting tonight, and tomorrow, after the pre-operative tests, I should be able to have the surgery. You can ask Butler Su to pack some clothes for me and bring them over. You don't need to come today; you won't rest well."

Nian Suian wouldn't hear of it. "Rest poorly in a hospital that charges 100,000 for a physical? Are you kidding me? They should offer me the director's office to sleep in if needed. Don't worry about it. You just rest well."

Gu Junxing couldn't help but chuckle at Nian Suian's words. "Alright, then. Drive safely on your way here."

Without hesitation, Nian Suian hung up and went to find Butler Su, asking him to pack some things. She spent three minutes reassuring the butler before returning to her room to pack a few overnight essentials for herself.

After Butler Su finished packing for Gu Junxing, Nian Suian asked him to pack some things for Gu Zhijing as well. She planned to pick up Gu Zhijing on her way to the hospital. How could they not inform the son about his father's surgery? Gu Zhijing wasn't a little kid anymore. She had always disliked those who, claiming not to want to worry their children or affect their studies, wouldn't tell them about family illnesses or even the passing of elderly relatives. No exam or study was more important than family.

Butler Su was highly efficient, and within half an hour, they were ready to leave.

"Butler Su, please wait in the car. I'll go get Zhijing," Nian Suian said as they arrived at the school.

This was the second time Nian Suian had come to Gu Zhijing's school since the parent-teacher conference. The school looked unchanged. After explaining the situation and registering at the security office, she entered.

Once inside, Nian Suian didn't go straight to the classroom to find Gu Zhijing. She knew that if she pulled him out of class directly, the other students would lose focus. Having been a student herself, she understood this well.

She asked a school security guard for directions and went to the office of the head teacher for the first-year high school students, looking for Gu Zhijing's homeroom teacher, Cen Xi. She had thought that if Cen Xi was in class, she would wait a while, as there was no rush. Fortunately, Cen Xi wasn't teaching at the moment but was in her office preparing for her next lesson.

"Mrs. Nian, what brings you here? Do you need to see Zhijing for something?" Cen Xi was surprised to see Nian Suian, as parents rarely came to the school unannounced.

Nian Suian was also surprised that Cen Xi remembered her surname after just one meeting.

"Hello, Teacher Cen. I'm here to excuse Zhijing from class. His father needs to have a minor surgery, so I've come to take him to the hospital."

"Is Mr. Gu alright? I'll go get Zhijing right away," Cen Xi said, standing up immediately.

Nian Suian quickly stopped her. "It's okay, it's just a minor procedure. I just felt that a child should be there when their father is having surgery. There's no real urgency. We can wait until class is over to call him. If we go now and pull Zhijing out, it will not only disrupt the other students but also give Zhijing quite a shock."

"I see. You've really thought this through," Cen Xi said, glancing at the clock in the office. "There are only about ten minutes left until class ends. I apologize for making you wait, but I'll go get him as soon as the bell rings."

Nian Suian nodded in agreement. It would be better for Cen Xi to fetch Zhijing than for her to go herself, as her presence would certainly spark discussion among the other students.

Ten minutes wasn't very long. Cen Xi sat down to chat with Nian Suian, not discussing much besides Gu Zhijing's studies and his performance at school.

When Cen Xi saw that it was about time, she excused herself and went to the classroom to find Gu Zhijing.

"Gu Zhijing, come with me to the office," Cen Xi said as she arrived. Class had just ended, and Gu Zhijing was sitting at his desk, talking to his deskmate.

Everyone fell silent when they saw Cen Xi approach.

Upon hearing her words, Qu Zizhou teased Gu Zhijing, "What did you do wrong? Did you slack off and not do your homework?"

"Get lost," Gu Zhijing retorted as he walked out, mentally reviewing his recent behavior to make sure he hadn't broken any rules before finally relaxing.

"Ms. Cen, is something the matter?" he asked.

Cen Xi waited until they were quite far from the classroom before answering, "It's your mother. She's here to see you about something."

"My mom? Isn't my mom in... Oh, you mean my stepmother?" Gu Zhijing had never called Nian Suian "mom." Although technically she was now his mother, Nian Suian was too young for him to feel comfortable using that term. So when Cen Xi mentioned his mother, his first thought was of his birth mother, but he quickly realized that was impossible. His birth mother had gone to South America recently and said she was going to the rainforest - for all he knew, she might be dancing with indigenous tribes right now, not back in the country.

The classroom wasn't far from the office, so Cen Xi didn't say anything more. When they arrived, she didn't go in herself, leaving the space for the two of them. She even stood by the door, asking other teachers returning from class to wait in the next office for a few minutes.

"Why are you here? Have you decided to divorce my dad and run away with me?" Gu Zhijing would never have guessed that his father was ill. Who thinks about their father getting sick out of the blue? So as soon as he saw Nian Suian, he started joking around.

Nian Suian didn't waste time and got straight to the point: "Your father is sick and needs a minor operation. I'm here to take you to see him. Don't worry, it's not a major surgery, it's a very, very small procedure. But I thought even for a small operation, we should go and keep him company, so I came to get you." Nian Suian spoke quickly, barely taking a breath, afraid of frightening Gu Zhijing.

"Surgery? What happened?" Despite Nian Suian's assurances that it wasn't serious, Gu Zhijing's face still changed color.