Chapter 7: How Could One Dare to Harbor Delusions About the Sheng Family?

"No!" Zhu Yuan's eyes turned red instantly.

How could they stop paying for Grandfather's medical expenses?

If the medical expenses were stopped, the hospital could not continue to treat Grandfather's illness, and Grandfather wouldn't even last a few months.

Her grandfather, who just a few days ago had held her hand and said that when he was discharged, he would make her favorite soybean paste noodles.

At the thought of Grandfather, Zhu Yuan's chest felt as if it had been pierced, aching, "No, you cannot stop the medical expenses!"

Feng Mingyue did not expect such a strong reaction from Zhu Yuan; she gripped Zhu Yuan's hand tightly, "Yuanyuan, be obedient. After all, he is not your biological grandfather. Our Zhu Family has already done our utmost by extending his life for a few months."

"Done your utmost?" Zhu Yuan murmured, looking at Feng Mingyue with bloodshot eyes.

She could not believe that such words had come from her own biological mother's mouth.

"If it weren't for the Zhu Family back then, I would have died on the side of the road long ago. To me, they provided not just the grace of upbringing, but the grace of saving my life. You clearly promised me before that as long as I married into the Lu Family to ward off bad luck, you would pay for Grandfather's medical expenses."

She had already agreed to them, so why were they breaking their word?

"You also said 'marry into the Lu Family to ward off bad luck,' but now Lu Huaizhan is dead, so there is no need to ward off bad luck. The Lu Family calling off the engagement is only a matter of time, and the cooperation with the Lu Family cannot continue either."

Speaking of this, Zhu Chaoqin said sternly, "The future of the Zhu Family is uncertain; where would we have the energy to care about an irrelevant person?"

"He is my grandfather, not an irrelevant person!" Zhu Yuan bit her lip, blood seeping out, making her small face look even paler.

"Have you forgotten what your surname is!" Zhu Chaoqin said sharply.

Feng Mingyue tugged at his sleeve and hurriedly advised, "Yuanyuan, you are a daughter of our Zhu Family. From now on, you will have no more ties with the Zhu Family. Forget about those people."

"That is my grandfather, how can I abandon him? Do you want the daughter of the Zhu Family to be a heartless, ungrateful wretch?"

"We have spent quite a lot of money on his treatment; we have already done our utmost! If you want more, Mom and Dad really have no way. If his illness never gets better, this bottomless pit—are you only satisfied if you bankrupt the entire Zhu Family for him!"

The more Feng Mingyue spoke, the more disappointed she felt in this daughter.

What is so good about the Zhu Family anyway? A sick grandfather and a brother in prison—what exactly is she after?

Zhu Yuan took a deep breath and said firmly, "Grandfather's illness will get better."

"You say it will get better, so it will? The Zhu Family did save your life, and we are very grateful to them, but I will not agree to you dragging the entire Zhu Family down with them." Zhu Chaoqin's face was cold and dark; he wondered why he hadn't realized before that Zhu Yuan was so unreasonable.

She was not a daughter raised by his side since childhood, after all; she had no consideration for her parents' difficulties.

"Dad, don't get so angry that it hurts your health." Zhu An'an pulled her father's hand, made him sit on the sofa, and patted his back gently with her palm.

Zhu Chaoqin's anger was extinguished by more than half instantly; he held Zhu An'an's hand in return.

Their An'an was still the most sensible and the most considerate.

Looking back at Zhu Yuan, who was pale on the hospital bed but insisted on helping outsiders, his anger flared up again.

He waved his hand, "In any case, we have decided. We have already paid for this month's medical expenses; for the future, there won't be a single cent."

This stance was not a discussion with Zhu Yuan from the start, but a notification.

Zhu Yuan was stunned.

It was already the end of the month.

Tears filled Zhu Yuan's reddened eyes; she blinked, her heart feeling suffocated.

What should she do? How could she save Grandfather?

She didn't care about warding off bad luck, and she didn't care about being treated like a tool by her biological parents; she only wanted to save Grandfather!

Seeing Zhu Yuan like this, Zhu An'an couldn't bear it. She looked at her parents in a dilemma, "Dad, is there really no other way? Although Grandfather Zhu is not Yuanyuan's biological grandfather, he watched her grow up. How could Yuanyuan have the heart to just give up like this?"

"How about..."

Zhu An'an seemed to have made a decision and said to Zhu Chaoqin, "I will take that Australian white pearl necklace to sell; it should be able to..."

"No!" Zhu Chaoqin interrupted Zhu An'an.

Hearing that she wanted to sell the necklace, Feng Mingyue hurriedly stopped her, "That was the eighteenth birthday gift Mom and Dad gave you; how can you just sell it?"

That Australian white pearl choker necklace was a rare treasure they had managed to find with great difficulty; it was the best coming-of-age gift for their precious daughter and had extraordinary significance.

An'an was even more reluctant to wear it except on important occasions and had always kept it carefully.

It was impossible to take it to save an irrelevant person.

"But what about Grandfather Zhu's illness?" Zhu An'an said anxiously, "If Grandfather Zhu is gone, Yuanyuan will blame herself and feel guilty for the rest of her life."

"Dad, please think of another way. Besides the Lu Family, is there no other path? What about the Sheng Family?"

"If our family could get help from the Sheng Family, let alone cooperation, if we could just climb up to that relationship, other families would look at us differently, and cooperation would naturally come to our door."

Zhu Yuan quietly clenched her fingers and gritted her teeth.

The Sheng Family.

Zhu Chaoqin sighed, "But the Zhu Family's current situation can't even secure cooperation with the Lu Family; how could we dare to harbor delusions about the Sheng Family?"

The inpatient department of the People's Hospital.

After Lu Huaizhan's funeral ended, Zhu Yuan still had two days of vacation; she sat obediently by the hospital bed peeling an apple.

"Why are you so well-behaved today?" The elderly man with gray hair and a kind face on the hospital bed looked at her with a smile.

Zhu Yuan feigned anger and glared at him, "Grandfather, the way you say that, it's as if I'm usually not well-behaved. I'm so obedient."

As she spoke, she cut a small slice of the peeled apple and handed it to Zhu Qi's mouth, "Taste it and see if it's sweet?"

Even though Zhu Qi couldn't eat anything at all now, he still opened his mouth with a smile and took a bite, chewing happily, "The apple peeled by my granddaughter is just sweet."

"I think it's your mouth that's the sweetest, Grandfather!" Zhu Yuan smiled and handed another slice of apple to the old man.

"You, you're getting more and more impudent."

Zhu Yuan put down the apple and the fruit knife, took the old man's arm, and leaned against his shoulder coquettishly, "It's because Grandfather spoiled me."

Zhu Qi sighed, "Are you used to being back at the Zhu Family? Are your parents treating you well?"

"They treat me very well."

Zhu Yuan picked up the apple and the fruit knife again, peeled a slice for herself, and stuffed it into her mouth.

It's not sweet.

It's even a bit sour.

"As long as they treat you well, I can rest easy." Zhu Qi raised his withered, thin hand to gently stroke the top of Zhu Yuan's head.

Zhu Yuan kept her head down, eating the apple, her eyes already brimming with tears.

She stuffed her mouth full of apple, her throat choking up, "I'll go get some water to drink."

Saying this, she picked up the thermos and hurried out of the hospital room.

By the time Zhu Yuan returned with the hot water, she heard the sound of vomiting coming from the washroom.

"Grandpa!"

Zhu Yuan dropped the thermos and rushed to the washroom door.

Perhaps afraid that the sound of vomiting would be heard, Zhu Qi had turned on the faucet.

Amidst the sound of rushing water, he did not hear Zhu Yuan's cry, nor did he notice Zhu Yuan standing outside the washroom, witnessing the scene of him vomiting up all the apple he had just eaten.

And, the blood mixed in with the apple.