Gu Jianguo frowned, struggling to adapt to the sudden discomfort in his body.
For some reason, his head began to swell and throb again, and a mysterious force rippled through his heart, wave after wave...
When he returned to normal, he saw Gu Yiheng standing right beside him, holding his phone and about to dial for an ambulance.
"Dad, how are you feeling? Are you okay? I'll call right now and have an ambulance come over immediately..."
"Yiheng, Dad is fine!"
Hearing this, Gu Yiheng looked closely at Gu Jianguo and finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw his complexion return to normal.
"Dad, you really scared me just now..."
Gu Yiheng genuinely wanted to break up Gu Jianguo and Li Chunlan, but the premise was that Gu Jianguo had to be healthy and well.
He had felt uneasy inside just a moment ago, panicked and terrified, regretting that his good intentions had backfired and that he had insisted on buying some random pills for Gu Jianguo to take.
If his father's health really failed because of this and he ended up in the hospital, wouldn't he be the primary culprit?
If anything were to happen to Gu Jianguo, he would probably be consumed by guilt and regret it for the rest of his life!
"Dad, I was wrong. I shouldn't have bought those random pills from a livestream, and I shouldn't have tried to stop you and Aunt Li."
Gu Yiheng lowered his head, his tone extremely sincere. "If you two truly love each other, then I can let go. As long as you live a good life and are happy and at ease, I have nothing more to say."
"From now on, I promise I will never say a single bad word about Aunt Li again..."
Hearing these words from his son, Gu Jianguo felt a deep wave of emotion. He felt that he must have truly lost his mind. His son was clearly doing this for his own good, afraid that he would be swindled and cheated, which was why he had tried again and again to stop him.
Yet why had he been so unable to tell right from wrong, impervious to both reason and persuasion, pushing Gu Yiheng away so stubbornly and even throwing a tantrum by threatening to cut off ties with him!
Once a father, always a father. If he were to alienate his own flesh and blood for the sake of a woman he had known for less than a few months, he truly wouldn't deserve to be a father!
He would be failing the wife who had passed away many years ago, and he would be failing the biological child who truly cared for and cherished him.
"Yiheng, you weren't wrong... Dad was wrong."
Gu Jianguo's voice dropped significantly, filled with remorse.
"I don't know what got into me during this time. My mind hit a dead end and I just couldn't turn the corner."
"I know you all had my best interests at heart. It was just my own narrow-mindedness that misinterpreted your intentions. I apologize for everything I said to you earlier, Yiheng. Please don't take it to heart."
"No matter what, I am your father, and you will always be my son. No one can ever take your place..."
Hearing this, Gu Yiheng was both surprised and delighted.
Gu Jianguo was actually apologizing to him?
That shouldn't be right. Just a moment ago, he clearly hadn't even wanted to acknowledge him as a son, so why did his mind suddenly change like this?
He was utterly baffled, his mind filled with question marks.
What on earth was wrong with Gu Jianguo? His behavior had completely flipped from one extreme to the other!
A moment ago, he was a stubborn old man bewitched by Li Chunlan's honeyed words; the next moment, he was right back to the kind and gentle father Gu Yiheng had always known.
It was simply unbelievable!
Could it be that the Love-Curing Brain-Cleansing Pill had actually worked?
Was Gu Jianguo's infatuation instantly cured, restoring his rationality and bringing him back to his senses?
Unsure, Gu Yiheng tentatively asked him:
"Dad, what you're saying right now—you're not joking with me, are you?"
"Yiheng, every word I'm saying is the truth."
Thinking back on all the foolish things he had done over the past half year, one by one, Gu Jianguo was suddenly overwhelmed with shame.
He and Li Chunlan had known each other for less than half a year—how deep could their feelings possibly be?
It was nothing more than mutual exploitation, each taking what they needed.
Li Chunlan wanted his house, his savings, and his pension. By staying with him, she could live a stable and worry-free life, and her son and daughter could tag along for the benefits, gaining protection and something to lean on from then on.
As for Gu Jianguo, he liked that Li Chunlan was younger than him, quick-handed and nimble-footed, and smooth-talking. She was good at reading people's expressions and cooked delicious meals, pampering him until he was completely comfortable. His heart had softened, and he had fallen right into the trap.
Only now did he realize that Li Chunlan had dug a deep pit for him and was just waiting for him to willingly jump right in!
Back then, he had accused Gu Yiheng of trying to block his late-life happiness out of greed for money, but now he clearly realized that he and Li Chunlan would never have any kind of happy and wonderful old age.
If he really went and got a marriage license with Li Chunlan, she wouldn't just be a housekeeper anymore; she would become the mistress of the house. Her son and daughter could naturally and logically take over Gu Yiheng's room and gradually replace him in his heart...
Li Chunlan was like a gentle blade—every flash of steel was fatal!
"Jianguo, I'm back."
Li Chunlan had returned from the vegetable market. She carried a basket of groceries, her tone intimate and full of coquettishness.
"Come over here and give me a hand. I bought five pounds of potatoes, and they're so heavy!"
"Oh my, Yiheng is here too? Why didn't you let me know in advance!"
Glancing at Gu Yiheng, Li Chunlan deliberately spoke in a sarcastic tone: "If you hadn't given me a heads-up, I wouldn't have prepared any food for you..."
Before Gu Yiheng could reply, Gu Jianguo walked right up to Li Chunlan, inspected the vegetables she had just bought, and questioned her:
"You were at the market for half a day, and this is all you bought?"
"Winter melon, eggplant, green peppers, and potatoes—how come there isn't a single piece of meat!"
Li Chunlan was stunned; she hadn't expected this old man to start quibbling with her over such things.
"Jianguo, have you lost your mind? This is what we've been eating these past few days. Look at you—your constitution is weak, so you shouldn't be eating too much meat. Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you!"
"I give you thirty-five hundred yuan a month just for grocery money, yet all you ever buy are these cheap vegetables day in and day out! Where has the rest of the grocery money gone?"
Faced with Gu Jianguo's interrogation, Li Chunlan felt a surge of panic, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
Did this damn old man take the wrong medicine today?
Why is he refusing to let this go!
She spent less than five hundred yuan a month on groceries, and the rest of the money had all been used to subsidize her own son.
Usually, Gu Jianguo would just turn a blind eye—why was he starting to find fault with her now?
"Jianguo, is that really how you view me?"
Feigning grievance, Li Chunlan struggled to squeeze out a few tears.
"I've been taking care of you these past few days, busy from morning till night doing the laundry, cooking, pouring tea, and even coaxing you to take your medicine. Do you think it's easy for me?"
"Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I've certainly put in plenty of hard labor! How can you suspect me, and make a fool of me right in front of the child..."
Tearing off her apron with a pitiful expression, Li Chunlan said, "If that's really what you think of me, Jianguo, I'll leave right now and I won't take care of you ever again..."
"Leaving is fine, but we need to settle the accounts first!" Gu Jianguo put on his reading glasses and took out his phone.
"As my housekeeper, your monthly salary alone is eight thousand yuan, and that doesn't include the thirty-five hundred yuan in monthly grocery money, the eighteen hundred yuan holiday bonus, and the fifteen hundred yuan miscellaneous allowance..."
"Just how much money have you embezzled from all of this over the past few days? Let's calculate it clearly, item by item, right now. I worked as an accountant before I retired, and I have every single number crystal clear in my head!"
Hearing this, Li Chunlan was dumbfounded, completely out of her depth and utterly at a loss for how to handle the situation.
It's over—this damn old man is actually doing this for real?!