Gu Nianzhi narrowed her eyes and looked up at the main building of the private hospital. She clicked her tongue and said, “So impressive. I guess you can say that this is one of the richer families around here, right?”
The main building was very unique. It looked like a shining silver knife with a long handle that rose from the ground.
He Zhichu put his hand gently on her shoulder and led her to the hospital entrance. He said nonchalantly, “They may be rich, but they are not deeply rooted in history. They’ve been around for only a few decades; they can’t compare to other families.”
“Really? Then they must have relied on your family to gain a foothold on the capital, right?” Gu Nianzhi stepped aside and quietly moved away from He Zhichu’s hand.
He Zhichu understood her intentions and didn’t insist. He simply put his hands in his pockets and strolled along, casually saying, “The Qin family’s roots are in the south. If the Qin family stomps their feet in the Z City Special District, the special district will tremble. However, if they came to the capital, they won’t be powerful enough. Here, money alone is useless.”
The two chatted along the way and arrived at the hospital’s main entrance.
There were security guards standing guard here, and all entries and exits were strictly monitored.
Gu Nianzhi looked around curiously and asked, “Why are there so many security guards at the entrance of the hospital? The security is so tight, it looks like a prison.”
He Zhichu registered himself at the guard booth at the entrance and signed his name. Without looking up, he said, “It’s to prevent violence against doctors.”
Gu Nianzhi replied, “…”
“That happens here?” She was very surprised. In the world she had come from, “violence against doctors” was already a historical term.
It had once been prevalent throughout the country, but after the passing of strict legislation to protect the legal rights and interests of doctors and patients, and especially strict enforcement of the law that was no longer lenient towards such cases, violence against doctors gradually disappeared.
He Zhichu’s hand paused, and he put down the pen. He looked back at Gu Nianzhi, his almond-shaped eyes twinkling. “Nianzhi, this is different from the other side you’ve been to.”
“It is different.” Gu Nianzhi almost counted with her fingers, “Look, the biggest and best hospital on your side is a private hospital, for example this famous Qin private hospital. On our side, the best hospital is a public hospital; the price is fair, and the quality of the doctors is high; it’s better than your side.”
He Zhichu sneered. “What do you mean by ‘your side’? You are clearly from our side. Don’t get it wrong.”
As the two of them talked, they followed the head nurse who had come out to welcome them.
That head nurse was in her forties. She was very warm to He Zhichu and said with a smile, “Has Young Master He come to see Director Qin?”
He Zhichu nodded. “How is Aunt Qin? Has her injury gotten better?”
The head nurse nodded and shook her head. The smile on her face faded. “How should I put it? Her life is not in danger, but both her hands are crippled. It is a huge blow to both Director Qin herself and our Qin Hospital.”
Gu Nianzhi blushed when she heard that. She put her hands behind her back and twirled her fingers uncomfortably. She asked quietly, “… she can’t be the only doctor in your hospital who can perform surgeries, right?”
“Yes, she’s not the only brain surgeon, but she’s the reason why our Qin hospital is so famous. If she’s crippled, it’ll be a huge loss for our hospital,” The head nurse finished her sentence and only then realized that it was the woman next to He Zhichu who was asking the question. She asked curiously, “This is…”
He Zhichu put his hand on Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder again and said in an especially intimate and familiar manner, “She’s Gu Nianzhi.”
“AH?!” The head nurse was shocked and stuttered, “Gu… Gu Nianzhi?! Is it really that Nianzhi? Director Qin’s biological daughter?! Didn’t she… go missing?!”
The head nurse almost said the words “Burned to death”, but just as she was about to say them, she changed her words.
Because He Zhichu hadn’t introduced Gu Nianzhi, the head nurse had thought that Gu Nianzhi was just a woman He Zhichu had brought with him and didn’t take her seriously.
Now that she heard He Zhichu claim that she was Gu Nianzhi, who had gone missing seven years ago, she immediately wanted to kneel down and worship her.
This girl’s background was not small at all!
The people who had joined this hospital in recent years did not know, but this head nurse had stayed in this hospital for almost her entire life. She had started her internship at the Qin Hospital as a young nurse.
She knew a lot of things.
Gu Nianzhi was not only the biological daughter of Qin Yaoguang and Gu Xiangwen, but also He Zhichu’s fiancée, the apple of the He family’s eye.
She looked Gu Nianzhi up and down and said with a sigh, “I didn’t expect you to be so grown up and so beautiful. You look so much like Director Qin, especially that cute little mouth of yours.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and started to coax information out of her. “Oh? Have you seen me when I was young?”
“Not just when you were young,” The head nurse made a gestured with some emotion. “I’ve even seen you when you were just born!”
She smiled and gestured, “When Director Qin was giving birth, I was the one who assisted with the delivery. I saw your birth with my own eyes. You were so red that you looked like a little monkey. According to the old saying, if a new born child was red, she would definitely grow to become especially white in the future. See, the old saying is right. You’re so white, as white as snow.”
Gu Nianzhi’s heart sank, and the smile on her face disappeared.
“Haha, Is that so? You saw me being born with your own eyes? Was I really… born to Ms. Qin?” Gu Nianzhi asked tentatively. “Was it in this hospital?”
“Yes. It’s in the delivery room on the sixteenth floor here,” The head nurse nodded and led them to a private elevator in the hospital building.
The elevator went straight up to the eighteenth floor. It was the VIP ward where Qin Yaoguang and Wen Shouyi were recovering from their injuries.
The eighteenth floor was the highest floor, and there were only six super luxurious suites on the entire floor.
Soon, the elevator stopped on the eighteenth floor. The elevator doors opened, and the head nurse walked out with He Zhichu and Gu Nianzhi towards Qin Yaoguang’s ward.
Pushing open the door to the ward, they saw a small living room with an exquisite round sofa, a hardwood coffee table, and a mahogany pot stand with a pot of exquisite succulents on it.
The head nurse pointed to the inner room door and said, “Director Qin is recuperating inside.”
She walked over and knocked on the door. “Director Qin, Young Master He and Miss Gu are here to see you.”
There was a rustling sound of conversation inside, but the sound stopped after the head nurse knocked on the door.
A while later, the door was pulled open from the inside. A tall and handsome man stood behind the door. “Young Master He, you’re here.”
This man was none other than Qin Zhining.
Gu Nianzhi was surprised. “Brother Little Ning, why are you here?”
“I’m here to visit Shouyi,” Qin Zhining did not look at her kindly. He ignored her and pulled the door to the side.
He Zhichu held Gu Nianzhi’s hand and walked in together.
If it weren’t for the very high-tech hospital bed, this room would not have looked like a hospital ward at all.
The black and white striped window screens were neatly arranged across the entire French window.
Looking out from the French windows, one could see the gorgeous and spacious skyline of the imperial capital. It was completely unobstructed and resonated with the ancient imperial city from afar.
Gu Nianzhi sighed lightly. She had only experienced such a beautiful scene only in Speaker Long’s senate building over there.
The location chosen for the Qin hospital was truly a wonderful spot…
“Young Master He is here,” Wen Shouyi slowly stood up.
Her hand that was shot was wrapped in a bandage and it hung around her neck. Qin Zhining carefully held her other hand.
He Zhichu’s gaze swept across her arm and nodded. “Has the bullet been extracted?”
“It’s out,” Wen Shouyi quickly said. “It’s only a minor injury. The doctor said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help rolling her eyes.
He Zhichu had shot her wrist off, but there was no trace of resentment.
What an innocent and pure saint!
Qin Zhining frowned. “How is it nothing serious? It’s a gunshot wound!”
“I’m fine. Look at how worried you are.” Wen Shouyi looked at Qin Zhining; she was gentler. She even used her other uninjured hand to wipe the sweat off Qin Zhining’s forehead.
Qin Zhining held her hand and kissed it.
The two of them looked at each other almost lovingly.
Gu Nianzhi, on the other hand, sucked in a breath of cold air. She finally understood how Wen Shouyi had hidden her feelings from He Zhichu.
Gu Nianzhi quickly glanced at He Zhichu.
She noticed that he wasn’t looking in the direction of Wen Shouyi and Qin Zhining at all. He was looking at Qin Yaoguang, who was lying on the hospital bed, and asked, “Aunt Qin, how’s your hand?”
Qin Yaoguang replied plainly, “It’s not life-threatening, but my hand is crippled.”
He Zhichu didn’t say anything. He just stared quietly at the scenery outside the French window, lost in thought.
Gu Nianzhi hesitated for a moment, but still walked up to him and asked seriously, “Miss Qin, I heard from Wen Shouyi that you’re my biological mother? Is that true?”
Qin Yaoguang looked at her and said very indifferently, “Yes, I’m your biological mother, but I’ve never treated you as my biological daughter. I’m not interested in the whole ‘kind mother and filial daughter’ thing, so don’t come to pretend anymore.”
Gu Nianzhi had been mentally preparing for this for a long time, but she hadn’t expected this situation.
She hadn’t expected Qin Yaoguang to really not care about her as a daughter; she didn’t even try to hide her lack of concern.
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips. She was disappointed, angry, and a little sad.
However, she didn’t show it on her face. She said calmly, “Really? Even though you’re not interested in the ‘filial piety of a mother and daughter’ thing, you don’t have to say it as though I’m very interested.”
Qin Yaoguang raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you here?”
Gu Nianzhi shrugged. “I don’t want people to casually assign me a mother, so I have to investigate and prove that ‘my mother is my mother’.”
“What nonsense,” Qin Yaoguang finally showed some emotion. “You mean you don’t believe that I’m your biological mother?”
Gu Nianzhi looked at her, her expression even more indifferent than hers. “How do you prove that you’re my mother? Of course you can’t just say that and expect it to be proof.”
Qin Yaoguang shook her head. “I didn’t expect you to be so stubborn. You’re just as stubborn as your father.”
“Aunt Qin, please don’t be angry. Nianzhi just can’t accept it right now,” Wen Shouyi walked over as she held on to Qin Zhining’s arm and comforted Qin Yaoguang amicably. “Her words aren’t nice, but she’s actually very kind and doesn’t mean any harm.”
Wen Shouyi pressed the button on the hospital bed casually, and the head of the hospital bed slowly lifted up. Qin Yaoguang went from a lying to a sitting position.
“Thank you, Shouyi,” Qin Yaoguang nodded at her, then she said to Gu Nianzhi, “It’s understandable that you’re suspicious. I have some evidence here. The paternity and maternity test, the birth certificate, the pregnancy and childbirth videos. I originally planned to use them for the custody lawsuit against your father, Gu Xiangwen. But after he became a wanted criminal, I didn’t need it anymore. You can see it if you want.”
“Custody lawsuit?” Gu Nianzhi was slightly startled. “What custody lawsuit?”
“Of course it’s over you,” Qin Yaoguang looked at her with a fake smile. “You were a popular child when you were young. Your crazy father tried every means to take you away. He couldn’t get his way through the proper legal channels, so he had to resort to underhanded methods!”
