NOVPUB
Chapter 718: Chapter 718: At Most, Spend Some Money to Send to the Nursing Home When Old
"Si Xiaohui is still interested in you. It’s as clear as a louse on a bald head; anyone can see it. Listen to me, you should keep your distance from her. Otherwise, she’ll think she still has a chance and will keep throwing herself at you." Gu Hongwei would only feel triumphant when Si Xiaohui was being ignored.
Indeed, she knew that Gu Hongwei would never be interested in Si Xiaohui. However, seeing Si Xiaohui trying to please Gu Hongwei was enough to provoke her jealousy.
Realizing her feelings, Gu Hongwei laughed it off: "Don’t worry. I barely talked to her. Xiaohui is still stuck in her problematic thoughts. It’s unlikely she’ll ever change. That’s why Si Chen doesn’t want to bother with her anymore. You shouldn’t worry too much about it either."
Guo Jinnian huffed, "Obviously, Yaoyao told me. Si Chen only brought Si Xiaohui back because of Aunt Lin’s death, and once the seven-day mourning period is over, he will no longer be dealing with her issues."
Gu Hongwei took a deep breath and sighed: "If Xiaohui could repent, given time, Si Chen and Boyi may end up being less ruthless. At least, they would behave as normal relatives in public. If she does not change, I fear that Si Chen and Boyi will wash their hands off her."
"Given her temperament, I don’t think she can change her ways. When she grows old, she will have to face the consequences. Si Doctor and Tong Yao might have to financially support her. Ah, having such a sister is a misery."
Guo Jinnian was voicing his support for Si Chen and Tong Yao.
"When she grows old, the most we could do is to pay for her stay in a nursing home." Gu Hongwei added.
Meanwhile, Tong Yao and Si Chen were also discussing Si Xiaohui. Si Chen echoed Gu Hongwei’s thoughts.
"If nobody cares for her when she’s old, she would have to go to a nursing home."
Tong Yao advised: "Nursing homes are not happy places. The ones around here are not very friendly towards the elderly."
Si Chen pressed his lips together, "She has done so much evil in her youth. Suffering in her old age is nothing but karmic retribution."
Just like his mother. If she hadn’t done so many wrong things, she wouldn’t have ended up on a wheelchair for years because of a broken back, ultimately meeting such an end.
Seeing his expression, Tong Yao guessed that he was probably thinking about Lin Fengying.
If Lin Fengying hadn’t played around, she would be living joyfully in her old age, surrounded by her grandchildren. Achieving that wouldn’t have been impossible for Lin Fengying.
Not willing to dwell on such unhappy thoughts, Tong Yao changed the subject: "Boyi and Lijuan should be back tomorrow. After our meal, you should drop us off, and then go pick them up. It might not be very convenient if they have to take an ox-cart with their child."
"Okay." Si Chen agreed, looking at Tong Yao’s slightly tired face, he said with concern: "You’ve been working hard recently."
Tong Yao usually slept till she naturally woke up. She believed that sufficient sleep was vital for a woman’s health and beauty.
During her time at home, she had been bustling around daily, hardly getting enough sleep. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"What’s so hard about it? You’re the one who hasn’t had a moment’s rest. Once we’re done with things here, you’ll have to return to the hospital and get back to work. You haven’t rested properly. You should take better care of your health."
Si Chen’s surgeries were physically draining as they often lasted several hours, requiring focused concentration. That’s why he occasionally engaged in healthy exercises during his occasional breaks.
As a result, he had always enjoyed a robust physique.
"I am a doctor, so I always take good care of my health. It’s late, let’s get an early night. We have an early start tomorrow." Si Chen took off his clothes and got into bed, he fell asleep soon after holding Tong Yao in his arms. Knowing that he had been quite tired these past few days, Tong Yao also drifted off soon.
Early next morning, they all accompanied Guo Jinnian for her stitch removal at the hospital. The procedure went smoothly, and her wounds were healing quite well.
After the procedure, they went out for lunch with a senior official. During the meal, they discussed the road building initiative. Hearing that their intention was to help rural folks out of poverty, the official expressed his interest. He asked if they could also support others, who followed their example and planted fruit trees, by helping with the sales.
All of them shared the same view on this matter. They hadn’t even helped their village sell their produce yet. They heard that Cheng Feng was planning on buying a canning factory, so they could always sell their produce to him.
If other areas also started planting, they didn’t have the bandwidth to help with the sales. They had no intention of taking up such ungrateful tasks.
Plus, there was a lot of work still left to do in their village, and Tong Yao might have to stay in Li City for a while longer. If any of the other townships also started similar initiatives, they would have even more to deal with.
So they politely turned down the proposal. The official didn’t take any offense; he appreciated their efforts in funding the roadworks.
The food at lunch was great, but after the meal, Gu Hongwei paid the bill rather than letting the official foot it. Even though they had established quite a large operation in Kyoto and did not need to curry favor with local leaders, they decided to be thorough just to avoid any future hassles.
The official was rather distressed by this, as he had intended to entertain them using public funds. In the end, they had to pay. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, they finally returned home.
Afterwards, Si Chen drove back to town. After dropping off Tong Yao and the others, he picked up Si Boyi’s family.
As soon as he got into the car, Si Boyi asked: "Brother, has Xiaohui been causing trouble at home recently? She hasn’t stirred any trouble, has she?"
For the past few days, they had been worrying about Si Xiaohui causing troubles at home.
Si Chen shook his head. "She’s been quite well-behaved recently."
Si Boyi exhaled in relief, "Now that our mother’s gone, we’re no longer related to her. After the seventh day of mourning, she can go wherever she wants, and we shouldn’t interfere with her."
Si Chen murmured a quiet agreement.
Zhang Lijuan, who was in the backseat holding their child, looked at Si Chen’s silhouette and couldn’t help but sigh. Many years had passed. Si Boyi was starting to get grey hair, but Si Chen looked just as young as he did five years ago.
It seemed as if time had frozen on the faces of Si Chen and Tong Yao.
Si Boyi and she had both put on weight, while Tong Yao still maintained a youthful figure. Si Chen’s physique hadn’t changed at all. Looking back, even if Si Boyi had proposed to Tong Yao, she would’ve surely declined. Everyone agreed that he wasn’t deserving of her.
And she was not worthy of Si Chen.
Tong Yao and Si Chen were truly a match made in heaven. Had she married Si Chen, she probably would have lived in constant fear of losing him all these years.
