The moment she saw the person before her, Fang Wanrong was reminded of her past nightmares.
Yes, the seemingly gentle and kind-hearted Grandma Sang was Fang Wanrong’s worst nightmare.
She still remembered when she had just married Sheng Xinhao. Overwhelmed with excitement and joy, she had been in a hurry to get rid of Sheng Zexi to clear the way for her future son.
As a result, she had gone too far in her actions against Sheng Zexi, nearly costing him half his life.
Of course, despite what she had done, she had kept her hands clean—so clean that even Sheng Xinhao firmly believed her innocence. He even thought that Sheng Zexi had deliberately harmed himself to frame his stepmother.
But Grandma Sang, Sheng Zexi’s grandmother, stood firmly by her grandson’s side.
She took Sheng Zexi to the Sang family and shielded him fiercely.
She even personally intervened to make Fang Wanrong’s life miserable. Though there was no evidence, the old woman was convinced of Fang Wanrong’s guilt and relentlessly targeted her.
That incident had nearly cost Fang Wanrong half her life as well.
From then on, Fang Wanrong had feared the old woman of the Sang family and completely restrained herself.
Over the years, though they both lived in the capital, Fang Wanrong had avoided the Sang family’s matriarch whenever possible.
Yet now, she had unexpectedly run into her again.
Fang Wanrong instinctively felt her courage waver.
And in the next moment, when she heard the doctor she had invited call the old woman “Grandma” and act intimately with her, Fang Wanrong’s eyes widened in shock.
Who could call the Sang family’s matriarch “Grandma”?
Aside from Sheng Zexi, the only other person would be his wife.
So this female doctor before her was…
“You… you are…”
Gu Jianing, seeing Fang Wanrong’s realization, blinked innocently and gave her the confirmation. “Mrs. Sheng, Sheng Zexi is my husband.”
Fang Wanrong’s nails dug into her palms as she barely suppressed a gasp—it really was her!
Grandma Sang, meanwhile, glared at Fang Wanrong with clear displeasure. “What are you doing here? Planning more mischief?”
Under Grandma Sang’s hostile gaze, Fang Wanrong stumbled back several steps before fleeing in panic, as if chased by a dog.
“Ningning, are you alright? Did she hurt you?” Grandma Sang asked worriedly. “Oh, you might not know, but she’s that sweet-faced, venomous-hearted stepmother of Xiaoxi’s…”
Gu Jianing quickly shook her head. “Grandma, I’m fine…” She then recounted how Fang Wanrong had just tried to invite her to treat Sheng Xinhao.
“Hmph! That old man is sick? Probably a lie. Ningning, don’t fall for it. Don’t let yourself be fooled. If you see these people again, just pretend you don’t know them and stay far away.”
“Mm, Grandma, I understand.” Though Gu Jianing suspected that Sheng Xinhao might genuinely be ill and in need of treatment, she certainly wouldn’t rush to his aid.
“Grandma, let’s go back.”
“Alright. Are you hungry? How about we eat at the state-run restaurant first? We can head home after.”
“Sounds good.”
…
Fang Wanrong practically stumbled back home in a disheveled state.
At home, Sheng Xinhao was waiting impatiently—his arm pain had flared up again, and it was becoming unbearable. He had been counting on the doctor arriving soon to treat him.
But after waiting for hours, only Fang Wanrong returned alone.
“Where’s Dr. Gu?” Sheng Xinhao asked.
Fang Wanrong’s expression was grim. “She didn’t come.”
“What happened? Did you not go to invite her, or did she refuse?”
“How could I not have gone? When I arrived, there wasn’t even a seat available. I stood there waiting for hours—my legs are killing me. I can barely stand now!” Fang Wanrong immediately complained about her ordeal.
“So, the doctor refused to come?” Sheng Xinhao raised an eyebrow, his face darkening.
“Darling, you’ll never guess who Dr. Gu is! She’s actually that rural woman Zexi married—Gu Jianing!”
The moment these words left her mouth, the living room fell into dead silence.
Sheng Xinhao’s expression shattered instantly.
It took him a long moment to recover before he finally said, “Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? How is that possible?”
Sheng Xinhao refused to believe it. Absolutely refused.
The woman Sheng Zexi had married was a country bumpkin—in his eyes, an uneducated, talentless, and backgroundless peasant.
How could she possibly be the highly skilled medical expert, the sole disciple of Old Master Chen, a celebrated doctor with numerous honors?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
But no matter how much he refused to believe it, Fang Wanrong shattered his last shred of denial.
“Darling, why would I lie to you? It’s really her. I’d never seen her before, but she admitted it herself. And Grandma Sang was with her, so…”
So, there was no way she could have mistaken her identity.
Honestly, she wished she had been wrong—then at least she wouldn’t have been humiliated like this.
At this point, Sheng Xinhao also remembered something.
Earlier that morning, when he went to confront that country woman, she had mentioned she was going out for “important business.”
At the time, Sheng Xinhao had scoffed—what important business could a village girl possibly have in the capital?
But if she really was Dr. Gu, then her “important business” was giving that lecture at the Capital Middle School. And that was indeed important.
Then, another detail he had overlooked suddenly struck him.
His old friend had mentioned that Dr. Gu had come to the capital from the Northwest Military District.
And hadn’t that country woman followed his eldest son to the Northwest as a military spouse?
Now, she was also in the capital.
Not to mention, his friend had clearly said the doctor’s name was Gu Jianing.
It was the exact same name as that rural woman.
Why had he never considered they might be the same person?
But how could a country bumpkin possibly be such a renowned medical expert?
Yet no matter how much he resisted the truth, the facts were staring him in the face. He had no choice but to accept it.
“Tsk—”
Just then, another sharp pain shot through his arm, making Sheng Xinhao suck in a sharp breath. His face instantly turned pale.
“Darling, are you okay…?” Fang Wanrong noticed his discomfort and immediately rushed over.
“This won’t do. We need to call a doctor.”
With that, she went to phone their usual physician.
Meanwhile, Sheng Xinhao, wracked with pain, collapsed onto the sofa.
The memory of his arrogant words to Gu Jianing that morning flashed through his mind, making his expression twist as if he had swallowed something vile.
No.
He, Sheng Xinhao, would never go back on his word.
Even if the pain killed him, even if his hand was crippled, he would never lower his head to beg that country woman for treatment!
It was fine. It wasn’t like she was the only skilled doctor in the world.
Hadn’t his trusted connection in the railway department mentioned they were close to tracking down that acupuncture master’s identity?
He would never seek out Gu Jianing!
He could find someone else to treat him!
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