“I’ve heard that Old Man Du was partial toward his children. But I think he treats Mrs. Zhou pretty well.” Jiang Yao started chatting with Du Chen over the rolled-down car window.
“My aunt is his only daughter. Plus, she is not going after his inheritance as she married into the Zhou family, that’s why he loves her dearly. One wonders why she became the person she is today.” Du Chen explained, but one could not miss the sarcastic tone in his voice.
He laughed. “Well, to my grandfather, my father is the eldest son waiting to inherit all his wealth, while I’m the grandson who used to be the outstanding one in the family but eventually became a handicapped person that everyone felt sorry for. While he cared, albeit barely, for me, it all turned into annoyance as time went by.”
“What about Du Shixian?” Jiang Yao asked.
“To Old Man Du, he’s the exceptional, loyal and filial son, treating his father with patience and compassion. While he tolerated my father—his older brother who was always in conflict with him—for the harmony of the family and had only love and affection for me—the nephew who could never walk again.”
Jiang Yao was surprised. Du Chen told her everything bluntly, yet she could not find the words to console him.
Even though she did not like the Dus and the Zhous, she was indifferent when it came to Du Chen. The fact that he did not expose her identity as the Divine Doctor gave Jiang Yao more reasons to treat him a little better than the rest of his family.
“How much do you think Old Man Du is willing to compromise for Mrs. Zhou?” Jiang Yao was curious with the conversation going on some feet away. Old Man Du was the one talking and looked very distressed while Lu Xingzhi stood listening with the same emotionless face.
Jiang Yao’s assessment that Old Man Du loved Mrs. Zhou very much came not just from the fact that he came all the way from Jindo City to Jin City just to talk to Lu Xingzhi, but also from the fact that he made the trip even though he was gravely sick.
According to scans by the Medical System, Old Man Du had liver cirrhosis in its advanced stage.
Plus, he also had high blood pressure, a common illness among the elderly.
Even if his blood pressure had stabilized, without medication to control his liver cirrhosis, Old Man Du would not live more than a year or two.
If he were younger, a liver transplant might have been possible. However, he was too old for that now, with the surgery itself a very risky thing to do on his frail and weak body, not to mention the wait for a suitable liver.
He did not have much time.
Jiang Yao thought that for Old Man Du to get down from bed would already be an exhausting affair, but he was able to come all the way here just for Mrs. Zhou.
While Jiang Yao was pondering Old Man Du’s love for his foolish daughter, Du Chen was thinking about the question posted casually by Jiang Yao.
A few seconds later, he suddenly smiled. “Mrs. Lu, because of you and the fact that my aunt almost hurt you last time, Master Lu will never agree to anything my grandfather says.”