Chapter 25: I Don’t Want to Know!

Saturday. Rain.

Fu Huan’s appointment with the psychologist was at 9 AM. The three of them got up early. Even Guan Yu, who was still asleep, hadn’t noticed an extra child in their dorm.

Gu Shiying and Fu Huan were tacitly complicit in not mentioning it. Guoguo didn’t speak anyway, so he came quietly and left quietly.

They found a breakfast place on the way and fed Guoguo.

A child who didn’t fuss, cry, or pick at his food was wonderful. He ate whatever he was given.

It started raining just as they left the house. There was only one umbrella in the car.

Gu Shiying was holding Guoguo. Fu Huan held the umbrella, angling it toward Gu Shiying and the child. The drizzle dampened Fu Huan’s left shoulder, but he seemed perfectly content.

Back in the car, Gu Shiying sat in the back with Guoguo, checking the child for any dampness. Falling sick would be his fault entirely.

A moment later, he suddenly asked Fu Huan, “Oh, right, did you bring Guoguo’s medical records?”

Fu Huan: “Got them.”

Gu Shiying immediately felt relieved.

Then a strange feeling hit him. The exchange just now with Fu Huan… felt disturbingly like an old married couple. Weren’t they right now acting exactly like a pair of parents taking their kid to the hospital?

Holy crap. Stop, brain. Stop adding drama to your and Fu Huan’s lives.

The psychologist Fu Huan had scheduled was at a private clinic, but not the tiny, hole-in-the-wall type Gu Shiying had imagined. It occupied an entire floor of a high-rise building in the capital city where every inch of land was worth a fortune.

Gu Shiying felt a bit nervous. He voiced his immediate thought to Fu Huan. “I was imagining a doctor at a top-tier public hospital.”

Fu Huan explained, “Dr. Jiang used to be at a top-tier hospital. He later left to open his own private practice.”

Gu Shiying: “Then he must be quite impressive to go solo.”

Fu Huan: “You’ll understand once you meet him.”

The reception nurse saw them and looked at Fu Huan. “Mr. Fu…”

Fu Huan, standing behind Gu Shiying, shook his head slightly. The nurse changed her phrasing. “Do you two have an appointment?”

Fu Huan: “Yes.”

The nurse gave a polite smile. “Please follow me.”

She didn’t even wait before leading them to a warmly decorated, spacious room. A nameplate on a desk read ‘Dr. Jiang,’ accompanied by a few sleek, stylish decor pieces.

The moment they sat down, someone brought in tea and snacks. The atmosphere was like basking in sunlight. Even Guoguo seemed to relax.

Gu Shiying didn’t touch the refreshments, but Fu Huan casually lifted the black coffee served to him and took a sip.

Soon, a bespectacled man, appearing around thirty, walked in. He had a proper appearance, dressed in a black shirt and black trousers—clean and neat. He was also quite tall, almost matching Fu Huan.

Dr. Jiang walked up to Fu Huan. “You made it.”

“Yeah.” Standing next to him, Gu Shiying realized Fu Huan was still a bit taller.

Dr. Jiang’s smile had an affable quality, tall but without an oppressive aura.

He smiled and asked Gu Shiying, “Young man, what’s your name?”

Gu Shiying: “Dr. Jiang, hello. I’m Gu Shiying, and this is Guoguo.”

“Nice to meet you both. Fu Huan told me about Guoguo.” As he spoke, Dr. Jiang crouched in front of Guoguo and produced a toy, seemingly out of thin air. “Guoguo, a little gift for you.”

Dr. Jiang’s interaction with Guoguo was essentially a preliminary diagnosis, assessing his responsiveness, his perception of the outside world, and whether it was a genuine case of autism.

Guoguo did react, giving Dr. Jiang decent responses. However, he seemed to glance back at Gu Shiying and Fu Huan from time to time, unconsciously showing his dependence on them.

Dr. Jiang added, “He reacts to external stimuli. He can start treatment here with me. However, you’re not his legal guardians. Next time, it would be best to have a guardian present.”

Gu Shiying explained, “He only has his grandmother. She injured her leg and couldn’t come, but she should be able to next time.”

Dr. Jiang nodded. “I think his receptiveness to the outside world is acceptable. You can try taking him out more to interact with children his own age. His condition seems to be post-traumatic stress. Intervening with more social and family activities to dilute the memories… I’m confident he can reach a normal child’s level.”

His words were like a reassuring pill for Gu Shiying. “That’s wonderful.”

Dr. Jiang turned to Fu Huan. “Today was just an initial session and diagnosis. I’ll draft a treatment plan based on his condition.”

Gu Shiying understood. They weren’t Guoguo’s parents, after all. A guardian’s involvement was still necessary. But this was enough for now.

The initial consultation ended.

As Gu Shiying thought they should leave, Dr. Jiang called out to Fu Huan.

“Fu Huan, wait. I’d like a quick word with you.”

Gu Shiying looked at Fu Huan. “Then Guoguo and I will wait for you outside.”

Dr. Jiang arranged for someone to escort Gu Shiying and Guoguo to a waiting room.

Gu Shiying wasn’t sure what Dr. Jiang and Fu Huan would discuss, but he sensed their relationship wasn’t as simple as he’d thought. They seemed quite familiar.

If they were already acquainted, that explained the free treatment for Guoguo.

Unable to guess their connection, Gu Shiying took Guoguo to the restroom first, then returned to the waiting room.

The waiting room’s layout was also designed for relaxation, even featuring a children’s play area. Guoguo was drawn to the building blocks. Gu Shiying settled him in the block area to play, then pulled out his phone to research autism-related information. He’d barely read halfway when he heard an argument escalating outside, loud enough to be disruptive.

Gu Shiying didn’t know when Fu Huan would emerge. He hadn’t closed the waiting room door and wanted to shut it to shield Guoguo from the noise.

Just as he reached the door, he saw a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair slap a nurse hard on the shoulder.

Smack!

“I’ve spent so much money here! Why isn’t my son showing any response at all!”

“What famous doctor! It’s all a scam!”

“Give me my money back!”

“Get your Dr. Jiang out here to face me! My son cut his wrist again and is hospitalized! He wasn’t this bad before coming here! How come his condition has worsened after psychological counseling here? This place is a complete fraud! A quack who only makes people sicker! No medical ethics whatsoever, and your fees are outrageous! Anyone who just started coming here, run, quick!”

The woman screamed as she headed straight for Dr. Jiang’s consultation room. Fu Huan was still inside.

Gu Shiying glanced at Guoguo, absorbed in stacking blocks. He closed the door first.

The nurse who’d been hit had red-rimmed eyes, but professionally, she stepped forward to intervene.

“Ms. Tang, Dr. Jiang is with a patient. Could you please calm down first? Dr. Jiang will be right out.”

“I don’t care if he’s with a patient! I want an explanation right now! My son is in the hospital, fighting for his life! Pay up!”

Gu Shiying noted she was demanding compensation, not a cure. Her intentions were rather transparent. But taking her anger out on others was wrong. The nurse had been slapped for no reason.

This Ms. Tang clearly knew where Dr. Jiang’s office was and headed straight for it.

The clinic’s doctors and nurses were busy with their own tasks, and no one was quick enough to stop her in time.

Gu Shiying said to the male nurse nearby, “Call security!”

The male nurse, his eyes red, replied, “They’re downstairs helping with a delivery, haven’t come back up yet.”

As Ms. Tang was about to storm the consultation room, Gu Shiying saw her raise her hand again toward the nurse, ready to deliver another iron palm. Gu Shiying intercepted, blocking the hand aimed at the nurse.

“Ma’am, my friend is in there. Please don’t disturb them.”

“Mind your own damn business! Get out of my way if you know what’s good for you!”

“Let go, or I’ll sue you for sexual harassment!”

Gu Shiying had never met such an unreasonable person. He released her hand anyway, and the nurse managed to step out of range.

Although he’d let go of this shrewish Ms. Tang, Gu Shiying heard her inner voice.

【I know exactly what my son is like. He’s incurable. Every psychologist who treats him will just become another cash cow for our family. We can extort a big payout every time.】

Just as Ms. Tang was about to charge forward again, the young man she’d threatened didn’t back off as she’d expected.

Gu Shiying still stood in her way. “You’re here to extort money, aren’t you? Your son can’t be cured. As for why, you know best yourself.”

He could only hear her most urgent desires. The specifics of how Ms. Tang manipulated her son’s illness weren’t in the inner voice.

Her inner scheme suddenly called out by Gu Shiying, Ms. Tang was thrown off. “What nonsense are you spouting? Are you saying I’m joking about my son’s illness?”

Gu Shiying kept his distance. “Whether that’s the case, I don’t know. But your current behavior looks a lot like trying to extort Dr. Jiang.”

Having her motives exposed, Ms. Tang tried to appear calm, sneering. “Ha! He charged me such exorbitant fees—consultation, registration—and my son’s symptoms only worsened. Me, extort him? Young man, if you’re clueless, get lost!”

She swung at Gu Shiying, seemingly back in a fit of rage. Her long fingernails nearly grazed his face.

Scary indeed.

Just then, the door behind him suddenly opened. Two tall men stood in the doorway.

One was Dr. Jiang. The other was a young man who looked indifferent but radiated a palpable killing intent.

Ms. Tang, nearly 1.7 meters tall, visibly wilted, taking a frightened step back.

Dr. Jiang, usually good-natured, had now shed his gentle bedside manner. “Ms. Tang, let’s sit down and talk about this calmly.”

Ms. Tang’s arrogant, unreasonable bluster weakened. She could barely string a sentence together.

“Dr… Dr. Jiang, my son cut himself again. Your treatment was ineffective. You have to compensate me!”

Dr. Jiang hadn’t intended to discuss a patient’s case publicly, but he’d heard Gu Shiying’s earlier rebuttal to the woman.

Without Gu Shiying’s words, he might very well have believed her today, might even have been successfully extorted.

Having built his own private practice, Dr. Jiang wasn’t someone to be easily bullied.

“Have you been giving your son his medication on time? I recall Xiao Wu telling me last week that your son ran out of his prescription a week ago, but you never came to pick up this week’s supply. That means he’s been off his medication for a week. His condition was already severe. With you not following medical advice like this, it puts us in a difficult position.”

At that moment, Fu Huan stepped out from behind Dr. Jiang and came to Gu Shiying’s side. In a low voice, he said, “Let’s go.”

The clinic matters were for Dr. Jiang to handle himself. There was no need for them to get overly involved.

Gu Shiying: “Mm. Guoguo’s still in the waiting room.”

Fu Huan frowned, looking at him with displeasure. “Did you almost get clawed just now? Don’t be such a busybody next time.”

Gu Shiying shot back, “How was I being a busybody? Didn’t you see that nurse got slapped? Seeing it and not helping would be wrong. Besides, Guoguo’s getting free treatment. It’s nothing.”

Fu Huan sighed softly in exasperation and gave him a thumbs-up. “Next time I’m not around, don’t charge in. Who knows what kind of people you’ll encounter. You need to weigh the situation.”

Gu Shiying: “Why are you lecturing me again?”

“You deserve to be lectured. Wherever there’s danger, there you are, Great Philanthropist Gu.” Fu Huan wasn’t really trying to be harsh, but seeing Gu Shiying repeatedly put himself in harm’s way while doing good deeds made his tone stricter.

Gu Shiying understood his point, but he kept running into these negative people. He couldn’t help it.

“It was just a coincidence.”

“Call me next time. At least I’m better at fighting than you. Minimizes the damage.”

“We’ll see.”

Gu Shiying didn’t dare agree. What was Fu Huan’s intention toward him? If this kept up, would Fu Huan eventually corner him into some ‘repaying kindness with his body’ scenario? No way!

He still owed three meals. Why not settle one of those debts now, since they were out?

Gu Shiying: “Let me treat you to lunch.”

Fu Huan paused for a second. “I’ll drop you and Guoguo off later. I have something at noon, so I can’t have lunch with you.”

Gu Shiying naturally asked, “What’s up?” The moment he asked, he wanted to slap his own mouth. You and your big mouth.

Fu Huan: “My mom asked me to come home for lunch.”

“Your family is local?” Gu Shiying only now learned Fu Huan was a native of the capital. Fu Huan was so low-key; he’d always assumed he was from out of town.

“Yeah.” Fu Huan didn’t elaborate on his family situation.

Fu Huan dropped Guoguo back at Grandma Lin’s house and relayed Dr. Jiang’s request for a guardian to be present next time. Afterward, Gu Shiying asked Grandma Lin how many jars of chili sauce she could produce in a week. He and his classmates could help promote it. Grandma Lin agreed, even offering them a cut of the sales.

On the way back, Gu Shiying started drafting a WeChat Moments post to promote Grandma Lin’s chili sauce.

He had just typed “leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips” when Fu Huan suddenly called his name.

Fu Huan: “Gu Shiying.”

Gu Shiying: “Yeah?”

Fu Huan produced a box adorned with blue floral patterns from somewhere and handed it over. “For you.”

Gu Shiying froze for a moment. His first instinct was to refuse. “I can’t accept a gift for no reason. Why are you giving me this?”

Fu Huan’s face remained impassive. He grabbed Gu Shiying’s hand and pressed the gift firmly into his palm. “It’s an apprenticeship gift. You have to accept.”

Such a grand, righteous excuse—if Gu Shiying hadn’t felt the scorching heat from his wrist, transmitting Fu Huan’s inner voice.

【Gu Shiying, I want to pursue you. Do you know?】

Fu Huan quickly released Gu Shiying’s hand, but Gu Shiying remained frozen, hands still cupped around the gift.

He looked at the gift, again and again. “… “

Damn it, Fu Huan. I don’t want to know!