After a blind date, a wealthy heir asked me to marry him.

Inside a hospital ward.

Lu Shuyao was chatting with her mother, who was sitting next to her, and occasionally she would laugh out loud.

Mr. Lu sat not far away, looking at his phone for a while, then glancing at his wife and daughter chatting and laughing. As his daughter's mood improved day by day, he finally felt relieved.

After a period of rest, Lu Shuyao's body has almost recovered, and her emotions have also stabilized.

As long as her in-laws or husband are not mentioned, her mood is generally stable and does not fluctuate much.

In fact, Lu Shuyao never quite understood how her in-laws managed to visit her almost every day at the same time.

Although she treated her in-laws the same way she always did in front of her parents, she knew in her heart that she was pretending, and so were her in-laws.

She vividly remembers overhearing the nurses whispering among themselves during her hospitalization.

"Sigh, you know, the patient in bed number eight is really lucky. If it weren't for Dr. Zeng Huizhen, she probably would have been in serious trouble."

"Are you talking about Lu Shuyao? I was right there at the time. It was indeed very dangerous. But her in-laws were the real oddballs. The woman was about to die, and they were still making a scene at the hospital, arguing about whether to have a C-section or a natural birth. They didn't care at all whether the woman was alive or dead. Later, when their dream of having a grandson was shattered, they just left. Their daughter-in-law was in surgery and her life was hanging in the balance, and they didn't even glance at her."

"Sigh, so she's not their biological daughter after all. They treat her like this when it comes to matters of life and death. Their daily life must be even more chaotic. Sigh, if I were to marry into a family like that, I'd rather never get married in my life."

"Exactly, and her husband too. He's obviously a mama's boy. His mother says everything. His wife is almost dying, but he's not worried at all and doesn't say a word. It's unbelievable."

"To put it bluntly, it's just that they don't love each other. If a woman gets married and her in-laws don't care for her and her husband doesn't love her, then that marriage is practically like entering a tomb."

…………

Lu Shuyao, who had planned to sneak out for some fresh air while her parents were away, returned to her hospital bed and lay there in a daze for a very long time.

This time she didn't cry, or perhaps she couldn't cry.

Thinking about the attitudes of her in-laws and husband after her surgery, she felt as if her soul had been ripped out, leaving her feeling empty inside and out.

In the following days, Lu Shuyao acted as usual in public, chatting and laughing, giving the impression that her physical and mental state was gradually improving.

But when she's alone, she's like a puppet in a game whose pause button has been pressed, and she immediately falls into a daze with blank eyes.

As for her in-laws' visit, she felt it was extremely hypocritical and even admired their acting skills.

Perhaps, once a gap develops between people, they become exceptionally perceptive.

Their pretense remained unchanged, but she could no longer feel any sincerity or affection from them.

Lu Shuyao looked at her parents in the ward, whose hair was already a little gray. They had worked hard for her for half their lives, and she couldn't let them worry about her anymore.

She held Lu's mother's hand tightly by the hospital bedside, listening to her mother chatter in her hometown dialect, and gradually, happy memories of the four of them being together when she was a child appeared in her mind.

Suddenly, with a thud, the phone in Lu's father's hand fell to the ground at the foot of the hospital bed, interrupting her thoughts.

Mr. Lu rubbed his head vigorously, then looked at his somewhat startled wife and daughter, and said with a little embarrassment, "I'm getting old, I really can't look at my phone for too long. I didn't notice, and I even dropped it."

He picked up his phone from the ground and said, "I went out for a walk, and my eyes got blurry from looking at my phone so much."

Lu Shuyao replied with a smile, "Dad, don't wander too far."

Mr. Lu nodded and then left the ward.

Lu's mother looked at the door with some worry by the bedside. After thinking for a moment, she said to her daughter, "It's almost lunchtime. Your dad and I will go and buy some food on the way back."

After saying that, he left the ward.

Lu's mother caught up with Lu's father, and the two sat together on a bench in an open space in the hospital.

"Her dad, did your head start hurting again?"

Mr. Lu touched his head. "No, I just felt a little dizzy for a moment. It's nothing serious, so don't worry too much."

Lu's mother was still a little worried. "It's almost the end of the month. Have you finished the medicine the doctor prescribed back home?"

Mr. Lu did not hide anything from his wife. He honestly explained, "I finished the medicine yesterday, but Yao Yao should be able to be discharged soon. It won't matter if I take less medicine for a few days. Let's talk about it after Yao Yao is discharged."

Lu's mother's expression immediately changed. "How can it be okay? The doctor specifically instructed that you must take your medicine on time and have a check-up every month to monitor any changes in your condition. How can you just stop taking your medicine?"

She looked up at the hospital. "Since we're here right now, why don't we register here and have a doctor examine you and prescribe some medicine?"

Mr. Lu quickly said, "If we see the doctor here, won't my daughters know about my illness? Besides, we've already agreed on conservative treatment with medication. What if the doctors here insist on surgery or something? Will you do it or not?"

With a tense face, Lu's mother said firmly, "We'll do it. This is a big hospital. As long as the doctor guarantees that the surgery will cure your illness, we'll do it."

"Nonsense, what doctor would make such a guarantee to you? Didn't we agree before that we would take medication and treat it conservatively? Why are you changing your mind again?"

Mr. Lu's face turned red with embarrassment, a rare occurrence for him.

Realizing his tone was not good, he paused for a moment before continuing, "The doctors back home have said that surgery will only alleviate my symptoms, and in the end, I will most likely lose both my health and my money. Since that's the case, why should we spend that money and add to the burden on our daughters?"

"But, what if..."

“There’s no ‘what if’,” Mr. Lu interrupted his wife. “You know, my brain tumor is already in its late stage and incurable. I don’t want to be a burden to my daughters when I’m gone…”

With tears welling up in her eyes, Lu's mother was at a loss for words.

She understood her husband's good intentions. If she were in his shoes, she would have done the same. Her two daughters had just started their own families, and the next stage of their lives was just beginning. If they knew about their father's illness, not only would they have to spend time and energy taking care of him, but the surgery and the high costs afterward would also ruin their lives.

This is also why she kept it a secret from her daughters for Lu's father.

But whenever she thought of her husband's splitting headaches, she felt just as heartbroken.

Lu's mother tried to calm herself down and, after thinking for a moment, said, "It's okay if we don't go here for the checkup. Let's go back to our hometown as soon as possible for a follow-up examination and then get some more medicine. You can't stop taking your medicine for too long."

"Besides, Yao Yao is almost discharged from the hospital, and her parents-in-law are taking care of her, so we don't need to worry about her. Let's go back this afternoon."

Thinking of her eldest daughter, Lu Shiyi, Lu's mother said with a hint of regret, "It's just that I didn't get to meet my eldest son-in-law properly this time. I hope there will be another chance next time."

Mr. Lu lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

At first, he spent half a month trying to process the fact that he was sick.

Now, he only hopes to leave with peace of mind, without becoming a burden to anyone...