CHAPTER 485: CHAPTER 484: POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

In the reception room at the entrance of First High School, Zhen Yan was utterly shocked upon receiving the hospital’s call.

"Suicide?! How could my mother possibly commit suicide?!"

"It might be due to postpartum depression..."

Zhen Yan couldn’t care less about what the person on the other end was saying after hearing "postpartum." He understood immediately that this must have something to do with Gu’s father! "How is my mom doing now?! I’m coming over right away!"

"The patient’s physical condition is not serious, but her mental state is quite pessimistic,"

"That’s enough, I got it! Thanks!" As soon as Zhen Yan heard that his mother’s physical health was fine, he cut off the other person and hung up the phone! And he started to run out!

Seeing this, Grandpa Wang, the security guard, hurriedly shouted at him, "Hey!! You haven’t asked for leave from your teacher yet!"

"Grandpa, could you please pass the message for me? I need to rush to the hospital!" Zhen Yan said without looking back.

Grandpa Wang shook his head and sighed.

"Back then, she was such a capable young lady, how could she just think of suicide all of a sudden?! Luckily, she is alright! Sigh... It’s just pitiful for these two kids! Worrying and struggling with her every day! Just live your life,"

He hadn’t even finished his rant when Zhen Yan suddenly turned back.

He leaned on the window of the guard room and shouted inside, "Grandpa! Please don’t mention today’s incident to anyone!"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Wang immediately put on a serious face and replied firmly, "Hey! I keep my mouth shut! I never spread nonsense!"

"That’s not what I mean, Grandpa!"

Zhen Yan quickly explained, "What I mean is, please don’t let my sister know!"

"Ah?" Grandpa Wang was stunned for a moment, then questioned, "You’re not going to tell Zhen Yu?!"

"Yeah! I don’t want her to worry anymore! I can handle it myself!!" While saying this, Zhen Yan urgently waved his hand, "Grandpa, I’m taking off now! Please don’t tell her!"

"This kid!"

——

It was the same hospital as last time, only the department was different.

By the time Zhen Yan arrived, Mrs. Zhen had regained consciousness, but she lay on the hospital bed silent and stiff, staring blankly at the ceiling with unblinking eyes.

Gu’s father was sitting on a chair in front of the bed, his head bowed and silent, perhaps deep in thought.

Zhen Yan stood quietly at the doorway for a while, observing, until he felt that he couldn’t ascertain from the current situation how things were between his mother and Gu’s father before he walked in.

"Mom!"

Upon hearing Zhen Yan’s call, Mrs. Zhen showed no response, however, Gu’s father suddenly looked up.

His face was already wrinkled, and now all the lines were tightly compressed together, making it impossible for Zhen Yan to distinguish his father’s actual expression.

"Zhen Yan!"

Gu’s father seemed to hesitate for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grabbed a pair of crutches.

Zhen Yan immediately stepped back defensively and demanded, "What are you doing?!"

"I want to stand up!" Gu’s father said while actually standing up, "Let’s talk outside!"

Zhen Yan took another look at his mother lying in the bed, and seeing that she was still unresponsive to him, he nodded hesitantly. But he still added uneasily, "Let’s talk just outside the door!"

"Fine!!" Gu’s father said as he moved towards the door with the support of his crutches.

——

As soon as they stepped out of the ward, Gu’s father said, "Zhen Yan! Calm down and listen to me first!"

"I’m calm! Go ahead!" Zhen Yan really was very composed.

After so much had happened, he was no longer the impulsive, thoughtless young guy he used to be.

"Your mom has a mental illness called postpartum depression. It was because of this that she attempted suicide!"

Zhen Yan underscored the key point and repeated, "Postpartum depression?! Mental illness?!"

Gu’s father nodded his head mournfully!

"Yes! Alas..."

"Is this illness really that serious?! To actually lead to suicide?" Zhen Yan was clearly dubious!

"...These are the exact words of the doctors! If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask them yourself!"

Zhen Yan naturally didn’t trust Gu’s father, so he left a remark and turned to leave!

"I’m going to ask right now!"

It didn’t take long before Zhen Yan, having learned the cause of the illness, returned to the ward with his eyes red with fury!

He glared at Gu’s father, growling like a lion about to rage, "Mr. Gu! What kind of life has my mother been living at your house in the past month?! Why did she become depressed?! Tell me! Tell me now!"

"What life?! A life of luxury! I’ve been providing her with fish and meat every day! What the hell does she have to be depressed about! Who knows why she became depressed!!"

Zhen Yan’s pressing questions also angered Gu’s father!

He felt he hadn’t neglected her basic needs or abused her in any way! Even if he had made her work a bit harder, it shouldn’t have been enough to make her mentally ill!

A thought suddenly struck him, recalling a common saying among the folks.

Mental illness—it runs in the family!

Then he thought of Zhen Yu, that girl who was as violent as a mentally ill person!

Because he thought so, Gu’s father blurted it out without thinking.

"Your mom’s illness might very well be a damn family inheritance!"

Upon hearing Gu’s father’s words, Zhen Yan’s expression suddenly changed from rage to a chilling calm.

However, the look he gave Gu’s father seemed to be mixed with countless sharp little knives, as if he wished he could slice Gu’s father up piece by piece with his glare. The tone of his voice made one feel a shiver down their spine.

"Say that again to me, I dare you?"

Zhen Yan didn’t mention what would happen if Gu’s father repeated himself, but Gu’s father instinctively felt he couldn’t go on.

So, he avoided Zhen Yan’s gaze, quickly stood up, and while moving towards the door, he dropped the sentence, "I’m going to check on the child!"

—

After watching Gu’s father leave the ward, Zhen Yan then slumped down onto the chair Gu’s father had just vacated.

When Gu’s father said he was going to visit the child, he probably really was going to see the child.

When the doctors told Zhen Yan about Mrs. Zhen’s condition, they might have assumed they were all family, so they also told Zhen Yan about the child’s situation.

Out of politeness, Zhen Yan didn’t interrupt the doctor.

So, he also came to know the current physical condition of his half-brother, who shared the same mother.

Mrs. Zhen had locked herself in the kitchen with the gas turned on, but she left the child in the bedroom with the window open.

Clearly, she didn’t intend to take the child with her in seeking death.

Fortunately, Gu’s father had just gone downstairs in a huff to smoke a cigarette and clear his mind, and he returned upstairs in time. Mrs. Zhen had only suffered moderate poisoning and would recover after a few days of rest without any lasting effects.

As for the child, he showed no symptoms of poisoning at all. However, for safety reasons, Gu’s father brought him to the hospital for a checkup as well.