Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 61: Don’t Want to Lose Face

Mr. Gu looked at his old friend, who was in even worse shape than a few days ago. "Ruixian, Ruixian, wake up..."

Geng Ruixian, on the verge of death, heard the familiar voice and opened his heavy eyes to see his former classmate and old friend.

Shocked, his mouth fell wide open and he froze. He then struggled to swallow a few times, as if his throat had grown even drier.

"Cheng... Zhou... I... I’m not going to make it." Geng Ruixian wanted to ask his friend why he had come back to this godforsaken place.

But his throat was painfully dry, and he couldn’t get any more words out. He was only two years older than Mr. Gu, just fifty this year.

They had met on a campus abroad at eighteen, were classmates for three years, and went their separate ways after returning to the country.

Twenty years later, they met again on the farm. Mr. Gu already looked old for his age, but Geng Ruixian looked as ancient as an old man.

Others had received transfer orders, but he hadn’t. It wasn’t that the organization had forgotten him; rather, his orders had been maliciously held up by someone.

Geng Ruixian was perfectly clear on the matter. Back then, his wife had taken their children, disowned him, and even turned on him with false accusations.

In recent years, she had even extended her reach to the farm, trying to have him killed. If his friend hadn’t helped him, he would have met King Yan long ago.

His friend had said he would come back to see him in a few days, but he had assumed it was just a polite platitude.

This iron-boned man, who only bled but never cried when facing his enemies, was now sobbing, his face streaked with tears.

"Ruixian, you just wait here. I’ll go get Jiaojiao to take a look at you."

When Gu Jiaojiao arrived, she saw a scrawny old man with disheveled hair, utterly filthy.

He was breathing more out than in, accompanied by a wheezing sound. ’He must be so filthy because he can’t move,’ she thought.

His cheeks were deeply sunken, each wrinkle deeper than the last. His large eyes, more white than iris, bulged from his wizened face, a rather frightening sight.

Another severely malnourished old man. "Dad, how long has it been since this grandpa has eaten?"

"A few days, I think," Mr. Gu said uncertainly. When he left, he had only given his friend a few steamed buns.

He hadn’t had any extra food at the time; even those few buns had been a gift from his brother-in-law.

The words he blurted out were a cry from the heart, born of utter distress.

Gu Jiaojiao understood. This old gentleman hadn’t eaten since her father’s family left.

’Grandpa?’

’Right, at my age, I should be a grandpa. But this girl is calling my friend ’Dad’.’

’Could it be? Do I look even older than Uncle Gu?!’

Shock and disbelief struck Geng Ruixian like a torrential downpour, beating against his shattered heart.

The raging storm in his heart seemed to rival the boisterous clamor of the frogs outside.

"Jiaojiao, he was my classmate when I studied abroad. We met again here on the farm after being apart for twenty years!"

Gu Jiaojiao was speechless.

’Classmates?’

’Could the age difference between classmates be that huge back then?’

"Dad, then I should be calling your classmate ’Uncle.’ It must be fate that you two were able to meet again!

Uncle, may I take your pulse?"

"Jiaojiao, hurry and check on Ruixian. See if he’s just starving. Should we give him a cup of malted milk first?"

Geng Ruixian screamed internally: ’Yes, I need it so badly!’

But alas! He couldn’t form a complete sentence, and he didn’t want to babble like an infant in front of this young woman, which would be a disgrace to his friend.

"Let’s check his pulse first," Gu Jiaojiao said. She had just finished setting up an IV drip for Su Shuochi.

Mr. Gu had left in a hurry and his calls had been urgent, so Su Shuochi couldn’t follow. But he was very worried about his wife.

Before Gu Jiaojiao left, he had repeatedly reminded her to bring her backpack.

He also had her bring a cup of prepared malted milk with glucose powder mixed in. No matter the illness, replenishing nutrients was never a bad first step.

"Dad, you hold the cup for a moment while I take Uncle Geng’s pulse."

Gu Jiaojiao checked his pulse for a long while. The patient was critically ill, his body and mind both severely damaged...

The patient couldn’t drink the glucose solution right away; his body wouldn’t be able to absorb it. "Uncle Geng, let me give you a few acupuncture needles first!"

"Go ahead, Jiaojiao."

Mr. Gu was his daughter’s biggest fan. Without another word, he set the warm cup on the table and, in a flash, stripped off his friend’s shirt.

Geng Ruixian was speechless.

He genuinely had no strength; otherwise, he would have definitely said, ’Just let me have a sip of the malted milk first!’

Any more of this fuss and he was going to kick the bucket. He could already smell the sweet aroma of the malted milk from the cup.

’At least let me have a few sips so I don’t die as a starving ghost!’

But the father and daughter duo didn’t hear Geng Ruixian’s inner pleas. Gu Jiaojiao focused on inserting the needles.

Mr. Gu, on the other hand, watched his friend intently. The worry was plain to see on his deeply furrowed brow.

Geng Ruixian’s body was covered in scars, including several round ones the size of coins.

Gu Jiaojiao knew with one glance that this man had definitely been on a battlefield; the scars on his body made it obvious.

After a few needles were inserted, Geng Ruixian’s vitality instantly improved a tiny bit. At least he could speak now.

"Cheng Zhou... Ah... Is this a final burst of energy before death?"

"No, it’s not. Jiaojiao’s medical skills are excellent. You’re going to get better," Mr. Gu said with certainty.

At his daughter’s prompting, he carefully helped his friend sit up and fed him the cup of malted milk with glucose.

While one fed and the other drank, Gu Jiaojiao finally had a moment to observe the dilapidated room.

In the center of the room was an old table missing a leg, which, though old, wasn’t too dirty.

There were even a few potted plants on the windowsill. Though his life was one of poverty, the old man was still living with care.

The old man’s illness was severe, and his whole body was riddled with ailments. Gu Jiao wanted to draw some blood to take back and analyze with her instruments.

"Dad, may I draw a little of Uncle Geng’s blood?"

Before Mr. Gu could speak, Geng Ruixian cut in, "You’re Jiaojiao, right? You can draw it. My body has already reached its limit. You can use it for research, do whatever you want."

"Uncle Geng, I’m not going to research it. I’m going to run some tests to analyze what specific illness you have."

If it wasn’t late-stage cancer, she could cure him. However, Gu Jiaojiao didn’t want to be so blunt.

This Uncle Geng’s physical condition was terrible; even late-stage cancer patients in a future era didn’t look as bad as he did.

’What if it is terminal? Then I won’t be able to cure him either. It’s better not to give him false hope.’

"I’m sorry, Jiaojiao. This old uncle misunderstood you... Ah, Cheng Zhou, who is Jiaojiao to you?"

Everyone has a gossipy heart, and even a man on his deathbed is no exception.

"Jiaojiao is mine and Yue Hua’s daughter. Back then, Yue Hua’s stepmother deliberately swapped the two baby girls."

"My niece, then! This old uncle can’t thank you enough. Without you, I wouldn’t have lasted two more days."

Geng Ruixian’s voice gradually choked with emotion, and his eyes turned red. He turned his head away to wipe his eyes, not wanting the younger woman to see him cry.

To be able to see his old friend one last time in this life, he could now die without regrets.

Seeing his friend like this, Gu Chengzhou’s heart ached more than if it had been stabbed with a knife. He felt helpless, his heart splitting with pain, and could only hope that Jiaojiao could grant him a few more days.