Chapter 8 – Unreasonable, Part 1

Gu Leshu carried Lu Yao all the way home. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he called out, “Dad! Mom! Come out quickly!”

Madam Lin hurried out upon hearing his voice. Seeing her son holding a child, she rushed over in confusion.

“Whose child are you carrying?” she asked.

“It’s our family’s now, Mom. Help me bring him inside. He’s sick. I’m going to fetch a doctor to take a look at him,” Gu Leshu explained anxiously.

After handing Lu Yao to his mother, he quickly ran out again.

Lin carried the child inside, laid him on the bed, and covered him with a blanket. She looked at his face, but couldn’t recall where she had seen him before.

Worried about gossip from the neighbors since a strange child was suddenly in the house, she locked the courtyard gate before heading out to the fields to find her husband.

She arrived breathless at the field.

Gu Hai Xiong saw his wife hurrying over and immediately put down his hoe and walked toward her.

“Husband, stop working and come home with me. I have something to tell you,” Lin said urgently.

Seeing how flustered and sweaty she was, Gu Hai Xiong decided to head home with her.

Once the couple left the field, the surrounding workers started whispering.

“What do you think happened with the Gu family this time? Why are they rushing back home?”

“Probably that Gu Leyou girl again, stirring up trouble.”

“I agree. That girl doesn’t look like a decent one. That last incident just quieted down, and now there’s more drama.”

“If I had such a troublesome daughter, I’d beat her for sure.”

“Oh, please. Your wife babies your daughter so much, would she even let you lay a hand on her?”

…

Laughter filled the fields for a moment.

When the Gu couple returned home, Gu Leyou was already in the courtyard playing with Lu Yao.

Gu Hai Xiong walked in first, followed by Lin. As they entered the yard, Lin quickly peeked left and right, seeing no one nearby. She shut the gate promptly to prevent others from seeing and gossiping again.

Seeing her parents return, Gu Leyou asked, “Mom, why weren’t you home when I got back? Why did you leave Brother Lu’s child here alone?”

So it was the hunter’s child — no wonder he looked familiar.

Lin explained, “That hunter wasn’t home, and the kid fainted while your brother was visiting. So he brought him back here.”

Gu Hai Xiong frowned and stayed silent, clearly seeing the boy as another potential problem.

He instructed his wife, “Looks like the child’s fine now. Take him back. Don’t let Leyou go — it’ll ruin her reputation again.”

But the little boy seemed to understand the adults’ conversation. He blinked his big eyes and clung to Gu Leyou sweetly.

“Sister, can I stay here for a while? I don’t want to go back yet. Papa’s not home, and it’s boring being alone.”

Gu Leyou was about to agree when her father cut her off.

“No. He must go back. Otherwise, it’ll affect your reputation. You and his father aren’t even officially engaged yet. How would it look keeping his child here?”

Lu Yao, still grasping the situation, politely greeted the couple.

“Hello Grandpa and Grandma! I’m Lu Yao. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Hearing this, Gu Leyou quickly tried to explain for him.

“Dad, Mom, he’s just a child. Don’t take what he says too seriously.”

But Gu Hai Xiong didn’t buy it. If no one taught the child to say that, how would he even know those words?

He assumed it must’ve been taught by the hunter Lu Yan himself — and that soured his impression.

With a dark tone, he said, “Like father, like son. You’re not even married, and the child’s already calling us grandparents. What kind of behavior is that?”

Gu Leyou thought her father was making a mountain out of a molehill. The boy was just a kid, and they all lived in the same village. What was there to be so dramatic about?

“Didn’t you say I’d marry him sooner or later? Then isn’t it a good thing he’s already calling you that? Isn’t it nice to gain a grandchild early?”

To Gu Hai Xiong, her words sounded like defiance. He shook his head with frustration.

“You’re just siding with your future in-laws now, huh? Getting married and already forgetting your own family!”

Gu Leyou found it both annoying and funny.

Just then, her brother’s voice called out from the gate.

“Dad, Mom, why’d you lock the door in broad daylight? Hurry and open up — I brought the doctor!”

Lin rushed to open the door and advised her husband not to get upset with their daughter. “You’re father and daughter. Talk things out nicely.”

At the entrance, Gu Leshu arrived with the renowned doctor Xu Qingshan, whom Lin welcomed into the house.

After taking Lu Yao’s pulse and carefully examining him, the doctor confirmed it was the same as before — no life-threatening danger as long as the boy didn’t get too emotional.

Lin poured him a cup of water and anxiously asked, “Doctor, what’s wrong with this child exactly?”

“Auntie, don’t worry. The boy still has residual toxins in his body. I’ve already suppressed the worst of it. As long as he remains emotionally stable, he won’t faint again or face further issues.”

Still frowning, Lin asked, “So… does that mean he’s seriously ill and needs constant treatment?”

Caught a little off guard, Xu Qingshan paused, then nodded honestly, “Auntie, yes, that’s correct.”

His words hit the couple like a thunderclap.

They had known the hunter raised a child alone, but they hadn’t expected him to be a chronically ill one. If their daughter married into that family, she’d have to care for the child too — a hard life for sure. They couldn’t let that happen.

Lin immediately turned to her husband to complain, “This is all your fault. We never should’ve listened to your mother. If our daughter marries that hunter and has to care for this child, she’ll never live an easy life.”

Gu Hai Xiong regretted it too — but it was too late. Word of the engagement had already spread. If they backed out now, their family would become a laughingstock.