Chapter 36

Time seemed to stop for two seconds.

In the silent hospital room, only the ticking of the clock on the wall remained.

Dong Yao looked at the person sitting on the hospital bed, her heart inexplicably hanging high. Gu Shiqiu had only asked whether she liked gentle people, and she had only answered that she liked gentle people.

Why was she nervous?

To ease this strange sense of nervousness, Dong Yao quickly added, “Anyone would like a gentle person. After all, life isn’t a novel or a TV drama. In life, you need someone who knows when you’re cold or warm.”

Mm, yes. That was right. Exactly.

“Is that so?” Gu Shiqiu took off her glasses, folded them, and placed them on top of the book.

Dong Yao swallowed and nodded. “Yes.”

Gu Shiqiu looked at her calmly.

Seeing her calm appearance, Dong Yao somehow felt annoyed.

Every time, this person would say just a few words so lightly and casually, yet she would always make Dong Yao panic.

No longer continuing this topic, Dong Yao pretended to yawn. “I just finished eating, so I’m sleepy now. I’ll sleep for a bit.”

As she spoke, she lay down on the sofa, closed her eyes, and put on the appearance of someone who had fallen asleep in seconds.

After a little while, she heard Gu Shiqiu say, “Sleep.”

Dong Yao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But the person pretending to sleep with her eyes closed did not actually fall asleep. On the contrary, she pricked up her ears, listening to the movements of the person on the hospital bed not far away.

Only, that person kept making little movements, making Dong Yao’s heart itch. She wanted to open her eyes and see what Gu Shiqiu was doing.

Open her eyes? No. Hold it in.

At this moment, a faint rustling sound came. It was the sound of pages turning.

Was she still reading that novel?

Dong Yao closed her eyes, yet she had no sleepiness at all. Beside her ears was the sound of pages turning, as well as Gu Shiqiu’s previous question.

That voice, along with the rustle of turning pages, kept echoing.

“Do you like them?”

“Do you like them?”

“Do you like them?”

“…”

Gu Shiqiu’s question would not leave.

Did she like her?

Dong Yao fell silent. Before, she had still struggled over gender and the gap in their status. Now, whether it was gender or status, Dong Yao no longer struggled with those things.

It seemed that through their daily contact and subtle influence, those original points of conflict were no longer things she cared about.

Now, Dong Yao only had one remaining point of struggle, and it was also the most important point.

Did she like Gu Shiqiu?

It should count as liking, right?

Dong Yao had never liked anyone before. She was not sure whether this feeling counted as liking, or whether it had not yet reached the level of liking. Even if it was not liking, she should at least have a good impression of Gu Shiqiu, right?

She did not know. It was a little messy.

Whatever. In any case, Gu Shiqiu would be her future wife sooner or later. If she liked her, then she liked her. What did it matter? Liking her early was still liking her. Liking her later was still liking her.

Forget it. No, wait. Dong Yao turned over and tried to brew some sleepiness.

Gu Shiqiu took off her glasses and rubbed her brow. This novel had two volumes in total, and she had already finished reading this one.

Gu Shiqiu closed the book, placed it to the side, and turned her head to look at the person sleeping on the sofa.

At some point, the blanket covering Dong Yao had fallen to the floor.

Gu Shiqiu put away the small table on the bed, lifted the quilt, and got out of bed.

During this, she tugged at the wound on her shoulder. It was still painful, but thankfully, it was something she could endure.

She walked to the sofa, bent down, picked up the blanket from the floor, and gently covered Dong Yao with it again.

After covering her, Gu Shiqiu did not rush to leave. Instead, she crouched beside the sofa and looked at the sleeping person.

“Smack, smack.” Dong Yao suddenly smacked her lips.

Did she dream of something delicious? The corners of Gu Shiqiu’s lips lifted slightly.

“Gu Shiqiu,” Dong Yao murmured.

Gu Shiqiu raised her brows, interested. So she was in Dong Yao’s dream too?

“Gu Shiqiu, don’t steal my meat!” Although it was clearly sleep-talking, Gu Shiqiu heard anger and fury in it.

Gu Shiqiu helplessly shook her head.

In her dream, Dong Yao seemed to be fighting someone over meat. The fight seemed quite intense, and her hands even started waving around.

With a turn of her body, the sofa—which was not wide to begin with, and on which she was sleeping near the edge…

Gu Shiqiu reacted quickly and held her up, preventing her from almost falling to the floor.

However, when she held her, ​unauthorized copy​she had instinctively used both hands, and a tearing pain came from the wound on her left shoulder.

Gu Shiqiu let out a soft groan from the pain, a thin layer of sweat appearing on her forehead.

Gritting her teeth, she took a deep breath and endured the pain. Since she was already supporting her, she simply changed the motion into lifting Dong Yao into her arms.

Sleeping on the sofa definitely was not comfortable. It would be better to let her sleep on the bed.

Dong Yao did not wake up and slept very soundly. So much so that after being picked up horizontally, she instinctively burrowed into Gu Shiqiu’s arms.

Gu Shiqiu looked at the person in her arms. The tearing pain in her shoulder seemed to lessen by half.

She gently placed Dong Yao on the bed and covered her with the quilt.

Gu Shiqiu held her hand over her shoulder and tilted her head to look. Blood had already dyed the gauze red.

It seemed the freshly stitched wound had split open.

“Sister Shiqiu, what happened to your shoulder? Why is unauthorized copythere so much blood? Did the wound tear open?” Xiaowen looked at the gauze completely stained red and felt it was a horrifying sight.

Gu Shiqiu’s complexion was slightly pale.

Xiaowen said, “I’ll go call the doctor over.”

Gu Shiqiu said, “No need. I’ll go over myself.”

Xiaowen looked at her shoulder. With so much blood, Gu Shiqiu really should not move around anymore. Right now, she was only suited to lying on the bed.

“She’s asleep. If they change the dressing and bandage it again inside, it’ll disturb her,” Gu Shiqiu explained.

Xiaowen froze. In this kind of situation, why was Gu Shiqiu considering whether she would disturb someone sleeping???

Xiaowen truly did not understand, but it was not convenient to say anything. She supported Gu Shiqiu and brought her to the doctor.

“This wound of yours was only just stitched. Even turning over in bed would hurt. Why are you still walking around? Look at this. Look at how badly the wound has split open.” The doctor was an older man in his fifties, and he scolded her with a stern face.

Gu Shiqiu said, “I’m sorry. I’ve troubled you. It won’t happen next time.”

The doctor glanced at this young woman. He did not recognize her, but he had heard his colleagues mention before that she seemed to be a very famous actress.

“Pay more attention next time. Whether this wound leaves a visible scar after healing depends on how effective the treatment is now. If you tear it open a few more times, the scar will definitely look especially bad,” the doctor instructed.

Gu Shiqiu thanked him and agreed.

When she returned, Dong Yao still had not woken up. Only, the quilt had once again been kicked aside by her.

Gu Shiqiu covered her again, then sat down on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest.

Dong Yao irritably kicked off the quilt.

So hot.

In a daze, every time she pushed the quilt away, it would be put back on again after a while.

Dong Yao sat up from the bed, her mind muddled [stolen content]for quite some time. Only after fully waking did she realize something was wrong.

She had clearly fallen asleep on the sofa. How had she woken up on the bed?

And the person who should have been lying on the bed resting was now sitting on the sofa with her eyes closed, her brows faintly furrowed. It was unclear whether she was asleep or not.

Dong Yao got out of bed and walked toward the sofa.

As if hearing movement, Gu Shiqiu’s eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes.

“Why are you sitting on the sofa?” Dong Yao was a little confused. “How did I end up sleeping on the bed? Did I sleepwalk and kick you off the bed?”

Gu Shiqiu laughed. “Something like that.”

Dong Yao scratched her head, muttering inwardly. Did she have a habit of sleepwalking too?

Dong Yao looked at Gu Shiqiu doubtfully. Only after looking carefully did she notice that Gu Shiqiu’s complexion was paler than before, and she seemed much weaker too.

Outside, the sound of rain came pattering down.

The rain had come suddenly. Raindrops struck the glass window, trailing down in winding lines.

A flash of lightning came, followed by a rumbling clap of thunder.

Dong Yao was startled by the sound and shuddered.

Gu Shiqiu stood up. “Are you afraid of thunder?”

Dong Yao shook her head. “No. It was just too loud, so I was startled.”

Wait!

Dong Yao looked toward the clock on the wall. With a tick, the clock turned exactly to six.

At the same time, lightning flashed again across the sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder.

Dong Yao fell backward.

Gu Shiqiu’s eyes widened slightly. She tried to catch the person falling down, but because of inertia, the two of them fell to the floor together.

The moment they fell, Gu Shiqiu used her hand to protect Dong Yao’s head.

The wound on her left shoulder split open again.

Gu Shiqiu hissed sharply from the pain and lay on the floor, unable to recover for a long time.

Layers of cold sweat formed on her forehead.

Enduring the pain, Gu Shiqiu looked toward the person beside her.

“Dong Yao?” Gu Shiqiu called her, but Dong Yao’s eyes remained tightly shut, without the slightest reaction.

A trace of panic flashed through Gu Shiqiu’s eyes. Even after calling several times, there was no response.

With a bang, the ward door was pushed open from inside.

Xiaowen, who was sitting on the bench outside, was startled and looked up. She saw Gu Shiqiu carrying someone out in her arms.

Xiaowen hurried over. “Sister Shiqiu, what happened?”

Gu Shiqiu did not pay attention to Xiaowen and headed straight toward the doctor.

Blood dripped along the way, falling onto the white tiles and blooming into red flowers one after another.

On the hospital bed, Dong Yao’s eyes were tightly shut, but her complexion looked normal.

“You mean she’s asleep?” Gu Shiqiu breathed a sigh of relief while also finding it unbelievable.

How could someone be standing and speaking to another person normally one second, then fall asleep directly the next? And no matter how she was called, she would not wake up.

Gu Shiqiu said, “But before she fell asleep, she was still talking to me. Then she suddenly fell asleep—no, suddenly fainted. Could this situation be some hidden illness?”

The doctor said, “That’s hard to say. After she wakes up, have her undergo a proper systematic examination.”

Gu Shiqiu nodded and looked toward the person on the hospital bed, worry showing on her face.

“Before she gets examined, do you still plan on keeping your left arm?” The doctor’s gaze fell on Gu Shiqiu’s gauze, which had once again been stained red.

Blood seeped out through the gauze and had dripped all along the way.

Within one day, the wound had split open twice in succession.

The doctor once again re-stitched the wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it. After he finished, he said, “Your wound has split open twice. After this, even if we give you the best treatment plan, there’s a high chance it’ll leave a significant scar.”

Hearing this, Xiaowen panicked. “That won’t do. Sister Shiqiu often has to attend events, and sometimes she needs to wear off-shoulder dresses.”

The doctor said, “Then when there was already a problem, why did she toss herself around like this?”

Xiaowen was speechless.

Gu Shiqiu nodded and said she understood, Read on BaiLianTales but she did not seem to care much. Her attitude was very calm.

After they came out, Xiaowen followed behind her and hesitated before saying, “Sister Shiqiu, why don’t you let me take care of you instead? If Miss Dong keeps taking care of you, I’m afraid your left arm will be gone.”

Gu Shiqiu’s footsteps paused slightly, and she shook her head. “It has nothing to do with her.”

Xiaowen froze.

“When she wakes up, don’t mention any of this in front of her either,” Gu Shiqiu instructed.

Xiaowen was helpless and nodded. “I understand, Sister Shiqiu.”

Gu Shiqiu pushed open the ward door and walked inside. Xiaowen stayed outside and did not follow.

Looking at the closed hospital room door, Xiaowen felt her head ache a little.

Gu Shiqiu’s “little girlfriend” did not look like someone who knew how to take care of a patient at all. If she did not cause trouble, Xiaowen would already thank the heavens.

Yet Gu Shiqiu still indulged her in making trouble.