He sat up, got dressed, put on his shoes, and walked to the washbasin stand. He lifted the porcelain basin, picked up a towel, and pushed the door open to go outside.
While doing all this, An Mingji moved very quietly, afraid of waking Gu Jin who was still sleeping.
An Mingji was not the first to get up in the Gu Family. The earliest riser was Chen Hong, who had to prepare breakfast for the family early in the morning.
She carried firewood from outside into the courtyard and happened to see the little wolf cub coming out of the house with a washbasin.
Her previously elongated face vanished instantly upon recalling the hundred or so yuan she hid last night.
Yet, she did not smile at An Mingji but instead ignored him and went into the kitchen with the firewood.
Prepared to face Chen Hong’s sarcasm, An Mingji watched as she glared at him and turned into the kitchen.
This made An Mingji feel relieved yet also somewhat confused.
Clearly, Chen Hong, who had shown him no kindness in recent days and seemed eager to drive him out, now ignored his presence, not even bothering to speak sarcastically.
An Mingji furrowed his small brows slightly as he carried the porcelain basin to the well, awkwardly drawing water to wash his face.
Old Master Gu and Uncle Gu were also awake. Seeing the child by the well, their expressions were a bit complex.
This complexity stemmed from Gu Jin’s generosity the previous night, offering more than a hundred yuan.
They didn’t understand why Gu Jin was so kind to the wolf cub, even planning to take him to the city.
Although they accepted Gu Jin’s decision to raise An Mingji, neither Old Master Gu nor Uncle Gu could show the closeness they did with their own children to him.
"Grandpa Gu, Uncle Gu."
An Mingji stood by the well and greeted the approaching father and son.
The old man murmured a response and, after thinking, said, "Jin girl is good to you, you should know to be grateful. Don’t be restrained at home, consider it your own home."
An Mingji replied hoarsely to the old man, promising, "Hmm, I will be good to Sister Jin!"
Old Master Gu responded with a hum, pouring the well water into a washbasin and beginning to wash his face. Gu Decang also came over to use the water together.
Finding nothing more for him to do, An Mingji carried the clean water he had poured into the basin and walked towards the east wing.
Upon returning to the room, he found the person on the bed still sleeping as he had left them, covered with the blanket right over their head, not worried about suffocation.
He put the washbasin back on the rack, hung the towel on the rack, and walked to the bedside.
He climbed into bed and pulled down the blanket covering Gu Jin, revealing her flushed face, sound asleep.
Her jet-black hair was spread out, with a few strands across her face, trailing onto the pillow.
Seeing this, An Mingji stretched out his injured hand and moved those few strands of hair behind her ear.
Gu Jin was very beautiful, with flawless skin and a slightly rosy complexion due to lack of oxygen. Her eyelashes were thick and long, trembling slightly with her breathing.
Looking at the person in front of him, An Mingji didn’t yet understand the feelings between men and women. He only felt his heart beat a little faster seeing such a Sister Jin and thought she was the most beautiful person in the world.
Once he saw that Sister Jin was breathing smoothly, An Mingji did not leave but sat by the bedside, gazing at her peaceful sleeping face, waiting for the sleeping beauty to wake up.
Time passed unconsciously.
An hour later, Gu Jin was still asleep, showing no signs of waking.
An Mingji hadn’t waited for his Sister Jin to wake up, but he did wait for someone outside to call him for breakfast.
"Xiao An, breakfast is ready."
Standing outside the door was the easily shy Gu Minmin.