By mid to late September, the weather was turning a bit cooler.
Gu Yanjing was handling some matters in the car, not paying much attention to where the car was headed.
It wasn’t until the car stopped that he noticed something was amiss.
The journey home today felt unusually short.
He looked out, glancing at the slowly opening black gates of his house. He turned to Shang Chen and asked, "Where is this?"
Shang Chen was waiting for the gates to open, ready to drive inside. Suddenly, he felt as if a cold arrow had struck his heart.
He glanced back through the rear-view mirror, meeting Gu Yanjing’s gaze, and his heart tightened: "This is home."
"Who told you to come here?" Gu Yanjing asked, his voice extremely indifferent.
"Go and switch Meng Yan back from F Continent." Gu Yanjing lowered his gaze to check his phone.
Shang Chen’s tense face twitched slightly, daring not to speak.
The gate opened, with people standing on both sides, waiting for the car to drive in.
But Shang Chen dared not move.
Seeing there were no messages on his phone, Gu Yanjing paused and said, "Head back to Fenglin Villa."
"Yes." Shang Chen quickly turned the car around, driving back to Fenglin Villa.
Arriving at Fenglin Villa, after getting out of the car, Gu Yanjing checked his phone again, still no messages.
He entered the villa, and just as he reached the foyer, his phone rang twice.
Upon hearing the notification sound, his expression suddenly darkened, and even his movements to change shoes slowed down.
Shang Chen followed behind, sensing his mood worsen, and silently stepped back a bit.
Gu Yanjing had assumed it was Qiao Yuxian informing him she wouldn’t return tonight.
It had always been ; whether sooner or later, this message always arrived after he got to Fenglin Villa.
But when he walked into the living room, he found the person he hadn’t seen in a week sprawled out on the sofa.
She appeared listless.
His footsteps paused imperceptibly before continuing forward.
Qiao Yuxian heard the footsteps while leaning on the sofa, turned her head slightly: "You’re back."
Her tone was sluggish, her voice hoarse.
Gu Yanjing walked over, looking down at her: "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing." Qiao Yuxian picked up a cup and drank some hot water, "The boss was exhausted by the employees."
Gu Yanjing looked at her.
When the old man asked him to marry Qiao Yuxian, he had looked into her, knowing she owned a dubbing studio under her name. He had found nothing else.
There should be something more, for example... the old man met her for the first time in the hospital, and within a month, he asked him to marry her.
Moreover... she was wealthy and had connections.
These far surpassed the Qiao Family or this studio.
Yet he couldn’t find anything.
"Where’s the justice?" Qiao Yuxian put down the cup, pulled Gu Yanjing’s sleeves with both hands, looking up at him with an expression full of grievances, hoarsely saying, "Justice prevails! Broad daylight! The world is getting worse... employees openly oppress the boss."
She started shaking Gu Yanjing’s arm, "Mr. Gu, for a little lady, seek justice!"
Gu Yanjing glanced at her hands, then at her for two seconds, before lightly tapped her forehead.
Qiao Yuxian’s head was pushed back a bit, she let go of him, and leaned back into the sofa, smiling cheerfully: "It’s nothing. Last night it suddenly got cold, kicked off the covers, got a bit of a chill."
She squeezed two weeks of workload into one week, high efficiency, and high quality.
Her throat was overburdened, then it suddenly cooled down last night. She slept in Shi Tan’s rest room, woke up to find the covers on the floor.
Thankfully, the work was completed, and her throat held until the last moment.
"Did you take any medicine?" Gu Yanjing checked her complexion again.
There didn’t seem to be any problem.
Qiao Yuxian was sitting on the long sofa today, so Gu Yanjing could only sit on the single sofa on the other side.
Shang Chen stood straight beside them, expressionless face, yet filled with confusion.
His Mr. Gu was very upset when he entered just now.
Why did his mood suddenly calm down?
Why did the simmering anger of a week dissipate?
Shang Chen felt it again, indeed sensed nothing.
He didn’t understand, truly didn’t understand.
Just because he saw Qiao Yuxian?
Seeing Qiao Yuxian stopped him from being angry? Is there magic on Qiao Yuxian? He didn’t understand, really didn’t understand.
"Just drink plenty of water, it’ll be fine." Qiao Yuxian noticed Shang Chen seemed a bit off, she glanced at him, then turned to Gu Yanjing and said, "With my physical condition, my immunity. Just a minor chill..."
She waggled her index finger: "Don’t worry about it. If there’s no accident, I’ll be fine by tomorrow."
And if there’s no accident... an accident happened.
Nearing eleven thirty at night, Qiao Yuxian’s room door opened, and she walked out, face pale.
Gu Yanjing was just leaving the study, getting ready to return to his bedroom, and ran into her.
Seeing her disheveled hair, pale face, clutching her stomach, he approached and supported her: "What’s the matter?"
Qiao Yuxian glanced at him, slightly annoyed: "Period."
Gu Yanjing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly; he supported her, giving her leverage: "What are you going to do?"
"Looking for Aunt Mei."
Gu Yanjing checked her complexion again, supporting her downstairs.
Qiao Yuxian knocked on Aunt Mei’s door.
Aunt Mei was startled upon seeing her, quickly supported her: "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"It’s nothing. Period." Qiao Yuxian replied pitifully, "Aunt Mei, I don’t have any sanitary pads. Do you have some?"
"Yes, yes." Aunt Mei put on a coat, supporting her outside, "Does it hurt a lot? Go back to your room; I’ll fetch them for you, and then make you some ginger tea."
Gu Yanjing followed behind them, frowning, unsure what to do.
He only knew her hand was cold when he touched it a moment ago.
After thinking, he grabbed the car keys and went out.
Qiao Yuxian returned to her room, directly went to the bathroom.
Aunt Mei brought her the supplies, delivering them to the bathroom.
After changing, Qiao Yuxian got into bed.
Almost ten minutes passed, Gu Yanjing returned to the room with a hot water bag. Seeing the curled-up person on the bed, he handed her the hot water bag.
Qiao Yuxian stretched out her hand, feeling the chill brought in by Gu Yanjing, seemingly from outside. She took the hot water bag, hugging it in her arms: "Thank you."
"Is it painful?" Gu Yanjing noticed her knitted brows.
"Not really, it’s very cold." Qiao Yuxian said hoarsely and quietly, "I’m out of energy."
Pausing for a moment, Gu Yanjing leaned over and touched her forehead, it was scalding: "You’re running a fever."
"Huh?" Qiao Yuxian opened her eyes, dazed, looking at him blankly.
"Anywhere else uncomfortable?" Gu Yanjing adjusted her blanket.
"Threw up once just now." Qiao Yuxian’s eyes were dry and struggled to stay open, her long eyelashes trembled, innocent and pitiful.
Her period had never been painful, without any reactions.
But she had heard some people throw up during periods.
She thought she threw up due to the period.
Gu Yanjing: "......."
He left the room and called a doctor, briefly describing Qiao Yuxian’s symptoms.
Aunt Mei finished making ginger tea, brought it up, and took her temperature, thirty-nine point two.
Upon hearing the temperature, Qiao Yuxian’s dim eyes suddenly brightened, blurting out: "Oh woah."
Gu Yanjing looked at her.
Seeing his stern expression, she drooped again.
Wrapped in a blanket, she sat on the bed, holding a cup, obediently lowering her eyelashes, sipping the ginger tea in small mouthfuls.