Chapter 86 Please, don't leave me.

She patiently waited until six or seven in the evening, but the more Shang Shu thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. No matter what, Gu Sui would reply to her, so she called Gu Sui directly.

One call after another went unanswered.

The panic and helplessness she felt three years ago surged back like a tide. While trying to reassure herself that everything was alright, she first tried to call Gu Qi. She thought that if it was particularly serious, Gu Qi would definitely come.

Fortunately, Gu Qi responded quickly, temporarily relieving Shang Shu's anxiety.

"Are you sick?" Gu Qi blurted out, but upon hearing Shang Shu's trembling breathing, he quickly realized, "Don't worry, let me ask and I'll call you back right away."

Gu Qi did reply quickly, but only said that Gu Sui was still at the Gu family home, and didn't dare to say anything else. He told Shang Shu to change her clothes and wait for him to come and pick her up.

Only after getting into the car did Gu Qi dare to explain the whole story to Shang Shu.

"It's been a whole day, her stomach can't take it." Shang Shu gripped the handrail tightly, shaking her head repeatedly. Why didn't she notice something was wrong sooner?

"Sister, please take me inside later. It's all my fault, I'll kneel for her, I'll accept whatever they do—"

“No,” Gu Qi knew those two’s personalities well. If they showed up so rashly, it would only backfire and add fuel to the fire. “Ah Sui is still their own daughter. They can’t just watch something happen to her.”

But you're different," Gu Qi swallowed the rest of her sentence, knowing that Shang Shu was just worried and confused.

Stepping into the Gu family home again after many years, Gu Qi had mixed feelings, but this time there was little time for her to reminisce.

"Young...Young Miss?"

"Where is the study?" She ignored the servant's disapproving look at her from the doorway and asked directly.

The butler always arrived just in time, as if he felt sorry for luring the second young lady back to kneel in the study. Without any roundabout way of announcing his arrival, he led Gu Qi straight upstairs.

"Ah Sui!" As soon as she entered the room, Gu Qi sensed something was wrong; it was worse than she had anticipated.

Gu Sui was kneeling and swaying slightly, one hand on her stomach and the other supporting herself on the ground beside her. She was quite surprised to hear Gu Qi's voice, and seemed unable to lift her head, so she called out "Sister" in a weak voice.

"Why are you so stubborn? I told you to kneel, and you just kept kneeling. Come on, get up." Gu Qi complained, but quickly reached out to help the person up.

Gu Sui shook her head, half in refusal and half in helplessness. She took a few heavy breaths before managing to squeeze out two words: "A-Shu".

"We can talk about it later..."

Gu Qi paused, looking at Gu Sui's pale yet strangely flushed face. Only then did she realize that the arm she was supporting was burning hot, even through the fabric. Her heart tightened, and she reached out to touch Gu Sui's neck to check.

"Ah Sui, you have a fever." Gu Qi panicked a little and couldn't care less about anything else. He turned around and called the butler at the door to come in and help him up.

Gu Sui was still conscious, but her legs, which had been kneeling for a long time, were already unresponsive, and the fever made her even weaker. She could only let them help her, trying her best to lean against them and control her limbs.

Just as they reached the door, they bumped into Zhou Ling and Gu Yushan, who had come running after hearing the commotion.

After many years apart, the atmosphere became subtle as their eyes met. Gu Yushan avoided eye contact and coughed softly. Zhou Ling frowned and met Gu Qi's gaze, then glanced at Gu Sui beside her, her expression complicated as she pursed her lips.

Gu Qi didn't intend to say anything more and turned to leave. Her only purpose in stepping through this door today was to take Gu Sui away.

Seeing the group start to move, Zhou Ling finally couldn't help but ask, "What, you haven't come back for so many years, are you going to take her away now?"

Zhou Ling never let go of her pride, so much so that no matter what she was thinking, as soon as she opened her mouth, she could always make the atmosphere tense. This pride and stubbornness were also passed down to her two daughters to a certain extent.

“It has nothing to do with my sister.” Gu Sui took a couple of breaths and stood up with difficulty. She didn’t want to implicate Gu Qi by bringing up those old stories again.

Seeing her two daughters like this, Zhou Ling didn't know whether to feel gratified or sad. She gave a bitter smile and continued to attack Gu Qi: "You knew all along, didn't you?"

Gu Qi didn't answer, but continued moving his feet: "I'm taking Asui to the hospital."

"stop!"

“I told you, Ah Sui needs to go to the hospital, do you know that—”

"Sister!" Gu Sui knew what Gu Qi was going to say, but she didn't need to, nor did she want to, gain their approval in this way.

“Ah Sui, you…” Gu Qi frowned and sighed deeply, then bit his lower lip hard.

"Fine, fine," Zhou Ling nodded, clutching her chest. "You two sisters are just trying to force me to die, you—"

"A-Ling!" Gu Yushan, standing behind, called out to stop them. With old grievances piling up, they were no longer as robust as they used to be. He was afraid that if they started arguing, Zhou Ling would really get sick from the anger.

"Why are you stopping me?" Zhou Ling was devastated. She turned to Gu Yushan and questioned him, tears welling up in her eyes again. "One is from a single-parent family, the other is a lesbian. I raised them with all my hard work, and all I ask is for them to be normal people and live normal lives. What have I done wrong!"

Gu Yushan stepped forward, grasped Zhou Ling's shoulder, and sighed heavily.

"What do you mean by normal?" Gu Qi finally couldn't help but raise her voice as Zhou Ling brought up the old story again. She knew their deep-rooted thinking all too well, so she just wanted to end this pointless argument as soon as possible.

"Please, I'm begging you. You've ruined my happiness, so please let Asui go."

After saying this, she ignored everything behind her and, with the help of the housekeeper, led Gu Sui downstairs.

Shang Shu was getting restless while waiting in the car. She got out of the car after only a few minutes and stood there waiting. When she saw the door open, she ran over to greet the person as soon as she caught sight of them.

"Gu Sui!" Shang Shu took the person from the housekeeper and called out to her in a trembling voice, "Why is she so hot..."

Gu Sui's eyes were half open, and he was breathing heavily. He wanted to call out to her and comfort her, but he had used up all his strength in standing and walking, and there was nothing left.

"Go to the hospital." Gu Qi supported Gu Sui from the other side, unable to say anything else.

Once in the car, Gu Qi sat in the passenger seat and instructed the driver. He then immediately contacted the medical center. Shang Shu sat in the back seat and hugged Gu Sui, pulling him close to her.

Gu Sui rested her forehead against Shang Shu's neck. The girl's skin was cool and refreshing, making her feel comfortable. But then she thought again that she was probably too hot.

"Ah Sui, Ah Sui..." Shang Shu called out to her heartbrokenly and helplessly, holding her burning hot hand and rubbing it repeatedly.

Tears fell onto the back of my hand, were wiped away, and seemed to evaporate in just a few seconds at my body temperature.

Ah Shu...

Gu Sui called her name in his heart.

I didn't want her to worry, and I didn't want her to shed tears for me anymore.

Gu Sui wanted to move her lips, wanted to raise her hand, but her body was as soft as cotton. It was like lighting a fire in cotton, and every inch of her skin was burning from top to bottom, dry and painful. Her breath felt like it had been boiled in water. She didn't know whether it was her nose or her mouth that was burning her. Gu Sui thought that if she had tears at this moment, they would probably be burned dry before they could even flow.

"Ah Sui, don't sleep, just hang in there, okay?" Shang Shu's throat was so tight it was unbearable, and her whole body was trembling. She stroked her cheeks again and again.

How could this happen? It was fine when I left this morning, how did it become like this?

Gu Sui lifted her eyelids. Her head ached, her stomach ached, and her legs and knees ached, but she still gently hooked Shang Shu's finger with her fingertip, telling her that she would try her best.

Upon arriving at the medical center, Shang Shu only let go of Gu Sui's hand after he was taken over by the medical staff. With her hand free, her heart pounded wildly, and she felt panicked. She had no choice but to pinch herself hard.

She listened as the nurse frowned and said 39.5℃. She watched the needle pierce Gu Sui's arm. She followed her to the door of each examination room until she could go no further. Then she stopped and leaned against the wall, watching as Gu Sui was wheeled in.

Gu Qi took her arm and asked her to wait in the lounge next door, but Shang Shu just shook her head, wiped away her tears, and stood still.

After a while, Gu Xiangyi arrived, along with Lin Lang.

Lin Lang persuaded her for a while before Shang Shu finally sat down on a chair in the corridor.

Waiting is the greatest torment; the unresolved feeling of impending death permeates every thought, amplifying one's fear and anxiety infinitely.

Her head was spinning more and more, and her breathing was becoming suffocated. Shang Shu pressed her palms hard against her forehead, trying her best to control her emotions. But looking at the tightly sealed door that separated them on both sides, she couldn't help but cover her face and sob softly.

She was terrified.

She didn't know what was causing the sudden, high fever, but she had inevitably considered the worst-case scenario.

She really couldn't bear to lose Gu Sui again.

Shang Shu thought of He Landai again. In fact, she hadn't finished telling the story from that day, or perhaps she was pretending that she had completely forgotten it.

But she didn't.

She clearly remembered that on her birthday night, He Landai wore a very delicate lace dress, pure white, like a wedding dress. She sweetly praised her mother, saying she looked as beautiful as a bride, but He Landai cried.

The child, who had done something wrong, hurriedly wiped away her mother's tears. She thought, "It must be that the dress wasn't pretty enough, the bride wasn't beautiful enough, the cake wasn't sweet enough, and I wasn't sensible enough."

Before going to sleep, she lay in her mother's arms. Actually, her crib was softer, but she still wanted to sleep with her mother. After her mother finished reading the last story, she turned off the light and got out of bed. She rubbed her eyes, clung to the edge of the bed, and asked her mother where she was going, but no one answered.

If only she had asked louder, would it have been better? If only she had asked a few more questions, would it have been better? If only she hadn't said "bride," would it have been better? If only she had been more obedient and knew how to make her mother happy, would it have been better?

No one knew that when He Landai was sent away, she actually saw it. What she saw was no longer a white dress, but a very long piece of cloth.

Many people told her that she was already very lucky. Some envied her wealth and comfort, while others envied her freedom from being controlled. Later, even she herself envied herself because she had the best lover in the world.

She was content. Shang Shu told herself this more than once, and she told her lover as well. Even when she made wishes before gods and Buddhas, she only thought about exchanging what she had for what she had, rather than simply asking for something.

But why? Since she's so lucky, why does fate always seem to play tricks on her with the things she cares about most, time and time again?

"Please, Gu Sui."

She said it to herself.

If your promise still stands, please, please don't abandon me.

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Author's note: There are probably three more chapters to go!