Chapter 52 Not a Disturbance "Not a disturbance." The man's voice suddenly...

Having mostly woken up from her drowsiness, Zhu Liushuang glanced at Gu Xuting on the opposite bed. Seeing that the half of the blanket draped over Gu Xuting's calves was almost touching the floor, she sighed helplessly.

Her legs were immobile, so she couldn't get out of bed to help her pick up the blanket. So she reached out a hand, fumbled for the air conditioner remote on the bedside table, and turned the temperature up two degrees.

The room's fabric curtains were half-drawn, allowing sunlight to stream in through the milky-white fabric, casting a shimmering light on the floor. Staring at it for too long, Zhu Liushuang's mind began to fog.

Should she tell He Ming about Dr. Xie's illness immediately?

He's probably still asleep at this hour, right? He probably won't see the message anyway.

Besides, Dr. Xie is a highly skilled doctor. It's just a minor cold. He probably knew what was going on and didn't want his grandson to worry about it.

Zhu Liushuang stuffed her phone back under her pillow, planning to tell He Ming later.

The mountains were serene, and birds chirped in the morning. She leaned against her pillow, listening to the melodious birdsong, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

No, I still have to tell him as soon as possible.

After all—based on her limited understanding of He Ming, Dr. Xie must be the most important family member in his heart.

Zhu Liushuang took out her phone, found He Ming's WeChat profile picture, and clicked on it. She deftly pressed the "voice call" button, waiting for the person on the other end to answer as soon as possible.

The system ringtone kept playing, and the phone screen still displayed the words "Waiting for the other party to accept the invitation".

The ringtone was cut off shortly afterward.

Seeing the "no response" message in the chat history, Zhu Liushuang considered whether to call a second time.

She was torn. Thinking of the dark circles under his eyes when they parted in the early hours, she couldn't bear to disturb his sleep. But from He Ming's perspective, wouldn't he be more interested in knowing about his grandfather?

Zhu Liushuang clenched her fist and persistently dialed the number a second and a third time.

I dialed four times before I finally got a response.

A young man's hoarse and impatient voice came through the receiver, as if he were about to crawl out of the phone screen and throw her out.

“Gu—Xu—Feng—I’m warning you one more time, let’s talk about this after I wake up! Otherwise, I’ll transfer you to a construction site in the neighboring county next month.”

He spoke the word "warning" vaguely, but the threatening meaning was very clear.

Did he mistake her for Gu Xufeng? Had Gu Xufeng already angered him before she bothered him?

Zhu Liushuang flinched and cautiously began, "Senior, it's me. Zhu Liushuang."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. He Ming, with his eyes closed and brows furrowed, lifted his eyelids and glanced at the phone screen.

"Is there something you need?" He composed himself, and his tone became much gentler.

Zhu Liushuang cleared her throat and said very gently and considerately, "I know it's not good to disturb your sleep at this hour. But... I just heard from my mother that Dr. Xie has caught a cold and is coughing quite badly. So I thought..."

Before she could finish speaking, He Ming's voice became tense: "When did you fall ill? Do you have a fever? How bad is your cough?"

"I—" Zhu Liushuang was stunned. Her mother had not told her about Dr. Xie's condition in detail, so how was she supposed to answer?

She held the word "I" in her mouth for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence, and awkwardly tugged at the bed sheet.

"I was just being too concerned..." He Ming quickly realized his abruptness. "Thank you for telling me about this."

"My senior helped me so much last night, I'm just passing on the message, it's nothing." Zhu Liushuang breathed a sigh of relief, a beautiful smile curving her lips.

Her cheeks ached slightly from laughing before she realized he couldn't see her smile at all. She suppressed her laughter and continued, "I was initially hesitant, worried about disturbing your nap. But now it seems I didn't do anything wrong."

"I won't bother you." The man's voice suddenly softened, and as it traveled through the airwaves into her ears, it became inexplicably gentle.

Zhu Liushuang's ears were burned and turned a delicate pinkish-red: "Senior, you should call Dr. Xie right away to ask about the situation. I'll hang up now."

"good."

————

The hotel room curtains were drawn tightly, making the room pitch black. The faint blue light from the phone illuminated He Ming's somber face. His thick eyebrows were furrowed, and his lips were pale and taut.

With slender fingers tapping a few times on the phone, the screen displayed "The other party is ringing".

After a slow beep, the phone was answered.

"Hey—Ah Ming, why are you calling Grandpa at this hour?"

If you listen carefully, you can accurately detect the unusual quality in Xie Jingzhi's voice. He seems to be deliberately speaking in a high-pitched voice, He Ming guesses, to prevent himself from coughing violently while speaking.

"Are you sick?" He Ming didn't want to beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "Is your cough bad?"

Xie Jingzhi, already feeling suffocated from the choking, couldn't help but bend over and cough when he heard his grandson's repeated questions. Even though he covered his mouth with his arm, the sound was still heartbreaking to hear.

After coughing for a while, Xie Jingzhi, her face flushed, said guiltily, "It's nothing serious, just a minor cold. Occasionally... cough cough cough..." and then another bout of wheezing cough.

He Ming's brows furrowed as if they were tied in a knot. He complained, "This is considered a minor cold, just an occasional cough?"

“Grandpa is a doctor himself, why would he lie to you?” Xie Jingzhi argued. “Take a few more doses of medicine and you’ll recover slowly. A cold always has a self-healing process.”

He Ming pursed his lips and remained silent, which made Xie Jingzhi even more insecure.

"You're so well-informed, did A Yuan tip you off? I told her before not to tell you about every little thing. If she does this again, I'll fire her!" Xie Jingzhi said, making a harsh statement.

Of course... this was just something said in the heat of the moment, and it doesn't count.

He Ming joked, "Grandpa, I'm paying Aunt Yuan's salary now, so you have no right to fire her. Also... it wasn't Aunt Yuan who told me that your grandson has superhuman eyesight and superhuman hearing."

"You little rascal, you're so cheeky!"

"I'll be back this afternoon and take you to the hospital for a CT scan," He Ming said earnestly.

"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill, okay? You don't even believe Grandpa anymore?" Xie Jingzhi feigned anger. "Aren't you on vacation? Have fun and make some friends. You're just too dull and serious; no wonder girls only dare to look at you from afar..."

He Ming paused for a moment, his fingers idly stroking the sheets, his thoughts unreadable. Finally, he obediently hummed in agreement: "Then you should get some rest, and be careful not to use the air conditioner. I'll be back tomorrow."

The old man was stubborn; once he made up his mind, it wouldn't be easily changed. Although He Ming verbally agreed to his grandfather's request, he was still planning to rush back.

But if he went back early on his own initiative, Gu Xufeng and the others wouldn't have a ride. Besides, Zhu Liushuang's foot was injured. Considering the condition of the others, He Ming had to suppress his idea of ​​going home early.

————

On the second day of the team building activity, the main group was going to Fangtang Metasequoia Forest in the morning, and in the afternoon there was a rafting activity at Shuimo Dingxi Scenic Area.

When Gu Xuting woke up naturally, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she got out of bed, Zhu Liushuang was already limping out of the bathroom.

"Sister Xiaoshuang, why didn't you call me!" Gu Xuting said aggrievedly, "Didn't we agree that from today onwards, I would take care of all your daily needs?"

Zhu Liushuang chuckled: "I just twisted my ankle, I'm not crippled. Before you woke up, I practiced walking with crutches for a while, and now I can walk quite smoothly."

Gu Xuting's lips immediately drooped: "So you don't need me anymore? This is my only chance to make amends!"

Zhu Liushuang glanced at her sideways: "If you really want to redeem yourself, then hurry up and go to the restaurant on the first floor and get me some breakfast. I'm starving!"

"Okay!" Gu Xuting fawned over Zhu Liushuang, "I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Zhu Liushuang nodded in response, and then saw Gu Xuting run out like a gust of wind.

"By the way, Gu Gu, your phone rang several times just now. Remember to call it back!" she called towards the door, not knowing if Gu Xuting heard her.

After she was left alone in the room, Zhu Liushuang leaned against the wall and sat down on the sofa in the corner. She seemed a little uneasy and tapped on He Ming's WeChat profile picture.

[Senior, how is Dr. Xie? Is his cold serious?]

She didn't receive a prompt reply from He Ming, but a few minutes later, she was greeted by Gu Xufeng and Gu Xuting.

The two entered the room one after the other. Gu Xuting walked in front empty-handed, while Gu Xufeng followed silently behind, carrying a food box.

Zhu Liushuang was certain that Gu Xuting had heard her shout.

While she was still in a daze, the Gu siblings had already walked up to her side.

Gu Xufeng placed the food box on the coffee table next to the sofa and said apologetically, "Miss Zhu, I'm so sorry. If Tingting hadn't insisted on dragging you to see that meteor shower, you wouldn't have suffered this undeserved misfortune. Sigh... it's all my fault. I was drunk last night and didn't take care of her!"

She was tired of hearing apologies, so Zhu Liushuang gave a perfunctory smile and changed the subject: "Have you had breakfast? If not, let's eat together."

"I've already eaten... Look how busy I was talking. Tingting, you and Miss Zhu eat together." Gu Xufeng offered to help open the food box and spread out a row of breakfast items. "They're still warm!"

"Thank you." Zhu Liushuang didn't stand on ceremony and took a salted egg yolk shumai from the side and started eating it.

Gu Xuting picked up a xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) and ate it while worrying, "Sister Xiaoshuang, today's itinerary includes walking on mountain paths, and the paths in the metasequoia forest and the rafting area are particularly difficult to navigate..."

The implication was that she definitely wouldn't be able to play.

Zhu Liushuang didn't mind at all. She smiled and comforted Gu Xuting, "It's okay. I've been afraid of water since I was little, so it doesn't matter whether I play in it or not. The doctor said that my foot needs to rest well to recover quickly. I'll just sit in the car and wait for you then."

The more understanding she was, the more guilty Gu Xuting felt, to the point that even the steamed buns she was eating didn't taste good anymore.

Besides Gu Xuting, Gu Xufeng also felt guilty. Seeing his sister upset, he volunteered, "At worst, I'll carry Miss Zhu on my back to play. Miss Zhu, wherever you point, I'll go..."

"No way!" Zhu Liushuang blurted out.

Gu Xufeng paused for a moment, then lowered his voice: "Hey, I was presumptuous! I'll go ask around nearby to see if there are any wheelchairs I can borrow."

Having filled her stomach, Zhu Liushuang straightened up contentedly: "No need for all that trouble. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains, and I'm prone to attracting them. Staying in the car is fine. You guys can have fun on your own."

After being refused time and again, Gu Xufeng finally understood Zhu Liushuang's meaning. Since she didn't want to go anywhere, she might as well stay put! He gave his younger sister a wink, and Gu Xuting understood immediately.

"Sister Xiaoshuang, actually, the metasequoia forests aren't that great to see in the summer, and as for rafting, every place is pretty much the same, I'm tired of it." She stammered, "I brought some board games with me, how about we play them at the guesthouse today?"

"This...isn't that inappropriate?" Zhu Liushuang said frankly, "You don't need to change your itinerary to accommodate me. It's not good to be separated from the group. Besides, we only booked one night at the guesthouse here, and we have to check out before noon."

“No problem, let’s extend the stay for another day, I’ll pay for it.” Gu Xufeng immediately made the decision, “I’ll go downstairs to extend the stay right now.”

"Hey, wait a minute..." Zhu Liushuang wanted to stop him, but Gu Xufeng had already disappeared. She turned her head to Gu Xuting speechlessly and asked, "Did you ask He Ming's opinion before making this decision so quickly?"

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Author's note: [Shrug] The holidays are almost here, and I've been less busy lately.

I boasted: I'll try to update daily! (hands on hips)