Chapter 74
◎Bei Bitang did not have dinner with Gu Wangxi. She only ate a bowl of stewed bird's nest and picked up the napkin on the table.◎
Bei Bitang did not have dinner with Gu Wangxi. She only ate a bowl of stewed bird's nest, then picked up the napkin on the table and wiped the corners of her mouth.
Under the candlelight, Gu Wangxi saw that Bei Bitang's face was a little pale, and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Bei Bitang shook her head gently, put down her napkin, and said, "Maybe I've been overworking my brain. I'm going to take a shower and then have some sleep."
Bei Bitang frowned, whimpered a few times in her sleep, then screamed, awakened by a nightmare.
When the lights came on, Bei Bitang closed her eyes subconsciously, and opened them the next second.
Gu Wangxi turned around and faced Bei Bitang. He gently placed his hand on Bei Bitang's shoulder and asked softly, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Bei Bitang lowered her head and said nothing, slightly avoiding Gu Wangxi's dark eyes.
Gu Wangxi lowered his head and looked up at Bei Bitang's face. He found that Bei Bitang was silently shedding tears. Her beautiful lips were bitten with marks. Her hair was draped over her shoulders. In the light, she looked so weak, making people feel pity and care for her.
Gu Wangxi stretched out his arms, wanting to hold Bei Bitang in his arms and comfort her.
Bei Bitang opened her arms slightly in resistance, so Gu Wangxi had to give up.
He then reached out and handed Bei Bitang a handkerchief. Bei Bitang took it and quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes and cheeks.
Bei Bitang put down the handkerchief and said a little embarrassedly: "Did I wake you up, Mr. Gu? Sorry, I'll go sleep on the sofa."
Having said that, without waiting for Gu Wangxi's reaction, he threw off the quilt, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and went to sleep on the sofa.
As she stretched her legs, the pain in her waist became even worse. Bei Bitang couldn't help but hold her waist and hissed.
Gu Wangxi quickly reached out to help her, and saw that Bei Bitang had sweat on her head, her face was pale, and her crystal eyes seemed to be telling of some pain.
Gu Wangxi felt a pang in his heart and said, "I'll take you to the hospital!"
Bei Bitang quickly grabbed him and pleaded, "Mr. Gu, my waist just hurts. It's nothing serious. It's just an old problem."
Seeing that Gu Wangxi still wanted to put on her clothes and get out of bed, he drove her to the hospital at night.
Bei Bitang changed the subject and said, "Mr. Gu, I'd like to drink some hot water. Could you please pour me a cup?"
Gu Wangxi propped up two pillows and let Bei Bitang lean against the headboard. He then pulled the quilt over her and said worriedly, "Wait a minute."
A moment later, Gu Wangxi strode back to the bedroom with a cup of hot water.
Bei Bitang held the water cup and sipped slowly, her lips gradually regaining their color.
Gu Wangxi just sat by the bed and looked at her.
Bei Bitang placed the empty cup of water on the bedside table, smiled, and said optimistically, "I worked as an educated youth in the northwest for a few years. While working, I became dizzy and couldn't see a wooden stake. I accidentally bumped into it and hit my waist. My companions took me to the hospital at the time, and they said it wasn't a serious problem. It only hurts once every two or three years, and I didn't even need to use ointment."
Bei Bitang made it sound easy, but the reality was far from simple. This group of educated youth not only had to work in the fields, but also build roads and bridges. Sometimes, they even had to venture deep into uninhabited areas to erect road signs and boundary markers.
One year, a wooden bridge needed to be built. In order to facilitate people's access, the corps where Bei Bitang was located accepted this task and transported a large amount of wood from the northeast.
The men were laying the foundations for the bridge, while the women were carrying the wood. It was early spring, and a gentle rain was falling. One of the young intellectuals standing in front of Bei Bitang slipped, and the wood, too heavy for both of them to hold, was about to fall on her head.
The female educated youth was stunned and didn't know how to react. She was so scared that her death was imminent.
Bei Bitang lunged forward and knocked the female educated youth to the ground. The wood that slid down finally pressed down on Bei Bitang's waist.
Several companions were crying loudly, some were running to call for help, some were crying and trying their best to remove the wood from Bei Bitang's body.
The rescued female educated youth struggled to move the wood while crying out, "Bitang, don't die!"
Bei Bitang, who almost ascended to heaven, felt pain, laughter and touching.
Finally, Bei Bitang was sent to the local garrison hospital. After a month and a half of recuperation, the doctor allowed her to return to the corps.
Bei Bitang turned to look out the window and said softly, "Mr. Gu, the coldest days of winter are coming soon."
Bei Bitang looked nonchalant, not taking her injuries seriously. Gu Wangxi said angrily, "Miss Bei, Comrade Bei, besides studying, do you still care about other people and things?"
Bei Bitang turned around, hiding the bitterness in her heart, smiled, and said pretentiously, "Isn't this great? I can focus on studying without distractions, and only read the books of sages. Only then will my chances of getting into university be greater."
She wanted to care about others and keep them in her heart, but did others keep her in their hearts? Bei Bitang thought a little too radically.
Gu Wangxi gave a self-deprecating smile, and just as Bei Bitang caught it, it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Gu Wangxi said, "If you don't want to go to the hospital, I don't care, but you didn't have dinner, so you have to eat something. I'll go find you something to eat."
Gu Wangxi didn't want to care, it was just that he couldn't. He could only comfort himself in his heart that Bei Bitang was just a patient, so how could he really bother with a patient?
Bei Bitang refused and said, "I can't eat it."
Gu Wangxi raised his chin and said with a cold expression, "I'm telling you, if a thin man and a fat man have a terminal illness, the thin man will definitely die first."
Bei Bitang muttered, "You're thin too."
Gu Wangxi snorted coldly, put on his coat, left the room, found the person on duty, and told him what he needed.
The hotel's night shift staff looked at Gu Wangxi with embarrassment. The kitchen staff had all gone home. At this hour, hot water, hot milk, coffee, soda, and fruit were all available, but where could he find a cook to prepare hospital meals?
This is not the hotel's fault. Gu Wangxi has been staying at the Peace Hotel since he returned to China and is very satisfied with the service there.
He said in a negotiating tone: "Take me to the kitchen to have a look. I know a little bit of cooking. Let's see if there are any suitable ingredients so I can cook it myself."
Gu Wangxi is a VIP customer, and the manager has specifically instructed that he be provided with the best service.
Gu Wangxi was so easy to talk to, so how could the person on duty not agree? Besides, there was nothing in the hotel's big kitchen that was not allowed to be seen by others.
Gu Wangxi was taken into the kitchen. The person on night duty picked up a bottle of pork floss from the wooden shelf where the ingredients were placed and asked, "Mr. Gu, pork floss rice? This is suitable for people who are sick."
Gu Wangxi took the jar of meat floss and thanked him, but then he felt that just rice soaked with meat floss was not nutritious enough, as the amount of meat was not enough.
Gu Wangxi looked at the wooden shelf and saw eggs, tomatoes and baked bread with butter in glass jars.
He began, "I'll make some soup with two eggs, a tomato, and some bread and butter."
The person on night duty quickly waved his hand and said, "Mr. Gu, feel free to use it. I'll fire it for you."
Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Gu Wangxi rolled up his sleeves, placed the rinsed tomatoes on the chopping board, cut them into small dices, put them into a pan of hot oil, stir-fried them until the juice came out, then added boiling water and two beaten eggs.
While waiting for the soup to boil, Gu Wangxi picked up a round-bottomed soup bowl and put the torn pieces of buttered bread into it.
The rice with pork floss was cooked by the restaurant staff.
Gu Wangxi came upstairs carrying a wooden tray. On the tray were steaming and fragrant rice with pork floss and a bread with egg and tomato soup that was neither Chinese nor Western, for Bei Bitang to choose from.
Bei Bitang looked at the food that was served to her. If she didn't eat it, she would be really ungrateful.
She picked up the tomato and egg soup and ate it with a spoon.
The more she ate, the greater Bei Bitang's appetite became. She not only ate up all the mixed soup made by Gu Wangxi, but also finished the rice with pork floss.
Seeing Bei Bitang finish her meal, Gu Wangxi asked, "Do you want more? I'll get some more."
Bei Bitang sighed comfortably, as if the pain in her waist had eased a little. She shook her head and said, "If you eat any more, I won't be able to sleep."
Gu Wangxi picked up the phone and asked someone to clear the dishes.
As soon as I put down the phone and looked up, I saw Bei Bitang supporting her waist and trying to get out of bed.
Gu Wangxi hurriedly shouted, "What are you doing? Lie still."
Bei Bitang explained sheepishly, "I want to brush my teeth."
Gu Wangxi helped Bei Bitang back to the bed, sat her down, and said unhappily, "You can tell me what you want to do. Brushing your teeth, right? I'll get you some water, a cup, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. Sit on the bed and brush."
Bei Bitang was extremely terrified, restless, on pins and needles, with a thorn in her back and a lump in her throat.
Gu Wangxi also has a temper, and Bei Bitang didn't dare to speak out against it.
After being helped by Gu Wangxi, he cleaned his teeth and was then tucked into the quilt obediently.
After taking care of Bei Bitang, Gu Wangxi finally had time to tidy himself up. Smelling of cooking fumes, he went into the bathroom and took another shower.
After the lights went out, in the darkness, Bei Bitang suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Gu, the Northwest is actually a great place. The vast grasslands and snowy landscapes are truly enchanting. I'm an expert on half of the Northwest. If I don't get into university next year, I'll be a tour guide, taking people on trips to the Northwest. I won't starve to death anyway."
Gu Wangxi wanted to say, have you forgotten that I can support you?
After thinking for a while, Gu Wangxi didn't say this out loud. He said, "Then tell me about the Northwest. I have never been to the Northwest."
Before going abroad, Gu Wangxi grew up in Beijing and had only been to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing. He had never been to the Northwest.
"The Northwest is vast and beautiful. The best seasons for travel are June and July..."
Bei Bitang's voice seemed extremely ethereal in the empty darkness.
The Northwest didn't leave Bei Bitang with a completely happy life, otherwise she wouldn't have been awakened by a nightmare. In the dream, she was eaten by a wild wolf.
In winter, Bei Bitang's hands were severely frostbitten, and the skin on her hands stuck to her work tools like the top layer of soy milk.
My palms were numb, so I went to the infirmary to get some frostbite ointment to apply. I was worried for seven whole days. When I went to the infirmary for a follow-up check, I only got the answer that there shouldn't be any serious problem.
The land in the northwest is too barren. If you encounter a wild beast, there is nowhere to hide and you can only close your eyes and wait for death.
In winter, hungry wolves would come down the mountain in groups, surround the camp, and howl. The bear dung, tiger dung, leopard dung, and lion dung spread all over the camp were useless, and people had to fight them.
Firelight, spiked fences, and the sound of gunfire. The slack season finally arrived, yet we still had to worry about whether we'd survive the next day.
If the road collapses and supplies are cut off, going hungry is a small matter; having no fuel and being unable to contact the outside world is a big problem.
The entire regiment was like an isolated island, perhaps one day when people found it, they would discover ice sculptures inside, their frozen faces filled with fear.
Bei Bitang lived like this for four years. Even after returning to the comfortable Shanghai, she still had nightmares.
"People there have to learn horseback riding and archery from a young age. They are also very good at making milk tea and beef and mutton..."
Bei Bitang's voice became increasingly vague, and her eyelids drooped.
The room fell silent. Gu Wangxi, holding a flashlight, gently lifted up Bei Bitang's pajamas and carefully observed her waist.
I felt relieved when I found that there were no scars on Bei Bitang's waist, it was as smooth as snow, and there were no protruding bones.
Bei Bitang's back injury relapsed, but she walked around normally on weekdays and it was not noticeable at all.
The pain lasted for two days. When she woke up on the third day, she felt refreshed and suddenly felt better. There was no sign of the pain on Bei Bitang's body or mind.
Bei Bitang told Gu Wangxi the good news. These days, whenever she was with Gu Wangxi, Gu Wangxi was always cautious with her.
She was so embarrassed that she didn't know how to face Gu Wangxi, so she could only come to the Peace Hotel as little as possible, but she was reluctant to leave the study materials in Gu Wangxi's hands.
Gu Wangxi tried to test it out, but when he saw that Bei Bitang was completely healed, he gave up the idea of taking Bei Bitang to the hospital.
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