Chapter 11 I didn't die.
Gu Hong walked into the living room, loosened his tie and handed it to the nanny beside him, then glanced at what Gu Shiyue was holding: a dark blue gift bag tied with a ribbon bow.
As he was wondering, Gu Shiyue had already walked straight towards the door. Gu Hong called out to him, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to eat at home?"
Gu Shiyue grunted in response without turning his head. Gu Hong said in a deep voice, "Sit there. I have something to tell you."
"Just say what you have to say."
"I told you to sit there." Gu Hong's face darkened.
Gu Shiyue turned around, his face expressionless: "Just say what you have to say."
The father and son faced off for half a minute before Gu Hong suppressed his temper and said, "You only have one year left before graduation, so you should start thinking about studying abroad."
The father and son hadn't seen each other for months. When they finally met, Gu Hong brought up the same old story: he wanted Gu Shiyue to change his major, study abroad, and inherit the family business in the future.
Gu Shiyue didn't say much, only saying, "This is my own business, and I don't need you to make the decision for me."
Gu Hong suppressed his anger: "How long have I let you run wild? Have I given you too much freedom, emboldening you to test my limits again and again?"
"If you still want to say this, then you can stop here. I've said what I wanted to say."
Gu Shiyue had nothing to say to his father, nor could they argue, as long as his father didn't cross his lines. He finished speaking and left, leaving Gu Hong livid with anger. The nanny cautiously handed him a teacup, but Gu Hong, still furious, frowned and asked the housekeeper, "What's he doing back here?"
"He came back to get something; it was delivered by Miss Qi, probably... a gift." The butler hesitated for a moment, then whispered a reminder, "Sir, today is Xiao Yue's birthday."
Gu Hong was taken aback and turned to look at the butler.
Gu Shiyue had a bad relationship with his father, and he rarely went back to his "home" in the true sense of the word.
The family driver took him home. After getting into the car, Gu Shiyue felt his head getting heavier and heavier. His phone vibrated, and he looked up at the screen. His uncle had sent two voice messages—
Happy birthday!
"I was so busy I forgot, and then I remembered."
His phone vibrated again; his uncle had transferred a large birthday red envelope to him and then made a voice call.
Gu Shiyue answered the phone.
"You answered the phone quickly, why didn't you accept the red envelope?"
Gu Shiyue didn't stand on ceremony with his uncle: "I haven't had time to receive it yet."
Liang Siheng took a cigarette from the pack, put it in his mouth, and asked him, "How are you going to spend your birthday today?"
"but."
Liang Siheng scoffed, "If it's not going to happen, then it's not going to happen. It's not that interesting anyway."
"Why do you have time to call me? Aren't you busy?"
"Busy." The assistant lit a cigarette for Liang Siheng. Liang Siheng took a drag, exhaled a ring of white smoke, and said, "It's my nephew's birthday. No matter how busy I am, I have to call and wish him a happy birthday."
Liang Siheng's company is located in Beijing, and he is constantly traveling domestically and internationally, rarely seen. Gu Shiyue can only see him a few times a year.
Liang Siheng only moved to Beijing a few years ago to develop his career. He's thirty-seven this year, only about ten years older than Gu Shiyue. When Gu Shiyue was born, this little uncle was still in school. Back then, he was young and a bit reckless, and he played and fooled around with Gu Shiyue from a young age. Before Liang Siheng went to Beijing, Gu Shiyue grew up right under his nose.
The house Gu Shiyue is currently living in belongs to his uncle.
Liang Siheng was busy with work and social engagements, so he hung up the phone after only a few words with Gu Shiyue.
Gu Shiyue caught a chill after being caught in the rain and the air conditioning. He felt drowsy the whole way home and collapsed onto the sofa as soon as he got there. Cotton Ball came running over, meowing excitedly. It hadn't seen its owner for several days and was running around in a mess, each of its four legs moving in its own direction.
Gu Shiyue was too weak to care for it and lay there motionless. Cotton Ball meowed and jumped onto the sofa, rubbing against his neck as if checking if its owner was still alive. Gu Shiyue slightly opened his eyes, placed his palm on its head, gently stroked it, and whispered, "I'm not dead."
"Meow……"
"Don't lean on me, it's hot."
Gu Shiyue returned early without informing Jiang Luo, so Jiang Luo still came to feed the cats as usual today.
Jiang Luo entered the room and noticed the light was on. He paused for a moment, surprised that Mian Tuan hadn't come to greet him at the door like usual. He didn't rush in, but stood in the entryway and asked, "Is anyone home?"
No one answered.
Jiang Luo called out again: "Cotton ball?"
The person didn't respond, but the cat did—Cotton Ball ran over.
Jiang Luo was confused, wondering why no one was home when the lights were on. He changed into slippers and went into the living room, only to be startled to see someone lying on the sofa.
Jiang Luo stopped in her tracks, and after recognizing Gu Shiyue, she softly called out, "Senior?"
The person on the sofa remained motionless. Jiang Luo glanced at Mian Tuan and thought that since Gu Shiyue had returned early, he probably wouldn't have anything to do today, so he might as well leave.
Just as Jiang Luo turned to leave, he felt something was off. Even if Gu Shiyue was asleep, the noise he made when he entered the room, along with the shouts he made, should have woken him up. However, Gu Shiyue was lying on the sofa without moving at all, which was really abnormal.
Jiang Luo approached the sofa and called out again, "Senior?"
Gu Shiyue still didn't react, lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, his head resting against the pillow, slightly turned to one side. From Jiang Luo's angle, he could see Gu Shiyue's sleeping face; his cheeks were flushed, his neck was covered in sweat, and his breathing was heavy.
He looked like he had a fever. Jiang Luo moved closer and squatted down next to the sofa, trying to wake him up: "Senior?"
Gu Shiyue's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't wake up.
If he really has a fever, I definitely have to wake him up; I can't just let him sleep here like this. Jiang Luo wanted to touch Gu Shiyue's forehead to check if he had a fever, but Gu Shiyue opened his eyes as soon as his hand touched him.
Gu Shiyue's face was so close, so strikingly handsome, that it created a powerful visual impact. His nose was high, his brow bone prominent, and his eyes deep and defined. His pupils were very dark, his eyes long and narrow with slightly upturned corners. Because his eyebrows pressed down on his eyes, his features naturally exuded a sharp and cold aura.
Jiang Luo placed his hand on Gu Shiyue's forehead, feeling a distinct warmth from his palm. Gu Shiyue stared at him with his eyes open. Jiang Luo stood there motionless, the warmth from his palm seemingly traveling to his ears instantly. He had only wanted to check his temperature, but he had been caught red-handed and stared at like that. Whether it was embarrassment or something else, Jiang Luo's ears flushed red instantly.
Gu Shiyue and Jiang Luo looked into each other's eyes, Jiang Luo's face reflected in his dark pupils. Jiang Luo finally realized what was happening and quickly withdrew his hand, explaining softly, "I saw you lying here motionless with your face a little red, so I wanted to touch... to see if you had a fever."
Gu Shiyue hummed in agreement, looked at him, and asked, "Did it burn?"
"It's on fire!" Jiang Luo's eyes widened. "It's so hot!"
"Hmm." Gu Shiyue had a high fever and felt drowsy, wanting only to sleep. He responded with a sound of agreement, closed his eyes, and turned his head to one side.
"Senior, aren't you going to the hospital?" Jiang Luo asked.
Gu Shiyue shook his head slightly.
"You need to go to the hospital; your fever is so high."
Gu Shiyue closed his eyes and didn't say anything, completely ignoring him.
Jiang Luo hated going to the hospital, but Gu Shiyue definitely needed to go to the hospital for an IV drip in his condition. He said to Gu Shiyue, "Senior, get up and I'll take you to the hospital."
Gu Shiyue slightly opened her eyes, glanced at him, and said, "I'm not going to the hospital. Let's go, don't worry about me."
"That won't do, you've got such a high fever..." Jiang Luo was a bit helpless. "If you really don't want to go to the hospital, how about taking some fever reducer? Do you have any medicine at home?"
Gu Shiyue closed his eyes and said, "Under the coffee table."
Jiang Luo immediately rummaged through the cabinet under the coffee table. The gift Qi Xueying had given her was placed on the coffee table by Gu Shiyue, and a birthday card had slipped out of the bag. Jiang Luo glanced at the birthday wishes on the card while looking for medicine and realized that today was Gu Shiyue's birthday.
There was a forehead thermometer in the first-aid kit, so Jiang Luo took Gu Shiyue's temperature as well.
She definitely has a fever, and it's quite high.
Jiang Luo went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, took the medicine, squatted down next to the sofa, and softly called to Gu Shiyue, "Senior, it's time to take your medicine."
Gu Shiyue didn't open his eyes, and just hummed in response: "Put it there, I'll eat it myself later."
"Eat now, you'll fall asleep again later." Jiang Luo could tell he was about to fall asleep, so he asked, "Senior, is today your birthday?"
"Mmm," Gu Shiyue said in a low voice.
Lying here at this hour, Jiang Luo suspected that Gu Shiyue might not have eaten dinner yet: "Senior, have you had dinner?"
"without."
Jiang Luo was a little worried. She had a fever, hadn't eaten dinner, and wasn't taking any medicine or going to the hospital.
"Let me cook you some porridge. Can I use your kitchen?"
Gu Shiyue was indeed almost asleep. He didn't even think about what Jiang Luo said after that, and even if he did, he immediately forgot it. He just moved his lips slightly and casually replied, "Mm."
"Take your medicine first." Jiang Luo handed over the medicine, trying to wake Gu Shiyue, but no matter how he called, Gu Shiyue wouldn't respond and had fallen into a deep sleep.
Jiang Luo went to the kitchen to cook porridge and also made a bowl of noodles. He took a few washcloths from the bathroom, soaked them in cold water, wrung them out, and wanted to wipe Gu Shiyue's face to cool him down.
The cold touch on his face woke Gu Shiyue up instantly. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of familiar, beautiful eyes.
Jiang Luo bent down to wipe his face, blinking at him as she asked, "You're awake?"
Gu Shiyue was a little dazed, looking at the boy in front of him, his consciousness gradually returning. He felt like he had slept for a long time and never expected that Jiang Luo was still here.
Jiang Luo wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, "Was it too cold? Did it wake you up from the cold?"
Gu Shiyue suddenly raised his hand, encircled Jiang Luo's wrist, and lifted it slightly, seemingly to stop him. Jiang Luo was startled, and his hand froze.
"What are you doing?" Gu Shiyue's voice was hoarse from just waking up. He had slept for several tens of minutes and seemed to be in better spirits than before, but his body was still very hot. The hand he was holding around Jiang Luo was so hot that Jiang Luo's wrist felt like it was burning.
“I want to cool you down…” Jiang Luo was a little embarrassed and wanted to take his hand back, but Gu Shiyue hummed in agreement, grabbed his wrist and put his hand back on his forehead, and then let go.
Jiang Luo stood there awkwardly, unsure whether to move or not, and looked at Gu Shiyue, asking, "Senior, what do you mean?"
"Isn't this to help cool me down?"
"I thought you didn't like being touched. It was so embarrassing." Jiang Luo chuckled. "You're awake now, why don't you subdue yourself?"
Gu Shiyue said, "You surrender."
Jiang Luo chuckled: "Okay then."
The washcloth was no longer cold. Jiang Luo said, "I'll go get a new washcloth. You get up and eat your noodles first, or you'll regret it."
Jiang Luo went to the kitchen and brought over a bowl of noodles, placing it on the coffee table. It was a simple egg and tomato noodle soup with a few greens and a carrot slice carved into the shape of "Happy Birthday" on top.
Gu Shiyue saw the carrot slices with words carved on them and glanced at Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Happy birthday, senior."
A note from the author:
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