Chapter 8. How do you young people pursue someone? ...
In the dimly lit bedroom, the bright moonlight streamed through the French windows and the gaps in the curtains, casting ethereal shadows that shone coolly on Shang Shu's face.
She tilted her head back and downed the wine in one gulp. The sour taste of the wine made her frown, her throat burned, and her eardrums throbbed. Shang Shu ruffled her hair haphazardly, her fingertips brushing against her numb cheeks, then reached for the bottle and refilled her glass.
Tonight, it seems they've returned to the time of their first meeting, only the roles are reversed; it's Gu Sui who rescues her from dire straits in the cold night.
She lacked the confidence to refute Shang Wei's words, even if it meant fabricating a bluffing lie. Yet, why was she so irresistibly drawn to her?
She longed to be the one chosen, but neither her father nor her lover did.
It wasn't until dawn that Shang Shu was pulled out of a pile of wine bottles by Song Lan, who hadn't been able to find her, and helped onto the bed. Song Lan was genuinely startled by Shang Shu's face.
Perhaps it was because she was drunk, perhaps because she caught a chill, or perhaps because she hadn't taken her medicine, but Shang Shu felt her body burning hot, her head was dizzy and lightheaded, and her face was burning with pain.
Song Lan hurriedly instructed the housekeeper to call the family doctor. After a dose of fever-reducing injection, Shang Shu's condition stabilized slightly.
*
Outside the Gu Family Medical Center.
Gu Sui picked up his fallen coat and was about to get into the car and leave when he was stopped by the doctor who came out from inside.
"Second Miss, you haven't had a check-up in three months. Please stay, otherwise the Eldest Miss might blame us."
Gu Sui glanced at the dark night in the distance, nodded, and followed the doctor back into the center.
She lay on the hospital bed with her eyes closed, letting the nurse draw blood, but when she thought of Shang Shu's resolute words, her heart couldn't help but clench with pain.
There may be reasons for the difficulties, but the harm caused is undeniable.
She knew that it would take time and patience for Shang Shu to open her heart to her again, and that the illness she had suffered over the years had made her best at waiting and enduring.
She didn't want Shang Shu to make a choice against her conscience out of pity, so she preferred to start from scratch and rebuild her trust in her little by little.
"Miss, the blood and ultrasound results just now showed everything was normal, and no abnormalities were found so far. Please rest well. We will perform a gastroscopy to examine the remaining stomach and anastomosis later. Please don't worry," the doctor reported gently.
Gu Sui hummed in agreement, and was then taken from the ward to the examination room by the nurse. As the examination began, she soon fell into a deep sleep due to the effects of the medication.
When she woke up again, she saw Gu Xiangyi sitting in front of her bed.
"Why are you here?" Gu Sui asked, his voice slightly hoarse.
Gu Xiangyi thoughtfully handed over the water and said somewhat helplessly, "Actually, my mom was here earlier, but she was just called away by the secretary."
Gu Sui pursed his lips and placed the water glass on the bedside table: "It's just a follow-up check-up, I can manage on my own."
Gu Xiangyi pouted: "Auntie, you really should change your stubborn habit, otherwise you wouldn't have..."
Gu Xiangyi swallowed the rest of her sentence, and the air instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Gu Sui didn't seem to care. She glanced at the IV drip in her hand and said softly, "Alright, from now on, I'll ask you to come and take care of me when I have a cold, okay?"
Gu Xiangyi glanced at her and gave a soft "tsk".
Gu Sui, whose brows had been relaxed, seemed to have thought of something, and his brows slowly furrowed again. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Xiangyi, may I ask you a question?"
Gu Xiangyi looked suspicious, but still agreed: "Tell me first, and then I'll consider whether to answer."
Gu Sui opened his mouth: "These days... how do you young people pursue people?"
"Huh?" Gu Xiangyi almost laughed until tears streamed down her face. "Auntie, you're only in your early thirties, yet you consider yourself middle-aged?"
Gu Sui was speechless and just waited quietly for her to finish laughing.
"Ahem..." Gu Xiangyi cleared her throat, putting on an air of knowing everything: "You want to win back your ex, right?"
Are kids these days pretty smart?
"I was just asking." Gu Sui didn't answer her question, but turned his head away somewhat guiltily.
Gu Xiangyi rolled her eyes inwardly, and said in a serious tone, "Although your situation is rather special, we should at least be friends first, no matter what."
friend……
Can she and Shang Shu still be friends?
Seeing Gu Sui frowning in thought, Gu Xiangyi continued, "You need to get into her life, chat with her, show concern, and build up your relationship first."
Speaking of chatting, Gu Sui suddenly realized that he didn't even have Shang Shu's contact information. After Shang Shu returned to China, she changed her phone number, and when she finally had time to log into her account, she found that she had been blocked by Shang Shu at some point.
She picked up her phone, tapped on that familiar profile picture, and in the blank chat box, the red exclamation mark next to the message she sent was particularly glaring.
For several days in a row, Shang Shu and Gu Sui tacitly did not appear at the company. Only Song Lan, the dutiful secretary, would occasionally send some documents online and run back and forth between Yijing Bay and the company.
In the study of Yijing Bay, Shang Shu rested for a few days and began to recover. She then started to deal with her work.
Song Lan was also beside her, arranging the upcoming schedule: "President Shang, Director Li Xian's trip is scheduled for next Monday at the Shanghai production company headquarters... Do you need to postpone your business trip due to your health?"
"Cough cough... No need, just proceed according to the original plan." Shang Shu coughed a few times as she sat in the chair, looking slightly haggard.
“Okay.” Song Lan silently operated the tablet, then handed Shang Shu a folder: “These are the latest revised spring/summer sketches from the design department. Please take a look.”
Shang Shu gave a soft "hmm" with a thick nasal tone, took the document, and carefully looked through it. After hesitating for a moment, she asked calmly, "Has the consultant gone to the company these past few days?"
"No, they said that Guangjing arranged for her to go on a business trip." Song Lan also seemed somewhat surprised that Shang Shu was unaware of the situation.
Are you away on a business trip?
Shang Shu frowned: "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Song Lan swallowed hard. She only found out after arriving at the company, which was somewhat of a dereliction of duty on her part as the secretary: "I'm sorry, President Shang, I thought President Gu told you personally, so..."
"Never mind." Shang Shu didn't mean to blame her. After all, Gu Sui had a special status and was considered a semi-free agent in S&S, so she didn't need to report everything to Song Lan.
"Is there anything else?"
"That's all for now," Song Lan reported.
"Okay, I'll go to the company this afternoon to work on the drafts with the design department." Shang Shu said, while carefully examining the drawings in her hands. She only put down her things and took a short rest when her family doctor came in to urge her to take her medicine.
Shang Shu was ill and had little appetite. Looking at the table of delicate and light dishes, she only ate a few mouthfuls of porridge before packing up and heading to the company.
As soon as Shang Shu entered the conference room, she was stared at by the designers in the design department, which made her feel uneasy. In everyone's eyes, she always had a bright and beautiful appearance, but now she was wearing a black mask, only revealing half of her face, which looked not very energetic. She also coughed from time to time, which was quite a contrast.
"Mr. Shang, are you sick?" a designer asked with concern.
"Yeah, I have a bit of a cold." Shang Shu pulled her mask up a little. Of course, she did this not only because she was sick, but also to cover her bruised face.
Her colleagues kept telling her to take care of her health, which touched her deeply. After all, she was very demanding at work, and the designers present had all been criticized by her to some extent, whether sincerely or not. At least she was satisfied with this.
The meeting proceeded efficiently and quickly as usual. Everyone had put in the effort since their last visit, and Shang Shu was satisfied with the draft this time.
"Okay, this season's spring/summer collection will consist of ten items. I will personally design the two core items, and we will try to produce the renderings within two weeks."
Everyone nodded in agreement, except for the person sitting in the corner who didn't react.
Shang Shu glanced at the woman's face, but saw that the woman's expression was normal and there was nothing wrong. She closed her eyes and left the conference room, thinking that perhaps she had seen wrong.
"I think the curve here looks great, but I don't know if the thickness of the metal support will be enough to support it when it's made."
"Yes, you can make the rendering thicker. Try both versions."
"And for the main stone of this one, I would prefer to use an Intense one, because the fire and brilliance are bright enough..."
As they packed their things, the group discussed leaving the meeting room.
"Xiao Yun, aren't you leaving?" someone asked, turning around to look at Li Yun in the corner.
"Oh, he's here." Li Yun snapped out of her daze, turned on the light, and walked out of the conference room blankly.
Shang Shu felt a little uncomfortable on her way back to the office. As she walked, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead and palms. She thought it was because the mask was too stuffy, so she reached out and pulled it under her nose, thinking that she would feel better after resting for a while when she got back to the office.
As she stepped out of the elevator and onto the top floor, Shang Shu saw a tall, slender figure standing in the distance. However, before she could take two steps, her vision went black and she collapsed to the ground.
"President Shang, are you alright!" Even the usually composed Song Lan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Shang Shu!"
Seeing this, Gu Sui rushed forward. Without thinking, she knelt down and pulled off Shang Shu's mask, gently shaking her shoulders: "Shu, wake up!"
Seeing no response, Gu Sui picked Shang Shu up in one go. She picked her up so easily, as if she hadn't expected her to be so thin, and her eyes were full of heartache.
As she walked quickly, she said to Song Lan, "I'll take her to the hospital."
“President Gu, Yijing Bay is the closest, and the family doctor is right at home. It’s the fastest way to take President Shang home,” Song Lan added from the side.
"Okay." Gu Sui did not hesitate and tightened his grip on Shang Shu's arms.
Song Lan was also driving. She glanced at Gu Sui, who was sitting in the back seat with her arm around Shang Shu, and recalled her anxious behavior and how she addressed Shang Shu. Her suspicions became even more certain.
The car stopped in front of Yijing Bay. This was Gu Sui's first time visiting Shang Shu's residence in Aocheng. She didn't dare to delay for a second and, led by the housekeeper, carried Shang Shu to the bedroom.
"Miss, the high fever you had a few days ago caused by your ear hasn't fully healed yet. Now, with the added strain of overexertion, you've fainted. You need to rest well, otherwise the inflammation will worsen and cause more trouble." The doctor frowned and put his stethoscope back into his medical kit.
High fever induced by ear symptoms...
Did she fall ill after that night?
Gu Sui stood aside, watching the family doctor insert an IV drip into Shang Shu's hand. Only then did she notice the needle marks on the back of Shang Shu's hand, which was already slightly purplish. She looked at the pale-faced Shang Shu and unconsciously clenched her fist on her arm.
The housekeeper and the doctor left the room one after the other. Song Lan didn't ask any questions, but silently closed the door for them.
Gu Sui sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the obedient and quiet Shang Shu, and couldn't help but relax his brows. Since they met again, they had rarely had a few peaceful opportunities to spend time together.
Suddenly, she noticed the medicine bottle on the bedside table. Just as she was about to reach for it, a voice with a heavy nasal tone came from beside her.
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