Chapter 9 So how do you want to punish me?
What are you doing?
Upon hearing this, Gu Sui turned his head and met Shang Shu's bright eyes.
"You're awake. Is anything bothering you?" Gu Sui subtly withdrew her hand and tucked one side of her long hair behind her ear.
Shang Shu shook her head. Their eyes met, and they remained silent for a long time before Shang Shu finally spoke first.
"Did you bring me back?" She sniffed, and after confirming that she was in her own bedroom, she roughly guessed what had happened.
"Hmm." Gu Sui lowered his eyes and gave a soft "hmm."
Shang Shu felt a little embarrassed, recalling the harsh words she had spoken not long ago, and awkwardly squeezed out two words in a low voice: "Thank you..."
Gu Sui looked calmly into her eyes and said in a cold voice, "Shang Shu, if you don't need anyone else's concern, at least take care of your own health first."
Hearing her words, which were half reproachful, half concerned, and seemed to carry a hint of helplessness, Shang Shu felt a little guilty and lost her resolve to argue with her.
"Weren't you away on a business trip..." Shang Shu turned her head away to change the subject.
"You're back early," Gu Sui replied casually, then turned his gaze to the medicine bottles on the bedside table: "What kind of medicine are these?"
Seeing Gu Sui reach for it again, Shang Shu swiftly snatched it away, saying, "It's just some ordinary tonics; you wouldn't understand them anyway."
Seeing that her suspicion hadn't subsided, Shang Shu quickly changed the subject. She looked innocently into Gu Sui's eyes and said with a hint of grievance, "Gu Sui, I'm hungry."
Upon hearing this, Gu Sui's expression softened slightly, no longer showing the seriousness from before: "What would you like to eat?"
"Anything is fine."
"Okay." Gu Sui slowly got up, walked to the coffee table, poured a glass of water and handed it to Shang Shu, then left the bedroom.
As Shang Shu heard her footsteps fading into the distance, she hurriedly stuffed several medicine bottles into a drawer beside her before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
She lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling. This was the third time Gu Sui had offered her a helping hand. For some reason, Shang Shu felt a long-lost sense of peace.
When Gu Sui returned with the cooked porridge, Shang Shu had already fallen into a deep sleep again.
After gently placing the bowl on the coffee table, Gu Sui sat down by Shang Shu's bedside again. Looking at her slightly tired sleeping face, she couldn't help but reach out and gently brush away the stray hairs from her forehead.
Gu Sui gazed at her quietly, his thoughts drifting back to that cold winter in Aicheng.
That year, Edinburgh experienced its worst cold wave in nearly a decade, vividly described by local media as the "Eastern Beast." A polar continental air mass from Siberia, accompanied by strong easterly winds, brought a rare blizzard to Edinburgh. The snow on the roads was so thick that even the 172cm tall Gu Sui would be submerged up to his knees.
The two sat on the sofa watching TV. Shang Shu couldn't help but snuggle closer to Gu Sui. The news was broadcasting live footage of white-covered streets and empty supermarket shelves. Fortunately, they still had some stockpiled goods, which would at least help them get through the short term.
Before she could even feel relieved, Shang Shu developed a high fever late that night.
"Gu Sui... I'm cold." Shang Shu lay on the bed shivering. She was covered with a thick down comforter and several blankets on top of it, covering herself with almost everything she could find in the house.
Gu Sui took out fever reducers from the medicine box and struggled to pull Shang Shu out of the quilt: "Come on, let's take the medicine."
As she spoke, she tried to put the warm water into Shang Shu's hand, but Shang Shu was so weak that she didn't even have the strength to hold the cup. So Gu Sui held the cup and fed it to her mouth by hand, and only then did she manage to swallow the medicine.
She hadn't been settled for long when Shang Shu started frantically pulling back the covers, saying, "It's hot...so hot."
"Ah Shu, be good..." Gu Sui coaxed softly, tucking Shang Shu's exposed arms and legs back into the blanket.
"Gu Sui... I'm so thirsty... Open the window, and... I want to kiss you, give me a kiss..." Shang Shu struggled, spouting nonsensical nonsense.
"You're still so restless even when you're sick." Gu Sui felt both sorry for Shang Shu and amused. She brushed aside the damp strands of hair on Shang Shu's forehead, touched her still burning forehead, then got up and went to the bathroom to wet a towel with warm water and wipe Shang Shu's body to cool her down.
She stayed by her side until dawn when Shang Shu showed signs of her fever subsiding. Only then did Gu Sui agree to take a short nap by her bedside. Perhaps she was too tired, because she gradually fell asleep as well.
In her drowsy state, Gu Sui felt a tickling sensation on her eyelashes. She opened her sleepy eyes and met Shang Shu's bright eyes.
Before Shang Shu could withdraw her hand from touching Gu Sui's eyelashes, she gave her a sweet smile.
Gu Sui smiled faintly as she stood up from the carpet, rubbed her slightly numb legs, then sat back down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch Shang Shu's forehead: "Hmm, the fever is gone. Are you still feeling unwell?"
A sly smile appeared on Shang Shu's face: "The fever isn't so bad anymore, it's just other things..."
Gu Sui patted her head helplessly and scolded her, "You're never serious."
"Don't touch my hair, it must be so greasy..." Shang Shu pouted, protesting somewhat shyly, "I'm going to take a shower!"
“No, you’ve only just recovered from your fever,” Gu Sui immediately objected.
"But I'm sweating so much, I feel so uncomfortable, and my hair is so oily, please let me wash it..." Shang Shu hugged her arm and acted coquettishly. Seeing that she seemed to be slightly moved, she continued to press her advantage.
"Please, Gu Sui~"
"Ah Sui, you're the best!"
"Alright, alright." Gu Sui hurriedly put out the fire. She couldn't stand this kind of thing the most; if she listened any longer, she was afraid something would happen to her first.
"Then you need to wash quickly, dry your hair, and get dressed before coming out. You can't catch a cold."
"Okay!" Hearing Gu Sui's instructions, Shang Shu quickly agreed, jumped out of bed, grabbed a new nightgown, and rushed into the bathroom.
"Slow down." Gu Sui sighed and rubbed his forehead. Seeing her energetic appearance, he felt a little relieved.
Outside the window, snow was still falling heavily, and the windows were covered with fine frost due to the temperature difference. While Shang Shu was taking a bath, Gu Sui went downstairs to the kitchen to cook porridge.
Shang Shu dried her hair and had just stepped out of the bathroom when she had a sudden idea and went back in. She cleared her throat and called out from outside the door, "Gu Sui, I forgot to bring my clothes~"
Hearing the commotion downstairs, Gu Sui put down the spoon in his hand, washed his hands, and went upstairs.
How come she remembers seeing her take the clothes?
Before she could think it through, Gu Sui, worried that she might catch a cold, quickly grabbed a clean nightgown and went to the bathroom door. He opened it a crack and reached his hand in, but the door suddenly opened, and Shang Shu pulled her into the bathroom and pinned her against the door.
The bathroom was still filled with lingering steam, and the two of them pressed tightly together, feeling each other's breaths.
"You're lying to me." Gu Sui's wrist was held above her head by her, and his gaze swept over her already fully dressed body. In the warm light, Shang Shu's perfect curves were faintly visible under her semi-transparent nightgown, and she couldn't help but swallow.
"Hmm, so how do you want to punish me?" Shang Shu asked in a charming voice, gently nuzzling Gu Sui's nose with her nose, looking with satisfaction at Gu Sui's flushed cheeks.
"Don't...don't make a fuss, you're still sick." Gu Sui grasped the last vestiges of his sanity and gently moved his wrist, which was being held tightly.
"I'm all better now, and I want to kiss her right now." Shang Shu stared at her luscious lips, her chest heaving more and more violently, and couldn't help but kiss her, her hands also beginning to wander downwards.
Gu Sui's legs went weak from the kiss, and she couldn't help but let out a few soft moans. Just as her last shred of reason was about to slip away, she trembled and said, "A-Shu, porridge..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Shu released her wrist, but just when she thought she could escape, she grabbed her waist and pulled her into her arms. With her other hand, she continued to remove the cumbersome fabric. Hearing Gu Sui's soft gasp, Shang Shu kissed her fair neck and chuckled, saying with a double meaning, "Don't worry, it'll be quick."
The bathroom was warm and humid, the swirling steam seemingly reluctant to dissipate, ambiguously covering every inch of their skin. Their thoughts became sticky, their vision gradually blurred, and the beating of their hearts and the contraction of their muscles synchronized, as if they could hear the sound of every snowflake falling outside the door.
Only when they were completely exhausted did the two of them finally come out of the bathroom. Gu Sui rescued the hot porridge from the stove, ladled out a bowl, and shoved it into Shang Shu's hands with a reproachful expression.
"Gu Sui, the snow is so heavy." Shang Shu murmured softly as she stood by the window, holding a bowl of porridge in both hands.
"Mmm." Gu Sui turned his head to look at her, a gentle smile on his still flushed face.
Perhaps she was really too tired, because Shang Shu slept until night without waking up, and even when the family doctor came to remove the IV, she didn't have much of a reaction.
Gu Sui stood up, preparing to take the now-cold porridge downstairs to throw it away, when she just heard Shang Shu making some noises on the bed.
“Gu…Gu Sui…”
"I'm here." The room was dark, and Gu Sui couldn't see Shang Shu's face clearly. She only vaguely heard her name and thought she was awake, so she responded softly. She slowly returned to the bedside in the dim light and leaned closer to look, but saw that Shang Shu still had her eyes closed.
"No...don't...go..." Shang Shu frowned and kept muttering to herself.
"What?" Gu Sui didn't understand what she meant. Looking at her pained expression, he realized that she seemed to be having a nightmare.
"Shang Shu?" She frowned, reached out and grasped Shang Shu's shoulders, gently shaking her, trying to wake her from the nightmare.
"No...no!" Shang Shu suddenly opened her eyes, and after confirming that the person in front of her was Gu Sui, she still moved to the other side of the bed, still somewhat shaken.
"You had a nightmare." Gu Sui didn't rush to turn on the overhead light, but instead turned on the bedside lamp with its gentle light.
Shang Shu steadied herself and took a while to catch her breath. She gave a soft "hmm" and subconsciously reached for the medicine bottle on the bedside table, but only touched air. She then remembered that she had put the medicine away. She turned to look at Gu Sui, gave up the idea, and simply picked up the remote control to turn on the ceiling light in the room.
"What does this have to do with me?" Gu Sui asked.
"Huh?" Shang Shu pretended to be dumbfounded, but in her heart she was screaming, "Did I say something I shouldn't have?"
"It's nothing, it's just that you seemed to have called my name." Gu Sui's gaze swept over Shang Shu's face, her dark chestnut curls partially obscuring her features, making it impossible to discern any change in her expression.
"I forgot, you must have misheard me," Shang Shu said dismissively, turning her head away.
She couldn't very well tell Gu Sui that she dreamed about him every day.
Gu Sui pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and did not reply.
"Actually, you don't need to watch over me." Shang Shu glanced at the time, then looked at Gu Sui, who was still dressed in a neat suit, and felt a little tired for her.
"You still have time to worry about others." Gu Sui glanced at her, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Shang Shu rolled her eyes at her and tugged at the blanket covering her.
Gu Sui seemed to remember something and reached out to Shang Shu, saying, "Can I borrow your phone for a moment?"
"Don't you have one yourself?" Shang Shu asked warily, but her hand unconsciously reached for her phone.
Gu Sui naturally took the phone and operated it under Shang Shu's suspicious gaze. After a while, she handed it back to her, and then Shang Shu took out her own phone and tapped a few times.
As Shang Shu watched the message "Friend verification accepted" pop up on her screen, the scene of blocking Gu Sui back then reappeared in her mind. Looking at the brand-new account on the screen, she couldn't help but think that Gu Sui had become smarter.
"Who agreed to add you?" Shang Shu muttered as she turned off her phone and tossed it aside.
Gu Sui ignored her stubbornness, got up again, picked up the bowl of porridge he hadn't had time to take, and walked to the door: "I'm leaving. There are fresh ones in the kitchen. I'll have the housekeeper bring them up to you."
"Um..." Shang Shu said to her departing figure, "It's too late, I'll have the driver take you."
Gu Sui didn't turn around, but just tilted her head slightly. Her long black hair slipped gently from behind her ears as she moved. Gu Sui smiled and said, "I thought you were going to ask me to stay."
Shang Shu was taken aback and said somewhat awkwardly, "It's your first time visiting someone else's house and you want to stay here? That's quite casual of you." Then she changed the subject, "If you want to stay, then stay. Anyway, I have plenty of guest rooms."
"Just kidding, I'll have the driver pick me up." Gu Sui smiled and looked at her, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes, but it quickly subsided.
"Get some rest," Gu Sui instructed, then closed the door and left the room.
Shang Shu's gaze followed her back until all she could see was the bare door, and she felt a strange sense of loss.
It's all her fault, why did she have to ask to stay here...?
Shang Shu bit her lower lip, picked up her phone, and looked at the account of this "new friend".
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