Chapter 44
In the early morning, Qi Baizi opened her eyes to the sight of familiar yet unfamiliar decor. Her vision was still a bit blurry, but after a few seconds, it gradually came into focus.
The waiting time today was shorter than yesterday, and the pain from the swelling on her forehead wasn’t as pronounced. Her body was healing. Qi Baizi felt a moment of refreshing clarity before sitting up in bed to greet the day’s wave of dizziness.
Over the past few days, Qi Baizi had mostly figured out the pattern. A little combo of symptoms usually hit her right around the time she woke up in the morning. During the day, when she was engaged in normal activities, the symptoms were almost nonexistent. Strenuous exercise might cause a little nausea, but everything else was fine.
Outside the window, a violent storm had already arrived. To be precise, Qi Baizi hadn’t woken up early on purpose; she had been awakened by the sound of the wind.
Although her room faced south, the typhoon was relentless, not caring whether it was north or south, and it rattled against the glass all the same.
After washing up and changing into her day clothes, Qi Baizi walked out of her room. She paused for a second at Gu Yuetong’s bedroom next door, then turned and went downstairs, where she was met by Qin Lishu, who had just brewed some tea.
“Xiao Bai, you’re up so early?” Auntie Qin greeted her warmly, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to her. “Have some tea to warm up. It’s cold today.”
“Thank you, Auntie Qin.”
Qi Baizi took it with a smile, then watched as Auntie Qin turned on the TV to listen to the live typhoon forecast.
In the living room, one stood while the other sat, both silently staring at the television screen. On camera, a female reporter was being blown about so hard she could barely walk, but she held onto her microphone dutifully, reporting live from the front lines.
“Oh my, that’s really dangerous.”
After listening for a while, Auntie Qin couldn’t help but click her tongue. “Tsk, tsk, look at that wind. See? All the electric bikes at the hospital entrance behind her have fallen over. Is that Jingshan Hospital?”
Qi Baizi was a bit distracted. She hummed absently, taking a small sip from the teacup in her hand. The warm liquid flowed into her stomach, warming her entire body.
Auntie Qin was still marveling, “This wretched weather, really… Oh my, why are people still out in this storm? Look behind her…”
Qi Baizi looked up at the sound and saw, not far behind the female reporter in the news report, several men in suits and sunglasses walking into the hospital entrance.
Outside, thunder and lightning raged, and the wind howled furiously. What kind of people were these, that they wouldn’t even take a car?
Qi Baizi let out a cold laugh, treating them as a topic of conversation and chatting with Auntie Qin for a few more sentences before she heard someone coming downstairs.
She instinctively turned her head, thinking it was Gu Yuetong, but was surprised to see it was Li Yi.
Li Yi yawned, her hair a mess as she came down and greeted Auntie Qin and Qi Baizi. Auntie Qin handed her a cup of tea as well. She took a sip and then spoke, “This rain is so heavy. I wonder where President Gu is now.”
Qi Baizi instantly turned to look at her. “President Gu went out?”
Startled by her loud question, Li Yi realized that Qi Baizi didn’t know Gu Yuetong had been called away by Gu Hezhu at five in the morning. She was about to explain when Auntie Qin started winking at her frantically from behind.
Li Yi was still drowsy. She had woken up once at five, then slept for another half hour, so she hadn’t gotten a solid rest. She didn’t understand Auntie Qin’s signals at the moment. She plopped down opposite them and said, “I don’t know what got into the Chairman, but she called early this morning and insisted that President Gu go over immediately. I happened to be up and going to the bathroom, so I held an umbrella and walked her to the car.”
“Do you guys think the Chairman is a psycho? Even if they’re mother and daughter, she can’t just torment her like this,” Li Yi said, speaking up for Gu Yuetong. She was about to say more when Auntie Qin quickly refilled her teacup.
This time, Li Yi understood Auntie Qin’s ‘signal’ and sheepishly closed her mouth.
Auntie Qin sat back down next to Qi Baizi and tugged on her sleeve, signaling her to sit down first.
Qi Baizi let her be, her mind wandering. On the news, they were reporting a traffic accident, illustrating the impact of the typhoon on road traffic.
Qi Baizi stared at the TV, and a sudden wave of dizziness washed over her for a few seconds. She nearly dropped her teacup.
Auntie Qin quickly placed a hand on her back and rubbed it soothingly. “Don’t worry, Yuetong has been in touch with me. She’s already arrived safely at Gu Hezhu’s house.”
“She contacted you?” Qi Baizi pulled her phone out of her pocket. The message notification bar was empty. “Why didn’t she contact me?”
“She must have been afraid of worrying you, or maybe she wanted you to sleep in a little longer.”
Qi Baizi fell silent, not knowing what to say.
***
Gu Yuetong sat in the living room of Gu Hezhu’s villa. Outside, the rain poured down like a waterfall. She had rushed over as soon as she got the call this morning, but Gu Hezhu was nowhere to be seen.
A maid poured Gu Yuetong a glass of lemon water and brought a plate of fruit pastries. Afraid of her blood sugar dropping, Gu Yuetong picked up a piece and ate half of it. After waiting for nearly ten more minutes, someone finally came downstairs.
A doctor in a white coat came down and nodded slightly at Gu Yuetong when he saw her.
“Doctor Cen.” Gu Yuetong also stood up politely to greet her. “How is the patient?”
“She’s stable for now. I gave her a sedative, and she’s asleep,” Doctor Cen replied. “But we’re not sure what will happen when she wakes up.”
“I heard she’s been undergoing physical therapy recently and has been taking her medication diligently. Her blood pressure has also been well-maintained. Why did she suddenly have an episode?”
Doctor Cen asked Gu Yuetong, who remained silent for a moment before looking at one of the maids. The maid flinched and said in a small voice, “The Chairman has been under a lot of stress because of the recent trouble at the group… But she has been taking her anti-anxiety medication on time. Maybe it’s just, it’s just…”
The maid couldn’t explain what it was.
Doctor Cen expressed her understanding. “As people get older, if their emotions are unstable, their bodies become unstable too. It’s quite normal.”
Her words seemed intended to comfort Gu Yuetong, but Gu Yuetong hadn’t expressed any opinion from the beginning.
“She still needs to take her medication on time, and she should have regular liver and kidney function tests.” After giving a few instructions, Doctor Cen sat down. A maid promptly served her a cup of strong coffee, specially noting that sugar had been added.
Gu Yuetong suddenly let out a small, sarcastic laugh. Doctor Cen didn’t understand the meaning behind her smile, but the topic remained on Gu Hezhu.
“She used to have an annual physical exam. It would be best to change it to every six months. Also, I’ve heard some things about the group recently. Whether the media is exaggerating or it’s true, in any case, Chairman Gu should no longer bear such heavy responsibilities. If this continues, her physical and mental health will eventually collapse.”
“But we have you, don’t we?” Gu Yuetong gave a formal smile. “Doctor Cen, you spend more days in this villa than I do, and you’re a professor-level expert who studied abroad. With you by the Chairman’s side, everyone feels very at ease.”
Doctor Cen’s hand, holding the coffee cup, paused. She looked a little awkward at the comment.
Gu Yuetong paid no mind to her slightly stunned expression. She raised her hand to look at her watch and stood up. “I can’t make decisions about her work, but as for her health, I’ll have to trouble Doctor Cen to be more attentive.”
With that, she turned to leave. Doctor Cen was taken aback and quickly called out to her, “Wait a moment!”
It was already noon when she returned to East Mountain Manor, but the sky outside looked no different from the morning. The rain was still falling, not as heavily as in the morning, but close. Perhaps the morning news report about the traffic accident had served as a warning to the citizens, as there were far fewer cars on the road. Gu Yuetong drove slowly, and no one honked at her for being in the way.
After parking the car, Gu Yuetong held an umbrella and went inside. The glass door opened and closed with a soft sound, which the two people cooking in the kitchen, Auntie Qin and Li Yi, didn’t hear. But Qi Baizi came running down the stairs, taking two or three steps at a time.
Seeing Qi Baizi rushing towards her again without regard for her own body, Gu Yuetong’s first reaction wasn’t anger like yesterday, but an urge to hug her.
But Li Yi had also come out. Gu Yuetong reined in her emotions, closed her umbrella, and deliberately looked away towards Li Yi, asking if they had eaten.
Li Yi shook her head. “We were just about to cook.”
“Then let’s eat together,” Gu Yuetong said with a smile. “I haven’t eaten either.”
Qi Baizi stood to the side and reached out to touch her hair. “Did you get wet?”
Gu Yuetong felt a little uncomfortable and dodged slightly. “Yes, the wind was too strong. The rain blew all over me as I was walking in.”
“Why didn’t you call and have us come out to get you?”
Qi Baizi knew that Gu Yuetong was deliberately acting distant because Li Yi was present, and she cooperated by changing “me” to “us” in her words. But she didn’t seem to realize how inappropriate it was for her to say that.
It sounded like… a reprimand. Gu Yuetong frowned.
Li Yi opportunely smoothed things over. “It wouldn’t have helped. In this wretched weather, unless we wrapped ourselves in a sealed metal box, it would just mean two more people getting wet. President Gu was thinking of us, right, President Gu?”
Gu Yuetong hummed in agreement, her expression unchanged. “I’m going upstairs to change.”
After she was gone, Li Yi let out a long breath and nudged Qi Baizi with her shoulder. “You can’t talk to her like that.”
Qi Baizi’s downcast eyes lifted. “Why?”
“She’s the boss. Whatever she does is right. Only she can criticize us for not doing our jobs properly. We can’t question her about why she didn’t speak up,” Li Yi sighed, looking at Qi Baizi as if she were a child. “You’ve been with her longer than I have, but when it comes to communicating with a superior, you’re really not as good as me.”
“But don’t worry, I’ll teach you more.”
Seeing the grim look on Qi Baizi’s face, Li Yi thought she had spoken too harshly. She stuck out her tongue and made a funny face to cheer her up. “Cheer up, Classmate Xiao Bai~~”
Seeing her like this, Qi Baizi managed to pull at the corner of her lips.
“Well, I’ll go back to cooking then.” Li Yi raised an eyebrow and walked into the kitchen, looking back every few steps.
Qi Baizi watched her retreating figure, pursed her lips, and fell into deep thought as she put away the umbrella Gu Yuetong had left behind, now completely soaked with rain.
The words she had hidden in her heart last night were ultimately replaced by a lie, left unsaid.
When Gu Yuetong asked her why she regretted confessing, she had said, “Because I like you too much, and I’m afraid of putting more pressure on you, making you constantly consider my feelings.”
Gu Yuetong had paused for a few seconds, then smiled and smoothed her hair. “I won’t. In front of outsiders, I’ll control myself. But you have to promise me too, to keep our relationship hidden, okay?”
The answer was, of course, yes, but Qi Baizi was unwilling to accept it.
At dinner, Gu Yuetong had changed into a clean, simple long dress and was sitting at the dining table.
While Li Yi and Auntie Qin were serving the dishes, Qi Baizi reached under the table and took hold of Gu Yuetong’s cool fingers.
Startled, Gu Yuetong tried to pull her hand away, but Qi Baizi looked at her with a smile, her grip firm. It wasn’t until Li Yi’s footsteps approached the dining room that Qi Baizi abruptly let go.
The movement made Gu Yuetong’s body stiffen slightly. Li Yi thought she was unwell. “President Gu, are you alright?”
Gu Yuetong looked troubled and managed a faint smile. Beside her, Qi Baizi acted as if nothing had happened and helped distribute the bowls and chopsticks.
After Auntie Qin sat down, she poured a few glasses of low-alcohol red wine and passed them around. When she got to Qi Baizi, Auntie Qin deliberately switched to a similarly colored fruit juice. “Xiao Bai is allergic to alcohol. She’ll drink this.”
Qi Baizi smiled gratefully and took the glass.
Auntie Qin walked around her, sat down opposite, and began, “Starting today, the official holiday begins. A certain someone’s half-month suspension officially starts. Besides the patient, does anyone have any plans? Like going somewhere for fun?”
She then smiled and added, “Of course, the patient has a vote too.”
Qi Baizi and Li Yi exchanged a silent look, then both turned to Gu Yuetong in unison.
Gu Yuetong smiled. “You guys pick a place. We can treat it as a team-building activity.”
“Then we can go camping after the typhoon passes!” Li Yi raised her hand. “I know a B&B in the Jingzhou Suburbs that’s perfect for photos!”