chapter 34
Nearby, Tao Qiuyue shook her head, a helpless smile appearing on her gentle face.
The little guy had always been a sucker for good looks. Whenever he saw a pretty girl, his little mouth would be as sweet as honey—almost cloying.
She reached out and pinched the little guy’s chubby cheeks. “Hengheng, is this pretty sister even prettier than Xixi or Xinxin?”
Only after he could no longer see Gu Qingning’s back did the little guy pull his gaze back.
He looked up and smiled, his eyes curved like crescent moons. “Pretty sister is prettier than Xinxin and the others.”
Tao Qiuyue teased him, “Is she even prettier than Mommy?”
Who knew…
The little guy hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded his little head. “Pretty sister is the prettiest.”
Tao Qiuyue couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time, pinching his smooth little cheeks again. “Hengheng, do you like pretty sisters that much?”
Even Qi Xuan had been outshined; if her mother heard this, her heart would probably shatter.
The little guy pursed his lips, the smile on his face growing deeper. “Pretty sister is so beautiful, Hengheng has decided—I’m going to marry pretty sister when I grow up.”
The sparkle in his little eyes left Tao Qiuyue with a black line across her forehead.
…
With Gu Zhao’s signature, Gu Qingning successfully moved into the school dormitory.
As requested, it was a single room, roughly ten square meters.
After tidying the dorm a little, Gu Qingning was drenched in sweat. The clothes she had worn for two days smelled slightly unpleasant.
She casually grabbed a set of clothes, slipped on her slippers, and headed to the bathroom.
After a while, the phone she had thrown on the desk rang, the screen displaying a string of numbers.
The phone vibrated “buzz buzz,” easily drowned out by the sound of running water in the bathroom.
Waiting for someone to answer, Fu Juncheng’s brow furrowed slightly.
He glanced at the dusk outside the window. It was late now, and the exam should have finished.
After hanging up, he tried calling again.
However, after four or five attempts, the result was the same: the call went through, but no one answered.
Fu Juncheng’s dark eyes deepened as he got up and headed outside.
On the other side…
After finishing her shower, the dusk outside gradually faded.
Her messy long hair still steamed from the shower, and Gu Qingning had no time to care about it. A dull pain, like a burning fire, gnawed at her stomach, stealing her focus.
She had overindulged at lunch with spicy hotpot, and her stomach had started hurting while she was showering.
Taking a cup of hot water, she sipped a few mouthfuls.
Even after half the cup, the nagging pain hadn’t eased.
At this hour, the school clinic was closed.
Frowning, she placed the cup back on the desk, grabbed her hat, and put it on.
After changing shoes, she picked up her phone and briskly left the dorm.
At night, the school’s streetlights were on.
Many students at Yizhong were commuters. Compared to the daytime, the school was much quieter at this hour.
The cool night breeze made her already uncomfortable stomach even worse.
Gu Qingning pressed her lips tightly, the phone in her pocket vibrating incessantly.
She slowed her pace and took out her phone.
The caller ID showed only a string of numbers.
She hesitated, then belatedly remembered the dinner appointment tonight.
She had completely forgotten.
She swiped to answer and held the phone to her ear.
“Where are you?” A low, magnetic voice, gentle as a drawn cello.
Gu Qingning’s eyes lowered slightly, and she cleared her throat. “Sorry, I forgot about the dinner tonight.”
Even with her usual tone, Fu Juncheng sensed something off. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” Gu Qingning licked her lips, her throat dry. “Something came up, I’ll make it up another day…”
Fu Juncheng interrupted, asking, “Are you still at school?”
Gu Qingning hesitated. “…Yes.”
Then his next words shocked her: “I’m at your school gate.”
Gu Qingning’s expression froze, the image of his excessively dazzling face flashing through her mind.
He came?
Realizing this, she said, “Wait a moment.”
Hanging up, she quickened her pace toward the main gate.
Just as she exited the school gate, from a distance, she saw Fu Juncheng’s car.
Before she could get close, the person in the car had already stepped out.
In the moonlight, the tall figure of the man approached her.
Gu Qingning was stunned—he really came.
In a daze, the refined figure was now in front of her.
Under the dim streetlight, her pale face came into view.
“What’s wrong? Are you having a fever again?”
As he spoke, his long, jade-like hand rested on her forehead.
Not hot.
Gu Qingning’s eyes trembled slightly. She stepped back, swallowed hard, and said in a hoarse voice, “No.”
Fu Juncheng frowned, worry appearing in his deep eyes. “Are you hurt somewhere again?”
He kept questioning, and Gu Qingning had no choice but to honestly confess in a hoarse voice tinged with helplessness: “I ate too much spicy hotpot at lunch, my stomach hurts.”
Hearing this, Fu Juncheng’s dark eyes deepened. “Why didn’t you say earlier?”
“I…”
Before she could finish, her wrist was grabbed by a warm hand. Gu Qingning was passively led to start walking.
“Where are we going?”
Concerned for her discomfort, Fu Juncheng slowed down. “The hospital.”
Even after sitting in the car, Gu Qingning was still in a daze.
Somehow, she had been placed in the car. She tilted her head, looking at the man driving beside her.
“Why did you come to my school?”
Fu Juncheng said, “You didn’t answer my calls.”
Gu Qingning was surprised. She took out her phone and saw multiple missed calls.
All from him.
She explained, “I was in the shower, didn’t notice.”
Putting away her phone, she reached to open the window.
As she opened a crack, the man’s magnetic voice came: “Don’t.”
Then he added, “Your stomach hurts, the cold wind isn’t good.”
Sweating from the stomach pain, Gu Qingning felt dizzy. In a hoarse voice, she said, “It’s stuffy in the car.”
Fu Juncheng kept a watchful eye on her. Her pale little face revealed rare fragility, and he softened.
At a red light, he turned, took a jacket from the back seat, and placed it in her lap.
“Wear it before opening the window.”
Expecting her to refuse, he added, “Be good, it’s windy outside.”
His gentle voice was low and rich, impossible to resist.
Her clever mind momentarily froze, unable to react. Gu Qingning stared blankly at the jacket in her lap.
Up close, she could faintly smell his cold, elegant scent.
She didn’t wear it, and he didn’t insist. With the windows closed, she wouldn’t catch a cold anyway.
The car drove quickly, and soon they arrived at the hospital.
Getting out, her stomach hurt worse, her whole body weak.
She steadied herself on the car.
Fu Juncheng walked around, his eyes scanning the cold sweat on her forehead, his dark gaze deepening.
“Excuse me, little one.” His teasing tone was less relaxed than usual.
Gu Qingning didn’t understand why he suddenly spoke like that. The next second, he scooped her up horizontally.
A standard princess carry.
Caught off guard, she jumped.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re too slow walking like that.” Fu Juncheng explained, walking straight into the hospital.
A blush flashed across Gu Qingning’s eyes. In a husky voice, she said, “I can do it myself. Put me down.”
She was so embarrassed.
