"Cough!" Shen Mianyin choked on her own saliva, feeling guilty.
Gu Huaizhi let out a light laugh, the sound as melodious as a delicate chime, echoing briefly in her ear.
Shen Mianyin looked up in surprise at Gu Huaizhi. Had he just smiled? She felt a bit frustrated with herself for being so timid, always keeping her head down. She hadn’t even seen what his smile looked like.
"Alright," Gu Huaizhi said.
Only then did Shen Mianyin realize that the blood and glass shards on her hand had been cleaned up without her noticing. He must have said that to distract her, to prevent her from focusing on the pain.
As she calmed down, she began to feel the discomfort of being touched by Gu Luoan, as if she had been contaminated by something vile and sticky, like the touch of a repulsive insect.
"Assistant Zhou, could you please give me another alcohol wipe?" Shen Mianyin asked, looking at Zhou Jingqi, who was sitting in the front.
"Of course." Zhou Jingqi quickly pulled out an alcohol wipe and handed it to her.
Shen Mianyin took the wipe and carefully began to clean her neck, where Gu Luoan had touched her. But no matter how much she wiped, she still felt unsettled. Even though she could smell the strong scent of alcohol, the disgusting sensation on her skin, left by his touch, just wouldn't go away.
"That's enough." Gu Huaizhi stopped her from continuing to wipe and took the alcohol wipe from her. "You're already rubbing it. It's clean enough."
Shen Mianyin pressed her lips together, saying nothing, but her body was still slightly tense.
Gu Huaizhi's breath deepened as he held the alcohol wipe and raised his hand. Suddenly, Shen Mianyin felt a cool sensation on her neck. She turned in surprise to see that Gu Huaizhi was gently wiping her neck with the alcohol wipe, his touch much lighter than hers had been.
He wiped so gently and carefully, as if afraid to break her skin.
Yet, for some reason, despite it being the same alcohol wipe, the coolness of the alcohol seemed far more pronounced when Gu Huaizhi applied it to her skin.
Though his fingertips didn’t directly touch her, it felt as if tiny currents of electricity were softly and lightly flowing over her skin. Shen Mianyin couldn't help but shiver slightly.
Gu Huaizhi, misunderstanding, looked at the redness on her skin and asked, "Does it hurt?"
“No, no,” Shen Mianyin said in a panic, not daring to look at Gu Huizhi. “I’m already much better.”
Gu Huizhi nodded and didn’t say anything else.
The car stopped in front of the emergency entrance of Morning Sun Hospital, which is under the control of the Gu family. With Gu Huizhi leading the way, Shen Mianyin didn’t even need to register and was directly taken to the director’s office.
After a thorough examination, Gu Huizhi had cleaned the glass in Shen Mianyin’s palm carefully.
There were no other pieces of glass left either. After disinfecting and re-wrapping, he gave some advice on precautions.
Shen Mianyin’s most serious injury was a sprained ankle. Because she was dragged by Gu Luoan, her ankle was more swollen.
Since they were already at the hospital, they took an X-ray to make sure everything was fine and left with some medicine to reduce swelling and provide pain relief.
The doctor carefully reminded her not to put any weight on her left foot for the time being and to rest properly.
Just as Shen Mianyin stepped out of the office, she received a call from Lin Jingshen.
“Mianyin, how are you? I just found out from the driver that you were taken by Gu Luo’an,” Lin Jingshen’s voice sounded a bit anxious on the phone. “I heard from the driver that Gu Huaizhi went to find you?”
“Mm,” Shen Mianyin glanced at Gu Huaizhi and said, “Thanks to President Gu, I’m fine.”
“Where are you now?” Lin Jingshen immediately asked.
“I’m at the hospital.”
As soon as Shen Mianyin finished speaking, she heard Lin Jingshen’s voice become more anxious: “Where are you hurt? Which hospital? I’ll come pick you up.”
“I’m okay, it’s just my ankle is swollen badly,” Shen Mianyin didn’t mention her hand injury, not wanting to make a big deal of it. “I just left the hospital now.”
This made Gu Huaizhi glance at Shen Mianyin with a raised eyebrow.
Shen Mianyin was caught off guard by his gaze, feeling a bit guilty; she quickly looked away, avoiding his eyes.
On the other end of the phone, Lin Jingshen asked, “Have you gotten into a car yet?”
“Mm,” Shen Mianyin replied vaguely.
“Take it easy today, get some rest at home, or take a few extra days off if you need to. Don’t rush to come to the office,” Lin Jingshen advised.
“I’ll go to the office tomorrow,” Shen Mianyin said, “since most of the time I’m just sitting in the office anyway, I won’t be walking much.”
“Good,” Lin Jingshen replied, “just make sure not to overdo it. Based on your condition, don’t force yourself too much.”
After receiving a report from his assistant, Zhou Jingqi, Lin Jingshen mentioned that Gu Huaizhi wanted to have a detailed conversation with Shen Mianyin. Lin Jingshen was surprised, not expecting the collaboration to actually have a chance.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Mianyin secretly observed Gu Huaizhi’s reaction.
Seeing that Gu Huaizhi didn’t object to what she had just said, Shen Mianyin knew that this collaboration was really taking shape.
"Ah!" Shen Mianyin suddenly remembered. "President Gu, you brought me to the hospital—what about your original schedule?"
Gu Huaizhi gave her a cool glance.
This girl was a bit thoughtless, only now thinking to ask about this.
Zhou Jingqi eagerly and enthusiastically replied, "When the president went after you, he had me postpone everything while we were on the way."
Gu Huaizhi: "..."
What does he mean by "when the president went after you"?
That phrasing was ambiguous.
Could Zhou Jingqi learn to speak properly?
Shen Mianyin, however, didn’t think much of it. She apologized sincerely, "Although the real culprit is that unruly brat Gu Luo'an."
After all, she reasoned, since Gu Luo'an was Gu Huaizhi's nephew, he surely couldn't just stand by and let him do something wrong.
"But President Gu still saved me," Shen Mianyin said, "and delayed his schedule for it."
Gu Huaizhi adjusted his cufflinks and said, "You're bringing up Gu Luo'an to make it seem like the favor I did by delaying my schedule to save you isn't that significant, aren't you?"
"No, no, absolutely not!" Shen Mianyin waved her hands repeatedly. "I never meant that. President Gu, you're truly a man of noble character and great compassion!"
"If anyone dares to call President Gu cold-blooded and heartless again, I might ignore it if I don't hear it. But if I do, I’ll definitely stand up and clear your name!" Shen Mianyin declared with righteous conviction.
Gu Huaizhi: "..."
He sighed. "Alright, let's go."
"Um... President Gu," Shen Mianyin smiled at him, "doesn't this indirectly prove that you're actually quite satisfied with my proposal?"
"..." Gu Huaizhi was momentarily speechless before finally saying, "I didn't expect you to be so career-driven."
"President Gu, just tell me, okay? Give me some reassurance, won't you?" Shen Mianyin, supported by Gu Huaizhi, took the opportunity to shift her entire weight onto him.
She really believed that Gu Huaizhi was a kind and warm-hearted person. Seizing the moment, she grabbed onto his forearm with both hands, steadying her balance further.
Gu Huaizhi lowered his gaze, clearly seeing her movements. Faced with her sparkling, bright black eyes, he somehow found himself nodding and giving a soft "Mm" in response.
Zhou Jingqi: "!!!"
It’s over. The president is showing signs of a love-struck mind.
Gu Huaizhi instructed Chang He’an to drive Shen Mianyin back to her apartment building.
Shen Mianyin felt quite apologetic about it.
"President Gu, this has delayed your time again," she said.
Gu Huaizhi looked at Shen Mianyin. Although her words seemed polite, her expression carried a hint of smugness, as if she was starting to take his indulgence for granted.
He pinched the corner of his eye, unsure why he was acting this way, and could only say, "Since it’s already been delayed, it doesn’t matter if it’s just a little longer."
Shen Mianyin opened the car door. When she got out, the pain in her left foot was so bad she couldn’t bring herself to put weight on it.
She turned back, blinking as she looked at Gu Huaizhi.
"President Gu, I really feel bad for troubling you so much. But don’t worry, even though my foot hurts and I can’t put it down, I’ll still be able to lean on the wall to get home, just like last night."
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