Chapter 9: Oh my God, who can stand this!

Gu Ye had not expected Jiang Yue to faint so suddenly. His body reacted faster than his mind, and he quickly supported her before she fell.

As soon as he got close to Jiang Yue, Gu Ye caught a faint fragrance in the air. He frowned, his gaze falling on her pale cherry-colored lips. A scene from the previous day flashed uncontrollably in his mind—Jiang Yue had thrown herself at him and kissed him. He quickly diverted his eyes.

“Jiang Yue? Jiang Yue!” Gu Ye gently patted her cheek.

Jiang Yue kept her eyes closed and remained silent.

To successfully stay by Gu Ye’s side, she was willing to go all out!

But Gu Ye’s strength was a bit too much; the force of the slap made her face ache. She had to grit her teeth and endure it, determined not to let him realize the truth!

“Jiang Yue, don’t think I don’t know you’re faking it!” Gu Ye gritted his teeth, frustrated, instinctively sensing that this woman was up to some trick again.

He suppressed the impulse to strangle her, calling her name twice more, but Jiang Yue still didn’t respond.

Gu Ye recalled what the doctor had said about Jiang Yue’s head injury. When he had gone to complete her discharge paperwork, the doctor had specifically warned him to be cautious and avoid letting Jiang Yue get too emotionally agitated. His brow furrowed deeply.

He looked again at Jiang Yue’s pale face and her forehead, still swollen and covered with a bandage, and his doubts began to rise. Could it be that Jiang Yue wasn’t faking it? Had his scolding truly knocked her unconscious?

For a moment, Gu Ye wasn’t sure anymore.

Jiang Yue knew she was being supported by Gu Ye. Her head rested on his shoulder, and they were very close to each other. The heat of his breath brushed against her face, mingling with the pleasant scent of cedar and bamboo. The attraction was almost lethal—oh my God, who could stand this!

Just as Jiang Yue was about to lose control, Gu Ye moved. He picked her up in a horizontal position, and Jiang Yue’s body suddenly dangled in the air, almost making her scream out of fear. Her instinct was to reach out and grab Gu Ye.

In the end, Jiang Yue used her extraordinary self-control and acting skills to hold back and remain still.

Gu Ye looked down at Jiang Yue and carried her into the room, gently placing her on the .

Jiang Yue quietly exhaled in relief.

Thankfully, although Gu Ye disliked her, he wasn’t insane enough to ignore her safety and let her fall to the ground.

Gu Ye stood there for a moment before turning to leave.

Jiang Yue opened her eyes just slightly, and as soon as she saw Gu Ye walking out, she was about to relax when she noticed him pause his steps.

Gu Ye, trained as a scout, had extremely sharp eyesight. He almost immediately sensed her gaze and swiftly turned his head to look.

There was nothing unusual. Jiang Yue remained in the same position she had been in, and her hands hadn’t moved at all.

Gu Ye slightly turned his face, his deep eyes hidden in shadow, leaving only one sharp contour visible.

Jiang Yue dared not breathe too loudly, her heart in her throat. She thought she now understood why the original owner had been so afraid of Gu Ye—he was as sharp as a wolf, and most people wouldn’t be able to handle it!

Fortunately, Gu Ye only paused at the door for a few seconds and didn’t come back in.

Jiang Yue heard the door close, but she didn’t dare to open her eyes. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of footsteps fading away that she finally dared to breathe out.

Her whole body suddenly relaxed, and she realized she was covered in cold sweat.

That was close! She almost got caught!

It seemed Gu Ye had taken Ningning away, and the outside became quiet.

Jiang Yue lay on the , not wanting to move. She had planned to think carefully about what she could do next to improve Gu Ye’s impression of her and thus stay by his side successfully. But, perhaps because her acting earlier had been too intense and her nerves had been too taut, Jiang Yue fell asleep without realizing it.

Around noon, a knock on the door startled Jiang Yue awake.

She heard the sound coming from the courtyard. Thinking that Gu Ye had returned, she got up and got out of bed to head outside. However, just as she was about to exit the main door of the hall, a string of curses reached her ears.

“Sleeping during the day, sleep, sleep, sleep! You’re so lazy! All you do is eat and run around outside every day! Regiment Commander Gu must have had terrible luck to marry someone like you, a death omen! Every day, you don’t do anything, and it’s only thanks to Regiment Commander Gu’s good temper! If you were in my house, I would’ve slapped you to death, you lazy woman!”

Jiang Yue: “…”

Well, it was the original owner being cursed, not her!

The one shouting was a middle-aged woman, wearing a blue cloth top, black pants with patches at the knees, short hair that reached her ears, a long face, and upturned eyes. She looked like someone very shrewd.

Jiang Yue searched her memory and recognized this woman as Li Hongying, the one Gu Ye had hired to help with cooking and cleaning. Her husband was a soldier in Gu Ye’s regiment, and because their family had too many children and not enough food, she had come out to do some work to help support the family.

Li Hongying was cursing energetically when she suddenly looked up and saw a figure standing at the door of the hall. She was startled.

“Good grief! You’re standing there without making a sound, trying to scare someone to death?” Li Hongying rolled her eyes at Jiang Yue, completely unfazed by being caught in the act of cursing. Instead, she looked at Jiang Yue as though she were the one trying to scare her.

“Where’s Gu Ye? He hasn’t come back?” Jiang Yue asked.

She looked around, but in the courtyard, only Li Hongying was present, and there was no sign of Gu Ye.

Li Hongying put down the broom in her hand and looked at Jiang Yue with a strange expression. “Jiang Yue, are you out of your mind? What kind of question is that? Didn’t Regiment Commander Gu always stay out for lunch?”

Jiang Yue pressed her fingers to her forehead. At that moment, she remembered that Gu Ye only ate at home for breakfast and dinner. He usually ate at the regiment’s canteen during lunch.

Li Hongying didn’t pay any more attention to Jiang Yue. After finishing sweeping the courtyard, she picked up the broom and started heading toward the house.

Jiang Yue quickly blocked the door to the hall. “What are you doing?”

Li Hongying, with jealousy in her eyes, glared at Jiang Yue’s floral dress made of cotton and said impatiently: “What do you think I’m doing? I’m going inside to sweep the floor. Move aside!”

Jiang Yue glanced at the not-so-clean ground in the courtyard and refused: “You don’t need to sweep. I’ll do it myself!”

Li Hongying was pleased that she wouldn’t have to work and tossed the broom aside. “Well, you said you’d do it yourself! Don’t blame me for not doing it!”

“You can leave now!” Jiang Yue didn’t like having strangers invade her private space. From her memory, she knew that Li Hongying wasn’t entirely trustworthy.

Li Hongying, who had already rolled up her sleeves and was about to head into the kitchen, turned in surprise. “What did you say?”

Jiang Yue repeated: “I said, you can leave now!”

Li Hongying laughed even more. “Jiang Yue, you’re the one saying this! Don’t come complaining to Regiment Commander Gu later when you’re starving and have nothing to eat, saying I didn’t make food for you!”

Jiang Yue: “…”

It seemed she had misunderstood Gu Ye. Though he had said he wanted to drive her away, it appeared that he still worried about her starving, so he had sent Li Hongying to cook for her.

Li Hongying spat on the ground as she left, her mouth curled downward in a bitter sneer, clearly disdainful. “Pfft! What’s she? Just someone who’s read a few books. Acting all high and mighty! Who does she think she is to have me cook for her?”

Not even ten minutes had passed when Li Hongying returned home. A young woman walked up carrying a small child in her arms, followed by a shy little girl.

“Sis, why are you back? Didn’t you say you were going to cook at Regiment Commander Gu’s house?” the young woman, named Li Xiuxiu, asked. She had two long braids and looked delicate. She was Li Hongying’s younger sister.

Li Hongying, while cracking sunflower seeds and eyeing the little girl timidly following Li Xiuxiu, shifted her gaze. Spitting out a seed husk, she said: “Ningning, does your dad not like you anymore? That Jiang Yue, the death omen, nearly killed you, and your dad still went all the way to the Provincial Capital to bring her back?”