Chapter 18 Lu Shiyan declares sovereignty

In the afternoon consultations, Lin Qinghai deliberately sought out Gu Jinshu, his gaze tightly glued to her. After taking his pulse, Gu Jinshu said flatly, “Nothing’s wrong. Next patient.”

“Last time during the big martial arts competition, I got injured here.” Lin Qinghai rolled up his sleeve, revealing a large bruise on his arm. His meaning was obvious—he wanted Gu Jinshu to treat him.

Lu Shiyan’s dark pupils narrowed, his gaze coldly fixed on Lin Qinghai. But Lin Qinghai’s attention was entirely on Gu Jinshu, completely unaware of the stare coming from behind her.

“Alright,” Gu Jinshu took out a silver needle and, without hesitation, drove it into his arm. A pig-killing-like scream immediately rang out.

“Ah—!”

Lin Qinghai’s forehead was beaded with sweat from the pain, his body trembling uncontrollably. As if worried he might yank his arm away, Gu Jinshu’s other hand held his wrist firmly.

“Let go! Damn it!! Gu Jinshu, you’re doing this on purpose!!” Lin Qinghai couldn’t help swearing. He shot up from his seat, but Lu Shiyan’s hand pressed down on his shoulder, holding him in place.

“Don’t move,” Lu Shiyan’s voice was low and warning, “If the needle ends up in the wrong spot later, who’ll be to blame?”

“Captain Lin, your acting’s a bit much, isn’t it? The needle doesn’t hurt that bad.”

“Yeah, when Dr. Gu gave me an acupuncture just now, it just tickled.”

“…”

Some soldiers who had just been treated spoke up, thinking Lin Qinghai was being overly dramatic.

Lin Qinghai clenched his molars hard enough to crack—Gu Jinshu was definitely getting back at him! With the commander pressing on his shoulder, there was no way he could stand up. At this point, he was basically a fish on the chopping block, waiting to be cut.

Gu Jinshu ended up inserting more than a dozen needles. By the end, Lin Qinghai’s clothes were soaked through with sweat.

“All done.”

“Incredible! The bruise that was so obvious just now is already gone!”

“…”

Gu Jinshu tidied up the needles and said calmly, “Next patient.”

Lin Qinghai stared at her, his eyes complicated, breathing slightly heavy.

“What? Does Captain Lin still feel unwell? Should I give you a few more needles?”

She had indeed done it on purpose. This level of pain was nothing. The debt Lin Qinghai and the others owed the original owner was still huge—this was just collecting a bit of interest. Besides, since he had come knocking for abuse, of course she had to oblige.

Lin Qinghai realized Gu Jinshu had truly changed… When had it started? There was no longer any trace of love for him in her eyes. Now, she looked at him no differently than a stranger. The thought made a strange pang pass through his chest before he quickly masked it.

“Dr. Gu, I didn’t expect your medical skills to be so impressive. I really should thank you.”

“No need. Next patient.” Gu Jinshu didn’t take him seriously at all.

Lin Qinghai: “…”

…

At the end of the day’s consultations, Zhang Ping­tian was planning to have dinner with some old friends and asked Jinshu, “Want to come along?” Mainly because it would all be old men tonight, and a young woman like her might get bored.

“Teacher, I’ll pass,” Gu Jinshu shook her head. “I’ll go home.”

“Alright. Want me to bring you something back later?” Zhang Ping­tian doted on her like a daughter—whenever he saw good food or fun things, he thought of her first.

“Teacher, go home early after dinner. Madam will worry about you.”

“Ah! Fine, then on my way back I’ll get you cumin lamb chops. That shop makes the best ones. You and Madam better not fall asleep without eating them.”

With that, Zhang Ping­tian left.

Carrying her medicine box, Gu Jinshu headed back to the military compound—it wasn’t far from the hospital. As she walked past the training ground, she faintly felt someone following her…

She slowed her pace. She didn’t even need to look—she knew it was either Gu Muyu or Lin Qinghai.

“Stop!” Lin Qinghai suddenly called out.

Gu Jinshu stopped and turned to look at him. Lin Qinghai took a deep breath.

“When did you learn acupuncture? How come I didn’t know?”

“…”

That question again. Gu Muyu had asked once before, and now Lin Qinghai was asking too. They seemed oddly fixated on it. Gu Jinshu had no interest in answering—how boring.

“None of your business,” she said coolly.

“None of my business? You dare say it has nothing to do with me!” Lin Qinghai’s anger flared, his chest heaving. “Gu Jinshu, what game are you playing now? Trying to attract me by holding back? I’ll tell you, there’s no way I can marry you. You’re not worthy of me. I used to think you were the Gu family’s daughter, so at least our statuses matched. But to think, their biological daughter still isn’t as important as an adopted one.”

While Lin Qinghai was ranting hysterically, Gu Jinshu stood there, looking at him calmly, as if watching a joke.

“I’ve already made it easy for you, haven’t I?” Gu Jinshu tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You should be happy. Don’t waste your attention on me—go focus on preparing for your wedding.”

“Gu Jinshu!” Lin Qinghai couldn’t stand her indifferent demeanor. Why wasn’t she angry? Why wasn’t she upset? Something was wrong with her!

“I’ll say this one last time—your business has nothing to do with me. We’ve already broken off the engagement.”

Was this guy really that self-absorbed? She’d already spelled it out so clearly, yet he still clung to that old so-called relationship with the original her. How tiresome.

She turned to leave, but Lin Qinghai didn’t want to let her go so easily—he instinctively reached to grab her shoulder.

But he grabbed at empty air.

“Captain Lin, do you not understand human language, or do you have hearing problems?” Lu Shiyan had appeared at some point. He seized Lin Qinghai’s arm and then flung it away—the force in his grip was impossible to miss.

“Commander Lu, this is between the two of us. You’d best not get involved,” Lin Qinghai said stiffly. Even if it was the commander in front of him, he still had to speak his mind—Lu Shiyan was meddling too much!

“Oh?” Lu Shiyan raised an eyebrow slightly and asked Gu Jinshu in a tone full of disbelief, “Jinshu, this has nothing to do with me?”

Gu Jinshu: “…”

Why did it feel like Lu Shiyan was full of jealousy right now? Must be her imagination!

“What?” Lin Qinghai was stunned by the way he said “Jinshu,” glancing between Lu Shiyan and her in confusion. Wasn’t that a bit too familiar?

“The relationship between you two is in the past. The relationship between her and me is the present—and the future.” Lu Shiyan declared possessively. “Do you have anything else to say?”

Gu Jinshu was speechless, “…”

Past tense, present tense, future tense? What was this—an English lesson?