Chapter 4

Gu Chi kept a straight face, his eyes dark and deep.

It wasn’t until the girl clinging to his arm woke up that her almond-shaped eyes blinked open in confusion as she looked at him.

Then, as if electrocuted, she abruptly let go. “You… you’re awake!”

She had actually managed to bring him back with a “wedding for good luck”!

Just last night, he had been on the verge of dying!

Gu Chi’s voice was low and hoarse. “Why are you here?”

Yan Qingqing hurried to explain. “After you were injured, you were unconscious for a whole month. Your parents arranged our wedding to drive away the bad luck! But don’t worry, I won’t cling to you. It was just for good luck. Now that you’re awake, we can divorce anytime!”

Gu Chi’s heart softened for a moment, but when he heard the second half, his expression turned cold again.

He tried to speak in what he thought was a gentler tone. “Is that so?”

Yan Qingqing thought to herself that this man lying silently in bed was truly a sight to behold — but the moment he opened his mouth, his words could freeze someone to death!

She hesitated, noticing his face darken, and was just about to say something to ease the tension.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at her neck. “Someone hit you?!”

Yan Qingqing let out a soft “ah” and touched her neck, finally remembering the bruises left by Qin Hongying and Attendant Yang when they’d beaten her yesterday.

Thinking of the 800-yuan bride price, Yan Qingqing quickly said, “It was my foster mother and my birth mother. They forced me into this marriage to get the money from your family. After splitting the bride price, they still weren’t satisfied and came last night intending to beat me to death.

I fought back. I’ll figure out a way to return that money. I came into your family without a dowry — I shouldn’t take your family’s bride price. Now that you’re awake, I’ll leave today and get that money back to you as soon as possible.”

Gu Chi: …

He ground his molars, unable to describe how he felt.

He woke up to find that he’d finally married the woman he’d longed for — yet this very wife kept talking about divorce!

Drawing a clear line between them! And she even wanted to leave today?

He closed his eyes briefly. “I, Gu Chi, only intend to marry once in my life.”

Yan Qingqing froze, unsure what to say. But even if she left the Gu household now, she really had nowhere else to go.

This matter would have to wait until Gu Chi fully recovered before it could be discussed again.

The room fell silent.

Yan Qingqing coughed softly. “I’ll go check on the kitchen. You stay in bed and rest a bit longer.”

Though Gu Chi was awake, his head was still groggy, so he didn’t respond.

After Yan Qingqing left, he looked at the spot where she’d slept that morning.

On the pillow towel lay two strands of her hair, making his heart skip.

This wasn’t a dream — he really had married her.

But she hadn’t done so willingly. She’d been forced by her foster mother and birth mother, even beaten into submission.

Gu Chi took a deep breath.

Once he regained his strength, whether or not she wanted to stay, he would make those who hurt her pay.

Yan Qingqing went to the Gu family kitchen, where Mother Gu was already up preparing breakfast. Seven-year-old Gu Tiantian, with her delicate, adorable face, was cowering timidly behind the stove, afraid to meet anyone’s gaze as she fed the firewood.

Such a sweet child — how could she be so fearful? Yan Qingqing felt a pang of pity.

But she quickly shared the good news with Mother Gu. “Gu Chi is awake!”

Overjoyed, Mother Gu immediately set aside her work and hurried into Gu Chi’s room to check on him.

After a month of unconsciousness, her son was finally awake — Mother Gu was moved to tears!

Gu Chi comforted her softly, feeling distressed when he noticed her swollen eyes and increasingly blurred vision.

Yan Qingqing also noticed in the kitchen that Mother Gu’s eyes looked even worse than yesterday — as if she’d cried all night. If this continued, blindness would be inevitable.

And if Mother Gu went blind before Gu Chi fully recovered, the Gu family would truly be in dire straits!

After thinking it over, Yan Qingqing waited until Mother Gu left the kitchen and little Gu Tiantian, hiding behind the stove, couldn’t see her. Then she quietly slipped into her hidden space.

She replaced the water in the family’s jar with spiritual lake water and found ointment and eye drops suited to Mother Gu’s symptoms from her space’s pharmacy.

Soon Mother Gu returned from Gu Chi’s room, groping her way back to the kitchen.

“Daughter, it’s your first day married — you should rest! I’ll take care of breakfast. We don’t eat much anyway. Yesterday’s feast didn’t leave many leftovers. I’ll just cook a pot of sorghum porridge, warm up some cornbread buns, and mix a dish of dried radish! I’m sorry to make you eat so simply…”

The forty-something woman before her had graying hair, clouded eyes, and a voice full of guilt and helplessness.

Yan Qingqing sighed softly. “The sorghum porridge is already cooking, the buns are warming, and I’ll handle the radish later. But your eyes look badly swollen. Let me clean them for you. I also have an ointment I brought yesterday — it’s anti-inflammatory. Let me try it on you.”

Mother Gu immediately refused. “I’ll just wash them with plain water. Ointments like that are too expensive!”

It took Yan Qingqing quite some persuasion before Mother Gu reluctantly agreed.

Since she couldn’t see well, Yan Qingqing quickly prepared warm water — naturally infused with spiritual lake water — and gently cleaned Mother Gu’s eyes with a towel, then applied the eye drops and ointment.

Mother Gu’s eyes had been sore from crying all night, but miraculously, the burning sensation gradually subsided during the cleansing. She even found her vision becoming a bit clearer!

Gripping Yan Qingqing’s hand in excitement, she exclaimed, “Good girl! This really works — the pain’s fading already!”

Seeing such results, Yan Qingqing was pleased as well.

Just then, a faint groan came from inside the house — low and stifled, barely audible unless one listened carefully.

Both women looked toward the room at once. Mother Gu’s heart ached.

“Don’t be scared, girl. That’s my husband… his back pain’s acting up again! He usually bears it silently, but sometimes it’s unbearable. Ah, marrying into this family must be so hard on you!”

Beyond repeating “it’s hard on you,” Mother Gu didn’t know what else to say, and she felt even more upset.

But Yan Qingqing wasn’t bothered. “I brought another type of plaster yesterday! Let’s try it — maybe it’ll help with the back pain!”

She hurried off to retrieve her small bundle, pretending to rummage through it while actually entering her space to select a simple-looking old-fashioned medicinal patch that was extremely effective.

Since the eye ointment had already worked, Mother Gu trusted her completely now and quickly applied the plaster to Father Gu.

With Yan Qingqing’s help, the two women soon finished preparing breakfast.

Though it was only sorghum porridge, Mother Gu specially added a spoonful of brown sugar for Yan Qingqing and little Gu Tiantian — a small but heartfelt gesture.

After breakfast, Mother Gu asked a neighbor to fetch the village clinic doctor to check on Gu Chi.

When the doctor arrived and saw Gu Chi awake, he was astonished.

“Although you’re awake now, you’d better stay in bed a few more days to be safe. If there’s any chance of a concussion or lingering injury, more observation is wise. Once you’re able to get up, go to the town hospital for a full checkup. But honestly — this is a miracle!”

After all, Gu Chi had practically been given up for dead!

Mother Gu beamed with joy. “Doctor, doesn’t this prove that holding a wedding for good luck works? My daughter-in-law just married in yesterday, and my son woke up today!”

The doctor chuckled. “Whether the wedding had anything to do with it, I don’t know. But waking up is certainly a good thing. Just focus on recovery!”

Mother Gu grew embarrassed and whispered at the door, “Doctor Li, money’s tight at home… can we pay later?”

Dr. Li quickly said, “It’s only some anti-inflammatory medicine. Don’t worry — I’ll just put it on your tab.”

Though they spoke softly, both Gu Chi and Yan Qingqing inside the room overheard.

They spoke at the same time.

“I’ll go get the bride price money back later…”

“Don’t worry — our family’s situation is only temporary…”

The room fell into an odd silence. Gu Chi spoke first.

“You go ahead.”