Chapter 21: Something to Say

Gu Chuxue’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Jinxiu, you don’t understand.”
Right now, she had no choice. She was no longer the only daughter of the Gu family, and as long as she stayed there, she would always live with the fear of being kicked out. But if she married, things would be different — besides, she truly did like Lin Qinghai.

“Xiaoxue, what on earth are you thinking?” Lin Jinxiu was finding Gu Chuxue harder and harder to read these days.

“Gu Jinshu now has Professor Zhang from the Traditional Chinese Medicine department backing her, even our parents look at her differently,” Gu Chuxue sneered. “Jinxiu, if I get kicked out of the Gu family one day, will you still treat me as a friend?”

“Xiaoxue! Don’t talk nonsense like that. I’m friends with you not because of whose daughter you are, but because I like you as a person.” Lin Jinxiu raised her hands and gripped Gu Chuxue’s tightly. “Stop overthinking, alright?”

Gu Chuxue stared blankly at her, knowing full well that Lin Jinxiu wasn’t telling the truth. Lin Jinxiu wanted to marry her elder brother, so she went out of her way to befriend her future sister-in-law.

Gu Chuxue tugged at the corners of her mouth. “My brother’s been working overtime at the hospital lately. He probably hasn’t been eating on time at all. I’ve been busy preparing for my wedding, so I don’t have time to bring him meals. Why don’t you do it for me?”

“Of course, I’d be happy to.” Lin Jinxiu couldn’t be more eager for the chance to deliver food to Gu Moyu. Just thinking about finally seeing him made her lips curl into an unconscious smile, her face showing a rare hint of girlish shyness.

Gu Chuxue withdrew her gaze. “…”

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First People’s Hospital — Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Zhang Pingtian, a part-time doctor at the hospital, only came on the 5th, 15th, and 25th of each month, and even then only accepted patients in the afternoons.

These days, Gu Jinshu was practically glued to her teacher’s side. Zhang Pingtian was gradually realizing that his student’s potential far exceeded his expectations.

For example, right now — the patient was a woman in her 20s. She suffered from insomnia at night, headaches during the day, and had become unusually irritable — even the smallest matters could set her off.

“I already had scans done. The neurology doctors said there’s nothing wrong with me, but my headaches are still bad, and it’s seriously affecting my work. Doctor, what’s wrong with me?”

After taking her pulse and confirming there was no issue with her brain, Gu Jinshu asked carefully, “Do you have children?”

The woman was briefly stunned but still answered. “Yes, my daughter is two years old.”

“Did these problems start after you gave birth? You didn’t have them before?” Gu Jinshu continued.

“Yes! Before I got married, my sleep quality was amazing — I could sleep through anything. But after that, I don’t know why, I can’t sleep all night, and even the slightest sound wakes me. Once I’m awake, I can’t fall back asleep. Now my family tiptoes around me in the evenings, but it still doesn’t help. It’s only getting worse.”

“It’s nothing too serious, so don’t worry,” Gu Jinshu reassured her. She stood behind the woman and massaged her head — the pain eased immediately, and the woman visibly relaxed.

“Huh? It’s not hurting anymore?”

“Massage can only relieve the pain temporarily. The root cause isn’t in your head,” Gu Jinshu explained gently. “Is your work stressful?”

“It’s okay — any job has stress, but I feel mine is manageable.”

“Did you personally take care of your daughter when she was a baby?” Gu Jinshu asked again.

“Yes, I did. I had to feed her at night, so I was the one watching her.”

Gu Jinshu had a preliminary diagnosis. “What you have is neurasthenia.”

“Ah? Doctor, is neurasthenia even a real illness? I don’t understand.”

“Neurasthenia is a kind of nervous system problem. It can be improved gradually. If you were getting good sleep, these issues wouldn’t appear. I’ll prescribe you some calming medicine. Don’t take care of the child alone. Take the medicine tonight and get a proper night’s rest — your symptoms will improve immediately. Don’t try to forcefully suppress your emotions. If you’re angry, let it out — otherwise, keeping that energy bottled up will hurt your health.”

“You’re right. Whenever I get angry, I even feel pain under my arm.”

“Put your other hand up — let me check.” Gu Jinshu took her pulse again.

“There’s a bit of an issue, but nothing too serious right now. Calming medicine plus some body-regulating herbs should do the trick. Just make sure you take them on time every day.”

“Okay, thank you, doctor.”

“No need to thank me — this is my job.” Gu Jinshu smiled lightly.

After the patient left, Zhang Pingtian cheerfully handed a cup of hot water to his prized student. “That prescription you just wrote was pretty good.”

“Teacher, it’s really inconvenient for patients to decoct the herbs themselves. Couldn’t we prepare them here at the hospital so they can take them home ready to drink?” Gu Jinshu suggested.

There was no sealing machine yet, but they could use tightly sealed bottles. After all, with Chinese medicine, the slow, thorough simmering was what brought out the medicinal properties — both undercooking and overcooking ruined it.

Zhang Pingtian thought it was feasible, but… “The hospital doesn’t have that many nurses to make the decoctions for you! That would add a lot of work.”

“We could price the ready-made medicine a bit higher,” Gu Jinshu said. “Most patients don’t have time to brew it themselves, so they’d be willing to pay for convenience.”

“Alright, I’ll bring it up with the director,” Zhang Pingtian replied.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an unwelcome visitor at the door. His face immediately fell. “What are you lurking around the outpatient room for? Don’t block my patients!”

“There’s no patient right now,” Gu Moyu said, his eyes fixed on Gu Jinshu. “Jinshu, come outside for a moment. I have something to say to you.”

“Oh? You have something to say to my student, and she’s just supposed to drop everything and listen? Let me remind you, it’s working hours. Whatever it is, wait until she’s off!” Zhang Pingtian waved him away, even shooing him toward the door.

“If you don’t leave, I’ll tell the director and have your wages docked!”

“Professor Zhang, I know you don’t like me, but no matter what, I’m her brother. You can’t stop us from meeting, can you?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Gu Jinshu said coldly.

“Jinshu, come outside. We need to talk.”