Chapter 3: Showing Off His Talent

Leaving the Gu family home, Gu Jinshu carried her luggage back to school.

After the original owner had been acknowledged and brought back by the Gu family, her parents—disliking her lack of education—had pulled strings to get her into Beijing University. But the truth was, the original owner hadn’t even reached elementary school literacy level. Forget keeping up with freshman courses—she would have struggled even with middle school material.

Gu Zehua was completely disappointed in her and constantly compared her to the fake daughter, Gu Chuxue. The original owner developed severe inferiority. This was textbook emotional manipulation!

For someone who had grown up in the mountains, just being literate was already an achievement. She had longed for love from her biological parents, but life with them wasn’t much better than with her adoptive parents.

Her adoptive Sheng family had little education; they beat and scolded her outright, their insults crude but direct. Her biological Gu family were intellectuals; they insulted her in a roundabout way. The only advantage was—they didn’t hit her.

A flash of cold light passed through Gu Jinshu’s eyes. The original owner had been mistakenly given away—were the Gu parents not responsible? Yet now all the blame was placed on her, the most innocent one. At the very least, the fake daughter, Gu Chuxue, had grown up showered with love and pampering in the Gu family.

“Yo~ our Miss Gu. Planning to move in and squeeze into the dorm with us now?”

A mocking female voice rang out. The speaker had carefully permed woolly curls, wore the trendiest red down jacket, and little leather shoes. She stared at Gu Jinshu with open provocation.

Lin Jinxiu!

The name rose unbidden in Gu Jinshu’s mind. Lin Jinxiu was Gu Chuxue’s best friend, inseparable from her. The two of them had bullied the original owner plenty in the past.

Gu Jinshu ignored her, carrying her luggage to place it on her dorm bed. Each student had an assigned dorm room, and the original owner had stayed here for a few days before. The dorm had four beds—Lin Jinxiu shared the room with her, while the other two roommates, both from Beijing, rarely stayed in the dorm.

“Hey! Are you deaf? I’m talking to you!”

Seeing she was being ignored, Lin Jinxiu’s tone sharpened. She stepped forward and gave Gu Jinshu a shove.

Gu Jinshu instinctively dodged, grabbed Lin Jinxiu’s wrist, and pinned her down on the bed. Her tone was sharp. “Touch me again, and I’ll cripple you!”

Before, whenever Lin Jinxiu bumped or hit Gu Jinshu at school, the latter never fought back. But today, Gu Jinshu dared to resist! Lin Jinxiu couldn’t break free—more importantly, where had Gu Jinshu gotten such strength?

Being on the weaker side made her nervous. Her carefully styled curls were now messy, and she was panting hard. “Gu Jinshu, you’d better let me go, or I won’t let you off!”

“Looks like you haven’t learned your lesson.”

Gu Jinshu increased the pressure, making Lin Jinxiu’s face contort in pain. “Ah!!”

In her previous life, Gu Jinshu had been trained as the successor to a family of doctors—she had practiced judo and sanda for physical fitness. Plus, with her knowledge of acupuncture points, she knew exactly where to hit to cause the most pain without leaving obvious injuries.

This body was thin and weak, but it was more than enough to deal with Lin Jinxiu.

Sweat beaded on Lin Jinxiu’s forehead. “Let… let go of me…”

“Have you learned your lesson?” Gu Jinshu asked lightly.

Now under pressure, Lin Jinxiu had no choice but to yield. She clenched her teeth. “I’ve learned.”

Gu Jinshu released her. “Get out!”

Lin Jinxiu glared resentfully at her back as she tidied her bed, but turned and left the room.

After making her bed, Gu Jinshu prepared to handle the “transfer of major” procedures. Students were allowed to transfer by choice. The original owner had been in nursing, but she planned to switch to the Chinese medicine department.

The transfer went quickly, and Gu Jinshu headed straight to report to her new department. When she arrived, class was already in session. Standing at the door, she could feel the pressure emanating from the elderly professor.

“I told you to memorize what’s in the textbook, and you’ve stuffed it all into a dog’s stomach instead!”

The dozen or so students in the room didn’t dare breathe.

The professor’s gaze swept the room and landed on her. “Student, do you need something?”

“Hello, teacher. I’m Gu Jinshu, transferring to the Chinese medicine department today.” She handed over her transfer application.

Without even glancing at it, the professor placed it on the lectern. “Great, another one here to cause me trouble.”

He didn’t let her sit down yet. “Do you even know what Chinese medicine means? Young people these days just transfer majors on a whim!”

“Chinese medicine is traditional medicine, knowledge passed down for thousands of years. It diagnoses illness through observation, listening/smelling, questioning, and pulse-taking, and treats with herbal medicine, acupuncture, and other methods. Nowadays, the country mostly promotes Western medicine, but I think Chinese medicine is what truly needs to be preserved.”

Her voice was calm and even.

Professor Zhang wasn’t particularly impressed—his question hadn’t been difficult—but her composure made him like her.

“Find a seat anywhere.”

And she truly did—sitting in the front row, which was unusual since most students sat farther back.

Professor Zhang continued the lecture. “Listen carefully—if a child’s tongue has map-like patterns, there’s dark circles under the eyes, and the lower abdomen is swollen and hard, what could be the cause?”

“Heatiness!”
“Insomnia!”
“… ”

The answers were all over the place.

“Anything else?” he pressed.

The students muttered among themselves.

“Student Gu, you answer,” Zhang called on her.

“You’d need to take the pulse,” she said evenly. “Observation, listening/smelling, questioning, and pulse-taking—none of the steps can be skipped.”

Zhang chuckled. “Exactly! You can’t just jump to a conclusion. All four steps are essential.”

Then Gu Jinshu said suddenly, “Teacher, your eyes are protruding and your internal heat is high. Have you had insomnia or anxiety lately?”

Zhang’s smile froze. “Ah?”

“Let me take your pulse.”

He found it odd—was this girl joking? A freshman who could take pulses? But he extended his wrist anyway.

His expression soon turned serious. Her technique was formal.

“Teacher, I suggest you get a hospital check-up for your neck. The pulse shows blockage—it suggests nodules.”

The class went silent. Was she serious?

Zhang withdrew his hand. “Hmm… I had a check-up earlier this year. There are indeed nodules, and I’ve been taking Chinese medicine to manage them.”

Whoa! They’d thought she was just a pretty face, but she actually had skill!

Zhang studied her closely. “You really diagnosed that from my pulse?”

“From your pulse,” she corrected, “and from some of your other symptoms.”

Zhang’s eyes flickered. “What did you say your name was again?”