Chapter 26

“Ancestor! Do you know that your fever is so high that your forehead could fry an egg? Can’t you just behave for once?” Gu Juncheng’s tone was filled with helplessness, but it grew fiercer.

“Really? I have a fever?” Lin Qingping asked, surprised. No wonder… 

“Then… if I’m sick, why are you still scolding me?” She was curled up in the blanket, her voice already hoarse and weak, almost inaudible.

Yet, he heard her clearly.

There was silence for a long time, and then his voice came from the darkness: “I didn’t mean to scold you.”

“Then, where are you taking me?” Her voice sounded especially fragile with a thick nasal tone from the cold.

“Medical Office, we’re almost there.” he replied, each word deliberate and clear.

By the time they spoke, they had already arrived at the Medical Office. As soon as they entered, Lin Qingping heard a burst of laughter.

Then, Gu Juncheng’s cold voice interrupted it: “What’s so funny? She just showed up like this, without even bringing a cotton jacket, so it had to be like this.”

Lin Qingping was placed on the sickbed by him. 

“Check her out, she has a fever.” Gu Juncheng said to the doctor. 

The doctor was a middle-aged man named Shi, who smiled. “So, this is your wife?”

“Why else would she be here?” Gu Juncheng’s face was tightly set: “Came for a home visit and caught a cold.”

“Let’s take her temperature first.” Doctor Shi took out a thermometer, gave it a shake, and handed it to Gu Juncheng. “Any other symptoms?”

“Her throat’s hoarse, nothing else much.” Gu Juncheng replied while rummaging through the blanket for Lin Qingping. “Here, let’s take your temperature.”

Lin Qingping, muddled from the illness, instinctively began to unbutton her clothes, raising her arm, thinking she was being helpful.

As a result, Gu Juncheng’s expression changed, and he quickly covered her with the blanket, saying: “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind from the illness?”

Lin Qingping froze for a moment and then couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. Wasn’t she acting silly? Out of habit, she had reached to measure under her armpit, forgetting that this time the thermometer was for under the tongue.

“Ah—” She obediently opened her mouth. It was then that she remembered there was also a thermometer for measuring elsewhere, so… where exactly was she supposed to measure? She looked at him and then closed her mouth again. Should she… measure there? No… she really didn’t want to!

“Open your mouth!” he said, holding the thermometer and looking at her in confusion.

“Oh…” Finally, her heart, which had been racing wildly, calmed down. But as she opened her mouth, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing at her earlier thoughts. She burst into laughter, which confused Gu Juncheng even more. As for her, she couldn’t stop laughing until she saw Gu Juncheng’s brow gradually furrow. She finally forced herself to stop and opened her mouth.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but it seemed like her face had been gently pinched. She couldn’t tell if he actually pinched her, but she definitely heard him scold her lightly. 

He said: “You’re being naughty!”

She wasn’t being naughty, though, was she?

While she waited for her temperature to be taken, Gu Juncheng sat beside her, and Doctor Shi spoke to him. 

Doctor Shi was a very friendly person, always smiling, a stark contrast to Gu Juncheng’s stern face.

“Is this your wife’s first time here?”

“Haha, Commander Gu, it’s the first time I’ve seen you so anxious! Don’t worry, it’s just a cold!”

“Is your wife always like this at home, Commander Gu?”

In any case, the more Doctor Shi teased, the more exaggerated his laughter became, and Gu Juncheng’s face grew even more serious. Unable to hold herself back, Lin Qingping reached out from the “cocoon” and pinched his leg hard, thinking: Why aren’t you responding to him? 

But the result was a sharp glare from him, and he shoved her hand back under the blanket. “Still not behaving even when you’re sick!” he scolded her in a barely audible voice. 

Lin Qingping wanted to speak, but with the thermometer in her mouth, she couldn’t say a word. Doctor Shi burst out laughing at the sight of it. When the time was up, he took the thermometer out of her mouth. “Alright, now your wife can tell you if she has any grievances.” he said with a grin.

Lin Qingping did exactly that, muttering to Gu Juncheng: “I’m just sick, I’m not dead! Why am I not behaving?” 

Doctor Shi laughed again, and Gu Juncheng’s face grew even darker.

“39.5°C, the fever is indeed very high. What do you want to do, give her an injection or have her take medicine?” Doctor Shi asked.

“Medicine.” Lin Qingping said, her voice hoarse.

“Alright.” Doctor Shi nodded and then looked at Gu Juncheng. “Then I’ll prescribe some medicine.”

Gu Juncheng nodded in agreement. 

Lin Qingping watched as Doctor Shi took out two small white bags, writing the instructions and dosage on them. He placed the pills into the bags, folded them up, and handed them to Gu Juncheng. She found the whole process rather amusing. Reflecting back years later, after the modernization of things, she found it interesting to recall these scenes and things that had never appeared again.

“Take one when you get home, and keep an eye on her tonight. If the fever doesn’t go down, you can use physical cooling methods. If it’s still not working, bring her back for an injection. Don’t take it lightly.” Doctor Shi reminded as Gu Juncheng carried her out of the room.

“Understood.” Gu Juncheng replied in his usual stern tone.

“Hey, I wasn’t laughing at you, I was laughing at your Commander Gu!” Doctor Shi explained from behind, still chuckling. “Haha! Don’t mind me!”

Who was laughing and who wasn’t, Lin Qingping didn’t care at all. All she knew was that she had been sent back to the Family Residential Compound Dormitory. Gu Juncheng placed her on the bed, tucked her in, and after making sure she was lying down comfortably, he turned around to leave.

“Gu Juncheng!” she called out in a panic as she sat up.

“What’s wrong?” he turned back.

Lin Qingping didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure how their routine worked—whether he could stay or if he had some task to attend to that night. But one thing she knew was that she couldn’t ask about Military Unit matters, so when Gu Juncheng asked her, she was left speechless, just looking at him in silence.

Gu Juncheng, however, walked back to the bed and sat down by her side, asking again: “What’s the matter?”

“You…” Lin Qingping glanced at him. “When will you come back again?”

Gu Juncheng was taken aback by her question. “I’ll be back soon, right?” 

This time, it was Lin Qingping’s turn to be stunned. “Then… where are you going?”

“I’m going to get you some hot water for your medicine.” his voice was tinged with helplessness.

Lin Qingping immediately realized her mistake, feeling embarrassed. She lay back down and covered her head with the blanket.

But Gu Juncheng pulled the blanket off her. “Don’t cover yourself, you need to breathe.”

“Mm…” Lin Qingping nodded. “You go ahead.”

When Gu Juncheng stood up again, she suddenly grabbed the corner of his shirt, glancing at him briefly before quietly asking: “Then… tonight, will you sleep here?”

Gu Juncheng stared at the small, pale hand gripping his shirt for a moment. After a brief silence, he finally answered: “Mm.”

In that instant, Lin Qingping’s mood brightened. She let go of his shirt, rolled over to the inside of the bed, and turned her back to him.

Gu Juncheng stood by the bed for a brief moment, then finally left the room. When he returned, he was holding a thermos of hot water. He glanced at Lin Qingping, who had been restless earlier but now lay completely still, unaware that he had returned.