novelraw Chapter 236 Not Used To It
Chapter 236 Not Used To It
When he opened his eyes again, the dark fire in Gu Yanxu's eyes had been extinguished. In its place was a bottomless weariness, as if all his strength had been drained away.
"I choose the first one."
Lin Chen bent down and carefully picked Jin Qiqi up from the back seat.
Lin Chen took a couple of steps with Jin Qiqi in his arms, then suddenly stopped.
He didn't turn around, but just turned his head slightly. The light from the streetlamp fell on his well-defined profile, half bright and half shadowed.
"Gu Yanxu," his voice was neither loud nor soft, "your brother asked me to pass on a message to you."
Gu Yanxu kept his head down, like a stone statue. But when he heard the words "your brother," his shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly. He slowly raised his head and looked at Lin Chen's back—in that back, Jin Qiqi's long hair fell from Lin Chen's arms, gleaming slightly under the light.
"Don't make any more mistakes." Lin Chen's words contained regret, but also a sharp threat. "Otherwise, he won't show any mercy."
Without waiting for Gu Yanxu's reply, he walked to the car and gently put Jin Qiqi down in the back seat.
The car door closed, leaving Gu Yanxu alone.
He slowly squatted down, like a building that could no longer bear the weight, collapsing in a corner unseen by anyone.
Lin Chen carried Jin Qiqi to Gu Yanshen's house.
When the doorbell rang, Lu Xiran opened the door. Seeing Jin Qiqi lying motionless in Lin Chen's arms, her face turned as white as paper in an instant, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.
"Kiki!"
Lu Xiran practically rushed forward. Her hand hovered in front of Jin Qiqi, wanting to touch her but not daring to, her fingertips trembling slightly, as if afraid that the touch would shatter. She finally grasped Jin Qiqi's drooping hand—that hand was icy cold, so cold that it sent a sharp pain through her heart.
"What happened to her? What happened to her?" Lu Xiran's voice was choked with sobs, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally rolled down, one drop at a time, and landed on Jin Qiqi's hand.
"It should just be anesthesia." Lin Chen carefully placed Jin Qiqi on the guest bed, and Xue Jingyan immediately stepped forward and opened the medical kit he carried with him. He checked Jin Qiqi's pupils, pulse, and breathing, and listened with a stethoscope for a while before raising his head, his tone steady but with a hint of relief.
"Don't worry, it's just regular anesthesia, and the dosage is small. You'll wake up soon, and there won't be any aftereffects."
Lu Xiran felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she slumped onto the edge of the sofa. Her hand remained firmly on Jin Qiqi's fingers.
"Gu Yanxu... what is he trying to do!" Lu Xiran's voice suddenly rose, filled with anger and disbelief. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her chest heaved violently. "How could he... how could he do this to Qiqi? She's his wife! She's Yinuo's mother!"
She recalled the text messages she had sent to Jin Qiqi over the past few days. In every single one, she was advising her—"Qiqi, don't let things get too tense with Gu Yanxu. You two still have a promise." "Qiqi, talk to him properly. Don't let me ruin your relationship with him." "Qiqi, no matter what, he is your husband."
She always considered Gu Yanxu's feelings. Not for any other reason than that he was the person Jin Qiqi had chosen, and Yinuo's father. She even wondered if, if Jin Qiqi and Gu Yanxu really ended up together, she would become the one who broke up Qiqi's family.
But she never imagined that Gu Yanxu would hurt Jin Qiqi for Lian Bichen's sake.
"He never thought," Lu Xiran's voice trembled, tears streaming down her face, "he never thought that Qiqi would be in pain...?"
Gu Yanshen walked up from behind and silently pulled Lu Xiran's trembling body into his arms. His large hand covered her back, patting it gently, as if comforting a frightened little animal.
"Go and rest for a while," he said in a low, gentle voice. "She won't wake up so soon."
Lu Xiran shook her head in his arms, her movements gentle yet exceptionally firm. She looked up at Gu Yanshen, her eyes blurry with tears, her voice hoarse but each word distinct: "No. Qiqi needs me. The first person she sees when she wakes up must be me."
She couldn't let her lie here alone, couldn't let Qiqi feel that no one in the world was waiting for her when she was at her most vulnerable.
Gu Yanshen looked at her for two seconds, then didn't try to persuade her further. He simply lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead. "I'll go get you a basin of water."
When the water was brought over, the temperature was just right—neither too cold nor too hot—Gu Yanshen had tested it with his elbow. Lu Xiran took the towel, soaked it in the warm water, wrung it out, and then began to carefully wipe Jin Qiqi's face.
Her movements were very gentle, as if she were afraid of disturbing a sleeping child. The towel wiped every inch of Jin Qiqi's face carefully, from her forehead to her brow, from her brow to the bridge of her nose, from the bridge of her nose to her cheeks, and then to her chin, as if she wanted to wipe away all the fatigue and grievances on Jin Qiqi's face.
As she wiped, she spoke softly, her voice as light as a breeze rustling through a curtain: "Qiqi, do you know how much I miss you... You've never gone this long without talking to me... You've been there for me these past few years, sending me no less than a hundred WeChat messages every day. Without your messages, my world is so quiet I'm not used to it..."
Tears fell again, dripping onto the towel and spreading into a small water stain.
After wiping her face, she changed the water and began wiping Jin Qiqi's hands. She wiped each finger individually, from the thumb to the little finger, from the base to the tip. When she reached the palm, she suddenly paused—there were four crescent-shaped bloodstains on Jin Qiqi's palm, covered with thin scabs.
She made that herself in court.
Lu Xiran's tears fell onto the bloodstain.
After wiping her hands and feet, she tucked the blanket around Jin Qiqi and tucked the stray hairs that had fallen across her face behind her ears. Then she sat on the chair by the bed, resting her face on her arm, watching over her.
After an unknown amount of time, the light changed from white to a warm yellow. Lu Xiran's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and finally, at a certain moment, they closed.
She leaned against the bedside, still holding one of Jin Qiqi's fingers as she slept, just like when they secretly held hands during their afternoon nap at school when they were little.
When Jin Qiqi woke up, the first person she saw was Lu Xiran.
The warm light fell on her profile, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her brow was gently furrowed, as if she were worried about something even in her dream. Her hand was still clenched around her fingers, the warmth of her fingertips seeping through her skin.
Jin Qiqi's eyes immediately reddened.
She remembered that just now, in her hazy state, she felt someone wiping her face, the movement as light as a feather. She thought it was a dream. Now it seemed it wasn't.
Guilt surged up like a tidal wave, overwhelming her breath. She choked out, "..."
"slowly……"