Accidentally Marked My Ex’s Crush, the Ice-Cold Goddess O - Chapter 27: Staying Over

Chapter 27: Staying Over

The first time Jiang Ci came to Dr. Gu’s house, she should have had the manners and politeness of a guest, but her stomach didn’t allow her to be too courteous. Less than a minute after entering, her stomach rumbled again, like a roaring machine.

Jiang Ci slowly raised her hand to cover it, not daring to look up at Dr. Gu. “Um, I’m really bothering you.”

This was why she didn’t want to come to Dr. Gu’s house.

So embarrassing.

Dr. Gu wasn’t in the mood to tease her. Her dark brows furrowed slightly as she led Jiang Ci to the farthest guest bathroom from the living room, pushed the door open, and said, “Go in. It’s very clean, and the soundproofing is good.”

Hearing that last sentence, Jiang Ci’s cheeks instantly flushed red, like overripe kimchi dumplings, white with a hint of pink. Still, she had to thank Dr. Gu for her thoughtfulness.

Jiang Ci: “Thank you.”

She went in, closed the door, and locked it.

While Jiang Ci dealt with her stomach issues, Dr. Gu returned to her bedroom, took out a set of loungewear, clean pajamas, and disposable underwear from the closet. Whether Jiang Ci stayed the night or not, she prepared them just in case. She also got a cup of warm water, electrolyte water, soda crackers, and montmorillonite powder.

The auntie tidied up the guest bedroom, told Dr. Gu, and went to her own room to sleep.

Dr. Gu changed clothes and sat in the living room, waiting for her.

Jiang Ci had already had several stomach episodes earlier. This time, she came out in less than ten minutes. But when she stood up, either because she got up too fast or her body was exhausted, everything went black, and she was sweating coldly all over.

Hearing the noise, Dr. Gu got up and went over, wanting to help her, but Jiang Ci refused. “You changed clothes. Don’t touch me. I can manage.”

Dr. Gu lowered her hand. “It might be sudden acute gastroenteritis. Should I take you to the hospital for the emergency room?”

“No, no.”

Jiang Ci waved her hand and said, “I’ll lie down and rest for a bit. Maybe it’ll pass. It’s fine.”

It was late at night, and she had already troubled Dr. Gu enough. Plus, she had to get up early for work at the hospital tomorrow.

“Sorry,” Dr. Gu said to Jiang Ci.

Jiang Ci straightened up slightly, quickly stopping Dr. Gu’s guilt. “Dr. Gu, you don’t need to apologize. It’s my fault for being stubborn. My brain didn’t think straight. I couldn’t eat but forced myself to, and I could’ve taken the leftovers home. Why didn’t I think of that?”

As she spoke, she started scolding herself.

Dr. Gu relaxed her brows and took her to the living room to drink water. After acute gastroenteritis and diarrhea, dehydration was common. At times like this, it was best not to eat and to drink warm water or electrolyte water.

They walked over, and Jiang Ci saw the white leather sofa, a custom piece from a high-end brand. She didn’t go over. She took off her slippers, bent down, and sat cross-legged on the carpet.

Dr. Gu bent down, picked up the electrolyte water, unscrewed the cap, and tried to hand it to her. Turning around, she missed her at first, then slowly looked down and saw her on the carpet.

Dr. Gu: “Why not sit on the sofa?”

Jiang Ci looked up at her. “I haven’t changed clothes.”

Dr. Gu bent down to give her the water. “Don’t drink too much. Just ease your dry mouth, or you’ll have to run to the bathroom again.”

“Okay.” Jiang Ci obediently took three small sips.

Though the diarrhea left her exhausted, Jiang Ci looked at Dr. Gu and said with relief, “Good thing Dr. Gu is a doctor, or I’d be in big trouble today.”

Dr. Gu handed her the clothes. “I’m a doctor, but I haven’t helped much, and I can’t share your physical pain.”

Jiang Ci took the clothes with both hands. “Helping me mentally is enough.”

Dr. Gu let her be.

After sitting on the carpet for over ten minutes, Jiang Ci’s body gradually recovered. Feeling less uncomfortable, she took the clothes back to the room, washed up, and showered.

On the small cabinet by the floor lamp, there were a few soda crackers. Dr. Gu said to eat them if she got hungry.

Jiang Ci wasn’t hungry, so she didn’t eat. She went to bed and slept.

The next morning, just after seven, the alarm rang. Dr. Gu reached out to turn it off, got out of bed to wash up, and came out, brushing her untamed long hair, heading straight to the guest bedroom.

She didn’t know how Jiang Ci’s body was after the night.

The auntie was making breakfast. As she came out of the kitchen with a sandwich, she saw Dr. Gu. “Miss Gu.”

Dr. Gu nodded. “Hmm.”

Seeing Miss Gu heading to the guest bedroom, the auntie stopped and called out, “Miss Gu, the guest from last night already left.”

Dr. Gu paused and turned around.

The auntie said, “When I got up this morning, I saw the door open, so I knocked and checked. No one was there. The blanket and clothes were neatly folded.”

“Okay.”

Since she was gone, Dr. Gu didn’t go over. She walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down to eat.

After eating, she put on light makeup, got dressed, and went to work.

Jiang Ci left at five in the morning, just as dawn broke.

She moved quietly, not disturbing them. After a few hours of sleep, her body wasn’t fully recovered but good enough to drive.

Before entering the noodle shop last night, she called Little Aunt and told her about meeting Fu Ruanyi and Fu Xianqing and the Fu family’s attitude.

Little Aunt listened, stayed silent for a few seconds, and said, “Xiao Ci, don’t tell your Aunt Liu about this. Just the two of us know, okay? You mustn’t tell Aunt Liu.”

Jiang Ci understood Little Aunt’s meaning and agreed.

Though Little Aunt and Aunt Liu had publicly broken up these past few years, denying they were together when asked, Grandma and the Fu family knew they hadn’t split. The reason no one had strongly intervened was partly because one was family, and partly because it hadn’t reached a serious point.

If both families got ruthless and vowed to break up Little Aunt and Aunt Liu, it would only take a word.

Jiang Ci left Dr. Gu’s house, returned to her place, ate a couple of soda crackers to settle her stomach, brushed her teeth again in the bathroom, dried her hands, and went to the closet. She grabbed a gray collared shirt and paired it with jeans.

Then, wearing white casual sneakers and carrying a pair of black high heels, she went downstairs and drove to the company.

Jiang Ci didn’t really like wearing high heels. When she first started at the company, she wore sneakers and casual shoes everywhere, even slippers in the office.

Until one day, Grandma came to discuss work and saw her wearing slippers in the office. She scolded her harshly.

From that day, Jiang Ci started wearing high heels to work.

She parked in her designated spot, turned off the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, adjusted the seat back, and changed into the high heels.

Her high heels were custom-made by famous designers with good materials, so they weren’t too uncomfortable. But wearing them constantly was tough. She wished winter would come soon so she could wear long boots.

At the company, Jiang Ci first went to the chairman’s office, joining Grandma and department heads for a big meeting.

Grandma’s presence was always commanding. The morning-long meeting ended with everyone sitting straight and full of energy until Grandma was out of sight, then they slouched.

Back in her office, Jiang Ci immediately took off her high heels and switched to the slippers hidden by her desk.

Knock knock. The assistant came in.

Liang Nian stepped forward and handed Jiang Ci a tablet. “President Jiang, here’s the menu. What do you want for lunch?”

The company had a leadership meal plan, with different dishes weekly. Leaders chose, and assistants or subordinates picked it up.

Her shoes felt much more comfortable. Jiang Ci sat up straight, took the tablet with one hand, and looked at the menu.

Today’s options included bitter melon with shrimp, cola chicken wings, sweet corn, abalone, stir-fried beef, stir-fried greens, boiled broccoli, and pork rib soup, plus some seasonal fruits.

Jiang Ci looked while holding her stomach.

Though her stomach felt much better today, she couldn’t eat carelessly. Another bout of gastroenteritis would mean vomiting and diarrhea, making her miserable for a long time, especially… certain areas.

After checking the menu, Jiang Ci put down the tablet, picked up her phone, opened WeChat, and searched for Dr. Gu’s name at the top.

When Dr. Gu’s profile picture popped up, Jiang Ci clicked it, took a photo of the tablet’s menu, sent it to her, and typed: Dr. Gu, which of these dishes can I eat?

Dr. Gu was eating in the cafeteria. When she got the message, she thought it was from a colleague, but it was Jiang Ci.

Dr. Gu zoomed in on the picture, looked carefully, and replied: I don’t recommend eating any of them. You can drink porridge, rice paste, or lotus root starch to protect your stomach. For food, steamed buns, soda crackers, and plain noodles are okay. Avoid fruits, high-fiber foods, coffee, milk, and alcohol.

Jiang Ci: Thank you.

As expected of a doctor, so detailed.

Buzz buzz. Dr. Gu sent another message.

Jiang Ci opened it and, seeing what Dr. Gu wrote, slowly widened her eyes. She brought the phone closer, almost thinking she misread.

Dr. Gu: Don’t sit for long during this time. Do more pelvic floor exercises. There are tutorials online. Deep breathing, lift your energy, and clench your butt.

Jiang Ci: “…”

At first glance, Jiang Ci couldn’t believe these words came from Dr. Gu’s beautiful hands. Doctors sure were open and thorough.

Jiang Ci: Thank you, Dr. Gu. I’ll do it.

Dr. Gu: Hmm.

Jiang Ci put down her phone, handed the tablet to her, and said, “No need. If the cafeteria has steamed buns, get me two, and buy me a bottle of electrolyte water.”

Liang Nian didn’t understand President Jiang’s menu choice today but nodded. “Okay, I’ll check the cafeteria.”

Jiang Ci: “Hmm.”

After eating, Jiang Ci stayed at the company until past three in the afternoon, then went to school for class. Afterward, she went to the library to write her paper.

Around nine at night, Jiang Ci drove to the dry cleaner to pick up the clothes she sent for express cleaning that morning.

These were the clothes Dr. Gu gave her to change into last night. Now clean, she’d return them when picking Dr. Gu up from work at the hospital.

At the hospital, Jiang Ci easily found Dr. Gu’s office. As expected, the door was locked.

She waited a while but didn’t see her. She went to find Little Aunt, who was doing rounds and giving patients instructions, too busy to talk.

It was half an hour before she saw her.

“Dr. Gu,” Jiang Ci called.

Dr. Gu hummed, opened the door, and said, “You look recovered. Not even a day, and you’re full of energy.”

Jiang Ci: “Maybe I’m just strong?”

Dr. Gu turned to look at her, eyes bright, meeting Jiang Ci’s gaze briefly before pushing the door open and going inside, busy searching for something in the cabinet.