The Mouth Is Stubborn, But the Body Is Quite Honest [Rebirth] - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: 014 Qi Wanyang’s Embrace Made Her Feel Secure.

Gu Linlang anxiously stomped her foot and questioned the System in her mind: “Why is Qi Wanyang at Tailai Court too? What kind of bad luck warning is this time?”

The System’s emotionless mechanical voice immediately replied: “Yes, Host, Qi Wanyang is currently within one kilometer of you. Please hurry. You have 30 minutes to find Qi Wanyang and complete the mission of hugging her and looping your arms around her neck.”

“What?!” Gu Linlang nearly bit her tongue. A hug was bad enough, but looping her arms around her neck too? This broken System was getting increasingly presumptuous! But remembering the misery of her last bout of bad luck, she didn’t want a repeat, nor did she want to worry her family.

“I need to go to the restroom,” Gu Linlang muttered a hurried excuse, grabbed her phone, and rushed out of the private room.

In the hallway, she took a deep breath to calm herself and quickly pulled up Qi Wanyang’s number to call.

But all she heard on the other end was a cold “beep-beep.” Her brow furrowed—Yanyang wasn’t answering? Was this the bad luck at work already?

Gu Linlang bit her lip and quickly sent a text: “See this, come to the ladies’ room on the second floor of Tailai Court immediately.” After sending it, she hurried towards the restroom.

Inside the restroom, a few girls were chatting and laughing. Gu Linlang didn’t want to draw attention, so she quickly hid in a stall and locked the door, waiting for Qi Wanyang to appear.

Time ticked by. The girls gradually left, and the restroom grew quiet.

Gu Linlang was getting anxious and decided to call Qi Wanyang again.

But just as she was about to dial, her phone suddenly slipped out of her hand as if oiled and crashed to the floor with a smack.

She bent down to pick it up. Just then, the entire restroom plunged into darkness.

Gu Linlang was startled. She fumbled to push the stall door, but it wouldn’t budge, as if it had been welded shut.

“Is anyone there? The power is out?” Gu Linlang’s voice started to tremble. She frantically called the System in her mind: “System! The door was fine a moment ago! Why won’t it open now? Is the bad luck causing this too?”

But the System seemed to have frozen. The surroundings were terrifyingly silent.

Gu Linlang’s heart was pounding as if it would leap out of her chest. Just then, she felt a chill run down her back, as if something was approaching. She vaguely heard a faint, eerie laugh drifting toward her ear.

“Ah! Stay back!” Gu Linlang finally broke, screaming.

Just then, a familiar voice came from the darkness: “Linlang? Gu Linlang? Are you in there?”

The moment she heard Qi Wanyang’s voice, Gu Linlang’s suspended fear immediately lessened. She violently hammered on the door, her voice desperate and strained: “I’m here! Qi Wanyang! The door is stuck!”

The moment she spoke, the lock clicked open, as if it had only been jammed.

Gu Linlang didn’t bother wondering why the door had suddenly stuck and then suddenly opened. She immediately leaped into Qi Wanyang’s arms.

Qi Wanyang’s clean, subtle perfume and warm body made her feel a sense of security she had never known before.

The System, oblivious to the moment, unceremoniously popped up in her mind: “Host, please take the opportunity to loop your arms around Qi Wanyang’s neck and complete the Intimate Contact Mission.”

“…” Gu Linlang was so embarrassed her toes curled, but she genuinely didn’t want to be haunted by something again. She forced herself to wrap her arms around Qi Wanyang’s neck. She distinctly felt the other woman’s body stiffen, and she immediately wished a hole would open up so she could crawl into it.

“Ding~ Congratulations, Host, for completing this mission! Love Value +50!”

Just then, the restroom lights snapped back on. The cleaning lady and a few curious girls walked in.

Multiple pairs of eyes instantly fixed on Gu Linlang and Qi Wanyang, who were still intimately embracing, and a knowing chorus of “Oh~” erupted.

Although Qi Wanyang had an embarrassed flush on her ears from Gu Linlang’s sudden affection, she was more concerned about her: “Is your foot better? What happened just now? Did you send me that text? What’s going on?”

Gu Linlang was flustered by the barrage of questions. Her face red, she gently pushed her away, mumbled a quick “I’m fine now,” and quickly picked up her phone and slipped out.

As she passed the cleaning lady, she saw her mopping the floor and shaking her head: “These young people today… hugging in public is one thing, but they even had to turn off the lights. I was worried something bad had happened.”

Gu Linlang couldn’t bear to hear any more and sped up, fleeing the scene.

Qi Wanyang chased her into the hallway and was about to ask more questions but was stopped by an acquaintance asking what happened.

Remembering she still had her own dinner engagement, she could only watch Gu Linlang enter her private room before turning back.

When she returned to the private room, her dad and brother were discussing schoolwork, and Aunt Lirong was busy adding food to their plates. Seeing her return, they all looked at her and urged her to continue eating. No one specifically asked why she had been in the restroom for so long.

Gu Linlang relaxed slightly, but the bizarre situation in the restroom still made her call the System: “System, can bad luck actually attract supernatural events?”

If Qi Wanyang hadn’t shown up in time, she might have actually encountered something unclean! The thought still sent a shiver down her spine.

The System gave two dry laughs: “Host, supernatural events are indeed a form of Bad Luck Warning. Exciting and thrilling, don’t you think it’s fun?”

“Fun my big fat…” Gu Linlang swallowed the word “ghost” just in time.

She decided she would never say that word again!

“Daughter, what are you spacing out about? Eat more,” Gu Hongyi gently reminded her, seeing her distracted.

“Sis, try this quickly!” Gu Chengze quickly put a piece of her favorite sweet and sour pork ribs into her bowl, a smile on his face.

Sun Lirong poured her a glass of orange juice: “Linlang, eat slowly, don’t choke.”

Gu Linlang looked down at the food piled in her bowl, and the tension she had been holding suddenly melted away.

Her family’s care was like a cup of hot tea in winter, spreading warmth through her chest. The atmosphere at the dinner table livened up again.

On the drive home, Gu Linlang and Gu Chengze were laughing and playing in the back seat. While stopped at a red light, Gu Hongyi looked at the siblings through the rearview mirror, an unconscious smile on his face.

But just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it, his brows instantly furrowing and his smile freezing.

The moment they entered the house, Gu Linlang saw two family doctors waiting in the living room. The doctors immediately pulled up a chair as she entered: “Miss Gu, please sit.”

Gu Hongyi quickly walked over: “Daughter, stop moving around and let the doctors look at your injury. Why didn’t you tell Dad you were hurt last night?”

Sun Lirong and Gu Chengze immediately gathered around, looking worried.

Sun Lirong held Gu Linlang’s hand, looking concerned: “Linlang, where are you hurt? Is it serious? Why didn’t you tell us last night?”

Gu Linlang was about to say she was fine, but the doctor gently pressed her knee, and she gasped in pain.

The doctor quickly stopped and looked up at Gu Hongyi: “Mr. Gu, Miss’s injury has been treated, and the condition is stable. However, if possible, it’s best to go to the hospital for an X-ray to ensure there are no bone issues.”

“No need to go to the hospital!” Gu Linlang immediately shook her head, her tone firm. “I’m much better now. There’s no need to waste medical resources.”

She hated the smell of disinfectant in hospitals; it always reminded her of the scene of her mother’s death.

But she had never told her family this. Gu Hongyi simply thought his pampered daughter was afraid of the hassle and patiently advised: “Linlang, the doctor said so. It’s safer to get it checked. Dad will go with you. It won’t take long.”

Gu Linlang bit her lip, struggling internally. She didn’t want to worry her family, but she desperately didn’t want to step into a hospital.

She looked up at Gu Hongyi, trying to bargain: “Dad, I really am fine now. See, I can walk now. Is there really no need to go to the hospital?”

“No,” Gu Hongyi’s attitude was very firm. “The injury is on your knee. What if there are long-term complications? Dad will go with you. It’ll be quick.”

Sun Lirong chimed in: “That’s right, Linlang. We’ll all feel better if you get it checked.”

Gu Chengze didn’t speak, but his eyes were full of worry.

Seeing the situation, Gu Linlang knew she couldn’t argue with them and reluctantly nodded: “Fine, I’ll go.”

Gu Hongyi smiled with relief when she agreed: “That’s my girl. Dad will go with you.”

Sun Lirong and Gu Chengze also wanted to follow, but Gu Hongyi waved them off: “You two stay home and wait. I’ll take Linlang.”

Gu Linlang was forcibly ushered into the Qi’an General Hospital.

The moment she stepped through the door, the familiar smell of disinfectant hit her, choking her chest. The boundless fear made her instinctively want to flee.

However, Gu Hongyi, citing her knee injury, exaggeratedly called for a stretcher and had her restrained on it. There was no way for her to run.

Just like that, Gu Linlang was wheeled away for an X-ray and then sent to the emergency room. By the time she realized what was happening, she was lying in a hospital bed with both legs suspended high in the air, looking like a lamb prepared for slaughter.

“Daughter, the doctor said you need three days of rest. Dad will take you home once your injury is better, alright?” Gu Hongyi looked at her with a heartache.

The smell of disinfectant made Gu Linlang’s head hurt, but seeing her dad’s concerned eyes, she managed a forced smile: “I know, Dad. Don’t worry.”

Just as she was speaking, Gu Hongyi’s phone rang; it was a call from the company.

Gu Linlang quickly said: “Dad, if there’s company business, go ahead and deal with it. I can take care of myself.”

Gu Hongyi was reluctant, but after his daughter’s repeated assurances and a long list of instructions, he finally felt safe enough to leave.

Watching her father’s retreating back, Gu Linlang was filled with emotion. In the last life, she made him bury his own child. In this life, she absolutely couldn’t let him worry or grieve again.

It’s only three days, she thought. I’ll just grit my teeth and bear it.

The Gu family was indeed wealthy. Gu Linlang’s VIP room was more luxurious than a five-star hotel. Several nurses attended to her 24 hours a day, practically treating her like royalty.

To mask the hospital’s pungent disinfectant smell, Gu Linlang specially ordered large bouquets of fresh flowers. The room was filled with fresh blooms, smelling like a garden.

An 80-inch TV was mounted on the wall. Gu Linlang lazily leaned back on the bed, watching TV and scrolling through her phone, passing the time.

When it was time to sleep, she, unaccustomed to having people watch her overnight, sent the nurses away.

In the flower-scented room, Gu Linlang turned off the TV and lay down.

Thinking about all the good things that had happened since her rebirth and the warmth from her family, the gloom in her heart slowly dissipated.

A smile on her face, she gradually fell asleep. Her dreams were full of happy moments with her family, bubbling with happiness.

“Linlang… Linlang…” Someone called her in her dream, the voice gentle and kind. Gu Linlang’s nose stung, and something in her heart suddenly collapsed.

She ran toward the direction of the voice, somehow finding herself in the form of a tiny child.

When she arrived, panting, she realized she was standing in a deserted grand theater.

Suddenly, with a snap, a spotlight hit the center of the stage. A dancer in a white swan costume was spinning. Her form was light, her posture graceful, captivating everyone who watched.

Just as Gu Linlang was about to applaud, the white swan dancer suddenly collapsed onto the ground. The pristine white costume was instantly consumed by the darkness, then stained with a shocking scarlet color.

The pungent smell of disinfectant rushed back, like an invisible hand squeezing her throat, making her feel suffocated.

In the hospital room full of fresh flowers, Gu Linlang could only smell that terrible disinfectant.

She desperately covered her nose, but the smell, like superglue, wouldn’t go away. The tighter she held her nose, the closer she came to suffocating herself.