Gu Heng's figure disappeared behind the heavy door leading to the third floor, leaving Lin Wei standing alone at the door of the study, with the cold touch of the flat plate still lingering on her fingertips. The echo of "I don't want you to lose" and the unfamiliar throbbing in her heart collided silently in the empty corridor. His last look - shock, despair and desire surging under the emotion - was like a stone thrown into a deep lake, stirring up circles of ripples in her heart that were difficult to calm down.
She returned to the small study and forced herself to refocus on the European supplier plan of the "Dawn Plan". The data on the screen was jumping, and the email sent by Fang Wei was flashing, but Gu Heng's tired face, the strong smell of herbs, and the painful eyes that almost tore his cold and hard shell stubbornly occupied her thoughts.
Why? What is hidden behind his "why"?
It was late at night, and "Yunqi Waterfront" fell into a dead silence. Lin Wei finally finished her work and walked towards her suite with exhaustion and confusion. When she passed the main living room, she subconsciously looked up in the direction of the third floor.
It was pitch black.
Gu Heng did not work in the study room with the lights on until late at night as usual. This abnormal silence made Lin Wei's heart inexplicably lifted.
She walked lightly, as if being pulled by an invisible force, and slowly walked up the spiral staircase leading to the third floor. The metal steps made a very slight sound under her feet. She stopped on the last step, and the heavy glass door that required biometric identification was close at hand, like a barrier separating two worlds.
Inside the door, it was not completely silent.
A suppressed, extremely painful gasp, like the whimper of a wounded beast, came out intermittently through the crack of the door! Accompanied by the muffled sound of heavy objects hitting soft objects, and... a crisp sound of porcelain breaking!
Lin Wei's heart tightened instantly! It's Gu Heng! What happened to him? !
The painful gasps became more and more rapid, with a kind of despair on the verge of collapse. Lin Wei no longer cared about the warning of the "restricted area". Driven by a strong impulse, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped the cold glass door!
"Gu Heng! Gu Heng! Open the door! What happened to you?!" Her voice was filled with anxiety and panic that she didn't even notice.
The sound inside the door suddenly stopped! The deathly silence lasted for a few seconds, as if even the air had solidified.
Then, a burst of hurried and staggering footsteps came from inside the door. The heavy glass door was unlocked with a "tick"! The door slowly slid to one side!
The scene inside the door made Lin Wei gasp instantly!
This is not a regular study or bedroom, but more like a mixture of a medical monitoring room and an extremely private space full of technology... The light was dim, with only an instrument in the corner emitting a faint blue light. The strong herbal scent in the air was almost pungent, mixed with a faint smell of blood!
Gu Heng was standing a few steps away from the door. His face was as pale as paper, his forehead was covered with fine cold sweat, and a few strands of black hair were wet and stuck to his temples. He pressed his temple with one hand, the veins on the back of his hand were bulging, and his knuckles were blue and white because of the force. The other hand was holding a tilted metal instrument stand, and the muffled sound just now was obviously from this. Broken porcelain cup fragments and spilled dark brown medicine juice were scattered on the ground.
His home clothes were messy, his chest was heaving violently, and his eyes, which were always deep and cold, were now full of painful bloodshot, and his eyes were scattered and fragile, as if he had just struggled back from the edge of hell. When he saw Lin Wei, his scattered pupils seemed to focus for a moment, but then they were replaced by deeper pain and a kind of... shame and anger at being seen in embarrassment.
"Who... asked you to come up..." His voice was hoarse like sandpaper, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his throat, with uncontrollable trembling and weakness. He wanted to stand up straight and maintain his usual indifferent attitude, but a severe headache came, causing his body to shake violently, and he almost fell again!
Lin Wei didn't think about it, and rushed forward in one step, and supported him with her body before he fell!
Gu Heng's body was extremely heavy, with a scalding temperature and uncontrollable trembling. He was almost half leaning on Lin Wei, and the strong smell of herbs and his unique cedar scent mixed with sweat surrounded her. Lin Wei could clearly feel the tension of his muscles and the uncontrollable heartbeat like a drum.
"You..." Gu Heng seemed to want to push her away, but his arms were too weak to lift. The severe headache was like countless steel needles stirring in his skull, making his eyes black and his consciousness began to blur. He closed his eyes painfully, his thick eyelashes cast a fragile shadow on his pale cheeks, his teeth clenched tightly, making a clacking sound.
Lin Wei's heart was severely ached. She had never seen Gu Heng like this before. His strong and cold shell was completely shattered, leaving only a fragile soul tortured by severe pain. She supported him with difficulty, looked around, and saw a bed next to him that looked like a medical examination bed.
"Don't talk! I'll help you over!" Her voice was full of unquestionable strength. She used all her strength to support his heavy body, and moved him to the bed step by step with difficulty.
Gu Heng was almost half pushed and half held by her and lay down. He curled up his body, holding his head tightly with both hands, his body spasming slightly because of the severe pain, and an uncontrollable painful groan came out of his throat. That fragile and helpless look was completely different from the image of the emperor who looked down on everyone on weekdays.
Lin Wei looked at his painful appearance and was anxious. She saw an open metal medicine box beside the bed, which contained various medicine bottles and syringes. She quickly searched and saw a bottle of injection with the label "Acute Neuralgia Relief" and an unopened disposable syringe.
"Is this it?" She picked up the medicine bottle and asked anxiously.
Gu Heng opened his eyes with difficulty, took a look, nodded very slightly, and then fell into deeper pain.
Lin Wei did not hesitate at all. Although she had never been a nurse, she knew the basic operating procedures. She quickly tore open the syringe packaging, disinfected the mouth of the medicine bottle with alcohol cotton, and sucked the liquid medicine. Although her movements were accompanied by a subtle tremor, they were extremely decisive.
She lifted the sleeve of Gu Heng's home clothes, revealing his strong but pale arm. Find the vein, disinfect it, and then, holding your breath, push the needle in steadily, and slowly inject the liquid medicine.
The cold liquid medicine entered the blood vessel. Gu Heng's tense body seemed to relax a little, and the heart-pounding spasm subsided a little, but the painful expression did not completely disappear, but the unbearable pain turned into a heavy dull pain and deep fatigue. He still closed his eyes, frowned, and cold sweat soaked his forehead.
Lin Wei pulled out the needle and pressed the needle hole with a cotton ball. She stood by the bed, looking at the man curled up on the narrow medical bed, so fragile that he could not bear a single blow, and her chest was blocked. The strong smell of herbs, this cold medical space, the broken medicine bowl on the ground... everything pointed to a cruel fact: Gu Heng had been suffering from great pain, and this pain was probably a long time ago.
She silently cleaned up the debris and drug stains on the ground, and went to the bathroom next to her to wring out a warm towel. She walked back to Gu Heng's bedside, looked at his still pale face and frowning brows, hesitated for a moment, and still reached out her hand, and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and temples with a towel very gently.
The warm touch seemed to relax Gu Heng's tense nerves. His long eyelashes trembled, and he slowly and with great difficulty opened his eyes.
At this moment, those deep eyes no longer had the usual coldness and sharpness, leaving only confusion, weakness and a bottomless exhaustion after being washed by pain. He just looked at Lin Wei quietly, looking at the undisguised worry and... tenderness in her eyes? It was an emotion he had never seen in her eyes, purely directed at himself, not "Mr. Gu" or "Party A of the contract."
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
He looked at her, and she looked at him. There were no words, only his still slightly heavy breathing in the air, and a silent, thrilling emotion surging wildly.
Gu Heng's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But at this moment——
"Buzz...Buzz..."
The phone in Lin Wei's pocket vibrated violently at an inopportune time! The sharp ringtone broke the fragile and delicate tranquility!
Lin Wei was startled and subconsciously took out her cell phone. Fang Wei's name was jumping on the screen.
The brief confusion and fragility in Gu Heng's eyes faded away in an instant, like a tide being blocked by the cold dam that was rebuilt. He suddenly closed his eyes and turned his head away. His voice returned to his usual coldness and alienation, but with a strong hoarseness and fatigue:
"Get out."
Two words, as cold as iron, closed the world that had just cracked a crack.
Lin Wei held the still vibrating cell phone and looked at Gu Heng's back, who curled up again and refused to communicate. A huge sense of loss and powerlessness surged in her heart. She opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing, but silently put down the towel, turned around, and left this room full of pain and secrets step by step.
The glass door closed silently behind her and locked again.
Lin Wei leaned against the cold wall and answered the phone.
"Hello, Fang Wei?"
"Director Lin! It's bad!" Fang Wei's voice was filled with unprecedented panic, "The European supplier we just locked in, 'Oak Family'... they just announced that they were fully acquired by a company called 'Blackstone Capital'! All external orders are suspended indefinitely!"
Blackstone Capital!
Lin Wei's heart sank suddenly, and a chill that was more biting than in the Southeast Asian rainforest instantly swept through her body.
The painful gasps in the restricted area on the third floor were still in her ears, and a new crisis was already following her. Gu Heng's wound, which had just been torn by pain, had not yet healed, and the new fangs were already impatiently showing their cold light.