Chapter 39: Qin Shu

Gu Tingyan stood before the bed with a bath towel wrapped around his lower body, his sturdy upper body bare, watching Qin Shu with dark, deep eyes as he stared at her: "Shall I give you a bath?"

Qin Shu's face flushed slightly, and her ears turned a deep, blood-red.

In their five years of marriage, the only time she and Gu Tingyan had been completely open with each other was in bed; they had never bathed together in the bathroom.

Not to mention letting Gu Tingyan bathe her.

Qin Shu felt a bit of heat on her face: "No need."

Gu Tingyan looked at her flushed cheeks, a smile in the corners of his eyes; the two had been married for five years, and their child was already so big.

She was already a mother, yet in front of him, she still blushed easily.

Gu Tingyan lowered his head to look at her, his voice gentle: "Then shall I carry you into the bathroom?"

Qin Shu wanted to say she would go herself, but as soon as she moved her legs, her knees pulled with pain.

When Lin Jingshu made her kneel, it wasn't just a simple matter of kneeling; she always found ways to increase the difficulty for Qin Shu, covering the floor with hemp shards or making her kneel on pebbles.

Qin Shu: "Mm."

Gu Tingyan went in first to fill the bathtub with water, reaching out to test the temperature; only when it was suitable for the human body did he carry Qin Shu inside.

Gu Tingyan placed everything she needed within reach: "Call me when you're done washing."

Qin Shu: "Okay."

Gu Tingyan walked out, pulling the bathroom door ajar behind him.

He listened to the sound of running water in the bathroom, sitting on the bed in bored anticipation, his gaze sweeping over the bookshelf Qin Shu usually read from.

Gu Tingyan got off the bed and stood before the bookcase, scanning it once, his gaze landing on the books Qin Shu used to read most often: "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" and "Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion."

"The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" established the theories of meridians, Qi, and blood, guiding the treatment of meridian blockages and Qi-blood deficiency (common pathogenesis of disability).

"Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" systematically recorded meridian acupoints and acupuncture therapies, serving as the core practical classic for physical function conditioning.

Gu Tingyan held them in his hands and flipped through the pages one by one, his heart trembling slightly, his thin lips pressed tightly together.

Both books had been worn out by Qin Shu; there were many folded corners in the pages, which he unfolded to reveal Qin Shu's notes, insights, and highlighted key points.

As he put the books back, he accidentally knocked over a diary; the diary hit the floor, opening in the middle and spreading out to both sides.

Gu Tingyan picked it up and glanced at the text on it:

Monday, weather sunny.

Gu Tingyan's legs are stiff and atrophied, but after more than a month of acupuncture and medication, there is clear improvement. Mom, I'm so happy; hard work really does pay off, I must keep at it.

No matter the cost, I will make you stand up again, I definitely will.

Gu Tingyan flipped back to the first page and read through them one after another:

1 Sunday, weather overcast.

Mom, I'm married.

The person I married is the one I told you about; I like him very much.

But... he doesn't like me; he has someone he likes.

The way he looks at me is terrifying.

For some reason, I feel afraid.

Mom, what should I do?

2 Monday, weather overcast.

Mom, he can't stand up anymore; I want to stay and accompany him.

Can you please not blame me?

3 Wednesday, weather sunny.

Mom, I'm pregnant; you're going to be a grandmother.

The Gu Family wants me to give birth to the child, and he wants to as well, but I can feel that he doesn't have much expectation for this child.

Mom, my heart hurts a little.

4

Mom, the child was taken away by them; I'm so sad, so sad, I miss you so much.

5

Mom, it's been a year, and I saw the child; he was so tiny, smiling at me in his swaddling clothes, his eyes like mine, his features like his.

6

Mom, my child isn't close to me; I feel inexplicably sad.

7

May 4, 2025, Wednesday, weather sunny.

Mom, Gu Tingyan can stand up now, I'm so happy.

8

His "white moonlight" has returned.

He answered a phone call and left me halfway; my heart hurts a little, he will probably divorce me.

He loves her so much, Mom, he still doesn't love me.

9

Mom, I'm so tired, I want to give up on him.

10

Mom, I divorced him.

I'm so sad I could die, but I don't want to live with him anymore.

Gu Tingyan quickly flipped through her diary; it contained very few and very brief records of her moods, most of which were notes on Gu Tingyan's treatment plan.

After Gu Tingyan finished reading, his eyes felt intensely sore, and the corners of his eyes were stained with a flush of red.

He had never thought that he would make her so sad and heartbroken.

Gu Tingyan closed the diary, walked with long strides to the window, and pushed it open, letting the cold wind from outside blow in to soothe his sore eye sockets.

He was not a person who liked to solve problems with tears.

He also did not like to shed tears.

Yet the surging emotions in his chest made him unable to stop feeling sad.

Qin Shu was washing perfectly well when suddenly a tall and upright figure loomed over her; she was startled and turned back to look.

Gu Tingyan had entered at some point; he sat on her bathtub, his pitch-black, deep eyes gazing at her, appearing both affectionate and sorrowful, and that look made a faint ache rise in the bottom of Qin Shu's heart.

Qin Shu had not expected him to come in, and she was so frightened she nearly screamed; she hugged herself tightly, arms crossed over her chest, crouching in the water, and looked at him with a flushed face: "Get out!"

Gu Tingyan did not move.

He looked at Qin Shu, his voice hoarse: "I will wash you."

"Rest assured, I won't touch you."

After Gu Tingyan finished speaking, he reached out to comb her hair: "In the past, it was always you who took such painstaking care of me."

"Now it is my turn to take care of you."

Qin Shu pushed him away with a red face, refusing to let him wash her.

Yet in Gu Tingyan's eyes, he looked at her purely, without any desire or other thoughts.

He simply wanted to bathe her, without a single shred of impure thoughts.

Qin Shu also slightly set her mind at ease and let him wash her hair.

Gu Tingyan lathered the foam for her, his fingers gently reaching into her hair, his five fingers massaging softly, and Qin Shu leaned back in the bathtub, inexplicably feeling quite comfortable.

He finished washing it once, rinsed it with water, and then applied shampoo again.

After the hair was washed, he reached out to open the body wash and poured it onto a bath sponge, worked up a lather, and wiped every inch of Qin Shu's skin, inch by inch.

His technique was very practiced, as if he had done it ten thousand times before.

Qin Shu pursed her lips and asked: "How are you so good at this?"

"Have you washed Chu Sheng before too?"

Gu Tingyan was a wealthy young master who had grown up in luxury, so how could he know such menial work?

And he did it so well, too.

This was clearly the work of someone with a lot of experience.

Qin Shu was soaking in the bathtub, and although she had been in a good mood, her spirits sank again at the thought of this.

Gu Tingyan looked at that small face, flushed with a faint red, so close at hand, and the corners of his lips curled slightly: "I have only ever bathed you."

Qin Shu snorted coldly: "I don't believe it."

"The first time? How are you so good at it?"

Gu Tingyan lowered his head and chuckled: "Because I learned it from you."