Gu Xia had briefly learned how to apply the dressing from the nurse. The nurse had originally planned to stay nearby and supervise—since the commander wouldn’t let her help, she figured she could at least watch from the sidelines, right?
Lu Shaoting detested being watched more than anything; in a cold, icy tone that bordered on contempt, he told the nurse to leave.
Gu Xia was left alone in the hospital room.
Gu Xia was naturally slender; even though she was pregnant, her loose-fitting clothes made her belly completely unnoticeable, so she didn’t look clumsy at all.
She followed the nurse’s instructions step by step.
Lifting the blanket covering Lu Shaoting, she saw him wearing boxer briefs, his long legs taut with solid muscle. Gu Xia had never been curious about men’s bodies to begin with.
When she’d drugged Lu Shaoting back then, her goal had been to use him; her hatred outweighed any shyness, so there was naturally no question of her feeling embarrassed.
Besides, that experience had been terrible—for her, it had been excruciatingly painful and extremely uncomfortable.
Naturally, she harbored no fantasies about Lu Shaoting’s body.
But now, as a straight woman, seeing a man’s body made her feel a slightly awkward sense of shame.
Her eyes were fixed solely on the wound; she didn’t look anywhere else.
Naturally, she didn’t notice Lu Shaoting’s face suddenly darkening.
He’d thought that having Gu Xia change his bandage would be more comfortable than having a nurse do it.
Unexpectedly, when Gu Xia came to help him, the softness of her fingertips touching his skin sent a tingling sensation through him, making Lu Shaoting feel even more uncomfortable.
He subconsciously tugged at the blanket to cover his sensitive areas.
Gu Xia was solely focused on changing his dressing and didn’t give it a second thought; her mind was entirely on removing the old bandage, cleaning the wound thoroughly, and re-dressing it properly.
While she was bandaging him, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of an awkward spot…
A hint of confusion arose in her mind.
Wasn’t Lu Shaoting supposed to be incapacitated? But the spot she’d just seen was hard to miss—it was simply too obvious.
After quickly and carefully changing the dressing, the nurse left.
But before she went, the nurse added a word of advice to Gu Xia, telling her to keep a close eye on Lu Shaoting’s condition. His wound was quite severe, and she was concerned that a fever might develop due to an infection.
Gu Xia took note of everything.
The room was a private suite with a small bathroom, which was very convenient.
There was also a guest bed for family members staying with the patient.
After tending to Lu Shaoting’s wound, Gu Xia sat quietly in the room, waiting for his instructions.
Unexpectedly, he had completely changed his previous attitude of disdain and dislike toward her. After his wounds were rebandaged, he merely called over his secretary to bring him a few books.
He treated Gu Xia as if she were invisible.
She waited until lunchtime, when the secretary came in and asked if they should prepare a lunch for Gu Xia as well.
Gu Xia wasn’t sure if the care package included three meals a day, so she glanced at Lu Shaoting.
Lu Shaoting replied bluntly, “As long as she’s here, prepare two portions of every meal.”
Lu Shaoting didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. He stared at the food in his lunchbox with a hint of irritation, then looked up to see Gu Xia wolfing down her meal.
Her manner of eating was refined and graceful, not at all crude, but she ate very quickly, as if she hadn’t eaten in days.
“How long has it been since you last ate?” He asked this in a slightly cold tone.
Gu Xia thought Lu Shaoting was criticizing her table manners.
She immediately slowed down and said, “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m just really hungry. If I don’t eat on time, my hands start shaking. Am I making too much noise while eating? Did I disturb you?”
Her earnest response only made Lu Shaoting’s tone seem even colder and harsher.
“No, just keep eating.”
Gu Xia gave a soft “Mm-hmm.”
She quickly polished off every last bit of food in the lunchbox. Lu Shaoting watched her frail frame and was surprised by her hearty appetite, just as Lu Xiaoyan arrived.
Lu Xiaoyan was mainly worried that Gu Xia wouldn’t come to take care of the younger brother.
Although they’d made arrangements, she was afraid Gu Xia was too young and wouldn’t know how to take care of others.
Lu Xiaoyan knew full well that Gu Xia was the youngest daughter of the Gu family. She’d never known hardship since childhood—spoiled by her parents and protected by her older sister—and was simply not the type to take care of others.
When Lu Xiaoyan arrived, Gu Xia had just finished eating.
Lu Xiaoyan was carrying a few packages of “Rice Flower Fragrance” pastries. When she saw Gu Xia there, a gentle smile immediately spread across her face.
“Gu Xia, you’re here! Have you eaten yet? I know you can’t go hungry while you’re pregnant, so I bought you a few packages of pastries on purpose. The Fourth doesn’t like sweets—these are all for you.”
Gu Xia nodded.
Seeing that Gu Xia was there put Lu Xiaoyan at ease. After setting down the pastries, she looked at Lu Shaoting and asked with concern if he’d changed the dressing yet. “You must change it on time; otherwise, the wound won’t heal properly.”
Lu Shaoting replied that he had.
Lu Xiaoyan’s visit this time was simply to check if Gu Xia was there.
She came during her lunch break, dropped off her things, exchanged a few concerned words, and left after staying for less than half an hour.
Before leaving the hospital, however, she did call Gu Xia aside for a private conversation.
It was nothing more than reminding Gu Xia not to mention his injury in front of Lu Shaoting and to take good care of Fourth Brother. Knowing that Gu Xia had arrived early that morning—and that she was the one who’d changed Fourth Brother’s dressing—Lu Xiaoyan was even more pleased with her.
“To be honest, I really didn’t expect Fourth Brother to let you change his dressing. But since he’s talking about marrying you, it seems he doesn’t have anything against you.”
“Gu Xia, as long as you safely give birth to these two children for the Fourth Brother, as for the matter with your parents—though I can’t really help much—if you need food or drink, just let me know. I’ll get you some ration tickets.”
Regardless of Lu Xiaoyan’s motives, Gu Xia felt a certain degree of gratitude that she had said such things.
She simply said, “Thank you.”
After seeing Lu Xiaoyan off, Gu Xia returned to the hospital room. The takeout containers she and Lu Shaoting had eaten from had already been washed and taken away by the housekeeping staff.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
Although they’d been intimate, and Gu Xia was carrying Lu Shaoting’s child, they were still complete strangers to one another.
Lu Shaoting lay there with his eyes closed, resting.
Gu Xia made no loud noises; she remained calm yet distant as she cared for Lu Shaoting in the hospital for seven days and seven nights.
Except for calling the staff or the driver when he needed to use the restroom, Gu Xia handled everything else, and Lu Shaoting seemed to have grown accustomed to her care.
When it was time to return to the Lu family home, she naturally went back with him.
During Lu Shaoting’s hospital stay, aside from a single visit from the Lu family the day after his surgery, it was the military personnel who handled everything until his discharge.
The Lu family patriarch had called a few times, offering a few words of concern.
Lu Shaoting had long since seen through his family’s disappointment—it wasn’t something that had just started yesterday or the day before.
It was Gu Xia’s gentleness and thoughtfulness, however, that truly surprised him.
If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Xia had used underhanded means to get involved with him—intending to exploit his status and this special connection—he would have genuinely believed that her care for him was sincere.
Gu Xia’s kindness toward him was nothing more than a means to an end.
Thinking of this, Lu Shaoting’s heart grew even colder.
She was merely trying to take advantage of the little bit of worthless concern he had shown her in the past.