Gu Yuheng’s hand holding the bottle froze. His pupils contracted, it wasn’t an illusion. The soft, sweet, milky crying hadn’t stopped.
“Gu Yuheng, hic~ I don’t hurt anymore…” Perhaps he had cried too hard, because Qi Yu couldn’t help letting out a hiccup. Immersed in his own little world, he didn’t notice at all that Gu Yuheng had already stopped moving and was staring at him, motionless.
Although Gu Yuheng had known that his little rose was different from ordinary plants, hearing the little rose’s cries still left him stunned for several seconds.
He replayed all the strange things that had happened with the little rose over the past few days, and an irrepressible excitement surged in his heart.
This was a gift from heaven!
One that belonged to him alone.
Gu Yuheng’s thoughts spun around in circles several times before he came back to his senses. Seeing that the little rose was still whimpering, he barely suppressed his excitement and clumsily began to comfort it.
“There, there, no more crying. How could I ever bear to hurt you?” You’re my precious baby.
Gu Yuheng gently stroked the little rose’s branches and leaves. Qi Yu hadn’t yet recovered, only knowing that he had finally saved his own little life. But he had cried so hard just now that he couldn’t stop now, hiccupping over and over.
“Hic~ hic~” He, he couldn’t stop! Not only that, the little rose’s whole body was trembling.
Seeing this, Gu Yuheng struggled to hold back and keep himself from laughing out loud.
It was only after Qi Yu finally calmed down that he realized what a stupid thing he had done, he had completely exposed himself.
What should he do, what should he do? He trembled with fear. Would Gu Yuheng lock him up in a laboratory? Then cut up his petals, his stems and leaves, until there was nothing left worth studying.
Man and flower remained frozen like this, the little rose drooping in its pot, trembling nonstop, the whole plant looking wilted and listless.
Gu Yuheng was startled at the sight, and suddenly remembered that the wounds from the stem borer’s stinger needed to be treated promptly, or the flower would wither and die.
At the thought of that consequence, a chill ran down his spine.
He picked up the bottle again and placed the little bag of soil beside the little rose. Remembering how frightened it had been just now, he explained, “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. This is to treat your wound. Just one little drop, it might hurt a bit, can you bear it for me, baby?”
Qi Yu had been startled when the bottle came at him again, his heart leaping into his throat, then he heard the explanation.
“R-really?” The little rose tilted its stem, and the cuteness made Gu Yuheng’s heart leap, a ticklish warmth spreading through his chest.
“Mm. If we don’t treat it, it’ll hurt a lot more. So be a good baby and hold still, okay?” Gu Yuheng coaxed as if soothing a small child, his voice so gentle it hardly seemed real, as if that cold, ruthless President Gu who ruled the business world were nothing but a rumor.
Baby? Only now did Qi Yu register what Gu Yuheng had called him, and he panicked, feeling as if his whole body were about to burst into flames.
Why would Gu Yuheng call him that? While Qi Yu was racking his brain over the question, Gu Yuheng took advantage of the moment to quickly treat his wounds.
First he carefully cleaned out the insect eggs from the tunnels, then dripped the DDVP in. Qi Yu shuddered with pain, instantly forgetting the question he’d been pondering.
“There, baby, the pain’s almost gone, it’ll stop hurting any second now.” He hurriedly scooped a small spoonful of soft soil from the little bag and packed it around the hollowed-out branch, filling the burrowed cavity completely with soil.
Big liar! It hurt like crazy!
Qi Yu hurt so much that his whole flower wilted.
In his past life, he had been carefully protected by his family, so this was the first time he’d ever felt such pain, especially with his naturally delicate skin and heightened sensitivity.
Remembering his embarrassing wailing from moments ago, he swallowed the pained whimper that had risen to his lips. But the body’s reactions couldn’t lie, large droplets of water kept spilling from his petals.
Only then did Gu Yuheng realize that the droplets he’d seen earlier weren’t what he’d assumed they were. They were Little Rose’s tears.
At the thought, his heart clenched. His baby had been crying.
Gu Yuheng wrapped the treated wound in gauze, tying it into a small bow, then gently lifted the flower and pressed his soft lips against Little Rose’s leaves and stems.
“I’m sorry.” It was his fault for not paying attention when he went out, for leaving the window open, that had made Little Rose hurt.
Qi Yu heard Gu Yuheng apologizing to him.
Why apologize? He didn’t understand. But seeing that Gu Yuheng seemed a little down, Qi Yu extended a branch and wound it around his fingertip. “Don’t be sad.”
Gu Yuheng chuckled softly. “Okay. Thank you, baby.”
He didn’t put the flowerpot down. Instead, he moved it to the nightstand in the bedroom, right where he could see it the moment he opened his eyes.
A pity that if he weren’t afraid of crushing his baby in his sleep, he would have put it right on the bed.
The initial panic had passed, and Qi Yu could clearly feel Gu Yuheng’s care and affection for him. So surely he wouldn’t send him off to a laboratory, right?
“Are you a rose spirit, baby?” Just as Qi Yu’s thoughts were wandering off into wild speculation, Gu Yuheng suddenly spoke.
Qi Yu froze, and after a long moment, gave a low sound of confirmation.
“Then, will you send me to a research facility?” he asked, forcing himself to sound indifferent.
The bedroom suddenly fell silent.
A long while passed, so long that Qi Yu began to panic, before a deep, low laugh abruptly filled the room, so warm it made Qi Yu’s ears feel hot, even though he didn’t technically have ears at the moment.
A soft sigh escaped Gu Yuheng’s lips. At his words, Qi Yu’s heart suddenly felt struck, pounding wildly.
“How could I ever bear too? ”