Chapter 10: Fevered Confessions

The doctor snapped back to his senses.

He called over a young nurse from the emergency department.

Together, they lifted Gu Mianmian off Lin Ci’s back and placed her directly on a mobile stretcher.

The electronic thermometer beeped against Gu Mianmian’s forehead.

The nurse glanced at the reading, and her expression changed slightly.

“39.4 degrees. She needs a fever-reducing injection and an IV drip immediately.”

Lin Ci stood in place, panting heavily, rain dripping continuously from her chin.

Her soaked white T-shirt clung tightly to her body, outlining a slender, eye-catching waist.

The nurse turned to look at her and handed her a clean towel.

“You’re soaked too, classmate. Want to get your blood pressure checked and see a doctor as well?”

Lin Ci casually wiped the water from her face and waved her off.

“Don’t worry about me, I… cough, I’m perfectly healthy. Just get her hooked up to the IV first.”

The emergency observation room was lit by cold white fluorescent lights.

Gu Mianmian was placed on a single bed by the window.

The nurse came over with an IV tube and needle, looking for a vein.

But Gu Mianmian, half-unconscious, struggled violently on the bed.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her brows furrowed, her hands instinctively grabbing at the air.

Suddenly, her hand precisely caught the wet hem of Lin Ci’s clothes.

She gripped with surprising strength, her knuckles turning white.

“Don’t go…”

A faint, trembling murmur escaped her purplish lips.

“Don’t leave me… don’t throw me away here…”

The nurse tried to pry her fingers open.

“Classmate, loosen up a bit. Let go of the clothes first. We need to give you the injection.”

Gu Mianmian only gripped tighter, her body curling into a ball, large tears seeping from the corners of her eyes.

Lin Ci looked at her terrified, helpless state and sighed inwardly.

‘How much suffering did this poor kid endure in the orphanage? Even a high fever makes her afraid of being abandoned by the whole world.’

Lin Ci pulled over a round stool and sat down.

She reached out and gently placed her palm over Gu Mianmian’s cold, pale hand.

“I’m not leaving.”

Lin Ci’s voice was firm.

“I’ll sit right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Hearing Lin Ci’s voice, Gu Mianmian’s knitted brows slowly relaxed.

Her fingers gripping the clothes gradually loosened.

Then, she instinctively sought out Lin Ci’s palm, her slender fingers slowly intertwining with Lin Ci’s.

Their fingers locked tightly together.

The young nurse pushing the medicine cart saw this and couldn’t help whispering to her colleague.

“Girls these days are so close. It’s really cute to watch.”

Lin Ci’s mouth twitched violently.

She screamed internally.

‘Cute my ass. I’m a pure man, completely pure!’

But feeling the gradually warming touch in her palm, Lin Ci ultimately didn’t pull her hand away.

‘Forget it. No point arguing about dignity with a little patient running a 39-degree fever.’

The IV dripped drop by drop.

By the time three bottles had finished, the wall clock pointed to 2 AM.

The fever reducer had worked. Gu Mianmian’s cold sweat subsided, and her breathing became steady and long.

The room was so quiet only the faint hum of the equipment remained.

Lin Ci had planned to tough it out all night on the hard plastic chair.

But she had run through the rainstorm, her clothes were wet, and the chill was seeping into her bones.

Drowsiness washed over her in waves.

Lin Ci couldn’t hold on any longer. She rested her head on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes.

The lights in the observation room were dimmed by more than half.

Who knows how much time passed, but Gu Mianmian slowly opened her eyes on the bed.

Her eyes were exceptionally clear after the fever broke, her dark pupils free of any post-sleep cloudiness in the dim light.

She turned on her side, her gaze falling on Lin Ci, who was slumped by the bed.

Lin Ci was sound asleep, her black hair scattered on the white bedsheet.

A few stray strands covered Lin Ci’s delicate nose bridge and cool, beautiful brows.

Gu Mianmian slowly raised her left hand, the one without the IV.

Her movements were extremely light. Her fingertip hovered in midair, carefully brushing aside the hair on Lin Ci’s forehead.

Her fingertip didn’t actually press against the skin, just traced gently from a tiny distance.

Lin Ci wasn’t completely asleep.

As a former male science student, he had strong vigilance about movements around him.

The faint touch on his face woke him instantly.

But he didn’t open his eyes immediately.

Instinct told him that waking up at this weird hour would make the situation awkward as hell.

Lin Ci held his breath and decided to keep pretending to sleep.

However, what happened next went completely off the rails.

Gu Mianmian’s cool fingertip slid slowly down his brow bone, lightly grazing his straight nose bridge.

Finally, her finger stopped above Lin Ci’s soft lips.

Her cool fingertip traced a slow, full circle along the edge of Lin Ci’s upper lip.

Gu Mianmian’s warm breath brushed lightly against Lin Ci’s neck.

Lin Ci felt the hairs on his nape stand up, his back suddenly tensing like a board.

‘What is this girl doing, touching him in the middle of the night?’

Before Lin Ci could finish complaining inwardly, Gu Mianmian leaned forward slightly.

She lowered her head, her nose almost touching the top of Lin Ci’s head.

With her eyes closed, she took a deep breath, greedily inhaling the sweet, milky scent from Lin Ci’s hair.

That scent stirred a strange fervor in the depths of her eyes.

The room was terrifyingly quiet.

Gu Mianmian slowly withdrew her hand, lay back on the pillow, and pulled the blanket up.

She looked at Lin Ci’s quiet profile and murmured in a voice only she could hear.

“Senior Lin Ci…”

“You’re mine, right?”

Lin Ci kept his eyes closed, his heart nearly jumping out of his throat.

‘Crazy! What nonsense did this girl just say?! Who belongs to whom? What dangerous thoughts are running through female college students’ heads these days?!’

Lin Ci squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to move, until the sound of Gu Mianmian’s steady, long breathing came from across. Only then did he secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile.

Thousands of kilometers north of Jiangcheng University, the rainstorm had just stopped.

On the top floor of a high-end office building in the capital, the windows were bright and clean.

A young woman in a gray custom professional suit skirt, gold-rimmed glasses on her nose, walked quickly into the CEO’s office.

She carried a kraft paper file bag.

“President Gu, we found her.”

The woman walked to the mahogany desk and respectfully handed over the file bag.

Behind the desk sat Gu Tiancheng, the current executive director of the Gu family.

Gu Tiancheng unhurriedly cut his cigar, not looking up.

“Confirmed it’s in Jiangcheng?”

“Confirmed.”

The woman pushed up her glasses and reported calmly.

“Our people used a shell company for school-enterprise cooperation to access Jiangcheng University’s student records.”

“Among the list of those adopted from the orphanage and then transferred schools due to family changes, only one person completely matches the age and biological characteristics.”

Gu Tiancheng paused, then looked up.

The woman opened the file and pointed to a one-inch black-and-white photo without a hat.

The girl in the photo had heavy bangs, gloomy eyes, and was skin and bones.

In the name column, three characters were clearly written: Gu Mianmian.

“Gu Mianmian…”

Gu Tiancheng exhaled a puff of blue smoke, his eyes turning cold.

“Old Master is making a big fuss. Private investigators are already checking the southern provinces.”

The woman asked in a low voice.

“President Gu, should we bring her in ahead of time…”

Gu Tiancheng raised a hand to interrupt her, a playful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

“No rush.”

“A wild girl who grew up in a garbage dump. Even if she’s brought back to the Gu family, how much of a splash can she make?”

“Keep an eye on her for now. See who she usually associates with.”

“Yes.”

The woman closed the file and quickly exited the room.

The next morning, the heavy rain stopped.

The sky over Jiangcheng University was washed exceptionally clear, golden morning light spilling across the campus.

Lin Ci brought Gu Mianmian, whose fever had broken, back to the dormitory building.

After tossing and turning all night, both of them were a mess.

Entering Room 302, Lin Ci closed the door behind her and grabbed a clean set of clothes from the wardrobe.

“Go wipe yourself down first. Use hot water. Don’t shower yet, or you’ll catch a cold again.”

Lin Ci tossed her a towel.

Gu Mianmian nodded obediently and carried the clothes into the bathroom.

The sound of running water started.

Lin Ci slumped into a chair, rubbing her sore neck, recalling the scene of Gu Mianmian touching his lips last night. His scalp still tingled.

This girl usually seemed introverted and insecure. How was she so bold in private?

Lost in thought, the water in the bathroom stopped.

The white frosted glass door was pushed open, releasing a cloud of warm, moist steam.

“Senior, I’m done wiping.”

Lin Ci subconsciously turned her head.

And froze.

Gu Mianmian’s wet black hair was casually draped over her shoulders. Her pale cheeks were flushed a healthy pink from the hot water.

What was fatal was that she wasn’t wearing her own worn pajamas.

She was wearing a large, pure white, loose short T-shirt that belonged to Lin Ci.

The wide neckline had slipped slightly to one side, exposing a large expanse of fair shoulder and delicate collarbone to the air.

The hem of the shirt just barely covered the base of her thighs.

Two straight, long, fair legs were exposed, her ankles so thin one hand could wrap around them.

Water droplets dripped from her wet hair tips onto her collarbone, sliding down her fair skin and disappearing into the deep of the loose collar.

Lin Ci’s brain buzzed. Twenty-two years of straight male blood rushed upward.

She suddenly stood up from the chair, trembling finger pointing at Gu Mianmian.

“Gu Mianmian! You… how are you wearing my clothes?”

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