Heartbeat Command - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: I’m not dead.

Gu Hong walked into the living room, took off his tie and handed it to the nanny standing nearby, then glanced at what Gu Shiyue was holding. It was a dark blue gift bag, tied with a ribbon in a bow.

He was just wondering about it when Gu Shiyue headed straight for the door. Gu Hong called out to him, “Where are you going? Not staying for dinner?”

Gu Shiyue let out a “Hmm,” without even turning his head. Gu Hong said in a deep voice, “Sit down. I have something to tell you.”

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“I told you to sit down.” Gu Hong’s expression darkened.

Gu Shiyue turned around, his face devoid of emotion: “If you have something to say, just say it.”

The father and son stood in a standoff for half a minute. Gu Hong suppressed his temper: “You’ll be graduating in a year. It’s time for you to consider going abroad.”

They hadn’t seen each other for months. Now that they finally had a chance to meet, all Gu Hong talked about were the same old things: wanting Gu Shiyue to change his major, study abroad, and eventually inherit the family business.

Gu Shiyue didn’t say much, only stating, “This is my own business. I don’t need you to make decisions for me.”

Gu Hong suppressed his anger: “How long have I let you mess around? Did I give you too much freedom, giving you the nerve to test my bottom line over and over again?”

“If that’s all you wanted to say, then we can stop here. I’ve already said what I needed to say.”

Gu Shiyue had nothing to say to his father, and they couldn’t get into an argument as long as his father didn’t step on his red lines. After saying that, he opened the door and walked out, leaving Gu Hong’s face ashen with fury. The nanny cautiously handed over a teacup. With his anger still simmering, Gu Hong frowned and asked the housekeeper, “Why did he come back?”

“He came back to pick up something. It was sent by Miss Qi; it should be… a gift.” The housekeeper hesitated, then reminded him in a low voice, “Sir, today is Ah-Yue’s birthday.”

Gu Hong froze and turned to look at the housekeeper.

Gu Shiyue didn’t have a good relationship with his father; he rarely returned to what could be called his “home” in the true sense of the word.

On the way back, he was driven by the family chauffeur. After getting into the car, Gu Shiyue felt his head getting heavier. His phone vibrated, and he lifted the screen to check it. His uncle had sent him two voice messages—

“Happy birthday.”

“I got busy and forgot; just remembered now.”

The phone vibrated again; his uncle had sent him a large birthday red envelope and then called him directly.

Gu Shiyue answered the call.

“You picked up the phone pretty fast. Why didn’t you accept the red envelope?”

Gu Shiyue didn’t bother with false modesty with his uncle: “I haven’t had a chance to accept it yet.”

Liang Siheng pulled a cigarette from the pack and bit down on it. With the cigarette between his teeth, he asked, “How are you spending your birthday today?”

“I’m not.”

Liang Siheng chuckled: “Not spending it then. It’s meaningless anyway.”

“Why do you have time to call me? Aren’t you busy?”

“I am.” His assistant lit the cigarette for him. Liang Siheng took a drag, blowing out a ring of smoke, “It’s my eldest nephew’s birthday. Even if I’m busy, I have to make a call to check in, right?”

Liang Siheng’s company was in Beijing, and he spent the whole year flying domestically and internationally, making him elusive. Gu Shiyue hardly saw him a few times a year.

Liang Siheng had only moved to Beijing to develop his business a few years ago. He was thirty-seven this year, only a dozen years older than Gu Shiyue. When Gu Shiyue was just born, his little uncle was still in school. Back then, he was young and had a rather unruly personality, often dragging Gu Shiyue along to play and cause trouble. Before Liang Siheng went to Beijing, Gu Shiyue had grown up right under his nose.

The apartment Gu Shiyue was currently living in actually belonged to his uncle.

Liang Siheng was busy with work and social obligations, so they didn’t chat for long before hanging up.

Gu Shiyue had been caught in the rain and exposed to air conditioning, catching a cold. He was drowsy the whole way back, and upon arriving home, he lay directly on the sofa. Miantuan (Cotton Ball) came running over with a flurry of “meows.” Having not seen its owner for a few days, it was excited, running in chaotic patterns, with all four legs moving independently.

Gu Shiyue was too weak to pay it any mind, lying there without moving. Miantuan meowed continuously, jumping onto the sofa and rubbing against his neck, as if checking to see if its owner was still alive. Gu Shiyue opened his eyes slightly, placed his palm on its head, stroked it gently, and whispered, “I’m not dead.”

“Meow…”

“Don’t lean on me, you’re hot.”

Gu Shiyue hadn’t notified Jiang Luo that he was returning early, so Jiang Luo came over to feed the cat as usual today.

When Jiang Luo entered, he noticed the lights were on and was stunned. Miantuan hadn’t run to the door to greet him as it usually did. He didn’t rush inside, but stood in the entryway and asked, “Is anyone home?”

There was no response.

Jiang Luo called out again: “Miantuan?”

The human didn’t answer, but the cat did—Miantuan ran over.

Jiang Luo was confused, wondering why the lights were on if there was no one home. He changed into slippers and walked into the living room, only to be startled by the sight of someone lying on the sofa.

Jiang Luo stopped in his tracks. After realizing it was Gu Shiyue, he called out softly, “Senior?”

There was no movement from the person on the sofa. Jiang Luo looked at Miantuan and thought that since Gu Shiyue was back early, he probably wasn’t needed today, so he should just leave.

Just as he turned to leave, Jiang Luo felt something was wrong. Even if he was asleep, with the noise he had made entering the house and calling out, surely the person would have been woken up? Yet Gu Shiyue remained motionless on the sofa, which was definitely not normal.

Jiang Luo approached the sofa and called out again: “Senior?”

Gu Shiyue still didn’t respond, lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, head resting on a pillow and tilted slightly to one side. From Jiang Luo’s angle, he could see his sleeping face; his cheeks were flushed, sweat beaded on his neck, and his breathing was heavy.

He looked like he was running a fever. Jiang Luo walked closer and crouched down beside the sofa, trying to wake him: “Senior?”

Gu Shiyue’s eyelids moved slightly, but he didn’t wake up.

If he really had a fever, he definitely needed to be woken up; he couldn’t just be left sleeping like that. Jiang Luo went to touch Gu Shiyue’s forehead to check his temperature, but the moment his hand made contact, Gu Shiyue opened his eyes.

Gu Shiyue’s face was inches away. Because he was so handsome, the visual impact was powerful. Gu Shiyue had a high bridge of the nose and high brow bones, making his features deep and three-dimensional. His pupils were jet black, his eye shape was long and narrow, and the corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward. Because his brows seemed to press down on his eyes, he naturally exuded a sharpness and coldness.

Jiang Luo’s hand was still pressed against Gu Shiyue’s forehead. The distinct heat from his skin was palpable, and Gu Shiyue stared right at him. Jiang Luo stood there, frozen and stunned. The heat from his palm seemed to transmit instantly to his ears. He had just wanted to check his temperature, only to be caught red-handed and stared at like this. Whether out of embarrassment or something else, Jiang Luo’s ears turned bright red.

Gu Shiyue and Jiang Luo locked eyes, Jiang Luo’s face reflected in those black pupils. Jiang Luo finally reacted, quickly withdrawing his hand, and whispered an explanation: “I saw you lying here without moving and your face was so red, so I wanted to… touch you to see if you had a fever.”

Gu Shiyue gave a “Hmm” and looked at him, asking, “Do I?”

“You do,” Jiang Luo’s eyes widened, “You’re so hot.”

“Hmm.” Gu Shiyue had a high fever and was so drowsy he just wanted to sleep. He acknowledged him and closed his eyes, turning his head away.

“Senior, shouldn’t you go to the hospital?” Jiang Luo asked.

Gu Shiyue shook his head slightly.

“You have to go to the hospital, your fever is so high.”

Gu Shiyue kept his eyes closed and didn’t speak, simply ignoring him.

Jiang Luo hated hospitals himself, but in Gu Shiyue’s condition, he definitely needed to go to the hospital for an IV drip. He said to Gu Shiyue: “Senior, wake up, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Gu Shiyue opened his eyes slightly and glanced at him: “I’m not going to the hospital. Go, don’t worry about me.”

“That won’t work, you’re burning up…” Jiang Luo was a bit helpless, “If you really don’t want to go to the hospital, how about taking some fever medication? Do you have medicine at home?”

Gu Shiyue said with his eyes closed, “Under the coffee table.”

Jiang Luo immediately rummaged through the cabinet under the coffee table. The gift Qi Xueying had sent was sitting on the table, and a birthday card had slipped out from the bag. While looking for medicine, Jiang Luo caught sight of the birthday wishes on the card and only then realized it was Gu Shiyue’s birthday.

There was an infrared thermometer in the medical kit, so Jiang Luo took the opportunity to measure Gu Shiyue’s temperature.

He was indeed running a fever, and quite a high one at that.

Jiang Luo went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, brought the medicine, and crouched beside the sofa to softly call Gu Shiyue: “Senior, time to take your medicine.”

Gu Shiyue didn’t open his eyes but gave a “Hmm”: “Leave it there, I’ll take it in a bit.”

“Take it now, you’ll fall asleep again soon.” Jiang Luo could hear his voice trailing off, sounding like he was about to doze off. He asked: “Senior, is today your birthday?”

“Yeah,” Gu Shiyue said in a very low voice.

Lying here at this hour, Jiang Luo suspected Gu Shiyue hadn’t eaten dinner yet: “Senior, have you had dinner?”

“No.”

Jiang Luo was worried—he was running a fever, hadn’t eaten dinner, and refused to take medicine or go to the hospital.

“I’ll go cook some porridge for you. May I use your kitchen?”

Gu Shiyue was truly on the verge of falling asleep; whatever Jiang Luo said afterward didn’t even register in his brain, and if it did, it was immediately forgotten. He moved his lips slightly and answered offhandedly: “Hmm.”

“You should take your medicine first.” Jiang Luo handed him the medicine, trying to wake Gu Shiyue up, but no matter how many times he called him, Gu Shiyue didn’t respond; he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Jiang Luo went to the kitchen to put the porridge on and also made a bowl of noodles. He pulled out a few facial wipes from the bathroom, soaked them in cold water, and wrung them out, intending to wipe Gu Shiyue’s face to help lower his temperature.

The cold sensation on his face woke Gu Shiyue up instantly. He opened his eyes, and what met his sight was a pair of familiar, beautiful eyes.

Jiang Luo was leaning over, wiping his face, blinking as he watched him: “Awake?”

Gu Shiyue felt a bit dazed, looking at the boy before him as his consciousness gradually returned. He felt like he had been asleep for a long time and hadn’t expected Jiang Luo to still be here.

Jiang Luo wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled: “Was it too cold? Did I freeze you awake?”

Gu Shiyue suddenly raised his hand, encircling Jiang Luo’s wrist and lifting it up, seemingly to stop his movement. Jiang Luo froze, his hand coming to a stop.

“What are you doing?” Gu Shiyue’s voice was hoarse from just waking up. He had slept for dozens of minutes and his energy seemed a bit better than before, but his body was still scorching hot. The hand he used to hold Jiang Luo’s wrist felt like it was going to burn Jiang Luo’s skin.

“I wanted to help you lower your temperature…” Jiang Luo was a bit embarrassed and wanted to pull his hand back, but Gu Shiyue just gave a “Hmm,” and while still gripping his wrist, placed his hand back onto his own forehead before letting go.

Jiang Luo was left awkward, not knowing whether to move or stay put. He looked at Gu Shiyue and asked: “Senior, what’s the meaning of this?”

“Weren’t you helping me lower my temperature?”

“I thought you didn’t like people touching you; it made me feel awkward.” Jiang Luo smiled, “You’re awake now, why don’t you do it yourself?”

Gu Shiyue said: “You do it.”

Jiang Luo couldn’t help but laugh: “Alright then.”

The wipe wasn’t cold anymore, so Jiang Luo said: “I’ll go change the wipe. You should get up and eat the noodles; they’ll get mushy if you don’t eat them soon.”

Saying that, Jiang Luo went to the kitchen and brought a bowl of noodles over, placing them on the coffee table. It was simple egg and tomato noodles with a few greens, and on top of the noodles were slices of carrots carved into the words “Happy Birthday.”

Gu Shiyue saw the carrot slices carved into characters and raised his eyes to look at Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo smiled, his eyes curving into crescents: “Happy birthday, Senior.”