The Powerful Minister I Forcefully Married Won't Warm Up; After Rebirth, I Give Up the Chase - Chapter 60

Gu Ci fought another battle with Pei Jian last night.

They stood panting, hostile and mutually antagonistic, wishing they could summon ten times the strength to beat the other into submission.

The best friend he once had had turned out like this, and the feeling was naturally suppressive and sad.

A desolate sense of decline welled up in his heart.

However, on the way home under the deep night, he recalled his youth with Pei Jian.

Two equally outstanding and brilliant young men, carefree, happy, and uninhibited companions. Perhaps precisely because they were close and had similar personalities, they fell in love with the same girl.

Gu Ci still couldn’t understand how, given Pei Jian’s personality—such a calm, even cold-blooded person—he could fall in love with a girl at first sight.

He could feel that Pei Jian’s feelings for Nianxi were no less than his own. Or perhaps they were deeper and more complicated.

Gu Ci was willing to share everything with Pei Jian, except Nianxi.

Unfortunately, in this world, there was only one pitiful and lovely Nianxi.

He was teaching himself to remain calm and face the situation openly.

Yet, he still didn’t want to mention Pei Jian in front of Nianxi; this was a man’s selfishness.

He didn’t want Nianxi’s heart to retain even the slightest trace of Pei Jian, not even aversion.

Nianxi looked at his injury and frowned: “Did you apply any medicine?”

Gu Ci pulled down his sleeve and buttoned it, his face still relaxed: “This small injury is nothing to me. Don’t worry.”

Nianxi nodded, then changed the subject: “Didn’t we agree to go play jiju at the Nan Shi Polo Grounds today? Let’s go.”

“…Maybe another day.” That bastard Pei Jian had hit him extremely hard. He was aching all over today, even finding it difficult to mount a horse, let alone hold a polo stick.

Nianxi scrutinized him, saying earnestly: “Didn’t you say you were fine?”

Gu Ci realized his mistake belatedly and asked softly: “Are you angry?”

“They’re just superficial injuries; they only look scary,” he quickly explained. “I just didn’t want you to worry.”

Nianxi agreed: “So I did as you wished and pretended nothing happened.”

Seeing her attitude, Gu Ci felt a pang of regret and said cautiously: “But you shouldn’t worry about me at all either.”

“That’s too much, Little Gu Six!” Nianxi glared at him, a slight smile finally appearing in her eyes. “That’s asking too much.”

Gu Ci breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her smile. Mimicking Nianxi’s usual coquettish manner, he hooked her pinky finger and shook it, saying pitifully: “I was afraid you’d worry too much, and also afraid you wouldn’t worry at all. I promise, I won’t hide anything from you next time.”

Nianxi reached out and patted his head: “Does the wound need medicine?”

Pei Jian is going crazy, and poor Gu Ci. Judging by the look of the injury, he probably hadn’t applied any medicine.

Gu Ci hesitated: “Some of the injuries are on my chest and abdomen; it’s inconvenient for you to see.”

In truth, his body was well-proportioned, firm, and robust, and he actually wanted to show it to Nianxi. But since they were in the Wen Residence, he wouldn’t dare, even if he had ten times the guts.

“You wish!”

The two decided to first go to a city medical clinic to treat Gu Ci’s injuries, and then go to the Fan Lou restaurant to eat Perch in Sauce.

When they arrived at the clinic, there were many people, so Gu Ci wouldn’t let her accompany him. Nianxi waited alone in the carriage.

Unexpectedly, after a short wait, someone knocked on the carriage window: “Is Miss Wen inside? I am your brother’s classmate, Qin Lang.”

Nianxi lifted the curtain and saw Qin Lang standing in front of the carriage, accompanied by an old man carrying a medicine box, who looked like a physician.

“Young Master Qin,” Nianxi nodded in acknowledgment but did not alight from the carriage.

She had met Qin Lang a few times but was not particularly acquainted with him.

Qin Lang, true to his name, had a straightforward and cheerful personality: “I saw the carriage from afar and thought it looked familiar. I didn’t expect it to actually be the Wen Residence’s carriage. Is someone in your family ill?”

Nianxi shook her head, pointing toward the clinic: “Gu Ci is inside.”

“What a coincidence then,” Qin Lang sighed upon hearing this. “Why are these two getting sick all at once?”

Seeing that Nianxi didn’t engage further, Qin Lang didn’t feel awkward and explained on his own: “I also came to hire a physician. Pei Jian—that’s Qingye’s friend, the one you met at the Qing Shui Pavilion during the Double Seventh Festival—he’s also ill.”

“He’s burning up, delirious with fever, and keeps talking nonsense. He refuses to see a physician.”

“He’s all alone, and there’s no one at home to look after him. The steward was frantic and came to find me. I don’t know anything about medicine, so I had to come and hire a physician to go see him at his residence.”

As he spoke, he secretly observed Nianxi’s reaction.

However, throughout his string of words, Nianxi remained calm. She didn’t consciously try to avoid any suspicion, saying openly: “Then you should quickly invite the physician to go take his pulse. It’s miserable to be sick.”

Qin Lang couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

It wasn’t that he was morally depraved for helping Pei Jian undermine Gu Ci’s relationship.

It was just that Pei Jian’s condition was genuinely miserable.

Qin Lang and Pei Jian were both in the capital and had known each other since childhood. Even at a young age, Pei Jian was handsome and impressive, with a deep understanding of strategy. No matter the time or place, he was always steady and seasoned, never looking as desolate and depressed as he did now.

And his face was bruised and purple all over.

Clearly, Gu Ci had beaten him again.

Why didn’t I notice before? Pei Jian turns out to be quite the romantic!

Qin Lang felt that if Nianxi showed even a flicker of emotion, Pei Shizhang would not appear so pitiful.

But…

Alas, a doomed relationship.

However, this only highlighted Nianxi’s character, proving she was worthy of Gu Ci’s deep affection.

He didn’t linger. After asking Gu Ci two quick questions, he left with the physician.

Gu Ci did not encounter Qin Lang, so he had no way of knowing that Pei Jian was ill. After leaving the clinic, he and Nianxi went to Fan Lou for their meal as planned.

As for Pei Jian’s illness, it only created a slight ripple in Nianxi’s heart before quickly settling back into calm.