Cinderella Innocent and Boss Charming - Chapter 176

Chapter 176 Hello, This Is Xia Xiaowan
Gu Nianbin was ill so seriously this time that he had been in lethargic sleep all the time and didn’t wake up until night. Du Xiaoxian had been taking care of him at the bedside. Seeing his eyelids were moving, she quickly moved closer and whispered to him, “Brother, how do you feel?”

Gu Nianbin was still a little confused. However, when he heard Du Xiaoxian’s voice, he immediately opened his eyes and smiled at her. His throat hurt like being burned in a fire. When he opened his mouth, his voice became so hoarse that it lost its original timbre, “I’m fine, where’s Ah Ling?”

Ah Ling was sitting on the sofa against the wall. Hearing his words, she hurriedly walked over and said, “Young Master, I’m here.”

“Don’t tell my mother that I am ill,” said Gu Nianbin. If his family in the ancestral mansion knew this, they would certainly hurry back to see him. His parents had no good impression of Du Xiaoxian. Gu Shanshan even had a sharp tongue. Xia Xiaowan would also come. If they really came, then Du Xiaoxian would definitely be wronged. Moreover, he was in illness so that he couldn’t protect her with a dizzy head. Therefore, it was better not to let them know it.

“I understand.” Knowing what he was thinking, Ah Ling nodded. “Don’t worry, Young Master.”

Gu Nianbin raised his hand again. Du Xiaoxian thought that he wanted something, so she stayed closer and asked, “Do you want some water?”

However, Gu Nianbin’s finger slid across the corner of her eye and he said hoarsely, “Did you cry again?”

Du Xiaoxian held his hand, her eyes turned a little red again. “No, don’t talk too much. Sister Ah Ling cooked plain congee. Do you want some?”

Gu Nianbin shook his head. He felt weak from head to toe and had no appetite at all.

“Eat something at least.” Du Xiaoxian persuaded him, “How can you make a recovery if you don’t eat?”

Looking at Du Xiaoxian’s anxious expression on her small face, Gu Nianbin had to nod his head. Even if he was sick, he could not bear to upset her.

Ah Ling filled a small bowl of plain congee and handed it over to Du Xiaoxian. The little girl scooped up a spoonful of plain congee and blew on it gently before feeding Gu Nianbin. Gu Nianbin half reclined on the bed. He wanted to take the bowl and eat by himself. But Du Xiaoxian frowned. She held the bowl and dodged gently. Gu Nianbin had no choice but to give up and obediently open his mouth to eat.

Usually, when they had a meal, it was he who for the most part fed the little girl. At this time, when Du Xiaoxian fed him in such a serious manner, President Gu was somewhat embarrassed. After all, there were others in the ward.

But Du Xiaoxian didn’t pay any attention to that. She insisted on it and didn’t stop until she finished feeding the entire bowl of congee to him.

In the evening, the doctor came to the ward for another detailed examination. He said that Gu Nianbin was lucky. Thanks to his good health in the past, his severe fever did not turn into pneumonia. As the most dangerous time had already passed, he could be discharged from the hospital in two days.

Hearing that, Du Xiaoxian was so happy that she bowed to the doctor repeatedly, making the doctor feel a little embarrassed. It is the duty of a doctor to heal the wounded and save the dying. In addition, Gu Nianbin was a bigwig in the city. Being treated in such a respectful manner, the doctor was really overwhelmed with gratitude.

Gu Nianbin’s VIP ward had a bigger room and a smaller one. Du Huayue had to be on duty at night. So when the time came, he left and didn’t come back. As it was inconvenient to come and go without a driver, Ah Ling did not go back and slept in the small outer room. Du Xiaoxian originally wanted to ask for an accompanying bed in the inner room. Gu Nianbin refused and forced her to sleep with him in his bed. Seeing that the bed was not big for them, Du Xiaoxian didn’t agree with it and she was afraid that this would affect his rest. However, Gu Nianbin said convincingly that if she did not stay by his side, he would not be able to sleep well. If he could not regain his vigor, he would not get recovered soon.

Being given such a label to take the blame, Du Xiaoxian compromised.

In the evening, a nurse wanted to check the ward, but was stopped by Ah Ling at the door. Ah Ling lowered her voice and said to the nurse that there was no need for check. She would notify the nurse’s desk if something happened. The nurse leaned forward, but couldn’t see anything. She had no choice but to give up. As it was just a routine ward round, she thought that it was better for her not to offend that powerful person.

Gu Nianbin pushed Du Xiaoxian with a muffled laugh, “Isn’t it uncomfortable under the blanket? Don’t worry, she won’t come in.”

They were in hospital after all. It was not true to say that Du Xiaoxian didn’t worry about it. In the past, Du Xiaoxian had taken care of her Second Aunt in a county hospital for a few days when the latter stayed there for a minor operation. Those nurses there all had a stern face and looked cold. They always said no whenever Du Xiaoxian wanted to do something. There were so many rules. So she thought that she would also be scolded if the nurse saw her lying in Gu Nianbin’s bed now.

However, the nurse did not come in. She finally heaved a sigh of relief and stretched her head out of the blanket. “Luckily, she didn’t come in. Otherwise, I would be scolded.”

“Does she dare?” Gu Nianbin’s voice was still hoarse, but his throat didn’t have that searing pain. “She dares not to scold you unless she wants to lose her job. I didn’t let her in, not because I was afraid she would tell you off, but because you would feel uncomfortable.”

“I’m surely not comfortable here,” said Du Xiaoxian. “We are not at home after all.”

Gu Nianbin smiled and said, “You should get used to it since there will be more uncomfortable things for you to bear in the future being with me.”

Du Xiaoxian lowered her eyes and became silent. Originally, she was just an unknown maid. All of a sudden, she found herself in the world of a wealthy young master. It was as if she was placed under a magnifying glass. Each of her pores was enlarged for others to examine. Naturally, it was extremely uncomfortable. But Gu Nianbin was right. In the future, this kind of uneasiness would increase. She would always have to face it. For her happiness, she had to be brave.

Gu Nianbin continued to rest in hospital for three days. In order to save trouble, he simply had his cellphone turned off. So, all calls from the ancestral mansion would go to Ah Ling. His family knew that Du Xiaoxian was with him, and that Ah Ling was trying to prevaricate. So they didn’t become suspicious that something might have happened to Gu Nianbin.

When the fourth day of the New Year came, Gu Nianbin had to turn on his cellphone. There was a convention of the Gu family that they would go to Tong Mountain to offer the first incense on the fifth day of every New Year. They would leave for it in the afternoon of the fourth day. If they couldn’t contact him then, that would be unacceptable.

Gu Nianbin recovered from his illness with a sequela that his throat was still hoarse. But he thought that it would be a good excuse. Therefore, he took the initiative to give a phone call to Fang Yaru before she could call him. Hearing his hoarse voice, Fang Yaru became anxious immediately. She said that she must come back to see him. Gu Nianbin just honestly told her about his illness. He said that he had almost recovered. He now ate and slept well, and no longer needed to take medicine or injections. He thought that he was still a little weak so that he perhaps could not go with them to Tong Mountain.

Fang Yaru still didn’t believe what he said. She called Ah Ling and scolded her for a while before questioning. She blamed Ah Ling for daring to conceal it when Young Master was ill. Ah Ling naturally shouldered the blame on herself. She honestly admitted her mistake and told Fang Yaru that the Young Master had really recovered now. She didn’t need to worry about it. The doctor had already approved him to be discharged from the hospital.

Ah Ling could be counted as an experienced maid in the Gu family. She did things with a strong sense of responsibility. So Fang Yaru trusted what she said. Even so, she also called the doctor and asked about the situation. Only then did she truly feel relieved.

Compared to offering the incense, her son’s health was naturally more important. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t go with them. Fang Yaru said that they would not go back to the city. Instead, they would leave for Tong Mountain directly from Fenglei Town, so as to avoid making a detour.

This was exactly what Gu Nianbin wanted. He was discharged from the hospital and went home on the afternoon of the fourth day. As soon as he entered the house, he had Du Xiaoxian wait downstairs and went upstairs alone. Du Xiaoxian had always been obedient to him. So she just sat in the hall and watched TV.

After a while, Gu Nianbin came down. He called Ah Ling over and gave her a red envelope. He said, “I should have given it to you on the first day of the lunar year. But in the end, it was delayed to now.”

It was the tradition of the Gu family to give servants red envelopes in the New Year. As Gu Nianbin got sick, Ah Ling was so busy that she forgot about it. She didn’t expect that Young Master would still remember it. She was excited and grateful. The red envelope in her hands seemed to weight more than that in previous years, which made her even happier in her heart.

Du Xiaoxian looked at the red envelope with shining eyes. She also got red envelopes each year for the New Year from her Second Aunt. When she was young, she would get 10 yuan, then 20 yuan. Last year, she was given 50 yuan. Although the money was not much, it was already good enough for her. Each time she received a red envelope from her Second Aunt, she would be overjoyed, because she could have this like other children.

Noticing her expression, Gu Nianbin couldn’t help but smile. He held out his hand from behind and put it before her, “What are you jealous of? You have one too!”

“I have one too?” Du Xiaoxian took it in surprise. What a big red envelope. She was a little embarrassed and blushed as she thanked him.

“Aren’t you going to open it and take a look?” Gu Nianbin asked her.

Was it good to open the red envelope before him? Du Xiaoxian looked at Gu Nianbin, but he smiled at her encouragingly. Du Xiaoxian opened it without thinking too much. There was a thick stack of paper money of various kinds of denominations in it. In addition to nine one-hundred-yuan banknotes, the rest were other types of denominations. This kind of red envelope surprised Du Xiaoxian. Ah Ling was also astonished at the side.

“Count them and see how much it is?”

The paper money was placed in order, so it wasn’t difficult to count them. It was rare that there were even notes in the denomination of cents which had long since been delisted. Du Xiaoxian counted them earnestly. It was a total of 999 yuan and 99 cents.

Looking at the dumbfounded Du Xiaoxian in a foolish expression, Gu Nianbin smiled. “I had wanted to put in 9999 yuan and 99 cents, but I was afraid that it would be too hard for you to count, so I changed it to 999 yuan and 99 cents. Yet there are still five nines in the number!”

Du Xiaoxian, who was usually slow in reacting, suddenly understood what he meant. The moral of the red envelope Gu Nianbin gave her was to wish that their love would last for a long time.

She was so touched that she took the initiative to hug Gu Nianbin and didn’t say anything for a long time.

Ah Ling silently walked into the kitchen. She sighed with deep emotion. Although before she came, Madame Gu had repeatedly warned her to keep an eye on Young Master, saying that the relationship between him and Du Xiaoxian would not last long. Once Young Master lost interest in Du Xiaoxian, she must inform her in time. But these days, as she sat and watched coldly, she became convinced that Madame Gu was mistaken. Young Master was very serious about Du Xiaoxian. She could feel his strong love for the little girl. As long as Du Xiaoxian was around, Young Master wouldn’t take his eyes off her for a moment.

Young Master had always been indifferent and aloof. But once he became enthusiastic, it was as if he was a different person. Even his red envelope contained such hidden affection and love for Du Xiaoxian. She had never seen a man so deeply and thoroughly in love like Young Master. He even outdid those male leads in romantic novels.

But it was precisely because of this that she was even more worried. Judging from the attitudes of Madame Gu and Old Master Gu, they would definitely break them up in the end. If things really came to that point… She shivered and didn’t dare to think more about it.

She sneaked out and saw that Gu Nianbin and Du Xiaoxian were not in the hall. They must have gone upstairs. She glanced at the landing clock by the wall. It was getting late and was time to cook. She turned around and was about to return to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She walked over to answer the door. It was a beautiful girl’s face in the camera. Ah Ling froze for a moment and thought that the girl was somewhat similar to Miss Xia from before.

The girl looked at the camera smilingly. “Hello, this is Xia Xiaowan. I heard that Nianbin was ill. Aunt Gu asked me to come and see him.”

Xia Xiaowan! The name was like a thunder, making exploding sounds above Ah Ling’s head. She had been in the Gu family for five years, so she surely knew about this name.