"Don't be afraid, it's me, it's me, I'm Gu Yitong." Gu Yitong realized that Afu hadn't recovered from the previous situation and quickly held Afu's hand, constantly comforting him.
"Don't touch me, please..." Afu couldn't hear anything else, he kept shrinking back, lost in his own fear.
"Okay, I won't touch you, don't be nervous." Gu Yitong knew that Afu was most afraid of stimulation. Seeing Afu's frightened look, she quickly let go of her hand.
Without physical contact, Afu gradually calmed down. He sat silently on the bed, head bowed, as if there were no problems, but his trembling body betrayed him.
"Afu, I am Gu Yitong."
Seeing that Afu had finally calmed down, Gu Yitong slowly approached and raised her hand to pat his hand, but afraid of scaring him, she put her hand down.
Gu Yitong? Is it Gu Yitong?
Afu slowly raised his head and looked at the person in front of him with a face full of heartache. He was stunned for a long time, then suddenly realized his current situation and immediately shrank back to the corner of the bed, curling himself up tightly.
The quilt was still far away, but Afu had no time to care. He just wanted to shrink himself small, so that no one would see him, especially Gu Yitong.
"Afu, this is a medical clinic, don't be afraid." Gu Yitong didn't know what to do, so she could only say this dryly.
Afu cowered in the corner, shaking his head constantly. Tears flowed faster with his head movements.
"Plop, plop." They fell silently onto the bed.
"Please, please leave." Afu struggled to steady his voice, but his words were still broken.
"I..." Afu wanted to say more, but his crying choked him, making him unable to speak.
"Afu, listen to me, that woman didn't do anything to you. After you pushed her away, I arrived and drove her away. She didn't touch you, really."
Every tear Afu shed pierced Gu Yitong's heart. Gu Yitong truly understood what it meant to be heartbroken, but she was powerless. She could only state the facts, hoping Afu wouldn't mind too much.
Although Afu was a servant, he had grown up in a wealthy family. Even ordinary men could not tolerate such treatment. After experiencing this, even if nothing had happened, it would have left deep scars in his heart, which would be difficult to erase.
"No...呜呜呜...No, please leave first!"
"Okay, okay! I'll leave now. You be good, be good." Gu Yitong dared not stay there any longer, fearing she would stimulate Afu again. She quickly nodded in agreement, retreated to the door, opened it, and then looked back at Afu, who was sitting on the bed full of sadness.
As Gu Yitong finally left, Afu could no longer control himself. He bit his arm tightly, and sobs came from the depths of his throat, like sorrow drawn from the depths of his soul. His sobs were intermittent, and his body convulsed and trembled.
Gu Yitong said she came in and saved him at that time. That meant she saw him scantily clad, saw all his ugliness. No! He didn't want that! He would rather die!
Gu Yitong was afraid that Afu would have an accident alone in the room, so she didn't dare to leave. Instead, she hid outside the door, pressing herself tightly against the wall. Listening to the sobs from inside, Gu Yitong felt suffocated with sadness.
Before this incident, Gu Yitong had been avoiding her feelings for Afu, not daring to express them, nor willing to admit them. But the moment she heard that Afu was in trouble, Gu Yitong suddenly understood. What nonsense! She was a scoundrel!
She rushed to Zui Yiren like a madwoman, only hoping that Afu would be safe, no matter the cost.
She never believed in gods or buddhas, but at that time she did. She prayed to the Jade Emperor, to all the gods, to the Buddha, to the Bodhisattva, to protect Afu's life at all costs, and to let her see Afu alive.
Now she still believed. She knelt in the cold snow, her forehead pressed tightly against the closed door. She begged, begged them not to let Afu suffer so much, and she was willing to bear any price.
"Come in, it's cold outside." After an unknown amount of time, Afu pushed the door open with a calm expression. His face showed no trace of what had just happened, as if he were a different person. Only his eyes were hollow, devoid of light.
Gu Yitong followed him into the room. Afu sat on the bed, and Gu Yitong did not dare to step forward, standing awkwardly by the door.
Afu knew Gu Yitong's concern for him, but he couldn't bear to let her stand at the door. She was already tired from saving him.
"There's a stool over there."
"Okay." Gu Yitong nodded and sat on the stool Afu pointed to.
"Is Young Master alright?" Afu knew that Gu Yitong could find him so accurately, they must have already saved the Young Master.
"He and Lu Yu are at my place, don't worry." When Gu Yitong heard the news of Afu's danger, she rushed to Yiren Zui and didn't observe Lu Yu and Shen Xuan carefully. However, with Zheng Yu there, everything would be fine.
This topic ended, and another silence ensued.
"My poison—"
"You—"
They both spoke at the same time, looked up at each other at the same time, and then stopped at the same time.
"You speak first!"
"You speak first."
"I cured the poison in your body, I'm sorry." Gu Yitong knew that Afu would not find it easy to ask, and after some hesitation, she decided to speak first, as they both wanted to ask the same question anyway.
Afu was relieved to hear the answer he expected. It was good that it wasn't someone else. "Thank you, thank you for curing my poison."
"Did you... did you get rid of all the poison in your body? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Gu Yitong was still a little worried about this matter, after all, she was not a doctor and could not tell if the poison had been completely removed. "How about I find a doctor for you?"
"No need, I... I don't feel uncomfortable now." Afu rejected this idea immediately. Gu Yitong's consideration in not immediately calling a doctor for Afu was also for this reason.
After all, Gu Yitong didn't know what Afu was thinking. If a doctor was called, it would mean that others knew about this matter, and this decision still needed to be made by Afu himself.
"Then rest well, and I'll take you to see your Young Master tomorrow." Gu Yitong didn't want to disturb Afu's rest any longer. She stood up and prepared to leave.
"Miss Gu!" Afu pursed his lips and decided to call her back. "Can you please not tell anyone about this?"
"Okay."
'This matter' was what matter, Gu Yitong knew in her heart. Since Afu didn't want to talk about it, she naturally should help Afu keep it a secret, as this matter concerned Afu's reputation.