"Don't be afraid, it's me, it's me, I'm Gu Yitong." Gu Yitong realized that Afu had not yet recovered from the previous situation. She quickly took Afu's hand and kept comforting him.
"Don't touch me, please..." Afu couldn't hear anything now, 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 terrified look, she quickly let go of her hand.
Without physical contact, Afu gradually calmed down. He sat silently on the bed, lowering his head, 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, raising her hand to pat his hand, but afraid of startling him, she put her hand down.
Gu Yitong? It's Gu Yitong?
Afu slowly raised his head, looking 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. He immediately shrank back to the corner of the bed, curling himself up tightly.
The quilt was still far away, but Afu could no longer care. He just wanted to shrink himself small, so that no one could 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 shrank in the corner, shaking his head constantly. Tears flowed faster with his movements.
"Drip, drip." They fell silently onto the bed.
"Please, please go out." Afu struggled to steady his voice, but his words were still intermittent.
"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 that Afu would not mind too much.
Although Afu was a servant, he had grown up in a wealthy family. Even ordinary men could not tolerate being treated like this. After experiencing such an event, even if nothing had happened, it would leave deep scars in his heart, which would be difficult to heal.
"No... sob sob sob... No, please go out first!"
"Okay, okay! I'll go out now. You be well, be well." Gu Yitong dared not stay here any longer, fearing she would stimulate Afu further. She quickly nodded in agreement, retreated to the door, opened it, and looked back at the sorrowful Afu sitting on the bed with lingering concern.
As Gu Yitong finally left, Afu could no longer control himself. He bit his arm tightly, and a whimpering sound 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 half-naked and in all sorts of embarrassing states. No! He didn't want that! He would rather die!
Afu was afraid that something might happen to him alone in the room, so Gu Yitong dared not really leave. Instead, she hid outside the door, pressing herself tightly against the wall. Listening to the whimpers 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 wishing for Afu's safety, 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, and to the Bodhisattva, to protect Afu's life and to let her see him alive.
Even now, she still believed. She knelt in the cold snow, her forehead pressed tightly against the closed door, begging, begging not to let Afu suffer so much, willing to bear any cost.
"Come in, it's cold outside." After an unknown amount of time, Afu opened the door 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 empty, devoid of light.
Gu Yitong followed him into the room. Afu sat on the bed, and Gu Yitong dared not approach, standing awkwardly by the door.
Afu knew Gu Yitong was worried about him, but he couldn't bear to let her stand by the door. She was already tired enough from saving him.
"There's a stool over there."
"Okay." Gu Yitong nodded and sat on the stool Afu indicated.
"Is Young Master alright?" Afu knew that Gu Yitong could find him so accurately, which meant they must have already rescued 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. She hadn't observed Lu Yu and Shen Xuan carefully, but with Zheng Yu there, they would be fine.
This topic ended, and another silence fell.
"My poison—"
"You—"
They both spoke at the same time, looked up at each other at the same time, and then both stopped at the same time.
"You speak first!"
"You speak first."
"I've detoxified you. I'm sorry." Gu Yitong knew that it was difficult for Afu to ask, but after some hesitation, she decided to speak first, as they both wanted to ask about the same thing.
Afu was relieved to hear the answer he had expected. At least it wasn't someone else. "Thank you, thank you for detoxifying me."
"Have you... have you been detoxified completely? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Gu Yitong was still worried about this matter, as 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'm... not uncomfortable now." Afu immediately rejected the idea. Gu Yitong's initial consideration for not calling a doctor for Afu was precisely because of this.
After all, Afu's true feelings were still unknown. If a doctor were called, it would mean that others would know about this matter, and Afu needed to make this decision himself.
"Then get some good rest. I'll take you to see your Young Master tomorrow." Gu Yitong didn't want to disturb Afu's rest any further, so she stood up to leave.
"Miss Gu!" Afu pursed his lips, but decided to call her back. "Can you please not tell anyone about this?"
"Okay."
'This matter' referred to what, Gu Yitong knew. Since Afu didn't want to talk about it, she naturally should help Afu keep it a secret, as it concerned Afu's reputation.