C11 A Warm Embrace

Ann Xiaomin wanted to explain, but it felt like something was caught in her throat, and she couldn't make a sound. Someone was dragging her outside, and she was too weak to even lift her head, so she just let them lead her away.

"Who allowed you to come here?"

The sudden voice silenced everyone around. Ann Xiaomin recognized it as Gu Junbai's. His voice had a natural chill to it, magnetic yet overwhelmingly oppressive.

"Junbai, you're back." The authoritative female voice softened, becoming almost ridiculously gentle. Judging by the voice, the woman seemed young.

Ann Xiaomin admired herself for still trying to guess the woman's identity at a time like this.

"Let her go."

The servants holding her seemed to fear Gu Junbai. At his words, they instinctively released her arms. Ann Xiaomin thought she would fall to the ground, but she didn't. Instead, she fell into a warm, spacious embrace, so comforting that she couldn't help but snuggle in deeper.

"Why are you so hot?"

The person holding her was Gu Junbai. For once, his words were straightforward, without the usual sarcasm.

"I'm not feeling well," she replied weakly.

Ann Xiaomin's clothes were half-wet, her face pale, lips a dry, purplish red. Water dripped from her hair, with a few strands sticking to her small cheeks. Her eyes were half-closed, long lashes trembling, her whole body tense, as if afraid of being hurt. She looked pitifully fragile.

Gu Junbai's heart softened suddenly as he reached out to touch her forehead. It was burning hot. He had no idea how high her fever was.

Junbai frowned, his strikingly handsome face tense, and a palpable tension spread from him. Everyone in the room sensed his displeasure and lowered their heads. He picked up Ann Xiaomin in his arms, turned around with a cold expression, and said to no one in particular, "Get out immediately. This is not a place for you."

Ann Xiaomin couldn't make out the woman's response as her consciousness grew increasingly fuzzy, and she felt miserable all over. If she could open her eyes, she'd see Junbai's true face, but her eyelids were too heavy. She vaguely heard Junbai's cold voice giving orders, "Steward Ning, call Chiang Chen."

Over an hour later, Chiang Chen expertly set up an IV for Ann Xiaomin. "Good thing we caught it early; otherwise, with a fever like this, she could have ended up with brain damage."

The sharp needle pierced Ann Xiaomin's hand, but she was unconscious and didn't react. However, Junbai, watching from the side, slightly furrowed his brows. Chiang Chen continued, "You know, this wife you were forced to take actually has quite a bit of charm. She's at least more attractive than your 'close female friends.'"

Chiang Chen had grown accustomed to Gu Junbai's sharp tongue over the years. "Oh, who was it that swore they'd never marry? And now, just a few days in, you're already defending her. Young Master Gu, doesn't it hurt to eat your words?"

Gu Junbai's handsome face, both refined and rugged, immediately darkened as if someone had stepped on his tail. He retorted quickly, "Who's defending her? Just wait, I'll definitely divorce her."

Ann Xiaomin, always resilient, soon regained consciousness. After a day or two of recovery, she hadn't seen Gu Junbai even once, but she did manage to get in touch with Gu Xiurann.

Gu Xiurann faced some scolding but no other punishment. As for the whereabouts of her mother, Gu Xiurann had no idea. When he went to her original hospital room, she was no longer there.