A Lifetime of Peace and Care - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Taking Care of Oneself

In the evening, an orange glow spilled through the window onto the white sheets.

Yi Ran studied Gu Tingchuan, saw his forehead abrasions and white bandages, but realized that his appearance was not too bad. It might be because the light in his room was soft, but his whole person seemed to encased in a faint and clear mist, as if she was looking through the beautiful lens of a movie camera.

She walked over without saying a word. Gu Tingchuan held her hand tightly and said very gently, “Did you worry?”

Her slightly red eyes narrowed and her features were painted with traces of sadness. Her tone was anxious as she said, “Don’t move around so much. How can I not worry?”

Yi Ran’s shoulders were still trembling. At that time, when she heard that something happened to him, she was so scared. Even now, there was still a lingering fear, causing her to fear she might not be able to let him go.

Her arms looped around him, and though she wanted to hug him tightly, she was afraid she might hurt him. In the end, she only used a slight force to hug him.

When Gu Tingchuan saw his wife’s discomfort, he felt distressed in turn. He held her in his arms and patted her back, his action elegant and thoughtful.

“I was really scared to death by you. Could you please take better care of yourself in the future?”

She really wanted to beat this person up, but she also couldn’t bear to see him hurt anywhere. In the end, she could only frown and stare at Gu Tingchuan. Even at this time, he was smiling in an elegant and noble way, which was currently really annoying.

“It’s okay. Almost all of the examination reports had already came out.” He coughed a few times, felt his chest hurt a little, and frowned faintly. He slightly adjusted his sitting position to prevent her from seeing it.

Because she was sitting on the bed next to Gu Tingchuan, Yi Ran could observe his face closely. She asked earnestly, “Then tell me honestly, how many injuries are there? Is the chest injury the most serious?”

“Yes, but fortunately, there are no broken ribs or legs. Nothing that a good rest could not heal.” Gu Tingchuan thought deeply before he added, “The dislocated shoulder was sprained, and the left ankle somewhat swollen. It probably just knocked against something.”

Although he spoke very lightly and easily, Yi Ran was still not reassured. She continued to ask him, “What about the back? And the legs? Didn’t you say there were still injuries?”

Gu Tingchuan raised his hands and ran them through her long hair. He comforted her, saying, “It’s not a traumatic injury. Wouldn’t I still be in pain, otherwise?”

Yi Ran traced one soft fingertip across the man’s strong eyebrows. She paused and didn’t know what else to say. She could only blame herself, “I’m sorry. I would have taken better care of you if I were by your side.”

He grasped her fingertips, his face gentle. “It’s my fault. I didn’t take good care of my body. I promised you, but I seemed to have forgotten.”

After hearing Gu Tingchuan say this, Yi Ran was caught between smiling and frowning. In the end, she shrugged her shoulders and looked at him helplessly. She always felt that this kind of belated hindsights was not useful.

“This time, we got lucky. You have to be more careful about accidents on the set in the future.”

Gu Tingchuan was still so calm. Even after accidentally falling from a rooftop, his face was still bland and he talked to her intently. “I’m in excellent physical condition so, naturally, I won’t be seriously injured.”

He justified this statement by adding, “You know that benefits of normal exercise, right?”

Yi Ran couldn’t help but rolled her eyes. But, consider that the other person was wounded, she still managed to hold back.

“Of course. Knowing that the roof will become slippery after it rains, I will not choose to climb up. For someone so smart like me, there will be no possibility of injury to begin with!”

Gu Tingchuan: “…”

The great Director Gu, who was so scary on set, was rendered speechless by his wife.

With a faint smile on her lips, Yi Ran inspected the bruise on his forehead. Not to mention his perfect face, even if his forehead scarred, it would be a big loss for all fans.

Afterward, she lifted the bed sheet and carefully examined the rest of the injuries on his body. Seeing the swollen ankle to the bruises on his chest, she frowned unhappily.

“You’re really fine, right? You already promised not to hide anything from me.”

She will always remember that snowy night and, as long as she mentioned it, he knew that she will not tolerate any ambiguity on his part.

His clear eyes looked at her tenderly and he nodded to her. “Yes, I’m really fine.”

Seeing that Gu Tingchuan was still in pretty good spirit, Yi Ran finally let the last vestige of anxiety go. “Okay, I believe you. Do you want to drink water? I’ll pour it for you. Just wait a moment.”

Outside, the sunset finally fell away, leaving a faint layer of rust-colored light and shadow. Later, the clouds disappeared and the sky became a dark dome.

As she sat on the sofa beside the bed, Yi Ran looked at Gu Tingchuan. He held the mobile phone with his left hand and pointed to the laptop computer as he explained the arrangements for the shooting to several persons in charge. The telephone and video kept streaming.

She sat quietly for a while, waiting for him to finish, and then interjected, “Gu Tingchuan, I was thinking about it while you were on the phone.”

Gu Tingchuan was surprised by her sudden change of topic and, after thinking about it, he finally reacted, asking in a clear voice, “About what?”

“I think it’s really troublesome that you don’t always know how to take care of yourself when you get busy. And, I also get that you can travel far away in the future.

This incident today affected her thinking even more.

“I’ll think about quitting my job in the future, but I don’t think I can do so at this moment.”

Gu Tingchuan had a different view on this. However, he still respected her and wanted to give her space to think independently. Therefore, he didn’t make any counter arguments.

Yi Ran pursed her lips and said slowly, “I think I’ll have to consider it long and hard. I can’t just make a decision all at once and so I’ll will wait for a suitable opportunity in the future to see how I can work with you.”

He leaned back against the hospital bed, which made him look even taller. He looked at her, then raised his lips and chuckled. “That’s okay. Don’t worry too much about it. You can think about it slowly.”

Yi Ran picked up the side plate. Then, thinking about dinners, she laughed lazily, the sound of her laughter carrying traces of coquettishness. “Oh yes, during your absence, I found a Chinese refreshment shop. It’s not too far away from our home and is very suitable for making a pot of tea to sip while slowly eating. Will you go with me next time?”

Looking at her pouting appearance, he smiled and responded, “We can go there before returning to the crew.”

At this moment, the nurse knocked on the door and led someone inside.

When Yi Ran saw that it was Brother Gu, she stood up and greeted the other party.

Then, she walked over to the nurse, who was about to leave, and asked her for details about Gu Tingchuan’s condition. She also asked about what to pay attention to when taking care of him.

Gu Tingyong looked at Yi Ran’s back, then turned his attention back to the man on the hospital bed. He couldn’t help but smile in relief. “You really do look alright. I can feel rest assured.”

Gu Tingchuan glanced at him and deliberately said, “You must have a lot of free time to fly here?”

As the older brother, Gu Tingyong was accustomed to the great Director Gu’s direct manner of speaking and said indifferently, “I’ll be staying at a nearby hotel tonight and will accompany you back to the city tomorrow. You can take a good rest at home for a week before returning to the crew.”

He saw the displeased expression on Gu Tingchuan’s face and almost laughed out loud. “I don’t think you can even rest when at home, but at least take time to lie down occasionally to prevent any complications. It will be troublesome.”

Gu Tingchuan no longer insisted. He looked at the girl who was still talking to the nurse in the hallway, and his heart felt moved, the feeling was sweet like sugar and warming him from inside out.

“I know. Even if I go back to the crew right away, a certain person might not agree.”

He must prevent a confrontation on this issue. Otherwise, she might perform the drama of leaving home and going back to her mother’s house again. This was something he won’t be able to stand.

Gu Tingyong immediately understood. He slipped his hands into his pockets and studied the face of the man in front of him.

“I see that you’ve really changed.”

Gu Tingchuan used to be indifferent to everything, turning a deaf ear to everything in the world.

Director Gu himself did not care how much he had changed, but he now felt that he saw more clearly than some people.

After all, a life only lasted for a hundred years. The fact that someone can still miss you thousands of miles away was the greatest, happiest feeling in the world.

……

That night, Gu Tingchuan was not able to fall asleep. Even if he could tolerate all of his body’s injuries during the day, but at night, all these injuries seemed to wake up all at once, leaving behind a lingering pain that made him sleep uneasily.

Yi Ran didn’t want to go back to the hotel to sleep alone. Fortunately, Gu Tingchuan was a special patient so the hospital set up a small bed next to the hospital bed for her to sleep in.

Occasionally, she would wake up to see how he was. Then, seeing that he was asleep, she would sometimes touch the man’s handsome face and stroke his hand, her movements extremely gentle. She took care of him carefully, every little move carried with it traces of sincerity and love.

Her every touch was like the warmest sunshine after he had encountered a heavy rainstorm.

When Yi Ran finally fell asleep, Gu Tingchuan quietly opened his eyes and saw under the light of the moon that strands of her black hair had fallen across her forehead. He wanted to reach out and tuck them behind her ears but was afraid of waking her up.

The man’s eyes were dark in the moonlight, and he silently looked at the sleeping person before him for a long time. Gradually, he became drowsy even as his heart became softer and softer.