It took Gu Qingcheng some effort to invite Du Lanyue and Du Lanxing.
When she sent out the invitations, she realized she only knew the general alley where Lanyue lived, but not the specific house number. She couldn't possibly send the brothers from Phoenix Village to ask around door-to-door.
It also seemed inappropriate to inquire about a young woman in such a way.
Perhaps it was fate, but as she was thinking about it, she felt a connection.
The day before yesterday, when Gu Qingcheng went to Phoenix Pharmacy, Du Lanyue happened to be there. Seeing Gu Qingcheng’s joyful expression, she quickly explained,
“I sprained my ankle at the dock last time, and didn’t pay much attention then. But these past few days, it’s been persistently sore. After telling my mother, she asked a servant to buy some ointment for me to apply.
She also said I should treat it while it’s not too serious, to prevent lingering issues that would become apparent when I’m older.”
“That indeed requires attention. I’ll ask the shopkeeper to find a good medicine for you,” Gu Qingcheng said with concern.
Upon hearing Gu Qingcheng’s serious tone, Du Lanyue became a little frightened. She couldn’t become lame from such a minor ailment; would she still be worthy of Gu Qingcheng?
“Young Master Gu, is my injury serious?”
“It’s nothing, just a small injury. It’ll be fine after applying the ointment.”
Seeing how scared Du Lanyue was, Gu Qingcheng quickly found an ointment and personally applied it to Lanyue’s ankle.
She led Du Lanyue to the backyard and had her sit on a chair.
Du Lanyue didn’t quite understand what was happening, but she was obedient and sat down as Gu Qingcheng instructed.
Gu Qingcheng began to take off her shoes.
Du Lanyue was stunned…
But with Gu Qingcheng’s movements, she dared not move.
Gu Qingcheng first applied medicated oil to her ankle. The oil felt cool, and then she warmed the ankle with her hands.
Du Lanyue felt a refreshing and penetrating sensation in her ankle. The soreness was slowly pushed away by the warm medicated oil, and she felt much more comfortable.
“Is it good now?”
Du Lanyue saw how hard Gu Qingcheng was rubbing and guessed it must be tiring, so she quickly urged, “It’s fine.”
Her small face was flushed, and she felt a bit embarrassed.
Gu Qingcheng quickly shook her head and said, “It’s fine, you need to rub it for longer. The shopkeeper said that by working out the clotted blood, the injury will heal faster.”
Indeed, it was effective. As Gu Qingcheng diligently massaged her ankle, Du Lanyue gradually felt the soreness slowly disappear.
Then, Gu Qingcheng wiped off the medicated oil, heated the black ointment by the fire until it melted, and applied the warm ointment to Du Lanyue’s injured area.
“All done. It feels so comfortable. I haven’t felt this sense of clarity in a long time.”
When Du Lanyue saw Gu Qingcheng helping her put her shoes back on, she didn’t have time to stop her, and her face turned a deep red.
Gu Qingcheng’s technique was practiced. She had been an athlete before and often got injured, as did her teammates. They often helped each other with massages and applying medicine for aches and pains; it was all very normal.
After a day of training, they would help each other with massages to relax.
Helping Du Lanyue with these little things felt effortless for Gu Qingcheng. Instead, it brought back a sense of the camaraderie she shared with her teammates.
“Thank you, Young Master Gu. Your massage technique is quite good. Did you learn it before?” Du Lanyue couldn’t help but ask.
“Not really learned, I just watched others do it. And when friends sprained themselves, I’d help them with a massage, and somehow I picked it up,” Gu Qingcheng replied frankly.
Helping friends?
Were they also girls?
Du Lanyue wanted to ask but hesitated. She felt a bit down.
Gu Qingcheng didn’t seem to notice and simply said, “Sister Lanyue, after you get home, change it daily. You can warm it like I just did before applying the ointment; it will be more effective. Usually, it will heal completely in three to five days.”
“No one at my home knows how to massage,” Du Lanyue said with a hint of unhappiness.
“Then bring it to the shop, and I’ll help you. I’ll be here every morning recently.” Gu Qingcheng’s spirit of helpfulness kicked in.
“Okay. Aren’t you bothered by the trouble?” Du Lanyue brightened.
“How could it be troublesome? I’m very happy if I can help you,” Gu Qingcheng said with a smile.
A life-saving debt, how could it be repaid!
This small matter wasn't really a repayment, but being able to do something helpful for Lanyue made her quite happy.
“Then I’m taking you at your word. I’ll come every day,” Du Lanyue said earnestly.
“No problem. By the way, I mentioned inviting you for a meal last time. We moved into our new residence the day before yesterday. Can you and Lanxing come over for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Okay.” Du Lanyue was overjoyed to hear this.
After the ointment was applied, Du Lanyue wanted to pay. The shopkeeper said it wasn’t necessary, as Young Master Gu had already settled the bill.
Du Lanyue hadn't expected Gu Qingcheng to pay for her. It wasn’t that she wanted to take advantage, but her heart felt sweet. She quickly said, “Young Master Gu, how much is it? I’ll give it to you.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingcheng deliberately put on a stern face and said, “What is it, Sister Lanyue? Are you being polite with me?
You’re my savior, you know. I’m very happy to do this small thing for you.”
Du Lanyue’s heart pounded upon hearing this.
She hadn’t expected that what she considered a simple act of notifying Gu Qingcheng about the zombies would be viewed so seriously by her.
She hadn’t really thought much about it when she went to inform Gu Qingcheng that day, only that she couldn’t let Gu Qingcheng die by the hands of the zombies.
Therefore, after receiving Gu Qingcheng’s invitation to dine at her new residence, Lanyue came with Lanxing.
On the way, Old Zhu drove them.
Old Zhu had always been helpful to them. Seeing that things were progressing, he expressed some concern, saying, “Eldest Miss, Second Miss, I think it’s best to report this to the master as soon as possible. If you two have already fallen for each other, let the master urge Young Master Gu to find a matchmaker and propose, making you a legitimate couple.
This way, Eldest Miss can be open and above board, without having to be so secretive.”
“This… it’s too early to say!” Du Lanyue, though she also wished to finalize things with Young Master Gu promptly, thought carefully and felt she had no leverage.
After all, she hadn’t received a confession from Gu Qingcheng, nor had they spoken openly about their feelings.
“Sister, tonight you’re meeting with Young Master Gu. Why not subtly hint at it and see what his intentions are?” Du Lanxing suggested.
Du Lanyue’s face turned red upon hearing this. She said,
“Isn’t this too fast? We haven’t even said much to each other yet?”
“What’s too fast? You two have interacted several times, and you even risked your life to help him. Isn’t he always mentioning his gratitude towards you?
Besides, putting aside the matter of saving his life, Sister, you are so beautiful. Wouldn’t Young Master Gu be smitten?
If the Great Zhou Dynasty hadn’t fallen, you could have been an empress. Young Master Gu wouldn’t even be able to touch the hem of your skirt,” Du Lanxing said rather bluntly.
“Ah, ‘savior,’ that’s overstating it.
Young Master Gu is an expert archer. When I saw him, he was eliminating zombies one by one; he was so powerful, he didn’t need my help at all,” Du Lanyue said sullenly.
“Oh, speaking of that, this old servant heard that Young Master Gu alone took down at least 30 zombies that day.”