When she saw the message, the weariness on Gu Ge’s face vanished completely.
It was as if she could no longer feel the gloomy clouds outside the window, only a warm, gentle feeling, as if something was smiling in the sky.
She swiftly packed up the remaining items in her hands.
There wasn’t much left to pack, really.
Xiao Kui’s things were already finished, and here, only some simple finishing touches remained.
After finishing her work, she hurriedly replied to Jiang Ran.
“Okay, Xiao Ran. You should also take good care to keep warm. The weather is about to turn cold soon.”
Gu Ge looked at the unsettled, gloomy sky outside the window, guessing that in the near future it would become overcast and rain.
Rainy days were the most unfriendly to heart patients.
If your body was prone to dampness, sometimes your knees and other joints would ache along with it.
And this heavy rain arrived a bit earlier than anyone imagined.
Later that evening, the originally clear sky began to fill with dark clouds.
More and more clouds gathered in the sky, quickly tearing open a gap over the city.
The rain poured down from the heavens.
Gu Ge sat in the black bread car on her way home.
The clouds above seemed even more ferocious.
“Miss, should we change our route back? The rain is really too heavy right now. If we head back now, we’ll probably run into the storm.”
Gu Ge shook her head.
“It’s fine. Just follow the planned route back. Xiao Ran is still there. I should go back now.”
“But…”
“This is an order.”
Seeing Gu Ge’s firm and decisive tone, the maid said nothing more.
After all, Gu Ge was their master.
What Gu Ge said was a command that could not be disobeyed.
She turned the car around and began driving on the rain-soaked overpass, heading towards that small dwelling.
To be honest, she didn’t really understand why the young lady was so stubbornly attached to that tiny little residence.
She felt that with the young lady’s status, she should be in a better place, meeting better people.
Why would she want to hole up here?
But remembering that this was Gu Ge’s wish…
She fell silent.
The young lady must have her reasons for doing this.
On the overpass at that moment, the curtain of rain changed extremely fast, almost obscuring the car’s taillights completely.
The two of them arrived much faster than expected.
When they parked, the rain on the overpass continued to pour down relentlessly, as if it knew no fatigue.
This rain had come more urgently than imagined.
For a time, the entire city was covered by the storm.
Visibility became extremely low.
It was almost like living underwater.
“Young lady, are you still going back? Should we go somewhere else? What about your health…”
“Don’t call me ‘young lady.’ I am no longer a member of the Gu family.”
“But…”
“There are no ‘buts.’ I’m going back. It’s just rain. It’s nothing.”
Gu Ge walked back, feeling the torrential downpour and the city’s mottled light and shadow.
She only felt her body was so heavy, as if something was binding her, making her steps feel ponderous.
She arrived at the second floor of the residential building.
The atmosphere here was even more oppressive, as if the rain curtain was cascading down, merging together as if countless raindrops had already fallen from the sky.
Gu Ge walked into the rain curtain with her umbrella.
This rain was much heavier than she had imagined.
When Gu Ge reached her destination, she found the door was closed.
She tried the door and noticed it was locked from the inside.
Glancing back at the waiting maid, Gu Ge simply took out her phone and called Jiang Ran.
The phone was quickly answered, and Jiang Ran’s voice came through the receiver.
‘What’s up, Sister Gu Ge?’
“The unit door to the building is locked. Jiang Ran, do you have a key? Can you bring one down for me?”
“Oh, I’ll just come down and open it for you. Wait a moment. It’s really pouring outside. I’ll be quick.”
Looking at the pouring rain outside, Jiang Ran quickened his pace.
He hurried downstairs as fast as he could, reached the first floor, fiddled with the doorknob for a moment, and finally opened the door.
“The wind was probably too strong and blew it shut. Are you okay?”
Jiang Ran looked at Gu Ge and found her clothes were basically half soaked through.
That was a sure sign of catching a cold.
“Come on, let’s go upstairs. I’ll get you some dry clothes.”
Jiang Ran opened the door and saw a receding car’s lights flickering in the rain curtain.
Jiang Ran felt a bit strange, but at that moment, Gu Ge had already taken hold of his hand.
“It’s raining too hard outside. Let’s go back.”
Saying this, Gu Ge pulled Jiang Ran upstairs.
As soon as they entered, Jiang Ran looked around the room for chopsticks, but felt that Gu Ge’s current state wasn’t something a simple meal could fix.
So, Jiang Ran had to fetch hot water and a towel.
He helped Gu Ge take off her coat, then used the hot towel to wipe the sweat from her body.
After that, he fetched some clothes from Gu Ge’s wardrobe.
“You have so few clothes here. Wear these socks for now. I’ll go turn on the heater.”
Jiang Ran looked around the room for the remote control and quickly found a square one.
He turned on the heater, sending warm air into the room.
“Did you have to come back in such a hurry? If it rains this heavily next time, you really don’t have to come back. You could stay at a hotel for the night. Rushing back like this is really unsafe.”
Gu Ge bit her lip.
“I’m sorry… for making you come out and run around so late.”
Jiang Ran straightened up.
“I’m fine. I’m used to the rainy weather here. But you can’t keep doing this. If it rains like this every day, your heart won’t be able to take it. Your condition is worse than mine. Don’t you know that?”
“Mm, Xiao Ran is always the most considerate.”
Glistening droplets of water dripped from Gu Ge’s neck, quickly sliding down into her collar.
She looked at Jiang Ran, the delight in her eyes impossible to hide.
Jiang Ran felt a bit helpless.
He noticed that the way Gu Ge looked at him was always so strange, as if there was something hidden inside her.
“Alright, I’ll heat up some soup for you. There should still be some soup at my place tonight.”
Jiang Ran looked around the room again and found some disposable heat packs that could warm the stomach.
These were originally kept in the medicine cabinet, and he took the opportunity to bring them out.
He also brought a bowl of soup from the kitchen.
Carrying the soup, Jiang Ran came to Gu Ge’s room and saw that Gu Ge seemed to be looking at something in the distance.
Jiang Ran followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the rain curtain outside the window.
“It’s really coming down hard, Sister Gu Ge. Put this on your body. It generates heat and will keep you much warmer.”
Jiang Ran murmured to himself.
Gu Ge nodded, took the heat pack from Jiang Ran’s hand, and placed it on herself.
It was indeed much warmer than before.
She looked at Jiang Ran gently.
“Thank you for preparing so much for me.”
The tenderness in Gu Ge’s eyes didn’t fade; instead, it was replaced by a touch of heartache.
“It’s nothing. You should get washed up early. I’ll go back to my room and rest too.”
“Wait, Jiang Ran, do you have a comb?”
“A comb? Do you need to comb your hair?”
“Mm.”
Gu Ge nodded.
“Okay, wait, let me look for one.”
Jiang Ran went back, found a comb, and brought it over.
“Here, I found the comb you wanted.”
Jiang Ran looked at Gu Ge curiously.
At that moment, Gu Ge patted the empty space beside her.
“Come here, Xiao Ran. Let me comb your hair for you.”