Chapter 5: Boundaries in the Disease

The moment Fu Chengyu fell, time seemed to be infinitely long.

His tall body leaned straight forward with a throbbing heaviness. Gu Qing's pupils shrank and his brain was blank. All his anger, shame and resistance were crushed by the most primitive fear at this moment! She didn't even have time to think. Her body had reacted before her consciousness--

"Fu Chengyu!"

A short and sharp scream came out of the mouth! Gu Qing rushed forward and stretched out his arms with all his strength. Before he completely smashed the cold marble floor, he almost held his shoulders and armpits!

A huge force with hot temperature suddenly pressed down! Gu Qing only felt that her arms were sinking and her knees were hurt. Her whole body was staggered back several steps by the inertia of his fall. Her back hit the edge of the hard bar with a "bang", which made her eyes black, and she barely stabilized their shaky bodies.

It's heavy! It's like holding a red-burning soldering iron!

Almost all of Fu Chengyu's weight was pressed on her body, her hot forehead was against her neck, and her burning breath was sprayed heavily and hotly on her skin with an unusually heavy, hard gasp like a broken wind box. The temperature is terribly high! Through several layers of clothes, Gu Qing could clearly feel the amazing heat wave emitted by his body, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"Fu Chengyu! Fu Chengyu, wake up!" Gu Qing's voice shook his shoulders vigorously with panic and trembling that he had never noticed. But the man in his arms didn't react. His eyes were closed tightly, and his thick eyelashes cast a thick shadow under his eyelids. His usual cold and fierce lines were extremely fragile under the morbid heat. His flushed face was covered with fine beads of sweat, his lips were dry and cracked, and his whole body exuded a faint smell of collapse.

The man who imprisoned and plundered her like a tyrant just now fell into her arms defenselessly like a fragile child who had lost all support. The impact brought by this huge contrast made Gu Qing's heart seem to be held by an invisible hand, sour and astringent, and even overwhelmed the pain of the back injury.

"Come on! Come on, people!" Gu Qingqing shouted in the direction of the entrance of the audience area, and the voice was broken because of the force. Great panic caught her. She had never seen Fu Chengyu like this! The man who always controls everything and seems to be omnient is so... overwhelmed at this moment!

The sound of rapid footsteps from far and near. The front desk lady and the security guard who rushed to hear the sound were stunned when they saw the scene in front of them - Mr. Fu, who was usually unattainable, was unexpectedly supported by lawyer Gu at this moment, and both of them were in a mess.

"Lawyer Gu! Mr. Fu, he..."

"Call an ambulance! Hurry up! He fainted with a high fever!" Gu Qing's voice had an unquestionable command tone, his face was pale, and a fine cold sweat oozed out of the corners of his forehead, supporting Fu Chengyu's body to tremble slightly.

"Good! OK! Immediately!" The lady at the front desk turned pale with fright and ran to make a phone call in a hurry.

The security guard wanted to come forward to help, but was stopped by Gu Qing's sharp look: "Don't touch him! He is too heavy. You can't hold him steady! Wait for the ambulance!"

She gritted her teeth and supported Fu Chengyu's heavy body with all her strength. She leaned her back against the bar, bearing all his weight and the amazing heat. Sweat quickly soaked the broken hair in front of her forehead and slid down her temples. She could clearly feel that the heart in his chest was beating violently and irregularly. Every heavy breath was sprayed on the side of her neck with a burning heat, bringing a throbbing shiver.

Time has never been so long. Every second is like tormenting in a pan of oil. The rainstorm outside the window was still washing the world madly. In the reception area, only Fu Chengyu's heavy breathing was hard, Gu Qing's own rapid heartbeat, and the crying call for help at the front desk lady.

Finally, the harsh ambulance sirens came from far and near, breaking through the noise of the rainy night.

---

Duplex apartment on the top floor. Late at night.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window, the neon lights of the city were blurred in the water vapor after the rain, with a tired silence. The air is filled with a faint smell of disinfectant and a dull and weak smell that belongs to the patient.

There is only one wall lamp with soft light in the master bedroom. Fu Chengyu lay on an amazingly wide bed, his eyes closed, and his eyebrows were slightly frowned because of the discomfort caused by the high fever. The flushing on his face faded a little under the action of the drug, but it was still pathologically pale, and his lips were dry and crusted. An antipyretic patch was attached to his forehead, and a needle was stuck on the back of his hand. The transparent liquid was slowly entering his veins through the thin hose, drop by drop.

The doctor has left, and the diagnosis is a high fever caused by a severe cold, coupled with sudden fainting caused by excessive fatigue and excessive mental stress. The medicine was prescribed, and he was told to closely observe the body temperature, take the medicine on time, and rest more.

Gu Qing sat on the single sofa by the bed, wearing the suit skirt that was stained and wrinkled by rain and sweat in the law firm. The place where she was hit on her back was still faintly painful, and there was a thin layer of blood scab on the place where she was knocked on her lips, with a tingling.

She looked at the man who was asleep in bed, and her eyes were as complicated as the chaotic light and shadow outside the window.

A few hours ago, the thrilling confrontation in the guest area was still vivid in my eyes. The surging storm in his eyes, his cold questioning, his bloody and punitive kiss, and the heavy scene of his last fall... All the scenes were repeatedly replayed in her chaotic mind with a strong impact.

Are you angry? Of course. Being treated so rudely by him, interrogated by him like a prisoner, and declared ownership by him in that way... Any woman with self-respect can't not be angry.

But at this moment, looking at his fading away from all his strength and coldness in the illness, only a fragile and quiet sleeping face, looking at his slightly frowning because of the discomfort of high fever, Gu Qing's anger in his heart seemed to be poured with a basin of cold water, leaving only a heavy and indescribable fatigue and... a trace of her unwillingness to admit, fine Slight twitching pain.

She remembered the amazing weight and hot temperature when he fell down, his heavy and difficult breathing, and the doctor's "excessive fatigue" and "excessive mental stress"...

Why did he suddenly get so sick? Is this business trip too tight? Or... is it related to her?

As soon as the idea of "still" came out, it was forcibly pressed down by Gu Qing. She shook her head irritably, trying to dispel these unnecessary thoughts. There is only an agreement between her and him. Taking care of him is just out of the most basic morality and... the responsibility that may be implicit in that damn agreement. That's all.

Gu Qing rubbed his swollen and painful eyebrows tiredly, and his eyes fell on Fu Chengyu's hand with a needle. His hands are large, with distinct joints, and his fingers are slender and powerful. Even in his sleep, he has a familiar sense of control. At this moment, the blue blood vessels on the back of the hand are clearly visible in the light, and the skin around the adhesive tape of the needle is slightly red.

She stood up and walked to the bedside. The movement was very light, for fear of waking him up. She picked up the wet medical cotton ball on the headboard, carefully avoided the needle, and gently wiped his cracked lips. The cold cotton ball touched the hot skin. Fu Chengyu seemed to snort comfortably in his sleep, and his frowning eyebrows stretched slightly for a moment.

This small reaction made Gu Qing's wiping action pause. She looked at his pale and quiet face, and somewhere in the bottom of her heart seemed to be gently hit by something. She withdrew her hand and threw the used cotton ball into the trash can.

At this moment, the mobile phone screen on Fu Chengyu's bedside table lit up silently. A message prompt popped up, and the sender's name was - **Zhang Duo**.

Gu Qing's eyes subconsciously swept over the screen. The content of the message was very short, but it was like a flash of lightning, instantly splitting her confused thoughts!

**Zhang Duo: Mr. Fu, all trips have been canceled or postponed as you requested. The key internal evaluation report (number FA-2023-0719-B) of lawyer Gu's foreign-related merger and acquisition case you explained has been scanned and encrypted and sent to your mailbox. Please take care of yourself. **

The content of the information is like a boulder, smashing into Gu Qing's heart lake like stad water!

**Cancel or postpone as you requested**... So he ended the trip in advance and canceled it on his own initiative? Isn't the work done?

**The key internal evaluation report on lawyer Gu's foreign-related merger and acquisition case**... The kraft paper document bag he asked Zhang Duo to hand over to her is really the core information of the case! It's not a test, it's not a humiliation, but... something he specially got that may be really useful to her?

**Please take care of yourself**... Zhang Duo's tone shows that his subordinates are really worried about his boss.

All the clues are connected at this moment!

He ended the trip early, canceled the work schedule, and rushed back to the law firm in the rainstorm with the sentence "Wait for me to talk to you"... What does he want to talk about? Is it an explanation? Is it a good sign? Or... something else?

And what about myself? When he came back with the sick body, what he saw was that she was confiding in Shen Yi about her fear and resistance to him! Then, he was greeted by her questioning full of anger and hostility!

A strong, mixed with regret, shock and an indescribable sour emotion, like a surging tide, instantly drowned Gu Qing! She staggered back and sat back on the sofa, unconsciously clutching the armrest of the sofa with her fingers.

The agreement is dead, but people are alive...

The storm and despair surging in his eyes...

The near-destructive madness when he forced the kiss...

And at this moment, his weak and quiet sleeping face in the disease...

These pictures collided and intertwined fiercely in her mind. A clear cognition that made her shiver all over, like the morning light at dawn, with irrefutable power, penetrated the heavy fog she had been trying to blind herself--

Fu Chengyu, the man she thought was cold-hearted and only knew control and rules, he was out of control.

His out of control is not due to the arrogance of the superior being offended, but... from her.

It comes from her unconscious crossing of the line after being drunk, from her unintentional "breaking into the edge of his boundary" day after day, and from... her cold resistance and escape to him!

His questioning about her, his anger, his last forced kiss... It was not a controller's punishment for the accessories, but a desperate catharsis and... declaration of a man who was forced to a desperate situation after his emotions were out of control!

This cognition, with an almost destructive force, hit Gu Qing fiercely!

She has been hiding in the turtle shell of the "agreement", arming herself with anger and resistance, and interpreting all his actions as controlling and possessive. She is afraid of losing control, afraid of the unknown, and afraid of sinking. But I have never really looked at it. Under Fu Chengyu's cold mask, there may be some waves! I never thought that her resistance and escape would be like a blunt knife, cutting his heart, which had long been out of control because of her!

A great sense of guilt, mixed with a late and sharp heartache, wrapped around Gu Qing's heart like a vine, making her almost breathless. She looked at the sleeping man on the bed, looked at his slightly frowned because of the pain, looked at his chapped lips and the cold needle on the back of his hand... A strong sourness surged to the tip of her nose, and her vision became blurred in an instant.

She was wrong.

It's ridiculously wrong.

"Uh..." An extremely weak and painful moan came from the bed.

Gu Qing suddenly came back to his senses and immediately stood up and came to the bedside: "Fu Chengyu?"

Fu Chengyu's eyelids trembled a few times with difficulty, as if he wanted to open them, but he was dragged by heavy fatigue and high heat. His lips moved unconsciously and uttered vague syllables: "Water...thirst..."

The voice is hoarse and dry like sandpaper rubbing.

"Water! Immediately!" Gu Qing immediately turned around and walked quickly to the tea bar outside. He poured half a cup of warm water, mixed some cold water, tested the temperature, and carefully brought it to the bedside.

She held a water cup in one hand and hesitated for a moment in the other hand. Finally, she gently held up Fu Chengyu's heavy head and neck, making him slightly raise it. Her movements are a little clumsy, with an unprecedented caution.

The warm edge of the cup gently touched Fu Chengyu's chapped lips. He seemed to feel the water source and opened his mouth instinctively. Gu Qing carefully tilted the cup to let the warm water flow into his mouth little by little.

Fu Chengyu swallowed greedily, and his throat rolled up and down. A few strands of water stains slid down the corners of his pale lips and dripped on the pillow. Gu Qing quickly took the tissue next to him and gently wiped it for him.

After feeding the water, Gu Qinggang wanted to flatten him, but Fu Chengyu's head rubbed slightly against her palm, as if looking for a more comfortable support point. His hot cheeks unconsciously pressed against the skin of her slightly cold wrist, bringing a strange touch.

Gu Qing's body froze in an instant. Her wrist was the place where he clamped hard that morning and left a bruise. At this moment, the skin that had been branded with his anger was attached to his fragile cheeks.

An indescribable emotion mixed with sourness and throbbing flashed through Gu Qing's limbs like an electric current. She froze there, did not dare to move, and even breathed lightly, for fear of disturbing his dependence for this moment.

Fu Chengyu seemed to find a comfortable posture, his frowning eyebrows stretched a little more, his heavy breathing eased a little, and he fell into a drowsy sleep again. It's just that the hand without a needle, but unconsciously, with a kind of force to seek a sense of security, gently put it on the back of Gu Qing's hand on the bedside.

His palms were still hot, with the weakness of the disease, but like a soldering iron, he instantly burned through all of Gu Qing's psychological defenses.

Gu Qing lowered his head and looked at the big hand that belonged to Fu Chengyu covering the back of his hand. His fingertips are slender and his joints are distinct. Even in a high fever and coma, he still has a sense of strength in his bones. She could clearly feel the lines and scorching temperature of his palm.

Time seems to stand still at this moment. The city lights outside the window were blurred into a vague spot of light in the humid air after the rain. In the room, only Fu Chengyu's heavy breathing was left, and Gu Qing's own heartbeat was like a drumming.

She didn't withdraw her hand.

An unprecedented and clear cognition, like a butterfly breaking out of the cocoon, slowly and firmly unfolded in her chaotic heart lake--

The agreement is dead.

People are alive.

And Fu Chengyu, her nominal husband, is no longer a symbol in the cold agreement.

He is a living man who can get out of control, can get sick, can be desperate, will instinctively approach her when he is vulnerable, and seeks comfort.

And her Gu Qing is no longer the "agreement wife" who can stand aside and stand by coldly.

She was trapped.

Trapped in this out-of-control storm that was accidentally opened by her and completely detonated by him.

Trapped... This man named Fu Chengyu, with anger, despair and the fragility of illness, was forced to draw a crack that could not be ignored and healed in her heart.

The boundaries have long been blurred.

And she has nowhere to escape.