"You're welcome, honey. It's the least I can do."
Ning Yi's kindness did indeed let Gu Cheng catch a whiff of the scent, yet she remained humble, not the least bit proud!
The lingering fragrance on his nose reminded Gu Cheng of his recovering sense of smell: "...Mm."
Ning Yi pressed her hands to her chest tenderly: "Honey, I can't wait for the day you wake up!"
Gu Cheng's voice, however, was cold and detached as he asked, "After I recover, will Yi still love me this much?" Once Ning Yi saw... the real him.
"—Of course! Husband!" Ning Yi's voice held not a hint of hesitation. "I'll stay by your side when you're past your prime. When you rise again, who will I be to you?"
Gu Cheng fell silent for a second, unwilling to answer.
Ning Yi: "Your eternal love! Your Cupid!"
Gu Cheng: "..."
He'd never met anyone like Ning Yi before—someone who tossed words of love around so casually.
But it was true—
Ever since she appeared, loneliness had become a rare feeling for him.
Ning Yi firmly believed she was Gu Cheng's right-hand woman on his path to reclaiming his throne. With a sweeping gesture, she declared, "Husband, I'll restore your sense of taste and hearing!"
By any means necessary! And thoroughly!
Gu Cheng contemplated Ning Yi's potential methods for restoration.
Suddenly silent: "..."
Meanwhile.
After leaving the Gu residence, Ding Ziyue headed straight to the hospital. She knew the lonely Young Master Gu was still waiting for her voice!
Ding Ziyue devised a clever way to communicate with Young Master Gu.
Gu Cheng's deafness and blindness weren't congenital neurological conditions, so she could use bone conduction headphones! With these, she could record everything she wanted to say and play it for Young Master Gu.
Ding Ziyue was almost moved to tears by her own ingenuity.
She struggled to imagine whether Young Master Gu, hearing a human voice for the first time after three years of solitude, might also feel the urge to weep.
Ding Ziyue returned home with the headset, cleared her throat, and poured out every encouraging word she wanted to share with him in the gentlest, most tender tone imaginable!
That evening, after finishing the recording, Ding Ziyue updated her CMore feed:
Days without light must surely be the apocalypse
Her words carried a double meaning: on one hand, she secretly hoped Gu Dashi would be awakened by the light she represented. On the other, it signaled her participation in the upcoming apocalypse-themed wilderness event.
This was an annual extravaganza among the elite circles, and this year's randomly assigned theme was the apocalypse—this time, she would not let Ning Yi steal the spotlight again!
Oh no—once Young Master Gu awakens, whether Ning Yi survives at all is another matter entirely!
Ding Ziyue smiled.
The next day, Gu Cheng had just finished a round of examinations.
The doctors recorded his vital signs, then quietly closed the door as they discussed among themselves.
"Madam's approach seems genuinely effective?"
"Perhaps we should adopt it too?"
"Makes sense. Let's go prepare..."
As the doctors walked away, a figure slipped quietly into the ward.
With a smile, she took Gu Cheng's hand and wrote a few words.
"...?" Gu Cheng remained expressionless for a moment before mentally addressing Ning Yi: "Yi, come rest for a bit."
Ning Yi had just finished eating and was planning to lie down anyway.
But Gu Cheng actively inviting her to rest felt highly unusual.
She tapped cautiously on her laptop, effortlessly hacking into the Gu family surveillance system. There, she saw her sister's radiant face. "..."
"No, honey," Ning Yi said affectionately, "You haven't rested enough lately. I won't be a bother^3^"
Gu Cheng: "..."
Soon, something resembling an earpiece was clipped onto Gu Cheng's earlobe.
BGM began playing through the earpiece. Amidst the melancholic, tender winter love song, Ding Ziyue commenced her monologue as the protagonist of a painful youth novel.
——"Hey, Young Master Gu, how are you?"
——"Your three years—I ache for them. I understand every bit of your pain."
——"That year, that version of you, remains forever in my heart."
Gu Cheng: "..."
Veins slowly bulged on the back of his hand.
Ding Ziyue sat on the bedside, watching her voice transmit through the earpiece into his mind, her heart melting into a puddle.
——"I know my sister, Ning Yi, caused you so much pain."
——"But don't be afraid. I've always been here."
Ding Ziyue made sure Gu Cheng knew the name of the person who had constantly hurt and abused him. That way, when he woke up, it would be the moment Ning Yi was brutally punished and she was exalted!
Gu Cheng: "..."
He held back, then finally asked Ning Yi, "Yi, are you really not going to rest?"
Ning Yi replied softly, "Shh, sweetheart."
It took Gu Cheng ten long minutes to finish this ordeal.
Ding Ziyue reluctantly put away her headphones—she'd passionately recorded three background tracks, knowing Gu Cheng hadn't heard a human voice in ages. Every word she spoke was precious, capable of soothing the wounds in his soul!
If time permitted, she would have played them three more times, but a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Gu Cheng's doctors were about to return. Ding Ziyue could only take one last lingering look at the young master's handsome features before leaving, filled with both reluctance and anticipation.
Gu Cheng had endured solely through years of iron willpower.
Had his endurance faltered even slightly, he might have snapped.
After the doctors returned, they fiddled with the items they'd prepared earlier.
"—Yi."
Gu Cheng suddenly called out to Ning Yi in his mind, "You can come now."
"?" Ning Yi glanced uneasily at the monitor, only to see her sister had indeed left with a spring breeze on her face.
She instantly switched to her caring mode with effortless ease. "Honey wants to work, huh? Oh dear, then I'll just lie here for a bit. Go ahead and get busy, honey~ Don't worry about me."
Gu Cheng's lips curved into an amused smile, his tone betraying no hint of his thoughts. "Yi is so good to me."
Ning Yi: "It's only right, honey! Love you~"
After switching places, Gu Cheng headed straight for the study. He had urgent matters to attend to.
But lying in bed, Ning Yi sensed something was off.
What was that smell?
Taking advantage of the empty space beside the bed, she peeked through narrowed eyes and saw the doctors fiddling with something. And the smell was getting stronger.
—Inspired by Mrs. Ning Yi's successful experiment with the sour bamboo shoot packet, the doctors decided to use other pungent substances to observe Young Master Gu's physiological responses.
After all, Mrs. Ning Yi's method might be crude, but it worked! And compared to previous treatments like electrotherapy, it was far gentler and harmless, posing no risk to Young Master Gu's health.
Just as Mrs. Song Lan had said, Mrs. Ning Yi truly was a little lucky charm!
Ning Yi sensed trouble and tried to switch bodies back, only to find she couldn't—Damn! This was their third swap, and the cooldown had kicked in again!
Meanwhile, the doctors had already kindly produced stinky tofu and held it under her nose.
Ning Yi: "..."
Next came blue cheese, causing even the doctors to grimace in pain.
Ning Yi: "..."
Finally, it was time for the herring can. Director Qian hesitated, "Are we really opening this?"
Doctor Wang beside him suggested, "Just crack it open a bit?"
They painfully held it close.
Ning Yi: ...
Ning Yi: Don't come any closer!
Unable to endure it any longer, she let out a sound: "Ugh."
—Gu Cheng! You're repaying kindness with betrayal! Just you wait!
But the next second, the doctors by the bedside all erupted with excitement.
—"Did you hear that?! Young Master Gu moved his lips!"
—"Young Master Gu can speak again!"
—"Quick, quick! Go fetch the Madam and the Old Master!"
Gu Cheng logged into the Gu Group intranet on his computer, collected and reviewed the materials, then stepped out of the building.
His expression was dark, a shadowed light flickering in his eyes.
Ding Ziyue was a fool, and her brother clearly wasn't much better—how could he be manipulated into pushing forward the East City project with Gu Zhison? Gu Cheng's sole plan for that plot was an internet industrial park, yet Gu Zhison wanted to build luxury residences—as if his brain had been kicked by a donkey.
Gu Zhison was about to present the East City project proposal at the shareholders' meeting. Without Gu Cheng's presence, if the vote passed, that fool would truly plunge Gu Group into a deep pit.
Gu Cheng narrowed his eyes. He couldn't afford to lie idle any longer. Control over his body was gradually returning, but since his hands and eyes could move, he could convey the most basic messages and communicate his will.
It was time to reclaim his voice.
Then Gu Cheng saw a servant running through the estate, shouting:
— "Young Master Gu has spoken!"
Gu Cheng: "?" What did he say?
Numerous guests from the elite social circle were still present at the Gu Manor, but Song Lan and Old Master Gu had no time to attend to these outsiders. They rushed to Gu Cheng's hospital room with utmost urgency.
The news couldn't be contained. It exploded like thunder across the entire elite social circle—
Gu Cheng is waking up?!
Soon, others rushed into the annex building too. Damn it, this was the bombshell news of the year!
Ding Ziyue blended in among the socialites and heiresses, pretending she'd just arrived. No one knew she'd secretly visited Young Master Gu moments before.
Yet she could barely contain the triumphant smile spreading across her face.
—She'd only just finished communicating with Young Master Gu through bone conduction, and now he was about to wake up and speak!
What did this mean? Need she say more?
Her light had finally dispelled his darkness!
That man, warmed and encouraged by her, was about to make his triumphant return!
Wen Xiaoman, walking beside her, spotted "Ning Yi" approaching and burst into laughter.
"Hey Ning Yi, hurry up! Young Master Gu is waking up! If you don't make your move now, you'll be kicked out of the Gu household!"
"Forget using Young Master Gu's card or riding his horse—you might not even be able to stay in the Gu household anymore!"
"And if you ever want to join our circle's events again, forget it—"
"Don't you know Young Master Gu will kick you out the moment he wakes up?"
Gu Cheng: "..."
How could he not know?
Ding Ziyue pulled him affectionately. "Little sister, let's go see Young Master Gu together!"
Gu Cheng had been tormented by her voice for so long that hearing it now made him want to vomit. He coldly pulled his arm away.
Yet this reaction only confirmed Ding Ziyue's belief that he was panicking!
After anticipating this glorious moment of victory for so long, she would never let Ning Yi escape! Moreover, she would make everyone witness the moment Young Master Gu crowned her!
Finally, Gu Cheng was escorted back to his hospital room by the crowd.
In the center of the large bed, Ning Yi was propped up against the headboard, her expression inscrutable.
This was the first time Ning Yi truly experienced Gu Cheng's body.
He could see, he could sit—though still unable to move. Yet whenever he turned that face toward anyone, they instantly froze in awe, bowing their heads in reverence: "Young Master Gu!"
Ning Yi: Holy shit, being a tycoon is this satisfying?!
Ding Ziyue and the others couldn't enter the room, forced to watch from outside—there he was, leaning against the bed amidst a sea of pure white, his dark hair loosely tousled, eyes as deep and piercing as ever, shining with the same intense brilliance.
Still so handsome! That god-like man!
—It was him, Gu Cheng! He had truly awakened!
Ding Ziyue stood just outside the door, within his line of sight. Her heart pounded like a drum, her eyes filled with starlight, waiting for him to say she was the one who led him out of darkness, that she was his light!
Meanwhile, Gu Cheng and Ning Yi were inside each other's bodies, gazing at one another.
Ning Yi, smug with petty triumph: "So you made me smell that herring can, huh?"
Gu Cheng's eyes flashed warning: "Ayi, watch your tongue."
Ning Yi: "Heh."
Under Ding Ziyue's expectant gaze, "Young Master Gu" spoke.
——"Ning Yi."
Everyone froze. Yet Ding Ziyue's face immediately broke into a knowing smile—sure enough, Young Master Gu had awakened to expose Ning Yi's abusive crimes!
The other aristocrats wondered: Was she to be cast out so swiftly?
——"My benefactor," he said.
Everyone's expressions went blank.
Then they watched as Young Master Gu fixed his gaze on Ning Yi.
His eyes blazing crimson, his voice hoarse: "I'd give you my life. Believe it or not."
Ding Ziyue froze.
The elite circle erupted.
Gu Cheng fell silent: "..."
Damn it.