At two in the afternoon, Qin He collected Gu Qishen's latest examination report from Shen Bin.
She returned to the ward with the report. As she approached the door, she heard Gu Qishen speaking with Yu Jing inside.
Upon pushing the door open, she heard Gu Qishen's final words: "Do not announce to the public that I am currently recovering."
Yu Jing immediately responded, "Yes."
Gu Qishen glanced up as Qin He entered, unfazed. He nodded at Yu Jing, "Go ahead and arrange it."
After Yu Jing left, Qin He sat by Gu Qishen's bedside.
She reached out to adjust his blanket. "What are you planning? Why aren't you announcing your recovery? Gu Corporation has been in chaos recently, and even an outsider like me knows about it."
Qin He had been too busy to deal with those who were stirring up trouble. Otherwise, with Gu Qishen hospitalized, she would have certainly dealt with those who were slandering him and spreading rumors of his impending death.
Gu Qishen let out a low chuckle.
He was already very handsome, and this laugh enhanced his striking appearance.
However, his deep, dark eyes held a subtle coldness.
"Didn't those people spread rumors that I was already disabled? I might as well let them believe it's true. It will be easier to take action once I return and clean up Gu Corporation thoroughly."
Qin He raised an eyebrow. "Are you still so cunning even while lying in a hospital bed?"
Gu Qishen looked up at Qin He. She was still looking at the examination report in her hands, her head slightly bowed. From his perspective, he could only see her long, fluttering eyelashes.
His heart stirred, and he reached out to take Qin He's hand.
"He'er, when this matter is over, let's get married."
The word "married" made Qin He's hand still.
She looked up at Gu Qishen.
"Now is not the right time. I want to find out who that organization is first."
Both of them were now aware of an international terrorist organization named Lev operating in the shadows, targeting the Qin family.
Especially since they had already harmed people close to them, Qin He could not think about anything else until this matter was resolved.
Mentioning the organization, Gu Qishen's gaze turned cold.
"Leave this matter to me to resolve."
The enemy's strength was considerable, and he did not want Qin He to encounter any danger.
Qin He shook her head. "This is not just your problem. Since we're going to get married, this is an enemy we will face together."
As she spoke, she took out the book "Wan Fang Lun" from her personal bag.
"I've been carrying this book with me these days."
"I even had it on me when you were undergoing surgery. The people from Lev targeted me for this book, but I still can't decipher its secrets, nor understand why that terrorist organization covets it so much."
She handed the "Wan Fang Lun" to Gu Qishen.
Gu Qishen took it and flipped through a few pages, his brow furrowing slightly. "This looks like an ordinary ancient medical book."
Qin He nodded, sounding a little helpless. "Yes, I've tried rearranging the text, and even tore off a corner to examine it with invisible ink, but there were no clues."
An international terrorist organization wouldn't be after a mere ordinary ancient medical book.
Gu Qishen narrowed his eyes, suddenly remembering the fire at the Qin family's estate, and looked at Qin He.
"Have you tried burning it?"
Qin He shook her head. "The paper feels very ordinary. If I burn it, wouldn't it just turn to ash?"
Gu Qishen pursed his lips.
"Those people set fire to the Qin family back then, indicating they were not afraid of the book being destroyed by flames. Perhaps there is another hidden mechanism."
After a few seconds of thought, Qin He's expression became solemn. "Wait for me a moment."
She went out to the doctor's office to borrow a lighter.
Returning to the ward with the lighter, Qin He took a surgical tray and picked up the book. She tore off a blank page from the flyleaf.
She lit the corner of the paper and placed it in the tray. The flame quickly ignited.
Qin He sighed with disappointment. "It seems this won't work either."
The paper in the tray burned very quickly. As it reached the center, Qin He and Gu Qishen's gazes locked.
After the paper turned into dark gray ash, a golden shimmer appeared in the center.
Qin He reached out to touch it, but Gu Qishen stopped her.
He gently shook the tray, blowing away the ash. The remaining golden light was a pattern woven from extremely fine gold threads.
It looked no thicker than a strand of hair, no wonder it could be hidden within the paper and remain undiscovered.
"What is this?" Qin He exclaimed in surprise.
After all the ash was blown away, the golden thread pattern revealed itself to be an ancient-looking design, like a circular totem, but she couldn't understand it.
Gu Qishen picked up his phone and took a picture. "I'll have Yu Jing investigate it."
After sending the photo, their attention returned to the "Wan Fang Lun." Qin He frowned. It was an ancient book, practically an artifact. It would be a shame to destroy it so carelessly. However, without destroying it, she had no way of uncovering its contents.
She wondered what material the gold thread was made of, as she had previously examined it under a microscope without discovering any trace of it.
Now, if she were to burn the entire book, perhaps other pages would also contain such gold threads.
This would make it easier to resolve her doubts. However, Qin He knew that the "Wan Fang Lun" contained some invaluable medicinal recipes, which were essentially priceless treasures.
Gu Qishen looked at Qin He's expression and knew she was reluctant to burn the ancient medical book.
But if the terrorist organization was after this book, Gu Qishen pondered for a moment.
"Let me hold onto this book for now. I'll have Yan Chen help me send it abroad for examination with the most advanced equipment."
Qin He frowned and looked at Gu Qishen.
"No."
Now that they knew the other party was after this book, whoever possessed it would be like carrying a ticking time bomb.
"If there's an institution abroad that can test it, you can tell me directly, and I'll have someone send it over," Qin He said in a low voice, reaching out to snatch the book from Gu Qishen.
Gu Qishen had already smoothly tucked the "Wan Fang Lun" under his pillow. As he bent forward, he reached out and grabbed Qin He's arm.
He pulled her down, and Qin He fell onto his chest.
"What are you doing?" Qin He was startled and struggled to get up.
Gu Qishen let out a low chuckle. "I haven't held you in so long, I wanted to hug you."
"Don't change the subject. Give me the book," Qin He said immediately.
Gu Qishen lowered his head and kissed her cheek.
Qin He was both angry and embarrassed. "Gu Qishen, you—"
The kiss traced a path from her cheek, finally sealing her lips.