Chapter 63: Mental Faculties Restored

The rough panting from his nose brushed against her cheeks and nose, clouding her vision. "Manman..."

His low, raspy voice was laden with deep affection, making Zhen Mier’s heart flutter.

"H-Husband," she murmured, reaching out to stroke his face. Her eyes were misty and her expression flushed with desire as she completely drowned in the boundless pleasure.

Gu Tingzhi caught her outstretched hand and kissed it, then pressed her palm against his cheek, rubbing it gently.

Her fingertips felt his scalding heat, a warmth that spread from her arm all over her body. Zhen Mier let out a continuous stream of soft whimpers. She felt like a plump fish thrown into a hot wok, tossed and turned repeatedly by him until she could no longer straighten her back.

Every fiber of Gu Tingzhi's body was clamoring with excitement. At this moment, like a starving wolf that had not tasted meat in ages, his eyes flashed with a green light as he teased the soft and fragrant prey beneath him—biting down and releasing, then biting down and releasing once more.

Finally, when his prey was utterly exhausted, he opened his mouth wide and swallowed her whole, meat and bones alike, leaving not a single crumb behind.

The next day, Zhen Mier successfully overslept again.

On the warm, cozy bed, the two of them were intertwined like octopuses. The spring sunlight streamed through the window, casting a golden glow upon their two peaceful, sleeping faces.

The man domineeringly imprisoned the woman entirely within his embrace. Every time she shifted, she was immediately reeled back in. After a few repetitions, Zhen Mier finally opened her eyes.

"Husband, what time is it now?"

Finding the sunlight a bit glaring, Zhen Mier squeezed her eyes shut in slight pain the moment she opened them, quickly closing them again.

Gu Tingzhi reached out a large palm to block the light over her forehead. "It's still early. Sleep a bit longer."

Dazed, Zhen Mier obediently agreed and prepared to drift back to sleep. A few breaths later, realizing something felt quite wrong, she abruptly sat straight up.

"Hiss..." Her entire body was sore and weak.

Gu Tingzhi quickly sat up and supported her. "Does anything hurt?"

Seeing their completely bare bodies, Zhen Mier's face flared a fiery red. She snatched the quilt and pulled it straight over her head.

A low chuckle came from outside the quilt, making Zhen Mier curl her toes in embarrassment.

After a long moment, she sensed something amiss. Her husband wasn't acting right!

She pulled the quilt down a fraction to reveal a pair of round, blinking eyes, peering toward Gu Tingzhi, only to find herself caught squarely in his smiling gaze.

Just as Zhen Mier tried to pull the quilt back up, he caught her small hand and yanked the cover completely away.

Fair and rounded shoulders were dotted with red marks, and a tooth imprint remained near her delicate collarbone. Gu Tingzhi's gaze slowly drifted over those traces, and something within him began to stir restlessly once again.

"Does your body feel uncomfortable anywhere?" His voice was low and hoarse, laced with a post-sleep sensuality.

"N-No..."

Gu Tingzhi chuckled deeply again. Puzzled, Zhen Mier looked up at him with wide, bewildered eyes.

"Husband?"

"Call my name." Gu Tingzhi reached out to ruffle her fluffy hair, his eyes overflowing with tenderness.

Finally, Zhen Mier realized what was unusual about him.

She asked uncertainly, "T-Tingzhi, are you better?"

Gu Tingzhi nodded.

"Husband, Tingzhi, you're really better?!"

Gu Tingzhi leaned over and kissed the small dimple on her cheek. "Mm, I'm truly better."

Taken completely aback, Zhen Mier was at a loss for how to react, fluttering with overwhelming excitement. "Husband, you're well! Mom and Dad will be so happy! Yes, Mom and Dad, let's go tell them right now." As she spoke, she scrambled to climb out of bed to change her clothes.

That large expanse of pale, bare flesh crawling past Gu Tingzhi reawakened his wolfish instincts.

Reaching out, he scooped the soft and fragrant prey back into his arms, pressing her down to devour her all over again.

When the two of them finally arrived at the Zhuangyuan Restaurant, they entered through the back door. Su Hehua, who was currently wrestling with a wok spatula, was the first to notice them. Her gaze swept back and forth over the two of them, and then lingered on Zhen Mier's conspicuously high collar. How could she not understand? A deeply gratified, knowing smile spread across her face like an elder sister's.

"Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, you're finally here! Quick, quick, someone help me catch these lily leaves, they're about to fall!"

Flustered and busy with her hands, Gu Qing禾 reached out to grab a few falling lily leaves, but as her hand released the bunch, with a rustling sound, a large cluster of leaves plunged into the basin below, splashing water everywhere.

"Ah, ah, ah! My new shoes!" Extremely annoyed, she tried to wipe the splashes off her shoes while simultaneously fishing for the lilies in the basin.

Gu Tingzhi shook his head, ruffled her hair, and chuckled lightly, "Why are you still so clumsy?"

"Third Brother, you messed up my hair again! You're the one who's..."

Before she could finish, she snapped her head up. The wooden basin in her hand was tossed aside at random, clattering loudly. With a single leap, she sprang three feet into the air and threw herself straight onto Gu Tingzhi.

"Third Brother! Are you better? Are you really better?!"

With doting affection, Gu Tingzhi pinched her little cheek and said softly, "I'm better, now get down. You're so grown up yet still jumping around—what if you fall?"

"Wah..." To his surprise, Gu Qing禾 burst out wailing at the top of her lungs. Her cries were so piercingly loud that even Gu Qingsong, who had just returned from outside and was approaching the side door, heard them.

The diners eating in the hall stopped what they were doing and turned their heads, wanting to see whose child was crying with such tremendous volume.

Gu Qingbai and Gu Lizong behind the counter exchanged glances; naturally, they recognized Ayun's—Ah He's—voice.

"Wenyu, come over here and keep an eye on things for a moment."

Gu Lizong beckoned to Hu Wenyu, a waiter on the first floor.

Hearing the wails and knowing the boss was going to check the back kitchen, Hu Wenyu hurriedly stepped up to the counter.

When the father and son reached the back kitchen, they discovered that not only Ah He, but all the women of the Gu family had dropped their tasks and were embracing each other in floods of tears. It was just that Gu Qing禾's crying was loud enough to drown out all their voices.

"What on earth has happened?" Gu Lizong hurried forward to support Zhou Shi, who was weeping as if her heart were breaking, from Zhen Mier's side.

Yet Zhou Shi simply could not stop.

Gu Qingbai looked at Su Hehua. Her face was already a mess of tears and mucus. Unbothered, he pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her face. Never did he expect that upon seeing him, Su Hehua would fling herself directly into his arms, smearing all that unidentifiable residue all over his chest.

"..."

"Husband, Third Brother's mind is healed!"

Su Hehua's roar not only halted Gu Qingbai and Gu Lizong in their tracks, but it also stopped Gu Qingsong, who was carrying a sack of tomatoes and preparing to push open the side door.

"Third Brother's mind is healed? Third Brother, you're finally well!" Gu Qingbai cried out in fierce emotion.

They say a real man does not shed tears lightly, save for moments of deepest sorrow. Hearing this, Gu Qingsong dropped the sack of tomatoes onto the ground with a heavy *thud*, retreated into a corner, and sobbed quietly to himself, pressing his tightly clenched fist into his mouth so as not to make a single sound.

The four siblings had shared a deep bond since childhood. As the eldest, whenever their parents were working in the fields, he had been responsible for looking after his younger siblings. In the old days when food was scarce, he could never bear to put a single bite of food into his own mouth before first making sure his younger brothers and sister were fed.