Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"Honey, why are you looking at me like that?" Rong Yuan noticed that Gu Shenhan's gaze at him was a bit too fixed and asked, "Is there something on my face?"

"Huh? No, it's... I'm checking if your face looks different. Some people might develop a rash after getting vaccinated, so I'm taking a closer look."

"Oh? Then is there anything on my face?"

"No." Gu Shenhan said, "Is there any discomfort in your body?"

"Everything's normal for now."

Gu Shenhan thought, maybe I'm the one who's not normal.

He must be overthinking it. As a decent modern young man, he can't be like this.

Gu Shenhan took a deep breath, thought about it, and turned back to him: "An An, there's something I'm quite curious about, but I haven't seen it in books. You seem to have read more ancient texts than I have. Do you know how they got ice in ancient times without refrigerators? I often see dramas where nobles use ice in summer—how did they get that ice?"

Rong Yuan answered without thinking: "They had ice cellars. In winter, there were officials specifically in charge of ice, who would lead ice harvesters to cut it. After collection, it was transported to the ice cellars for summer use."

"So could anyone buy it? Or was it only for the nobility?"

"It depends. There were official cellars, mansion cellars, and private cellars. Ice from official cellars was first supplied to the imperial city. Mansion cellars were for each manor's own use, and any surplus would be sold. People of status without their own cellar outside the imperial city would buy ice from mansion or private cellars. Ordinary people could also buy it, but not many did."

"Was it expensive? Could one ice block buy you ten steamed buns?"

"That depends on the season. It was cheap in seasons when little ice was used, and expensive when much was needed. For example, during the hottest days of summer, a piece could cost sixty or seventy copper coins. But it also depended on the size. For mansion cellars, the size of each block was fixed—about 1.5 chi square (roughly 1.5 feet) by today's measurements. Private cellar ice was three chi (about three feet) square, so the price differed."

"I see..."

Gu Shenhan himself hadn't noticed, but ever since he heard the word "time travel," he had been holding his breath slightly.

He felt surreal, like in a dream.

But looking around, he still felt he was in reality.

Rong Yuan then asked, "What's wrong, honey? Why are you suddenly interested in these things?"

Gu Shenhan said, "It's just that while we were queuing earlier, I saw someone scrolling through a short drama series, and there happened to be a scene like that, so I was curious and asked you."

Rong Yuan smiled: "It's rare that there's something I can tell my husband about."

Gu Shenhan smiled along, but his mind wandered off elsewhere. He wanted to ask more questions, but felt it wasn't necessary. And what if Rong Yuan found out?

Better find out through other channels first.

Once the observation period was over, Gu Shenhan took Rong Yuan home.

No issues at the vaccination site, but after returning, Rong Yuan developed a slight fever and didn't eat much for dinner. By night, his temperature climbed, reaching nearly 38 degrees Celsius.

Gu Shenhan called the family doctor, who said it was a normal reaction. No need for fever reducers unless it exceeded 38.5 degrees.

The community clinic said the same, so Gu Shenhan stayed by his side.

He checked Rong Yuan's temperature every half hour. The doctor said 38.5°C was the cutoff, so he used that as the cutoff, taking the temperature over a dozen times that night.

Fortunately, by dawn, Rong Yuan's temperature had remained within the limit and gradually dropped. By five o'clock, the fever was completely gone.

Gu Shenhan let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't slept at all that night. Partly because he was worried about Rong Yuan having a severe reaction to the injection. Partly because he was thinking about that even crazier thing.

Logically, he thought this was pure fantasy, but recalling everything that had happened, he felt this was the closest explanation to the truth.

Time travel... If he told anyone that, they'd think he was crazy.

By 5:30, Gu Shenhan felt Rong Yuan's forehead. Seeing that he was fine, he tucked him in, then tiptoed to the study.

He called Xiao Ke and instructed, "Old Xiao, get ready quickly. Go to two places and meet a few people. One is..."

After hearing everything, Xiao Ke asked, "Then what about the person assigned to accompany Young Master Rong to the Lianshan headquarters?"

Gu Shenhan had forgotten about that. He originally wanted Xiao Ke to stay with Rong Yuan. Xiao Ke was steady and skilled, suitable as both driver and bodyguard—keeping him by Rong Yuan's side would put his mind at ease.

But this matter now was also very important.

"You can temporarily find someone suitable from security. Also, try to handle this discreetly."

"Yes, I'll do it right away."

Gu Shenhan put his phone aside and sat down in the massage chair. He remembered taking Rong Yuan to the hospital to get his stitches out and meeting Lin Xiaomei. Lin Xiaomei said her brother had been acting weird ever since he went to the beach with Rong Yuan to take ancient costume photos, and had stopped looking for work.

At that time, he only thought Lin Xiaomei was deliberately causing trouble, trying to extort money from them. Also, that she was following Gu Chengzhi's orders to scare Rong Yuan—which was later confirmed, as that incident was indeed related to Gu Chengzhi.

But he never considered that Lin Xiaotang acting weird might actually be connected to Rong Yuan. He had originally thought it was just Lin Xiaomei's exaggeration, a scheme to lure Rong Yuan away.

Lin Xiaotang had indeed participated in the seaside rescue, but his main role was to call for help quickly, not rescuing personally.

Now thinking about it, could Lin Xiaotang have gone a bit crazy because he noticed something unusual on the day of the incident?

Assuming Rong Yuan really came from another era, his looks and clothes couldn't perfectly match, right?

Now his voice and fingerprints matched, and his appearance was identical. What about his clothes?

No vaccine antibodies, couldn't write simplified Chinese, didn't know English or Arabic numerals at all, yet knew embroidery and horseback riding.

Could he seriously give birth? Impossible.

He'd never seen any credible historical account about men giving birth.

Gu Shenhan returned to the bedroom and found Rong Yuan still sleeping. The rough night had clearly drained his little wife, or he would have woken by now.

He told the housekeeper to have the chef prepare lighter fare for breakfast, then sat by the bedside, carefully studying his little antique.

His facial features were as delicate as if God had personally sculpted and refined them.

His hair was a bit long, sticking to his forehead after sweating. Gu Shenhan gently smoothed it back.

Feeling the soothing touch, Rong Yuan nuzzled into Gu Shenhan's palm and murmured drowsily, "Mom, let me sleep a little longer..."

Gu Shenhan blinked, confused.

He couldn't help thinking of the portrait Rong Yuan cared so much about. Could that be Rong Yuan's real family?

Rong Yuan slowly opened his eyes, his long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

"How do you feel?" Gu Shenhan asked. "Better now? Still feeling cold?"

"Much better." Rong Yuan said, "Honey, why are your eyes so red?"

"Because of you, obviously! I couldn't sleep a wink all night." Gu Shenhan finished speaking and went to grab some clean clothes for Rong Yuan. "Eat something soon to help you bounce back. You've just broken the fever, so don't shower in the morning; you might get cold."

"Mhm."

Rong Yu'an waited, but after a long while Gu Shenhan still hadn't left. "Honey, I'm embarrassed to change with you staring at me like that."

Gu Shenhan said, "Then how about I help you change, and we'll see if you dare to look at me."

Rong Yu'an: "?"

Gu Shenhan had already started, unbuttoning Rong Yu'an's clothes and helping him into clean loungewear. He even pulled off his underwear himself, making Rong Yu'an's face, which had just cooled from the fever, flush again.

The young couple had just experienced the bliss of being completely intimate, and they weren't used to this kind of treatment. Gu Shenhan's buttoning sped up noticeably, his breathing ragged.

Rong Yu'an kept his mouth shut. He was scared that saying something wrong would only make Gu Shenhan want him even more.

Luckily, the butler happened to ask through the comm terminal when they'd like dinner. Gu Shenhan said they'd eat now and had dinner sent to the bedroom.

He wanted to feed Rong Yu'an, but Rong Yu'an laughed and said, "I'm just a bit under the weather, not an invalid. I can eat by myself. But babe, I really appreciate you thinking of me."

Gu Shenhan had someone bring a new bowl and scooped half the fish congee into a separate bowl to let it cool. "Keep it light today. When you're better, I'll have them cook up a bunch of your favorite dishes. Let's not have any snacks for the rest of the day."

Rong Yu'an said okay and obediently finished eating, then went back to lean on the sofa. Although the fever was gone, he felt a bit weak and didn't want to do anything, just lounging around.

It was already Sunday, the last day of Gu Shenhan's time off.

Rong Yu'an felt time was flying by.

Gu Shenhan asked, "What's up? Is it because today's the last day of the week, and I have to go to work tomorrow and can't stay home with you? Feeling extra bummed?"

Rong Yu'an asked, surprised, "Babe, how'd you know?"

Gu Shenhan paused. He was, of course, just bullshitting, wanting to tease his little husband on a whim.

Rong Yu'an then said, "One day has passed, there are two more days left."

Gu Shenhan: "Two days for what?"

Rong Yu'an beamed, "The baby."

Gu Shenhan was completely done. That guy never forgets about it, ever.

But if his guess was true, then what Rong Yu'an thought didn't really matter. For someone who had crossed hundreds of years to appear in a strange place, with no family, no friends, just being able to live happily was already an incredibly rare thing.

So that was why he said before that he had no roots here?

Gu Shenhan seemed lost in thought.

Perhaps his little husband, precisely because he missed his family so much, always thought about having a child. Maybe the root cause wasn't the child itself, but the fear of being in a new place with no bonds, which gave rise to this fantasy of birthing a family for himself.

If the time travel was real, then Rong Yu'an had lost all emotional and blood ties.

At that moment, Rong Yu'an turned around: "Honey, what are you thinking about?"

Gu Shenhan said, "Let's see how you feel. If you think you've recovered well enough later, how about I take you to Rainbow Thread County for a visit?"

Rong Yu'an had never heard of it and assumed it was some random county. "Are we going to visit relatives or friends?"

Gu Shenhan chuckled, "Yeah, to visit some relatives and friends."

That made Rong Yu'an lose interest. But he also felt that since Gu Shenhan wanted to be the future head of the Gu family, he'd better get to know Gu Shenhan's family and friends sooner rather than later.

So after eating, Rong Yu'an rested in the bedroom. At nine o'clock, feeling his strength had returned well and the fever was gone, he freshened up and changed into outdoor clothes.

Gu Shenhan took him to Rainbow Thread County.

This was a place specializing in selling threads, mainly knitting yarn and embroidery thread. There were also other sewing and mending supplies, materials for handcrafts, and various threads you could buy here. As well as some specialized tools like embroidery hoops and frames.

Gu Shenhan bought Rong Yu'an a complete set, including the best silk threads—one of every color on the chart.

Rong Yu'an couldn't help but be surprised—there were nearly four hundred colors!

This way he could finally try stitching things he'd never been satisfied with before because he didn't have the right colors.

And also Gu Shenhan's clothes, could he embroider little designs on them?

Rong Yu'an turned to sneak a peek at Gu Shenhan's shirt.

His man was wearing a black shirt today, nearly without any decoration. But as they say around here, Gu Shenhan was a walking clothes hanger—broad shoulders, long legs, a slender waist.

He still remembered the feel of it under his fingers.

Rong Yu'an licked his lips. Gu Shenhan scolded him, "Hubby, are you trying to get 'taught a lesson' again?"

Rong Yu'an hastily looked away, but a playful curve appeared at the corners of his eyes and mouth. "I wasn't."

He was just a little unable to contain his excitement.

After getting the vaccine and fully moving to the third floor, he felt a huge burden lifted from his chest.

No one could say what the future held, but at least at this moment, there was someone he loved, and someone who loved him, by his side.

Their future would also have a new little life. He had something to look forward to, hope—that was already good enough.

On the way back, the car was packed full. Today only the two of them had gone out, and the off-road vehicle had plenty of empty space, but they still managed to fill it to the brim.

The butler came out with the staff to unload. When he saw how much there was, he asked, "Young Master Rong, should all of these be moved to the lounge?"

If this went in the bedroom, they'd need a dedicated storage area, otherwise the clutter would be overwhelming.

Rong Yu'an looked at Gu Shenhan: "Honey, can we put everything in the lounge?"

Gu Shenhan said, "You're the master of this house too now. If you say yes, then it's yes. But I suggest we set up a dedicated embroidery room for you on the third floor, what do you think?"

"But is there an empty room on the third floor?"

"Originally, there wasn't," the sunlight made Rong Yu'an's ears translucent pink, and Gu Shenhan pinched them, "but you came, so now there is."

Gu Shenhan instructed the butler: "Lao Zhang, take the people and send everything to the third floor. Clear out the stargazing room next to my study, move the astronomical telescope to the study, and put the other equipment in the storage room. Then contact the designer we used before, have her come over to design the storage area according to An An's preferences... no, wait."

Butler: "?"

Gu Shenhan looked at Rong Yu'an and said, "Design it according to the lady's preferences."

The butler smiled: "I understand, sir. I'll take care of it right away."

Rong Yu'an asked, "What is an astronomical telescope?"

He'd been working hard to learn about the new things in this world, but he had never heard of this.

"It's a device that makes faraway things look bigger. But it's mainly used for observing celestial bodies. The weather isn't great today, but when we get a good night, I'll take you out to see the moon."

"See... the moon?" Why go out to see it when you can see it from your own yard?

"Yeah. You'll find out later."

In the afternoon, Rong Yu'an was busy with his new purchases. Since the new embroidery room was still empty and had not been set up with many storage areas, the threads were temporarily left in boxes untouched.

The next day, the designer he had hired came to the house.

Gu Shenhan had gone to the company, so Rong Yu'an met the designer together with the butler. He briefly explained his ideas.

The designer was Hua Mei, a capable woman in her thirties. It was said that most of the designs in Cuixi Garden were done by her.

After listening, she said, "You might want to consider a light antique style. Especially since these threads come in so many colors – if you can see them at a glance, it's easier to pick. The cabinets or drawers for storing threads can be made of acrylic, which is highly transparent, keeps out dust, and lets you see the colors easily. Paired with light-colored wooden structures, it should be very elegant."

Rong Yu'an asked what acrylic was, and Hua Mei pointed to a spot in the first-floor living room as an example to explain, and also found some interior decoration pictures of light antique style designs for Rong Yu'an to look at.

Rong Yu'an had originally thought of using dark colors, but upon seeing these, he immediately changed his mind, feeling that the light antique style was bright and still retained its elegance. He saw in the picture a small doll cabinet that someone had set up, with the little dolls clearly visible inside. Using this transparent material would indeed be very convenient for selecting threads. Moreover, using light colors overall would not differ too much from the exterior design.

In the end, Rong Yu'an wanted this, so he initiated a video call to Gu Shenhan.

Gu Shenhan saw his phone vibrating but did not answer; instead, he tapped "Decline" and signaled the person explaining in front to continue.

While listening, he replied to Rong Yu'an in text: "Hubby's in a meeting, can't interrupt it. If you like it, that's fine, and once the design is done, it can be modified according to your preferences at any time. Don't worry."

Rong Yu'an finalized with the designer, satisfied, and decided to wait for the first draft of the design. He also called Chen Min to ask how she had been lately.

Ever since Rong Yu'an got Chen Min a smart prosthetic leg, she had become more proactive than before. Lately, she seemed to have gone to help with some clerical work at the Fei family's furniture factory.

Rong Yu'an thought this was fine. Little did he know that just as he felt everything was going well, Gu Shenhan was meeting with Lin Xiaotang.

To be precise, he was meeting Lin Xiaotang via video call.

Xiao Ke was right beside Lin Xiaotang. Lin Xiaotang looked at Mr. Gu nervously and said, "Mr. Gu, I—I don't quite understand what you mean."

Gu Shenhan said, "How could you not understand? You went to take photos with my husband. When he had the accident, the photography equipment should have been in your hands. I just want the photos of my husband from that day, and the clothes he wore that day. These are all in your