After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

At night, in the second-floor bedroom.

Ye Zhen came out of the shower and sat at the dressing table drying her hair. In the mirror, she saw Gu Zheng leaning against the headboard. He held a book in his hand, but his mind was clearly not on it.

"Come here." Gu Zheng patted the spot next to him.

Ye Zhen walked over and had just sat down when he pulled her and the blanket into his arms.

Gu Zheng rested his chin on the top of her head, inhaling the faint scent of soap in her hair, his voice slightly muffled: "Are you unhappy?"

"No," Ye Zhen replied truthfully.

She wasn't really unhappy; she just felt that the human emotional mechanism was inefficient.

"Don't pretend." Gu Zheng tightened his arms around her. "Linlin is just spoiled and a bit dim-witted. Don't take it to heart."

Ye Zhen turned around to face Gu Zheng. In her clear, bright eyes, there was no hint of grievance as Gu Zheng had expected; instead, there was extreme calmness and seriousness.

"Gu Zheng, I'm not cursing him."

"I know." Gu Zheng rubbed her earlobe. "My wife is a miracle doctor; she can determine life or death with a single glance."

"I suspect he may have hepatitis, most likely hepatitis B."

Ye Zhen's voice was very soft, but it made Gu Zheng's fingers, which were rubbing her earlobe, suddenly stop.

In this era, hepatitis is an extremely serious topic. In a time when vaccines were not yet widespread and public health knowledge was lacking, it was almost synonymous with a shameful and incurable disease, and it was also highly contagious.

"Are you sure you can tell?" Gu Zheng frowned, his expression turning serious.

"The sclera is yellow, and along with typical spider angiomas and palmar erythema, these are signs of long-term liver dysfunction," Ye Zhen analyzed. "His refusal to drink alcohol suggests he may know he has a liver problem. And..."

Ye Zhen paused, her eyes turning slightly cold.

"He didn't use serving chopsticks while eating. He even used his own chopsticks when he was serving food to Linlin."

Gu Zheng's face darkened completely.

If someone is simply sick, that's pitiful. But if they knowingly have a highly contagious disease and deliberately conceal it, even going so far as to serve food to others without any regard for others at the dinner table, that's bad.

It is blatant selfishness and malice.

"That bastard..." A hint of malice flashed in Gu Zheng's eyes, "Is he trying to drag someone down with him?"

"That's why I reminded Linlin," Ye Zhen sighed. "Unfortunately, she wouldn't listen."

If Chen Zhuo is indeed a hepatitis B virus carrier, or even a hepatitis B e antigen positive carrier, then Gu Linlin's close contact with him carries a very high risk of infection.

Gu Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then rolled over and got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Ye Zhen tugged at his sleeve.

"Make a call." Gu Zheng threw on his coat, his eyes cold and sharp. "Have someone investigate whether that kid is a human or a monster. Trying to harm the Gu family? He's not cut out for it!"

Watching Gu Zheng stride away, Ye Zhen leaned against the headboard and gently curled the corners of her lips.

Although this guy can be a bit of a scoundrel and a bit domineering at times.

But this protective attitude is actually... quite pleasing to the eye.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

In the kitchen of the Gu family's old house, a fierce "battle" is taking place.

Gu Zheng wore a military green vest, his muscles taut, and held an iron spoon in his hand. His brows were furrowed even more tightly than when he was commanding troops on the battlefield. On the coal stove in front of him, an aluminum pot was bubbling and spewing out eerie black smoke.

"I refuse to believe it." Gu Zheng gritted his teeth and added another ladle of water.

Ye Zhen was awakened by a burnt smell.

She put on her coat and went downstairs, following the smell to the kitchen door, where she saw Commander Gu, who struck fear into the hearts of the enemy, looking at a pot of unidentified objects with a troubled expression.

"Are you making poison?" Ye Zhen leaned against the door frame, her voice hoarse from just waking up and with a rare hint of mockery.

Gu Zheng's hand trembled, and the iron spoon hit the edge of the pot with a crisp "clang".

He turned around, his tall frame trying to block the "crime scene" behind him. A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, but he quickly regained his self-righteous demeanor: "I read in a book that millet porridge is good for the stomach. But this rice... might not be of very good quality, it's easy to burn."

Ye Zhen walked over and peeked inside.

Good heavens, it's a pitch-black lump with a few stubborn, unmelted rock candies mixed in. This doesn't look like millet porridge; you could easily mistake it for asphalt.

"I never even flinched when eating raw snake meat during wilderness survival training," Gu Zheng said, scratching his head in frustration. His buzz cut was still stubble. "I never expected to be tripped up by a pot of porridge."

Ye Zhen looked at his face, which was smeared with coal dust, and his eyes, which were slightly bloodshot from waking up early. This man probably got up and started working before dawn.

The hardest part of her heart softened unbelievably, as if it had been soaked in warm water.

"Get out of my way." Ye Zhen rolled up her sleeves and gently pushed him. "You know how to start a fire, right?"

Gu Zheng immediately stood at attention: "Reporting, sir, I'm an expert at this!"

Ten minutes later, the burnt smell dissipated, replaced by the aroma of scallions frying in the pan. Ye Zhen worked nimbly, adding two eggs, a handful of noodles, and a few drops of sesame oil. The simplest plain noodles were incredibly tempting on this chilly morning.

The two sat at a small table slurping noodles. Gu Zheng ate without even looking up, finishing a large bowl of noodles and soup in three minutes.

"Wife, your cooking is amazing." Gu Zheng put down the bowl and sighed with satisfaction. "If anyone calls you a miracle doctor again, I'll argue with them. You're clearly a culinary genius."

Ye Zhen curled the corners of her lips, but before she could speak, a cold snort came from the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, I was wondering why it smelled so good. Turns out, my sister-in-law is showing off her cooking skills."

Gu Linlin stood in the doorway in her pajamas, her curly hair disheveled, her eyes dark, clearly having slept poorly the night before. Looking at the empty bowl in front of Gu Zheng, she said sarcastically, "Brother, you're something else. You have a housekeeper, why not use her? You insist on making your wife do it. Anyone who didn't know better would think our Gu family's wife is stingy, making people get up early to serve the whole family."

She was still venting her anger over what happened to Chen Zhuo last night.

Ye Zhen didn't even lift her eyelids. She slowly finished the last sip of soup, put down her chopsticks, and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Linlin." Gu Zheng's voice turned somber.

He didn't look at Gu Linlin, but simply reached out and took Ye Zhen's bowl, got up and walked to the sink, turned on the tap and rinsed it.

"Brother! Did I say anything wrong?" Gu Linlin, relying on her favored status at home, retorted defiantly, "She cursed Chen Zhuo like that last night, and I'm not even allowed to say a word?"

"Splash!"

Gu Zheng turned off the tap and shook the water droplets off his hands.

He turned around, his tall figure backlit, like a suffocating mountain.

"Apologize," Gu Zheng uttered.

Gu Linlin was stunned, her eyes widening in disbelief: "Why? I didn't do anything wrong! She started it..."

"I don't want to say it a second time." Gu Zheng walked to Ye Zhen's side, placing his hand on the back of the chair in a protective stance.

Gu Linlin panicked completely. She knew her cousin was a real devil, a man of his word.

"Brother...you can't do this..." Gu Linlin's tears welled up, but she was frightened back by Gu Zheng's cold gaze.

She bit her lip, looking at Ye Zhen with resentment, her voice barely audible: "I...I'm sorry."

Ye Zhen stood up, her expression calm. She didn't have the arrogance of a victor; instead, she exuded the professional detachment of a doctor.

She turned to look at Gu Zheng: "I've finished my noodles, I want to go to the bookstore."

The icy look in Gu Zheng's eyes instantly melted away. He tossed his cigarette onto the table, grinned, and said, "Let's go buy books. We can empty the entire Xinhua Bookstore."