Plague Doctor

Gu Jun’s new home was a VIP suite at a 5 star hotel situated at Shen Hai City. It was not far from Wu Siyu’s home. The Phecda members intercepted them at the airport. Wu Siyu accompanied Gu Jun to check in at the hotel before returning to her own home.

Currently Gu Jun was on a paid holiday. He could live anywhere he wanted and for as long as he wished. For now, he planned to spend the lunar new year at this city so this suite would be his temporary home. It had a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and even a balcony that offered the best view of the city. He laid down to sleep after he settled in. Early the next morning, he went out shopping with Wu Siyu to prepare the presents for his afternoon visit. There were only a few days left to lunar new year. The street was decorated to welcome the Chinese New Year. The shops bustled with new year decoration.

Gu Jun and Wu Siyu held hands as they strolled down the street. This was their first official date after they had confirmed their relationship. Naturally they were not in uniform. They had on casual outfits and sunglasses. No one would recognize them as the famous heroes. Among the crowd, they looked like a normal couple.

“My parents are very easy-going.” Wu Siyu swung his hand. “Some fruits will be enough.” Ever since Gu Jun became like this, now whenever she touched him, she would not recoil from pain anymore. That was a silver lining in a way.

“No way.” Gu Jun squeezed her hand and said with a smile. “This is the first time I’m meeting your parents. It’s a SSS grade mission.”

“O well…” Wu Siyu leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed, “Fine, you win.”

Walking among the crowds, picking out presents with a girlfriend, that was a life Gu Jun did not expect he’d lead any time soon. However, it did help calm his emotions. The immediate joy made the suffering related to Phecda fade slowly into the background. However, whenever his overly taut nerves relaxed, his brain would occasionally waver from the sudden release of tension. In fact, it was happening to Gu Jun now. As he was in the middle of selecting a calligraphy drawing, his vision suddenly blurred. It was not an illusion, in fact, this was not a feeling he was familiar with. It just only occurred recently; it was probably a side effect from his brain damage.

“Are you alright?” Wu Siyu asked with concern.

“I’m fine.” Gu Jun rubbed his eyes. “It’s nothing new.” The dizziness left as sudden as it came. He felt fine again and continued with the purchase. Dirty-minded Yu said that her parents admired calligraphy. After buying the present, they had lunch at a nearby restaurant and followed it up with a movie. They left for Siyu’s home around 5.

Wu Siyu came from a middle class family. Her parents owned a painting studio. Due to their expert management, they enjoyed a fairly good, if slightly above average, life. They currently resided at a unit within a high-class apartment. Even though Gu Jun had fought with the supernatural, he was still nervous meeting his girlfriend’s family for the first time. With Siyu leading the way, he entered the house and met Father Wu and Mother Wu.

“Mom, dad, this is Gu Jun.” Wu Siyu extended her palm towards him and announced seriously, “My colleague, my friend and also my boyfriend.”

Gu Jun smiled as he saw the smiles reflected on Father Wu and Mother Wu’s faces. The two seniors were very welcoming. Due to Phecda’s promotional effort, they knew a bit about Gu Jun’s family background and health condition. Therefore, they kept the conversation civil. They chatted about harmless topics and Siyu’s childhood. Then Gu Jun spotted a framed picture of Wu Siyu when she was small. She was sliding down the slide with the pose of Superman. He could not help but chuckle. Seeing this, Mother Wu took out some other photo albums to share with him more pictures of Dirty-minded Yu. They ranged from when she was still a baby to when she graduated from high school.

“Siyu is always such a naughty girl.” Mother Wu chided. “We were worried that she might grow up to join the gangs but who knew she would turn towards the arts instead.”

Gu Jun saw a picture of a small Wu Siyu lying down in a sand pit. It perfectly mimicked the pose of the adult Siyu lying on the couch. It drew a real laugh out of him. The more he knew about her background, the more he found himself falling for this unique young woman.

After a while, Mother Wu and Father Wu excused themselves to prepare dinner. Taking this opportunity, Gu Jun slid over to the couch to hug Siyu. He whispered into her ears. “I realize I am falling deeper and deeper for you with every new discovery.” Wu Siyu nodded. “I also realize I like to kiss you more and more.” Then she stole a smooch on his lips. The timing was perfect as Father Wu suddenly turned around to ask, “Ah Jun, do you want anything to drink?”

“It’s alright, I can’t have too much sugar now.” Gu Jun stood up and fixed himself. Wu Siyu called after, “Give him a bowl of salt water, he likes those.” She meant that as a joke but Mother Wu really did prepare one. Gu Jun thanked her with a chuckle. He intended to help out in the kitchen but Wu Siyu held her back. If he went to help, she’d be forced to help as well so using Gu Jun’s need for rest as an excuse, she pulled him away from the kitchen door. She led him to her bedroom.

Compared to the kitchen, Gu Jun was indeed more interested in her bedroom so he did not put up much resistance. Gu Jun suspected Siyu had returned to clean up the place yesterday night because the room was spotless. There was a shelf, dresser, television, bed but the most eye-catching piece of furniture was a cupboard that showcased her painting. Her home had a gallery and a studio but this cupboard was clearly meant for Siyu’s personal favorites.

Wu Siyu collapsed on her bed once she entered her room. Gu Jun said he wanted to check out her paintings so he walked over to the cupboard. He took out some scrolls to admire them. Both of Siyu’s parents came from an artistic background and worked in the world of art. Therefore, it appeared natural that she’d follow in their footsteps. Painting was also her hobby. Her synaesthesia allowed her to have a greater range of artistic expression than normal. She had a unique style in her paintings. They were bursts of colors that seemed to come alive depending on the fall of the light. Gu Jun was no art critic but he enjoyed her paintings. Well, some of them more than the others…

“Dirty-minded, I suddenly realize there is a common point in our university degrees.” Gu Jun commented.

“Huh? How is that possible?” Wu Siyu turned around to look at him.

Gu Jun walked over and showed her a nude drawing portrait. He whispered something in her ears which earned a smile from Wu Siyu.

“It’s a prerequisite class for art students.” She suddenly studied him with the eye of a painter. “Dirty-minded Jun, actually you know what, you’ll make a good nude model. When you’re free, you should model for me. Then perhaps, you too can paint me like one of the french girls.”

“Ah?” Gu Jun was stunned as his heart skipped. There was really no telling what this girl might say next… It felt like he had returned to his teen years. He suggested with surprising shyness, “Then how about later tonight? At my place?”

“Hmm… We should wait until you get better. I’m afraid you’ll get a brain haemorrhage.” Wu Siyu thought about it and shook her head. “I’m sure that is one of the things we are not supposed to do.”

“Then you should have thought about that earlier before you suggested those things.” Gu Jun sighed. Thankfully, there were other things they could do for now…

Blood coursed through his veins but suddenly pain pierced at his brain. Something flashed before his eyes. He looked down at the paintings. He put the nude portrait away and turned back to study one of the colorful watercolors…

The earlier vision solidified… Was that a symbol that he saw…?