Yu Huan had just unwrapped a piece of candy when the nurse came in carrying an ice pack. Behind her was a middle-aged woman with a kind face, though she looked slightly older.
Before Yu Huan could ask, the woman introduced herself.
“Hello, Miss Yu. I’m the caregiver Mr. Zhu hired. My surname is Zou.”
After introducing herself, Zou Cuilan nervously licked her lips.
She had worked as a caregiver before, but most of her patients had been elderly people or seriously ill patients. The work was exhausting, while the pay was only average.
This particular job, however, would only last a few days but paid more than what she could normally earn in a month. It was the best job she had managed to get recently.
Originally, the job hadn’t been meant for her. The woman who got it first had immediately handed it over to her after hearing that the patient was a young lady from a wealthy family.
“This kind of caregiving job is the hardest. Rich young ladies usually have terrible tempers and endless demands. If things don’t go their way, they’ll start yelling at you.”
“Zou Cuilan, aren’t you short on money? You can take this job.”
It was a job someone else didn’t want, but for Zou Cuilan, it meant she could afford another three days of her daughter’s medical expenses.
Zou Cuilan had been incredibly grateful, but the woman’s warning still made her nervous.
She carefully glanced at the girl sitting on the hospital bed.
She had fair skin, delicate features, and was wearing a dusty-pink puff-sleeved blouse. She was as pretty as the Barbie dolls her daughter loved.
Zou Cuilan then looked down at her own clothes—a faded bargain-store outfit and a pair of cheap sneakers that were beginning to crack.
The difference between people could be seen at a glance.
Zou Cuilan nervously clutched the hem of her clothes.
Afraid of displeasing her employer, she remained standing by the doorway.
Yu Huan’s eyes lit up.
She happened to need someone to help apply the ice pack to her hand.
“Auntie Zou, could you put the ice pack on my hand?”
She got out of bed and walked over to the sofa before placing her left hand on the coffee table.
“Oh, right. Could you also bring me the bowl of black-boned chicken soup from the bedside table? I want to drink it later.”
Yu Huan spoke naturally as she gave her instructions.
Zou Cuilan had already prepared herself to be scrutinized with a look of disgust from her employer.
It wasn’t as though she had never experienced that before.
Between money and dignity, money was more important.
But unexpectedly, Yu Huan, who was dressed so meticulously, seemed completely unaware of Zou Cuilan’s nervousness. She simply told her what she needed done.
As though they were nothing more than an employer and a caregiver.
Zou Cuilan’s grip on her clothes slowly loosened, and she straightened her back.
That’s right.
They were simply an employer and a caregiver.
Following Yu Huan’s instructions, Zou Cuilan brought the chicken soup to the coffee table, then wrapped the ice pack in a towel and placed it against Yu Huan’s hand.
After finishing the bowl of chicken soup, Yu Huan immediately felt much better.
She then picked through the thermos, selecting a few pieces of chicken and slowly eating them.
Yu Huan had only just recovered from her high fever, and she had also gotten into a fight with Zhu Heqing earlier. After eating, she quickly became sleepy.
Following the nurse’s instructions, she took her medicine, said a few words to Zou Cuilan, and closed her eyes.
She soon fell asleep again.
The difficult, demanding client Zou Cuilan had imagined turned out to be an incredibly easy job. She barely had to do anything and was still going to receive a generous caregiving fee.
During that time, Zhu Nanxu came by twice to check Yu Huan’s temperature. Both times, it was within the normal range.
Each time, Zou Cuilan immediately woke up and asked the doctor whether there was anything wrong.
Only after confirming that Yu Huan’s fever had not returned did Zou Cuilan dare to close her eyes for a little while.
She hadn’t been on night duty for long when Zhu Heqing arrived.
He walked into the room quietly, afraid of waking Yu Huan. He didn’t even drag the chair across the floor.
After watching Yu Huan for a while, he walked over to the sofa and sat down.
He read through some documents while keeping watch over her.
In the middle of the night, Yu Huan suddenly developed another fever.
The little bit of food she had eaten before bed came right back up.
Her entire body was frighteningly hot, yet her hands and feet were as cold as ice.
Zhu Heqing was so frightened that he even forgot to press the nurse’s call button.
He rushed to Zhu Nanxu’s office, dragged her up, and ran back toward the hospital room with her.
Zhu Nanxu, who had only just managed to doze off, was yanked awake.
“Damn it, Zhu Heqing! Have you lost your mind?”
“Fufu’s fever is back, and she threw up this time.”
The moment Zhu Nanxu heard that, she didn’t even have time to catch her breath before checking Yu Huan’s pulse.
“No, she’s too thin. Her pulse is very weak. Even a minor illness can become persistent for someone in this condition.”
Zhu Nanxu checked Yu Huan’s temperature and frowned.
“Her temperature is rising too quickly. We need to bring it down first.”
“Give her some ibuprofen. Then keep wiping her forehead and neck with a warm, damp towel. If her temperature doesn’t come down within an hour, we’ll have to try something else.”
……
Yu Huan’s cold hit her hard.
Her fever kept coming and going for three or four days before she finally stabilized.
She had already been thin to begin with, but now there wasn’t even a trace of flesh left on her face. Her chin looked sharper than ever, and she was practically buried beneath the blankets.
Because of the fever, her eyes and nose were red, making her look especially pitiful.
Zhu Heqing stayed in the hospital room throughout those days.
He directly told Zou Cuilan that she didn’t need to come anymore, and she didn’t have to return any of the money either.
Most of his work was handed over to his assistant.
Whenever something absolutely required his decision, his employees simply brought the documents to the hospital. He would sign them before sending them back.
When Yu Huan’s parents learned that their daughter had developed a fever, they immediately flew back on an overnight flight.
The moment they got off the plane, they didn’t even go home.
They rushed straight to the private hospital and joined Zhu Heqing in taking care of Yu Huan.
Only after they were certain that Yu Huan’s fever was completely gone did they finally relax.
Yu Huan slowly woke from her groggy state.
The first person she saw was Zhang Ya.
Her lips immediately turned downward, and she spoke in a tearful voice.
“Mommy, I want to eat your braised prawns.”
Zhang Ya’s heart broke at the sight of her daughter.
She gently touched Yu Huan’s painfully thin cheek, wishing she could have been the one to get sick instead.
“Okay, Fufu. Be good. Mommy will make you some braised prawns when we get home.”
“Our poor Fufu. You’ve suffered so much. My poor baby.”
For other people, a simple cold would pass without much trouble.
Yet somehow, it had to torment her daughter this badly.
Yu Hezhang patted his wife’s shoulder, secretly wiping the corners of his own eyes as well.
The couple stayed with Yu Huan for a while, talking to her until Zhu Heqing returned from speaking with the doctor.
They then hurried home to buy prawns and make Yu Huan her favorite braised prawns.
Zhu Heqing hadn’t gotten much rest over the past few days.
Fatigue was clearly visible on his face, and his usually immaculate, perfectly pressed suit had become slightly disheveled.
It was almost as though he had been sick right alongside her.
Yu Huan remembered how she had inexplicably lost her temper with Zhu Heqing a few days ago over a dream.
She had even attacked him—
No.
She had kicked him.
She figured she must have been delirious with fever to do something like that.
But getting Yu Huan to admit she had been wrong?
Absolutely impossible.
She leaned against the headboard, burying her little face in the blanket while staring at Zhu Heqing with watery eyes.
Zhu Heqing: “……”
He sighed.
“Baby, are you willing to see me now?”
Yu Huan hesitated before giving a small nod.
The next second, the tall man pulled her tightly into his arms.
Zhu Heqing held her firmly, burying his face against the side of her neck.
“Don’t get sick again.”
His voice was hoarse.
Seeing his usually lively girlfriend lying helplessly in a hospital bed, her cheeks flushed red from the high fever and her lips having lost their usual rosy color—
Zhu Heqing felt as though an invisible knife was slowly cutting into his heart, over and over again.