The sky outside had already darkened.
Inky clouds hung low in the air, mirroring the tangled mess of Ruby Grant’s heart.
A moment later, Ruby Grant, holding her child, frantically pushed the door open.
The lights inside were already on.
The children’s fever reducer she had ordered for delivery on her phone was in Ms.
Pound’s hand.
As soon as Ms.
Pound saw Ruby Grant, she stood up straight.
“Ruby Grant, why did you buy this fever medicine?
You bought the wrong kind.
These are capsules.
You need to buy ibuprofen with a dropper, like Motrin.
The delivery guy knocked but you weren’t here, so I brought it in for you.
Is Ceci running a fever?”
As she spoke, she glanced into the swaddling clothes and, with just one look, shrieked, “Good heavens!
Is Ceci burning up with a high fever?”
Ms.
Pound slapped her thigh.
“I didn’t see you when I got back earlier.
I was wondering why you two weren’t back yet, thinking maybe you got stuck in traffic because of the heavy rain.
Turns out the baby had a fever and you went to the hospital.
No, wait.
If you went to the hospital, why are you buying fever reducer separately?”
Ms.
Pound had a gruff voice, and her shouts were particularly loud.
Hearing this, Ruby Grant’s eyes instantly reddened.
She didn’t want to recall that scene at the hospital.
“There’s no time to explain.
Ms.
Pound, please help me!
You’ve raised children before, what should I do?!”
Ruby Grant laid Ceci on the bed, her eyes welling with clear tears.
In her helplessness, she looked as if she was about to kneel.
Ms.
Pound was startled and quickly pulled her up.
“Don’t do that!
We’re neighbors and colleagues, of course I’ll help you!
Here, you go get a basin of hot water, and I’ll go get a few people to lend a hand.”
“And don’t you panic!”
Ruby Grant nodded with tears in her eyes and scrambled to get a basin.
Ms.
Pound knocked on the doors of several nearby ladies.
In no time, a crowd had gathered around Ceci’s bedside.
“Oh god, such a little baby with a fever this high.
I hope it doesn’t end up damaging her brain!”
“A child in my grandaunt’s family also had a high fever at this age, and afterward…
he wasn’t very bright…”
“Hey!
Why would you say something so discouraging and scare Ruby Grant!”
…
The lady who had just been muttering was slapped on the back by Ms.
Pound.
Startled, she quickly shut her mouth and looked cautiously at Ruby Grant, looking extremely apologetic.
“Ruby…
I didn’t mean it, I’m just worried about Ceci too.”
Ruby Grant shook her head, but the tears in her eyes brimmed, making her look both stubborn and pitiful.
She knew the ladies all meant well for her and Ceci.
But hearing those words, her already anxious heart now felt like it was turning to ash.
“Alright!”
Ms.
Pound grabbed a clean towel from the side, dipped it into the basin to wet it, and began wiping down Ceci’s body.
Her hands never stopped as she urged the other women, “Don’t just stand there, hurry up and help!”
“Oh, right!”
The ladies snapped to it.
Some changed Ceci’s diaper, some went to buy medicine, some administered it.
Ms.
Pound single-handedly wiped down Ceci’s entire body and still had the presence of mind to toss a baby bottle to Ruby Grant, telling her to prepare some milk.
The light in Ruby Grant’s dorm room stayed on late into the night.
It wasn’t until the unnatural flush faded from the baby’s cheeks and a temperature check showed it had dropped to 37.3°C that everyone breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing exhaustedly on Ruby Grant’s bed in various sprawling positions.
Ruby Grant held Ceci to make room for them, gently rocking and cooing to her baby.
A warm current flowed through her heart.
‘If it weren’t for the ladies, I really wouldn’t have known what to do.’
‘A group of strangers had done so much for Ceci, while her own biological father had nearly cut off her path to survival!’
A dark look crossed Ruby Grant’s eyes, and her heart filled with bitter mockery.
Just then, Ceci gradually opened her eyes.
They were round and dark, glistening like black grapes.
After drinking a bottle of milk and her fever breaking, she was full of energy again.
She reached out her little hands to play by herself, humming softly with little “oohs” and “aahs”.
‘It seems the high fever didn’t cause any lasting harm to Ceci.’
Ruby Grant breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was still heavy with worry.
She secretly decided she still had to take Ceci to a public hospital farther away for a check-up first thing in the morning.
“Look at this little girl!
So full of energy right after a high fever.
She’s definitely going to be a blessed child!”
Ms.
Pound had worked the hardest through the whole ordeal, yet she was particularly energetic.
After resting for only a moment, she was back on her feet, playing with the baby.
Ruby Grant looked at Ms.
Pound gratefully, her nose stinging with emotion, and her gaze lingered on Ceci for a long time.
‘I don’t ask for Ceci to be blessed with great fortune; I only pray that she lives a safe, peaceful, and happy life.’
“Everyone helped so much with Ceci’s fever this time.
I, Ruby Grant, will never forget this immense kindness for as long as I live!”
Ruby Grant held Ceci and bowed solemnly, but Ms.
Pound, quick-eyed and nimble-handed, stopped her.
“Enough of that.
Didn’t you just recover from a fever yourself not long ago?
Stop with the formalities and get some rest with the baby.”
“Sigh, you really have it rough.
A widow and an orphan, basically.
We’re all women here, it pains us to see it.
It’s only right that we help out a bit more.”
Ms.
Pound patted her chest, then pulled the other ladies up from the bed one by one, sending them back to their own rooms.
By now, the night outside was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
Ms.
Pound stopped quietly at the door, about to leave.
As she was closing it, she hesitated, then turned her head back to advise, “Ruby, you’re still young, with your best years ahead of you.
It’s not easy raising a child alone.
When she grows up, she’s bound to ask about her father.
A kid without a dad has a tough road ahead.”
Ruby Grant froze, understanding what Ms.
Pound was implying.
She was suggesting she should remarry in the future.
“But there’s no rush.
At the very least, we all adore Ceci.
If things get hard for you on your own, we’re more than willing to help!”
Ms.
Pound, with her sharp eyes, noticed her discomfort and quickly changed the subject.
She patted Ruby Grant’s shoulder and left.
Instantly, only Ruby Grant and Ceci were left in the room.
She looked down at the swaddled baby.
Ceci was sucking on her pacifier, looking especially well-behaved.
Her big eyes blinked as she smiled up at her.
Ruby Grant’s arms tightened around Ceci.
‘I know Ms.
Pound means well, but after what I’ve been through with Caleb Lawford, I’m not willing to trust anyone anymore.’
Early the next morning, Ruby Grant specifically requested a day off to take Ceci to the city’s central hospital for a follow-up.
Ceci had already regained her energy, but Ruby Grant was still worried about potential complications.
But just as she reached the door with her approved leave slip in hand, she ran into Ms.
Pound, who was getting ready to go to work.
Ms.
Pound guessed her intentions and was the first to nod at her.
“Work can wait, the baby is more important.
With a child this small, you can’t risk any lingering health problems.”
Ruby Grant was touched by Ms.
Pound’s concern and nodded repeatedly.
While they were waiting for their respective rides, Ms.
Pound struck up a conversation with her while waiting for her fellow sanitation workers.
“Ruby, I saw you go out with Ceci yesterday, didn’t I?
Why are you going to the hospital again?”
‘Surely not to buy more medicine again?’
Hearing this, Ruby Grant couldn’t help but think of yesterday’s ordeal, and a dense ache spread through her heart.
‘I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life: standing helpless in the middle of the waiting area, holding Ceci, as all the doctors abandoned us, surging like a tide toward those two.’
“Yes…
we couldn’t get seen yesterday, so I’m trying a different hospital today.”
She bit her lip, only able to give a vague reply.
Ms.
Pound couldn’t understand it.
‘How could a hospital refuse to treat a child?’ But seeing the look on Ruby Grant’s face, she knew better than to ask more.
Just then, the taxi Ruby Grant had called arrived.
She quickly thanked Ms.
Pound and got in.
The taxi sped off, leaving a trail of exhaust.
Watching Ruby Grant flee as if escaping something, Ms.
Pound was left standing there, scratching her head in confusion.
This time, Ruby Grant didn’t choose the nearby Lawford Private Hospital.
Instead, she took a detour to the city’s central hospital.
‘I don’t want any chance of seeing Caleb Lawford and Yana Grant again.
It would be best if they disappeared from my world completely.’
Just after she registered, she overheard some nurses who were free at the nurses’ station gathering to gossip.
“Did you guys hear what happened at Lawford Private Hospital yesterday?”
“President Lawford mobilized every doctor in the entire hospital to examine Miss Grant for a scrape on her ankle.
It was quite a spectacle!”
“But I heard it also caused some minor issues.
After all, mobilizing all the doctors affected some of the other patients.
There were supposedly some complaints…”
Ruby Grant clutched her registration slip and strode away, feeling utterly jinxed.
‘Why do I have to hear about Caleb Lawford and Yana Grant’s romantic affairs everywhere I go?’
“I also heard The Lawford Group is looking for a woman with a child, saying they want to compensate her…”
The nurse’s words fell behind her, scattered by the wind.
Ruby Grant, already waiting outside the pediatric clinic to be called, didn’t hear it.