Chapter 41. In those moments of panic, you have no idea how much I love you...

"No, you can't go alone."

After the initial shock, Liang Siyu's expression turned serious, and his tone was firm and unquestionable: "You haven't booked your train ticket yet, have you? I'll go back with you."

Xu Aida looked up at him: "Ned, is it really necessary? I can go back by myself."

As she recalled, he had previously planned to spend a week shadowing Richard's neurologist friend.

“What if you faint again on the way?” Seeing her slightly furrowed brows, he quickly came up with a new excuse, “New York is unbearably hot lately, no, you can’t travel alone.”

Xu Aida stared at him suspiciously. She thought he was going to say something like, "What if I faint during the test?"

Her former research assistant, Phoebe, a freshman in medical school, happened to be a Baltimore native and accompanied her during the testing.

She belatedly felt something was off; given Ned's personality, he should have suggested she get checked much earlier.

Unless, something more important has taken over his mind. What else has happened recently?

Liang Siyu avoided her gaze and looked down at the train ticket: "I'll book the ticket now. When is the check-up? How about we go back Thursday night? You can get a good night's sleep and then go for the check-up."

“We can go there in the morning, at 2 pm on Friday,” Xu Aida insisted on making a round trip on the same day.

Going back to his apartment would mean cleaning, which would be even more troublesome. What's wrong with him? Why is he so restless?

"Okay, I'll buy the tickets." He quickly placed the order, while also thinking about his next steps.

The tilt test is likely to be negative. If she suspects it on the spot and insists on talking to him about that day at the school hospital, it would be terrible if she had an emergency and might run into a classmate or acquaintance.

The safest place to talk would be his apartment, of course, but they had been apart for a month.

He needs to contact the apartment manager immediately to arrange for a cleaning service and make all necessary preparations.

The plans were all messed up. Frustrated, he scratched his head and said, "I'm going to make a phone call."

He couldn't help but feel agitated, and with a frown, he quickly walked towards the garden.

Why did he have to go out into the garden to make a phone call under the blazing sun? What is he hiding from her?

She recalled his evasive gaze over the past few days, and suddenly thought, Cohen said he was going to see an old friend today, could it be Lin Anmin?

She couldn't help but open Facebook, and sure enough, Lin had posted a few photos a few days ago, with the location set in New York.

Moreover, when she zoomed in on the photo of the book on the table, she saw the words "Alzheimer's: Principles and Practice" on the spine.

Lin Anmin has started preparing his short film. This kind of dry and serious medical book is obviously recommended by Ned.

Could it be that, at this point, Ned had already discovered that the film industry was a more interesting career choice?

Frustrated, she closed the page and went upstairs to her room. But as soon as she got into the elevator, she regretted leaving him alone. So she rushed out but almost got caught in the elevator door.

He happened to come in from the garden and witnessed the scene. He immediately raised his voice: "Ada, be careful."

She flinched at his sudden stern tone. He instantly regretted it: "Scared you? I didn't mean to be mean to you."

But he was still shaken and couldn't help scolding her, "It's very dangerous if you get your skirt or hair caught in it, don't be careless."

She was also angry at herself for being so emotional and unpredictable just now, which was not like her at all.

But when asked to admit her mistake, she felt suffocated, so she simply lowered her head and remained silent, then turned around and pressed the elevator button.

The elevator doors opened, and he put his arm around her as they entered. "What's wrong? Did you have something urgent you wanted to talk to me about?"

“No,” she replied briefly.

He must want to make a movie now, so her plans will probably have to wait. What's the use of being anxious?

Liang Siyu became even more cautious: "Why are you suddenly unhappy? Don't you want me to go to the checkup with you?"

"No, how could I dare?" She was afraid that even if she begged him next year, he wouldn't bother to come back.

It was definitely ironic. Liang Siyu wanted to explain, but the elevator doors opened, and she hurriedly walked towards the room, looking like she didn't want to say another word.

In the past, he would have definitely chased after her, hugged her without saying a word, and ended all the arguments with a kiss.

But now, he sighed, slowly followed her inside, looked at her nestled on the sofa, and gently pressed his hand on her shoulder: "Babe, of course I know you can handle everything..."

Following the expert's advice, first acknowledge her abilities, then admit that it was his problem—that he was a little anxious and not entirely at ease.

Unexpectedly, she reacted strongly, interrupting him sharply: "No! I can't! I'm not as omnipotent as you think!"

It's always been like this. Because she's independent and strong-willed, when he left back then, he never thought about how much she would suffer, right?

Liang Siyu was stunned. Wait! The situation seems... a little different?

Xu Aida was also stunned. Good heavens, what nonsense was she talking about? This shouldn't be her lines.

He lowered his head and gave a bright smile: "So, you want me to come with you, right?"

Although he felt comforted in the consultation room, after leaving, he suspected that it was a technique of Dr. Finch, and that he might be saying it to everyone.

Her words instantly soothed all his unease and anxiety.

For the first time, Xu Aida felt that his smile was hateful, glaring, and shameless to the point of being unbearable.

She turned her head away: "I didn't say that, you're just making things up."

That expression, that posture, was like a fuse that lit up a string of fireworks.

He had clearly seen another "Ada" before. Recently, she had argued with him over coffee, was caught staying up late and then denied it, and even threw a tantrum at him.

He was so stupid, he didn't even realize it.

Liang Siyu laughed and picked her up from the sofa, eliciting a small gasp from her.

“Ada,” he said, holding her close, his eyes focused and burning, “you have no idea how much I love you, right now.”

She felt a surge of heat rush to her head, making her hair stand on end. She tried to correct herself, saying she wasn't the spoiled, willful type, but her lips were immediately sealed by his.

The long, direct passion made her unable to resist melting into a ball of waterweed, gently wrapping herself around him.

The heat is intense; is this what summer in New York is like?

She thought about it in a daze.

Summer took over her world.

Around midnight, Liang Siyu carefully helped Xu Aida, who had been sleeping and woken up thirsty, to sit up and slowly fed her some coconut water.

Her eyelids were heavy, and she was so tired that she could barely keep them open, and she was about to drift off to sleep again.

"Have some more," he urged, secretly regretting his decision.

She had recovered by now, walking briskly and moving freely, but everything changed after the intimacy in the afternoon.

He thought she was just taking a short nap, and happily went downstairs to make dinner.

Unexpectedly, when he returned, he found her silently weeping in her sleep, and he couldn't wake her up no matter what he did.

It's midnight now. She's slept for more than six hours, but she's still incredibly weak. She can't get up properly, and she can't even hold a water glass steadily.

This is absolutely terrible! It's even worse than Sunday! Why didn't Dr. Finch warn him about something this important!

Around 8 a.m., the vibration of his phone woke him from his light sleep.

It was Dr. Finch; apparently, he replied to his email as soon as he got to work.

Traumatic attacks, especially fainting spells, can cause severe disruption of the autonomic nervous system, consuming the body in a way comparable to a vigorous marathon...

[She's like a battery that's been de-energized, but has been recharged to 40-50%. The recovery you see is entirely based on the low energy consumption of her home activities...]

[…positive emotional experiences are helpful to her mental state, but her energy levels have not yet recovered.]

He rubbed his temples. He should have realized sooner that she was so strong-willed and must be trying to "return to normal," but in fact, her nervous system had not yet been repaired.

Don't blame yourself too much. At this stage, treat her like someone with chronic fatigue syndrome; rest is the top priority...

Even without last night's events, I would still recommend canceling Friday's checkup; she simply cannot afford a two-hour journey at the moment...

When he returned from washing up, he noticed an unhealthy flush on her cheeks. He took her temperature and, sure enough, she also had a low-grade fever and fatigue.

She needs someone by her side these days, so he thought about it and made a call to a housekeeping company.

She was in a daze all morning and only managed to eat some plain porridge and drink some electrolyte water after he woke her up and helped her.

By the afternoon, she had sobered up a bit and, grasping his hand, asked, "It's not vasovagal syncope, is it?"

What to do? Liang Siyu held his breath; he really hadn't expected her to react so quickly.

Unaware of her surroundings, she continued her analysis: "I'm sick, aren't I? Is it something more serious? Ned, tell me, is it a heart problem? Or something else?"

In her past life, she always had a normal physical examination and never encountered this situation before, where her body completely wouldn't obey her commands.

But perhaps this is the price of being reborn? She suddenly realized that in the past six months, she had been experiencing physical discomfort much more frequently than before.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly interrupted, "Don't overthink it. You just happen to have a cold and fever, that's why your muscles are sore. You'll feel much better tomorrow."

We need to delay for a couple of days until she feels a little better before telling her the truth.

Xu Aida panicked for a moment and felt a pang of heart palpitation. She pressed her chest to calm herself down and hurriedly said to him, "Ned, do you remember? The day I first arrived in New York, I also felt a little unwell in my heart."

"Remember, remember, occasional heart palpitations when you're tired aren't a big deal, don't overthink it."

He gently stroked her back, trying to keep his tone light, "You were upset when I told you not to drink coffee, and now you're scared? If there really was a problem, I would have taken you to get checked out that time, right?"

She met his gentle, focused gaze, and slowly exhaled. Was that it? Was she overthinking things?

She was a little embarrassed, but she had just broken out in a sweat and couldn't help but shiver twice.

He pulled her into his arms: "Lie down a little longer, and once this sweat stops, we'll get up and eat something."

"You've just been too tired lately, your immunity has dropped, and you have a slight fever. Once you feel better, we'll get a full medical checkup. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

His tone was firm, his embrace warm, and her heartbeat gradually calmed down.

Half an hour later, she did feel a little better. Although she was still a little dizzy, she was able to sit up and eat by herself.

A bowl of clear, lukewarm chicken soup. Beside it, a small portion of finely shredded chicken thigh meat, sprinkled with just a touch of salt and pepper. Two spoonfuls of warm apple puree.

She ate it all up very easily.

He pushed the small dining table into the hallway and came right back.

After consuming energy, her mind cleared up a bit, and she immediately remembered that since he started junior high school, their family had stopped using live-in nannies and instead used domestic service companies.

Regular cleaning, garden maintenance, equipment repair, and occasional banquets requiring a chef can all be flexibly arranged.

She frowned slightly. He even hired a chef? If she just had a cold and fever, was this really necessary?

She suddenly felt weak all over and could barely sit up.