Illness

The biology teacher's hand, holding the chalk, froze in the center of the blackboard. Only half of the words "cellular respiration" were written. Xu Yanchi sat in her seat, clutching her textbook tightly, cold sweat beading on her forehead. Even though it was almost winter, Xu Yanchi felt hot yet also a little cold, as if she had a fever. The college entrance exam was approaching, and she didn't want this to delay her studies. Xu Yanchi bit her lip. Xue Su, standing beside her, asked with concern if she needed some candy. Xu Yanchi was about to say "yes" when suddenly her vision went black, and she collapsed straight to the ground, overturning her desk and scattering textbooks with a loud crash that attracted many people.

Xue Su panicked and tried to help Xu Yanchi up, but her fingertips touched Xu Yanchi's arm first. It was icy cold, as if it had just been taken out of the refrigerator, and it was trembling slightly. Xu Yanchi's brows were furrowed, and the stray hairs on her forehead were soaked with cold sweat and stuck to her face. Her lips, which were originally slightly pink, were now as white as a thin layer of paper. Then, she saw her head turn to the side and become completely still, her breathing so light that it was almost invisible.

"Teacher! Xu Yanchi has fainted!" Xue Su's voice rose in a sob. The biology teacher rushed over, squatted down to check Xu Yanchi's breathing, and then quickly felt her carotid artery. Her fingertips paused for a moment, and she turned to the class and said in a deep voice, "Sit down and continue studying. I'll contact the school doctor. Or should a few boys carry her over?"

"No need, teacher! I'll carry him!" Xue Su didn't think too much and quickly carried Xu Yanchi on her back. Xu Yanchi was so light on her back that he felt almost weightless, which startled Xue Su. She gritted her teeth and walked quickly towards the infirmary. She noticed a dark red bloodstain between Xu Yanchi's fingers, dripping onto the clean floor tiles like a small, glaring flower.

The corridor was empty, save for the thud of her sneakers on the floor and Xu Yanchi's shallow breathing. Xue Su's back was quickly soaked with sweat, and her shoulders went numb from Xu Yanchi's weight, but she dared not slow her pace—she could feel Xu Yanchi's head resting against her neck, his cool cheek pressed against her skin, and a few strands of wet hair tickling her. When they reached the stairwell, Xu Yanchi's hand swayed slightly, his fingertips brushing against Xue Su's school uniform, leaving a faint red mark.

The infirmary door wasn't locked, and Xue Su slammed it open with her elbow. Inside, only the school doctor, Dr. Zhang, was organizing the medicine cabinet. "Dr. Zhang! Quick! Xu Yanchi has fainted!" She practically half-carried, half-placed Xu Yanchi on the examination bed against the wall, panting and barely able to speak, pointing to Xu Yanchi's mouth: "She...she seems to be bleeding..."

Dr. Zhang put down the medicine bottle and hurried over. She first opened Xu Yanchi's eyelids to check her pupils, then listened to her chest for a few seconds with a stethoscope, her brows slowly furrowing. "Check her blood pressure first," she said, taking a blood pressure monitor from the drawer. Only when the cuff was wrapped around Xu Yanchi's thin arm did Xue Su notice that blood was still seeping from between Xu Yanchi's gums, and the bloodstains on her lips had dried to a dark brown. In her panic, she had thought it was just dust.

When the blood pressure monitor reading appeared, Dr. Zhang's expression darkened—the systolic pressure was low, but the heart rate was abnormally fast. She reached out and touched Xu Yanchi's forehead again, then turned to Xue Su and said, "Stabilize her first. You said she was bleeding? Besides her gums, is there anything else on her body?"

Xue Su shook her head, her eyes fixed on Xu Yanchi's face: "I didn't see it. She just bumped her arm when she fell down. But... she said she was tired last week. In PE class, she ran 800 meters and squatted down to catch her breath halfway through, saying that her chest felt tight."

Dr. Zhang hummed in agreement, then turned and took out disposable lancets, blood collection tubes, and iodine swabs from the medicine cabinet. As she approached the bedside, Xu Yanchi's fingers twitched slightly, her eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes. "We need to draw blood for a complete blood count and blood sugar test," she said gently, carefully wiping the tip of Xu Yanchi's ring finger with an iodine swab. "Low blood sugar can cause dizziness, but bleeding gums aren't a sign of low blood sugar. We need to rule out anemia or clotting issues."

When the lancet was inserted, Xu Yanchi's fingertip flinched. Xue Su quickly reached out and grabbed her other hand—it was still cold, but her palm was sweaty. The blood in the blood collection tube slowly accumulated, its color darker than healthy blood, and it dripped in slowly. Dr. Zhang stared at the blood sample, his brows furrowing even more: "This blood doesn't look right. We need to send it for testing immediately."

She placed the labeled blood collection tubes into the tray, then turned around to get a bottle of glucose water, poured it into a small cup, and handed it to Xue Su: "Help me hold her head up a little, feed her slowly, and don't let her choke."

Xue Su carefully lifted the back of Xu Yanchi's head, watching the glucose water flow down her chin. Xu Yanchi's throat moved slightly, as if she was swallowing. Halfway through feeding her, she suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze still somewhat unfocused. She looked at Xue Su for two seconds before saying in a hoarse voice, "I... feel so dizzy, and my gums hurt too."

"Don't talk, just lie down and rest." Dr. Zhang came over, shone a flashlight into her eyes, and then pressed her fingernails to check for blood return. "Can you see how many fingers I hold up?" She held up two fingers and waved them. Xu Yanchi blinked and whispered, "Two..."

Just then, the door to the infirmary was pushed open, and a woman in a beige coat stumbled in. It was Xu Yanchi's mother, Song Shi. "Yanchi!" She rushed to the bedside, her voice trembling. She reached out to touch her daughter's face, then pulled back as if afraid of hurting her. "What's wrong? Don't scare your mother..."

Xu Yanchi's eyes flickered, his gaze focusing on Song Shi's face. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to call out "Mom," but he only managed to utter a faint sound before his head tilted to the side, and he completely lost consciousness. Dr. Zhang immediately stepped forward to examine him, his brows furrowing even more tightly: "The ambulance is almost here; we need to get him to the hospital for a thorough examination as soon as possible."

Less than five minutes later, the siren of an ambulance blared from the school gate. Paramedics lifted Xu Yanchi onto the ambulance on a stretcher. Song Shi gripped the edge of the stretcher, tears falling onto Xu Yanchi's school uniform, leaving a small damp patch. Xue Su stood at the entrance of the infirmary, watching the ambulance drive away, still clutching the pen Xu Yanchi had dropped, its barrel still damp with warm sweat.

In the hospital's emergency room, Xu Yanchi was quickly wheeled into the examination room. First, she underwent an emergency blood test and a full biochemistry panel, after which the nurse rushed to the lab with the blood collection tubes. Next, she was wheeled in for an abdominal ultrasound. As the probe slid across her abdomen, Song Shi stood outside, staring intently at the screen through the glass, his fingers clenching the hem of his clothes until they were deformed. As soon as the ultrasound was finished, the doctor arranged for a contrast-enhanced CT scan—as the contrast agent slowly flowed into Xu Yanchi's body through the IV tube, her brow furrowed unconsciously, but she remained unconscious.

By the time the test results came out, it was already dark. The attending physician, holding a stack of reports, solemnly called Song Shi into his office. "Ms. Song," the doctor said in a low voice, pointing to the shadow on the CT scan, "Xu Yanchi has a space-occupying lesion in his liver. Based on the tumor marker test results and liver function indicators, he has been diagnosed with liver cancer, and... it has already reached the middle stage."

"What did you say?" Song Shi's voice suddenly rose, as if all her strength had been drained away. She grabbed the table to keep from falling, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Impossible! What nonsense are you spouting, you quack? She's only 17! She's about to take the college entrance exam! How could she have liver cancer? Are you mistaken?"

Her voice was choked with sobs, almost a roar, as she pounded her fists on the table: "She can't die! She absolutely can't die before me! Doctor, please save her! Please save her!"

"Ms. Song, please calm down." The doctor pressed her shoulder, his tone serious yet reassuring. "We've double-checked the test results; there are no errors. With current medical technology, through interventional therapy and targeted drug control, she should be able to hold on until the end of the college entrance exam, but her subsequent condition will depend on the treatment's effectiveness. If you want to buy more time, she must be hospitalized immediately to begin treatment; we can't delay any longer!"

Song Shi felt a wave of despair wash over her. Almost trembling, she pulled her phone from her pocket, paid the medical bills, and found she had very little money left. All the money she had saved over the years was gone in an instant, a tremendous burden weighing on her. Song Shi took a deep breath, pushed open Xu Yanchi's door, and saw her lying in the hospital bed, already undergoing a series of treatments. Xu Yanchi suddenly opened her eyes, gently took her mother's hand, and comforted her, "Don't worry about me, Mom, it's just a minor illness. Just bear with it." Her mother felt a warmth in her heart, sobbing as she hugged her back, repeatedly saying sorry. Seeing her daughter's sweet smile, she couldn't help but burst into tears.