The rain poured down as the seventeenth lightning bolt split the clouds. Chen Chunhua rushed down the corridor clutching her medicine box. The strong wind blew wisteria petals against the window frames, and suspicious dark water stains were winding across the dark red carpet.
When she pushed open the gilded doorknob, the crystal chandelier was just illuminated by the thunder. In the momentary light, she saw Ye Qingliu leaning his back against the carved bedpost, holding the twitching Hua Jinyue tightly in his arms.
"Don't come over here!" The six-year-old boy's roar was filled with the smell of blood. He was standing barefoot on the ground covered with broken glass, and his right hand was still holding a half-broken bottle of sedative.
Moonlight passed over his pale neck, and Chen Chunhua noticed scratches on his collarbone - those were left when Hua Jinyue fell ill three hours ago.
The liquid medicine mixed with the strawberry jam created strange cracks on the carpet. Chen Chunhua thought of the untouched cake from three days ago. Now it was blooming on the wallpaper in a different form, with broken porcelain pieces embedded in the rose petals of icing sugar.
Ye Qingliu suddenly coughed violently, and the rusty taste in his throat made Hua Jinyue struggle even harder. The little girl's nails dug deeply into her brother's arm, but she never uttered a single cry.
"The moon is running a fever." Chen Chunhua slowly took off her cotton socks and stepped barefoot into the intersection of moonlight and shadow. "Do you smell it? It's the scent of moss after the rain."
She deliberately kicked over the silver ice bucket, letting the melted water flow over her feet. Hua Jinyue suddenly stopped struggling, her nostrils flaring as she sought the coolness.
Ye Qingliu's eyelashes fluttered like a dying butterfly. Chen Chunhua took the opportunity to move a step closer, and the moonlight revealed the faded red rope around her wrist—a striking resemblance to the one around Hua Jinyue's ankle.
"I asked for it at Ciyu Temple last month," Chen Chunhua shook her wrist, "the abbot said it can calm convulsions." She lied fluently, but in fact she bought it from a stall at the night market this morning.
When the second thunder exploded, Hua Jinyue suddenly whimpered like a baby animal.
"Brother...I feel so uncomfortable..."
"Brother...I didn't mean to hurt you..."
Ye Qingliu's whole body was stiff, and Chen Chunhua saw blood seeping from the back of his shirt - the broken porcelain pieces had finally pierced the child's fragile skin.
She untied her hair tie, and the moment her long black hair fell down, Ye Qingliu's pupils suddenly shrank.
"Jinyue, be good and let's play hide-and-seek." Chen Chunhua took out a thermometer from the medicine box. The silver shell glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Hua Jinyue stretched out her burning little hand, but was suddenly pulled back by Ye Qingliu just as she was about to touch. Ye Qingliu stumbled back and bumped into the piano stool. Chen Chunhua heard the dull thud of his tailbone hitting the wood.
The downpour intensified. Chen Chunhua suddenly began humming a Minnan nursery rhyme, the off-key syllables mixing with the sound of rain tapping against the window frame.
She sang "Moonlight" to Jinyue, and Hua Jinyue's pupils gradually focused, and tears finally rolled down.
Ye Qingliu's arms began to tremble, and the sister in his arms was as light as a feather that could break at any time.
"The third button of your shirt is loose." Chen Chunhua said abruptly. When Ye Qingliu lowered his head, she rushed over and protected the two children with her whole body.
The stinging pain of broken glass piercing her knees made her groan, but the smell of blood miraculously calmed Hua Jinyue down.
Chen Chunhua fumbled to take Hua Jinyue's temperature. The number, 39.8°C, glowed red in the moonlight. As she tore open the hem of her cheongsam, Ye Qingliu suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Don't use this!"
Ye Qingliu took out a handkerchief embroidered with blue irises from his trouser pocket with trembling hands. The edges were already frayed, but it was a sterile medical dressing.
"Doctor Li gave it to me last month." He turned away, his voice muffled by the sound of the rain. Only then did Chen Chunhua notice dried blood on his trouser legs; he had obviously gone to the infirmary to get the medicine.
When the cool alcohol cotton touched Hua Jinyue's burning forehead, Ye Qingliu suddenly said, "She didn't drop the vase on purpose."
"Jinyue has a fever. We need to take her to the hospital quickly."
Ye Qingliu made a call using his smartwatch.
(Hospital)
The green light of the ECG monitor filled the window lattice at exactly midnight, and the smell of disinfectant mixed with the fragrance of lilies hung in the constant temperature air of the VIP ward.
Ye Qingliu knelt on the leather accompanying chair, his chin resting on the metal guardrail of the hospital bed. The right eye of the teddy bear he was holding in his hand was half fallen off, and cotton wool was peeking out from the torn seam - that was the tear caused by him tearing it with his bare hands three hours ago.
"Young master, have some almond milk." Chen Chunhua pushed the bone china cup closer and caught a glimpse of the haggard little face reflected at the bottom of the cup.
There were still dried blood stains on Ye Qingliu's eyelashes, which were evidence that Hua Jinyue had scratched his forehead when she was convulsing.
Ye Qingliu suddenly reached out to grab his sister's hot palm, and the jade bracelet on his wrist hit the railing, making a clear whine.
Chen Chunhua noticed the sedative tablets scattered under the bedside table, the sugar coating crushed into stardust-like powder.
The monitor suddenly beeped briefly. Ye Qingliu jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, his bare feet touching the cool marble floor, the hem of his pajamas still stained with the medicine his sister had vomited out.
Chen Chunhua rushed to hug him around the waist before he knocked over the IV stand. The six-year-old child's ribs hurt her heart.
"Miss Jinyue's EEG is normal." She deliberately used the terminology she had heard at the nurse's station, feeling the little beast in her arms gradually stop struggling. "If you collapse from exhaustion, who will feed her cherry blossom jelly tomorrow?"
This killer move worked, and the hairs on the back of Ye Qingliu's neck slowly fell down. That was Hua Jinyue's favorite Japanese confectionery.
When Ye Qingliu broke free from his embrace, Chen Chunhua smelled the lingering scent of thunderstorm in his hair—the memory of the rainstorm twelve hours ago suddenly revived.
She turned around to get a hot towel, but when she was wiping his fingers, she felt crescent-shaped pinch marks all over his palm.
Ye Qingliu quickly curled up his fist, but it couldn't stop Chen Chunhua from seeing the blood scabs between his fingernails, which was proof that he was pinching his thigh to stay awake.
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