Chapter 44 When I was sick, you pulled me into the blankets and hugged me from behind...
Ye Yuying stared at the ceiling. The white walls gradually became like a depth-of-field lens, and the surroundings were gradually shrouded in darkness, leaving only a blurry arc in the center of her vision, like a telephoto lens that became more and more out of focus the longer it stretched.
While her vision was weakened, her hearing was amplified, and the lonely night gradually became lively, causing her thoughts to wander to a magical market in a fairy tale she had never seen before.
There was clearly no rain tonight, but she was probably delirious from the fever, because she could hear the patter of rain outside the window, the raindrops splashing on the ground, the rain pattering on the grass, everything clearly reaching her ears.
This unusually keen perception made her realize that she might be terminally ill.
She was like a piece of almost weightless Xuan paper on the ground, picked up by a pair of arms that bent down...
The movements were swift and effortless as he placed her back on the bed. She couldn't identify who it was, but in her daze, she caught a whiff of his usual cool and refreshing fragrance.
The thermometer she had been using to take her temperature made a slight sound, slipped off her body, and fell to the ground. The electronic display screen froze on her temperature from a few seconds earlier.
It's unclear what kind of number could have caused even someone as composed as Cheng Mingdu to lose his composure and become a little unsteady on his feet.
Immediately afterwards, the rhythm of the surrounding air suddenly quickened, and she was hurriedly pulled out of the quilt, wrapped in a coat, and quickly carried downstairs.
As he carried her across the courtyard, the wind brushed against his temples, and a fallen leaf landed on her burning forehead. For a moment, she felt as if she had broken free a little from that sticky nightmare.
Her consciousness was hazy, but she still realized that she was being taken into a car. As soon as the wind closed and the door fell, the faces of her mother hidden under the fancy clothes, the prosperity, hypocrisy, and dignity in her mind were all left behind.
Cheng Mingdu drove himself. The night was as dark as ink, and the headlights grazed his focused profile. His lips were tightly pursed, and the coldness seemed to seep out from his very bones.
"Ye Yuying, are you still conscious...? How long have you been burning up?"
He seemed to be questioning her, and also questioning himself, why he hadn't noticed her burned state until now.
His slightly cool hand was testing the temperature on her forehead, but she could no longer quite feel it.
The situation was urgent, and there wasn't even time to notify a private doctor, so they had to drive to the hospital overnight.
"Hold on," he said in a very soft voice in the closed carriage, his voice low and hoarse, his restrained tone revealing a hint of coldness under the influence of anxiety, as if he were suppressing some more terrifying emotion.
Cheng Mingdu didn't tell her about the more terrible consequences, such as brain damage caused by high temperatures...
Ye Yuying was speechless; her throat was so dry it felt like it had been scraped by a razor blade.
She seemed to be aware of the consequences if she couldn't hold on; it would be almost tantamount to destruction.
To revive a life that is like rotting flesh, she would first use a knife to cut away the rotten flesh inch by inch, and then wait for fresh tissue to grow back.
At this moment, she didn't know if she was going through the process of cutting away rotten flesh...
She leaned back in the passenger seat, her body limp and barely conscious. She tried to look at him, but she had no strength and could only let tears mingle with the cold sweat from her high fever and slide down her cheeks.
She curled up under her clothes, buried her face deep in them, and gritted her teeth to endure the high temperature on her body and the throbbing headache.
The car engine roared, and she could faintly hear the tires rolling over the dew-dampened ground, as well as the pounding of her own heart, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, its rhythm completely erratic, as if it might stop at any moment.
*
The hospital's emergency room was brightly lit, and the emergency bed was ready. As soon as the car stopped, Cheng Mingdu practically carried her through the door.
Someone shouted, "High fever! Severe dehydration!"
When the nurse took over, she was shocked when she touched the woman's forehead: "Oh my god, she's so hot! Get her to the emergency room immediately!"
She was wheeled into the observation room, where the blood draw, IV drip, and fever reduction procedures were completed very quickly.
When the doctor reviewed her temperature record, he frowned: "Her temperature once reached 41.3°C. If it had been an hour later, it could have damaged her central nervous system or caused arrhythmia... Why did you only bring her in now?"
"Where are her family members? Where are her guardians?"
The doctor turned to look at the boy standing by the window with a cold expression.
Cheng Mingdu answered in a low voice, "Me."
The doctor frowned, but didn't ask any more questions, only leaving the doctor's instructions: "You must stay in the hospital for observation tonight. If your temperature doesn't come down, you need to prepare to be transferred to the intensive care unit."
The ward finally quieted down.
Ye Yuying was on an IV drip, breathing weakly, and trembling all over in a cold sweat.
The moment she regained consciousness, she heard the word "family" outside the ward, and Cheng Mingdu's voice without hesitation.
At that moment, her dry eyes were still wet with tears, the salty tears eroding her eye sockets and causing a sharp pain.
*
At three in the morning, the hospital ceiling lights shone a stark white.
Cheng Mingdu sat motionless by the hospital bed, intently watching her condition, not daring to be negligent for a moment.
She managed to fall asleep, but her brow remained furrowed—a mixture of exhaustion, grievance, pain, and forbearance creating an almost suffocating silence.
He bent down and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Ye Yuying's consciousness was intermittent, but she knew that her mind was confused and she was prone to delirium where she could not distinguish between reality and illusion.
On a strangely unfamiliar morning, the warm sunlight fell on the golden desk.
Looking down, she saw her hand holding a ballpoint pen, writing on a neat sheet of paper.
Her gaze swept over the first two lines of questions, and she realized that her carefully hidden thoughts had actually been written down—
Before me lies a dazed body, and a soul that, once separated from the body, cannot dissolve itself…
I repent, I shouldn't have done that!
But I'm always curious about the warmth of your arms...
These statements made her blush; she would never have dared to think that way in her wildest dreams.
Outside the door, Cheng Mingdu's familiar footsteps approached, drawing ever closer to her room.
The footsteps grew closer, as if they were stepping on her eardrums, each step carrying an irresistible rhythm.
She couldn't control her hand as she wrote; her fingers didn't deviate at all, and the more she wrote, the more absurd it became.
If one day I wake up in the morning and you pull me into the covers and hug me from behind...
She could only watch helplessly as the pen tip continued to pierce the paper, as if another unfamiliar self within her had taken control, depicting emotions she had never dared to admit, writing down the deepest, most unspeakable loneliness and delusions hidden in her heart.
[Only you can save me, brother. If only you weren't a member of the Cheng family, I could... I could tell you what I'm thinking. I hope one day you can take me with you and we can escape...]
Stop! Stop! This isn't true! She was terrified, as if something was blocking her throat, unable to speak or stop it.
The footsteps outside the door stopped in front of it.
She suddenly tried to tear the paper, her fingertips just touching it, but a powerful clamp seemed to hold her hand still, and she watched helplessly as the last sentence of the line of text fell to the top—
We'll find a secluded place, and stay together forever...
Bang.
Her mind felt like it was exploding; shame, terror, confusion, and the weakness from the high fever intertwined, almost suffocating her.
The door was pushed open.
The moment she looked up, before she could hide the note, Cheng Mingdu was already standing at the door.
He spotted the letter at a glance.
When their eyes met, the air seemed to be sucked out.
Her face was flushed, her palms were cold, and she felt as if she had been executed on the spot. She wanted to overturn the table and tear the paper, but her body wouldn't obey her commands. She could only scream in terror while trembling.
The scream instantly disappeared into the screen. It was still dark outside the window. She suddenly woke up in her hospital bed, her forehead still burning hot, her whole body drenched in sweat, but her fever seemed to have subsided a little. The liquid in the IV bag slowly flowed down, gradually suppressing the surging heat inside her body.
She breathed heavily, thankful that it was all a dream.
In the dimly lit hospital room, she noticed a figure by the bed. A tall, slender figure was resting quietly with eyes closed on a chair. As if sensing her gaze, the figure slowly opened its eyes.
Their eyes met, but her gaze was filled with fear and guilt.
The air suddenly fell silent.
After a long pause, he whispered, "Did you have a nightmare?"
These words, just these ordinary words, made her feel sad.
An inner world that hasn't received much nourishment is like a wet towel, easily dripping water.
Ye Yuying held back for a moment, but finally couldn't help it. A tear slid down her cheek and landed on her chapped lips. It was extremely bitter, yet it was also intertwined with a warmth she had never felt before.
Her voice was weak and trembling, "Mmm..."
Cheng Mingdu looked at her, a deep emotion surfacing in his eyes, seemingly unaware of everything in her dream.
Cheng Mingdu lowered his head and gently wiped away her tears. He didn't say much, but simply folded the handkerchief that had been used to wipe her cheeks and quietly placed it beside her pillow.
"Go to sleep," he said.
As soon as she started crying, her head started to throb, and she collapsed back onto the hospital bed, covered herself with the blanket, and stared at the ceiling with tears streaming down her face.
"Why are you crying?" he asked, handing her a tissue without touching her at all.
She shook her head silently, tears streaming down her face, but she hesitated to wipe them away herself.
Seeing her like this, Cheng Mingdu glanced at the remaining medicine in her IV drip, and sat there helplessly for a while. Seemingly unable to persuade her otherwise, he used a tissue to wipe away the remaining tears on her face.
"Don't ask me why I'm crying..."
When she opened her mouth, she realized that her throat was congested with blood and her voice was hoarse.
"I won't ask." He leaned back in his chair and added softly.
Cheng Mingdu's voice was like a snowflake skimming through the air, so pure and without a trace of probing.
He leaned against the bed, his hand still hovering beside her face, his fingertips just touching her swollen eyelids through a tissue.
She turned her head away and quietly bit her lip on the side of the pillow.
He raised his hand and touched her forehead with the back of his hand.
In an instant, her eyes, red and swollen from the high fever, were filled with shock. She opened her mouth, but it was as if the thorn stuck in her throat had suddenly turned into mist, and she couldn't utter a single word.
"Your fever has gone down a bit, so take some time to rest." Cheng Mingdu looked down at her, his gaze as clear as morning dew.
A brief silence fell over the room.
After a moment, Ye Yuying gave a muffled "hmm," her voice hoarse as if it were being ground from deep within her throat. Under the guise of illness, she lied: "I have nightmares..."
Under Cheng Mingdu's questioning gaze, she reached her hand out from under the covers, "If you grab my hand, you won't..."
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Author's Note: 50 red envelopes [Cat emoji]
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