Huo Rou's brow remained furrowed in her sleep, unconsciously revealing her pain in her dreams.
Qin Ningyi, his heart aching, stopped glaring at Xiao Yuda. He found a towel and began to wipe away the fine beads of sweat on Huo Rou's forehead.
After wiping away the sweat, he found some alcohol and meticulously cleaned Huo Rou's forehead, the sides of her neck, her elbow creases, and the inside of her wrists, his demeanor softening from his earlier coldness.
Xiao Yuda sat to the side, watching him "serve" Huo Rou. He saw that Huo Rou's brows had visibly relaxed under Qin Ningyi's care.
A hint of satisfaction gradually appeared in his eyes.
If it had been the arrogant, possessive Qin Ningyi from earlier, he would have truly considered taking Xiao Rou far away from him.
Only after Qin Ningyi had started a second round of wiping did he pick up his phone and walk out.
The door opened again, and Qin Ningyi emerged.
"Who are you to her?"
"Her closest person." Xiao Yuda answered his question indirectly, playing coy. Did he care?
If he cared, then he should be made to worry a little longer.
If it weren't for Xiao Rou being young and needing a companion, he truly wouldn't have taken a liking to Qin Ningyi. Even Shen Wuyou would have been better!
He wanted to let Qin Ningyi endure some hardship for Xiao Rou's sake.
Qin Ningyi had calmed down now, no longer showing his emotions so openly. He probably knew Xiao Yuda was intentionally making him anxious, and he actually felt a sense of relief.
He looked up at the overcast sky, a gloom settling in his heart, filled with self-reproach.
If he had paid more attention to Huo Rou yesterday, it wouldn't have been Xiao Yuda playing the hero now.
"I'm her boyfriend," Qin Ningyi said calmly, using the title now etched on his heart.
"So what?" Xiao Yuda said dismissively, though his heart felt a pang. Xiao Rou was unusually strong and unusually guarded. If it were him wiping her sweat, she would have woken up immediately and stared at him.
This was also why he felt both annoyed and somewhat comforted by Qin Ningyi's presence.
"Daddy!" An An's soft, anxious voice called from the end of the corridor. He came running with a "thump-thump-thump," his head beaded with sweat, his expression very worried.
"You only see your daddy?" Xiao Yuda gently patted An An's head as he stood beside him.
"Uncle Xiao!" An An finally noticed Xiao Yuda, looking surprised. He pushed Xiao Yuda's hand off his head and shook it, looking at him.
"Just Uncle Xiao, why add 'Old'?" Xiao Yuda was utterly helpless with this mother and son. He had been telling them for years, but they still refused to change, insisting on calling him older.
"Mommy always calls you Old Xiao, so I have to call you Uncle Old Xiao too!" An An smugly retorted, and then, remembering why he came, his expression turned anxious again.
"I brought fever reducers," An An said, taking a small bottle from his bag and extending it to Xiao Yuda.
Qin Ningyi intercepted halfway, taking the familiar bottle. "Want to take one?"
An An nodded, then looked at Xiao Yuda. "Uncle Old Xiao, where is Mommy? I want to see her."
It was Xiao Yuda who had told An An to bring the fever reducers, so An An naturally assumed Xiao Yuda knew where Huo Rou was.
Xiao Yuda led him, following Qin Ningyi's footsteps into the room.
Qin Ningyi held the pill and sat by the bed, calling out to Huo Rou in a voice that was impossibly gentle, "A Rou, take your medicine."
As he spoke, he brought the pill to her lips.
He truly had no experience feeding someone medicine.
Xiao Yuda, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward, intending to take the pill. However, Huo Rou seemed to have heard Qin Ningyi's voice and slightly parted her lips.
The pill entered her mouth but remained unswallowed.
Qin Ningyi waited for a while. Seeing that Huo Rou hadn't moved, he lowered his head and kissed her dry, hot lips, gently breathing into her.
Huo Rou swallowed the pill. Qin Ningyi calmly looked up and continued with the tools at hand, wiping Huo Rou's body with alcohol.
An An watched from the side as Qin Ningyi kissed Huo Rou. He covered his mouth, tears welling up in his eyes.
The happy family he had longed for was now within reach.
Xiao Yuda turned his head away, unable to bear watching. He wanted to retract his earlier assessment.
This Qin Ningyi, taking advantage of the situation—no, he wouldn't agree to this marriage!
Not long after, Huo Rou woke up.
An An threw himself by her side, crying loudly, "Mommy!"
The usually well-behaved, occasionally mischievous little An An only cried like this in front of Huo Rou.
Huo Rou's eyes filled with tenderness. She raised her hand and gently wiped his tears. "It's just a cold, it's okay, don't cry."
"Liar!" An An felt Huo Rou's fingers on his face, hotter than his tears. He grabbed her hand and held it in his small palm, feeling the burning temperature.
"Why hasn't the fever gone down..." An An was very flustered. He had a high fever once, and he remembered how uncomfortable it was.
Since then, the fever reducers Uncle Shen gave her were always kept by his mother in his bag.
"Are you feeling very uncomfortable, Mommy?" An An blew on Huo Rou's hand, trying to lower her temperature, just as Huo Rou had done for him.
Huo Rou cleared her throat, suppressing the cough in her throat. "I'm not uncomfortable."
An An was flustered and didn't know what to do. He knew Huo Rou was always so nonchalant, but deep down, he knew she was suffering greatly.
Qin Ningyi touched Huo Rou's forehead, his brow furrowing instantly.
The effectiveness of this fever reducer was undeniable. Previously, when Huo Rou had suffered such severe injuries and caught a chill, taking one pill had quickly reduced her fever.
Why was it that today, for a common cold, it seemed to have no effect?
"Another one?" He looked at the small bottle on the table and suggested, with a hint of self-doubt.
Xiao Yuda watched this father and son, one crying his eyes out, the other attempting to administer medication haphazardly—they truly looked like father and son.
"It's no use," Xiao Yuda stopped Qin Ningyi's idea.
Setting aside the issue of whether the medication could be taken indiscriminately, the precious medicine he held was limited; each pill was one less before Shen Wuyou recovered.
Qin Ningyi called Xiao Konglin to find a specialist, only to learn that the top expert in the country was currently seeing patients at Yuxi Hospital—the same one who had prescribed medication and started an IV earlier.
He looked at Huo Rou's calm face, then into her eyes. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, shrouded in a thick mist, trying to hide the weariness and struggle beneath.
Why was she hiding herself like this?
Qin Ningyi's heart ached intensely. He sat on the edge of the bed, gently leaned in, and softly embraced her.
"Knock, knock—"
A knock sounded at the door. An An wiped the tears from his face and looked towards the hospital room door. Qin Ningyi's peripheral vision caught sight of it.
A tall, slender figure appeared on the glass of the hospital room door.
Xiao Yuda was about to speak when he heard a warm, familiar voice.
"A Rou, may I come in?"