CH 11

Lu Wei's temperature under her palm was scorching hot, Qi Yan's breathing was stagnant, and her heart suddenly clenched.

The child had a fever, and she was stuck at home without saying a word. She was so cold that she would rather wrap herself in a blanket than call her. Fortunately, she came over to take a look, otherwise, if it went on like this, she might die the next day. Her brain is burned out.

At that moment, she was both scared and angry, and said anxiously: "Didn't I say to call me when you are not feeling well? You don't even know you have a fever?" While speaking, she dragged the kid into the room and closed the door with her backhand.

"Where's the thermometer?"

The air conditioner in the living room is running, and the air is warm but dry. Lu Wei is pressed to sit on the sofa, curled up with a shivering body, and her voice is hoarse: "TV...cough...cough cough below the cabinet..."

She coughed badly, and Qi Yan became more and more worried when she heard it, she rummaged through the cabinets to find a thermometer, and quickly took her temperature. Looking at the girl's flushed little face, her anger disappeared without a trace, leaving only uncontrollable distress.

Maybe it's because of getting older, every time she sees a well-behaved and beautiful little girl, her heart is filled with softness, and she can't help being flooded with maternal love. Although it is not her own child, the feeling of motherhood seems to be common, and she can't say why.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" After waiting for a few minutes, Qi Yan poured a glass of warm water for Lu Wei to drink, and gently patted her back with her palm, her voice unconsciously soft.

Lu Wei had to stop to cough after taking a sip of water. She clutched the blanket tightly with her little hand and pressed it against her chest, making a sound like a cat moaning: "Here...cough cough...it hurts..." Coughing hard and  gasping hard in between as if she couldn't breathe, with crystal clear tears dripping from the corners of her eyes.

That place is—

The lungs? heart?

Qi Yan's expression suddenly became solemn, and her brows tightly knit into a ball.

Recently, the temperature dropped sharply, and many people caught colds. She thought that the child just had a bad cold because of the weather, and she would be fine after taking some medicine and resting. However, chest pains and difficulty breathing accompanied the symptoms of the cold. Perhaps, this isn't that simple as she thought.

After a while, Lu Wei took the initiative to take out the thermometer, Qi Yan took it and looked by the light -  40° C!

"No, we have to go to the hospital..." She said to herself, put the thermometer on the coffee table, and gathered the blanket for the girl, "Lu Wei, wait here for me, don't close the door." She quickly got up and left as she finished speaking.

Qi Yan went back to her unit, dressed up and packed, took a down jacket of her own and put it on Lu Wei, then helped her go downstairs, and took a taxi to the children's hospital.

The night wind outside was cold and the rain was still falling. Lu Wei was dizzy from fever, her eyelids drooped, and she curled up motionless in Qi Yan's arms, breathing heavily through her nose. She kept trembling, momentarily anxious.

She can't help but be angry at Lu Zhiqiao, because it doesn't make sense to leave the child alone at home when she's busy with work. What about grandparents? What about relatives such as aunts and uncles?

There are a lot of people in the children's hospital, ranging from 11 or 12 years old to a few months old, brought by their parents. There was a long queue in the clinic, but also because there were so many people, eight consultation rooms were opened tonight, and the queue was fairly fast.

Outside the clinic is full of parents, most of whom were young mothers. Their children were very young, and some were holding them in their arms and crying non-stop. Qi Yan looked at them, and unconsciously hugged Lu Wei tightly, thinking that she had become a mother too.

When it was their turn, Lu Wei was very cooperative with the doctor, asking questions and answering, trying to express clearly even if she was dizzy with the fever, and then the doctor ordered a chest X-ray, and finally diagnosed mild pneumonia and needed an IV shot.

There was crying and howling in the infusion room.

The nurse gave Lu Wei the injection, the little girl was a little scared, she shrank her neck and burrowed into Qi Yan's arms, then suddenly remembered something, and didn't move anymore - this is the teacher, not her mother, she should be more obedient.

Qi Yan naturally felt the child's fear, so she hugged her tightly and comforted her softly: "Don't be afraid, sister nurse will be gentle." After speaking, she smiled at the little nurse.

There was a small head buried in front of her, and it was so warm that her heart almost melted. Who doesn't like a beautiful, well-behaved yet silly child?

"I'll call your mother first." With the needle inserted, Qi Yan calmed down temporarily, poured a cup of hot water for the child, and took out her phone.

"Don't...cough..." Lu Wei spoke weakly, raised her red face, and looked at her pitifully, "Mom is very busy...cough...don't disturb her..." 

Qi Yan froze, the girl's immature face was reflected in her amber eyes, and she repeated her words in her heart, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

Where can you find such a well-behaved child, who is so sensible that it makes people feel distressed.

"Okay, then we won't tell mom." Qi Yan said softly, her heart softened a little, she patted her head lovingly, and let her lean in front of her.

The infusion took a long time, and the night gradually deepened.

It was already one o'clock in the morning, the room was brightly lit, and the children were crying intermittently. Lu Wei leaned against Qi Yan's arms and fell asleep. Qi Yan was so energetic that she didn't dare to fall asleep, she became a a human pillow and she didn't dare to move her limbs, for fear of waking the kid up.

The girl's eyes were closed tightly, her delicate little nose was a little red, and her breathing was still heavy and hot. Qi Yan stared at her sick face with lowered eyes, a warm current gushed out from the bottom of her heart, slowly flowing all over her body, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up, full of thoughts for a while.

In fact, she doesn't need to meddle in other's business. After all, the girl is not her own child and has no obligation or responsibility to take care of her. In addition, she has learned from the past, which is enough for her to have a long memory and avoid it. But she thought of Lu Zhiqiao, and thought of the desolation and helplessness in the other party's eyes that day, her heart seemed to be wrapped in something, it was indescribably heavy, her brain had no time to think, and her behavior was out of control.

Or maybe it was because the child was so pitiful and sick that she couldn't bear to see her left unattended, so she took the risk on her own initiative, regardless of the consequences.

Or maybe are both, she can't figure out which is which, she can't tell if it is because of her overflowing maternal heart or because of Lu Zhiqiao.

...

After hanging the needle, at two o'clock in the morning, the rain stopped outside.

Considering that there was no one in Lu Wei's family, Qi Yan took her back to her own home. She thought the child would be very resistant, but she was unexpectedly obedient. Took medicine, lie down on the bed obediently.

The air conditioner was turned on in the bedroom, and the orange table lamp was warm and soft. The little girl was lied motionless on the right side of the bed under the quilt, her eyelids half-closed and still refusing to close. She still coughed, and her forehead was still a little hot, but her face was not so red.

Qi Yan filled a thermos cup with hot water and put it on the bedside, stroking her forehead with her palm, and said with a gentle smile, "Go to sleep, mom will be back tomorrow." 

"Teacher Qi..cough cough...won't you sleep... "

"When you fall asleep, I'll sleep."

"Okay"

Lu Wei closed her eyes obediently, coughing and coughing, Qi Yan dimmed the light of the desk lamp, lifted the quilt and sat on the left side of the bed, picking up her phone, she quietly took a short video of her.

Open the WeChat and send it to Lu Zhiqiao.

[Lu Wei has a fever, it's mild pneumonia, I took her to the hospital for an injection, and she is now at my home, just took the medicine and fell asleep] 

[Her condition is stable now, don't worry]

After thinking about it, Qi Yan subconsciously felt that Lu Zhiqiao was not that kind of parent who will make trouble for no reason, but the she shoul always let the other party know when her daughter is sick. She'll probably be able to see the message tomorrow morning.

At some point, the coughing stopped, and the sound of even breathing gradually sounded in the room.

The next morning, Qi Yan was woken up by the ringing of her phone.

She grabbed the phone and looked at it. The caller showed "Qiao", and her chaotic mind suddenly woke up. Before she could speak, she heard Lu Zhiqiao's anxious voice: "Ms. Qi, I'm at your door...

"Come."

After Qi Yan finished speaking, she hangs up, got up quickly, and pulled on her slippers to open the door.