Huo Haowen broke into a sweat. "I was just talking, you know how loose my tongue is."
"Save that talk for her." Gu Chenxi tossed the folder back to Huo Haowen. "The money will be deducted from your bonus."
"Don't do that, Young Master Gu... The luxury fashion show just ended, and my girlfriends are all waiting for me to buy them bags."
"One more word out of you, and I’ll skin you to make a bag."
Emerging from Gu Chenxi’s office, Huo Haowen didn't dare delay for a second, yet when he rushed to Lin Qian’s lounge, he was still a step too late.
"Are you looking for my sister?" A sweet, clear voice spoke up from the corner. Shen Wanqing asked timidly, "She had an emergency and already left."
A sheltered girl living in an ivory tower, Shen Wanqing always wore her hair in a high ponytail with straight bangs. Because she read so much, she had been nearsighted since middle school and wore glasses.
Today, she was dressed in a red and white tracksuit over a white collared sweater her mother had knitted for her, which featured a tiny cherry embroidered on the collar.
Even though she was a junior in college, with her face and outfit, she looked exactly like a high school student.
"Hey, you little brat, how did you sneak in here?" Huo Haowen tilted his head, sizing her up before walking over to open the door. "I'm calling security."
"No, that’s not—wait." Shen Wanqing waved her hands frantically. "I’m Lin Qian’s sister."
"Since when does she have a sister?"
Huo Haowen stepped closer, casting a shadow over Shen Wanqing. "You aren't some obsessive fan, are you? Hand me your phone."
"...Okay." Shen Wanqing rummaged through her pockets for a moment and handed it to him. "The passcode is 0327."
"Good girl."
Huo Haowen tapped and swiped through the phone, and suddenly, his own phone buzzed twice in his pocket.
"Alright, the logs are clean. I’ll take your word for it that you’re Lin Qian’s sister. Where do you live? I’ll have the driver take you."
"No, no need, I can just take the bus back."
Shen Wanqing extended three fingers from her sleeve to take her phone back, hoisted her backpack off the sofa, and ran off without looking back.
Her black ponytail swayed back and forth, making Huo Haowen’s heart itch.
He took out his phone, glanced at the number on the screen, and clicked "Save Contact."
***
By the time Lin Qian arrived home, her daughter Sisi was running a high fever of 39 degrees. Aunt Li said she had started vomiting after lunch.
"How many times did she throw up?"
Lin Qian pulled back the blanket and touched Sisi’s tiny hands and feet. They were ice-cold—a sign that the fever was still climbing.
"About four or five times, I think." Aunt Li followed closely behind Lin Qian, not daring to slack for a moment.
"What was in the vomit?"
"Mostly the food and snacks she’d eaten."
"Have you given her any fever reducer since it started? How many times?"
"I gave it to her, of course I did. Just once, but the fever came right back up a moment later."
"Understood. Go to the bedroom cabinet, grab the medical kit, and come with me to the hospital."
Lin Qian scooped up Sisi and rushed to the back seat of the car. She pulled the door open, but the driver, Old Liu, looked embarrassed.
"Ma'am, you can't use this car. The old madam told me to wait to take her to play mahjong."
Lin Qian slammed the car door shut. "To Xiangya Hospital."
Before they reached their destination, Sun Meijuan’s call came through.
"Kids get fevers all the time. A good sleep is all she needs! Why are you making such a big fuss!"
"If you're in such a hurry to play mahjong, feel free to take my car. The keys are on the console—the red ones."
Lin Qian hung up the phone.
"Ma'am, I just checked the app, but all the specialist pediatric appointments for today are full."
Xiangya Hospital was the most authoritative Grade 3A general hospital in Jinggang City, and its appointments were notoriously hard to get.
The only reason she had been able to stay in a private, high-care room when she gave birth to Sisi was because of Gu Chenxi’s connection to the dean.
That man had humiliated her just this morning, saying that without the status of "Mrs. Gu," she would be nothing but a background character lost in the crowd.
Lin Qian glanced at Sisi, whose little face was flushed red with fever and who was shivering in her arms. Without a moment's hesitation, she dialed Gu Chenxi’s number.
Compared to her daughter, what was pride worth?
But...
A busy signal.
An endless busy signal.
Over and over again.
It seemed that whenever she truly needed him, this was a number that would never connect.
Sisi’s burning little hand struggled out from the blanket, crying for her mother.
As soon as Lin Qian lifted her upright, Sisi rested against her back and vomited again.
A sour smell filled the air, accompanied by her daughter’s intermittent cries.
"Ma'am... what should we do now?"
The car stopped at the entrance of Xiangya Hospital. Aunt Li clutched the bag, not knowing whether to open the door or not.
"When it's this crowded, they only take walk-in registrations for pediatrics. We’ll try our luck."
Lin Qian’s luck was good. C086.
There were still 21 children waiting ahead of her, and the hallway outside the specialist’s office was packed with a long line of anxious parents.
Sisi had cried herself to exhaustion and fallen asleep in Lin Qian’s arms after taking a few sips of water.
Lin Qian held her daughter and joined the line to wait.
Every second counted; it meant less suffering for Sisi.
A stout middle-aged man holding a young boy cut into the line right in front of Lin Qian.
The young mother who had been cut off was thin and clearly unaccustomed to such confrontations; seeing the man’s fierce expression, she chose to stay silent.
"Don't cut the line."
Lin Qian asked Aunt Li to help hold Sisi, then stepped forward to tap the man on the shoulder.
"Stupid woman, mind your own business. I didn't cut *your* line." The man turned his head, his breath reeking of chives.
Lin Qian frowned and took a step back. "Someone cut in line here."
The pediatric clinic was swarming with people—crying children, anxious parents, nurses running to and fro, and exhausted doctors.
Except for the timid mother who had been pushed aside, no one paid any attention to Lin Qian.
She raised her voice and shouted again, "Someone cut in line here!"
"Screw you! Just worry about your own sick brat! Why are you bothering me?"
Seeing that no one backed her up, the man grew more brazen and spat a thick wad of phlegm on the floor in front of Lin Qian.
"Maybe... just forget it. It won't take much extra time anyway," the timid mother whispered, tugging on Lin Qian’s sleeve.
"I see how it is," Lin Qian said, pulling her arm away. "Then you can all just wait here."
She turned and beckoned to Aunt Li. "Come on, let’s go to the front."
Lin Qian walked straight to the door of the examination room. The previous patient had just come out, and she took Sisi and walked right in, refusing to yield.
A commotion erupted behind her.
"Is this... really okay?" Aunt Li whispered into Lin Qian’s ear, "Everyone else is waiting in line."
"As that man said so well, we just need to take care of Sisi."
Lin Qian stood up, closed the door tightly, and handed over Sisi’s medical card.
The doctor finished the diagnosis: Influenza A.
Because Sisi had vomited too many times and couldn't keep the rehydration solution down, she needed an IV drip immediately.
But looking around, there were no seats left in the infusion room.
Lin Qian grabbed the medication the doctor had prescribed and squeezed her way through the crowd toward the nurses' station.
As she looked up, she bumped into a familiar face.