Chapter 41 : What did you call me?

But Xiaojun was still unconscious.  

Ignoring her own physical discomfort, Song Shiwei immediately began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him.  

With a loud “Puff!” Xiaojun spat out a mouthful of water and slowly opened his eyes.  

Seeing Xiao Cui in front of him, he weakly called out, “Sister…”  

The crowd instantly erupted into loud cheers.  

Xiao Cui covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.  

Xiaojun was safe, her brother had been rescued!  

Without hesitation, she fell to her knees before Song Shiwei with a loud “plop.” Before Song Shiwei could react, she kowtowed several times, each “Dong Dong Dong!” echoing in the air.  

“Thank you! Thank you for risking your life to save my brother! You are the benefactor of our family’s rebirth!!”  

Song Shiwei quickly waved her hands. “Get up! Get up!”  

But her strength had long been exhausted. Combined with the intense pain coursing through her body, she had been relying purely on willpower to stay conscious.  

At that moment, as she tried to stand, her vision suddenly went black. Unable to hold on any longer, she collapsed.  

Zhou Tingyue had been watching her condition closely. The moment he saw something was wrong, he rushed forward and caught her.  

His brows furrowed tightly, his heart aching as he ignored his own drenched clothes.  

Lifting her into his arms, he shouted, “We need to get them to the military hospital, now!”  

Without another word, he carried Song Shiwei and ran swiftly toward the army base. Zhou Cheng quickly wiped his tears and followed.  

Guilt surged within him, just because he had been in a bad mood and went out for a walk, he had almost caused her death!  

A whirlwind of emotions swirled in his heart, but after this incident, he finally understood everything.  

Song Shiwei was not a bad woman.  

She was a good person, a hero who had risked her life to save others, and a devoted mother willing to sacrifice everything.  

When Zhou Tingyue arrived at the health center carrying Song Shiwei, the doctor on duty was shocked her body was severely hypothermic, as cold as ice.  

They immediately administered emergency treatment. Xiaojun was also brought in, his condition even more critical than Song Shiwei’s.  

Xiao Sun, the on-duty nurse, quickly contacted the hospital director. Fortunately, he hadn’t gone to bed yet and rushed over.  

After receiving injections and an IV, they were transferred to a ward. Before leaving, Director Wang warned Zhou Tingyue, “They’ve been exposed to water and rain for too long. They’ll likely develop a fever tonight. This will be the most dangerous night, you must keep a close watch!”  

Zhou Tingyue nodded, his expression heavy.  

He was still in his wet clothes, and so was Zhou Cheng. He had repeatedly told Zhou Cheng to go home, change, and rest, but the boy was stubborn and refused to leave.  

Zhou Tingyue understood his feelings and let him stay. However, he borrowed some brown sugar from the nurses’ station and made a large bowl of hot brown sugar water for him.  

Thankfully, it was summer, and their clothes were thin. After drinking the warm drink and sweating a little, Zhou Cheng’s clothes were nearly dry.  

In the bed next to them, Xiao Cui, only around fifteen or sixteen years old, was also soaked through. But she refused to leave, staying by her brother’s side.  

Seeing this, Zhou Tingyue prepared another bowl of brown sugar water for her.  

The girl was polite and initially refused to drink it.  

But to Zhou Tingyue, she was just a child not much older than Zhou Cheng.  

Worried she might fall ill, he asked a nurse to find some dry clothes for her and take her to change.  

The girl thanked him profusely, promising to wash the clothes and return them later.  

Even the head nurse couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.  

“This child is so well-behaved and sensible!”

During this time, Zhou Cheng kept his head down, not saying a word.  

Especially when he saw Xiao Cui’s every move across from him, he felt deeply ashamed of his own ignorance.  

Logically, he was already a teenager, the eldest brother among his younger siblings, he should be setting an example for them.  

But what had he done?  

What else could he do besides making his father worry?  

Most importantly, he had harbored the worst assumptions about Song Shiwei, and because she was worried about him, she had gone to the beach and nearly lost her life.  

Although Zhou Xiaoyan was the one who caused this situation, Zhou Cheng knew that if Song Shiwei hadn’t been concerned about him, none of this would have happened.  

Looking at Song Shiwei lying on the bed with her pale face, he wanted nothing more than to punch himself.  

Why had he been so angry? Why had he spent all this time dwelling on it?  

His younger siblings had told him that she had been searching for him all day and had barely eaten.  

The more Zhou Cheng thought about it, the deeper his regret became. He lowered his head, quietly wiping away his tears.  

When Zhou Tingyue noticed this, he swallowed back all the words he had been about to say.  

The child had figured it out, he was feeling guilty. He had finally realized how good Song Shiwei was to them.  

Zhou Tingyue simply patted his shoulder and said, “Think carefully, Zhou Cheng. Dad knows you’re growing up. You should understand what you should and shouldn’t do.”  

Zhou Cheng nodded firmly.  

By midnight, both Song Shiwei and Xiaojun had developed high fevers.  

Zhou Tingyue didn’t dare to sleep not even blink, afraid that she might suddenly worsen.  

He kept touching her forehead, and when he noticed the fever in time, he quickly called the nurse on duty. The nurse gave them both fever-reducing injections, and Zhou Tingyue fetched hot water, carefully wiping her forehead.  

He just wanted her to feel better.  

Zhou Cheng was extremely anxious. He stayed up all night, just hoping that Song Shiwei would recover soon.  

Xiao Cui felt the same way. Her heart ached as she kept checking on her brother, touching him to see if his fever had gone down.  

They stayed like that until dawn, when both of their temperatures finally dropped.  

As Zhou Tingyue went to pour water, Xiao Cui looked at Zhou Cheng, who was sitting beside Song Shiwei’s bed, his face full of guilt. She couldn’t help but say, “This sister is a good person. I don’t know what’s going on in your family, but please don’t hurt her.”  

Zhou Cheng pursed his lips, staying silent.  

Xiao Cui looked at Xiaojun, her gaze deep and distant. “My brother and I have been without parents since we were little. Our grandparents raised us, but they’ve always been in poor health. So, we grew up eating at different houses one today, another tomorrow…”  

“Honestly, I really envy you. You have parents who care about you, who love you. You always have enough food, enough clothes, and someone who worries about you. Unlike my brother and me, who live every day not knowing what tomorrow will bring. I’m not saying this to make anyone pity us, I just want you to realize how good your life is. I hope you cherish it…”  

Zhou Cheng slowly raised his head, looking at Xiao Cui beside him.  

There was no sadness or inferiority in her eyes, only a quiet envy and a strong will.  

At that moment, Zhou Cheng felt as if something had pierced his heart. All his past thoughts and complaints suddenly seemed insignificant.  

He had been too self-centered, never considering the feelings of others.  

After this incident, it was as if the fog clouding his vision had begun to lift, and Xiao Cui’s words had helped him see the light.  

Just then, Song Shiwei furrowed her brows and slowly opened her eyes.  

Zhou Cheng immediately leaned forward.  

“Mom, you’re awake! Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”  

Song Shiwei, still dazed, took a moment to process his words.  

“You… what did you just call me?”