Chapter 8: The School Bully (8)

Halfway up the mountain road, a roaring motorcycle convoy approached from behind. It was Ning Zeyi’s racing team – most of whom recognized Zai Ye. Even those who didn’t know him personally were familiar with his bike, the Flame Ghost—an undeniably dramatic name.

Usually, this bike would speed along the mountain road, its patterns gleaming like burning flames. The all-black bike and its equally dark rider resembled a solitary ghost gliding through the mountains, detached from the world below.

Today, however, these flames seemed to have dimmed. One flashy bike after another overtook him, and the familiar riders deliberately slowed down to mock him, whistling and making strange noises.

Behind his helmet, Zai Ye’s expression wasn’t visible, but his tensed jaw revealed his displeasure at their mockery.

Suddenly, a peculiar sound emerged from his chest, attempting to mimic the others’ whistles and shouts. However, this sound was as innocent as a fledgling bird and quite odd. The moment it rang out, the rowdy group fell silent in stunned confusion.

“What the hell was that sound?” someone called out.

Zai Ye couldn’t afford to be angry with these idiots anymore. His expression twisted oddly as he slowed down again and addressed the small bundle wrapped in his jacket against his chest, “Don’t copy their weird noises!”

He regarded the group of racers as if they were infectious germs, deliberately maintaining his distance to prevent the child from picking up their strange behavior.

That day, his driving was exceptionally cautious—no speed, no showing off—just completing a simple lap around the mountain road before stopping. He unwrapped Yu Qian from his chest and carefully set her on the ground.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Yu Qian staggered sideways, walking in wobbly circles like a drunk person. After spinning around twice, her ankle twisted, and she plopped down onto the ground.

Though she had fallen, she seemed momentarily dazed, sitting there with her tiny hands pressed against the ground, unable to get up. She could only look up at him pleadingly for help.

Zai Ye found her antics amusing and couldn’t maintain his usual cold school bully demeanor. A boyish smile broke across his face as he leaned against his bike, taking his time to help her up. Instead, he teased, “You insisted on coming along, and now you’re dizzy, aren’t you?”

Unable to stand, Yu Qian gave up trying and simply lay down where she was.

“Hey!” Zai Ye exclaimed.

Because of this child, he could no longer experience the thrill of speed and freedom. Instead, he slowly carried her back home.

After Yu Qian finished her bath (more like playing with water), she emerged with half her head still dripping wet. Zai Ye grabbed a towel to dry her off, and as their faces drew close, she suddenly let out a massive sneeze.

“Achoo!!!”

Zai Ye’s eyes narrowed in disgust as he swiftly pulled back, then wrapped the towel around her head and face, giving it a thorough rubbing. Afterward, examining her rosy cheeks, he wondered aloud, “You haven’t caught a cold, have you?”

The child was already exhausted. After breaking free from his grip, she instinctively grabbed the blanket, crawled into bed, and settled down.

Near dawn, Zai Ye rolled over and bumped into the child beside him. After a moment, his eyes suddenly flew open, and he carefully placed his hand on her forehead.

She was burning up.

No matter how much he called her name, she wouldn’t wake up, and her body was damp with sweat. Zai Ye pressed his lips together and rushed to find medicine. After much searching, he finally located the rarely-used medicine box, but the cold medicine inside was nearly expired. Could she even take medicine that was almost expired? And could a two-year-old take regular medicine? He put it back.

He couldn’t even find where he’d put the thermometer. Looking at the dawning sky outside, he grabbed a coat from the wardrobe, wrapped it around the feverish child, and headed out.

Unable to ride his bike at this hour, he had to call for a car. Fortunately, some drivers were already taking early morning orders. As soon as they got in, Zai Ye said urgently, “To the nearest hospital.”

The driver glanced at the child in his arms: “Oh, child’s got a fever? I’ll take you to First Affiliated Hospital—it’s the best around here.”

“Fine, just hurry,” Zai Ye replied.

The child made uncomfortable whimpering sounds in his arms—not quite crying, more like distressed moans. Zai Ye didn’t know how to comfort a child; he could only recall his own childhood as he awkwardly patted her back.

Zai Ye had never felt so tormented. When they finally arrived, he rushed out with the child, almost forgetting to pay the fare.

At the hospital, they faced delays since Yu Qian had no ID number. After the hassle of registration and finally seeing a doctor, who took her temperature with surprising calmness, they were told: “Nothing serious—just over 38 degrees. Fever patches will do.”

Zai Ye’s brow furrowed deeply: “You’re not giving her any medicine?”

“For such a low temperature, we don’t recommend medicine for a child this young,” the doctor explained while finishing the quick examination. “I can prescribe some if needed later if the fever doesn’t break. Pay at the front counter for the patches.”

“That’s all? She seems seriously ill—won’t wake up and keeps moaning,” Zai Ye insisted.

The doctor looked at this young man and, recognizing his inexperience with childcare, explained more patiently: “This is normal for sick children. It’s nothing serious—just keep her warm and feed her light, nutritious meals. She’ll recover in a few days.”

Zai Ye remained tense: “I’ve heard that if children’s fevers stay too high for too long, and won’t go down, they might become mentally impaired.”

“Young man, don’t worry,” the doctor assured him gently. “Try the fever patches first. If they don’t work and the fever persists, we’ll look at other options. This is just a common cold with fever—nothing severe, okay?”

Of the twenty minutes of consultation, fifteen minutes were spent on calming the parent’s emotions..

Zai Ye walked through the hospital corridors holding Yu Qian, who was completely wrapped in his coat with only half her face visible. The morning light was soft and slightly chilly as he moved through the halls in his loose gray pajamas and black casual pants.

This was his first experience with a sick child, and he felt utterly helpless. He himself was built like an ox and rarely got sick; even when feeling unwell, he’d just take some cold medicine and sleep it off. But children, he was learning, were so fragile.

When her fever initially dropped, Zai Ye felt relieved, thinking the ordeal was over. But it kept returning. He visited the hospital three times that day, until the doctors began recognizing him, constantly reassuring: “The medicine needs time to work. You have to be patient and let her recover.”

In just one day, Zai Ye became so stressed that several sores formed in his mouth, making him even less inclined to speak. He sat in the hospital with a cold expression, holding Yu Qian while other people instinctively kept their distance.

The next day, with Yu Qian still running a low fever, Zai Ye naturally couldn’t attend school. His classmates couldn’t reach him.

Though labeled a “school bully,” he usually just came late and left early, occasionally skipping a day—never really disrupting others’ studies. His homeroom teacher, who had followed him since middle school, knew there was little to be done about him. Both sides maintained an unspoken understanding until recently, when Zai Ye’s absences became excessive and the teacher’s patience finally snapped.

She contacted every guardian she could reach—Mr. Zai Yan and his cousin Wen Cheng.

The former usually had his secretary answer, and the teacher felt these parent calls were completely soulless, not worth making unless it was serious. The latter was usually contacted when Zai Ye caused trouble at school or his grades were too poor and they needed a guardian to appease the teachers. At such times, Wen Cheng, as his cousin, would at least say some nice words to the teachers, making “I’ll definitely manage him better” kind of promises that were useless but showed good intention.

While still struggling with Yu Qian’s fever at home, Zai Ye received several consecutive calls.

His father rarely called personally, but when he did, he spoke harshly: “Your homeroom teacher had to contact me! You claimed you could raise a child, but now you’re just skipping school to play caretaker? Why not just quit school entirely and focus on childcare?”

Zai Ye hung up immediately, only to receive a call from Mrs. Wen.

“I heard from Cheng that your teacher’s been looking for you. You’ve missed several days—is something wrong?”

Hearing this concerned tone, Zai Ye finally spoke: “She’s sick with a fever that won’t break.”

Mrs. Wen fell silent.

She had been lost in her own pain for years, suddenly realizing one day that Zai Ye had grown up without needing her, creating a deep gulf between them. But at this moment, she saw that this tall young man was still that same little boy, facing difficulties, trying to stay strong, but clearly asking for help.

“It’s okay, children get fevers all the time,” she said softly. “Why don’t you bring Xiao Qian to stay with me for a couple of days? I’ll help take care of her.”

“You haven’t left Ningshui?”

“No, moving back home was decided long ago. I’m still here clearing out the house—just finished yesterday. Your uncle is still handling matters abroad and won’t be back for a few days.”

*

After hanging up and looking at the still-feverish Yu Qian, Zai Ye packed their things and carried her to his mother’s address.

It was a standalone villa, already cleaned inside though the garden outside looked somewhat neglected.

Currently, only Mrs. Wen and one household helper were there.

When Mrs. Wen took Yu Qian from his arms, Zai Ye finally felt relief wash over him, truly understanding what his mother had meant about the difficulties of raising a child.

That evening, Yu Qian’s fever broke completely, and her energy returned. Once recovered, she seemed carefree again, completely unaware of how her sudden illness had terrified her novice father.

Though Mrs. Wen initially focused on her son, her attention soon shifted entirely to Yu Qian, quickly falling into the typical doting grandparent mode.

Zai Ye only briefly enjoyed the return of maternal attention.

At dinner, the energetic Yu Qian devoured Mrs. Wen’s lovingly prepared nutritious meal, complete with meat and vegetables shaped into cute animals and hearts. Compared to the restaurant food and takeout Zai Ye had been feeding her, it was far more delicious and elaborate.

She ate with such enthusiasm while Zai Ye, nursing his mouth sores, could only nibble on vegetables.

Feeling psychologically imbalanced watching this little piglet eat so heartily, Zai Ye took advantage of his mother’s momentary inattention to pinch Yu Qian’s cheek, saying, “You’re certainly enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

Yu Qian’s cheeks were still stuffed full as she giggled at his painful grimace: “Gaga gaga!”