Chapter 27 : Enlightenment

Outside the hospital room, Liang Qingqing walked to the window at the end of the corridor before finally removing her hand from her mouth. She sneezed several times in a row and when she stopped, she touched her forehead, which had unexpectedly become warm, feeling a bit hot to the touch.

“Could I be really catching a cold?” Liang Qingqing muttered, shaking her head. “I must be just being pessimistic.”

Unfortunately, she spoke too soon. As night fell she began to feel dizzy and weak, curling up on the borrowed hospital bed, wrapping herself tightly in the blankets but still shivering from the cold.

Liang Qingqing stared at the dim ceiling, forcing herself to sit up. The room was empty and it was still raining heavily outside. The branches of the locust trees periodically slammed against the window due to the wind, making an ear-piercing noise that seemed particularly frightening in the pitch-black night.

“Second Brother?”

It was only after she called out that she remembered Liang Junqiang was still worried about Fan Yanxing, the weak patient. He had borrowed a folding bed from the hospital to stay in Fan Yanxing’s room for the night, so he could take care of any emergencies that might arise.

Realizing this, Liang Qingqing sighed. However, as soon as she opened her mouth, she started coughing. She was now certain that she was ill, but she had no money to buy medicine. Liang Junqiang’s remaining money was reserved for food the next day.

This was the first time Liang Qingqing, who had always lived comfortably, truly felt the embarrassment of being broke. Without money, even in a hospital, she had to fight the illness on her own.

She comforted herself by thinking that a good night’s sleep would help. With that in mind, she gave up on the idea of buying medicine and wrapped herself even tighter in the blankets. She fell asleep quickly but when she woke up again, the outside was still pitch black and she felt no better. Instead, she felt as if her whole body was burning with pain radiating through her limbs.

Her throat was dry and uncomfortable, making it hard to speak. Her mind was foggy, and she tried to get up to drink some water, but the next moment, she accidentally fell off the bed. The pain in the back of her head made her wince and let out a painful “hiss.”

At that moment, the door, which had been tightly closed, was suddenly opened from the outside. The hallway light streamed in through the gap, and Liang Qingqing instinctively closed her eyes and turned her head to avoid the blinding light. She then heard a familiar voice, filled with unmasked urgency.

“Liang Qingqing! Are you alright?”

It was Fan Yanxing.

Liang Qingqing was too busy rubbing the back of her head to speak, only able to nod to indicate she was indeed in distress. She felt so miserable she wished she could just disappear on the spot. Fortunately, Fan Yanxing also noticed something was wrong with her and quickly ran over to lift her from the floor.

However, he couldn’t lift her…

In an instant, the awkwardness between them was palpable. They both seemed to forget that Fan Yanxing had just recovered from a life-threatening condition and was still a patient. Liang Qingqing, with her fever, might actually have more strength than he did.

After a two-second silence, Fan Yanxing decisively stood up, a rare look of embarrassment crossing his face. He stammered, “I, I’ll go call the doctor.”

Liang Qingqing could no longer endure the discomfort and, at that point, didn’t care about money or anything else. She agreed to Fan Yanxing’s suggestion and watched him leave. Once she managed to recover a bit, she grabbed the bed sheet and climbed back onto the bed, sitting on the edge.

Before long, the lights in the hospital room were turned on, and Fan Yanxing and the doctor walked in. The doctor first checked Liang Qingqing’s temperature and then asked about her various symptoms.

Liang Qingqing was sitting up against the head of the bed, her gaze fixed on Fan Yanxing, who was attentively listening to the doctor’s instructions. His eyes were slightly lowered, his facial features sharp and clean, and his serious demeanor conveyed a sense of distant aloofness.

“These are all the precautions you need to take. Have you remembered them all?” the doctor asked.

Seeing Fan Yanxing nod, the doctor looked at him, then at Liang Qingqing, and suddenly changed the topic with a tone of sincere concern, “It’s quite a challenge for a couple to both fall ill together. You’ve both had a hard time.”

Fan Yanxing was taken aback, his ears flushing slightly red, and he started to explain, “We…” are not a couple.

But before he could finish, the doctor interrupted, “I need to give you a good talking-to. You’ve just regained your life; your body is still weak. Don’t run around everywhere. I see your brother-in-law is here let him handle things and take care of you. It’s best for you and your wife to minimize contact to avoid spreading illness.”

“Your medical expenses can be charged to your village’s account, but hers cannot. Our hospital can only allow an account for three days at most. Make sure to settle the bill soon. Let your brother-in-law fetch the medicine you should stay put.”

After this long list of instructions, Fan Yanxing could barely respond and simply said, “Thank you, Doctor.”

“No need to thank me. Just remember to get your brother-in-law to settle the bill soon,” the doctor added, before turning and leaving without waiting for further explanations.

“That doctor really…” Liang Qingqing, initially confused, finally recognized that Fan Yanxing was her man, too!

“Misunderstanding or not, I’ll go wake up Junqiang to help get the medicine for you,” Fan Yanxing said, his lips pressed tightly together. He seemed more concerned about Liang Qingqing’s health than being misinterpreted. After instructing her to stay put, he left the room again.

Back in his own room, Liang Junqiang was still sleeping soundly on the folding bed. Exhausted from the day’s activities, he was snoring rhythmically, the sound echoing in the room.

Seeing this, Fan Yanxing couldn’t bring himself to wake him up. He quietly took the water glass from the table and went out again. He faced another round of scolding from the doctor while picking up the medicine, then hurriedly went upstairs, first to the hot water room to get a cup of hot water before returning to Liang Qingqing’s room.

“I noticed your mouth was a bit dry, so drink some water first. I’ll get the medicine out for you.”

“Why did you get the medicine? Where’s my second brother?” Liang Qingqing, sharp-eyed, immediately noticed the cold sweat on Fan Yanxing’s forehead and the worsening pallor of his face.

“Junqiang is exhausted from the whole day, so I didn’t wake him up,” Fan Yanxing answered honestly, handing the water glass towards her. “Drink some to soothe your throat. Your voice is hoarse.”

Hearing this, Liang Qingqing was a bit surprised. She instinctively touched her lips and throat, not expecting Fan Yanxing to be so attentive to her subtle changes. She momentarily forgot to take the cup, but to Fan Yanxing, it seemed to imply something else.

“I’ve used hot water to sanitize it. If you mind…”

Before he could finish, Liang Qingqing took the cup, saying, “I’m not that particular. I’m so thirsty I could die.”

The warm water rolled around in the mouth and then flowed into the throat. The places it passed through were like dry land irrigated by rain, and they were full of new vitality. Liang Qingqing felt lie she wasalie again. Holding the cup, she suddenly remembered something and, with a flicker in her eyes, smiled, “Do you remember when you treated me to soda?”

She vividly recalled Fan Yanxing’s awkwardness at that time. Seeing her suffer from motion sickness, he wanted to offer her water to ease her discomfort but was concerned about gender propriety and some obsessive cleanliness. In the end, he had to take out money from his wallet to settle it.

But now, he didn’t mind sharing his cup with her. It was quite a rare occurrence.

Liang Qingqing suddenly brought up the topic, causing Fan Yanxing to pause in his task of pouring out the medicine. He naturally remembered the incident, a fleeting look of awkwardness crossing his face. He nodded and softly said, “I remember.”

He then spread the counted pills out in front of her. Liang Qingqing looked at the tablets in his large palm and smiled, “It seems our relationship has become much closer than before.”

“Yes, after all, we’ve been through a lot together,” Fan Yanxing replied with a half-joking smile.

Taking the water from the cup, Liang Qingqing swallowed the pills and then lay back down. Her body was still burning with fever, and her breathing was somewhat rapid. With her eyes half-closed, she smiled, “We’re not going to become just good friends, are we? I don’t want to be just good friends with you.”

“…” Upon hearing this, Fan Yanxing slightly raised his gaze. The emotions in his deep eyes were unclear. After a long pause, he finally responded with more emphasis, “What a coincidence, I don’t want to be just good friends with you either.”

The room fell silent, as the person who had stirred up the heart-throbbing topic had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Liang Qingqing’s sleeping face was remarkably peaceful. Due to the fever, her face was flushed, but as the medication began to take effect, the redness gradually faded, and her breathing slowly became even and steady. Her dark hair spread out on the pillow, adding a serene quality to her usual lively demeanor.

A strand of hair stuck to her face, causing some itchiness. In her sleep, she furrowed her brow and reached out from under the covers to try and move it, but was unsuccessful.

Fan Yanxing, standing by the bed, quickly went to help. However, as soon as his rough fingertips touched the strand of hair, she grasped his hand tightly with her soft, warm palm. During this movement, her lips also brushed against his fingers, sending a fleeting, gentle sensation across his heart.

Fan Yanxing knew very well that when faced with an unconscious woman, what he should do was to pull his hand away immediately and leave the ward, but his whole body seemed to be filled with lead and he could not move at all.

He gazed longingly at the woman sleeping soundly, struggling to control his hurried breaths. At this moment, he finally understood why he always felt inappropriate thoughts and emotions when facing her.

“Liang Qingqing, I like you.”

The feeling had arisen from somewhere unknown, but from the moment he became aware of it, it had spiraled out of control.

—

The rainy morning was gray and misty. The early birds perched on the windowsill, flapping their wings to shake off the raindrops, chirping cheerfully but inadvertently disturbing others’ peace.

Liang Qingqing furrowed her brows, turned over and covered her head with the blanket. The noise diminished considerably, but she couldn’t fall back asleep. After coughing a couple of times, she slowly opened her eyes and noticed a familiar yet strange fabric through the gap in the blanket.

She abruptly threw off the blanket and saw a dark head resting by the edge of the bed, soundly asleep.

“Fan Yanxing?” She called out tentatively, but received no response. She pursed her lips, wondering if he had slept there all night. But then she thought it unlikely and reached out to poke his arm.

“Wake up. If you’re tired, go back to bed.”

This time, Fan Yanxing woke up. He groggily raised his head and upon seeing her, immediately reached out to check her forehead, then touched his own, finally sighing with relief and smiling, “Your fever has gone down.”

“How do you feel? Still uncomfortable?”

Liang Qingqing shook her head, then nodded, “I’m okay, just a sore throat and I was coughing a bit earlier.”

“It’s nothing serious. A couple of days of medicine should fix it.” Fan Yanxing then gently asked, “Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?”

“Not very thirsty.” Liang Qingqing noticed something off about Fan Yanxing but couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. His unusually gentle tone made her feel uneasy. She wondered, “Am I seriously ill?”