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Shen Wan gazed tenderly at her daughter's adorable sleeping face, a faint smile curving her lips. The day's exhaustion melted away. "Kicked off your blanket again."

There was helpless affection in her voice. Rather than a scolding, it sounded like she simply couldn't help doting on her daughter.

She gently covered her daughter's stomach. When her fingertips brushed against burning skin, her heart skipped a beat, and she reached up to feel her daughter's forehead.

It was scorching, and her hand came away damp with sweat.

Shen Wan turned up the bedside lamp. Her daughter's little face was unnaturally flushed.

"Suìsuì? Suìsuì?" She tried to wake her daughter while taking a forehead thermometer from the bedside drawer.

39.5°C.

A high fever.

Shen Wan didn't panic. She kept calling her daughter's nickname as she worked to cool her down, moving with practiced efficiency.

Perhaps hearing her mother's voice, Shen Baili opened her eyes groggily. Her throat was dry, and she struggled to speak.

"Mom."

"It hurts. It hurts so much."

Her voice was faint and slurred, but Shen Wan understood her clearly.

Those few words drained the color from Shen Wan's face. Her voice tightened.

"Where does it hurt? Is it your head?"

Shen Baili didn't answer. She only kept murmuring that it hurt, her forehead beaded with sweat.

"Don't be afraid, Suìsuì. Mommy's taking you to the doctor."

"Mommy's here. Don't be scared."

Shen Wan's heart ached for her. She immediately called an ambulance and gave them the details and address.

While waiting for it, she kept comforting her daughter and gathered everything they would need at the hospital.

Mother and daughter had depended on each other for years. Emergencies frightened them, but they didn't lose their heads. Their first instinct was to look after each other, then find a solution.

Once she had everything ready, she received calls from Butler Lin and the ambulance crew. After confirming the details with both, she cleared the ambulance to enter.

A few minutes later, Butler Lin and the family doctor appeared in Shen Baili's room.

"Madam, how is Miss Baili? It will take the ambulance about ten minutes to get here from the entrance to the villa complex."

"If necessary, Doctor Li can examine Miss Baili. He's an excellent doctor."

Shen Wan hurriedly stepped aside. "Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Li."

"Suìsuì's fever won't go down, and she keeps saying it hurts..."

Doctor Li opened his medical bag and examined Shen Baili while asking questions. She responded now and then.

"It's very likely acute appendicitis, which has caused the high fever. She needs to get to the hospital at once. How long until the ambulance arrives?" Doctor Li looked at Butler Lin.

"Within five minutes." Butler Lin checked the time.

Shen Wan gripped Shen Baili's hand, wishing desperately that she could take the pain herself.

"Miss Baili's condition is urgent. The main building's elevator is under repair, and we can't waste time. Let's take her down to the first floor," Doctor Li suggested.

"All right."

Shen Wan made up her mind at once and hoisted Shen Baili onto her back. Clenching her teeth, she drew astonishing strength from her slender frame.

Shen Baili shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't be afraid, Suìsuì. Mommy's taking you to the hospital."

Doctor Li could see how much she was struggling. When he'd suggested moving Shen Baili, he'd intended to carry her himself. He hadn't expected Shen Wan to move so quickly.

The Xie family's new madam really does love her daughter, Doctor Li thought. He offered, "Madam, why don't you let me..." Carry her?

Before he could finish, a tall figure appeared and lifted Shen Baili off Shen Wan's back. Xie Zhiyu's voice was calm and steady. "Aunt Shen, I'll carry her."

"Take your things and come downstairs with us."

The weight suddenly lifted from Shen Wan's back. She turned to find her stepson there and froze for a moment. He nodded to her, effortlessly gathered Shen Baili into his arms, and headed for the door.

They went downstairs together. The ambulance had arrived.

Everyone but Butler Lin got in.

Shen Baili drifted in and out of consciousness. Whenever she woke, she mostly cried out in pain.

Shen Wan held her hand tightly and comforted her again and again. "Stay strong, sweetheart."

"Just hold on a little longer. We'll be at the hospital soon."

"It won't hurt much longer."

Shen Wan gently wiped the tears from the corners of Shen Baili's eyes, tucked the black hair stuck to her cheeks behind her ears, and slowly patted the back of her hand, soothing her without pause.

Doctor Li briefed the other medical staff on Shen Baili's condition and checked on her from time to time.

Xie Zhiyu sat quietly in a corner of the ambulance. His gaze rested on Shen Wan and her daughter. Something flickered in his eyes, and he quickly looked away.

When the ambulance reached the hospital, Shen Baili was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and soon taken into surgery.

Shen Wan and Xie Zhiyu waited outside the operating room. "Zhiyu, thank you for earlier," she said, full of gratitude.

Xie Zhiyu leaned back against the bench. A month of relentless business travel had worn down even someone as energetic as him. "It was the least I could do," he said politely.

He hadn't opposed his father's remarriage, and he had no intention of making things difficult for them.

Now that they were part of the Xie family, Xie Zhiyu would naturally protect them, as long as they knew their place.

Xie Zhiyu lowered his eyes and noticed that Shen Wan's tightly clasped hands were still trembling. After a pause, he added, "The doctors and nurses operating on Shen Baili are highly skilled. She'll be all right."

Shen Wan looked toward the operating room as though she could see her daughter through the door. "Yes. She'll be safe and healthy."

"Suìsuì has always been strong."

"Is Suìsuì her nickname?" Xie Zhiyu asked.

Shen Wan nodded slightly. "Yes. It's Baili's nickname."

"From the wish that she'll be safe all her life."

The next day, Shen Baili opened her eyes to a blinding expanse of white. A faint, sharp smell of disinfectant hung in the air. She had no strength in her body, and her mind was hazy. Had she been transported into another world again?

Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Wish-fulfillment fiction

Rich CEO

Female Supporting Character Story

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Pumpkin vine

Mind Reading

Beloved by Everyone