Fever

The next morning.

Yun Bingxia watched the stairs for quite a while, but Gu Nian'an never appeared. She shook Ji Baiwei's arm and asked in confusion, "Auntie Bai Wei, why hasn't Gu Gu come down yet?"

Ji Baiwei was taken aback and grew a little worried. Gu Nian'an usually got up early every day to start making breakfast. Why had he still not come downstairs?

Hearing this, Ji Yaozhi put down his glass of water, said, "I'll go check on him," and got up to head upstairs.

The others downstairs exchanged glances. Thinking of everything that had happened over the past few days, Ji Baiwei frowned slightly. Unable to put her mind at ease, she got up and followed.

Knock, knock. Hearing the knocking at his door, Gu Nian'an, barely conscious, struggled to move, trying to get up and open it. But the slightest movement brought unbearable aches, and he knocked over the glass of water beside him.

Ji Yaozhi's pupils widened sharply at the noise inside. He pushed the door open and, seeing the boy collapsed on the floor, immediately rushed over.

Ji Baiwei, who had followed him upstairs, instinctively covered her mouth at the sight. Turning to the cameraman behind her, she said in a panic, "Hurry, contact a doctor."

Seeing him lying on the floor, the cameramen dared not delay and hurried to call emergency services. Hearing the commotion, the people downstairs also headed upstairs.

Ji Yaozhi carried Gu Nian'an back to bed. His aching body curled into a ball, his face deathly pale, his sweat-soaked fringe plastered haphazardly against his cheeks.

He clutched Ji Yaozhi's clothes with both hands, panting weakly. Ji Yaozhi anxiously felt Gu Nian'an's forehead. It was burning hot. He had no idea when the fever had started.

Then he remembered that Gu Nian'an had fainted just yesterday and had been out in the wind on the mountain last night. Looking at the boy, already delirious with fever, he guessed it might have started as soon as they returned.

The three from downstairs entered the room as well. Yun Bingxia cried out at the sight before her. She wanted to approach but stopped short, while Yu Songqing rushed forward first.

The instant he saw Gu Nian'an lying weakly in bed, a trace of fear flashed through Yu Songqing's eyes. He strode forward. Gu Nian'an looked far too much like his father had when he died.

Looking at the boy's pale face, as though he might disappear at any second, Yu Songqing's eyes betrayed a hint of fear. Images from the past kept flashing through his mind.

His breathing grew rapid, and he kept digging at his palms, clearly no longer able to control his emotions.

Seeing that something was wrong with Yu Songqing, Mu Chen hurried forward and pulled him away, saying sternly, "Yu Songqing, calm down! Nian'an has a fever!"

After being abruptly pulled away and hearing Mu Chen's words, Yu Songqing barely managed to calm down. He lowered his eyes to hide the emotions in them and sat quietly beside the bed.

[No joke, Yu Songqing has definitely fallen for him.]

[Is Gu Nian'an in really poor health? He fainted yesterday, and now he's like this today.]

[It's so scary that he suddenly got this sick. He was fine when they watched the fireworks last night.]

[Is something wrong with Yu Songqing? Why is he panicking so much?]

[Yu fan passing through. Let me explain: Yu Songqing watched his dad die of illness right in front of him as a kid. It's PTSD.]

[No, no, no, I'm ninety percent sure Yu Songqing has fallen for him.]

[Qing-An is real!]

[Hurry and get him to a doctor!]

"Mom, I... I feel awful." Mu Chen froze when he noticed Gu Nian'an murmuring something over and over. "What did Nian'an just say?"

Ji Baiwei bent down and heard the boy murmuring over and over, "Mom, I feel awful." His voice was filled with hurt and sadness.

Thinking of her own son, who had died at just five years old, Ji Baiwei felt her eyes sting. She gently stroked the boy's head and soothed him softly. "An'an, don't be scared. Don't be scared. Mommy's here."

Feeling the hand stroking his head, Gu Nian'an opened his eyes in a daze, as though he had returned to his previous life. He could not make out the face before him; he only knew that the person's presence felt very much like his mother's.

Unable to help himself, he took her hand, his face full of longing. He pressed it against his cheek and gently nuzzled it. "Mom, Mom, don't abandon me. I'll be good."

In his haze, he remembered how, whenever he fell ill in his previous life, his mother would always tell him, "I should never have given birth to a sickly child like you. Why don't you just die?" Yet she would still take care of him. In the final days of his life, he had lain in a hospital bed while his mother spent day after day in tears.

That bittersweet feeling, painful and filled with self-reproach and guilt, yet still something he yearned for, swept through his entire body.

Unable to hold back, his tears fell in heavy drops onto the woman's hand. No longer able to contain his hurt, he said, "Mom, I don't want to die. Mom, don't abandon me. I'll save you money. I don't need to see a doctor. Mom, Mom, Mom..."

Every cry of "Mom" filled those around him with an unbearable ache and brought tears streaming down Ji Baiwei's face. She thought of her own son, lost out in the world, suffering alone until he died of a high fever at the age of five.

Before he died, had he also wondered why his irresponsible mother still had not found him?

Watching Gu Nian'an cry nonstop, Yun Bingxia felt a deep ache in her heart. Having grown up cherished and adored, she naturally could not understand the pain of having no family.

Nor did she dare imagine it. But his pain was so overwhelming that even she could not stop her tears from falling.

Watching Gu Nian'an lying in bed and crying quietly, Mu Chen felt as though something had lodged in his throat. He could not make a sound.

The look in Ji Yaozhi's eyes shifted repeatedly. In the end, he said nothing and stood silently where he was.

[Fuck, I can't take this. I've really gone from a casual viewer to a fan. I'm going to be baby An's mom fan.]

[Mom fan reporting in.]

[Plus 10086.]

[Waaaaah, as a mama's girl, I can't bear to watch this. I'm crying my eyes out first thing in the morning. My mom thought something was wrong with me.]

[I'm a grown man, and even I can't stop crying. I miss my mom.]

[Waaaaah, I really can't hold it together anymore. Seeing Gu Nian'an curled up in bed, not even daring to cry too loudly, completely broke me.]

[Same as above, plus one.]

[Plus two.]

[Plus three.]

Elsewhere, Fu Xiuyuan's heart clenched as he watched the scene. His eyes darkened, and he tapped the desk intermittently.

Beside him, his secretary placed the proposal on his desk and waited for his response.

Seeing the man staring intently at his phone with an icy gaze, she inwardly groaned. The boss has run into something upsetting. Please don't take it out on us subordinates.

Suddenly, the man stopped tapping, rubbed between his brows, and took a deep breath. He told the person before him, "Postpone this morning's meeting. Take the proposal back for now. Cancel my flight to Lan City and change it to one this morning."

"Yes, CEO Fu." The secretary lowered her head in acknowledgment and breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she did not get dragged into it.

Remembering how Gu Nian'an had looked just now, Fu Xiuyuan's expression grew even darker.