Chapter 180: The Child with a High Fever

Luo Yixia carefully walked over to the boy and took the bottle of iodine disinfectant and cotton swabs handed over by the nurse.

The boy's clothes were stained with large patches of blood, which apparently did not belong to him.

Seeing her approach, the little boy looked clearly nervous and frightened, with his face covered in numerous bloodstains and tear marks.

"Don't be scared, little guy. Big sister is going to clean your wound first," Luo Yixia said with a gentle smile.

The boy spoke in a soft, tender voice tinged with a cry: "Where are my mommy and daddy?"

Luo Yixia paused for a few seconds. She had no idea either. There were quite a few people lying on the beds in the emergency room, looking severely injured, and the heavy bloodstains on the boy were likely from his parents.

To comfort him for the time being, Luo Yixia forced a smile and said, "Your parents got a little hurt, and the doctors and nurse sisters are treating them right now."

"I want to go see them." The boy blinked twice, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.

"You're injured right now. If you go over there, your parents will definitely worry about you. You need to take care of yourself first."

"Alright then. Pretty big sister, I'm afraid of pain, please be gentle." The boy was very cute, with a chubby little face and large, round eyes that blinked continuously, his eyelashes fluttering like a butterfly's wings.

The maternal instinct in Luo Yixia's heart was instantly awakened.

"Okay, big sister will be very gentle."

Originally, it was just some minor injuries, but for such a young child, cleaning wounds would inevitably hurt a lot. Besides, when she herself had been injured previously, she had found the cleaning process agonizingly painful.

While chatting with him to try to distract his attention, Luo Yixia carefully cleaned the wounds.

During the cleaning, the boy's grape-like large eyes turned red around the rims, looking as if he might burst into tears at any second, which melted Luo Yixia's heart.

"If crying makes you feel better, just cry," Luo Yixia said, amused yet heartbroken to see him holding back so hard.

"Mommy said I am already a big man and cannot cry anymore." Although very young, the boy had a whole set of reasoning.

Luo Yixia chuckled softly. His face was covered in tear stains anyway; hadn't he just been crying quite naturally?

Through their conversation, Luo Yixia learned that his nickname was Yanyan, he was six years old today, and he had been riding in a car with his parents on their way home when they encountered a car accident.

Fortunately, his mother had been sitting in the back row and used her body to shield him, which was why he only sustained minor injuries. Luo Yixia could not help but worry for his parents.

In her mind, the numerous beds in the emergency room, the many blood-soaked people, and the agonizing cries of men and women likely included Yanyan's parents.

"The hospital blood bank is running low and there is no more Type O blood. What should we do?"

"Quickly contact nearby hospitals to see if they have any backup blood supplies."

Standing quite close, Luo Yixia overheard the doctors' conversation.

"Yanyan, can you wait here for big sister for a little while? Big sister needs to go over there for a moment, okay?"

"Pretty big sister, go ahead and get busy. Yanyan is very obedient." The boy nodded.

"Good boy, you're so well-behaved." Luo Yixia smiled and rubbed his head.

There happened to be a nurse nearby dealing with a casualty.

"Could you please help keep an eye on this little boy?"

The nurse nodded.

Luo Yixia quickly hurried after the two doctors who had just passed by.

"Excuse me, do you need Type O blood? I am Type O," Luo Yixia said firmly.

The two doctors looked at her doubtfully, then nodded and led her away for preliminary testing.

Half an hour later, Luo Yixia walked back to Yanyan's side with one hand pressed against her arm, looking somewhat pale from a distance.

Yanyan was very good, sitting obediently on the side and watching the nurse sisters busy at work.

As soon as he saw Luo Yixia return, he was overjoyed: "Pretty big sister, you're back?"

"Is Yanyan sleepy?" Luo Yixia discarded the alcohol swabs and smoothed down her sleeve.

"A little sleepy, but I want to wait for mommy and daddy."

"How about big sister holds you while you sleep? When you wake up, big sister will take you to see mommy and daddy, okay?" Luo Yixia coaxed gently.

Yanyan furrowed his small brow and said somewhat shyly, "Mommy said I can't let other girls hold me, or we'll have to get married. Yanyan is still little... cannot get married..."

Luo Yixia burst out laughing.

"Yanyan is a little kid. When Yanyan grows up, you won't let girls hold you. Doesn't your mommy hold you usually? Big sister is just like your mommy, an adult."

"Alright then." Yanyan nodded, half-understanding.

Luo Yixia reached out, scooped him onto her lap, and let him rest against her chest to sleep.

After a few soft words of comfort, little Yanyan actually fell asleep.

Must have been too exhausted, right?

Luo Yixia lowered her head to look at his sleeping face, which looked very peaceful, and finally set her mind at ease.

The nurse sister nearby brought over a blanket, and Luo Yixia whispered her thanks.

Perhaps due to having just donated blood, Luo Yixia's body could not cope for a moment. Feeling somewhat dizzy, she lowered her head and dozed off.

Song Chenyi, an intern doctor, had been assigned to follow the chief doctor into the operating room because of a manpower shortage. Although serving as an assistant, it was more than enough and at least he was able to help out.

When the surgery concluded and he came out to check on patients, he noticed Luo Yixia holding a child.

After several hours of surgery with his nerves highly strained, seeing her immediately made him relax.

He walked over quickly.

Luo Yixia's clothes were also stained with a significant amount of blood.

The blanket draped over the child slipped down slightly, and Song Chenyi squatted down to pick it up, draping it back over the child.

The child in her arms was frowning deeply at the moment, murmuring softly in his sleep.

Song Chenyi had a bad intuition. When pulling up the blanket, he brushed against the child's burning hot skin, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Xiaxia, Xiaxia, wake up." Song Chenyi reached out and shook Luo Yixia awake.

Luo Yixia opened her eyes in a daze, her mind still groggy, when suddenly her arms felt empty as Song Chenyi reached out and scooped the child away.

Song Chenyi had walked several steps before Luo Yixia slowly reacted. Feeling very dizzy, she shook her head slightly to steady her focus and immediately jumped to her feet.

As she stood up, her footing staggered and she almost fell, but she still hurried after him.

"What's wrong?"

Song Chenyi furrowed his brow, his voice deep: "The child is running a high fever."

"Running a fever? What's wrong with Yanyan?" Song Chenyi strode forward without stopping.

Having no time to explain further to her, he left behind a hasty remark: "I'm taking him to the emergency room, you go back first."

The tone might have been a bit rushed, which felt very harsh to Luo Yixia's ears.

Her feet seemed nailed to the spot, feeling too heavy to take a single step forward.

Sinking along with them was her heart. Song Chenyi's words echoed repeatedly in her ears, and before her eyes flashed the image of Yanyan held in Song Chenyi's arms, his little face scrunched up in pain.

Luo Yixia sat outside until eight o'clock in the morning.

Song Chenyi had administered an IV drip to Yanyan and only came out once his temperature had dropped.

Luo Yixia was still sitting in the same chair, looking in a state of utter disarray.

The bloodstains had long since turned black, caked onto her off-white overcoat.

As Song Chenyi walked closer, he realized how terrible her complexion looked—almost pale enough to see her blood vessels.

It was that morbid kind of pallor, with dark bruises beneath her lowered eyelids. Having been busy all night, Song Chenyi had almost forgotten that she, too, had kept vigil outside through the night.

Her lips lacked any trace of color and were chapped and peeling from severe dehydration.

Noticing his approach, Luo Yixia immediately stood up and grabbed his arm, asking, "Yanyan? How is Yanyan? Is he okay?"

Only then did Song Chenyi notice that her eyes were bloodshot and frighteningly red.

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Song Chenyi reached out and touched her forehead, finding her body temperature normal.

"I'm fine. How is he?" Luo Yixia kept pressing.

"His high fever has broken. He's fine now."

Hearing his reply, the heart Luo Yixia had been holding in suspense finally dropped back into her chest, and she collapsed back into the chair, completely drained of strength.

She had felt guilty all night, filled with regret and blaming herself for falling asleep. If she hadn't fallen asleep, she surely would have noticed Yanyan's abnormality.

If something had happened to such a cute little kid under her watch, what would she have done?

Yanyan had been looking forward so much to seeing his parents the next day; if anything had happened to him, how could Luo Yixia have faced his parents?

Luo Yixia had been tortured by these thoughts all night.

"Don't worry. Fortunately, it was caught not too late. Now that the fever is down, a couple of days of IV drips and he'll be fine."

Luo Yixia nodded heavily.

The two remained deadlocked, neither speaking further, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Spotting the two of them from afar, the head nurse trotted over.

"Oh, Dr. Song, you're here too? Perfect, I was just about to notify you. The replacement doctors have all arrived at the hospital. You're on compensatory leave today, right? You can go home."

Song Chenyi expressed his thanks.

The head nurse then looked at Luo Yixia, her expression softening with a hint of appreciation, considering the girl had helped out quite a bit after all.

"Why is your complexion this bad? You donated blood yourself, didn't you know? You haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you? Have Dr. Song take you to drink a couple of vials of glucose later to replenish your protein."

Song Chenyi hadn't known that Luo Yixia had donated blood, and his eyes now filled with surprise and heartache.

"Thanks to your help last night, and you even donated blood. The attending doctor was just saying they wanted to commend you."

"I didn't take good care of the little boy," Luo Yixia said self-reproachfully.

Nurse Cai had also heard about the little boy developing a fever in the second half of the night and being rushed to the emergency room by Dr. Song.

"You bear no responsibility for this. It was mainly our hospital being short-handed and your lack of experience. That child hadn't been thoroughly checked beforehand, and a sudden high fever couldn't be anticipated in advance. You've already done very well. Don't worry about others right now; go take care of yourself first. Your face is terrifyingly pale."

Song Chenyi thanked Nurse Cai repeatedly before leading Luo Yixia away.

"First go to my dormitory to change your coat, then I'll take you out for breakfast, and then home?"

Luo Yixia nodded silently without speaking.

The two walked one after the other to the dormitory. Song Chenyi retrieved his own coat and had her change out of the blood-stained overcoat she was wearing.

What Song Chenyi handed her was a black down jacket, which fit very loosely on Luo Yixia, completely enveloping her inside.