TIPS – Chapter 36

“What? Xi’er has a fever?” Yang Shi was startled and quickly said, “Then we must hurry and find the doctor.” Meanwhile, inside the house, Shen Dongming was fast asleep and didn’t wake up.

“Alright, I’ll carry him.” Song Jingwei returned to the room and said to Shen Junxi, “Get up quickly, I’ll take you to see the doctor.”

Half-conscious, Shen Junxi climbed onto his back, letting him carry him out.

“Be careful, don’t rush,” Yang Shi stood at the door, waiting for them. She was anxious, but seeing how thin and frail her daughter-in-law looked, she was even more afraid that he might stumble halfway and fall. What would they do then?

“Mm…” Song Jingwei struggled a little. He was about the same height as Shen Junxi but not as strong. After all, he was only seventeen or eighteen and still growing.

“Xi’er, how do you feel? Can you hear me?” Yang Shi stepped closer and touched Shen Junxi’s forehead. It was burning hot—he really had a fever.

“…” Shen Junxi barely lifted his eyelids, feeling miserable. His burning face rested against Song Jingwei’s neck.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. There’s a doctor named Hu in the village—he’s very good, and his treatments for fever work well.” Yang Shi reassured both herself and the others as she led the way.

“Mm.” Song Jingwei adjusted Shen Junxi’s position on his back and quickened his pace, determined to reach Doctor Hu’s house before he lost strength.

Yang Shi held up a torch and walked ahead, talking the whole way. Some of her words were so quiet that even Song Jingwei couldn’t make them out—perhaps she was praying. Compared to her nervousness, Song Jingwei was relatively calm. He had seen all kinds of illnesses before. In modern times, a fever was just a minor ailment that could be treated with an injection and some medicine.

Luckily, Doctor Hu’s house wasn’t too far. They arrived just before Song Jingwei’s legs gave out.

Yang Shi banged on the door with force, shouting Doctor Hu’s name.

Inside the Hu household, Doctor Hu’s wife woke up first and cursed, “Which scoundrel is knocking at our door in the middle of the night? Don’t people need sleep?”

Doctor Hu sprang up, putting on his clothes and shoes. Hearing his wife still complaining, he turned and smacked her, scolding, “Shut that foul mouth of yours! Why would someone knock on our door at this hour if it wasn’t an emergency? I’m a doctor—lives are at stake!”

After finishing his rant, he dashed out like a gust of wind and opened the door.

“Doctor Hu, please save my Xi’er!” Yang Shi pleaded, stepping aside to let Song Jingwei inside.

“Hurry inside, quickly!” Doctor Hu shut the door behind them and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“He has a fever!”

“Oh, oh, I’ll go get some alcohol!” Doctor Hu hurried off to fetch his medical supplies.

“Jingwei, over here,” Yang Shi, familiar with the place, led Song Jingwei to the examination room. It was still dark inside, so she fumbled to light an oil lamp.

There was a wooden couch in the room, and Song Jingwei carefully laid Shen Junxi down on it.

Doctor Hu soon returned with a few items in his hands. He handed one packet to Song Jingwei, saying, “Go boil the medicine quickly—the kitchen is on the east side!”

Song Jingwei took the herbs and fumbled around Doctor Hu’s kitchen for a while before figuring out how to start a fire and brew the medicine. The only advantage was that the kitchen was well-equipped—not just for cooking but specifically for preparing medicine.

Due to the urgency, he used high heat to boil it. In less than fifteen minutes, the medicine was ready. He poured it out and brought it back to the room for Shen Junxi to drink.

“The medicine is ready,” he said as he entered the room. Shen Junxi had already opened his eyes and seemed to be doing slightly better.

“Feed it to him—once he drinks it, he’ll be fine,” Doctor Hu waved his hand dismissively.

“Mm.” Song Jingwei hesitated for a moment but eventually brought the bowl to the bedside and personally fed Shen Junxi the medicine.

“Doctor Hu, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have known what to do,” Yang Shi expressed her deep gratitude. Her son’s sudden illness had given her quite a scare.

“Ha! I’m a doctor—saving people is my duty,” Doctor Hu waved his hand and chuckled. “Besides, it’s not like I treat people for free.” He was passionate about healing but also made sure to earn his share.

“Of course, of course,” Yang Shi took out a pouch of copper coins, which she had prepared before leaving the house.

“Take two more doses of medicine home. The consultation and medicine fee is seventy wen.” Doctor Hu casually extended his hand, unfazed by the request.

“Alright, seventy wen.” Yang Shi carefully counted out the money, unfazed by Doctor Hu’s straightforwardness. Everyone in the village knew his personality—he was just blunt and honest.

After Shen Junxi finished drinking the medicine, Doctor Hu suddenly grew impatient and waved them off. “Alright, alright, you can go now. Come back if you get sick again.”

Song Jingwei glanced at him, finding his personality rather unusual.

“Well then, since he’s taken the medicine, let’s go home,” Yang Shi said with a smile. As they stepped outside, she quietly explained to Song Jingwei, “Doctor Hu is a good man, just a bit blunt—don’t take it personally.”

Song Jingwei shook his head. “It’s fine.” Doctor Hu hadn’t offended him, so there was no reason to be upset.

“That’s good.” Yang Shi had been worried that Song Jingwei might take offense and brood over it, affecting his mood. Seeing that he didn’t mind, she felt relieved.

The two returned to the Shen household, carrying Shen Junxi into the house and placing him on the bed.

Yang Shi touched her son’s hand. Feeling that it was no longer burning hot, she sighed in relief and said, “Jingwei, I’ll leave him in your care. I’m going to check on your father.”

“Go ahead.” Song Jingwei nodded, saying no more. As long as Shen Junxi was within his sight, how could he not take care of him?

“Sigh, I’m heading back now. You should get some rest early too.” Yang Shi stepped out, closing the door for them. Passing through the living room, she checked Pei Hongxuan’s hand—his temperature was normal. She thought to herself, This child was in the water too, but luckily he didn’t get sick.

Inside Song Jingwei’s room, the oil lamp was still burning. He sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard.

Shen Junxi, lying beside him, turned over to face him, blinking his eyes. He reached out and held onto Song Jingwei’s hand, which was resting at his side… He thought his hand would be shaken off, but it wasn’t.

“The fever is gone.” Instead, Song Jingwei lightly squeezed his hand in return, feeling his temperature—it seemed normal.

“Mm…” Shen Junxi weakly responded, then suddenly tapped Song Jingwei’s thigh and pointed at the teapot on the table.

“You want some water?” Song Jingwei asked, and after confirming, he got up and poured him a cup.

Shen Junxi drank two cups before shaking his head, signaling that he’d had enough.

“Do you… need to use the restroom?” Song Jingwei put the cup down and asked. He hoped Shen Junxi didn’t, but unfortunately, he nodded. With no choice, he said, “Alright, I’ll help you over.”

As he reached out to support him, Shen Junxi firmly gripped his hand, making Song Jingwei uncomfortable. “You can hold onto my shoulder instead.”

Shen Junxi shook his head, his eyes shining—he liked holding hands.

“I’m not going in with you. You handle it yourself.” Seeing how lively Shen Junxi was, Song Jingwei left him at the door of the restroom.

Shen Junxi gave him several pitiful looks, but realizing Song Jingwei truly wouldn’t accompany him, he dejectedly went in alone.

When he finished and came out, he instinctively reached for Song Jingwei’s hand, but Song Jingwei dodged. “Did you wash your hands?”

Shen Junxi nodded seriously, knowing full well that Song Jingwei had an obsession with cleanliness. He had washed them multiple times just to be safe.

“Don’t move, I’ll help you.” Song Jingwei said, refusing to let Shen Junxi touch him, opting to support him in his own way.

Shen Junxi looked disappointed—just moments ago, his wife had been so gentle, and now he had turned cold again.

“Don’t overthink things. Just get some rest.” Song Jingwei turned his face away, feeling a bit uneasy under Shen Junxi’s intense gaze. He had warned Shen Junxi before not to have any hopes for him, yet Shen Junxi never seemed to change.

“Mm.” Shen Junxi lowered his eyes in disappointment. Lately, his emotions had been entirely dictated by Song Jingwei’s every action and word—sometimes he was overjoyed, other times he was melancholic, all because of Song Jingwei’s attitude toward him.

“A sick person shouldn’t let their mind wander—it’ll help you recover faster.” Seeing how downcast Shen Junxi looked, Song Jingwei couldn’t help but comment.

Shen Junxi gestured with his hand, asking, “Will you care when I fully recover?” But what he really wanted to know was—when Song Jingwei anxiously carried him out to find a doctor last night, was there even a little bit of genuine concern for him?

“I don’t understand. Just lie down and sleep.” Once they returned to the room, Song Jingwei pushed him back onto the bed to rest.

After running a fever, Shen Junxi’s body was exhausted. It didn’t take long before he drifted off to sleep. Only when he was sound asleep did Song Jingwei finally feel at ease enough to close his eyes. Thinking back on the unexpected events of the past two nights, he sighed—both had been disturbances to his peaceful sleep.

Early the next morning, Song Jingwei woke up and reached out to touch Shen Junxi’s forehead. His temperature was normal, with no signs of the fever returning. Shen Junxi’s body must be quite strong, with good immunity and a quick recovery rate.

“How long has it been since you last got sick?” He asked as soon as Shen Junxi opened his eyes.

Shen Junxi blinked at him and held up two fingers.

“Two years?” That was quite a long time. “No wonder you got a fever.” Song Jingwei got out of bed and said, “If you’re fine now, get up. Your mother is really worried about you.”

Shen Junxi tugged at the hem of his robe, his eyes bright with anticipation.

“I’m not worried. I was just afraid you’d burn out your brain and cling to me for life.” If Shen Junxi had gotten brain damage from his fever while under his care, Song Jingwei would truly feel guilty for a lifetime.

Shen Junxi smiled, as radiant as a wildflower blooming in the mountains, thinking to himself, Cling to you for life… sounds perfect.

“Don’t be silly. Get up.” Song Jingwei said one last time before taking a wooden basin outside to fetch water for washing up.

“Jingwei, you’re up. How’s Junxi?” Yang Shi was sweeping the courtyard when she saw him and asked.

“He’s fine. He has a strong constitution.” Song Jingwei replied.

“That’s good.” Yang Shi smiled in relief, proudly adding, “Junxi’s health has always been good—he hasn’t been sick for years.” That was exactly why his sudden illness last night had frightened her so much. With Shen Dongming also in that state, if not for Song Jingwei, she truly wouldn’t have known what to do.