Still at dusk.
Jiang Chen stood in front of Xia Shiyu’s door. Just as he was about to ring the bell, he paused his finger in midair.
[Seems like every time I come it is during the night…]
He shook his head and pushed the weird thought out of his head, as he rang the bell.
But after waiting awhile, no one came to open the door.
[The light is on. She should be home. Is she annoyed that I come so late every time?]
Jiang Chen forced a smile. It was nowhere intentional, but the timing just worked out to be this way. He spent the afternoon with Sun Jiao and Yao Yao before coming back to the modern world. After having dinner with them, he brought the USB drive over. Because the office was still being renovated, the employees only consist of Xia Shiyu, so she worked from home.
After pondering in front of the door, Jiang Chen scratched his head. Since he was already here, it wouldn’t fit his personality to just go back. He thought about it, before pulling out his phone.
“Call Xia Shiyu’s number.”
“Okay, master.,” the phone immediately called out.
It didn’t take long for Jiang Chen to get used to the clever Little White. He only needed to move his mouth to finish any function on the phone.
The phone rang for around 20 seconds before it finally went through.
“Hello?” A weak and hoarse voice came from the other side.
“Are you okay? Why do you sound so weird?” Jiang Chen quickly asked with a frown.
“Nothing, cough, I just feel a bit tired. Sorry, I fell asleep and didn’t notice your call,” Xia Shiyu touched her burning her forehead as she said with ambiguity.
“I am outside, open the door for me. I‘ll bring you to the hospital.” Jiang Chen left no room for argument.
“Why did you come at night again?” Xia Shiyu’s weak voice had a hint of confusion and alertness.
“Of course I needed to talk about some things with you, but let’s not worry about that. I am worried about your condition. Open the door for me, and stop asking!” Jiang Chen anxiously said.
If she became unconscious, it’s going to be problematic.
After what seemed like a long wait, slow shuffling noises finally resonated on the other side of the door, and the doorknob turned. But when Jiang Chen saw Xia Shiyu, she scared him. Her pale face nowhere resembled the independent woman she was. She looked weak and fragile.
“What’s going on!” Jiang Chen immediately held onto Xia Shiyu who was about to fall.
He hasn’t seen her for one day, and she became this sick?
Xia Shiyu bit her lips as she looked at the hand that was holding her. She didn’t want to open the door because she was so “vulnerable”. If Jiang Chen had other motives, there was nothing she could do.
But what she didn’t consider was that if he really had other motives, she would be vulnerable regardless of her condition.
Perhaps it was an impulse, but her perplexed feeling defeated her awareness for self-protection which made her open the door. The moment when she saw Jiang Chen’s face, she suddenly felt calm.
“Fu*k, it’s burning!” Jiang Chen touched her forehead as the high temperature made him jump, “No, something is definitely wrong! I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“It’s too late, I’ll eat some medicine and sleep through it.” Although she hated cursing words, she had no energy to ridicule him.
“No! Listen to me,” Jiang Chen rejected her right away. In a state of shock, Jiang Chen picked her up princess carry style and walked downstairs.
Xia Shiyu gently bit her lip and felt the warmness around her body, as she tried avoiding his eyes. She thought she would fight back, but the strange thing was that her first reaction was calmness.
Maybe she didn’t realize that, subconsciously, she didn’t mind the forceful move. The always emotionless face was just a bad camouflage for herself. When Jiang Chen picked her up forcefully, it made her heart beat faster, and she felt anxious.
Or, it was a sense of security?
The same odd feeling came back again…
Xia Shiyu closed her eyes, still not accepting it.
－
Jiang Chen carried Xia Shiyu downstairs and disregarded the curious and concerned looks of the people around them. He opened the car door, helped Xia Shiyu into the passenger seat, and put the seatbelt on her before getting in.
“Your new car?” Xia Shiyu weakly leaned against the car seat as her chest pumped up and down.
“Maybach S600, a gift from buying the house,” Jiang Chen casually answered and started the car.
“…” What kind of house would give a car as a gift? Xia Shiyu was curious but didn’t have the energy to ask.
“I told you that if you didn’t feel okay to call me. Look at you now,” Jiang Chen said as he steered the wheel.
“I can just eat some medicine, there’s nothing to worry about.” Although her voice sounded like she didn’t care, she felt warmness surround her heart.
“Hehe, you say this is nothing to worry about? You are almost unconscious! You live alone, and no one is taking care of you. If I didn’t have something to talk to you about today, no one would know if you became unconscious. Your body probably would stink before someone discovered it,” Jiang Chen said sharply.
[Well, you are here right?] Xia Shiyu pouted but stopped all of a sudden. She was surprised by such a girly act.
[Looks like the fever is making me confused…]
Xia Shiyu gently touched her forehead and felt the burning sensation.
The scenery flashed across the car window as silence ensued in the car. Although he just got the car, he drove it skillfully. Probably had to do with his 29 reflexes. But because they were in the city center, it was not even that fast.
“I am sick. Why do you care?” After a long silence, Xia Shiyu abruptly opened her mouth.
“Of course I care.” If you are sick, who is going to do the work?
Jiang Chen always believed in being a leader who only asked others to do things. If she was sick, why would he not be worried?
There may be other reasons, but he still hasn’t figured them out.
But Xia Shiyu seemed to have interpreted it as something else, silence ensued again.
Maybe it was the fever, but her face was abnormally red.
They soon arrived at the nearest hospital. Jiang Chen parked the car and immediately ran to the other side to open the door. But when he was about the use the same gesture to carry Xia Shiyu, she stopped him.
“I can walk by myself. You don’t need to help me. That way is too embarrassing.” Xia Shiyu’s faintly squeezed the last few words out of her mouth. The usually expressionless face now turned blood red. Jiang Chen was stunned by her beauty.
Under Jiang Chen’s intense stare, Xia Shiyu felt embarrassed but somewhat proud?
After she had given him a dirty look, Xia Shiyu dragged her heavy footsteps towards the hospital.
But how could he not worry about her “floaty” footsteps, she walked like this? She would probably get hurt before she even went into the hospital to see why she was sick.
Jiang Chen walked beside her and held onto the stubborn girl.
Although she fought back a little, Xia Shiyu knew her exact condition, so she didn’t stop Jing Chen. She lowered her head and hid her unnatural expression beneath her hair.
The nurse on duty saw Xia Shiyu’s condition and immediately walked up to help. Jiang Chen left Xia Shiyu with the nurse and went to the front desk to fill out the paperwork. It would be up to the doctors now as he knew nothing about medicine.
To be honest, he was anxious about Xia Shiyu’s condition. It didn’t look like an ordinary fever or cold. Maybe because she fell ill because of all the work he piled onto her? Jiang Chen felt guilty about this.
Especially when they were buying the house, she was already feeling a bit sick. But he didn’t immediately bring her to the hospital. Instead, he was having fun…
[Maybe it’s time to control myself?]
With his arm pressed against his knee, he wandered into deep thought.
Although worried, it would be useless to just wait around. He sat on the hospital chair, feeling bored before he took out his phone.
He checked his Wechat to see that Liu Yao had sent him a message. For the energetic third-tier actress, Jiang Chen was happy to chat with her. If he was freer, he didn’t mind hooking up. But he has been too busy recently, so he rejected the rather straightforward invitation.
The movie he promised her would happen since money was not an issue anymore.
To be truthful, it was fun chatting with this girl. His guilt and anxiety quickly faded, as a smile appeared on his face. Time passed by quickly on the phone.
“Hello, sir, are you Miss Xia Shiyu’s husband?” A doctor pushed opened the door and approached Jiang Chen.
“No, I am her… umm, friend.” Jiang Chen put his phone back and stood up.
“Miss Xia Shiyu only had a normal fever, but it was untreated for too long, so the condition is a bit serious now. I recommend you go to the front desk and register her stay at the hospital.” The doctor cut straight to the point and handed the bill to Jiang Chen, motioning him to go to the designated window.
The doctor’s casual attitude made Jiang Chen raise his eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. He carried the bill and paid the fee, which was a total of one thousand dollars. He forced a smile as he thought, ordinary people would not be able to afford this. Minor or major, staying at the hospital was necessary, as was using the most expensive medicine. Do you want a problem? Are you going to see the doctor? Since there are so many people here, there’s never a shortage of patient.
Compared to real estate, the demand for education and healthcare was more steady and reliable. If they really wanted to turn the public sector into a private business sector, the potential gain would be greater than the real estate industry.
Though of course, now money meant nothing to Jiang Chen.
He then walked into the ward, grabbed a chair, and sat beside Xia Shiyu’s bed.
“Sorry for troubling you.” Xia Shiyu’s eyes were half closed as she squeezed a sentence through her lips.
“No problem. Taking care of the staff is the responsibility of the president.” Jiang Chen waved his hand and then asked in a concerning voice, “Are you hungry? Tell me if you want to eat something.”
“Taking care of the staff?” Xia Shiyu didn’t respond to Jiang Chen as she murmured under her breath.
“This is the first time I see you looking so confused,” Jiang Chen said smiling, as he ridiculed.
Xia Shiyu was silent before she abruptly said, “You just haven’t seen it before.”
“Oh? Speaking of this, I am curious. If you are so beautiful, why do you always keep a cold face?”
“… I am tired.” Xia Shiyu closed her eyes and ignored his question.
Jiang Chen, with a bitter smile, shrugged and gave up. He looked at Xia Shiyu’s now regular breathing and helped tuck her up. Then he let out a sigh and walked out of the ward.
[Looks like I am staying here tonight, it would be worrisome to leave her alone.]
Jiang Chen took out his phone and called Ayesha.
“I have something to do tonight and can’t go back, can you take care of yourself?”
“Mhmm. Don’t worry, I will be okay.”
A soft and gentle response echoed from the other side of the phone. It made Jiang Chen feel warm inside.
Although the girl looked even colder than Xia Shiyu when she was outside, whenever she was with Jiang Chen, she was gentler than a sheep.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” The choppy pronunciation surprised Jiang Chen as a delighted smiled appeared on his face.
[That was Han, looks like she is making progress. I hope the day I can communicate with her in Han comes sooner. It’s still weird to call in English.]
After the phone call, Jiang Chen stretched his body. Xia Shiyu was already asleep, so he just needed to remind the nurse to change her medicine during the night.
Time to find a cup of coffee.
Jiang Chen made up his mind as he walked to the resting area of the hospital.