Dawn of Life

Xiao Yu lay sprawled on the sofa, his face flushed and his lips turning purple. Liu Cuiying grumbled and ordered Lin Haifeng to pour water and take his temperature, while she herself sobbed and scolded Xiao Yu: "I told you to put on clothes but you never did, now you're sick!" Although it was all scolding, her tone couldn't hide her worry and heartache.

Lin Yue tossed her bag into the closet and rushed to the sofa without even changing her shoes. She touched Xiao Yu's forehead and asked, "What happened? He was fine this morning!"

As Liu Cuiying handed the thermometer to Lin Yue, she said, "He went to play on the slide in the neighborhood with his friends this afternoon. When he came back, his clothes were completely wet. I changed his clothes and told him to put on a jacket, but he wouldn't wear it. I was busy cooking, and your dad was sitting next to me watching TV and didn't care."

As she spoke, she glared at Lin Haifeng. Lin Haifeng, as always, just shook his head and sighed. Lin Yue's mind was entirely on Xiao Yu at this moment. She picked up the mercury thermometer and held it up to the light to look at it. After seeing clearly, her heart sank even further.

She sighed deeply and said, "39.5 degrees Celsius, Mom. Get Xiaoyu's medical insurance card and come with me to take him to the hospital right away." As she spoke, she took a fever-reducing patch from the medicine box and put it on Xiaoyu's forehead, then poured him some Tylenol to drink.

After doing all that, she took the keys and went out with Liu Cuiying, carrying Xiaoyu. As she turned back before leaving, she met Lin Haifeng's aggrieved and helpless gaze. Lin Yuexin felt a pang of sympathy and said to him, "Dad, don't worry. You can cook some porridge for me at home; it'll be delicious when we get back."

Lin Haifeng jumped up from the sofa, nodded frantically at her, and said, "Okay, drive slowly."

Lin Yue could clearly feel that her father seemed to have aged suddenly in a certain moment.

Lin Haifeng knew that Liu Cuiying had never liked him from the start, always finding fault with him and criticizing him. In his youth, he worked hard to gain recognition, but even that didn't earn him a kind word from Liu Cuiying, who would frequently threaten to run away from home. So, he stopped giving her the time of day. However, he always loved Lin Yue and did everything he could to give her the best.

Now that I'm older, my temper has improved, but my health has deteriorated. Sometimes I feel secretly sad and useless, unable to help my daughter. For example, right now, I feel very useless, even a bit superfluous.

Lin Yue sent her mother because she knew her mother's personality; if she stayed at home, her mother would definitely be restless and keep calling to ask about the situation.

On the way, Lin Yue's mind was filled with thoughts of Xiao Yu's sudden fever; could it be the flu? Just yesterday, she had seen a message from the teacher in their class group chat saying that a third of the children in the class had contracted it.

Just then, she heard a scream, and Lin Yue instinctively slammed on the brakes, bringing the car, which was traveling at over 30 kilometers per hour, to a halt. She immediately opened the car door and ran to the back of the car. She saw a girl kneeling on the ground, struggling to get up, and a shared bicycle lying on the ground a few meters away. Groups of passersby were pointing and looking back.

Lin Yue quickly ran to her side, helped her up, and brushed the dust off her trousers while anxiously asking, "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, my son has a high fever, and I was in a rush while driving. Would you like me to take you to the hospital for a checkup?"

This section of road is already near the hospital entrance, using the hospital's dedicated lane. The road is very narrow, with two lanes side by side. The innermost lane is only about 2 meters wide for bicycles, without any barriers, and all kinds of bicycles and electric bikes travel here. Lin Yue's car wasn't going too fast, but she was tightly restricted by the cars in the outer lane, so she could only drive close to the non-motorized vehicle lane.

Perhaps she was too hasty, or perhaps she was simply in a blind spot, but her right rearview mirror grazed the girl's bicycle handlebars, causing her to fall off the bike. Lin Yue had never encountered anything like this before; her mind went blank, and her heart pounded wildly.

Fortunately, the girl didn't seem to be seriously injured; she only had scrapes below her knee. She looked a little dazed, and after getting up, she walked towards her fallen bicycle, muttering as she went, "I was just about to go to the hospital too; I need to get my back checked."

Seeing that she seemed to be alright and didn't seem to intend to hold a grudge, Lin Yue gradually calmed down and felt a surge of gratitude. She chased after her, apologizing profusely, and sincerely said, "I'm so sorry, please get in the car first, we'll go to the hospital together."

The girl waved her hand and said, "No need, we're already at the hospital entrance. If you want to go to the underground parking garage, with the cars lined up like this, who knows how long it will take."

Lin Yue didn't insist any further and said, "How about we add each other on WeChat? You can contact me anytime if you have any questions."

The girl took out her phone and scanned the WeChat QR code Lin Yue handed her, then rode away on her bicycle without a word. Lin Yue got back into the driver's seat and started the car. Liu Cuiying, who had been sitting on the bike holding Xiaoyu, asked worriedly, "Are you alright? I told you to drive slowly, but you wouldn't listen." Her tone was the same as at home, still complaining, but full of worry.

Lin Yue hummed in agreement and continued to concentrate on driving.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Lin Yue took the lead, registering the children and finding the examination room. Liu Cuiying followed behind, carrying Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu was already seven years old, and it was clear that carrying him like that for even a short while was becoming tiring. Lin Yue turned around and saw beads of sweat on her mother's forehead, and her steps were strained, which made her feel a pang of heartache.

Lin Yue walked over and said, "Mom, come here, let me hug you for a while."

Liu Cuiying hesitated for a moment and said, "No need." As she spoke, she moved Xiaoyu to the side.

Knowing her personality, Lin Yue didn't insist any further. She pointed to the chair next to her and said, "Then you two sit here for a while. I'll go find the examination room and see how many appointments are left. I'll come back to meet you later."

Liu Cuiying nodded, her eyes fixed on Xiaoyu's face.

It was already past 7 p.m., and the hospital had closed. They went to the emergency room. There were many people with colds in the emergency room, including children with fever-reducing patches and elderly people being helped around.

After much trouble, the test results finally came back. Sure enough, Xiaoyu tested positive for influenza A, and the doctor prescribed some special medication and sent them home.

They got home close to ten o'clock, where Lin Haifeng was waiting for them on the sofa. Seeing the door open, he greeted them with concern. After taking fever-reducing medicine, Xiaoyu's temperature had gone down, and he was much better. After getting out of the car, he was allowed to walk slowly on his own. Lin Haifeng bent down, cupped Xiaoyu's face in his hands, and asked, "Baby, are you alright?"

Then she went to the kitchen to get some porridge and stir-fried some vegetables, which she then brought to the table. Liu Cuiying was probably tired; she hadn't said much since leaving the hospital, and was now drinking her porridge by herself.

Lin Yue suddenly remembered something, took out her phone, opened WeChat, and checked again. The girl she had bumped into earlier hadn't messaged her. Lin Yue couldn't help but sigh, "That girl this afternoon was so kind; she didn't take advantage of me or try to extort money. That makes me feel a little embarrassed. I should send her a message to say hello."

Liu Cuiying chimed in, "Yes, I guess he's not injured. It's only right to ask after him."

So Lin Yue opened her WeChat and sent her a message: "Are you free this afternoon?"