Chapter 4: The Desperate Measures
Exhausted, I collapsed onto the bed, tears soaking the pillowcase.
I slept fitfully into the late night, only to be jolted awake by nightmares, my head pounding, my body alternating between scorching heat and bone-chilling cold.
I tried to get up, but my limbs were stiff and unresponsive.
The last shred of my rationality told me this was a grand mal seizure due to high fever.
If I didn’t cool down soon, I could face dire consequences like intellectual decline, cerebral palsy, or even death.
In my panic, the only thing within reach was a hard object –
My phone!
In the darkness, I dialed out, relying solely on the faintest touch, and after what felt like an eternity, the call miraculously went through.
Thank God!
“Hello,” the line connected, “What’s up?”
It was Shen Ke!
Despite my hatred for him, my instinct for survival overrode everything else.
“I… grand mal… help me…”
My throat was raw.
With all my strength, I managed to send out a plea for help.
But the person on the other end fell silent.
A few seconds later, he indifferently said, “Le Ning, are you faking illness to gain sympathy?”
Fear crept up on me.
“No… I’m not…”
He impatiently cut me off, “If you’re sick, take a taxi to the hospital. I’m busy.”
“The water pipe at my parents’ house burst, and both Yanzi and Suisu caught a cold because of you. I’m in the middle of the night fixing the pipe.”
My head was spinning, and I knew I didn’t have the strength to call anyone else. Clinging to the last straw, I desperately pleaded –
“Shen Ke… please… help me…”
“Enough, Lin Le Ning.”
Shen Ke’s tone was condescending.
He seemed to have finally found an outlet for his emotions and began a long-winded lecture.
“The sense of security in love should not be given by others but created by yourself. You always want me to put you first all the time, which is unrealistic. Have you ever considered that I have my own personality too? Look at yourself now, as soon as there’s the slightest neglect, you either break up or pretend to be sick, it’s ridiculous! Alright, I won’t say more, reflect on yourself.”
“Click—”
The call was hung up.
I was so angry that my head buzzed incessantly.
And in my extreme anger and unwillingness, my consciousness was gradually swallowed by a dark whirlpool.
…
I woke up again in the hospital.
My vision was still on the pure white ceiling, and my consciousness had not yet returned when suddenly, a fresh face appeared in front of me.
“Le Ning sister, you’re awake?”
“Xin Yu?”
I was a bit surprised.
She is Shen Ke’s stepsister, and we had met once.
Xin Yu nodded and explained, “Last night I overheard your conversation with my brother and was not reassured, so I secretly took his key to find you.”
“When I arrived, you had already fainted from a high fever. I quickly called 120. Fortunately, the doctor said it was just in time. As long as the fever subsides, you’ll be fine.”
I was grateful from the bottom of my heart, “Really thank you, without you, my life might have been in danger.”
She smiled, sat by my bed, and tentatively asked, “Sister, have you broken up with my brother? Why did he bring that woman Bai Wenyan home?”
I was puzzled by her disdainful tone when she mentioned Bai Wenyan.
But the next second, what she said left me stunned.
She sneered and said –
“They have been broken up for so many years, why are they still entangled?”
