Two bags of IV fluids took nearly four hours, and Cen Jin stayed with Li Wu all morning. Thanks to the fast-acting dexamethasone for fever reduction, when Cen Jin called the nurse to check near noon, Li Wu’s temperature had returned to normal.
Cen Jin breathed a sigh of relief, closed her laptop and stuffed it back in her bag, then asked if he’d eaten breakfast.
Li Wu tilted his head slightly, then paused and changed to a nod instead.
Cen Jin glanced at him, her expression knowing: “Did you eat or not?”
“No.” This time he answered honestly.
Cen Jin said: “I’ll go downstairs to buy you something to eat. Wait here, and don’t forget to watch the IV—it’s almost done.”
Li Wu nodded: “Okay.”
Cen Jin stood up and left.
The woman’s figure was graceful, moving like the wind. Li Wu watched her turn past the glass door and his lips curved up, but unexpectedly she suddenly turned her face back, sweeping a glance his way.
Li Wu quickly averted his gaze and only dared look straight ahead after a good while. By then, Cen Jin’s figure had vanished among the crowds flowing through the corridor.
But this didn’t stop Li Wu from continuing to feel happy, because he knew Cen Jin would return. He lowered his eyes to watch the medicine drip by drip into his veins, praying for it to go slower, yet also hoping it would go faster. His feelings were complex and tangled, but before long, the IV bag had reached its end anyway.
Li Wu was about to call someone when a little boy of about four or five beside him already called out loudly: “Nurse Auntie, this big brother’s water is gone!”
Li Wu: “…”
Hearing this, the nurse came over to remove Li Wu’s needle.
The little boy beside them immediately covered his eyes, but peeked through his fingers while offering comfort: “Big brother, taking out the needle doesn’t hurt, it’s much better than putting it in, don’t be scared.”
The boy’s mother smiled and chided her son for being talkative; Li Wu’s eyelashes lowered halfway, the dimple at the corner of his mouth deepening.
After the nurse cleared everything away, Li Wu said thank you, pressed the needle site for a moment, and then got up to throw the cotton swab in the trash.
The hand warmer in his hand had long since gone cold. He stared down at it for a while, not knowing where to put it appropriately, and could only grip it and stuff it back in his pocket.
As he did so, Li Wu’s fingers touched something else.
He froze, felt around a few times, his heart starting to skip beats, and quickly pulled out the item from his pocket to check.
Sure enough, it was the phone Cen Jin had lent him.
He checked the other pocket and found tangled wires—the matching charger.
The youth leaned back against the chair, lost in thought for quite a while, then started smiling foolishly, though frustrated at discovering this so late.
When he finally came to his senses, he hurriedly turned on the phone and went straight to WeChat to compose a message.
…
At that same moment, Cen Jin was sitting in a steamy little noodle shop next to the hospital.
She had ordered a takeout portion of three-delicacy chicken noodles, but the kitchen’s efficiency was mediocre, and she’d been waiting idly for quite a while.
Finally, when the staff called her to pick up her order, Cen Jin quickly opened WeChat to make a payment but noticed a new message in her friend’s list.
It was three words from Li Wu: I’m sorry.
I sent it one minute ago.
Simple content, but sincere.
Cen Jin’s lips curved up involuntarily. After paying and picking up the takeout box, she switched back to the chat interface to admire the message a few more times before replying with a Buddhist-style sticker of someone striking a wooden fish, accompanied by three large characters: It’s okay.
…
Walking out of the shop, even the wind seemed gentler. Cen Jin messaged the youth: What time are your afternoon classes? Li Wu replied: One-thirty.
Cen Jin looked up to the nearest dessert shop, hurried over, and selected a chocolate cake topped with macarons from the window display, taking it back to the hospital with her.
Returning to the infusion room, Li Wu was still waiting obediently in his chair.
Cen Jin walked to his side and raised both hands to show him everything: “I bought you noodles and cake, which do you want to eat first?”
Li Wu’s eyelids flickered rapidly twice, with a sort of dazed feeling that happiness had come too suddenly and too intensely: “It’s too much.”
“I was planning to treat you to cake for Christmas, but you were in such a bad mood then and missed out,” Cen Jin sat back down, saying casually: “Fortunately it’s not too late, since December isn’t over yet.”
Li Wu paused, asking softly: “Are you still angry with me?”
Cen Jin looked at him, frowning in feigned confusion: “I think I already answered that on WeChat, didn’t I?”
Li Wu lowered his head and smiled, too happy to speak a single word.
“Eat the noodles first, they’re going to get mushy.” Guessing this child wouldn’t be able to complete this multiple-choice question anytime soon, Cen Jin took the initiative to decide for him.
“Eat the cake first!” The little boy beside them had been watching for a while and couldn’t help but interject with a grin.
He turned to plead with his mother: “Mom, I want cake too! I want a cake like Big Brother’s! I’m sick too, I’m getting an IV too, why don’t I get a cake reward!”
Li Wu turned to look at him once, then agreed: “Okay, let’s eat the cake first.”
He took the cake box and looked back at Cen Jin, his eyes sincere and bright: “Can I share it with him?”
Cen Jin raised the corner of her mouth, helpless: “You need to ask me about this too?”
Li Wu opened the lid, only took the macaron for himself, and then handed over the rest along with the fork to the little boy beside him.
The boy’s mother quickly said: “Don’t just eat, hurry and say thank you.”