To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

In her previous life, Lin Qingping had never met Zhiyuan's mother.

She didn't know if Zhiyuan had any interaction with the old teachers at the school in her past life. At that time, she only felt disgusted with Zhiyuan and never paid him any attention.

However, she remembered that once, Zhiyuan came to her shop and brought her a roast duck from the capital.

It seems he did go to the capital, but it's unclear who he met there, or why he later returned to the county to hang out with people...

This child, in both his past and present lives, has never mentioned the word "mother." Especially after growing up, he became quite fierce and domineering, like a little tyrant. Who would have thought that such a person actually loves sweets, and that there is always a corner in his heart reserved for his mother...

Lin Qingping hugged him, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside her.

She truly felt guilty for letting the child down when he called her "Mom" before he came to see her on his deathbed.

Zhiyuan had probably never cried like this before. He cried until he was exhausted and fell asleep in her arms.

Lin Qingping gently put him down and left only after seeing that he was sleeping soundly.

I originally planned to go home to see my parents and Zhiyuan before returning to the factory, but Zhiyuan's outburst today has made me uneasy, so I'm planning to postpone my return to the factory and observe Zhiyuan for a while longer.

As a result, Zhiyuan slept for a whole day.

I didn't get up until it was time for dinner.

When Lin Qingping returned from outside, she sensed something was wrong. She went inside and saw the little guy, thin and curled up in a small ball, still asleep.

"Zhiyuan?" Lin Qingping called softly, bending down to check, and saw that his face was flushed.

Although Lin Qingping had never given birth, she had taken good care of her nephew in her previous life. She knew that everything a mother could do was basically the same. She knew something was wrong as soon as she saw him. She reached out and touched him, and sure enough, his forehead, face, and back of his neck were burning hot.

It must be over 39 degrees Celsius!

She quickly picked up Zhiyuan and ran outside.

"What's going on?" Liu Fen, the mother-in-law, asked in surprise as she came out of the kitchen carrying dishes.

"Mother, Zhiyuan is sick, I have to take him to the clinic!" Lin Qingping said hurriedly.

"Wait a minute! How can you lift him? Wait for your dad to come back!" the mother-in-law said hurriedly.

Lin Qingping thought for a moment. Her father-in-law had gone to the county town to buy seeds today and didn't know when he would be back. Besides, and very importantly, she felt that if Zhiyuan woke up and saw her by his side, he would be very happy.

"Never mind!" she said. "I'll carry it."

My second sister also went out in the afternoon, saying that a former classmate was looking for her.

Lin Qingping told her mother-in-law not to worry, that she could manage on her own, and then carried Zhiyuan straight to the health center.

The health center was located in the township, and at that time, transportation was inconvenient; one could only rely on walking.

Lin Qingping initially carried Zhiyuan in her arms. Although Zhiyuan was small and light, he was still a six-year-old child. After carrying him for a while, her arms couldn't take it anymore, so she switched to carrying him on her back.

And so, stumbling along the way, it took two hours to get from the village to the township.

When she arrived at the health center, she was covered in sweat. After putting the person down, she couldn't even straighten her back.

"Doctor, please take a look at my child, he has a high fever!" she gasped.

The doctor took Zhiyuan's temperature, and sure enough, it was 39.5 degrees Celsius.

Arrange for an injection immediately.

The doctor told them to stay at the health center and observe the child's condition. If the fever persisted and recurred, it would be best to go to the county hospital.

Lin Qingping nodded.

She understood that at this time, the conditions at the township health center were limited, and the illnesses that could cause fever in children were not limited to the common cold, but also included various viral infections. If the illness was delayed, it would be very dangerous.

Lin Qingping took Zhiyuan to the health center for observation.

Time passed slowly, but Zhiyuan showed no signs of his fever subsiding.

Lin Qingping was very anxious and went to the doctor's office countless times to ask questions.

Two hours later, the doctor came to the observation room to check on Zhiyuan, but his fever still hadn't subsided.

"Where is the child's father?" the doctor at the health center asked.

Lin Qingping didn't know what to say, even she wasn't a mother!

She was silent for a moment, then said, "In the military."

The doctor suddenly realized, "You're a military dependent! What can we do then? We can wait another hour at most. If the fever doesn't break, you'll have to take the child to the county hospital. It's so late at night, and you're a woman all alone..."

“It’s okay, I can do it!” Lin Qingping immediately replied.

In fact, she couldn't wait even an hour; she wanted to take Zhiyuan away immediately.

So worried, he went back and forth between the observation room and the doctor's office asking questions. When he returned to the doctor's office, he habitually touched Zhiyuan's forehead and found that although the temperature was still very high, the roots of his hair were a little damp.

She was delighted and touched his neck and the back of his neck again. Sure enough, he was sweating.

She felt a sense of relief and almost burst into tears of joy.

Based on her experience taking care of her nephew in her previous life, if a child sweats when they have a high fever, it means the fever is going down.

She felt a little relieved and sat down next to Zhiyuan, wiping his sweat.

This time, it wasn't long before Zhiyuan broke out in a sweat, and his body temperature dropped.

When Lin Qingping wiped his sweat again, he frowned and woke up.

Lin Qingping was overjoyed, "Zhiyuan, you're awake?"

Perhaps because he was still a little groggy from just waking up, Zhiyuan just stared at her without saying a word, but his eyes were exceptionally clear, as if they had been washed.

"What's wrong?" Lin Qingping smiled at him. "Don't you recognize me?"

At this point, she was genuinely startled. Could it be that the fever had made her stupid?

Just as she was about to call the doctor, Zhiyuan spoke up, his voice still a little hoarse, "Where is this?"

"It's...it's the health center." Lin Qingping sat back down worriedly. "Zhiyuan, do you know who I am?"

Zhiyuan looked tired, glanced at her, and clearly uttered three words, "Lin Qingping".

Lin Qingping: ...

This brat!

However, she smiled happily; the child wasn't mentally impaired! The child was cured!

Lin Qingping quickly poured him a cup of hot water from the kettle, "Here, drink this water, the more water you drink, the faster you'll recover!"

Zhiyuan's lips were very dry, and he drank the whole glass of water clean.

My throat felt much clearer after drinking the water.

Zhiyuan looked out the window. "Is it late?"

Lin Qingping nodded, "Yes! It's almost midnight!"

"Are you alone?" Zhiyuan looked around.

Lin Qingping smiled and nodded, "My second aunt and grandpa aren't home today. Grandma told her not to come. She's staying home to cook you something delicious, so you'll have something to eat when you get back."

Zhiyuan turned his head away.

"What's wrong? Or do you not want me to come with you?" Lin Qingping said deliberately.

Zhiyuan's eyes snapped open. He glanced at her, looking rather old-fashioned, and said, "Don't do it next time."

"What?" What do you not want?

"Next time I get sick, don't bring me to the clinic alone late at night. I'll get better on my own."

Lin Qingping suddenly understood what he meant by all that nonsense. This child still remembered that she was afraid of the dark!

"Nonsense!" She pinched his little cheek, a warm feeling welling up inside her. "Don't get sick next time! What's a good thing about being sick? And 'next time' and 'next time'!"

Looking back, it seems that in her past life, no one cared what she was afraid of.

When she was Gu's daughter-in-law, she was shrewish and unreasonable, and no one in her husband's family would have thought that such a troublemaker would be afraid of her.

Later, Gu Juncheng was gone. She, a single woman, built her own world. Everyone regarded her as a strong woman. They always came to her to ask for things and ask for help. It was as if she was born with an impenetrable wall and was everyone's support.

It's surprising that such a young child would care about her fears; she's not invincible...

Although, in fact, she is not afraid of the dark.

Zhiyuan noticed that her eyes had suddenly turned red, and assumed she was worried that he would get sick again, so he said very seriously, "Really, you'll get better on your own if you get sick, so don't worry."

What is this nonsense?

What does it mean to get better on your own when you are sick?

Lin Qingping frowned. "Did you get sick and then recover on your own?"

Zhiyuan nodded. "When I... they told me that on the day my dad sacrificed his life, I was like that too. I was very hot, had a headache, and felt uncomfortable, but then I got better on my own."

Lin Qingping felt even more distressed upon hearing this.

What on earth happened to this child?!

His mother abandoned him early on, and his father sacrificed his life. Such a small child suffered so many blows, and he endured illness all by himself...

Looking at his rosy little face, Lin Qingping felt that the child was both pitiful and cute, and couldn't help but lean down and quickly kiss his little face.

Zhiyuan was clearly stunned.

Then she stopped talking and her face turned even redder.

Lin Qingping smiled and patted his little hand. "Don't say that you'll get better by yourself when you're sick. You don't care about yourself, but your aunt does. If you feel unwell in the future, tell your aunt when your aunt is around. If your aunt isn't home, tell your grandparents. Don't hide away and get better by yourself!"

Zhiyuan stared blankly, still not saying a word.

"Did you hear that!" Lin Qingping said sternly.

Zhiyuan looked at her, blushed, and nodded.

That's pretty much it!

Lin Qingping smiled.

Zhiyuan remained silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Lin Qingping went to find the doctor and told him that the child's fever had subsided.

After the doctor saw her, he was relieved and prescribed oral medication, instructing her on when to take it and the dosage.

After all that, Zhiyuan was exhausted again.

Lin Qingping covered him with a blanket, afraid that he would catch a cold after sweating. "Being sick is very tiring. If you are tired, go to sleep."

Zhiyuan blinked and suddenly asked her, "What did you just say?"

"what?"

"What did you say when the doctor asked you where my dad was?"

Lin Qingping was slightly surprised, "You heard that?"

"Hmm, I think I overheard a bit. What did you say?"

“I said, in the army…” Lin Qingping was stunned.

Why did the child ask that question? Was it because she didn't answer well? She was just in a moment of panic and didn't want to tell strangers that the child's father was gone. Since the doctor treated her as the child's mother, she subconsciously associated Zhiyuan's father with Gu Juncheng.

So, is the child sensitive?

Did she touch a nerve? Or was he unhappy with what she said?

"It's like this, Zhiyuan..."

She felt she still needed to apologize to the child and make things clear so the child wouldn't hold a grudge. However, she couldn't finish her sentence because Zhiyuan interrupted her.

"What did you say? Could you repeat it?"

Lin Qingping stared blankly, then murmured again, "I said, in the army."

Zhiyuan didn't say anything more and closed his eyes to sleep.