On the Wedding Night, I Transmigrated to After the Divorce – Chapter 12
by Little PandaHow Did She Get Sick?
More dependent on her
In County Clare, there was a centuries-old earldom estate right near the Cliffs of Moher. On the day they checked in, Yu Yan eagerly headed to the seaside—cliffs over two hundred metres high, directly facing the wild Atlantic Ocean. The endless expanse was as staggering as reaching the edge of the world.
The howling sea breeze blew Yu Yan’s face stiff, but her soul grew incomparably light. Here, there was the ocean, the wilderness, and freedom. It possessed a massive, natural vitality that made one want to spend their whole life right here—wild, yet tranquil.
Yu Yan stayed there for a full half-day, only returning to the estate at dinnertime.
Whether it was her poor immune system, draining her energy from too much excitement, or simply failing to acclimatise, Yu Yan broke out in a high fever that very night.
She had felt exhausted on the way back. After forcing herself to finish a shower, her body was completely sapped of strength. Her breath and cheeks were scalding, and she was terribly dizzy. She lay sprawled on the bed, at her last gasp, not even drying her hair because she truly couldn’t get up.
She could vaguely sense that she was coming down with something, but she didn’t want to tell Yu Lan, as she would definitely get scolded. Groggy and dazed, Yu Yan fell asleep before she could even dry her hair.
It was only nine in the evening then, nowhere near Yu Yan’s usual bedtime. With the wedding fast approaching, there were many things they needed to discuss together. Fu Yunqing appeared at the door of her room, carrying a box of pudding.
Yu Yan had eaten this type of pudding earlier that morning. While having breakfast with Fu Yunqing, it was the one Fu Yunqing had been eating.
Seeing her eat it, Yu Yan had acted coquettish and said she wanted a taste too. Fu Yunqing had wanted to ask the waiter to bring another portion, but Yu Yan refused, saying she only wanted a bite of the one Fu-jiejie had eaten.
Her motives were so clear and naked, completely undisguised. She looked at Fu Yunqing with feigned, innocent ignorance, clearly wanting Fu Yunqing to feed her.
She didn’t mind that Fu Yunqing had already eaten from it. If Fu Yunqing had swapped the spoon out of politeness, she definitely would have shown a heartbroken expression.
Fu Yunqing was a little helpless. Scooping up a small spoonful, she held back her sleeve and fed it to her.
Yu Yan bent at the waist and leaned in, keeping eye contact. Her reflection magnified in Fu Yunqing’s pupils. Yu Yan loved to smile. She had dimples—one side was more pronounced, the other slightly fainter. When her eyes curved into a smile, her under-eye crinkles1 became very pronounced, crinkling so much her eyes practically vanished. She looked like a bright, youthful moon that lit up a person’s vision.
She opened her mouth and ate the pudding Fu Yunqing fed her, her smile deepening as she said it was delicious.
Carrying these thoughts, Fu Yunqing pressed the doorbell. There was no answer from inside. Fu Yunqing remembered she had already returned, so she pulled out her phone and sent her a message: 【Are you in your room?】
After standing and waiting for quite a while, Yu Yan didn’t reply.
Where had she gone? She shouldn’t be sleeping this early. A maid of the estate passed by, and when Fu Yunqing asked, the maid stated that Miss Yu hadn’t come out of her room since she returned.
Unaccountably worried, Fu Yunqing gave Yu Yan a call.
The ringtone woke the sleeping Yu Yan in the room. Upon waking, her discomfort was far more intense than before she fell asleep. Her eyes throbbed, her head ached, and she fluctuated between chills and hot flashes. She groggily answered the call.
Fu Yunqing’s voice came through: “Yanyan?”
“Mhm… I fell asleep just now.” She answered indistinctly, her voice hoarse and weak.
Fu Yunqing sensed something was wrong. “Are you not feeling well?”
“Mhm…”
Yu Yan hadn’t locked the door. Pressing the door handle, Fu Yunqing pushed her way inside. Yu Yan had just propped herself up in bed. She was wearing a nightgown, her long hair wet, her eye sockets red and swollen, and her cheeks flushed with fever.
Seeing this, Fu Yunqing walked over quickly. She set down the box of pudding, cupped the back of Yu Yan’s head with one hand, and reached out to test her forehead with the other. She furrowed her brows—it was scalding.
“You have a fever.” Fu Yunqing saw that her hair was wet. “Why didn’t you dry your hair?”
Yu Yan remained silent, lacking the strength to answer. She merely felt that having Fu Yunqing touch her forehead felt incredibly nice. She subconsciously wanted to nuzzle into it. Top-heavy and dizzy, she instinctively wanted to lean against her.
Feeling the weight of her reliance, Fu Yunqing sat on the edge of the bed and took the initiative to gather her into her arms, letting Yu Yan rest against her chest.
“Is it unbearable?” Fu Yunqing lowered her head, deeply worried.
As soon as she lowered her head, her chin brushed against the wet crown of Yu Yan’s hair. She wasn’t disgusted that it was dampening her own clothes; she only saw Yu Yan weakly muffled in her embrace: “A little unbearable…”
How did she get sick? She was so fragile.
Fu Yunqing made a call to fetch a doctor for her. Releasing her, Fu Yunqing softly said, “I’ll go get the hairdryer and dry your hair for you.”
Yu Yan’s head was spinning; she couldn’t sit up at all. By the time Fu Yunqing returned to the bedside with the hairdryer, she was already sprawled over the pillows again. Fu Yunqing supported her shoulders, half-coaxing and half-holding her as she shifted Yu Yan’s head to hang slightly off the edge of the bed, her long hair spilling down. Sitting beside her, Fu Yunqing bent over to dry her hair.
“If you weren’t feeling well, you should have told me earlier. Sleeping with wet hair like this will only make your condition worse.”
“From now on, you must dry your hair after washing it. Even if you don’t catch a fever, it’s very bad for your health. It will cause headaches, damage your scalp, and even make your hair fall out.”
The roaring of the hairdryer drowned out most of Fu Yunqing’s voice. Even though Yu Yan’s head was thick and dizzy, she could still hear her clearly.
Fu Yunqing knew exactly what girls cared about. Her emphatic manner made Yu Yan inexplicably want to laugh, and she felt a spark of secret delight. That delight stemmed from Fu Yunqing’s earnest, motherly tone2. Even sick like this, all she could think about was how much Fu Yunqing cared for her.
She didn’t laugh, nor did she voice her agreement. Wearing a miserable expression, she lay there and let Fu Yunqing wait on her, feeling perfectly justified in doing so. By the time the doctor arrived, her hair had been blown about eighty percent dry.
Fu Yunqing handed Yu Yan over to the female Irish doctor carrying a medical kit. The doctor took her temperature: 38.5 degrees Celsius—considered a high fever. It was generally confirmed to be caused by catching a chill from the wind. It wasn’t a major issue; the main thing was to bring the fever down. She needed to take fever-reducing medicine, drink plenty of water, rest a lot, and avoid catching another chill.
That was easy to say, but Yu Yan knew she was in for a bout of suffering. Her most hated thing was catching a cold and fever. She would get a stuffed and runny nose, a headache, and a sore throat. Her fevers always fluctuated repeatedly, taking over a week to fully recover. It had been this way since she was a child.
It was so frustrating. Why did it have to happen at a time like this?
The doctor prescribed Yu Yan some fever-reducing medicine. When Yu Lan heard she was sick, she also hurried over. By this time, Yu Yan was already tucked under the covers in bed, a cooling patch that Fu Yunqing had applied stuck to her forehead.
Yu Lan immediately furrowed her brows. “How did you end up like this?”
Hindered by Fu Yunqing’s presence, Yu Lan reined in her anger. Sitting by the bed, she looked at her frail, sick daughter with an expression of frustrated disappointment3. She lowered her voice and said, “I told you not to go out playing like a wild thing, but you never listen. You haven’t listened since you were a child. Do you think anything I say is meant to harm you?”
“It’s almost the wedding, and you’ve made yourself like this. Can you show a bit of maturity?”
“…” Yu Yan had long anticipated she would be scolded, so she kept her eyes shut and played dead.
“This place isn’t like Yuncheng. The temperature difference between day and night is large. If one doesn’t keep warm, it’s easy to get sick.” Fu Yunqing walked over carrying a glass of hot water and comforted Yu Lan. “It’s normal to be playful at her age. It’s also my responsibility for not taking good care of her.”
Seeing Fu Yunqing speak up for her, Yu Lan’s tone softened slightly. “I’m just afraid it’ll delay things. She has a weak constitution; a cold and fever won’t clear up in a day or two.”
Yu Lan reached out to take the medicine and water from Fu Yunqing’s hands. “Give it to me, I’ll just have her drink it herself.”
Even though they had already obtained their Marriage Certificate, it was ultimately a commercial marriage of convenience that they both clearly understood. They both knew these were polite pleasantries. Yu Lan wouldn’t trouble Fu Yunqing, but Fu Yunqing shook her head. “I’ll do it.”
Yu Lan paused, then stepped aside, not insisting.
“Take your medicine before you sleep.”
Feeling someone lean in close, her slightly stuffed nose still managed to catch that pleasant, increasingly familiar fragrance from the past few days. The woman’s gentleness formed a stark contrast with Yu Lan’s cold harshness, making Yu Yan feel intensely aggrieved. Yu Yan stopped playing dead. She opened her damp, red eyes and looked at Fu Yunqing. Very cooperatively, she sat up, opened her mouth, drank the water, and swallowed the pills.
Even after taking the medicine, she refused to close her eyes. After lying back down, she still wouldn’t close her eyes. She looked at her tearfully, her gaze never wavering for a second. Her expression was so pitiful, as if she were pleading for her help.
Being looked at like this, Fu Yunqing furrowed her brows while a subtle feeling welled up in her heart.
She thought: Yu Yan relies on me a lot.
Footnotes
- 'Lying silkworm' (wòcán) refers to the small horizontal pocket of fat just beneath the lower eyelashes that becomes prominent when smiling. In East Asian beauty standards, it is highly prized for making the eyes look youthful, sweet, and expressive.
- 'Bitter mouth, old woman's heart' (kǔkǒu póxīn) is a Chinese idiom meaning to advise someone earnestly and repeatedly out of good intentions.
- 'Wishing iron could become steel' (hèn tiě bù chéng gāng) is a Chinese idiom describing the feeling of deep frustration toward someone who fails to meet expectations, often out of love and a desire for them to improve.
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