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Chapter 238 – The Sick Little Girl(Teaser)
“Yang Yi, are you an idiot?”
On early Monday morning, Yang Yi obediently sat on the sofa with his head lowered, receiving a scolding from a worried Mo Fei who had hurriedly came back. He didn’t even have the intention to defend himself, as he was too busy blaming himself in his heart.
Xixi still caught a cold. Yesterday at the coffee shop, the little girl sneezed a few times. Yang Yi realized it too late, even though he had read some books and made preparations beforehand. He promptly prepared a dinner to boost Xixi’s immune system, such as chicken soup and stir-fried carrots, but it was still too late.
In the evening, Xixi’s cold gradually became serious.
First, she sneezed non-stop, and then her nose started running. Yang Yi wiped her with many tissues, and her little nose turned all red. Then at night, before going to bed, the little girl began to cough.
In the middle of the night, the little girl coughed heavily and said to her father in a daze, “Papa, I feel so uncomfortable.”
Yang Yi hurriedly took Xixi to the hospital in the university town in the middle of the night for a check-up. Fortunately, the doctor confirmed after examination that it was not a case of concurrent pneumonia. A silver lining in a cloud of misfortune1The phrase “不幸中的万幸” (bù xìng zhōng de wàn xìng) means “fortunate in the midst of misfortune” or “a silver lining in a cloud of misfortune.” It expresses the idea that even in a situation that is generally unfortunate or unlucky, there is still something positive or fortunate to be found. It highlights the presence of a small blessing or positive aspect within a larger negative circumstance. “A blessing in disguise” is its English counterpart., but they still went through a whole night of trouble before returning home.
Early the next morning, Yang Yi informed Mo Fei, leading to the scene that unfolded…
Mo Fei didn’t have time to talk to Yang Yi and went straight to the bedroom to check on her daughter first. The little girl had been tossing around all night and was now soundly asleep, although her sleep was not entirely peaceful. She would cough now and then and mumble in her dreams, saying, “Papa, I don’t want an injection…”
When she first visited Lan Xin, it seemed that what Lan Xin’s said had left a deep impression on the little girl.
“No injections, we won’t get any injections”, Mo Fei comforted softly with a heartache. Looking at Xixi’s messy hair and listening to the sound of Xixi’s slightly labored breathing when she was sleeping, she felt that her daughter had become much more haggard.
Mo Fei could only get angry at Yang Yi and pulled him into the living room for another lesson, “I’ve told you that colds have been frequent these days. So, you should have pay attention whether Xixi has a cold or a fever. How could you forget?”
“And when other children catch a cold or had a fever, you foolishly took Xixi to the other party’s place! Seriously, how old is Xixi? She doesn’t have the same resistance as you. How could you indulge her and let her visit sick friends like an adult?”
Yang Yi lowered his head and obediently listened. He knew he had made a mistake and didn’t dare to argue.
Of course, Mo Fei was just momentarily angry. Once her anger subsided, she didn’t blame Yang Yi anymore.
She made a call to ask Mo Xiaojuan to help her request leave from Jin Yingming. Although she felt very embarrassed, she had just returned and spent two days recording songs before requesting leave again. However, this time, Xixi was sick, and no matter what, Mo Fei had to take leave to accompany her daughter!
Seeing Mo Fei make a phone call, Yang Yi remembered to call the Chuntian Kindergarten and ask Teacher Mu for a leave of absence for Xixi.
After hanging up the phone, Yang Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry as he said to Mo Fei, “Lan Xin and Nan Zhaoyu also took a leave of absence. They caught a cold too. It seems that they were all infected.”
“That’s why I told you! Look, you’ve even got other children catching colds. Will you still take it lightly in the future?” Mo Fei said reproachfully, pinching Yang Yi.
However, Mo Fei didn’t continue to nag. She didn’t have the habit of nagging. Instead, she sat down next to Yang Yi and flipped through the cold medicine prescribed by the doctor yesterday.
“What medicine did you give Xixi when she had a cold before?” Yang Yi asked.
“If she can do without medicine, I won’t give it to her.” Mo Fei frowned and set aside the medicines, saying, “Especially these Western medicines. When I was in the United States, hospitals didn’t recommend giving cold medicine to children under six years old. It’s the same in domestic hospitals. They prescribe so many antibiotics and traditional Chinese medicines together.”
“I didn’t dare to give Xixi antibiotics either. Last night, I only gave her a packet of powdered medicine, but the effect doesn’t seem to be obvious.” Yang Yi remembered reading some information before, which mentioned that excessive use of these medications could weaken a child’s immune system.
“That’s right, cold medicine should be taken sparingly or not at all! A cold is actually a minor illness that can heal on its own. But because Xixi is still very young, she often gets a cold for about a week. There’s no need to worry as long as it’s not too serious. We’ll let her recover naturally without medication,” Mo Fei said.
“But Xixi is coughing severely, and her nose keeps running.” Yang Yi said with heartache.
“For coughing, there are other ways that don’t require medicine…”
……
Before noon, Xixi woke up. Although she felt a bit weak after the cold, the well-rested little girl was full of energy and couldn’t stay in bed. The little girl was dressed and wrapped tightly by her mother before she was allowed to jump off the bed.
Xixi happily trotted into the kitchen, looked at her father and asked, “Papa, what are you doing?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xixi coughed heavily twice, and two clear lines of nasal mucus flowed down. The little girl felt uncomfortable and sniffed heavily.
“Don’t sniff, gently blow it out.” Mo Fei followed and squatted down with a tissue to wipe the little girl’s nose.
Yang Yi wiped his hands and smiled at his daughter blowing her nose. He said, “Papa is making soup for you. After you drink it, you won’t cough anymore!”
Since she wasn’t taking medicine, Yang Yi decided to adopt a dietary therapy for her daughter. This pot of radish and pig lung soup had the effect of relieving cough and asthma. He had just bought the pig lungs and they were very fresh. Along with chopped white radish and almonds, he simmered them for an hour.
“So, did Papa tell the teacher that Xixi can’t go to kindergarten today?” the little girl asked nervously.
“Of course! Your Papa told Teacher Mu, and Teacher Mu said to get well soon and then come to kindergarten to play with your friends,” Mo Fei tucked away the little girl’s hair and said softly.
“Okay then! But Papa, you have to make delicious food. Qiqi, Xin’er, and Zhaoyu will come to see me tonight!” It turns out that the little girl was thinking about that!
No wonder she was still so energetic even though she had a cold, and she still looked expectant.
Xixi perhaps regarded this as a cycle. This time it was her turn to get sick, and then many little friends would come to visit. Just thinking about it made her very happy.
Mo Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she pinched the little girl’s cheeks and scolded, “It’s all your Papa’s fault for taking you to visit your friend and accidentally catching a cold! Your Papa called Teacher Mu in the morning, and Teacher Mu said Xin’er and Zhaoyu are also sick.”
Xixi was a little confused and looked at her father, trying to learn some different news from him.
“Yes, it’s Papa’s fault. I shouldn’t have taken you to see Qiqi,” Yang Yi hugged the little girl who had leaned over, even though Xixi could only reach her father’s knees. He comforted her softly, “But it’s okay. Get well soon, and you’ll be able to go back to kindergarten and see them soon!”
But after learning that her friends couldn’t come to visit her, Xixi felt a bit disappointed. Although her mother took her to the living room to watch TV, the enthusiasm she had shown earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, during lunch, the sick little girl also had a poor appetite.
Although Yang Yi had thought about this issue in advance and made the little girl’s favorite chicken wings, of course without frying them, he simply boiled them in soup and dipped them in soy sauce. The chicken wings had a different smooth and tender taste from other methods and were also very delicious.
But Xixi couldn’t eat it. The little girl looked sickly and held out her little hand to block the spoonful of food her mother was trying to feed her. Just as she was about to speak, she lowered her head and sneezed again with a “achoo”. The little bit of food in her mouth that she hadn’t swallowed yet was sprayed onto her clothes.
Now that a bib was needed, Yang Yi and Mo Fei could only smile helplessly at each other. They used it to make a doll for Xixi!
Xixi held her father’s outstretched hand and wiped her mouth with the small handkerchief on it, but she didn’t wipe away the nasal mucus. She didn’t even realize that two clear streams were hanging from her little nose. She had wiped too much today, and the skin under her nose was all red and bright, making her look both disheveled and pitiful.
“I can’t eat anymore…” the little girl pouted her lips and said to her father, “Papa, I feel so uncomfortable.”
“If you can’t eat, then have some soup, rest for a while, and eat when you feel better,” Yang Yi said with concern, feeling sorry for her.
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