A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

What should have been a three-hour journey, Fang Ruijun sped for two and a half hours in the raging wind and rain, and arrived at the entrance of the state-run guesthouse.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Zhang Yunxia opened the car door.

Ignoring their umbrellas and raincoats, the two rushed through the door. Zhang Yunxia grabbed the receptionist: "Hello! We are Wang Yingxue's family! Where is she?!"

"Ah, quick, quick, come upstairs with me!"

Fang Ruijun dashed ahead, heading straight for the third floor. The door to room 302 wasn't closed properly, so he pushed it open.

Wang Yingxue lay on the bed with a wet towel on her forehead, her face flushed red, and her lips dry and white.

A staff member was sitting next to her, wiping her forehead with a towel.

Fang Ruijun rushed forward two steps, instinctively reaching out his hand, but his hand froze in mid-air and he withdrew it.

"Xiaoxue! Xiaoxue!" Zhang Yunxia rushed up from behind, touched Wang Yingxue's face, and patted it. "Xiaoxue, look at me! I'm your sister-in-law Yunxia!"

Wang Yingxue kept her eyes tightly closed, her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The staff member stood up: "She's been running a fever lately. It was there when she checked in, but it's gotten progressively worse. Her companion said they had an emergency and took the last bus home this morning. Now her fever is too high; you should take her to the hospital right away!"

"No, we have to leave right now!" Zhang Yunxia shouted.

Without saying a word, Fang Ruijun threw off the thin blanket, bent down and picked up Wang Yingxue in his arms.

She was frighteningly light, her whole body burning like a fireball, delirious with fever, her head limply resting in his arms.

Fang Ruijun carried the person and rushed downstairs in a few strides, heading straight for the jeep.

Zhang Yunxia followed behind and opened the car door. Fang Ruijun carefully placed Wang Yingxue in the back seat, letting her rest her head on Zhang Yunxia's lap.

"The nearest hospital! Quick!" Zhang Yunxia shouted.

Fang Ruijun jerked the steering wheel, and the jeep sped away, crashing through the puddles and plunging into the rain.

......

More than an hour later, the car stopped in front of the hospital.

Fang Ruijun opened the car door and rushed inside, with Zhang Yunxia following behind, carrying her bag. She didn't even notice that her shoes had stepped into puddles and her trousers were half-wet.

The emergency room was small, with two beds and the other one empty.

Wang Yingxue lay on the bed by the window, an IV needle in the back of her hand, and an IV drip hanging from the metal frame at the head of the bed, the IV drip slowly dripping down.

Wang Yingxue's face was pale, her lips were dry and chapped, and her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she hadn't relaxed even in her dream.

The nurse had just finished taking my temperature when she turned around and said, "It's 39.8 degrees Celsius. You need a fever-reducing injection. You should wake up in a little while after that."

"Nurse, what's wrong with her?" Zhang Yunxia asked anxiously.

"She has a persistent high fever and is physically exhausted; her body can't take it anymore. Our initial assessment is that it's an acute viral cold, which has been quite common lately. Please let us know when she wakes up so we can conduct further examinations."

Zhang Yunxia dragged two small stools from the corner of the wall, sat on one herself, and handed the other to Fang Ruijun.

She took a handkerchief out of her bag, folded it twice, and placed it under Wang Yingxue's hand that was receiving the IV drip.

Fang Ruijun also sat down. He bent down and moved the stool forward a few times, until it was right next to the bed.

Zhang Yunxia glanced at him, didn't say anything, and smiled slightly.

More than an hour later...

Wang Yingxue's eyelids trembled, and she slowly opened them.

She first gave a heavy snort, her brows furrowed tightly.

Zhang Yunxia immediately rushed to the bedside: "Xiaoxue! Can you open your eyes? Look at me."

Wang Yingxue's gaze wavered for a moment before slowly focusing on the face of the person beside the bed—Fang Ruijun.

She was visibly startled, her eyelashes fluttered, and she instinctively turned to Zhang Yunxia, ​​then glanced around at the surroundings.

White walls, IV drips, the smell of medicine... this is a hospital.

"...Sister Yunxia?" Her voice was extremely hoarse. "What are you two doing here?"

"And you're talking about us!" Zhang Yunxia slapped her thigh, both anxious and distressed. "You're such a stubborn child! Why didn't you see a doctor sooner? Don't you know how serious it is now?!"

Fang Ruijun, who was standing nearby, whispered, "Sister-in-law, give her some water."

"Oh, right! Right, right!" Zhang Yunxia suddenly snapped back to reality. "Luckily, Comrade Fang was here. He drove us here, and we got here in just two and a half hours. It scared me to death..."

Wang Yingxue looked up at Fang Ruijun: "Comrade Fang...isn't today a workday? Why are you..."

Zhang Yunxia was about to help Wang Yingxue sit up to drink water, but Fang Ruijun stopped her, saying, "Sister-in-law, feed her with a spoon. Let her drink while lying down."

Zhang Yunxia paused for a moment, then smiled, fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes. "Okay, okay, I won't move. You wait here, I'll go borrow a spoon for you!"

"I'll go, sister-in-law."

But Zhang Yunxia turned around and walked out, her steps so fast they seemed to carry the wind.

The door clicked shut.

Only Wang Yingxue and Fang Ruijun remained in the room.

Fang Ruijun sat on the stool next to him and said in a low voice, "Why don't you go home?"

Wang Yingxue's fingers twitched slightly: "If I go back like this, I'll only cause trouble for Aunt Zhao. I was thinking of taking a couple of fever-reducing pills to ease the fever, buying some more medicine, and I'd be fine in a couple of days... I didn't expect it to be this serious, and it's only causing you more trouble."

Fang Ruijun sighed heavily.

"Trouble." He murmured the word, then suddenly looked up, a rare hint of annoyance flashing in his usually polite eyes. "Why do you always think of yourself as a nuisance?"

Wang Yingxue was taken aback.

She hadn't expected Fang Ruijun to speak to her in such a tone. It wasn't a reprimand, but rather carried a hint of anger.

She didn't say anything, but turned to look out the window.

Fang Ruijun looked at her thin profile, her eyelashes casting a small shadow under her eyes, and her lips were still cracked from the heat.

He opened his mouth, and the two words rolled out of his throat with a desperate, reckless gamble:

"Minor Snow".

Wang Yingxue's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

"I can take care of you."

The moment those words struck, Wang Yingxue felt as if her heart had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Immediately afterwards, a huge surge of emotions welled up in her chest, so much so that she even felt a brief dizziness.

Wang Yingxue's pupils suddenly contracted, and she almost subconsciously forced them back in, pushing them very, very deep.

She didn't turn her head, remaining facing the wall, her voice very soft, like a fallen leaf floating on water:

"Comrade Fang... thank you. I can take care of myself."

Wang Yingxue's reaction was exactly what Fang Ruijun expected...

He looked up and glanced out the window. The rain was still falling, a dense, persistent downpour that seemed endless.

"Can't I take care of you like an older brother?" He paused, looked back at her profile, and his tone was stubborn, as if he were angry.

Wang Yingxue didn't reply, but her fingers clenched the bedsheet tightly under the covers.

After a long while, Wang Yingxue gently exhaled:

"Comrade Fang...you go back to work. I'm fine now. I can keep Sister Yunxia company."

Fang Ruijun sighed, got up and walked out of the emergency room.