Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

The door to the storage room couldn't keep out the winter chill.

The doctor took off his mask and stuffed it into the pocket of his faded white coat.

He looked at the dean's mother, then at Xu Qing, who stood by the door like a wooden stake.

"It's confirmed."

The doctor's voice sounded exceptionally clear in the empty, drafty room.

"Chronic severe skin infection, plus sepsis."

The headmistress's hand trembled slightly, and the medicine bottle in her hand almost fell to the ground.

"septicemia?"

"Wouldn't that require a blood transfusion?"

The doctor shook his head and fastened the medical kit.

"That's because you watch too many TV dramas."

"Her wound infection was so severe that bacteria got into her bloodstream."

"The situation is very critical now; their internal organs may be malfunctioning."

The doctor rummaged through his medicine kit and took out several boxes of medicine, placing them on the worn-out bed board.

"This is a powerful antibiotic, and also fever reducer."

"Feed it three times a day, on time."

"The wound must be cleaned every day, and all the pus must be squeezed out."

"If your fever doesn't subside in the next few days, you'll have to prepare for the worst."

The headmistress's eyes reddened as she looked at Jiang Yue, who was curled up in a ball on the bed.

"Doctor, please leave some good medicine; I'll find a way to pay for it."

The doctor sighed and handed the last two injections to the hospital director.

"This is the best."

Whether this child can pull through or not depends entirely on his own fate.

The doctor pushed his old-fashioned bicycle away, his figure quickly disappearing into the heavy snow.

The headmistress carefully put away the medicine and began skillfully changing Jiang Yue's dressing.

Xu Qing watched from the side, holding a broken porcelain bowl filled with hot water.

Although he didn't speak, his eyes remained fixed on Jiang Yue's wound.

Unable to afford hospitalization, Jiang Yue could only lie in this storage room and endure the pain.

The director is very busy; there are dozens of children in the welfare home who need food and water.

There have been problems with the application for supplies these past two days, so she has to go to the town government every day.

Aside from coming to change the dressing in the morning and evening, Xu Qing spends most of the time here guarding the area.

Xu Qing seemed to have grown up next to the makeshift bed.

When Jiang Yue was awake, he would feed her water and food.

While Jiang Yue was asleep, he would take a towel and wipe her burning forehead again and again.

However, Jiang Yue's temper became increasingly eccentric.

Due to the persistent high fever and intense pain, she began to become delirious.

The once spirited leader of the children has now become a cripple who can barely even turn over.

Jiang Yue couldn't accept this disparity.

Especially when she saw Xu Qing's hands, covered in blood blisters, waving in front of her.

"Get out."

Jiang Yue suddenly opened her eyes, her voice barely audible, yet it carried a fierce intensity.

Xu Qing froze, the towel in her hand hanging in mid-air.

"Did you hear me?"

"Go back to the dormitory."

"Don't stay here with me, the house stinks."

Jiang Yue's thigh wound was indeed emitting a smell; it was the smell of necrotic flesh.

Xu Qing shook his head and stubbornly placed the towel on her forehead.

Jiang Yue suddenly raised her hand and waved the towel away.

Are you sick?

"Haven't you ever seen a dead person?"

"Do I look good?"

She was panting heavily, her face turning red from the exertion.

"I used to protect you, and now you're the one pitying me?"

"Get out of here, I get annoyed just looking at your face."

Xu Qing remained motionless, silently picking up the towel and re-soaking it in the basin.

Jiang Yue was so angry that she pounded the bed, but she didn't have enough strength to even swat a fly.

In the evening, after finishing her work at the orphanage, the director came in with a bowl of watery rice porridge.

Xu Qing was still there guarding the place, her eyes dark from exhaustion.

"Xu Qing, go and rest for a while, I'll take care of things here."

The dean gently patted Xu Qing's head with affection.

Xu Qing stood there stubbornly, refusing to leave.

Jiang Yue, who was lying on the bed, suddenly spoke.

"Headmistress, Mom."

Her voice was trembling with tears, something that would never have happened before.

The headmistress quickly sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong? Does something hurt again?"

Jiang Yue glanced at Xu Qing, then stared intently at the dean.

"Let him go."

"You kick him out, and never let him into this storage room again."

"I beg you, Headmistress, please get him out of here."

The headmistress was stunned; she knew that the two children were usually very close.

"Jiang Yue, Xu Qing has been watching over you here for two days and two nights without even getting any sleep."

"If he leaves, who will take care of you?"

Jiang Yue closed her eyes, and tears slid down her cheeks and into the pillow.

"I don't need him to take care of me."

"He's in my way here; just looking at him makes me want to vomit."

"He's mute, what use is he here?"

"Let him go!"

When Jiang Yue shouted out the last three words, there was blood in her throat.

Xu Qing's fingers trembled slightly as he looked at Jiang Yue, his eyes filled with hurt.

The dean sighed and gave Xu Qing a wink.

"You go back inside first, I'll stay here."

Xu Qing walked out of the storage room with her head down, glancing back every step of the way.

The moment the door closed, Jiang Yue finally couldn't hold back her tears and burst into sobs.

"Headmistress, am I going to die?"

Jiang Yue gripped the dean's sleeve tightly, the veins on her hands bulging.

The dean felt a pang of sadness and hugged her tightly.

"Don't talk nonsense. The medicine has already been prescribed, and you'll feel better tomorrow."

Jiang Yue shook her head while crying.

"I know, the way that doctor looked at me was wrong."

"I can't feel this leg at all, and my stomach is hurting terribly."

"That Er Lei, he always said I was lucky, but this time I probably won't make it."

She looked up, her face streaked with tears, looking utterly miserable.

"Headmistress, please don't waste my money."

"The medicine is so expensive in town, I know the hospital doesn't have the money."

"The day before yesterday, Granny Wang was still muttering that she would save the money she had for meat and vegetables this month to buy me a needle."

"I'm not getting injections anymore. Injections hurt too much, and I'll never get better anyway."

The headmistress patted her back, tears streaming down her face.

"Silly child, the adults will figure out how to handle the money."

"What will happen to Xu Qing if you don't get treatment?"

Mentioning Xu Qing made Jiang Yue cry even harder.

"It's because of him that I can't let him stay here."

"I'll definitely look really ugly when I die, and I don't want him to remember what I looked like."

"He has no relatives in the orphanage, so he usually hangs out with me."

"If I really die, he'll definitely be bullied to death by Er Lei and his gang."

Jiang Yue sobbed, gripping the dean's sleeve tighter and tighter.

"Headmistress, if you have any money left, please buy some more food for the little mute boy."

"He was always hungry, and he couldn't even get the leftover steamed buns at night."

"He's too short now; if he doesn't eat something good, he won't grow taller."

"If you don't grow tall, you won't have strength, and if you don't have strength, you'll be beaten to the ground by those bad kids for the rest of your life."

"He's a quiet type; even if he's wronged, he won't complain. He'll just sit in a corner and stare blankly."

Hearing these words, which sounded like a dying wish, the headmistress felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

"You'll see him grow taller with your own eyes, don't overthink it."

Jiang Yue shook her head with a wry smile.

"I know my body."

"That kind of cold seeps into your bones, and no matter how many blankets you cover yourself with, it doesn't help."

"I'm not afraid of death. The earthen slope behind the orphanage is quite nice; there are wildflowers there in the spring."

"I'm afraid that if I leave, no one will wash his socks or teach him how to fight."

"He's incredibly stupid; he can't even strike a match."

The wind outside the window grew stronger and stronger, making the paper windows of the storage room rustle loudly.

Jiang Yue started coughing violently again due to her emotional distress.

With each cough, pus and blood would seep from the wound on her thigh.

The headmistress quickly took out a clean gauze and pressed it against her.

"Stop talking and get some rest."

Clinging to her last shred of consciousness, Jiang Yue gave the instructions:

"Headmistress, please don't let him come in again."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it."

The headmistress nodded with tears in her eyes and helped her pull the blanket up a little.

After Jiang Yue drifted off to sleep again, the headmistress came out of the storage room.

She saw Xu Qing squatting in the snow by the door.

He shrank into a tiny black dot, clutching the empty enamel basin in his arms.

The snow fell on his head and quickly froze into a thin layer of ice.

"Xu Qing, let's go back."

Xu Qing didn't move.

Although he followed the advice and came out, he didn't want to go far.

He knew that what Jiang Yue had just said was a lie.

Although he didn't speak, he could understand the despair in Jiang Yue's words.

The dean sighed and went back to the office building to handle the remaining trivial matters.

Xu Qing stood up and brushed the snow off her clothes.

He walked to the window of the storage room.

That's where Old Zhang nailed the wooden board up a few days ago.

There was an extremely narrow gap between the wooden planks.

Xu Qing leaned closer and peered inside.

Jiang Yue shivered incessantly under the covers, her body convulsing from the cold and high fever.

He saw Jiang Yue reach her hand under her pillow while she was unconscious.

There lay a piece of blue cloth that Xu Qing had picked up for her earlier.

That was Xu Qing's mother's only keepsake.

Jiang Yue valued it more than her own life.

She pressed the tattered cloth against her chest, and her expression seemed to relax slightly.

When Xu Qing saw this scene, her nose stung with tears.

He must get his hands on better medicine.

Even if it meant robbing the town's pharmacy, he had to save Jiang Yue.

He began to recall the route to town.

The snow hasn't stopped yet, so the roads must be difficult to travel on.

But he couldn't care less.

Xu Qing stuffed the broken stones on the ground into his pocket, preparing to run towards the back wall of the orphanage under the cover of darkness.

He had only run a few steps when he bumped into someone.

She's Wang Po from the cafeteria.

Granny Wang was carrying a small aluminum lunchbox and walking forward with her neck hunched over.

"Ouch, you little bastard, you've hit me and killed me!"

Granny Wang rubbed her back and began to curse loudly.

When she realized it was Xu Qing, she rolled her eyes.

"Is that brat dead or not?"

Xu Qing stared intently at the lunchbox in Wang Po's hand.

Granny Wang tucked the lunchbox into her bosom.

"What are you looking at?"

"This is a patient meal prepared for that girl."

"They chopped up the luncheon meat that was distributed by the government and cooked it, so she got a good deal."

Granny Wang walked towards the storage room, cursing and swearing, but stopped at the door.

"That hospital director is really something. He's so busy with his own work, yet he still has to buy needles for a money-losing student."

"This rice porridge is very expensive, I can't bear to eat it."