freenovelworld Chapter 603 Dawn (9)
Chapter 603 Dawn (9)
Compared to Yan Zhen's relief, Jing Chen's state was much heavier.
The heaviness wasn't just from the exhaustion of staying up all night, but also from his expression, which was a mixture of guilt and heartache.
Seeing Yan Zhen kick off the blanket and try to get up, Jing Chen quickly helped her up: "What do you want?"
Yan Zhen opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She could only point to the water glass on the low stool next to her, indicating that she wanted to drink water.
Jingchen took the cup and fed her some water.
Seeing Yan Zhen, a thin little bundle, wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the bed holding a cup, he winced in pain with every sip of water, his discomfort evident.
Jingchen felt extremely distressed.
After Yan Zhen finished drinking the water, he handed the glass back to Jing Chen. At that moment, Jing Chen made up his mind.
"Let's not learn to speak anymore."
Even if she can never speak or go to school for the rest of her life, he will always take care of her and protect her.
From now on, she won't have to go to work, deal with interpersonal relationships, or experience the backstabbing and deceit in social interactions.
With him around, she can stay a child forever, only needing to eat, drink, play, enjoy life, and live happily until she grows old.
Yan Zhen was taken aback. She tilted her head, her face full of confusion.
Jing Chen ruffled her yellowish hair: "Talking is too tiring. Let's not learn it and not suffer this hardship."
Yan Zhen paused slightly.
She knew that Jingchen didn't force her to learn to speak out of pity for her, but since she couldn't speak, Jingchen couldn't bear to send her to a special school, which would prevent her from attending school.
In this era where education is the key to success, not going to school means she will be a burden to Jingchen for life.
After sorting out Jing Chen's thoughts, Yan Zhen didn't know whether to be moved by Jing Chen's protectiveness of her to this extent, or to criticize his personality, saying that if they really raised a child, he would raise a useless person.
Since she is unable to speak, she naturally cannot argue with Jing Chen about this issue or express her own opinion.
Jing Chen was unaware of Yan Zhen's inner turmoil. Seeing that Yan Zhen was still in a very bad state, he got up and said, "Brother will cook you some porridge. After you drink it, you can take a nap."
Yan Zhen nodded.
Perhaps due to his poor health, Yan Zhen slept all day and developed a low-grade fever again in the evening.
After a week of back and forth, at its worst, Yan Zhen had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius, and she was delirious with fever. Jing Chen carried her to the pediatrics department.
The hospital's pediatric ward is always full, with not enough beds, so many parents have to hold their children and sit in the corridor to receive IV drips.
Jing Chen did the same. He wrapped Yan Zhen in a blanket, held her in his arms, and sat on the floor in the hospital corridor, holding her as she received an IV drip for almost five hours.
At seven years old, Yan Zhen's body was too small to withstand the onslaught of this rapidly spreading illness.
All she could do was not cry or make a fuss, try her best to take her medicine and eat, and not cause Jingchen any extra trouble.
By the time Yan Zhen recovered from his illness, it was New Year's Day.
The temperature in this coastal city called Haicheng rose instead of falling, with daytime temperatures reaching over 20 degrees Celsius.
On New Year's Day, the sun shone brightly. Jing Chen changed Yan Zhen into a new outfit early in the morning and took her out to the amusement park.
It was a holiday, and the amusement park was full of delicious food and fun things. Jingchen wanted to buy everything he saw for Yanzhen.
After walking around, Yan Zhen was holding a fruit that was half her size in her left hand and a string of candied hawthorns in her right hand. Four helium balloons were tied to the back of her collar, and she had a pair of "angel wings" on her back. She also wore a cartoon headband that would light up in her short, yellow hair.
Jingchen had Yan Zhen's coat tied around her waist, carried a backpack full of her essentials for going out, including a thermos, sun hat, umbrella, tissues, and towels, as well as a spare undershirt, and wore another headband that Yan Zhen wanted but couldn't fit into. She held the dolls, toys, and snacks she bought for Yan Zhen in one hand and held Yan Zhen's hand with the other to prevent her from getting lost.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jing Chen had Yan Zhen sit under the shade of a tree not far away, while he started queuing in front of the amusement park rides.
The afternoon sun at two o'clock was so bright that it made one's vision dark. Jing Chen stood in line, glancing back every now and then in the direction of Yan Zhen, lest he disappear if he wasn't looking closely.
It took forty minutes to queue for just one carousel. Just when it was almost Jingchen's turn, a thin old man with his grandson came up next to her.
Seeing that Jing Chen was a child and had no adults with him, he squeezed in front of Jing Chen with his grandson in his arms, blatantly cutting in line.
Jing Chen frowned and spoke up to stop him, "Sir, please go to the back of the line. Cutting in line is not allowed here."
The old man looked up at the sky, pretending not to hear.
Jing Chen frowned even more deeply. He reached out and pulled the old man out of line, refusing to let him cut in line.
The old man hadn't expected Jing Chen to be so strong. When Jing Chen pulled him, he staggered and almost lost his balance while holding his grandson.
Once he regained his balance, he immediately flew into a rage, yelling at the top of his lungs, "What are you doing! What are you doing! Which school are you from? Don't you know anything about respecting the elderly and caring for the young?!"
Hearing this, a staff member responsible for maintaining order nearby came over: "What's going on?"
The old man, acting like a villain, accused Jing Chen first, pointing at him and saying, "This kid squeezed me out."
“He cut in line,” Jing Chen said succinctly.
"No, I was always standing in front of him."
At this moment, a young woman behind Jing Chen spoke up to testify: "I saw it, it was this old man who cut in line."
Old man: "..."
Feeling slighted, the old man instantly became a drama queen, putting his grandson down on the ground and clutching his chest, swaying precariously: "Oh dear, I can't breathe... Let me tell you, I have a heart condition, and you'll be held responsible if you make me die of anger!"
His shameless behavior left the staff looking helpless.
Yan Zhen, who was not far away, took in the whole scene. She thought for a moment, then quickly walked towards Jing Chen, took his hand and gently tugged at it.
Jing Chen lowered his head, and Yan Zhen immediately covered his mouth and coughed.
Her coughing was so severe that it attracted the attention of nearby tourists.
Jing Chen immediately understood what Yan Zhen wanted to do. He knelt down cooperatively, patting Yan Zhen's back to help her catch her breath while anxiously saying, "Zhenzhen, are you feeling unwell again? Don't cover your mouth, let your brother see..."
Seeing Yan Zhen coughing so badly, the staff asked with concern, "Little boy, what's wrong with your sister?"
Jingchen's eyes reddened, and she said, on the verge of tears, "My sister is seriously ill and can only stay in the hospital most of the time. It's only during the New Year's Day holiday that I was able to take her out to play for a while..."
At this point, Jing Chen looked at the old man and said, "Grandpa, please don't try to take it from me. Riding the carousel has always been my sister's wish. If she can't ride it this time, she may never be able to ride it again."
These words, coupled with Yan Zhen's already malnourished appearance and his increasingly sunken cheeks and haggard look after a week of illness, were extremely convincing.
The onlookers were immediately filled with a sense of justice and began to criticize the old man.