Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 86

Fu Qiao’s illness came quickly but left very slowly. After a full day and night of high fever, she suffered through several consecutive days of low-grade fever. The medicine didn’t seem to help much, and she was constantly plagued by nightmares at night.

Xu Yingran couldn’t stay with her every day, so she returned home on the second night. For the past few days, it was Hu Mei who had been staying by her side.

Watching her daughter struggle through nightmares every night made Hu Mei’s heart ache terribly; sometimes, she would even sit and cry along with her throughout the entire night.

Fortunately, Fu Qiao’s condition finally began to improve.

On this particular Friday, Fu Qiao was in relatively good spirits. Seeing her mother steaming buns in the kitchen, she walked over and called out, “Mom.”

“Oh my, why are you out of bed? Go back and lie down quickly.” Hu Mei hurried to clap the flour off her hands, though she refrained from touching Fu Qiao. She simply urged her to return to bed.

“It’s alright, Mom. I feel much better today.” Fu Qiao leaned in to look at the plump, white buns just placed in the steamer and asked curiously, “What’s the filling?”

“Egg and tofu. Do you like that?” Hu Mei asked.

Fu Qiao nodded and smiled. “I love it.”

Hu Mei laughed. “I’m glad. You’ve been sick these past few days, so I didn’t dare make anything too heavy with meat. I thought a purely vegetable filling wouldn’t have enough nutrition, so I used egg and tofu with some wood ear mushrooms and dried shrimp. I figured you’d like the taste.”

Fu Qiao smiled again before saying to Hu Mei, “Mom, I’m much better today. I want to go out.”

“Go out for what?” Hu Mei looked at her, perplexed. “You haven’t fully recovered. What if you catch a chill outside? Go back to bed; don’t go anywhere.”

“No, Mom, listen to me first.” Fu Qiao quickly stopped Hu Mei. “I heard that He Qiao was moved out of the Intensive Care Unit today. I want to go see her.”

“You mean your desk mate who jumped?”

“Yes.”

Hu Mei thought about it; it was indeed proper to pay a visit.

“Well, you can’t go alone,” Hu Mei told her. “Go back and rest first. We’ll go to the hospital to see that child after lunch, and we’ll bring some gifts along.”

“People don’t usually visit patients in the afternoon; isn’t it always in the morning?”

“Ah, you’re right.” Hu Mei pondered. “In case the family has any superstitions, visiting a patient in the afternoon might not be best. Fine then—go change your clothes. I’ll head out with you once this batch of buns is finished. We’ll bring the two boxes of milk we bought earlier and get some fruit at the hospital entrance.”

Fu Qiao finally broke into a smile. She gave a quick response and went back to her room to change.

By 10:00 AM, everything was ready, and the two set out. Before they left, Hu Mei insisted that Fu Qiao wear a hat, a scarf, and even a face mask, terrified that she might catch another chill and trigger a fever.

The hospital where He Qiao was staying was the best in the city. It was a bustling place. The two bought some fruit at the gate and went straight to the ward.

When they found the correct room, before Fu Qiao could even knock, she heard the sound of muffled, heart-wrenching sobbing coming from inside.

When Fu Qiao finally knocked and entered, she saw Mother He weeping uncontrollably. A man sat beside her, trying to comfort her; he appeared to be He Qiao’s father.

“You are…?” Father He looked up at the visitors. Realizing he didn’t recognize them, a look of curiosity crossed his face.

Mother He was still crying, but she stopped upon hearing the commotion. When she looked up and saw Fu Qiao, she stood up quickly and trotted to the door, grabbing Fu Qiao’s hand.

“Classmate, you’re here to see Qiaoqiao, aren’t you?” Mother He’s eyes were bloodshot. It was clear she had been crying for a long time; her dark circles and swollen eyelids made her look like a bug-eyed goldfish.

Fu Qiao nodded slightly. “Auntie, I am indeed here to see He Qiao. How is she doing now?”

Hearing this, Mother He began to sob again, startling Hu Mei into quickly handing her a tissue.

Father He realized that Fu Qiao was He Qiao’s former desk mate who had come specifically to visit, and he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“Qiaoqiao is in the inner room,” Father He said, keeping his arm around his wife. He said to Fu Qiao, “Since you’re Qiaoqiao’s classmate, please go in and see her. She refuses to eat and won’t open her mouth to speak to us. We…”

As he spoke, the man’s eyes also turned red.

Hu Mei couldn’t bear to hear such things; seeing them cry made her own eyes well up. She set the gifts aside and comforted them. “Don’t be too sad. We just came to check on the child. She’s a good girl; she’ll surely get better.”

Fu Qiao examined the layout of the room. It was a private suite with a small living area on the outside, separated by a door from the actual bedroom where He Qiao stayed.

Having been hospitalized herself recently, she knew a private suite usually cost several thousand yuan a day. It was clear He Qiao’s parents were well-off and willing to spend a lot on their daughter.

However, Fu Qiao didn’t quite understand: if they provided such a high standard of material life for He Qiao, why did they drive her to the point of jumping off a building?

“Uncle, Auntie, may I go in to see her?” Fu Qiao pointed to the closed door and asked.

“You may.” Father He let go of his wife and led Fu Qiao to the door. He said to her, “Qiaoqiao’s emotions are very unstable. She hasn’t spoken a word to us since she woke up. The doctor says her will to live isn’t very strong. You seem to have a good relationship with her; could you please try to talk some sense into her? Tell her not to let her thoughts go to such dark places.”

Fu Qiao nodded. “I will. Don’t worry, Uncle.”

Pushing the door open, Fu Qiao saw He Qiao lying on the hospital bed, hooked up to various tubes. Her eyes were closed and her face was ghastly pale; for a moment, it was impossible to tell if she was dead or alive.

The sound of the door opening elicited no reaction. Fu Qiao walked to the bedside. She didn’t dare touch any of the equipment and could only listen to the steady beep-beep-beep of the monitors.

“Qiaoqiao?”

Fu Qiao called the person on the bed softly. He Qiao’s eyelids fluttered slightly before she slowly opened her eyes.

When she realized the person in front of her was Fu Qiao, her eyes flickered with a rare, faint light.

Fu Qiao’s heart ached at the sight. She leaned down and took He Qiao’s hand—the one without the IV—and whispered, “I’ve come to see you.”

He Qiao looked at her intently for a long time before she slightly opened her mouth. Underneath the oxygen mask, she said in a muffled voice, “You… came…”

“Yes,” Fu Qiao said softly. “I heard you were moved out of the Intensive Care Unit today, so I came right away.”

Looking at He Qiao’s condition, Fu Qiao asked with reddened eyes, “If you don’t do well on an exam, so be it. Why did you do something so foolish? What would happen if you were really gone?”

He Qiao’s gaze darkened, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly.

Lying on the bed, she was no longer wearing her large, black-rimmed glasses. Her short black hair was plastered against her forehead, making her look much more delicate. She was actually quite a pretty young girl.

He Qiao seemed to be lost in thought; she remained silent. Because of her lung injury, every word she spoke caused her immense pain.

Before Fu Qiao arrived, she truly felt that there was no meaning in continuing to live. But now, seeing Fu Qiao there for her, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret.

If she had truly died, she would never have seen Fu Qiao again.

Fu Qiao sat on the chair beside the bed and looked down at her. Knowing that it hurt He Qiao to speak—indeed, every breath was likely a struggle—she told her to save her strength and simply listen.

Knowing He Qiao wouldn’t want to hear about school, Fu Qiao only mentioned it briefly before moving on. She urged her to focus on recovering so that once she was healthy, she could do whatever she wanted.

“When you’re better, we’ll find some time to go traveling. We’ll climb mountains and look at the sea.”

“During the Spring Festival, Xu Yingran and the others plan to go to the temple to burn incense. I’ll burn a stick of incense for you too, okay?”

“I’m not sure if you can eat yet, but if you can, try to eat more so your body recovers faster.”

“Fractures heal quickly. You’re so young; you’ll definitely get better.”

As Fu Qiao spoke, He Qiao stared at her. Her dark eyes held a light that made it seem as if she were smiling, yet her face remained expressionless.

When Father He pushed the door open, he saw Fu Qiao talking to his daughter. Unlike before, when He Qiao wouldn’t even lift an eyelid regardless of what he or his wife said, she was now looking at Fu Qiao with some spirit. She looked much better than she had when first leaving the ICU.

“The nurse is here for a check-up,” Father He said to Fu Qiao. “Qiaoqiao is likely tired as well. The doctor says she needs plenty of rest, so…”

Fu Qiao understood what he meant. She had indeed chatted with He Qiao for a while, so she let go of the other girl’s hand and stood up. “I understand.”

Seeing her let go, He Qiao instinctively reached out to grab her, but the movement agitated her injuries. She began to cough so violently it seemed as if she might lose half her life, causing the people outside to swarm into the room in a panic.

The doctors and nurses checked He Qiao and eventually calmed her down. After the commotion, He Qiao was exhausted, and what little color had returned to her face vanished completely.

“You…”

He Qiao stared at Fu Qiao and opened her mouth. She didn’t have the strength to finish, but Fu Qiao already understood.

“Take good care of yourself. I’ll come see you again in a couple of days,” Fu Qiao said to He Qiao. “We can only have a real talk once you’re healthy, right?”

He Qiao’s eyes brightened slightly, and she gave a small nod.

When Fu Qiao left the inner room, she saw her mother sitting with Mother He; the two seemed to have shared a long conversation.

“You’re out?” Hu Mei stood up and said to Fu Qiao, “Are we ready to go?”

Fu Qiao nodded.

Hu Mei turned to Mother He and said, “Then we’ll be heading off.”

Mother He stood up quickly. “Let me see you out.”

“No need, no need.”

“It’s no trouble. I’m truly grateful that you came to see Qiaoqiao. Please, let me see you out.”

“Really, there’s no need. You’re being too polite. Stay here and stay with the child.”

Watching the two argue, Fu Qiao spoke up calmly, “Auntie, you don’t need to see us out. We can find our own way back. You should spend more time caring for He Qiao.”

Mother He froze for a moment before lowering her head. “I know. I was bad to her before. I was too strict and never considered Qiaoqiao’s feelings.”

If she hadn’t slapped He Qiao three times, the child wouldn’t have been driven to such a desperate state in a hospital bed. It was all her fault.

Although Fu Qiao was a soft-hearted person, she truly couldn’t find it in herself to like Mother He. Remembering how the woman had spoken in the teacher’s office, Fu Qiao’s face darkened.

“He Qiao promised me she would recover well,” Fu Qiao said to the woman in front of her. “Auntie, I hope you can be kinder to her from now on. One isn’t always so lucky as to survive such a thing.”