My Marriage Partner is a Crazy Mermaid - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Love?

In Tan City at the end of August, the temperature dropped. The daytime heat dissipated, replaced by intermittent gusts of humid night air.

The leaves rustled. The atmosphere was hardly conducive to chatting, after a few brief exchanges, everyone fell silent. Time stretched infinitely. Half an hour passed, and there was still no movement inside the room.

“Sister Ke, should we go in and check?” No matter how capable Xie Yuhan was, she wasn’t a doctor. If something went wrong, they could still help.

“No,” Meng Ke said decisively.

As time ticked by, Meng Ke grew more apprehensive. She didn’t know what Xie Yuhan was doing or why she had made them leave. She worried something might happen to her.

After another half hour, Meng Ke made up her mind. “I’m going in.”

The other two couldn’t hold back either, their eyes lit up at her words. “We’ll stay by the door. Shout if you need anything.”

Though they had only met twice, for some reason, they had inexplicably accepted Meng Ke’s leadership. In today’s emergency, everyone’s heart was in disarray. When Meng Ke arrived, her attitude and tone acted like a stabilizing anchor.

Meng Ke walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle. Before she could apply pressure, the door opened from the inside. Xie Yuhan sat in her wheelchair, looking at her.

Her skin was a cold white, and her light blue gradient hair made her complexion appear even paler. In that moment of eye contact, Meng Ke felt her face had turned even whiter.

“How are you?” Meng Ke asked instinctively. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Xie Yuhan shook her head gently, then her head tilted to the side as she lost consciousness.

“Xie Yuhan!”

Hearing the commotion, the other two rushed over. “Sister Ke, what happened?”

“I don’t know. I’ll take her to the hospital first. You check on the birds and call me if anything happens.”

Meng Ke picked up Xie Yuhan and headed for the door. Xie Yuhan was very thin and felt weightless in her arms. Her body temperature was lower than a normal person’s; holding her was like holding a block of ice. If Xie Yuhan hadn’t been conscious just minutes ago, she would have suspected the person was…

Once in the car, Meng Ke said, “To the hospital.”

“Xie Yuhan… Xie Yuhan…”

Meng Ke tried calling her twice, but there was no response.

Her phone rang. Meng Ke freed a hand to answer. Before she could ask, the voice on the other end was full of astonishment: “Sister Ke, all three of them are fine! It’s a miracle! I’ve been in this industry for so many years and I’ve never seen anything like it. How did… they don’t even have injuries anymore. They’re all very lively now.”

“Okay, I understand,” Meng Ke reminded them. “Continue to observe them. Also, keep this matter confidential.”

“Understood, understood.”

Even if Meng Ke hadn’t said it, they wouldn’t have spoken of it. They couldn’t figure out why these three “ancestors” had been at death’s door, and speaking of it would only cause them to lose face.

With the other matter resolved, Meng Ke felt a great weight lift from her heart. She put down her phone and turned to look at Xie Yuhan. Aside from the night they first met, she had never seen her this weak.

Meng Ke slowly moved her hand to the side of her neck. A faint, rhythmic pulse thrummed against her fingertips. Good, she’s still alive.

Before reaching the hospital, Meng Ke sent a WeChat message to Xie Jiaming explaining the situation. Xie Jiaming didn’t say much, only telling her that due to Xie Yuhan’s identity, it was inconvenient to go to a public hospital and they should head to a private one. Meng Ke thought about it and didn’t refuse.

At 3:00 AM, Xie Yuhan showed no sign of waking up.

Meng Ke sat by the bed, her eyelids heavy. The doctor said she was fine—just suffering from extreme exhaustion, but she still couldn’t feel at ease.

How did Xie Yuhan make them recover? She was clearly in a bad state now, yet the doctor claimed she was fine. Everything piled together felt strange to Meng Ke, but her brain was too tired to function. Before long, she collapsed by the bedside and fell fast asleep.

When the doctor made rounds the next morning, Meng Ke was still out. She was nudged awake by a nurse. Knowing their status was far from ordinary, the nurse didn’t dare say much: “Family member, you’re the caregiver, yet you’re sleeping more soundly than the patient. She’s awake, go check on her.”

Meng Ke sat up in a daze. “I’m sorry.”

Turning toward the bed, she saw that Xie Yuhan was indeed awake.

She wanted to ask something, but the doctor and nurse were inquiring about her condition. She had to stand behind the group, listening to their conversation to see if there was anything to watch out for.

Once the staff left the ward, Meng Ke leaned in and sat by the bed. “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Water…”

Meng Ke grabbed the nearby pillow to help Xie Yuhan sit up, then turned to take the room-temperature water from the nightstand. She inserted a straw and handed it over.

Xie Yuhan lowered her head, sniffed it, frowned, and shook her head, turning her face away.

Meng Ke: “…” Is she throwing a childish tantrum?

“Do you want it hot?” Meng Ke asked tentatively.

Xie Yuhan didn’t speak.

Meng Ke suddenly remembered she liked cold water. “Wait here for me. Press the call bell if you need anything.”

This private hospital was not in the city center; the environment was quiet and suitable for recovery. The inpatient department had a cold spring with very chilly, clear water. Meng Ke asked for directions and took the water bottle, following the signs. Worried that Xie Yuhan would get impatient, she jogged the whole way, completing the round trip in five minutes.

Meng Ke loved drinking water herself; whenever possible, she carried a large water bottle. This one had been prepared for her work at Minggang and was still unopened. It was perfect for getting water for Xie Yuhan.

Back in the ward, Xie Yuhan was still in the same position. Seeing her return, she raised her eyes and gave a faint glance, saying nothing.

Meng Ke handed the bottle over. “Try this.”

Nowadays, most water sources were polluted and didn’t taste good. Xie Yuhan licked her lips and took a sip without much hope.

As the spring water entered her mouth, a wave of cool refreshment hit her tongue. After swallowing, a hint of sweetness lingered. Xie Yuhan’s eyes brightened for an instant, and she took another sip.

“You like it?” Meng Ke noticed that Xie Yuhan’s micro-expressions were actually quite obvious.

Xie Yuhan nodded.

Meng Ke’s hair was a mess, fine beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, and her chest was heaving slightly; she clearly looked like she had just finished intense exercise. Xie Yuhan’s drinking motion paused.

“Why were you running?”

“The elevator was crowded.”

Meng Ke didn’t know why, but seeing Xie Yuhan lying on the hospital bed—her thin frame making the quilt look almost flat, made her heart tighten with her weakness.

Without realizing it, Xie Yuhan drank more than half the bottle. Her gaze drifted toward Meng Ke from time to time. She hated humans, and she still did.

However, this person, Meng Ke, was different from the others.

Looking into those eyes, a certain part of Xie Yuhan’s heart moved slightly. She immediately crossed out that crazy thought and stopped drinking.

Around noon, Xie Jiaming arrived with lunch.

“There are some things happening at the company,” Xie Jiaming said as he set up the overbed table and unpacked the food.

Companies always have confidential projects. Hearing this, Meng Ke reflexively stood up and said, “I’ll go out to make a phone call.”

After Meng Ke left the room, Xie Jiaming asked, “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Xie Yuhan didn’t want to say much. Knowing her attitude, he didn’t push further.

“Are you sure your body is okay?” Xie Jiaming asked again.

Xie Yuhan didn’t speak, only offering a look.

“The company is fine. Stay here and rest. I have three wedding plans prepared, pick one when you have time.”

“Email them to me. I’ll look tomorrow.”

“Fine. I’ll send the company summary along with the wedding plans.”

“Regarding company matters, you don’t need to run everything by me,” Xie Yuhan said pointedly.

“Mm.”

Since the beginning of the year, the company had stabilized. He noticed that Xie Yuhan was subtly trying to return the actual power to him, constantly making him the public face. Xie Jiaming understood this but chose to play dumb. He didn’t care about power; he just wanted his family to be healthy.

After lunch, Xie Jiaming left. With people targeting him and the Xie family, he didn’t dare lower his guard.

Xie Yuhan was in a VIP suite. The room was large enough, but her range of activity was limited to the bed. Xie Jiaming had been gone for a while, and Meng Ke hadn’t returned yet.

It was a bit quiet, a bit boring.

But Xie Yuhan forgot that she actually enjoyed her time alone and never usually felt bored. She just… wanted to see Meng Ke.

The sound of footsteps came from outside. Xie Yuhan pricked up her ears, her attention fixed on the door. A few seconds later, she heard nurses discussing their rounds.

Another half hour passed. Xie Yuhan was feeling drowsy and checked the time—it was time for a nap. Just as she was about to close her eyes, a rustling sound came from outside.

Xie Yuhan sat up. A cleaning lady entered with her supplies. “Hello, I’m here to collect the trash.”

Xie Yuhan nodded and lay back down.

Having been forced into a heat cycle, plus the effort of reviving the “three little ones,” she was currently no different from an ordinary human, making her even more fragile. The upside was that she no longer required intimate contact with Meng Ke.

This body of Xie Yuhan’s wouldn’t last much longer. She had to resolve everything before then.

After Meng Ke went out, she first contacted Minggang. After confirming that everything was fine, she reported the good news in the group chat.

With her tension relaxed, a wave of immense fatigue enveloped her. Her stomach growled, so she chose a nearby restaurant for lunch. Near the private hospital, restaurants started at five-star ratings. Meng Ke didn’t overthink it and went in to order two dishes, wanting to finish quickly and return to the hospital.

She found a quiet booth by the side. After ordering, she turned her head and saw two people.

Meng Yingxue and a girl she didn’t recognize.

Their eyes met. Meng Yingxue made no attempt to hide her disgust and walked straight toward her.

“Meng Ke! After all, the Meng family raised you. You’re so heartless! You actually blocked Xie Yuhan from helping the family. Do you know Dad fell ill and Mom is sick too?”

Meng Ke gave a light snort. “What does that have to do with me?”

Setting aside that she was a transmigrator—to her, Meng Chengliang and Ruan Yalan were just NPCs—she wasn’t even the Meng family’s biological child anyway. They were barely related, what right did she have to blame her?

Xie Yuhan had exhausted herself for the Meng family to the point of being hospitalized. If Meng Yingxue was blind, she should go get her eyes treated. To outsiders, the Xie and Meng families were one. What benefit would there be for her to block help? Meng Yingxue was truly as stupid as they come for still not seeing the situation clearly.

“Stay away from me,” Meng Ke glanced at her with disdain. “I’m afraid stupidity is contagious.”

“What did you say? You actually called me stupid?”

Meng Yingxue grabbed a water glass from the table and splashed it at her. “You b!tch!”

Water drenched her from the head down. Once her vision cleared, Meng Ke immediately grabbed a glass and threw it back. “Watch your mouth.”

The glass hit Meng Yingxue’s collarbone. She let out a cry, “Ah! It hurts!”

“You b!tch! I won’t let you off!”

“Won’t let me off?” Meng Ke almost laughed out loud. “Meng Yingxue, let me tell you—Xie Yuhan listens to me now. Do you want to oppose the Xie family?”

“Go ahead and try. See if the Meng family can survive in Tan City!”

Meng Ke didn’t want to waste any more words. Using the “fox following the tiger” tactic to drive her away, she just wanted to eat quickly and get back to see Xie Yuhan. The girl with Meng Yingxue pulled her away, and they left, glancing back every few steps.