Fu Qiang’s illness came on fiercely, the high fever reaching nearly 40°C. Ling Chengyan stayed in the ward with her for a day and a night, and when her fever subsided the next morning, she entrusted her to the hired caregiver and returned to the residence to rest.

That evening, Fu Qiang had a high fever again. Ling Chengyan rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news, and Zhang Yuanhong, who had already arrived home, also hurried to the hospital on hearing the news.

Entering the ward, Ling Chengyan was helping the caregiver sister to wipe Fu Qiang with alcohol to reduce the fever. Zhang Yuanhong, seeing the pulled curtain, stepped out to consult the doctor about the situation.

After about ten minutes, seeing the caregiver bringing out the basin, Zhang Yuanhong entered again and saw Ling Chengyan resting on a chair at the foot of the bed.

"Have you had dinner?" Zhang Yuanhong asked.

Ling Chengyan nodded, exhaling: "It’s temporarily gone down. The doctor said that if the high fever continues without subsiding, it could be dangerous..."

Zhang Yuanhong frowned, looking at the unconscious Fu Qiang on the bed, then at the almost unrecognizably thin Ling Chengyan. Suddenly, he felt a wave of blockage in his heart, turned out of the ward, and called a medical expert he was familiar with for consultation.

A few minutes later, Zhang Yuanhong returned to the ward and directly applied to the doctor for a transfer: "We’ve already contacted the general hospital in Beijing and arranged for a night shift transfer."

The doctor here was also worried about this patient. Eastern Province wasn’t a schistosomiasis endemic area, and the hospital rarely treated schistosomiasis patients, lacking response experience in this regard. A transfer would be good.

However, the doctor suggested: "If transferring, we recommend transferring to Hai City or Jinling, where they treat more schistosomiasis patients and have richer clinical handling experience."

This suggestion was indeed very sound.

After thanking him, Zhang Yuanhong didn’t say much more and directly processed the transfer procedures.

He was contacting the infectious diseases specialist, who had twenty years of medical experience in the south and was transferred to Beijing General Hospital a few years ago. His treatment of schistosomiasis ranked highly in the country.

Ling Chengyan packed up Fu Qiang’s personal items without saying anything, got directly into the transfer ambulance.

Zhang Yuanhong grabbed her hand, leading her into the off-road vehicle he drove, started the car, then glanced at her somewhat disdainfully: "You’re really treating yourself as if you’re made of iron?"

Ling Chengyan didn’t even look at him, casually replying.

These people were taken out by her, she brought them all back, and now, she must ensure none of them fall behind.

Driving to Beijing overnight, they arrived at the general hospital at five in the morning.

The caregiver also came along, administering fluids the whole way, with the caregiver and Ling Chengyan taking turns wiping Fu Qiang, keeping the fever from going too high.

Upon admission, they administered large doses of medication. When the sun rose, Fu Qiang’s fever subsided.

It wasn’t until around noon that the specialist came to the ward again, after re-examining Fu Qiang’s situation, he told Ling Chengyan and Zhang Yuanhong: "Don’t fear sudden onset, our country has fought schistosomiasis for decades, accumulating rich clinical experience. In this situation, a large-dose treatment can control the disease, and recovery is swift afterward, with less chance of lasting effects."

Seeing the two were somewhat puzzled, the expert explained: "It’s like fighting a war, evenly matched leads to fierce battles, indicating that this patient’s physical condition is excellent, high fever and other symptoms are the body’s self-protection mechanism. Once we hit hard to kill the parasites, the fever will naturally subside."

Ling Chengyan and Zhang Yuanhong stayed for two days in Beijing, and after two days, Fu Qiang’s recurring high fever finally completely subsided. The experienced expert declared that they had won most of this battle, and the next step was cleaning up the remaining forces and clearing the battlefield.

Ling Chengyan and Zhang Yuanhong shared a glance, both smiling.

Fu Qiang’s parents arrived in Beijing the following day, and after Fu Qiang’s condition stabilized, her parents and the caregiver took care of her. Ling Chengyan and Zhang Yuanhong returned to Eastern Province.

Returning to the residence unit, Zhang Yuanhong parked the car while advising Ling Chengyan: "Don’t really think you can connect yourself into steel. Rest for two days first; I’ve got the team covered."

Ling Chengyan slept briefly on the road, now her head ached and felt muddled. She attributed it to being tired from continuous travel and staying up late and didn’t pay it much attention. She rubbed her temples and casually answered, "I know. You haven’t even become a dad yet, and you’re already nagging."

Back at the dormitory, Ling Chengyan forced herself to go into the bathroom to shower - these four days of a round trip to Beijing, she had piecemeal sleep in the car and hospital without even changing her underwear and was truly at her limit.

Hot water poured over her body, yet Ling Chengyan shivered.

She laughed at herself, through this period of turmoil, she hadn’t turned into a warrior but rather became weak.

Her head spun in dizziness, Ling Chengyan quickly finished a combat shower, too weak to wash the clothes she changed out of, she temporarily tossed them into a basin and fumbled her way to bed, pulling the covers over herself and drifted into a deep sleep.

She didn’t know how long she slept until she heard someone crying softly by her bedside. She furrowed her brow and struggled to open her eyes, in the dim light, she saw several people at her bedside but couldn’t discern clearly.

Her head ached fiercely, her stomach churned, filled with nausea.

She held her breath, suppressing the urge to vomit, forcing herself to open her eyes again. This time she saw clearly, Wang Liansheng was sitting at the bedside, and beside him stood two slender figures, Xiaoyu and Hongling.

"Why did you come back? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?"

Before she could finish speaking, nausea surged up again, and this time Ling Chengyan couldn’t suppress it, turning aside to vomit uncontrollably.

She had rushed back from Beijing, enduring seven to eight hours without eating, returned to sleep immediately, her stomach was already empty, and the vomit produced only yellow-brown gastric acid.

After she finished vomiting, Hongling immediately handed her warm water to rinse her mouth, while Xiaoyu fetched tools to clean up.

Ling Chengyan regained her strength, called Wang Liansheng: "Send the kids back, I might... be contagious."

Hongling and Xiaoyu’s eyes reddened again upon hearing this, tears falling once more.

Hongling choked up, saying: "Fourth Aunt, you’re sick, yet you won’t let us take care of you, how could we just stay at home?"

As she spoke, she vigorously wiped her face, forcing a smile: "You forget, I studied nursing, I’m professional."

Ling Chengyan accompanied Fu Qiang from the provincial hospital to the Beijing General Hospital, gaining a clearer understanding of the causative principles and transmission pathways of schistosomiasis, knowing that ordinary hygiene precautions generally prevent transmission. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

With the children so worried about her, she didn’t stubbornly persist and smiled helplessly before lying back down.

After this episode, she finally regained her clarity, realizing she wasn’t sleeping in her dormitory but had been sent to the hospital, coincidentally staying in the ward where Fu Qiang previously stayed.