Chapter 47

She briskly stepped over and locked the bathroom door, not because she feared any intentional peeping, but was worried that someone might not know she was there and barge in by mistake. Melissa quietly lay in the bathtub, enjoying a moment of serenity. Just the thought of the way Nancy was holding her tongue at the dinner table made her feel extremely vindictive. Liam also had a complicated look on his face, especially after seeing Melissa serve food to Joseph. After drinking so much lotus leaf mushroom soup that she made tonight, he must have annoyed Nancy This thought amused Melissa, who couldn't help but chuckle "Serves her right." Melissa felt relaxed after a good bath, and upon returning to her room, she found that the children were already asleep. So, she picked a clean nightgown from the closet, put it on, and lay down next to Alvina, closing her eyes. In the middle of the night, Melissa felt Alvina trembling. The child whimpered in a dream-like voice, "Mom, I feel so uncomfortable and cold...". Melissa woke up from her sleep immediately. Holding Alvina in her arms, she found the child running a high temperature, her forehead hot to touch. Alvina was indeed having a fever. "Alvina, wake up, sit up and take your medicine," Melissa propped Alvina against the head of the bed, took out a box of children's antipyretic from the bedside table, and swiftly diluted the medicine in some hot water from the flask. "Come on, Alvina, the fever will subside once you drink this." Alvina half-closed her eyes, confusedly drank the medicine, but she continually groaned, her entire back was hot. Melissa decided to take Alvina to the hospital for an intravenous drip treatment. Melissa helped Alvina change and put on shoes, and prepared to take Alvina out. Hearing the noise, Alvin woke up and asked Melissa while rubbing his eyes "Mom, where are you going? What happened to Alvina?" "Alvin, stay home and continue sleeping. I am taking Alvina to the hospital, she is having a fever. If you encounter any issues at home that you can't handle, go to your great-grandmother for help, okay?" Melissa instructed Alvin before she and Alvina left the room. "Ok, Mom, be careful on the way and dress warmly," as Alvin hadn't finished speaking, Melissa, holding Alvina, had already rushed out of the room. Seeing his mother in such a hurry, Alvin also got off the bed, put on his slippers, and quickly ran toward Joseph's room. Bang bang bang! Alvin knocked on Joseph's bedroom door "Uncle Joseph, get up quickly, I have something urgent to tell you!" Less than five seconds later, the door was pulled open "Oh? What's the matter, you little smartie?" Joseph who had just laid down and was not yet asleep, was surprised by the knock on the door. "Alvina has a high fever. My mommy is taking Alvina to the hospital for a drip. A minute ago, Mommy already carried Alvina downstairs" Alvin calmly stated, assuming that his mother might need some help. "Okay, I understand. Alvin, you should go back to sleep first. Don't catch a cold." Joseph donned a black suit hanging behind the door and quickly strode down the stairs. Melissa carried Alvina on her shoulder, hurriedly but steadily to the garage. Her arm was a little sore after all. After all, Alvina was a five-year-old child. Just as the mother and daughter were nearing the garage door, a magnetic voice came from behind them "Hand me the child." Melissa turned around and was shocked to see Joseph "How come you're here?" Melissa was extremely surprised as she handed Alvina to Joseph "Alvin told me. What are you dawdling around for? Hurry up and open the garage door." Joseph took Alvina from Melissa and walked over to the car in a few steps. He pressed the car key and sat in the driver's seat, waiting for Melissa to get in before handing Alvina back to her. Joseph started the engine and drove out of the garage at high speed. He turned on the hazard lights to signal the guard at the manor gate to open it quickly. "Alvina, why did you suddenly develop a high fever?" Joseph asked while steering. "Alvina sneezed a few times when she was taking a bath. When I asked her what happened, she told me that a hair got into her nose and it was itchy. That's my oversight. Melissa said regretfully and reproachfully. She held Alvina tight, pressing her hand against Alvina's forehead to cool her fever. "You woman, you believe what a child says." Joseph coldly retorted, looking at Alvina's closed eyes, feeling a wave of discomfort. Melissa looked at Alvina in her arms, her face tense and worried "I was careless." Melissa repeated this sentence, and this time she did not defend herself because all her thoughts are on Alvina, she didn't care about anything else. Seeing a young mother so worried about her child, Joseph refrained from speaking and just drove as fast as he could. Forty minutes later, they arrived at the hospital. Melissa carrying the child, followed Joseph into the emergency department of the hospital. "I'll go register, you hold the child and wait for me there!" Joseph pointed at the rows of benches in the hospital lobby and said. As he turned around, he swung back hurriedly, "Leave me your phone number, so we can contact each other easily." Melissa pulled out her cell phone, asked for Joseph's number, and gave him a call, giving them both a way to stay in touch. As Melissa watched Joseph walk towards the registration desk, she felt a strange sense of heartache. In the past years abroad, she had also experienced taking the children to the hospital alone in the middle of the night. At that time, she was resolute and bore all the burdens herself, never once seeking help from her best friend, Peter Peter had only ever been involved in more joyful activities, like taking the children out to play, treating them to meals, or celebrating birthdays. He was never there in Melissa's weakest moments, but she didn't blame him, it was her own unwillingness to trouble him that kept her silent. As Melissa was reminiscing about the past, her phone rang. It was a call from Joseph "Hello, what's up?" "Tell me Alvina's birth date, I need to fill in her medical record." Joseph said shortly as he listened on the phone and scribbled in the medical record book "And also Alvina's blood type and allergy history." "AB type." Answered Melissa, slightly frowning she added "But I don't know about the allergy history." "Okay, you hold the baby and line up in the number 3 emergency room." Joseph hung up the phone after he finished speaking and promptly headed towards the number 3 emergency room. "Excuse me, can you make a way!" Melissa holding Alvina waded through the bustling crowd in the hospital and reached the door of the number 3 examination room. As Melissa passed the number 1 and 2 examination rooms, she saw the doors crowded with patients waiting their turns. However, in front of room number 3, there were far fewer people, with only one patient waiting before her. While waiting at the door, Melissa took a glance at the information about the attending doctor posted next to the door. He was a very experienced pediatric professor and a doctoral supervisor. She did not expect that this man, who was usually sharp-toothed towards her, would kindly reserve an expert appointment for Alvina, thus saving on waiting time and offering some peace of mind.