School Beauty's Invincible Martial Expert

Chapter 057 The Persistent High Fever

"But of course, Xiao Han is his backbone!" Old Liu helplessly said, "On the way here, Xiao Han carried him on his back."

Auntie Zhang smiled and then said, "Meizi is such a strong person, after her husband died, all her energy shifted to her son."

"Ah, what a pitiable person," Old Liu sucked in a breath of cigarette smoke and said, "The children of poor families mature early. Xiao Han is truly precocious."

Mother Xiao woke up after receiving an IV nutrient infusion, and the doctor's diagnosis was a temporary shock brought about by long-term malnutrition and sudden overexertion.

"You need to eat something nutritious, or your body will break down!" the nurse earnestly advised.

"How's my son doing?" Mother Xiao hurriedly asked.

"He's still in the emergency room," the nurse said, "He was frozen for too long, and now he has frostbite. He's running a high fever that won't come down, even after giving him a fever reducer. Doctor Hu has already convened several specialists for an online consultation. Let's see what happens?"

"Oh God," the second Mother Xiao heard this, tears immediately welled up.

"Aunt Xiao, don't worry," the nurse was a very caring young girl, named Liu Sisi. She had just joined work for half a year, was very enthusiastic and kind. Since graduating from nursing school, she had been working in this hospital. Although she was always a contract worker, she firmly believed that she had a chance to become a permanent staff member.

Liu Sisi earnestly looked at Mother Xiao and said, "Your son will definitely get better."

"That's right, Meizi, don't worry," Auntie Zhang consoled by her side, "Xiao Han has been obedient since he was a child, Heaven surely won't take him away easily. Believe me, he will get better."

"Wah!" Mother Xiao couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears with a wail.

Auntie Zhang wrapped her arms around her shoulders and said, "Don't cry."

"Sister Zhang, I regret it," Mother Xiao sobbed, "I shouldn't have been so harsh on Xiao Han. Otherwise, things wouldn't have ended up like this!"

"Ah, what's done is done, you shouldn't blame yourself," Auntie Zhang said, "Besides, it's not like you can do anything now. What happened, happened, what else can be done?"

Mother Xiao sobbed silently.

Though Auntie Zhang also felt that Mother Xiao had been too strict, at this point there was nothing to be gained from blaming her. She could only comfort her in silence.

However, Xiao Han's condition wasn't looking hopeful. He was already showing signs of shock. His body alternated between being ice-cold and burning hot, but his temperature stayed consistently between forty to forty-one degrees.

Such a high fever left the gathered doctors at a loss. The fever reducers had been administered, and there was no response at all. He was also on an IV drip of antibiotics.

After maintaining for more than an hour, there still wasn't any sign of response.

"What do we do now?" Doctor Hu also became anxious.

An older doctor who had heard the news and examined Xiao Han's condition squinted his eyes and said, "The body's functions seem to be experiencing problems. We'll observe for another hour. If there's still no improvement, we'll increase the dosage of the fever reducer. However, we can now issue a critical illness notice to the family and prepare them for the worst."

"Yes!" Liu Sisi quickly nodded.

As a nurse, her heart too was with the patient who maintained his high fever. She continuously prayed for Xiao Han's recovery. It was evident how important he was for Aunt Xiao. If he were gone, could Aunt Xiao keep going?

But as a nurse, she must convey the doctor's message and do the fundamental work of a nurse.

At this moment, Liu Sisi brought the critical illness notice to Mother Xiao's hospital room.

"Aunt Xiao, um..." Liu Sisi looked somewhat at a loss.

"What is it?" Mother Xiao, with tears in her eyes, said, "Tell me quickly, has something happened to Xiao Han?"

"The doctors say his condition is very critical," Liu Sisi holding the critical illness notice, said, "This is the critical illness notice the doctor issued for you to sign. Also, the doctor said that you should prepare for the worst-case scenario. It's possible... Xiao Han might not make it through this!"

Gasp…

In the hospital room, a few people reflexively sucked in a breath of cold air.

Mother Xiao's pupils dilated instantly, a wave of intangible fear pressing down upon her. In that instant, she felt as though her whole world had completely collapsed.

"No... it can't be?!" Auntie Zhang suddenly exclaimed, "How can Heaven bear to take away such a good child like Xiao Han?"

"No, nothing's going to happen," Old Liu hurriedly said, "The doctors always exaggerate; Xiao Han will definitely get better. Meizi, don't be scared."

"Xiao Han, Xiao Han!" Mother Xiao's mind seemed to be in a daze.

Liu Sisi bit her red lip, at that moment, she suddenly thought of her own mother, longing for her mother who was thousands of miles away. Ever since she went to university, she had felt a great distance between her and home, and whenever she saw someone else's mother, she missed her own terribly.

"Auntie, please, don't be so sad," Liu Sisi hurriedly said, "It's not as bad as you think, and moreover, several attending physicians are here conducting a consultation on Xiao Han. He will surely pull through."

"Hang in there, you must hang in there," Mother Xiao said in a daze.

But the reality was not optimistic.

Xiao Han lay in the intensive care unit, connected to various monitoring devices. The screens displayed his vital information—blood pressure, heart rate...

A few doctors were inside examining his condition; nobody knew what would become of Xiao Han. After all, the situation was very thorny. Even after several hours of observation, not only did Xiao Han's condition fail to improve, but his temperature had risen even higher, hovering around 40.8 degrees. A persistently high temperature was definitely not good news.

Xiao Han's face was pale, and sweat oozed from his body non-stop, as if he had just come out of the bathroom, drenched. The nurse kept wiping his sweat. An IV was constantly attached to Xiao Han's arm, with glucose and saline. If it weren't for these fluids, he would likely have died of dehydration by now.

"The situation is very dire!" Doctor Hu said anxiously.

"There's no other way, we'll have to increase the dosage of the antipyretic," said the senior doctor beside him, "Now we can only treat a dead horse as if it were alive."

"What if something goes wrong?" asked Doctor Hu.

"Haven't the family members already signed the consent form?" the senior doctor replied, "If something goes wrong, we can't be blamed."

"Yes, yes!" Doctor Hu nodded.

Afterward, the nurse promptly brought over a bottle of the fever reducer, swiftly removing the previous IV line to replace it with the antipyretic solution.

The antipyretic solution was infused very slowly, gradually injecting the medication into his system.

Before they knew it, it was already past 3 a.m.

After a large bottle of antipyretic was administered, Xiao Han's temperature finally came under control. It dropped from over 40 degrees to 38 degrees; by 6 a.m., his temperature had finally returned to normal. However, Xiao Han's complexion remained pale, as though he had been seriously ill.

The female nurse watched Xiao Han, and after taking his temperature again, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

Having finished her immediate tasks, Liu Sisi hurriedly went to Mother Xiao's ward.

"Aunt Xiao, your son's temperature is back to normal," the nurse said eagerly, "Now you can rest assured."

"Really?" As soon as Mother Xiao heard this, she immediately broke down in tears, "Has it really come down?"

From last night to this morning, Mother Xiao had not slept a wink. Being a family member, she couldn't enter the intensive care unit to tend to her son. All news could only be conveyed through nurse Liu Sisi. She spent the entire night in tension and anxiety. She'd prepared for the worst-case scenario: if her son died, she would lose the courage to live.

After all, she was living for her son, not for anything else.

Upon hearing the news, Mother Xiao covered her face and wept.

"Aunt Xiao, you haven't slept all night. You should sleep for a while," Liu Sisi spoke up.

"No, I want to go see Xiao Han!" Mother Xiao said urgently, "I must see him."

With that, she staggered toward the exit.

Liu Sisi hurriedly supported her. Though she had received a nutrient injection, her body was still weak. Coupled with the sleepless night, her tiredness made her appear unsteady, and her mental state was not good.

Mother Xiao stood at the door of the intensive care unit, and through the glass, she could see Xiao Han lying inside. His pallor was ashen, eyes tightly closed, and his face bore an expression of pain.

"Xiao Han, how much suffering have you endured," Mother Xiao couldn't help choke up at the sight of her son.

When she thought about her son kneeling on the cold concrete floor for hours, thinly clad during a snowy, freezing night, a piercing pain surged in her heart. The agony almost made her collapse. She wished she could take all his suffering upon herself instead of letting Xiao Han endure it. She was in pain; she was suffering. She would rather be the one lying there than her son.

"Aunt Xiao, you've seen him. Let me help you back to rest," Liu Sisi said.

"No, I want to watch over my son," Mother Xiao shook her head.

Liu Sisi had no choice but to get a chair from the nurses' station and let her sit there to watch. Liu Sisi stayed by her side to accompany her.

"Young lady, you've been with me all night; you should go rest," Mother Xiao looked up at Liu Sisi.

"Auntie, you're my patient; I have to take responsibility for your health!" Liu Sisi said.

"Then you go do your work," Mother Xiao replied.

"Aunt Xiao, I'm off duty now," Liu Sisi smiled, "I worked the night shift. How about this: I'll go buy you some breakfast."

"Thank you, young lady!" Mother Xiao nodded.

Compared to the coldness of the hospital, she could feel waves of warmth from Liu Sisi. Such a beautiful, sensible, and warm-hearted young lady. Whoever could marry her would be incredibly fortunate. It's just a pity that Xiao's family was too poor; otherwise, she would have tried to matchmake this young lady with her son.