Feeling the soft yet scorching weight pressed against her chest, Su Wanli blinked blankly. Her brain suddenly went white.
‘This… this is too close! Is this distance even allowed? Is there no problem for a villainess? If Meng Huange has lost consciousness, I’m the only observer. It shouldn’t deduct too many points, right?’
‘No, the Female Value doesn’t matter at all right now! I should clearly resolve this emergency immediately!’
Since Meng Huange had already burned up to this extent, she should first prepare some fever medicine, use a cold towel to soothe her forehead, let her rest properly on the bed for a while, and finally… finally, have her drink more warm water or something?
She had absolutely no experience taking care of a sick person. She only remembered that one could soak some biscuits in hot milk…
Su Wanli frantically tried to push Meng Huange’s body to the side, but for a moment, she didn’t know where her fingertips should rest. She could only stroke her own hair in frustration.
‘Right, that’s it! Send her to the clinic! That’s the normal line of thought. I should immediately send Meng Huange to the clinic!’
There was no time to lose. She would call out to the housekeeper now and have her come in to help.
However, before Su Wanli could open her mouth, the System’s announcement rang out heartlessly from the side.
“Apologies, Host. Although your thinking is correct, please do not forget that your task today is to prevent the heroine, Meng Huange, from leaving the Sujia household. Furthermore, she is not allowed to leave this room, and you must cut off her contact with the outside world as much as possible.”
“What?!”
Su Wanli widened her eyes and gritted her teeth fiercely at the White Dumpling emitting the voice near her pillow.
“…What nonsense are you talking? If Meng Huange burns her brain out from this fever, our subsequent plot won’t even have a chance! Hurry up and modify your task. At least let me lock her in a clinic room…”
“Do not worry, Host. The System has already scanned her. Even if you leave the heroine to have a fever alone without making any adjustments, it will not lead to very serious consequences. With Meng Huange’s constitution, it’s just a minor cold. It will naturally recover on its own in a day or two.”
‘Even if you say she’ll recover on her own in one or two days, still…’
“Apologies, Host. Regardless of the situation, please prioritize the plot task and work hard to perform today’s villainess act.”
After making that irresponsible sound, the System immediately vanished without a trace, leaving only the still-muttering Meng Huange pressed against Su Wanli’s chest.
Feeling the scorching temperature at her neck, Su Wanli took a deep breath. She curled her body slightly, trying to move out from under Meng Huange to fetch some water for her first.
“No…”
However, just as Su Wanli moved a little, Meng Huange’s fingertips immediately hooked onto Su Wanli’s shoulder. Her lips twitched as she squeezed out a few words.
“Don’t… leave me…”
“Meng Huange, stop being so stubborn. This isn’t something we should be doing.”
A pale-faced, cold-looking woman brushed Meng Huange’s fingertips away. Then, coughing heavily twice, she took several bottles of medicine from a nearby drawer and stuffed them into her own bag.
“If you’re sick, you should learn to take medicine yourself. You can read the instructions, right? The dosage for a child is halved. Remember that carefully.”
“But, Mama…”
Meng Huange pursed her lips and struggled to grab her mother’s hand, wanting her to touch her forehead.
“I don’t know what my body temperature is. Can you help me…”
“This is a thermometer. Just tuck it under your arm. Come find me in five minutes.”
“Okay…”
Meng Huange took the thermometer and nodded at her mother’s silhouette. Then, she silently turned and returned to her own cold room.
She didn’t put the thermometer under her arm; she simply set it aside and sighed softly.
During class at school today, Meng Huange had accidentally overheard the words of a classmate sitting nearby.
“I didn’t want to go to school at all yesterday morning, so I lied to my mom and said I had a fever. In the end, she stayed by me and pressed her forehead against mine for a long time. She even personally walked me over later.”
‘A forehead… pressed against a forehead.’
Even that level of contact was something Meng Huange hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Her mother would only coldly grab her hand when picking her up from school, staring straight at the road ahead as they walked toward home.
If this one small lie could exchange for a bit of contact from her mother, or perhaps a bit of concern…
Of course, the young Meng Huange didn’t get her wish. Her mother just coldly waved her hand as usual, telling her to handle her own problems.
Meng Huange didn’t quite understand why other children her age were acting spoiled in their mothers’ arms while she had to learn to be independent. Why would other mothers hold their children, their foreheads touching, while she could only receive a cold thermometer?
Perhaps… it was because her mother saw through her act of pretending to be sick.
She lightly opened her eyes and looked toward the window that was rattling from the fierce wind.
‘If I really get sick, would I be able to obtain more tender love from Mama?’
Meng Huange thought for a moment and pulled the nearby window open a tiny crack, letting the wind outside carry away the warmth in the room.
—After that, whether it was because of the few drops of rain that splashed into the room that night or because she couldn’t sleep from anxiety, the Meng Huange of that time truly got her wish. She felt that scorching heat on her forehead.
She had hazy memories of what happened after the cold; she only remembered a few scattered fragments and her mother’s indifferent, cold expression.
“…Meng Huange, why did you intentionally make yourself sick?”
“You don’t want to go to school? You feel too tired? Or did you simply think it was fun?”
Meng Huange opened her mouth slightly, trying to use her dry voice to make some clumsy excuses.
For instance, that she simply forgot to close the window. For instance, that a cat was meowing at the window last night. For instance…
…That she simply wanted to truly run a fever so her mother would press against her forehead and then hold her. That was all.
But none of that mattered anymore.
That was the first and last time Meng Huange ever saw her mother’s tears.
“If it’s none of those, then…”
The woman, who never showed weakness before anything, took a deep breath and closed her eyes, lightly pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Are you… intentionally trying to imitate my appearance?”
“It’s not like that, Mama. I just…”
“Meng Huange, I am disappointed in you.”
That day, with no other plans or extra arrangements, her mother simply turned around and left Meng Huange’s room without looking back.
Watching her mother’s back, Meng Huange’s heart screamed silently.
‘Don’t. Don’t leave my side. Don’t feel disappointed in me. I just wanted a hug, wanted a word of concern, wanted…’
‘A love that comes from the heart.’
—Of course, the Meng Huange of that time couldn’t open her mouth. she just silently fished several cold pills out of the drawer. Just as her mother said, she halved the dosage and stuffed them into her mouth.