Chapter 93 – Nightmares and Fever
The aunt continued to grumble, but Jiang Xiao’s mind was in turmoil at this moment, unable to listen to anything anymore.
During this period, she had been reborn, busy trying to improve her mother-in-law’s favor, also busy contacting Hou Chen, and taking care of her three sons, especially the youngest son who had been hospitalized before. She was afraid he might die like he did in her past life, and Hou Chen would definitely blame her and hate her.
Although she had been delayed for some time, she had always remembered Xu Yu, who appeared foolish on the surface but was actually a genius, and also remembered Shen Hongling’s big black ten.
Although time was delayed, according to the timeline of her past life, Shen Hongling and Xu Yu were still in Qinghe Production Brigade at this time. She remembered it very clearly; they were supposed to go to the capital next year.
But how come they had gone now, and especially today!
But now, even if she wanted to catch up, she couldn’t!
Jiang Xiao was unwilling in her heart, and somehow a sense of panic rose from the depths of her heart.
Since her rebirth, Jiang Xiao had always been confident and had the upper hand, relying on her previous life’s foresight. But now, for the first time, something had slipped out of her control.
She suddenly felt like there might be more things beyond her control in the future.
No, no, that won’t happen, that won’t happen.
The fear and panic in her heart made Jiang Xiao leave without even saying thank you to the aunt in front of her.
“You’re leaving just like that? Not even a gesture of gratitude, hmph…”
However, although Jiang Xiao was afraid deep down, she still held onto hope, fearing that this aunt would also deceive her like the little girl before.
And she actually hoped that this aunt was lying, at least Shen Hongling’s family would still be there.
But when she arrived at Shen Hongling’s doorstep, she saw the tightly closed and locked doors and windows. She asked several people in a row and received the same answer.
In the end, Jiang Xiao could only leave Qinghe Production Brigade with unwillingness and panic.
*
On the other hand, since encountering Jiang Xiao, Xu Jinning’s thoughts had become more complicated, and she felt somewhat uneasy.
She was really afraid of the protagonist’s halo, and she had previously suspected that the world she crossed into might be a blend of at least two books by that author.
She was afraid that encountering the protagonist’s halo would make the people around her, especially her family members, return to a state of being controlled. She also didn’t want those so-called cannon fodder characters to truly become cannon fodder.
No, everyone should be the protagonist of their own life, not just sacrifices or stepping stones for others’ success.
Even if they were cannon fodder, they should still have their own thoughts and feelings, shouldn’t be manipulated, and shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice! Regardless of whether the protagonist’s values are right or wrong!
But this world was unpredictable.
Xu Jinning had already tasted the warmth of being accompanied and cared for by family, and she didn’t want to go back to being ignored by her family.
Therefore, the inner fear and unease made Xu Jinning restless all afternoon, and everyone in the Xu family felt it.
But when asked, the little girl said everything was fine.
In the evening, after dinner, Xu Jinning went to rest.
But as soon as she lay down, Xu Jinning fell into a nightmare.
In the dream, her parents, brothers, and sister had all changed.
They had reverted to their previous indifference, ignoring her completely.
“Xu Jinning, our favorite is Fangfang, how could it be you.”
“I like Educated Youth Sun, why would I want to marry Wen Yulan?”
“Song Yi hasn’t replied to me. Maybe he’s found someone else in the military. Oh well, Yang Zhiwen is not bad either. I’ll accept him.”
“I’ve been fired. The batch of cloth I was responsible for caught fire, causing huge losses to the factory.”
“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. It’s my fault that you’ve suffered so much because of me. I was wrong, I was wrong…”
In the dream, the Xu family was still controlled, still heading towards their respective tragic endings. At the end of the dream, Xu Jinning watched helplessly as her family members drifted away from her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold onto them.
“No, no, don’t go…”
Xu Jinning suddenly opened her eyes wide, looking at the ceiling with fear in her eyes, tears unknowingly streaming down.
At that moment, someone suddenly embraced her from the side, and Xu Jinning found herself in a warm embrace.
The person spoke softly, gently patting her shoulder to comfort her. “Don’t be afraid, it’s just a dream, not real.”
“Ningning, don’t be afraid, Mom is here.”
The familiar warmth of the embrace gradually brought Xu Jinning back to her senses.
She turned her head and saw that the person hugging her was none other than her mother, Zhang Ailian.
Moreover, it wasn’t just her mother; her father, Xu Aiguo, her older sister, Xu Fanghua, her older brother, Xu Xiangdong, and her younger brother, Xu Xiangbei, were all standing nearby, looking at her with concern.
“Why are you all here? What’s wrong with me?” Xu Jinning realized that her voice was hoarse and even a bit painful.
“Ningning, don’t speak. Do you know you have a fever? You, child, don’t even realize when you have a fever…”
“Here’s some water, it’s still warm. Drink more.” Xu Fanghua hurriedly handed over a glass of water, while Zhang Ailian supported Xu Jinning to drink some.
After drinking the water, Xu Jinning felt her throat ease a bit.
“I have a fever?” Xu Jinning was somewhat puzzled. Didn’t she just eat dinner and go to bed tonight? How did she end up with a fever after having such a dream?
But at this moment, Xu Jinning also felt that something was off with her body. She felt a bit hot, and her body was sticky.
Zhang Ailian gently wiped her forehead with a towel and said, “It’s good that you’re sweating. Once you sweat, your body should be fine. Oh, I noticed something was off with you in the afternoon. I should’ve asked more then…”
Zhang Ailian felt a bit guilty, and so did Xu Aiguo, Xu Xiangdong, and the others.
In the afternoon, they noticed that Xu Jinning wasn’t quite herself, but they didn’t ask more questions.
However, when they were about to sleep tonight, they were still worried about Xu Jinning.
So they decided to check on Xu Jinning’s condition before bed.
They knocked on the door for a while, but Xu Jinning didn’t come to open it.
So they entered the room, and as soon as they did, they saw Xu Jinning’s cheeks were flushed and hot, unresponsive as if she had fallen into a nightmare.
They were immediately alarmed.
If they didn’t have medicine at home, they might have taken Xu Jinning to see a doctor right away.
Xu Aiguo found medicine for Xu Jinning, Xu Xiangdong boiled water, and Xu Fanghua helped Zhang Ailian feed Xu Jinning the medicine.
Xu Xiangbei brought alcohol and towels, and then Zhang Ailian and Xu Fanghua took turns wiping Xu Jinning’s body to lower her temperature.
They thought that if after half an hour, Ningning’s fever hadn’t gone down, they would definitely take her to see a doctor overnight, maybe even to the hospital in the county.
Fortunately, Xu Jinning woke up at this point!
