The 99th Divorce

She choked on her words as she stared straight into Shen Luo’an’s eyes.

When Shen Luo’an saw her shedding tears, he sighed deeply. “What are you crying for? His temperature is already coming down.”

Shen Manting saw a cooling pack resting on his forehead. He was still on an IV drip.

The sight of his petite feet being bound and elevated for the drip made Shen Manting frustratingly anxious as her heart ached for her baby.

“Is it possible to bring down his fever without medical intervention?” She looked at Shen Luo’an with hope in her eyes.

“No, his temperature is too high.” Shen Luo’an sighed. “I didn’t return home the day before yesterday, so I left the baby in Mother He’s care.”

“How could Mother He be so careless with the child?” Shen Manting frowned and wiped her tears. “Where were you? Why didn’t you go home?”

Shen Luo’an furrowed his brows and glared at Shen Manting. He tried to control his temper and said, “Shen Manting, I have a job and work to do. You said that nannies are unreliable, so I didn’t hire a new one and left the baby with Mother He. My mother was at home that day too, but I didn’t know she would have gone out.”

Shen Manting didn’t speak. She wanted to hold her baby, but she was afraid that the slightest touch would hurt him.

When the nurse came in, she saw Shen Manting and said, “You must be the baby’s mother. You should stay and keep a close watch over him. When he wakes up later, remember to feed him the medicine to relieve his fever.”

The nurse was holding a small pack of water-soluble powder. It was the first time Shen Manting saw something like this. She nodded obediently.

“Give him the medicine after feeding him some milk. There should be a short interval in between.”

“All right.” Shen Manting turned to look at Shen Luo’an. “Did you bring the milk powder?”

“Yes.” Shen Luo’an pointed to another spot.

Shen Manting glanced in the direction of Shen Luo’an’s gesture. She saw not only milk powder, but also infant diapers, a flask for boiling water, and a large bottle of mineral water. She knew at a glance that the items were brought from home.

It was obvious that he had prepared the milk once before.

Shen Manting went to boil the water. Then, she set the flask aside to cool for a moment before mixing the water with the milk powder.

The infant was now awake. Shen Luo’an noticed that the drip solution was about to be depleted.

He rang the call bell while coaxing the child.

The nurse came to remove the needle. She frowned and said, “He’s still highly feverish. You parents should pay more attention to him. It’s a serious matter when an infant this young falls ill!”

Neither Shen Manting nor Shen Luo’an spoke a word.

Shen Luo’an cradled the baby and sat on the bed.

Shen Manting held the bottle and instructed, “The temperature is just right. Feed it to the baby.”

Yet, the infant refused to drink the milk when the nipple of the bottle was inserted into his mouth.

He shook his tiny head as his chubby face turned red.

Shen Manting felt even more distressed. She reached out for him and held him in her arms.

Shen Luo’an stood up and said, “The baby hasn’t been fed milk for some time. He’s used to being fed every hour or so, but now three hours have passed since the last feeding.”

“Oh dear.” Shen Manting was worried sick. “What should we do?”

“Tip it down his throat,” Shen Luo’an suggested, looking at the infant. “Then, feed him the medicine. This might make him feel better.”

Shen Manting’s brow was tightly furrowed, but she did as he said.

Both of them struggled for a while before finally managing to feed the infant some milk, albeit not much.

Shen Luo’an fed the infant some medicine. After crying for a while, he soon fell asleep.

Shen Manting kept on holding him close to her. Her heart was burdened with pain and remorse.

Shen Luo’an touched the infant from time to time to check his temperature.

Fortunately, the infant’s fever had finally begun to subside.

Shen Luo’an took the infant’s temperature by using an ear thermometer. His temperature had fallen to 37.5 degree Celsius.

He heaved a sigh of relief. Shen Manting felt relieved, too.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll go out to buy some food.” Shen Luo’an glanced at her. “You stay here to look after the baby.”