Cross Lines

Chapter 52: A Slight Illness

Despite Grace's persistent impatience, it didn't stop Eva from appearing in front of her at her own pace. After the initial phase, it seemed that both of them had calmed down. Grace’s calmness came from her daily life, while Eva found hers in her mind. She knew the road ahead was tough but still wanted to make an effort to ease the current situation, even if it was just a few words of communication.

When Eva once again stood on the path Grace took after work, Grace's expression remained unchanged as she walked normally. As Grace approached, Eva took a step into the middle of the path, which wasn’t very wide to begin with, effectively blocking her.

Grace stopped, let out a sigh, and didn’t look up.

“Grace, I need to talk to you,” Eva said, trying to be as brief as possible, fearing that Grace might walk away.

After a moment of silence, Grace finally looked up at her, tilted her head, and said, “I don’t know what more we can say. What’s the point?”

“Grace, I—”

“This matter, regardless of how it went or what the outcome was, it’s over. Do you understand? I don’t need your apology because you weren’t in a much better place yourself. But we can’t have any more interactions. What you choose to do is your business, but I want to start a new life,” Grace continued, pausing briefly, “A life without you. Understand?”

Eva was stunned, looking at her former lover who was so close, feeling a pang of pain in her guilt-ridden heart. She thought she had already become numb.

As Grace turned to leave, a black Range Rover suddenly pulled up beside them. Willow Zhang got out of the driver’s seat, looking very excited.

“Hi! Grace!”

Grace stopped, turned to glance at Willow with disbelief, and then slowly turned back to look at Eva.

“Grace, it’s not—”

Realizing something, Eva frowned and shot a quick glance at Willow, wanting to explain to Grace. But before she could speak, Grace shook her head and quickly left. Willow Zhang took a few steps after her but, seeing her determined exit, stopped and turned to Eva.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Why are you here?” Eva asked, clearly troubled by Willow’s presence making things worse.

“I happened to be passing by. I heard you say Grace was back, so I thought I’d come see her.”

Willow Zhang seemed quite innocent and didn’t feel she’d done anything wrong. She even muttered to herself sympathetically, “She must be in a bad mood. I’ll try again later.”

Eva, feeling helpless, couldn’t really blame Willow Zhang. She turned around, threw her bag over her shoulder, and walked away without looking back.

“Hey? Eva!”

Willow Zhang called after her, puzzled by Eva’s reaction. “What’s going on?”

After finishing her work, Maggie finally had some free time. Besides catching up with a few old friends, she also went to have a meal with her dad. It had been a while, and her dad looked pretty good, though he seemed to have more gray hair. His current wife was only polite to Maggie, making the visit somewhat awkward. After lunch, Maggie found a reason to leave.

Emily Luo had a consultation today, and it was already dark by the time it ended. Remembering that Maggie had been eager to see her the day before, Emily decided to call her since she had to be on duty and couldn't visit her.

“Hello?”

Maggie’s voice sounded muffled, and Dr. Luo frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm? Nothing,” Maggie cleared her throat, and her tone seemed evasive. Emily Luo, sensing something was off, pressed, “Nothing?”

“Yeah, nothing,” Maggie continued to dodge.

“Are you coming down with a cold?” Emily asked, noting her voice didn’t quite sound right.

“No, I’m really fine.”

Dr. Luo, disinterested in arguing further, asked, “Are you at home? Have you eaten?”

“Huh? Uh... yes, I’ve eaten.” Maggie’s attempt to lie poorly.

“I haven’t eaten yet. Are you coming out to join me, or should I come over to your place to cook?” Emily Luo chose not to confront her directly and wanted to see what she would come up with.

“Uh... I...” Maggie still couldn’t find a way to refuse. After a long pause with no response, Emily Luo decisively decided for her.

“I’m coming over now.”

With that, she hung up. Changing her clothes, she quickly walked to the parking lot, fuming slightly, determined to see what Maggie was up to.

The doorbell rang twice and was opened immediately. Before Emily Luo could react, Maggie, in slippers, hurriedly ran back inside, leaving only her dog to greet Emily with enthusiasm.

Emily Luo stood at the door for a moment, puzzled, before changing her shoes and entering. She didn’t see anyone, but the kitchen counter was set with dishes, and a pot was simmering on the stove, bubbling away.

Maggie’s voice came from upstairs, sounding muffled.

“The porridge will take a while longer.”

Dr. Luo threw her bag and coat on the sofa, rolled up her shirt sleeves, and climbed the stairs. When she reached the top, she saw Maggie lying face down on the bed, burying her face in the pillow and not looking at her.

Emily Luo stood by the bed, observing her for a moment, and saw nothing unusual.

“Tell me, what’s going on?”

Realizing she couldn’t hide it, Maggie mumbled, “I think I’m having an allergic reaction. Don’t come over.”

Dr. Luo was startled. Allergic reaction? She bent down to check on Maggie.

“Let me see.”

However, Maggie quickly moved away, turning further into the bed, making it harder to reach her.

“No, no!”

Dr. Luo’s hand froze momentarily. Was this a three-year-old child? She bit her lip, then moved to grab Maggie.

“What do you mean, ‘No’? Come here and let me see!”

Maggie clung tightly to her sleepwear’s collar, pulling it tightly around herself, avoiding eye contact.

“No! Don’t look! It’s disgusting!”

Emily Luo, ignoring her discomfort, climbed onto the bed, grabbing Maggie’s shoulder and trying to turn her over. But Maggie resisted fiercely, making it difficult for Dr. Luo to manage. After a lot of effort and catching her breath, Dr. Luo finally gave her a hard tap on the back.

The sound was loud and forceful. The room went silent as Maggie, who had been lying still, seemed to freeze in pain. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Emily Luo, unable to believe what had just happened.

Dr. Luo pointed a slender finger very close to Maggie’s face.

“I’m going downstairs to get dinner. You’d better come down quickly. If I have to come up again, you’ll regret it!”

With that, she got up from the bed, clearly annoyed, and went downstairs.

After dishing out two bowls of porridge, Maggie, unable to hold out any longer, reluctantly came downstairs. Dr. Luo glanced at her as she set the table, noticing no particular change in her face. However, her neck was indeed slightly red, so Dr. Luo washed her hands and walked over to Maggie.

Maggie was still a bit nervous, trying to avoid Dr. Luo’s gaze, but the intimidating look in Emily Luo’s eyes made her too scared to protest. She stood pressed against the wall.

Dr. Luo pulled down Maggie’s sleepwear collar and saw that from her neck to her chest, there was a rash of red bumps.

After examining closely for a moment, Emily Luo asked, “It looks like a common rash. What did you eat today?”

Maggie, looking defeated, thought for a moment.

“I didn’t eat much. Lunch was just some home-cooked dishes at my dad’s place.”

“Did you eat seafood?”

“There was some kind of shellfish soup, the long and thin kind…” Maggie described as best as she could.

“Clams.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Have you eaten them before?” Dr. Luo touched the rash and unbuttoned Maggie’s sleepwear to check other areas. She seemed quite interested.

Maggie resigned herself, letting Dr. Luo inspect her, staring at the ceiling.

“I don’t really remember, but I think I’ve had them before. I’ve never been allergic to seafood.”

Emily Luo turned Maggie over to check her back and shoulders, seeing the rash there as well.

“Alright, let’s eat first. After that, I’ll take you to see someone.”

“Ah? Isn’t that necessary?” Maggie seemed apprehensive.

“If it gets worse, you might develop a fever. Do you want to be hospitalized?”

Dr. Luo’s expression was very serious, and Maggie was startled. She quickly agreed to go see someone after dinner.

On the way, Emily Luo made a phone call, and the car stopped in a neighborhood with several high-rise buildings. Emily Luo turned to Maggie.

“Remember, no matter what she asks you, answer what you should and don’t mention anything you shouldn’t. Got it?”

Maggie scratched her neck, looking uncomfortable.

“Okay. Who is she?”

Emily Luo removed Maggie’s hand from her neck. “Stop scratching; you might cause an infection. Let’s go. I’ll get you some medicine and a cream.”