Quick Transmigration: The Extremely Beautiful Cannon Fodder

Chapter 28: The Vicious Cannon Fodder in the 1980s Group Favorite Novel

Jiang Yu slept in a daze, wrapped in thick cotton blankets. Beads of sweat on his temples had already dampened his hair, and combined with his frail figure, he exuded an air of pitiful innocence, like a delicate willow swaying in the wind.

His beauty was breathtaking, enough to make anyone’s heart tremble.

Jiang Yu slowly opened his hazy eyes and mumbled, "So thirsty..."

Propping himself up, his slightly pale, once rosy lips quivered. He picked up the teacup on the bedside table and drank it all in one go. The tea, once warm, had turned icy cold, but he no longer cared.

"Gulp, gulp, gulp..." The entire cup was drained in one breath.

Jiang Yu wiped the water from the corner of his lips and then touched his forehead.

"So hot... Am I sick?" His mind was in a foggy, disoriented state.

Touching his burning forehead, Jiang Yu realized that the cold wind from the past few days had finally taken its toll. Until now, he had been relying on his physical resilience and sheer mental determination to push through, but the moment he let his guard down, all the suppressed ailments surfaced at once. It wasn’t a case of not being ill, but rather one of delayed symptoms erupting all at once.

Now, even in a warm room under thick blankets, his body burned like a furnace.

Feeling the blazing heat throughout his body, Jiang Yu’s head grew increasingly dizzy, his mind clouded with alternating waves of pain. His throat was unbearably hoarse, and his entire face was flushed unnaturally red.

Unable to muster any strength, Jiang Yu lay back down into the warm bed, once again succumbing to a dazed sleep.

Even though Jiang Yu was asleep, his body temperature showed no signs of dropping.

By the time Li Qian and Liu Xunfang returned, they were greeted by a worrisome sight: Jiang Yu’s entire body was flushed with an unnatural redness, and his temperature was alarmingly high.

At this moment, neither of them had the mind to admire Jiang Yu’s frail yet breathtakingly beautiful appearance. Li Qian urgently said, “Liu Xunfang, go borrow a bicycle from the team leader and tell him someone is very ill, seriously ill, and needs to get to the hospital immediately.”

“It’s so late now, and the mountain roads are dangerous. We’re just newly arrived educated youths, so no one would be willing to drive us in a tractor. Riding a bicycle is the fastest option.”

Liu Xunfang, already panicked at the sight of her beloved younger brother in this state, immediately agreed to all of Li Qian’s instructions.

She rushed out of the door without hesitation, heading toward the team leader’s house as fast as she could.

Meanwhile, Li Qian carefully picked Jiang Yu up, bundling him tightly to ensure he wouldn’t catch a chill from the wind on the bike. Looking at Jiang Yu’s flushed little face, Li Qian felt a deep pang of sorrow in his heart.

Despite his family’s decline, his grandparents being sent to the countryside, and his parents being suspended and investigated, he had never hated himself as much as he did now. Why was he so powerless, so small?

Even when his family members were being publicly denounced, he could rely on his resourcefulness to secretly navigate the situation and send his grandparents to Jiangjia Village. But when it came to Jiang Yu, he found himself utterly helpless.

Li Qian clenched Jiang Yu’s hand tightly.

The sound of wheels rolling came from outside the courtyard. Carrying Jiang Yu on his back, Li Qian rushed out, running straight into Liu Xunfang, who was pushing a bicycle, accompanied by the team leader, who had hurried over out of concern.

The team leader, wrapped in a thick cotton coat, asked anxiously, “What’s going on? How did someone suddenly fall ill? Is it serious?”

The team leader didn’t see clearly who Li Qian was carrying and assumed it was one of the educated youths who had fallen ill.

Li Qian didn’t say much. He simply took the bicycle from Liu Xunfang’s hands and sped off. Liu Xunfang, standing still, hurriedly explained to the team leader, “Sorry, Uncle Jiang, he’s just too anxious. Once he returns, we’ll definitely come by to thank you.”

The team leader’s name was Jiang Qiangguo. He had been a hero in the Anti-Japanese War and was known for his upright character.

Jiang Qiangguo waved his hand dismissively, “It’s fine, I understand your concern. You’re all far from home. Don’t catch a cold in this weather. If you catch a fever and damage your brain, it’s not good.”

After Liu Xunfang and Jiang Qiangguo spoke for a while, she finally saw him off.

The other educated youths in the courtyard, hearing the commotion, came out of their rooms. “What’s going on with Xunfang? Is Li Qian sick?” asked Wang Yao, a young woman with freckles.

Seeing Liu Xunfang shake her head, Wu Chuanjun was displeased. “Is that little comrade sick? I saw him looking frail, his body doesn’t seem good. I’m going to check on him.” Wu Chuanjun spoke to Liu Xunfang bluntly. Since they were all from the same courtyard, he wasn’t afraid of the influence behind her.

The other two male educated youths also chimed in, “Yes, Xunfang, we’d like to visit him too.” Though they weren’t as privileged as Li Qian’s group, they came from relatively well-off families.

They had eaten in many state-run restaurants over the years, but none of those meals had smelled as fragrant as the one they had just caught a whiff of. Although they hadn’t tasted it, the smell alone had made their mouths water. Their instincts told them that the food was unlike anything they had eaten before. Looking at Jiang Yu, who was so thin and frail, they also felt a sense of sympathy, not entirely out of self-interest.

Liu Xunfang didn’t want to deal with these chattering people. There was only one bicycle in the village, and even if she wanted to follow Li Qian, there was nothing she could do. They would have to take a tractor to the city tomorrow.

Suppressing her irritation, Liu Xunfang gently said, “I’ll be going to the city early tomorrow. If you’re up early, you can come along.”

She went straight to her house and locked Li Qian’s room, which he had left unlocked in his rush. Liu Xunfang sat alone in her room, unable to sleep all night. She thought about how she would go to the city to see Jiang Yu as soon as dawn broke.

That night, Liu Xunfang endured a great deal of inner turmoil, tears soaking the table. Why did Jiang Yu have to suffer so much just after she found him? She was willing to bear everything for him. Her mind was filled with countless thoughts and worries.

Meanwhile, Li Qian had Jiang Yu tightly bound to himself. He could feel Jiang Yu’s body growing hotter, and he muttered strange words. Li Qian’s heart raced with worry, and he pedaled the bicycle faster, as if powered by an inexhaustible strength. He didn’t stop for a moment.

Jiang Yu’s scorching breath was searing on Li Qian’s back.

Li Qian hurried all the way to the hospital. When Dr. Zhang Yun saw Li Qian carrying Jiang Yu, she was startled and immediately began to check on him.

Li Qian, anxious, asked, “Doctor, is he going to be okay?”

Dr. Zhang’s face was serious as she didn’t respond immediately. She simply took the stethoscope from her ears, went into the inner room, and returned with a syringe.

Looking at Li Qian, who was still so close to Jiang Yu, Dr. Zhang said, “Pull up his clothes, I’ll give him an injection to bring his fever down.”