Ren was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, playing with his phone and munching on potato chips. Meanwhile, Yueyue lay nearby, lost in thought.
Yesterday, she heard her friends talking about how being sick let them do things they normally couldn't and was more comfortable than being healthy. This left her feeling down because she realized she hadn't really been sick much growing up. The worst she'd had was a toothache, but that wasn't the same as a cold or a fever. A toothache meant she couldn't eat, and she remembered eating noodles and drinking porridge for days after getting her tooth pulled.
How could she catch a cold or fever?
Yueyue propped her chin on her hands and pouted as she thought. She heard that not wearing enough clothes could make you catch a cold. Last night, she even left her belly uncovered while sleeping, but nothing happened.
"Daddy, how can you prevent catching a cold?" Yueyue decided to ask her father.
Ren didn't pay much attention, not suspecting his little girl had any bad intentions. He swiped his finger on his phone screen and answered casually, "Wear more clothes."
Wearing more clothes means not wearing fewer clothes! Yueyue's mind worked quickly. Since starting elementary school, she'd learned about antonyms. If wearing more clothes prevented colds, then wearing fewer clothes should make you catch a cold.
Proud of her cleverness, she asked, "What else can prevent colds? Xi Xi got sick recently, and I don't want to catch it."
"Oh, really?" Ren felt proud. His little girl was learning to take care of herself and prevent illnesses!
Ren answered more seriously, "Don't let cold wind or air conditioning blow on you after you've been running around and sweating. That can make you catch a cold. Also, don't take cold showers, especially after gym class in the summer. And eat fewer cold foods. Doing these things should help."
Ren thought that at home, with him and Jada around, they could prevent these problems. But at school, even teachers couldn't watch students all the time.
"Oh, okay!!" Yueyue's eyes lit up as she nodded.
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That night, Yueyue ran laps in her room.
Her dad had said that sweating and then blowing air conditioning could make you sick. So, she ran around to get sweaty and then exposed her belly to the AC. That should make her sick!
She was such a smart kid!
"Huff... huff..." But she was still a child. After a while, she plopped onto the bed, panting.
"So tired..." she sighed.
Her sweaty clothes clung to her uncomfortably, but once the AC hit, it felt very soothing.
"Keep going! For the comfort!" she encouraged herself, getting up to run more laps around her room.
She kept this routine for several days.
During the day, Yueyue tried to sweat as much as possible. At home, she ate ice cream and at night, she sweated and let the AC blow on her.
Finally, Yueyue caught a cold.
She started sneezing and had a runny nose, using tissue after tissue until her cute little nose turned red like a clown's.
This worried Ren, who quickly drove her to the hospital for a check-up.
Thankfully, it was just a common cold and fever, with nothing else wrong.
Back home, Yueyue curled up in bed, coughing and muttering to Ren and Jada, "Daddy, Mommy, I feel awful..."
She felt like a big dummy for wanting to get sick. Now she was completely drained.
"Oh, it's okay. Just take your medicine and you'll feel better," Jada soothed her, then turned to Ren, grabbing his ear and scolding him, "Are you stupid? I told you not to buy ice cream in June! But you had to buy it! She got sick from eating ice cream and blowing the AC!"
Ren obediently took the scolding, feeling very guilty. He thought since Yueyue had been careful at school, only eating cold food at home could have caused her cold.
"Cough, cough, Mommy, don't scold Daddy. It's my fault..." Yueyue's kind heart showed.
She knew she got sick on purpose, causing her daddy to get scolded. She felt very guilty.
"Alright, I won't scold him," Jada said, focusing on comforting Yueyue.
Seeing Yueyue's messy hair, pale face, and hearing her sniffle, Jada started taking care of her.
"Yueyue, what do you want to eat? Mommy will make it for you!" Jada said urgently.
Yueyue's face scrunched up, "Ah, you'll make it, Mommy? I want Daddy to cook!"
Mommy's cooking was too yucky!
"…" Seeing Yueyue's disdainful look even when sick, Jada bit her lip and turned to Ren, "What are you smiling at? Go cook!"
"Okay."
Ren obeyed, feeling it was his fault and wanting to make up for it.
At the door, he turned and asked, "By the way, where's her medicine? I haven't seen her take any."
"No need. Medicine should be avoided if possible. It's still June. She doesn't need it."
"But if it gets worse and leads to pneumonia..." Ren didn't finish, but Jada understood.
She thought for a moment and said, "Maybe some... Banlangen? Just try to avoid medicine if possible. Colds can heal on their own. If she were seriously ill, I wouldn't avoid it."
"Banlangen…" Yueyue frowned.
That stuff tasted awful!
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