Chapter 459 Illness
In Jenny's article, she didn't just paint me as a bad person; she made me out to be a total slut. She even uploaded a bunch of photos of me and Elliot at work. Sure, the angles made it look like we were a bit too close, but we were totally professional. If people didn't have such wild imaginations, there wouldn't have been any issue at all.
When I logged into the forum, Jenny's post had already blown up with comments.
Unlike the chaos at the Northern Institute of the Arts, the forum at National Capital University was buzzing but mostly chill. People weren't launching personal attacks on me and Brad; they were discussing the issue objectively, sharing their views, and posting unclear or confusing points for everyone to talk about.
Still, those baseless speculations were just as damaging to Brad and me as direct attacks.
"Who posted this? I can't find any record of her on campus. She's not a student here, is she?" Bronte asked me.
Bronte had been at National Capital University for both college and grad school and could find anyone on campus.
Clearly, Bronte hadn't come across any signs of Jenny, which was why she asked.
I nodded.
"Northern Institute of the Arts?" Bronte asked.
I replied, "Yeah."
Bronte exclaimed, "She's nuts. By the way, have you taken her to see a psychiatrist? I think she has some mental issues."
I smiled helplessly, feeling tongue-tied, knowing that a typical psychiatrist wouldn't be equipped to handle Jenny's situation.
Many times, I really felt that Jenny had psychological issues, but it was just a gut feeling. After all, it wasn't my responsibility to take her to see a psychiatrist. Who knew, maybe one day she'd even turn around and accuse me of cursing my savior with mental illness.
Bronte continued, "Don't get discouraged; it's just a trivial matter. You need to trust the school and our good classmates. They won't let you down when it really counts. The principal was eager to recruit Brad; there's no way he'd believe such nonsense."
I really hoped that was the case. I just hoped Brad could quickly resolve these issues and, more importantly, eliminate the impact of these two incidents on him.
He was such a noble person; it was a disgrace for him to be tarnished by baseless accusations.
As for Jenny, I couldn't do anything to her at that moment, but one day, I would make her pay tenfold for everything Brad and I had endured today!
The result of my excessive worry was falling ill.
At that time, I had been busy in the mountains all day, so when I returned without eating, I collapsed into bed, feeling dizzy and unable to open my eyes. Meanwhile, Bronte thoughtfully brought dinner to my room but found out that I had a fever.
Cooper mentioned there was a doctor in the village, but unfortunately, he had left yesterday to visit relatives, and it was uncertain when he would come back.
Seeing my flushed cheeks, Cooper's wife was so anxious that she kept pacing back and forth. Bronte wrapped me up like a cocoon, somehow managing to find a basin filled with burning bamboo charcoal and bringing a bowl of cold water. She used a damp cloth to cool my forehead.
Elliot, of course, knew why I was unwell and tried several times to call Brad, but I did my best to stop him.Brad already had enough on his plate; I didn't want to add to his burdens. It was just a small fever; I could get through it.
Bronte and Elliot stood by the door, keeping their distance as they debated whether to notify Brad since my temperature was rising too quickly and we were far from a proper hospital. They worried that if anything happened to me, they wouldn't be able to explain it to Brad.
The decision was made to get through the night first. If my fever didn't break by morning, they would take me back to the city, no matter what I thought.
Around ten at night, I was burning up like a red-hot coal. A junior who was traveling with us noticed me lying there silently and suddenly dashed out.
She returned shortly with a small rectangular box and handed it to Bronte. "Bronte, my mom prepared this for me. See if there's anything Jane can use."
Bronte opened the box, peeked inside, and let out a sigh of relief as she gave the junior a nudge. "You had medicine and didn't think to bring it out sooner!"
"I forgot!" the junior replied, covering her head in mock defeat as she plopped down onto a four-legged stool, pouting a little.
Bronte handed me the medicine, and after I took a large cup of warm water, she added another layer of blanket on top of me, telling me to sweat it out.
I wasn't sure if it was the medicine, the warmth of the fire basin, the extra blanket, or my own determination not to worry Brad, but after more than half an hour, I started to break a sweat.
By eleven-thirty at night, my fever finally broke.
I was soaked in sweat, feeling sticky and uncomfortable, but my headache had eased, and I no longer felt dizzy. My stomach began to growl.
I gripped my rebellious belly, mentally counting down the hours until breakfast, wondering if I might actually starve before then.
Bronte asked, "Can you sit up? I made some noodles for you; you should eat a little."
Hearing this made me feel incredibly touched.
The fever scare passed without any major issues, but the aftermath was rough. After a nap, I felt a pounding in my temples, my nose was blocked, and my throat felt like it was on fire. In short, nothing above my neck felt comfortable.
Dragging my fatigued self, I tried to get ready to join them, but Bronte and Elliot were adamant against it. Elliot, in particular, firmly insisted that I stay in bed, leaving the junior to take care of me.
Despite my repeated assurances that I could handle things on my own, that I was here to focus on starting a business and didn't need anyone pampering me, Elliot remained resolute. He threatened to send me back to Brad if I didn't comply.
To avoid causing Brad any trouble during such a critical moment, I relented.
I spent the entire day in bed, clutching my phone in a daze, waiting for Brad to take decisive action against Jenny's shameless behavior.
However, even after Elliot and the others returned from work, both the alumni group and the news feed remained as quiet as a graveyard.
People often behaved this way. When something happened, regardless of the truth, there were always those who rushed in to stir the pot. However, when things didn't unfold as they anticipated, they quickly lost interest and moved on.
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