Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 162: Fever

The winter temperatures in Veridia weren’t especially low, so the lake hadn’t frozen completely solid.

Walking on the ice was an inherently dangerous activity.

When Rory Linden walked to the edge of the lake, Sean Harrison was right behind her. "What’s wrong?"

"I think I just saw a child fall in."

Rory Linden pointed to a hole in the ice a few meters away.

The others followed her finger with their gaze.

There was indeed a small hole in the ice in the middle of the lake, about a meter in diameter.

But they couldn’t see any child struggling.

The real estate agent, thinking Rory Linden had been mistaken, said, "This lake isn’t very deep. If someone fell in, they should be able to stand up."

Sean Harrison glanced at the woman beside him. "You all stay here," he told her. "I’ll go take a look."

"I have to be the one to go." Rory Linden looked down at the ice. "I weigh less."

The two real estate agents who had come along for the viewing didn’t want any unexpected trouble.

One of them said, "It was probably a fish, right? They stock this lake with fish."

"I’m going to take a look."

Ignoring the agent completely, Rory Linden stepped onto the surface of the lake.

She didn’t think she had been mistaken.

’It had to be...’

’A child’s arm.’

’The ice on the lake is so thin...’

The ice let out a CREAK... CREAK... sound the moment she stepped on it.

Seeing this, Sean Harrison grabbed her arm. "Come back. I’ll go. Or we go together."

As he spoke, he had already placed one foot on the ice.

He held onto her hand with no intention of letting go.

The lake wasn’t deep.

But the fact that the surface could freeze was proof enough that the water was frigid.

Rory Linden knew she couldn’t win against him, and she was terrified someone really had fallen into the water, so she had no choice but to step back.

Sean Harrison stood on the ice, slowly inching his way toward the hole...

Suddenly, something struggled visibly in the small hole!

"There really is someone in there!"

The agent jumped in fright.

Without a second thought, Sean Harrison sprinted forward.

Before he could even reach the hole, the ice shattered, and he plunged into the water!

"Be careful!"

In that instant, Rory Linden’s heart leaped into her throat.

Fortunately, Sean Harrison quickly stood up from the lakebed.

The water came up to just above his waist. Just as the agent had said, the lake wasn’t very deep.

Watching Sean stride forward, Rory Linden had already taken out her phone and was dialing 911.

Just as her call connected, Sean, in the distance, lifted a small boy from the lakebed and started walking toward the shore.

Since the path to the shore was covered in ice, he had to break through it step by step.

Within just a few minutes, a crowd had gathered on the shore: property management staff, security guards, and residents.

By the time Rory Linden stepped onto the ice to take the child from Sean’s hands, the boy had already lost consciousness...

She quickly laid the child on the ground and first said to the property management staff beside her, "Could you please help me by getting a blanket or a towel?"

Then she unbuttoned the child’s clothes and began to assess his condition.

She first administered rescue breaths, then started CPR...

After just two sets...

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

The child was finally breathing!

In those brief moments, nearly everyone in the crowd of onlookers had held their breath.

When the child coughed up the water in his lungs, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

A property manager brought over two thick towels and a padded cotton jacket.

Rory Linden helped strip off the boy’s wet clothes.

The homeowners nearby discussed, "Whose child is this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before."

A property manager said, "We’re already going door to door to ask."

The scene had just fallen silent for a few seconds when a security guard stammered, "He’s... he’s the grandson of Old Lowell, the housekeeper for the Sheffield Family in unit 7... He liked to come play in the complex before. He’d say hi to us, so we just let him be..."

Hearing this, the property manager flared up on the spot. "How could you just let an outsider in! It’s a good thing the boy is okay, but what if something had happened to him..."

"I’m... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... I’m sorry..."

Lying on the ground, the child’s first reaction upon hearing the property manager’s words was to apologize.

Rory Linden hastily tucked the clothes around the child and comforted him, "It’s okay. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters."

The boy tried to sit up, but Rory Linden gently pushed his shoulder down. "Don’t move. If you’re worried about getting your family in trouble, then don’t move. If something really were to happen to you, *that’s* what would get them in trouble."

’She knew exactly what the little boy was thinking.’

’He knew his family’s position here—that he was only able to play in the complex because others allowed it.’

’The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble...’

After hearing Rory Linden’s words, the child finally lay down quietly.

Because this was a gated community, the ambulance couldn’t drive directly in. The paramedics had to run over with a gurney and an AED.

Once Rory Linden saw the paramedics place the child on the gurney and rush him away, she finally got up to check on Sean Harrison.

He was soaked from head to toe. Thankfully, he had taken off his overcoat before going in the water.

Now, with the overcoat draped over his shoulders, water dripped from the tips of his short hair, which was already starting to freeze stiff.

"Let’s go. To the car. The house... we can look at it another day."

Worried he would get sick, Rory Linden started to take off her own coat to help warm him up.

"You don’t have to give it to me. I’m fine."

Sean Harrison raised a hand, stopping her from taking off her coat.

However...

He knew how cold he was and tried to keep his distance from her.

Seeing the situation, the agent could only say, "Well... let’s look at the house another day, then."

Under the circumstances, they couldn’t continue the viewing.

The community gate wasn’t far from where they were.

The two of them turned and walked out.

The agent escorted them to the car and opened the passenger-side door for Sean Harrison...

"Wait, wait!"

Rory Linden was just about to get into the driver’s seat when she heard the shout and looked over.

An old man was running toward them.

When the old man got closer, his expression froze as he saw Rory Linden. "You’re... you’re... Starry?"

The person who had arrived was Ivan Lowell.

At first glance, he had mistaken Rory Linden for her mother, Quinn Linden.

When he realized it was Rory Linden, he couldn’t remember her full name and could only call her by her nickname.

"Uncle Lowell, what a coincidence."

Rory Linden never expected to run into Ivan Lowell here!

"I came looking for you specifically."

Ivan Lowell glanced at Sean Harrison, who was already in the passenger seat, then turned to Rory Linden and bowed deeply. "Thank you for saving my grandson!"

"That little boy was your grandson?"

When Rory Linden was saving the child, she’d heard the property management staff say the boy was the grandson of a homeowner’s housekeeper.

She never in a million years imagined that housekeeper was Ivan Lowell!

"Yes, yes, thank you both so much." Ivan Lowell straightened up. "I’m on my way to the hospital to see my grandson now. I will contact you later to express my gratitude properly."

"It was nothing. Please, go to the hospital first."

Rory Linden wasn’t after a thank-you meal from Ivan Lowell.

But she did hope he would remember this debt of gratitude.

’Maybe one day, he’ll be willing to tell me what he knows.’

The two of them returned home.

Sean Harrison took a shower and changed his clothes.

He seemed fine at the time...

But unexpectedly, around eleven that night, just as a drowsy Rory Linden was about to fall asleep...

CRASH. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

A sharp sound pierced through the heavy wooden door and into the bedroom.

Rory Linden hastily got out of bed and ran out to see what happened.

In the kitchen, Sean Harrison was standing with his head down, one hand braced against the counter.

On the floor was a shattered glass, its water spilled everywhere.

"Are you okay?"

Rory Linden skirted around the broken glass and hurried to his side. The moment her hand touched his arm...

The intense heat radiating from him was a shock.

Sean Harrison had a fever!