Chapter 219 As Long As He Is Here, There Is Nothing To Fear
Olivia stared at him blankly.
It was Andrew. He had come.
Andrew saw her too at that moment.
The mountain path was slippery from the rain, but his every step was steady. All along the way, he had been worried that Olivia might be in danger.
However, when she looked up at him, he also saw the person in the small wooden shelter.
Right now, she was huddled in the corner, a small bundle, her clothes and hair soaking wet and plastered to her face, looking quite disheveled.
Yet he could see that she was clearly frozen, her lips already turning purple.
Andrew's heart tightened. He quickly quickened his pace, and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Olivia.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" His low voice was full of concern for her.
Olivia finally came back to her senses. She shook her head and said, "I'm fine. When I was about to head back earlier, I ran into this heavy rain and couldn't leave. Luckily I found this small cabin here, so I rushed over to take shelter from the rain. I just got wet, that's all."
Hearing her description, Andrew's worry finally eased. "That's good then."
Olivia stood up and stomped her feet, trying to get her cold, stiff body to respond.
Then she asked Andrew worriedly, "By the way, Evelyn..."
Before Olivia could finish speaking, she sneezed violently, and her whole body shuddered.
Andrew looked at the broken window, where wind and rain were pouring in from outside. He immediately stepped forward two paces to block it for her.
Then he told her, "Benjamin has already found her. She took a different fork in the road, but she's not hurt."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Olivia's still-dripping clothes. "You should take off your jacket first."
Because the weather had still been a bit cool in the mornings and evenings lately, Olivia's jacket was somewhat thick. After being soaked by the rain, it provided no warmth at all.
Olivia also felt that continuing to wear it might make her catch a cold faster, so she obediently took it off.
The next second, a thick warmth enveloped her.
Andrew didn't hesitate to take off his own jacket and drape it over Olivia's shoulders.
Olivia paused, then quickly tried to refuse, saying, "No need, my clothes are all wet. You should wear it yourself, or you'll catch a cold too."
"Put it on!" Andrew's tone was stern and left no room for argument.
"I'm not cold. My body is better than yours. I've been through all kinds of harsh conditions before. This little bit of cold is nothing to me.
But you—your lips are already turning purple from the cold. If you keep enduring it, by the time we get down the mountain, something bad might happen."
Olivia instinctively fell silent, sensing a certain pressure from the man.
In all the time she'd known him, this was the first time she'd seen Andrew speak to her with this kind of attitude.
However, she wasn't unhappy. On the contrary, she felt very warm inside.
Because every word was full of concern for her.
She stopped resisting and obediently thanked him, "Okay, I understand. Thank you."
Feeling the warmth from the jacket and the pleasant scent coming from the clothes—these all belonged to Andrew.
Olivia suddenly felt her ears getting hot.
Andrew didn't notice her shyness.
He took Olivia's wet jacket in his hand, then looked at the sky outside and told Olivia, "By my estimate, this rain won't stop anytime soon. While the wind isn't too strong right now, we need to get down the mountain first. Can you walk?"
Olivia immediately nodded and said, "Yes, I can!"
She was wearing Andrew's clothes, so she couldn't trouble him with anything else.
Andrew nodded and told Olivia, "Then follow me."
"Okay." Olivia nodded, and soon followed Andrew's steps as they headed out together.
Andrew held an umbrella, and the two walked somewhat slowly.
After the rain, the small path was muddy and slippery. Where the mountain path was narrow, it couldn't accommodate two people walking side by side, so they could only walk one after the other.
Andrew walked in front. He unconsciously tilted the umbrella backward to shield Olivia from the rain.
Olivia didn't notice. Her attention was always on her feet. Although they walked slowly, during the journey, she inevitably slipped.
In her panic, she could only grab Andrew's arm to steady herself.
Andrew stopped and caught her firmly.
This made Olivia feel apologetic and embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
She secretly felt grateful that Andrew stood steady, or she would have pulled him down.
Andrew turned around, his eyes looking deeply at Olivia's face. Her palm-sized face had a kind of disheveled yet pitiful quality.
His gaze softened a bit, and he simply said, "Hold out your hand..."
Olivia didn't understand, but she still complied. Her fingertips were pale and cold, almost without any color—clearly from being frozen.
She was wondering why Andrew wanted her to extend her hand.
The next second, her hand was already held by a warm palm.
Just as Andrew had thought, this hand was cold without any warmth, almost like an ice block.
He frowned, closed his hand around hers, and told her, "I'll hold your hand. This way you can walk more steadily and avoid falling later. Excuse me for the liberty."
Olivia didn't feel this was improper. He could have chosen not to care about her at all.
A warmth shot up from her hand. Her already somewhat hot ears began to turn red, and her heart quietly accelerated.
Oh no, with these symptoms, was she about to get a fever?
Her mind was a bit dazed as she thought this, but her feet were already being led forward by Andrew.
During the return journey, progress was somewhat difficult, but Olivia didn't slip or fall again.
Every time her feet slipped slightly, the man gently pulled her back, steady and reassuring.
Their clasped hands never let go the entire way.
Olivia's heart pounded violently, almost drowning out the sound of the rain around them.
Worried he might hear it, she nervously made conversation, asking Andrew, "Mr. Hamilton, did you come out to look for me alone? Where are the others? I walked so far—how did you find me so accurately?"
Andrew told her gently, "Through some details and deduction..."
He had rich experience in outdoor survival.
Even though the path Olivia had taken and the markers she'd made had been ravaged by wind and rain, he could still deduce the most likely route through some details.
This was the result of being tempered through countless trials.
"You're really amazing!" Olivia remembered this point and couldn't help but admire him secretly.
At the same time, she also felt that her current mood was very strange.
When she was alone in the small cabin, her heart had been panicked and anxious.
But when Andrew appeared, all her bad feelings seemed to disappear.
Every time she encountered any difficulty, he could appear in time.
As long as he was there, she seemed to fear nothing.
Although they walked slowly, nothing went wrong along the way. The two retraced their route and finally met David and his group halfway.
"It's Mr. Hamilton and Dr. Garcia—they're back!" a bodyguard immediately said happily.
David came forward with concern. "Mr. Hamilton, Dr. Garcia, are you hurt? Mr. White and Ms. Thomas, along with Bianca, are already waiting at the foot of the mountain. Let's head down too."
"Mm, we're fine. Let's go." Andrew replied lightly and didn't let go of Olivia's hand just because he saw them.
David noticed but pretended he saw nothing. He thought inappropriately, 'What happened today isn't entirely a bad thing. Mr. Hamilton and Dr. Garcia seem closer than before. They've been holding hands the whole way, haven't they?'
Olivia didn't know what he was thinking.
It's just that, in front of so many people, she felt awkward letting Andrew continue holding her hand, so she pulled it back and said, "The rest of the path should be easier to walk. I can manage on my own."
Andrew didn't insist and withdrew his hand too.
The path down the mountain was indeed much easier to walk than the earlier trail, and the group descended normally.
By now, it was already evening. Although Andrew and Olivia had hurried, they still couldn't reach the foot of the mountain before dark.
Along the way, Olivia sneezed several more times, and belatedly, that feverish, swollen discomfort came over her.
She finally realized she had a slight fever.
In this daze, she didn't watch her step and stepped on moss on a rock. Her whole body suddenly slipped, and she fell hard with a thud.
Andrew's expression changed slightly as he hurried over. "How are you? Where did you hurt yourself?"
Olivia felt quite embarrassed and wanted to tell him she was fine, but when her body moved, a sharp pain came from her waist area. "I think I just hit a rock."
She was in so much pain that her brows furrowed, and her voice trembled a bit.
Andrew didn't wait any longer. He made a quick decision and called to David and the others, "Come give me a hand!"
David didn't dare delay and quickly ran over to help Olivia onto Andrew's back.
"Don't... my clothes are dirty..." Olivia quickly tried to stop him. Not only were her clothes wet, but after this fall, she was covered in mud and dirty water.
Even she, who wasn't very particular about cleanliness, found herself a bit disgusting. How could she let Andrew carry her?
But Andrew couldn't care about these things.
He told Olivia in a low voice, "If you're not feeling well, sleep for a bit. We'll be back soon."
Olivia still wanted to refuse, but waves of dizziness came over her head, her body had no strength at all, and the person in front of her had a broad, warm, comfortable back.
In the end, Olivia couldn't resist and drowsily fell asleep.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, Evelyn and the others were still waiting.
Seeing Andrew carrying Olivia on his back, they were nearly scared to death and rushed forward, asking with concern, "Mr. Hamilton, what happened to Olivia? Is she hurt?"
Andrew had no time to explain and only replied, "She fell and has a fever. Get in the car first. I'm taking her to the hospital."
He didn't delay for a moment, told Benjamin and the others to bring Bianca along, while he took Olivia to the car and sped off, heading straight for the hospital.
David had the gas pedal floored the whole way, but by the time they reached the hospital, Olivia's low fever had turned into a high fever.
When the car stopped, she was barely conscious and was finally carried into the hospital by Andrew.
Fortunately, the doctor was already waiting and used the fastest method to help Olivia with fever reduction treatment.
David watched from outside the emergency room and couldn't help but sigh.
This was the second time Andrew had sent Olivia to the hospital.
Last time in Harmony City, at least it had been dignified.
This time, both of them were in such a state. Usually Andrew was particular about cleanliness, but now his clothes were all dirty, his whole body was soaked through, and even his hair showed some disarray.
David came forward and told him, "I've already had someone prepare clothes for you. Go change first."
Andrew didn't refuse, and also instructed David, "Have a nurse help Dr. Garcia change into the clothes prepared for her."
"Okay."
By the time Andrew had cleaned up, Benjamin and Evelyn had also arrived at the hospital with Bianca.
Bianca's face showed great worry. Seeing Andrew, she anxiously ran over. "Daddy, where's Mommy? How is she?"
Andrew knew that today's situation had scared her, so he picked Bianca up and gently comforted her, "It's okay. Your mommy just has a bit of a fever. The doctor is treating her. She'll be fine."
Bianca trusted him completely. Hearing him say this, she finally felt somewhat relieved and stayed obediently in his arms, neither crying nor making a fuss.