“The patient’s injuries aren’t severe, just a minor fracture. A cast and a few days of rest will do,” the doctor said, handing the report to Murong Xue'er, his voice growing serious.
“However, the previous blood test results show that your grandma has uremia. This is very serious for an elderly person, and kidney sources are hard to find lately.
As for the money… you should prepare yourself.”
Uremia basically requires at least three hemodialysis sessions per week, costing around one thousand yuan each. Without medical insurance, and with Xue'er's Grandma being a rural resident, it means three thousand yuan per week just for dialysis!
“So expensive…” Murong Xue'er stared blankly at the bill.
A long string of zeros made her dizzy. Her grandma could sell one bottle for one fen; how many days and nights would it take to pay for these medical expenses?
“Money?” Lin Qifan, who had shamelessly followed along, was delighted when he heard that.
He immediately patted his chest and guaranteed, “Leave the money to me, don’t worry, your grandma will be fine!”
After speaking, he slapped the remaining few thousand yuan on the table: “Arrange the best ward and doctor for Xue'er's Grandma!”
The doctor pushed up his glasses and said sincerely, “Sir, you should first take this money and get a registration at the psychiatry department.”
Does this guy know how much a VIP ward costs per day? He’s just pretending to be rich.
Murong Xue'er casually pushed away the money Lin Qifan had slapped on the table, took out her savings passbook from her cloth bag. It contained her scholarship and her grandma’s income from collecting bottles, totaling roughly thirty thousand yuan.
“Xue'er…”
“Lin Qifan, I’m so tired. Can you please let me be quiet?”
Murong Xue'er’s lifeless eyes were heartbreaking, as if her vitality had been drained overnight.
“I…” Lin Qifan was speechless, watching Murong Xue'er walk into the ward without looking back.
…
The next day, morning.
Jiang Family villa.
“My dear son, wake up…”
Li Qingrou pushed open the door, intending to wake Jiang Yu.
But she found two people lying on the bed!
Because of the sudden drop in temperature last night, Tu Youqing, who originally slept next door, had somehow run into Jiang Yu’s room and burrowed into his quilt, sleeping soundly on his chest like a kitten.
These past few days, Tu Youqing had been constantly asked by Jiang Yu to “tutor.”
And each time, he would use “it’s too late, stay here” as an excuse to forcibly keep Tu Youqing, and Li Qingrou also knew that her precious son’s relationship with Tu Youqing was not simple.
But she never expected that they were already sleeping together!
“Maybe Dad and I should move out. Our son has grown up and can’t be kept,” Li Qingrou sighed, pulling out her phone to take a picture of the two embracing.
“They really have a sibling resemblance, Pooh Pooh, no, they have a spousal resemblance, hehe…”
Setting the photo as her screen saver, Li Qingrou tiptoed out of the room.
“Hey, Tianlong, let’s find a time to move out. We’ll leave this villa to Xiao Yu. He’s grown up and needs his own private space.”
“Besides, we can also have our own romantic world, just like those few days when we traveled~”
On the sofa, Jiang Tianlong was drinking tea and reading the newspaper as usual, unsmiling.
“Hmm, I’ll listen to you.”
Li Qingrou pouted, dissatisfied: “Hmph! What, are you unhappy having a romantic world with your old lady?!”
Saying that, she pinched Jiang Tianlong’s ear and complained, “Before we got married, you kept saying you loved me, but now we’ve only been married for a little over ten years, and you’ve forgotten your promises from back then?
And how long has it been since you’ve ‘paid your public grain’!”
Jiang Tianlong’s calm expression vanished when he heard about “paying public grain.” He coughed once:
“We’re an old married couple now…”
“Tianlong, look what this is…”
Before he finished speaking, the strong middle-aged father picked up his beautiful wife and walked into the room:
“Pack your bags. We’re going to the villa next door. We won’t be coming here anymore.”
…
“Phew… So heavy, what is it?”
Jiang Yu lifted the quilt and found Tu Youqing completely pressed against his chest, her drool wetting a small part of his pajama collar.
“Hmm… What’s going on, gu, I slept so comfortably~”
Tu Youqing stretched, opened her eyes, and was stunned.
“You… why are you in my bed, ah ah ah ah, it’s over, I’m not clean anymore, gu, kill me.”
“Are you an idiot? This is my room, why did you run to my bed?” Jiang Yu rolled his eyes.
Only after checking herself to confirm that Jiang Yu hadn’t ‘poisoned’ her did Tu Youqing breathe a sigh of relief.
“Uh… Anyway, it’s all your fault, you’re the idiot, big idiot Jiang Yu.”
…
Afternoon, junior year physical education class, physical fitness test.
Murong Xue'er still came to school. Her grandma’s condition was stable. She had just woken up this morning and urged her to return to school to study hard, as her postgraduate entrance exam was only a few months away.
“Child, when you grow up, Grandma will enjoy her golden years.”
The unfortunate old woman always used this sentence to comfort Murong Xue'er. Despite suffering her whole life, she painstakingly raised the little infant she found with the money she earned from collecting bottles.
The bottles were found, and she was found, but the love was real.
Murong Xue'er didn’t know how to save money, so she decided not to eat lunch anymore. If possible, she would also work part-time after class to earn money…
“Next, Murong Xue'er, lane four.”
Eight hundred meters might be easy for boys, but for girls with average physical strength, it was a chasm. They’d be exhausted like dogs after running it.
The starting gun fired. Under the scorching sun, Murong Xue'er ran the 800 meters distractedly.
Gradually, her vision blurred.
Something seemed to be churning in her stomach, her head spun, and her breathing became rapid.
“So uncomfortable…”
Murong Xue'er was already malnourished, and she hadn’t eaten lunch today. Coupled with the scorching sun that could easily cause heatstroke, she predictably fainted due to low blood sugar.
Murong Xue'er was disdainfully helped to the side by a few girls, who then ignored her.
If the PE teacher saw this scene, he would definitely be furious, “My job is going to be gone because of you!”
“Xue'er! This is… low blood sugar!”
Lin Qifan immediately rushed over, identifying the condition with just one glance.
He patted his pocket, only then remembering that the White Rabbit candy Murong Xue'er had given him earlier was in his drawer today.
“Damn it… I didn’t bring it at this crucial moment. Xue'er, wait for me!”
Lin Qifan immediately went back to get the candy, his heart filled with anxiety.
And the moment he left.
Jiang Yu walked out, stepped forward, and touched Murong Xue'er’s slender, fragile neck.
Then, he swiftly carried her and walked towards the school infirmary.