"Are you at home?"
"I'm not home. The property manager told me about it. Xixi, you can move in without worry. The money is in a box in the living room; you can take it at any time..."
She interrupted him, "Mr. Wan, my mother is ill..."
The man on the other end paused for a moment before speaking in a deep voice, "Don't panic. Just wait where you are. I will send someone to take you to the hospital immediately..."
Yan Xixi hung up the phone and helped her mother to her feet. Just then, her phone DINGED, signaling a new message. She read it and froze. After a moment, she suddenly yelled at a passing taxi, "Mom, let's go! We don't have to stay here! Let's go..."
In the taxi, her mother saw the jubilation on her daughter's face, like a condemned prisoner suddenly set free. She opened her mouth slightly, looking at her with astonishment.
It was Yan Xixi who answered, her own eyes shining with excitement, "Mom, you can be admitted to the hospital today! Huang Xiaojue sent me 50,000 yuan. It's already credited! I just received the bank's text message..."
At that moment, a large black car drove past their humble taxi. Wan Donglin's assistant, Zhang Xiang, rolled down the window, glanced out, and then respectfully reported, "Miss Yan didn't stay. She and her mother left in a taxi."
She came and then left just like that? Interesting. The fish slipped away right before taking the bait.
Wan Donglin remained silent. He leaned against the glass window of the 28-story building, gazing down at the teeming masses on the street below. A cold smirk touched his lips, like a cat playing with a mouse.
The hospital was inexplicably crowded with patients.
The doctor's face was grim. Yan Xixi hurried over to him and anxiously asked, "Doctor, how is my mom's condition?"
"Her condition has worsened significantly. She must have been in pain for quite some time. Why didn't you, the family, bring her to the hospital sooner? This illness has been entirely exacerbated by the delay..."
She was speechless.
"It's still the middle stage; don't panic. There's still hope as long as it's managed properly."
After completing the hospital admission procedures, Yan Xixi returned to the ward. Her mother was already asleep, her face etched with exhaustion. The room housed six patients, and beds were scarce. Family members bustled in and out, leaving the patients with no peace. She quietly walked over to her mother's bedside and sat down. Then, she slowly unfolded the thick sheaf of papers in her hand—a long list of various frighteningly expensive charges. She had no idea how long the 50,000 yuan would last.
Suddenly, a woman swept in like a gust of wind. She wore a snow-white fox fur, and the sharp CLICK-CLACK of her pointed heels echoed in the room. This glamorous woman, who seemed utterly out of place, drew the eyes of nearly everyone in the ward. Yan Xixi looked up; it was Xu Xiaoya.
This was Xiaoya's work attire. Having worked in a nightclub for several years, her financial situation had always been much better than Yan Xixi's.
Xu Xiaoya held her head high, ignoring the stares from others in the room. She walked straight to the bedside and handed Yan Xixi an envelope. "Xixi, I rushed over and didn't have time to buy any fruit. When Auntie wakes up, just buy her whatever she feels like eating."
The envelope felt quite heavy. Yan Xixi didn't stand on ceremony with her old friend and simply thanked her softly. Since Yan Xixi's mother was still deeply asleep, Xu Xiaoya didn't stay long. Yan Xixi walked her out, and they paused at a corner near the elevators. Xu Xiaoya asked, "How long will Auntie be in the hospital? Can you manage to take care of her all by yourself?"
Xixi let out a long sigh. "If it weren't for Huang Xiaojue, I really don't know what I would have done. I shouldn't have taken his money, but I... I truly had no other choice..."