The nurse glanced at the clock on the wall, and when she turned back, Qing Ning was gone.

"Strange...where did they go?"

The nurse was completely confused.

I originally thought that this young lady named Shi Qingning, Zhang Er, and Xia Che had arranged to visit the patient together.

It seems that's not the case now?

"What a strange person... Oh well, she's pretty anyway, so what if she's a little weird? Maybe all beautiful women have some quirks?"

The nurse turned around, took a coat from the closet, and put it on without giving it much thought. But after she put it on, the temperature around her returned to normal, and she was sweating profusely.

It was freezing cold just a moment ago. Does the weather in Jiang City change so quickly?

"What exactly is going on?"

The nurse was completely baffled.

...

It is often said that a rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds those who are unfortunate.

Some people say that being poor is okay, as long as you and your family are healthy, that's the best outcome.

Both statements are correct.

Each has its own reasoning.

but……

What if a poor family is struck by misfortune, causing a family member's health to deteriorate rapidly, potentially leaving them in a vegetative state?

With so many factors involved, it seems impossible to say anything comforting when facing this kind of person.

After all that has happened, the other family members must be feeling desperate, and in their grief and anger, it seems like anything they say is wrong.

"Bang bang bang—"

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Xia Che stood in front of room 302, gently knocked on the door, then took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and waited for the door to open.

The hand holding the fruit basket clenched slightly at that moment.

to be honest.

Xia Che hadn't figured out how to start the conversation once they went inside.

He had encountered many unfortunate people who had suffered misfortune before; on the contrary, Xia Che felt that he had much more experience in this regard than the average person.

The mother and daughter who drive taxis, Jiang Yu, and Chu Yuying's background...

Having gone through so much, Xia Che felt that he should be a very experienced person who could comfort others who encountered similar situations.

But now that he's actually outside the ward, Xia Che unexpectedly finds that his brain has shut down.

A blank page.

Xia Che thought the situation was pretty much the same everywhere, and at worst he could just use a template, since he was sure he wouldn't be at a loss for words.

As it turns out...

There's really nothing to say about that.

There's not even a template that can be used.

The reason is that the people Xia Che encountered had indeed experienced tragic and unfortunate events, but compared to the person living in the ward in front of him, they seemed to be somewhat inferior.

Although they were also plagued by misfortune, at least they could speak and hear, or see, and observe the world with their own eyes.

But that child couldn't make it.

His day of lucidity is far off; it could be in the next minute, or it could be ten years from now.

Not knowing when the other person will wake up is agonizing for a loved one who cares about them.

It could even be described as a form of torture.

Thinking of this, no matter how eloquent or persuasive Xia Che was, he didn't know what to say.

He, who never runs away from difficulties, looked up at the room number 302 at the door of the ward and for the first time had the thought that he might just leave like this...

Xia Che wasn't afraid of anything, but when he thought of the despair in the eyes of the other person's family, he found himself instinctively afraid; he couldn't bear to look into those eyes.

Even if the child's ordeal was not caused by them.

Who is it?

But the creaking door that opened completely extinguished Xia Che's idea.

An elderly woman, hunched over and walking with faltering steps, looked around in confusion before raising her head to look at Xia Che.

"……Hello."

Xia Che's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, then forced a smile and waved.

Damn it...

Now it's too late to leave even if you want to.

well……

Let's just grit our teeth and go for it.

"Who are you?"

The old lady tilted her head, her wrinkles fluttering as she looked at her eyelids, clearly puzzled as to what this young man, who didn't seem like a kind person, had come here for.

"You must be Wang Xiaoxi's grandma? I'm his classmate, and I was tasked with visiting him this time, hehe... I guess I'm a little early, but I hope you don't mind?"

Xia Che's eyes flickered slightly.

Huang Meigui was very reliable. After investigating the whole process, she told Xia Che about Wang Xiaoxi and his class.

Although Linchuan Middle School is ranked lower than Weiyang Middle School, it has a significantly higher number of delinquents.

but……

Overall, the leadership is quite humane.

In total, we held four fundraising events, and we also organized students to visit us every now and then.

Regarding the hospitalization fees, perhaps out of a guilty conscience, Mosquito, who had used Wang Xiaoxi as a shield, did repay some of the debts and didn't lie, paying them all at once.

Wang Xiaoxi can stay there indefinitely, until the day he wakes up.

For Wang Xiaoxi, who became a vegetable, the biggest expense was the hospitalization fee. After the mosquitoes took care of it, there were no other places to spend money.

Xia Che planned to have Huang Rose investigate further after they returned, such as whether the savings book that Mosquito claimed to have left for the other party's grandmother was actually true.

If so, then Xia Che would reciprocate by telling Ning Zheyuan to have his men give the mosquitoes a break occasionally in prison, so they wouldn't get killed.

But if not...

Xia Che vowed that he would make life in prison more enjoyable for Mosquito.

"Oh...I see. You've come a bit early this time. Don't you have classes?"

Grandma gave a light "oh," without suspecting anything. She turned around, opened the door, and gestured for Xia Che to come in and talk. Then, she walked in shakily, her mouth never stopping: "Or did you skip class? Sigh... Kids these days are so different from our generation. We had to endure hardship first and then enjoy the good life, and even then, we weren't guaranteed to enjoy it."

"You guys are really something, trying to enjoy what you don't have. Regardless of whether you'll suffer later, you have to enjoy the good fortune now. In the past, the opportunity to go to school was very rare. You could have come after school, why did you skip class?"

Grandma spoke, but in just a few words she had already made a judgment about Xia Che's behavior. She glanced at Xia Che and warned, "Don't lie to me. Don't let my age fool you, I know you young people very well. You must have skipped class to come here, right?"