The woman lying on the hospital bed, her face contorted with illness and ravaged by pain, was her biological mother, Xia Rushan. The man skillfully feeding his beloved wife water was her biological father, Jiang Xinkai.
Jiang Xinkai wiped the water from his wife's mouth, then looked at Jiang Wanning standing to the side and rubbed his hands together.
The girl had a straight posture and outstanding temperament; her beauty could not be hidden even in a simple white T-shirt and jeans.
Although we are a family of three, we only met today and are not familiar with each other.
"Wan Ning, I'm sorry, because Ru Shan is sick and needs someone to take care of her, I couldn't leave and couldn't pick you up."
"It's okay, I understand. I'm not a child anymore. How is her illness? Does she need surgery? How much will it cost?"
Jiang Xinkai couldn't help but smile, but soon, that smile became tinged with bitterness.
The daughter, whom they had just met, was so caring towards his wife, but how many times had Zhao Xuenan, whom they had raised with such tenderness, visited the hospital?
"Ningning, don't worry, this is a matter for us adults."
Xia Rushan was immediately delighted to see Jiang Wanning and waved to her, saying, "Ningning, come here and let Mom see you."
The joy in her eyes seemed genuine.
As she hesitated, a hint of sadness flashed in Xia Rushan's eyes.
Jiang Wanning felt a little reluctant, so she took a few steps forward and placed her hand in Xia Rushan's hand.
Xia Rushan gripped it tightly, a joyful smile appearing on her lips. She looked closely at Jiang Wanning, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Old Jiang, look, doesn't Ningning look a lot like me?"
Back then, when others mentioned that Zhao Xuenan didn't resemble her and her husband, they were quite angry. Who would have thought that they had been switched at birth?
Xia Rushan's hands were very cold, and because of her illness, she was extremely thin, with hardly any flesh on her bones, which was alarming.
At this moment, Dr. Li pushed open the door and entered. When he saw Jiang Wanning, he was stunned for a moment, and then he realized what was happening.
Is this the real daughter of the Jiang family?
Although his expression was calm, his eyes were clear and bright, and he showed no impatience at all when Xia Rushan held his hand.
He recalled overhearing Zhao Xuenan complaining to her classmate on the phone: "My mom is so useless! She's only in her early forties and she's already seriously ill! I'm about to graduate, won't she become a burden to me? If I want to marry a rich man in the future, won't I avoid him because of my mom's health?"
At the time, he thought, "This daughter is hopeless; she's an ingrate!"
Looking back now, it makes sense; bad bamboo can't produce good shoots. With the Zhao family's character, what good could they possibly produce!
Dr. Li got straight to the point: "Since you're all here, I'll get straight to the point. Ms. Xia's surgery can't be delayed any longer. The surgery itself will cost one million, and the subsequent rehabilitation treatment will conservatively be another four million. If the postoperative rehabilitation and medication don't keep up, the surgery will be a waste of time and have little significance. But if we don't have the surgery, further delay will be too late. If it's really difficult, we can raise the money for the surgery first, and then we'll figure out the rest later."
Dr. Li left, and the ward fell silent for a moment.
The hope in Xia Rushan's eyes was extinguished.
She wanted to live; she owed her biological daughter, and she wanted to be with her daughter, Jiang Wanning.
However, five million is an astronomical figure for them now.
All the valuables in the family villa were sold off two years ago to pay off debts.
The couple worked hard to earn money for the past two years and finally paid off all their debts six months ago, but unexpectedly she contracted this disease.
Jiang Wanning pursed her lips and said, "I will also try to raise money. Mom, you must get better."
This was the first time Jiang Wanning had called her "Mom." Xia Rushan responded, "Yes, Ningning..."
She immediately burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, Ningning, it's all Mommy's fault. If only Mommy had been more careful, you wouldn't have been switched at birth. I'm so sorry, my child, I've made you suffer..."
Knowing that the Zhao family treated Jiang Wanning badly, and thinking about how they cherished Zhao Xuenan like the apple of their eye, Xia Rushan's heart ached terribly.
The Zhao family treated Jiang Wanning badly, and Jiang Wanning was not close to them.
I'm not sure how to comfort you right now.
She took the tissue Jiang Xinkai handed her and awkwardly wiped away Xia Rushan's tears: "Mom, it's okay, I won't blame you. As long as you get better soon, our family will be fine."
After comforting Xia Rushan, Jiang Wanning left the ward.
This is the inpatient ward. Jiang Wanning doesn't like the feeling of being in a hospital.
She almost died in the hospital when she was a child, and there was no guardian by her side. Since then, she has had some trauma about hospitals.
Jiang Wanning went down to the first floor and came to the garden of the inpatient department.
Jiang Wanning took out her phone to check her bank card balance. When she opened it, she couldn't help but laugh. All her cards had been canceled or frozen, and only the two thousand yuan in her WeChat balance had survived. It was money she had saved from her part-time job.
She should have gotten used to it by now; she should be free.
She had always resented feeling out of place in that family; it turned out they had never treated her as their daughter, and she wasn't their daughter either.
Borrow money from them? Don't even think about it; you'll only earn humiliation from the Zhao family.
Just as she was lost in thought, Jiang Wanning received a call from Zhao Dehong. Her eyes narrowed involuntarily. Why would the Zhao family call?
Jiang Wanning subconsciously pressed the reject button, but unexpectedly, Zhao Dehong's message came quickly: "Ningning, is your mother's surgery fee covered? I'll pay for it for you."
She shouldn't have trusted them, but Jiang Wanning still harbored a sliver of hope.
She dialed the number.
Before the call could even connect, another call came in—it was from her best friend, Su Zhihan.
Su Zhihan's personality is completely at odds with her name; she's a fiery, hot-tempered woman who can be ignited at the slightest provocation.
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