Li Baolong said to Xiaoru, "Let's go for a walk." Xiaoru then took his arm. Li Baolong said to the waiter, "How much is it?" The head waiter hurried over and said, "Sir, your drinks are on Mr. Feng's tab, you don't need to pay." Li Baolong nodded his thanks and then left with Xiaoru.
Xiaoru changed her clothes, grabbed her handbag, and got into Li Baolong's Santana. As soon as she got in the car, Xiaoru couldn't help but complain: "This outfit cost me five hundred yuan, but the fabric is so thin it's like I'm not wearing anything at all. I think even fifty yuan would be too expensive."
Li Baolong suggested, "Let's go get some barbecue." The two went to a barbecue restaurant. Xiaoru, probably having not eaten meat in a long time, grabbed a lot of meat skewers as soon as she entered. They ate and chatted, and Li Baolong learned that Xiaoru's real name was Ma Ru, a native of Hanzhong, 23 years old, more than a year older than him. Xiaoru had come to Chengdu to seek medical treatment for her child, but it had been a year, and she had spent all her money. To earn money quickly for her child's treatment, she had chosen to perform as a hostess in a nightclub.
Xiaoru knew in her heart that Li Baolong was about the same age as her, owned his own company, and was unmarried—a promising young man. She thought that there were too many men around her who were lusting after her, and she couldn't just give herself away so easily. However, being friends with Li Baolong wouldn't be bad.
Li Baolong looked at Xiaoru and asked softly, "Xiaoru, can I go with you to see the little one?" Xiaoru hesitated for a moment, then met Li Baolong's clear gaze before slowly saying, "Sure, but I'm afraid she'll miss her dad. She keeps asking me where her dad is, and all the other kids have their dads with them." Li Baolong smiled and said, "Let's go, I really like children."
The two drove to Xiaoru's rented apartment, on the sixth floor, a rather old building. Pushing open the door, they saw the little baby already asleep, a faint smile on her delicate, rosy face. Xiaoru said, "She ate a cookie and then fell asleep." Looking at this scene, Li Baolong felt a pang of sadness and secretly decided to help the child.
After learning more, Li Baolong discovered that the child had primary leukemia, and a transplant of new hematopoietic stem cells could save her life, but the treatment would cost over 200,000 yuan. Xiaoru had already spent over 100,000 yuan, barely managing to keep her alive for over a year, but eventually ran out of money to continue treatment. Xiaoru sighed and said, "The child's name is Xiaoxingxing, and she takes my surname. We depend on each other for survival. I'm willing to do anything to save her. Brother Bao, if you're willing to help me and the child, I'm willing to spend the night with you." Looking at Xiaoru's hopeful eyes, Li Baolong knew she wasn't lying, so he nodded and said, "I will help the child. You shouldn't go to work there anymore. Stay home and take good care of the child, spend more time with her. She's sick, and she needs her mother by her side even more."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoru knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Brother Bao, I will never forget your great kindness. Please accept my bow; this is all I can do to thank you now." Li Baolong quickly reached out to help Xiaoru up. In their tug-of-war, their voices were a little loud, waking the little one. Seeing her mother, the little one smiled and called out in a sweet, childish voice, "Mommy, Daddy." A warm feeling welled up in Li Baolong's heart; he felt the scene was incredibly heartwarming.
Li Baolong chatted with the mother and daughter for a while and played with the little one for a long time. Afterwards, he stood up and said to Xiaoru, "Xiaoru, see you at Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital tomorrow morning. I'll be waiting for you and Xiaoxing there to help you with the admission procedures so you can get your child treated properly." After saying that, Li Baolong went downstairs and left.
Back home, Li Baolong went to the balcony and began to meditate and practice the Seven-Seven Mantra. After a period of practice, his mood gradually returned to calm.
The next morning, Li Baolong drove to the lobby of the People's Hospital. Sure enough, he immediately spotted Xiaoru sitting in a corner, holding Xingxing, looking anxious. Li Baolong quickly went over and smiled at Xingxing, teasing her, "Little baby." As soon as Xingxing saw Li Baolong, she immediately smiled brightly and called out in a sweet, childish voice, "Daddy." Li Baolong was overjoyed and happily picked Xingxing up.
Li Baolong led Xiaoru straight to the outpatient clinic and explained the child's condition to the doctor in detail. After listening, the doctor said with a serious expression, "This child needs to be hospitalized; we can't delay any longer." Li Baolong said without hesitation, "Hospitalization today." The head nurse next to him then said, "Then we need to pay 50,000 yuan for hospitalization fees today. Are you ready?" Li Baolong replied decisively, "I'll pay 100,000 yuan first, arrange a private room for the child, and then arrange treatment as soon as possible." As he spoke, he took out a bundle of money from his bag and handed it over.
Xiaoru stood to the side, watching this scene, tears streaming down her face, sobbing softly. After the formalities were completed, Li Baolong handed Xiaoru another 20,000 yuan, gently instructing her, "Take good care of the little one. I'll come back to see you in a month." He then turned to leave. Little Xingxing kept calling after him, "Daddy, Daddy."
At that moment, Xiaoru secretly vowed in her heart: "I, Maru, will follow this man for the rest of my life. I will do his laundry and cook for him, I will not ask for any title, I will take care of him for the rest of my life, and I will have no regrets."
After saying goodbye to Xiaoru, Li Baolong returned home and found that Jiang Xiaomei downstairs had gone out to play mahjong, so he paged her. A little while later, he heard the door open downstairs and knew that Jiang Xiaomei had returned, so he went downstairs and knocked on the door.
The door opened, and Jiang Xiaomei saw Li Baolong. Her face immediately lit up with a smile, and she hugged him tightly, acting coquettishly. Li Baolong said, "I'm going to the special economic zone tomorrow, so I came to see how you're doing." Jiang Xiaomei said with a bitter face, "I've been having bad luck lately, losing several thousand yuan playing cards." Li Baolong smiled and advised, "Play less cards, go study more. Have you been going to night school?" Jiang Xiaomei replied, "Yes, but all the men there are so lecherous. They keep asking me out to dinner, so I don't want to go anymore." Li Baolong joked, "It's because you're so beautiful and have such a great figure, all the men are bound to like you." Jiang Xiaomei suddenly threw herself into Li Baolong's arms, saying coquettishly, "Brother Long, let's get married! I'll have your child, then I'll feel at ease." Li Baolong chuckled and declined, "There's no rush now, let's wait until things are more stable."
Under Jiang Xiaomei's seduction, the two became intimate. Afterwards, upon learning that Li Baolong was going to Thailand for a while, Jiang Xiaomei quickly said, "Why don't I go with you and take care of you?" Li Baolong shook his head: "Not this time. It's not for tourism, it's for investment cooperation. You don't have enough knowledge yet, but I'll definitely take you next time." Saying this, Li Baolong took out 20,000 yuan from his bag and said to Jiang Xiaomei, "It's almost Chinese New Year, and I'll be gone for a month. Go home and visit your family, don't just stay here gambling." Jiang Xiaomei felt a warmth in her heart and hugged Li Baolong again, asking for the money. After their passion subsided, Li Baolong laughed and said, "Sister Xiaomei, aren't you afraid of draining me dry?" Jiang Xiaomei, panting, said, "I'm doing this so you won't find other women outside."
The next day, Li Baolong flew to Longteng Company in the Special Economic Zone.
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