Chapter 6
Su Rui pushed his creaky old bicycle out of the school gate. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, creating a stark contrast with the classmates walking together, laughing and joking. His mind kept replaying the scene in the infirmary—Ling Yao's airy "thank you," the cold gag order, and the self-assured look on his face when surrounded by his friends.
“An enthusiastic classmate I met on the road.” Haha.
The tiny warmth that had risen in his heart from the brief moment of solitude and the words "thank you" had long since been blown cold by reality. He felt ridiculous, like a clown, performing a one-man show that no one appreciated.
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress all those chaotic emotions. Life didn't give him much time to feel sad. He had to rush back to cook for his grandmother, and then he might have to find some odd jobs in the evening.
At that moment, the old, cracked phone in his pocket suddenly began to buzz. The caller ID read "Neighbor Liu."
An ominous premonition instantly gripped Su Rui. Sister Liu rarely called him at this time.
He quickly picked up the phone: "Sister Liu?"
Sister Liu's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone: "Xiao Rui! Come back soon! Your grandma...she fainted! I just ran into her when I came back from buying groceries. I called an ambulance! We're on our way to the First Municipal Hospital now!"
With a buzzing sound, Su Rui's mind went blank, and the blood in her body seemed to freeze. The phone almost slipped from her trembling hands.
Grandma... fainted... ambulance... hospital...
These words hit him like a sledgehammer, darkening his vision and making him almost lose his balance. Fear, a huge, cold fear, instantly overwhelmed him.
"Hello? Xiao Rui? Can you hear me? Emergency Department of the First Municipal Hospital!" Sister Liu's voice was still shouting on the other end of the phone.
"I...I heard you! Thank you, Sister Liu! I'll be there right away!" Su Rui's voice was shaking. He almost yelled as he finished speaking, then abruptly hung up the phone.
What to do? What to do? Medical expenses! Hospitalization fees! He only had the few hundred yuan he'd just paid from the cafeteria and the money he'd saved on food this month. Adding that up, it might not even cover the cost of registering for a checkup!
A huge feeling of helplessness and panic engulfed him like a tide. He pushed his bicycle, spinning in circles like a headless fly, his face pale and cold sweat instantly breaking out on his forehead.
Looking for relatives? One was far away, and the other wouldn't care about their life or death. Borrow money? A classmate? He didn't have any friends who could ask for such money.
In despair, a name suddenly popped into his mind——
Ling Yao.
Yes, Ling Yao! He's so rich, he must have a way! I just helped him... and he even said "thank you" to me...
As if he had grabbed the last straw, Su Rui no longer cared about warnings or embarrassment. With trembling hands, he took out the number that he had secretly saved but never dared to dial.
He hesitated for only a second, his concern for his grandmother overriding everything else. He pressed the dial button.
His heart was beating wildly, and every sound of waiting seemed to knock on his nerves.
Please, answer the phone! Please, answer the phone!
After five or six rings, just when Su Rui was about to despair, the phone was finally picked up.
There was some noise in the background, as if he was still in the infirmary or with his friends. Ling Yao's lazy and impatient voice came: "Who is it?"
"It's... it's me, Su Rui..." Su Rui's voice was filled with tears and heavy breathing, "I'm sorry to bother you... My grandma... My grandma fainted and was sent to the hospital... I... I need money... Please... Can you..."
He spoke incoherently, almost begging.
There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.
Ling Yao's voice rang out again, his previous laziness gone, and he was now carrying a subtle hint of caution and... calmness: "Which hospital?"
"City…City First Hospital Emergency Department…"
"Wait." Ling Yao said briefly and hung up the phone without even asking for details.
Su Rui was holding the phone with a busy tone, still in a state of great panic and confusion.
Wait? What does that mean? Is it a yes... or a no?
He leaned weakly on his broken bicycle, looking at the busy street, feeling like he was left on an isolated island in the world, his only hope lying on that moody and unpredictable man.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
