Days crawled on in the chill of late autumn. Sun Guixiang's life, like her washed-out dark blue cotton-padded jacket, was covered in patches and indelible stains.
The shadow of advanced lung cancer was like a maggot attached to her bones, gnawing at her body and spirit day and night.
The coughs became more frequent and intense, often excruciating and even bringing out dark red blood. My body, like a dead tree drained of moisture, rapidly withered.
But she carefully hid the pure white card with the silver nightingale printed on it in the innermost layer of her cloth pocket, right next to the payment slip that had been rubbed so hard that the words on it were almost illegible.
It was like a heavy anchor, giving her a faint but extremely real hope in the sea of despair.
She no longer hesitated, and when she was able to support herself a little, she dialed the landline number on the card.
The woman on the other end of the phone was gentle and professional, listening patiently to her intermittent and difficult narration with a heavy accent without a trace of impatience.
After asking about the basic situation, the other party informed in detail the documents and materials that needed to be prepared, as well as the specific address and time to go to the Ye Charity Foundation to apply.
The address is in Haicheng's most prosperous central business district, a towering glass-walled building. To Sun Guixiang, that place is as far away as another world.
She had never set foot in such a place, and just thinking about the shiny floor and the well-dressed crowd made her feel dizzy and inexplicably frightened.
The night before her departure, she barely slept. The pain in her chest prevented her from lying flat, so she could only curl up on the cold wooden bed, gasping for breath.
She checked the things she needed - her ID card, household registration booklet, a copy of Xiao Shitou's student ID, and the hospital diagnosis and payment slip that was like a death warrant - over and over again, wrapped them in a clean handkerchief, and carefully put them into the worn cloth pocket.
She dug out her only decent, patchless dark gray coat, which was washed bleached but starched clean.
Facing the dim light bulb, she carefully combed her sparse gray hair with a wooden comb with missing teeth, trying to make herself look less like a beggar.
At daybreak, Sun Guixiang forced herself to get up. Her violent coughing made her vision blurry, and she leaned against the wall and gasped for a long time before she recovered.
She prepared a simple breakfast for Little Stone, gave him a few instructions, and then, carrying the cloth bag that she treasured like a treasure, embarked on this long and unknown journey for her.
After taking several buses, each crowded and bumpy ride seemed to consume her remaining vitality. When she finally stood at the foot of the skyscraper called "Ye's Center", she felt a strong sense of dizziness that made her almost unable to stand.
The huge glass curtain wall reflects the gloomy sky, cold and majestic, like a giant steel beast standing in front of you, silently exuding an oppressive feeling that keeps people away.
She looked up at the spire that reached into the clouds, feeling so small and out of place.
Surrounded by well-dressed white-collar workers walking in a hurry, the sound of their high heels tapping on the ground was crisp and indifferent.
She was holding a cloth bag, with her back hunched, like a speck of dust that had strayed into a crystal palace, standing outside the revolving door at a loss, not knowing how to get in.
At this moment, two security guards in neat suits and wearing headsets walked out of the revolving door.
Their eyes swept across the door sharply and immediately locked onto the old woman who looked out of place in the surroundings.
One of the tall security guards strode over, his brow furrowed, his tone filled with undisguised scrutiny and a hint of impatience: "Old lady, what are you doing here? This is an office space, no outsiders are allowed to stay!"
Sun Guixiang was startled by this sudden questioning, and her already nervous heart instantly rose to her throat.
She frantically clutched the cloth bag in her arms, her voice trembling even more with fear and weakness: "I... I'm... here to look for... to find a charity foundation... I have... I have this..."
She fumbled in her pockets frantically, trying to pull out the white card to prove herself.
"What foundation?" The security guard obviously didn't hear her thick accent clearly and didn't care what she took out.
He looked at her tattered coat, her old cloth shoes stained with mud, and the sickly paleness and fear on her face, and the contempt and impatience in his eyes became more obvious.
"Go, go, go! Don't block the road here! We need someone to register with the property management in the back!"
He waved his hands as if to shoo away an annoying fly, spoke in a harsh tone, and even reached out to push her.
Sun Guixiang was already weak, and was frightened by the aggressive security guard. She staggered back a step, her body shaking violently, and the cloth bag in her arms almost fell out of her hands!
Huge panic and humiliation instantly overwhelmed her. Her cloudy eyes were instantly filled with tears. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a word.
The card that represented hope seemed like a hot potato at this moment, and she didn't even dare to take it out.
She felt like a complete joke for even dreaming of stepping into a place like this to seek help.
Just as the security guard's hand was about to touch her thin shoulder, Sun Guixiang closed her eyes in despair, ready to endure the cold drive -
A clear, calm, yet undeniably penetrating voice rang out at the slightly noisy lobby entrance like an icy spring.
"stop."
The voice was not loud, but it clearly drowned out the footsteps and voices around it, and it carried a strange, heart-pounding majesty.
The security guard's outstretched hand suddenly froze in mid-air. He turned back in shock.
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