Chapter 58 I'll Pay for You (Part 2) You don't want to owe anyone...
Jiang Yueming's heart tightened.
Li Leshan rushed over, his heart pounding as he listened to the woman's voice on the other end of the phone.
It can only be Grandma. What happened to Grandma?
"Hello? Hello, is this Wang Chunfeng's family member?" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded anxious, and the question was repeated.
Li Leshan's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. He couldn't answer; he had no way to answer. In an instant, a familiar yet sorrowful feeling welled up inside him.
"Let me answer it, let me answer it!" Jiang Yueming leaned over, putting his arm around Li Leshan's shoulder as he asked the person on the other end of the phone about the situation.
"Grandma accidentally fell downstairs." Jiang Yueming understood the whole story, but before she could finish explaining, Li Leshan had already run towards the school gate.
Jiang Yueming was also anxious. He hurriedly explained to Wu Jinzhong, "Teacher, I need to call my aunt. I'm worried about her going alone."
After hurriedly finishing his phone call with Lin Cuiqin, Jiang Yueming's thanks were cut short as he dashed off towards the school gate without looking back. He had to catch up with Li Leshan quickly, or he wouldn't be able to speak to him. Who would help him if Li Leshan wasn't there? In just those two minutes on the phone, Li Leshan must have run at least several hundred meters.
He ran all the way from the North-South Avenue to the school gate in one breath, and before he could catch his breath, he spotted the electric scooter with the key still in the ignition next to the guardhouse.
The electric scooter was old and worn out, its handlebars tilted slightly towards the wall. A bad thought flashed through Jiang Yueming's mind, but she quickly dismissed it.
So Jiang Yueming kept calling out "Uncle" and "Brother" and begged and pleaded to leave his student ID at the gatehouse. After a series of actions, he finally got his hands on the tram.
"Lele! Lele!" Jiang Yueming shouted from seventeen or eighteen meters away, "Get in the car, don't run away!"
He stopped right in front of Li Leshan with superb skill, precisely in time. Jiang Yueming was self-taught on both bicycles and electric scooters; he could ride them instantly, just twist the handlebars and go. Han Jiang, on the other hand, couldn't. He spent two months learning to ride a bicycle before daring to ride on the road, and another two months learning to ride an electric scooter before daring to ride on the road. Even then, he rode erratically and couldn't find his way around on the main road.
I sped along, running three red lights and driving against traffic on two lanes, finally arriving at the health center. It was a small hospital near the Third Alley, a bit bigger than a clinic but smaller than a hospital.
The clinic smelled strongly of disinfectant. There weren't many patients; most of them were people who had previously received treatment there.
Lin Cuiqin arrived at the health center before the other two; Third Lane was closer to the health center than the school. She set off immediately without hesitation after receiving Jiang Yueming's call.
"Auntie! How are you?" Jiang Yueming asked hurriedly. The biting cold of January did not make them feel the slightest bit cold; their foreheads and backs were covered in sweat.
"It's nothing, I just fell down the stairs and hurt my leg," Lin Cuiqin gestured for them to sit down and catch their breath. "Let's go inside and get treatment first."
Neither of them sat down; they just stood there silently, as if they had done something wrong, their heads bowed, trying to make the tiles on the floor look like they were staring at something.
Lin Cuiqin knew that Li Leshan was probably feeling guilty, so she gently patted Li Leshan's shoulder and said, "Leshan, this is not your fault."
Grandma is getting old, and she often bumps and bruises herself. But this is the first time it's been this serious. Li Leshan's mind was a mess; he had to think about his grandma first, then about money.
Oh, right, money.
money.
Li Leshan suddenly looked up, quickly pulled Jiang Yueming's shoulder, and gestured to him, "Did my aunt pay for me? She..."
Lin Cuiqin went to pay the fees immediately. Treatment and hospitalization fees, but she didn't know how long she would need to stay at the health center. A month? Two months? Should she transfer to another hospital? The scalped tickets for an appointment with a specialist at that orthopedic hospital were going up to 800 yuan.
“I have money,” Li Leshan signified, “Ask your aunt how much she paid, and I’ll give it to her.”
Jiang Yueming understood his words and didn't want to speak from the bottom of her heart. Not for any particular reason, just a simple reluctance, even though it might seem a little heartless. He could give his aunt his own New Year's money; he'd saved a little over the years, but he didn't know how much it would cover. The main issue was that Li Leshan's money was for school; if he took it, what would happen to his schooling?
Seeing the questioning look in Li Leshan's eyes, Jiang Yueming swallowed hard and quickly said, "I'll go ask him. You sit down and rest for a while."
Jiang Yueming gave Lin Cuiqin a look, signaling her to speak privately.
The lobby of the health center was filled with noise. The lights were off, making the entire hall and corridor dark.
"Auntie, how much did it cost to see a doctor, get treatment, and be hospitalized? Can the local clinic perform surgery? Do we have to go to the city?" Jiang Yueming asked a whole bunch of questions. "Was Grandma's fall serious? You didn't tell us in front of us or Lele, you just told me directly."
"Oh dear, this is none of your business." Lin Cuiqin was bewildered by his question.
Jiang Yueming was very persistent about this matter, as if he couldn't let it go without getting to the bottom of it. "This is something I have to take care of."
He doesn't care about this or anything else; all he cares about from beginning to end is Li Leshan.
Lin Cuiqin sighed and found a seat in the hall. The cold metal stool exuded a chill, just like the sky outside.
“If surgery is needed, the health center can do it. If there are any other issues afterward, it would be best to go to the city, but the bed fees are not cheap, so it is best to stay at the health center. It depends on the situation. Yueming, this is not something you and Leshan need to worry about. You are both so young…” Lin Cuiqin looked at him, wanting him to understand that this kind of thing should be handled by adults.
Jiang Yueming's Adam's apple bobbed, and he blurted out something he hadn't even thought of: "Auntie, I've saved up some New Year's money, you can take it all. If there's still some left, consider it a debt to you, I'll pay you back later."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Cuiqin opened her eyes wide in disbelief. It was the first time she had heard the words "owe" and "repay" from this child's mouth. She never expected Jiang Yueming to say such words.
"What are you talking about?" Lin Cuiqin's tone changed unusually, she was somewhat surprised, "Yueming, I'm asking you, what is our relationship?"
Jiang Yueming didn't understand the situation. His mind was still preoccupied with things like money, illness, and Li Leshan. He had no time to consider whether what he was saying was accurate or not.
“You’re my aunt, and I’m your nephew,” Jiang Yueming said. He could understand this kind of generational hierarchy.
“Your mother is my own sister.” Lin Cuiqin held his hand. “We’re family. What’s this talk about owing each other anything? Aren’t you just hurting people’s feelings?”
His statement, taken elsewhere, practically placed him on Li Leshan's "camp," implying that Li Leshan and he were family, and everyone else was irrelevant to them.
Jiang Yueming immediately realized what he meant and hurriedly explained, feeling a burn on his lips, "I... I didn't mean that."
Lin Cuiqin's tone softened again, "I have acquaintances at the health center and that orthopedic hospital, Grandma Leshan will definitely be fine. Don't let Leshan worry about the money, I'll cover it first. You're still children, how much money could you possibly have?"
Jiang Yueming felt a warm current welling up inside him. His voice trembled slightly; he had just thought of many ways to repay the debt—by working a job during winter or summer vacation…
"Thank you... Auntie," Jiang Yueming said, enunciating each word clearly. But he thought that no matter how long it would take, he would definitely repay the debt on Li Leshan's behalf.
Jiang Yueming's gaze returned to the bench outside the operating room, where Li Leshan sat quietly, like an old, scarred statue.
He walked gently to Li Leshan and sat down next to him. "Grandma will be fine, so don't worry too much."
He knew he should be feeling guilty and blaming himself. He didn't know what to say to ease the pain even a little.
“Money…” Li Leshan finally raised his head. He looked at Jiang Yueming for a moment, then started using sign language again.
“I know you have money,” Jiang Yueming said, taking Li Leshan’s hand and trying to warm his cold palms, “but that money is for your education.”
Tuition, books, living expenses. And that's just for high school; what about the next three years, and then there's university. Jiang Yueming couldn't figure out what to do with his money.
“That money originally belonged to Grandma.” Li Leshan remained silent for a long time.
“Lele…” Jiang Yueming hesitated to speak, his mind involuntarily recalling the time last year when he bought the anti-slip shoes. He had to pay back Li Leshan alone. What if he had to pay him back again now?
However, he hardened his heart. Keeping it from Li Leshan was not a solution. If Li Leshan found out from somewhere else, no matter who it was from, the consequences would be much more serious than they were now.
"Your aunt paid the money for you," Jiang Yueming said. Before Li Leshan could speak, he quickly grabbed Li Leshan's hand with all his might, leaving him no time to use sign language.
“Lele, look at me. I know what you’re going to say. You have the money, you can pay the fees. Nobody’s stopping you, I’m not stopping you. But you have to go to school, the high school entrance exam is coming up soon, just a few months away.” Jiang Yueming said quickly and urgently, afraid of missing a word. “For now, we’ll owe it to you, owe it to your aunt. Once Grandma gets better, we’ll find a way, we’ll find work, we’ll find money, the Zhonghua Market hires people every year…”
“Really, at least wait until after the high school entrance exam. Just these few months…” Jiang Yueming continued, “If you want to pay me back this time, I definitely won’t stop you, but not now.”
Jiang Yueming took a deep breath and released his grip on Li Leshan. He stared at the man in front of him in silence for a long while, feeling as if something was stuck in his chest, so tightly that it gave him no chance to breathe.
You don't want to owe anyone anything, including me. Jiang Yueming looked at his slightly trembling hands and thought to herself: I know you will definitely repay me.
I'll pay it for you.
/
In the end, Li Leshan couldn't persuade Jiang Yueming otherwise. But he still wrote down all the debts in his notebook, waiting to repay Lin Cuiqin one by one in the future.
In fact, Wu Jinzhong knew that Li Leshan's grandmother had undergone surgery and was hospitalized, as did the other teachers, since he hadn't been attending school. The teachers pooled their money and gave it to Jiang Yueming, who gave half to his aunt and saved the rest for Li Leshan.
He didn't tell Li Leshan about this, otherwise that kid would definitely be stupid enough to run to the office to thank everyone one by one and then sign a written agreement to repay the debt later. That's something Li Leshan would definitely do.
Jiang Yueming thanked them on his behalf, bowing to each of the teachers in gratitude. He would remember this kindness and repay it on Li Leshan's behalf later.
Grandma was unable to move after her surgery and needed someone to take care of her. There were three people in the ward: two elderly people and a child. The little girl was quiet and well-behaved, staying in the ward peacefully every day.
"I told you it was alright." Jiang Yueming breathed a sigh of relief. The two of them had been so worried about their grandmother while she was unconscious, they couldn't sleep well at all. Li Leshan even stayed up all night, watching over her.
"Your dark circles are so bad you could cosplay as a panda," Jiang Yueming said, leaning closer to Li Leshan's face, her tone slightly worried.
Li Leshan smiled slightly. Now that Grandma was awake, he wouldn't need to watch over her day and night anymore. A nurse would be there during the day, and she could come from school in the evenings. Li Leshan had taken a week off. He had been worried it wouldn't be enough, but thankfully Grandma had woken up.
Every day without fail, Jiang Yueming would come to the ward after class, carrying two schoolbags, one belonging to Li Leshan and the other to herself. The schoolbags contained test papers and homework; although she wasn't at school, she couldn't fall behind in her studies. Wu Jinzhong knew about Li Leshan's situation and also knew that Jiang Yueming was close to him. Since he went to the health center every day, he specially approved Jiang Yueming's exemption from evening self-study.
"These are the test papers we got today," Jiang Yueming whispered, pulling out three papers in a flash. "One set for English, one set for math, and one set for physics. Don't do them yet, get some rest tonight. You can go to school tomorrow, right?"
Li Leshan nodded.
"Okay. The test papers on your desk are almost piled up like a mountain." Jiang Yueming laughed. Li Leshan hadn't been to school for a week and missed a quiz. Given his unwavering habit of doing several sets of tests every day, he hadn't really written anything for a week.
No time. No energy.
Li Leshan was always thinking about when his grandmother would wake up, but he couldn't cook many dishes.
He flipped through the test papers, feeling as if he were looking at a string of mathematical and physical formulas and symbols.
"Soon, the mock exam is coming up, right?" Li Leshan said in sign language.
Looking at him like this, Jiang Yueming felt a pang in her heart. A strange anger surged to her head. Was the mock exam really that important? He looked so dejected, yet his mind was still filled with thoughts of the mock exams. Were they really that important?
Just as he was about to argue with Li Leshan about whether the "mock exam" or "physical health" was more important, Li Leshan's words left him rooted to the spot.
"Don't come here again." Li Leshan looked at him.
...
?
"What?" Jiang Yueming suddenly stood up from the bench in the corridor, startling the patients and their families passing by. "What are you saying? If I don't come, are you leaving?"
Li Leshan shook his head.
"You're not leaving." Jiang Yueming gritted her teeth. "Yes, you definitely aren't leaving. I offered to switch shifts with you, but you absolutely refused. So you've been guarding the place day and night, and now you won't even let me come."
Health center...do you own this health center?
Did the health center post a large sign that read "Jiang Yueming, do not enter"?
"The exam is coming up soon, you need to focus on reviewing." Li Leshan looked at him sincerely. He held Jiang Yueming's hand and gestured in his hand, roughly meaning that there were only a few days left before the mock exam, less than a week, and it wouldn't be good to keep going to the health center every day.
"I'm reviewing, I am reviewing." Jiang Yueming wished she could give him a piece of evidence to prove her innocence. He was reviewing every day until his head was about to explode. Wasn't that focused enough? What does it mean to be focused? Kneel down and kowtow to the test paper before writing?
“Then you’ll leave at eight o’clock every day.” Li Leshan compromised.
Jiang Yueming knew he was compromising. But what was the point of this compromise? If he finished class at six every evening and left at eight, wouldn't coming here be the same as not coming at all?
“I’m not leaving.” Jiang Yueming sat down again, determined not to leave this time. “I want to switch shifts with you. You stay up with Grandma on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I’ll stay up with her on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.”
"No." There was no room for negotiation.
"It has to be done, no matter what." Jiang Yueming turned to him and said, "Lele, the person lying inside is your grandma, but she's also my grandma. She's been so good to me since I was little, how can I not take care of her? Would I be so heartless? Would you let me become such a heartless person?"
Play the family card.
But Jiang Yueming was sincere. He genuinely wanted to take care of his grandmother. He had been with Li Leshan for almost five years, and during those five years, he had been cared for by his grandmother.
Li Leshan fell silent, then raised his hand again, "No... that's not how it's calculated."
“That’s how it’s calculated,” Jiang Yueming said. “When I was little, I would go to your house to play. Didn’t she cook for us and give me food and toys? Didn’t Grandma sew my scarves and gloves for winter? And… she even gave me New Year’s money!”
As Jiang Yueming recounted each and every incident, she felt increasingly guilty and realized she couldn't not go.
"I'm worried that you'll get tired and it will affect your studying."
When Jiang Yueming heard that there was a chance, he knew that if Li Leshan insisted on not letting him go, he probably wouldn't even give a reason, and no matter how much he asked, he would just say "no" or "no".
"I'm not afraid, no, I'm not tired," Jiang Yueming hurriedly said. He was worried about affecting Li Leshan's review. He hadn't done any practice questions or listened to any lectures for several days, and the mock exam was coming up soon. He felt like he had so many things to worry about every day. "Aren't you here too? With you here, I'm not tired."
The lights outside the corridor flickered, sometimes on, sometimes off.
Li Leshan stared blankly at the green passage sign not far away. After a while, he looked at Jiang Yueming again, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.
“This is for Grandma.” Li Leshan’s hand moved slightly.
In the dim light, Jiang Yueming couldn't quite make out Li Leshan's expression or his gestures, but he could guess most of it.
"I'm doing this for you too," Jiang Yueming said softly, putting her arm around Li Leshan's shoulder. "When I'm studying at school, I always get distracted, and nobody cares about me. But at the health center, you take care of me."
He held Li Leshan's shoulder tightly, pressing himself against him. Li Leshan's hair brushed against his face. Jiang Yueming murmured to himself, "Lele, do you remember that time I said I was hungry and wanted some porridge, and you ran to buy it for me? There weren't any porridge shops around there. It took you fifteen minutes to go back and forth, and you had to run. Now that I think about it, I wasn't actually that hungry then."
Jiang Yueming muttered to himself, "This is something that Li Leshan might have forgotten, but I haven't."
His voice grew softer and softer, yet it became clearer and clearer in the quiet corridor.
“I’m your friend, your brother, your buddy…” Jiang Yueming took a deep breath, “I’m someone you can trouble with.”
Feeling the person in his arms move, Jiang Yueming's heart pounded, beating faster and faster.
"You should get some sleep. I'll wake you up in the middle of the night," Jiang Yueming said in a low voice.
It was late at night, and there was only a dim incandescent light outside the corridor; there was no other light.
Perhaps he was just too tired lately, spending every day from dusk till dawn. When his grandmother was still asleep, Li Leshan didn't dare close his eyes, afraid that if he didn't find a doctor immediately after she woke up, he would go to the toilet at the end of the corridor to wash his face with cold water when he couldn't hold on any longer.
In short, Li Leshan fell asleep leaning on Jiang Yueming's shoulder. His years of resilience and tenacity, his unwillingness to show any weakness to others, had finally found a place to rely on. A small boat that had drifted for a long time without a fixed abode, having navigated countless waves and reefs, finally docked one day.
Jiang Yueming looked down at him and reached out to stroke Li Leshan's hair. After Li Leshan fell asleep, Jiang Yueming settled him on a small, narrow cot next to his grandmother's bed—a dark green one, the kind Li Leshan occasionally used to rest on, conveniently brought to the clinic. Jiang Yueming then covered him with her own coat. The corridor was still too cold; the January weather was unbearable.
Grandma was asleep in her hospital bed. Lately, she'd been on IV glucose and saline drips, and had painkillers, but she'd still wake up in pain in the middle of the night, so Li Leshan didn't dare to sleep.
Jiang Yueming sat on a small stool, leaning against the cot. Knowing that Li Leshan was sleeping, and looking at his sleeping profile, he felt at ease.
"Grandma," Jiang Yueming's gaze returned to the hospital bed, silently praying in her heart, "Please help me. He listens to you the most. Please persuade him not to be so sensible and not to shoulder everything alone."
He always felt that he and Li Leshan were very close. After so many years, even strangers should become familiar with each other. They went to school together, came home together, ate together, and slept in the same bed. They had leaned on each other's shoulders and hugged each other.
Why? Jiang Yueming covered her face, somewhat bewildered, and thought painfully, why does this relationship always feel so half-baked?
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Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait! Today was incredibly busy, so busy I was completely dizzy (dizzy).
I haven't reread or revised the text much, so please point out any problems!
I haven't had time to reply to the comments yet, but I'll reply to them all after I finish my work! Thank you everyone for your comments, I'm so happy to see them every day~~ Love you all!!!
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