After seven days in the hospital and completing the discharge procedures, Shi Lan left the hospital alone with a simple change of clothes.
Standing in the bright sunshine, with cars roaring past beside her, Shi Lan walked slowly along the road with her head down.
The family is unaware of what has happened during this time. Shi's father is old and in poor health, and Shi's mother has a simple personality and tends to overthink things. Shi Lan doesn't want her parents to get upset or anxious about this, so she plans to wait until everything settles down before telling them. Therefore, she can't go back home.
Back at school, because of her leave of absence, the dormitory beds were probably already occupied. Fortunately, there were many small hotels near the school that offered beds for rent, so she planned to make do there for a while and then decide what to do next when she had more money.
After a long and winding journey, Shi Lan settled into a small hotel a few hundred meters from the north gate of the school. After having a simple breakfast, she went to the bookstore near the school gate.
Shi's father had a prized student named Cheng Hao, who, after graduation, neither pursued a doctorate nor entered a research institute. Instead, he impulsively opened a bookstore, which was a complete waste of his exceptionally high intelligence.
The original owner had called him "senior brother" since childhood, and now that his junior sister was in trouble, he, as her senior brother, couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Pushing open the gleaming glass door and passing through rows of stacked books, Shi Lan walked into the office and knocked on the door.
A clear male voice immediately came from inside, "Please come in."
Shi Lan pushed open the door, and Cheng Hao, dressed impeccably, sat behind the table, holding a pen and writing something.
A moment later, Cheng Hao looked up and saw that it was Shi Lan. He quickly stood up with a smile, "Oh, a rare guest, a rare guest! Come in and have a seat."
Cheng Hao got up and moved Shi Lan to the sofa, then picked up the boiling glass kettle from the table and made her some tea.
"Junior Sister, is there any good news that brings you here today?" He glanced at her, a playful glint in his eyes. "I heard from Master a while ago that you were getting married soon. What? Are you trying to bring the good news forward?"
Shi Lan's lips twitched. Her father was really something else. The marriage had only just been mentioned, how could he spread it around everywhere? And this Cheng Hao was also quite something. He was clearly a grown man, how could he be so gossipy?
“I do have some good news, but it's not what you're thinking,” Shi Lan looked up at him and said, enunciating each word clearly, “I broke up with Liu Jinxiang.”
"What?" Cheng Hao's hand trembled, and a few drops of scalding water spilled out of the spout, almost burning his fingers holding the filter.
Cheng Hao quickly put down the filter pot, shook his hand, and saw a faint red mark on his finger. "What happened? Weren't we supposed to get engaged this year and get married next year?"
Setting down the glass flask, Cheng Hao looked anxiously at Shi Lan.
Shi Lan pursed her lips; even with close friends and family, there were some things she still didn't want to say.
"It's a long story. I came here today to ask for your help. I'd like to take on some odd jobs to make some quick money. Do you have any connections?"
Some publishers need to correct or proofread books, or translate classical Chinese texts. They usually ask friends or acquaintances to help them find someone. Cheng Hao has been in this industry for many years and is very familiar with publishers. If he wanted to do this kind of thing, he would definitely have plenty of people to help.
"Are you short of money?"
Cheng Hao stood up, rummaged through the coat draped on the chair, took out a finely crafted leather wallet, and casually pulled out a card. "Here you go. There's not much money in it, but it should be enough for an emergency."
Shi Lan declined, saying, "No need, I still have some money. If you really want to help me, go talk to your aunt and ask her to let me go back to school as soon as possible. Anyway, it's only been a little over a month, I can catch up if I catch up."
Cheng Hao frowned, his displeasure evident. "You dropped out of school? Why?"
Shi Lan stammered, "Anyway, I acted impulsively and did something wrong. Could you talk to her for me? You know your aunt's temper; I'm a little afraid of her."
Cheng Hao glanced at her, his face a little strange. "I never thought you'd be afraid of someone." After thinking for a moment, he clicked his tongue and said, "I always thought you were too well-behaved. Every time the teacher educated me, they used you as an example. Now look at you, you're not well-behaved at all. You're just going through a rebellious phase too late."
Shi Lan was still a bit weak, and she felt weak after only a short while, so she didn't want to waste her energy arguing with him. She said, "Give me a straight answer, is it okay or not?"
Cheng Hao nodded, "Sure, why not? Leave it to me."
Shi Lan nodded and stood up. "You should also pay attention to the odd jobs. I can't just sit around doing nothing and wait to ask my dad for money."
Cheng Hao smiled and agreed, casually stuffing the card into her pocket. "Take this. The password is my birthday. Use it for now, and pay me back when you have more money."
Shi Lan was about to return the card to him when she heard what he said, and she calmed down.
That's good. She's not in good health right now, and the basement is a damp place, so it's better for her to move out sooner rather than later.
After leaving the bookstore, Shi Lan wandered around the area and rented a one-bedroom apartment in a relatively quiet neighborhood.
The house wasn't big, only about forty square meters, but it was fully furnished with furniture and appliances, which was exactly what Shi Lan needed.
That evening, Shi Lan moved in, carrying a small bag.
After dinner, Shi Lan brewed a simple cup of jujube tea to stretch her muscles.
Normally, someone in her condition would need at least half a month of rest to replenish her body's deficiencies before considering anything else. However, Shi Lan's situation was special. First, she was discharged from the hospital in less than a week and then went out for a long time. Although it was summer, she was exposed to the wind. If she didn't use the Buddha's Body Refining Technique to expel the cold from her body, she would definitely develop a chronic illness later.
The moon hung above the treetops. She was covered in sweat and went to the bathroom for a nice, relaxing shower. As soon as she came out, a pleasant bell rang at the door.
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