The next morning, Hua Manman finished the illustration she hadn’t completed the day before and emailed it to her client. Then, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out.
She went to the hospital and saw Hua Yusen.
Hua Yusen was already awake. Gauze was taped to the bridge of his nose, one of his cheeks was still red and swollen, and a large bruise covered his abdomen.
The doctor could tell his injuries were from an assault and suggested he file a police report.
But Hua Yusen refused without hesitation.
Just as Hua Manman arrived, a smile spread across Hua Yusen’s face, and he greeted her warmly.
"Manman, you’re here! Come, have a seat."
He then introduced her to the doctor.
"This is my daughter. She heard I was sick and made a special trip to come see me."
The doctor added a compliment, "Your daughter is so good to you."
Hua Manman found the remark utterly laughable.
But with an outsider present, she didn’t want to make a scene. She said nothing, merely giving the doctor a slight nod.
"Thank you for your hard work."
The doctor smiled. "Not at all. It’s what we’re here for."
Then, he looked as if he wanted to say something more but hesitated.
Hua Manman understood. "Let’s talk outside."
The doctor immediately agreed with a nod.
Hua Yusen was displeased. "Is there something you can’t say in front of me?"
Hua Manman ignored him and walked out of the room with the doctor.
People were constantly walking back and forth in the hospital corridor.
The strong smell of disinfectant permeated the air.
The doctor led Hua Manman to his office. Pointing at an X-ray, he said,
"This is your father’s brain. The tumor was originally growing here. However, due to the head injury he sustained yesterday, it has shifted slightly. Now the tumor is here. As you can probably tell, this location makes it very difficult to perform a resection."
Hua Manman asked, "What happens if he doesn’t have the surgery?"
The doctor lowered his hand and said gravely, "The tumor in your father’s brain is continuing to worsen. Without surgery, he might not live more than six months."
Seeing Hua Manman’s silence, he quickly added,
"But some patients have survived for two or three years. Every case is different, so it’s hard to say for sure."
"How much is the surgery?" Hua Manman asked.
"The surgery itself is about eighty thousand," the doctor replied. "But with post-operative recovery costs, you’ll need to have at least one hundred fifty thousand prepared."
After leaving the doctor’s office, Hua Manman didn’t go straight back to the hospital room. Instead, she sat by herself in the hallway for a long while.
The doctor had said Hua Yusen’s condition worsened because he was assaulted the day before.
In other words,
’if something happened to Hua Yusen, she would be a murderer.’
’As much as she hated Hua Yusen, she didn’t want to be his killer.’
Hua Manman took out her phone, opened her banking app, and checked her savings balance.
’One hundred fifty thousand, exactly.’
’Her maternal grandparents had saved that money specially for her dowry.’
’They hadn’t lived to see her wedding day, much to their regret, so the money was passed down to her as an inheritance.’
’She wouldn’t be staying in this world for long, so there was no point in keeping the money.’
’She had originally planned to donate it to a charity before she left.’
However, Hua Yusen’s grave illness had disrupted her plans.
’She didn’t know what the right decision was.’
When Hua Manman returned to the hospital room, she found Hua Yusen was out of bed.
Hua Manman immediately stopped him.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
Hua Yusen was still very weak. His head was spinning, and he had to hold onto the edge of the bed to stay steady.
"I’m much better now. I don’t need to stay here any longer. Go take care of my discharge papers."
Hua Manman stared at him, speechless. "Do you have any idea that you have a tumor in your brain? If you get discharged now, it’s a death sentence."
"Don’t listen to that nonsense from the doctors," Hua Yusen said. "I looked it up online. A lot of people get tumors these days. If you just rest up, you can live a long and healthy life even without an operation. We’re not wasting our money on this. Let’s hurry up and go home."
A nurse pushed the door open to give Hua Yusen an injection, only to see that he was out of bed!
The nurse’s face went pale. She quickly called two other nurses, and together they scrambled to get Hua Yusen back into bed, sternly ordering him to lie still and not move again.
Hua Yusen feigned obedience, allowing the nurse to give him the injection.
He asked how much that one shot cost.
The nurse told him the price.
Hua Yusen winced as if in physical pain at the cost.
As soon as the nurses left, Hua Yusen threw back the covers.
"This place is a total money pit. Let’s get out of here."
Hua Manman stopped him. "If you don’t have money, I can lend you the money for the surgery."
Hua Yusen was visibly stunned, and his eyes immediately reddened.
"I thought you’d want nothing more than for me to drop dead."
Hua Manman replied, her expression blank, "I do wish you were dead."
Her merciless words made his chest tighten, and his expression soured.
"Then why are you still offering to lend me money?"
"Before you became so loathsome," Hua Manman said, "there was a time when you did your best to raise me, and you spent a lot of money on me. I’m lending you money for your treatment now, so consider us even. After this, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me."
"I’m not getting the surgery," Hua Yusen said sullenly. "I don’t need your money."
"You’ll die if you don’t have the surgery," Hua Manman stated.
"Even with the surgery, there’s no guarantee how long I’ll live."
Hua Manman froze.
"I’ve already asked at another hospital," Hua Yusen said. "There’s a high chance of recurrence after the surgery. Instead of wasting that money, I’d rather save it for your dowry. You graduated this year, right? You’ll be getting married before you know it. I have some savings, too. I’ll leave it all to you in the future."
Hua Manman watched him in silence.
’When he wasn’t drinking or being violent, this man could almost be considered a good person.’
’But the moment he got angry, he would turn into a terrifying monster.’
"I don’t want your money," Hua Manman said.
Hua Yusen’s temper flared. "What?" he demanded loudly. "Is my money not good enough for you?!"
Not wanting to argue with him, Hua Manman changed the subject.
"Have you eaten yet?"
Seeing his daughter’s concern for him, Hua Yusen’s expression softened instantly.
"I had some porridge."
"I haven’t eaten yet," said Hua Manman. "I’m going to go downstairs and get something."
"Go on, then. Hurry," Hua Yusen said quickly.
"Don’t even think about getting discharged," Hua Manman warned. "If you dare take a single unauthorized step out of this room, you’ll never see me again."
Hua Yusen’s temper immediately flared up again.
"Watch your mouth, you brat! You think I actually want to see you?!"
Hua Manman left the room.
Hua Yusen wanted to get out of bed, but when he remembered his daughter’s parting threat, he ultimately decided against moving.
That afternoon, Song Yixian came to the hospital.
She chatted with Manman for a bit, then went to the first floor to pay the inpatient fees.
When she returned, a middle-aged man was with her.
The man was tall and carried himself well. He wore a white coat and glasses, and his smile was gentle.
Song Yixian looked a little sheepish.
She explained to Manman,
"This is one of our kindergarten parents. His last name is Wang, and he happens to work at this hospital. I ran into him just now when I went to pay the fees. When he heard my ex-husband was hospitalized, he offered to come and see if there was any way he could help."