Chapter 97
As soon as the three of them walked out of the housekeeping center, Sister Zhou bowed deeply to Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao. If it weren’t inappropriate for the place, she even wanted to kneel and knock her head in gratitude to her two benefactors. Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao not only gave her a job but also gave her daughter the hope of continuing to live. How could she not be grateful?
“Sister Zhou, don’t do this. You’re making us feel embarrassed.” Lin Mengyao helped her up and said.
“I’m just too emotional. You two are such good people and great benefactors to our family. If it wasn’t for you two, I really wouldn’t know what to do. I’m truly grateful to you and will work diligently in the future, never failing your trust in me.” Sister Zhou said, wiping the tears from her face with a reddened nose.
“What illness does your daughter have?” Xu Ke, not fond of hearing others sobbing, quickly changed the topic when he saw her crying uncontrollably.
Sister Zhou was momentarily stunned by Xu Ke’s question, evidently not expecting him to ask such a thing, but she wiped her tears and answered, “Kidney failure. So far, we haven’t found a suitable kidney donor, so she can only stay in the hospital clinging to life. I don’t know what sins I committed in my past life to have all this suffering fall on my daughter in this life.” Sister Zhou’s freshly wiped tears couldn’t help but fall again, and she cried even harder than before.
Lin Mengyao helplessly glanced at Xu Ke and asked, “The hospital bills must be quite a lot, right? Can you still afford them now? Do you need us to advance your salary a bit?”
Sister Zhou originally wanted to say no, but thinking about the new round of hospital bills soon due, her eyes showed a troubled expression, and her face flushed red, unsure of how to speak.
Seeing her look, Xu Ke understood and simply handed Sister Zhou a card without waiting for her to speak, “There’s ten thousand yuan on here, the password is six zeros. It’s an advance on a month’s salary. Use it first to pay your child’s hospital bill, and the remaining two thousand for groceries. If it’s not enough, come to me.” Xu Ke’s expression was somewhat cold, and his tone carried a kind of insistence that couldn’t be refused.
However, Lin Mengyao sensed an awkward tenderness and kindness in his words, raising her estimation of Xu Ke even higher. Sister Zhou’s hands shook as she held the card, overwhelmed by gratitude for Xu Ke, unsure of how to express it verbally. She could only bow repeatedly, tears streaming down, and Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao couldn’t stop her, allowing her to bow until she was too tired to continue.
“You two are truly lifesavers for our family. I really don’t know how to repay your kindness. How did I meet such good people like you? I’ll work twice as hard in the future and serve you comfortably. I—I will kowtow to you.” Saying that, Sister Zhou was about to kneel, but Xu Ke quickly stopped her.
If she were to kneel and kowtow right on the street, who knows what others might think? If a couple of passersby decided to help out, what would they do then?
In this world, nobody dislikes grateful people, but gratitude like Sister Zhou’s was indeed a bit too much for Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao.
“We have nothing to do today. Why don’t we go with you to the hospital to pay Xiaojie’s hospital bills, and also check on her? What do you think, Xu Ke?” Lin Mengyao asked, turning her head to seek Xu Ke’s opinion.
“Let’s go. Anyway, I drove here, it’ll be more convenient.” Seeing Sister Zhou’s attention diverted by Lin Mengyao’s words and her tears stopped, Xu Ke secretly exhaled, showing a relieved expression. Lin Mengyao, who saw him turn, felt both amused and relieved, feeling their distance closing.
The anxieties in her heart and the sense of distance she felt from Xu Ke seemed to dissipate with his actions.
At the hospital, Sister Zhou’s face showed anxiousness, and her pace quickened as if someone were chasing her.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Ke asked.
Seeing Sister Zhou’s expression, Xu Ke thought something might have happened to her daughter, making him unconsciously tense up. Lin Mengyao wasn’t faring any better; she too worried something had happened to Sister Zhou’s daughter. Her high heels clattered loudly as she hurriedly followed behind Sister Zhou, already considering Sister Zhou under her protection despite their brief acquaintance, naturally concerned.
“I don’t know. I just felt uneasy as soon as I got out of the car, like something bad was going to happen.”
The old saying about mother-child connection isn’t without reason. When Xu Ke and the others followed Sister Zhou to the ward, there was commotion inside. Zhou Xiaojie’s hospital bed was surrounded by a couple about the same age as Sister Zhou, along with a young man who looked barely in his twenties. Three nurses were also around, seemingly trying to mediate. In total, six people tightly surrounded Zhou Xiaojie’s bed, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.
“Are you crazy? Can’t you see there are people here? What are you bumping into? You think you can pay if you break something?” shrilled the woman in the floral shirt, brushing off her clothes and directing her sharp words at Sister Zhou.
They had been so busy arguing they hadn’t paid attention to what Sister Zhou was saying. Therefore, no one answered her questions. Sister Zhou was equally preoccupied with checking if her daughter was hurt and didn’t notice if anyone responded to her questions.
At this moment, Xu Ke was supporting Lin Mengyao, who had almost run the entire way, as they entered, “What’s going on here? Why is everyone gathered around?” Xu Ke’s voice was gentle, but his eyes scanned those around Zhou Xiaojie’s bed, and the previously noisy crowd fell silent as if mice caught by a cat, shrinking back.
“Weren’t you all quite vocal just now? Why isn’t anyone speaking up now? Go on, speak.” Xu Ke patiently repeated.
“It’s nothing major. My son likes this spot where the little girl is lying and wants to switch with her. But this little girl, despite her young age, has such a black heart; she won’t even help with such a small thing. It’s just a spot, what’s the big deal? I don’t know how her parents raised her to be like this,” the middle-aged woman said, rolling her eyes.