Su Mu glanced at the bed number and didn't linger at the door. He walked down the corridor filled with the smell of disinfectant, heading towards the payment hall at the end.
In the crowded and noisy ward, Su Banxia settled her mother in and limped back to the door, leaning against the wall.
She looked around the corridor, but the familiar tall figure was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank, and an indescribable sense of loss welled up in her eyes.
She knew that he had already done her a great favor, and as a stranger who met by chance, it was normal for him to leave directly.
Just as she was about to turn back to the ward with her head down, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure wandering over from the direction of the payment hall.
Su Mu walked over with one hand in the pocket of his sweatpants, his steps somewhat leisurely. Seeing his distinct features, Su Banxia felt an inexplicable sense of relief, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up into a smile.
When she smiled, dimples appeared on both sides of her cheeks, paired with her red, tear-stained eyes, making her look like a small animal that had just been bullied but was now being comforted.
As Su Mu approached, she couldn't help but wonder if he had gone to pay the hospital fees. Su Mu stood in front of her, noticing her cautious and probing gaze, and decided to skip the guessing games.
"I settled the fees inside with a quick scan on my phone and added some extra for future medical expenses," he said, pointing to the noisy ward inside. "Tell the nurse to move your mom to a quieter single room; it's impossible to rest well in all that noise."
Hearing this, Su Banxia couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they fell in large drops onto the floor. She waved her hands frantically, wiping her tears with her sleeve, and explained in a tearful voice, "I didn't ask you to come up with me to borrow money on purpose."
Her shoulders shook with sobs, looking so pitiful that it tugged at the heartstrings. Su Mu rubbed his temples helplessly and interrupted her heartfelt confession.
"Alright, alright. When I asked you to call me 'Uncle' in the car, you didn't object, did you?" He raised an eyebrow, trying to lighten the mood. "Since I'm the elder, helping my little niece with such a small matter is no big deal."
"Go take care of your mom. I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now." With that, he turned and walked towards the elevator without saying goodbye. Su Banxia watched his retreating figure, completely ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle as she limped after him.
"I'll definitely pay you back!" she shouted hoarsely, reaching out as if to grab his sleeve. "Give me your bank account number. I'll work three jobs if I have to, but I'll repay you."
Su Mu stopped and turned to look at her, amused by her flushed yet stubborn expression. "Don't worry about paying me back. Just call me 'Uncle' to settle the debt, haha." He tossed out this teasing remark and continued towards the elevator, not giving her a chance to argue.
Su Banxia stood in the middle of the corridor, holding her old phone with a cracked screen, her resolve and principles blocked by his light-hearted joke, leaving her at a loss for words.
She glanced back at the crowded, dilapidated ward, thinking of her mother relying on IV drips to stay alert, and swallowed her words. Her beautiful eyes welled up with tears again.
The elevator doors opened with a ding, and just as Su Mu was about to step inside, Su Banxia bit her lip and called out with all her strength to his disappearing figure.
"Wait a minute." She hurriedly rummaged through her old canvas bag and pulled out two ID cards from the innermost pocket. She held her ID and student card in her hands, bending slightly as she handed them to Su Mu. "I will repay you tenfold in the future. I won't run away."
She didn't dare to lift her head, her voice filled with a clear-headed desperation and determination to do anything for her mother. "This is my personal information. I can write you an IOU right now." Su Mu didn't take the warm ID cards, just glanced casually at the student card's details.
Shanghai University, School of Economics and Management, sophomore. Seeing these words, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. So this little pushover was actually his senior at the same school. The world was indeed absurdly small.
"What a coincidence, we're actually schoolmates." He looked at her bowed head, his smile growing, his voice lightening. "From now on, I'll call you Senior Su at school, and you can call me Uncle Su outside. We each stick to our own seniority, and no one loses out."
The elevator doors slowly closed in front of them, and Su Mu's tall figure disappeared behind the metal doors. Su Banxia stood there for a long time before limping back to the foul-smelling ward.
The air inside was stifling, filled with the sour stench of disinfectant and sweat. Liu Yuzhen lay against a yellowed, clumped pillow, the IV drip above her leaking transparent medicine drop by drop. Despite her sickly pallor, her eyes were unusually clear.
After a long silence, she spoke, "What do you think of that boy who helped you just now?" The question left Su Banxia stunned at the bedside. Her small face flushed red, even her ears seemed to emit heat. She quickly pulled over a worn plastic stool and began recounting everything that happened today.
From the harsh insults at the yoga studio to Su Mu's domineering full-price acquisition, and finally to his silent payment of the medical fees, she laid it all out.
Liu Yuzhen listened quietly, showing no signs of being overwhelmed or urging her daughter to reject or thank Su Mu. She simply leaned against the headboard, watching Su Banxia with a calm, penetrating gaze.
"What do you think of him? Do you want to?" Su Banxia was bewildered by the question, tugging at her frayed clothes in confusion.
"Mom, what are you asking me if I want?" Liu Yuzhen sighed, her calloused fingers tapping lightly on the striped blanket. Her voice was soft but clear, carrying the weight of experience. "Money can be repaid, even if it means borrowing at high interest. But favors, they can never be fully repaid."
"The more you interact with him, the more entangled this debt becomes, and it won't just be about money." "You need to figure this out sooner rather than later." Su Banxia shook her head, her mind a jumbled mess, stammering as she spoke. "I'll find part-time jobs to earn money, pay him back, and then try not to interact with him anymore."
Liu Yuzhen watched her daughter's naive attempt to distance herself and didn't refute her. She simply looked at her daughter with an all-knowing gaze. "Then why did you cry in the corridor, and why did you smile?" Su Banxia was at a loss for words, her lips trembling, her throat feeling stuffed with cotton.
The smell of disinfectant was dizzying, and the patient in the next bed was coughing violently.
The sound of wheelchair wheels creaking over the tiles echoed clearly in the oppressive atmosphere. Su Banxia sat silently on the plastic stool, her mother's words stripping away all her defenses, leaving her only silence to conceal her inner turmoil.
Liu Yuzhen didn't press her daughter to admit anything, just turned to look at the gray sky outside the window, cut by tall buildings.
Her next words shattered Su Banxia's composure. "I know my body well. I've been a burden to you for too long." Her voice carried a sense of resignation, as if she were calmly discussing her own funeral.
"My greatest wish is for you not to be trapped by this broken family for life."
"But I can't even afford my medical bills, let alone pull you out of this mess."
Liu Yuzhen turned to her tearful daughter, her eyes filled with a mother's love and guilt.
"If you don't have feelings for him, don't owe him such a huge favor because of me."
"This kind of life-saving favor could take a lifetime to repay, and you might end up giving away your true feelings." Her brutally honest words were the final straw for Su Banxia's rationality.
The girl finally broke down, burying her face in her rough hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
"Mom, please stop." Her voice was weak and helpless amidst the noisy ward. "You're all I have. Don't leave me." Liu Yuzhen was silent for a long time, tears welling in her eyes.
She lifted her calloused hand and gently placed it on her daughter's cold hand.
She didn't offer any comforting words, just quietly stayed by her side as she let out her emotions. Once Su Banxia calmed down a bit, Liu Yuzhen changed the subject to something gentler. "Put aside his favor for now." Her mother guided her softly. "Tell me honestly, what kind of person do you think he is?" Visit NovelPing for the full chapter.
Su Banxia sniffled, recalling Su Mu's domineering presence at the yoga studio, throwing money around. Then she remembered his mischievous smile when he asked her to call him Uncle. After much thought, she quietly gave her assessment. "He's straightforward and doesn't expect anything in return."
She wiped her tears with her worn sleeve. "And when he helped me, his words didn't make me feel uncomfortable." Liu Yuzhen's lips twitched slightly at this answer. In a serious tone, she said four words, "One in a Million." Liu Yuzhen didn't push her daughter to pursue Su Mu, nor did she rush her to express gratitude. Instead, she shared stories of her own struggles and the people she had met.
She spoke of the hardships women face and how, in certain situations, they might give their all out of momentary gratitude. "Why are good men rarer than Giant Pandas?" Liu Yuzhen mused, her voice carrying the weight of decades. "Because in this world, those who can bend down and maintain dignity, caring for your pride when you're at your lowest, are few and far between."
She looked at her daughter with clear eyes. "I'll ask you one last time. During your interactions, did you ever feel uncomfortable or uneasy?" Su Banxia paused for a long time, then shook her head firmly.
He was domineering, leaving no room for thought, yet considerate enough to be faultless. Liu Yuzhen smiled weakly but with relief at her daughter's response.
She didn't continue the topic, closing her eyes to rest. Time would take care of the rest. Meanwhile, Su Mu sat in the back of a taxi heading back to school, watching the bustling cityscape pass by.
The familiar mechanical voice of the system echoed in his mind. [Ding, the system has detected a target progress update. Please check, host.]
[Target Su Banxia, development progress increased, current total development progress 5%.]
A special system note appeared on the semi-transparent virtual panel.
[Progress Note: Mother-in-Law's Divine Assist, target's first weak emotional response towards a male, hidden attribute development precondition activated.]
Su Mu looked at the words on the panel, casually placing his phone screen down on his thigh. He didn't show any smugness, finding the situation more interesting than expected. Mother-in-Law's Divine Assist?
Interesting. He recalled the girl in the hospital corridor, willing to hand over her ID as collateral to repay her debt.
That little pushover's stubbornness not to cry was indeed amusing. In the City Central Hospital ward, Su Banxia sat on a broken stool, carefully applying a bag of crushed ice to her swollen ankle.
She unlocked her cracked phone and opened WeChat. Her roommate Zhong Ling was tagging her in the group chat.
Zhong Ling sent an exaggerated drooling emoji, asking if she wanted to join them for barbecue at University Town Back Street. Her roommates knew about her financial struggles and always found excuses to include her in their outings.
Su Banxia looked at the kind messages, her thumb hovering over the screen, unsure how to respond.
In the past, she would have vented about being fired from the yoga studio, seeking comfort from her friends. But now, her mind was filled with the image of the self-proclaimed uncle and her mother's piercing analysis.
After much hesitation, she simply typed that she was too tired from part-time work to join them.
She locked her phone and placed it back in her faded canvas bag. For the first time in twenty years, this well-behaved girl kept a huge secret from her closest friends.
Both unknowingly planted seeds of secrecy in the same dormitory, unaware they were dealing with the same person.