Zhou Yanbin, carrying his camera, finally managed to secure an interview with Si Zhiyong.
He happened to catch the scene of the unconscious Si Yingchu being admitted to the hospital.
After the Si family finished their busywork, Zhou Yanbin excitedly stepped forward. After all, Si Zhiyong was a very famous grassroots entrepreneur in the city—a true model of inspiration.
At 30, he had nothing; by 46, he was already worth hundreds of millions.
Zhou Yanbin nervously wiped his hands on his clothes, then extended his hand toward Si Zhiyong: “Mr. Si, hello, hello. I’m Zhou Yanbin, a reporter from the Fortune Daily.”
Si Zhiyong looked at Zhou Yanbin’s press credentials, a thought turning in his mind, and reached out to shake his hand: “Hello.”
Zhou Yanbin launched into a barrage of flattery: “Mr. Si, you truly live up to your reputation as a grassroots entrepreneur. Not a trace of the extravagance of the wealthy—you didn’t even book a VIP ward, just the cheapest three-bed room.”
“You really know how to put money where it matters. Admirable, truly admirable. This must be your daughter.”
Si Zhiyong’s brow twitched. He had just been thinking of seeking help from the media to find a master who could help his daughter.
Si Zhiyong nodded. “She’s my daughter.”
Zhou Yanbin looked at Si Yingchu’s sunken face, her complexion a sickly blue-purple, somewhat like someone whose Yang energy had been drained dry in a movie.
He thought to himself: She really is possessed by an evil spirit. No wonder he’s willing to do this kind of charity.
Zhou Yanbin looked at Si Zhiyong and spoke sincerely: “Mr. Si, don’t worry. You’re kind-hearted and wealthy—your daughter will definitely be fine.”
Si Zhiyong glanced at Si Yingchu with a pained expression, then let out a soft sigh: “I hope so.”
As he spoke, he wiped at his eyes.
Zhou Yanbin captured the moment on camera. While feeling moved inside, he shifted the topic: “Mr. Si, what are your thoughts on this hospitalization treat?”
What did he think?
He’d take it lying down!
Whoever it was, they were some fool with too much money.
That’s what he thought, but he certainly couldn’t say it out loud.
Si Zhiyong nodded calmly. “Very good.”
Zhou Yanbin waited a moment. Seeing that Si Zhiyong had nothing more to add, he blinked in surprise: “Mr. Si, that’s all?”
Si Zhiyong thought for a moment. As a beneficiary, today’s hospitalization fees were covered, plus all the miscellaneous tests—he’d saved a few thousand yuan.
But that few thousand meant little to him either way.
So if they wanted him to say words of gratitude, he couldn’t quite muster them.
Under Zhou Yanbin’s eager gaze, Si Zhiyong cleared his throat: “Someone who does something like this must have a motive. I hope whatever he’s after, he gets it.”
Zhou Yanbin slapped his thigh. Of course—Mr. Si was hoping his daughter would recover quickly, which was why he was throwing money around like this.
He pulled out Si Zhiyong’s phone: “Mr. Si, this is your phone. Please keep it safe. When I get back, I’m definitely going to write a great piece about a father’s love.”
Si Zhiyong looked at his phone. Though he was puzzled as to why his phone was in the reporter’s hands, his phone had a password and there was nothing shameful on it, so he didn’t bother asking.
Just as Zhou Yanbin was about to leave, he finally spoke up: “Could I ask a favor of you? When you write your report, could you help me find a master? After all, my daughter is in this condition now…”
Zhou Yanbin wore an expression of complete understanding and even patted his own chest: “Leave it to me.”
Then Zhou Yanbin remembered something and said to Si Zhiyong: “Mr. Si, I know a master named Xuanyue. I think he’s pretty remarkable.”
Remembering last night’s livestream, he shuddered all over.
Truly remarkable.
If he could get an interview with Xuanyue, he’d laugh in his sleep.
Si Zhiyong frowned. “Xuanyue?”
He’d never heard of this master. Could he be a fraud?
Hearing the doubt in Si Zhiyong’s voice, Zhou Yanbin quickly pulled up the clip from last night’s livestream and handed it to Si Zhiyong.
When he saw Jia Xiaoyu’s retribution come to pass within five minutes, Si Zhiyong’s entire demeanor turned serious.
“Alright. Please help me contact this master. As long as my daughter recovers, I’ll offer a generous reward.”
Zhou Yanbin nodded with a delighted expression: “Easy, easy.”
He left the ward and passed by Orthopedics Ward 17, pushing the door open.
He saw a girl by the hospital bed, busily wiping down the elderly patient’s body.
Zhou Yanbin spoke up: “Hello, I’m here for an interview.”
The girl looked up, appearing slightly nervous at the camera.
“Don’t be nervous. If you don’t want to be shown, we can blur you in post-production.”
“Oh, okay.”
“What’s your name?”
“Me? My name is Xiao Mei.”
A strange thought flashed through Zhou Yanbin’s mind: Pay attention—the woman before you is named Xiao Mei, and her boyfriend is Xiao Shuai…
“Cough.” Zhou Yanbin cleared his throat. “Is this your grandmother?”
The elderly woman on the bed wore an oxygen mask, still unconscious.
Xiao Mei nodded. “She’s my grandmother. My grandmother picked me up from a trash can. She said when she found me, I was covered in blood—I must have been thrown into the trash can right after I was born.”
Zhou Yanbin understood. “There were quite a few baby girls abandoned back then.”
Xiao Mei said gratefully, “Yes. Grandma said that back then, you’d often see dead baby girls in trash cans or under bridges. I was very lucky that Grandma picked me up.”
“Three years ago, after Grandma’s car accident, she had fractures and a stroke. She’s been unconscious ever since. I’m not good at studying, I don’t have a high education, and I don’t earn much money.”
“Recently, I couldn’t afford Grandma’s medical bills, so when someone said they’d give me money to get into that line of work, I agreed.”
Tears welled up in Xiao Mei’s eyes. “I think I’m very lucky—picked up by Grandma, and then pulled back by a stranger girl.”
“If it weren’t for my grandma, I wouldn’t be alive today.”
“If it weren’t for that pretty girl, I’d probably be lying on some bed right now, waiting for my clients.”
“She pulled me back when I’d gone astray. I was stunned at the time. Do you have her contact information? I want to thank her. I’ll find a way to pay back that hundred thousand.”
Zhou Yanbin shook his head. “I don’t have her contact info. But since she didn’t leave it with you, she probably doesn’t want you to pay her back. If fate brings you together, you can return it then. Besides, she’s not short on money.”
Xiao Mei shook her head. “Her not being short on money is her business. What I owe, I still need to repay. I can’t afford it now, but I’ll work hard to pay it back in the future.”
Zhou Yanbin couldn’t quite understand that way of thinking, but he didn’t say much. Instead, he changed the subject. “Do you need me to help you find your biological parents?”
Xiao Mei shook her head. “No, there’s no need.”
She held out her hand, and when Zhou Yanbin saw that one of her hands was missing its palm, he understood immediately.
Zhou Yanbin put away his camera. “If I get her contact info, I’ll give it to you.”
Xiao Mei smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
After Zhou Yanbin left, a notification popped up on Xiao Mei’s phone.
[Police crack down on a small clinic trafficking women…]
Xiao Mei lay by the hospital bed, holding her grandma’s hand, and accidentally fell asleep.
In that sleep, she had a dream.
She dreamed that after that man took her away, he didn’t give her the money he’d promised. Grandma was discharged from the hospital because there was no money, and she died without receiving treatment.
And she, after taking many clients, accidentally got pregnant and was locked up by the people at the small clinic.
Then she was sold deep into the mountains, beginning a miserable life.
Xiao Mei woke up in fright. She opened her eyes in a daze, and the first thing she saw was her grandma looking at her with loving eyes.
Her face lit up with joy. “Grandma, you’re awake!”