“It’s not quite that bad.”
The old director sighed and told Jake the truth.
“It’s just that the care workers’ salaries, the children’s tuition and meals, repairing the old building…
every single thing costs money.
Things are a bit stretched thin.”
“I know how hard it is for you to earn money, so I really didn’t want you worrying about the home.”
“You…”
Jake opened his mouth, but hesitated before letting out a long sigh.
He had clearly come back to visit.
Yet in the end, he had still caused the old director to spend money on him, while she went out of her way to hide the truth from him…
Jake set down his chopsticks.
Without a word, he pulled out his phone and opened the orphanage’s public account.
He typed in a string of numbers:
This was all the money he had left on him.
Without this money, he might not even be able to afford his scheduled medical check-ups.
But looking at the kids at the table wolfing down their food, Jake felt like he was seeing his former self.
It didn’t matter.
Just give him a little more time.
The issue with the Euros would eventually be resolved, and the money would come.
He would make sure the old director would never have to dig into her own pension again.
He would ensure every child could wear brand-new clothes, eat braised pork every day, undergo their surgeries smoothly, and grow up healthy and strong…
Without hesitation, Jake pressed confirm.
[Transfer Successful!]
Glancing at the notification, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
“Director, this is all the liquid cash I have right now.
Please take it and use it for now.”
“Jake, what are you doing…”
The old director opened her mouth to say something.
Jake cut her off with a raised hand.
“This money is nothing to me.
Don’t argue with me on this, Director—I’m calling the shots here.”
The old director looked at him, her eyes welling up with tears, filled with deep gratification.
This child had been sensible since he was little, shouldering everything on his own and never complaining to anyone.
Now he lived all by himself outside…
who knew if anyone was taking care of him…
“Oh, by the way,” she suddenly said with a smile, “Jake, I have an old classmate whose daughter is around your age.
She works as a nurse at the municipal hospital—gentle, pretty, and has a great personality.”
“How about I introduce you two?”
Young people had their own careers, and there wasn’t much she could help with.
When all was said and done, acting as a matchmaker was the most practical thing she could do!
Jake: “…”
Again?
“I don’t think that’s necessary!” He quickly waved his hands, shrinking back into his seat.
“What do you mean ‘not necessary’?”
The old director set down her chopsticks, her expression turning serious.
“You’re 23 by actual age, 24 by nominal age, rounding to 25, touching 26…
if you calculate carefully, you’ve already got one foot in the grave!”
“If you don’t hurry up, all the good girls will be picked by someone else!”
What kind of math is that?
Jake chuckled sheepishly, lowering his voice: “Director, it’s not like you don’t know my physical condition.
The way I am right now, dating would just be dragging someone else down.”
“Dragging someone down?”
The old director set down her chopsticks again, her face full of disapproval.
“If your health never improved, are you saying you’d never get married in this life?”
The kids at the table all perked up their ears to listen, while Xiao Zhou giggled on the side.
“It’ll get better.”
Feeling thoroughly uncomfortable under everyone’s gaze, Jake had to come clean: “I’m planning to have surgery recently.
Let’s talk about this after the surgery is over.”
“Surgery?”
The old director froze, her chopsticks suspended in midair.
“What surgery?”
“Radical cardiac correction,” Jake smiled.
The old director’s eyes instantly lit up, her voice raising a notch: “You silly kid, why didn’t you tell me about such a big thing earlier!”
As if remembering something, she hastily fumbled for her phone, scrolled through her photo album for a moment, and held the screen up in front of Jake’s face.
On the screen was a photograph.
A middle-aged man in a white coat, his hair mostly graying, with a gentle expression.
A small row of text was printed on his chest badge:
[Chen Weimin, Chief Physician of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor]
Below that was a long list of titles: Standing Committee Member of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Society of the Chinese Medical Association, Expert Committee Member of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Recipient of Special Government Allowance from the State Council…
Scrolling further down his resume revealed even more detailed descriptions: One of the top experts in China in the field of radical correction for Tetralogy of Fallot.
With over twenty years of practice, he has completed over five thousand complex congenital heart disease surgeries, with a success rate ranking among the highest nationwide.
Sounds seriously impressive…
Jake was stunned as he stared at the screen: “What?
You know him?”
If I could get this top expert to be the lead surgeon, the success rate of the operation should be much higher, right?
“More than just knowing him.”
The old director leaned back against her chair, the wrinkles on her face smoothing out, her tone filled with pride: “He came out of our very own home!”
“Huh?”
Jake’s eyes widened.
How had he never heard of such a figure before?
“When you were little, the orphanage was still over at the old campus, where conditions were far worse than they are now.
He’s several decades older than you, and he grew up in this home too.”
As the old director said this, her gaze grew distant: “Weimin did us proud.
He got into medical university, studied all the way to a doctorate, and later joined a major hospital to become an expert.”
“That surgery you had when you were one year old was done by him.”
“Huh?”
Jake froze for a second: “Then I’m even more doomed.”
I still have the surgical sequelae to this day…
“You silly child…”
The old director playfully swatted at him in reproach: “The conditions weren’t good back when you had that surgery.
He already did his best.”
“I was just joking.”
Jake chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
Without that surgery, he wouldn’t have lived past two years old.
Whether it was the medical staff or the sponsoring organizations, he was deeply grateful in his heart to everyone who had worked tirelessly for him.
“Weimin has always kept you in mind,” the old director said with a smile.
“I’ll give him a heads-up so he can take a proper look at you.
He’s one of our own, so we can rest easy.”
“Director, no need to trouble…”
“What trouble?”
The old director waved her hand, her tone leaving no room for refusal.
“You’re out there all by yourself.
Seeing a doctor without anyone to look after you—how could I possibly be at peace?”
“Besides, Weimin was always bothered in his heart that the surgery back then couldn’t fully cure you.
Letting him take another look at you will fulfill a wish of his as well.”
Jake scratched his head.
He didn’t want to trouble the elderly woman, nor did he want to owe favors.
However, looking at her graying hair and her eyes brimming with concern, the refusal on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down.
Besides…
Having a top expert personally oversee his case only brought him benefits without any drawbacks.
“Alright, then.”
Jake finally nodded and smiled: “Thank you, Director.”
“Thank me for what?
Eat your food.”
The old director put away her phone, her voice filled with joy: “Once your surgery is done and your body recovers, I’ll introduce a nice girl to you again.
You better not turn it down then!”
A few of the older children at the table covered their mouths and giggled again.
Jake let out a couple of dry laughs and lowered his head to shovel in his food.
How is this still not over?
After dinner, he stayed at the home for a while longer.
He played ball with the kids for a bit, helped Xiao Zhou fix a window in the corridor, and only bade farewell to the old director and rode his motorcycle back when dusk fell.
The night wind rushed past his ears, carrying the coolness of early autumn.
Twisting the throttle, Jake planned his next steps in his head.
The check-ups were already scheduled, but he was still far short on the surgery fees.
He needed to convert the Euros in the game into gold and materialize them as soon as possible…
Just as Jake was thinking, his phone suddenly rang.
He pulled over to the side of the road, took off his gloves, and answered the call.
“Hello?
Is this Jake?”
On the other end was a middle-aged man’s voice, deep and gentle.
“It’s me.
Who is this?”
“This is Chen Weimin.”
The other party let out a light laugh: “The director called me just now and explained your situation to me.”