Less than half an hour after leaving Lanting Yashe, Chu Anhe’s pitiful pride was ruthlessly crushed by reality.
Just ten minutes earlier, the hospital had issued a critical condition notice. Her mother, Lin Suyun, suffered from end-stage kidney disease, which had caused cardiac arrest. Immediate surgery was required, with a deposit of at least one hundred thousand yuan. But Chu Anhe only had two thousand left from tutoring.
“Chu Anhe, it’s not that your aunt speaks rudely. Your mother’s condition is a bottomless pit. You’ve borrowed from relatives for over a year, and her illness hasn’t improved. I don’t see the point of spending more.”
The middle-aged woman speaking had styled curls and a sharp expression, standing harshly in front of the payment counter.
“Aunt, the situation is urgent. I beg you…” Chu Anhe’s hair dripped with melting snow, her face pale. “The doctor said my mother must undergo surgery immediately. Just fifty thousand… no, thirty thousand would be enough. Please lend me some money. I will repay you as soon as possible.”
“Repay? With what? You haven’t even repaid the six hundred yuan you borrowed before.” Liu Cuifen sneered, scanning her from head to toe. “Don’t think attending Haishi University will feed you. Many college graduates cannot find jobs. Who knows when you’ll repay us? Anhe, don’t blame me for not helping. I could lend you money, but Boss Zhang said you must go meet him for a drink…”
“I won’t go!” Chu Anhe bit her lip hard. The metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.
“Oh, still stubborn at a time like this. Let me tell you, we’ve been generous to you. If you insist, maybe it’s better for this relative to give up.” Liu Cuifen opened her phone and saw another reminder from Boss Zhang. If it weren’t for him having been moved when he last met Chu Anhe, she wouldn’t have wasted her time at the hospital.
“Family member! Who is Lin Suyun’s family? Stop lingering!” A nurse shouted from the operating room. “Is the money paid? The anesthesiologist is waiting. Delay any longer and no one can save her.”
“I…I’m going now…” Chu Anhe’s voice trembled.
She frantically searched her phone and contacts but could not find anyone who could lend her fifty thousand yuan.
Despair hit her like a rising tide.
Suddenly, she remembered what Xie Jingran had said.
“You need money, I need a wife to satisfy my family’s pressure to marry.”
“This is a win-win agreement.”
If she did not accept the deal, it was a dead end.
Chu Anhe’s trembling hands frantically searched her bag. Earlier, in her rush, the business card… where was it?
It was gone.
Gone.
Still gone.
For the sake of her so-called pride, she had not taken his contact information.
“No money? Then take her away. Others are waiting!” The nurse, though sympathetic, had no choice.
Liu Cuifen watched coldly. “Since there’s no money, hurry and take your mother away. If she dies, everyone is relieved.”
Chu Anhe leaned against the cold wall and slid down. Her hands covered her face, and the tears she had been holding back finally broke free.
At this moment, if it could save her mother, she would even sell her life to the devil.
A black Maybach raced through the wind and snow.
Warning Warning, Target’s emotional breakdown detected. Despair 99%.
Current host life countdown 23 hours 15 minutes.
System suggestion Host, your target is about to shatter. If you don’t act, I will send you to the crematorium.
Inside the car, Xie Jingran looked at the hospital surveillance live feed on his laptop. “Shut up! I know!”
Seeing the girl curled in the corner, crying helplessly, his heart was violently gripped.
Not just because of the system’s shared emotions, but an unexplainable frustration.
This fool had been so defiant in the tea house.
Now she cried like an abandoned kitten.
“System, if I rush over and give her the money, will it count as breaking my persona?” Xie Jingran gritted his teeth.
System: Yes. The CEO persona is ‘control everything’, not ‘wealth dispenser’. You need her to beg you, not the other way around
“Beg your ass!” Xie Jingran cursed. “If I wait any longer, the surgery will be too late!”
He closed the laptop and opened the car door.
The cold wind and snow hit his collar, yet he did not notice.
Host triggered emergency mission: Thunder Rescue
Mission objective Solve target’s medical fee crisis, humiliate the worst relative, establish male lead position
Restrictions Facial expression fluctuations must remain under 5%. Dialogue must be under 50 words. Maintain high-cold aura
Xie Jingran took a deep breath, adjusted his cufflinks, and strode into the hospital lobby.
Outside the operating room, his aunt continued nagging. “Anhe, if you really can’t pay…”
“Who says she has no money?”
A low and cold voice suddenly cut through the noisy air.
Through her tear-blurred vision, Chu Anhe looked up and saw a pair of snow-dusted, custom leather shoes stopping in front of her.
Her gaze moved upward.
Perfectly creased trousers, a gray cashmere coat, and that face, handsome and indifferent even under the hospital’s harsh white lights.
It was Xie Jingran.
He stood against the light, looking down at her like an ant.
“T-teacher Xie?” Chu Anhe could not believe her eyes.
Beside her, Liu Cuifen sneered. “Teacher? Are you serious? This is our family matter.”
Xie Jingran ignored her, slightly bent, and extended one hand toward Chu Anhe.
His long, sculpted fingers held a black-and-gold bank card.
“Take it.”
Concise. Not a word more.
Chu Anhe stared blankly at the card, then at him, tears still welling.
System prompt Host, don’t just give money. Speak! Be domineering! Cold! Make her understand this is a transaction
Xie Jingran was internally frustrated. “I am forming sentences! Stop pushing!”
Outwardly, he pushed his gold-rimmed glasses and spoke almost cruelly. “Chu Anhe, this is your so-called pride? You would let your mother wait in there to die for that pathetic pride?”
The words struck her like a whip, instantly awakening her.
Indeed, pride is worthless in the face of life.
She suddenly stood, her legs numb from crouching, almost stumbling.
Xie Jingran instinctively reached to help but stopped halfway, sliding his hand coldly into his coat pocket.
System evaluation Almost broke persona! Well done! High-cold persona maintained
Chu Anhe did not notice. She took the card with both hands like grabbing a final lifeline, tears streaming. “Thank… Thank you, Teacher Xie. I will consider this a loan. I…”
“Not a loan.”
Xie Jingran interrupted, his gaze scanning the dumbfounded Liu Cuifen with undisguised disgust.
He looked back at Chu Anhe. “This is for you, no limit.”
He then turned to Director Zhou, who had appeared beside him, and nodded. “Leave the rest to you.”
Director Zhou nodded repeatedly. “Rest assured, Mr. Xie. The expert team is inside and will ensure Ms. Lin’s surgery succeeds.”
Xie Jingran nodded slightly, then said to Chu Anhe. “Since the deposit is paid, do not forget to fulfill the agreement. Nine tomorrow morning at the civil affairs bureau.”
He turned and left, his back resolute as if staying another second would dirty his shoes.
Once inside the elevator, the metal doors closing, the proud professor leaned against the wall, exhaling lightly.
Ding Congratulations, host completed mission Thunder Rescue, Current female lead affection -5, Life +24 hours.
Xie Jingran looked at the still negative affection and closed his eyes in despair.
“This mission is too hard. Sometimes living feels worse than dying.”