“Mr.
Nari, that’s the situation.” “Your daughter’s condition is paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare acquired clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder.” “Currently, the only curative treatment is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
We are very fortunate to have found a matching bone marrow donor, but…” The male doctor paused, pushing up the glasses on his nose.
“The surgery fee and subsequent anti-rejection treatment are initially estimated at 500,000.
This is the absolute minimum.” 500,000?
The number exploded in Nari’s mind, buzzing.
He was just a Counselor at an ordinary university; after rent and the expenses for his two daughters, his monthly salary left him with very little.
His parents passed away early, and his relatives were all ordinary working-class people, each with their own difficulties.
“Does the money… have to be paid all at once?” Nari asked, his throat so dry it felt like it was smoking.
“Surgery waits for no one.” The male doctor’s reply was also very direct, “Given your daughter’s current physical condition, the risk increases with each day of delay.
Mr.
Nari, I know this amount of money is a huge burden for you, but… time is truly precious.” Nari lowered his head, clutching the phone in his pants pocket.
That cold touch seemed to be his only reliance at the moment.
What else could he say?
He could only nod, repeating over and over: “I understand, thank you, Dr.
Shiku, I will find a way as soon as possible.” “Mhm!” Dr.
Shiku nodded, looking at the breathtakingly beautiful woman in front of him with an unreadable expression.
To be honest, he was also curious; the beauty in front of him looked so young, at most in her twenties!
He hadn’t expected her to already have two daughters.
Dr.
Shiku sighed, alas!
It was probably another classic case of an ignorant young girl being led astray by a’spiritual young man’ who then took no responsibility!
It was a pity that such a beautiful face and top-tier figure, a true beauty, had been squandered by a’spiritual young man’.
However, when he registered Nari and glanced at his ID card, the male doctor was instantly dumbfounded.
Name: Nari.
Gender: Male.
“Male, a male?” Dr.
Shiku looked at the top-tier beauty in front of him in disbelief, his face full of shock.
A thought flashed through his mind: a man with a feminine appearance?
A ‘male mom’?
He hadn’t expected to encounter such a rare treasure.
He scrutinized the “beauty” in front of him; both her face and figure truly looked like a top-tier beauty!
The thought of having repeatedly addressed Nari as Mr.
Nari just now made him feel a bit awkward.
“Uh, Mr.
Su, I apologize.” “Oh!
It’s fine.” Nari replied indifferently; he was already used to people mistaking him for a girl.
He had been a ‘male mom’ since childhood, and being mistaken by others was commonplace for him.
He had also tried to explain his identity, but no one believed him, and some men even became more… interested in him after learning he was truly a man.
Nari was helpless about this.
And the current situation was that his youngest daughter’s condition had worsened, urgently needing surgery fees, and he simply couldn’t come up with the money.
What should he do?
After seeing Dr.
Shiku off, Nari leaned against the white wall outside the ICU, feeling all the strength drained from his body.
He pulled out his phone and expertly opened the banking app he had looked at countless times.
On the screen, that glaring four-digit balance seemed to mock all his efforts mercilessly.
“Five hundred thousand… Where am I going to get five hundred thousand?” Nari muttered to himself, his voice so low only he could hear it.
“Even if I sold myself, it wouldn’t be enough!” He made a self-deprecating joke, but couldn’t manage a smile.
Visiting hours were over; he couldn’t stay at the ICU door any longer.
He returned to the ordinary double room where Su Xiao’ai had previously stayed; some of her and her sister’s daily necessities were still there.
The other bed in the room was occupied by an old man, currently being looked after by his son, a middle-aged man in his forties with a slightly protruding belly.
The uncle was sitting by the bed peeling an apple and paused when he saw Nari enter.
Nari didn’t pay attention, walking directly to Xiao Ai’s empty bed and quietly beginning to pack his daughter’s paintbrushes and drawing books.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft halo on his fair profile, his long eyelashes trembling slightly, like resting butterflies.
Click!
The apple knife in the uncle’s hand slipped, almost cutting his finger.
The old man quietly said to his son, “Son, when you look for a girlfriend, find one like this, understand?” “Your old man is giving you advice, go hit on her.” The uncle stared intently at Nari’s back, then nudged his father on the hospital bed with his elbow, lowering his voice: “Dad, when looking for a partner, you can’t just look at their looks; you have to look at your own too!
Do I deserve her?” “Someone like this is very expensive!” “You brat, you have no ambition.” “This is called self-awareness, okay!
It’s not my fault you can’t make money and couldn’t make me a rich second generation!” The old man closed his eyes, not bothering to pay attention to him.
That actually made a lot of sense; he was speechless.
Nari’s movements while organizing things were very light; he carefully put away every drawing Xiao Ai had made.
The drawings showed two little girls holding hands with a tall man, with the crooked words next to them: Daddy and us.
His fingers traced over the two small figures, and a pang of agony twisted in his chest.
“Little girl.” The uncle approached with the peeled apple, a self-proclaimed friendly smile on his face.
“Taking care of your sister all by yourself?
That’s really hard.” Nari looked up.
He had been exhausted these past few days, his face pale to the point of transparency, but the inherent beauty of his face was undeniable.
A standard oval face, a smooth jawline, and especially those naturally alluring peach blossom eyes, even now filled with fatigue, still seemed to hold a clear spring.
He was used to such misunderstandings; it had been this way since college.
At this moment, he didn’t have the energy to explain, only shaking his head as a response.
Seeing his reaction, the uncle became even more enthusiastic.
“It’s a shame you’re so pretty and not an internet celebrity!” He exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent, “Live streaming platforms are so popular now; you don’t even have to do anything, just turn on the camera, sit there, and I guarantee a bunch of top donors will send you rockets!” He grew more excited as he spoke.
“Seriously, with your looks, you’re absolutely blessed by the heavens.
Those so-called millionaire internet celebrities are unwatchable without makeup.
Your pure bare face can easily beat them all!” Nari finally stopped what he was doing.
He quietly watched the spittle-flying uncle, and a smile uglier than a cry suddenly appeared on his face, which had been expressionless due to fatigue and anxiety.
“Big brother.” His voice rang out, a clear and clean male voice with the unique magnetism of a young man, forming a stark contrast with his face.
“I am a man.” The air instantly froze.
The smile on the uncle’s face stiffened, and the perfectly peeled apple in his hand dropped to the floor with a “thud,” rolling twice before stopping at Nari’s feet.
He froze as if a pause button had been pressed, his mouth still in the shape of speaking, but unable to utter a single word.
In the entire ward, only the old man on the next bed’s helpless sigh remained.
Nari didn’t look at him again, bent down to pick up the apple, threw it into the trash can, then picked up the packed bag, and turned to walk out of the ward.
He needed to find a quiet place to make a few more calls.
Though he knew hope was slim.
Behind him, the middle-aged uncle remained in his petrified posture, like a modern art sculpture.
After a long while, he slowly and very stiffly turned his head, mumbling to his father on the hospital bed in a sleepwalking voice.
“Dad, your son got rejected again, and for such an absurd reason, boo hoo, I’ll never believe in love again.” The old man finally opened his eyes and gave him a disgusted glance.
“I think you’re asking for trouble.” Walking out of the inpatient building, the late summer sun was a bit dazzling.
Nari found a flowerbed to sit on and reopened his phone’s contact list.
Name after name scrolled by, and he dismissed each one.
Borrow money?
The word was like a mountain, pressing down on him, making him breathless.
He didn’t want to use his daughter’s illness to morally blackmail anyone.
He irritably swiped the screen, accidentally opening a short video app.
Loud music and bizarre images rushed at him.
A heavily made-up girl was dancing an unknown dance in front of the camera, and rows of gift effects flew across the screen.
[Thanks to “Big Brother” for the carnival!] Big brother… In Nari’s mind, the words of the uncle in the ward uncontrollably resurfaced.
“With your looks… I guarantee a bunch of top donors will send you rockets…” “I am a man.” He remembered his own spontaneous reply at the time, and the uncle’s ghost-like expression.
A sense of utter absurdity welled up in his heart.
He quickly closed the app, as if shaking off a hot potato.
What a joke.
He, a seven-foot man, a university Counselor, doing that?
For money, would he even abandon his bottom line?
Nari rubbed his face hard, trying to drive that ridiculous thought out of his mind.
The phone screen dimmed, reflecting his own face.
A… ridiculously beautiful face.
He stared at himself in the screen, suddenly in a trance.
Perhaps… no.
Impossible.
Nari suddenly stood up, shaking his head vigorously.
He would rather go to a construction site and move bricks than ever go down that path.
His phone suddenly vibrated; the caller ID showed his best friend—Sato.
Nari answered the call.
“Hey, Suno, how’s the money situation?
I’ve got a lead…”