“Ah Chen, what did you mean yesterday on WeChat when you said you only had 200 yuan left?”
At the Chu family apartment building, in the living room.
Chu Lian couldn’t sit still. She looked at Shu Lingchen, who was focused on repairing a chair, and tentatively asked, “Isn’t the insurance fund your mom bought for you supposed to give 50,000 yuan every month? Where’s the money?”
Shu Lingchen paused from hammering, looked up, and sheepishly said, “The fund lost money. Last month’s income was only 200 yuan.”
“What?!”
“Crash!” The sound of breaking glass rang out.
Chu Lian’s mother, ignoring the shards on the floor, walked over, disbelief written all over her face. “Xiao Chen, what did you just say…?”
Shu Lingchen scratched his head, repeated himself, and then pulled out his phone to show the fund details. Chu Lian and her mother eagerly leaned in.
“…”
The mother-daughter duo felt like the sky had collapsed.
Chu Lian bit her lip.
No wonder Shu Lingchen only transferred 200 yuan at the dessert shop—he had no money!
Her image as a young lady had almost collapsed when Yu Jing Yuan’s apartment was taken away, and now even the monthly 50,000 yuan was gone. How could she maintain her lavish lifestyle?
Chu Lian felt unsteady and urgently asked Shu Lingchen, “The fund used to be so stable. Why did it suddenly drop so much? Can it ever recover?”
“I don’t know. Most likely… it won’t recover,” Shu Lingchen shook his head, recalling Shu Shu’s words. Seeing Chu Lian’s worried expression, he thought she was concerned for him and tried to reassure her: “It’s okay, Chu Chu. Even without the fund, I can still eat.”
His mom had topped up his meal card, and he still had a place to stay.
So whether the fund rose or fell, it didn’t really affect his life.
“…”
Seeing Shu Lingchen’s carefree attitude, Chu Lian couldn’t help but feel a mix of annoyance and exasperation.
This self-absorbed fool!
Yet she didn’t show it, instead forcing a worried look: “But Ah Chen, what about Mom’s special medicine? There’s only half a week’s supply left. Without it, she’ll suffer. Can’t you think of a way to cover it?”
As Chu Lian finished, her mother paused for a second, then raised a hand to her chest, sighing dramatically as if in pain.
Back at Yu Jing Yuan, Apartment 1600, Shu Shu was lounging on the sofa playing a matching game. Shu Lingchen’s phone sat on the coffee table.
It was a very old model, with a physical button below the screen.
If Shu Shu hadn’t been mistaken at the dessert shop, Chu Lian’s phone was the latest model, just like hers.
Shu Lingchen’s phone kept lighting up. Shu Shu didn’t even need to guess who was messaging or why—she ignored it.
In the kitchen, Shu Shu, wearing an apron, wielded a spatula as a microphone, singing loudly along to the DJ version of “Borrow Another Five Hundred Years from Heaven”:
“I really… want to… live… another five hundred years!”
She sang with full passion, as if at a live concert at the Bird’s Nest stadium, even interacting with the vegetables on the cutting board.
“Hi, garlic! Great to see you!!”
“Carrot, join in!”
“Beef slices, wave your hands!”
Shu Lingchen was very familiar with this scene. He understood that this was his mom’s essential cooking ritual.
During dinner, Shu Lingchen glanced at Shu Shu, hesitating before speaking.
“Say it already.”
Shu Shu held her bowl and didn’t look up.
“…Mom, can you lend me some money?”
Shu Shu paused mid-chew on a carrot, already guessing that the Chu mother-daughter duo must have known about the fund’s loss. She casually asked, “Lend money for what?”
“I told you before, when I was little, Auntie Chu carried me to the hospital in the rain, and it left me with a chronic problem that needs special medicine to manage. That medicine is very expensive, but now my fund is gone…”
Shu Shu had seen Shu Lingchen’s account. Aside from the monthly 50,000 yuan he transferred to Chu Lian, a large part of it went to paying for Chu’s “special medicine.”
One month’s supply cost over 5,000 yuan.
This had gone on for seven or eight years.
Shu Shu, recalling the lively and robust Chu mother she had seen last weekend, looked at her not-so-ill son and calmly asked, “Special medicine? What’s it called, and what does it treat?”
“It’s an imported prescription drug for chest pain.”
“Oh, do you transfer the money directly to Chu Mom?”
Shu Lingchen, confused by her question, shook his head: “No, I buy it and deliver it to her myself.”
“Is that so?” Shu Shu raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Then she nodded: “Fine. I’ll pay for the medicine. No need to borrow.”
Shu Lingchen, realizing Shu Shu didn’t like the Chu mother-daughter duo, had been slightly anxious about whether she would agree. Hearing her words, his face lit up: “Really? Thanks, Mom!”
Shu Shu smiled faintly: “Don’t mention it. Since Chu Mom helped take care of you and got rained on, it’s only right that I, as your real mom, should thank her. Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to buy the medicine. From now on, I’ll cover all her medicine expenses.”
Shu Lingchen was even more thrilled. He immediately pulled out his phone to message Chu Lian the good news—now Auntie Chu’s special medicine was secured!
Shu Shu glanced at the goofy little turkey in front of her. She wanted to see what this so-called “special medicine” really was.
The next day after school, Shu Shu and Shu Lingchen got in a taxi.
Normally, prescriptions require a hospital visit, but Shu Lingchen didn’t tell the driver any hospital address.
The car stopped in front of a pharmacy.
Shu Shu observed the store. It wasn’t too big or too small, just a regular chain pharmacy.
Shu Lingchen walked in confidently. At the counter, a woman in a white coat clearly recognized him and smiled: “Xiao Chen, here to get medicine for Chu Auntie?”
“Yes,” Shu Lingchen nodded.
“I’ve prepared it in advance, just waiting for you,” she said, pointing to a pre-packed bag and placing it on the counter. “It’s the usual monthly dose, once in the morning and once at night. Just scan the code to pay.”
Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu.
Shu Shu walked over, eyed the bag, and opened it. Inside were seven or eight white medicine bottles, about half the size of a palm. She picked up one, and the labels were all tiny English letters—strings of professional pharmacology names, seemingly consistent with “imported medicine.”
But none of the ingredients could treat chest pain.
The woman in the white coat frowned. “Hey! What are you doing?!”
Shu Shu, unfazed, lied: “I’m Shu Lingchen’s classmate. His phone is broken, so I’m helping pay for the medicine.”
Shu Lingchen: “…?” When did my phone break?
The woman, seeing Shu Shu in a school uniform like Shu Lingchen’s, believed her. She pointed at the QR code. “Oh, then scan it.”
Shu Shu ignored the phone, instead twisting open a bottle.
The bottle wasn’t sealed; she could see the white pills inside. She brought the bottle close to her nose to sniff.
“What are you doing?!”
The woman suddenly shouted, startling Shu Lingchen as well.