Around eight o’clock at night, Yu Zhiming was riding in his Fourth Sister’s beloved white Baojun SUV, heading south on the highway to Jinling.
The reason for this urgent, overnight journey was definitely not the 100,000 yuan fee.
He had declared righteously that life was the number one priority.
Driven by his noble duty as a doctor to save lives, he needed to head to Jinling immediately to save the endangered fetus of a pregnant woman.
Deputy Director Wang had told Yu Zhiming over the phone that a Chief Physician of obstetrics from Jinling Gulou Hospital had suddenly contacted him.
The physician had mentioned hearing from someone that Deputy Director Wang had an expert colleague with a unique and effective technique for treating umbilical cord torsion.
Jinling Gulou Hospital had also admitted a pregnant woman with umbilical cord torsion and was in desperate need of an expert to come and treat her...
"Fifth Brother..."
Yu Xiangwan, who was driving, wore a worried expression. "It’s been a few days since I posted the ’For Lease’ sign on my storefront, but not a single person has inquired."
"I guess I won’t be able to get that half-year’s rent back."
Yu Zhiming comforted her, "It’s only been a few days, don’t worry. If it’s not transferred by the time we leave for Binhai, we can just ask Second and Third Sister to help handle it."
"I guess that’s the only way!"
Yu Xiangwan sighed in frustration, then lamented, "After working for five or six years, all I have to show for it is this car."
"I’m such a failure at life."
Yu Zhiming chuckled lightly. "Fourth Sister, you’re already doing pretty well. At least you have a positive net worth."
"Look at me, I’m still drowning in debt. Three hundred thousand to the bank, and another one hundred and eighty thousand to First, Second, and Third Sister."
"But you got an apartment out of it."
Yu Xiangwan retorted, then added a reminder, "Fifth Brother, First Sister and the others made it clear that you don’t have to pay back the money they gave you for the apartment."
Yu Zhiming shook his head. "That’s what they say, but I still have to pay the money back."
"They each have two kids; their financial burdens are heavy enough."
Yu Zhiming grinned. "If I successfully earn the hundred thousand from this ’flying knife’ surgery, I’ll pay back First Sister’s family the sixty thousand first."
"Xiaobo is old enough to be dating, and Xiaoxue is starting college. They really need the money right now."
After a moment of silence, Yu Xiangwan asked curiously, "Fifth Brother, how much money have you saved up over the past few years?"
Yu Zhiming answered honestly, "Including the twenty thousand in compensation from that family, it’s just over thirty-nine thousand in total."
"How can it be so little?"
Yu Xiangwan was completely surprised. "Isn’t your monthly salary ten or twenty thousand?"
"And I’ve never seen you spend money extravagantly."
Yu Zhiming rolled his eyes. "Fourth Sister, do you really have no idea how much I could possibly save?"
"My salary only got this high in the last year or two."
"The one or two hundred thousand for renovating the apartment and buying appliances and furniture—I had to borrow that from all over the place."
"I only just recently managed to pay all that back."
"Plus, there’s the monthly mortgage of twenty-three or twenty-four hundred, living expenses of two or three thousand, fifteen hundred for Mom and Dad, and then social obligations and other miscellaneous costs. Almost ten thousand is gone right there."
"When you add it all up, how much can I possibly have left each month?"
Hearing her brother lay it all out, Yu Xiangwan remembered that she had been living with him and eating his food without paying a single cent.
She had also often had him pay for her gas. She immediately felt a pang of guilt.
"Heh heh, Fifth Brother, once you go work in Binhai, not only will you get a settling-in fee of one or two million, but your salary will definitely start at several tens of thousands a month."
"By then, the three-hundred-thousand mortgage and the money you owe your sisters will be small change."
Yu Zhiming imagined a future full of wealth and declared magnanimously, "I’ll pay our sisters back double."
He then grinned and said, "Fourth Sister, when we get to Binhai, if you behave yourself, I’ll even pay you a salary."
"A high one, too!"
Yu Xiangwan shot him a sidelong glance and said haughtily, "I’ll take care of you full-time for a month, at most."
"Once you’ve settled into your work and life in Binhai, I’m going to go find a job and support myself..."
The siblings continued their drive, chatting and joking around, and the time flew by.
Around 10:30 PM, Yu Xiangwan pulled into a highway service area, planning to use the restroom first and then refuel the car...
The moment Yu Zhiming stepped out of the car, a wave of oppressive heat washed over him, wrapping itself tightly around his body.
Sweat immediately beaded on his forehead.
"This weather is getting more and more abnormal. It’s only early June, but it’s as hot as the peak of summer."
Yu Zhiming grumbled as he and his sister walked across the parking area toward the restrooms thirty or forty meters away.
As they passed a silver-gray van, Yu Zhiming suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Yu Xiangwan took a couple more steps, realized her brother wasn’t with her, and turned back to look...
To her surprise, she found her brother pressing his right ear against the body of the van.
Yu Xiangwan hurried back and asked, puzzled, "Fifth Brother, what are you doing?"
"You’re being so sneaky."
"I just heard a farting sound from inside the van!"
Yu Zhiming explained, then pressed his eyes to the window, trying hard to peer inside.
Unfortunately, the windows were covered with a very dark tint, and with no light inside the van, Yu Zhiming couldn’t see a thing.
"Sis, I can hear faint breathing inside. At least two people."
Hearing this, Yu Xiangwan grabbed her troublemaking brother and pulled him away from the van.
She lowered her voice and said, "Fifth Brother, there are a lot of people who do RV trips or sleep in their converted vans these days."
"It’s probably a couple resting in their modified van."
"Let’s not disturb them. We’ll get yelled at."
Yu Zhiming said, "Oh," and quickly followed his sister away from the van.
After a few steps, Yu Zhiming stopped again.
"Sis, something’s not right!"
"The temperature tonight has to be at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees. It’s so hot, how could anyone sleep in a car?"
"You don’t think they’ve passed out from the heat, do you?"
Yu Xiangwan thought her brother had a point, and they walked back to the van together.
She placed the palm of her right hand on the van’s body but felt no vibrations, telling her that no appliances like a parking air conditioner or fan were running inside.
The two of them circled the van once more, finding the doors locked and all the windows shut tight.
They exchanged a look and began knocking on the windows and the van’s body.
"Hey, is anyone in there?"
"Do you need help?"
"We’re just passersby, we’re not bad people..."
The force of their knocking gradually increased until it was almost violent, bordering on bashing the vehicle.
But still, no sound or response came from inside.
The siblings both realized this was serious.
Yu Zhiming met his sister’s eyes.
"Sis, you call 911. I’ll go find a service area employee."
Before the words were even out of his mouth, an angry shout came from behind them.
"Hey, you two! What do you think you’re doing?"
Yu Zhiming turned to see a man and a woman running quickly toward them, one after the other.
They looked to be in their thirties or forties, with dark complexions, plain clothes, and very unfriendly expressions.
The man, in particular, had eyes so fierce they looked like they could devour someone. His stare frightened Yu Xiangwan, who instinctively ducked behind Yu Zhiming.
The couple’s stare made even Yu Zhiming’s heart pound with fear.
He mustered his courage and asked, "Is this your van?"
"If it’s not ours, is it yours?"
the man retorted viciously, then demanded, "We saw you banging on the van just now. What were you trying to do?"
"If you broke it, are you going to pay for it?"
At this, some of Yu Xiangwan’s courage returned.
She was about to question them when Yu Zhiming suddenly grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.
She smartly kept quiet and heard Yu Zhiming bow slightly, saying, "We were just messing around, it was a dumb thing to do."
"Sorry about that, really sorry..."
Yu Zhiming apologized repeatedly as he pulled his sister away from the man and woman.
The couple, for their part, didn’t try to stop them.
After they were about ten meters away, Yu Zhiming whispered urgently to Yu Xiangwan, "Sis, did you get the license plate number?"
"Call the police, quickly. They’re bad people..."