At a hospital in City B.
Jiang Yu sat alone in the hospital corridor. The air-conditioning was on, but it did nothing to warm her heart.
The doctor’s words kept echoing in her mind.
“Miss Jiang, your grandmother’s condition is already very serious. Even if the surgery is successful, she won’t have much time left.”
“And the surgery is risky. Your grandmother is very old…”
The doctor hadn’t finished, but Jiang Yu understood perfectly well.
In a daze, she left the doctor’s office and sat down in the corridor. She didn’t want to upset Grandma, so she didn’t dare go to Grandma’s hospital room.
Grandma wasn’t her biological grandmother, but she was the only family Jiang Yu had left.
Now Grandma was sick. Without surgery, death was all that awaited her.
So even if surgery would only give Grandma a little more time, Jiang Yu was still determined to get Grandma the surgery.
But the surgery would cost 100,000 yuan. Jiang Yu had borrowed money from everyone around her who might lend her any, and added the savings from her part-time jobs. Even then, she had only just managed to scrape together the full amount.
Jiang Yu took out her phone, wanting to call her boyfriend. When she was feeling at her lowest, she wanted him to comfort her.
She called him again and again, but he never answered. When the call disconnected automatically, Jiang Yu stubbornly dialed again.
Still no answer. Jiang Yu didn’t even know why she kept calling him.
At last, Jiang Yu gave up. She even tried to find a reasonable excuse for her boyfriend in her own mind.
Maybe her young boyfriend was busy studying and hadn’t had time to check his phone.
Jiang Yu put her phone away and sat in the chair for a while longer before pulling herself together and heading to the hospital payment counter.
She had to pay Grandma’s surgery fees as soon as possible, so the hospital could operate on her sooner.
Jiang Yu handed her bank card and the payment slip to the hospital employee. But when the employee ran the card through the machine, the screen showed that the balance was insufficient.
“Miss, I’m sorry, but there aren’t enough funds in your account.”
Jiang Yu felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. “What did you say?”
The employee patiently repeated, “Your account doesn’t have enough funds.”
Jiang Yu was too stunned to react for a long moment. She had only one bank card, and there had been 100,000 yuan in it.
That was the money she’d borrowed and scraped together for Grandma’s surgery. How could the balance possibly be insufficient?
Just then, Jiang Yu’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was her boyfriend, Lin Cheng’an—the one she hadn’t been able to reach all this time.
When she answered, there was a lot of background noise on Lin Cheng’an’s end. “Ayu, you’ve been calling me nonstop. What’s up?”
Hearing Lin Cheng’an’s voice reminded Jiang Yu that her boyfriend knew the password to her bank card too. Could he have…?
“Cheng’an, did you use the money in my bank account?”
There was silence on the other end for several seconds before Lin Cheng’an answered. “I’m sorry, Ayu. I did use the money in your account.”
Jiang Yu felt as if all the blood in her body were flowing backward. Forcing down her anger, she asked gently, “Cheng’an, what did you spend it on? Can you get it back?”
Lin Cheng’an was silent for a long, long time. Then he suddenly said, “Jiang Yu, what would you do if I told you I spent the money and can’t get it back?”
The moment Jiang Yu heard that Lin Cheng’an had spent the money, one thought filled her mind: The money was gone, so Grandma couldn’t have the surgery. She was going to lose the last person she had.
When Jiang Yu still didn’t respond, Lin Cheng’an said in a lighthearted tone, “Ayu, I know I was wrong not to tell you beforehand, but the money’s already spent. You’re not going to blame me, are you?
“It wasn’t that much money, after all. I’ll earn more in the future…”
Jiang Yu hung up before Lin Cheng’an could finish.
She stood motionless in front of the hospital payment counter, dazed.
Suddenly, her phone rang again. It wasn’t a call this time, but a text message.
Jiang Yu picked it up. It was from an unfamiliar number: “Ultimate Bar, Room 302. There’s a surprise.”
The number was unknown, and the message made no sense. But for some reason, an uneasy dread rose in Jiang Yu’s heart.
She hesitated for only a few seconds before hurrying out of the hospital and taking a taxi straight to Ultimate Bar.
At the same time, at Ultimate Bar.
Lin Cheng’an stared at his phone after the call ended, saying nothing for a long while. Just then, a flashily dressed man came over and slung an arm around his shoulders.
“What’s Young Master Lin doing here? Sneaking off to call someone?”
Lin Cheng’an glanced at the now-dark screen, then casually slipped his phone into his pocket as if nothing had happened.
The man steered Lin Cheng’an back to the sofa in the private room, where they sat down.
Ultimate Bar specialized in high-end service. Anyone who could afford to come here had at least a little money to spare.
Lin Cheng’an sat at ease among a crowd of rich kids, without seeming out of place at all.
If Jiang Yu had been there, she might not even have recognized her young boyfriend.
After all, the image Lin Cheng’an had always presented to Jiang Yu was that of a poor student from a struggling family, working hard to get ahead.
“Young Master Lin, what’s the matter? Who were you sneaking off to call just now?”
Lin Cheng’an said nothing. He simply picked up a drink from the table and downed it.
The rich kids there had all grown up with Lin Cheng’an. Seeing him like that, they could tell he was in a bad mood.
There weren’t many girls present. One of them, sitting beside Lin Cheng’an, saw his expression and spoke up.
“Cheng’an, what’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?”
Lin Cheng’an glanced at her, his expression easing a little. His voice was gentle too. “No. It’s nothing important.”
“If it’s nothing important, then don’t let it upset you. It’s not often we all get together. Cheer up.”
“Exactly, exactly. Young Master Lin, we don’t get together often. Don’t be down.”
Lin Cheng’an nodded and began drinking and chatting with his friends.
After a few glasses, the conversation turned back to Lin Cheng’an, but this time they started talking about Jiang Yu.
“Young Master Lin, how are things with that Jiang Yu? When are you bringing her to meet us?”
“Yeah, we really want to see the woman our Young Master Lin pretended to be poor to get close to.”
“You and Jiang Yu have been dating for almost a year, right? It’s about time you brought her around to meet the guys, so our sister-in-law will recognize us.”
At the mention of Jiang Yu, a faint smile suddenly appeared on Lin Cheng’an’s face.
The girl who had been sitting beside him earlier saw it and pressed her lips together, looking a little hurt. She gave one of her female friends nearby a meaningful look.