When they heard that Fang Ming would be returning in five days, both Xiao Ai and Liu Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When the nurse asked whether they wished to continue Tao Ran’s hospitalization, the two of them answered almost in unison—“Continue!”
Good.
If she stayed a few more days, the timing would line up perfectly: by the time Tang Ran was discharged, Fang Ming would already be back. Then they wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore.
The nurse printed out another payment slip.
“Please recharge another $2,000.”
“The previous two thousand is already used up?”
“Not yet,” the nurse replied briskly. “But that’s the rule. Extending a hospital stay requires another payment. Don’t worry—any excess will be refunded. After all, you’re only advancing the money, right?”
Tao Ran thus enjoyed three more leisurely days in the clinic.
When she was finally ready for discharge, Xiao Ai came to complete the paperwork—and was completely stunned.
Not only did this black-hearted clinic refuse to refund the deposit, they even claimed that the total fees had exceeded the deposit by a thousand dollars and demanded additional payment.
What the hell? That meant this hospital stay cost a total of seven thousand dollars? Converted into their home currency, that was over fifty thousand yuan!
And if she added the $2,500 spent on the day of the surgery, that made nearly ten thousand dollars in total—over seventy thousand yuan! For students like them, that was an astronomical figure.
“It’s already rounded down!” the nurse said firmly. “Here’s the detailed list. The patient’s guardian is listed as you. If you refuse to pay, your names and accounts will be reported to the credit bureau. If you have doubts, you can always file a complaint later.”
All the numbers provided by the clinic were, of course, suggested by Tao Ran.
She’d chosen that amount deliberately—it was right at the threshold of what someone like Xiao Ai could barely afford.
Tao Ran had no intention of being polite to such trash.
Especially after what she’d recently learned.
Two days ago, the clinic had held a free medical outreach event. Many nearby residents came in for checkups, chatting casually with the doctors and nurses. Tao Ran had asked a few questions and discovered that while the clinic was somewhat shady, its medical skills weren’t bad at all. They rarely had medical accidents and even enjoyed a decent reputation.
That didn’t match the story at all.
In the original plot, Tang Ran’s health deteriorated rapidly after the operation.
So wasn’t it possible that her collapse hadn’t been due to medical error—but to human intervention? And if that was the case, who else could have done it but Fang Ming, who shared her bed, and Xiao Ai, who saw her as a rival?
With that, Tao Ran’s revenge plan became clear—it would start with their greatest weakness: money.
At this moment, Xiao Ai was already falling apart.
Although Fang Ming had repeatedly told her she was merely fronting the money, the mounting total made her deeply uneasy.
Could Fang Ming really get that much back from Tang Ran later? Did Tang Ran even have that kind of money? Fang Ming was notoriously stingy—would he actually pay this out of pocket?
Moreover, Tang Ran’s hospitalization was partly because of her. Would Fang Ming make her shoulder the costs?
Xiao Ai was terrified.
She was broke.
If that bill landed on her, she couldn’t possibly pay it.
Even the current amount already made her legs tremble—let alone another thousand dollars.
But she also couldn’t afford to take a credit hit; that would ruin her future!
In that moment, Xiao Ai finally realized she was trapped with no way out.
Then Tao Ran dealt her another blow.
“Xiao Ai, besides the additional thousand for the hospital fees, you also need to pay another $1,500.”
“What?”
“The other day I asked you to buy me vitamins and supplements,” Tao Ran said softly. “You brought back two stale, rock-hard loaves of bread. Since I can’t trust you anymore, I had the clinic order all my required medications and health products in advance. The total came to $1,500.”
Without giving Xiao Ai a chance to argue, Tao Ran calmly locked the large bag of medicine into her suitcase.
“I’ve already received the medicine. Please pay for it,” she said with a gentle smile. “Thanks for your trouble.”
Xiao Ai gritted her teeth in fury. “Don’t push it too far!”
“You’re just advancing the money,” Tao Ran replied mildly. “Fang Ming will reimburse you, won’t he?”
“Take the medicine out!” Xiao Ai roared, kicking at the suitcase. $1,500 — over ten thousand yuan—worth of pills! Was Tao Ran trying to eat herself to death?
“If you break it, you’ll have to pay for it,” Tao Ran said lazily, reclining back on the bed. “Do as you please.”
Xiao Ai turned instead to the nurse.
“There’s no way we spent this much! Check it again—I want to verify every charge!”
The nurse pulled up the records. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“The patient had one emergency treatment, four ultrasounds, three ECGs, six blood transfusions, two full-body CT scans, five sessions of high-quality protein therapy, three bottles of nutritional supplements per day, nursing fees at a hundred per day, a room at sixty per day, and meal expenses at two hundred per day…”
Xiao Ai and Liu Jie both stared, dumbstruck.
Four ultrasounds? A CT on top of that? A hundred a day for nursing? And what kind of food cost two hundred dollars a day?
The nurse continued calmly, “How else would we know if her uterus was healing properly without ultrasounds? Or if there were any complications without full-body scans? No one came to care for the patient—should we have left her to die?
“As for the meals, those were all nutritional sets—three regular meals plus morning tea, afternoon tea, and supper. Each meal only cost around thirty dollars and included steak, shrimp, fish, dessert, fruits, and dairy. Not expensive at all. The maternity meals at the hospital next door are fifty a meal—we’re already quite cheap.”
Xiao Ai could only shake her head in disbelief. None of this made sense.
The nurse repeated, “Just to remind you—the guardian section on the admission form lists your name. The signature is yours. Every day we sent itemized bills to the ward. Neither you nor the patient raised any objections. If you now claim ignorance, it won’t hold up. Even in court, you’d only be seen as someone who enjoyed the services and tried to skip the bill afterward.
“So once again, if you disagree, you’re free to hire a lawyer.”
Xiao Ai almost fainted from rage.
Hire a lawyer? If she exposed this, wouldn’t all their previous efforts be wasted? They’d chosen this shady clinic precisely to discreetly deal with Tang Ran’s pregnancy!
Either way, they’d end up losing big.
“You didn’t come to check on her all these days? You didn’t review the bills?” Liu Jie snapped at her.
“You didn’t come either!”
“I’m a guy! It’s not convenient! Besides, Fang Ming entrusted her to you. I was just helping out!”
“Oh, now you’re washing your hands of it?”
“You were the jealous, lazy one. You got yourself into this mess. You’re the reason we got fleeced. And I’m telling you—I’m not paying. Figure it out yourself!”
Once again, the two of them broke into a shouting match in front of everyone.
From her bed, Tao Ran watched quietly, amused. “How entertaining.”
Xiao Ai finally turned on her. “Tang Ran, you did this on purpose, didn’t you?”
Tao Ran smiled and admitted it. “So what if I did? I meant to make things hard for you. The clinic didn’t break any rules—they’re treating me exactly as I requested. And don’t forget, my illness is your doing. This stay wasn’t my idea. If you’re unhappy, you’re free to leave.”
“You’re insane!”
“Enough talk. Either get out, or stay and deal with being blacklisted on your credit record. I can always have my landlady pick me up—no need for you to bother.”