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Chapter 619: A Debt of Gratitude Must be Repaid (3)
Chapter 619: A Debt of Gratitude Must be Repaid (3)
Chapter 619: A Debt of Gratitude Must be Repaid (3)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Mrs. Li, it’s me, Zhou Chao. Remember? I’m the guy who had the accident shortly after the college entrance exam, and you made me a lot of soup back then.” Zhou Chao approached Li Xuemei and spoke softly.
Upon hearing Zhou Chao’s words, Li Xuemei’s eyes lit up. She quickly recalled and carefully scrutinized Zhou Chao for a moment before smiling and saying, “Zhou Chao? It’s you, my boy! It’s been so many years, you look like a different person now. Much more handsome than before. It seems like you’re doing well. Good for you!”
Li Xuemei nodded approvingly, feeling comforted by her student’s success.
“It’s good to hear you’re doing well. I just got back to Fuzhou a few days ago, and I heard from Shu Lijuan that you were hospitalized, so I came to check on you.”
“Thanks for your concern, but there’s nothing serious. Just a minor ailment. I’ll be discharged in a few days,” Li Xuemei replied with a smile, though a hint of strain flickered across her lips.
“Good to hear.” Zhou Chao understood that Li Xuemei didn’t want to discuss her condition further, so he didn’t press the matter. Revealing her illness might only add to her stress.
After chatting for a while, with Li Xuemei occasionally wincing in pain, Zhou Chao timely excused himself, noticing her discomfort.
“Darling, please see Zhou Chao off,” Li Xuemei, lying down, turned her head to her husband, Du Qiang, and said.
“Sure, honey. Take care,” Du Qiang replied, escorting Zhou Chao out of the room.
Once outside, Zhou Chao asked where the smoking area was. Du Qiang looked at him in surprise, then led him to the designated area.
As they both smoked in silence, nearing the end of Zhou Chao’s cigarette, Du Qiang finally spoke up.
“I’ve learned about Mrs. Li’s condition. It’s stage II breast cancer. If she doesn’t undergo surgery soon, the consequences could be dire.”
The collapse of an adult often happens in just a moment. Du Qiang, who was originally calm, suddenly welled up with tears, and tears streamed down his cheeks in an instant.
At that moment, silence spoke volumes. Du Qiang leaned against the wall, crying for quite some time before finally calming down. He wiped away his tears, lowered his head, and choked out, “Misfortune always strikes the unfortunate. Your teacher is such a good person. Why must this happen to her?”
Understanding Du Qiang’s emotions, Zhou Chao gently patted his back and said, “You’re Mrs. Li’s husband, so I’ll call you Uncle Qiang.”
After a pause, Zhou Chao continued, “Uncle Qiang, get yourself ready. We’re going to transfer her to Huaxi Hospital in Rongcheng.”
“Transfer? I also wanted to transfer, but…” Du Qiang trailed off, his head bowed.
“Uncle Qiang, don’t worry. I have the means. Remember when Mrs. Li took care of me after my accident? Now that I’m able, it’s my turn to repay her.”
Du Qiang shook his head without hesitation, refusing, “No, no way. I can’t accept your money!”
“Uncle Qiang, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to Mrs. Li, right?”
Du Qiang hesitated, looked up at Zhou Chao, and slowly replied, “You see, Mrs. Li’s illness requires a lot of money to treat, and it’s progressing to a more advanced stage. It won’t be easy to handle in the short term.”
Understanding Du Qiang’s concerns, Zhou Chao quickly took out his phone and showed Du Qiang his WeChat balance. Looking at the long row of numbers, Du Qiang counted them two or three times before realizing how much money was available.
“Eight digits!!” Du Qiang couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Uncle Qiang, give me your account number. I’ll transfer the money to you. Will that put your mind at ease?”
After a moment of silence, Du Qiang reluctantly recited a string of numbers. Once he finished, he almost hung his head in shame.
Soon, Du Qiang received a text message on his phone confirming the transfer of one million yuan!
“Isn’t this too much?” Du Qiang exclaimed in astonishment as he read the message.
“Uncle Qiang, please arrange the transfer to another hospital as soon as possible. I’ll handle the arrangements at Huaxi Hospital. Here’s my phone number. I’ll take you to Rongcheng tomorrow.”
“Thank you, thank you!” Du Qiang prepared to kneel down to Zhou Chao, but Zhou Chao quickly helped him up, saying, “Please don’t. I’ll regret it if you do.”
After Du Qiang stood up, Zhou Chao continued, “Uncle Qiang, go take care of things. I’ll leave now, and we’ll talk on the phone tomorrow!”
Du Qiang wanted to say something but didn’t know what to say. In the end, he simply said, “Okay!”
As Zhou Chao left the smoking area with Xiao Yang, Du Qiang watched their retreating figures, his eyes shimmering with hope.
“Good deeds bring good rewards. If it weren’t for the seeds planted by my wife in the past, we wouldn’t be reaping these fruits now!” Du Qiang murmured to himself. With renewed vigor, he walked briskly back to the ward, eager to share the good news.
“Wife, good news, good news!” Du Qiang exclaimed excitedly as he entered the ward.
Startled awake, Li Xuemei looked at her husband, exhausted but curious. “What’s got you so happy?” she asked.
“Your illness has hope now. I’ll arrange for the transfer to another hospital immediately. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Rongcheng, and you won’t suffer anymore!” Du Qiang looked at Li Xuemei with tender eyes, gently smoothing her hair.
“Did you sell the house to get all this money? But where will you and the kids live?” Li Xuemei’s eyes welled up with tears as she spoke.
Seeing Li Xuemei’s emotional response, Du Qiang hurriedly explained, “No, I didn’t sell the house. It was that student who came to see you earlier. He transferred one million yuan to me. Now you can rest assured and focus on getting better.”
“One million yuan! Lao Du, we can’t accept this money. Zhou Chao is so young, and he’s given us so much. We can’t take advantage of him. You need to return the money to him as soon as possible.” Li Xuemei spoke passionately.
“Don’t worry, I saw his WeChat balance. He has tens of millions in there. He said it’s a repayment, and I… I can’t bear to see you suffer like this.” Du Qiang explained earnestly.
Li Xuemei fell silent, sighing after a while, “Ah, Zhou Chao has really made something of himself.”
Meanwhile, on his way home, Zhou Chao sneezed, pinched his nose, and muttered to himself, “Is Ah Li thinking about me?”