Showing Off
The old man opened his mouth. "This isn't the first time I've twisted my ankle."
"I've been through this before."
"Does your foot hurt now?"
Xiao Xiao looked down at the old man's foot.
He frowned slightly.
The old man's foot had already swollen up.
The old man was about to blurt out an answer, but when he met Xiao Xiao's gaze, the words caught in his throat.
He carefully felt his foot.
"...It hurts a little when I move it."
"I'll take you to the hospital."
Xiao Xiao rose from his crouch.
"No need!"
The old man hurriedly said, "I have medicine."
There was no need to go to the hospital.
Xiao Xiao shook his head.
"Grandpa Li, it's better to have a doctor examine your foot."
"If you really have injured a bone, you'll need treatment as soon as possible."
"Otherwise, the longer you wait, the longer it'll take you to recover."
"It'll end up taking more time and effort."
"You might even have lasting problems."
"Wouldn't that be more trouble?"
The old man was persuaded.
He hesitated, then nodded.
"All right, all right."
The young man did make sense.
If his foot really did end up with lasting problems...
That would be an endless source of trouble.
Xiao Xiao called emergency services right away.
That was what the old man should have done as soon as he fell at home alone.
The ambulance arrived soon, its siren blaring.
The medical staff carried the old man onto the ambulance on a stretcher.
Xiao Xiao climbed in after him.
Fortunately,
the old man had only sprained his foot.
He hadn't broken any bones.
But given his age, even a sprain would take quite a while to heal.