Asking for a Favor

Ye Yuan drove the Raptor at high speed along the expressway toward Blue Island City.

"I never thought Li Hui's family would end up like this."

He had originally planned to look after his classmate's family business, but when he learned what had happened to them, he didn't hesitate for a moment—he drove straight to Blue Island City.

The Raptor roared like a wild beast as it sped toward Blue Island City, trees blurring past on either side.

Now, all Ye Yuan could think about was Li's Mother's kind smile and the way Li Hui's father would occasionally put meat into his bowl when he ate at their house.

Soon, the car arrived at the Blue Island City docks. He searched for a long time but couldn't find anyone. Only after asking some laborers waiting for work at the dock did he learn that Li Hui's father's condition had worsened, and he had rushed to the hospital.

After finding out the hospital's name, he drove straight there. Once inside, he headed directly toward the oncology department.

Arriving at the nurse's station, he said, "Hello, could I ask which room Li Dongming is in?"

A nurse with a hint of baby fat still on her face looked up at Ye Yuan and said in a somewhat cold tone, "You people... he's already so seriously ill, and yet you come every day demanding money. You'll be the death of him."

Ye Yuan immediately understood that the nurse had misunderstood him. Just as he was about to explain, he saw a woman with a full head of white hair walking over.

The nurse said warmly to the woman, "Aunt Zhao, if you need anything, just ring the bell."

The woman looked at Ye Yuan, paused slightly, and asked in a hesitant tone, "Ye Yuan? Are you Xiao Hui's classmate?"

At that moment, Ye Yuan also recognized the white-haired woman—Zhao Yueru, Li Hui's mother.

"Yes, Auntie, I'm Ye Yuan. I heard Uncle had some trouble, so I came to see him."

Hearing their conversation, the little nurse realized she had misunderstood Ye Yuan. She stuck out her tongue and said to him, "Sorry, I misjudged you."

"It's fine, it's fine. You were just concerned about the patient."

"Xiao Hui, the IV is almost done. Could you help remove it?"

Li's Mother said to the nurse with a smile. Ye Yuan looked at that familiar yet unfamiliar smile and felt a pang in his heart.

He remembered that Zhao Yueru had married Li Hui's father very young. Back then, most of their classmates' mothers were already in their forties or approaching fifty, but Zhao Yueru was only forty-two that year.

In their senior year of high school, the boys in the class had privately voted for the most beautiful mother, and she had won that honor. Zhao Yueru's looks were famous in the county at the time. A woman who should have looked forty-seven or forty-eight now appeared to be in her early sixties. Ye Yuan wondered how Li Hui's family had gotten through these past few years.

Li's Mother took Ye Yuan's hand and warmly led him toward the ward. Entering the room, he saw that a space originally meant for only four beds was now packed with six.

The aisles were filled with camp beds for caregivers.

Li's Mother came in and said to a young man sitting by a bed near the window, "Xiao Hui, look who's here."

The young man looked up, saw Ye Yuan, and his eyes went blank for a moment before tears began to well up.

Ye Yuan quickly walked over, patted Li Hui on the shoulder, and glanced at the gaunt middle-aged man lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

Li Hui looked around, saw there was nowhere for Ye Yuan to sit, and pulled him out of the ward. At the same time, he said to his mother, "Mom, I'm taking Yuan out for a chat. There's nowhere to sit in here."

"Mm, go ahead."

The two walked to the end of the hallway, where there were a few hospital waiting chairs. After they sat down, Li Hui spoke. "How did you get here? I heard you stayed in Blue Island after graduation. Doing okay?" Ye Yuan could hear a sense of distance in Li Hui's words.

He remembered the last time they had met was during their freshman year. That year, the two of them had gone to a KTV in the county and had a big drinking session.

"I just went to the docks looking for you and heard something was wrong here. What happened?" Ye Yuan didn't answer Li Hui's question and instead asked about what concerned him most.

Hearing Ye Yuan's question, Li Hui's eyes turned red. In a suppressed voice, he said, "The doctor told me to come. He said if we don't operate soon, it might be too late..." Then he crouched down, burying his head in his arms. Tears could be seen streaming down his resolute face.

A saying suddenly came to Ye Yuan's mind: "Men do not easily shed tears, only because they have not yet reached the depths of sorrow."

Looking at Li Hui, his heart ached. This person before him was, before Ye Yuan went to college, his best buddy. Watching his childhood friend now crying like a child, he felt terrible.

Ye Yuan didn't offer comfort. He knew Li Hui had been holding it in for too long. On one side were his parents, on the other was the pressure of money—all of it weighing down on him. But he was still just a young man who had just stepped into society.

After Li Hui calmed down, Ye Yuan asked, "What's the exact situation with Uncle's condition now?"

"If we don't operate, it'll turn terminal soon. By then, nothing we say will matter. Even though there's medical insurance, a lot of the surgery costs aren't covered, and the post-op nutrition will need a lot of money too. My family can't afford that much right now, so my dad keeps refusing the surgery."

After hearing Li Hui's story, Ye Yuan immediately took out his phone and called Eldest Brother Zhao Chuan. When it came to medical technology, where could be better than Shangjing? He wanted to ask if Zhao Chuan could arrange a hospital for Li Hui's father's surgery.

After hearing Ye Yuan's situation, Zhao Chuan said casually, "For someone else, this would be hard to handle, but for you, it's too easy. How about Huaguo Navy Hospital? A military hospital—good environment, advanced technology, and they can even bring in specialists from other hospitals for consultations."

Ye Yuan agreed immediately and wanted Zhao Chuan to make the arrangements. But Zhao Chuan laughed on the other end and said, "I don't want to owe this favor. If you want to get this done, give Grandpa Xu a call. He's been here asking for your number." Then he sent a phone number via WeChat.

Ye Yuan looked at the number in WeChat, shook his head with a bitter smile. He hadn't wanted to deal with that grandfather and grandson, but in the end, he had to go to them himself.

He dialed the number directly.

"Hello? Who is this?"

An elderly voice full of vigor came through the phone.

"Grandpa Xu, hello. This is Ye Yuan. I'm Zhao Chuan's college classmate. We met at his father's birthday banquet."

Ye Yuan introduced himself properly.

"Haha, you little rascal. How do you have time to call an old man like me? What's the matter? Did you manage to get me that special kind of fish?"

Hearing that the old man was in a good mood, Ye Yuan went ahead and explained the situation, emphasizing that this was an elder very important to him.

"This is no problem. But how are you going to thank me?" The old man started teasing Ye Yuan.

"Grandpa, this is a matter of life and death. Can we take care of it first? We can talk about anything later."

"Alright, tell me the patient's name and hospital, then wait for my news." Seeing that Ye Yuan was genuinely anxious, the old man dropped the joking tone.

Ye Yuan sent the information to the old man's phone via text message. Soon, he received a short reply: "Stand by."

Ye Yuan shook his head. Truly a military man's style—even the text message carried a strong military flavor.

ps: Thanks to brother 08a for the tip, and thanks to all the friends who cast recommendation votes.