Yiyi was his sister's daughter, his niece. She was only four years old, and she had leukemia?
"Mom, when did this happen?" Li Rui asked urgently.
"It's been over three months. We kept it from you because we didn't want you to worry. Her hospital treatment has already drained all your sister's family's money, and they've borrowed from everyone they could."
"Now she needs a bone marrow transplant. They've already found a match, but we're still 500,000 yuan short for the surgery. I really have no other way, Xiao Rui. If you can do anything, you have to save Yiyi." Before she finished speaking, Wang Sumei was already sobbing over the phone.
"Mom, don't cry. It's only 500,000 yuan. That's nothing. Your son has made quite a bit of money these past few years, so don't worry about this. Which hospital is Yiyi in now?" Li Rui asked, comforting his mother.
"Really? Xiao Rui, do you really have 500,000 yuan?" Wang Sumei stopped sobbing and asked in disbelief.
"Mom, trust me. Never mind 500,000-even 50 million wouldn't be a problem. Tell me which hospital Yiyi is in. I'll go see her right now."
For Li Rui as he was now, 50 million really was nothing. His sister had always been good to him since childhood, and Yiyi was his niece. Never mind 500,000 or 50 million-even if it cost 500 million, she had to be treated.
"Xiao Rui, where did you get so much money?" Wang Sumei found it hard to believe. Her son had graduated three years ago and hadn't come home even for New Year's in any of those years, always saying he was busy.
She didn't know what her son was doing, either, but for him to say that even 50 million was nothing after just three short years was truly hard to believe.
"Mom, don't worry about all that for now. I earned all this money legitimately. Getting Yiyi treated is what matters. We can't delay it."
What Li Rui said wasn't wrong. Although the money came from the system, all the funds had been obtained through overseas financial markets, with records available for every transaction.
As far as anyone other than Li Rui was concerned, he had earned all this money by trading stocks, futures, and cryptocurrency. It had absolutely been earned through legitimate means.
"Right, right, right. Yiyi is at Star City First People's Hospital," Wang Sumei hurriedly said after hearing his words.
"All right, I'll head over now. Mom, don't worry, either. Medicine is very advanced these days, and leukemia isn't incurable. Get some rest."
He then hung up, stepped on the accelerator, and sped toward Star City First People's Hospital.
At that moment, outside a ward at Star City First People's Hospital, Li Xiaoshuang looked utterly haggard. Her eyes were threaded with blood vessels, red and swollen as though she had just been crying.
"Doctor Zhao, please make an exception. Yiyi really can't afford to wait. Please save her." As she spoke, Li Xiaoshuang moved to kneel before Doctor Zhao.
"Please, don't do this. I understand how you feel, but this isn't my hospital, after all. I can only do my best to save patients. There's really nothing I can do about the medical fees." Doctor Zhao reached out to hold Li Xiaoshuang up and heaved a deep sigh.
He had seen plenty of patients' families pleading like this, but he was only a doctor. There truly was nothing he could do about those exorbitant medical fees.
"Do you think you could try finding another way, perhaps borrowing from relatives and friends?" After all, they had already found a match, and the chances of a cure were still very high.
"Doctor Zhao, we've tried everything we could think of, and we've already borrowed from everyone we could. We really have no other way." Turning sideways to look through the glass at her child and husband inside the ward, Li Xiaoshuang's eyes betrayed her despair. The hope brought by finding a match had now turned into the despair of being unable to pay for surgery.
Just as Doctor Zhao was about to say something else, the phone in Li Xiaoshuang's pocket rang. Seeing that it was her younger brother calling, she sniffled and composed herself before answering. "Xiao Rui, what is it?"
"Sis, where are you? I'm already at the hospital." Li Rui could tell something was wrong with his sister's voice. It was terribly hoarse; she must have spent a long time crying over his niece.
"You know everything? Mom told you, didn't she?"
"Yes. Sis, from today onward, I'm the pillar holding up this family. With me here, the sky won't fall. All you need to do now is tell me where you are. I'll handle the rest." His firm voice came through the phone. At that moment, Li Xiaoshuang had the same thought Wang Sumei had not long before: her younger brother had finally grown up.
Li Xiaoshuang then told Li Rui Yiyi's ward number. Seven or eight minutes later, he jogged up to the ward entrance. Seeing his utterly haggard sister, Li Rui's heart ached.
For more than half his childhood, it had been his sister who looked after him, and she had always treated him extremely well.
"Sis, thank you for everything you've done. Leave the rest to me." Looking at his sister's red, swollen eyes, Li Rui felt his nose sting and silently swore that he would give his family the best life possible.
Before Li Xiaoshuang could reply, Li Rui walked up to Doctor Zhao and said, "Doctor, how much will my niece's treatment cost? How much would it cost to have the very best doctor perform the surgery? Just tell me. I want the best medicine and the best doctor."
Hearing the young man before him make such extravagant claims, Doctor Zhao couldn't help feeling somewhat skeptical. Li Rui was still dressed in flip-flops and baggy shorts. For someone dressed like that to demand the very best doctor and medicine-what was that if not shameless boasting?
"You're Yiyi's uncle, correct? I'm her attending physician. Yiyi's surgery costs 500,000 yuan. If you want to bring in a top specialist, it may cost one million yuan."
Although Doctor Zhao didn't think the young man before him could produce that much money, as a doctor, he could only answer honestly when a patient's family asked about the costs.
"All right, no problem." He then turned to Li Xiaoshuang and said, "Sis, I'll transfer five million yuan to you right now. Get the best medicine, the best room, and the best doctor. If it's not enough, I'll give you more. Do everything possible to cure Yiyi. No amount of money is a problem."
Both Doctor Zhao and Li Xiaoshuang were stunned by Li Rui's words. Doctor Zhao's eyes moved back and forth between them, as though asking, "You have such a wealthy brother, and you didn't know?"
Li Xiaoshuang was even more shocked than Doctor Zhao. She knew her brother's circumstances perfectly well. He had only graduated three years ago. When had he made so much money? She truly knew nothing about it!
Before Li Xiaoshuang could speak, Li Rui performed a series of actions on his phone. The next second, her phone vibrated.
She picked it up and saw a text notification that the money had arrived. Five million-it really was five million. Li Xiaoshuang's eyes reddened, and her tears poured out like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
Li Xiaoshuang threw her arms around her brother and bawled. She had been under far too much pressure these past few days. First there had been despair, then finding a match had brought hope, and finally, being unable to pay the fees had plunged her back into despair.
Those soaring highs and plunging lows had left her utterly exhausted. Now that the fees were finally taken care of, she could at last set her heart at ease, and she couldn't help crying aloud.
Zhang Huaiyuan, who was looking after their child inside the ward, heard his wife bawling and hurried out. Seeing her clinging to Li Rui and crying, he was slightly surprised, then asked, "Hey, little brother, what brings you here? What's wrong with your sister?"
"Nothing, brother-in-law. She's crying because she's happy," Li Rui told Zhang Huaiyuan with a smile.
"Xiaoshuang, what's going on?"
Li Xiaoshuang then stopped crying and told Zhang Huaiyuan what had happened. He was both shocked and thrilled. What shocked him was when his younger brother-in-law had become so wealthy; what thrilled him was that his daughter could finally be saved.