Early the next morning.
Carrying some fresh fruit, Teiichi hurried toward Rena's home.
When he reached Rena's door, Teiichi knocked gently.
The knocking echoed through the quiet morning, sounding especially clear.
He waited a while, but no response came from inside. Teiichi frowned slightly, growing worried about Rena's condition, and knocked again, harder this time.
This time, he finally heard a faint sound from inside.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Amid a fit of violent coughing, Rena answered in a hoarse, feeble voice:
"Coming..."
A little while later, the door slowly opened, revealing a deathly pale girl before Teiichi. She looked even weaker than usual, but when she saw him, she still managed a faint smile.
"Teiichi, please come in." With that, Rena stepped aside to make room for him.
Seeing Rena's deathly pale face and exhausted expression, Teiichi's heart tightened, and his brows knitted. He entered the house, set the fruit on the living room table, and asked with concern:
"Rena, haven't you gone to see a physician?"
At his words, Rena lowered her eyes slightly, her tone carrying a trace of helplessness and resolve:
"There's no need, Teiichi. It's just a cold. I'll be fine after a couple of days of proper rest."
This time, however, Teiichi was not so easily convinced by her answer.
He looked at Rena seriously, a hint of reproach in his voice:
"Your cold has gotten this bad, and you still won't see anyone? You'll only make it worse like this."
Hearing Teiichi's words, Rena lowered her head somewhat timidly, but determination shone in her eyes. She tried to explain:
"I've been getting plenty of rest, and a cold isn't something that goes away in a day or two. I trust my body. I'll be fine after another couple of days of rest."
Looking at Rena's stubborn expression, Teiichi felt utterly helpless. He knew she was a sensible, strong girl, but her current physical condition left him unable to stop worrying.
Just then, Rena suddenly broke into another fit of violent coughing. She clamped a hand over her mouth, seemingly trying to muffle the sound. Once the coughing subsided, she slowly lowered her hand. Her pupils contracted slightly at the blood left on its back.
She looked up cautiously at Teiichi and said in a trembling voice:
"Teiichi, I'm going to wash my hands."
Teiichi's gaze fell on the blood remaining at the corner of Rena's mouth, and his expression instantly darkened.
He nodded, his voice carrying an unquestionable firmness:
"Go ahead, and change your clothes while you're at it. Then I'll take you to see a physician."
Hearing that Teiichi still intended to take her to a physician, Rena hurriedly waved her hands in refusal:
"No, I..."
"Wipe the blood off the corner of your mouth first."
Hearing this, Rena instinctively wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Looking down at the blood left there, she tried to explain:
"It's just because I've been coughing so much. I might have scraped my throat raw, and that's why it's bleeding."
Teiichi nodded, his gaze deep and calm. Though his voice was gentle, it carried an unquestionable firmness:
"I know that might be the case, but come see a physician with me anyway and let them decide, all right?"
After hearing Teiichi's words, Rena wanted to refuse, but when she saw his serious, determined gaze, she finally nodded.
The girl then turned and went into the bathroom to wash her hands before going to her room to change. After explaining the situation to her father, she left home with Teiichi.
With Rena leading the way, the two arrived at a clinic. After a short wait, it was Rena's turn to be seen.
After a series of tests, the doctor asked Teiichi, who stood nearby:
"Are you a family member of the patient?"
Teiichi hesitated, then nodded and said:
"I'm her older brother."
Upon hearing that Teiichi was Rena's family, the doctor frowned and scolded him:
"Why did you wait until she was this sick to bring her in? If you'd delayed a few more days, she might have died!"
Both of them grew alarmed at his words. Although Teiichi had known the illness was serious when he saw Rena coughing up blood, he had not expected it to be this severe. He asked anxiously:
"She was only mildly ill a couple of days ago. I didn't expect her to be this sick today. Doctor, how bad is it?"
The physician snorted. "She's very seriously ill. In the past, she could only have waited to die, but luckily, I happen to have some new medicine from abroad. Two injections and some medicine to take home should get her better."
Teiichi felt a little relieved at his words.
"Doctor, how much is the new medicine?" Rena asked from beside him.
"Two thousand qian per injection. Your illness requires two injections, and with the other medicine, it'll come to seven thousand qian in total."
The doctor answered Rena's question, then explained:
"You're far too sick now. You should have come sooner. If you had, it wouldn't have cost this much."
"Cough, cough..."
"Could... could we do without the new medicine?" Rena asked hesitantly after hearing the price.
The doctor frowned at Rena's words. Instead of responding to her, he turned to Teiichi and asked:
"Which matters more, her life or the money?"
Teiichi calmly told the doctor:
"It's all right, doctor. Just prescribe whatever medicine she needs."
Hearing Teiichi's reply, the doctor nodded in satisfaction.
"But, Teiichi..." Listening to their exchange, Rena looked up at Teiichi, wanting to stop him.
Teiichi looked down at Rena with a gentle smile and reached out to pat her head, giving her a reassuring look.
Meeting Teiichi's gaze, Rena lowered her small head.
A long while later.
The two left the clinic and set off toward Rena's home.
After the two injections, Rena's condition seemed to have improved slightly, and she was no longer coughing as badly.
Rena looked at Teiichi and slowly asked:
"Teiichi, you came today to say goodbye, didn't you? When are you leaving?"
Teiichi nodded. "Yes, I'm leaving this afternoon. There's something I need to take care of near Aomori City, so I'll head there first. Once I'm done, I'll go straight home instead of coming back to Aomori City."
Rena nodded at his words and slowly came to a stop.
Noticing that Rena was no longer keeping up beside him, Teiichi turned to look at her in puzzlement and asked:
"What's wrong?"
The girl raised her head, looked firmly at Teiichi, and bowed.
"Thank you so much for this, Teiichi! But could I trouble you to leave me your address? I can't repay today's medical expenses right now, but I promise I'll pay you back later!"
Looking at the determined, earnest girl before him, Teiichi could not help letting out a surprised chuckle.
He nodded, took a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket, wrote down his address, and handed it to Rena:
"All right, I'll leave you my address. But you don't need to worry too much about the money. Taking good care of yourself is what matters most."
Rena nodded, though she clearly had not taken Teiichi's words to heart.