Monkey's Difficult Situation

As evening fell, Lin Feng and Zhou Wenyuan sat in a private room at an elegant private restaurant. The dishes on the table were exquisite, but neither of them seemed to be fully focused on the food.

Zhou Wenyuan ate slowly, occasionally glancing at Lin Feng who was quietly eating across from him. Finally, he couldn't resist putting down his chopsticks, wiping his mouth with a tissue, and asking with a barely perceptible hint of worry:

"Mr. Lin, is Lü Yi alright? I received a call from Director Du this afternoon; he only said she'd been taken back, but not the details..."

Lin Feng was picking up a piece of steamed fish when he heard this. Without pausing, he put the fish in his mouth, savored it carefully, and then slowly swallowed it. He didn't answer immediately, but instead picked up his teacup and took a sip. In that instant, his consciousness connected with Lü Yi, who was in a private room in the mental hospital.

Immediately, a thought flashed through Lü Yi's mind, filled with excitement and a sense of self-satisfaction. "Boss! I'm doing great here, Fourth Hospital, your king is back!"

Lin Feng severed the noisy mental link. He looked at Zhou Wenyuan, a smile on his face, and replied:

"He's fine." He paused, seemingly feeling the description wasn't accurate enough, and added, his tone carrying an indescribable meaning. "Not only is he fine, but he seems... quite happy."

Upon hearing this answer, Zhou Wenyuan also smiled. He opened his mouth, about to say something.

Just then, a cell phone ring broke the silence of the private room.

Lin Feng took out his phone; the screen flashed the name "Monkey." He raised an eyebrow slightly; Monkey rarely called him at this hour. He pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Monkey."

On the other end of the phone, instead of the usual lively tone, came an unusually low, hoarse voice, even carrying a hint of barely concealed fatigue and... heaviness.

"Madman..." The Monkey's voice paused, as if organizing its thoughts or gathering courage, "Are you busy tonight? If not... how about we meet tonight?"

Lin Feng keenly noticed the unusual dejection in the Monkey's tone. Without hesitation, he replied, "Okay. You choose the location, just send it to me."

"The usual place... the ' Old Wang Barbecue ' near the back gate of our school." Monkey said, then quickly hung up the phone, as if saying another word would exhaust him.

Putting down his phone, Lin Feng looked at Zhou Wenyuan: "Lawyer Zhou, I have something to attend to, I have to go first."

Zhou Wenyuan, observing Lin Feng's expression, realized he was busy, so he nodded. "Okay, you go ahead and do your work, I'll settle the bill here."

Lin Feng didn't stand on ceremony; he got up, grabbed his coat, and left the private room.

As night fell and the city lights came on, Lin Feng took a taxi to "Old Wang Barbecue" on the back street of the university town. This place held too many memories of their university days; it was affordable and had a lively, smoky atmosphere. They used to often gather here in their dorm to eat and chat.

Pushing open the somewhat greasy glass door, the familiar noise and aroma of barbecue wafted out. Lin Feng's gaze swept across the slightly crowded lobby, and he quickly spotted Monkey in a corner against the wall.

Monkey hadn't changed much since college, except that he seemed to have lost all his energy and spirit. He sat there alone, with several skewers and two small dishes on the table in front of him, but they didn't look touched. Three or four empty beer bottles lay scattered haphazardly at his feet.

He hung his head, holding a half-full wine glass in his hand. His face had lost its usual radiance, shrouded in a thick, unyielding cloud of sorrow and haggardness. He was drinking alone, taking sips of wine in silence.

Lin Feng walked over, pulled out the plastic stool opposite the Monkey, and sat down. The stool legs scraped against the ground, making a screeching sound, which startled the Monkey was engrossed in its own world.

The Monkey looked up, saw it was Lin Feng, and tried to force a smile, but it looked worse than a grimace. He quickly called out, "Madman, you're here!" He then reached for the waiter, "Waiter, a few more dishes, bring the menu!"

Lin Feng reached out and pressed his arm, stopping him, "Alright, Monkey, we don't do this between brothers. This is enough food, don't waste it."

Looking into Lin Feng's calm and resolute eyes, the Monkey hesitated for a moment, then finally lowered its hand and nodded dejectedly. "... Okay."

A brief silence fell between the two, with only the chatter of the surrounding diners and the sizzling of the grill as background noise.

Lin Feng picked up a clean glass, poured himself a beer, but didn't drink it. He just stared at the golden liquid and fine foam in the glass and asked bluntly, "Monkey, tell me, what happened?"

Upon hearing the question, the Monkey trembled almost imperceptibly. His face showed extreme struggle and hesitation; his lips moved slightly, as if he couldn't bring himself to speak. Finally, as if making a decision, he grabbed the glass on the table and downed the remaining beer in one gulp! The cold liquid sliding down his throat seemed to give him a sliver of courage.

He slammed the glass down on the table, then picked up the bottle and, with trembling hands, filled Lin Feng's glass first, then his own. After doing this, he took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Brother... about the money I borrowed from you before... I might... I might not be able to pay it back for a while."

After saying this, he dared not look Lin Feng in the eye and lowered his head deeply, as if he had committed a grave mistake.

Lin Feng looked at him and understood immediately. It was indeed about money, and judging by the looks of it, it was no small matter. His tone remained calm and unwavering. "The money is fine, I'm not in a hurry. Is there... something wrong with you? Are you facing any difficulties?"

This seemingly ordinary expression of concern instantly shattered the Monkey's carefully constructed psychological defenses.

His eyes instantly reddened, and tears quickly welled up. He sniffled hard, trying to hold them back, but his voice was already choked with emotion.

"Before... before, my sister... wasn't feeling well, always had a low-grade fever, swollen lymph nodes... my parents were worried, so they looked up a lot of information online... and said... saying it might not be good..." Monkey's voice was broken and filled with helplessness, "Just then, the internet recommended a specialized hospital, saying it was very authoritative in this area, right in our city... so my parents... so they brought my sister from our hometown to come here for treatment..."

At this point, the Monkey's choked sobs turned into uncontrollable whimpers. He wiped his eyes hard with the back of his hand, but tears still welled up uncontrollably.

"The results... the results of the examination..." His voice trembled with despair, "The doctor said... it's lymphoma... and... it's stage three..."

The words "stage three lymphoma" pierced the noisy night air like an icicle. After saying this, Monkey completely broke down, tears streaming down his young but weathered face like a burst dam. He no longer tried to hide it, burying his face in his arms, his shoulders heaving violently, emitting suppressed sobs like those of a wounded animal.

Lin Feng watched silently, without saying a word or disturbing the monkey. He simply pushed the tissue box on the table closer to the Monkey.

The Monkey cried for a long time before he could barely stop. He took a tissue and hastily wiped away his tears and snot, his eyes swollen and red like peaches. He looked up at Lin Feng, his eyes filled with guilt and a weariness born of being driven to despair by life.

"You're Madman... I'm sorry... These past few days, we've spent all our savings on my sister's treatment... We've borrowed from all our relatives and friends... We really... we're at our wits' end..."

He tried to make his tone sound firm, "But don't worry Madman! I, Monkey, will pay you back that money, even if I have to sell my pots and pans and work like a slave! I keep my word!"

As he spoke, he carefully took out a neatly folded piece of paper from the pocket of his faded jeans and solemnly handed it to Lin Feng with both hands.

Lin Feng took it and unfolded it. It was a handwritten IOU, the handwriting neat and even a little childish, clearly the result of repeated practice. It clearly stated the loan amount as 100,000 yuan, the borrower as Hou Jun, the date, and even included a bright red handprint. Every detail revealed Monkey's seriousness and the heavy promise he made.

Lin Feng stared at the IOU, his face expressionless. He didn't say anything polite like "no need for an IOU," nor did he show any dissatisfaction or urge him on. He simply folded the IOU neatly and calmly put it into the inside pocket of his coat, as if he had just accepted an ordinary receipt.

Then, he raised his head, looked at the Monkey who still had red eyes and was looking at him nervously, and spoke, his tone steady and firm:

"Don't worry about the money. Right now, getting your sister treated properly is the most important thing."

He paused, as if stating a simple fact:

"I recently made a small fortune, so I'm a bit more financially comfortable." As he spoke, he casually took out his phone, unlocked it, and opened his mobile banking app. "I'll transfer another 200,000 to you first. To the same account as before, right?"

The Monkey stared blankly at Lin Feng, watching him calmly operate his phone, listening to his seemingly casual yet weighty words. His lips trembled, opening and closing several times, wanting to refuse, wanting to say something thankful, wanting to make some promises, but all words seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.

Finally, looking into Lin Feng's unwavering gaze, all his struggles and formalities dissolved into silent gratitude. He nodded heavily, squeezing out a hoarse syllable from deep within his throat:

"... Um."