Chapter Ten: Borrowing Money

In a haze, I seemed to have a long, long dream. I dreamt I was running across a vast meadow, someone apparently pursuing me from behind, yet I never looked back and had no idea who it was. In the dream, all I knew was to keep running, endlessly. At last, I saw someone ahead—a woman, I think, dressed all in white, her back to me, hair flowing down her back. But just as I approached, she vanished.

A muffled cry escaped me as I woke from the dream. Instinctively, I reached for my phone by the bed, but a dull ache throbbed in my forehead.

"Yang… Yang Chen, you're awake?" A familiar voice, surely Big Sister Shi…

I forced my eyes open, trying to take in my surroundings—pale blankets, pale walls and ceiling, and… familiar faces.

Slowly, my mind returned to clarity, and I remembered everything that had happened—the men in black, and Luo Qing.

"Sister Shi?"

"Mm, I'm here." Shi Yu rose from a nearby chair and sat beside my bed. Her face was haggard, as though she were the one who had suffered, not I.

"How is she…?"

"Who?"

"Luo Qing…"

Shi Yu looked at me, silent for a moment, then said, "She's fine."

Hearing that nothing serious had happened to her, I felt a little better. I glanced to the side and saw An Ye slumped in a corner, dead asleep, drooling at the mouth. The sight made me smile—this guy…

"Sister Shi, you don't look well. I'm alright, really. You should go home and rest, thanks—"

Shi Yu raised a finger to her lips, signaling me to be quiet, and smiled gently.

I scratched my head, a little embarrassed, but a sharp pain shot through my fingers, making me grimace instantly.

Shi Yu chuckled, concern in her eyes. "Honestly, what were you thinking? Thank goodness those thugs didn't go too far, or I don't even want to imagine how badly you might've been hurt!"

Seeing her like this, I realized I really had been foolish. If those men had truly been desperate, I could have died for nothing. Not wanting her to worry, I joked, "If I'd died, it wouldn't matter. I'm penniless—at least they'd all get locked up. One of me for five of them, I'd say that's a good deal!"

"Life isn't a game!" Shi Yu didn't seem amused at all—if anything, she looked about to get angry.

Seeing her expression, I couldn't help but smile. "But life is a game, isn't it?"

"You! Forget it..." She wanted to scold me further, but seeing my bandaged head and arms, she let it go.

I carefully pulled back the blanket and looked myself over. Thankfully, my pants were still on—otherwise, that would be truly embarrassing. As I tried to get out of bed, Shi Yu rushed over to support me by the arm, helping me to my feet.

"Sister Shi, the medical expenses… how much was it?" Ever since I came to, I'd wanted to ask this. No matter what, I couldn't forget that I only had three hundred yuan to my name.

"You don't need to worry about that," she said, shaking her head. "Just focus on getting better."

"Please, don't say that. I already owe you too much. The more you do for me, the more awkward I'll feel around you in future."

"Try being awkward, I dare you."

"Sister, just tell me. How much was it? You've already done so much for me, I really can't accept any more. Please, I'm begging you."

At last, under my persistent questioning, she relented. "Five hundred," she said. One night in the hospital, plus miscellaneous expenses—not much, really.

But what was little to her was a fortune to me. I was nearly two hundred short, even with all the money I had. I thought about waking An Ye to borrow a few hundred from him, but then realized that if Shi Yu saw me borrowing money, she'd probably refuse to let me pay her back anyway. Then all I'd get out of it would be embarrassment.

I took the shirt Shi Yu handed me and started to put it on, only to realize my phone was missing.

"Sister Shi, have you seen my phone?" I racked my brain, trying to remember where I'd left it last night.

"It's here," she said, reaching into her bag and pulling it out. She must have put it away for me, afraid I'd lose it in the chaos.

"Thank you!" I said sincerely. The phone wasn't worth much, but if I lost it, I wouldn't have a single valuable thing left.

Despite the aches, I waved my phone at Shi Yu, signaling that I was stepping out to make a call. She nodded her assent.

Stepping out, I was surprised to see a girl sitting on a bench in the corridor, head bowed in thought. It was Luo Qing.

I glanced at her, and she noticed me too, lifting her eyes to meet mine. Her gaze was that of someone looking at a stranger—or perhaps an alien.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is my hair a mess?" I tried to tease her, seeing her pale face, but she didn't look the least bit amused.

"What… are you going to do?" She finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, and I found it odd. Usually so quick-witted—why was she acting so differently today?

"Oh, just making a call."

She fell silent again, staring at me. Feeling awkward under her gaze, I hurried off to a corner of the hospital to make my call.

"Hello… Sister Ke Wen…"

"What's up, little brother? What made you think of calling your big sister?"

Her words made me even more embarrassed. I'd just acknowledged her as my sister yesterday, and my first call was to borrow money…

Noticing my silence, Zhao Ke Wen seemed to understand. "Tell me what's wrong. If you need something, just say it. Don't beat around the bush—be a man, will you?"

"Sis, do you have any money? Could you lend me two hundred? It's urgent."

There was silence for a long moment. Just as I was about to give up, her voice came back, "You're calling me for such a small amount? Do I really mean so little to you?"

"No, it's not that… Sister, I…"

"Where are you? I'll bring it to you!"

"I'm…"

"Address?"

"I'm at the hospital, the Fourth Hospital, I think."

"Damn, did you get yourself beaten up or something?"

I was speechless—how did she guess that? In her world, did going to the hospital always mean getting into a fight?