Early the next morning, Zhou Wan accompanied her grandmother to the hospital for a full checkup.
She sat alone on a chair in the corridor, lost in thought for a while when suddenly she remembered something.
She calculated the bank interest rate on the medical expenses that Lu Xixiao had advanced for her last time, rounded up the odd amounts, transferred it all to Lu Xixiao, and thanked him again.
Lu Xixiao didn’t reply immediately – it was only eight-thirty in the morning, and he was probably still sleeping.
Zhou Wan put away her phone, leaned her head back against the wall, and emptied her mind.
After some time, her grandmother came out from the examination.
“Let’s go, Wan-wan.”
Zhou Wan stood up and asked Dr. Chen when the examination report would be ready.
“Next week. I’ll call you then,” Dr. Chen said.
“Okay.” Zhou Wan thanked Dr. Chen and supported her grandmother as they left the hospital.
Her grandmother noticed she was still carrying her schoolbag and asked, “What are you going to do now?”
“Going to the library. I arranged to meet my classmate to work on the new physics test papers we got. They’re quite difficult.”
“Alright,” Grandmother smiled. “You go ahead then, I can get back by myself.”
Zhou Wan was worried and didn’t want to let her grandmother return alone, but after her repeated insistence, Zhou Wan had to agree. After watching her reach the bus stop across the street, she turned and walked toward the library.
Zhou Wan didn’t see that after she left, her grandmother went back to the hospital.
*
“Old madam, why did you come back?” Dr. Chen asked in surprise when he saw her. “Did you forget something?”
“No, Dr. Chen, I just wanted to ask you something,” Grandmother said. “These examinations Wan-wan asked me to do, are they for some kind of surgery later?”
Dr. Chen was taken aback – Zhou Wan had asked him not to tell her grandmother about this.
After hesitating for a moment, he sighed: “How did you know?”
“Wan-wan’s mother called me early this morning and told me.”
Dr. Chen frowned, having no good impression of Zhou Wan’s mother: “What did she say to you?”
Grandmother showed a helpless expression and let out a “hai”: “What else could she say? She thought I asked Wan-wan to go ask her for money, and said a bunch of unpleasant things.”
“Don’t mind her. Your health is what’s important.”
“I know.” Grandmother smiled slightly. “I came to ask you for a favor. No matter what the results are, please tell Wan-wan that my condition isn’t suitable for surgery.”
Dr. Chen paused.
“I understand that doctors can’t lie to patients, but this is my body, and I get to decide whether to have surgery or not,” Grandmother said. “Wan-wan is still young, not even an adult yet. Such a large sum of money – I’m afraid she’ll give up everything just to raise these funds. She’s still young with a long future ahead. She can’t keep spending everything on an old woman like me.”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened and her voice trembled. She gripped Dr. Chen’s hand tightly: “So please, Dr. Chen, I beg you. Just tell Wan-wan that surgery isn’t possible. As long as she can grow up well, I’ll be content.”
Her Wan-wan was a child born into hardship.
Her father passed away early, she was abandoned by her mother, and the only person she could rely on – her grandmother – was bedridden with illness.
Wan-wan had grown up working so hard, achieving excellent grades, and striving to earn money.
She didn’t want to become a stumbling block in her path.
*
Zhou Wan bought a roasted sweet potato for lunch. After arriving at the library, she found Jiang Yan on the second floor.
She sat down across from him, took out her test papers, and immediately settled down to work.
“Zhou Wan,” Jiang Yan called her.
She looked up, lowering her voice: “What is it?”
“Do you like Lu Xixiao?”
He was still concerned about Zhou Wan leaving with Lu Xixiao after school last Friday.
Zhou Wan was startled, pressed her lips together, and didn’t speak.
Jiang Yan: “Have you thought about the future, Zhou Wan? After the college entrance exam, which university will you go to? What about him? He can barely get into any university!”
His hatred for Lu Xixiao was evident, and his voice unconsciously grew louder, particularly conspicuous in the quiet library.
“Keep your voice down.” After Zhou Wan said this, she paused for a moment before speaking again, “Jiang Yan, what do you think my future looks like?”
“Getting into a prestigious university, graduating smoothly, finding a good job.”
Zhou Wan lowered her eyes and smiled faintly: “You think too highly of me. I’ve never even dared to think about the things you mentioned. I’m different from you, Jiang Yan. None of these things come easily to me.”
“You’re different from me, so you’re the same as Lu Xixiao?”
Zhou Wan still shook her head: “Actually, I quite envy him. He can live so purely and openly – when he likes something, he likes it; when he hates something, he hates it. No pretense at all.”
Jiang Yan wanted to say more, but Zhou Wan cut him off: “Let’s do the problems.”
She lowered her head and said softly: “Perhaps only if I get a good ranking in the national competition will I have the right to talk about the future.”
…