There will be no spoilers, no abuse, and no disgusting plots, so please feel free to read!
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April 2016, Qingming Festival.
clear.
Yuzhou First People's Hospital, 3rd floor, Neurological Intensive Care Unit.
A middle-aged woman is lying on bed No. 3. Various medical instruments are working regularly. There is a smell of disinfectant in the room and the leaves outside the window are lush green.
The two stood beside the bed.
Aunt Gu was wearing her work clothes from the textile factory, and she had not had time to change out. She looked tired, with deep worry in her eyes.
"Chu Chu, go home and eat first. Your aunt is here."
Xue Chuchu's face was frighteningly pale, and her expression was numb, as if she had lost her soul.
"I'll wait a little longer." She smiled, but it was a very sad smile. She was not the type to smile.
At this time, a greasy-faced man appeared at the door of the ward, his coat could not hide his bulging belly.
"Xiao Chu, I'm here to see your mother." The man's voice was loud.
Hearing this, Xue Chuchu couldn't help but feel disgusted.
"Hey, Sister Gu is here!" the man greeted her and put down the fruit milk.
Aunt Gu took the fruit and thanked her, "Boss Li, you're too polite. You've come here several times."
Boss Li smiled and said, "Hua Mei'er is my employee. She is sick and in the hospital now. I have to come and see her."
He took two steps forward, looked at Aunt Hua on the bed, and said:
"It's not a solution to keep dragging it out like this. I used my connections to invite a doctor from South City to come and perform the surgery. He said that the same patient was able to get out of bed and walk after the surgery."
Aunt Gu heard this and felt hopeful: "Is it reliable? How much does the surgery cost?"
Chuchu's mother spent tens of thousands of yuan on hospitalization for a few days, and her family's savings were depleted. She doesn't know how much the rural medical insurance can reimburse in the future.
Boss Li: "A few hundred thousand, small amount of money!"
Aunt Gu and Xue Chuchu's expressions became even uglier.
When Boss Li saw this scene, he didn't say anything, but just looked at Xue Chuchu twice more.
"You haven't eaten lunch yet, right? One of you two can stay with Hua Mei'er, and I'll take you to lunch." Boss Li said generously.
Xue Chuchu refused: "I'll go home for dinner."
Boss Li thought about it and realized that he had run away several times in the past few days. Now that he was forced into this situation, it was time to show his cards.
"Chu Chu, the doctor just told me the situation, come with me to take a look." Boss Li said calmly, without any flaws to be found.
Xue Chuchu knew that Boss Li had a wide network of contacts, so after some thought, she followed him out of the ward.
All the way to the courtyard in front of the inpatient building, the warm sunshine shines on the benches and vines. Many patients are resting, and some are holding bottles of medicine for intravenous drips.
"Let's talk about it here." Xue Chuchu was lying in the warm sunshine, but she felt cold all over.
Boss Li looked at the girl's smooth skin and stunning face, and he seemed to recall his youth.
In a flash, he tore up the memories of his youth with his own hands. As he got older, he only wanted to possess beautiful things.
"Chu Chu, your mother's illness requires money, and it will be difficult if you don't have enough money."
He no longer concealed it, his eyes were unscrupulous: "I know your family's conditions well."
Xue Chuchu had no expression on her face: "Uncle Li, what do you want to say?"
"Uncle can pay for the surgery, including the subsequent recuperation expenses, as well as your university tuition and living expenses."
Boss Li showed his BMW keys, no longer pretending, and bared his beastly fangs:
"As for you, just stay with me for two years."
Xue Chuchu's expression finally changed, and she smiled coldly: "Boss Li, if my mother knew that you said such things to me, she would definitely slap you."
Boss Li said calmly: "Let's talk about it when she can get out of bed."
Xue Chuchu's face darkened: "Don't come here again, take your things with you."
After saying that, she turned and left.
Boss Li was still smiling, not angry at all. He took out a cigarette and was about to light it, but a tall female doctor saw him and frowned, "No smoking here."
Boss Li quickly put away his cigarette and smiled: "Director Feng, I'm glad to see you!"
Doctor Feng stopped and asked, "Who are you?"
Boss Li said politely: "We have met before. My son is in Class 1, Grade 3 of No. 4 Middle School, in the same class as your daughter Bai Yuxia."
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Yuzhou No. 4 Middle School, Class 1, Grade 3.
The school bell rang and we had a half-day holiday in the afternoon.
The students in Class 1 did not rush out like the students in other classes. Most of them stayed in the class to do exercises.
As the college entrance examination approaches, the tense atmosphere depresses the senior high school students.
A girl came out of the classroom door. She was dressed neatly, about 1.65 meters tall, with a slender figure. Her long hair hung down and was tied with a green ribbon. Her braids swayed in the wind as she walked.
Her skin was smoother than snow, she had a lollipop in her mouth, one of her cheeks was slightly puffed up, her eyebrows were moving, and she looked so cute and adorable.
"Let's go, Xue Yuantong!" Huang Yuzhu hurried past the stairs with a book in his pocket and greeted her.
After the second year of high school was divided into classes, Xue Yuantong went to Class 1, while Huang Yuzhu and others remained in Class 8.
When Xue Yuantong saw her old classmates, she waved her hand and said "bye."
In the east corridor, Wang Longlong was holding the balcony, while several high school sophomores holding basketballs were rushing to the cafeteria downstairs.
He was inspired and recited a poem: "I still think of Xiaoqi, his football skills are unparalleled in the world."
Cui Yu, who was wearing jeans and a jacket, shouted, "It's gone, Xiao Qi is gone!"
When Wu Xiaoqi was a sophomore in high school, he had a conflict with Zhuang Jianhui and others on the basketball court. Wu Xiaoqi took the initiative and slapped Zhuang Jianhui in the face. The conflict escalated, Wu Xiaoqi's family had trouble, and he finally dropped out of school.
Zhang Chi approached from behind and said, "Brother Long, I know you have money. Can you lend me 50?"
Wang Longlong restrained his frivolity. He said with a straight face: "Don't play your 1 yuan treasure hunt game. You save two dollars and eat a braised chicken. Isn't he happy?"
Zhang Chi gave an example: "Shen from Class 9 won an iPhone 6S, can you lend it to me for 50 yuan?"
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At the intersection, a black electric vehicle drove quickly, and Xue Chuchu pressed the brake:
"Tongtong, get in the car!"
Xue Yuantong on the side of the road smiled and said, "Chu Chu, I'll ride the bike."
She learned to ride an electric scooter in her first year of high school and rode alone to and from school.
"Yeah, okay."
"Chu Chu, I'm going to buy some snacks first," she said.
Xue Chuchu thought of her mother who was in hospital: "I'm sorry, Tongtong, I can't buy it."
"I'll treat you!" Xue Yuantong's scholarship fund has not been spent yet.
Every time she has a holiday, she would buy snacks. That was the happiest time of the week.
Xue Yuantong bought dried fish, biscuits, potato chips, spicy strips, and sour plums, spending a total of 12 yuan.
Her family was very poor and her mother worked hard, so she could only afford these kinds of snacks.
She was very envious when she saw her classmates eating Three Squirrels snacks, but unfortunately those snacks were too expensive, costing more than ten yuan per bag.
Xue Yuantong rode her bike home, and the breeze blowing in her face made her feel very comfortable.
"Chu Chu, your mother has gone back to her hometown. Hasn't she come back yet?"
"She has something to do back home."
"Well, I also asked her to teach me how to pickle salt duck eggs."
"She'll teach you when she comes back."
"Okay!" Xue Yuantong happily twisted the handle and the electric bike accelerated.
But she didn't notice Chuchu's wooden expression in the back seat.
The rape flowers are in bloom under the river dam, and the rape flowers are overlapping in the staggered fields. When a breeze blows, golden waves surge in the rape fields, and there seems to be fragrance floating in the air.
Xue Yuantong raised her hand as if to greet the rape flowers. The rape flowers bent in the wind as if responding to her.
When they arrived at the bungalow, Xue Chuchu took down the dishes and they cooked lunch.
"Tongtong, let me put something down first." Xue Chuchu said.
Her family lives next door. The house next door was empty before. After her mother discussed with Aunt Gu, they moved in from the city and paid Tongtong's family 200 yuan in rent every month.
Xue Chuchu returned home. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling.
Mom’s illness is too serious...if in the future...she dare not imagine the consequences.
Three minutes later, she calmed down, rubbed her face, and cheered herself up.
Lunch was simple, rice and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
While eating, Xue Chuchu thought of her mother lying on the hospital bed. As far as she could remember, her mother had rarely enjoyed herself and had always been working. Because she had no skills, she could only do the hardest and most tiring jobs, such as working as a restaurant waiter, factory worker, or cleaner, working day and night shifts.
Finally, he fainted and was admitted to the hospital because he was too tired.
Xue Chuchu has seen photos of her mother when she was young. Her mother used to be very beautiful, but because of overwork, she now looks older than her peers.
Some people around her have advised her mother to remarry, and Xue Chuchu has always known this, but her mother couldn't let her go.
She was the one who dragged her mother down.
Sadness and grief instantly overwhelmed Xue Chuchu's heart.
Xue Yuantong was eating spicy strips and sucking her fingers when she suddenly noticed that Chuchu was crying silently, with tears sliding down her smooth cheeks.
Xue Yuantong panicked instantly. She hadn't seen Chuchu cry for many years.
"Chu Chu, Chu Chu, what's wrong with you? Who bullied you?" Xue Yuantong was in a panic. She hurriedly used her hands to wipe Chu Chu's tears.
As a result, the chili oil on his hands got on Chuchu's eyes.
Xue Chuchu couldn't hold back. She was so spicy that she was almost in ecstasy. She felt even more miserable. Her thin shoulders trembled and she cried.
Xue Yuantong was still wiping her tears, and she coaxed:
"Stop crying, okay? I'll give you all the snacks, okay~"
She coaxed Chuchu like a child.
Xue Chuchu cried for a while, her long eyelashes were covered with tears that refused to fall. She was no longer as cold as before, but became pitiful.
She went to wash her face. Her hair on her forehead was wet and disheveled, and her eyes were red, but she looked delicate.
Xue Yuantong was extremely worried, thinking something must have happened.
"Chu Chu, are you okay?" There was deep concern in Xue Yuantong's crisp voice.
Xue Chuchu calmed down a lot: "I'm fine."
Xue Yuantong had no choice but to keep it a secret from him.
Suddenly, Xue Chuchu asked: "Tongtong, if we are destined to leave this world in the end, is there any meaning in living?"
After listening to this, Xue Yuantong felt that this question was so profound. Life and death, what a distant topic.
She didn't know why Chuchu asked that.
But Xue Yuantong never doubted the meaning of life.
Xue Yuantong gathered the snacks on the table into a pile. This was her greatest joy.
"Chu Chu, do you like snacks?"
Xue Chuchu nodded. When her mother was not in the hospital, she often bought snacks with Tongtong. That was the time when she was most relaxed.
"Life is like eating snacks. Sooner or later, these snacks will be finished. But will I stop eating them just because I will finish them?"
“Maybe I feel a little sad when I’m almost done, but that makes the little snack leftover even more delicious.”
"Isn't this the meaning of life?" Xue Yuantong said mischievously.
She divided the snacks into two halves, one half for Chuchu and the other half for herself:
"Do you want to eat?"
"Um!"
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