Chapter 22 – I'll Pay the Fees
After getting the leave slip, Lu Yuan originally planned to leave school right away. But when he stuck his head out into the hallway to take a look, Xiaobing hadn’t come out yet. The two had agreed to meet by the flower bed.
He might as well go check the classroom and grab some review materials from his desk to read on the way.
Classes hadn’t started yet, and the classroom was somewhat noisy. The students were clearly split into two extremes.
Some buried their heads in practice problems, making the most of the last bit of time to review. Although the vast majority couldn’t get into Xiuda University, getting into a good regular university would still be decent, and it would make finding a job after graduation much easier.
Being a cultivator was great, but ordinary people still had to work hard to live.
But there were also quite a few students who had completely given up, not even opening their books, gathering in groups and chatting happily.
His deskmate Ma Jin was one of them, still leisurely reading novels like nothing in the world concerned him.
Lu Yuan sat down to grab his materials. Zhou Xiyun at the neighboring desk glanced at him and quietly asked:
“Lu Yuan, did you apply to Xiuda?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I just saw you go to the homeroom teacher’s office.”
“You applied too?”
“Mm.”
“Nice!”
Chen Shihe at the desk in front had been working on problems. Hearing this, he turned around and joined the conversation.
“I envy you two. Hope you both get in.”
“Chen Shihe, you’re not applying? Your true essence isn’t that low,” Zhou Xiyun asked.
“I’m not. My stats fluctuate too much. Applying to Xiuda is too risky. I’ll focus on getting into a regular university instead.”
Chen Shihe spoke calmly, but Lu Yuan could tell his words didn’t quite match what he felt. Lu Yuan didn’t press further.
After chatting for a bit, everyone went back to their own things. Lu Yuan grabbed a few books and prepared to leave quickly. Once the teacher arrived, it would be harder for him to slip out.
His deskmate Ma Jin suddenly put down his book and asked in confusion:
“Lu Yuan, what do you think I should do after graduation?”
Lu Yuan was a bit surprised. The great Ma actually cared about his future now? Was cultivation no longer appealing?
Ma Jin had spent all three years of high school reading novels. His academic performance was predictable. In several mock exams, his scores were… quite tragic. The homeroom teacher felt like beating him every time he saw him.
Lu Yuan wanted to say, with your situation, you’ll just have to stay at home doing nothing. But seeing Ma Jin’s confused expression, he couldn’t bring himself to mock him. Even Ma Jin felt anxious about the future.
“Ma Jin, actually, I think the livestreaming industry has been getting more and more popular lately. You could give it a try.”
“Livestreaming? But streamers are all about showing off pretty girls. What would I stream?”
“You could stream novels. You love reading them so much—you could recommend novels on stream. I believe you could not only make money, but also find a lot of friends who share your interests.”
Ma Jin thought about it, and his eyes gradually lit up.
“Thank you, Lu Yuan!”
Lu Yuan smiled, picked up his materials, and left his seat. As he passed Jia Xuanxuan, he greeted her, but she simply turned her head away. Heh.
Lu Yuan walked out of the classroom awkwardly. Xiaobing was already waiting by the flower bed. The two left the school together, hailed a taxi, and headed straight to the high-speed rail station. They bought two second-class tickets and sat together on the train.
The one-hour journey was smooth. The only minor incident was that a few young men in the carriage stared at Xiaobing for a while.
“Duanwu little sister.”
“So cute.”
Lu Yuan shot them a glare, and they quickly lowered their heads and pretended to scroll on their phones.
The scenery outside the window was decent—typical southern landscapes. But the farther they got from Ningcheng, the more it diverged from Lu Yuan’s memories.
By the time they arrived in Jiangzhou, it was a completely unfamiliar city. Lu Yuan was certain that in his previous life, there had been no such large city near his hometown. Over these days, he had searched for information online and discovered that only the people and things around him hadn’t changed much. The farther away something was, the greater the difference from the original world. Was this transmigration or rebirth?
Jiangzhou First Hospital wasn’t far from the high-speed rail station, so there was no need to take a taxi. The siblings walked there, buying some fruit along the way.
What they didn’t know was that during this time, their parents were enduring the greatest ordeal of their lives.
Lu Yuan’s mother, Xu Yongmei, lay on the hospital bed. Her hair was sparse, her face gaunt, a tube hanging from her nose. She looked extremely weak.
Lu Yuan’s father, Lu Wenkai, sat by the bedside, head lowered in silence.
“Old Lu, forget it.
This illness… it can’t be cured. Don’t waste the money.
If you sell the house, where will the kids live in the future?
Our eldest is about to go to college. We can’t delay the child’s future.”
Lu Wenkai shook his head. “I’ll figure out the money. Don’t think too much.”
Xu Yongmei was about to continue persuading him when a woman from the neighboring bed suddenly cut in.
“Sister Xu, don’t give up. Xikanuo works really well. Look at me—I’ve only had one day of treatment, and I can already almost get out of bed and walk.”
This woman also suffered from Dusk Syndrome. A day ago, she had paid for the treatment and started using Xikanuo. Her complexion had visibly improved.
Seeing that Xu Yongmei and her husband didn’t respond, the woman became even more enthusiastic, speaking animatedly:
“As for money, let your man think of something. One and a half million isn’t that expensive.
Look at my man—I scolded him, and he scraped it together in just a few days.”
Beside her sat a middle-aged man with glasses. He chuckled awkwardly without saying anything.
Lu Wenkai’s expression darkened. Xu Yongmei said, “Sister Wang, alright, I understand. Stop talking.”
The woman wanted to brag a bit more, but the others in the ward all turned their faces away, unwilling to pay attention to her. Someone even coughed loudly on purpose. She found it boring and finally shut up.
This intensive care ward housed six patients, all suffering from Dusk Syndrome. She was the only one who had received Xikanuo. That alone already made the others uncomfortable, not to mention her constant bragging—it was truly irritating.
Everyone knew Xikanuo worked well. Did she really need to keep saying it? One and a half million might be just the cost of a meal for the rich, but for many ordinary families, it was the line between life and death.
At that moment, a family member from the bed opposite Xu Yongmei kindly reminded them:
“Xiao Xu, I heard that Dr. Li has an experimental treatment that’s still in trials. It’s very cheap—you could give it a try.”
“We also heard about it. But at my age, I don’t want to go through more trouble. You should go ask about it.”
The speaker was an elderly couple. The old man lay in bed, his face deeply wrinkled, clearly over eighty.
Having lived to that age, they had come to terms with things. They only told Lu Wenkai and his wife because they felt sorry for them.
“Really?”
Lu Wenkai seemed to grasp at a lifeline.
“It’s true, but it’s not an approved treatment yet. You’ll have to privately ask Dr. Li. If you ask directly, he won’t tell you,” the old man reminded him.
The “Dr. Li” mentioned was none other than Li Tailai, a specialist in treating Dusk Syndrome at Jiangzhou First Hospital. If it was him, the information was quite reliable.
Lu Wenkai nodded to his wife and left the ward to find Dr. Li. Not only him—several other family members were also tempted. After all, Xikanuo was far too expensive, an unbearable burden for ordinary families.
Dr. Li Tailai was currently seeing patients. As a specialist, he was usually very busy. Lu Wenkai glanced into the consultation room but didn’t dare go in. He had been told to ask privately—this wasn’t the right moment.
He checked the time. It was already past ten in the morning. After thinking it through, he decided to wait until lunchtime. When Dr. Li went to eat, maybe following him would give him a chance.
Then he thought again—coming empty-handed didn’t seem appropriate when asking for a favor. Maybe he should buy a gift. But he was truly broke. He couldn’t afford anything expensive, and if he bought something cheap, what if Dr. Li was displeased?
Lu Wenkai fell into deep hesitation once more. For poor people, seeking medical treatment was just this difficult.
“Dad!”
A voice suddenly came from behind. Lu Wenkai thought he had misheard. When he turned around, he saw Lu Yuan and Xiaobing standing there with fruit in hand, smiling.
“Da Bao? Xiao Bao? Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in school today?”
Da Bao was Lu Yuan’s childhood nickname, and Xiao Bao was Lu Youbing’s. Only their parents called them that.
“We came to see Mom.” Lu Yuan put the fruit down and took out a bank card. “And to pay for Mom’s treatment.”
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