Chapter 23 – Finally Made It in Time
Lu Wenkai was an honest, ordinary worker. No matter what, he couldn’t believe that cooking a new dish could sell for the sky-high price of 1.5 million.
It wasn’t until Lu Yuan dragged him to an ATM, where he personally saw the balance on the bank card and counted the number of zeros, that he finally believed it was real.
He only believed the money was real. As for whether Jia Shengnan had truly given it, Lu Wenkai thought he should verify it later when they got back.
But now wasn’t the time to think about that. Happiness had come too suddenly, leaving Lu Wenkai dizzy. It took several reminders from Lu Yuan before he came back to his senses and quickly took his children to the attending physician to complete the payment procedures.
At the same time, Xu Yongmei was still waiting in the ward. She wanted to persuade her husband again to go back soon. Their son was about to take the college entrance exam—he couldn’t afford to be delayed because of her.
She had actually come to terms with it, ready to calmly accept the fate of death. Her only regret was that she wouldn’t get to see her children enter university, get married, and have children. That was one of the greatest regrets for any parent.
Thinking of this, Xu Yongmei broke down in tears.
The woman in the neighboring bed couldn’t hold her tongue again. After all, 1.5 million was far too much—how could she not show off properly?
“Sister Xu, it’s not that I talk too much. You’re a good person—you just married the wrong man. If he can’t even come up with your medical fees, what kind of man is he?”
Xu Yongmei ignored her, but the woman’s own husband couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Say less. No one’s treating you like you’re mute.”
“Oh? I’m talking about someone else—what’s your problem?”
The woman raised her eyebrows, ready to start an argument, but her husband fell silent.
At that moment, two young nurses pushed a hospital bed into the room.
“Bed 2, time for treatment.”
As they called out, they began moving Xu Yongmei onto the stretcher.
Xu Yongmei was stunned. She didn’t remember having any treatment scheduled today, so she asked, “Nurse, what treatment am I going for?”
“Xikanuo treatment,” one of the nurses replied casually. “Someone just paid for you.”
The words were spoken casually, but the entire ward instantly fell silent. The other patients exchanged glances, thinking that Lu Wenkai, who looked timid and poor, had silently paid 1.5 million. Truly, appearances were deceiving.
Only Xu Yongmei knew her husband didn’t have that kind of money. She hesitated before asking, “Nurse, did you make a mistake?”
Xikanuo was life-saving medicine. Of course she wanted to receive it—but she had a conscience. She couldn’t take someone else’s life-saving treatment for herself.
“That’s right, you must have made a mistake,” the woman next door chimed in again. “How could her man have that kind of money?”
“Hm? Did we get it wrong?”
The nurse was confused and checked the payment slip, pointing at the payer’s name.
“Lu Yuan paid. What is Lu Yuan to you?”
“He’s my son, but…”
“Then it’s correct!”
The nurse didn’t care about any “but.” As long as it was a family member who paid, that was enough. The two nurses quickly lifted Xu Yongmei onto the stretcher and pushed her out of the ward.
Xu Yongmei was still in a daze, only calming down when she saw her husband and daughter outside the treatment room.
“Where’s Da Bao?” she asked.
“I’m here.” Lu Yuan walked out from inside—he had just signed the forms.
Seeing his mother, Lu Yuan opened his mouth to call out “Mom.” But no matter how hard he tried, not a single sound came out—only tears streamed down his face.
“Da Bao, what’s wrong?”
“Brother?”
This should have been a happy moment. Xiaobing hugged their mother, laughing and chattering. The whole family found Lu Yuan’s reaction strange.
No one knew that Lu Yuan had already been separated from his mother by life and death for twenty years.
“Xu Yongmei!”
The doctor in the treatment room called her name. The family had no time to worry about Lu Yuan and hurriedly pushed Xu Yongmei inside.
Lu Yuan leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the ground, covering his face with both hands as tears flowed through his fingers.
In this life… he had finally made it in time!
“Brother, don’t be like this.” Xiaobing wiped his face with tissues while complaining, “You’re scaring me.”
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and steadied himself. “I’m fine. I’m just a bit emotional.”
The family waited outside the treatment room for about thirty minutes before Xu Yongmei was wheeled out. The Xikanuo treatment wasn’t complicated—somewhat like an IV drip, just a bit faster.
Because of the partition wall, they couldn’t see the process, nor could they get a glimpse of what the legendary Xikanuo actually looked like, which was a bit of a pity.
Xiaobing wasn’t satisfied and went to ask the nurse for the bottle. Since the medicine had been used, the bottle should be left behind, right?
“The Xikanuo vial is a controlled item and must be recycled,” the nurse patiently explained. “The cost of the medicine doesn’t include the bottle.”
“Something like that exists?!”
The whole family learned something new.
They pushed Xu Yongmei back to the ward. This time, the nurses didn’t need to help—Lu Yuan took charge, his sister assisting, and their father bringing up the rear.
Along the way, Lu Yuan briefly explained to his mother where the money came from. Xu Yongmei relaxed after hearing it wasn’t from anything illegal. Though she still couldn’t understand how cooking could be worth that much—after all, she had always been the one cooking at home.
The couple surely had many questions, but those could wait. Now wasn’t the time.
After returning to the ward, the elderly couple across from them asked with concern:
“Did you get the treatment?”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
Xu Yongmei nodded in thanks. It wasn’t appropriate to say much, considering they hadn’t received treatment yet.
But toward the woman in the neighboring bed, Xu Yongmei showed no such courtesy.
She deliberately spoke loudly to herself:
“We’re just two incapable people. Who would’ve thought we’d give birth to such a capable son? Didn’t steal, didn’t rob—earned over a million in just three days.”
Xu Yongmei’s body hadn’t recovered, but she was too happy. Her tone was full of pride. For parents, nothing was more worth boasting about than successful children.
Lu Wenkai chimed in, “Unlike some people—been hospitalized so many days, and their children haven’t even come to visit.”
The neighboring woman’s face turned extremely ugly. Normally sharp-tongued, she was now completely silenced.
She seemed like she wanted to say something, but Lu Yuan gave her a cold glare, and she immediately shut up.
What else could she say? Their children were right there, and the son looked strong—push it too far and she might get hit.
The couple finally vented their frustration!
The family was reunited in the ward, lively and full of conversation. But it was still a hospital room, so they couldn’t disturb others for too long.
Xu Yongmei needed to stay under observation for two to three days before she could be discharged. Lu Yuan and Xiaobing would have to head back first—they still had classes tomorrow.
Before that, Lu Yuan planned to take a true essence test at the hospital. He wanted to confirm that true essence matched the system’s values. He had delayed this earlier. Moreover, smaller hospitals in Ningcheng didn’t offer such tests—only a large hospital like Jiangzhou First Hospital did.
Xiaobing stayed in the ward to spend more time with their parents, acting spoiled in front of them. Lu Yuan smiled and went alone to the testing department.
He first went to pay the fee. A single true essence test cost 1,200 yuan—definitely not cheap. Surprisingly, there was also a monthly pass: 3,300 yuan, allowing up to five tests in a month.
It seemed this was designed for exam candidates—especially those attending expensive cultivation training classes—who needed frequent testing to monitor their progress. That was Lu Yuan’s analysis.
“Do you want the pass or not?” the cashier asked impatiently.
“No.”
What a joke. With his system monitoring him 24/7, why would he need to come to the hospital every day? His money didn’t grow on trees.
Thinking of the system, Lu Yuan glanced at his interface again.
Merit Points: 1499
True Essence: 111/120 (Spiritual+)
Spiritual Pressure: 12 seals
Divine Sense: 24 units
It had changed again.
It wasn’t strange that his true essence had increased slightly—that was just natural recovery over the morning.
But his divine sense had increased by four points.
Where did that come from? He had no idea.
In fact, he didn’t even fully understand what divine sense did, let alone how it increased.
Forget it—no point thinking about it now. First, confirm the true essence.
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