YV | Chapter 15

Zhang Xu arrived ten minutes early. Because of frequent accidents here, stone bollards had been set up, so cars could not come in, and it was much quieter.

At first Zhang Xu stood, later he sat on a stone bollard, he carried paper and pen with him, and when he was bored, he drew casually.

Zhang Xu drew a tree. The tree’s branches and leaves were lush, silent without a sound. By the time the dusk grew heavy and the birds had returned to their nests, streetlights had just come on along Jiangping Road, and it was another scene.

Zhang Xu stood up, moved his stiff legs, the night wind blew his shirt into disarray, but his gaze was calm as he stared into the narrow alley. After a long while, he lit a cigarette, and the faint point of fire was slowly swallowed by the dark night.

Sheng Xiaoyang did not come.

Dayan’s right leg had a comminuted fracture, and it had been bleeding all along. Later, he fainted from the pain. Sheng Xiaoyang told himself to stay calm, and from the accident scene to the hospital, he was so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

As for fighting and going to jail, he had experience, but the division of responsibility for a traffic accident and the negotiation of compensation were tedious and full of tricks, and Sheng Xiaoyang was completely led around by the nose. He did not understand, so he had no initiative.

The traffic police’s on-site investigation was smooth as flowing clouds and water, and Sheng Xiaoyang could not get a word in. In the end the crashed vehicle was towed back to the traffic police team, and the police uncle left one sentence, “The day after tomorrow you can come to the traffic police brigade and sign for the accident determination letter.” That was the work finished.

The driver of the accident vehicle left at his leisure, and the insurance company became a shield, not giving a damn about Sheng Xiaoyang’s confusion and anger at all.

Sheng Xiaoyang could not even find the door to the traffic police brigade, but that was secondary, the main thing was still the hospital. Dayan was about to have surgery, and the doctor issued a payment slip, urging Sheng Xiaoyang to pay.

How could Sheng Xiaoyang have money, could one yuan do surgery?

He was in the emergency room, like a piece of wood. The doctor called several times, “Do you still want the surgery or not?” There was no response. They walked up to Sheng Xiaoyang, their tone not very polite.

Sheng Xiaoyang apologized, pointed to his ears, then pointed to his mouth, and waved his hands.

The doctor suddenly understood, and showed a difficult expression, also apologizing to Sheng Xiaoyang, saying sorry, he did not know about his situation. He also asked, “Then what are you planning to do now?”

Sheng Xiaoyang wrote, simply stating: car accident, no home, no money.

The doctor said, “Have the driver who caused the accident pay first, the surgery definitely has to be done.”

However, the driver of the accident turned the tables, suspecting them of staging an accident for compensation, and after that said nothing, handing everything over to the insurance company. In short, they could not get the money in the early stage, and would have to go through the normal compensation process when the final bill came out.

Reasoning was not wrong, but some things could not be solved by reason alone.

The hospital was a place wandering on the edge of life and death, and even if doctors were used to life and death, they still occasionally had a heart of compassion.

“This kind of person is just bullying you because you don’t understand the rules. You absolutely have to get a strong, burly man to step in and hold the line, there’s no reason not to pay you!”

There was no burly man beside Sheng Xiaoyang, he was only a lonely shadow, and he did not know where fairness was.

Dayan woke and fainted, fainted and woke, crying out in pain, and his blood pressure kept dropping.

The hospital opened a green channel, and made the decision on the spot to do the surgery first. But they also made it clear to Sheng Xiaoyang in advance, if the follow-up fees could not be paid, the hospital could do nothing, and treatment would be suspended the same way.

The surgery took 3 hours. Sheng Xiaoyang waited at the door, unable to stand, and all the chairs were full, so he simply sat on the floor. The hospital floor was cold, and the walls were cold too. He stared at the ceiling, the fluorescent lights hurting his eyes.

Sheng Xiaoyang was only confused for ten minutes, and now all he could think about was how to get money.

Except for robbery and looting, the other ways to make money were too slow. After thinking it over and over, it seemed like he could only rob and loot.

Sheng Xiaoyang was not despondent, only very sad. If one day it fell on him, unless he died and that was the end of it, otherwise his ability to resist risk was too low, and it would only add pain for nothing.

Dayan was admitted to a five-bed ward, and it was too noisy, so she could not rest well. Sheng Xiaoyang could not afford a caregiver, and it was inconvenient for him to take care of her himself, leaving him in a difficult position.

The auntie in the next bed was kind, and told Sheng Xiaoyang that if he should hire a caregiver, he should hire one, it was not his money being spent anyway, and when everything was compensated later, he could even make a profit! People needed to recover well now.

Sheng Xiaoyang wrote, I do not have money to hire a caregiver.

The auntie gave Sheng Xiaoyang an idea, telling him to go to the nurse station and sign some kind of guarantee letter, and then they could let a caregiver come first to accompany the patient, and pay later. Hospitals now advocated quality service, they were very people-oriented, and by then you could give them a five-star review!

Sheng Xiaoyang was deeply grateful.

Dayan woke for a few minutes, then quickly fell asleep. Sheng Xiaoyang did not say much to her, the entire exchange was ineffective. Later, when the caregiver arrived, the nurse explained the details of the care. It was quite complicated. In the end there was nothing for Sheng Xiaoyang to do, so he left first.

Sheng Xiaoyang had never shown a smile, although his features were youthful, he hid many worries. When he pressed his lips together, frowned, and lowered his eyes in silence, a ferocity always seeped out.

There was a nurse who knew their situation, and after Sheng Xiaoyang left she caught up to him, tugged his sleeve, and said, “Don’t be impulsive.”

Sheng Xiaoyang did not understand, and asked with sign language, What’s wrong?

The nurse could not understand, “Ah?”

Sheng Xiaoyang tilted his head too, “Ah?”

“Oh my,” the nurse covered her mouth and laughed, “my younger brother is the same age as you.”

Sheng Xiaoyang froze.

“So I’m telling you, don’t do anything stupid, a bright future is right under your feet.”

Sheng Xiaoyang was baffled, what did that have to do with a bright future?

The nurse continued, “Go find the traffic police, have them organize mediation, at the very least the early medical fees have to be given first. If it really won’t work, go to the community office, sit at the door and cry! They have charitable aid, they have subsidy quotas, when they see you they have to smile. In short, as long as life can go on, absolutely do not think about robbing a bank.”

……

Sheng Xiaoyang had not thought about robbing a bank, he planned to go to the auto repair shop to demand his wages. Then he would look for Tao Ye and see if he had money, borrow a little for the time being.

Sheng Xiaoyang was anxious and uneasy, and his instinctive reaction to hardship and setbacks made him subconsciously avoid some important things. Only after walking out of the hospital did he realize that it was already light outside.

How long had passed?

Sheng Xiaoyang slowly remembered the two o’clock appointment.

Zhang Xu——

That name swept through his brain like a gale, and Sheng Xiaoyang suddenly widened his eyes.

After an entire night of drizzle, Jiangping Road showed a thriving new vitality. In the morning the sun was bright, cicadas sang and birds called, tourists bustled, and there was nothing but voices and laughter.

Zhang Xu got up early, as usual went for a morning run, and came back loaded with steamed buns and soy milk. Meirou wagged his tail and barked, asking for food. After eating, he still would not stop, and carried the leash to Zhang Xu, his eyes full of eagerness, Papa, walk me.

Zhang Xu smiled, granted every request, changed clothes, and went out again.

Meirou did not like to crowd into places with many people, so he dragged Papa through the alleys, like playing a maze, having a lot of fun. Zhang Xu let him be, and passed by a fruit shop to buy apples on the way.

Stopping and starting, he returned to the old place.

By this time floating clouds covered the sun, overcast rain came with them, and the wind picked up. The weather in the Jiangnan summer was always unpredictable.

Zhang Xu held an umbrella and quietly looked ahead. A person was sitting on the stone bollard, the craggy shoulder blades propping up the thin clothing, so thin it seemed to merge into the wind.

Sheng Xiaoyang lowered his head in desolation, motionless. His hollow shell, his soul missing without a trace, looked like a rigid statue.

It started raining again. The already miserable body was soaked once more, and the raindrops hung at the corners of his eyes, like tears growing more and more torrential, until they were blocked by the large umbrella.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s fingers twitched unconsciously, his eyelashes trembled slightly, both clear and confused. He looked up and met a pair of eyes as deep as the galaxy.

“You’re late,” Zhang Xu’s expression did not change, and he said flatly and gently, “very late.”

【📢Author’s Note】
Ah!