The next morning, Song Qingcheng washed up and went downstairs. The nanny was already cleaning up the leftovers on the dining table.
"You're up?" Lu Xishan happened to walk out of the study on the first floor. He turned to the housekeeper in the dining room and instructed, "Make another set of breakfast."
Before he could finish his sentence, another female voice sounded. "Auntie Liang, come up and help me bun my hair."
Ge Wenjuan was standing on the second floor, wearing a professional suit. She glanced coldly at Song Qingcheng and then turned to walk back into her room.
As the head of the family, Lu Xishan's expression did not look very good, but Song Qingcheng smiled slightly. "I've arranged to go out with my classmates so I won't be eating breakfast."
Lu Xishan said, "You're going out? We'll get the driver to send you."
Song Qingcheng had already walked to the entrance to change her shoes. "There's no need. It's not that far."
After Song Qingcheng left, Lu Xishan pinched the space between his eyebrows and turned to go upstairs. In the master bedroom, Ge Wenjuan was drawing her eyebrows. He looked at his wife's well-maintained features in the mirror and said reproachfully, "Qingcheng is still a child. Can't you be more forgiving and caring?"
Bam! Ge Wenjuan slapped the eyebrow pencil onto the dressing table.
She looked up at her cowardly husband. "It's not like she came from my womb. Lu Xishan, don't forget that she's not your short-lived brother's child. Even her biological mother doesn't want this child. I'm not related to her at all. Do I have to treat her like a god at home?"
"Can't you talk nicely? You're being sarcastic!"
Ge Wenjuan smiled coldly. "I'm not you, treating wild-grown weed like treasure. Don't think I don't know how many gifts and meals you've bought to get this scourge of a child into Yuan Wei High School. Did she ask you for money again last night? Her half-dead grandmother has been relying on you for support."
The veins on Lu Xishan's forehead were bulging, showing signs of flaring up. Ge Wenjuan picked up the eyebrow pencil again and said slowly, "I've already spoken with and brushed off CEO Liu. I don't think he'll be too calculative with a little girl. The company needs a large sum of money now. If CEO Liu suddenly changes his mind, you know the consequences better than me."
Lu Xishan chose to remain silent when he thought of the company that was in danger.
...…
After leaving the Lu family, Song Qingcheng took the bus to the First People's Hospital in the city.
After getting off the bus, she went to buy some fruits before entering the hospital.
The elevator stopped on the sixth floor, Cardiology.
Before she reached the door of the ward, Song Qingcheng saw the old folk, who had been arranged to occupy hospital beds, temporarily placed along the corridor. The nurse's aide was sitting with her legs crossed, holding melon seeds in her hands as she chatted with the family members of the patient on the next bed.
"Grandma." Song Qingcheng's eyes turned red as she walked quickly to the bed. "Why are you lying here?"
The nurse's aide was a woman in her early fifties. She had a broad waist and was spitting out melon seeds as she said, "What else can it be? The hospital is not a charity organization. If you don't pay in time, how would they let you continue to occupy the bed? Young lady, while you're here today, I should inform you in advance. I'll work for a few more days and will no longer be coming over next month."
Song Qingcheng ignored her. She just squatted by the bed and looked at the old woman who looked rather sickly.
"The nurse came in the morning to inform us that your grandmother's medicine isn't cheap. If we don't pay up the fees tomorrow, they will stop her medication… for example that imported vaccine called Levosimendan or something."
The old woman, who was sleeping soundly with an oxygen mask over her nose, woke up. She was very happy to see her granddaughter, but her throat was so dry that she could not make a sound. She could only raise his hand to touch the child's cheek.
Song Qingcheng quickly grabbed the old woman's skinny right hand, which was hooked up to the drip, and asked softly, "Grandma, did I wake you up?"
Grandma blinked her eyes and then shook her head.
"Take a rest first." Song Qingcheng's heart ached. There was a central air conditioner serving the corridor. Before she got up, she placed the old woman's hand back under the blanket and turned to the nurse. "I'll go look for Dr. Fan to find out what's going on."
...…
Doctor Fan had seen Song Qingcheng a few times and knew that she was the family member of the old lady in Bed 4 in Room 6021.
"Your grandmother's card had gone into debit the day before." Dr. Fan moved the mouse and checked the relevant information on the computer. "There's nothing we can do about it. As you can see, there aren't enough beds in Cardiology to begin with. There are already beds lining the hallway."
Qingcheng gripped the strap of her backpack tightly. "Dr. Fan, my grandmother is getting on in age. It's very inconvenient for her to sleep along the corridor…"
Dr. Fan interrupted her. "How about this? You may transfer the old lady to another hospital. The hospitals in town, for example, will charge relatively cheap fees."
After coming out of the office, Song Qingcheng sat on a chair in the corridor. She bent down and buried her face in her arms. She was exhausted and confused.
She had no idea what had gone wrong. Lu Xishan clearly said that he had already transferred 50,000 yuan.
Song Qingcheng's eyes welled up at the thought of the old woman still lying in the corridor. She held her phone and did not know who to call. Other than Lu Xishan, no one else could fork out so much money.
After a while, the door of the doctor's office suddenly opened.
Song Qingcheng looked up.
Dr. Fan saw that the girl had yet to leave and immediately said, "I was just about to look for you when the Finance Department called me. They said that someone paid two months' fees for your grandma last night. They were negligent in their work. Coincidentally, I have a patient who just got discharged from the hospital so I'll arrange for your grandma to be admitted immediately."
When she returned to the ward, the nurse's aide was already smiling and did not mention resigning anymore.
Song Qingcheng didn't take issue with her. One couldn't blame a person for being money-driven.
The old woman was leaning against the head of the bed after the drip. When she saw her granddaughter coming back, she looked at the girl with loving tenderness.
Grandma used to be a village teacher, and her salary was enough to support herself and her granddaughter. However, seven or eight years ago, her asthma had worsened, and following that, she had problems with her heart. All sorts of health issues ensued after. Although the medical standards in South City were more advanced than those in small towns, the medical insurance that she enjoyed could not be used across regions. Her pension of just over 2,000 yuan per month… was not enough for one shot of Levosimendan.