After sending Liang Fu back to the car, Fu Yucheng returned to the dormitory.
The atmosphere in the dormitory was extremely silent. Li Wenyao rarely said anything without swearing while playing games. Jiang Chen buried his head in the book and didn't know whether he had read it or not.
That night Liang Fu appeared in their dormitory, and the two left hand in hand, confirming the rumors that had been circulating in the class for a long time. Fu Yucheng was keenly aware that there seemed to be a wall completely separating him from Jiang Li.
He believed that they were not doing it deliberately, it was just an involuntary state of mind.
Fu Yucheng didn't pay much attention to it. The relationship between the three of them was not that good to begin with. They went out of their way to help answer the question and went out to have a skewer together. It was impossible to have a heart-to-heart relationship.
As for what other boys in the department thought, he didn't even care. To them, he, Fu Yucheng, had taken a shortcut and jumped into the "upper class". His future prospects were limitless, and he was no longer in the same world as the ivory tower students like them who had to search up and down. No matter how hard you try to explain, there will always be people talking about it.
Having enough food to satisfy your thirst requires both a beautiful girl and a good reputation. There is no such thing as having both.
·
Fu Yucheng spent the entire month of July in a row. After interning at a law firm, he discovered that the content he learned in textbooks was far from enough to meet the needs of actual work. In addition to completing daily tasks, he had to recharge and study. If he relaxed for a moment, he would not be able to keep up with the progress.
A regular meeting will be held on Monday to discuss an economic crime case. This case was the one that Zhou Tan asked Liang Fu to deal with. The law firm evaluated it for a long time and finally decided to take it. The senior lawyer Zhao formed a team to take charge of it. As the two best-performing interns, Fu Yucheng and Ding Shiwei were recruited into the team to do clerical work.
After the regular meeting, another in-group meeting was held, and Fu Yucheng and Ding Shiwei were each assigned tasks in the early stage.
Just as he was leaving the conference room, Fu Yucheng received a call from Aunt Shi. I saved this number at that time because I was worried that if Zhao Hui encountered something at home alone, he would still be able to keep in touch with her.
This phone call brought bad news. Aunt Shi spoke in a heavy tone and said that she had accompanied Zhao Hui to the hospital for a checkup today. The results had come out and she had better go home quickly at night.
The task is heavy, and I was originally scheduled to work overtime until very late today.
Fu Yucheng agreed, hung up the phone, and sat in his seat without moving for a long time. His premonitions about bad things have always been accurate, and he already has a vague idea of what he will face when he returns home tonight.
"Fu Yucheng?"
Fu Yucheng turned around, before he could hide his tiredness. Seeing his ugly expression, Ding Shiwei frowned even more and asked worriedly: "What happened?"
"There's something going on at home."
"...Do you want to take a leave and go back to see me?"
"Just go back after get off work."
"The materials are due tomorrow, have you finished them?"
"try your best."
Ding Shiwei looked at him and made up her mind without much hesitation. Her tone was a bit firm and she said, "Then give me some of what you have to do. You can go back early today."
"Need not..."
"Don't be polite to me. We are all old classmates. You helped me last time at the bar and with Jiang Chen."
Fu Yucheng pondered for a long time and agreed. I'm afraid there will be countless headaches after that. Even if he is used to solving everything independently, there will be times when he is unable to do what he wants.
In the evening, Fu Yucheng met Aunt Shi first in the community.
She and her grandson were playing with a ball in the sandpit. She left the child to play by himself, got up and walked towards Fu Yucheng.
Fu Yucheng read some pity in her eyes, and knew that his premonition had come true, "... Just tell me directly, what's going on?"
"The doctor said, what could it be...second primary lung cancer?" Aunt Shi sighed, "...You can go back and ask for details. The examination report is also detailed. She had a cold and cough during the Chinese New Year, so I persuaded her to go. She always had a fluke mentality and refused to go. In the past two months, she had coughed frequently and she never got better, so I took her to the hospital for a checkup... Your mother cried for a long time in the hospital today, and I also advised her It lasted for a long time. She didn't want to take treatment anymore, and felt that further treatment would be futile, as there was no guarantee that she would relapse in the future, and she would cause you trouble for nothing. She didn't want to eat at night, so I cooked two dishes for her, but I didn't know if she would move. Move your chopsticks..."
Fu Yucheng thanked him and went upstairs.
Zhao Hui was sitting in the gloomy twilight after the sunset. When she heard the door open, she glanced at the door, but no one moved.
Fu Yucheng raised his hand to turn on the light and glanced at the table. Various reports were spread out on the table. There were two plates of food and a bowl of rice, not a single bite was touched. He put the bag away and went to see the test results first.
PET-CT showed a mass of about five centimeters in the anterior basal stage of the right lower lung, pleural effusion on the right side, and thickening of the right oblique pleura. The patient was initially diagnosed as a second primary lung cancer.
Fu Yucheng looked carefully at each item. He is familiar with many indicators and professional terms. Four years ago, when he was a freshman, he frequently dealt with them.
After reading, Fu Yucheng put away the report, sat on a stool at the dining table and asked Zhao Hui: "What did the hospital say? Surgery or conservative treatment?"
This child is only twenty-three years old, but he is calm and self-possessed in everything. It seems that if the sky falls for him, it is just a multiple-choice question of whether to fight or run away. He can rationally analyze the pros and cons, and there is nothing to panic.
Zhao Hui had a throat obstruction, "...the hospital recommended surgical removal and postoperative chemotherapy."
"Then just do as the hospital says. When will you be admitted to hospital? Have you reserved a bed?"
Zhao Hui looked away, feeling a layer of despair in her heart. Fu Yucheng moved forward vigorously, but she was always the one holding him back.
The moment she got the diagnosis report from the hospital, she really felt that her fate was unfair. She thought that the bad luck that had been imposed on the Fu family would eventually come to an end. No, time and time again, good intentions and hopes were always shattered. Maybe there was some divine will in the dark, and they had to be driven out and killed.
"Acheng, I don't want to be cured..."
Fu Yucheng looked at her steadily, his eyes were calm, without even the slightest hint of accusation. She was stared at by him, suddenly ashamed, turned away and covered her mouth.
"Don't say such depressing words. There are more solutions than difficulties - has the bed been reserved?"
"In line..." Zhao Hui choked, "...do you know how many people are queuing up for surgery in tertiary hospitals, and they have to wait for notification when they can be admitted."
"Then wait for notification, sooner rather than later." Fu Yucheng glanced at the pile of materials, "...I'll figure out the rest."
"What can you do? You just got an internship and got a few cents in salary..."
"Don't worry about it."
Zhao Hui still remembers Fu Yucheng's freshman year more than four years ago. At that time, she found out late and delayed it for a long time. The situation was even worse than now.
Fu Yucheng advocated surgical treatment, surgery plus chemotherapy. The cost was astronomical for them at that time. At that time, Fu Yucheng also told her to leave it alone.
There was no news from him for almost two weeks. One morning at three or four o'clock in the morning, she heard something moving outside and walked out of the bedroom to find Fu Yucheng back. He looked expressionless as he did now. He handed over a card and said there were two hundred thousand in it. When he looked at her, there was an extremely cold emotion in his eyes similar to his father's, but they were as deep as an abyss and could not be pried into. She felt uneasy and asked him how he got here, but he remained silent and told her not to ask further questions, saying that he had not stolen or robbed.
To this day, this matter is still lingering in Zhao Hui's mind.
Now it is inevitable to bring up old things again, "Acheng, tell me honestly...that money four years ago..."
"Didn't you promise not to ask?" Fu Yucheng glanced at her, his smile was very light, and there was no content in it, "I cherish my future and will not break the law."
He turned around and touched the bowl on the table, which was still warm. He took the chopsticks, aligned the tips of the chopsticks, took a handful of vegetables and put it into his mouth, "You don't want to eat it? Aunt Shi's cooking is delicious."
"Acheng..."
"Can you just listen to my arrangements? You also know that I won't persuade you with all my heart. I'm not that kind of character. If you don't want to be cured, don't say it. You are the only relative I have left. You left me. It really makes me sad. Being an orphan?"
Zhao Hui's tears immediately welled up.
Fu Yucheng stayed at home and checked it first as usual to make sure that any repairs needed to be repaired were done properly. He also went to the supermarket to replenish some daily consumables.
That night he almost didn't sleep a wink all night, hiding in the bedroom and secretly smoking. Thinking about the mountains of work tomorrow, thinking about how to make money at dawn, and thinking about his "stars in the sky" thousands of miles away.
The next day when Fu Yucheng returned to work at the law firm, Ding Shiwei showed her the part she had taken on for him. She had two big dark circles under her eyes, and it was obvious how late she stayed up.
"Thank you." Fu Yucheng was not polite to her, "If you need me in the future, just let me know."
Ding Shiwei pursed her lips and smiled shyly, shook her head, and returned to her seat.
Fu Yucheng barely left his seat the whole day except to go to the bathroom. At around nine o'clock in the evening, he finished half of what he was responsible for and felt a pain in his stomach, so he stopped working.
The law firm has a refrigerator, and the administrator often puts some food in it for everyone to take if needed. Fu Yucheng dug out a cold sandwich, took it to the microwave and gave it a bite before taking it out the door.
He walked to the sky corridor on the fifteenth floor, sat down on the steps at the door, held a sandwich in his mouth, took out his cell phone, and flipped through the address book one by one.
There are only a few people that can be found. Shao Lei didn't need to say much, as long as he spoke, he would definitely help. However, precisely because he cherished his friendship with Shao Lei, Fu Yucheng did not want to talk to him about this.
When the phone buzzed, Fu Yucheng was deep in thought and was so frightened that he almost took his hands off.
It was an unfamiliar number. When I picked up the call, I found it was Zhou Tan. Zhou Tan heard that Fu Yucheng was also in the team responsible for the case, and wanted to treat him to a meal.
After setting a time with Zhou Tan, Fu Yucheng was ready to go back to work. The person who walked out of the darkness turned out to be the mysterious woman in Building B opposite.
Fu Yucheng hadn't seen her for almost two weeks and thought her problem had been solved.
The woman held her phone and didn't know who she was messaging. She was crying while typing. The whole person is thinner and looks a little miserable.
I am just like a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river, and I don't know where I got the courage to be impatient and righteous. When he realized that he finally decided to mind his own business, Fu Yucheng laughed to himself.
He walked over, took out a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it over.
The woman raised her head and cast a confused look through her tears.
"If you need help from the law firm opposite, you can call the number above."
The woman was stunned for a moment, and finally accepted the business card with some hesitation.
The meal with Zhou Tan was scheduled for three days later, on a commercial street not far from the law firm.
Zhou Tanxian was also busy working on the case, and he looked very haggard. In fact, they were not close friends, and they had only met twice, but there was always a sense of familiarity and mutual sympathy.
On the phone, Fu Yucheng said that he happened to need her help with something, and she got straight to the point when they met.
Fu Yucheng knew that Zhou Tan definitely didn't like those false etiquette, so he didn't hesitate and directly explained his current embarrassment. Zhou Tan had to spend a lot of money recently, so he asked her to borrow it, which was a bit embarrassing.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Tan simply asked: "How much do you want?"
"We won't know the details until we are hospitalized. Four years ago, surgery, medication, and chemotherapy cost almost 200,000 yuan."
Zhou Tan was stunned for a moment, "...Have you had an operation before?"
Fu Yucheng's face showed no expression, "Yes. Last time, the middle lobe of the right lung was cut, and this time the lower lobe may not be saved."
"Does Liang Fu know that aunt is going to have an operation?"
"Sister Tan, please keep it a secret for me. I don't want her to know for the time being."
Zhou Tan fully understands Fu Yucheng's mentality. People like them, even if they are so poor that they have to keep up their face and not make others laugh, losing their self-esteem is more uncomfortable than losing their lives.
If Liang Fu knew about it, with the kind and enthusiastic character of her little princess, she would have to do everything in her power, and she would have to trouble a whole circle of people. Let Fu Yucheng bear this, it would be better to force him to die.
"Okay, I'll reserve the money for you. When you need it, just let me know and I'll call you. You don't have to worry about paying it back. I've still not lacked these ten or two hundred thousand over the years."
Fu Yucheng said hoarsely: "Sister Tan, thank you."
Liang Fu's originally scheduled tour in Nanchang was temporarily canceled due to some conflicts with the theater that day and lack of coordination. Liang Fu suddenly had a few extra days to rest, so she booked a flight ticket and decided to go back to Chongcheng.
She didn't have any work to do to clear the ditch this time, and she didn't even tell her family too much about it, only that she might come back. After landing, he directly called a taxi and drove to the law firm to find Fu Yucheng.
There are constant traffic jams in the area around the law firm. Fu Yucheng happened to have missed dinner, so he made an appointment with her to meet in front of a nearby restaurant.
The restaurant is next to a pedestrian bridge, and the handrails of the bridge are wrapped with flowering vines, which let the warm breeze smell a strong fragrance at night.
Fu Yucheng was smoking and waiting in the flower bed on the roadside.
I don't know how long it took, but a taxi drove over from a distance. He had an intuition that Liang Fu was sitting there, so he stared at it intently.
Soon, the car drove closer and pulled over.
In the flashing car lights, the car door opened, and Liang Fu bent down and walked out. She was wearing a floral dress, with a handful of black hair scattered in the wind. The street lights reflected her clear and bright facial features, and the fragrance of bergamot floated far away in the dusty wind.
He sat in the shadow of the bushes, and seeing her was like seeing light, and he felt a sting of shame in his heart.