"What's wrong?" asked Weiwei. She quickly approached the bench. "Are you not feeling well?"
The old man looked pale and confused. He was balding and wore glasses; to Weiwei, he seemed to be in his eighties.
"Yes, could you please help me get to the hospital?"
Weiwei quickly switched to action mode. Not a minute was to be lost.
"Of course, uncle," she tried to be as reassuring as possible. "Don't worry, I'll help you and everything is going to be okay."
Weiwei quickly glanced around in case Director Zhang was still in sight. He wasn't.
He would've been helpful now. Oh well.
"Can you stand up?" Weiwei asked.
"I think so," the old man got up slowly, holding to Weiwei's hand.
His hands aren't rough.
Weiwei instinctively glanced at the man's clothes. He was dressed in a simple shirt and jacket, but his shoes looked quite expensive.
Forget it, why does it matter!
Weiwei looked around again to see how far from the road they were. She thought she could see the end of the path from where they stood.
"We need to walk just a little bit, uncle," she told the man. "Then we will be able to catch a taxi to go to the hospital. Can you try to walk with me?"
The old man nodded. "I think so." They slowly started down the pathway. "Thank you, young lady, for your help."
"Not a problem," Weiwei smiled. "Let's just get you to the doctors as quickly as possible."
They reached the side of the road and Weiwei looked for a taxi.
"Miss," mumbled the old man. "I'm sorry, I don't have any money."
"What about your phone?"
"I forgot it at home, I'm afraid."
The worst time to forget everything at home!
Weiwei suddenly had an idea. "Does that mean you live nearby?"
"No," the old man shook his head, as if intending to explain but was unable to continue.
"Don't worry about it, uncle," said Weiwei. "I'll pay for the taxi. It's no big deal."
She wanted to clear that up quickly, because a taxi was approaching.
"I'll pay you back, miss," the old man said.
"That's okay, that's okay," Weiwei opened the door for him. "That's something we can worry about later."
"How far is the nearest hospital?" Weiwei asked the driver.
"About 10 minutes away."
"That's good, could you please get us there as quickly as possible?"
The taxi took off, and Weiwei looked at the old man again. He seemed to be doing better; at least he wasn't as pale and in as much discomfort as before.
I'm not good at helping sick people. I wish I was a doctor.
"Could I please use your phone to make a call?" asked the old man.
"Of course."
Weiwei watched him dial the number with shaky fingers. The old man gave someone the hospital's name and returned the phone to Weiwei.
"I'm sorry for interfering with your plans," the old man said. "You might want to let your boyfriend or husband know what detained you."
Weiwei smiled. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Well, then your parents."
Weiwei shook her head gently. "That's not necessary."
"Won't they worry? I don't want them to worry. In fact, I'd like to thank them later that they raised such a caring daughter."
Weiwei didn't want to mention her parents to the old man, but he kept persisting. "You must let me thank them."
Weiwei sighed.
I guess I'll have to tell him.
"You can't. My parents passed away, uncle," she said reluctantly.
The old man grabbed her hand. "Forgive me, young lady. I'm such a fool, harping on that topic. I'm really, really sorry."
Weiwei tried to smile. "That's okay, uncle."
He looked at her with compassion, as though his pain was gone. "Please forgive an old insensitive ass," he persisted. "I just wanted to commend you."
They stopped outside the hospital, and the driver helped Weiwei get the old man out of the taxi.
A thin man in a suit, pushing a wheelchair, came up to them. It seemed to Weiwei that the old man looked at him disapprovingly but chose to remain silent.
"Thank you, young lady, for your help. My relative will take it from here," the old man said, lowering himself slowly into the wheelchair. "I didn't get to ask you: what is your name, miss?"
"It's Weiwei, uncle."
"Weiwei, I really would like to thank you in the future and pay for the ride," the old man continued talking, even though the thin man in a suit appeared anxious to get going.
"Please, don't worry about the money," Weiwei said. "It was my pleasure to help you. Who knows, maybe one day someone else will help me like this."
The old man looked at Weiwei as though he could read her mind. "Selfless kindness will be repaid, Weiwei," he said firmly and finally turned to the man in the suit. "Okay, okay, let's go."