Chapter 143 : This money... I_ll cover it
Chapter 143: This money... I'll cover it
"Maybe... we should just forget about it."
Chen Fan looked at Su Ruochu and grinned.
"Let me take you home."
Su Ruochu looked surprised.
"You... are you sure?"
"If I go back, what will you do?"
Chen Fan shrugged, "I'll go home too. I can't just go stay in a hotel alone, can I?"
"But..."
Su Ruochu didn't finish her sentence, as she knew Chen Fan had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
"It's okay."
Chen Fan gently pulled Su Ruochu into his embrace.
"Just like you said, love isn't just about sex, there's more to it."
"I love you. So I won't force you to do anything you don't like."
Su Ruochu said softly, "I... don't dislike it."
Chen Fan smiled, "Then today's just not the right time, proving our destiny hasn't arrived yet."
He lightly kissed Su Ruochu's forehead.
"I hope our love is harmonious and natural, that everything happens seamlessly."
"For you, this should also be one of the most memorable experiences in your life, so I want to give you the most perfect memory, without any regrets when you look back on it later."
Su Ruochu was deeply moved and hugged Chen Fan softly, "I'm sorry."
"Don't blame yourself."
"If you want to blame something, blame this damn weather. Why is there such a big snowstorm?"
Chen Fan's words successfully made Su Ruochu laugh.
"So... shall I go back?"
"Go ahead." Chen Fan nodded. "Do you need me to send you?"
"No need. We're not going the same way anyway. I can just take a cab."
"And you should head home soon too." Su Ruochu hugged Chen Fan reluctantly.
"Call me when you get home to let me know you're safe, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am."
After cuddling for a while longer, Chen Fan finally flagged down a taxi and watched Su Ruochu leave.
Waving goodbye, he saw her off.
Chen Fan lowered his arm, turned to look at the Express Hotel in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh deeply, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
There had been two accidents in a row now.
His love life was just too... full of ups and downs.
He wrapped his down coat tighter and started walking along the street, planning to flag down a taxi to leave.
But after just a few steps, Chen Fan stopped again.
Because he saw someone he knew.
Across the street, a middle-aged man in thin clothing was standing there, holding a cardboard sign.
Whenever a private car came out of the hotel parking lot, this middle-aged man would run over and try to sell something to the driver.
But he was usually rejected and yelled at.
After being turned down by three or four people in a row, the middle-aged man's face showed no disappointment, just numbness.
He temporarily put down the cardboard sign and tucked his hands into his sleeves, stamping his feet hard on the spot.
Using this method to keep warm.
The snow was getting heavier, and the man was only wearing a dirty old coat.
Completely unable to keep out the cold, he was shivering as he stood alone on the street.
Probably seeing that there were fewer and fewer cars on the road, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth, picked up the cardboard sign, and left.
Chen Fan was standing across the street, taking all of this in.
This middle-aged man was the same person he and Su Ruochu had run into earlier today.
Chen Fan didn't expect to run into him again here.
Encountering him twice in one day, it seemed they really did have some connection.
He remembered this person had said earlier that he needed to raise money for a family member's surgery in the emergency room, which is why he was out trying to collect money.
At noon, Chen Fan hadn't paid much attention, but now seeing this scene,
he was starting to believe that what the middle-aged man had said might actually be true.
Looking around, there were no taxis passing by, and he had nothing else to do anyway.
Chen Fan went ahead and followed him.
He wanted to see if this middle-aged man was really telling the truth or not.
The man ahead was walking very quickly, with hurried steps, as if rushing to get somewhere.
Chen Fan had to jog to barely keep up from behind.
After passing through three intersections, just as Chen Fan was about to give up, out of breath, the middle-aged man in front suddenly stopped.
He stood hesitating by the roadside for a few seconds, but eventually turned and entered a nearby supermarket.
Chen Fan hid and waited for a while, and soon the middle-aged man came out with a plastic bag. Chen Fan could see clearly that it contained a bunch of bananas.
Seeing the man cross the street, Chen Fan's gaze followed him to the other side.
The District Hospital.
He really had come to the hospital.
Chen Fan thought, since he had come this far, he might as well follow and entered the hospital too.
The man didn't go to the outpatient building, but went into the inpatient ward instead.
Chen Fan followed behind him, going up to the fifth floor, and watched as the middle-aged man entered a patient's room.
Chen Fan pretended to be a patient's relative, quickly passing by that room door in the hallway.
As he went by, he glanced inside, then quickly left.
At the end of the hallway was a doctor's office, and Chen Fan went over and knocked on the door.
"You are..."
A doctor inside looked at Chen Fan with puzzlement.
"Doctor, I'm a friend of the patient in room 32. I want to understand the patient's condition."
"Room 32?"
The doctor paused. "But they said they don't have any family or friends."
Chen Fan smiled, "I hurried here from out of town."
The doctor didn't think much of it and flipped through some papers on his desk, finding a medical report.
"The condition of the patient in room 32 is very serious. Our hospital's recommendation is to immediately transfer them to a provincial hospital for treatment."
"But they refuse to be transferred."
Chen Fan immediately guessed it was because the middle-aged man couldn't afford it, which is why he didn't want to transfer hospitals.
"Doctor, may I ask what illness the patient in room 32 has?"
"Stomach cancer, already in the late stages."
Chen Fan was stunned, not reacting for a while.
"Stomach cancer... in that case, if they had surgery, would there be a chance of a cure?"
The doctor sighed and shook his head.
"The chances are very low."
"And the surgery success rate isn't high either, plus the costs are quite expensive. It seems the two of them can't afford the surgery fees..."
Chen Fan thought for a moment and asked, "If the surgery is successful, could it cure the illness?"
The doctor shook his head again.
"The odds are infinitesimally small. She's already in the late stages of stomach cancer. Even with surgery, at most it could only help alleviate her suffering a bit and extend her life slightly..."
"If she doesn't have the surgery, how much longer does she have left?"
The doctor thought for a moment before answering, "About a month or so."
"A month or so..."
Chen Fan sighed inwardly.
Now he could somewhat understand why this middle-aged man would swallow his pride today and actively try to sell to people over and over.
They really are suffering.
Although Chen Fan didn't know this man at all, didn't even know his name,
In this moment, Chen Fan suddenly felt an urge.
He wanted to pay for the man's surgery fees himself.
Was being reborn into this new life solely for the purpose of enjoying himself?
Chen Fan didn't think so.
It's not that he deliberately wanted to be an excessive do-gooder.
It was just that tonight, after having just parted with Su Ruochu, his mood wasn't great and he felt a bit depressed.
He urgently needed to do something as an outlet.
Spending money would be a good way to vent.
As the saying goes, not even a thousand pieces of gold can buy my satisfaction.
Chen Fan looked at the doctor.
"Doctor, may I ask how much the surgery fees are in total?"
"A little over 22,000 yuan."
"This money... I'll cover it for her."
"But I have one requirement."