Chapter 4: Fellow Patient

"Time for your injection."

Nurse Liu Yan entered the room, swiftly administered the injection and hung the IV bag for Li Tian'er. She glanced toward the window where Zhou Meiang was crumpling the curtain, held her tongue, and hurried out.

Zhou Meiang finally let go of the curtain and sat down on the folding chair against the wall. She pressed her hands against the leather cushion, then leaned back in satisfaction.

"Yaya, your younger brother wants to open an art training school with a business partner. Do you think you can come up with two hundred thousand?"

"Li Xuan wants to open an art training school?"

"That's right. Xiaoxuan wants to start his own business and become his own boss. As his older sister, you need to support him. Don't forget how good your brother has been to you. If it weren't for Xiaoxuan back then, you wouldn't have been able to marry such a wonderful husband as Tang Songyuan."

"Is that so?"

Li Tian'er turned her face to look out the window, paying little mind to Zhou Meiang's words. In her view, Li Ya marrying Tang Songyuan was hardly a blessing; otherwise, the original owner would not have lived such a stifling life devoid of any vitality.

Only then did Zhou Meiang carefully observe her daughter's expression. Li Tian'er's indifferent demeanor made Zhou Meiang feel somewhat uneasy.

"I know, when your brother got married, you gave him one million to buy a house, and one million is a huge sum even for you. It's only been half a year, so you certainly need some breathing room. But you also know that after your brother got divorced, his ex-wife took all his money, and the shop he used to run went bankrupt. If you don't help your brother, how is he going to get by in the future!

It's definitely not going to work out if your brother doesn't have a proper livelihood. Now that he's finally determined to do something substantial, you surely can't refuse to help. Discuss it with Songyuan and have him take two hundred thousand out of the company. Consider it a loan from you and Li Xiaoxuan. Your brother says the art training school will break even in a year, and he'll pay you back with interest."

"Oh, you should go discuss this with Songyuan."

After listening for a while, Li Tian'er finally understood. The old woman before her was not here to check on her daughter's condition at all; she was here to ask for money, and she did so with such open confidence and righteousness...

"It's better if you talk to Songyuan. You're husband and wife; you're naturally closer to him than I am as his mother-in-law."

Sensing a softening in her daughter's tone, Zhou Meiang felt hopeful and stood up, walking over to the bed to grab Li Tian'er's hand.

Not wanting to be touched by Zhou Meiang's withered hands, Li Tian'er slipped her hand beneath the blanket and offered an apologetic smile.

"You should talk to Songyuan."

Calling him Songyuan felt much smoother this time around.

"That works too, but you'll have to put in a good word for him. Songyuan dotes on you the most and listens to you in everything. Whatever you say, he'll make it happen."

Good grief, there was no such thing as unconditional love in this world. No matter how affectionate a couple was, they would never reach the point of absolute obedience.

What a simple truth! Talking about money ruins relationships.

Li Tian'er smiled inwardly, unwilling to exchange any more words with this mother of hers. She closed her eyes slightly and began to ponder again about how she had crossed over after pushing open the red brick door. Based on her past experiences, transmigrations always happened when she was feeling unwell and lying in a hospital bed.

This time was truly bizarre; could it be a system bug?!

"Yaya, are you listening to me?"

Zhou Meiang patted the edge of Li Tian'er's blanket.

"Oh, go on."

Li Tian'er looked out the window at the dazzling sunlight.

"I'm saying you need to give me this month's living expenses. It's already been two days past due."

"Oh, just ask Songyuan for it."

Passing every matter off to that uncle-like husband of hers was the most suitable approach.

Li Tian'er continued to gaze out the window.

The edge of the blanket was abruptly yanked open, revealing Zhou Meiang's irritated face. Li Tian'er had no choice but to pretend to look at her earnestly.

"The three thousand yuan for monthly living expenses comes from the housekeeping money you give me. We can't let Songyuan know about this."

"Oh?"

"Oh? What do you mean 'oh'! You need to give it to me right away today; I have an urgent use for it. I went to your house last night to get it and was shut out, which almost messed up my plans."

Zhou Meiang's thin cheeks showed a look of grievance.

Not understanding the situation, Li Tian'er didn't know how to respond.

Seeing her daughter remain silent, Zhou Meiang grew anxious. She had come today specifically for the three thousand yuan. If she couldn't get the money, she would lose face in front of that person, and how could she continue to get along with them after that...

"You must have brought money with you when you were hospitalized. Just give me the three thousand for my emergency."

"I don't have any money on me. If you want, you can search for it yourself."

"You, you dead girl! Are you holding a grudge because I didn't come to the hospital to see you right away?! You didn't even tell me, how was I supposed to know you were hospitalized for surgery?"

Zhou Meiang grew angry out of shame. Whenever she asked her daughter for money in the past, her daughter would obediently hand it over before she even fully extended her hand. Today, not only was she stalling and refusing to give the money, but from the moment she entered the door, she hadn't even called her "Mom" once.

"I really don't have any money. Why don't you wait until Songyuan gets here, and I'll ask him where my money is."

"Don't play games with me! Your money comes from Songyuan anyway; go ask him for it directly. I'll come back this afternoon, so you better have the money ready. If I don't get the money this afternoon, I'm not leaving."

Zhou Meiang stormed out aggressively.

Li Tian'er stared blankly at the empty doorway. What kind of mother was this? She was practically a mother tiger who ate people without spitting out their bones!

Long after Zhou Meiang left, Tang Songyuan still had not returned.

After the three bags of IV fluids finished dripping and a warm traditional Chinese medicine compress was applied to her navel, Li Tian'er drifted off to sleep in a haze.

A sudden commotion erupted as four people poured into the adjacent bed space.

Li Tian'er could no longer sleep. She reached out to pull the privacy curtain by her bed, but as soon as she let go, the curtain was violently yanked to the other side with a loud swish.

"Sorry about that! Drawing the curtain makes it feel so stuffy. I love looking at the scenery outside."

A round-faced woman broke into a bright smile at Li Tian'er, holding a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts and sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed. At the same time, she called out to the two men who had just entered, telling them to hurry back to the shop to look after the business, while urging her mother—who was busy stuffing bags of items into the cabinet—to sit down and rest for a moment before finishing up.

The aroma of the sugar-roasted chestnuts made Li Tian'er swallow involuntarily, and a craving suddenly stirred in her stomach.

Li Tian'er turned her back to resist the enticing scent of the chestnuts.

"You're Sister Li Ya, right? I'm Wu Xiuli."

"..."

This Wu Xiuli looked to be in her early thirties!

"Hello."

"Hello, hello."

Wu Xiuli withdrew her gaze from the small information card at the head of Li Tian'er's bed, her smile becoming even brighter.

"Sister Li Ya, are you all by yourself? Where is your family?"

"..."

"That plump guy who just went out is my husband. Don't you think my husband is handsome?"

Just as Wu Xiuli finished speaking, Nurse Liu Yan walked in holding a medical chart. Seeing that the overbed table by the bed was covered in chestnut shells, she couldn't help frowning.

"Wu Xiuli, your surgery has been scheduled. Note that you must not consume any food after five o'clock this afternoon, not even water."

"Ah? The surgery is coming up so fast?! If I don't eat, I won't have the strength to go under the knife, and not even letting me drink water will make me die of thirst."

"Mom, what are you saying! Then when can I eat?"

As Wu Xiuli spoke, she continued shelling chestnuts in her hands, acting as if the upcoming surgery was of no concern to her at all. On the contrary, her mother asked Liu Yan questions anxiously.

Liu Yan answered indifferently, hung up the medical chart and the nameplate at the head of the bed, glanced at Wu Xiuli—who had already opened a bag of spiced melon seeds—and gently reminded her that shelled snacks were not allowed on the hospital bed.