Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The night was deep and still, devoid of human presence.

Morals were in decline, and people’s hearts had grown cold.

A breeze, not even chilly, cut through Lu Tingchao’s already frigid heart. He poked his head out the car window and called out, "Dude, a real man never says he can’t. You’ve got seven seconds—get up now!"

The person lying in front of his car was simply dressed, limbs stiff and unmoving.

Lu Tingchao asked mournfully, "Bro, are you dead?"

Only the silent night answered him.

Lu Tingchao had no choice but to get back into his car, pull out his phone, and search whether driving around someone in this situation would count as failing to render aid.

Search completed.

With a look of despair, Lu Tingchao dialed 120, turned on his hazard lights, got out of the car, and crouched beside the person.

The ambulance arrived swiftly in the dead of night.

Lu Tingchao followed the medical staff as they loaded the person into the ambulance. He then pulled out a strawberry-flavored lollipop he’d bought for Lu Doudou, which Lu Doudou had refused to eat, and sat by the side, sucking on it while answering the medical staff’s questions.

"Did he make any movements before collapsing? Like clutching his chest or touching his neck?"

Lu Tingchao shook his head, gesturing, "No, he just went down with a *thud*."

Medical staff: "Was his walking posture normal before he fell?"

Lu Tingchao: "Pretty normal, walking on two legs."

Medical staff: "..."

A young nurse on the side asked, "Um… in the ten minutes or so you were crouching beside him, didn’t you try CPR or rescue breathing?"

"I don’t know how. I was afraid he wasn’t dead, and I’d end up accidentally killing him by pressing too hard."

Lu Tingchao said earnestly, "But I prayed for him. Oh… the prayers worked. Look, he’s opening his eyes."

Medical staff: "..."

This handsome but clearly unreliable driver had finally said something sensible. The person on the stretcher had indeed woken up—blood from the scrapes on his arms, sustained during the fall, stained his faded, wrinkled short-sleeved shirt, but his eyes were vacant and bleak.

Lu Tingchao craned his neck for a closer look and realized the person on the stretcher looked somewhat familiar.

Damn it!

Wasn’t this the waiter Jiang Rong had been harassing at the banquet earlier?

Lu Tingchao instantly grew furious. Even with the medical staff in the way, he pointed accusingly: "Well, well, it’s you! Instead of blocking Jiang Rong’s car, you block mine? Biting the hand that feeds you!"

Medical staff: "..."

The medical staff had to send two people to pull him back: "Sir, please calm down. He just woke up and isn’t out of danger yet. Please sit down!"

Lu Tingchao’s eyes also turned tragic: "Heaven’s justice is clear and bright, in broad daylight, we have a real farmer-and-the-snake situation!"

Medical staff: "..."

"S-sorry…"

The waiter on the stretcher also saw Lu Tingchao. His fingers, with the heart monitor attached, struggled to lift slightly. His pale lips beneath the oxygen mask moved weakly. "I…"

Every word was a struggle for him. Just then, the first round of vital signs monitoring results came out.

Seeing the data, the medical staff immediately let out a sharp alarm and told Lu Tingchao to step aside: "His bottom number’s almost gone. Prepare for emergency treatment, now!"

Lu Tingchao: "..."

But the waiter finally became fully alert. He reached up, removed his oxygen mask, and stubbornly pushed the medical staff away: "Don’t."

His face was deathly pale. He gasped several times, fighting for breath, before saying, "Don’t treat me. I have no money."

Lu Tingchao: "..."

Medical staff: "..."

Several medical staff immediately put the mask and oxygen monitor back on him: "Just focus on getting treatment first. We can talk about the rest after you’re stabilized."

The waiter insisted: "I…"

"Hey! Just relax and get treated first. A young guy like you can always make money once you're back on your feet."

The young nurse who had spoken earlier gave the waiter an injection. "The good-looking guy who called 911 for you looks pretty wealthy. If worse comes to worst, you can work for him to pay off what you owe. Alright, sleep for now."

Lu Tingchao: "I..."

*

Most of the time, Lu Tingchao considered himself a bad person, but occasionally he felt he wasn’t so bad after all.

For instance, when the hospital tried to notify the waiter’s family, they found he had no parents, only a grandmother, who had just passed away at this very hospital—so recently that the seventh-day memorial hadn't even been held. They could only notify the waiter’s school, which turned out to be the top university in B City, No. 1 University.

However, the hospital was far from the university, and it would take some time for his counselor and roommates to arrive. The emergency room was busy at night, so they handed the paperwork and bills to Lu Tingchao.

Lu Tingchao sat in the hallway for a while, then got up and went to pay the bill.

It wasn’t much, just a few thousand yuan.

But right after paying, the head doctor in charge of the waiter’s consultation came out of the ward. Holding the medical record, he saw Lu Tingchao and asked, "Family of Su Ningyu?"

Lu Tingchao: "What? No, I’m not."

Chief physician: "I know his family situation. His grandmother just died from the same thing. Are you his counselor? You're pretty young-looking."

The chief physician unfolded the medical record. "His heart problem runs in the family. He needs surgery ASAP. His body won't last much longer. Although money's tight, I hope your school can actively help find a solution. You’re a prestigious university, and I recall he’s the top of his class. We should all try to help."

Lu Tingchao: "Ah..."

"Let’s leave it at that for now."

The chief physician finished explaining. "I need to make my rounds. We’ll communicate further if anything comes up."

The two stood talking at the entrance of the ward.

As the chief physician was about to leave, Lu Tingchao, almost without thinking, glanced into the ward.

The waiter lay flat on the bed, transparent fluid flowing into his body through IVs in both arms, silent and still.

Lu Tingchao took a couple of steps forward after the chief physician: "So, Doc... what's the usual cost for surgery in his situation?"

The director sighed, "When his grandmother was alive, she didn’t have medical insurance; it was all paid with cash from his odd jobs. He… I don’t know whether the university’s student insurance was paid. If not, the total cost would be around 150,000 yuan (roughly $28,000), though that’s just for the most basic treatment."

Lu Tingchao: "I understand. Thank you, Director."

He didn’t enter the ward. Instead, he waited in the hallway a while longer until Su Ningyu’s counselor and university classmates arrived.

After explaining the situation, Lu Tingchao thought for a moment and said to the counselor, "I’ve opened a private account for Su Ningyu at the hospital and deposited 200,000 yuan. Once he wakes up and he’s recovered enough, he can proceed with the surgery."

There were plenty of wealthy people in City B, but few were as flashy with their money as this.

The counselor stammered: "This… what is your relationship with Ningyu?"

"Just strangers."

Lu Tingchao was already tired. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Don’t get the wrong idea—I’m not trying to keep him. But if he’s willing after he wakes up, he can call me *Daddy*."

The counselor: "…"

Lu Tingchao: "After all, I am basically his rebirth parent."

The counselor: "…"

The counselor was probably already feeling secondhand embarrassment on Su Ningyu’s behalf: "Would you like to leave your contact information? I can tell him to call you once he wakes up."

"Forget it, don’t have him call me."

Lu Tingchao thought again and said, "It’s too much trouble. Just tell him I’ve done too many bad things and need to do some good to build up karma."

The counselor: "Then…"

Lu Tingchao: "Besides, I like academic achievers. Every extra point a top student earns makes the motherland ten times more beautiful."

Both the counselor and Su Ningyu’s roommate finally fell silent.

Lu Tingchao walked out of the hospital sucking on a lollipop stick, feeling so good-looking and kind-hearted—the number one good person in the world. This act of merit was more than enough to cover for him being a jerk ten times over.

So, the little guilt and unease he had felt earlier instantly vanished.

He got into his car and happened to receive a check-up call from Zhuang Ji.

"Chao Chao, where are you?"

Lu Tingchao, afraid Zhuang Ji would realize he was still on the road, pulled over and parked by the side: "I’m home. What about you?"

Zhuang Ji chuckled: "Really?"

Lu Tingchao: "Mhm."

"But you’re not home, baby."

Zhuang Ji said softly, "If you were home, you’d shower first, then lounge around on the living room sofa or rocking chair. You wouldn’t answer my call while showering, and your voice would sound out of breath on the sofa or rocking chair."

Lu Tingchao: "…"

Zhuang Ji said: "Chao Chao, you never care what I’m doing or where I am. Except when you’re feeling guilty."

Lu Tingchao: "…"

Zhuang Ji: "You just left the Third General Hospital and turned right, drove through two intersections. Be good, and wait for me there. I’ll be there in ten minutes."

Lu Tingchao: "…Wait, Zhuang Ji, have you lost it?"

Lu Tingchao snapped: "Do you have a tracker on your car or did you put one on my phone? What’s wrong with you?! I’m an adult—I have personal freedom. Are you crazy?!"

"I’ve been crazy for a long time, baby. How come you’re only realizing it today?"

Zhuang Ji’s voice was unexpectedly gentle, calm, and unhurried. "I went crazy the first time you lied to me."

Zhuang Ji: "Chao Chao, you came onto me when you were riding high and flamboyant, you used me when you were at your lowest, and you led me on when you were homeless. Now you’re bored, your interest has faded, and you want to get rid of me. Shouldn’t I be crazy?"

Lu Tingchao felt a lump in his throat: "I…"

"We were born to be together, Chao Chao."

From Zhuang Ji’s end came the growl of a sports car accelerating rapidly, the sound of wind rushing fiercely into Lu Tingchao’s ears. "We’ll walk hand in hand through youth, through middle age, and eventually be buried in the same grave."

A chill ran up his spine.

Lu Tingchao shivered: "Zhuang Ji…"

Lu Tingchao couldn’t respond to what came next.

Just then, another call came in.

Lu Tingchao glanced at the caller ID like it was a lifesaver and urgently said into the phone, "Honey, my friend is calling. Let me take this, and I’ll call you back soon!"

He hung up.

Slumped back in the driver’s seat, Lu Tingchao breathed a sigh of relief. The new call had ended but dialed again, and he finally answered.

"Fei Xiuqi, what are you doing calling in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?!"

Lu Tingchao wasn’t feeling polite—he acted brattier with people he knew better. "Your call made me run a red light. The fine is 200,000. Transfer the money within a minute, or we’re through."

"Is that so? That’s a steep fine."

The phone chimed.

Fei Xiuqi said, "Payment sent, baby."

Lu Tingchao glanced at the amount—it wasn’t 200,000, but 500,000.

Hmph.

A bad man using money to get his way.

Lu Tingchao had no intention of sticking around for Zhuang Ji to find him. He put the phone on speaker and started the car: "Since you overpaid, Chao Chao forgives you. So what is it? What do you want?"

"Very well, Your Highness Chao Chao, your servant has something to report."

Fei Xiuqi’s voice was laced with laughter. "Devin just told me over dinner that he really liked you. He thinks we’d make a great couple, very well-suited."

Fei Xiuqi said: "Since it’s been so hot in City B lately, baby, want to come stay with me in Hong Kong for a while?"