Choice. 02

After paying the emergency deposit of twenty thousand yuan, Lin Yu, nearly frozen to death, staggered back to the entrance of the emergency room.

He shakily sank down onto the bench against the wall, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Struggling to lift his numb eyelids, Lin Yu stared at the red "Emergency" sign glowing above the emergency room door, his mind in utter chaos.

What had happened today was just too strange.

Why did Tang Qinqin have Xia Yueshan’s phone in her hand?

What was she planning when she used Xia Yueshan’s name to lure him to that motel?

What was she trying to capture with the phone hidden in the corner?

And what was the cause of that bizarre fire?

Lin Yu couldn’t make sense of any of it.

Nor did he have the strength to think so much.

The biting cold along the way and the effort he had put into rescuing Tang Qinqin had nearly drained him completely.

Exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave, roaring and overwhelming, making it impossible for Lin Yu to even keep his eyes open by half a centimeter.

Leaning against the hospital’s warm radiator, Lin Yu felt a fatigue he had never experienced before.

Drowsy and unable to resist the surging sleepiness, he slowly drifted off to sleep leaning against the wall...

...

“Hey!”

“Wake up!”

“Wake up!”

Roused by the rude shaking and calling, Lin Yu groggily opened his eyes. Before him stood a doctor clad head to toe in a white coat and protective gear. For a moment, Lin Yu forgot why he was even there.

“Are you a family member of the patient?” the doctor asked urgently.

Hearing the question, Lin Yu suddenly remembered Tang Qinqin in the emergency room. He instinctively wanted to shake his head, but before he could, hurried footsteps approached from afar.

Turning his head, Lin Yu saw two women running over—both bearing at least a seven-point resemblance.

Exhaling slowly, Lin Yu mustered his strength and replied to the doctor:

“They are the patient’s family.”

As he spoke, Tang’s mother and Tang Manman had already arrived nearby.

Both glanced briefly at Lin Yu, who was disheveled and covered in dust, then quickly focused their attention on the doctor.

“Are you the family of the patient, Tang Qinqin?” the doctor asked them.

“Yes, we are,” they nodded repeatedly. Tang’s mother’s face was etched with worry as she asked:

“Doctor, how is my daughter now?”

“The situation is very serious,” the doctor said gravely, shaking his head. Then he asked:

“Does your daughter have a history of lung disease?”

“Yes,” Tang’s mother nodded repeatedly. Hearing about her daughter’s critical condition, she was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. Struggling to control her emotions so as not to delay the doctor’s diagnosis and treatment, she spoke in more detail:

“She was hospitalized for three years due to lung disease and was only discharged not long ago.”

The doctor seemed to have expected this and nodded knowingly before continuing:

“The patient inhaled excessive smoke and harmful substances, which triggered a relapse of her lung disease. Her condition has now worsened.”

“She must undergo surgery as soon as possible.”

“You need to pay the surgery deposit now—three hundred thousand yuan.”

Three hundred thousand?

Those words hit Tang’s mother’s heart like a hammer, instantly draining all the strength from her body.

She collapsed like a bowl of overcooked noodles, slowly sinking to her knees on the cold hospital corridor tiles, her eyes filled with shock and a stunned despair.

Three hundred thousand.

What Tang Yun heard was not just an astronomical figure.

It was also the death notice for her youngest daughter.

“Mom!”

Tang Manman’s voice broke with tears as she hurriedly crouched down to support her mother who was kneeling weakly in the hallway.

But Tang Yun didn’t rise with her daughter’s help. Instead, she turned to look at her, tears streaming down her face, her gaze hopeless and helpless.

“Manman.”

“Three hundred thousand...”

“What are we going to do?”

“What can we do...”

Tang Manman wiped her tears away, facing such a huge sum, she had no idea what to do either.

This kind of money wasn’t something you could just scrape together by tightening your belt or enduring some hardship.

The helplessness in Tang Manman’s heart was no less than Tang Yun’s, but seeing her mother crying uncontrollably, she knew she had to be strong. Supporting her mother, Tang Manman fought back her own tears and gently comforted her:

“There will be a way.”

“Mom, get up first.”

“There will be a way...”

In front of the two women slowly rising, the doctor, his mask pulled down beneath his chin, looked on with a numb expression tinged with sorrow, as if he had seen this kind of thing too many times, yet still couldn’t treat it with detachment.

The emergency room door stood silent, broken only by low sobs and choked cries.

Everyone knew the fate of the girl inside the emergency room.

But as if by clinging to this self-deception, the girl inside might be able to postpone her inevitable fate just a little longer.

Amidst the silence, a hoarse voice slowly spoke up.

“Doctor, I’ve paid a two-thousand deposit. I still have seventy thousand on me, and I’ll pay it all soon.”

“Please operate on the patient first.”

“I’ll pay the rest by this afternoon at the latest.”

Lin Yu looked up at the doctor and spoke calmly.

All eyes in the room turned to Lin Yu, ignoring the shock in Tang Yun and Tang Manman’s eyes. Lin Yu forced himself to meet the doctor’s doubtful and troubled gaze and said:

“Doctor, don’t worry. I have the money. My motorcycle is parked outside the hospital. Any motorcycle shop can easily give me over a hundred thousand for it.”

“Please treat the patient first.”

“I’ll pay the rest this afternoon.”

The doctor hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement.

“Alright.”

“Pay this portion first, and we’ll start the surgery immediately.”

Then the doctor turned to Tang’s mother and daughter and asked:

“Which one of you will come with me to sign the consent form?”

“I’ll sign!”

Tang’s mother quickly responded. Seeing Lin Yu standing shakily, she urgently turned to her daughter:

“Hurry, help your friend.”

“You know the way around the hospital. Take your friend with you.”

“All right!”

Tang Manman nodded quickly, not caring about Lin Yu’s coat covered in black soot and snow slush. She lifted her arm, wiping her reddened eyes, and carefully reached out to support Lin Yu.

Dizzy and heavy-headed, Lin Yu didn’t resist Tang Manman’s help, afraid of falling.

Walking briskly alongside her to the payment counter, Lin Yu felt completely drained after settling the bill. He found a nearby chair to sit down. Seeing Tang Manman’s concerned gaze, Lin Yu waved his hand gently, signaling her to take the deposit slip and head back first.

Tang Manman glanced down at the thin deposit slip in her hand, then looked back up at Lin Yu.

After one last lingering look at him, she turned and walked away.

Sitting on one of the many waiting chairs scattered around the hospital, Lin Yu took a long moment to catch his breath. Finally, he let out a deep sigh, pulled out his phone, and stared blankly at a number on the screen—one among a long row of missed calls.

For a while, he was unable to make a decision...