Is Her Part-Time Job Clean

Lu Qing believed that to properly observe the female protagonist's prototype, he needed to understand her living habits, her likes and dislikes, her emotional attachments, and all the difficulties she faced.

Today's level of communication was far from enough.

Therefore, tailing her unexpectedly became the most efficient and convenient way to extract more useful information.

"I wonder if this is how Dad did it when he was writing?" he thought as he walked.

"No wonder he got arrested for criminal behavior..."

He sighed quietly and pulled out a face mask from his pocket to put it on.

Because of the strong wind outside and the girl's quick pace, she hadn't noticed anyone following her. After twenty minutes, Lu Qing successfully followed her to a crowded place—

Tianhai First People's Hospital.

This was one of the top-tier hospitals in Tianhai City's central district. Due to its concentration of renowned specialists, it was always packed with people, whether on weekdays or weekends, presenting a scene where one could barely find a place to stand.

"As expected..."

Watching Bai Xing head straight to the inpatient department, he could guess that she was here to visit a patient rather than seeking treatment for herself.

Lu Qing maintained a safe distance as he continued following her.

Moments later—

25th floor, Brain Tumor Special Ward, doctor's office.

Through the partially open door, the conversation between the young girl and the doctor was clearly audible.

"Young lady, here to visit your grandmother again?"

"Yes, Doctor Zhang."

"Hey, you don't look well. Haven't been sleeping properly lately?"

"...Yes, I haven't had time to sleep, so my schedule is quite disrupted."

"Come on, you're so young. You have school during the day, don't sleep at night, and still come regularly on weekends to take care of your grandmother. How can your body handle this? In my opinion, you need to learn to take breaks. Don't push yourself too hard."

"I understand, Doctor Zhang. May I ask... how many more chemotherapy sessions does my grandmother need? Is there a chance to control the illness...?"

"That's hard to say, young lady. You must understand that cancer patients rarely achieve complete recovery, which is why we use 'five-year survival rate' to measure treatment progress. Your grandmother is 78 years old now, and to be frank..."

The doctor paused before continuing seriously:

"Even if we continue spending large amounts of money on chemotherapy, it will only serve to maintain her condition. Moreover, putting an elderly person through this is very painful. The chemotherapy process itself is torturous. Young lady, I hope I'm making myself clear?"

"..."

Bai Xing lowered her head, her face turning pale upon hearing these words.

The doctor showed sympathy as he continued:

"Also, the cost for the next four chemotherapy sessions will total forty-four thousand yuan... Young lady, I've noticed you always come alone, without any family members... Even the consent form bears only your signature. From a medical perspective, I hope you'll carefully consider your situation. After all, this is... a bottomless pit."

Although it went against medical ethics to persuade patients' families to give up treatment, only those who had worked in this position truly understood how many otherwise well-off families could be dragged down by the heavy medical expenses of terminal illnesses, sometimes leaving them with debts they could never repay in their lifetime.

Stating the facts and letting the patient's family decide was Doctor Zhang's principle after many years of medical practice.

He believed this was true to his conscience.

"Doctor Zhang, I understand. Thank you for telling me all this, but I... I still want to ask you to process the treatment. I-I will pay on time."

The girl's voice trembled, but her determination was clear.

She couldn't accept letting her grandmother go like this.

"Well then, young lady. Since you insist, how do you plan to pay? Through medical insurance? That would cover a significant portion."

"No... I'm still a student, I don't have medical insurance. I'll... I'll pay in cash."

"What?"

The girl's shocking response left Doctor Zhang dumbfounded.

"Young lady, are you saying you want to pay the full amount for the chemotherapy?"

"Yes."

Bai Xing wrung her hands together, her expression clearly showing her inner torment and pain.

"..."

Doctor Zhang took a deep breath.

He reminded her again: "You need to understand, this is different from previous hospitalization and examination fees. Depending on the effectiveness, one course of treatment might not be enough.

If - and I'm saying if - the cancer cells spread, you might need to spend even more money to save her, and we're not talking about just thirty or fifty thousand yuan anymore. Even knowing this, you still plan to pay the full amount out of pocket?"

"Yes, Doctor Zhang. My grandmother is my only family member. I... I can't just watch her leave me. I can't do that."

Bai Xing clenched her fists, tears dropping from her long eyelashes, "No matter how expensive it is, I must find a way to save up money for her treatment. I can't just give up without trying anything, I can't."

"...I understand."

Doctor Zhang closed the CT scan files and sighed deeply, "I'll process the paperwork for you."

...

Outside the door.

Lu Qing leaned against the wall, his forehead sweating, his expression extremely grave.

"So she's not sleeping not because she doesn't want to..."

Now he finally understood why the girl was always skipping classes.

Assuming she had to balance her studies during the day and care for her grandmother on weekends, nighttime would be her only opportunity to work part-time jobs to earn money.

Otherwise, in her situation, there would be no way she could afford such huge medical expenses.

At this moment, several women at the nurses' station were whispering—

"Did you see? That little girl came to pay again."

"Yes, Doctor Zhang has told her so many times that brain tumors are rarely curable, but she insists on continuing treatment. And she pays so much money at once, who knows where it comes from."

"Heh, isn't it obvious?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at that old lady, at her age with no one else caring for her, she must have been abandoned by her children. This little girl is probably her granddaughter or something. Being so young and able to come up with so much money while still in school, guess what she's doing?"

"?! You mean... she's doing that kind of work?"

"Of course! She's such a pretty thing, if she's not selling herself, what else could she do? She's either doing compensated dating or being kept by some rich man. Otherwise, how could anyone manage school and come up with tens of thousands in cash for an old lady's treatment?"

"...That does make sense."

The malicious speculation made Lu Qing uncomfortable to listen to.

But he was also curious about Bai Xing.

He wanted to know exactly how she managed to earn so much money while being able to afford both school tuition and these enormous medical expenses.

He was already struggling to support himself through school by writing, and Bai Xing lived right next door to him. He could certainly confirm that in these two years, he had never heard any male voices from next door...

So what exactly was she doing to achieve this level of income, even surpassing his own earnings?

His curiosity grew steadily.

"I must investigate this thoroughly. If she's really involved in the flesh trade, then I can't use her as the prototype for my female protagonist, as she wouldn't meet the basic principle of 'purity';

But if she truly earned this wealth through her own legitimate efforts, then not only will I write about her, but I'll also help her when she needs it."

Having made this resolution, Lu Qing's expression became more serious than ever before—

"After all, girls like her are truly one of a kind."