Chapter 8

At that moment, a nurse hurried over and said: "Family member of patient Zhang Xiuqin—are you the family member of patient Zhang Xiuqin?"

The little fool who caused trouble has already been caught, completely unaware of what he has done, still smiling happily. At that moment, a woman with a face full of freckles rushed out, swung her arm around, and slapped the child across the face. The little fool, malnourished and thin as a radish, had a neck that could barely be grasped. Jiang Xiaoyuan couldn't help but squint her eyes at the sound of the crisp slap, suspecting that the woman intended to knock the child's head off.

Jiang Xiaoyuan's head was throbbing: "Alright, stop shouting, don't touch her! Which one of you can call 120 for me? I can't clearly explain the address... What good will it do to call him? Stop calling!"

As she stood up, Jiang Xiaoyuan's legs trembled uncontrollably. She swayed so much that her ID card fell out of her pocket without her noticing. A man rolled up his pant leg and bent down to pick it up for her, inadvertently glancing at it: "Oh, still a fellow townsman."

This person is wearing a conventional striped shirt, a light-colored wool vest, with the sleeves fastened tightly. He has a pair of framed glasses on his face, looking refined and delicate. He was originally idly flipping through a health brochure from the hospital.

Jiang Xiaoyuan casually asked, "What’s wrong? Is everything alright?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan: "Wait, we cannot just smash things around!"

Jiang Xiaoyuan was planning to quit on the spot, walking out while maliciously thinking: "This has nothing to do with me, why should I endure this nonsense here? It would be best if someone died in your hospital, attracting a group of medical troublemakers, and then let's see how you handle it"

Jiang Xiaoyuan simply could not get used to such a rigid attitude. She took a deep breath, and for a moment, the phrases "I will complain about you," "What kind of service attitude is this?" and "Why are you shouting?" rushed into her throat in a frenzy, leaving her momentarily paralyzed by choice, unsure of which to unleash first. Just as they finally lined up and were about to burst forth, the nurse had already disappeared!

Jiang Xiaoyuan could only hesitate for a moment and nod, pretending to understand

In a brief moment, Zhang Xiuqin at the entrance of the alley was surrounded by a crowd, forming three layers of onlookers. Jiang Xiaoyuan, feeling light-headed and unsteady, squeezed her way in and immediately saw Zhang Xiuqin lying on the ground, barely alive. There were no obvious wounds on her head, nor any visible bloodstains; she simply had a ghastly complexion, resembling a corpse.

"We live there," Qilian said, "we are all from the same region, just not in the same county. In recent years, the number of people coming from my hometown has truly increased significantly."

Jiang Xiaoyuan had spent a full two days and nights, and in total, she had only drunk half a bowl of porridge at Sister Zhang's house. She was so hungry that she felt lightheaded, making it impossible for her to walk briskly. Therefore, she had not managed to walk far—just as she was enduring dizziness and had turned at the intersection, she heard a commotion behind her.

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd erupted into a cacophony of voices, each trying to express their opinion.

"I was picked up by her," Jiang Xiaoyuan quickly interrupted her, "It's alright, I just stayed at her house for one night yesterday"

Jiang Xiaoyuan, with a cold expression, forcefully slammed her arm, nearly striking the woman's face. She then rolled up her sleeves and turned to the aunt who had pulled her in, saying: "Auntie, her daughter went to tutoring class this morning. Do you know which school it is? Can you call her back?"

The woman who just hit the child was not satisfied with the chaos and quickly interjected, "If it’s a heart condition, then the responsibility for this matter cannot fall on our child, right? It’s possible that she fell by herself, and we merely accidentally knocked off her hat."

Rationally, Jiang Xiaoyuan knew that this sentence might just be a common pick-up line, but her nerves still tensed up—after all, she was an impostor

Is it possible

The elderly woman, while voluntarily clearing a path for the personnel of the emergency center, turned her head to ask Jiang Xiaoyuan: "I forgot again, did you tell me? Are you her niece or..."

This obvious act of indirect criticism made Jiang Xiaoyuan curse under her breath, but at that moment, she had no time to dwell on it

When Zhang Tian slammed the door and left in the morning, she carried with her the bold declaration of "the sky is the eldest, and she is the second." Now, all that remains are her disheveled hair and pale complexion

Fortunately, the old town is close to the hospital, and the ambulance arrived quickly. Before long, Zhang Xiuqin was taken away. Jiang Xiaoyuan, feeling flustered, was about to follow when she was suddenly pulled back by the spotty mother of that silly child

At that moment, the elderly gentleman upstairs hurriedly ran into the room and then came back, holding a small bottle in his hand, and directly threw it down from the terrace: "Is this the one?"

After taking twenty steps, she began to calm down from her rage, realizing that she had seemingly wished for Zhang Xiuqin's death, and a faint sense of guilt began to rise within her

After taking ten steps, Jiang Xiaoyuan's exceptionally talented inner theater had already progressed to the scene where "the malicious nurse is advised to resign and spends her days at home weeping." She performed it with gritted teeth

After saying this, Jiang Xiaoyuan was taken aback herself. She thought to herself: "That's right, I have no relation to her, so why should I follow along?"

She grabbed Jiang Xiaoyuan and said, "If it is a heart disease, it is not our child who caused it"

Zhang Xiuqin was pushed into the emergency room, followed by a flurry of hurried footsteps. This was the first time Jiang Xiaoyuan had ever experienced such a situation in her life. Watching the white hospital bed drift away, she felt her legs weaken and leaned against the wall in a daze, slowly crouching down.

"An ambulance has already been called," an elderly man leaned out from upstairs, his discerning eyes pointed out, "I suspect she probably didn't fall; it might be a heart issue. My late wife passed away in just that way."

Having said that, she lowered her freckled face and glanced at the foolish child. Seeing his face covered in tears, half of it swollen like a steamed bun, and his appearance utterly detestable, she became angry again and raised her hand to slap him once more: "It's all your fault, you unfortunate one. Who told you to come forward? What if you get blamed for this?"

Ambulances incur costs, and being transported to the hospital also requires payment. Jiang Xiaoyuan was unaware of how much all these procedures would amount to; however, she had only a little over 500 left on her person

Jiang Xiaoyuan's mind was a complete mess: "I am the one who brought her here"

Then, a middle-aged woman wearing slippers rushed out from the narrow alley and grabbed Jiang Xiaoyuan's arm: "Miss, is Zhang Xiuqin your aunt or your father's sister?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan was taken aback and instinctively denied, "I... I am not a family member"

But it was too late for regrets. Jiang Xiaoyuan could only strive to recall the snippets she occasionally heard from health programs: "Don't crowd around her, spread out, spread out, she can't breathe, does anyone have nitroglycerin? Please help... Sigh, why hasn't the ambulance arrived yet?"

There are still people saying: "Medicine, medicine, whose family has medicine? I saw on television that it seems we need to perform some kind of cardiopulmonary resuscitation? Who can try hitting her chest once!"

"Sure," the aunt readily agreed, "I will have my son go find her."

As she reached the corner of the hallway, a hurried sound of footsteps approached. Jiang Xiaoyuan looked up and saw Zhang Tian running towards her.

Jiang Xiaoyuan's reflex nerves were listlessly coiled into a shape of hunger, idly slacking off, and before she could complete the entire reflex arc of this sentence, she was pulled back by the aunt, flying back without touching the ground.

The little fool let out a sharp wail

Nurse: "Then who are you?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan looked at her and thought, "This little rascal has met her match today; weren't you quite capable just a moment ago?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan felt a sudden jolt in her heart and thought, "Could it be heart disease?"

Ah," he glanced at Jiang Xiaoyuan's pale face, "Are you alright?"

The expression on Spot Mom's face was extremely complex, resembling both flattery and hostility. Jiang Xiaoyuan glanced at her and thought, "Get lost, you bastard"

Based on his demeanor, he is likely to be a teacher or a professional in the field of cultural technology

To take a step back, even if it were enough, what obligation does she have to cover this amount when she herself is in such dire straits? She has not yet secured her accommodation for tonight

However, before she could fully comprehend this issue, Jiang Xiaoyuan's feet had already betrayed her will, leading her to make a choice on their own, as they followed the path to the hospital.

The elderly woman said: "This is serious, come with me quickly, she had that little brat from the second floor smashed!"

The man stood up and offered the chair: "Come sit here for a while."

Jiang Xiaoyuan smiled perfunctorily, wanting to quickly change the subject, and asked: "Are you here to visit the sick or to bring someone to see a doctor?"

"Oh, my name is Qilian," the other party said, mentioning the name of a county town, and somewhat familiarly asked Jiang Xiaoyuan, "Do you know that place?"

This thought flashed by, and Jiang Xiaoyuan pulled up Zhang Tian: "They are in the midst of rescue over there, come on, let's go to the registration office to handle the procedures, don't worry, everything will be fine"

Jiang Xiaoyuan propped her head up and glanced at him, as the man returned her ID card: "I was wondering why you looked so familiar; perhaps I knew you when we were kids."

Qilian gently pushed up his glasses, as if there was a slight reflection on the lenses. He smiled faintly without responding, appearing both elegant and pristine

"Then that will do," the nurse frowned. Receiving so many nonsensical remarks from foolish individuals every day, she inevitably felt impatient. She rudely shouted at Jiang Xiaoyuan, "Hang up and pay the fees!"

The little girl ran breathlessly, recognizing Jiang Xiaoyuan from a distance. She rushed over and grabbed Jiang Xiaoyuan's sleeve, momentarily unable to speak, only looking at her anxiously and sorrowfully.

Jiang Xiaoyuan hurriedly placed the medicine under Zhang Xiuqin's tongue for her to hold, then she realized that there was nothing more she could do, and she could only leave it to fate

Jiang Xiaoyuan spoke while trying to check if Zhang Xiuqin still had a heartbeat. If it was indeed sudden cardiac death, it would be troublesome. She knew that in the case of sudden cardiac death, cardiopulmonary resuscitation had to be performed within a few minutes. However, she was completely in the dark about how many minutes it actually was and how cardiopulmonary resuscitation was to be performed.

Jiang Xiaoyuan did not refuse, struggling to rise, she slumped onto the chair like a piece of rotten mud, propping her elbows on her head, making an effort to alleviate the incessant ringing in her ears

Jiang Xiaoyuan nodded quickly and hurriedly followed the footsteps of the medical staff.

Jiang Xiaoyuan felt so stifled that even her wisdom teeth began to ache from the heat of her anger. She stood up without saying a word, thinking to herself: "I will no longer serve."

Taking advantage of the sunlight at the alley's entrance, Jiang Xiaoyuan realized that Sister Zhang's face was not actually pale and fatigued, but rather a bluish-purple hue indicative of insufficient blood supply

Jiang Xiaoyuan raised her head and took a long time to meet Jiao's gaze, weakly waving her hand, knowing that she was probably about to faint from hunger

In the narrow alley, everyone jumped together like they were trying to catch a bridal bouquet, reaching out with hands and feet towards the small medicine bottle that had suddenly appeared. No one managed to catch it; the small bottle leaped over several people's fingertips and landed in the arms of Jiang Xiaoyuan, who had stumbled and was unable to stand up.

Someone said: "Shouldn't a heart patient lie flat?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan is also unsure of what to do. Their school has organized first aid training several times in the past, but that group of second-generation rich kids is busy indulging in food, drink, and entertainment all day long. Who has the leisure to engage in such activities?

Perhaps it was her exaggerated panting that caused a young man in the corridor, who was either visiting someone or waiting for someone, to lift his head

Qilian: "Send a little brother to see a doctor"

Jiang Xiaoyuan said: "Ah?"