Chapter 4: The Cold Spring of Apricot Grove

Li Yi was lost in thought, and soon fell back asleep. When he woke up again, the pain in his leg had lessened considerably. The ward was spotlessly clean. Through the window, he could see a dark red sunset hanging between two high mountains, like a half-fried yolk, hazy and indistinct.

Outside was a courtyard, beyond which stood two three-story gray buildings, probably the hospital staff dormitories. It was now the end of the workday, and the courtyard was bustling with people, many carrying baskets of vegetables. Soon, the dormitory area was filled with the aroma of various dishes. The smell of stir-fried meat made Li Yi cough repeatedly, and his stomach growled.

"You're awake," Guo Xiaoling said quietly, sitting by the bed and reading the Southern Daily. She pointed to the boxed meal on the table: "The food was brought a while ago. The nurse said you needed more rest, so she didn't wake you."

Li Yi sat up, thanked her, and picked up the boxed meal. "Where are the chopsticks?"

Guo Xiaoling exclaimed, "I forgot! Wait a moment, I'll go get them."

Li Yi waved his hand and smiled, "Is this your first time getting a boxed meal for someone?"

"Yes. I'm only doing this because you saved my life. Don't think too much of it."

Li Yi shook his head and smiled bitterly, thinking to himself, "I never thought too much of it. The overly sentimental ones have long met their end."

"How are you going to eat?"

Li Yi answered with action, grabbing the food with his hands and devouring it ravenously. "Uh!" Guo Xiaoling covered her cherry lips.

By the time she recovered from her shock, the boxed meal was already in Li Yi's stomach. He was now drinking water, which made the gentle and virtuous young beauty faint again.

"Where is your fat friend?"

"If you have something to do, go ahead and leave. I don't need anyone to take care of me."

"Actually, I don't have anything to do... I'll stay here."

With a beautiful companion, Li Yi naturally wouldn't refuse. He looked up at the newspaper, snatched it, and ignored the beauty's helpless rolling of her eyes as he read it seriously.

The ward door opened, and a doctor in a white coat with gold-rimmed glasses walked in, followed by two nurses, one of whom Li Yi recognized as Xia Fei.

Xia Fei, quick to speak, reminded him, "Li Yi, Dr. Wu is here."

Li Yi put down the newspaper, "Hello, Dr. Wu."

Dr. Wu raised his proud head and nodded slightly, acknowledging Li Yi's greeting.

Li Yi wasn't angry; doctors in this era often had a natural sense of superiority. Guo Xiaoling, however, wrinkled her pretty nose slightly.

Dr. Wu examined Li Yi's injuries and asked firmly, "Are you a student at Southern University?"

Li Yi replied, "Yes."

"Your school's security department brought you here. We admitted you out of respect for your school, but after three days, no one has paid a single cent for your treatment. Our hospital is not a charity."

Dr. Wu's words were direct: he wanted money.

Li Yi asked, "How much?"

Dr. Wu nodded at another nurse, who immediately brought a stack of bills and handed them to Li Yi, explaining, "This is the hospitalization fee, this is the treatment fee, this is the medication fee..."

Li Yi interrupted her, "Just tell me the total!"

The nurse said, "The total is 2,873.60 yuan, and this doesn't include the subsequent treatment fees. You'll need to stay for at least a week, which will cost at least another 3,000 yuan."

When this amount was mentioned, Guo Xiaoling was visibly moved and asked, "He wasn't seriously injured, right? Why did it cost so much?"

She knew that Li Yi, like her, was a student with no more than 33 yuan in pocket money. Five or six thousand yuan was a significant amount in an era where ten-thousand-yuan households were still considered wealthy, especially for students with no economic means.

Li Yi sneered, "It's just 6,000 yuan!" He remembered that Xia Fei had said his things were under the pillow. He reached out and felt under the pillow, but when he took out his belongings, he was completely stunned.

He had forgotten his current situation. He was no longer the Li General who could travel the world with just a card, nor the playboy who could spend thousands in a bar to make a beauty smile.

Now, he was just a poor student. His only possession was a crumpled wallet. After searching through it, he found only 2.40 yuan and an ID card. That was all he had.

At this moment, not only was Dr. Wu's face ashen, but the nurse's eyes were also full of disdain. This poor boy had no money but still had a hard mouth. Xia Fei, that girl, always said how good and handsome he was. Could she really like such a poor and bookish young man?

Li Yi took out the money given by Tong Jun, straightened it, and counted it three times. It was 65 yuan.

Guo Xiaoling took out all her money from her jeans, took the money from Li Yi, and turned to Dr. Wu, "This is all we have. Please give us three days to borrow money from home."

Dr. Wu didn't take the money and said coldly, "I'm sorry, but without money, I have to ask you to leave. The medical fees already incurred must be paid."

Li Yi suddenly laughed, tears streaming down his face.

Guo Xiaoling glared at him, wondering how he could laugh so heartlessly when they were about to be kicked out of the hospital.

"I'm sorry, I just remembered a funny story. In our place, there was a doctor with no medical ethics, who only recognized money. Once, a farmer was injured and needed stitches. Because he couldn't pay the high medical fees, the doctor removed the stitches. Isn't that funny? Dr. Wu, you're learning from him. How about this: you treat me and then undo everything. That way, we'll be even."

Although the story was funny, no one laughed.

Xia Fei was in pain, biting her lip and asking, "Dr. Wu, you wouldn't really do that, would you? We study medicine to earn a living, not to save lives and treat patients with compassion. That's what you taught me."

Dr. Wu's face was as cold as ice, and he said stiffly, "Treatment will be suspended until the fees are paid. This is the hospital's order, not my personal decision."

With that, he turned and left.

Guo Xiaoling wanted to plead, but Li Yi held her hand, "It's not worth it. The world is cold and harsh, and this is no exception."

Guo Xiaoling said urgently, "How can that be? Your leg is seriously injured. Without medication, it will get infected and abscess! I'll go borrow money now."

Li Yi asked, "Where will you go to borrow so much money in the middle of the night?"

Guo Xiaoling said, "I'll borrow from my roommates, the school administration, and my parents. I'll do whatever it takes to treat you."

The determination in her words was evident.

A warm current surged in Li Yi's heart, and he gently patted her arm, "Thank you, but it's not necessary. It's a large sum of money, and there's no need to trouble so many people." In fact, Li Yi wanted to say, "Even if we cause a commotion, it might not help."

Guo Xiaoling, being smart, immediately understood Li Yi's meaning. She clenched her small fists and said angrily, "What kind of doctors are these! They have no medical ethics! We're not refusing to pay, just temporarily short of money."

"Li Yi! Ha ha, did I come at a bad time?" Tong Jun's loud voice echoed as he walked in, looking at Li Yi and Guo Xiaoling's intertwined hands and grinning mischievously, his small eyes squinting even more.

Guo Xiaoling quickly pulled her hand away, embarrassed, "Your friend is here, I'll go back. Don't worry, I'll take care of the money." She patted her chest, making Li Yi swallow hard. This little girl was a real heartbreaker!

Guo Xiaoling walked to the door, turned back, and was about to say something. Seeing Li Yi affectionately smell his right hand, his face full of enjoyment, her cheeks flushed, and her heart raced. She quickly left.

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