The next day, I went to the market early and bought some pork liver. After stewing it with red dates, I hurried to the hospital.
When I arrived, Yan Yan was washing up in the bathroom of the ward, while Fang Yuan was still asleep.
I was afraid of waking Fang Yuan, so I quietly placed the thermos containing the soup on the cabinet next to the hospital bed, then closed the door and stood in the corridor outside the ward to call Mi Cai.
Moments later, Mi Cai answered the call. I quickly asked, “Have you gotten up yet? I want to buy you breakfast and bring it over.”
“No need. I’m on my way to Shanghai. I have a meeting with the Administration for Industry and Commerce today.”
“Oh.”
After a brief silence, Mi Cai said to me, “Don’t forget to go to the police station to deal with the matter later.”
“I won’t forget.”
“Do you have enough money to pay the fine?”
In fact, I had only a little over 1,000 yuan left, but I still replied stubbornly, “Yes. You just focus on driving safely. I’ll hang up now.”
“Okay.”
Then we both hung up.
…
I returned to the ward. Yan Yan was holding the thermos I had brought and asked, “What’s inside?”
“It’s a soup made with red dates and pork liver. It helps replenish blood.”
Yan Yan put down the thermos and, with a stern expression, said, “Do you know you were wrong?”
“Yeah, I’m just being a pain in the ass!”
Yan Yan sighed and softened her tone, saying, “Zhaoyang, you really should change your habit of causing trouble. Tell me yourself, from college until now, how many problems have you caused? And every time, Fang Yuan ends up getting hurt even though he’s just lying there. I’m really scared because he hasn’t practiced any Iron Shirt Kung Fu or anything like that. He can’t really handle this kind of折腾 (trouble)!”
“Sis, I really know I was wrong. I’ll definitely be more restrained in the future. You’ve been up all night. Why don’t you have some soup too? It’s good for replenishing blood and especially suitable for women during their period.”
Yan Yan gave me a sharp look, and Fang Yuan finally woke up. I leaned closer to him and asked, “Do you still recognize your buddy?”
“Of course, it’s Zhaoyang!”
I then pointed at Yan Yan and asked him, “And her?”
“My wife.”
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed there were no lingering effects.
Yan Yan helped Fang Yuan to the bathroom to wash up, while I served them both the pork liver soup. I felt guilty and secretly vowed: if I ever hit someone first again, I’d chop off my own hand.
Shortly afterward, Yan Yan helped Fang Yuan out of the bathroom. I quickly handed a bowl of soup to Fang Yuan first, then another to Yan Yan, watching them eat.
After a short while, the ward door suddenly opened, and the visitor surprised me.
Mi Lan came to Fang Yuan’s bedside, placed the fruit basket she had brought down, and asked with genuine concern, “Manager Fang, how are you feeling?”
Fang Yuan replied, “I’m fine. I’ll be able to leave the hospital after resting for a few days. Thank you, Director Mi, for coming to visit me especially.”
Mi Lan smiled, then looked at Yan Yan before saying to Fang Yuan, “You just focus on recovering. The company will reimburse your medical expenses.”
Fang Yuan quickly replied, “Director Mi, there’s no need to involve the company in this matter. The medical expenses should be covered by the person who caused the injury.”
Mi Lan looked at me and said disdainfully, “This lowlife also injured the other party. My sister, to minimize trouble, reached a mediation agreement with them that each side would cover their own medical expenses. Do you think this lowlife has the money to cover it?”
Yan Yan glared at Mi Lan and said, “Miss, I appreciate you coming to visit Fang Yuan, but please be more polite. What do you mean by ‘lowlife’?”
I picked up where Yan Yan left off and said, “Sis, try to be understanding. Maybe she was bitten by a dog when she was little and didn’t get the rabies vaccine. Now she barks at people whenever she gets the chance!”
Mi Lan glared at me angrily, clearly on the verge of losing control.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan covered his forehead and said, “I feel a bit dizzy. Can someone help me call the doctor?”
Everyone immediately quieted down. Yan Yan stood up to go find a doctor, but Fang Yuan held her back and smiled, saying, “Just kidding. I was afraid you’d start arguing. Let me have some peace so early in the morning.”
Mi Lan glared again before saying to Fang Yuan, “Manager Fang, you just focus on getting well. I won’t disturb you anymore. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
…
After Mi Lan left, I turned to Yan Yan and said, “You’ve been up all night. Go home and rest quickly. I’ll stay here with Fang Yuan.”
Yan Yan nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll come back at noon to relieve you.” Then she turned to Fang Yuan and asked, “What do you want to eat for lunch? I’ll make it for you.”
“Something tasty. Oh, and when you come back, bring my tablet computer. I need to review a few project proposals.”
Yan Yan nodded and left with her handbag, admiring Fang Yuan’s strong will to work even while lying in a hospital bed.
After Yan Yan had walked far away, I lowered my voice and asked Fang Yuan, “Do you have any money on you? Lend me some.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to pay the fine at the police station for the fight.”
Fang Yuan didn’t say much. He took out his briefcase from the cabinet, handed me a bank card, and told me the password.
I patted his shoulder, half in shame and half in gratitude, saying, “Brother, this time I’ve really troubled you… You just take care of yourself for a while. I’ll go pay the fine at the police station and come back.”
“If we’re brothers, don’t say such things. Just go pay the fine quickly. In the future, try to be more restrained and control your temper.”
I nodded without saying anything. It wasn’t just a perfunctory response. In fact, I really needed to grow up a bit.
…
After I turned myself in at the police station, the officer surnamed He gave me a serious lecture according to procedure. Then, when I offered to pay the fine, he told me, “There’s no need.”
I was a bit confused, so he explained, “Before you came, a woman had already come to the station and paid the fine for you.”
I knew this woman was most likely Mi Cai’s assistant. After all, very few people knew about the incident. Mi Lan certainly wouldn’t have paid the fine for me. In her heart, she probably hoped I would be sent to detention for at least a year or so.
I couldn’t clearly describe my feelings when I left the police station, but I knew deep down that Mi Cai still couldn’t let go of me, even though she was already deeply disappointed in me.
After returning to the hospital, I returned the untouched bank card to Fang Yuan. I stayed with him until evening, then drove to the coffee shop where I had agreed to meet Jian Wei.
About fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the Starbucks in the Times Square. Jian Wei was already sitting inside, having ordered coffee and waiting for me.
I took a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking in. I reminded myself that this was just an ordinary business meeting. To me, Jian Wei was just the CEO of an advertising company. What I needed to do was to hope the meeting would go smoothly and seize this opportunity to dig out my first bucket of gold in life.
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