Laugh then, laugh! Since Yan Heng wanted her to laugh, she'd laugh for him.
Zhu Yaya gave him a smile brimming with sincerity, her eyes curving into crescents, her little dimple on full display.
Yan Heng stared fixedly at her.
Maintaining a smile continuously was somewhat difficult. Just as Zhu Yaya's face was starting to ache from smiling, he finally said, "Alright."
Zhu Yaya breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing her cheeks with her hands while glancing at Yan Heng from time to time. He seemed to have regained some of his spirit.
Right there on that green plastic bench, he told Zhu Yaya about Mother Yan's condition and his meager savings.
Some sounds came from the room. Yan Heng immediately stood up and went in, with Zhu Yaya following behind.
It was Mother Yan waking up.
Under the torment of her illness, her mind seemed to have regained some clarity. She was quiet, appearing quite normal, making it hard to tell she still had some mental health issues.
Yan Heng said the brain tumor was pressing on some of Mother Yan's optic nerves, so her vision was blurry. Zhu Yaya looked at her eyes; they were bloodshot.
Yan Heng opened the thermos on the bedside table, sat beside Mother Yan, and began feeding the waking woman porridge with great care and patience.
Meanwhile, Zhu Yaya took an apple from the fruit basket she had brought and quietly started peeling it.
She was thinking about the medical expenses.
Currently, the costs for Mother Yan's treatment and hospitalization hadn't been fully paid by Yan Heng. The hospital, taking pity on him, had granted an extension.
Earlier, sitting on the green plastic bench in the corridor, Yan Heng said he wanted to sell his blood. Quick money.
Zhu Yaya lost her temper for the first time: "Are you crazy?!" Then she chattered away, scolding Yan Heng and trying her hardest to dissuade him from the idea.
"Don't worry about the money. Let's think of other ways together. Clever me will help you solve this." Zhu Yaya patted her chest.
Yan Heng probably didn't know yet, but she now possessed 160,000 yuan.
But 160,000 seemed insufficient.
As she peeled the apple, she called out to Mr. System in her mind, asking if an early fund disbursement was possible, but was sternly refused by the system.
"However, you may exchange lifespan for RMB," the system's cold, mechanical voice stated.
Exchange lifespan?
Zhu Yaya was stunned.
When she first arrived in this novel's world, the system had told her that if she failed to complete her tasks, she would die an unnatural death in three years. She had now completed eight tasks (the first one failed), earning a total of twenty-four years of lifespan.
Zhu Yaya asked in her mind, "How is the exchange rate?"
"Three years of lifespan for ten thousand yuan."
Zhu Yaya was shocked: "You're taking advantage of the situation!"
"Please state whether you wish to exchange."
"Dear System, could you offer a discount?"
"Please state whether you wish to exchange."
...
Zhu Yaya glanced at the young man sitting beside Mother Yan feeding her porridge, gritted her teeth, and said, "Yes."
"Please state the quantity to exchange."
"All of it."
"Congratulations on successfully exchanging for 80,000 RMB."
Zhu Yaya rolled her eyes big time. Congratulations, my foot! Fortunately, she still had three years of lifespan left. Moreover, she believed in the abilities of Murong Beichen and Xu Chun; they were sure to stir up plenty of gossip-worthy tasks. As long as she worked hard on those gossip tasks, she could still earn more lifespan.
Yan Heng was tending to Mother Yan, who lay in bed, staring motionlessly at the ceiling.
The system's voice sounded in Zhu Yaya's mind: "Do you choose to withdraw the funds?"
"Yes," Zhu Yaya replied mentally.
"Please state the withdrawal amount."
"All of it."
"240,000 RMB has been withdrawn."
After communicating with the system, Zhu Yaya obediently sat in the room, looking around. With Yan Heng and Mother Yan nearby, she wanted to see how the system would deliver the money to her.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and the room door opened. A poised, professionally dressed woman in a business suit walked in, followed by several burly security guards.
Yan Heng asked warily, "Who are you? What are you doing here?" He shielded Zhu Yaya behind him.
The woman ignored him and asked, "Who is Ms. Zhu Yaya?"
Sixteen-year-old Ms. Zhu Yaya raised a hand from behind Yan Heng: "Me!"
Was this the person sent by the system to deliver the money?
The woman calmly directed her gaze at Zhu Yaya: "Student Zhu Yaya, did you buy a fruit basket from a fruit shop today?"
"Yes," Zhu Yaya replied, somewhat puzzled.
"And did you pay without bargaining?"
"Yes. Why? What's the matter?" Zhu Yaya began to suspect this person might indeed be here to give her money.
The woman sensed Yan Heng and Zhu Yaya's tension: "Don't be nervous, I mean no harm."
She said to Zhu Yaya gratefully, "I am the current CEO of the famous appliance company, LED. The old man who sold you the fruit is my father. He is the former CEO of our LED company. After retiring, he opened a fruit shop nearby. Customers kept bargaining with him, which made the old man quite angry, so he decided to give a cash gift of 230,000 yuan to the first customer who bought fruit without bargaining."
She pulled out a check: "Please accept this 230,000!"
Zhu Yaya: ...Well then. It really was for her.
Yan Heng frowned, signaling Zhu Yaya with his eyes not to trust her.
Zhu Yaya silently took out her phone, searched for the CEO of LED company on Baidu, confirmed it was indeed the woman before them, and showed Yan Heng.
The woman chuckled lightly: "Don't worry, young student, it's only 230,000."
Zhu Yaya stepped forward and took the check: "Thank you, pretty sister." But wait, hadn't she withdrawn 240,000? Where was the other 10,000?
When the woman heard Zhu Yaya call her "pretty sister," she looked touched: "You actually complimented me! I really like such an honest young student."
After saying that, she pulled out a thick wad of cash from her purse: "A reward of 10,000 yuan for you, go buy some candy! Consider it my treat."
Yan Heng: ...
After the woman left, Zhu Yaya handed the check and the 10,000 cash to Yan Heng: "Take it."
Yan Heng was taken aback: "For me?"
"It's for treating Auntie Yan's illness. Don't refuse. I'm not in a hurry for the money; you can pay me back slowly in the future."
Yan Heng looked back at Mother Yan lying on the hospital bed and said, "Alright."
However, he insisted on writing an IOU, doing so very seriously and even adding interest. Zhu Yaya sighed but didn't refuse. She knew if she didn't agree, Yan Heng wouldn't use the money.
Yan Heng asked Zhu Yaya to look after Mother Yan for him while he went to pay the fees.
Zhu Yaya rested her chin on her hand, still somewhat worried. Given Mother Yan's condition, 240,000 was still a bit insufficient.
A short while later, she heard someone push the door open. Thinking it was Yan Heng returning after paying, she didn't look back.
To her surprise, she heard Zhu Jianjun's voice.
"Yabao, what are you doing here?"
Zhu Yaya turned to see Zhu Jianjun and some uncles in plain clothes. She recognized one or two faces she had seen before at the police station. They must be police officers.
She exclaimed in surprise, "Dad?"
