Chapter 1109 — Medical Fees

Yu Xiaoke watched the travelers passing through the train station and could only steel herself to pick out a mark. She hoped only that with so many people about, the police would be too few and too distracted to notice, leaving her a chance to make her move.

Before long, Yu Xiaoke found her target: a young man just emerging from the station's exit.

The young man was rather tall, but one glance told you he was the sort who had come down out of the mountains. His clothes were hopelessly countrified—a blue tank top and black shorts—the kind of rustic that could not be more rustic. A fellow like that was plainly making his first trip to the city, with no worldly experience to speak of, and would be comparatively easy to rob.

It was not that Yu Xiaoke had never thought of stealing from those fat, big-eared bosses, but people of that sort were generally shrewd and careful, hard to work on in a place like this, and likely to draw police suspicion. Only this bumpkin looked like easy pickings.

But Yu Xiaoke had never in her life stolen from good people. This young man might be easy to rob, yet it went against the principle she had always lived by. She followed behind him, deeply hesitant, unsure whether she should make her move.

One way or another, the money had to be paid today. She had already put Nurse Wang to a great deal of trouble and could not add to it. If the hospital bill went unpaid, who knew how the hospital's administrators might criticize Nurse Wang—and that was the last thing Yu Xiaoke wanted to see.

Yet to rob this young man—she truly could not bring herself to do it. From the look of him, he was an honest, simple-hearted fellow from the mountains, and stealing from him gave her a feeling of guilt.

Without realizing it, Yu Xiaoke had been trailing the bumpkin for quite a while and still had not made up her mind.

"Why are you following me?" Before Yu Xiaoke could make her move, the young man ahead suddenly turned his head and stared at her in puzzlement.

Er Goudan was baffled. What was a pretty girl like this doing following him? In truth, he had sensed Yu Xiaoke tailing him from the very start; but since she was a pretty young woman, he had not taken her for a bad sort, and so paid it no mind, assuming they simply happened to be going the same way.

But after walking a while, Er Goudan deliberately veered off course and found that Yu Xiaoke was still behind him. At last he could not help but speak up and ask.

Simple and honest as Er Goudan was, he had grown up at Wei Zhao's side—how could he be an ordinary man? Back in the mountains, even the fierce beasts skilled at concealing their presence could not escape his senses, let alone a Yu Xiaoke.

Er Goudan's sudden turn and question gave Yu Xiaoke a terrible fright. She had never imagined he would notice her following him, and for a moment she was at a loss. Guilt made her heart race; she hastily waved her hand and said, "Nothing... it's nothing..."

Er Goudan frowned at her shifting gaze. "Girl, is there something you want from me? If there is, just say it. Don't hem and haw like some old woman."

"Pfft..." Yu Xiaoke could not help laughing at his words. Wasn't she a girl herself?

"What are you laughing at? What exactly do you want with me?" Seeing her laugh only puzzled Er Goudan further.

Somehow Yu Xiaoke found she rather liked this man, and so she changed her mind and decided not to steal his money.

"What I want... is actually to borrow a little money from you," Yu Xiaoke said, wiping the smile from her face and speaking gravely.

She was certain he was not a bad person and no longer wished to steal, so she meant to ask him for a loan—yes, a loan, and she truly intended to repay it.

"Borrow money? What do you need money for?" Er Goudan asked.

"A child in my family has come down with acute appendicitis and there's no money for the surgery, so I wanted to borrow some to tide us over..." Yu Xiaoke did not lie to him; she told the plain truth.

"Oh? Appendicitis? Surgery? That's serious business!" Seeing that her expression held no falsehood, Er Goudan grew anxious too. "How much do you need to borrow?"

"You... how much do you have?" Yu Xiaoke had not expected him to actually agree, and was taken aback.

Er Goudan was warm-hearted. Old Man Wei had warned him that there were many swindlers out in the world, but Er Goudan did not think this girl was a swindler—she spoke with such sincerity that it could not be a lie. So he truly wanted to help her.

In Xixing Mountain Village, when any family met with an emergency, borrowing money from one another was the most ordinary thing in the world. Er Goudan had often lent money to his fellow villagers, and so he now treated Yu Xiaoke as one of them.

"I've got a little over nineteen hundred yuan here!" Er Goudan had bought a loaf of bread on the train and spent nothing else.

"That should just about do it!" Yu Xiaoke reckoned it would be enough for the surgery.

Without another word, Er Goudan pulled a handkerchief bundle from his breast and handed it straight to her. "Here, count it."

"No need to count. Thank you—I'll pay you back as soon as I can!" Overjoyed, Yu Xiaoke took the bundle, smiled at him, and waved. "I'll be off, then!"

"Mm, go quickly. Saving a life comes first!" Er Goudan nodded.

Only after Yu Xiaoke's figure vanished across the station square did Er Goudan suddenly remember something terribly important.

The address that would lead him to Wei Zhao was still wrapped in that handkerchief—the slip of paper Grandpa Lin had given him had been put in with the money!

"Hey? Wait!" Er Goudan panicked. That slip of paper was the only way to find Leader Wei Zhao; without the address, where was he supposed to look?

But Yu Xiaoke was nowhere to be seen. She had long since gone.

Er Goudan slapped his forehead and, with a helpless sigh, found a bench nearby and sat down.

Now that he had lost his only means of contacting Wei Zhao, all he could do was sit here and wait for Yu Xiaoke to come back and repay the money, so he could get the address back.

Yu Xiaoke knew right from wrong. Though she was a female thief, she repaid kindness with gratitude, and she knew Er Goudan was a good man; she would return the money as soon as she could. But when she reached the hospital, she suddenly realized she had never asked for his contact information—she did not even know his name.

How was she supposed to repay him now? Yu Xiaoke was not the sort who liked to break her word. Since Er Goudan had trusted her and lent her the money, she could not fail his kindness.

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