Chapter 200 — Xiaofen's Illness

Kang Xiaofeng ignored Song Huiping's strange look and dashed over in a single stride. Only when he saw Lan Zhi lying intact in the bed did he breathe a sigh of relief. He had already heard from the doctor that Lan Zhi was out of danger, but hearing it was not the same as seeing it with his own eyes, and he still could not quite set his mind at ease.

"Yunyun, you're here!" Liu Xinlan called out to Tang Zhi as soon as she saw her, then her gaze settled on Wei Zhao beside her, and a flicker of amusement glimmered in her eyes.

"Yes. Wenwen, how is Xiaofen?" Tang Zhi felt a little awkward under Liu Xinlan's stare. She shifted sideways and put some distance between herself and Wei Zhao.

"Xiaofen is out of danger, but the doctor says her constitution is far too weak and she needs to stay for observation, so a deposit of ten thousand yuan is required for the hospital fees..." Liu Xinlan walked over and lowered her voice. "But you and I both know what Xiaofen's family situation is like. Can we pool together something to help her?"

"Well... I had Wei Zhao pay it in advance..." Only after Tang Zhi said it did she feel a little uncomfortable. Liu Xinlan had already misunderstood her relationship with Wei Zhao, and saying this now would only prove all the more that there was something between them—otherwise, why would she have him pay ten thousand yuan in hospital fees for Xiaofen?

"Wei Zhao?" Sure enough, Liu Xinlan gave Wei Zhao a startled glance. "Yunyun, you and he..."

"It's not what you think... I've already had it out with him. I'll explain when we have time, but for now, can we see to Xiaofen's business first?" Tang Zhi explained in a low voice to Liu Xinlan.

"Oh..." Liu Xinlan naturally did not quite believe Tang Zhi. From all the signs Tang Zhi had shown, the girl seemed to have fallen into an early romance. Had she not seen what happened to Xiaofen? Was she really going to rush in where others had already stumbled?

It seemed Liu Xinlan would just have to keep a close watch on Tang Zhi from the sidelines, so the girl would not end up on Wei Zhao's pirate ship.

Kang Xiaofeng rushed to Xiaofen's bedside without thinking so much. At the time he only wanted to see her, but once he was there, he did not know what to do next. He wanted to touch her forehead, but did not dare.

"Young man, you are...?" Song Huiping had never seen Kang Xiaofeng before, and she was puzzled by this savior of her daughter who had appeared out of nowhere today and seemed so obviously, excessively eager.

"Auntie, my name is Kang Xiaofeng." Kang Xiaofeng introduced himself, a little embarrassed. "I'm... a classmate of Tang Zhi and Liu Xinlan."

"Oh... I truly have to thank you for what happened today! If not for you, Xiaofen might not have..." Here Song Huiping thought again of the perilous scene, and tears fell despite herself. "This child, she has such a hard life..."

"Auntie, please don't get upset. Xiaofen is fine now, isn't she..." Seeing Song Huiping burst into tears as she spoke, Kang Xiaofeng was at a loss, and hurried to comfort her. "Auntie, it's all over now. Please don't be sad..."

"Ah... yes, it's all over." Song Huiping nodded and stood up. "Young man, Tang Zhi, Liu Xinlan, please keep an eye on Xiaofen for me. I need to go home and scrape together the money. The doctor said just now that ten thousand yuan is required for the hospital deposit..."

"Auntie, there's no need. It's already been paid..." Kang Xiaofeng said hurriedly, handing her the payment receipt.

"What?" Song Huiping was taken aback. She took the receipt in some astonishment and saw written on it a deposit of six thousand yuan and one thousand US dollars.

Even Song Huiping, dull as she was, now sensed vaguely that something was not right! Kang Xiaofeng had not only saved her daughter, but had also bustled about so diligently and paid the deposit. If it was all just out of kindness, then Song Huiping did not believe it.

"Child, you..." Song Huiping held the receipt with trembling hands and looked at the sum on it. "All this money, what are you..."

Under Song Huiping's gaze, Kang Xiaofeng grew a little embarrassed and rushed to explain, "Auntie, this is the deposit my friend put up first..."

"Your friend?" Song Huiping was rather puzzled. Where had another friend come from?

"Auntie Song, the medical fees were advanced by my classmate Wei Zhao." Tang Zhi had no choice but to speak up. "That's him!"

Wei Zhao was pushed to the front, and had no choice but to greet Song Huiping. "Hello, Auntie."

Now Song Huiping was somewhat bewildered. She had thought Kang Xiaofeng had some feelings for her daughter, though she had not been certain. But now she heard that her daughter's hospital fees had been paid by Wei Zhao—so who was this Wei Zhao?

"Young man... you..." Song Huiping looked at Wei Zhao in confusion. Wei Zhao had not spoken all this while, so Song Huiping had naturally overlooked him. Now here was another person with no ties to her family at all, who had paid her family's medical fees—what on earth was this for?

"Heh... Auntie, I'm Tang Zhi's good friend." A mischievous streak crept into Wei Zhao's heart, so he spoke with a deliberate touch of ambiguity.

"Ah... oh..." Song Huiping had genuinely misunderstood a little - she had misread the relationship between Wei Zhao and Tang Zhi! If Wei Zhao was merely an ordinary friend of Tang Zhi's, why would he advance the medical expenses for her friend?

Tang Zhi caught the ambiguity in Wei Zhao's words as well and shot him a glare, somewhat vexed. This man was really pushing his luck! She had already laid her cards on the table, and yet he still dared to press his advantage!

Still, under these circumstances, Tang Zhi could not explain herself; the more she tried, the more tangled it would become. All she could do was pretend not to have heard.

At that very moment, a faint groan issued from Xiaofen on the hospital bed, drawing every eye in the ward back to her. Song Huiping had no time for Wei Zhao and spun around hastily: "Xiaofen, are you awake?"

"Mom? Where am I?" Xiaofen looked in confusion at the IV drip hanging from her hand, glancing around the room.

"Xiaofen, you're awake? Don't you remember? You tried to jump off the building!" Song Huiping hurried over, seized her daughter's hand, and said.

"Jump off the building? Why would I jump off a building?" Xiaofen opened her mouth, thoroughly bewildered.

"You don't remember? It's better if you don't..." Song Huiping said. "Xiaofen, you were sleepwalking again. You dreamed about that bastard, and you tried to jump - off the third floor of our building!"

"What?!" Xiaofen was startled by her mother's words. She had tried to jump? Why couldn't she remember a thing? "Did I actually jump?"

"You certainly did! If this classmate hadn't caught you down below, Xiaofen, you would have..." At this point Song Huiping's voice choked up once more.

Xiaofen seemed to know that something was wrong with her as well, and she did not question her mother's account. She silently turned her head to look at Kang Xiaofeng, though as her gaze fell upon him it suddenly hardened, as if she were about to slip back into a hallucinatory state...

Song Huiping sensed it and was alarmed, wanting to intervene, but it was already too late. All she could hear was Xiaofen murmuring: "Zhaoming, is that you? Have you come to visit me in the hospital?"