After finally persuading her grandpa to have some food, Ellie got out of the ward.
"Doctor, how's my grandpa doing?" Ellie asked as she entered the doctor's office, worried.
The doctor recognized Ellie. He had seen her rush to the hospital when that old man was sent here.
And since then, she had stayed in the hospital to take care of him. This devotion was rare in this time
and age.
"To be frank, his illness can't be cured in our hospital given our current capability. All we can do now is
use medicine to prevent his condition from getting worse.
But all medicines have side effects. Even though the medicines we are giving him will allow him to live
for months or, at most, a year, his health is going to inevitably get worse. Besides, he's at such an old
age that his organs are weak and his ability to absorb medicine is not as good as younger people."
Ellie felt a crushing weight of sorrow as she heard what the doctor had said.
She had deep love for her grandpa, and she hadn't yet gotten the chance to show her respect for him.
She didn't expect such a thing to happen to her and didn't know what to do.
But Ellie saw a silver lining in what the doctor had said. She looked up at the doctor in anticipation and
said, "You said my grandpa couldn't be cured in your hospital. Do you mean he has a chance of
surviving in other hospitals?" Ellie had never been as desperate as she was now.
"Yes. You can see for yourself. The devices we have here are creaky. Maybe your grandpa can be
healed if you manage to send him to the more reputed hospitals in J City. They have medical facilities
that are way better than ours.
But remember one thing: your grandpa is old and can't afford a long, tiring journey. You may have to
think it over if you decide to take him to J City. Also, the cost of treatment in J City is much higher than
what you spend here. I'm afraid it's beyond your budget." Watching Ellie take care of her grandpa had
told the doctor that she was a kind girl. He liked her, so he wanted to alert her about the problems she
might run into.
"Yes. Yes, I know. Thank you so much." After seeing the doctor, Ellie wanted to go home and tell her
grandma of her grandpa's condition in the hope that she could talk him into accepting her decision. Her
grandma was the only one who could change his mind.
She would do anything to save her grandpa, no matter the cost.
L City was not as prosperous as J City, but it boasted fresh air and a good environment with green
mountains and clear waters. There was no hustle and bustle here, and people tended to like it the
moment they set foot in here.
Ellie's home was along a narrow street in L City. Trees lined both sides of the street and along it was a
creek, by which locals did their laundry. The water was crystal clear, enabling one to easily see through
to the bottom of the creek.
Ellie pushed open the gate of her house and saw her grandma sitting under a tall big pagoda tree
immersed in needlework.
"Grandma, your eyes are not good. Don't do needlework!" Ellie said as she walked in. Her grandma
looked younger and was in better health than her grandpa. She had taken care of her grandpa day and
night and had almost fainted from exhaustion. So Ellie had decided to send her home and attend to her
grandpa by herself in the hospital.
Her grandma, Laura, had accepted her decision and went back home. But she insisted on sending
three meals every day.
When she was young, Laura had loved doing embroidery. She was good at Hunan embroidery. But her
once-agile fingers were old now. Whenever she reminisced her youth and the days she had spent
doing embroidery, she would take out a needle and thread as a pastime.
"Ellie, glad to see you home. How's your grandpa? Can he be discharged?" Laura said as she put
down her needlework and walked to Ellie.
Ellie shook her head and replied, "Grandpa wants to leave the hospital, but he hasn't recovered
completely yet. I can't let him leave the hospital."
"Now that he wants to leave the hospital, I guess he has almost recovered. It's not comfortable for him
to stay there. So complete the discharge formalities. I can take care of him at home.
You have spent so many days here. It's time for you to go. Or you will be fired."
Ellie knew that everything her grandparents were saying was out of worry that her work in J City might
be delayed. But she couldn't go back to work while these problems remained unresolved.
"Grandma, it's alright. Ashley can handle it for me. Don't worry. I won't be fired." She was the boss now.
No one could fire her.
But Ellie was not planning to tell this to her grandparents now. It was not the right time yet.
"Grandma, I have something to discuss with you. It's about grandpa's illness. He-"
Her grandma interrupted her. "Your grandpa doesn't have any illness. His health is good. He just fell
over a few days ago. And now he has almost recovered."
"I know he is about to recover. But grandma, just hear me out.
I want to take you to the home I have in J City. So it's convenient for me to take care of you. What do
you think?"
Ellie didn't mention her decision to transfer her grandpa to the hospital in J City, because she knew that
her grandma wouldn't agree with her.
They had smothered her with love ever since she was a child. Though her family had never been rich,
her grandparents had worked hard to earn money so they could afford her tuition fee. She lived up to
their expectations and had been admitted to a famous college in J City where she had met Ashley.
It was impossible for Ellie to return to J City after what had happened to her grandparents. She had
worked for the Luo Group for a few years. Because of Ashley's relationship with Raymond, she had
saved a large amount of money. So now, she had the financial ability to afford the cost of the treatment.
The only wish she had now was for her grandparents to be in good health.
"Grandma, please say yes. Come to J City with me, so that Ashley and I can take care of you."
Hearing Ellie talk about Ashley, Laura smiled and asked, "How's Ashley doing?"
Ashley had come here before with Ellie. Ellie's grandparents had treated Ashley kindly, like she were
their own granddaughter, which made Ashley feel the warmth of family. She liked them a lot and was
very fond of them.
Ellie was happy to hear her grandma mention Ashley because that was exactly what she wanted to
see. It proved that her grandma liked Ashley.
Ashley didn't have biological parents to love her since she was a child, so Ellie treated her like a
sister.
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