Eunice has never worked beyond 10 pm since she left the bar that night. To earn money, she has found
many jobs. The surgery fee is now a huge burden on her heart. At the meantime, her younger brother,
Thomas' college entrance exam results have already come out.
"Eunice, I got 620 points in the exam. It is over 50 points higher than the entry score of the top
universities. I can make it to the top universities!"
Thomas' excited voice comes from the phone. Eunice stands at the stairs of the hospital, leaning
against the white wall behind her. She forces a smile and says, "Congratulations, Thomas, for realizing
your dream."
"It's still a long time before I complete the application letter. Our teacher said that I have a lot of
choices. I want to stay in J City, so that I can take care of mom and you at university," Thomas says in
a choked voice out of joy.
Eunice nods in relief. However, she couldn't restrain the pain in her heart. She opens her mouth,
feeling as if a lemon has been stuffed into her throat. She feels sorrowful. She is afraid that she would
cry the next second, so she hurriedly explains, "Don't think about us. I can take care of mom and
myself, so you can go wherever you want. When you decide, tell me. All right, the doctor calls me. I'll
call you back later."
After Eunice hangs up the phone, she weeps out of control. Her emotions have been suppressed in her
heart for too long, so she couldn't hold back her tears even if she tries to.
Someone suddenly walks down the stairs and passes by her. Eunice is worried the passer-by would
see her tears, so she turns around and goes to a small rooftop of the hospital. Actually, it is more like a
corridor connecting two buildings.
It's getting cold, and very few people are here. She stands in front of the railing. Finally, there is no one
in this zone, so she cries without hiding.
Thomas can make it to a good university. Eunice is also a student of a top university. However, to treat
their mother's illness, she hasn’t been to the school for a year. Her university could subsidize the poor
students who could not pay off the tuition fee. However, she couldn't come back for study, because she
is not only short of money, but she also needs to work and earn money.
Right now, Thomas is going to enter a university. However, neither does she have extra money to pay
Thomas’ tuition fees, nor could she pay the surgery fee. 400, 000 yuan is a large sum to her. Even if
she auctions everything in her house and borrows money from her relatives, she would only get 200,
000. The remaining is still an astronomical figure to her.
She is a glutton for punishment and hard work, but it is too difficult for her to earn 200, 000 yuan at
once.
The life almost crushes her. She spends all day in the hospital. Not only is her father unable to help her,
he is also gambling and runs into debt. It is simply adding insult to injury for her family.
'What can I do?'
She keeps asking herself this question every day.
But even so, she has never thought of betraying her dignity in exchange for money. And her mother,
Lorraine Quesnel, would also stop her from selling herself for money. Therefore, every penny she
earns is clean.
Eunice stands on the rooftop crying. She doesn't take out the phone until it has vibrated many times in
her pocket. It's Lorraine's attending doctor. Worrying that something might happen, she hurriedly wipes
away her tears. "Hello, Doctor Weld."
"Eunice?" A kind middle-aged man's voice comes from the other end of the phone. "Didn't you pay the
surgery fee this morning? I checked my schedule. Considering your mother's condition, I'm confirming
the surgery time with you. I need to talk to you face to face. We've decided on the surgery plan before
and had been waiting for the payment. Now that..."
"Wait!" Eunice interrupts him before Doctor Weld finishes his words. "Are you saying that the surgery
fee has been paid?"
"That's right. Didn't you pay it this morning?"
Eunice is confused. She thinks the hospital has made a mistake. "Doctor Weld, did you make a
mistake? I didn't pay the fee, and neither did my family."
Doctor Weld pauses for a moment and glances at the electronic receipt on the computer. "That’s
impossible. Here we have the income record. Your mother, Lorraine Quesnel. That's right."
Eunice is neither excited nor pleasantly surprised. She just feels it baffling. 400, 000... What a large
sum! Any of her relatives couldn't take out such a large sum of money, not to mention her friends. Who
paid the surgery fee...
She is completely stumped. "Do you know the remitter?"
"Let me see..." Doctor Weld scrolls up the mouse wheel. "Here I see it's paid in cash, so there is no
remitter."
Hearing it, Eunice is even more confused. "But..."
"Just forget it. You can ask your family about it later. Come over and discuss the surgery time."
"Alright, I'll go over now."
Eunice hangs up the phone and hurries to Doctor Weld's office at once. She has been thinking about
where the money comes from. She doesn't look where she is going and bumps into a passer-by. She
immediately apologizes.
That passer-by doesn't say anything, waves his hand and leaves.
Eunice stands up. Just as she is about to take a step forward, she recalls the scene when she bumped
into Ryan at the airport. She suddenly freezes in place, as if she is pushed into an ice cellar, feeling
cold.
An unrealistic idea emerges in her brain. ‘Could it be Ryan...’
She recalls the night at the bar. He forced her to tell him who she was and in which hospital. At that
time, she felt uneasy. She didn't know why Ryan asked about these details. Now she is thinking of it
and wondering, 'Could it be that he wanted to help me?
But 400, 000! I upset him, but he just threw such a large sum of money to me?'
Eunice couldn't get an answer after thinking for a long time. But it's the most possible that Ryan paid
the surgery fee. She couldn't help but panic. On the way to Doctor Weld's office, she takes out her
phone and calls the manager of the bar, Winfred, who she has blacklisted before.
The phone rings for a few seconds before it is picked up. Before Eunice could speak, Winfred says,
"Oh, Eunice, you finally answer the phone. Do you know..."
Eunice does not bother to listen to him. She interrupts, "Winfred, there is something I want to ask of
you."
"What is it?"
"Last time you asked me to be with a man in the bar. That man, if he goes to the bar again..." She
pauses for a moment and grits her teeth. "Please notify me."
Winfred freezes for a moment. He wanted to persuade her to do it, but he doesn't expect Eunice would
propose it first. He agrees. "No problem. I will tell you then!"
"Thank you."
"It's o..." Before Winfred could finish speaking, the phone has been hung up. Seeing the "over" on the
screen, he sneers, "What are you pretending to be? Aren't you just rushing up to be a tart?"
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