Chapter 523: with translation of chapter title

The inn at the street corner was a newly renovated luxury inn; I carried Han Duo inside to the front desk and said to the attendant there, "Attendant, give me a single room!"

The attendant was a woman in her thirties; he lowered his head to flip the ledger, then lifted his head and said to me, "Sorry, handsome guy, we only have room 301 left as a single; how about I switch you to a double room instead?"

I found that a bit confusing—what's wrong with room 301? Could it be that it's haunted and unsuitable for guests?

"No, sir..." The attendant leaned in and lowered her voice: "Room 301 is very close to the stairs!"

"What's the problem with being near the stairs?" I exclaimed.

"That's how it is!" The attendant looked around mysteriously, glanced at Han Duo, and then said in a warning tone: "Recently the anti‑vice crackdown has been a bit strict, and the soundproofing in room 301 is poor—if your voice gets too loud..."

"Oh, then change… oh my god, what does the anti‑vice sweep have to do with me? I just want room 301." I almost went along with the attendant's wording, but I caught myself in time. I threw down the money, grabbed the key, and, carrying Han Duo, ran straight up to the third floor.

Damn… am I really that kind of person? Even if I were, my tastes wouldn't be that heavy. After tossing Han Duo onto the bed, I was still indignant. How could the attendant look at me like that? Besides, Han Duo's feistiness exceeds Yao Yirong's by three notches—I dare not provoke her.

But… although this girl is a bit feisty, her figure is actually pretty good! Han Duo on the bed wore a red outfit, her figure was curvaceous; among the fortunetellers and goddesses I've seen, she could certainly be called a red flower.

I wiped Han Duo's face with a towel and checked her pulse again. Just as I had guessed, Han Duo was injured by QingSongShu's divine eye technique while in Yichang, her body and soul suffered severe trauma, and then she overused her magic, causing her mental strength to collapse.

Mental exhaustion—doing nothing and sleeping a big stretch for a few days can help; of course, treating it with Chinese medicine is best. But I don't know how to handle something this complicated, so I'll just wait for Han Duo to wake up and then decide.

I was bored, reading at the table, then sat on the bed watching TV. The TV was playing a movie of my idol, Third Brother; I got drawn in and forgot to look at Han Duo on the bed.

Suddenly—no one expected it—a sharp scream rang out, and then I lost my balance, someone kicked me in the lower back, and I fell to the ground in a heap like a dog eating feces.

I turned my head—it was Han Duo's doing. Her leg was still raised in mid‑air, and the funny part was she was lowering her head to check her own clothes.

"You… what did you do to me, and where is this?" Han Duo demanded, her face pale and breathless.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Give it a rest—I have no interest in androgynous yin‑yang types. This is an inn; you just fainted on the floor. I'm the one who carried you up."

After hearing my explanation, Han Duo actually lowered her head in embarrassment. Rarely seen, this girl actually knows shame.

"Right." I slowly walked over and extended a hand to Han Duo: "Give it to me." I meant for her to hand over the other IOU; when she forced me to write one, she kept a copy herself. Now that I've saved her life, I figure this lifesaving favor ought to offset an IOU.

"The thing isn't with me; I'll take you to get it." Han Duo threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Suddenly, Han Duo froze, then let out another "Ah!" scream and began frantically searching the room for something.

I was wondering what Han Duo was looking for, but she panicked and asked me, "Do you have a watch? What time is it now?"

I glanced at my watch and said, "It's three in the afternoon; do you have an emergency?"

Upon hearing that, Han Duo's face turned ashen, she shouted "Oh no!", grabbed the bag on the bed, and left.

I grabbed her arm: "Where are you going? Don't think about escaping—first…" Before I could finish, Han Duo flung her hand away and said, "Wait here for me; I'll go get it and bring it back."

"No way—I'm coming with you; who knows if you'll come back after you leave."

Having said that, I didn't care whether she wanted it or not—I followed her out of the inn.

What kind of international joke is this? Not getting the IOU back means carrying the feeling of debt all my life—just thinking about it is unbearable.

After leaving the inn with Han Duo, she hailed a taxi, got in, and immediately gave the driver a hospital's name, telling him to speed there.

"Is your mom sick or is your dad hospitalized?" I asked curiously in the taxi. Unexpectedly, my words were like a thorn, making Han Duo's face flush red as she snapped at me: "None of your business—why is your mouth so cheap? Anyway, I'll definitely give you that thing."

This crazy woman—when she goes off the rails, there's really no time limit! I wiped the spit from my face, turned my head in disbelief; she ignored me, and I couldn't be bothered to pay her any mind.

The taxi drove all the way to the hospital Han Duo had mentioned; she headed straight for the fifth‑floor inpatient department and rushed into a ward.

"Doctor, where's Xiao Binbin… the child on this bed?" Han Duo grabbed a nurse and demanded.

"This child was sent to chemotherapy this morning; he should be in the chemo room." The nurse was shaken a few times, then after a long while came to.

"The chemo room…" Han Duo finally relaxed, but not long after she asked the nurse in surprise: "Nurse, I… I remember the medical fees from last time weren't paid to the hospital yet—did my mother bring them to pay?"

Just then, a group of children's giggling and chatter came from outside the door. Han Duo, hearing the laughter, hurriedly turned and left the ward.

"Xiao Binbin, where did you go? You scared the hell out of Sister Li, you know?" Han Duo clung tightly to the chubby child in the wheelchair; within a minute, her eyes turned red.

Beside the wheelchair were two somewhat older girls, but their clothes were ragged, the garments they wore had been washed until they were white, and one of the kids had mismatched shoes—left and right didn't match—giving the impression that they'd taken one shoe from each pair and stuck them together.

After Han Duo let go of the chubby child in the wheelchair, I was immediately shocked. The kid wasn't fat at all—he was completely edema‑swollen, and his skin was threaded with crisscrossing blood streaks; even the hair on his head had disappeared.

Seeing that, the words "blood cancer" instantly popped into my mind. Indeed, only when someone reaches mid‑stage blood cancer do the blood filaments surface; at that point the patient's meridians are extremely fragile—even a tiny nick could cause unstoppable bleeding.

"Doctor Yang, thank you so much!" I was still dazed when Han Duo seized the bald man in the white coat standing nearby and said gratefully: "Thank you for taking Xiao Binbin to chemotherapy."

The bald man shook his head with a wry smile: "Miss Han, I've already done my best this time; if the medical fees aren't paid, the hospital really won't allow Xiao Binbin to stay, and I'm afraid even the radiation therapy… will have to"

Before the bald man finished speaking, Han Duo opened the pouch at her waist, took out the ten thousand yuan she had gotten from Shaolong, and pleaded with the doctor: "Doctor Yang, I've brought the money; I'll pay part of it now—please talk to the director and grant me a few more days; I'll definitely be able to raise the rest."

The bald man shook his head, his sigh mixed with helplessness; his expression struggled for a moment, then he said to Han Duo: "Come with me to pay the money first; tonight, when the director arrives, I'll plead with him on your behalf."

"Thank you, Doctor Yang, you're really a good person! Thank you." Han Duo, feeling grateful, instructed the two children nearby to look after Xiao Binbin, who had leukemia, then followed the doctor out of the ward.

At that moment I stood frozen in the ward, unable to snap out of it for a long while. What kind of situation is this? What are these kids up to? And Han Duo—what's her relationship to Xiao Binbin?

"Big brother, are you a friend of Sister Li?" The child with mismatched canvas shoes walked over to me and obediently handed me a cup of water.

After taking the water, I crouched down and looked at her curiously, asking: "Little one, is the 'Sister Li' you mentioned the girl in red we just saw? And… are you her siblings?"

The little girl's cheeks flushed red as she nodded and sweetly said: "Yes, Sister Li is everyone's older sister; she's been wonderful to us…"

The girl's words left me puzzled—how could Han Duo, who's so old, have such young siblings? Looking at their ages, the oldest is definitely no more than ten.

Just then I saw another little girl grabbing a filthy steamed bun and shoving it into her mouth. I rushed over and seized her hand.

"Hey, this is dirty—can't eat it." I grabbed the girl's hand, preventing her from stuffing the bun into her mouth. Look at this bun—it's turned yellow and smells rancid.

"Why not? It's delicious and fragrant," the little girl said, a bit confused; she stared at me for a while, then finally let out an "Oh" as if she'd suddenly understood.

She felt a little shy, looking at the bun in her hand with reluctance, but after swallowing her saliva she slowly handed the bun over to me.

"Big brother, you must be hungry—if you are, Lele will give you something to eat first." Even though she clearly hated to part with half the bun, she thought I was hungry and pushed the bun toward me.

This little girl, so young, already thinks of others like that!

Looking at her dirty little face, those pure, flawless eyes, and the yellowed, rancid bun in her hand, my nose suddenly felt sour… painfully so.