“Please speak!” The assistant was very courteous.
“Can you buy my mother a plane ticket to return to America?” Hong Jinyun asked.
“Of course, I can help Miss Hong and Miss Hong’s mother, Madam Li, buy plane tickets back to America, just give me your passport numbers!” The assistant wore a slight smile on his lips.
Although not quite in agreement with Hong Jinyun’s idea to send her back to America, Hong Jinyun’s mother knew… that she absolutely couldn’t let Hong Jinyun return to America with her, else all hope would be lost with Lu Jinnan!
If she brought Hong Jinyun back to America, Hong Jinyun’s mother didn’t have the confidence to find someone who was as rich as Lu Jinnan! Not to mention, if Hong Jinyun’s new love interest didn’t have feelings for Hong Jinyun, treating her only as a plaything, he wouldn’t take care of the mother of a drug addict who was about to die, giving her money to support her through old age!
After some pondering, Hong Jinyun’s mother ultimately decided to play along with Hong Jinyun. She shook her hand and said, “No way am I bringing her back to America! Without Lu Jinnan, Hong Jinyun is only a burden! If Lu Jinnan doesn’t care about her… I’m not bothering with her either! As a grown person, not only is she unable to take care of her mother, she needs her mother to take care of her instead! She’s better off dead!”
Hong Jinyun’s mother then said to the assistant, “Just buy me a plane ticket! I don’t care about her!”
The assistant raised a brow, resisting the urge to cuss as he said to Hong Jinyun’s mother, “Apologies, Madam Li, regardless of Mr. Lu or me, all assistance towards you originated from the fact that Mr. Lu used to be old acquaintances with Miss Hong Jinyun. I’m not a philanthropist. Now that you’re unrelated to Miss Hong, I won’t provide you with any help!”
The assistant silently wondered what kind of woman Hong Jinyun’s mother was. She was such a piece of work!
Without Hong Jinyun, she was nobody to Mr. Lu. The gall of her to command him like this…
Was she kidding?
Hong Jinyun’s mother paused in surprise…
She was used to ordering Lu Jinnan’s assistant around, but what the assistant said did seem to make sense.
She gritted her teeth. “Fine, I don’t need your help! I can buy a plane ticket back to America myself. In any case, I’m washing my hands of Hong Jinyun… If Lu Jinnan isn’t going to take care of her, just let her die!”
Hong Jinyun’s mother then walked far away…
The assistant’s brows twitched again. There were weirdos every year, but they seemed to be particularly plentiful this year.
The assistant looked towards Hong Jinyun. Seeing her reddened eyes as she watched chokingly as her mother walked away, he began to feel sympathy towards Hong Jinyun.
Hong Jinyun’s mother valued money more than anything. Through this period of interaction, the assistant realized that…
Based on Hong Jinyun’s mother’s personality, it was completely like her to discard Hong Jinyun after seeing that she no longer had any use for her.
Hong Jinyun’s mother didn’t behave like a mother at all…
Then again, how would a normal mother leave her daughter alone for so many years? Then, after finding out that her daughter was addicted to drugs, not only did she not help her kick the addiction, she forced her to prostitute herself for drug money!
Perhaps because of the bit of sympathy that he felt towards Hong Jinyun, the assistant spoke more politely now. “Miss Hong, if you need… I can help arrange plane tickets back to America for you!”
Hong Jinyun shook her head, sorrow in her eyes, appearing all the more frail and delicate now. “Forget it, my mom… there’s no use in me returning to America! Thanks for taking care of me all this while. Help me… thank Jinnan on my behalf! I’m sorry for causing him so much trouble!”
Hong Jinyun then walked down the hospital stairs, so weak that she needed to catch her breath with every step she took.
The assistant held back the compassion he felt for her, thinking that the matter was settled.
He had just walked several steps up the stairs, preparing to report the outcome of this matter to Lu Jinnan, when he couldn’t resist turning around to glance in Hong Jinyun’s direction. He turned to see Hong Jinyun’s frail body shakily collapse to the ground…
The assistant was shocked to see this. He hurriedly helped her up. “Miss Hong! Miss Hong!”
The assistant called out to her several times, but she didn’t regain consciousness, so he could only lift her horizontally and carry her to the ER.
…
Half an hour later, the assistant went upstairs and stood at the door of Bai Xiaonian’s father’s ward. However, he didn’t enter.
It was Bai Xiaonian who spotted the hesitant assistant at the door and notified Lu Jinnan. “Your assistant is standing at the door…”
Lu Jinnan turned around and glanced at the door, then handed the teacup he was holding to Bai Xiaonian’s father before exiting the ward. He asked after closing the door behind him, “All settled?”
The assistant nodded. “All settled!”
Regarding Hong Jinyun’s mother abandoning Hong Jinyun to return to America, the assistant hesitated about whether he should tell Lu Jinnan about it, looking conflicted.
“Is there something else?” Lu Jinnan asked.
The assistant hesitated for a moment, then said, “Miss Hong’s mother, Madam Li, said she’s going back to America, but she’s not bringing along Miss Hong. She simply left Miss Hong at the entrance of the hospital. Later, Miss Hong fainted, and I sent her to the ER. I feel like I ought to inform you of this!”
Lu Jinnan frowned but said nothing.
“I don’t understand Miss Hong, but that mother of hers is indeed a person who places her own interests above all else! Perhaps after realizing she couldn’t get any benefits out of Miss Hong, she decided to abandon Miss Hong. I’d like to know… how should I handle Miss Hong going forward? Are we still stopping all financial aid towards her?” the assistant asked.
The assistant felt some compassion towards Hong Jinyun.
“However…” The assistant said, “No one has the duty to provide someone with monetary support. If Mr. Lu is still angry over Mrs. Lu and her father’s matter, I feel that you should stay out of this matter, lest Miss Hong’s mother finds out and comes back again.”
Lu Jinnan didn’t say anything after hearing all that, simply entering the ward.
Bai Xiaonian stuck a fork into a slice of apple and stuffed it into her mouth, then turned her head to see Lu Jinnan enter. She asked, “How is it? All settled?”
“Hong Jinyun’s mother is preparing to go back to America. But she’s planning to leave Hong Jinyun here,” Lu Jinnan said.
Bai Xiaonian was very surprised. However, at the same time, she thought it was expected.
“How can such a mother exist!” Bai Xiaonian’s father couldn’t help getting angry. “No matter what, she’s her child. How can she abandon her sick child in the country? Is this reasonable?”
Bai Xiaonian’s father didn’t understand Hong Jinyun. This incident… he only felt that it was Hong Jinyun’s mother’s mistake. Hong Jinyun was a patient, so it was natural for her to gain sympathy points.
Bai Xiaonian’s father was a kind person, and kind people wouldn’t think of someone as being too wicked. Hence, in his eyes, Hong Jinyun was truly a pitiful child…