"That doctor, how should I take this medicine?" A middle-aged woman stared at the prescription the doctor had just given her, but she couldn't recognize a single character.
"One pill in the morning and evening, take it after meals," replied Mo Zi.
Standing next to the middle-aged woman was a seven or eight-year-old girl. As soon as she heard about taking medicine, she began to protest, "Mom, I don't want to take medicine."
Mo Zi patted the girl's head and reassured her, "It's okay, this medicine is sweet, it tastes like candy."
The little girl looked up at her with big, watery eyes, looking pitiful, and asked half-believingly, "Really?"
"Really," Mo Zi nodded firmly.
"Alright then," the little girl wiped her eyes, sniffled, and walked away with her mother, satisfied.
Mo Zi checked the time, realizing there was less than an hour left before the end of her shift. She could still see a few more patients. She stood up, supporting her pregnant belly, preparing to go to the restroom.
The hospital corridor was long. She had to walk from one end to the other, turn a corner, and walk some more to reach the restroom. Luckily, sometimes her colleagues would come over to help her, and the relatives of patients in the corridor would instinctively make way for her when they saw her pregnant figure.
After leaving the restroom, Mo Zi heard a commotion at the entrance. She washed her hands and peeked out. One of the doctors from her department was surrounded by several family members. These family members were arrogant, speaking foul language and pointing at the doctor's hands.
Mo Zi recognized these family members. Their elderly relative, over eighty years old, had a brain tumor. The doctor had recommended conservative treatment, but the family insisted on surgery. The elderly patient passed away on the same day as the surgery. They didn't listen to the doctor's advice back then, and now they were causing a scene?
Mo Zi could tell that the atmosphere was tense. She quickly pulled out her phone and called the hospital director and another doctor, asking them to come over immediately.
The doctor who was cornered tried to explain, but it fell on deaf ears. He turned to leave, but one of the burly family members, Wang, grabbed his hair and forcefully pulled him back. Wang muttered under his breath, his face contorted with rage, and then he landed a heavy punch on the doctor's face.
The doctor was dazed by the blow, stumbling and leaning against the wall, covering his face as he cried out in pain.
At that moment, the piercing cry of a child rang out, drawing everyone's attention. Mo Zi followed the sound and saw the little girl who had just seen her for treatment. The girl was probably waiting for her mother outside the restroom and got scared when she saw the doctors being attacked.
Another aggressive-looking family member, fearing that the girl's crying would attract attention, hurried over and slapped the girl across the face, hissing, "Shut up!" The girl was slapped to the ground, crying even louder.
Mo Zi clenched her fist beside her, her teeth grinding with anger. What scum of a person would hit a child like that!
The doctor who had been dazed by the attack initially tried to shield the girl but was held back by Wang. Wang delivered a powerful kick to the doctor's abdomen, causing him to curl up in pain, wincing.
Mo Zi couldn't stand by and watch any longer. Her upbringing didn't allow her to turn a blind eye at times like these. She emerged from the restroom, squatted down in front of the little girl, wiped her tears, and comforted her in a soft voice, "Don't cry."
The aggressive family members were also momentarily stunned. Suddenly, another doctor rushed out, a pregnant woman. She wasn't someone they could hit, yet not hitting her also presented a dilemma. They didn't know what to do for a moment.
Just then, the hospital director and several security guards arrived, their imposing presence striking fear into the crowd. The security guards shouted at the family members, "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Wang's thick and raised eyebrows twitched, a fierce expression on his face. He grabbed the doctor by the waist and dealt a powerful blow to her abdomen. Several security guards rushed forward to restrain Wang, while the other family members turned on the security guards, resulting in a chaotic scuffle near the restroom entrance.
Mo Zi quickly stood up, holding onto the little girl, wanting to leave. But even though she was fast, she was still a pregnant woman. One of the family members noticed Mo Zi's intention and retaliated by forcefully pushing a security guard in her direction, his eyes filled with malice.
Before Mo Zi could take a step, a powerful force came from behind her. She lost her balance, fell heavily to the ground, and upon hitting the ground, a sharp, intense pain radiated from her belly. The pain caused her body to tremble, and her shirt quickly became soaked with sweat. Soon after, she lost consciousness, her vision turning dark and hazy. She thought she heard the hurried breathing of people outside:
"Make way, make way, call for help!"
"Her water might have broken."
"Doctor Mo, you have to hold on!"
...
When Mo Xi received a call from Xiao Jun, he was playing a game with MischievousChild. He had just finished his mid-term exams and wanted to relax.
"Hello, Xiao Xi," Xiao Jun's voice sounded hoarse over the phone, "Can you get in touch with your dad?"
"Yes," Mo Xi used one hand to control the game on his keyboard and the other to hold the phone, asking, "Is there something wrong?"
His sister usually didn't bother with their dad, and his brother-in-law had never contacted their dad before either.
"I want to borrow some cash from him, your sister...," Xiao Jun paused for a moment, speaking in a hushed voice, "she's in the hospital emergency room."
Mo Xi stopped what he was doing, widened his eyes, unable to believe it, "What are you saying? My sister is in the emergency room? Or are you saying she's saving someone else?"
"She was pushed down by a patient's family member at the hospital today. She's in critical condition, and the doctor says it's uncertain whether both the adults and children will make it." After saying this, Xiao Jun buried his head in his hand, and his eyes suddenly turned red as he choked back sobs.
Mo Xi felt like he had been struck by lightning. His mind went blank, and it took him a while to tremble as he replied, "Okay, I'll call my dad right away."
Tears welled up in his eyes as soon as he hung up the phone. Mo Xi wiped his tears away with his sleeve and finally found his dad's name in his contacts. He scrolled up and down the list of contacts but couldn't find his name.
"Damn it!" Mo Xi slammed the phone down, frustrated by how inconvenient it was when he needed it the most.
Mo Xi wiped his tears away with his sleeve and finally found her dad's name in her contacts. He dialed the number.
With a loud "thud," the phone dropped to the ground. His hands were sweaty due to nervousness. Mo Xi wiped his palms vigorously on his pants and picked up the phone again.
"Beep, beep, beep—" No matter how he dialed, his dad's phone continued to go unanswered.
He then called Uncle Li's number.
"Sorry, the number you're trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service." Mo Xi cursed under his breath.
"Dad, reply to my message."
After sending a WeChat message to his dad, Mo Xi suddenly remembered that a few days ago, Uncle Li had posted a location on his Moments in Africa.
If they were in Africa right now, it might be days before they could be reached.
Mo Xi forced himself to calm down. He transferred all his remaining Chinese yuan to Xiao Jun, which was just under ten thousand. He really was a poor student with no money left.
If it really came to it, he could borrow money. As long as he could save her, he could borrow as much money as needed.
Stay calm, stay calm.
Mo Xi called Xiao Jun again to find out exactly how much money was needed.
"I don't know exactly how much. The doctor keeps coming out every now and then to ask for more money," Xiao Jun replied irritably. "I've already given them over a hundred thousand, and it's almost gone."
Mo Xi knew that his sister and brother-in-law didn't have much money. Both of them relied on their salaries to make ends meet, and they still had a mortgage to pay. On top of that, they had lent him a hundred thousand for his studies. For Xiao Jun to be able to produce over a hundred thousand now was already quite a feat.
"If you can reach Dad, tell him I'll find a way to pay him back within a week," Xiao Jun's eyes were tinged with bitterness. "After that, I can sell the car or the house if needed. Right now, I just need cash."
In Mo Xi and Mo Zi's plans, having a child would cost at most ten or twenty thousand yuan, and with the additional expenses of a nanny and baby formula, they might need thirty to fifty thousand at most. So, they had kept just under fifty thousand yuan in cash. Who would have expected something like this to happen?
Now, money was flowing into the hospital like water from a tap, but the hole was still so big.
"Don't worry, brother-in-law. I'll figure something out here," Mo Xi hung up the phone and let out a sigh.
He hadn't even repaid Da Bai from the last time he borrowed money, and now he needed to borrow money from him again. Since he went abroad, Da Bai had been helping him in various ways, and Mo Xi felt embarrassed to ask for more.
But in the face of human life, dignity meant nothing.
He still mustered the courage to send a WeChat message to Da Bai. Da Bai quickly transferred tens of thousands to him and advised him not to worry too much.
Mo Xi looked at his account balance and regretted choosing the path of studying abroad for the first time. If he had stayed and worked in China, he could have been by Mo Zi's side more often, and she might not have encountered this kind of situation. Even if she did, he would have had more money now to transfer to Xiao Jun.
If something really happened to his sister this time, he would never be able to forgive himself.
He quickly made a decision, sent leave-of-absence emails to his boss and professors, and used the remaining U.S. dollars to buy a plane ticket back to China for the same day.
At this moment, he had to be by his sister's side.
While playing a game with Mo Xi, MischievousChild suddenly disappeared. Despite sending several messages, there was no response.
He waited by his phone for hours, growing increasingly anxious. If Mo Xi had disconnected or had another reason, she would have told him. It had been so long without a response; could something have happened?
Coincidentally, at that moment, a message popped up on his phone: "Pei Hao, Xiao Xi sister is in trouble. Do you have any money?"
Pei Hao was taken aback by the sudden message. He immediately called Da Bai:
"What happened to his sister?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but she's in critical condition in the hospital emergency room. Xiao Xi just asked me for money, and I gave her thirty thousand. But I'm afraid it's not enough," Da Bai paused
and said, "It seems pretty serious."
Pei Hao's expression darkened. Anxiously, he asked, "Which hospital?"
"Ren'ai Hospital," Da Bai replied.
"I'm going there right now to take a look. Don't let him know yet." Pei Hao hung up the phone, took three quick steps to the entrance, put on his shoes, grabbed his windbreaker, and left.