Chapter 07: Medical expenses

　　Cherry Adams saw the Lee brothers again.

Much had happened before and after.

It wasn't really a big deal, but some time ago, Cherry Adams' application to volunteer at a private railroad school had been rejected. The semester was about to start, but there had been no news in the student group, and no one had been told to pay tuition or when to report.

　　This is very unusual. Coupled with the fact that this school is rubbish, the score line is getting lower and lower every year, the enrollment is low, and some seniors have guessed that the school is about to close.

　　First, Cherry Adams is not so sure.

Second, the collapse of the college is a good thing.

When a private university collapses, the local education bureau will assign you to a better public university. That's not bad, and Cherry Adams might be able to go from a second-tier university to a first-tier university. This is something to celebrate, and the tuition at a public university is low, so the expenses of the past four years have been saved.

Cherry Adams went back to drinking with her high school classmates.

Everyone angrily cursed Cherry Adams for her good fortune.

　　"It's a good thing," Cherry Adams said modestly, "but I definitely won't be able to enroll in school this September. Even if I get into a program, it won't be until next year. I'll just start school a year late. By then, you'll all be in military training, and I'll just be in an air-conditioned room..."

Cherry Adams is like that. Three sentences are enough to make her classmates curse her for the rest of their lives. Call her a bitch and it's funny; call her funny and it's too mean.

The two kinds of colors complement each other.

　　They complement each other to create a charm that is uniquely Cherry Adams.

"Hey, seriously," she said, not joking, "you all know the situation at home. I've got nothing to do for a year, and I'm going to be eating at home for another year... I was thinking about getting a part-time job. What do you think? What kind of part-time job can I get with only a high school education?"

Someone laughed at her, "You forgot, we all forgot after the college entrance exam. You probably don't even have a high school education anymore!

There was another round of laughter.

　　Cherry Adams thought for a moment and frowned.

"Hey, what do you think about me working in a milk tea shop? I can make 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a month."

"They don't even hire college students anymore! Who would hire you after only three months of work?"

Cherry Adams had another idea: "What about delivery? There's no barrier to entry, right?"

"You're asking for trouble in this heat," one boy complained. "You don't know how hard delivery is!"

　　A classmate's father is a driver: "Cherry Adams just bought an electric car. You could try to get a job as a ride-hailing driver. There are a lot of support policies for ride-hailing platforms these days."

Cherry Adams asked which platform, and her classmate's father said, "Didi is the biggest platform right now. My dad said that if you drive an electric car, it's actually quite cost-effective. If you pick up a few more orders a month, you can easily earn 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. Recently, during the summer job-seeking season, the franchise requirements seem to have been relaxed, so you can give it a try."

　　"Sure," Cherry Adams' eyes lit up, "sign me up.

In a few minutes, Cherry Adams became a Didi Chuxing driver.

This was Cherry Adams' first job.

　　Cherry Adams felt that this job was a good fit for her. She had a passion for driving and was talented at it, and she got her license in a month without failing a single test. The instructors at the driving school also said that Cherry Adams was a natural. The students in Cherry Adams' class passed the second and third parts of the driving test on the first try because Cherry Adams taught them better than the instructors. Coach Gao asked her to come to work for him, but she said no, that she had to go back to her shitty second-tier university.

　　Unfortunately, she could not attend that second-rate university for the time being.

Cherry Adams started taking orders from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm.

　　Cherry Adams still remembers her first trip. She was nervous, but she arrived at the pick-up point on time. The passenger was a middle-aged business executive. Cherry Adams was new to the job, full of enthusiasm, a positive and enterprising heart, and a mouth that could not sit still. She looked everywhere for something to talk about, but the other person told her to watch the road and drive properly, adding that she was a woman driver and would not take a ride from a woman driver next time.

Cherry Adams was embarrassed the whole way.

　　Fortunately, she ended up with a five-star rating.

Earlier, the male classmate whose father was the driver had warned her that many passengers were difficult and difficult to get along with, and that the driving profession was particularly prone to internal conflict. His father usually drank a lot of alcohol when he wasn't working and smoked pack after pack of cigarettes.

　　Cherry Adams thinks that's okay. In fact, there are frictions between people, small and large. Society runs on these frictions. Cherry Adams actually understands others and, of course, hopes that others will understand her. So far, she hasn't had much trouble at work, and she even likes the feeling of driving on the road. After two months on the job, she has seen a lot of people and things...she knows the vicissitudes of life.

　　Cherry Adams often drives around the Wuchang area of Jiangbei District, which is on the opposite bank of the two rivers and where the old drivers gather.

She has joined a driver's group with no entry requirements, where both online car-hailing services and taxis are welcome. Most of the people in the group are also locals, speaking a Wuhan dialect with an old-wine aroma.

They all send voice messages and talk about the strange things that happen in their cars, usually cursing only after the passengers have gotten out.

Cherry Adams loves to listen.

　　Everyone in the group is older than she is. Cherry Adams picked up her first cell phone in the car and wanted to get a medal for returning it. It was her aunts and uncles in the group who taught her over a video call. Cherry Adams is very young and a driver, so they asked her how she felt about doing this.

"The school closed," Cherry Adams said honestly.

Someone said, "My daughter's school was closed, too. Wuhan's second-tier universities have become more popular in recent years."

　　"The educational resources are already poor, and the situation is getting worse.

Only the people of Wuhan are qualified to speak ill of Wuhan. Don't look at those local drivers who badmouth Wuhan every day, if out-of-town tourists complain a little, they'll get angry with them too.

Speaking of out-of-town tourists, there are a few peak times when they come, except for weekends, which are the beginning of the school year and holidays.

During the National Day holiday, Cherry Adams got the most business for the airport train station and the bus station on both sides of the river. Although the overpasses were a pain to drive on, she made a lot of money.

　　Cherry Adams worked hard, moving bricks.

Time passed, and it was November.

On that day, Cherry Adams got a job in the Xiangjianghu district. This side of the city was a new industrial cluster with wide roads, lots of big trucks, and many construction sites. It had been raining that day, so Cherry Adams drove carefully. After all, a mortal like her could not compete with a fully insured tractor-trailer.

　　Fortunately, the road conditions were good at night, and after delivering her last order, she headed home. Just as she was about to enter the national highway, the rain suddenly became heavier. Her view was obscured by the blurry stream of water. What kind of weather was this? Cherry Adams was in a hurry to turn the corner, and she was a few seconds late in turning on the windshield wipers and high beams.

It was those few seconds of error.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed in front of the car.

"Shit!" Cherry Adams exclaimed.

　　She quickly swerved to avoid it.

You are supposed to yield to oncoming traffic, but it was too late to brake. Cherry Adams' heart was pounding and her ten fingers were embedded in the steering wheel. She swerved, and the back of the car spewed water and came to a stop on the side of the road. As it came to a stop, Cherry Adams began to shake, and she got out of the car in a panic.

"You little brat, are you looking for death? Are you in a hurry to be reborn?"

　　It was hard to see in the rain, but Cherry Adams was still worried that she had hit something.

She returned to the scene of the accident and took a closer look: "Jasper Lee?"

　　Jasper Lee was sitting on the side of the road holding a still Pascal Lee. The fine rain hit his pale face, and the high headlights reflected his emaciated face and dry lips. He kept shaking in fear as he looked up at her. The two of them stared at each other in the miserable rain at the border between day and night.

　　"Please save my brother!" Jasper Lee pulled at her pant leg, "Please, please Cherry Adams, my brother is really dying.

Cherry Adams kicked him away and turned to walk to the car.

Jasper Lee stopped and Cherry Adams turned around.

"Follow me, do I have to ask you?"

.

　　"What have you been doing these days?" Cherry Adams slumped against the hospital corridor and looked at Jasper Lee. "You've turned yourself into this living, half-dead mess, and so has your brother. He's so burned up he can only drool. You won't take him to the hospital, just hanging him on the IV is useless!"

　　Jasper Lee wiped the rain from his forehead, and the thick water on his eyelashes looked like tears. His eyes were red and bloodshot. He struggled for words, not knowing what to say. However, Cherry Adams noticed his outfit: "Zhongjiang Construction? You're working illegally at a construction site?"

"... Yes," Jasper Lee said hoarsely.

　　Cherry Adams looked at him again, and yes, he had darkened a lot, but he hadn't lost much weight. He was already a skinny guy.

Jasper Lee was dirty and wasn't sitting in an iron chair, but crouched dry in the corner. His dirty work pants had mud stuck to his legs, and his hair was soaked and dripping with sewage.

　　Cherry Adams looked at him and burst out laughing. "Jasper Lee, do you remember when you and your brother used to fill my bed with mud in the summer? I dare ask you, what were you thinking then? Did you ever think that one day you would have to deal with mud all day?"

Although Jasper Lee was on his guard, his heart still felt a stab of pain.

He picked at the calluses on his palms, kept his head down, and didn't say a word.

　　Cherry Adams couldn't help but be amused to see him still struggling to maintain his meager dignity despite his situation.

"What? You think what I said hurt? But that's the way people are. When you're successful, everyone's your friend and everyone's good to you. But when you hit rock bottom, just look at what the Lee family did to you and your brother. Look at the kind of life you've been living all this time.

　　Cherry Adams had not finished her sarcastic remarks when the doctor came over and asked who the patient's family member was. Jasper Lee rushed over and took the list of blood tests.

After a while of communication, it was generally said that Pascal Lee was originally weak, had a cold earlier, did not rest during this period, and could not keep up with nutrition. As soon as the temperature dropped, the flu naturally found its way in. The doctor also asked where the patient usually lived, and Jasper Lee said the dormitory at the construction site.

　　"If possible, try to improve the patient's accommodation and diet," the doctor said. The air quality at the construction site is very poor, and the noise is loud. Of course, hospitalization is the best solution, but Jasper Lee only has last month's wages, and last month's wages have not been paid yet.

Jasper Lee just said to think about it.

　　Cherry Adams was blunt: "You don't have any money?"

Jasper Lee said he did, that he had a thousand dollars in his dorm room and only eighty dollars on hand. Cherry Adams said nothing, turned around, walked a few feet, and came back.

Jasper Lee's eyes lit up a little.

"I can apply for a medal of valor for taking my suddenly ill patient to the hospital. Don't lose these medical records of your brother. Come with me to the police station this weekend to review them." Cherry Adams smiled coyly, "One good turn deserves another, right?"

After a moment of silence, the light went out of Jasper Lee's eyes.

He said yes quietly. Cherry Adams hummed a melody and left.

I know, I know it is. Jasper Lee pinched his eyes and went to the station. Pascal Lee lay on a snow-white bed with a thin tube attached to his hand.

　　His brother's eyebrows relaxed, and this was probably the best rest he had had in days. Pascal Lee was more delicate than Jasper Lee, and unlike Jasper Lee, he could live and sleep anywhere. In fact, Jasper Lee was not doing well either. He was tired every day, and he didn't get paid, but he just couldn't stop living.

　　He walked to the end of the bed, picked up the bill, and trudged with heavy steps to the lobby. When he reached the cashier, he asked if he could have a few more days, since he didn't have any cash.

"Bed number 20080, right?" the clerk said, "The patient's bill has already been paid."

Jasper Lee couldn't believe it, "What?"

"This includes treatment and hospital fees for the next four days, a total of 1,525 yuan. Is there a problem?"

"Who paid the bill?"

　　Jasper Lee only wanted to hear that name at that moment.

"A very young lady. Looks like she got caught in the rain."

Jasper Lee breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately ran out into the hall.

In the night rain, Cherry Adams' car was still parked on the street, about to start. Someone tapped on the window on the other side.

Cherry Adams slowly rolled down the window. Jasper Lee's face appeared in the rain, a flush on his tense cheeks.

　　"Money, money," he panted.

"I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

Cherry Adams scanned him from head to toe, her eyes nothing more than teasing and probing. And the usual reckless coldness of this strange older sister.

Jasper Lee's heart pounded as she looked at him.

Cherry Adams pulled her eyes away and took it all in stride.

"...I know, go play."