"Shi'an, dinner's ready."
On the third day after the surgery, Xie Shi'an was finally able to eat some liquid food. Yan Xinyuan pulled up the small table next to the bed, slightly raised the hospital bed, put the porridge he had bought on it, and opened the lid of the lunchbox for her.
"Thank you, Coach Yan, I can do it myself."
"Okay, sure."
Despite his trembling hands, Xie Shi'an insisted on picking up the spoon himself and trying to eat slowly.
"Coach Yan, have you eaten?"
"I've already eaten. I had fried rice outside, but I didn't bring it back because I was afraid you'd be tempted."
During his hospital stay, he was fed either IV fluids or plain porridge. When Xie Shi'an heard him mention fried rice, he became quite tempted.
"Oh really, you're afraid I'll be tempted and then tell me..."
As the two were talking, Yan Xinyuan's phone rang. He glanced at it and saw it was the landline number of the Binhai Provincial Team. He frowned slightly, walked to the side, and answered it.
"Hello?"
The more he listened, the more serious his expression became.
Xie Shi'an also slowed down his movements and pricked up his ears.
"Hurry up and come back! Do you know what a disaster has happened?! Our training base is surrounded! Let me tell you, the Qiao Yuchu incident has a terrible social impact and must be dealt with seriously!"
Upon hearing the name "Qiao Yuchu," Xie Shi'an dropped the spoon from his hand onto the table.
"Please don't worry. Shi'an is still in the hospital, and I can't get away for the time being. Let's call the police to evacuate the crowd first. I'll call Yu Chu to ask about the situation and call you back later."
After Yan Xinyuan finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
Xie Shi'an looked at him with concern.
"Yu Chu... what's wrong?"
Yan Xinyuan was afraid she would worry, so he wanted to keep it a secret.
"It's alright, don't worry..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xie Shi'an tried to lift the covers and get out of bed, but the mere movement caused a sharp pain in his wound.
Large beads of sweat immediately appeared on her forehead.
Yan Xinyuan rushed over and pinned the man down.
"Shi'an, you..."
Xie Shi'an raised his head, sat on the edge of the bed, and stared at him through gritted teeth.
"Coach Yan, I heard everything. Please don't hide it from me. Maybe I can help you think of a solution."
Yan Xinyuan also sighed and helped the person onto the bed.
"Then lie down first. I told you, you're not allowed to get excited."
Xie Shi'an nodded vigorously.
"It wasn't Yu Chu who had an accident; it was her parents who caused an accident on the highway and killed someone. The other person's family is now demanding five million yuan in compensation. They won't stop until they get the money, and they've already come to the gate of our training base."
“The team leader called me and said that they couldn’t get in touch with Qiao Yuchu. No matter what, she has to come forward.”
Yan Xinyuan held his phone, pondering, feeling increasingly anxious.
“Five million is not a small amount. This family probably has the intention of extorting money from us. Shi’an, you lie still. I’m going out to make a phone call. We need to get in touch with them first.”
"Coach Yan, I..."
Xie Shi'an wanted to say something, but Yan Xinyuan patted her head.
"You're a patient too. Take care of yourself first so you'll have the energy to care for others. Don't worry, I'm here, I'll definitely be able to handle it."
As the boy was stroked by his broad, kind hands, he gradually calmed down. No matter what, the boy always possessed a convincing strength.
It's so easy to make people believe it.
Their strict coach is omnipotent.
Xie Shi'an nodded, watched him leave, and lost all appetite. She stretched out her arm, enduring the faint pain from her surgical wound, and grabbed the phone on the table.
She found Qiao Yuchu's contact information and wanted to call her, but she figured Yan Xinyuan was probably calling her too, so she gave up.
Looking at the chat interface again, Xie Shi'an realized that Qiao Yuchu hadn't replied to her messages for a long time, and she bit her lower lip anxiously.
What should we do?
Five million is an astronomical figure. Even if it were all her prize money from the World Championships, it would probably only amount to a few hundred thousand, and it wouldn't be paid out until the team competition was over.
Qiao Yuchu must be short of money right now, otherwise she wouldn't be ignoring the phone and having people come knocking on her door.
Xie Shi'an thought for a moment and transferred all the balance in his bank card to her, leaving only a few thousand yuan for hospitalization fees.
And leave a message:
"We're all worried about you. It's not much money, but take it and use it first. If you see this message, give it to me..."
The boy typed, then shook his head and deleted it.
"Let's call Coach Yan back."
Chapter 83 Incident
Qiao Yuchu didn't not want to answer the phone, but she was too exhausted to even look at it. In addition, the victim's family had been harassing her with calls from different numbers these past few days, so she simply turned off her phone to get some peace and quiet.
Yan Xinyuan dialed the number repeatedly, but each time he received the reply, "Sorry, the user you dialed is currently unavailable."
After thinking for a moment, the old man took his passbook and ID card and went to a bank near the hospital.
"Could you please check how much money is left in there?"
The teller answered him.
"The total is forty-three thousand eight hundred yuan."
This was all the savings he had left.
Yan Xinyuan recalled a conversation he had with Director Chen when he was hospitalized in Jiangcheng City.
"Doctor, if it's cancer, how much will the surgery cost?"
Director Chen gave him a rough estimate.
"Around 400,000 yuan, not including the cost of chemotherapy."
"What if chemotherapy is added?"
"A course of treatment costs about 40,000 yuan, and medical insurance can cover part of it."
Director Chen, fearing he might be discouraged, added.
"However, if the surgery is successful and the cancer cells do not spread, then chemotherapy will not be necessary."
That night, after returning home, he and Coach Liang had a long talk that lasted all night.
He meant that the disease was too difficult to treat and the treatment was too expensive, so it was better to just leave it to fate.
Coach Liang pointed at his nose and scolded, "Old Yan, can't you be a little more shrewd? It's just 400,000 yuan. A real man can just grit his teeth, bend his knees, go find a job, or borrow money. There are so many people in our Binhai Provincial Team, are you afraid we can't raise this amount for you?!"
The teller urged them on.
Are you still going to take it or not?
Yan Xinyuan snapped out of his daze. Luckily, he had asked the finance department for Qiao Yuchu's salary card number before he came and handed her a note.
"I won't withdraw it. I'll transfer the money, 40,000 to this card."
***
While Xie Shi'an was hospitalized, the National Swimming Championships also came to a close. Cheng Zhen participated in two events, the men's 400-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter relay, and won gold medals in both.
The young man, full of pride, stood on the highest podium and won cheers from the entire audience.
Amidst the flowers and applause, Cheng Zhen was somewhat disappointed when she didn't see her father, who had promised to come to watch the game. After stepping off the stage, she went to the locker room and called him.
He had prepared a whole host of complaints for him, such as being untrustworthy, a big liar, and that he would never talk to him again unless he took him and his mother on a long trip.
However, after waiting for a long time, all I heard from the phone was a cold, mechanical background sound.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off."
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off."
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off."
...
Cheng Zhen hung up the phone and muttered, "That's strange. It's not a weekday, why would she turn off her phone?"
However, he was always carefree and didn't think much of it, assuming that he was just working overtime or in a meeting.
Cheng Zhen changed her clothes, closed the closet door, and was about to leave when another phone call came in.
A smile appeared on his lips when he saw the caller ID.
"Wow, the sun has risen in the west! You actually thought of calling me."
Xie Shi'an's voice sounded very serious.
"Stop joking, is the game over yet?"
"I'm done! Didn't you see the news? I broke the national record!"
A hint of a smile finally appeared in Xie Shi'an's voice.
"I'm hospitalized, so I haven't seen a doctor."
"How are you feeling? You're really something, playing through appendicitis and still finishing the game. I wonder why Coach Yan didn't give you a good scolding."
"They scolded me, of course they scolded me. They almost fired me, but I'll do it again next time. That's what you call being skilled and daring."
"Alright, alright, stop here in Versailles. You don't come here unless you need something. So, what do you want?"
Xie Shi'an hesitated for a moment, but still told him about Qiao Yuchu's family situation.