Acting in his capacity as the future son-in-law, Jiang Chen went to have a chat with the attending physician.
As it turned out, Li Shuirui's father's condition was even more dire than he had imagined.
If a transplant surgery was not performed, he might not last a month—and that was a conservative estimate.
All current medical measures were merely forcibly prolonging his life to buy time to find a compatible heart donor.
However, the waiting time was unpredictable. Could Li Shuirui's father wait that long?
Estimating that the mother and daughter had likely finished their conversation, Jiang Chen returned to the ward, only to find an uninvited guest upon pushing the door open.
"Senior Jiang."
That's right.
Liang Zhenlun had actually shown up.
Maintaining his composure, Jiang Chen closed the door.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to the hospital to see a friend. I saw Shuirui's car parked downstairs, so I gave her a call. I didn't expect that her father would be facing such a major crisis."
Jiang Chen looked toward Li Shuirui and saw that her expression was calm, showing no signs of abnormality.
In front of Xue Mingqin, Jiang Chen naturally did not reveal any clues; he exchanged pleasantries with Liang Zhenlun just like a friend would.
Even Li Shuirui began to admire his acting skills.
If she didn't know the truth, she would find it hard to imagine that there was such a deep-seated grudge between the two men.
"Auntie, Senior Jiang, Shuirui, I understand the situation regarding Uncle's illness. To be honest, I know a friend whose relative works at the organ donation center in a fairly high-ranking position. Perhaps they could provide some assistance."
Upon hearing this, a burst of joyful light instantly flashed in Xue Mingqin's eyes, and even Li Shuirui couldn't help but ask, "Really?"
"Of course it's true."
Liang Zhenlun nodded with a smile. "Should I give him a call right now to ask?"
"Xiao Liang, that would be such a trouble to you."
Xue Mingqin nodded hurriedly.
"It's just a small favor. I'll step out for a moment then."
Liang Zhenlun pulled out his phone and walked out of the ward.
"Dongda is truly a first-class university; its students are all so outstanding."
Xue Mingqin was overjoyed.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly but did not expose Liang Zhenlun's true colors. He gave Li Shuirui a meaningful look, questioning whether Liang Zhenlun's arrival was truly a coincidence.
Li Shuirui shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
Jiang Chen didn't dwell on the issue. Regardless of whether Liang Zhenlun came to the hospital intentionally or unintentionally, if he could truly help, it would be for the best.
As for the grievances between himself and the man, they could be set aside for the time being.
"Xiao Jiang, why are you taking so long? Why don't you go out and check?"
Xue Mingqin was anxious.
Now that the surgical fees were secured, the only thing missing was the heart.
Jiang Chen nodded and was about to head out when Liang Zhenlun, who had been on the phone for about ten minutes, pushed the door open and walked back in.
"How is it?"
Jiang Chen asked.
"He said it can be arranged," Liang Zhenlun replied with a nod.
"That's wonderful!"
Xue Mingqin's face lit up with joy. "Xiao Liang, thank you so much!"
Jiang Chen was not quick to celebrate; he noticed something was off with Liang Zhenlun's expression.
"Is there some kind of trouble?"
Liang Zhenlun hesitated, appearing to have something difficult to say.
"If there's something, just say it directly."
Li Shuirui was also nervous.
Facing the gaze of the three men, Liang Zhenlun frowned and said, "It can be arranged, but if you want to jump the queue, it requires pulling many strings. There are many people who need to be taken care of."
"Are you saying it requires money?"
Jiang Chen cut straight to the point.
"That's right."
Liang Zhenlun did not beat around the bush and nodded in admission.
"Why?"
Xue Mingqin was exceptionally confused and questioned, "Aren't the organs in the donation center donated voluntarily by others? Why does it cost money?"
"Auntie, the organs are indeed donated voluntarily, but if you want to use them, you have to pay—and that's just for jumping the queue. The blood in a blood bank is also donated by people, but when you go to a hospital for a transfusion, do you think it's free? It's the same principle."
Liang Zhenlun appeared very patient at this moment. "There are so many patients across the country waiting for hearts. A day earlier or later could mean the difference between life and death. The fact that money can make a difference is sometimes a stroke of luck. The real fear is not finding a suitable heart donor; in that case, no amount of money will help."
"Then... how much money is needed?"
Xue Mingqin asked.
Liang Zhenlun looked at her and uttered a figure that was impossible to accept.
"Three million."
Xue Mingqin's face froze instantly.
Even Li Shuirui felt a momentary sense of suffocation.
Producing two million might seem easy, but in reality, it was close to her limit.
She currently had just over 600,000 in her account. For an ordinary college student, or even an ordinary person, 600,000 was a considerable sum, but compared to three million, the gap was clearly vast.
"Are they robbing us? We are just ordinary citizens, where would we get that much money?!"
The sudden emotional rollercoaster caused Xue Mingqin to lose control of her emotions. Over this period, this woman had indeed endured too much pressure and was nearing her breaking point.
"Auntie, I've tried my best, but my friend said there's nothing he can do. This is the market price," Liang Zhenlun apologized.
*Market price.*
What a chilling term.
It sounded even colder than the air in the hospital ward.
"Market price? What is a market price? Is this a business transaction?"
"Mom, calm down."
Li Shuirui timely grabbed her mother's hand, then said to Liang Zhenlun, "Thank you. You should head back for now. If we need anything, I will contact you."
Liang Zhenlun nodded.
"Then I'll be going."
After giving polite nods to Jiang Chen and Xue Mingqin, the young master Liang turned and walked out of the door, appearing like a completely different person.
"Three million... where are we going to find that much money?"
Xue Mingqin was lost in thought.
Their hometown was only a third- or fourth-tier city where housing prices were not high; even if they sold the house, it wouldn't be nearly enough.
"Mom, we don't necessarily have to jump the queue. We can just wait until it's our turn," Li Shuirui comforted her.
Hearing this, Xue Mingqin gave a complex and bitter smile.
"Rui Rui, you are still young; there are some things you don't quite understand. Yes, we can indeed wait peacefully for our turn, but how do you know others won't 'jump the queue'? We can't afford this money, but there will always be someone who can."
Li Shuirui was stunned.
She was indeed more mature than her peers, but ultimately, she had never truly stepped into society. Even if she understood the rules of this world, she had only seen the tip of the iceberg.
Jiang Chen looked at the man in the hospital bed.
The word "equality" never truly existed in this world.
He could understand Xue Mingqin's feelings at this moment.
The most desperate thing is not the absence of hope, but having hope clearly in sight while being utterly helpless and powerless to grasp it.
In hospitals, countless people every day are forced to watch their loved ones pass away simply because of poverty; some even choose to give up treatment proactively so as not to become a burden to their families.
A line from a certain movie described it pointedly
There is only one disease in this world.
And that is the disease of poverty.