Chapter 23: Arranging Hospitalization

Zhao Fan asked, "What is it then?"

"It's... what about the money?"

At the mention of money, Zhao Haitian's voice dropped immediately. The reason he had come here was money, and it was what had led to his falling-out with Yang Qingqing.

Zhao Fan smiled. "Big brother, money isn't as important as life. Right now, the priority is to cure Yuner’s illness. You don't need to worry about anything else."

If nothing else, the money still left in his account was enough to cover the necessary treatment at this time. If things got worse, he could always sell the apartment they were living in now—after all, there was still the villa at Yilan Tianju waiting for them, and once the renovations were finished, they could move in.

Zhao Haitian opened his mouth, but in the end, closed it silently.

Father and Mother Zhao exchanged a glance, both feeling comforted. Their sons had not drifted apart emotionally, even after so much time apart.

The night passed quietly.

The next day, Zhao Fan took Zhao Haitian and brought Zhao Yuner to the provincial hospital.

After a series of examinations, Zhao Yuner was admitted to a ward. Zhao Fan asked Zhao Haitian to stay and look after the child while he went to consult the doctor.

"I can't make any guarantees," the doctor said, "but the child is young, and the illness was caught early. With active treatment, there's a strong chance of improvement."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome."

Leaving the doctor's office, Zhao Fan returned to the ward.

"How did it go? What did the doctor say?" Zhao Haitian asked anxiously.

"The doctor said she’s still young, and because it was caught early, there's a good chance for recovery if she receives proper treatment," Zhao Fan replied, repeating the doctor's words without hiding anything.

"Yuner, did you hear that? You need to cooperate with the doctor's treatment so you can get better soon."

Zhao Yuner nodded. "I heard you, uncle."

Ruffling her hair, Zhao Fan's eyes softened with a faint smile. Seeing Zhao Yuner, it was as if he were looking at his daughter from his previous life.

A little girl should be cherished and protected—how could she be allowed to suffer like this?

"Yuner, take a nap for a while. Uncle needs to talk to your dad."

"Okay."

After leaving the hospital room, Zhao Fan turned to Zhao Haitian. "Yuner needs to stay in the hospital."

Zhao Haitian rubbed his hands. "I'll stay here and take care of her."

"Are you sure you can manage?"

Zhao Fan couldn't help but ask. He knew that if Zhao Haitian really tried to stay in the hospital, even he himself wouldn’t feel at ease. Despite being willing to cut off contact with the family for Yang Qingqing, in some respects, Zhao Haitian's pride ran deep.

"Yuner is very obedient," Zhao Haitian said. "I’ll just come by in the evenings."

Zhao Fan sensed the problem. "What about during the day?"

He only mentioned the evenings—did he intend to leave the child unattended during the day?

"Yuner is very obedient. She’ll be fine by herself in the hospital during the day."

Zhao Fan was silent for a moment, then wiped his face. "Big brother, honestly... never mind. I’ll go home for a bit. Today, you stay here with the child. Tomorrow morning, I’ll bring Mom to take your place."

When Zhao's mother heard she was needed to care for the child, she agreed without hesitation.

"Haitian is unbelievable—how could he leave such a small child alone in the hospital? What if something happens?"

Muttering to herself, she began packing up. There was plenty to bring for a hospital stay.

In the living room, Zhao Fan and his father sat on opposite sides of the table.

After a while, Zhao's father sighed. "Have you made up your mind?"

"I have," Zhao Fan replied.

"That child's illness is not easy to treat."

"I know."

"It'll cost hundreds of thousands."

"I can manage."

"Alright, since you insist, I won't say more. Wait a moment." Zhao's father stood up with the help of his knees and soon returned with two bank cards, which he placed on the table in front of Zhao Fan.

"Dad, what are these cards?"

"One is the card you gave me before—after repaying the loan, there’s still one hundred and thirty thousand left. The other is what I’ve saved over the years—not much, just a few thousand. Take them both to the hospital; they should help a little."

Zhao Fan was speechless. He hadn't expected his father to return the money he had previously borrowed—it was his own oversight for forgetting to repay the betrothal money they had given him.

"Dad, how could I let you repay the bridal money for me?" Zhao Fan’s voice was a little weak. He hadn't handled this properly.

"If I don't repay it, should you? You're still my son, no matter how capable you become—I can’t let a child without a stable job pay back money for us."

"I still have some money left."

"Don’t talk to me about money. Just take what you have, whether it’s much or little."

"Fine, but you should keep this too. I have a way to help big brother without needing your money."

Pushing the cards back to his father and not giving him a chance to refuse, Zhao Fan quickly headed toward his room.

Unable to catch up, Zhao's father could only stare helplessly at the cards on the table before finally tidying them away.

"Hmph, the little rascal has grown up and his wings have hardened. Really..."

Grumbling, he shuffled off toward the bedroom, only for Zhao's mother to chase him out again as she packed, not wanting him underfoot.

Lying on his back in bed, Zhao Fan rested his arm under his head. The thought of Zhao Yuner’s illness weighed heavily on his heart.

Could Zhao Yuner’s illness have been caused by his rebirth? If so, what other changes might his return bring?

He turned these thoughts over and over, but in the end, pressed them down. He would face whatever came as it came. For now, the most important thing was to cure Zhao Yuner, and then to get his business arranged properly.

Opening a supermarket would require running around for a lot of paperwork—he needed to take care of himself and keep his energy up.

The next day, Zhao Fan took his mother to the hospital. As he and Zhao Haitian left, he learned that Zhao Haitian had found some work at a nearby construction site the previous day.

"I can’t go back home, so I have to find something to do here," Zhao Haitian said, swiping a hand across his face, a rare smile appearing.

With their mother taking care of the child, he could focus on looking for work.

Casting him a sidelong glance, Zhao Fan said, "Don’t worry, big brother, our family has the money to treat Yuner."

"I know."

Zhao Fan fell silent. Despite his words, Zhao Haitian’s expression showed no real belief.

But never mind, perhaps a little hope was better than none.

"We've arrived at the construction site. I’ll head in now."

"Alright."

Watching Zhao Haitian's back, Zhao Fan’s brows knitted and then slowly relaxed. Just then, his phone rang.

It was Xu An calling.

"Mr. Zhao," Xu An’s voice came through as soon as the call connected.

Zhao Fan rubbed his brow. "Manager Xu, is there something urgent for you to call at this hour?"

"Well, it’s about the market. Mr. Zhao, why don't we meet somewhere and have a proper talk?"

"I don’t think there’s much to talk about. That market is nice, but it’s not absolutely essential to me."

"One million."

As Zhao Fan finished speaking, Xu An immediately named a price.

"Mr. Zhao, as long as you buy it, for one million, the entire market is yours. How about it?"

Zhao Fan rubbed his fingers, his tone calm as ever. "Not interested."

Xu An was taken aback and couldn’t help but protest, "Mr. Zhao, that’s a two-story building, over three hundred square meters in size—is one million not enough?"

"Is it too little?" Zhao Fan countered.