Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 233 The heart is gone, but the money remains
The next morning.

Zhang Yan hurriedly returned from outside, placed a plastic bag of medicine on the bedside table, poured a cup of hot water and placed it next to it, and said to Jiang Shan, who was huddled under the covers coughing incessantly, "The medicine is all here, remember to take it later."

As she spoke, she pulled out a packet entirely in English from the bag, placed it in the most prominent position, and reminded him again, "This packet is the birth control pill, you should take it as soon as possible."

He was too impulsive yesterday; he forgot to bring his umbrella when he chased after the girl.

Jiang Shan finally looked up. Although her fever had reached 38.2 degrees Celsius, she couldn't help but taunt, "If I don't eat, what if... cough cough, what if you come knocking on my door with a big belly?"

"Then you'll have to suffer the consequences. Anyway, I'm definitely going to deny it to the death, and Chen Hong probably won't care."

"Pah, dog...cough cough, dog couple!"

Jiang Shan was so angry that her face turned red, but she still managed to sit up and take her medicine first.

Zhang Yan was relieved and pointed out where the instant noodles and hot water were before heading out to meet with Leader Lin.

Leader Lin had almost finished handing over his duties at ZXB and was now just waiting to take up his new post at Optoelectronics, so he had plenty of time. The two of them chatted for most of the day, and had lunch at the department.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yan remembered that Luo Qi was still in the hospital, so he went to visit him briefly. Several newspapers had recently hailed him as a timely helper in Tianjin, so he felt he should at least do a follow-up visit to wrap things up.

When he arrived at the ENT ward with the fruit basket, he bumped into an acquaintance—Zhang Di, Feng Xiaogang's wife.

"Oh, sister-in-law?"

Looking at Zhang Di, who was dressed in civilian clothes, Zhang Yan asked in confusion, "Did you get transferred here, or...?"

Zhang Di's main job is as a nurse, but not at this hospital, which is why Zhang Yan asked this question.

“I brought my daughter here for corrective surgery,” Zhang Di explained. “For severe cleft lip, one correction is not enough; at least two or three surgeries are needed, with a one- to two-year interval between them.”

"Oh~"

Zhang Yan suddenly realized: "I knew it—the surgery is already over, so..."

"The surgery will be tomorrow morning. The hospital has arranged for us to check in tonight and stay for observation for a few more days after the surgery."

"What's the bed number again? I'll go check on it in a bit."

After Zhang Di told him the bed number, Zhang Yan went to visit Luo Qi first. Compared to his initial dejection, Luo Qi was now much happier.

It seems the doctor said her recovery was better than expected, and if this trend continues, she might be able to sing her heart out again in two or three months.

This girl was quite carefree. She gestured wildly at Zhang Yan and said, "The doctor said the biggest impact would be that when I sing too excitedly, my prosthetic eye might pop out of its socket—like this."

She picked a grape and demonstrated it to Zhang Yan on the spot, then put the grape in her mouth and said while chewing, "It's a pity that I can't eat the fake eyeballs, otherwise I would have composed a song by Xiahou Dun - 'Our bodies, hair and skin are given to us by our parents, how dare we abandon them?'"

"When I perform eating eyeballs on stage, I'm sure I'll completely stun the audience!"

This girl does have a bit of a rock and roll spirit, but whether that spirit is good or bad for a young woman is a matter of opinion.

Zhang Yan couldn't help but complain: "Since you know that saying, you should really try to make your parents worry less in the future."

Luo Qi's parents sighed repeatedly.

After leaving Luo Qi's ward, Zhang Yan went downstairs to buy some gifts, and then went to Zhang Di's place.

Old Feng's daughter is three years old this year. She looks much better than she did back then, but her upper lip is still somewhat deformed.

When Zhang Di saw him arrive, she quickly said to her daughter, "Siyu, this is Uncle Zhang—Uncle Zhang is our family's benefactor. When you were little, you were sick, and if it weren't for Uncle Zhang's help, we wouldn't have had the money for surgery."

"Hey~"

Zhang Yan waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, why are you telling the child this? Besides, it's what Brother Feng deserves—Brother Feng has been quite busy lately, hasn't he?"

“After he finished his fight with Cao Guilin, he’s been filming on set.” Zhang Di’s expression softened considerably when Zhang Yan mentioned Feng Xiaogang: “I called him a couple of days ago, and he said he couldn’t get away and asked me to discuss it with my older sister—the child’s aunt is currently at home taking care of her grandmother.”

Listening to Zhang Di's rambling, Zhang Yan couldn't help but recall the scene two years ago when he handed over 5000 yuan to Feng Xiaogang at a dinner party, and Feng Xiaogang burst into tears on the spot.

At that time, Feng Xiaogang tearfully recounted how difficult it was for his wife, who had to take care of her paralyzed mother-in-law and sick daughter while also busy washing clothes and cooking; their daughter had suffered with him since birth, yet he was unable to afford surgery for her.

At the time, he swore to heaven that he would make amends to the heavens and earth once he made a name for himself.

result……

The two were silent for a moment, until Feng Siyu weakly called out "Mom," Zhang Di snapped out of her daze, reached out to comfort her daughter, and asked with a smile, "I heard you and Chen Hong are getting married next year?"

"Yes, the house is being rebuilt." Zhang Yan smiled and said, "The wedding date hasn't been set yet. It mainly depends on when both sets of parents are available, but at the latest, it will be before the Mid-Autumn Festival next year."

"very nice."

Zhang Di exclaimed sincerely, "You're a big boss, and Chen Hong is a big star. You two are a match made in heaven, unlike us..."

At this point, she smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I used to hear people say that poverty-stricken couples suffer a hundred misfortunes, and I thought that was too absolute. As long as the couple works together, they will eventually succeed."

Only now do I realize that the word "sorrow" in the saying "poverty-stricken couples face a hundred sorrows" actually includes the ordeal of a poor person suddenly becoming rich...

Zhang Yan didn't know how to comfort him, so he asked if there had been any difficulties during his hospitalization, and said that he had been in the capital for the past few days and that he should just ask if there was anything he needed.

Zhang Di shook her head and said, "I appreciate your kindness—Xiaogang's heart is no longer with him, but his money is still there."

Hearing her say that, Zhang Yan didn't interfere any further. He chatted with the little girl for a while, then said goodbye and left the hospital.

After buying four dishes—two meat and two vegetable—Zhang Yan first glanced into the bedroom of the Guomao Courtyard and found Jiang Shan still fast asleep.

However, she probably sweated in the middle, so she changed to a new quilt.

Zhang Yan casually made half a pot of ginger, jujube, and tofu soup, simmered it over low heat, and then moved the sofa into the yard—it had been soaked with so much water yesterday that it was impossible to clean properly, so Zhang Yan had moved it into the yard to air it out this morning.

In other words, he was very strong and powerful; an ordinary person might not have been able to move him.

Jiang Shan was awakened by the noise of the sofa being moved. She found Zhang Yan's wool coat somewhere, wrapped herself up like a dumpling, and came out.

"Is your cell phone alright?"

"It's okay."

Zhang Yan turned off the heat of the simmering soup and casually said, "I tried it this morning, it doesn't affect the call."

"Then I'll call the theater."

Jiang Shan picked up the mobile phone and complained, "How come you don't even have a landline in this house? I missed a day of work because of this."

Got~
Zhang Yan thought she had a change of heart.

Jiang Shan asked her roommate to help her get sick leave, then slumped back on the sofa, watching Zhang Yan busy himself.

After Zhang Yan had set out the food, she peeked into the bowl at the ginger slices, red dates, and tofu, and frowned, saying, "What is this stuff?"

"It's for warming the stomach and treating colds. When I was little, my mom would make this for me whenever I caught a cold—if you don't want to drink it, fine, I..."

"Who said I wouldn't drink anymore."

The two sat facing each other and ate something. Jiang Shan was clearly in better spirits and became interested in chatting.

Somehow, the conversation drifted to Xu Fan and Feng Xiaogang's affair—something that couldn't be kept from Zhang Yan, and naturally, it couldn't be kept from Jiang Shan either.

Zhang Yan then recounted how he had encountered Feng Xiaogang's wife and daughter at the hospital.

Jiang Shan's eyes immediately lit up, and she asked, "Did you bring a camera?"

"I brought it, but what do you want to do with it?"

“Let’s go to the hospital together tomorrow at noon and take some photos—I’ll show them to Xu Fan then and see if her conscience bothers her.”

"Didn't you two make up a long time ago?"

"So what? I'm doing a good deed. Don't you also think Feng Xiaogang's actions were unethical?"

Zhang Yan hesitated for a long time, but finally shook his head and said, "Don't go. I'll take a few pictures myself, develop them, and have Zhang Di send them directly to the film crew."

…………

The next day.

Zhang Yan did take the photos, but Zhang Di refused to send them, saying it felt like she was using the child as a tool for blackmail.

Zhang Yan hesitated for a long time before sending the photo out, and he didn't even give it to Jiang Shan.

Ultimately, this photo of the little girl lying sickly in bed became part of his photography collection, with the tag: "Old friends change easily, yet people say old friends are fickle."

(End of this chapter)