Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

Lianghe is thousands of miles away from Linshen. She spent a day and a night curled up on a green train without eating or drinking anything.

My eyes were red, my heart was filled with unease and an indescribable bitterness, and I watched the city outside the window recede into the distance.

The closer she got to Lin Shen, the faster her heart beat, and the stronger her longing for Zhou Jingchen became, almost to the point of overflowing from her chest.

It's been two years since I last saw him. I wonder how he is now? Has he grown taller? What kind of expression would he have if he saw me? Would he still want to hug me?

Even if he already has a girlfriend, it doesn't matter; they're still siblings, after all. Wenxi comforted herself with this thought.

This trip wasn't just to see him; she also wanted to borrow money from him.

The doctor said Dad needs surgery, which will cost 100,000 yuan.

One hundred thousand is neither a lot nor a little. One hundred thousand might be a celebrity's handbag or a rich person's meal, but at this moment, for her family's current situation, one hundred thousand is a number that is enough to crush everything.

When she got off the bus, she smelled of sour instant noodles from the carriage, her hair was messy, and her eyes were swollen like a goldfish.

She went into the station's public restroom, splashed cold water on her face, haphazardly tidied her hair with her fingers, and then forced herself to leave the station.

At the gate of Shenzhen University of Science and Technology, the college students coming and going were all full of vigor and high spirits, their youthful appearance making Wenxi subconsciously lower her head.

She wore faded jeans and old, dusty shoes, standing out starkly from the bright surroundings.

Taking a deep breath, she walked to the security room: "Hello, I'm looking for Zhou Jingchen, a computer science major."

The middle-aged security guard looked her up and down: "Who are you to him?"

Wenxi paused, thought for a moment, and said, "I am his...sister."

"Register first," the security guard handed over the list. "Have you contacted him? You need to have him come out to pick you up."

"No," Wenxi looked up blankly, "He's a junior majoring in computer science. He only came to find him because of some family issues."

Just then, a bespectacled professor walked into the security room to retrieve his mail. "Old Zhang, my package."

"Professor Qi is here," the security guard said, handing over the email and pointing to Wenxi. "By the way, isn't there someone in your department named Zhou Jingchen? This girl is looking for him."

Professor Qi's gaze fell on Wen Xi, and he paused for a few seconds before asking, "Are you looking for Zhou Jingchen?"

"Yes, that's right." Wenxi nodded quickly.

"He was my student, but he has already gone abroad."

A single, seemingly casual remark struck Wenxi's heart like a block of ice.

She stood at the school gate, the wind whipping across her bare neck, the chill biting. She had left in a hurry, forgetting to put on her coat.

Zhou Jingchen has gone abroad... Does that mean she will never see him again?

Wenxi sat on a stone bench not far from the school gate, buried her head in her knees, and suddenly burst into tears, feeling helpless.

She just wanted to see him, why is fate playing such a cruel trick on her?

Wenxi hunched her shoulders, sobbing. She cried for a long time, feeling desperate and helpless. Her heart felt as if someone was slowly draining its blood with a syringe, a sharp and suffocating pain emanating from it.

She was slender and thin, her hair trembling in the wind, like a flower about to wither.

After crying for a long time, she calmed down and looked at the fallen leaves on the ground with red eyes.

Her father was still lying in the hospital bed and needed money for surgery. She had to go to the Lu family home to borrow money from Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu.

After asking around in Wenxi and changing buses several times, they arrived at Dijing Royal Garden, the home of Zhou Jingchen's parents.

Zhou Jingchen had mentioned it a few times and had sent her things from here, so Wenxi remembered the address very well.

Standing before the iron gate of the detached villa, Wenxi shakily pressed the doorbell. A cold wind swept past her, making her shiver.

A nanny in an apron opened the door. She paused for a moment, then asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Wenxi clutched her clothes tightly. "I... my name is Wenxi. I want to find Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu."

The nanny didn't let her in and went inside to inform them.

A moment later, an elderly woman dressed in elegant and luxurious clothes came out.

She wore a string of sandalwood prayer beads on her wrist and looked kind and gentle; this must be Zhou Jingchen's grandmother.

"You're Wenxi?" The old lady's voice was cold as she glanced at her and looked her up and down.

"Yes." Wenxi nodded slightly.

"How did you find this place?" She showed no intention of letting her in, standing there in the entryway, leaving her isolated in the cold wind outside.

"Zhou Jingchen told me the address before..." Wenxi's voice trembled slightly.

"What is it? Just say it."

"Grandma, I..." Wenxi lowered her head, her fingertips digging tightly into her flesh, and it was really difficult for her to say what she was about to say.

My father once said that he raised Zhou Jingchen without any selfish motives or expectations of reward.

Now that he's come to the Lu family to ask for money, it seems like he's using this as an excuse to demand a return.

She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice trembling:

"Grandma, my dad is sick and hospitalized... He needs brain surgery, and I... I want to borrow some money from you."

"Borrow money?" The old lady gave a cold laugh, "You raised Xiaoze for this day, didn't you?"

"What?" Wenxi stared wide-eyed at her, bewildered.

"I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you've come looking for me." The old lady curled her lips coldly, lowered her eyes, and looked down at her disdainfully: "After our Xiaoze came home, all he could talk about was you. Less than a month after he came home, he wanted to take a bus to Pingjiang to find you, leaning on his cane. Luckily, I stopped him."

"He never spent the money his relatives and friends gave him; he saved it all. When he went to Pingjiang, he gave you all his savings. Did you think I didn't know?"

"And another thing," the old woman's eyes suddenly sharpened as she glared at Wenxi, "after he went home, we asked him to change his surname back to 'Lu,' but he absolutely refused. Did you instigate that?"

Wenxi was startled by her sharp voice and froze. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a word of explanation.

The old woman's eyes looked like they could devour someone; they were terrifying.

"This is our only grandson, and you, you little fox, have bewitched him so much that he's even forgotten his own family name."

"I...no, I didn't." Wen Xixin was flustered and didn't know how to explain.

"Hmph!" The old lady snorted coldly, her eyes filled with disdain. "Your parents really know how to raise a daughter, raising such a little vixen like you. That May Day holiday, he secretly went to Haizhou with you, lying to us that he was with his classmates. If I hadn't seen the photo in his wallet, I would have almost been fooled by you."

"What kind of people are your parents? How did they raise you? You're so manipulative at such a young age. My grandson is constantly being controlled by you, unable to eat or sleep properly. You little brat, how can you be so cunning?"

"I knew back then that your parents were about to lose their jobs. Did you want my eldest grandson to be your long-term meal ticket because he's been disabled since childhood? He's innocent and naive; I won't let him be so easily manipulated!"

Each word was like a whip lashing Wenxi's face, turning her face bright red. It was the first time she had ever been so humiliated by a senior's reprimand.

She clenched her fists and said in a trembling voice, "Grandma, you can scold me however you want, but my parents have always been very good to Zhou Jingchen and have never thought of asking for anything in return. I'm here to borrow money because my father is seriously ill and needs medical treatment. I really have no other choice but to shamelessly come here to beg you."

The old woman, with an arrogant demeanor and half-closed eyes, said sarcastically, "Since your family raised him without expecting anything in return, then you shouldn't have come asking for money today."

"If someone is seriously ill, it means their life is coming to an end. There's no point in trying to save them; it would just be a waste of money."

"Look at our house, this yard, this villa, every piece of furniture—everything needs maintenance. And then there's Xiaoze's leg treatment. Studying abroad—there are expenses everywhere. Do you think we're living a good life?"

Wenxi's back slumped more and more, like a deflated balloon, or as if someone had chopped off his spine with a knife.

She had imagined countless scenarios of coming to the Lu family to borrow money, but she never expected it to be like this.

Humiliated, trampled upon... self-esteem crushed to pieces.

But the thought of her weak father in the hospital bed gave her that last bit of stubbornness that kept her going.

She gritted her teeth, practically forcing the words out of her throat, tears welling in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall:

"Grandma, please. I'll lend you 100,000 yuan. I can give you a written agreement, and I promise to pay it back within two years... no, within one year."

"Alright, stop standing there. Otherwise, people will think I've done something to you." The old lady waved her hand impatiently and turned to call into the house, "Sister Ping, bring me my wallet."

Wenxi's tearful eyes suddenly brightened.

Even if she was humiliated, she could endure anything as long as she could borrow money to save her father.

She would be grateful to the Lu family for the rest of her life as long as they were willing to lend her money.

The nanny brought over her wallet, and the old lady took out two hundred yuan and handed it to her like a beggar:

"Take this money. You don't need to pay it back. Use it to buy a train ticket and go home early. Don't stand in front of my house."

"You're covered in the bad luck of the dead; don't offend the Buddha I keep in my house."

These words pierced Wenxi's eardrums like fine needles. Her eyes widened suddenly, her fists clenched tightly, and she glared angrily:

"My dad isn't dead yet!"

The old woman's eyes were filled with disdain and disgust, as if she were looking at something filthy. "That person is about to die, and has a heavy aura of death. He will ruin our family's feng shui. Go away quickly."

"Here you go." She handed the money to Wenxi. "Also, don't contact my grandson again. He's studying abroad now, and he'll be from a different world from you. Don't bother him anymore."

Wenxi stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the two hundred yuan, his whole body feeling as if it had been frozen solid by liquid nitrogen.

This is a hundred times, a million times, more humiliating than any other insult!

The old woman's harsh words rang clearly in her ears: "I don't want you to see him again, or harass him in any way. In time, he'll forget about you all, and about Pingjiang. Only then can his heart truly return to the Lu family."

Wenxi refused the money. She gave the old woman with Buddhist prayer beads in front of her one last, extremely cold look, then stubbornly turned and left.

From that moment on, she vowed that she would never again ask the Lu family for a single penny, never again set foot in the Lu family, and never again have any connection with Zhou Jingchen.

-

In the hospital room, Qiao Yue peeled fruit for the old lady while asking, "Jing Chen didn't know about what you just mentioned about what happened six years ago, did he?"

The old woman snapped out of her thoughts. "How could I let him know? He was bewitched by that little vixen when he was just a teenager, and he's completely devoted to her. If he knew I had thoroughly humiliated that girl, he would hate me to death."

"That's true." Qiao Yue nodded.

"I didn't like that girl at first sight. She had a stubborn look in her eyes and a kind of arrogant air that she didn't know where she came from. Her eyes were like a fox's, very alluring. Boys would definitely like her, especially innocent ones like Xiaoze, who would be more easily seduced and manipulated by her."

"But I think Jingchen really likes him..." Qiao Yue lowered her eyes, her voice slightly choked, "I saw them hugging each other at the mall last time. The girl was clinging to Jingchen, and the two of them... didn't care about the eyes of the people around them at all. They were very intimate."

"What!" The old lady sat up abruptly. "Is that so?"

She frowned, gritting her teeth, "I clearly warned her last time! That little vixen, she really is no good. Now that Xiaoze is successful, of course she's unwilling to let go. That cunning little devil!"

Seeing Qiao Yue's sad face, she gently patted her hand, squinted her eyes, and comforted her:

"Xiaoyue, I know you like Xiaoze, and I know you'll be good to him. Don't worry, Grandma will help you."

"Yes, thank you, Grandma," Qiao Yue replied with a smile.

At this moment, outside the ward door.

After listening to their entire conversation, Lu Xiaobao suddenly dropped the flowers he was holding in his arms to his feet.

She stood frozen in place, her face pale, half of her scalp tingling.