Feverish actress cried after being angered by haters, but discovered the real culprit was at her bed

Lu Yan's heart pounded, and a sticky cold sweat seeped out of his back. Normal people wouldn't have a good reaction to hearing that their family member was in the hospital.

"What are you doing at the hospital? Are you alright?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. The silence made Lu Yan more and more frightened. After a dozen seconds of silence, Lu Jianming's voice choked up and trembled.

"Your...your uncle...he had a stroke and is hospitalized."

Oh, that's good, it's not you guys... huh?

My uncle had a stroke!

The combination of these words caused Lu Yan's expression to change drastically.

Lu Yan's eldest uncle, Lu Jun, was the patriarch of the Lu family. From his childhood, Lu Yan's impression of his uncle was that he was a dirty migrant worker.

He would come to my house once a month. Every time he came, he would bring a urea bag with fruits and vegetables from the countryside. Some of the vegetables were infested with insects, and some were so small that they looked like they had been eaten clean of nutrients by insects and were malnourished.

But my parents would always greet my uncle very warmly and praise the vegetables and fruits that he didn't think were of very good quality.

My uncle would always laugh and say that they grew their own food and they couldn't eat it all.

When he was little, he didn't quite understand why his uncle would come to his house every month, or why his parents were so welcoming to him.

As he grew up, he began to understand that his uncle was the head of the family and the linchpin of kinship. His grandparents had passed away early, and it was his uncle who worked odd jobs to support his three younger siblings.

That generation was very poor, with only one source of income. For the sake of the family, the eldest uncle worked hard for most of his life, even getting divorced, and finally raised his younger siblings.

Later, as everyone grew up and started their own families, the eldest uncle would always come to visit his younger siblings once a month, just like a tiger visiting its grown-up offspring.

Lu Yan roughly understood why his heartless old father's voice choked up on the phone.

"Which hospital are you at? I'm coming right away." Lu Yan's expression turned serious, and his smile vanished.

.......

Corridor outside the intensive care unit of the First People's Hospital of the city

The pristine, bright corridor is like a somber scroll, unfolding and taking away the smiling faces of the people on the silver-white benches.

  

Angry shouts and heart-wrenching pain are the most authentic portrayal of this long corridor.

The flashing red sign above the operating room entrance, indicating the intensive care unit, seemed like a giant hammer, constantly striking people's hearts.

On the wooden bench, Liu Lanlan sat silently with her niece, Lu Yuejiao, her right arm gently around Lu Yuejiao's shoulder. Lu Yuejiao didn't make a sound, but kept wiping away her tears with tissues.

Since Lu Jianming's accident, Lu Jianming and Liu Lanlan have temporarily closed their shop and been taking care of their niece at the hospital.

Sometimes, that's how families are; as long as there are elders, it's never the younger generation's turn to step up.

As the second oldest in the family, Lu Jianming naturally took over the responsibility after his older brother's accident.

Lu Jianming walked back, and Liu Lanlan looked up with a hoarse voice and a haggard face: "Whose call was that?"

"Your son's."

Liu Lanlan was taken aback: "You told him?"

Lu Jianming gently shook his head: "No, he went home by himself and is taking a taxi here now."

The unexpected death of his elder brother weighed heavily on Lu Jianming's heart, making him reluctant to speak. Liu Lanlan sighed, thinking that it was good that he had come back, because if his uncle didn't make it, this might be the last time she saw him.

Lu Yuejiao wiped away her tears, her voice weary: "Second Aunt, let Lu Yan go back. He can't help much here, so it's better to save him from worrying."

Liu Lanlan didn't say anything, but patted Lu Yuejiao's shoulder.

"Second Brother!"

Several middle-aged men and women came into the hospital corridor. These were Lu Yan's aunt and uncle. There were four brothers in the Lu family: Lu Jun was the eldest, Lu Jianming was the second, Lu Cuicui was the third, and Lu Jianguo was the fourth.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Lu Yuejiao got up to greet her, only to be met with a barrage of insults from Lu Cuicui.

"We must have owed your family something in our past lives! We should have made him get a thorough check-up sooner. Now look what happened, he's in the ICU and he's dragged his whole family down with him."

Lu Cuicui glared angrily, making Lu Yuejiao afraid to look up. Lu Cuicui's husband gently tugged at her hand, signaling him to say less.

"Sister, say less, why are you throwing a tantrum, Chong Yuejiao?"

Lu Jianguo muttered something under his breath. Lu Cuicui didn't reply but looked at Lu Jianming to ask about the situation in the operating room. When she learned that the situation was very bad, her voice gradually became tearful.

This made everyone feel sad.

"Which of you is a family member of an army soldier? Are any army family members here?!"

Inside the operating room, a doctor in a white coat came out carrying a patient's medical record. The family members immediately rushed over upon hearing the sound.

"Doctor, how is my dad?"

"The situation isn't very optimistic. The patient had a cerebral vascular rupture, causing a disruption in blood supply to the brain. The surgery is complete, but they still need to be observed to see if they can wake up tomorrow. If they do wake up..."

As the nurse spoke, Lu Yuejiao was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Lu Cuicui was annoyed by the crying and scolded, "What are you crying for? The person isn't dead yet. Wait until they die and you're at the gravesite to pay your respects before you cry."

After explaining the patient's condition, the nurse brought up an even more pressing issue: medical expenses.

In hospitals, whenever a patient is in critical condition, the hospital will open a green channel for emergency treatment, and the doctor's primary task is to save their life.

The ICU is a money-devouring beast; once someone goes in, they never know when they'll come out, and the daily medical expenses can be several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan.

"Didn't we already pay 100,000? How come there's still so much money left!" Lu Cuicui looked at the bill, feeling upset. The numbers on the bill had plunged the family into a difficult situation.

They still need to pay 50,000 yuan, and that's just the cost of the operating room, not including follow-up care.

Their family had already paid 100,000 yuan for the surgery.

In just a few days, the money was gone as if it had been thrown into an incinerator. In this era, 100,000 yuan is a huge sum of money for any family.

The 90,000 yuan they raised was only enough for several families to pool together. Lu Jun was a migrant worker, and Lu Yuejiao was just a factory worker; where would they get 100,000 yuan?

Of the 100,000 yuan, 50,000 yuan came from Lu Cuicui's family. Yes, the one who was the most unreasonable and irritable also contributed the most money.

Lu Jianming bought this house a couple of years ago. He used all the money he had saved up for half his life for the down payment, and he still has to pay the mortgage every month. The 30,000 yuan he took out last time was his last savings.

The third brother, Lu Jianguo, contributed the least. He was a contractor in the city and was short of funds, so he only contributed 10,000 yuan.

As Lu Yuejiao looked at the bill, tears streamed down her face. Fifty thousand yuan—where were they going to get that fifty thousand yuan? Their family had already spent all their savings.

This money is still borrowed.

At this moment, everyone fell silent; the saying "even a hero can be brought down by a penny" became the most accurate description of this situation.

"Third Sister, how much do you have left?"

Lu Jianming sighed. He had no money left, except for a sum of money that he had originally planned to save for Lu Yan's college education. It wasn't a lot of money, but it was still more than 10,000 yuan.

Lu Cuicui glanced at her husband, who nodded. Lu Cuicui then said, "I only have 20,000 yuan left."

Lu Cuicui has already taken out almost all of her family's savings, all she could, totaling more than 70,000 yuan. Whether from a moral or financial perspective, they have done their best.

After everyone's attention shifted, they looked at Lu Jianguo, who looked troubled: "Second brother, eldest sister, I'm just a small contractor. I still owe a lot of money to people and I really don't have any more."

"If you don't have money, you can always borrow some."

Lu Cuicui's scolding made Lu Jianguo's face stiffen even more: "Where am I supposed to borrow that? It's over 20,000 yuan, who can lend it to me..."

Lu Cuicui stopped talking. They were all family, and everyone knew each other. If Lu Jianguo wanted to lend money but didn't, she could. If he didn't want to, she wouldn't lend it even if she had it.

We're still short 20,000 yuan, which isn't a small amount these days.

Lu Yuejiao's psychological defenses completely collapsed. Before this, her family had already borrowed from all the relatives they could.

Who can lend them 20,000 now...?

Lu Jianming was also trying to find a solution. They were only 20,000 yuan short. He couldn't just stand by and watch his older brother die on the operating table, after they had already spent so much money.

Having no other choice, he mortgaged his shop to get the money.

Just when everyone was at their wits' end, Lu Yan, who had been asking around all the way, finally arrived, running all the way, covered in sweat.

"dad....."