Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

"Chen Ping," Cui Ying called out.

"Um?"

"Did they ask you for money?"

Chen Ping opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked at Cui Ying with surprise in his eyes.

"How did you know?" Chen Ping asked.

Cui Ying smiled and said, "I've lost contact with all three of my college roommates. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Chen Ping asked, very curious.

"Because of money, all three of them borrowed money from me, the largest being 500,000 yuan."

"You lent it to them?"

"Yes!" Cui Ying nodded: "That's exactly why. After they got the money, none of them contacted me anymore. Even when I called, no one answered. They're probably afraid I'd ask for the money back."

"Sigh..." Chen Ping sighed, surprised that there were so many people like this.

"I've come to terms with it now. If I don't have friends, so be it. If they're only befriending me for my money, I'd rather have no friends at all."

Cui Ying smiled and said, "I actually guessed it when you left. It's been several years since I last contacted you. Didn't you realize when I invited you for drinks last time? I was just trying to play a trick on you. Luckily, I made it in time."

Think about it, what do you have that's worth making a trip all the way from the provincial capital? You have no money, no power, no resources. The only thing others have in mind is me; they all think you've found a very rich girlfriend.

Chen Ping smiled and said, "You're quite good at analyzing things."

"I studied accounting, I'm used to doing bookkeeping." Cui Ying smiled as well. "How much do they borrow?"

"Old Wang has 200,000, Old Liu has 50,000, Da Xiong has 100,000, Zhang Hao won't lend, he wants to invest, one or two million."

After listening, Cui Ying didn't say anything, but turned the cushion around and then turned it back.

After a few seconds, she asked, "You said yes?"

"I have no money," Chen Ping shook his head.

"They don't believe it?"

"I don't believe it."

"and then?"

"And then I came back."

Cui Ying nodded, put the cushion aside, stood up, walked to Chen Ping, bent down, and pulled the thin blanket on him up to his chest.

As she straightened up, she glanced at him and a slight smile played on her lips.

"You don't have money. You still owe me money, more than ten thousand yuan for a phone. Don't forget."

Chen Ping smiled. "I'll never forget you, Boss Cui."

Cui Ying glared at him, then turned and walked upstairs.

He took two steps, stopped, and turned around.

"Chen Ping."

"Um?"

"You're better off without that kind of friend."

After she finished speaking, she went upstairs.

The slippers pattered on the stairs, the sound fading into the distance until it was finally drowned out by the sound of the bedroom door closing.

Chen Ping sat on the sofa, looking at the chandelier on the ceiling.

The light was on, and the light was very white, so white it was blinding.

He closed his eyes, his mind a jumble of thoughts: the voices of Lao Wang, Lao Liu, Da Xiong, and Zhang Hao, all mixed together like a pot of burnt porridge.

He rolled over and buried his face in the sofa cushions.

Chen Ping wanted to lie there for a while before going back to his room to sleep.

But shortly after I closed my eyes, a sudden, urgent doorbell rang.

The doorbell rang urgently, not the kind where you press it once and wait a while, but rather your finger was pressed on the doorbell and wouldn't let go, ringing like it was a death knell.

Cui Ying ran downstairs, almost losing her slippers in the process. She peeked through the peephole at the door, then turned to Chen Ping and said, "It's Uncle Wang, my dad's friend."

She opened the door, and there stood a man in his fifties, wearing a dark jacket with the collar open, his face covered in sweat, his lips pale, and his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Yingying, something happened to your dad. He was drinking and suddenly vomited a lot of blood and passed out. Your Uncle Zhao and I carried him into the car and took him to the People's Hospital. I called your mom, but no one answered after several attempts," the other person said, panting heavily.

Cui Ying's face turned pale instantly, as white as paper.

She turned around and called out "Mom!" in a shrill and urgent voice that echoed in the empty living room.

Then came hurried footsteps. Cui Ying's mother came out of the bedroom, wearing pajamas, her hair was messy, and she was holding a mobile phone in her hand, which looked like she was turning it on.

When she saw the person at the door, her expression changed.

"Old Wang, what's wrong with Old Cui? My phone is off."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, the person has already been taken to the hospital. I'm here to pick you up. Come on, the car is at the door," Old Wang said.

Cui Ying's mother's legs went weak, and she almost sat down while holding onto the wall. Chen Ping quickly went over to support her.

She grabbed Chen Ping's arm, her nails digging into his flesh, and she was still trembling.

"Auntie, don't panic, I'm here."

Chen Ping's voice wasn't loud, but it was very steady.

Then he turned to Cui Ying and said, "Take your dad's medical insurance card and the family's bank cards, and bring a few more."

Cui Ying responded and turned to run to her parents' room. Her footsteps were heavy, and she came out a few seconds later, clutching a file folder that was bulging with contents.

The three people followed the man out the door. A black Audi was parked there, the engine still running and white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe.

Chen Ping sat in the passenger seat, while Cui Ying and her mother squeezed into the back.

The car drove out, made two turns in the residential area, exited the gate, and got onto the main road.

The driver was driving very fast, weaving through any gaps and overtaking several cars.

Cui Ying's mother sat in the back row, holding Cui Ying's hand tightly, muttering something in a very soft voice that was hard to hear.

Cui Ying's eyes reddened, but she didn't cry; her lips were bitten until they turned white.

Chen Ping turned around from the passenger seat and saw that Cui Ying's hands were trembling, and her whole body was shaking.

He reached out and took her hand.

Her hands were very cold, as if they had just been taken out of the refrigerator.

He gripped his fist tighter, but didn't say anything.

Cui Ying looked up at him, and tears finally fell, but she didn't make a sound. She wiped them away with her other hand, and then wiped them away again.

As the car turned into the hospital gate, Chen Ping glanced at the sign at the entrance: "Tianhai City People's Hospital".

He worked here for five years, rising from a resident physician to the purchasing director. He was familiar with every floor, every corridor, and every office.

He thought he would never come back to this place again, but he never expected to return in this way.

The emergency room was on the first floor of the building, brightly lit. Several people were standing in the corridor: doctors in white coats, nurses in uniforms, and a few friends who had been drinking with Cui Ying's father. All of them looked flustered.

Cui Ying's father was wheeled into the emergency room; the door was closed, and he couldn't see inside.

A blood-stained, dark blue coat lay on a bench in the corridor. Cui Ying's mother recognized it at a glance, and her legs went weak again. She leaned against the wall to keep from collapsing.

A doctor in a white coat came out of the emergency room with a stack of forms in his hand.

He saw Chen Ping, paused for a moment, and his steps clearly faltered.

Chen Ping worked at the hospital for five years and knew everyone there.

The doctor's surname was Sun. He was a senior doctor in the emergency department, in his early forties, and had a large bald patch on his head.

He recognized Chen Ping, opened his mouth as if to ask, "What are you doing here?", but after glancing at the weeping family members beside him, he swallowed his words and his gaze fell on Cui Ying's mother.

Who are Cui Guofu's family members?