Night Rose

"You're so well-informed, kid?" Zhou Zheng glanced at him.

Wang Tianle proudly raised his chin, "Of course! My dad and mom even asked me to ask you when Grandpa Fang is coming to our house for a meal since he's back. They're both worried about the old man."

Zhou Zheng ruffled his hair and considered it carefully for a while.

"I don't agree with my grandfather being discharged from the hospital once he's feeling better, but he insists that he can't stay idle and that he'll get sick again if he doesn't leave the hospital."

"Okay, you don't need my help? Can you handle it by yourself? Your aunt..." Wang Tianle hesitated.

Zhou Zheng smiled nonchalantly, "Her? You can't count on her. I can handle it, don't worry."

Zhou Zheng waved goodbye and drove away.

Parking spaces at the hospital were hard to find, and Zhou Zheng circled around for quite a while before a car finally left.

A black sedan next to them immediately tried to squeeze in, but Zhou Zheng didn't give way and stepped on the gas, rushing forward.

The car behind braked suddenly, and the driver rolled down the window and started cursing.

Zhou Zheng ignored him and held up his middle finger.

"Don't come in! There are no parking spaces left!" The security guard stood at the entrance with a sign, blocking the black car from entering.

My grandfather is recovering quite well these days. He can get out of bed on his own, but he can't walk for long periods of time.

Zhou Zheng brought him a wheelchair. At first, his grandfather was unwilling to sit in it, but Zhou Zheng forced him into the wheelchair and went to handle the discharge procedures and settle the bills himself.

To reassure Zhou Zheng about practicing driving, Tu Ying lent him 10,000 yuan so he could settle his hospital and caregiver fees first.

The remaining 3,400 yuan in the hospital account was refunded to Zhou Zheng's card.

"Zhou Zheng! Your grandfather is being discharged from the hospital, why didn't you tell me?"

A hurried shout came from behind, and the aunt rushed over, not even having time to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Zhou Zheng put his hands in his pockets, looking rather impatient.

"Grandpa is being discharged from the hospital, is Auntie coming to pay the bills?"

The aunt looked embarrassed, wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, and stammered, "Xiao Zheng, you know my situation. Where would I get the money? Your mother must have left you a lot of money, after all, your father is so rich."

"Then you'll have to ask my deceased mother if she left me any money. I haven't seen a single penny." Zhou Zheng frowned.

The aunt frowned. "You child, you speak too harshly!"

"Alright, Auntie, stop with the pleasantries, what's the matter?" Zhou Zheng asked.

The aunt lowered her head slightly, twisting her handkerchief tightly with her fingers, as if she was having some difficulty speaking, but the instructions from her son and daughter-in-law finally made her speak.

"When your grandfather was hospitalized, I paid him two thousand yuan. You...you have to pay me back."

Zhou Zheng always thought he had a deep understanding of his aunt, but whenever his interests were involved, he found that people's bottom line was indeed not that low.

"Your maternal grandfather is also your father, Auntie."

"Yes! But Dad has never helped me with my child. He gave all his love to you, Zhou Zheng! This is what you and your mother owe me!" the aunt shouted hysterically.

In the hospital, there are many people who break down like this, and passersby look on curiously.

The aunt, concerned for her image, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and tried her best to keep her voice down, "How could you possibly not have money, Zhou Zheng? Your father is so rich, go ask him for it! Isn't he trying to bring you back? If you acknowledge your father, you'll have plenty of money!"

The veins on Zhou Zheng's forehead throbbed, and he clenched his fists, adopting a defensive stance like a ferocious beast.

The auntie took a few steps back in fear, knowing she had touched a nerve, but her teeth chattered as she still managed to say, "You have to give me my money back. If you hit me, you'll have to pay me back!"

Zhou Zheng forced himself to remain calm, took out his phone, lowered his head and transferred two thousand yuan to her without saying a word.

"Auntie, the two thousand yuan is what Zhou Zheng owes you, not what Grandpa or Mom owes you. I won't argue with you because you're my mom's sister. But next time, don't let me hear those words again!"

Zhou Zheng's eyes were ferocious, reflecting her hypocritical and fearful face.

The auntie collected the money quickly, and only then did she realize how much she had gone too far. She gritted her teeth, "Zhou Zheng, don't blame me. Blame... never mind!"

"I told Grandpa that his hospital expenses were paid with his pension, I didn't pay anything, so don't let that slip," Zhou Zheng said.

The aunt straightened her back, unable to believe what she was hearing.

She thought Zhou Zheng had already complained to the old man, and she was worried that the old man would take back the pension, so she insisted on coming to get the two thousand yuan.

"How did you manage to pay for the treatment?"

"It's none of your business," Zhou Zheng said coldly.

He turned and left, leaving the stunned aunt behind.

Anyway, she would assume the money came from that man, or was left to him by his mother.

In fact, his mother didn't leave him much money, but he didn't hate her.

He could understand that his mother was too exhausted to care for him at that time because of her heartless husband.

Zhou Zheng adjusted his facial expression before returning to the ward to assist his grandfather with his discharge.

Grandpa sat in his wheelchair, patting his chest, and said, "I'm finally feeling relieved to be discharged. Spending so much money in the hospital is such a waste."

"This is not a waste; it's normal to spend money on medical treatment." Zhou Zheng pushed his wheelchair into the elevator.

Grandpa turned to look at him. "How much did it cost? It must have been tens of thousands, right?"

"Would you believe me if I said several thousand?"

"I don't believe it. Such a major surgery, and he spent several days in the ICU, how could it be cheap?"

"Don't worry, your pension is enough to cover your medical expenses."

"She didn't give you any trouble, did she?"

"What can Auntie possibly do to me? I'm 1.9 meters tall, who can make things difficult for me?" Zhou Zheng said.

Grandpa smiled and shook his head, unsure whether he believed him or not, and didn't ask any more questions.

The drive home was smooth, and Grandpa finally returned to his familiar neighborhood. As soon as he entered, acquaintances came up to greet him and asked him many trivial questions, showing concern for his health.

After questioning them for a long time, they finally let them go.

Zhou Zheng refused to let his grandfather walk up the stairs, insisting on carrying him up himself.

"You silly child, I can walk by myself," Grandpa said helplessly.

"If you don't come up, you're not going up today." Zhou Zheng blocked the narrow stairwell, looking like a rogue.

Grandpa felt sorry for his grandson and didn't want him to carry him, but Zhou Zheng was clearly unwilling to back down today, so he had no choice but to cooperate.

Zhou Zheng is strong and easily lifted his grandfather onto his back, while also being able to twist and fold the wheelchair with his other hand.

"How come you're so strong now?" Grandpa was a little surprised. He squeezed his arm and felt that his grandson's body had become even stronger.

Zhou Zheng was also somewhat surprised that he could carry people and things up the stairs without any effort.

It seems that Su Jin's training plan is very effective; his muscle strength and explosiveness have increased.

Grandpa's room was cleaned very well. Zhou Zheng put Grandpa down and started bustling around, arranging everything so that Grandpa could get what he wanted without getting out of bed.

After he finished all that, his grandfather looked at him with a satisfied smile and asked, "Is there anything you want to share with your grandfather lately?"

Zhou Zheng really wanted to share his joining the racing team with his grandfather, but it seemed that telling his grandfather would make the patient worry, so he chose to act first and tell him later.

"Eating, sleeping, working, that's all. That's how tough it is for working people."

"Really? Someone came to our house to play? Someone has already used those green frog shoes." Grandpa pouted angrily.

Zhou Zheng turned around and saw the green frog's shoe lying on the shoe rack, its big mouth comically facing him.