Hear this life

Mrs. Qiao sneered, "The first few points are fine. Qiu Dapeng's affairs have nothing to do with us. My master and I just want you to leave Shanghai as soon as possible. We have never instructed Qiu Dapeng to cause trouble for you. We don't care about this villain's affairs at all, let alone guarantee him."

Wen Tingli looked at Mrs. Qiao doubtfully. Mrs. Qiao probably remembered what Wen Tingli had just said about Qiu Dapeng spreading Qiao family secrets everywhere, and her face showed unconcealable disgust.

"In addition, you must move out immediately." Mrs. Qiao added, "Xingchu has been to your house more than once. I don't want him to have any contact with you in the future. It's best to move away from the original house. The farther the better."

Wen Tingli said coldly: "My father is still in the hospital, and I can't spare the time to look for a new house right now."

"I can have someone help you find a house, and I can also pay the rent for you, but I have to warn you: for the next year and a half, I will send someone to monitor your every move. If you dare to contact Xingchu privately, don't blame me for breaking the contract!"

"As long as you stop making things difficult for us, I can never have anything to do with the Qiaos for the rest of my life. But as I said before, Mrs. Qiao must get the school, new house, and medical expenses done as agreed upon as soon as possible. I'll give you one day at most. If I still don't get the admission letter from Shiwu Middle School by tomorrow night, I can't guarantee that my friend won't contact Bai Liyun."

Mrs. Qiao picked up her handbag and stood up. Before leaving, she gritted her teeth and squeezed out a sentence: "Go back and wait for news."

As soon as Mrs. Qiao left, Wen Tingli's body suddenly went limp. Her back felt cold and it was obvious that she had been sweating a lot.

She had just made a risky move and was now exhausted. She still held the invitation tightly in her hand, but her whole body slumped weakly on the table.

If Mrs. Qiao had not arrived so quickly in the afternoon, she would not have dared to be sure that there were great uncertainties in this marriage. The eldest branch of the family was already in a precarious situation, and this marriage was like a life-saving straw for them. Any news that might cause the marriage to be obstructed would make Mr. and Mrs. Qiao terrified.

Fortunately, she won the bet.

She happily put the invitation back into her schoolbag, hurried back to Ci Xin Hospital, checked her father's wound, took Xiao Taozi to dinner, and later quietly hid herself out when the nurse came to change the dressing.

Wen Tingli walked straight upstairs through the long and narrow corridor. The fourth floor was the office of the hospital's administrative department. The environment was much quieter than downstairs. She walked to the door of an office at the end and knocked gently.

I heard a kind female voice from inside the door: "Come in."

When I opened the door, I saw Dean Deng Yi sitting behind his desk, looking through documents.

"You're back."

Wen Tingli's eyes turned red, and she stepped forward and said, "I'm here to thank you."

"Please take a seat." Deng Yi said with a smile, "Now Miss Wen, can you tell me what's going on?"

Wen Tingli then told the whole story.

Mrs. Qiao probably would never have dreamed that the friend she found was Dean Deng. To be honest, she and Dean Deng only met once, and if she had not been forced into a desperate situation, she would not have risked asking Dean Deng for help. Who would have thought that Dean Deng would readily agree to her request.

Deng Yi clasped his hands on his knees and listened quietly.

Wen Tingli was not without anxiety. Dean Deng could have handed the things over to Bai Liyun quietly without revealing his identity, but after all, this matter could be seen by others at any time. No matter how kind-hearted she was, she might not be willing to risk offending the Qiao family to help an outsider. She never expected that after she finished telling him what happened, Dean Deng had no intention of regretting it. Instead, he smiled and said, "You are too smart, kid. I'm just a little curious, how did you think of asking me for help?"

"Because..." Wen Tingli said hurriedly, "This Cixin Hospital was founded by you. Almost all the people around here have heard of your good deeds. Although it was the first time I met you at Qiao's house that night, I felt like we were old friends. Your eyes are clearer than those of young people. Only people with an upright heart can have such eyes."

It was obviously a bit of a corny compliment, but coming from the child's mouth, it sounded so sweet and pleasant. Dean Deng couldn't help but laugh: "Are you afraid that I won't help you?"

Wen Tingli nodded at first, then shook her head: "Things have come to this point. I have already fought to the best of my ability. At worst, I can just leave Shanghai and start over. Even if you are unwilling to help me, I will never blame you."

Then he stood up and bowed to Deng Yi: "You are the first person who lent a helping hand to our family when we were in the most difficult time. No matter what happens to me in the future, I will always remember your kindness. Dean Deng, 'Life is like a guest, why should we say goodbye today', even if I have to leave Shanghai, I will definitely find a chance to repay you in the future."

Deng Yi was somewhat moved, and hurriedly stood up and walked to Wen Tingli to support him.

"My child, I was just kidding you." Her eyes were as kind as the warm sun in winter. "How could I not help you? This is a big challenge in your life, but for me it's just a piece of cake. Anyone would be willing to help. Besides, your father is my patient. Before his condition stabilizes, I will never allow my patient to be driven out of Shanghai."

Wen Tingli wiped her eyes silently, and when she sat down again, Deng Yi half-jokingly said, "Another reason for helping you is that you sang "Green Sleeves" really well that night. A girl with so many talents like this should study hard in school. I would be the first one to object to being kicked out of school for no reason."

Wen Tingli lowered her head and muttered, "It's a pity that I didn't study very hard in school."

Deng Yilang laughed: "Do you feel remorse now?"

Wen Tingli nodded with tears in her eyes. Dean Deng's expression always reminded her of her mother. Her heart ached, but she was too embarrassed to cry in front of Dean Deng. She simply turned her face away and covered her eyes with a handkerchief.

Dean Deng was amused by her appearance: "Silly child, cry if you want to. You have been strong enough these days."

Wen Tingli wiped her tears and said softly, "There is a question I have wanted to ask you for a long time. This morning I went to pay the hospital bill, and the accountant said that the hospital waived more than half of the fee, and the remaining part has been paid for us by someone else. I thought it was paid by Qiu, but the accountant said that person is your friend." Dean Deng was surprised: "Is that true?"

"Don't you know who that person is?"

Dean Deng thought for a moment and said, "I have been attending meetings at the Red Cross these past two days, and I really haven't run into any acquaintances in the hospital. Wait a minute, could it be Xiao Meng——"

Wen Tingli was stunned. Last night when her father was almost beaten to death by Qiu Dapeng, it was a Mr. Meng who called to help her out.

"His name is Meng Qiguang." Dean Deng explained, "I'm sure you saw him at the Qiao family that night. He is Mrs. Qiao's cousin. Baoxin and the others call him uncle."

It turned out to be Mr. Meng from Dachang Industrial. Wen Tingli felt complicated.
"He did come over this morning, saying he was visiting a friend in the surgery department, but I didn't know he paid for your father's hospital bills. I think he still remembers what happened that night. He probably thought you were still Qiao Xingchu's girlfriend, so it's not surprising that he helped take care of her."

Wen Tingli hurriedly took out a banknote from her schoolbag: "Please give this money to Mr. Meng for me. When my father's condition stabilizes, I will thank him in person."

Deng Yi's eyes showed some appreciation: "Okay."

Then he said, "I suppose Thompson has told you about your father's illness."

Wen Tingli's face darkened.

"Your father's condition is very bad. We can only do our best to help him survive for a while longer."

"I know."

Deng Yi sighed. He thought that he would grow up quickly after shouldering so many responsibilities on his own at such a young age.

"By the way, haven't the police caught the murderer yet?"

Wen Tingli quickly described the situation at that time, and then said: "Mr. Qiao and Mrs. Qiao promised not to interfere in this matter again in the future. As long as the police are no longer partial, I believe Qiu Dapeng will be arrested soon."

"That's good. I'll ask Thompson to record a detailed report of your father's injuries. Whenever the police come, Thompson and I will come forward to testify for your father."

Wen Tingli thanked him again and again, but she stayed in Dean Deng's room and refused to leave: "Are you still going to work so late? How about I go downstairs and buy you a midnight snack? I know there is a shop nearby that makes good frozen chestnut cakes. The weather is so hot, I'll also buy you some sour plum soup."

Deng Yi wanted to say no, but when he looked up and met Wen Tingli's eager gaze, his heart softened: "Then I'll trouble you to make a trip and ask the store to put less sugar. I like sour drinks."

Wen Tingli happily responded "OK", ran downstairs to buy a bunch of midnight snacks, and ran back covered in sweat.

When she entered the room, she saw Dean Deng still concentrating on his work. Wen Tingli quietly put the things on the table and tiptoed out.

After the door was closed, Deng Yi looked up at the things on the table. The sour plum soup and chestnut cake were quietly placed aside. There was still a layer of transparent ice beads on the cups and bowls. She sighed lovingly, opened the lid of the cup and took a sip. It was indeed sourer than ordinary sour plum soup.

The next morning before dawn, Wen Tingli went out to buy some steaming hot pan-fried buns. She delivered them to Dean Deng's office. This time no one answered the door, so she guessed that Dean Deng had already left.

She had no choice but to put the breakfast at the door. Fortunately, it was still early. When there were many people in the hospital during the day, it would be inconvenient for her to come to see Dean Deng openly. If someone with ulterior motives saw them, the Qiao family would inevitably guess that it was Dean Deng who was helping them secretly.

In the afternoon, Wen Tingli was sitting beside her father's bed, concentrating on studying with a Chinese textbook in her hand. Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a robe came to look for Wen Tingli. He did not enter the room to see her, but just said outside the door, "Miss Wen."

His attitude was very cold. As soon as Wen Tingli came out, he handed her a thick piece of letter.

Wen Tingli opened it and saw that it was a "Notice of Acceptance of Transfer Students from Shishi Girls' Middle School" with her student status certificate attached.

She felt happy.

Below is a house lease contract. The rent has been paid. The address is in the French Concession and the lease states that it is for one and a half years.

(End of this chapter)