After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

An Ning's heart tightened as she heard Li Chunfang continue, "I just went to the corridor, and even the corridor is full!"

"How come there are no beds available?" Anning's voice rose in anxiety. "I've already paid the hospital fees!"

"I don't know!" Li Chunfang was almost crying on the other end, both angry and anxious. "My things were all thrown out by that family. The nurse said that the bed in the computer registration belongs to them, and we are occupying someone else's bed."

"It's one thing to have a hospital bed, but the hospital just notified me that my surgery is scheduled for a month from now." On the other end of the phone, Li Chunfang sounded both angry and anxious, her voice sharp. "What are we going to do, Anning?"

An Ning felt her blood rush to her head and her scalp tingle.

The surgery was scheduled for next week, so why has it been delayed for a month for no reason?

This is going to kill Li Chunfang!

Anning didn't even bother waiting for the bus; she quickly hailed a cab and went to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I saw Li Chunfang sitting helplessly on a rest chair in the inpatient corridor, with an IV drip in one hand and an IV bag in the other.

She's been experiencing severe breast pain these past few days, requiring constant painkiller injections. She hasn't been sleeping well at night, has lost weight, and doesn't look well.

They paid the hospital fees and had a bed available, yet they made someone who was about to have surgery sit in the hospital corridor. What kind of logic is that!

When Li Chunfang saw An Ning arrive, she quickly stood up and walked towards her, feeling both angry and helpless. "An Ning, how could this happen? How can this hospital operate like this!"

Anning, holding her IV drip, led her directly to the head nurse.

The head nurse simply told them that the other party had indeed completed the admission procedures in advance, but had not come to the hospital. She explained that it was a mistake made by the hospital's intern nurses, who assumed the bed was available and allowed them to stay.

Anning wanted to hold the hospital accountable and resolve the issue, but the head nurse gave her an impatient look and said, "The intern has already been fired. What more do you want?"

An Ning clenched her fists and retorted, "Then the hospital doesn't need to be responsible for the patients? Doesn't it need to bear any responsibility?"

The head nurse glanced up at Li Chunfang's clothes, then looked down at the documents in her hand. "There are still vacant VIP beds upstairs. The hospital's intention is to express its apologies and reduce some of the fees for you."

She looked up, her eyes revealing impatience. "Do you want to stay?"

The cost of a VIP hospital bed can be more than the cost of a regular ward for a month in just one day.

It's not something they can afford.

Seeing their hesitation, the head nurse lowered her head and gave a disdainful smile.

On the screen of her phone in the drawer, a message she had received not long ago was displayed: "[It's done. You've been promoted to management.]"

......

"Ms. An, your mother's surgery was originally scheduled for next week, but the chief surgeon, Dr. Zhao, has received a very important medical assignment and will be away on a business trip for the next couple of days, not returning until next month."

In the doctor's office, the male doctor in the white coat showed An Ning Director Zhao's schedule.

An Ning frowned deeply. "A temporary medical mission?"

"It was arranged by the government, so I can't go into details." The doctor looked at Li Chunfang's medical records. "Your mother is currently in good condition, and the surgery can be done next month."

If this is delayed for a month, Li Chunfang will be in pain for a month.

An Ning pursed her pale lips. "How about changing the surgeon?"

"The doctors' schedules are pretty full right now." The doctor clicked a few times on the computer, then, as if noticing something, said in a surprised tone, "Oh, Dr. Tao can schedule surgery next week, but..."

He hesitated, then looked at the young woman in front of him. "Director Tao is a highly respected doctor in our hospital. His surgeries are particularly difficult to book, and the fees are relatively high. I wonder if you—"

"How much higher?" Anning understood the implication in his words and asked directly.

The other person held up one finger. "One hundred thousand."

An Ning choked up, her fingertips digging into her palm.

She had just turned down Haowei's job offer and now faced an additional 100,000 yuan in surgery fees.

One hundred thousand.

That's a huge number.

The doctor noticed her predicament and said understandingly, "How about this, think about it and give me an answer by tomorrow morning. After all, Director Tao's time is really valuable."

As Anning left the doctor's office, a sense of powerlessness welled up within her.

They were originally the most insignificant people in the city of Jinghai.

Cheng Wanwan's words were not without reason. In Jinghai, a place where land is extremely valuable and medical resources are scarce, it is very difficult for people without connections or resources to even see a doctor.

She took out her phone and opened the payment app.

My gaze swept across a row of bank cards and landed on a card with a black and gold pattern.

The balance in her card was so large that it made her gasp for breath.

She never touched the card, even during the most difficult times.

But Li Chunfang's condition could not be delayed any longer; if it was, the chances of the cancer cells spreading would be even greater.

She took a deep breath, turned off her phone, and walked back to the doctor's office.

Just as I reached the door, the obsequious voice of the male doctor from before drifted out from inside the half-open door.

"Don't worry, I'll do exactly what Mr. Lu instructs me to do, and I'll handle it perfectly. Right now, the mother and daughter's surgery has been postponed, there are no beds available, and we don't even know if they can afford the surgery..."

My hand, which was about to knock on the door, suddenly froze in mid-air.

An Ning's face turned deathly pale.

The mother and daughter the doctor was referring to are them!

So, what about that Mr. Lu?

She almost forgot that this hospital was originally invested in by the Lu Group.

Anning's fingers trembled uncontrollably, and even breathing became painful.

She heard the man's chilling words again as he cornered her against the wall.

"Everything that belongs to me, Lu Xiyan, I will take back."

With just a word from him, he could cut off their chance to survive in the hospital.

A god could crush an ant with ease.

......

The phone rang in the president's office of the Auten Group.

"Assistant Jiang, there's a Miss An downstairs who wants to see President Lu."

"Miss An?" Jiang Yao searched his memory and suddenly remembered what happened this morning. Could it be that Miss An? Judging from President Lu's attitude towards her, he probably wouldn't want to see her either, right?

He was about to refuse when the woman in the president's office looked at him with a smile, "Assistant Jiang, let her come up. I should know her."

The elevator stopped on the top floor.

Jiang Yao saw that the person who came seemed to be angry. He was about to go up and ask her what she wanted to see President Lu when she ignored him and went straight to the president's office.

An Ning walked into the office with the doors wide open, her mouth full of questions, but she stopped talking when she saw the woman sitting on the sofa.

"An Ning?" Cheng Wanwan put down the magazine in her hand, stood up from the sofa, and looked at him with a hint of surprise. "I just heard from Assistant Jiang that you were looking for Xi Yan. He's not here right now. Is there something you need?"

After saying that, she gestured for Jiang Yao to prepare tea.

Although they are not yet engaged, she is already behaving like a CEO's wife.

An Ning glanced at the extremely spacious office, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "Where's Lu Xiyan?"