Ren Yuanhao sprinted, following the red dot in his mind. Along the way, he noticed familiar landmarks but couldn't place where he had seen them.
When he arrived at Zhao Leilei's location, he found a crowd surrounding her as she sat on the ground, pointing fingers and spewing insults.
"Raising a useless daughter like you, it would have been better to abort you while you were still in the womb. Look, your mother is about to die, and you, this good-for-nothing, were probably busy flirting with those stinking men at nightclubs!"
"Exactly, if you had come a day later, the medical expenses would have been completely cut off!"
"Perhaps she deliberately came late. After all, with such a burdensome mother, even pleasuring men wouldn't erase the thorns in her heart, would it?"
The surrounding family members of other patients uttered one nasty remark after another, each word like a needle piercing Zhao Leilei's soul. What made her despair even further was that the money she had paid was no longer enough to cover the medical expenses.
This meant that Zhao Leilei might truly be separated from her mother forever.
Zhao Leilei finally managed to push her way out of the crowd, grabbed the doctor's leg, and began to kowtow repeatedly on the ground, her head hitting the floor with a thunderous sound.
"Doctor, please, have mercy. I promise I'll find a way to cover the rest, okay? I'm begging you!"
Before the doctor could respond, others chimed in with mocking remarks.
"Pah, useless, what were you doing before?"
"Indeed, who knows if that money was earned through selling herself?"
"Of course. Instead of crying here, you might as well sell yourself again. Since you've already lost your shame, one more time won't make a difference."
The crowd's cold laughter was like sharp swords, slicing through her flesh and relentlessly pressing into her heart. Once her heart was torn to shreds, the string that had been taut for so long would snap.
"Damn it, this is a quiet place of healing, why are there so many noisy birds chirping? No, it's just farting, utterly unbearable."
Ren Yuanhao pushed his way into the crowd and helped the utterly dejected Zhao Leilei to her feet.
Seeing a man stepping forward to defend Zhao Leilei, the onlookers began to speculate, and their chatter became incessant.
"Yuanhao, why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to bother?" Zhao Leilei had long needed someone to lean on, and even just leaning was enough for her.
"I'm your boyfriend. How could I stand by and do nothing when something like this happens?"
In front of everyone, Ren Yuanhao tenderly wiped the tears from Zhao Leilei's eyes, caressed her back, and continued to comfort her.
To their surprise, these trouble-making onlookers started their taunts again.
"Tsk, I thought you, Zhao Leilei, would at least cling to some rich patron, someone who could pay off the medical debt. Who knew that with your mother on the brink of death, you, Zhao Leilei, were still keeping a gigolo!"
"Isn't that right? Keeping a dog like you is truly a sin."
Ren Yuanhao had long experienced how terrifying the power of gossip could be. It could not only destroy a person's destiny but also their will to live.
And what he hated most were these gossip-mongering, overbearing individuals.
The best way to deal with such people was to shut them down, without stopping.
Ren Yuanhao sneered and leisurely took something from his pocket, tossing it into the doctor's hand. It was a card that he could exchange for money with his points, worth 800,000, or 800 points.
The crowd, seeing just an ordinary card, assumed it was merely for show. To their surprise, as the cashier swiped the card, her expression changed slightly.
"The card has a balance of 800,000, which is enough to cover the surgery."
The crowd, clearly displeased at being proven wrong, said, "Hmph, a mere 800,000 can barely quench thirst. What's the big deal?"
Ren Yuanhao had anticipated that these boastful talkers would say something like this. He immediately took out another card from his pocket and said coldly, "Oh, sorry, that one was just my pocket money. If you want to swipe, use this one."
When the black card appeared in their sight, those who had never seen anything like it had no idea of its value. However, the attending physician nearly collapsed.
Even more shocking was when the nurse saw the balance on the card, she was stunned, counting the numbers several times before stammering, "The card... the card balance is 43.2 billion..."
Ren Yuanhao casually straightened his clothes. Those arrogant, sneering individuals had clearly bumped into a formidable force. Not only were their faces slapped, but they might have also angered this deity, making their future days difficult. Just as they were about to disperse, a clear, melodious female voice echoed from the corridor.
"Since she's a friend of my little brother, the medical expenses certainly shouldn't be borne by him, right?"
Everyone turned to see who had spoken. A woman dressed in a formal black suit and skirt, with a badge identical to the one on the sanatorium pinned to her left chest, her legs encased in black stockings, and her long, lustrous black hair cascading down her back. Whether the blush on her cheeks was due to seeing Ren Yuanhao or climbing six flights of stairs was unclear.
Beside her stood an elderly gentleman butler, exuding an aristocratic aura.
Upon seeing her, the doctors, nurses, and orderlies respectfully bowed and greeted her softly, "Miss."
Seeing their deference, the onlookers immediately guessed that this young woman was the recently prominent third daughter of the Xia family.
"What a coincidence. As I was coming up just now, I was thinking this establishment's emblem looked familiar, but my mind was completely blank. If you hadn't come, I might not have remembered," Ren Yuanhao said with a bright, open smile, pulling Zhao Leilei closer to introduce her to Xia Xiaomo.
"This is Xia Xiaomo, the third daughter of the Xia family. She's likely the one in charge at home now."
Zhao Leilei almost knelt to the ground, but Xia Xiaomo, with utmost sincerity, helped her up.
"Since she's my little brother's friend, she's my friend too. We must help if we can, so let's not stand on ceremony." After speaking, Xia Xiaomo instructed the attending physician further before patting Zhao Leilei's shoulder and saying, "Miss, it's alright now."
The onlookers left in trepidation. Following this incident, Zhao Leilei's internal distress was completely relieved. After checking on their respective families, the three of them sat at a coffee shop. Upon hearing Zhao Leilei's story, Xia Xiaomo decided to let Zhao Leilei stay at the Xia family residence, at least to provide a strong deterrent to those scoundrels.
Zhao Leilei was extremely grateful. With her mental burden lifted, she finally explained to Ren Yuanhao the entire cause and effect of why those individuals had been pursuing her.
"Actually, what they wanted was an unclaimed ability core..."