27: Chapter 27 What brand is your phone?
Yuan Mubai's face went pale in an instant. She gripped Yang Lei's arm tightly, shaking her head, the arrogance in her eyes replaced entirely by panic.
Yang Lei wanted to say something more, but was coldly interrupted by the police officer: "Save it for the station. This is a hospital; you're disturbing the other patients."
As they passed the doorway, Yuan Mubai glanced back at Zhou Yurou, her eyes filled with a venomous glare like poisoned needles.
The hospital room finally fell silent. Zhou Yurou closed her eyes, but her tears flowed even more fiercely. Her shoulders heaved, and her suppressed sobbing sounded like a blocked bellows.
Zhang Fan said nothing more and quietly slipped out.
He bought a bottle of mineral water at the convenience store outside the hospital, then found a noodle shop, ordered a bowl of beef noodles, and devoured them ravenously.
Only after getting some food in his stomach did he feel a bit of strength return to his body. "I really asked for this," he chuckled self-deprecatingly, yet he felt no regret in his heart.
When checking out, he noticed they sold nourishing porridge at the entrance of the noodle shop. Various jars were displayed in a glass cabinet, one of which was labeled "Millet, Goji Berry, Red Date, Lily, and Ginseng Porridge."
The owner said, "This replenishes qi and blood; it's best for someone who just had surgery."
Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment before asking the owner to pack one portion.
"How much?"
"180," the owner said with a warm smile.
"Holy crap, are you robbing me?" Zhang Fan almost jumped, but looking at the jar of porridge, he gritted his teeth and paid anyway.
"I hope it's made with real ingredients," he muttered to himself while carrying the porridge back.
Just as he reached the hospital room door, he heard shrill scolding from inside—an old woman's voice seeping through the gap in the door: "Zhou Yurou, you jinx! Mimi waited at kindergarten until dark and no one picked her up! If the teacher hadn't called me, the child would have been kidnapped! Did you die out there? Huh? You don't care about your own husband, you don't care about the child, all you know is how to cause trouble..."
Zhou Yurou didn't say a word, only muffled sobs could be heard.
Zhang Fan's anger flared up instantly.
He pushed the door open and walked in to see Zhou Yurou holding her phone, her shoulders shaking violently. The call screen was still lit up, with the contact labeled "Mother-in-law."
"Hang it up," he said, walking over and gently pressing the end call button.
He placed the porridge on the bedside table. Just as he was about to speak, the phone buzzed again, still showing the number labeled "Mother-in-law."
Zhou Yurou didn't react, just stared blankly at the creases on the bedsheet, tears falling like broken beads.
Seeing her like this made Zhang Fan feel even more suffocated. He picked up her phone and pressed the power-off button.
The hospital room fell completely silent. The sky outside had darkened, and the light from the streetlamps shone through the glass, casting long shadows on the floor.
"Drink some porridge first." Zhang Fan opened the thermal container and pushed the bowl of 180-yuan nourishing porridge in front of her. "No matter what, you need to take care of your health first."
Zhou Yurou didn't move, only whispered, "Thank you, Zhang Fan."
This time, her voice lacked the previous distance; there was something more, like the slight dampness when ice and snow begin to melt.
Zhang Fan said nothing, just placed the spoon in the bowl and gave it a gentle nudge.
Some wounds cannot be healed by a simple "thank you."
The hospital corridor gradually quieted down in the evening, the smell of disinfectant fading slightly, mixing with the scent of food drifting in from outside the window. Zhou Yurou leaned against the headboard, watching the liquid drip slowly through the IV tube, and said softly, "Zhang Fan, you should go back."
Zhang Fan was adjusting the height of her pillow and paused upon hearing this. "It's fine, I'll stay a bit longer."
"There's no need," she smiled, her eyes still red. "The caregiver will come tonight. You have to go to the studio tomorrow, right? Don't let this delay your important business."
Zhang Fan looked at her pale face, wanting to say "The studio isn't urgent," but swallowed the words. He really shouldn't stay any longer; a man and a woman alone in a hospital room wouldn't look good if word got out, especially after what she had just been through.
"Then... I'll come see you again tomorrow." He picked up his jacket. "Call me if you need anything."
Zhou Yurou nodded and said nothing more. As Zhang Fan reached the door, he looked back; she was looking down at her phone, the light from the screen illuminating her face. He didn't know what she was looking at, but her fingers were scrolling very slowly.
"Oh, right, Sister Zhou," he suddenly remembered something. "What brand is your phone? It's quite loud."
Just now, he could hear Zhou Yurou's mother-in-law's call clearly even without it being on speakerphone, so Zhang Fan was quite envious.
Zhou Yurou paused, then held up her phone and shook it. "Just a regular domestic phone. It's been dropped a few times, maybe the speaker is a bit loose."
Zhang Fan said "Oh," but his mind was already calculating. His Xiaomi 11 was long overdue for a replacement. Last time Gu Feifei pushed him down the stairs, the top left corner of the screen cracked, and the fingerprint unlock was hit-or-miss.
Walking out of the hospital, the evening breeze carried a hint of chill. Zhang Fan didn't go straight home; he detoured to the digital mall, looked at the new phone models in the Huawei store, gritted his teeth, and swiped his card.
"Consider it supporting the 'far ahead' technology; after all, domestic goods should be strong." He consoled himself, cradling the new phone box, feeling a bit of heartache—just like that, more than half a month's worth of startup capital was gone.
After getting home, he transferred his contacts, chat history, and downloaded his usual apps, messing around until midnight before he finally got everything sorted.
To test the screen clarity, he specifically opened TikTok and scrolled through a few suggestive videos of young women. Seeing the smooth visuals, he couldn't help but grin: "This money was well spent."
At midnight, the daily intelligence system updated right on time.
This time, the font was dark blue: [At Xiaoxia Supermarket in front of the Central Hospital, on the leftmost side of the first shelf, there is a bottle of Blue and White Porcelain liquor containing a first-prize award worth 20,000 yuan.]
"Holy crap!" Zhang Fan sat up abruptly, all sleepiness gone.
Twenty thousand yuan! Just enough to cover the hospital deposit and the money he spent on the phone! He stared at the intelligence, his eyes shining like lightbulbs—the system was truly reliable. Knowing he had been spending heavily lately, it had delivered some extra income right to his doorstep.
"Thank you, system!" He bowed to the screen, his anticipation for the future growing a little more.
Although he hadn't touched much of Tang Wanqing's 1-million-yuan investment, for someone who had known poverty, every extra cent meant more confidence for the future, so he wouldn't have to be as restricted as before.
Early the next morning, Zhang Fan bought some millet porridge and tea eggs and hurried to the hospital.
In the hospital room, Zhou Yurou had just finished her IV drip and was sitting by the bed, staring blankly. Sunlight shone through the window onto her face, revealing the fine downy hair on her skin, but her complexion remained pale.
"Sister Zhou, eat something." Zhang Fan placed the breakfast on the table. "Hasn't the caregiver come yet?"
"She came, but just went back to get some things." Zhou Yurou's voice was still a bit hoarse. "Thank you, you've spent money on me again."
"It's nothing." Zhang Fan waved his hand, not mentioning the liquor, fearing she might think he was showing off. "You eat first. I'm going to check on the studio and will come back in the afternoon."
He turned to leave, but was called back by Zhou Yurou.
"Zhang Fan."
He stopped and looked back at her. "What's wrong?"
Zhou Yurou took a deep breath, her fingers pinching creases into the quilt as if she had gathered all her courage: "You... sit down. I want to talk to you about something."