119: Chapter 119 Departure, total distance 98 kilometers, estimated time 1 hour 18 minutes

"Alright, stop talking nonsense and come with me."

As he spoke, Su Ye walked towards the door, with Deng Jiaqi following behind, her little head lowered.

Xiao Long sat in the passenger seat without turning back: "Mr. Su, where are we going now?"

Su Ye thought it would be better to just find a barbecue place near Deng Jiaqi's home to grab a bite; there was no need to make a fuss in the middle of the night.

He then looked at Deng Jiaqi and asked: "Where do you live right now?"

Deng Jiaqi lowered her head, feeling a bit embarrassed, and only spoke after a long while: "Dongfeng Residential Complex in Tang County—"

Upon hearing the name, Su Ye's heart tightened instantly. He pulled out his phone to check, and the navigation app's voice prompt sounded: "Departing, total distance 98 kilometers, estimated time 1 hour 18 minutes—"

The car fell silent instantly, with only Deng Jiaqi's little head lowering even further.

Su Ye spoke directly to Xiao Long: "Financial Island—"

He definitely shouldn't go to Deng Jiaqi's home; it was over an hour away. If they ate something and then returned to Chengdu, it would probably be three or four in the morning. It was better not to bother; he would simply book a room for Deng Jiaqi near his own place on Financial Island.

The car slowly started, and the partition between the driver's seat and the back row rose. The atmosphere in the back was a bit stifling. After mentally preparing herself for a while, Deng Jiaqi raised her little head and said in a low voice: "Ac—actually, I can just find a hotel and stay there myself."

Su Ye thought to himself, 'Forget it. With how much you're trying to save money, the hotel you find probably won't be much different from a cheap flophouse. A girl with such a good figure and such beauty, wearing a sailor suit in the middle of the night and going to a flophouse—she might not be worried, but I am.'

Without answering Deng Jiaqi, Su Ye turned to ask: "Why did you think to live so far away?"

Deng Jiaqi lowered her head in self-deprecation, then slowly said: "It's cheap. My mom and I have a long-term lease on a two-bedroom apartment in Dongfeng Residential Complex for five hundred yuan a month. You can't rent a place in Chengdu for five hundred yuan. I was living at school before, only going back for two days on weekends at most, so it didn't really matter."

Suddenly remembering something, Deng Jiaqi looked up at Su Ye: "Ori—originally, I thought that now that I've graduated, I could focus entirely on earning money. Once I got my first month's salary, I could move out with my mom. But I didn't expect that before I could even start, I discovered my mom had contracted this illness. I told her to go to the hospital, but we didn't have the money—"

Su Ye sighed inwardly and didn't ask any further. Taking himself as an example, if his parents had suddenly contracted this illness before, even after insurance, there would still be three or four hundred thousand yuan left. Could his family afford it? Could he come up with that money? In all likelihood, he would probably have to sell his house and car to pay for it.

The car fell silent again.

Su Ye then remembered that for Deng Jiaqi, it wasn't just a matter of treatment costs; which hospital and which doctor were also issues. A kidney transplant was not a minor surgery.

"Which hospital is your mother planning to have the surgery at?"

Deng Jiaqi looked up, a faint smile curling on her lips as she said: "My mentor helped me contact Director Huang from the Department of Nephrology at Huaxi Hospital. He is a standing committee member of the National Academic Committee and a technical leader in Sichuan Province. I took my mom to see him before; Director Huang said it wasn't a major issue. If she recovers well after the surgery, she can live like a normal person. With proper follow-up care, there's no problem with my mom living to seventy or eighty years old."

"Director Huang is very kind; he even helped me find the kidney source. Unfortunately, I can't help him with anything right now, but I will definitely repay him and my mentor in the future. My mentor offered to lend me money before, but I thought about it—my mentor has already helped me too much. Besides, I heard recently that my mentor is having major financial problems, so I can't cause them any more trouble."

Su Ye thought that was normal. For Deng Jiaqi to be pursuing a direct doctoral program in Financial Law, her mentor must clearly be a big shot in the field of Financial Law. It was perfectly normal for such a person to know a big shot in the medical field in Sichuan Province.

It was just that Su Ye didn't know what to say to Deng Jiaqi. This girl was filial, sensible, and grateful, but she thought too much about others. In other words, she had a people-pleasing personality. Although he didn't know what kind of financial problems Deng Jiaqi's mentor was having, three or four hundred thousand yuan should still be something they could come up with, and with Deng Jiaqi's current ability, she could pay it off in a year or two.

Listening to Deng Jiaqi chattering in his ear about how she would work and earn money after her mother got better, where she would take her mother to see the scenery, where they would move, and how the family would live after her father was released, Su Ye just sat there smiling and nodding, not saying much.

Even when they went for a late-night snack at Old Zhao's Barbecue afterwards, perhaps because Deng Jiaqi had been suppressing herself for too long, she didn't stop talking. Old Zhao, however, looked at Su Ye with a strange expression. There was no helping it; Su Ye had first brought Jiang Bai to eat here, then brought Zhao Sihan once, and now he had brought Deng Jiaqi.

Su Ye understood Old Zhao; after all, he was eating too well, and he was changing companions a bit too frequently.

At one in the morning, Su Ye helped Deng Jiaqi book a room at the Orange Hotel. He didn't book anything too fancy, just a standard queen room. Before leaving, Su Ye explained Deng Jiaqi's salary and benefits:

"I've looked into it, and even if you go to a Red Circle firm, your salary would only be an annual salary of 200,000 to 300,000. I'll pay you the top bracket of 300,000. From now on, I will deduct 100,000 from your salary each year as repayment, with a take-home pay of 200,000. It will be paid off in five years. Do you think that's okay?"

Since he had called it a loan, and Su Ye also believed that Deng Jiaqi's self-esteem was particularly strong—otherwise, she wouldn't have refused her mentor's financial aid knowing her mentor's financial situation wasn't great—he decided to make this matter official.

Deng Jiaqi nodded without hesitation. "No problem."

Su Ye continued: "Let me know once you've confirmed the arrangements for your mother's surgery. If you need any help, you can just say so directly. After all, besides being boss and employee, we are also friends. Don't overthink it; many things that are very difficult for you are just a phone call away for me."

Upon hearing these words from Su Ye, ripples of emotion flowed in Deng Jiaqi's eyes, and the shyness and embarrassment from earlier vanished completely. Perhaps because it was just the two of them now, Su Ye, unable to handle it, turned his head to the side and gave final instructions:

"Also, I haven't established the Family Office yet. It's expected to take two months, which should be enough time for your mother's surgery and initial recovery. It's my fault that it hasn't been established yet, so your salary will be paid as usual for these two months. Alright, that's all I have to say. Get some rest early; I'm heading off."

After saying this, Su Ye prepared to walk out. If he didn't leave now, he felt he might not be able to leave tonight.

"Su Ye."

Deng Jiaqi's voice rang out crisply. Su Ye turned his head reflexively to look, and a pair of warm, soft red lips covered his mouth.