“What’s going on?” I stood up anxiously, but a wave of dizziness nearly made me fall.

Zhao Heng saw my pale face, poured me a glass of water, and then explained what had happened.

My adoptive father suddenly fell ill in the countryside and was sent to the hospital, but the medical facilities there were limited, so they came to the city.

I initially thought it was just a simple ailment, but the test results were disappointing.

“Your call might not have gone through, so it came to me.”

A sense of unease crept into my heart because after I was brought back to the Lu family, they had never asked me for a single penny.

My adoptive mother always said that as long as I was safe and healthy, they wouldn’t disturb my life.

If they weren’t truly in trouble, they wouldn’t have called me now.

I asked Zhao Heng to prepare the car, hoping to send him away, and after taking a painkiller, I left the conference room.

I ran into Gu Jiang coming out of Su Li's office. When he saw me, a smug smile appeared on his face.

“President Lu, I’m sorry, but I still have to handle this project.”

His face was devoid of the innocence he had shown in front of Su Li just moments ago.

From the moment Su Li came over to argue with me, I knew she would interfere with this project.

I stood up angrily and grabbed Gu Jiang by the collar. “If you dare to play any tricks, I’ll make sure you regret it!”

Gu Jiang glanced at my hand and laughed, “Oh really? President Lu, aren’t you afraid Su Li will see this?”

“Guess what would happen if I called out right now?”

He cast a sidelong glance at Su Li's office, grinning provocatively, every expression taunting me.

I knew that if he called out, Su Li would appear at the door, misunderstanding me again, and I would likely be kicked out of the company immediately.

I released Gu Jiang because I didn’t have time to waste with him and hurriedly asked Zhao Heng to drive me to the hospital.

When I was very young, I was abducted by human traffickers and passed through several buyers, but I always wanted to return to my real home.

So, every time I arrived at a new family, I was fixated on escaping.

They knew about my situation in the previous home and were more wary of me, so I endured a lot of beatings.

To break my desire to escape, they locked me up for days without food.

When I was caught after trying to escape, they tied me up and beat me, threatening me.

“Don’t even think about running away. If we catch you again, we’ll throw you into the mountains to feed the wild boars!”

“Do you think anyone will care if you die here? You’re a black household now; no one will know!”

But I was born stubborn and would never give up on escaping.

The last time I tried to escape, I not only broke my leg but was also covered in injuries and on the brink of death.

That family saw me nearly disabled and didn’t want to spend money on my treatment, casually abandoning me by the roadside.

Just when I thought I was about to die, a kind-hearted person picked me up, who later became my adoptive parents.

They were a loving couple but had no children, pouring all their love and effort into me.

They used all their savings to treat me, and once I recovered, they asked me if I wanted to find my biological parents. I shook my head.

After being trafficked for six years, I had long been consumed by pain and forgotten the way home.

I forgot what my parents looked like and the path back home.

“President Lu, we’ve arrived.” Zhao Heng called me back to reality.

I got out of the car and rushed to the hospital, finding my adoptive mother. When she saw me, there was a hint of weariness in her eyes.

She had more gray hair than last time, and she looked several years older all of a sudden.

With tears in her eyes, she looked at me, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I really had no choice; otherwise, I wouldn’t have called you.”

She trembled as she stood outside the ward, telling me that my adoptive father had lymphoma and didn’t have much time left.

This is a type of blood disease that progresses quickly and, of course, leads to a quick demise.

I calmed her down and told her to wait for me in the ward while I went to find the doctor to understand the situation.

The doctor informed me that he would need chemotherapy first, followed by a transplant.

“The elderly can only endure chemotherapy if they can withstand it; if the transplant is successful, they can live a few more years.”

“However, the costs are quite high.”

I understood the doctor’s implication. “Arrange for the treatment immediately; money is not an issue.”

The doctor looked at me again. “The patient’s indicators are all low right now; we need to boost his immunity and strengthen his body so he can endure the chemotherapy.”

“There are imported medicines, but each injection is very expensive and can quickly enhance resistance.”

“At least prepare 2 million; the subsequent costs will depend on the situation.”

The doctor looked at me, knowing that most families would find it hard to bear such a situation, especially since my adoptive parents were from the countryside.

“Doctor, use the best medicine. I will prepare the money.”

After leaving the doctor’s office, I went to see my adoptive father. He was so thin he looked like a child curled up under the blanket.

When he saw me, he lifted the blanket to get up. “Don’t look at me; I’m old enough to waste money.”

I pressed him down. “It’s nothing serious, just a minor issue; a few injections will do.”

“Look at you, so thin. You should take good care of yourself while you’re here before going back.”

My adoptive mother was beside him, tightly clasping her hands, forcing a smile.

“Yes, just listen to the child. Take care of your health; by the time you go back, the rice will be ready to harvest.”

I held back the tears welling in my eyes and smiled at him. “Right, I’ll personally take you back when the time comes.”

“Maybe I can help you harvest some before coming back.”

My adoptive father suddenly asked me in a deep voice, “Are you doing well? They must be treating you well, right?”

A sharp pang hit my heart, making my chest ache.

“Very well, everyone gets along happily.

“I just don’t like managing the company, and I don’t understand it. So, I handed the company over to my brother.”

“Now, my wife and I are in love; I manage the home, and she manages the outside. It’s quite good.”

My adoptive father seemed half-convinced and nodded. “That’s good, that’s good.”

After chatting with them for a while, I left the ward to handle their hospitalization procedures.

I was busy until the afternoon before I thought about going to the hospital’s ATM to withdraw money.

I only had 300,000 in my card, which was my usual spending, but it was nowhere near enough.

I had a joint account with Su Li, which had at least over ten million in liquid funds.

But when I inserted my card into the ATM, I found that my account had been frozen.

It showed that I was prohibited from using it, even though I had used this account just yesterday.

I called Su Li, “Can you transfer 1 million to me for now?”

Su Li laughed when she heard this. “Lu Xiao, what do you think I am? A bank?”

I immediately explained to her, “I really have an urgent matter and need money. I’ll explain later.”

Su Li chuckled softly, “Since you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you go to the bank for a loan? I can’t help you.”

Before I could respond, Su Li hung up on me, and when I called back, no one answered.

I had no choice but to pay a portion of the fees for my adoptive parents first, and just as I finished handling their admission procedures, Dr. Jiang stopped me at the door.