Chapter 90: Discharge from the Hospital

After lying in the hospital for so long, the semester had already begun. How many classes had he missed?

What could be done? With such a severe injury, he could not simply force himself through it. A broken limb needed a hundred days of rest, after all. Although he could finally be discharged today, he still had to undergo rehabilitation.

More than a month had passed since that incident, and Li Ran had at last been discharged from the hospital in a wheelchair.

The wound on his head had mostly healed, but his leg was still broken. For the time being he could not move about freely, though at least from now on he could recuperate at home. That was far better than remaining day after day in the stifling hospital room.

Li Ruoke had even worried that he would go stir-crazy in this time, but who would have guessed that Li Ran did not feel lonely at all, because there had been a new, invisible friend keeping him company with conversation all this while.

Now that he had finally been discharged, he was happy, of course, but there was also a touch of melancholy in his heart. He would have to part with that wandering girl from the half-life world of the hospital. After all, the two of them had spent so much time together; it seemed he could only return in the future to pay his respects as one visits an old friend.

If Li Ruoke knew he had been chatting idly with some half-dead shade all this time, she would surely slap him twice.

On the other hand, Qi Yan had long since recovered; the main issue was that his father, Qi Guoheng, still needed a long period of convalescence.

Fortunately, Dong Ye and Xu Dan had done their best to help out whenever they could during this time, otherwise it would truly have been a bit troublesome.

Qi Guoheng’s heart had developed a problem, but he had never said a word about it to Qi Yan. If not for these two attacks, he would still have been kept in the dark.

Father and son were cut from the same cloth, both sharing only the good news and hiding the bad. They each kept secrets from the other, and neither wanted to speak at length about the troubles they themselves had encountered.

But that was only human nature; most people were like this.

Though heart surgery was major surgery, it did not place an enormous burden on them financially. Qi Guoheng’s insurance was quite generous, which counted as fortune amid misfortune.

After all they had been through, Qi Yan had even considered buying himself accident insurance. Otherwise, always suffering all these unlucky injuries—how could anyone endure that?

For more than a month, everyone had had a hard time. Their bodies were exhausted, and their minds were taut with strain.

The only thing that gave Qi Yan a little comfort was this: after all that hustle and bustle, Boss Li had finally paid out!

To be precise, it was a dividend. Though running a business was hard work, the money Qi Yan had received this time was indeed quite a bit more than what he had earned at his previous jobs.

Base pay, overtime allowance, commissions, and dividends added up to nearly nine thousand. Such profit!

Of course it was profit. It depended on what kind of goods were being sold.

If it had been like ordinary social commerce or e-commerce, peddling knockoff clothes, accessories, or cosmetics, the margins would never have been that high.

But the cost of amulets and protective charms was actually not very high. As long as one had a good relationship with the suppliers, that is, the Thai masters, the profit margin was considerable.

The key was that Li Ruoke already had a very stable customer base and sales channels. When Qi Yan came in, he was simply picking up ready-made achievements, so naturally it was different from starting from scratch.

The market for these spiritual trinkets was not yet saturated, unlike everyday goods and health products, which had already been done to death. As long as the merchant could talk their way around things, it did not matter if sales were modest; even one item sold could bring in a handsome profit.

For young people like Qi Yan and the others, who had graduated not long ago and gone to work for a company, how much could they earn in a month? Doing business was not as stable as working a job, but it all came down to luck. Sometimes there was more, sometimes less.

Now that the dividend had arrived, Qi Yan first paid off half of his credit card debt, and then... he used the card again to buy a new phone.

He had been changing phones so frequently lately that he no longer even felt like buying the “kidney” series. Who knew whether some future mishap might wreck another one? Such things were no joke.

Better to support domestic brands honestly. He switched to an OP model instead: five minutes of charging, two hours of talk time. That was more decent.

Over that same month, Uncle Yan and the others had remained in New City and never left.

Today, with Li Ran discharged, he brought Xuanxuan and Hao Dalong along, and even that blind girl came directly to the studio to gather.

When the siblings returned home, they found Uncle Yan in the living room teasing the cat.

Xuanxuan was very considerate; knowing that Li Ran had been discharged today, she had bought ribs and was making sweet-and-sour pork ribs, preparing a lavish dinner. These days had been far too miserable for everyone. Now that life had at last grown calm again, of course they had to treat themselves properly.

Li Ran was still in the dark, wondering why all these people had converged in his house. Surely it could not be only because of his discharge?

And Sister Xuanxuan worked overseas, after all. He wondered what sort of show this was. Besides him, everyone else already knew the truth.

Though Mid-Autumn Festival had already passed, the lively scene still looked wonderfully warm. Everyone present had not enjoyed such bustle in a long time; the last time had been at Xuanxuan’s home in Bangkok.

Breathing in the mouthwatering aroma of the dishes, Li Ruoke helped Li Ran from the wheelchair onto the sofa.

“Shall we wait a little longer for Qi Yan? He said on the phone that there was some traffic, but he’ll be here soon.”

Uncle Yan picked up a rib with his hand and stuffed it straight into his mouth.

“Oh, come on... when you New City people say ‘soon,’ you mean you’re still riding on horseback.”

Xuanxuan grabbed a pair of chopsticks and tapped the back of his hand.

“Must you be such a nuisance? Go wash your hands!”

Seeing Uncle Yan already eating a hunk of meat, Hao Dalong was also about to reach out with his hand to grab some, but Xuanxuan was even rougher with him. Her chopsticks came down on the back of his head with a sharp smack.

“Do you believe it or not? Are you trying to die?”

Qi Yan had only reached the doorway when he heard their voices. Coming inside and seeing the scene, he thought: Well! So many people here?

What are they all doing today?

He was just about to ask when he suddenly remembered that Li Ran was still sitting there, so he held back for the moment.

Whatever it was could wait until everyone had finished eating. This celebratory dinner for his discharge lasted nearly two hours. Not only the patient, but everyone’s appetites were excellent.

“Burp—”

Uncle Yan let out a long, satisfied belch and picked his teeth with a toothpick.

“Ke-ke, take your little brother and the cats and dogs out for a stroll, will you?”

Li Ruoke understood at once, but Xuanxuan took the initiative instead.

“I’ll push Ran out for some fresh air. After all, Ke-ke is the host here and still has to look after you guests...”

And so Xuanxuan, leading two dogs, took the bewildered Li Ran out again.

After watching them leave, Qi Yan asked:

“How long are you planning to keep this from him? Don’t tell me forever?”

Li Ruoke shook her head helplessly.

“Hide it for as long as I can. Unless it becomes absolutely necessary, I really don’t want him dragged into this. It’s enough that I’m the one who has to be frightened and worry.”

Qi Yan did not continue to persuade her, but instead looked toward the blind girl named Ding Lingzi. As before, even indoors she wore sunglasses and did not easily speak with the people around her.

He had always thought her a little strange, but ever since Uncle Yan revealed that she too was one of the holders of a shadow ward, Qi Yan had developed a different view of her.

Because this pitiful girl shared a fate very much like his own. He only wondered what sort of thing her shadow ward was.

Could it be like “Mother”?