Xiao Yanzhi glanced at the time, withdrew his gaze from his wristwatch, and fixed it on Qiao Jinrun's face. He fell into deep thought for a while.
"Okay."
Although it's called Happy Street, it's not just a single street but actually a shantytown.
There's a broad street running north - south here named Happy Street. On both sides of the street stand uneven - height buildings. Thousands of people live here, leading busy and compact lives.
Even the tiniest matter can spread from the south end to the north end of the street within a day and be talked about non - stop.
Qiao Jinrun went upstairs to put the groceries away, then came back down to meet Xiao Yanzhi. He asked where would be a suitable place.
Xiao Yanzhi said they could just take a casual stroll around here.
Since this was the place where Jiang Li had spent her childhood, he wanted to stay here for a while.
To walk on the paths she had walked.
Qiao Jinrun glanced at him, then went to a nearby grocery store to buy two bottles of water. He handed one to Xiao Yanzhi.
Qiao Jinrun's grandfather was the director of Happy Hospital and the most authoritative doctor in this area. He was also the person Qiao Jinrun had looked up to since childhood.
Every time he saw his grandfather performing surgeries to save lives, he would secretly vow in his heart that he would become as excellent a doctor as his grandfather when he grew up.
After school every day, Qiao Jinrun would carry his schoolbag to the hospital to do his homework and watch his grandfather bustling around in the hospital.
One evening, he met the young Jiang Li.
His grandfather had a surgery to perform. He was sitting at the nurse's station, waiting for his grandfather to get off work.
Zhou Ningyun was holding little Lili's hand. She impatiently checked her watch several times while standing at the emergency entrance and even asked if the emergency fee could be waived.
The on - duty nurses at the nurse's station were pointing and whispering.
"Is it that premature baby again? She gets sick so easily."
"Her mother is so stingy. She doesn't even want to pay for an emergency visit. Look at how pale the child's face is. Tsk tsk."
"She seems to have a high fever. It's not a good way for her to keep getting sick like this. If it gets worse, it'll be a disaster."
"Everyone has their own fate. It's a pity that this little girl was born into such a family."
"Alright, alright, stop talking. That woman is coming."
It was obvious that Zhou Ningyun didn't want to spend money on the emergency visit. She came over and asked the nurse to prescribe some anti - inflammatory and fever - reducing medicine.
The nurse looked at little Lili's complexion and couldn't help saying, "Give the child an IV drip. Taking medicine alone won't bring the fever down."
Zhou Ningyun murmured something in a low voice, probably something like "useless girl, always costing money", but still agreed to the IV drip.
"Pull out the needle by yourself after the drip is finished. I'm going back first. Your younger brother is waiting for me to cook for him."
Little Lili nodded obediently.
She was sitting on the bench in the corridor. When the nurse was about to insert the needle, she didn't make a sound.
"It'll be over soon."
The blood vessels on little Lili's hand were very thin. The nurse tried twice but couldn't insert the needle.
Seeing her eyes turn red, she still didn't shed a tear.
Qiao Jinrun couldn't bear to watch. He walked over and covered her eyes with his hand. "If you don't look, it won't hurt."
The effect was minimal.
After several attempts like this, the needle was finally successfully inserted into little Lili's blood vessel. The nurse was sweating nervously and reminded her not to move around, or else they would have to do it again.
For the rest of the time, little Lili really didn't dare to move at all.
Qiao Jinrun was still a child. He had already finished his homework in advance. Bored, he started chatting with little Lili who was having the IV drip.
As they were chatting, little Lili's head started to nod. Finally, she fell asleep leaning on Qiao Jinrun's little shoulder.
So he also didn't dare to move at all.
When the IV drip was all finished, he gently pushed little Lili and told her it was over and she could go home.
She opened her eyes sleepily and softly thanked him.
Qiao Jinrun thought it was just a coincidence at first.
But in fact, because she often slept on the sofa and didn't get enough warmth, little Lili often had fevers and colds. The simplest treatment was to sit in the corridor for an IV drip.
Because of this, Qiao Jinrun often met her.
Friendship among children is always easy to build. Qiao Jinrun then found out that she was actually a very cheerful little girl with a lot to say.
She asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.
He answered truthfully, with a bit of uneasiness that didn't match his age. "My grandfather is a very excellent doctor. I'm afraid I'll be very bad and let my grandfather down."
Little Lili encouraged him. "You'll definitely be a great doctor in the future. No matter how far you go, your grandfather will be happy and proud of you."
"Why do you say so?" Qiao Jinrun asked her.
"Because as long as you're doing what you like, no matter how well you do it, you'll be happy and content."
Little Lili smiled at him. "Moreover, I also believe that you'll be an excellent doctor."
"I'll come to you for treatment when I grow up." After saying that, she stuck out her tongue and whispered, "But you have to remember to be gentle when inserting the needle. I'm afraid of pain."
...
When recalling this childhood memory, Qiao Jinrun still smiled from the bottom of his heart. "At that time, I thought she was like a little sun, shining even in the darkest places."
He would always remember that those innocent words from a few - year - old girl had encouraged his dream.
"What happened later?" Xiao Yanzhi's voice was deep.
"Later, she never showed up at the hospital again. I thought it was because the weather had gotten warmer and she didn't get sick easily. Then I heard from the nurse that their family had been raided by debt collectors and they were forced to move away."
"Funny enough, I didn't even ask that little girl's name at that time. But when she seriously said that I would become an excellent doctor, her eyes were really determined."
In the late - autumn afternoon, the sun shone warmly on people, making them feel lazy.
"I asked her." Qiao Jinrun raised his eyes, and his gaze landed on a car not far away. "I asked her if she remembered Happy Street. She said she didn't."
She had flitted through his world briefly.
But it was enough to be the lamp that lit up his life.
Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi paused. There was a bitter feeling in his heart and an indescribable annoyance.
By the time the story was told to this point, Qiao Jinrun felt a bit thirsty. He stopped, unscrewed the bottle in his hand, took a sip of water, and lowered his eyes. "I'm not sure if it's her, but she gives me a very familiar feeling."
"No matter how much a person changes, those bright and spiritual eyes won't change. They're always shiny, determined, and confident."
Qiao Jinrun's tone was calm, and his words took a turn. "But her eyes haven't been bright recently."
Xiao Yanzhi's heart tightened.
"I met her the other day." He continued. "She didn't seem very happy, but she tried hard to make others think she was. I don't know if this has something to do with you, Mr. Xiao."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help her." Qiao Jinrun shrugged and smiled helplessly. "Maybe you, Mr. Xiao, will have a way."