The young girl looked at the younger sister in front of her, who had the same face but whose temperament and state were far superior to hers. Her mood was extremely complicated.
After a long while, the young girl spoke up, "My name is Li Erya. I'm your elder sister. Just look at our similar looks. You'll know I'm not a liar. I'd like to find a quiet place to talk to you alone. Is that okay?"
Miaomiao looked utterly confused. She glanced at her friends beside her. After some hesitation, Wei Ziqi was about to decline on Miaomiao's behalf, but was interrupted by Miaomiao's affirmative answer.
"Okay. Let's go over there. You guys wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
Miaomiao instructed her friends behind her, then turned around and led Li Erya towards the alley beside the school. No one would go there, so it was relatively quiet, perfectly meeting Li Erya's requirement for a place to talk alone.
Wei Ziqi wanted to follow, but was stopped by Yao Mingxuan beside him.
"That woman looks quite frail. She can't possibly harm Miaomiao. Don't go. Sometimes, being too controlling will lead to conflicts."
Wei Ziqi, who was about to break free, stopped in his tracks.
Yao Mingxuan was right. He could think carefully about everything for Miaomiao, but he couldn't make decisions for her. Once concern turned into control, the nature of it would change.
But Miaomiao had a simple thought process. Maybe that woman could easily deceive her with just a few words. She might even count the money for the person who sold her.
Despite his worries, Wei Ziqi finally managed to restrain his impulse to rush over and quietly waited with his friends for Miaomiao to come back.
Once they were in the alley, Li Erya nervously rubbed the corner of her clothes. Her head was bowed so low that it couldn't go any lower. No one knew what she was afraid of or trying to avoid.
"Speak up. What do you want?" Seeing that Li Erya was silent, Miaomiao broke the silence first.
After waiting for a while, Li Erya suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud, startling Miaomiao.
One moment she was claiming kinship, and the next she was kneeling. What a strange thing to do!
"I want to borrow some money from you. I know it's an over - the - top request since we've just met, but I'm really at the end of my rope. I heard recently that Mom and Dad found their long - lost daughter who's living a really good life. I didn't really care at first. But my daughter is sick. The doctor said it'll cost a huge amount of money to treat her. I'm uneducated. I just earn a living by waiting tables. My husband is useless and not good at making money. So I'm here to ask for your help. I hope that since we're related by blood and are sisters, you can lend me some money, even just a little. Don't worry. I'll definitely pay you back."
There was so much information in Li Erya's long speech that Miaomiao couldn't digest it all at once.
This woman who didn't look very old actually had a daughter?
This person might really be her elder sister?
But why did she get married so early?
Her daughter was sick?
It seemed she should help!
Miaomiao's mind was racing. She quickly nodded and replied, "Okay. How much do you want to borrow? Let me see if I have enough."
"Xiaobao needs 100,000 yuan for the surgery. I know you're still a student. Even if your family is well - off now, you probably don't have much spare money. Any amount you can lend me is fine. I won't be picky or mind." Li Erya was so touched that tears welled up in her eyes. After saying that, she was about to kowtow to Miaomiao.
Miaomiao would never accept such a grand gesture. She quickly helped the woman up. She was very strong. Even if Li Erya wanted to continue kowtowing, she couldn't touch the ground.
"100,000 yuan. I have it. But you have to wait for me. I need to go to the bank to withdraw the money."
"O... okay... thank you..."
Li Erya thanked her repeatedly, wiped the tears from her eyes, and followed Miaomiao out of the alley.
When they met up with the friends again, Miaomiao first took Li Erya back to the research institute. During this time, Li Erya always followed behind. The friends didn't feel it was appropriate to ask about the situation.
After the friends had left, Miaomiao took her bank card and ID card and walked out of the research institute alone. She took Li Erya to the bank.
100,000 yuan was a large sum for the bank. Seeing how young Miaomiao was, the staff double - checked the information of her bank card opening. After confirming it was really her, they started the procedure.
It was almost time for the bank to close when the kids got out of school. Since Miaomiao's bank card was a VIP card, the staff worked overtime to quickly complete the procedure for her.
Once she got the 100,000 yuan, Miaomiao immediately stuffed it into Li Erya's hand beside her and said, "Take it back quickly to treat your daughter. It's important. If you need any help at the hospital, you can come to me."
Li Erya tightly clutched the 100,000 yuan in her hand. Tears kept streaming down her face. Once the money was really in her hands, she was so excited that she couldn't speak.
For so many days, she and her husband had asked for help everywhere but to no avail. Neither her own parents nor her husband's parents wanted to take care of their daughter with congenital renal failure.
Although 100,000 yuan was only enough for the initial hospitalization fee and a minor operation, it was undoubtedly a huge sum for their family. The child's illness was like a bottomless pit. Only by finding a suitable kidney source and having a kidney - transplant operation could the disease be completely eradicated. Even then, there might be adverse reactions like rejection later.
Apart from the 200,000 yuan for the kidney - transplant operation, a large amount of money would still be needed to treat this disease.
But Li Erya didn't want to give up. She had finally reached the age of adulthood, found a husband who, although not very educated, was very kind to her and truly loved her. She had escaped from the original family that was full of nightmares for her and gave birth to a very well - behaved daughter. Everything she had now was something she would protect with her life.
So when she was at the end of her rope, unable to borrow money anywhere, and had a fight with her parents, she remembered a spiteful remark.
They said, "Your third younger sister, who was thrown away by me long ago, is living a really good life now. If you want to borrow money, go ask her! I'm telling you, Dad originally wanted to throw you away, but your mom stopped him. We've been kind enough to raise you this far. Do you think we'll pay for your useless daughter's treatment? You're dreaming. Even if we lend you the money, can you pay it back?"
She had a younger sister who was living a good life...
Maybe she could really borrow some money from this sister she had never met.
For the sake of her daughter and to protect what she had now, she didn't care if she had to tear up her pride and trample on it.