Lu Li was respectfully seen off at the door by all the senior and junior executives of the Youjia Group.
With a faint smile in his eyes, he glanced at Yang Zhen'er, who stood at the back of the crowd, then withdrew his gaze and turned to leave…
That evening, a call from an unfamiliar number came through to the new phone number Lu Li had just registered.
Upon answering, a hoarse, agonized voice came through the receiver. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place who it was.
"Mister."
"I'm Xie Dahai, the taxi driver who drove you home last night…"
The call paused briefly before continuing in a heavy tone.
As he listened, Lu Li suddenly remembered, and the image of the middle-aged driver surfaced in his mind.
Balding, beer belly, dark eye bags…
He had aging parents to care for and children to raise, and he seemed constantly on edge, afraid to make the slightest mistake…
This was the image Lu Li had formed of the driver—a representation of a sizable group of middle-aged men in Modu City.
"Oh, it's you…"
"Is there something you need?"
Lu Li was sitting on the sofa in his newly purchased luxury apartment, facing the river, admiring the magnificent view. With a slight smile, he asked calmly as he listened to the call.
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of hurried, heavy breaths came through the phone, as if the caller was struggling intensely with something.
Lu Li wasn't in a rush. Leaning back into the sofa, he crossed his legs and watched the sunset over the riverbank.
A full minute passed.
The hoarse voice finally came again.
"Yesterday, you told me that if I was ever truly desperate for money, I could contact you. I'm wondering… was that for real?"
Xie Dahai asked in a low voice.
"Of course it was."
Lu Li replied.
"I don't do anything illegal," Xie Dahai added.
"No, it's not illegal."
The setting sun glinted off Lu Li's golden-framed glasses. His lips curled into a slight smile.
"I think we should talk face to face…"
Lu Li said.
…
Not long after.
He hung up the phone.
Lu Li rose from the sofa, patted off the dust from his pants, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and let his gaze sweep across the lavish Baroque-style apartment. His footsteps landed softly on the wool carpet as he exited the residence.
He closed the door behind him, not too light, not too heavy, and headed toward the elevator.
Soon after, he arrived at a nearby cafe…
"Hi, one cup of high-mountain oolong tea, please. Thank you."
Standing at the counter, Lu Li placed his order.
He took a seat by the window and waited for the driver, Xie Dahai, to arrive.
About twenty minutes later, Xie Dahai appeared in Lu Li's line of sight. He paused at the entrance of the cafe to confirm the name, then lowered his head and hurried inside.
Once in the cafe, Xie Dahai looked around, quickly spotted Lu Li by the window, and a hint of relief flashed across his face as he strode over.
Lu Li straightened up slightly and studied the approaching Xie Dahai.
What surprised him was that even though it had been less than twenty hours since they last met, the middle-aged driver now looked utterly haggard!
His eyes were bloodshot, his expression clouded with uncertainty. Just looking at him, one could sense his intense pain, inner turmoil, and even hysteria.
The man seemed like a tightly drawn string—on the verge of snapping…
As he stood before Lu Li, a heavy pressure seemed to descend with him.
"Please, have a seat."
"Would you like something to drink?"
Lu Li rose to invite him to sit.
"No need."
Xie Dahai replied in a low voice, then sat down.
"One iced lemon water, please!"
Lu Li nodded and turned to the nearby server, gesturing with his hand.
"Sir, please enjoy."
The server bowed slightly and placed a glass of iced lemon water in front of Xie Dahai.
"What happened?"
At this moment, Lu Li wasn't in a hurry to purchase the driver's time. Instead, he was more curious about what had happened to him.
Or rather, Lu Li already had a rough idea of what it might be.
If he remembered correctly, yesterday this middle-aged man had said, "My father hasn't been doing well lately, and I don't even dare take him to the hospital—what if it's something serious? We really can't afford it…"
The typical middle-aged crisis often revolves around either children's education or aging parents' health…
Most likely, Xie Dahai's problem had to do with his father.
Sure enough, just as Lu Li was finishing this thought, he saw the bloodshot eyes of Xie Dahai welling up as he choked out his words:
"Yesterday, after I dropped you off and had just left your neighborhood, I got a call from my wife. She said my father suddenly started convulsing, foaming at the mouth, and passed out."
"They were already rushing him to the hospital…"
"The doctor said it was acute cerebral hemorrhage. They fought to save him the whole night, issued multiple critical condition notices… Thankfully, they pulled him back…"
"He's still lying in the ICU. It costs over ten thousand yuan a day…"
Every few sentences, Xie Dahai would pause to gasp for breath, as if he couldn't breathe.
"I called every number I could today, asked everyone I knew, but no one would lend me a dime!"
"When people hit rock bottom, all those so-called relatives and friends act like I'm some kind of plague—they avoid me like the devil!"
"They're all telling me to give up on my dad… But he's my father! If he hadn't survived the emergency, I could've accepted it. But now that he has—how can I just give up!?"
Xie Dahai's face twisted in anguish as he growled lowly.
"Mister."
"I need money!"
"I want money!"
Xie Dahai suddenly looked up and stared at Lu Li with determination in his voice.
In his mind, Lu Li was probably a manager at some underground loan company, or perhaps someone working for a financial institution…
Whatever the case—he was someone who could get money!
He was ready to risk everything. As long as he could save his father, he'd take the gamble!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]