Chapter 7: An Unwelcome Invitation

The lady said nothing and turned to leave, not even glancing at me, hurrying up to the tenth floor. The consultation counter had signs indicating three consultants, all busy answering questions. The lady hurriedly approached and asked, “Excuse me?”

Someone shook their hand and said, “Please queue up!”

How annoying. The lady swallowed her words and held back. Among the three lines, one had fewer people, so she dragged me over to stand at the end.

I had no choice but to obey, standing there—then my phone rang. I glanced at it and answered, holding it to my ear: “Hello, can you hear me?”

A person nearby stepped out and pointed to a plaque on the wall. I glanced casually; it read, “No phone calls allowed!”

But I hadn’t started talking yet—awkwardly, I turned off the phone.

The lady took my place and kindly said, “Go over there; there’s a place where you can make calls.”

Following her direction, I hurried to the green sign on the wall: “Phone calls permitted here.”

At the entrance, over ten people were shouting loudly, as if afraid no one could hear—each acting rather foolishly...

What could I do? Not wanting to lose this fellow patient, I dialed her number. Within a minute, she answered with her voice: “What’s going on? The call just connected and then got cut off?”

I had to explain honestly: “They don’t allow calls where we were queuing, so I had to come here! What’s up?”

Her voice softened, with a playful tone: “Well! I’m discharged now, so it doesn’t matter. You promised, so you must follow through.”

“Follow through on what? We even slept in the same bed last night, don’t you know? Seriously...” I asked, “What else do you want? Didn’t I tell you already?”

“No way, I don’t care! Once you’re discharged, you have to call me. I’ll come pick you up. You have to see how beautiful my home is!” Her voice was both coquettish and proud.

This reminded me of the bank card she held. Curiously, I asked, “Do you know how much money is on that card?”

She laughed, “Haha, you’re so silly! Wealth should be kept private. Don’t ask again. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll buy for you!”

I felt like a real fool and laughed at myself. I wasn’t interested in her words at all. I said, “I’m hanging up now; I’ll be discharged soon! The procedures are done.”

“Alright, alright! See you later! Don’t turn off your phone, or I won’t find you.” Then she hung up.

I lowered the phone from my ear, staring at it, feeling strange.

Her intention in calling was obviously to find out something... but what else? I walked on, looking at the phone, shaking it back and forth, unable to clearly see the screen—whether I was showing off, only I knew.

At the consultation counter, the lady’s turn came; she handed over the test results, but the staff inside didn’t take them, instead pointing to the left side of the tenth floor and saying, “Experts answer questions in the first-floor lobby; look for the sign.”

The lady was still frustrated, clutching the test report, and hurried down in the elevator.

---

The lobby was crowded, with the inpatient billing window full of people; no one was working, so we had to wait...

The lady asked around, then walked into the lobby’s cross corridor, asking as she went left, finally spotting the sign on the door. She rushed inside.

Many people were queued, but no one in a white coat sat at the desk. We learned the expert had left for the day and would return only at 2:30 pm.

The lady checked her phone; it was exactly noon, so she arranged for lunch at a small eatery outside the inpatient department.

I held a green bead awkwardly and handed it to her: “I found this on my hospital bed. Can you help me find a place to keep it?”

The lady thought for a moment, feeling annoyed and displeased. She said, “Hospital things aren’t clean. Just throw it in the trash.”

“That’s too pretty to throw away. Isn’t it a pity? I can disinfect it with alcohol when we get home,” I argued.

Zheng Tai’s father, unable to bear it, said, “If Zheng Tai likes it, wrap it in paper for now. Disinfect it later and take care of it, isn’t that enough?”

The lady considered this. Zheng Tai had always been reluctant to call anyone “mom” or “dad.” If we threw it away, it might make it harder for her to say those words. So, reluctantly, she found a piece of paper and wrapped it, putting it in her small handbag.

Zheng Tai’s father, who had just spoken on my behalf, didn’t earn a shred of gratitude from me. Instead, I resented him for treating me as if I weren’t his biological daughter. Originally, I was named Qu Shilai; now, things had turned out this way, and I was displeased. Why bring this up?

My phone rang again. I hesitated a moment, then answered, shouting into the receiver, “Hello?”

Immediately, Mo Liping’s sweet voice came through: “Zheng Tai, I’m at the hospital entrance. Too many vehicles; I can’t get in. Can you come out?”

I covered the phone’s microphone and greeted the lady: “It’s a fellow patient…”

The lady hesitated, thought carefully, then said, “It’s almost time to eat. Tell her to come and eat with us!”

I repeated the lady’s words into the phone. After a moment, she responded, “No, you come here. There’s food at my place! Let them arrange themselves.”

Honestly, I had no interest in confirming parentage. Whether or not it was verified, she wasn’t my birth mother. Given the situation, I covered the phone and repeated Mo Liping’s words.

The lady stared at me and, after much consideration, said, “Just play for a bit and come back. Don’t forget you have school tomorrow!”

To be frank, I hadn’t gone to school in over twenty years. It sounded ridiculous now. Did she expect me to become young again?

Regardless, the lady agreed. I was happy, holding my phone, saying nothing as I dialed and ran toward the hospital entrance. Once outside, I realized this was a strange place. I couldn’t tell north from south, east from west. With every step, I shamelessly asked around like the lady.

People here were not warm. When asked, they remained silent, making me quite embarrassed. After several tries, I lost confidence and shouted into the phone, “I can’t find it. I’m at the hospital gate. Please drive over!”

“Don’t move; we’ll be there soon! It’s us…”

I quickly replied, “Yes, see you there!”

---

She hung up. Zheng Tai’s parents approached. The lady gently put her arm around my shoulder and said, “You don’t understand the situation here. Don’t ask around; people won’t tell you. Even if they do, the directions might be wrong!”

I suddenly understood. I hadn’t expected such differences. Back home, people were very warm, even guiding you personally if you got lost...

After learning of the test results, Zheng Tai’s father’s attitude toward me clearly changed. He acted as if he were very important.

If you don’t consider me your daughter, I won’t acknowledge you as my father either. What’s the point of pretending?

From afar, Mo Liping’s voice called out: “Zheng Tai, see? Your sister’s right here!”

I followed the voice through the dense crowd and saw a tall hand waving, with Mo Liping’s smiling face appearing now and then as she called, “Come over!”

The lady withdrew her hand and comforted me: “Go ahead! A little fresh air will do you good! Don’t forget to call me if anything happens!”

I said nothing and, following my own thoughts, took the phone and ran over. Soon, I found her in the crowd.

She wore a sheer short skirt that reached mid-thigh, with flesh-colored stockings on her legs and dazzling high-heeled sandals—at least ten times prettier than when she was hospitalized!

I was still in my hospital gown. I wanted to take it off and give it to the lady, but she came over unexpectedly.

In front of the dense crowd, I took off my gown and handed it to her, then casually passed it to Zheng Tai’s father, flashing Mo Liping a smile.

“Auntie, Zheng Tai isn’t a child anymore! She’ll play at my place for a while. I’ll bring her back, don’t worry!”

Mo Liping wasn’t coquettish but quite charming, especially dressed this way.

If you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t recognize her. Her voice was sweet, and she called “Auntie” many times, making the lady beam with joy and eager to see her car.

We hadn’t gone far when the congested little car hadn’t moved at all. After honking once, no one honked again.

Mo Liping got in and out of the car, trying to open another door that wouldn’t budge. She told me to get in first and sit beside the driver’s seat before she got in.

Zheng Tai’s parents couldn’t wait that long. I saw the lady talking, but her husband remained silent, looking sour and vexing.

The lady led her husband away. Mo Liping’s little car still couldn’t move. Impatient, she kept honking endlessly, but it was useless.

I had seen the car earlier; it was a white compact. Curious, I asked, “Hey, what brand is this?”

Mo Liping wanted to show off in front of me: “This isn’t an ordinary car; it’s a BMW! It has the blue and white emblem—my husband loves me dearly and spared no expense to buy this imported car, worth millions!”