Snowlyme

Home/ The Selfish Gene/ Chapter 26

Can I help him?

Of course I can. Why would I go through all this trouble if it wasn’t for the sake of “helping” him?

“Let’s talk in the car.” Tilting the umbrella towards him, I whispered to him softly.

The umbrella was too small to completely cover the two of us, and each of us had half of our bodies exposed to the rain. Fortunately, the parking space wasn’t far from the convenience store, only a dozen meters away.

During this short journey, Ji Chenfeng held the plastic box in his hands and remained silent, as if the short sentence he just said to ask me for help had exhausted all of his strength.

After getting into the car, I immediately turned on the heater and took out a stack of paper towels, stuffing them into Ji Chenfeng’s hands to wipe his clothes.

“What happened?” I also took a few tissues for myself and pressed them on my dripping sleeves. 

Then opening my mouth, I continued the previous topic, “How do you want me to help you?”

Ji Chenfeng sat in the dark holding a tissue, his eyes fell on the plastic box on his knees. The rain outside the car became heavy again, crackling on the glass, cutting the light projected by the streetlights into countless irregular shapes.

“I need 300,000 yuan.”

I raised my eyebrows uncontrollably, thinking that Yan Shanhua really knew how to pick a number, and it was really 300,000 again.

“Is it urgent?” I can just ask him for the card number and transfer the money without asking anything, but in order to make the performance more realistic, I decided to learn more about how Yan Shanhua deceived him.

Ji Chenfeng nodded silently, and said after a while: “Whether it’s the previous 300,000 or the 300,000 this time, I will pay it all back. I can write an IOU, and after finding a job, I should be able to pay it back within five years.”

I thought that a good person like me needs to say that he doesn’t have to pay it back. But when I opened my mouth and stared at his lonely side face, my words suddenly changed without even realizing how.

“Do you think it’s embarrassing to ask me for money? Afraid that I will look down on you?” I picked out the crumpled tissues from the other party’s hand, and gently wiped the water from his hair.  

Smiling, I said, “Doctor Ji, you always seem to think very badly of me. It’s okay, it’s only 300,000 yuan, I won’t take it to heart.”

Ji Chenfeng finally raised his head to look at me after hearing the words, but his expression didn’t become relaxed.

“You should take it to heart, you are not my cash machine, and you don’t even know why I want the money.”

I don’t know, huh, isn’t it because you closed your mouth as tight as an oyster and refused to tell me?

“If you don’t want to tell me, then don’t tell me. I completely believe in Dr. Ji’s character. If it’s not an urgent matter, you would never ask to borrow money from me.”

After crumpling the wet tissue into a ball and throwing it into the storage compartment next to the door, I adjusted the gear and slowly drove the car out of the parking space.

“……Thank you.”

After a long time, Ji Chenfeng’s voice suddenly sounded from the passenger seat.

I could hardly suppress my laughter. It’s really a tragic and ridiculous dark comedy where the victim expresses gratitude to the perpetrator. If I tell Ji Chenfeng the truth now, his expression will definitely be wonderful.

Unfortunately, there will never be such an opportunity.

After sending Ji Chenfeng home, I took Xiaocao back to the hotel, and transferred 300,000 yuan that night.

After that, it was very difficult to find him for the next week, either because he was busy, or because he might not be free for the time being. If it wasn’t for my proactive planning, I would have wondered if I was deceived by this pair of mother and son.

Did he turn his face and refuse to recognize people after getting the money? Lying on the sofa, disheartened, I threw my phone aside.

What the hell is he doing? Why are you still so busy now that you have no job? Did you go gambling so you could repay the money as soon as possible?

Thinking wildly about all kinds of possibilities, I suddenly sat up from the sofa, reached for my phone, and clicked on the mailbox I hadn’t checked in a long time.

There were several “investigation reports” lying quietly in the mailbox that hadn’t been opened yet, with the latest one being sent yesterday.

I almost forgot that I also hired a private detective to monitor Yan Shanhua and Ji Chenfeng.

Starting from the oldest email, the detective is very dedicated. In the whereabouts report of the two, the part about me was not deliberately omitted, but was recorded truthfully.

【Ji Chenfeng and Sang Nian stayed overnight at Wuyan Mountain.】

Upon seeing this record, the veins on my forehead twitched twice, and I felt deeply uncomfortable when I thought that mine and Ji Chenfeng’s every move in the bubble house might be under the surveillance of the detective.

Replying to the detective, I told the other party that there was no need to record any part of me in the future, and then clicked on the last email.

No wonder…Ji Chenfeng kept saying that he was busy and that he had something to do, so it turned out that he was not in Hong city at all. On the second day after receiving the 300,000 yuan, he took Yan Shanhua to the capital, and admitted her to a top hospital.

What ah, I asked Yan Shanhua to trick Ji Chenfeng into borrowing money, so coincidentally, she really got sick? Does this woman have such good acting skills? Aren’t you afraid of exposing yourself?

I searched for the detective’s cell phone number, hesitated for a moment, and called.

Just after two rings, the person on the opposite side picked up.

“Hey, boss, what’s the matter?” A young and energetic female voice came from the other end of the phone.

I don’t know her name, she only lets people call her “Ayao”.

Compared to men, women are less likely to arouse suspicion and vigilance, and they are also more meticulous and thoughtful in their actions. This is the reason why I chose a female detective in the first place. And the other party didn’t disappoint me, all the tasks I had entrusted to her over the years have been carried out very well.

“Are you still following them?”

“Yes, but their schedule is pretty much the same these days, that is, from the hotel to the hospital and vice-versa.”

My fingers holding the phone slightly tightened, and I asked, “Do you know what disease Yan Shanhua has?”

“It should be a serious illness. The doctor they saw specialized in the diagnosis of chest tumors and comprehensive lung cancer treatment.” I don’t know what Ayao was drinking, but the sound of her sucking on a straw kept coming as she talked, “Do you need me to find out?”

Do I need to find out? Is it related to me? Whether it’s her or Ji Chenfeng, whoever is seriously ill or dying, it will only be a good thing for me.

After I gave the money, do you still want me to do filial piety at your bedside?

So… it’s not necessary. What difference does it make?

“No need. Just let me know when they come back.” After speaking, I hung up the phone.

The most annoying thing in winter is the continuous rain. Let alone the refreshing rainstorm, which comes and goes quickly. Unfortunately, it drizzled all day and finally stopped at night before continuing the next day. The cold air pierced through the fabric and penetrated into the bones, just like that annoying mosquito that only appears after the lights are turned off—you know it’s there, but you can’t do anything about it.

Knowing that Ji Chenfeng was not in Hong city at all, my mood suddenly became a lot better. It happened that Zheng Jieyuan invited me to the swimming pool party. Anyway, I was also idle, so I went there.

As I was about to reach the destination, two eager “meows” suddenly sounded in the silent car. After shouting twice, the sound disappeared again.

Thinking that I heard wrong, I ignored it, but it wasn’t long before it started shouting again.

I have cats in my car.

Because it wasn’t easy to stop and check on the elevated road, I could only drive the car to the hotel address sent by Zheng Jieyuan as soon as possible.

I parked the car under the rain eaves, and the hotel valet was about to come forward to park the car for me, but I signaled him to wait a moment. 

Walking around to the front of the sports car, I opened the hood and listened carefully to the sound inside.

“Meow! Meow!”

A more anxious kitten cry came from the lower right. I rolled up my sleeves and reached my hand into the crevice, but nothing came out.

“Sir, it may be on the side of the tire.” The hotel valet also saw my intention at this moment, and hurriedly reminded me.

Without waiting for me to move, he lay down on the ground and poked his hand into the gap between the tire and the frame.

“I got it!” Soon, he grabbed something and raised his hand.

A white kitten, whose eyes hadn’t yet opened, was pulled out by the back of its neck, and its toothless mouth opened and closed, screaming in horror.

Faced with this furry and dirty creature, I took a step back and snapped my fingers at the doorman standing at a distance, asking him to find a cardboard box.

The other party nodded repeatedly, and quickly rushed into the hotel.

“There is one more…” The valet lying on the ground put the kitten aside, stretched out his hand again, and soon pulled out another orange kitten.

Standing up and holding the two kittens that are small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, the hotel valet sighed and said, “It must be because the weather is too cold, the mother cat wanted to move the kitten to a warm place, so she put them into your car. These two are so small, how can they live without their mother.”

“Sir, box!” As he was talking, the doorman ran to deliver a small cardboard box to me.

I took it and signaled the valet to put the two kittens in the box.

Looking at the two kittens in the cardboard box, my mood became frustrated again because of this sudden incident.

Take them to a party, and by the time the party’s over, they’ll probably be dead as well.

What kind of mother is that? Don’t you know that the car will drive away at any time?

Just throw it into the grass on the roadside as if nothing happened, it may not even be possible to survive this winter.

Cats are different from turtles. They shed a lot of fur. Xu Xi’s three cats shed fur all year round, so…

Fuck!

Returning to the car with the cardboard box, I didn’t go upstairs to the party or call Zheng Jieyuan to tell him. I just wandered around the hotel entrance and went back the same way.

Although the hotel suite where I am temporarily staying is kept at the most comfortable temperature all year round, the two kittens are really too small. I was worried that they would freeze to death without the body temperature of the mother cat, so I made a simple heating device for them—a bottle filled with hot water, and wrapped in a towel.

The two kittens kept crawling around in the box, making harsh calls from time to time, as if they were hungry.

How to raise a kitten? Find them a cat nurse? It’s really troublesome. Of all the cars, why do you have to get into my car…

Just as I was about to search for the information on my mobile phone, Ji Chenfeng called.

“Hello?” I clamped the phone between my shoulders and ears, pulled out a tissue, and poked the kitten’s body through it, watching them all move before letting go.

“What are you doing?” Ji Chenfeng’s voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing others, and he seemed too tired to even raise the volume.

There was a lot of dirt on the kitten’s body, so I wanted to wipe it off, but I don’t know if it’s because my strength was too much. One of them suddenly raised its neck and screamed, and the other one also started to scream as if it was infected. I instantly closed the cardboard box, shutting the kittens and their screams inside.

“I picked up two kittens.” I said.

“Two kittens?”

I told him how I found the kittens and pulled them out of the car. Thinking that he is a veterinarian and no one is more professional than him in taking care of small animals, I asked him how to raise these two things.

“A kitten who still hasn’t opened its eyes must be less than a week old. It needs to be fed every two to three hours with a syringe. Let me see if there is a pet hospital near you, and you can call for a pet formula delivery…”

Two to three hours?

Usually, two hours are enough to make me feel drowsy, which means I don’t need to sleep in the future, right?

Perhaps my long silence made Ji Chenfeng feel something. With a little smile, he discussed with me: “Tomorrow… tomorrow night I will find you. You work hard today, and tomorrow I will take care of them, okay?”

The phone seems to be leaking electricity, causing a tingling sensation in my ears.

I took it away in confusion, the screen was showing the phone call duration, and the touch of my fingertips was normal, seemingly without any problems. 

“Sang Nian?”

Hurriedly putting the phone back to my ear, I collected my mind and replied to him: “Hmm, I’ll wait for you.”

Next

Previous

---