Chapter 19: The Price
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“Why is this happening?”
Inside the doctor’s office, Lin Xilan gripped a blood-pressure monitor so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She raised her arm, aiming it at the doctor’s face, and roared, “Why can’t the surgery go ahead?”
“The kidney... the kidney is gone.”
The doctor leaned away, trembling as he looked at Lin Xilan.
“Didn’t you say you’d found one? I signed the consent forms yesterday, and the surgery was supposed to be scheduled today. Is this how your hospital handles things? How can a kidney suddenly disappear? Where is it?”
The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I don’t know either. I’m only a doctor. I don’t have that kind of authority.”
His words were vague, but Lin Xilan understood their true meaning.
“What authority? Are you saying someone else took the kidney?”
The doctor glanced around cautiously, then finally closed the office door.
“Ms. Lin Xingmian’s family, you really can’t blame me for this. I’m only the surgeon. The kidney was allocated by another department. You know how desperately people want these organs. Naturally, certain people found out about it. Everyone wants their own family member to survive. You understand, don’t you?”
This time, Lin Xilan understood completely. The kidney that had originally been meant for Lin Xingmian had been taken by someone else who was also a match.
Lin Xilan clenched her fists and went to confront the hospital administrators, but they clearly had no intention of taking responsibility. A few perfunctory words were enough to send her away.
By the time she thought of asking Old Master Zhou to intervene, it was already too late. The kidney had already been transplanted into someone else.
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Lin Xilan learned that the person who had taken Lin Xingmian’s kidney was the Gu family’s little princess. The Gu family’s influence in Haicheng was no weaker than the Zhou family’s, so what had happened was, in their eyes, entirely understandable.
“...”
Lin Xilan stood on the empty rooftop, both hands gripping the railing as she leaned forward and screamed at the top of her lungs.
Why? Why had this happened? Lin Xilan truly could not understand it. She had fought so desperately to save Lin Xingmian, but what had it all amounted to? What was the result?
Lin Xilan could not accept it.
“Lin Xilan, this is karma, isn’t it?”
Song Qingli’s voice suddenly came from behind her. Lin Xilan turned around.
“Shut your filthy mouth.”
Lin Xilan was in a terrible mood. Besides, she no longer regarded Song Qingli as a friend, so there was no reason for her to be polite.
Song Qingli was dressed in a spotless white coat, both hands tucked into her pockets. A smile curved her lips, carrying a distinct note of schadenfreude.
“Lin Xilan, the fact that Lin Xingmian’s kidney was taken away is the price you paid for insisting on clinging to Zhou Yuheng.”
“What do you mean?”
Lin Xilan frowned at Song Qingli.
“You heard me. I don’t want to repeat myself. I can also tell you that I was the one who informed the Gu family after the kidney became available and arranged the expedited matching process through the priority medical channel. I wanted nothing more than to take revenge on you.”
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Song Qingli had barely finished speaking when Lin Xilan shoved her to the ground.
“What are you doing!”
Song Qingli lay sprawled on the floor while Lin Xilan straddled her, slap after slap raining down.
Song Qingli was beaten into a wretched state. In the end, she was saved only when her cries for help attracted the security guards.
Lin Xilan was taken to the local police station over the incident and was now waiting for mediation.
Two people sat on either side of a long table. Zhou Yuheng had one arm around Song Qingli as they sat opposite Lin Xilan and the Zhou family’s legal representative.
“I will never settle!”
Song Qingli gritted her teeth, her small fist striking the tabletop. The veins on the back of her hand stood out sharply.
The legal representative sent by the Zhou family looked awkwardly at Zhou Yuheng.
“Mr. Zhou, could you perhaps persuade Miss Song to show some leniency? If they refuse to settle, Mrs. Zhou will end up with a criminal record.”
The Zhou family’s legal counsel knew about the relationship between Lin Xilan and Zhou Yuheng. That was precisely why he found the entire case so painfully awkward.