The high-speed train raced northward, and during the journey, Mu Yanluo indeed felt much relieved.

Through her conversations with Jiang Feng, she discovered that Jiang Feng was not as difficult to get along with as she had imagined. His cold arrogance was reserved for outsiders, and his true self was not so aloof.

And through these chats, Jiang Feng also learned more about her and Mr. Scar's backgrounds.

It was basically similar to the situation in most rural areas of the Northeast; their parents were honest farmers who, from when the two were very young, only knew farming and couldn't care for them, leaving Mr. Scar and Mu Yanluo like little wild children.

At that time, although Mr. Scar was mischievous, he was very skinny and small and often got beaten and bullied by others.

Mu Yanluo, on the other hand, exhibited the qualities of a peerless beauty from a young age, becoming a little beauty in the making, with many admirers from surrounding villages.

She was almost dragged into a cornfield and raped when she was in elementary school. Fortunately, Mr. Scar rushed in with a shovel, fought desperately, and saved her.

Later, however, Mu Yanluo caught the eye of a remarkable local rich kid. This rich kid declared his intention to ruin her and sent people to severely injure Mr. Scar to prevent him from interfering.

Desperate and furious, Mr. Scar knew they couldn't afford to provoke such a person and had no choice but to sneak money away that night, dragging his sister onto a train to flee.

This escape lasted almost twenty years!

Their arrival and settling in Binhai was entirely by coincidence, as the train they took happened to be heading to Binhai.

After that incident, Mr. Scar, after recovering in Binhai, vowed revenge and became even more combative than before.

Through ruthlessness, he eventually gathered a group of people in Binhai and gradually made a name for himself.

Of course, his path indeed went astray, using all kinds of unscrupulous means to rise to the top, staining himself with gambling, drugs, and other vices.

In the end, as karmic retribution, he died at the hands of Jiang Feng.

"From the start, my brother became like that because of me, so I say that even a hateful person has pitiable aspects..."

After recounting these old stories, Mu Yanluo's eyes turned red again; it was truly a history too painful to recall.

"The past is the past, don't dwell on it. At least now, with me here, no one will bully you again."

Jiang Feng said calmly. He had no sympathy for Mr. Scar, but Mu Yanluo was indeed a good girl.

...

Afterward, they remained silent for the rest of the journey. Jiang Feng let Mu Yanluo rest while he watched the way ahead.

After a full four hours, the train finally arrived at Lian City in Liao Province.

Then, the two left the high-speed railway station and hailed a local cab, heading straight to the county hospital where Mu Yanluo's father was located.

...

At this moment, at the First Renmin Hospital of Pulan County.

Mu Yanluo's father, Mu Shuisheng, had just been wheeled out of the emergency room.

Due to his particularly complex situation, the doctors dared not proceed with surgery rashly and needed to discuss it thoroughly with the family.

At this moment, Mu Shuisheng looked extremely haggard, with a sallow face, lying on the hospital bed, various tubes inserted into his body, wearing an oxygen mask, and unconscious.

The readings from the nearby instruments showed that his vital signs were already very low.

He was like a flickering candle in the wind, on the verge of passing away at any moment.

Beside the bed stood a delicate woman, simply dressed, with tears streaming down her face, at a complete loss.

She was Mu Yanluo's mother, Ruan Xiuning.

"Director Gao, you are the most authoritative brain specialist at the First Renmin Hospital; please… you must save my husband!"

Ruan Xiuning looked pleadingly at a man in his thirties wearing a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses.

This man was Gao Qian, the neurosurgery director at the First Renmin Hospital of Pulan County.

Gao Qian ignored Ruan Xiuning, flipping through a medical record.

A few minutes later, he looked up and said coldly, "I've told you before, your husband's situation is very grim. He has a cerebral aneurysm pressing on his brain nerves, which has even caused slight intracranial bleeding. If we rashly operate on his skull, there's a great chance of failure; even if I personally operated, the success rate is less than five percent!"

"Oh my god…"

Ruan Xiuning trembled upon hearing this, her whole body turning cold!

"And,"

Gao Qian tapped the medical record, sneering, "the surgery cost is extremely high, at least 800,000. Can you manage that? If so, you'd better hurry and prepare it."

Eight, eight hundred thousand?

Hearing this number, Ruan Xiuning became even more desperate!

During this hospital stay with her husband, including the previous emergency treatment, they had nearly exhausted their savings over the years. Where would they find another 800,000?

Even selling blood wouldn't fetch 800,000!

"Director Gao, please think of another way, help us, I beg you. My son and daughter are not around; it's just me and my husband at home, we really can't come up with this money…"

Ruan Xiuning wept and pleaded.

"There's nothing I can do; the hospital has its rules. How can you get treatment without money? Transfer as soon as possible, don't occupy a bed in vain."

Gao Qian closed the medical record impatiently.

He had seen since the beginning that this old couple were poor farmers with no possible means of gathering money, and he would much rather spend his time treating wealthy patients than waste it on such people.

Unfortunately, because of his reputation, he couldn't directly expel them from the hospital, using the enormous medical fee to force them to leave on their own instead.

"Director Gao, I beg you! You can't just let him die! I'll kneel to you; please, no matter what, save my husband first. I'll find a way to repay you, even if I have to sell everything…"

Ruan Xiuning knelt before Gao Qian, crying, clutching his leg as she begged pathetically.

"Sell everything? How much are your pots and pans worth? Stop wasting my time; my time is precious. If you can't come up with the money, quickly take your husband and leave, so as not to waste everyone's time."

Gao Qian mercilessly kicked Ruan Xiuning aside.

Ruan Xiuning collapsed onto the ground, sinking into despair, and cried bitterly.

"Stop crying! You have the energy to cry, you'd be better off doing something useful. I suggest you quickly figure something out; if you delay any longer, even if you gather the money, your husband's life might be gone!"

Gao Qian sneered, about to leave the room, but suddenly saw the door swing open, and two unfamiliar figures walked in!