"Why don’t you let Qianqian go?" she asked. "There’s nothing wrong with her health, nothing to check," Jiang Nian paused, then turned around, "By the way, remember to keep it a secret." Song Xiyun was originally following him closely, but when she heard the word "secret," she suddenly felt guilty. This wording... it’s like sneaking around. But she thought she wasn’t such a person, so she halted her steps and stood there. "Se... secret means?" "Only heaven, earth, and your mom know. Just don’t tell Xu Qianqian that I took you," Jiang Nian glanced at her without further explanation. "Hey, you’re... insulting people now?" Song Xiyun murmured softly. Jiang Nian was left speechless upon hearing this. "’Your mom knows’ means your mom knows about it, too. It’s authorized by parents, not some illegal gathering." Song Xiyun didn’t know how he got the authorization, only finding it quite ridiculous. "Then why can’t we tell Qianqian?" "Because I haven’t told her. If you do, you’re screwing me over," Jiang Nian countered, "I’m doing this for you, and you’re selling me out?" For a moment, Song Xiyun couldn’t find any logical flaw in Jiang Nian’s words. Standing on the road, she was in a daze for a while before suddenly catching on. She chased after him, not knowing what to say. A BYD car stopped by the roadside. Jiang Nian, who was squatting by the street, got up and patted Song Xiyun on the shoulder. "Let’s go, get in the car." The hospital where Zhou Yuting’s relatives worked wasn’t on Zhennan Street. It wasn’t impossible to walk there, but it would be tough on the legs. "Oh, okay." Song Xiyun followed suit, her mind still a bit scrambled, sitting in the backseat with him in a daze. Once the car started moving, it turned in a strange direction. She suddenly remembered to ask about the destination and turned to inquire. "Where are we going?" "Third Hospital." Jiang Nian had just replied to a WeChat message, fiddling with his phone, "When we get there, someone will take us inside." Hearing the word "we," Song Xiyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t going in alone, especially since her mind was a bit foggy, running around departments with a slip could be embarrassing. Ten minutes later, the car stopped at the hospital entrance. Shortly after the two of them got out, they met their contact at the hospital entrance. A middle-aged man surnamed Zhao, who was very enthusiastic. After all, it was a paid job, and it was introduced by his niece. The person was quite professional and arranged everything neatly. Some queue-jumping techniques were used in the process, but locals were used to it, seeing a doctor lead a young girl in. After a series of examinations, the results gradually came in. Jiang Nian sat on a stone bench outside the hospital, holding the examination report describing the lungs, looking at it against the sun. He thought to himself that this small illness could actually become a disease focus? He had verified that the illnesses Song Xiyun would later suffer from were all triggered by this illness. Intermittently, repeatedly relapsing. Maybe dragging it out would lead to new illnesses. Relying on youth and not caring, until one day it all erupts. Or perhaps due to various situations, leading to a worsening condition. Beside him, Song Xiyun stood like a quail, nervously asking. "What... happened to me?" Jiang Nian glanced at her and put away the report. With a ding, a task panel popped up. [Task: Understand Song Xiyun’s illness. Reward: Skill: Winning (refreshes every five days) has been granted.] "Ah?" Song Xiyun was like a child, at a loss about what to do, "How could this be... my cough was clearly better." Above them was a big dead tree, with a few birds perching on its withered branches. Chirping in the winter sun, they hopped around. "No more PE class," Jiang Nian said. "What?" Song Xiyun instinctively asked. "I mean... get treatment," Jiang Nian stood up, taking a photo of the report for backup. "If we’ve found the illness, we treat it, what else can we do." "Wait!!" Song Xiyun grabbed him, pleading, "Can we not treat it yet, maybe there’s a mistake." "Are you more professional than a doctor?" Jiang Nian put his hands on his hips, pretending to be an adult. Already an adult who could use his ID card to do as he wished, have fun with anyone, as long as he found someone. It could be quite difficult to find someone to buddy up with in a cyber café. "But what if?" Song Xiyun bit her lower lip, stubbornly resisting, "Besides, I seem to be fine." "Alright, if you say there’s no problem, then there’s no problem," Jiang Nian conceded a step. Upon hearing this, Song Xiyun breathed a sigh of relief. But before the words were out, Jiang Nian suddenly said. "Show it to your mom." "No!" Song Xiyun immediately reacted like a startled cat, panicking, she pressed down on Jiang Nian’s hand. The two ended up piled on the stone bench, instantly awkward. A passerby clicked their tongue in astonishment. Thinking to themselves it’s like a scene from a risqué cartoon brought to life, another case of a fallen girl being blackmailed by a delinquent with photos. The world is going to the dogs, people are losing their morals. Jiang Nian gently pushed Song Xiyun away and stood up calmly. "I’m not trying to scare you, the doctor said if this isn’t treated now, there’ll be no chance to treat it later when you want to." Song Xiyun was immediately frightened, people are inherently scared of death. She would even hold her breath when walking past 404, let alone listening to such frightening words. Predictably, the girl began to see stars, weakly asking. "How long can I live?" "That depends on you. Your illness is indeed not simple," Jiang Nian had an expression like he was about to play a serious prank. "Then can I... treat it a couple of years later?" Song Xiyun lowered her head, "I want to use my own money to treat it, the family is out of money." "Better treat it now, in a couple of years who knows you might spend the money on a boyfriend," Jiang Nian said bluntly. "That’s impossible!" Song Xiyun looked up, refuting! Jiang Nian didn’t even blink, thinking in a parallel universe, your Gold Coin was spent by this buddy, does this buddy not know? Wait till you get to college, then con some more Gold Coins out of you. Just kidding, one shouldn’t... at least not con just a little bit. Might as well move it all under your name for management. "It’s not like it’s a serious illness, maybe a few thousand could cover it with insurance," Jiang Nian pondered. Upon hearing this, Song Xiyun bowed her head and said nothing. She stood in front of the stone bench silently for a long while, then began to speak. "My mom doesn’t like staying in Zhen Nan, she’s doing it entirely for me... once I graduate, she’ll be free." "An additional expense is an additional pressure." Jiang Nian quietly listened to everything she said, fortunately, he had no sympathy, otherwise he might have been swayed by emotion for a bit. Then casually asked about her hardships and past experiences. Actually, asking would be of no use, not like he could foot the bill. It’s not that he couldn’t pay, but money isn’t meant to be handed out like that. Even giving money puts pressure. So, Jiang Nian stood up, looked at the time, and said. "It’s getting late, my leave note has expired. Let’s do this, I’ll propose a solution, see if you can accept it." "What solution?" Song Xiyun grew tense. Outside the supermarket at the lottery station. Song Xiyun looked at the shop, then at Jiang Nian. Her face was a mix of disbelief, leaving her temporarily at a loss for words. "This is your solution?" "Yes, leave it to fate," Jiang Nian looked at Song Xiyun, asking, "Do you believe in the odds of scratch cards?" "Not really..." Song Xiyun started to shake her head, "Mainly depends on whether the owner is shady, most of it is just..." Jiang Nian pointed at her, "I didn’t specify how much you’d win." "That is indeed quite random," Song Xiyun withdrew a muted response, "However, the odds aren’t high." Jiang Nian nodded and spoke frankly. "I’ll buy a scratch card. If it wins nothing, we’ll go with your choice, and I won’t tell your mom, I’ll keep quiet." "What if it wins?" Song Xiyun swallowed hard. "If it wins, the money is yours, but I’ll have to tell your mom," Jiang Nian spread his hands, speaking without a sense of negotiation. Song Xiyun hesitated for a long time before asking softly. "Who’s paying for the scratch card?" "You are; as I said, the winnings are yours," Jiang Nian extended his hand toward her, "Cash or bank transfer?" Upon hearing this, Song Xiyun felt a pang in her heart. But after weighing her options, she still ended up paying the money. The two went to the shop to pick a scratch card, joined by a few people and a young couple already busy scratching theirs. Jiang Nian didn’t hesitate much, choosing one ticket he felt drawn to, and after paying, handed it to Song Xiyun. "Here, it’s yours. You scratch it." "Oh." Song Xiyun felt a bit anxious. It was her first time buying such a thing, and she was well aware these things rarely win. Buying fewer might profit, but buying more would definitely lead to a loss. If lucky, you might win fifty or a hundred, but most of the time luck doesn’t favor you. She had already prepared to lose money, just following Jiang Nian’s word since he had gone to the trouble of taking a leave and running around. The nearby folks scraped with plastic boards, almost collectively yelling. One moment it’s fifty, next it’s twenty. Song Xiyun’s ticket of choice, priced at twenty-one, had a top prize of 800,000, a nearly impossible odds. The second prize was five thousand, one thousand, five hundred... and so on in descending order... She wasn’t short but was timid. Unable to squeeze into the scratching area, she couldn’t get a plastic board, feeling shy to speak up. She stood there blankly, waiting, watching as others scraped away animatedly. Finally dispersing with a mess of scraps left behind. Then Song Xiyun quietly moved closer. She picked up a plastic board and cautiously, earnestly began to scratch. Beside her, a young couple remained relatively quiet, not participating in the earlier chaos. Their final scratch equaled no loss, no gain, just breaking even. On net, they gained twenty, considered fairly lucky. They didn’t leave but watched Song Xiyun scratch with interest. "Little girl only bought one, huh? Why not buy a few more?" Song Xiyun kept her head down, "It wasn’t bought by me." The young couple paid no mind, chuckling as they exchanged glances. Thinking she was a bit introverted, they stayed a bit to watch. Song Xiyun clumsily completed her scratch, feeling muddled. "Jiang Nian, help me take a look..." Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian walked over toward her. His face was unreadable, not curious about the result, with [Winning] plus [Accuracy]. If it didn’t win, he would have to put on quite the performance behind the shopkeeper’s back. Serious foul play, eh? "Uh, let us help you look," the young couple suggested warmly, still laughing, "Yeah, we play this often." When they leaned in to look, their expressions immediately changed. "The winning odds of this type are actually... wait, it’s... a win?" "Yes, it’s a win, seems like five thousand." With ten minutes gone by. Song Xiyun stood by the roadside, watching passing cars. Then she looked at the five thousand newly added to her phone, feeling a bit confused. She turned and looked at Jiang Nian, squatting under a tree waiting for the bus. "Did you know it would win beforehand?" Jiang Nian glanced at her, put away his phone, and stood up. "You think I’m a god?" Under the sunlight, Song Xiyun watched the golden light filtering through sparse old tree branches. Striking the concrete below and forming streaks of light. The young boy before her with deep eyes, soft black hair, slightly swaying in the breeze. It was her first tangible sense of fate.