hotmtlnovel Page 141
Page 141
"And you, Jin'er, what illness do you have?"
Whenever the question concerned her illness, the blonde girl shook her head vigorously, because she genuinely didn't know.
Even after studying many medical books from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, she could not find any description of this strange disease.
"His hair and eyes changed color...and he frequently developed high fevers, became weak and sickly, and developed various complications..."
Jin'er gave a general description of her strange illness.
"Actually, I don't expect this hospital to cure me..."
Tormented by endless pain, a cure seems a distant prospect.
"But I will still persevere and live, no matter how painful the treatment will be..."
Hidden within her sorrowful eyes was a budding, unwavering will.
"After reading many books, I've come to understand many things. If it weren't for this chaotic world, I wouldn't have been imprisoned, and my parents wouldn't have had to endure hardship and leave their home to treat my illness..."
“我虽然理解父亲和母亲，但我无法不怨恨他们，因为一%%零$#{@}+五%酒|%+>$~...他们终究是囚禁我的人加{1%<0>-+$7/@4=5*=9/4|9>8呀。”
"If this chaotic world could end, countless girls wouldn't end up like me... not only unable to grow up normally, but even unable to get medical treatment..."
...
"Okay, relax, stop talking!"
Aurora pinched her mouth shut.
“Wuwuwu?!”
"After all, you and I are still minors. Such complicated things are not something we should be thinking about at our age, are they?"
"But...but I'm almost sixteen..."
"So what if I'm sixteen? I'm seventeen! I'm older than you, call me 'older sister'."
"No."
"Hmph, you've got quite a temper." Aurora pinched her cheek. "Don't always have that long face, smile a little."
...
After much persuasion, Aurora finally convinced the sullen Yang Jin'er to agree to be pushed around in a wheelchair by Aurora for some fresh air.
She was initially quite resistant, but when she saw the exotic flowers and plants in the hospital garden, she was instantly captivated, as her understanding of foreign things had always been limited to descriptions on paper.
"This is... a tulip?"
"Aren't they beautiful? The Red Cross brought them here to plant. The climate in Shigekawa City is perfect for growing them."
"...nice."
...
Under Aurora's care, Jin'er's closed-off heart gradually returned to normal. She was able to wander around the outside world again, just like before, but only within the confines of this Western hospital.
"The most important thing in life is to be happy."
Aurora said to her with a smile.
"Since you can't change the current situation, why not put those things out of your mind for now? Anyway, you can't do it now, and if you keep thinking about things you can't do, of course you'll feel worse and worse."
Yang Jin'er lowered her head, clenched her fists tightly, and then gently relaxed them after a moment.
"you're right..."
Before her strange illness was cured, she was nothing more than a useless person who couldn't even walk.
Her parents, who imprisoned her, raised her to be a knowledgeable and intelligent young woman, hoping that she would put that knowledge to good use one day.
But if you're overwhelmed by negative emotions and become a melancholy, resentful woman before you even use them... that's unacceptable.
...
"Aurora."
"what is the matter?"
"Tell me about the West... about your hometown. What's written in books doesn't seem very accurate to me; it's been heavily embellished. Descriptions of the West in books are always influenced by the author's subjective biases."
"Oh...! I've been in Dongfang for so long, and this is the first time I've met someone who's interested in my hometown!"
Aurora beamed with joy.
"Come on, let's go to the library and find a local book!"
It's quite simple for innocent girls to build friendships. All they need is a common topic and for one of them to take the initiative, and the passive party usually won't refuse.
Moreover, the one who took the initiative was an optimistic, lively, and sweet girl who was naturally gifted with a strong ability to attract those who longed for friendship.
Being with her always lifted Yang Jin'er's spirits. Her infectious charm quickly won Jin'er's heart.
Like an angel reaching out to the lonely in the darkness, just like her name—
The girl named Aurora was Yang Jin'er's ray of light, illuminating her dark and confused path forward.
Occasionally, when Mr. and Mrs. Yang came to visit their daughter, they would see her laughing and playing with a girl of the same age in the garden, and they would breathe a sigh of relief.
"She made friends...that's great."
“In order to protect her, we deprived her of all the friends she had as a child, and as her father, I have always felt guilty about this.”
"Sir, shouldn't we stop bothering her now? After all, she already hates us. Let her be happy; it'll be good for her health."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Let's go, honey."
...
...
...
Time flies, and it was 1911 in the blink of an eye.
This vast Eastern empire met its final fate—
Workers and peasants rose up in revolt across the country, and the angry poor people roared with blood.
In an instant, the flames of war almost swallowed up every inch of the empire's territory.
It was only a matter of time before Chongchuan, a strategically important and easily defensible location, was affected by the war.
"Is there still no progress in Jin'er's illness?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Yang..."
"Does saying sorry even help?!"
"Mr. Yang, given the medical conditions here, we cannot conduct further examinations on her body, and naturally, we cannot determine the cause of her illness. After all, the Red Cross is reluctant to allocate its most advanced medical equipment here, because they have already sensed that chaos is imminent here, and they fear that their precious medical equipment will be lost to the flames of war..."
"Then send my daughter over there, send her to your Europe!"
Yang Fushang slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed.
“This land is where I was born and raised, and I will not abandon it and run away alone. But if my daughter stays here with me, it will only harm her. No medical care, no living conditions, living in a cage every day... This is not what I want, and it is not the life she wants!”
His expression was one of extreme pain, and he almost bit his lips until they bled.
"The world is about to change... but whether this unprecedented upheaval will be good or bad remains to be seen. Therefore, I will not let my Jin'er take this risk with me."
"Her new friend, is her name Aurora? I will sponsor all medical expenses for this girl and Jin'er in the future, and let my daughter go to Europe with her for refuge and treatment."
"I heard that Aurora's homeland, Germany, has the best medical care in Europe. That would be perfect."
“Jin’er doesn’t have to be separated from her friends and can receive much better treatment than here… Miss Aurora no longer has to worry about the cost of her treatment.”
...
Yang Jin'er and Aurora had mixed feelings after learning the news.
Confusion, joy, and doubt filled their minds.
This means they will live in the distant Western world from now on, far away from this no longer safe Eastern land.
On the ship bound for Europe, the wealthy merchant Yang gave Yang Jin'er a pendant and then left the ship without looking back.
"Jin'er... I can no longer protect you. From now on, live bravely."
"Even though you no longer look at me, your bastard father, with a second glance... I am still proud of you."
"Take this with you. If you miss your parents in the future, just look at it."
Chapter 155 Agreement
“Aurora, you're just coming back to your homeland of Germany with me like this... Won't your family worry?”
"Family? Oh dear, they abandoned me a long time ago. Huh? Jin'er, why are you so surprised? Didn't I tell you?"
Aurora casually revealed that she had been abandoned by her family long ago because she suffered from a chronic liver disease and her parents, unable to afford treatment, had no choice but to abandon her in this foreign land.
Therefore, the Western Hospital in Shigekawa City is essentially Aurora's "home." On the surface, she is receiving long-term treatment there, but in reality, she is a child taken in by the kind doctors at the hospital, who use treatment as an excuse to give her a home there.
Although she received free treatment, she still felt guilty, and her illness prevented her from working and earning money...
Now, with Yang Jin'er's father sponsoring their trip to Germany for treatment, Aurora, who had always benefited from the doctors' kindness, was finally no longer stuck in the hospital eating for free. She was actually quite happy about it.
"But Aurora, why are you unhappy about being able to return to Germany?"
“What’s there to be happy about? I came to the East with my father when I was about ten years old. My only memory of that place is my fluent German.”
Aurora nuzzled Jin'er's face affectionately.
"Hehe, I'm even happier to be able to continue spending time with you."
A warm feeling rose in Jin'er's heart, and she couldn't help but take her hand.
"Me too."
Now that they have known each other for a year, they are already close friends who can talk about anything and are like sisters. Especially affected by the "suspension bridge effect," they have no relatives or friends in faraway Germany and can only rely on each other for survival, which has deepened their close friendship.
"Jin'er, let me teach you German. You can't get by here if you don't speak the language. Are you interested?"
"Yes. I'm best at learning things, so I'll leave it to you, Teacher Aurora?"
"German is not easy to learn. Be careful, it might make you cry."
Afterwards, the two girls were admitted to a hospital in Berlin as "VIPs" and received the best treatment there, as promised by Mr. Yang.
...
...
...
Time flies, and another three years have passed in this world.
Aurora's condition has been effectively controlled. After undergoing surgery not long ago, she only needs to continue taking medication for a few more months to make a full recovery.
As for Yang Jin'er's situation... to put it best, it's still completely hopeless.
Although her condition was brought under control with medication, there was still no way to cure it, because even the top internal medicine experts could not make a diagnosis.
Changes in eye and skin color, leading to fever, weakened immunity, and even muscle atrophy to the point of being unable to walk—such a strange disease is completely unheard of.
Therefore, the hospital could only treat the symptoms, using medication to alleviate her physical decline and lower her abnormally high body temperature that she frequently had.
Although her condition was in a state where it could only be controlled but not cured, Jin'er had a very fulfilling and happy life during these three years because Aurora had always been by her side.
Moreover, Aurora's illness will soon be cured, and Jin'er is genuinely happy for her.
"Good morning, Aurora."
Good morning, Jin'er.
...
"Um--"
Jin'er, in her wheelchair, stretched and yawned.
"It's rare for me to get up this early. I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep. Sigh..."
"We've been there twice already, what's there to be excited about?"
"But we're not going to the same place. This time we're going to Romania."