Chapter 9 Beautiful Girl

After staring at the clothes and the check for a long time, Nina closed the box.

She looked around the room and saw her luggage which Bobby brought back. Picking her change of clothes, she quickly dressed herself up. She then rang for the bellboy and asked for two bags. Afterwards, she wrote a short message on the back of a card and left the hotel with two filled bags.

An hour later, Bobby entered the room with two medicine boxes in his hands. He started to feel off when he saw the bed was empty and the luggage had disappeared. He walked closer to the box placed in the center of the room where a card was. Picking it up, he saw a neatly written message on it, "Thank you but our transaction is over. Please forget me and live as if we didn't know each other."

Bobby turned the card and fiddled with it for a while before he decided to open the box. The clothes and check were there. Apparently, this was her way of resisting him.

Bobby smiled bitterly before he threw away the medicine he had just bought. He plopped down on the bed and muttered to himself, "So you think we don't know each other? Then, we will get to know each other."

When Nina moved her luggage to the hospital, she told her brother that the landlord had already rented out the house to someone else. But she promised him that she would get their home back as soon as possible.

After talking with the doctors and nurses, Nina immediately went to the bank. After submitting the requirements, she left and began to scan the employment ads posted on the streets.

Bobby gave her one million dollars. With her brother's surgery and hospital fees, she only had a few more than 600,000 dollars left in her account. She still had to get their house back. If her brother's body met some complication with the kidney given to him, they would have to go back to the hospital. Ideally, the kidney should last him for ten years. But it was difficult to say that everything would be fine. In short, one wrong move and they would be back to being broke. Her back sagged after she realized how heavy her burden was on her shoulders.

Nina diligently collected employment ads along the way. She had to make more money so she could take care of her brother. The ideal job should allow her to leave in case anything happened with Leon. That left her with part-time jobs.

After Nina thought she had collected enough ads, she went back to the hospital and found that Daisy's bed next door was empty.

"What happened?" Nina asked in surprise.

From his bed, Leon explained, "Daisy has been transferred. The person who helped her get out of the hospital said that they found a matching kidney donor in another hospital."

"Really?" Nina knew she should feel happy for her friend. But something didn't feel right. Thinking of Jase, she worried whether Daisy was really safe.

She took out her phone and changed the phone card into a new one. She dialed Daisy's phone number and waited for her to pick up. Daisy answered the phone, "Who's this?"

"Daisy, it's me. I heard that you were…"

Before Nina could finish, Daisy interrupted her. "Nina, I found a kidney donor in another hospital, so I was transferred. Please don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Daisy, yesterday..."

"Don't think about it anymore, Nina. Let bygones be bygones." She paused. "Live your own life. Take good care of yourself."

"Tell me which hospital you were transferred to? I…"

"I'm not in A City now. Please let's stop contacting each other." After that, Daisy hung up. Knowing that Leon was watching, Nina pretended Daisy didn't hang up the phone on her. "Alright then. I wish you a successful operation. Bye!"

A few days later, Nina was back on the streets. She pushed her bike and checked the address on the note in her hand.

She had been interviewed by several companies the past few days and this was the only one that didn't mind she left at any time. They invited her for a second interview today. Thinking of her brother and her future, she had to seize every opportunity.

Nina checked the address again and found that it was still a few meters ahead. She was about to ride her bike when she heard a woman's voice shout across the street. She turned and saw two women jump away as if they were frightened. At the same time, she noticed a man lying on the ground writhing in pain.

Nina blinked her eyes before she approached the man carefully. She could hear the man cry out for help weakly, "Help! I'm hurt!"

Nina took out her phone and quickly dialed for an ambulance. After telling the operator their location, she walked closer to the man and said, "'Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Don't worry."

The man raised his head and tried to smile at Nina despite the pain. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and said, "Thank you, dear. What's your name?"

Nina was shocked at the sudden movement. She tried to pull her arm out of the man's grip and said, "You're welcome. Don't worry about it. I'm just some random stranger."

The man tried his hardest to smile amidst the pain but it only looked twisted. After a few heartbeats, he couldn't take the pain anymore and passed out. His eyes rolled to the back of his eyes. Even then, his hand remained closed over Nina's arm.

"Sir?! Are you okay?" Nina watched as the man fainted. She felt helpless. The people began to crowd around her and point at her. She wanted to get rid of the man's hand but his grip was so strong. As she tried to shake off his grip, more and more people gathered around them. She could hear whispers saying she was the reason why the man fainted.

"No! You're wrong. It wasn't me. I just called an ambulance for him." But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Nina explained but no one listened. They all continued to criticize her as if she were some criminal.

Finally, the ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly prepared their stretcher and equipment. When the leader saw the man was grabbing at Nina's arm tightly, he asked, "Were you the one who called us just now?"

Nina nodded her head fervently.

The team of medics quickly lifted the injured man into the ambulance. As they were doing so, they also managed to free Nina's arm. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the group leader turned to her and said, "Get in the ambulance!" Even her bike was carried into ambulance.

"But... I didn't know him!" Nina tried to explain. "I didn't say anything about you knowing him. Just get in the ambulance quickly. If you continue dallying, you're putting him in more danger."

Hearing this, Nina felt helpless. She wanted to explain that she really didn't have anything to do with the man but she didn't want to cause any delay, too. Maybe they only needed her to answer some questions.

Eventually, she left with them but was asked to wait outside the operating room. They were suspecting that she caused the accident. About an hour later, they wheeled out the man. The doctor announced that the man suffered from acute gastric hemorrhage, which was promptly removed. Nina wanted to bolt and leave now that everything was fine. However, the doctor said she should be the one to tell the patient's family about the good news.

Nina looked at the unconscious man helplessly. Since she had no choice, she just did as she was told. She found the man's mobile phone in his clothes but it didn't have any battery.

Left with no other options, she decided to wait for the man to wake up. Half an hour later, the man finally woke up. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Nina waiting for him. Recovering from his shock, he smiled and said, "What’s your name, beautiful girl?"