My name is Yao QiQi and I am an ordinary housewife. My husband, Wu Hao, and I have been married for three years and we have a two-year-old son. Although life is difficult, we manage to get by.
Unexpectedly, our son's sudden collapse last month dealt a heavy blow to our already impoverished household.
Our just-turned-two son was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, and the doctor told me that we needed a million yuan for his treatment.
Faced with the enormous cost of treatment, I collapsed on the spot, not knowing what to do.
But thinking about my child lying in the hospital bed, even if it means selling all we own, I am determined to get him treated. So, after leaving the hospital, I rushed to Wu Hao’s workplace to discuss with him.
What I didn't expect was Wu Hao's indifferent attitude. He said we have no money and couldn't borrow any either. He told me to figure it out on my own.
I was so angry that I slapped him on the spot and didn't wallow in sorrow, I began looking for ways to borrow the needed money. However, as a mere saleswoman, the money I could borrow was but a drop in the bucket. Those days, I was constantly in tears.
When I was driven to my wits' end, a fellow worker suggested an idea. For the sake of my child's life, I resigned myself to abandon dignity and agreed to her plan.
Now, I lay languidly on the large bed in the hotel room, with shades of blue and purple marks on my body taunting the intensity of the activity that just took place.
Yes, I prostituted myself to a stranger for my child's operation fee.
The bathroom door swung open, and the man strolled towards another room with just his shorts on. Meanwhile, I quickly gathered my clothes and put them on.
The man was back in no time. He leisurely sat down on the sofa next to me and handed me a cheque. With a playful smirk, he said, "Your service today was nice, here's your payment."
His words left me feeling ashamed, but also relieved. I hurriedly extended my hand to grab the cheque, took a glance at it, I was dumbfounded, it was only two hundred thousand.
But my fellow worker had told me it would be a million. Thinking of my little boy who needed the money to survive, I grew anxious, "Sir, is there a mistake? Didn’t we agree on a million?"
The man looked at me with surprise, stood up, and grasped my chin. His tall and imposing figure exuded an overwhelming sense of menace. I was scared and wanted to escape, but his mocking voice echoed in my ears, "A million? Haha, I've seen enough of women like you. You should take a good look at what sort of woman you are. Take the money and get lost."
His words caused a pang in my heart, but I also knew that angering him might mean not getting a single penny. So after he let go of me, I didn't dare to argue further. I took the check and slunk out of the room.
After cashing the check, I hurriedly took a cab to the hospital. I handed over the entire two hundred thousand to the cashier. Only after confirming that I had paid, did the doctor begin to give my child an IV drip.
I sat by the bedside, looking at my child's somewhat pale face, their consciousness somewhat blurry.
Three years ago, my current husband, Wu Hao, began to ardently pursue me. His subtle care and affection caused me to fall in love quickly.
I had thought that life after marriage would be very wonderful, but ever since we had a child, Wu Hao's attitude towards me and our child increasingly grew colder. He would always lash out at me and the child. But to give my child a complete family, I have been bottling up my feelings, patiently enduring it.
This time, I genuinely can't bear it anymore. Wu Hao's actions both angered and saddened me. At the same time, I found this marriage full of disappointment, feeling like I've been blind.
"Mom, mom," my child's voice pulled my thoughts back. I turned my face and wiped my eyes, forcing myself to smile at my child. "Good baby, mommy's here."
"Mom, where's dad, why isn't dad coming to see me?" My child weakly asked me.
My heart wrenched, I held back my emotions, telling my child that daddy had to work, and he would come to see him later.
After settling the child, I asked a nurse to help take care of him for a while as I went home to grab a few necessities.
As I stepped into my home, changing my shoes in the entryway, I heard Wu Hao and my mother-in-law talking in the kitchen, they didn't notice my return.
Because I heard my name, and also the mention of the child, I stopped in my tracks, wanting to hear what they were talking about.
What I heard my mother-in-law and husband say left me not only shocked but also plunged me into the endless abyss of darkness.
