The corridor at the hospital was crowded with people.
However, Darren Ye was not concerned about his surroundings at all. He was wailing and squatting in a corner.
"The tumor in your mother's stomach is turning into cancer. She only has a month to live. She needs to undergo an operation as soon as possible. However, this is going to cost you 100,000 yuan. "
The doctor's words pierced Darren's heart like a sharp knife.
The medical bill was outrageously costly. Darren could not afford it at all.
Darren was raised in a foster family. Unfortunately, his foster father, Daniel Ye, had gone missing a year ago while working on a boat and his foster mother, Phoebe Sim, was diagnosed with a gastric tumor as she was found unconscious at home and was taken to hospital. Darren, who had just graduated, had to shoulder all of these responsibilities for his family on his own.
Darren had used up all of his savings and even obtained online loans to cover his mother's medical bill. In order to make more money, he even married himself into the Tang Family to become their live-in son-in-law.
He gave up his dignity and worked like a slave for the Tang Family. But in the end, he only received five hundred thousand from the Tang Family.
However, this money was depleted in the blink of an eye as his mother required an astronomical amount of money for medical treatment. He only had a mobile phone and ten yuan left in his pocket now.
" I need ten thousand, ten thousand to save my mom...."
Darren was desperate when he thought of the medical fee. He had totally no idea how he was going to raise the money for his mother's treatment. He was at the end of his rope.
However, he knew that he could not give up so easily and watch his mother die.
" I can't give up now! I need to figure out a way to raise money for mom!"
He wiped away his tears, gritted his teeth and stood up, "I will never give up on my mom!"
He decided to give up his dignity and borrow money from anybody else.
The first one he came to was his uncle. Hesitating for a moment, he knocked on the door.
His auntie opened the door but she quickly put on a straight face when she saw him.
Darren begged his auntie desperately, "Auntie, my mother needs to undergo a surgery. May I borrow some money from..."
"Again? I already gave you two hundred yuan. Yet you are still asking for more money!"
"We don't have such a greedy relative like you. Get the hell out of here!"
She pushed him out of her house and slammed the door in his face with a bang.
Darren was furious and trembled with her insults. He could not hold his anger and punched the wall.
This house was originally owned by his father. It was passed down to his father after his grandfather passed away. His uncle, though, had snatched this house away from his father. Despite the fact that he did not expect much help from his uncle, he did not know his auntie could be so cold-hearted.
Darren, on the other hand, had no choice but to continue his journey to seek help from his other relatives. Unfortunately, none of them were willing to give him a hand.
Some of them even warned him to stay away from their families or they would report him to the police for harassment.
Moreover, he received a phone call from his landlord. The landlord threatened that he would evict them from their house if Darren did not clear the rental within a week.
The online loan company also kept spamming his phone and demanded he pay off his debts.
He plucked up the courage to contact Samantha Tang, who was currently on vacation in Maldives.
However, she was irritated and hung up the phone when she heard him asking for money.
Now, he was really on the end of his rope.
He wiped his tears off and went to Zero Degree, a bar that used to belong to Natalie Yuan, his ex-girlfriend, after a rough day.
This pub did not really belong to Natalie. The fact was that Kenneth Wong, his former roommate, lent Natalie five million yuan so that she could fulfill her dream.
However, he didn't expect Natalie would decide to end their relationship and turn herself to Kenneth because of the money.
The pub was doing extremely well. Thanks to great advertisement with the most popular girl in the campus, this pub has become a famous hangout for wealthy kids in Middlesea.
Darren was always a laughingstock among the wealthy kids due to his tragic background.
He felt embarrassed when he walked into the pub. However, he had no choice but to swallow his pride as he really needed assistance with his mother's medical bill.
He also believed that Natalie would lend him the money for the sake of their previous relationship.
The pub had a pleasant atmosphere. There was a live band playing on the stage, and people were talking and laughing.
The scent of luxury perfume pervaded the atmosphere of the pub, which made Darren feel out of place.
The lounge was rather crowded, and everyone was dressed elegantly. As Darren walked into the lounge, everyone's gaze was drawn to him, and the lounge fell silent.
Darren, Kenneth and Natalie were looking at each other.
He could feel the arrogance and disdainfulness from Kenneth's eyes, everything but a trace of guilt he was supposed to have.
Natalie was dressed in a low-cut crop top and an incredibly short skirt, exposing her attractively thin waist and appealingly long legs.
Her fair skin, slender thighs, and beautiful face were very eye-catching.
However, many people had steered away from her due to her arrogant and emotionless face.
She was looking emotionlessly at Darren in the same way she was staring at a stray dog on the street.
Melissa Yong, Natalie's best friend, jumped down from her highchair and said,
"Darren, what are you doing here?"
Melissa was obviously annoyed and disgusted by his presence.
Darren plucked up the courage, "I'm here to..."
"We don't need janitors here. You can leave now!"
Melissa said sarcastically.
She had always looked down upon him due to his poor family background. That's why she had tried her best to bring Natalie and Kenneth together.
He quickly waved his hand and explained, "I'm not looking for job, I'm here to..."
"The lemon juice is twenty-eight yuan and the cocktail worth one hundred and eighty yuan. Can you afford it?"
Melissa sneered, "Even if you have the pocket money from the Tang Family, you are not welcome here."
Kenneth spitted and said, "D*mn it, what an unlucky day. I should have gone to the fortune teller or I won't run into this trash today."
Everybody knew that Darren married himself into wealth for money.
The crowd started laughing when they heard this.
"I — "
Darren took a step forward and looked at Natalie. As Natalie was about to say something, another pretty girl interrupted her,
"Get your dirty hands off the sofa! This is leather."
The pretty girl acted as if Darren had just emerged from a stinky ditch by waving her hand in front of her nose.
He quickly retracted his hand as if bitten by a snake. His face flushed from shame. Although he had expected that today was not gonna be easy, he still underestimated their cruelness.
He gritted his teeth and blurted out, "I am here for Natalie!”
"Natalie, let's have a talk outside..."
He hoped to retain the last vestige of his pride.
Natalie slowly reclined in the chair and crossed her legs. She remained emotionless and did not make any gesture nor sneer at him. However, this was as much of an insult to Darren.
Kenneth smiled with a wicked grin,
"Please be aware that Natalie has become my girlfriend. She is not someone that you can simply seek out.”
He even put his hands on Natalie's thighs just to show off.
Darren started to feel the heat rising on his face, "Natalie, I have something really important to discuss with you. Please, let's have a talk."
Natalie still didn't respond and remained silent. The emotionless arrogance on her face was like looking at an insignificant ant.
"Get the hell out of here! You really disgust me."
Melissa shouted impatiently, "Stop ruining our night!"
Darren was embarrassed and disappointed. Nonetheless, he still managed to get a sentence out of his mouth,
"Natalie, I want to borrow ten thousand yuan from you."
He promised,
"I promise I'll definitely pay you back. You can keep my identification card and graduation cert as collateral..."
"One hundred thousand yuan?"
Melissa shouted exaggeratedly,
"Darren, how dare you want to borrow so much money from us? All your belongings aren't even worth that much!"
He looked at Natalie and explained, "My mother needs money for her surgery..."
“Please, I know this is a presumptuous request, but I desperately need your help.”
He even took out his mother's medical records in an attempt to persuade her.
Kenneth looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot,
" Your father is missing, your house has been snatched by your uncle, the house you are living in is leased, and you are a live-in son-in-law without a proper job. What makes you think that you could pay the hundred thousand yuan back?”
Darren had devoted all his efforts to take care of his ill mother and serve the Tang Family after graduating from college. He had never had the opportunity to find a job.
That was the reason he was still unemployed at the time.
"I'll look for a job after my mother has had the surgery. I'll definitely pay you back."
He was so embarrassed. He couldn't wait to turn around and flee but he had to hold out at this point.
"Please, Natalie, I really need this money for my mother..."
He felt as if he was a stray dog begging for scraps at this moment.
Melissa said. "We're not your father. Your mother's surgery is none of our business."
"Please give me a hand. Natalie."
He pleaded her, "I'll definitely pay you back."
Everyone turned their eyes on her.
There was still no change on Natalie's face. She spoke arrogantly.
"Don't you think it's ridiculous to borrow money from me? Your mother's life has nothing to do with me."
She sneered, "We are no longer in a relationship."
"Don't flatter yourself."
"We are at completely different levels. I am not interested in a filth like you."
Darren was stunned, and he couldn't take his gaze away from Natalie. He couldn't believe what she'd just said to him.
"You are not our friends."
"I won't lend my money to you."
"I don't have any feelings for you at all."
"By the way, when we were dating, do you still remember what you have given to me when I was sick? A piece of emerald jade. You said that it would keep me safe and healthy."
"I'll return this emerald jade to you now. Now use it to bless your mother."
She took out a piece of Jade from a drawer and threw it at him.
"Get lost, and don't ever come here again."
"Your presence here is irritating us."
Her voice was soothing but hurtful. Her words pressed him to the ground and elevated him to a higher level of sophistication.
"Know your limitations, trash."
Melissa pushed him away and said, "Get out of here, filth."
Darren's face was full of despair.
Kenneth suddenly said, "I can lend you hundred thousand yuan."
Darren was surprised and his body was trembling, "Are you serious?"
Kenneth smiled playfully and said, "Kneel down."
Kenneth's words made Darren's blood boil. He was enraged, but he quickly calmed down again.
"Plop--"
Darren loosened his knees and kneeled on the floor.
His knees were hurting, but his heart was hurting even more.
He would do anything for this mother.
"Ha ha ha..."
Melissa and the crowd burst into laughter. They did not expect Darren, who was such a tough and strong man, to kneel in front of them.
Somebody even took out their phone to take a picture.
Natalie raised her chin and behaved like a haughty princess. She said disdainfully,
What a milksop.
Just then, Kenneth went to the bathroom and retrieved a cup filled with yellow liquid, and then put it in front of Darren.
"Kneel and drink it."
He threw out a credit card and said, "I'll lend you these one hundred thousand yuan."
Darren was first stunned when he looked at this liquid, and then he became angry.
This is urine!
"You b*stards!"
He threw the cup of urine at the crowd and said, "You guys have gone too far!"
Everyone screamed incessantly and their clothes were in a complete mess.
Kenneth erupted in rage and shouted, "Beat the hell out of him!"
Darren turned tail and ran.
Seven or eight young men rushed towards him.
He was outnumbered and quickly defeated.
He could only lean against the wall and cover his head with his hands tightly.
His hands went numb, but he subconsciously did not let go of them.
However, he only managed to keep his head safe. The rest of his body started to bleed after being beaten down with multiple hard blows.
Natalie and Melissa started cheering as they saw him being beaten down on the floor.
In their opinion, Darren was too arrogant and needed to be taught a lesson. He deserved this.
"A good-for-nothing!"
Kenneth stepped on his head.
"BANG——"
Darren's finally let go of his hands, and his whole body slipped down the wall and fell on the ground.
He passed out.
A gush of blood flowed out of his palm and seeped into the old piece of jade...
"Whoosh!"
A beam of light shined before his eyes.