The unfamiliar number called again during the morning meeting.
Yang Ruoning stared at the caller ID on her phone screen, clearly not wanting to answer. While she hesitated, the call was disconnected. Yang Ruoning sighed. She had a good idea of the purpose of this unknown call.
For five years, she had received such calls from unknown numbers periodically. She took a deep breath and dialed back.
"Hi, this is St. Lawrence Hospital," a young woman's voice answered. "Are you Jason Yang's family?"
"Yes, I am."
Jason was five years younger than her. A drug addict, he was a frequent visitor to many rehabilitation centers in California. Those unfamiliar calls came from various rehab centers, hospitals, and even drug dealers.
"I think you should come to our hospital immediately. Your brother just underwent major surgery."
Yang Ruoning was not surprised.
"Is it serious?" she asked.
The person did not offer many details, but the tone sounded urgent.
Yang Ruoning sighed.
When she rushed from New York on the last flight of the night to this small hospital in the American Midwest, she felt that this time, Jason had gone too far.
The emergency room nurse directed her, and Yang Ruoning took the elevator to the top floor of the hospital.
It was the hospital's luxurious VIP ward.
Yang Ruoning was puzzled how Jason could afford such an expensive room. Given his usual behavior, he would have spent all his money on those white powders.
Pushing the door open revealed a suite. The outer living room was luxuriously and comfortably furnished. Further inside, in a sterile room behind a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, lay Jason. He was wearing a light blue hospital gown, connected to various tubes. Strange monitors beside him beeped rhythmically.
Yang Ruoning stood by the window, gazing at Jason on the hospital bed, and sighed. He looked very weak, his face as pale as paper. The nurse had just said he had undergone major surgery.
Seeing him like this, half of Yang Ruoning's anger dissipated. She felt a pang of heartache; after all, he was her only family in this world. If their parents knew from heaven, they would surely blame her for not taking good care of her brother. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The nurse said Jason might take a few hours to wake up. Having rushed here the previous night, she felt tired and went down to the hospital's first-floor coffee shop to buy a cup of coffee.
Upon returning from the coffee shop, she sought out a nurse. Although their parents had left them some insurance money, and she had a stable income, most of it over the years had been spent by Jason on drugs or detoxification fees. She couldn't afford the luxurious room. She wanted to ask the nurse if she could be moved to a regular room.
The nurse told her that all the expenses had already been paid.
Yang Ruoning frowned. Who had paid for such expensive medical treatment?
Before she could ask anything, the elevator doors nearby suddenly opened, and a silver-haired old man walked out.
The old man was in a sharp suit, with a silk scarf around his neck, and he held a silver cane, looking like a British aristocrat from an old movie.
He walked directly towards Yang Ruoning.
Kevin Kinsey, Yang Ruoning certainly recognized him. His family's businesses spanned the globe, no one knew how much money he had, and he himself was very low-key. In fact, he was the largest shareholder of the company where Yang Ruoning worked, her true boss.
After shaking hands with her, Kinsey said to Yang Ruoning, "Miss Yang, I know you must have many questions. But I cannot explain them to you here, because you would never believe me. If you can, I need Miss Yang to go with me somewhere. And I believe this is what Jason would want."