Su Ding pondered for a moment and walked over to pick up the apple that had rolled onto the floor.
"Such a good apple, now it's dirty."
She said with a frown, looking somewhat regretful. She had to admit, the apple had been peeled quite nicely.
Jiang Tian lowered her head, flustered and uneasy, and stammered, "It's, it's fine, I'll go wash it, I can still eat it."
Saying so, she took the apple from Su Ding's hand and hurried out of the ward.
Su Ding watched her retreating figure, and for some reason, felt a strange sensation in her heart. But soon, she shifted her attention and looked at Xie Shanshan.
"Shao Xu, thank you for paying my father's medical expenses, thank you..."
As soon as Xie Shanshan finished speaking, tears began to stream down her face. She had cried so much these past few days that her tear glands seemed to have become more developed.
Su Ding waited quietly until her emotions calmed down before saying, "It's nothing. We are classmates after all. Since I have the ability, I can't just stand by and watch someone in distress."
Xie Shanshan looked at Su Ding with a choked voice, only gratitude remaining in her eyes.
"I came today to tell you something. Guo Tao has been taken to the police station for beating you. However, based on the on-site surveillance and witness testimonies, you were the one who initiated the physical altercation. Therefore, even though you are seriously injured, Guo Tao might not be sentenced severely. Furthermore, Guo Tao has a background."
Su Ding said calmly, "I hope you can calm down now and consider carefully whether you want to reach a settlement with the other party and have him compensate you, or insist on pursuing the lawsuit to the end."
Xie Shanshan's lips moved, and she said softly, "I want compensation."
She had almost died this time. After enduring such torment, she had a moment of enlightenment. In the past, she had been too high-profile and arrogant, inadvertently offending many people.
She had always thought that by clinging to Guo Tao, she would have a life of wealth and status.
But once something happened, Guo Tao would extricate himself completely and break up with her without hesitation.
This time, she had implicated Guo Tao and almost caused him to be expelled. When they broke up, she was indeed unwilling. She thought they had feelings for each other. But to her surprise, Guo Tao not only showed no lingering affection but also demanded back all the bags and jewelry he had ever given her.
Guo Tao, with his people, went directly to her home and took everything.
And all the receipts were in Guo Tao's possession. Moreover, he never mentioned anything online each time he gave her gifts. He had planned to take all these things back from the very beginning.
That night, she went mad, completely unable to accept this reality.
Guo Tao was not expelled, but she was. And Guo Tao took back everything he had given her. Wasn't she taken advantage of for two years?
Always proud, she could not accept it.
But soon, she received a call from home. Her father's illness had suddenly worsened, and he needed to be transferred to Jiangcheng.
But she had no money at all!
Despair, it was almost a dead end.
She went to find Guo Tao, hoping to borrow money from him to treat her father. But Guo Tao mocked her: "Playing the filial daughter in front of your father, and being a gold digger with me, get lost!"
Recalling the past, she realized that Guo Tao had only been toying with her, and had been so heartless to her!
She decided to fight back, no matter the cost.
She tracked him to the milk tea shop and rushed in without regard for anything!
In the end, she ended up in her current predicament. If it weren't for Su Ding, she and her father would probably have been finished in this life.
She regretted it deeply.
The ward, surgery fees, and other expenses added up to at least a million.
She was desperate for money.
Xie Shanshan's tears couldn't help but fall again, "Shao Xu, thank you. I want mediation and compensation. I will pay you back this money."
Perhaps, at this very moment, she was finally living with clarity.
Su Ding looked at her quietly and nodded, "Alright, I'll have someone help you negotiate."
This was the best outcome.
From everything Su Ding had seen, Guo Tao was a scumbag for beating someone. But all of it had an undeniable premise: Xie Shanshan had indeed implicated him and even provoked him.
Both sides were at fault, but as an ordinary person, an ordinary woman, Su Ding's emotions and reason leaned towards Xie Shanshan, nothing more.
Xie Shanshan nodded tearfully, "I will pay you back."
Su Ding pursed her lips and said lightly, "Okay, I've noted that."
With that, she got up and left.
Xie Shanshan stared at Su Ding's retreating figure for a long time, until Jiang Tian appeared.
"Shanshan, what did Miss Su Ding say to you?" Jiang Tian asked in a low voice, her mind racing with unspoken thoughts.
A faint smile appeared on Xie Shanshan's pale face.
"She will help me..."
As she spoke, tears of gratitude flowed again.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Tian's heart tightened. The secret hidden within her weighed heavily on her, making her feel suffocated.