He spoke quite earnestly, but the night was too ambiguous, and Melody couldn't help but overthink.
"What, do I have to repay you in other ways for a meal?"
"...What are you thinking? I did go out and earn some money these past few days, so I should spend it."
"Aren't you feeling unwell? I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow."
This caught her by surprise. A stranger she met by chance was suddenly being so kind to her, even offering to take her to see a doctor.
Melody didn't look, and this small hospital wouldn't be able to cure her anyway.
So she tried to change the subject.
"You really went out to make money? How much can you earn in five days? Are you going to cure my cancer? Do you even know what the word 'cancer' means?"
"Don't talk like that," Long Yifei frowned.
"If you think our hospital isn't good enough, we can go to the city tonight."
"Forget it. I appreciate the offer, but no need."
She pulled open the car door to get in, but Long Yifei went to lock it.
"Miss Mai, tell me honestly, did you run away from home without your family's knowledge?"
Melody sneered again, "So in the end, you're just worried about me dying silently at your place and causing you trouble."
Perhaps because she was full and had regained some strength, she felt inexplicably more confident.
She had no money, no identification, and didn't even know where she was, yet she was filled with a reckless courage.
"Fine, no need to find indirect ways to get rid of me. I'll leave myself, right now."
She took two steps away, and Long Yifei rushed forward and stopped her.
"How many times do I have to say it, that's not what I meant. Do you know where I went these past two days?"
"How the hell would I know? I don't have a GPS on you."
"To Sucheng."
"So?"
"I saw your missing person poster."
Long Yifei unlocked his phone and found a missing person poster to show her.
"This isn't a publicly posted missing person notice; only people within our organization can see it. The fact that your family posted your information here indicates that your family background is unusual."
From the moment Melody ran away from home, she knew she would be found.
So her focus wasn't there; her focus was on the "internal" aspect.
"What do you mean by 'internal'? Which department are you in? Who are the people 'internal'? Long Yifei, what exactly do you do?"
Now it was Long Yifei's turn to evade, locking his phone.
"Miss Mai, since your family background is so good, I did a search while we were eating. Breast cancer isn't a particularly serious illness. Why are you doing this?"
Melody asked for his phone, "Let me see how much money you'll get for bringing me back."
"So you went out to do this these past few days? Are you a bounty hunter, or do you specialize in finding people? Is this how you make money?"
Long Yifei was about to be driven crazy by her. He explained again, "Miss Mai, I just wanted to..."
"I don't want to go back," Melody's tone suddenly became serious.
"I'm not oblivious to the logic you're presenting, but I just don't want to go back. Don't worry, I'll leave a message for my family before I die. Then you can take my belongings to them, and they'll repay you for the money I spent."
"Do you have to put it like that?" Long Yifei was almost speechless.
"Although I, Long Yifei, am not wealthy, I don't value money that much. Why do you insist on speaking this way?"
Actually, Melody could tell that Long Yifei wasn't someone who valued money highly.
He had a certain chivalrous spirit and loyalty, which was why she had chosen to come with him in the first place.
"If that's the case, then there's no need for further discussion. You have your difficulties, and I have mine. We won't ask about each other. Just let me live my remaining days peacefully, okay?"
On the way back, Melody felt drowsy again from eating too much.
Long Yifei looked at her beautiful profile and seemed to understand her a little.
Wealthy families might appear glamorous, but only those within them truly know how lonely it is.
Perhaps without many sincere people around, she truly detested it, which is why she wanted to escape.
Then he wouldn't try to persuade her. She was already so ill; it wasn't easy for her.
The two of them got along very well in the following days.
Melody spent her days eating, sleeping, daydreaming, and taking walks. Long Yifei occasionally brought in customers, occasionally went on business trips, and occasionally stayed home idle. Neither interfered with the other.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Her sister was brought back for the weekend. In the evening, the three of them sat down to dinner. Long Yifei said he had made an appointment with the hospital and would take his sister for surgery tomorrow, asking Melody to join them.
The number of corneal donations was not large, but the demand was immense. Medical development had been rapid in recent years, and an artificial cornea had been developed, although the price was slightly high.
However, as long as the surgery was successful, there was a good chance of seeing the light.
Despite the poor business at the inn, Long Yifei could afford surgery for his sister, indicating that his side income was quite substantial.
Melody joked, "Not bad, you. How much was the surgery? You said you saved enough?"
Her sister also expressed some concern, "Yes, brother. You said you were still short before, how did you save enough so quickly? Did you mortgage our house?"
Long Yifei glared at them, "No. Recently, I met a benefactor who introduced me to two jobs with good remuneration. Anyway, it's enough."
"I've arranged everything with the hospital, so you can go with peace of mind. You don't need to worry about anything else."
Melody asked him, "If you two are going, what am I going for? You can just lock me at home."
"No, I locked you in before because I didn't know you were unwell. What if something happened to you while I was away... Didn't you promise me you wouldn't be a burden? I need to see you to feel at ease."
Melody said, "Long Yifei, are you planning to sell me?"
"If I wanted to sell you, I would have done it long ago. Why wait until today? It's settled then. Pack your clothes later, and we'll leave early tomorrow morning."
That night, Melody sat on the bed watching her blind sister fumble with packing her clothes. She asked her sister.
"Are you nervous?"
"Not nervous. My brother has taken me to many hospitals, had my body checked many times, and done matching tests. I'm numb to it."
"Are you looking forward to it?"
"Quite looking forward to it. I really want to see what this colorful world looks like, to see my brother, to see our teacher, and to see you too."
However, Melody didn't see much anticipation on her face.
She felt that the girl was calm from head to toe, possessing the potential to do great things.
"Sister, can you ask my brother how much the surgery will cost?"
"Why? When your eyes are better, you'll earn money to give back to your brother?"
The sister said, "My brother has had it tough. He went out to work before finishing high school. To support me, he's done all sorts of dirty and tiring jobs."
"He originally wanted to take me to see my eyes first, but I really wanted a home of my own, so he built this house two years ago."