Chapter 13: An Unexpected Plea for Help
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The sudden acquisition of guitar-playing skills gave Su Chen even greater enthusiasm and motivation to accumulate Anger Points.
Over the next several hours, Su Chen sat there with his phone, constantly scrolling through videos and leaving all kinds of comments, provoking quite a few content creators until they were fuming and gnashing their teeth.
If he had merely been spouting nonsense and stirring up trouble, that would have been one thing. The problem was that his remarks were always pointed and razor-sharp, yet somehow impossible to refute, which made them all the more infuriating.
As for Su Chen, he calmly maintained, “Does it hurt? Good. If you weren’t upset, how would you provide me with Anger Points? Wouldn’t I just be wasting my time for nothing?”
He was rapidly scrolling through videos when his finger suddenly stopped.
On the screen, a haggard, emaciated young mother was speaking softly to the camera about the desperate circumstances she had encountered, hoping that some kindhearted person might see her appeal and save her daughter.
Su Chen clicked into her profile and looked through her earlier pleas for help, gaining a general understanding of the situation.
She was a single mother whose daughter had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma. The entire family had exhausted their savings to pay for the girl’s treatment, but it was still nowhere near enough.
Now completely helpless and out of options, she could only post appeals for help on TikTok, hoping to draw attention and receive assistance from kindhearted strangers.
Since she had never made videos before, her posts did not receive much traffic. As a result, the donations she had gathered so far were pitifully few.
Most of the comments beneath her videos expressed lukewarm sympathy, while some bluntly questioned whether the story was even real.
Su Chen would never stoop so low as to mock another person’s suffering. After hesitating briefly, he swiped past the video and stopped watching.
There were simply too many unfortunate and pitiable people in this world. Even if he wanted to help, he lacked the ability to aid them all.
Besides, he had only a few tens of thousands of yuan in savings. Even if he genuinely wished to help, it would hardly make a difference.
Yet after swiping past that appeal for help, Su Chen could no longer maintain the excitement and enthusiasm he had felt before.
After struggling with the decision for more than half an hour, Su Chen returned to the video and found it again.
The sick little girl in the video was very cute. Her eyes were large and round, like a pool of crystal-clear spring water. Yet because of her illness, her face was pale and bloodless.
Su Chen checked the location shown by her IP address. She was in Huzhou, which was not particularly far from where he was.
After hesitating for a moment, Su Chen finally dialed the assistance number she had left on her profile.
The call was answered almost immediately by a woman with a slightly hoarse voice. Her tone was humble and embarrassed.
“Hello, hello. May I ask who this is?”
“Hello. I saw the video you posted on TikTok, so I contacted you,” Su Chen said gently. “Would it be convenient for you to send me your child’s hospital discharge summary?”
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Documents such as diagnostic certificates were relatively easy to forge. One could simply find a similar case and make a few edits.
A discharge summary, however, recorded the entire process, from the patient’s diagnosis and admission to the treatment, examinations, and changes in condition throughout the hospital stay. Generally speaking, it was not easy to fabricate.
Since Su Chen intended to help her, he felt that the first priority was to determine whether the matter was genuine. If he ended up being deceived, it would truly be ridiculous.
“Yes, I have it. Shall I send it to you through WeChat?” the woman immediately replied without the slightest hesitation.
She did not feel humiliated or offended by his lack of trust, nor did she hesitate.
She understood perfectly well that only callers who wanted to verify the truth of the matter might genuinely be able to bring help to her daughter.
Not long afterward, after examining the little girl’s discharge summary, Su Chen was basically certain that her story was true.
Of course, he still wanted to take the time to visit her home personally. With matters like this, it was safer to speak face-to-face.
After more than two hours on the road, Su Chen arrived at a woven-bag factory in Huzhou, where the woman seeking help, Zhu Fei, worked to earn money.
“Zhu Fei’s family... sigh, they’ve truly had a hard time.
“Her parents-in-law passed away very early and left the couple no assets, only tens of thousands of yuan in debt.
“Her husband was an honest man. Fortunately, he was hardworking and willing to endure hardship. Over the course of more than ten years, he not only paid off the debt but even managed to buy a small one-story house.
“Who could have imagined that two years ago, her husband would be struck and killed by a small-truck driver who was driving drunk? The perpetrator’s family had no money either, so they received very little compensation.
“And that left only Zhu Fei and her daughter. Who would have thought something like this would happen to them as well? It’s as if the frayed rope always snaps at its weakest point, and fate seeks out the unfortunate.
“Now their house has been sold and all their savings have been spent, yet it’s still nowhere near enough...”
The workshop supervisor shook his head and sighed as he described Zhu Fei’s circumstances, leading Su Chen to her.
Compared with the video, Zhu Fei herself looked even thinner and more haggard, her face etched with the marks of hardship.
Dark and gaunt, she resembled a shriveled old woman. Nothing about her suggested that she was a young mother barely in her thirties.
“My shift...” Zhu Fei said, her face filled with conflict and distress.
“Go on and take care of your business. I’ll find someone to cover your position later. You won’t lose any wages,” the workshop supervisor said generously, waving his hand.
“Thank you, Supervisor Zhang. Thank you, Supervisor Zhang!”
Zhu Fei repeatedly bowed in gratitude before slowly following Su Chen out of the factory grounds.
“You’ve come to work at the factory yourself, but what about your child? Is there no one watching her?” Su Chen asked in confusion.
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Zhu Fei bit her lip and said helplessly in a low voice, “She’s very well-behaved when she stays home alone... There are too many machines in the factory...”
Su Chen understood her predicament and did not question her further.
If they had any choice, no one would want to leave a six- or seven-year-old child home alone.
Following Zhu Fei, Su Chen crossed muddy, gloomy, filthy streets and passed through a pitch-black alley. Only then did they arrive at a rust-covered iron gate.
“It’s rather dirty here. Please watch your step, and be careful not to soil your clothes,” Zhu Fei said as she took a key from her handbag and prepared to open the gate.
“Who is it?” a timid, childlike voice came from behind the iron gate. “My mommy will be back soon!”
“It’s Mommy. Mommy’s back!” Zhu Fei quickly called out in response. She had taught her daughter to say those words before. The girl was sensible and obedient, and she had remembered them well enough to follow her instructions.
“Mommy! Mommy’s back! Mommy’s back!”
The little girl behind the gate immediately cried out in delight.
After the iron gate was opened, Su Chen discovered that the inside was completely dark. He could make out only vague shapes; not a trace of light could be seen.
“Why haven’t you turned on the lights?” Zhu Fei asked anxiously as she switched them on. When she saw her daughter, Fangfang, rushing toward her and wrapping her arms around her, she finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“I’m not afraid of the dark, Mommy!” The little girl lightly bit her lip, her tiny, childish face filled with stubborn determination. “Turning off the lights saves electricity. I know, Mommy. We don’t have any money left...”
At those words, Zhu Fei could no longer hold back her tears. She squatted down and hugged her daughter tightly, choking out, “We have money. We still have money...”
Seeing this, Su Chen’s eyes grew moist as well. He walked over, bent slightly, and gently stroked the little girl’s head before asking with a warm smile, “Little girl, what’s your name?”
Seeing a stranger in the house, the girl warily hid behind her mother. Then she poked out half of her small head and stared straight at him, her eyes filled with confusion and unease.
Only then did Su Chen have the chance to examine her carefully.
The little girl’s face was somewhat dirty, but her beautiful features were still apparent. Her hair was very short, clearly cut by her mother herself rather than at a hair salon.
Her small lips were bloodless and pale. Her clothes were somewhat worn, and her frail body was as thin as a sheet of paper, as though a gust of wind could carry her away.
“My name is Chen Pingping. What’s your name?” the little girl asked bravely, forcing her head up.
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