The random passerby I married is the world's richest man!

Chapter 3: The stepmother makes trouble

"So, you still know to come back?! You haven't paid for this month's living expenses yet! ”

Her stepmother, Yang Suping, scolded from the door.

Bai Zhen Zhen opened the door and glanced at her. It was a woman with a sharp and unkind face, with all the hair on her head curled in small hair rollers.

"Oh? You said you weren't able to earn enough, and you still dare stare at me?" Yang Suping asked again with her hands in her hips.

Bai Zhen Zhen ignored her and went straight into the house.

The house had two bedrooms and a living room. The furnishings inside were very simple, and most of the furniture was awfully old. In the last years, in order to treat her father's illness, they had to save up in living expenses.

Bai Zhen Zhen looked around and when she didn't see anyone else, she asked: "Where's my father?"

Yang Suping sneered: "Where can your father be? Apart from eating and sleeping, if he is not lying down in bed, where can he be? "　　

While she was speaking, a young girl with fresh and pure appearance walked out from one of the rooms.

"Sister, you're back." The girl greeted Bai Zhen Zhen.

Bai Zhen Zhen guessed the identity of the girl. This should be her stepmother's daughter, Bai Mengru, who was two years younger than her and still in her third year of university.

Although her surname was Bai, Bai Zhen Zhen and her were not blood related, as she was the daughter of her stepmother and her former husband. After her stepmother's former husband died, she married Bai Zhen Zhen's father and brought her daughter Mengru with her, having her daughter's surname changed on the way.

"Mengru, ah you only slept for one hour, why did you come out? You're studying so hard, you should have a good rest when you're back at home." Yang Suping said in distress.

Bai Mengru answered with a soft tone: "I heard my sister coming back, so I came to say hi." She then smiled at Bai Zhen Zhen.

Bai Zhen Zhen didn't respond.

As far as she knew, this younger sister was not a good person. She looked soft and gentle on the surface, but was actually a scheming b***h with her mind filled with tricks.

In the storyline of the original book, this younger sister was jealous of her, and then encouraged Leng Hao Chen's fiancée to poison her, and also killed her father.

"What to do with her?" Yang Suping snorted coldly, and looked at Bai Zhen Zhen angrily again. "You haven't given this month's living expenses for one week already! Have you forgotten, if there's no more money, our whole family will starve to death!"

If it was the original host, at this time she would apologize to her stepmother and little sister, wait for them to calm down, and then promise she would work harder to earn money.

But Bai Zhen Zhen was not such a Virgin Mary. Although she didn't cause trouble, she would absolutely not let herself be wronged.

Yang Suping's words just now gave her the right opportunity to ask this stepmother the question she had in her head when she was reading.

"Auntie, what you said is to heartless. What qualifications do you have to criticize me? We are all members of this family, how can you point at me to earn money by myself? Your daughter hasn't joined the working world yet, this is another matter, but you are a woman in the prime of her life with able hands and feet, staying idle all day long, this is inexcusable, right?"

Yang Suping was stunned. Bai Zhen Zhen calling her "auntie" left her absent-minded. In the past, Bai Zhen Zhen would be well-behaved and call her "mother", but she ignored her. What was going on, suddenly changing the way she called her and speaking in such a firm way?!

"Sister, mother can't help it, she needs to be home to take care of father…"Bai Mengru explained from the side.

"Doesn't dad have lung cancer? He's not paralyzed in bed, and he usually doesn't need another person to take care of his daily life." Bai Zhen Zhen stated the truth.

Yang Suping was furious: "Bai Zhen Zhen, what do you mean by that ah? Turns out you're really ungrateful! As a daughter, shouldn't you earn money to support your father?"

Bai Zhen Zhen found it really laughable. Such a shrew, but still changing concepts and shifting topics.

She did not feel like talking to this pair anymore, so she directly opened the door of the other room and went in.

Her father lay on the bed, sleeping. He was fast asleep, seemingly very tired: just now, the argument in the living room did not wake him up.

"Dad, I'm back." Bai Zhen Zhen sat down on the bedside and called out in a loud voice. Father Bai woke up and was very happy to see his daughter back.

"Zhen Zhen, you're back ah…" He sat up from the bed and held Bai Zhen Zhen's hand. "Are you tired ah? Have you eaten? Dad will cook for you…"

"I have… already eaten." Bai Zhen Zhen answered awkwardly in a high voice.

She subconsciously rejected the somewhat intimate gesture of Father Bai holding her hand, but was moved by Father Bai's loving eyes in an instant.

Bai Zhen Zhen said: "Dad, I came back this time to talk to you about getting treatment in the hospital."

"Treatment?!" When he heard something that had to do with money, Yang Suping came in immediately, "Bai Zhenzhen, what do you mean? Now that there is no money in the family, how can you let your father be hospitalized ah?! Just staying there one night costs already hundreds, not to mention something like getting medical treatment!"

Bai Zhen Zhen said indifferently: "Only taking medicine but not getting treatment is unable to contain the illness. I found out that now there's a very advanced medical method, and dad's lung cancer still hasn't reached terminal stage. If he receives a surgery treatment now, the 5-year and 10-year survival rates can reach 80% and 50% or higher.”

This was the original sentence that the doctor said later to the original host when she brought her father to receive medical treatment with the help of the male lead.

"You say it so easy! Who can treat an illness without receiving medical treatment ah! Now, buying your dad's medicines already costs more than half of our living expenses, and there's also your younger sister's studies, her dance practice…"

"Then why don't you let your daughter stop dancing?" Bai Zhen Zhen asked.

Yang Suping and Bai Mengru had not yet spoken that Father Bai anxiously talked first, contrary to expectations: "Zhen Zhen, how can you say that? We are a family, Mengru is you younger sister! I am sick ah, I don't think treatment can cure me, you all need to let my life run its course, you also don't need to buy any more medicine… Dancing is Mengru's dream, it should not be delayed…"

Bai Zhen Zhen thought to herself, the original host's noble feelings of compassion and selflessness were probably learned from her father.

Yan Suping gave a scornful look at Bai Zhen Zhen and said sarcastically: "Mengru has been smart since she was a child, she is really talented at dancing, she will become a big star in the future! What's a little money now? Don't you know, how much more she will earn in the future!"

Bai Mengru pretended to be sad, and then said to Father Bai very genuinely: "Dad, wait for me to make lots of money, I'll give you treatment for sure!"　　

"Good, good!" Father Bai was very moved, "You're dad's good daughters!"

"Okay, don't talk about these." Bai Zhen Zhen broke this warm atmosphere, "I have already called a car to wait downstairs, we're going now to the hospital straight away."

Yan Suping's mouth opened into an O-shape, her face with a funny yet embarrassing look: "Bai Zhen Zhen, you have no brains, right? This month's living expenses haven't been settled yet, and you still want to send your father to the hospital?"

"Since I said to send, then of course I have the ability to send." Bai Zhen Zhen helped her dad stand up. Father Bai's body wasn't tall, a bit stoop. He ended with this appearance after working in a construction site in his early years. Now that he was sick, the whole person looked emaciated, his complexion was also not good. Bai Zhen Zhen saw there was something wrong, he was upset with in his heart.

"Zhen Zhen, I'm not going to the hospital." Father Bai frowned. "Your mother is right, you have to spend money to go to the hospital. It's not easy to earn money for you, child, and still need to take care of the family… "

"Dad, I have money. Don't worry." Bai Zhen Zhen said.

"You don't have a damn cent!" Yan Suping spat disdainfully.

With a "bang", Bai Zhen Zhen fished out the stash with 20,000 yuans in cash from the bag and threw them to the floor.

Yan Suping: "…"

Bai Zhen Zhen's party of four took a taxi to the hospital in the city center.

According to the original plot, Father Bai also came to this hospital for medical treatment later on. Here was Dr. Zhang, a proficient surgeon who was an expert in lung cancer. Bai Zhen Zhen remembered this plot point, so she directly brought her father to him.

In the doctor's office.

Dr. Zhang took a look at Father Bai's medical record and the radiography and said, "Lung cancer is a type of malignant disease of the respiratory system. It's important to detect and treat it early, you absolutely must not miss this good opportunity for surgery. So, let's first have the patient take a CT scan(1) , and once I see the current situation we can talk about the surgery."

Yang Suping immediately asked: "Doctor ah, approximately how much does this surgery cost ah?"

Father Bai was obviously very concerned about this issue as well. The fingers in his wrinkled hands intertwined and rubbed unceasingly.

"The cost of the operation is about 100,000 yuan. If we add the following chemotherapy and so on… you need to prepare at least 300,000."

"300.000?!" Yan Suping cried out in shock.

Dr. Zhang nodded: "This is only the cost of the early stage, if the recovery is not good in the later stage…"

"No need to treat, no need to treat. Where do we get so much money for treatment ah!" Yan Suping urgently pulled Father Bai's sleeve.

Father Bai was originally sitting on a stool. When he heard Dr. Zhang's words, he immediately stood up.

"That… Doctor ah, I won't do this early surgery, later on…"

Bai Zhen Zhen interrupted her father's words.

"Dr. Zhang, I have to trouble you to write the bill for the CT, I will go pay it right now."

"Zhen Zhen…" Anxiety filled Father Bai's eyes, for fear of burdening Bai Zhen Zhen.

Bai Zhen Zhen patted his hand to appease him: "Don't worry, dad, I have money."

Father Bai's face showed incredulity. Yang Suping and her daughter looked at each other, also feeling very baffled.

Dr. Zhang wrote the CT payment slip and handed it to Bai Zhen Zhen.

Bai Zhen Zhen talked again, "Dad, you rest here first, I will come back right after I complete the payment."

After saying that, Bai Zhen Zhen left the office.

Her steps were very hurried, just thinking of handling this matter as soon as possible, so she can go through the early stage of the plotline in the way she wanted.

As Bai Zhen Zhen was turning a corner, a figure rushed from the other direction. None of them had enough time to step aside, directly knocking against the other.

As Bai Zhen Zhen stumbled and was about to fall to the ground, the hands of the man held her waist in a quick and swift move, pulling her back and tightly holding her in his embrace.

After the big fright, Bai Zhen Zhen immediately broke free from the man's embrace. Before raising her head, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

—Wasn't this the typical chance

encounter scene in Mary Sue stories?!

—So this person…

Footnotes:

1: CT: computed tomography scan is a tool for diagnosis in the medical field that uses a combination of many X-ray measurements to produce cross-sectional images (slices) of the scanned object, allowing to see inside the object without needing to cut it.

Translated by BloomingTranslations. I did not write the book nor translate. I am only responsible for uploading. Also, I apologize for any mistake.