Chapter Eleven: An Unexpected Encounter

  The Concord Hospital in City B is one of the best tertiary A hospitals in China, designated by the Ministry of Health as a national center for guiding the diagnosis and treatment of difficult and serious diseases, and has a reputation worldwide.

  But also because of this, there are too many people who come for the sake of fame. Not to mention hanging up a specialist's signboard, even if it's just hanging up an ordinary doctor's signboard, you have to make an appointment and queue up several days in advance. Moreover, there are many tricks involved, and online, there are even special strategies for making appointments that can only be accessed by paying money. This also shows how difficult it is to get medical treatment at the Union Hospital.

  So when Su Hong took a taxi, coming from the outskirts of the city to the downtown area, bringing her parents to the outpatient building of Tongji Hospital, Wang Chunjuan, who got out of the taxi, was visibly somewhat insecure and couldn't help but ask: "Xiao Hong, I heard that it's very difficult to get an appointment at Tongji Hospital, especially for oncology, which is extremely popular. Unless you have power, influence, and money, you can make an appointment and get a number. But we don't have anything, so coming here like this, not to mention hospitalization, I estimate that we won't even be able to get a registration number?"

  Su Hong's father, Su Jing, also furrowed his brow slightly. He understood Su Hong's filial piety and knew that she wanted her family to receive the best medical treatment. However, to be honest, he thought Su Hong was being a bit too rash and taking things for granted. Just as Su Hong's mother had said earlier, they might end up busy with nothing to show for it, not even managing to get an appointment number.

  But thinking of his son being forced to sell all the game accounts and equipment he had worked hard for in recent years, Su Jing was filled with guilt and self-blame. He didn't express any opinion, but only tightly held onto his luggage, sighing silently, "Even if it's a waste of effort, I have to satisfy Xiao Hong's wish, after all, this is Xiao Hong's filial piety, and compared to my son, I'm much worse as a father."

  Another concern for both of them is that the medical level of Concord Hospital is top-notch in the country, but at the same time, its medical expenses are not affordable for ordinary families, especially for those without medical insurance. Even if they can successfully register and see a doctor, how many days can 300,000 yuan support? They have no bottom line in their hearts.

  "Hehe, let's go!" Seeing her parents' serious faces, Su Hong couldn't help but chuckle and didn't say anything else. She directly pulled her mother towards the outpatient building lobby.

  As expected, the outpatient building hall was crowded with people, especially in front of the registration window, it was even more packed, forming a long queue that seemed to have no end, not even a place to stand, and some people had even set up camp on the floor, who knows how many days they had been waiting for registration...

  "Little Hong, shall we go...?" Wang Chunjuan saw so many people and suddenly wanted to retreat. With so many people in line, they would have to wait until when? Moreover, she was worried about her son. Even if they could get a number, she didn't want to be hospitalized for treatment, lest Su Hong bear too much pressure.

  "Dad, wait here with mom for a while, I'll be right back." Su Hong gave a mysterious smile and didn't retreat easily. Instead, he turned around and squeezed into the crowd with great effort.

  Before coming, Su Hong had done his homework and knew that many people in the queue for registration in this hall, especially those at the front of the line, were scalpers. These people have a close relationship with the hospital, and in fact, the reason why it is so difficult to register at Tongji Hospital is that most of the expert numbers are consumed by the hospital internally, plus these profit-driven scalpers make it even more difficult for ordinary people to get a registration number through regular channels, which is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

  Ordinary registration is still possible, if you have perseverance and stay up all night queuing, but as for the specialist registration at Kyorin Hospital, it's absolutely impossible without any backdoor connections. Even if you queue for several days and nights, don't even think about getting a specialist registration.

  Su Hong's mother had early-stage bronchial lung cancer, which wasn't too serious yet, but cancer isn't a minor illness and can't be delayed, as there is always the danger of metastasis and deterioration at any time. So Su Hong naturally wanted to make an appointment with a specialist for his mother to get a thorough diagnosis.

  He walked into the crowd, Su Hong carefully looked around for a few moments, and then quickly walked towards a middle-aged man with a greasy face. This person was not calm even when lining up, looking around restlessly, with a mercantile air on his face, obviously not here to see a doctor, very likely one of the ticket scalpers who made a living by selling numbers in line.

  As expected, when Su Hong walked over, the man hadn't even waited for Su Hong to speak before he smiled and asked in a very familiar tone: "Brother, do you want to cut in line and get a number? You've found the right person. I don't need to say much about regular numbers, and even if it's an expert number, I can help you get one. I can even specify which doctor you'll see, it just depends on how much money you're willing to spend."

  Su Hong furrowed his brow, to be honest, he had no good feelings towards the yellow cattle party, but nowadays, social reality is like this, without connections and backdoors, it's hard to get things done. Take getting an appointment as an example, if he could have gotten a specialist appointment by queuing up normally, he absolutely wouldn't have gone through the yellow cattle party to cut in line, but that's just the helpless reality...

  Collecting her emotions, Su Hong nodded decisively and replied: "That's right, my mom has bronchial lung cancer, it can't be delayed, so I must come to see you for an expert appointment."

  "Bronchogenic carcinoma? That means you'll have to see an oncologist, and it's not easy to get an appointment with them. Forget about getting a specialist appointment, even regular appointments are hard to come by." The scalper looked embarrassed, but when he saw the stack of cash that Su Hong pulled out of his bag, his face lit up with joy, and he patted his chest enthusiastically: "Haha, don't worry, brother! As long as you're willing to pay, I'll take you straight to see a specialist, no need to wait in line at all!"

  "Let's go then." Su Hong sighed slightly in his heart, after taking the so-called good luck money of 1,000 yuan, that scalper didn't even bother to get a number and directly led Su Hong's parents who were waiting at the outermost part of the hall towards the oncology department.

  The tumor internal medicine expert clinic, the yellow cow party didn't know what means to get in after a short while, came out and greeted them: "Okay, it's all settled, this is your specialist clinic registration form, there are still people inside for treatment, but you will soon be called, just go straight in."

  After finishing speaking, that yellow cattle party smiled and measured Su Hong with his eyes, like a loach, and quickly disappeared without a trace.

  Su Hong didn't mind, spending a thousand yuan to hang an expert clinic, which was a bit of a waste of money, but as long as it helped his mother's illness, he would be willing to spend even more.

  Holding the specialist clinic registration slip in her hand, Su Hong smiled slightly and walked in with her parents. Although the hospital was full of shady deals behind closed doors, everything has its good and bad side. Not to mention other things, at least these attending expert doctors were trustworthy, all of them being top-notch doctors in their field.

  But after a series of twists and turns, Su Hong finally hung up the expert number plate, but he was only happy for a short while. The whole person's mood suddenly became extremely bad, because in the expert clinic, he unexpectedly ran into someone he didn't want to see again.

  Yao Shan, his university classmate and also his first love, had a romantic relationship with him for three years. After graduating from university, they were about to get married, but after Su Hong's father got into trouble, Yao Shan completely changed her attitude, not only ruthlessly breaking up with Su Hong without feeling, but also maintaining her own good image, reversing the truth and speaking coldly in their friends' circle, causing serious harm to Su Hong and his family.

  To outsiders, it was because of Su Hong's father's misdeeds and imprisonment that Yao Shan could no longer bear it and chose to break up with Su Hong. However, anyone who knows a bit about the inside story is aware that Yao Shan broke up with Su Hong simply because she had found a wealthy patron and had already intended to do so, while Su Hong's father's wrongful imprisonment merely provided her with a noble excuse.

  Since then, Su Hong has also been disheartened and immersed himself in online games, becoming a professional player. He buried the past emotional wounds deep in his heart and never wanted to mention or think about it again. However, he did not expect that after several years, they would meet unexpectedly at the hospital.

  "Su Hong, is that you?" Yao Shan, with a delicate makeup, was also greatly surprised after seeing the person clearly. After quickly scanning Su Hong's ordinary casual clothes, a hint of disdainful smile flashed in her eyes.

  She is now grateful for her decision a few years ago. After all these years, Su Hong still doesn't seem to have made any progress, wearing casual street clothes that can be easily thrown away, at most just an ordinary person. But looking at her again, she's carrying an LV handbag, wearing high-end branded clothing, not to mention the expensive jewelry around her neck. Just taking out one piece would be enough for Su Hong to struggle for several years.

  But Yao Shan would be at a loss for words if she knew that Su Hong was now carrying a bank card worth over five million yuan on her body...

  Looking at his former first love girlfriend, a complex expression flashed across Su Hong's eyes, but he quickly calmed down and didn't think about it anymore. What happened in the past is already over, regardless of who was right or wrong, he no longer wanted to mention it. Now, all he wanted to do was hurry up and cure his mother's illness.

  Su Hong nodded slightly to the other party and didn't say much, but instead beckoned her parents to sit down beside her, quietly waiting for the attending expert doctor to call their number.

  However, as for Su Hong's tolerance and concession, Yao Shuang did not appreciate it. Instead, she twisted her waist and came to Su Hong with a very exaggerated posture.

  ……