In my previous life, those three words had sent me plummeting into the wind from the eighteenth floor.
I typed:
\(Great-Aunt, I’ve only just started working, so I don’t have much in savings.
I just deposited all the thirty-three thousand yuan in cash I had into Uncle’s hospital account.
Here’s the receipt.\)
\(The remaining sixty-six thousand yuan is the additional amount Aunt-in-law said she would pay today.\)
\(I can’t afford to pay that amount, and I shouldn’t be the one paying it, either.\)
In my previous life, I’d been bitten back by my aunt-in-law precisely because I’d paid the money upfront.
In this life, I would still pay upfront—but every single yuan would be backed by evidence.
The group fell silent.
Then Chu Hao sent me a private message.
“Lin Wan, don’t push your luck.”
“My mother already said that if you dare to keep running your mouth in the group and cause Dad’s surgery to be canceled, you’ll bear full responsibility.”
“Whether you want to pay that money or not isn’t up to you! If you don’t hand over the money, I’ll make sure everyone knows you forced my father to his death!”
I took a screenshot and forwarded the entire image to the family group.
\(My cousin just sent me a private message saying that if the surgery is canceled, I’ll be held responsible.
Elders, let me say this again: there isn’t a single yuan left in my account.
Every last bit of it is already in Uncle’s hospital account.\)
\(Whoever is holding the money but refuses to pay it is the one who will be held responsible.\)
As soon as I sent the message, I immediately blocked Chu Hao on every channel.
I did it all in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.
At seven that evening, the hospital called.
The staff member’s tone was stern.
“The sixty-six-thousand-yuan deposit is still outstanding. If the money hasn’t arrived by eight tomorrow morning, the surgery will be canceled. Rescheduling will mean waiting another three weeks.”
“The patient can’t wait that long. Your family will have to consider the consequences.”
I hung up and forwarded the hospital’s exact words to the group.
The family chat erupted.
\(Tulian!
You absolutely must come up with the money by tomorrow morning!\)
\(Sister-in-law, this is no small matter.
It’s your husband’s life at stake!\)
\(All our families contributed to that money before.
All you have to do is take it out and bring it to the hospital.
What’s so difficult about that?\)
My aunt-in-law seemed to have vanished from the group.
She didn’t respond to anyone.
It wasn’t until eleven that night that she finally showed up.
She posted a photo of a bank withdrawal slip in the group.
Amount withdrawn: 100,000 yuan.
Date of withdrawal: Three days ago.
The moment the withdrawal slip appeared, public opinion immediately shifted.
Third Uncle chimed in:
“Tulian really did withdraw a hundred thousand!”
Great-Aunt asked:
“Then where’s the money? Where did it go?”
My cousin immediately jumped in:
“After my mother withdrew the money, she handed it straight to Lin Wan! In cash! One hundred thousand yuan!”
My aunt-in-law sent a sixty-second voice message, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
“I withdrew the money three days ago and handed it directly to Wanwan.”
“She said she was a college student who understood the procedures, and told me to let her handle the payment. I trusted her! Who would’ve thought she’d pay only one thousand yuan and then claim the rest was money she’d advanced herself!”
“What kind of coincidence is that? The moment my hundred thousand yuan reached her hands, it suddenly became her money.”
“Elders, please judge this fairly for me!”
The group went dead silent for a few seconds.
Then messages came pouring down on me, one after another.
“Wanwan, what on earth is going on?”
“Your aunt-in-law really did withdraw a hundred thousand. She even has the bank receipt…”
“If you have the money, take it out to save your uncle first. You can sort out everything else later!”
I stared at the screen, my fingertips icy cold.
The withdrawal slip was real.
My aunt-in-law really had withdrawn a hundred thousand yuan.
But that hundred thousand yuan had never once passed into my hands.
I replied to her:
“Aunt, I’ve never even seen a single bill from the money you withdrew. The only money I received was one thousand yuan in an envelope. The receipt is still pinned in the group.”
My aunt-in-law replied immediately.
“It was cash! I gave you cash! How can anyone prove anything when it comes to cash?!”
In my previous life, she had repeated those very words countless times while crying.
And in this life, she was saying them again with the same self-righteous certainty.
The hospital called once more.
This time, it was the final warning.
“The patient has just developed an arrhythmia. We strongly advise you to pay the outstanding costs tonight. Don’t delay tomorrow morning’s surgery any further.”
I gripped my phone and heard hurried footsteps coming from the far end of the corridor.
Great-Aunt, Third Uncle, and Second Uncle had all rushed to the hospital.
The moment Great-Aunt saw me, she grabbed my hand, her eyes red and swollen.
“Wanwan, your uncle’s condition has worsened tonight, and the doctors are pressing us for the money. Can you take it out first? Please, I’m begging you!”
I shook my head.
“I really don’t have any money left. I deposited all thirty-three thousand yuan already.”
Third Uncle shouted:
“Then where’s the hundred thousand your aunt-in-law gave you?!”
“She’s produced the withdrawal slip! A hundred thousand yuan!”
“I’ve never seen that hundred thousand.”
“You…”
Third Uncle was so furious that he stamped his feet.
“The evidence is right in front of us, and you still refuse to admit it! Where’s your father? Call him here! Let him see what a fine daughter he’s raised!”
My mother finally found me, her face full of worry.
“Wanwan, they’ve forced your father to kneel in the ancestral hall and confess his wrongdoing!”
“If you really have the money, just hand it over. I’m begging you. My heart can’t take much more of this…”
I couldn’t utter a single word.
It had been exactly the same in my previous life.
My father had knelt in the ancestral hall, and my mother had been rushed to the emergency room.
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