Li Zecheng’s emotionless voice sounded. “How much?”

“Three million.”

Li Zecheng was silent for a long time. Qiao An read the dilemma in his silence.

“Qiao An…” Li Zecheng’s tone was cold. “Three million is a lot of money. I don’t have that much cash flow on hand right now.”

Tears glistened in Qiao An’s eyes as she said almost pleadingly, “Li Zecheng, my mother is sick. She has a late-stage kidney disease and needs a kidney transplant urgently. On the account that she treated you well, help her get through this. Three million isn’t much to you. Besides, I’ll definitely pay you back in the future.”

“Qiao An, I really don’t have that kind of money.”

Qiao An angrily exposed Li Zecheng’s hypocrisy. “Li Zecheng, the pocket money you gave Wei Xin is five million dollars. But it’s so difficult for me to ask you for some money.”

On the other end of the line, Li Zecheng’s face alternated between green and white.

He did not expect Qiao An to know that he had given Wei Xin a black card.

He was a little embarrassed and didn’t know what to say for a while. Then, he heard Qiao An’s desperate voice complain, “Li Zecheng, I’ve finally seen your cold-bloodedness today. Since you don’t care about our relationship as husband and wife, I’m not obliged to help you play the role of Mrs. Li.”

Qiao An finished. She slammed down the phone.

Li Zecheng stared at the microphone in a daze. He did not expect Qiao An to refuse to bow her head and admit her mistake even when she had reached a dead end.

He wanted to see how she would cope without his three million.

Qiao An lay in the hospital bed, racking her brain for every opportunity to make money.

She thought of selling her jewelry and bags at home.

Should she borrow from a money lender?

However, saving people was like putting out a fire. There was no way to resolve her mother’s emergency in time.

Qiao An ended up crying tears of sadness.

She hated herself for being too incompetent. She hated herself for trusting Li Zecheng too much. She hated herself for not fulfilling her daughter’s duty.

It was also at that moment that Qiao An understood a profound truth. One could only rely on oneself.

In the afternoon, when Li Xiaoran came to visit Qiao An, he saw that Qiao An’s dinner was almost untouched.

“What’s wrong? No appetite?” Li Xiaoran asked with concern.

Qiao An looked at Li Xiaoran calmly, as if he was a pile of shining gold.

She guessed that a kind-hearted doctor like Li Xiaoran would lend her money, but he was so poor. How could he lend her so much money?

Li Xiaoran looked into Qiao An’s conflicted and hesitant eyes and asked with concern, “Why? Do you have something to ask of me?”

Qiao An asked shyly, “Doctor Li, are you poor as a doctor?”

Li Xiaoran’s handsome face twitched. “Do you mean mental wealth or material wealth?” He stared at her.

All Qiao An could think of was money. So she blurted out, “Material wealth, of course.”

Li Xiaoran’s hot eyes instantly turned cold, and his tone was a little lonely. “I’m indeed very poor. My monthly salary is very little, and my annual bonus is also very small.”

He glanced at Qiao An with a gleam of starlight in his seductive eyes. “But my psyche is rich. I have everything but money. Knowledge, friends, freedom.”

Qiao An only wanted to borrow some money from Li Xiaoran, but she felt that she had gone on an elaborate blind date and listened to Li Xiaoran promote himself.

“Doctor Li, do you have any savings?” she asked.

Li Xiaoran was speechless.

He shook his head.

Jo Ann said, “No wonder you couldn’t find a wife.”

Li Xiaoran was speechless.

Fortunately, he was a straight-A student and hadn’t been dragged into the gutter by Qiao An. He relied on his eloquence to get back ten percent.

“The reason I can’t find a wife isn’t because I’m poor. The reason I’m poor is because I don’t have a wife.”

Because he hadn’t been able to marry the girl he loved, he’d donated years of his savings to poor patients. She didn’t need his betrothal gifts, he thought. What was the point of keeping them?

Qiao An thought he was glib and bestowed two words on him. “Glib tongue.”

Qiao An instantly dismissed the idea of borrowing money from Li Xiaoran. After all, three million dollars was not a small sum. To a doctor who had left his family and relied on himself, it was a huge sum.

Annoyed, QIao An said, “Money is wealth.”

Without money, she could hardly move. Her conscience was condemned.

Li Xiaoran’s mood instantly turned ugly because of her words.

Silently, he handed Jo Ann the injury report and walked away with a silent face.

After returning to his consultation room, Li Xiaoran sat in a chair dejectedly. He leaned against the back of the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The snow-white ceiling, thrown by the light into the shadows, became mottled and less pure.

Lu Mo walked in and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Lu Mo said, “You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

Li Xiaoran looked at Lu Mo and asked her in confusion, “Do you girls all like money?”

“Of course. It’s so nice to be rich and be able to buy what you like. You can do whatever you want.”

“So when you choose a boyfriend, you also have to see if the other party is rich?”

Lu Mo smiled sweetly. “That depends on the person. If it’s someone I don’t like, I’ll definitely consider whether he’s rich or not. If it’s someone I like, and he’s as knowledgeable and handsome as you, I’ll certainly marry him.”

Li Xiaoran fell into deep thought.

“I guess I’m not charming enough.”

“Is that why she doesn’t want to live a hard life with me?”

“Who is she?” Lu Mo lowered his head and examined Li Xiaoran’s eyes seriously.

Li Xiaoran came back to his senses and said in a daze, “My old flame, I suppose.”

Lu Mo said, “Hey, Senior, how many years has it been? Why can’t you forget her?”

Li Xiaoran said, “Perhaps it’s because of the unforgettable love back then. If you want to forget, you have to experience the pain of having your bones and flesh shaved.”

Lu Mo looked envious. “I really envy that girl. She can be protected by you.”

Li Xiaoran stood up shakily and said, “Momo, don’t waste your time on me. I can’t give you happiness.”

Lu Mo said, “Whether you love me or not is up to you, but whether I hold out for you is up to me.”

Li Xiaoran ended the topic helplessly and said, “It’s time to get off work. Let’s go.”

Lu Mo begged Li Xiaoran, “Senior, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Li Xiaoran said, “With your meager salary, you should keep it as your dowry.”

“Then you will treat me?”

Li Xiaoran refused even more decisively. “My money has to be saved to get a wife.”

“If you want to get a wife, you have to find a girlfriend first, right? I happen to be free, so I can date you,” Lu Mo said.

Li Xiaoran said, “You’re not my type.”

“Tsk.” Lu Mo rolled her eyes at him.