The homeroom teacher patted Zhang Chao on the shoulder and said, "As long as you can understand the priorities, that’s fine. I won’t take up any more of your time. I have another class later, so I’ll go back first. I’ll leave Li Long and Xie Qiang here with you. I’ll go talk to the school and see if we can arrange a special donation channel for you."

Zhang Chao’s face flushed red. He felt a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable about what the teacher had suggested. "Teacher, let’s drop the donation thing. Having you ask the school leaders is really not appropriate."

But the homeroom teacher replied sternly, "There’s nothing inappropriate about it, Zhang Chao. You must know that with such an urgent illness, every minute lost could be a lifetime of regret. At times like these, so-called male pride is just false. If you truly feel embarrassed and think it’s hard to say, remember that feeling and find a way to work hard, so you become stronger and don’t have to face such predicaments in the future. A man can bend and stretch; there’s nothing shameful about it!"

Zhang Chao was startled by the teacher’s words, and the look of shame and embarrassment in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a look of resilience and fortitude:

"Teacher, you’re right. Compared to my father’s life, this so-called pride of mine isn’t worth mentioning!"

The homeroom teacher was quite satisfied to see Zhang Chao understand and nodded with a smile, saying,

"The fact that you can listen to what I said shows that you’re not thick-headed. Life isn’t afraid of setbacks or adversity. What you’re going through now might become a huge asset for you in the future. As the saying goes, ’thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.’ A few decades down the line, it might be a different story altogether. Don’t resign to fate. In my opinion, no one is destined to be poor, and no one is destined to be rich all their life. Whether you can change your fate depends entirely on yourself."

After the homeroom teacher left, Zhang Chao became noticeably calmer. He no longer sat in the hospital corridor in a daze, speechless and at a loss as before. After thinking for a while, he raised his head and said to the two friends standing next to him:

"Ah Long, Qiangzi, the teacher is right. At a time like this, I can’t give up. Rather than waiting here and leaving my father’s fate in others’ hands, I should seize it myself."

But the two friends were somewhat at a loss, unsure of what Zhang Chao meant: "Chaozi, what do you mean? Don’t do anything foolish."

Zhang Chao took a deep breath and shook his head, "No, I’m just thinking things through. I’m planning to sell our house. I’m going to the internet cafe to submit the sale information and also contact a few real estate agents to sell the house as soon as possible."

Hearing that Zhang Chao was planning to sell the house, the two friends were taken aback and panicked, "Are you crazy? If you sell the house, where will you and Uncle live afterward?"

Zhang Chao smiled, "Fucheng is such a big place, isn’t there anywhere for my father and me to stay? We’ll just rent a place temporarily and make do." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"But... renting isn’t cheap either, and I doubt Uncle would agree to selling the house?" Xie Qiang hesitated and came up with two arguments against it.

Zhang Chao shook his head, "It doesn’t matter if he disagrees. The house is actually under my name. My dad transferred the house to me last year because he was worried that our relatives might come for it after he’s gone, so he planned ahead."

"And you know our situation. It’s just me and my dad in our family. If his illness can’t be cured, I wouldn’t need a house anyway. I might not even stay in Fucheng, I might move to another city, so I have to sell the house."

Hearing Zhang Chao’s words, the two friends fell silent.

At that moment, Zhang Chao’s phone rang again.

Seeing the caller ID, both Xie Qiang and Li Long were stunned because they remembered what Zhang Chao said earlier.

The incoming call was from an unfamiliar number from the Imperial Capital, but it wasn’t the same number as the woman who claimed to be Huo Sining.

Could this really be a con, with a new one coming after the first didn’t succeed?

Both Li Long and Xie Qiang were filled with suspicion, so their eyes stayed fixed on Zhang Chao, as if afraid to miss any important information.

Zhang Chao’s gaze was also glued to his phone with a sneer and self-mockery in his eyes. Seeing the curiosity on his friends’ faces, he decided not to hide anything and answered the call, putting it on speakerphone.

A young man’s voice came from the other end, "Hello, is this Mr. Zhang Chao?"

Zhang Chao pressed his lips, "Yes, it is."

"Hello Mr. Zhang, my name is Liu Cheng. I’m Miss Huo Sining’s agent. Miss Huo should have contacted you previously. Do you remember?"

Hearing these words, Li Long and Xie Qiang both gaped in shock.

Zhang Chao was right! This really was a con, and with the self-proclaimed Huo Sining failing, her so-called agent stepped in!

Now, both Li Long and Xie Qiang fully believed what Zhang Chao had said earlier. Indeed, the scam was deep, and if they weren’t cautious, they’d have been fooled!

Zhang Chao couldn’t help but scoff quietly. He was utterly disgusted by the layers of deceit. With his father still in critical care, if he hadn’t been sharp, he might’ve fallen for their schemes.

Thinking this, a fury welled up inside him, and there was no need to be polite with the swindler on the other end:

"Mister Liu, don’t you think your tactics are overly played out? You called me to tell me that Miss Huo wants to compensate me because I gave her a good tip to dig up diamonds and retrieve the Beast Head?"

The man on the other end paused, sounding surprised, "How did you know that? Did Miss Huo already tell you?"

Zhang Chao let out a cold laugh, thinking to himself that these scammers intended to bait and lure him in!

"So how do you plan to compensate me? How much handling fee do I have to wire you before you send me thousands along with a phone, computer, or car?" Zhang Chao asked in a deep voice.