Chapter 2014: Chapter 1917: Forced Transfer to Another Hospital

The person calling was no one else but his aunt who had previously brought over that boss surnamed Jiang to his home.

This aunt never called him before, so Zhang Chao suspected that this call from her was probably not going to bring anything good.

"Why aren’t you answering?"

Seeing Zhang Chao’s face look off, and holding the phone as it kept ringing, Liu Cheng felt strange and couldn’t help but curiously ask.

Zhang Chao’s expression was a bit unnatural: "It’s nothing important."

Liu Cheng didn’t press further, nodded slightly, and followed Zhang Chao out of the hospital.

The caller was persistent; after Zhang Chao didn’t answer the first time, she called again a second time.

This time, Zhang Chao had no choice but to pick up. He instinctively glanced at Liu Cheng, then picked up the phone and said calmly, "Don’t call again, I’m not selling the house to him!"

The person on the other end was probably not expecting such an attitude from Zhang Chao and was immediately unhappy:

"Zhang Chao, what kind of attitude is that? I’m your aunt, aren’t I doing this for your own good? If you don’t sell the house to him, it’s like offending that Jiang. Do you think you can still sell the house after offending him?"

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Chao’s mouth: "So what if I offend him? I don’t need him for any big projects or business. At worst, I just won’t sell the house, that’s all. Aunt, please tell that Jiang that even if the house doesn’t sell, I definitely won’t sell it to him!"

With that, Zhang Chao didn’t wait for a reaction and directly hung up the phone.

Seeing this, Liu Cheng felt something was wrong, especially noticing the grim expression on Zhang Chao’s face. Liu Cheng couldn’t help but frown:

"Are you planning to sell the house?"

Zhang Chao nodded, then shook his head: "My father’s illness has rapidly worsened. This morning the doctor said he needed surgery within a week. I had no other way, so I thought about selling the house to gather the surgery fees."

Liu Cheng instantly understood: "You didn’t expect that I would come. Now that you aren’t short on money, you don’t need to sell the house?"

Zhang Chao nodded with a slight embarrassment: "Yes."

Liu Cheng, recalling Zhang Chao calling that woman his aunt over the phone, curiously asked: "Your aunt wants to buy your house?"

At the mention of this, Zhang Chao’s expression involuntarily darkened: "No, she’s just the go-between. The person wanting to buy the house is a boss surnamed Jiang. Originally, I was indeed eager to sell the house, wanting to quickly deal if the price was right. But that Jiang was too despicable, using my father’s illness to lower the price. When that didn’t work, he resorted to threats, claiming that if I didn’t sell to him, I shouldn’t expect to sell at all."

"What?! People conduct business like that? How did your aunt get involved with such a person and bring him to your house to look at it? This person is obviously going too far, you shouldn’t agree!"

Liu Cheng didn’t expect such an issue would come up from casually asking a question.

Zhang Chao gave a bitter smile and said: "My aunt probably got some benefits from that Jiang. Jiang is in business, and my aunt is just now working on some project, most likely currying favor and trying to flatter that Jiang. If the house really was sold at a loss to Jiang, my aunt probably would think she did me a big favor and wouldn’t see any problem with her actions."

Liu Cheng was speechless; Zhang Chao’s aunt was indeed something else. Her brother was in the hospital in critical condition, and rather than helping, she brought people to coerce and take advantage. Such a person is too cold-blooded.

"Does your dad have any other brothers or sisters? What about your grandparents? I haven’t seen any relatives since your dad got so seriously ill, nor is your mom around."

Zhang Chao sighed: "My grandmother passed away. My grandfather is living with my uncle. Since my dad got sick, the relatives’ attitudes changed a lot. Our family’s savings are depleted, and we are in debt. My uncle and other relatives don’t want to deal with us anymore, and my mom left with someone else."

Liu Cheng was taken aback; he didn’t expect Zhang Chao’s situation to be so difficult. He couldn’t help but reach out and pat Zhang Chao on the shoulder, saying: "A man stands tall and firm. What is this little hardship? It’s good it lets you see clearly what kind of people are around you. Now that you’re not short on money, don’t sell the house. When your father gets out of the hospital, he needs a good place to recover. You can’t do without a house."

Zhang Chao nodded, smiling: "You’re right, from now on other people’s business has nothing to do with me."

The two reached outside the hospital, and Zhang Chao saw Liu Cheng into a taxi, where they parted ways.

Liu Cheng had already booked a return flight and headed straight to the airport. But just as he grabbed his boarding pass, ready to board, he received a call from Zhang Chao.

Liu Cheng thought Zhang Chao was calling to say goodbye, so he smiled and answered: "Hey, Zhang Chao."

"Mister Liu, you..." The voice from the other end was filled with indignation and urgency, mixed with nervousness and fear, "Have you boarded the plane yet?"

Liu Cheng heard the unease in Zhang Chao’s voice: "Not yet, I’m in line, what’s happened?"

The voice on the other end paused, then fell silent. But Liu Cheng, with keen ears, heard a faint, hoarse sob mixed with an indescribable heaviness. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Liu Cheng immediately felt something was wrong. Something had to have happened; otherwise, given Zhang Chao’s character, he wouldn’t be making this call: "What happened? Zhang Chao, answer me!"

Liu Cheng’s voice was edged with urgency, compelled to sternly demand.

"It’s my dad... the hospital is forcibly requiring a transfer, saying there’s no bed available. Now they’re asking me to contact other hospitals and insist that he must be transferred today. But I’ve contacted several hospitals, and as soon as they hear my dad’s name, they all refuse to accept."

The sound of dull thuds and deliberately suppressed sobs came through the phone, but Liu Cheng could imagine how overwhelmed and panicked Zhang Chao must be right now.

A flame of anger was instantly sparked within Liu Cheng. The hospital had just completed a successful surgery on Zhang Chao’s father; only rest and recovery were needed for discharge. Now, the hospital insists on a transfer, which doesn’t make sense unless someone exerted influence, making the hospital feel compelled to force a transfer of Zhang Chao’s father.