Chapter 41 - Grandma’s Illness
After she laid out the bedding for the night, Ye Tianxin took out the clothes she had bought for her grandmother and asked, “Grandma, do you like them?”
Grandma held the clothes in her hands and loved them at first sight. Although she didn’t like the fact that Tianxin had spent money unnecessarily, she was touched by her granddaughter’s thoughtfulness.
“Grandma, I bought these at the market earlier today. Please wear your new clothes tomorrow, okay?”
Her grandmother was reluctant to wear new clothes without occasion, protesting, “But it’s not even the new year. Why should I wear new clothes!?”
“We can wear new clothes, even if we’re not celebrating the new year!”
Ye Tianxin shared a bed with her grandmother.
She decided that after her grandmother’s medical check-up the next day, she would clean up the upper floor of the house. That way, Auntie Du wouldn’t need to go home and could stay on the upper floor instead.
Ye Tianxin was exhausted, so she went to bed early.
Though she fell into a deep sleep, her grandmother was still wide awake.
Although she was looking at Ye Tianxin’s face, Grandma was actually thinking of her own daughter. She wished with all her heart that there was such a thing as miracles in this world.
Because if there was such a thing as miracles, then she’d be able to see her daughter again and tell her in person that, while she hadn’t raised her well, she had done a pretty good job raising her granddaughter.
Ye Tianxin woke up at four in the morning.
She had to go to the hospital and stand in line to register her grandmother for a medical check-up. Since they rarely traveled to Capital City, her grandmother’s medical check-up was her top priority.
Trying hard to shake off her drowsiness, she splashed cold water on her face and headed out.
By the time she arrived at the registration center of the hospital, a long line had already formed in front of the registration counter.
Ye Tianxin, feeling a tad cold, looked pale in the face as she made her way to the back of the line, sat on the ground, and started working on her exam practice questions to stay alert.
If she had to wait in line at the hospital for two to three hours, Ye Tianxin didn’t intend to idle her time away. So, seated cross-legged on the ground, she started working on her questions.
With the help of memory aid methodology, Ye Tianxin’s memory had improved by leaps and bounds. Although she hadn’t quite gotten to the point where she had a photographic memory, all she had to do was read something through once and she’d be able to recall about 80% of it.
With her two copies of exam practice questions, Ye Tianxin focused on working on the problems in the books.
In the quiet of the hospital’s registration area, apart from the sound of people breathing, the only sound that could be heard was the scratching noise made by Ye Tianxin’s pencil as she wrote down her answers to the exam questions.
It was seven sharp.
The official start time for registration.
Fortunately, Ye Tianxin had had the foresight to get there early, because she was the last person in line to be given a slot for that day for the specialist she planned to consult. Others in line behind her, who also wanted to consult the same specialist, would have to come back another day.
After registration, Ye Tianxin took the bus back to the bookshop. Her grandmother was already up and was sweeping the yard. When she heard Ye Tianxin push the door open, she asked, “Tianxin, where have you been?”
“Grandma, I was at the hospital. I’m going to take you there for a medical check-up later!”
When her grandmother heard what Ye Tianxin said, she replied, “I’m not going to the hospital. If I go there, they’ll claim I’m suffering from all kinds of illnesses even though I’m perfectly healthy. I’m in the pink of health. I have a good appetite. I drink plenty of water, and I sleep very well!”
“Grandma, I’ve already registered you. Surely you wouldn’t want to let the money I spent on the registration fees go to waste!” Ye Tianxin said deliberately, knowing that her grandmother would eventually give in because she didn’t want to let the money she’d spent on the registration fee go to waste.
“How much was the registration fee?” her grandmother asked.
Ye Tianxin replied, “One hundred dollars for a specialist consultation! I left at four this morning to join the queue and was given the last appointment for today. Grandma, let’s just go and get you checked out, all right? If you refuse to go with me for your medical check-up, then I… I won’t take the college entrance exams!!”
Fuming, her grandmother twisted Ye Tianxin’s ear.
It was a gentle twist, but Ye Tianxin acted up and pretended that it hurt a lot.
“You, how could you stake your future on blackmailing your grandmother!”
“Grandma, because you scared me to death! Do you know how terrified I was when you suddenly collapsed on me? So, Grandma, please listen to me, okay? Let’s go get you examined. It’s just a physical exam. It won’t cost that much. Think about it. If you refuse to get a check-up, I’ll end up having to focus on preparing for my entrance exams and worrying about your condition at the same time. You tell me. Is that what you want?”