Chapter 53: The Card is Maxed Out

After finishing packing my things, I went to Liu Shan's room to check on him. The guy was lying in bed looking entirely too comfortable: Wu Siling was right beside him feeding him fruit, and Lu Donghua was changing his bandages.

I walked up to his bedside and said, "Well, well, Jack, living the good life, aren't we?"

Liu Shan said, "Don't you know how to knock before entering?"

I replied, "I've never been one to make others knock before I walk in."

Liu Shan retorted, "You are you, and I am I. I don't happen to have your kind heart."

I pointed at his wound and asked, "Is this the souvenir from playing the hero to save the damsel in distress?"

Wu Siling chimed in, "Oh, please, nothing of the sort!"

Liu Shan declared, "So what if it was playing the hero to save the damsel?"

I asked, "Then how does Miss Wu plan to repay him?"

Just then, An Mingshan walked in, patted Wu Siling on the shoulder, and laughed, "Need you even ask? Blocking bullets—three of them! That's a bond forged in life and death, so naturally... she should offer herself in marriage."

I saw Liu Shan grinning mischievously as he said, "Exactly. Look, Miss An herself says so, you might as well stop rejecting me!" Hearing this, Wu Siling gently pinched Liu Shan's cheek and ran out with a blushing face.

An Mingshan said, "I'm going to drag her back! Fatty, you've still got a chance!" With that, she followed them out. Now only the three of us were left in the hospital room. I sat down on the stool Wu Siling had occupied and fed Liu Shan fruit. Several times, I intentionally shoved a piece of sliced apple up his nose before pulling it out and pushing it into his mouth. When he refused to eat, Lu Donghua and I teamed up to pry his mouth open and force it in.

By noon, An Mingshan and Wu Siling still hadn't returned. Just as I was about to go look for them, they finally came back. The two of them were laden with a large number of bags and packages. I spotted the McDonald's logo on several of the bags and instantly understood everything. After setting their things down upon returning, An Mingshan announced, "I have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

I said, "The good news, of course."

Wu Siling said, "The good news is that we specially packed some food for you guys, dig in!"

I asked, "And the bad news?"

An Mingshan replied, "The bad news is... both of our credit cards are maxed out..."

I exclaimed, "What, how could they be maxed out? I remember your credit limit alone was one hundred thousand!"

Wu Siling said, "The food we ate... seems to have been a little too much."

I said, "It's somewhat forgivable for An'an to eat a lot, but how on earth did you manage to overeat like that? Do you have the receipt?" An Mingshan pulled a receipt out of her bag—it was still rolled up. I unfolded it, and it was a full half-meter long! Looking at the list of items they had consumed, I said, "My little princesses, was the food you two ate made of gold?"

An Mingshan said, "Just look at this..."

Liu Shan said, "Don't worry, it's on me! How much do you two owe?"

An Mingshan said, "Two hundred thousand." Upon hearing that, Liu Shan nearly passed out on the spot.

I asked, "How could you possibly owe that much?"

An Mingshan explained, "This is the combined total for me and Lingling. You forgot, none of us brought much cash on this trip, so we've been surviving entirely on credit cards."

I said, "Even so, it shouldn't amount to this much."

An Mingshan continued, "The rolling luggage and clothes we bought last time were charged to the credit cards, and the credit cards were also used for your hospital stay, the two McDonald's orders, and our shopping trips to the mall."

I asked, "How much is the exact debt?"

An Mingshan went on, "She... she owes seventy thousand, and I owe even more... thirteen thousand." To everyone's astonishment, Liu Shan pulled out a bank card and said, "Here, take this! Five hundred thousand, use it to pay off the debts, and you can spend whatever is left however you like! The PIN is six zeros."

Lu Donghua blurted out, "Damn! Brother Liu is certainly generous!"

I remarked, "Five hundred thousand is to him what five bucks is to us. The guy comes from deep pockets, ordinary folks like us simply can't compete."

An Mingshan said, "Lingling, look how generous Fatty is, you should just..."

Wu Siling interrupted, "Let's go pay off the debt first, we can talk about everything else later." With that, she grabbed An Mingshan and walked out.

Reader's Corner.

Question: Mr. Author, why do you like reading?

Answer: Ever since I was a little child, my mother used to take me to the bookstore to read, every single day. Once at the bookstore, she would read her own books and tell me to stay quiet and not run around. At first, I simply wandered aimlessly around the bookstore, but seeing everyone quietly reading their books, as time went on, I was influenced and slowly began to read as well. After a long while, it became a habit. As I grew up, I realized that educating children to read more using this method is far more effective than forcing them to read. This is much like the imprinting effect. For instance, newly hatched chicks and newborn mammals learn to recognize and follow the first moving object they see, which is typically their mother. Therefore, the behavior of parents directly impacts their offspring. For example, if a father smokes yet tells his son not to smoke, that is simply impossible. Because the son watches his father smoke every single day, it is hard for him not to pick up the habit. It was the same with me; my mother took me to the bookstore every day, and seeing everyone reading, even if I was just pretending at first, I gradually began to pick up books and read like everyone else, and the habit of reading was thus slowly formed. This is why the author has loved reading all kinds of books since childhood. At the same time, this is also a message to all parents: just as mentioned above, if you want your child to study well, you must study yourself, or at least put on the appearance of studying for them to see. Don't play on your mobile phone while your child is doing homework. Only then will children obediently listen and study, an approach that yields much faster results than coercing them to learn.