Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By the time the second heavy snowfall hit Hangzhou, the cancer cells had already metastasized throughout my entire body.

Doctor Gong said, “Guan Qian, you’re actually quite lucky. Even though your body is riddled with cancer, your mind is still very clear.”

I replied, “Mm, maybe God wants to keep my brain intact so I can get a few things done.”

During the days I spent waiting for the police to catch the scammers, I did indeed want to do something.

There is a concept in psychology called the “Baader-Meinhof phenomenon,” or the pregnancy effect-it says that once you become pregnant, you start noticing pregnant women everywhere in your daily life.

It was the same for me.

After I was scammed, I unexpectedly discovered that so many other patients had been cheated as well.

Medical shills, spirit mediums, fake traditional practitioners, fortune tellers…

Their tricks varied, but they all exploited the desperation of patients and their families, stealing their last shred of hope.

My original intention was to write down my experience and share it across various patient support groups, forums, and websites. If I could save even one family, it would be worth it.

What I didn’t expect was that a family who had also been scammed by Doctor Fang and Aunt Li would find me through the internet.

My energy was actually very low by then; I spent more time asleep than awake.

Consequently, it was already evening by the time I saw the message.

However, the other party accepted my WeChat friend request almost immediately.

As soon as we were connected, he placed a voice call to me.

“Hello, is this Guan Qian? My surname is Lei. You can call me Brother Lei.”

Brother Lei said that if he hadn’t come across my post on Zhihu, he still wouldn’t have known that Doctor Fang and Aunt Li were scammers.

“The way those two tricked my mother was exactly the same as how they got you! The year my mom was diagnosed with cancer, she often went to temples to burn incense. After a few visits, she ran into that woman surnamed Li. That woman claimed she’d had late-stage breast cancer too and was cured by a traditional doctor. Then that man surnamed Fang appeared, dressed all sophisticated and talking in circles, coaxing my mom into drinking his herbal medicine.

“His herbs were way more expensive than what a normal doctor would prescribe. I was suspicious at first, but that Li woman started sowing discord, and my mom ended up scolding me, asking if I just didn’t want to pay for her treatment. With that kind of accusation hanging over my head, I didn’t dare say another word. I shelled out tens of thousands of yuan to buy those medicines.

“Fang and Li kept urging her to leave the hospital for treatment. They were probably afraid we’d spend all our money at the hospital and have nothing left for them to steal. For a while after she was discharged, my mom’s condition actually seemed to improve. Looking back, it was probably psychological; she felt there was hope, so her mindset improved, and she appeared healthier.

“Later on, she caught the flu from me. Her entire immune system collapsed, her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she passed away less than two days after being rushed to the ER… I always thought it was my fault, that I killed her… I even sent funeral notices to those two scammers and invited them to my mother’s wake. I’m such a fucking idiot.”

At this point, his voice choked up.

I didn’t say anything, but tears were slowly rolling down my face.

“Brother Lei, it’s not your fault. After following their treatment, my cancer cells spread through my whole body… They are just big-time scammers using the banner of traditional medicine. Don’t blame yourself. It really wasn’t your fault.”

Brother Lei sniffled and said, “Look at me, someone you’re calling ‘Brother,’ getting so emotional. I’ve embarrassed myself. The reason I called is to tell you that because I always acted like I trusted them, those two scammers haven’t blocked me on WeChat yet. I can help you lure them out!”

Brother Lei pretended that his long-deceased grandmother had cancer, pleading with Doctor Fang and Aunt Li to come to the hospital to persuade her to accept traditional herbal therapy.

Driven by greed, the two of them arrived at the hospital immediately.

They followed Brother Lei into the ward, but when they saw me lying on the bed, they realized almost instantly what was happening. They turned to leave at once.

Brother Lei, a sturdy man from the Northeast, firmly blocked the doorway. No one was going anywhere.

“Since you’re already here, let’s have a chat,” he sneered.

The ward was noisy and chaotic. I lay on the bed, observing these two “old acquaintances.”

Doctor Fang still looked like a refined, transcendent sage, and Aunt Li still looked healthy and vibrant.

They stood in stark contrast to me-gaunt and skeletal on the bed-and my Grandma, who looked incredibly aged standing beside it.

Before I could speak, Aunt Li spoke first. “Auntie, what kind of stunt are you pulling? Is this some kind of Hongmen Banquet?”

As soon as Grandma saw her, she wanted to lung forward and hit her. I held her back with all my strength as she cursed with bloodshot eyes, “You liar! You scammer!”

Doctor Fang flicked a non-existent speck of dust off his lapel and asked politely, “Guan Qian’s Grandma, I don’t understand what you’re saying. What scammer? What did I scam you out of?”

Grandma roared, “You lied to us and said you could cure Qianqian! You stole Qianqian’s life-saving money!”

This little old lady, who had never raised her voice at anyone in her life, shouted until the veins on her neck bulged.

Doctor Fang smiled. “It is only natural to collect a fee for a medical consultation. Did I not see the patient? Did I not prescribe medicine? This was a consensual transaction between a willing buyer and a willing seller. How can that be considered a scam? If we go by your logic, if Guan Qian dies, are you going to start a medical dispute with the Affiliated Hospital too? They charged you medical fees as well!”

He was cursing me to die.

Grandma gasped for air, clutching her chest as she collapsed into an armchair, pointing a finger at Doctor Fang. “You beast! You’re not human!”

Doctor Fang arched an eyebrow. For the first time, I saw the clear contempt in his eyes. “I’m not human? Old lady, don’t forget-you were the one who insisted on introducing us to Guan Qian! If it weren’t for you, how would your granddaughter have ever ended up drinking my herbal medicine?”

Every word was like a knife, stabbing straight into the heart.

I had finally managed to soothe Grandma and stop her from blaming herself, but in an instant, all that effort went to waste.

Brother Lei took two steps forward and said coldly, “Doctor Fang, it seems to me you’re trying to drive this old lady to her grave.”

Doctor Fang turned toward Brother Lei, his expression softening considerably. “Lei, you don’t really believe them, do you? You think I’m a fraud? I’ve seen plenty of patients like this-once their condition worsens, they’re quick to shift the blame onto the doctor. I’m telling you, every individual is different; it’s normal for a condition to fluctuate. If doctors are going to be cursed and beaten every time there’s a slight setback, who will ever dare to practice medicine again?”

Aunt Li, who had initially lost her footing in the face of Grandma’s fury, seemed to have found her backbone again. She chimed in, “Exactly. Being a doctor is a high-risk job; they do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Even if you aren’t grateful to Doctor Fang, how can you be so cold-hearted toward him?”

What a performance, one playing off the other! What a pair of silver-tongued liars, twisting black into white!

It was clearly a case of malicious deception, yet here they were, blurring the focus and trying to paint Grandma and me as disgruntled, violent patients.

How shameless, and how utterly vicious!

I tried to speak several times, but my voice was weak from my severe illness. Doctor Fang intentionally raised his voice whenever I started to speak, trying to drown me out.

I reached out, grabbed the glass from the nightstand, and slammed it hard against the floor.

*Smash!*

The sound of shattering glass brought a moment of silence to the ward.

I finally had the chance to speak. “Doctor Fang, Aunt Li… it’s been a long time. Your eloquence has certainly improved.”

Doctor Fang started to speak, but I raised a hand. “I really don’t have many days left to live, so let me finish first.”

“During the few days after you blocked my contact information, I did some intensive study on the Criminal Law. Article 266 stipulates the crime of fraud. What is fraud? It is the act of defrauding a relatively large amount of public or private property for the purpose of illegal possession by fabricating facts or concealing the truth.”

“You say that paying for medical treatment is a mutual agreement, and you’re right. But that agreement was built on the foundation of your deception. At that time, you and Aunt Li personally told me that your method could cure cancer. Furthermore, you claimed that Aunt Li’s late-stage cancer was cured exactly that way.”

I had said too much in one breath and needed to pause to gather the strength to continue.

Aunt Li took the opportunity to say, “We never guaranteed a 100% cure back then. Do you have any evidence? Let me tell you…”

Brother Lei interrupted her coldly, “Let Guan Qian finish!”

I gave Brother Lei a grateful smile and continued, “I forgot to tell you that in acts of fraud, even if the victim makes an error in judgment, it does not prevent the act from being established as fraud. In other words, you used false information to induce Grandma and me. Even if we were wrong to trust you, it doesn’t change the fact that you committed a crime.”

Aunt Li and Doctor Fang both fell silent, exchanging a look.

I panted for a moment and pointed to my phone. The last message in my WeChat chat was from Officer Lin: *Alright, I’m on my way.*

“As for evidence-even though I’ve changed wards, it won’t be hard to find the fellow patients and their families from the neighboring beds who were there when you were lobbying me. The police are already on their way. Please don’t underestimate their capabilities.”

Pausing, I looked at Brother Lei. “I’m sorry, Brother Lei. I wasn’t sure if they would actually show up at first, so I only just notified the police.”

Brother Lei waved it off. “Nothing to apologize for. It’s good not to waste police resources; I understand. I wasn’t sure they’d take the bait at first either.”

Doctor Fang suddenly changed his tune and smiled. “Guan Qian, why make such a scene? Why call the police? There must be a misunderstanding. There was no fraud, and no intentional effort to mislead you. It was all for the sake of treating the sick and saving lives; it’s just that the methods used were wrong…”

Still making excuses.

I countered, “Oh? So it was all to save lives? If that’s the case, why did you block me on WeChat after swindling my last cent, and why did you both cancel your phone numbers? You claim to be a miraculous healer, but it seems you’re more interested in curing wallets than diseases. When you took the money and ran, did you ever consider that I needed that money to stay alive? I’m only twenty years old-I still want to live!”

Having been hospitalized for so long, my voice had grown hoarse. Now, screaming with all my might, it sounded like a broken bellows.

Grandma poured me some water, her aged, drooping eyes clouded with layer upon layer of tears.

I pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. “Don’t cry, I’m fine.”

Grandma choked up, “It’s all my fault, Qianqian. It’s all my fault.”

Doctor Fang tried to shift the blame again. “Exactly. It was your Grandma who begged me to treat you back then; I didn’t force you.”

How strange-my entire body was in pain, yet my mind was crystal clear. “Even now, you’re still trying to make my Grandma take the fall for you. My Grandma was looking for a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine who could save her granddaughter’s life. Are you that person? You’re just a con artist who’s good at reading people. Fang, from beginning to end, my Grandma only wanted to save me. If any mistake was made, the source lies with you!”

Grandma didn’t say a word, but her tears fell even harder.

Aunt Li said, “That’s a bit harsh. Doctor Fang was acting out of kindness…”

I set the water cup down, my voice now completely raspy. “Aunt Li, don’t be so busy trying to clear his name. You don’t actually think the charge of fraud has nothing to do with you, do you?”

Her eyebrows shot up in anger. “What does this have to do with me? I’m not the one who prescribed your medicine!”

I no longer had the energy to explain the legalities to her-that the core of fraud lies in the deception itself. Right now, I only wanted to ask her one thing.

“I saw those diagnostic reports of yours before. The doctors said they were real, which was one of the reasons I trusted you both. But I don’t understand…”

As I spoke, my nose began to sting again.

“I don’t understand. Since you once suffered just like I do, why would you work with someone else to steal my life-saving money?”

I tilted my head back, but the tears still slid down one by one.

“Aunt Li, during those few days I went home to recover, my Grandma even made sausages and cured meat for you. She said she wanted to thank you properly…”

She froze.

I wiped away my tears and threw out one last sentence: “But you really don’t deserve it!”

Aunt Li fell silent. Doctor Fang tugged at her sleeve, muttering, “Guan Qian, don’t get worked up. Your condition requires emotional stability. Look at you-you must be tired today. Get some rest first. If there’s a misunderstanding, we’ll talk tomorrow. Isn’t this all just about money? I’ll refund your consultation fees, alright? The medicine costs went toward the herbs, and you’ve already drunk them, so those can’t be refunded…”

He tried to leave as he spoke, but Brother Lei glared at him fiercely. “You’re not done with Guan Qian, and you’re certainly not done with me! It’s true that Guan Qian needs her rest, but you’re coming with me to the police station!”

Brother Lei was nearly 1.9 meters tall, standing before Doctor Fang like a small mountain.

His expression, twisted with rage, was truly intimidating.

Doctor Fang stammered, “What are you doing? Let’s talk this out reasonably, don’t get physical… Why go to the station? It’s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!”

The ward door was pushed open, and Officer Lin and Officer Lin (Junior) appeared at the entrance.

Officer Lin said slowly, “Someone’s going to the police station? Is it you, Liu Jianming?”

Doctor Fang was completely stunned. “You…”

Officer Lin (Junior) spoke briskly. “Using a fake ID and a fake license plate… it took some effort to dig up your history. But even if you hadn’t walked straight into our net, we were about to head to your house to find you anyway.”

I understood then. It turned out that not only was Doctor Fang’s medical skill a sham, but even his name was a lie.

Doctor Fang-no, Liu Jianming-completely withered the moment he heard the police call out his real name. He could only repeat, “It’s all a misunderstanding, really, it’s all a misunderstanding.”

Officer Lin said, “Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, you’ll find out once you come to the station with us.”

He paused and looked at Grandma and me, his expression softening considerably. “Guan Qian, your situation is unique. After I finish taking their statements, if there’s anything else to verify, you won’t need to run around. Our officers will come to the hospital to find you. Just focus on recovering, okay?”

Actually, the moment I saw the two of them walk in, the tension that had been holding me together snapped.

Now, the pain throughout my body became clear again-one point, two points, thousands of points. Every inch of me hurt so much I wanted to cry.

I choked out, “Okay, thank you, Uncle Lin. Uncle Lin, can I tell you something in private?”

He leaned in, and I whispered, “I know the legal process takes a long time, but I don’t know if I can hold on that long. Once the money is recovered, Grandma has to pay back the villagers. She might even have to pay for my funeral, so she definitely won’t keep much for herself. I have another card with twenty-eight thousand yuan in it. That’s the money from selling my photography equipment; it’s for Grandma’s retirement. After I’m dead and buried, when there’s nothing left to spend money on, please give the card to Grandma. The password is her birthday. The bank card is in the smallest drawer of my desk back home. There’s also a suicide note inside. My Grandma is illiterate, so please read it to her when the time comes.”

When Officer Lin looked up at me again, I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things, but his eyes seemed a bit red.

I asked, “Is that okay?”

He nodded. “Leave it to me.”

Grandma asked worriedly, “What are you saying? What can’t you tell me?”

Officer Lin closed his eyes for a moment. When he turned back to Grandma, his face had returned to the steady, serious expression of a police officer. “It’s just a little agreement between Guan Qian and me.”

I closed my eyes, shutting out Grandma’s confused expression, and murmured, “Please go now. I’m tired. I want to sleep.”

The ward door opened and closed.

The man surnamed Fang’s babbling excuses, Aunt Li’s arguments with him, Brother Lei’s angry curses, and Officer Lin (Junior)’s shout of “Everyone shut up!” all gradually faded away.

The only thing I could perceive was Grandma’s hands tightly clutching mine, as if she would never let go.

I opened my eyes, and she looked at me anxiously. “What is it, Qianqian?”

I managed a small smile. “That scarf you were knitting… is it finished? I want to wear it.”

The red woolen scarf wrapped warmly around my neck.

Along with it, Grandma’s rough but warm palms gently covered my cheeks.

I closed my eyes.

I was tired. I really needed a good sleep.

To sleep until the long night turned to dawn, to sleep until even the sharp piercing beep of the monitors could not wake me.

I was wearing this scarf; I wouldn’t be afraid no matter how far I had to go.

The sun will rise. No matter how late, it will eventually rise.

And I have the scarf Grandma knitted for me by hand.

(End of Main Story)

***

[Side Story]

The day Guan Qian passed away, it started snowing in Hangzhou again.

When we received the call and rushed to the hospital, we all happened to be wearing black.

Guan Qian’s eyes were still open then. When she saw us, she gave a smile so faint it was barely perceptible.

She could no longer speak, but her eyes stubbornly refused to close.

Grandma sobbed uncontrollably. “You can go in peace. I’ll be fine, don’t you worry about me.”

At that, a single tear slowly rolled from the corner of her eye.

Clutched in her hand was a new scarf-red, with fine, tight stitches.

The other end of the scarf was held firmly in Grandma’s palm.

That scarf felt like a metaphor: the bond between the old and the young, who had relied on each other for survival, remained unbroken until the very last moment of Guan Qian’s life.

If you were to ask me what kind of person Guan Qian was, I would definitely say she was a little liar.

She said it herself-she told us she’d collect red envelopes from us when she got married. Not only would she take our money, but she’d also make us her bridesmaids.

And the result? This little liar ran away. Not only did she not take our money, but she didn’t even give us the chance to be her bridesmaids.

These days, it’s truly something else to have money in your hand and no way to give it away.

She clearly loved money as if it were her life, yet at the very end, she completely overturned our impression of her.

I’m just joking, of course. In truth, I know the reason Guan Qian worked so hard to make money was entirely because she had lived a very bitter life since she was a child.

Because she grew up in hardship, she could only rely on herself. She couldn’t bear to spend even an extra cent of the money she earned through her own labor. The logic was simple, but thinking about it was heartbreaking.

I’d known her for so long, yet she’d only ever drunk alcohol once. It was only when she got drunk that I found out that day was the anniversary of her parents’ deaths. It turned out she only had her Grandma; her mother and father had died in a car accident when she was in elementary school…

I really don’t understand, Heavens. She was already so miserable-how could You still let her get cancer? Isn’t there supposed to be a balance of luck? Why was it all misfortune for her, without a single drop of good luck?

Or, Heavens, did You think she was just too pitiful? Did You find it unbearable to watch, so You wanted to take her back to the sky early to be a fairy?

Please, it has to be that. Otherwise, Grandma would have nothing left to hold onto. The lady in her seventies knitted a scarf for each of the girls in our dorm, and even for the police officers handling the case.

Officer Lin said that, according to regulations, they weren’t supposed to accept them. However, he knew this was the old lady’s way of finding solace.

Grandma said that seeing us girls wear the scarves made her feel as if she were seeing Guan Qian wear one. It was good, she said. It was good.

My parents told me to visit Grandma often from now on. Actually, I would have gone even if they hadn’t said anything.

Guan Qian’s Grandma is my Grandma. From now on, I have two grandmas.

Oh, and Heavens, remember to tell Guan Qian that those two liars have been sentenced; they’re in prison now. The police followed the clues and even solved several other cases. The stolen money was recovered, and Officer Lin helped deposit it into the card she left for Grandma. She doesn’t need to worry about Grandma’s retirement.

At the very worst, she still has us. Now that Guan Qian is gone, we are Grandma’s granddaughters.

At Guan Qian’s funeral, we met Brother Lei.

Such a tough man from the Northeast, yet he cried like a child when he offered incense to Guan Qian.

Actually, I can understand him quite well. For all these years, he believed he had indirectly caused his mother’s death. After blaming himself for so long, finally discovering that he was also a victim must have brought both anger and, more importantly, a sense of release.

All those scammers deserve to go to hell.

Brother Lei said that in the future, he wants to be like Guan Qian-he’ll write about his experience being scammed to spread awareness about fraud prevention, so more people will know the scammers’ tactics.

“Saving one family is still saving a family,” he said, using the exact same words as Guan Qian.

I wasn’t surprised, really.

Because those who have struggled in the abyss understand each other’s suffering all too well. They are always thinking of pulling the person next to them up. The bond between fellow patients is sometimes more precious than gold.

Except for… that Aunt Li.

Aunt Li was different from Doctor Fang; she wasn’t a total fraud.

Doctor Fang had absolutely nothing to do with traditional Chinese medicine; he was just a gambler who spent his days in mahjong parlors. But Aunt Li really was a genuine cancer survivor who had luckily lived.

Because of that, I find it especially incomprehensible. Why, when she clearly knew how difficult and desperate cancer patients and their families were, did she still cruelly scam them for profit?

Perhaps, during the process of deceiving people, she wasn’t without her moments of hesitation.

That was why, during her interrogation, she revealed everything she knew about Doctor Fang’s fraudulent activities.

Bad people occasionally find their conscience, but it came too late, and the price was too heavy.

But we won’t let that price be in vain. In Brother Lei’s fraud prevention team, besides me, there are Xiao Xi and Xiao Lei, and there will be even more people in the future.

My young, brilliant, and brave friend, Guan Qian-I think you can rest in peace now.

Ah, the ashes from the burning spirit money are fluttering up.

Guan Qian, you must have heard everything in my heart.

Since you’re up there, you must protect Grandma. Make sure she stays healthy and lives a long, long life.

(The End)