Chapter 353: Life’s Just About Surviving

The nephrology department of the hospital is always bustling with people. With the increasing number of diabetes patients, and the trend skewing younger, even weekdays are busy with people coming and going.

The corridor is lined with benches for patients and families waiting on the doctor’s news, all filled with anxious faces.

Fang Zhou and Aunt Wei are among those waiting.

It’s been two hours since his sister was taken for various tests, and there’s still no sign of her return.

Fang Zhou can only sit and wait anxiously.

Finally finding a moment to check his phone, Fang Zhou notices numerous missed calls and quickly returns the one from the production team.

“Sorry, I can’t be at the shoot today. My sister has been hospitalized.”

The director’s assistant is taken aback but sympathetic.

“Alright, I’ll inform the director later. Take care and stay with your sister. Wishing her a speedy recovery.”

The assistant’s simple words of blessing manage to make Fang Zhou’s voice crack.

“Thank you.”

After hanging up, Fang Zhou puts away his phone and buries his face in his hands, feeling his spirits plummet.

It feels like he’s been tossed into an icy lake in the dead of winter, his heavy clothes slowing any attempts at saving himself.

For a moment, he’s tempted to give up, to sink into the icy depths.

Over a year ago, when he suffered from mild depression, he had similar thoughts.

Back then, with his grandparents passing away, his sister falling seriously ill, losing all his savings, and failing professionally, life was a stacked debuff—it felt like the whole world wanted him gone.

Fang Zhou had no idea how to keep living, but back then, his sister pulled him from the brink with just one sentence.

She said, “Bro, I want some fresh meat pies.”

Fang Zhou cried as he turned to get her those pies.

Although life felt hard back then, at least he still had his sister.

But now, with her worsening condition, it felt like a noose tightening around his neck, forcing him to either save himself or go down with her.

He suddenly thinks of Yu Hua’s novel “To Live,” where Fugui watches his family die one by one, until even the old ox is at death’s door.

He’s terrified of ending up like Fugui, losing even his sister.

No, he’s even less resilient than Fugui—if his sister goes, his entire world would collapse.

As Fang Zhou sinks into his thoughts, two nurses wheel his sister’s bed back to the corridor.

“Family of Fang Wenjing?”

Fang Zhou pushes his feelings aside and stands up, calling out, “Here.”

“She’s received anesthesia and needs two hours to wake up fully. The attending physician is waiting in the office for a consultation.”

The nurse lists care instructions for Wenjing, which Fang Zhou quickly commits to memory.

Aunt Wei, who has been with him the whole time, volunteers to stay with Wenjing while he talks to the doctor.

Grateful, Fang Zhou thanks her and strides off to find Dr. Du, his sister’s attending physician.

In the office, Dr. Du sits with furrowed brows, scanning a stack of test reports.

“Dr. Du, how are the test results?”

Fang Zhou gets straight to the point, hoping for honesty.

The situation with his sister has dragged on too long; he needs the truth.

“Your sister’s indicators are declining, indicating her symptoms are worsening.”

Dr. Du systematically shows Fang Zhou the test results, detailing the concerning issues.

“Look, her creatinine and cystatin C levels are troubling…”

Fang Zhou’s brows knit together, a deep frown forming as concern grows.

“Dr. Du, you mentioned before that a kidney source was on the table—can we proceed with a transplant now?”

Dragging this out is no solution. Originally just a kidney issue, complications could cause infections in other organs or parts.

And every day’s delay increases Wenjing’s risk.

Such major surgeries aren’t guaranteed; patients’ families have to sign risk acknowledgment forms.

Fang Zhou has heard too many stories of patients who never leave the operating table. Those thoughts suffocate him, refusing to accept the idea of losing his sister.

Dr. Du sighs deeply. “No, not yet.”

Fang Zhou’s glimmer of hope fades instantly.

While Dr. Du doesn’t finish his sentence, Fang Zhou understands.

The patient with a matching kidney for Wenjing isn’t deceased yet, making the transplant impossible.

He curses their incompatibility, unable to donate his own kidney.

Otherwise, Fang Zhou would’ve taken a loan last year for the transplant.

“So we just stall?”

His voice roughens with despair, his mental state plummeting.

It’s hard to accept this outcome.

“If a matching donor is found, willing to proceed immediately, there’s still hope.”

Dr. Du speaks frankly, not extinguishing Fang Zhou’s hope entirely but giving none excessively.

After searching so long to find one match, discovering another quickly seems impossible.

Fang Zhou nods, indicating understanding.

“I’ll offer a reward online.”

Even a glimmer of hope will not be forsaken in his endeavor to save his sister.

Money isn’t a problem; he can advance his reality show salary by 500k, adding previous winnings and streaming income, totaling over a million.

That should cover a suitable kidney.

If need be, he’d sell company shares to Li Siming and Su Yang.

Dr. Du quickly warns him, “Don’t! That’s illegal trafficking in human organs—you’ll get locked up.”

Dr. Du’s stern words chill Fang Zhou’s passionate resolve.

His brief flame of determination is extinguished.

He takes a step back, overwhelmed by the blow.

Once clear as a mirror, his eyes now reflect a dead calm.

Yeah, stupid of him.

If finding kidneys online were legal, richer folks would’ve exploited it—yet not a word surfaces.

Even posting it might land him in legal trouble.

Does this mean his sister must indefinitely wait?

Before, without worsening symptoms, waiting seemed feasible.

Now, he can’t endure even a day more, yet he has no solution, completely powerless.

In that moment, Fang Zhou despises himself, helplessly incompetent.