Chapter 185: Playing the Spoiler

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Playing the Spoiler

A few neighbors nearby also got up, ready to disperse. Yao Yuzhen’s lips moved, and moved again.

"Give... give back the clothes... Give them back..."

The landlady walked into her house with her head held high, her retreating figure radiating smugness.

Yao Yuzhen suddenly rushed forward and grabbed a handful of her hair from behind.

"Give me back my clothes... Give me back my clothes..."

A few people gathered around to pry her fingers open, but it was like she had taken root, not moving an inch.

The landlady’s scalp tingled with waves of pain, and she howled in agony.

"You shameless whore! Let go! Let go!!"

"Let go!"

She finally twisted around, raised her leg, and kicked hard at Yao Yuzhen’s calf.

The moment the kick landed, Yao Yuzhen swayed violently. Her eyes rolled back, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.

Everyone around them was scared stiff...

"I didn’t even touch her!"

"I just gently squeezed her wrist... I swear!"

In the end, all eyes were fixed on the landlady’s foot.

She looked down at her own cloth shoe and quickly waved her hands.

"I... I really didn’t kick hard!"

She pointed at Yao Yuzhen’s hand on the ground, stomping her foot in frustration.

"Look! She ripped out a huge clump of my hair! It’s even bleeding!!"

But who could be bothered about hair at a time like this?

"Then she..."

"Don’t tell me that one kick actually killed her?"

Someone squatted down to check her breathing, frowning and shaking their head.

Another person wiped away their sweat. "How about... we send her to the hospital first?"

The woman bent over, squatted in front of Yao Yuzhen, and moved her hand close to her nose.

"She’s breathing! There’s breath, there really is!"

She let out a long sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping.

Seeing the woman was still alive, she immediately felt reassured, but her expression suddenly darkened.

"Don’t panic. I’ll wake her up! I’m an old hand at this."

As soon as she finished speaking, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing the bulging veins and nails on the back of her hand.

Without another word, she lunged forward and pinched the spot right under Yao Yuzhen’s nose!

She had dealt with people who faked fainting to get out of paying debts before.

This trick was very effective; one pinch and they would jump right up.

But it didn’t work today.

She pinched hard enough to break the skin under Yao Yuzhen’s nose, drawing blood, but the woman remained motionless with her eyes closed.

Someone at the side was starting to get scared.

"Maybe... we should just call an ambulance? If we delay any longer, she might not make it."

"Exactly. It’s New Year’s Eve. What if something goes wrong..."

Before he could finish, a man had already quietly shuffled to the courtyard gate.

"Oh, I think I just heard my mom calling me. Gotta go!"

The two of them turned and bolted, almost running out of their shoes.

Only the landlady was left standing there, staring at Yao Yuzhen lying stiffly on the ground.

Maybe it was because she’d been unconscious for too long, or because the ground was too cold.

Yao Yuzhen’s face was as white as a sheet, and her lips had lost all their color.

The landlady finally panicked. She clasped her hands together and started begging, her words stumbling out.

"Yu Zhen, I really didn’t mean to steal your clothes... I just... I’ve never worn anything so stylish in my life. I saw them hanging there a few times, and my hands got itchy, so I just grabbed a couple of pieces..."

She paused, muttering with a look of resentment.

"I mean, look at you. You have a mountain of clothes in your closet. Are you really going to miss these few pieces? Is it really necessary?"

"Was it really worth making such a big deal with me?"

The more she spoke, the angrier she got. She raised her hand and—SLAP! SLAP!—struck Yao Yuzhen across the face, hard and loud.

Then she turned, rushed back into the house, and shoved all the clothes, shoes, and bags she had taken back into Yao Yuzhen’s rented room.

But Yao Yuzhen still lay there, not even a flicker of her eyelids.

Not only did she not wake up, but her complexion looked even worse.

The landlady completely lost it. She took off running to find her husband.

He was squatting by the mahjong table, grinning as he felt his tiles.

When his wife suddenly dragged him away, his temper flared.

"Are you out of your mind? Ruining my game at a time like this?"

His wife’s face was deathly pale and her lips were trembling. She just jutted her chin toward the outside.

"Hurry... hurry home and look... The tenant, I think... she’s not breathing."

The landlord’s face fell on the spot.

"What? Not breathing?!"

His wife said nothing, just grabbed his arm and started pulling him back.

The landlord roared as he was being dragged along.

"Is someone in the family dead? What’s the rush?"

But his wife slammed on the brakes, her feet rooted to the spot.

"That... Yao Yuzhen... she... she’s not going to make it."

The color drained from the landlord’s face.

This wasn’t a wake-up call; it was a death notice.

"She was fine! How could she be dying?!"

"Hey, did you secretly take clothes and shoes from her closet?"

The landlord suddenly lowered his voice, leaned in close to his wife, and asked.

"Oh, for crying out loud, what have I been telling you?"

"Don’t do it! Just don’t! She’s as skinny as a bean sprout, how could her clothes possibly fit you?"

"What for? Was it worth getting a little something for free?"

They arrived home as they were talking.

The landlord’s wife gently pushed open the courtyard gate.

Leaving only a narrow crack, the two of them ducked and slipped inside.

The wooden door hinges let out a faint CREAK. The courtyard was so quiet you could hear a dry leaf scrape across the ground.

The wife’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

"What were you shouting about!"

"I really didn’t hit her that hard! She jumped on me and grabbed my hair, pulled so hard my scalp went numb and ripped out a whole handful! I only kicked her once after I twisted away! Just once! On her calf! Who knew she’d just lie on the ground and not move!"

As soon as she finished speaking, her husband lunged toward Yao Yuzhen, squatted down, and stuck a finger under her nose.

Still breathing!

He immediately reached out to support her back, trying to help her sit up, and turned to yell at his wife.

"What are you standing there like an idiot for? Give me a hand! We need to get her to the hospital, now!"

"Damn it, can’t even have a peaceful New Year’s, can we!"

Only then did his wife start running over.

The two of them hoisted Yao Yuzhen onto his back, then wheeled over an old tricycle.

The wheels SQUEAKED as they jostled their way to the hospital.

The emergency room admitted her right away, but the first thing they asked for was payment.

The couple looked at each other.

"We’re her next-door neighbors."

"Yeah, from next door."

"Where’s her family? You need to call them, quickly!"

"We really don’t know... She rents a place from us and lives alone. We’ve never seen any relatives visit."

"Then can you cover the cost for now? You can’t just let her lie there and die!"

The two exchanged another glance.

The landlady pulled her husband toward the exit.

"Let’s go outside and talk this over."

The moment they were out the main entrance, she started talking.

"How much is this going to cost?"

"How should I know? They haven’t given us a number!"

"You don’t expect us to pay for it ourselves, do you?"

"She can pay us back when she wakes up."

"Pay us back? She’s definitely going to blame me for this! I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t turn around and sue me!"

"So we just leave?"

"Leave what? She’s in the hospital now. It’s not like the doctors are just going to let her die, right?"

The landlord thought for a few seconds, fiddled with the corner of his shirt, then glanced toward the nurses’ station at the end of the hall. He nodded, and actually turned and walked away.

After they left, the nurse waited and waited, but when they didn’t return, she had to hurry to the doctor’s office to get help.

A young female doctor, Cheng Yu, rushed over. After hearing the situation, she pushed open the door to the hospital room and looked down at the person in the bed—and froze.

She knew Yao Yuzhen.

"Aunt Yao?"

"Doctor Cheng? You recognize me?"

Yes, she was an elder from her cousin’s side of the family.

"Then can you help contact her family?"

"But there’s no one here to pay the bill!"