Chapter 609: Before the Live Broadcast
The disabled, in some aspects, had a will far above that of an ordinary person’s. The most appropriate word to describe it was that they were physically disabled yet mentally firm. From his contact with Little Blind, Tang Xiu could tell that the darkness in front of him didn’t wear his will away, even causing him to adapt to that darkness instead. He was like an unyielding pine that stood proudly amidst the cold winter of the snowy world.
“Dean Wu, I would like to adopt this child,” said Tang Xiu straightforwardly after greeting her.
Dean Wu turned a bit dazed, and there was a complicated look in her eyes. It had been seven years since she became Little Blind’s half mother. When the world just lost all its color to him, she was the one who cared for him and helped him pass through the pain. She was the person who helped with the funeral arrangement of his parents after a traffic accident claimed their lives. In all due honesty, Dean Wu was truly happy that Tang Xiu wanted to adopt him, yet there was unwillingness deep down inside her.
“May I know the reason, Mr. Tang? After all, Hanhan is…” Dean Wu hesitated.
“There are two reasons,” said Tang Xiu with all seriousness. “First of all, I like him. I can’t see any sign of depression in him at all, and I even can feel that he is mentally optimistic instead. Secondly, a Chinese Medical doctor is one of the many identities I have, so I want to take him with me and try to treat his eyes with all the expertise I have in the arts of healing.”
Dean Wu’s eyes stared wide, along with a burst of joy and excitement within. Her lips trembled and she hurriedly asked, “Can… can you really cure Hanhan’s eyes, Mr. Tang?”
“I don’t have 100% assurance, but I believe it’d be for the best if he followed me than staying here,” said Tang Xiu. “Of course, that would also be on the premise that I have your consent.”
“I’m willing. Of course, I give my consent,” said Dean Wu without hesitation. “If you can make Hanhan regain his sight, it’s fine even if I have to take my eyes out to give them to him.”
“Since I have your consent, please rest assured, Dean Wu. I will treat him as my own younger brother!” Tang Xiu smiled. “Furthermore, I just learned from Long Xueyao about the situation your welfare house is currently in, so I decided to donate 2 million yuan in the hopes that it can solve some of the problems you have here. Adding to that, I’ll also find a construction team to help renovate your welfare house when the spring comes next year and also look for a few teachers to teach the children knowledge and culture.”
His pledge made Dean Wu’s body freeze. She could hardly believe what she heard. For countless times she fantasized that some good rich person would donate to her welfare house. But after all, imagining was akin to illusion, as many years had passed by and her wish never came true. Fortunately, there were some kindhearted people, such as Long Xueyao, who were willing to extend their hands and frequently sent some money, clothes, and daily necessities.
Two million yuan! With such amount of money, the living conditions of the children in the welfare house would definitely be improved greatly. At the very least, they wouldn’t have to wear those stitched and patched clothes anymore. No longer would they only have meat every couple of days and gone was the scene where they had to burn charcoal stoves during the cold winter season.
“Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Tang.” Dean Wu wiped the tears off the corner of her eyes and bent her waist while holding onto her walking stick.
Tang Xiu promptly held her and said, “Dean Wu, there was a sentence that I noted deeply during the great flood period in the past: ‘when difficulties arise in one place, aid comes from everywhere’. What I’m doing is just what I can do, you don’t have to thank at all since it’s just me wanting to help the children here.”
The snow was falling in the cold winter, and yet warmness filled Dean Wu’s heart at this moment. What Tang Xiu said touched her. Just as she asked Tang Xiu and Long Xueyao to enter the house, Tang Xiu received a call from Li Hongji, who then gave him Tian Xiaomeng’s cell number.
“Xueyao, go inside with Dean Wu ahead of me. I’m going to make a phone call first,” said Tang Xiu before turning around.
****
Star City, Castellan Ellegarden neighborhood. [1]
Wearing cartoon-styled pajamas, Tian Xiaomeng was sitting on the balcony of her house in boredom. As the hanging basket kept swaying, her eyes watched the gentle falling snow outside with faint expectation painted on her face. Ever since she aired the live report about Tang Xiu, she had become a popular anchor on the live broadcast platform. And just the number of her hardcore fans now had surpassed 100,000, while hundreds of thousands of viewers visited her live broadcast channel every day.
It could be said that both fame and fortune came to her since then, though there were also some bad things nonetheless. For instance, she often met her fans in real life whenever she appeared in public. Some of them would find her, asking to take photos together as a memento as well as sign to them.
Alas, becoming a celebrity sure is not easy. I wanna go out play with snow, but I’m afraid I’ll attract attention. Most of the people in this neighborhood already know me, so should I go to another place and buy a house just like what I have discussed with Mom and Dad the other day? Tian Xiaomeng drowned in her thoughts while holding up her chin.
“I’m a star, I’m a big star…”
The ringtone of her mobile phone suddenly sounding startled her so much that she almost jumped. She picked up the mobile in a hurry and looked at the number displayed on the screen. It was an unfamiliar number from this city.
“Hi, hello, Tian Xiaomeng speaking.”
“Hello, I’m Tang Xiu. Can you please do me a favor?
“Tang Xiu? I don’t know if you’ve made a mistake… AAH… I beg your pardon? What did you just say your name was?” Just as Tian Xiaomeng was about to say that she didn’t know the caller, a handsome face suddenly appeared in her head and she exclaimed out loudly immediately after.
“It’s Tang Xiu.”
The voice replied again.
Tian Xiaomeng jumped down from the hanging basket. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she asked in a hurry, “Are you the Young Divine Doctor of Star City Chinese Medical Hospital, Divine Doctor Tang?”
“That’s right, it’s me,” said Tang Xiu with a chuckle.
Tian Xiaomeng was so excited that she spoke incoherently, “T-Tang… Divine Doctor Tang, you… Ah, Hi… I’m your loyal little fan. Just, just call me… call me Little Mengmeng. Oh, I’m so excited! Am I dreaming? How come I got a call from my biggest idol?”
“Let’s not joke, shall we, Tian Xiaomeng?” Tang Xiu chuckled. “There’s something I need your help with. Do you have some time to spare now?”
While suppressing the excitement inside, Tian Xiaomeng immediately replied, “I surely have time for my idol. I’ll squeeze time even if I don’t have it. Tell me what do you want me to do… I’m willing to do it…”
“As a matter of fact, I’m now in Star City in a certain welfare house,” said Tang Xiu with a smile. “The condition of the place is very poor though, as it scarcely has attention from the society. I remember that you’re an Internet broadcaster, so I was wondering if you can come over. I was thinking that it would be great if we make a live broadcast at this welfare house to report the situation here to the public in the hopes that I can get everyone’s attention and their compassionate help.”
A live broadcast at a welfare house?
Tian Xiaomeng’s eyes blinked as ecstasy burst inside her heart. The last time she aired a live broadcast on Tang Xiu at the Star City Chinese Medical Hospital, her fans and subscribers had soared by a hundred times and, in extension, brought her fame and fortune as well. Some of her fans and some people, however, also believed that Tian Xiaomeng’s live broadcast had returned to its previous state. Many even appealed and called out, hoping that she could feat the Divine Doctor—Tang Xiu again…
This was definitely an opportunity, a golden opportunity that occurred only once in a thousand years!
Tian Xiaomeng took a deep sigh to stabilize her state of mind and feelings before replying, “Please wait a while, Idol. I’ll take my notebook to write the address. Also, I’ll go out right away and make sure to arrive there as fast as I can.”
A few minutes later, she hung up the phone and directly dashed to the study room, turning on her laptop and accessing her live channel.
“Oh? Strange, the anchor is actually online? Don’t tell me the scheduled time for the live broadcast has changed?”
“Goddess Mengmeng goes online! MENGMENG FANS! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU ALL?”
“Could it be there’s a new topic now? The last time Goddess Mengmeng aired a live broadcast all of a sudden was the live show of that Divine Doctor, Tang Xiu...”
“Is there any thrilling surprise now?”
“…”
Tian Xiaomeng took a deep breath while looking at the countless messages that kept coming and the online subscribers that numbered to tens of thousands. Then, she began to speak, “Hello, my dear fans and subscribers. Many of Mengmeng’s fans are asking whether there will be a great surprise today, given that I came online on my live channel all of a sudden today, and also, many ask as to, will there be any hot news today? Alright, everyone. Mengmeng will tell you now. You all guessed it right! Just a few minutes ago, I received a call from the Young Divine Doctor of Star City Chinese Medical Hospital, Tang Xiu!”
“As for the details of the matter Divine Doctor Tang asked me to do, well… I’ll keep you wondering for now. But I hope that you, as Mengmeng’s fans, will notice the others timely when I arrive there. I believe that you will be able to see the Divine Doctor Tang again, and maybe…. there will also some other surprises for you.”
“Anyhow, I’m off for now. See you all later, ciao!”
Tian Xiaomeng then saw messages coming from innumerable subscribes one after another, shouting “excited” and “looking forward to” emojis, making her nice and great inside. After logging out, she immediately packed her stuff and rushed outside.
****
At Bluestar Welfare House.
After sending the address and the name to Tian Xiaomeng, Tang Xiu went to the second floor of the small building and headed to the Dean’s room. Dean Wu herself didn’t have an exact room assigned as her office, since the layout of the building was rudimentary and only had a few rooms. Yet, though there were a lot of things in the entire house, all of them were neatly placed.
When Tang Xiu explained that he had invited an Internet broadcaster to air a live report regarding the situation of the Bluestar Welfare House, even though Dean Wu didn’t know much about the job of a live broadcaster, she was, nonetheless, still very excited to be able to publicize the welfare house, since it meant that many groups in society would learn about them.
12:30 at noon.
Tang Xiu and Long Xueyao followed Dean Wu to bring the dishes to the table. More than 30 children who hadn’t yet changed their newly down jackets had gathered in a large room and sat in front of the long table with a bowl and chopsticks in front of them. Their eyes were full of anticipation and longing as they looked at the meals prepped by Dean Wu, Tang Xiu, Long Xueyao, and the other two staff.
Ring, ring, ring…
Tang Xiu’s mobile phone rang. After seeing that it was a call from Tian Xiaomeng, he directly went to the hall on the first floor.
At the entrance to the Bluestar Welfare House, Tian Xiaomeng ended the call and directly logged-in into her live channel with her phone. Just as she appeared on her live broadcast channel and looked at the number of viewers displayed there, her eyes stared wide and turned saucer.
760,000?!!! 760,000 people were waiting for her in the live broadcast channel, and the number was still increasing?! However, when she glanced at the gifts rewarded by the fans, she almost screamed inside and her heart crazily thumped, scared despite having experienced the previous live broadcast at the Star City Chinese Medical Hospital.
“I… I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Chapter Notes:
[1] I chose to shorten Elegant Garden to Ellegarden. Elle: beautiful fairy.