Two days after it was posted, a derivative video from the comic convention livestream unexpectedly went viral, and Qin Qing's stunning appearance in the video sparked a heated online discussion across the entire internet.
"Is this face even real? (Surprised) (Drooling)"
"Strange, why do I feel like this beauty looks a bit familiar..."
"Same feeling! Finally someone said it!"
As the popularity climbed, some netizens dug up Qin Qing's hidden identity—the teenage "genius" who had sold a character painting for a high price of one million three years ago.
Back then, the underage girl rose to prominence because of this painting, and many media outlets tried to pull strings to interview her and cash in on the traffic.
Yet they couldn't dig up a single piece of news, and it was also from that time that the media began to make some speculations.
The explosive traffic still caused Qin Qing's photos to briefly appear on the internet, and even though it was for a very short time, it left a deep impression on the gossip-hungry masses.
This uproar led Qin Qing to choose complete retirement; she not only stopped creating art but also no longer responded to any attention.
As the popularity and traffic slowly faded away with time, this fleeting "painting prodigy" gradually faded from public memory.
Now, appearing in the public eye once again because of the comic convention livestream, Qin Qing still chose silence, refusing to respond no matter what the media outside said.
After a long time, the traffic naturally dissipated.
Now her part-time job occupied a lot of his time, leaving very little time for livestreaming.
On this day, Xu Yiran had just prepared to go to the market to buy groceries and cook, waiting for his parents to return, when he received a call from Xu Wenyuan on his way there.
Xu Yiran's face turned pale, and he whipped his electric scooter around and raced toward the hospital.
"Dad, what's going on?"
Xu Wenyuan was squatting at the door of the examination room, looking utterly dejected.
With a hoarse voice, he said, "The doctor says her condition has suddenly worsened."
Xu Yiran's hands were trembling. Didn't they say last month that her condition had already improved? How could this happen?
"Does she need surgery?"
Xu Mom's physical condition did not meet the requirements for surgery, which was why her illness had dragged on and on, and now it had actually worsened.
His hands were shaking, terrified of hearing any bad news.
At that moment, the doctor opened the door and walked out, saying to them, "Although your mother's body is much better than before, she still cannot go into the operating room. Now there is an imported drug available, but it is quite expensive. Family members should discuss it and see what you want to decide."
The doctor personally tended to lean toward having them continue controlling the condition with medication, but he also had to consider their family situation. This illness relapsed easily, and families with poorer financial conditions wouldn't have been able to hold on until now.
When Xu Wenyuan heard that it could still be controlled with medication, his eyes lit up.
"Doctor, we choose medication."
Xu Yiran nodded along as well, but Wang Meihan, standing behind them, disagreed instead.
"No, we'll do surgery directly."
Because of her body, the family's financial situation had grown worse and worse over the years. The original medication wasn't cheap, and switching to a new one would make it even more expensive. She refused to accept a situation where their family circumstances had finally improved a little, only to worsen again because of her medication.
The doctor glanced at this family of three, sighed, and said, "You family members discuss it among yourselves, and come to my office to tell me later."
With a rigid face, Wang Meihan still maintained a very good attitude when facing the doctor.
She replied, "Alright, sorry to trouble you, Dr. Chen."
After Dr. Chen left, they fell silent for a moment.
"Mom, I don't agree to the surgery right now."
Xu Yiran spoke up first.
Facing Xu Yiran, Wang Meihan's attitude remained very gentle.
"Ranran, Mom understands your worry. I disagreed with the surgery before because of my physical condition, but hasn't my body gotten a lot better now? There shouldn't be any problem with the surgery either."
With red-rimmed eyes, Xu Wenyuan choked out, "If you're worried about money, we still have money. You don't need to worry."
With tears welling in her eyes, Wang Meihan said, "Don't I know whether the family has money or not? So much money has already been spent because of this illness. Ranran isn't very young anymore; we need to save some money for him to get married and have children."
Xu Yiran fell silent, realizing that deep love brings deep reproach.
"Mom, I'm only twenty-four years old now, and my career has just started. I can still earn money in the future, and I'm counting on you to be in good health to help me take care of my kids later."
Xu Wenyuan chimed in: "That's right, what would our family do without you? I'm so careless, and little kids are so fragile—what would I do if something happened?"
Wang Meihan wanted to say something else, but Xu Yiran interrupted her. "Mom, didn't I tell you before that my livestreaming has picked up? My salary for last month is about to be paid out, take a look."
He was now incomparably glad that their company paid salaries on the first of every month, otherwise he wouldn't even have an excuse to persuade his mother right now.
Xu Yiran showed them his payslip; although it hadn't been paid out yet, the exact figures of the salary could already be seen.
When they saw the numbers on it, both husband and wife were startled.
Wang Meihan was so shocked her voice cracked, "Son, you didn't go do something bad, did you?"
Compared to Wang Meihan's words, Xu Wenyuan's remark was much more crude.
"Son, did you get kept by a sugar mommy?"
Xu Yiran looked speechless. Enduring their suspicious gazes, he explained:
"No, this is money your son earned through hard work."
Once he knew it was through legitimate channels, Xu Wenyuan didn't hesitate anymore.
Xu Wenyuan decisively turned to Wang Meihan and said, "Look at our son's income now. Added to the breakfast shop's earnings, it's more than enough to cover your medical expenses. Just listen to us."
Wang Meihan still had reservations: "But your income right now isn't stable..."
Xu Yiran said in a deep voice, "Don't you believe your son's ability? It's only going to get better in the future."
If he livestreamed for two months, it would be enough to support his mother's medical expenses for nearly half a year.
Moreover, as long as he didn't pull any weird stunts that caused his reputation to collapse, he didn't think his future achievements would be bad.
Thinking about it, Xu Mom agreed to this plan as well.
Dr. Chen was very happy that they could make such a choice. Having worked in the hospital for so many years, he actually really hated seeing patients give up treatment when there was still a better option.
However, he had also seen quite a few families fall apart because they begrudged the expense of the patient persisting in treatment.
Therefore, this kind of matter still required the family members to make their own decision.
"That's great. Since that's the case, I'll prescribe the medicine for you first. From now on, you need to come to the hospital every month to pick up the medicine and have regular check-ups. If conditions permit, we can proceed with the surgery."
The three of them nodded in unison.
On the way home:
"Son, your income is very good right now. Do you want to go full-time at home and do livestreaming, and forget about that part-time job?"
Wang Meihan also felt sorry for him running around the clock. Now that they had this salary, the financial pressure wasn't as heavy, and he could completely go full-time at home.
Xu Yiran had the same thought. Livestreaming was inherently a way to make quick money; taking advantage of the fact that he could make money now, he might as well ride the wind and waves, seizing this opportunity to earn a bit more.
So he nodded in agreement.
Wang Meihan was also reassured. "Alright, then I'll stay home and cook for you, so you can worry as little as possible about things around the house."
Xu Yiran said warmly, "Mom, just take good care of yourself, and we'll be much more at ease."
Things like cooking—they could all do them.
Restoring her health was the most important thing for Wang Meihan.
Hearing this, Wang Meihan simply nodded with a smile.