Whatever he felt inside, Tong Yi drove safely until they arrived at the blood donation center. Once there, they all exited the car and approached the staff to express their intent to donate blood. The staff member first gave Wen Wan a skeptical look and asked, “Are you old enough?”
Wen Wan immediately shook her head, “I’m not donating blood. I’m just here to accompany them.”
The staff member nodded and then turned to Jiang Li. “Does your weight meet the requirement?”
Jiang Li froze for a moment and nodded uncertainly. “I think I’m within the limit.”
She hadn’t paid much attention to her weight, but she felt healthy and hadn’t been sick in years, so she assumed she would be fine.
“It’s better to check first!” The staff member pointed to a scale nearby.
Jiang Li nodded and stepped onto the scale. As soon as she did, Tong Yi had this urge to secretly put one of his legs on the scale too, just to mess with her and make her think her weight was off. But then he remembered the mantra ‘mature and reliable’ and decided not to do such a childish thing, which wouldn’t fit the type of guy Jiang Xiao Li liked!
The staff checked Jiang Li’s weight and nodded, “Yes, you meet the requirements for blood donation.”
Since Lin Zhao had donated blood before and his blood donation card was valid nationwide, the staff only registered his information after discovering that he had panda blood, informing him they would contact him when his blood was needed.
Neither Tong Yi nor Jiang Li had donated blood before, so the staff followed the procedure by checking their pulse and body temperature, then their heart and lung functions, before having them fill out some forms.
When the staff learned that Jiang Li also had panda blood, they looked surprised. “The chances of having panda blood donors are very low, and today we have two.”
“So, do I need to donate today?” Jiang Li inquired.
The staff shook their head. “Panda blood is usually collected on-demand, but we’ll still need to draw a sample today for testing. Whether or not there’s an issue with the blood, we’ll contact you.”
After the blood draw, Jiang Li and Tong Yi sat and rested. The staff brought them their blood donation cards and small souvenirs, advising them to rest for the next few days, drink plenty of water, and avoid strenuous exercise or staying up late.
The souvenirs they received were keychains with little panda pendants, which looked cute and adorable. Tong Yi put the keychains side-by-side on his palm and showed them to Jiang Li. “Don’t you think these two pandas look like a pair?”
Jiang Li took a look and noticed that the two pandas had different scarf colors—Tong Yi’s panda had a blue scarf, while hers had a pink one. Of course, she had to argue with him, “I think these two pandas are more like an aunt and her nephew. My panda is the aunt, and yours is the nephew.”
Tong Yi lightly flicked her forehead and laughed, “Jiang Xiao Li, is your day not complete unless you take a little jab at me?”
Jiang Li confidently replied, “You are my nephew, and I’m your aunt. What’s wrong with that?”
Tong Yi nodded, “Alright, as long as you’re happy. I won’t argue with kids.”
Jiang Li frowned, “Who are you calling a kid?”
“You, of course—you’re just barely an adult,” Tong Yi said nonchalantly. “Since I’m two years older than you, it’s only natural that I’m more mature and reliable. So, I won’t argue with you.”
Jiang Li took the opportunity to tease him, “Alright, from now on, every time you see me, you have to respectfully greet me as ‘Aunt’ and show your mature filial piety. How about that?”
Tong Yi: “…”
‘Why doesn’t Jiang Xiao Li pick up on what I’m really trying to say?’
‘The whole ‘mature and reliable’ thing—how come she never seems to notice that?!’
…
The first thing Bai Guolin did after arriving in Beijing was sign up as a volunteer at the blood donation center. Unfortunately for him, the centers were always a popular place to volunteer, so it took a while for a slot to open.
Bai Guolin had been waiting for this opportunity. After his military training ended, he finally got a call from the blood donation center. They were short-staffed and hoped Bai Guolin could come help.
After hanging up the phone, Bai Guolin’s hands trembled with excitement as he looked at Jiang Ruo. “Ruoruo, the blood donation center just called and asked me to volunteer.”
Jiang Ruo was momentarily stunned. “Are you going today?”
Bai Guolin nodded. “Yeah, it’s a rare opportunity. If I miss this, I don’t know when the next one will come.” But then, remembering that Jiang Ruo had dialysis today, he looked guilty. “I was supposed to accompany you to your dialysis today, but I…”
Jiang Ruo gently shook her head. “It’s fine. I can go to dialysis by myself. I’ve been doing it alone all summer, so I’m used to it.”
Hearing that, Bai Guolin felt a little more at ease. He grabbed his keys from the table and began changing his shoes, preparing to head to the blood donation center.
But when Bai Guolin arrived at the center, his high spirits quickly faded as he spotted a familiar figure. He could hardly believe his eyes—Jiang Li, the one person he could never forget. If she hadn’t dislocated his arm back then, his left arm wouldn’t have developed such a serious issue. Now, even the smallest movement could cause it to dislocate. This problem had significantly impacted his life, and it had taken him a long time to come to terms with it.
Every time his arm dislocated, he would curse Jiang Li hundreds of times in his mind. If it hadn’t been for her, his arm would still be healthy. But no matter how much he cursed or resented her, it was useless—his arm would dislocate all the same.
The moment Bai Guolin heard Jiang Li’s voice, he knew she must be here to donate blood. When he realized that Jiang Li also had panda blood, he felt tempted for a moment, but he soon remembered what Ruoruo had said and quickly suppressed that thought.
He couldn’t act against Jiang Li, even if her kidneys were a perfect match for Ruoruo. Any move against her would bring endless trouble, and Ruoruo would never have peace.
Bai Guolin took a deep breath, avoided Jiang Li’s gaze, and went to the staff at the donation center, explaining that he was there to volunteer.
Jiang Li had been resting on a chair when she caught sight of a tall and sturdy figure passing by quickly in the distance. She frowned slightly. The silhouette looked strangely familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.
Tong Yi noticed her expression, “What are you looking at?”
Jiang Li replied honestly, “That person who just passed by—I think I’ve seen him before, but I’m not sure.”
Tong Yi asked, “Want to go say hello?”
She nodded, “Yeah, I’ll go check it out.”
Jiang Li got up from the chair but couldn’t find the person she had just seen. So she asked one of the staff members about the person who had just arrived.
“Oh, that’s one of our new volunteers,” the staff responded. “Today’s his first day. Do you know him?”
Jiang Li wasn’t entirely sure, “I think I might know him. What’s his name?”
“His name? Let’s see… Bai Guolin. Yeah, that’s it, Bai Guolin. It’s a pretty unusual name,” the staff member said.
Jiang Li drifted into deep thought. Now she was sure—she definitely knew this person. But why was Bai Guolin volunteering at a blood donation center?
Her first thought when connecting Bai Guolin with the blood donation center was Jiang Ruo. Jiang Ruo had chronic kidney failure, and the best treatment would be a kidney transplant. However, with her rare blood type, finding a suitable kidney was not easy.
‘Is Bai Guolin volunteering here a coincidence, or does he have ulterior motives?’
The staff member noticed Jiang Li spacing out and asked, “So, do you know this Bai Guolin?”
Jiang Li shook her head, “No, it’s just that his back looked similar to someone I know.”
The staff member smiled, “Right, that guy is tall and sturdy. It is indeed rare to find someone with a similar back figure.”
Jiang Li nodded, “Yeah, I thought the same.”
Tong Yi had been by Jiang Li’s side the entire time while she was talking to the staff. When he heard the name ‘Bai Guolin,’ it sounded vaguely familiar to him. But seeing how Jiang Xiao Li reacted, it was clear that she knew this Bai Guolin, and from her expression, it was obvious they had some bad history.
On the way back to the resting area, Tong Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Who exactly is this Bai Guolin?”
Jiang Li answered truthfully, “He’s Jiang Ruo’s loyal dog. I think his reason for volunteering at the blood donation center isn’t as simple as it seems, but I don’t want to raise any alarms just yet.”
If she immediately told the staff that Bai Guolin had suspicious motives, they might not believe her, especially since she had no evidence at the moment.
And even if the staff believed her and decided to remove Bai Guolin from volunteering at the center for safety reasons, he could always go somewhere else and continue with whatever he was plotting.
She couldn’t monitor him around the clock, and if he moved to another place, the matter might become even more troublesome. It would be better to watch and wait for concrete evidence before taking any action.
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