Chapter 22 — Pride And Scholarship

Just when everything seemed to be going well, an unexpected event occurred, threatening to destroy the peace that Hoai An had just found. In the middle of her morning class, she received an emergency call from the hospital, informing her that her mother's condition had suddenly worsened and needed emergency surgery immediately.

Hoai An rushed out of school in a state of extreme panic. Minh Khoi and Bao Tran, upon hearing the news, hastily asked for permission to leave school to go with her to the hospital. Here, the doctor explained that Ms. Hanh's kidney failure had become so serious that an emergency kidney transplant was needed if she wanted to save the patient's life, with surgery costs reaching hundreds of millions of dong - a huge number far beyond Hoai An's family's ability to pay, despite support from the school's emergency fund and previous small business activities.

“I don't have enough money,” Hoai An said, her voice shaking with tears, standing in front of the emergency room door, “what should I do?”

Minh Khoi hugged her, trying to reassure her even though he couldn't hide his worry. “We will find a way,” he said, “I will immediately contact the hospital about organ transplant support funds, and notify Mr. Quang and the school.”

Bao Tran, standing next to her, immediately took out her phone, without saying another word, started texting a few people she trusted. News of Hoai An's mother's critical condition quickly spread throughout Royal School, not only within her classroom, but throughout the entire grade level, even to other grades that had heard the inspirational story of this resilient scholarship student.

Lan Phuong, upon receiving the news, immediately launched an urgent donation campaign on the school's social networking groups, calling for the cooperation of all students, parents, and even former students who knew Hoai An's story through previous events.

"Everyone," Lan Phuong wrote in the post, along with a passionate appeal, "our friend Hoai An, who has inspired so many people with her extraordinary strength, now needs all of our help to save her mother. Every contribution, no matter how small, is an important part to save a life."

Within just a few hours, donations began pouring in quickly, from small contributions of tens of thousands of dong from students, to larger donations from parents and sponsors. The principal also officially announced that the school will support a significant portion from the newly established expanded emergency fund.

Amid the constantly updated stream of donation information, a particularly large donation appeared, accounting for nearly half of the total amount needed for the surgery, but the contributor requested complete anonymity. Hoai An, when she saw that number on the phone screen, couldn't help but be shocked, wondering who could be so generous when her family was facing extreme difficulties.

She turned to ask Minh Khoi, her voice still shaking. “Do you know who that is?”

“I don't know,” Minh Khoi shook his head, although a suspicion flashed through his eyes that he hadn't dared to say yet, “but whoever it is, I think you should focus on taking care of your doctor's surgery first.”

Hoai An nodded, trying to dismiss his curiosity aside to focus on completing the necessary procedures for emergency surgery. With enough donations, along with dedicated support from the hospital in finding a suitable kidney source, the surgery was scheduled to take place that afternoon.

While waiting for the results of the surgery, which lasted many hours, Hoai An sat quietly in the hospital hallway, holding Minh Khoi's hand tightly, and Bao Tran sat next to her, occasionally giving her a glass of water or tissue, silently supporting her without saying many words.

“Thank you for being here,” Hoai An said, turning to look at Bao Tran, her voice filled with gratitude, “I didn't think, just a few months ago, I could trust you enough to let you witness my weakest moment like this.”

"Friends are for being there for each other in the most difficult times," Bao Tran replied, gently holding her hand, her voice was warm, "you don't have to thank me, this is what I want to do."

Three hours passed in tense waiting, finally, the door of the operating room opened, the doctor walked out with a tired face but eyes full of relief. “The surgery was successful,” he announced, causing all three of them to simultaneously breathe a sigh of relief, tears of happiness overflowing uncontrollably.

"Your mother is currently in the recovery room," the doctor added, his voice warm, "the condition is stable, needs to be monitored for a few more days but the prognosis is very good. The new kidney adapts quite well to the patient's body."

Hoai An hugged Minh Khoi and then Bao Tran, unable to hold back her tears of happiness. “Thank you everyone,” she said, her voice choked up, “I don't know what I would do without the help of all of you and the whole school.”

“This is the effort of a whole team,” Minh Khoi replied, gently rubbing her back to reassure her, “many people joined hands for you, because they trust and love you.”

A few hours later, when Ms. Hanh was more alert and was allowed to have relatives visit for a short time, Hoai An walked into the recovery room, held her mother's hand, tears once again kept falling. “Mom, you're out of danger,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.

Ms. Hanh, although still weak, still tried to smile and gently squeeze her daughter's hand. "I heard what the doctor said," she whispered, her voice hoarse, "your whole school came together to help us. I'm really grateful, honey."

"Me too, mom," Hoai An replied, bending down to kiss her mother's forehead gently, "I never thought I would receive so much love and help from the people around me. This is truly a miracle."

After leaving the recovery room, Hoai An returned to the hallway, where Minh Khoi and Bao Tran were still waiting. She recounted the short conversation with her mother, her voice still filled with emotion. "My mother is awake, the doctor said her condition is progressing very well."

“Great news,” Bao Tran said, smiling with relief, “I'm really happy for you and your uncle.”

Hoai An looked at Bao Tran and suddenly remembered the huge mysterious donation that helped her family overcome the financial crisis. "Dude," she asked, her voice probing, "do you know anything more about the person who contributed that large amount of money? I really want to thank them."

Bao Tran paused for a second, her eyes avoided for a moment before replying, Her voice tried to keep it natural. “I don't know,” she said, “maybe it's just some sponsor who doesn't want to reveal his identity because kindness comes from sincerity and doesn't need recognition.”

That answer, although it sounded reasonable, made Hoai An a little suspicious at the slight hesitation in her friend's voice, but she decided not to ask further, respecting the anonymous wish of the person who helped her family in the most difficult time, even though in her heart, a vague premonition still urged her to wonder if that mysterious benefactor was the girl standing in front of her.

That night, when Hoai An went home to rest on the doctor's advice, while her mother remained at the hospital to monitor her, she sat alone and reopened the entire list of people who had donated on the school's social networking site. She carefully read each name, each warm message of encouragement, and was touched by the heart of the entire community that had come together to help her family overcome the tribulation.

She texted to thank Lan Phuong for initiating and coordinating the entire donation campaign quickly and effectively. "Thank you very much," she wrote, "if it weren't for you calling out in time, maybe things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"Don't thank me," Lan Phuong replied, "I'm just the initiator. It's your story, your sincerity and determination that truly touches people's hearts, making them willing to help."

Hoai An smiled, put down the phone, looked out the small window where the moonlight was illuminating the peaceful alley. She thought about her journey over the past few months at Royal School - from the first days of being lost and oppressed, to now, surrounded by the love and support of so many kind people. She was secretly grateful to fate for bringing her to this school, even though the road was not smooth, but in the end it led her to the most valuable values she could have in life.