Era of Disaster Chapter 1: Picking Up A Daughter

Chapter 1: Picking up a daughter

Bai Yi walked along a road in Hamilton, New Zealand, his mood as terrible as the dark clouds above. After chasing her all the way from China to New Zealand, all he got was a resolute ‘it’s over’ in return. However, Bai Yi was not somebody who would torment himself and become depressed over love. Since the love is already gone, he would also no longer hold on to it.

Suddenly, the gloomy sky overhead started to pour and Bai Yi immediately ran under a roof at the side of the road.

Just as he likened his mood to the weather, it really started to rain Bai Yi ridiculed in his heart. Staring at the pouring rain from the sky, he felt that it is time return to his home country. Since he already got a definite answer, there was no point in staying at this foreign place anymore.

At this point in time, Bai Yi suddenly felt like he heard a baby crying and a dog barking.

Turning his head slightly, Bai Yi listened carefully. However, the noise from the heavy rain covered up other sounds and he couldn’t hear anything. Did I hear wrongly? Why would there be a baby crying at this time? Bai Yi questioned in his heart, hiding from the rain under the roof. After standing still for a while, Bai Yi couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had in his heart. It didn’t seem like he heard wrongly?

“Customer…!”

The staff from the shop that Bai Yi was standing in front of opened the door intending to let Bai Yi go in to take shelter from the rain. However, just then Bai Yi suddenly ran out into the pouring rain. The staff stopped his right hand in mid-air and was still for moment...what a weird Chinese tourist. Shrugging his shoulders, the staff closed the door again and returned to the shop.

Bai Yi followed the weak cry he heard before, running towards an alley along the street and looked around carefully. It should have been real, I really did hear a baby crying.

Suddenly, he heard a small dog barking urgently. Bai Yi immediately perked up and ran towards that direction. Pa.s.sing by a remote corner, Bai Yi found a small cardboard box and a small shar pei dog barking incessantly in the rain.

Bai Yi immediately rushed over and opened the cardboard box.

A female baby!

A female baby of not even a year old laid in the cardboard box, however at this moment her entire body was soaked by the rain. Bai Yi was stunned for a moment and immediately carried the female baby and sheltered her with his jacket. He then sprinted towards the road outside and the small shar pei dog also cleverly followed behind him.

“Taxi, Taxi!” Bai Yi ran out of the alley and immediately stopped a taxi that was just pa.s.sing by, almost getting hit in the process.

“Go to the nearest hospital, thanks!” Bai Yi opened the door to the cab and entered the car. The small shar pei dog also intelligently hopped onto the car with him.

Seeing both Bai Yi and the small shar pei dog soaked with water, the taxi driver had wanted to complain but then saw the baby in Bai Yi’s arms. The rain wetted the baby’s face, making her appear unusually pale. In an instant, the complaint that the taxi driver had wanted to say was swallowed down.

“Sit tight.” After saying those words, the driver immediately started the car and sped out.

Very quickly, the taxi drove Bai Yi to a hospital. Bai Yi hurriedly opened the car door and frantically ran towards the hospital. The driver shook his head helplessly at Bai Yi’s actions, this guy didn’t even pay his taxi fare. However, the driver only smiled and didn’t say anything, starting his car and driving off.

“Is there anybody! I have an emergency, hurry! She’s going to die!” 

Amidst the shouting of the nurse at the reception desk, Bai Yi rushed towards the emergency room and kicked open the door. Inside the emergency room, a female doctor got a shock and almost dropped the teacup she was holding.

“Doctor, hurry and save her she’s dying!” Bai Yi said anxiously, pa.s.sing the clothes in his hands over. 

The female doctor originally wanted to say something, but upon opening up the clothes and seeing the pale baby she immediately turned serious and dutiful.

After seeing the baby being sent to the emergency room, Bai Yi suddenly recalled he hasn’t paid the taxi fare yet and immediately ran outside. However, all he saw was a thick curtain of rain and not even a shadow of the taxi.

“Hey, wipe yourself and change your clothes, otherwise it won’t be just the little princess you brought here but also you who needs a stay.” A nurse told Bai Yi, bringing him a towel and a set of patient clothes.

Bai Yi saw the items in the nurse’s hands and immediately appreciated it “Thanks!”

After Bai Yi changed his clothes, he returned to the outside of the emergency room and found the small shar pei dog still standing guard there. Bai Yi was quite surprised at this and stroked the head of the small shar pei dog. Feeling the hunger in his stomach, Bai Yi told the small dog “Continue to stand guard for a while, I’ll go buy something to eat.” 

“Woof!” the small dog seemed to understand what Bai Yi was saying and barked lightly.  

After a while, Bai Yi carried two lunch boxes back and wolfed it down with the small dog. After that, they waited outside the emergency room until the doctor came out. Bai Yi immediately went up to the doctor nervously and asked: “Doctor, how is it?”

“She’s out of danger, but what kind of father are you? Your daughter has a congenital disease and you still do not take good care of her!” After the female doctor from the emergency room came out, she immediately started lecturing Bai Yi. Bai Yi just stood there blankly getting lectured by the doctor.

“Wait wait wait, she isn’t my daughter!” Bai Yi finally retorted.

“What kind of joke is this? Having a daughter at such a young age, unless you don’t want her anymore because of her congenital disease? Youngsters like you should have a limit when it comes to messing around, life isn’t meant for you guys to play around with…” The female doctor was apparently quite appalled by this kind of irresponsible behaviour and Bai Yi just stood there getting scolded severely.

“She really isn’t my daughter, I am just a tourist who reached New Zealand a few days ago! If you don’t believe me you can check it up! I heard a baby’s cry along the street and found her at a remote corner.” Bai Yi used his clumsy English to explain. The female doctor looked at Bai Yi doubtingly after hearing his explanation. After a long while, she reluctantly believed him.

“If it’s like this, then her parents probably abandoned her here, what cold-blooded and selfish parents.” The female doctor let out a sigh after understanding the story.

“What congenital disease does she have?” 

“She was born with sight impediment, now she can only see a few meters away and as she grows older her eyesight will become worse. When she reaches around five years old, she will lose her sight completely. With such a congenital disease, no wonder the parents abandoned this child.” The female doctor said with waning enthusiasm.

“Just pay the warding fees, the emergency treatment fees will come from social welfare this time.”

“What will happen to her?”

“What will happen...what do you think? She will obviously be sent to an orphanage. However, do you think a blind girl will have a good life at a place like an orphanage?” The female doctor’s mood got worse as she spoke and walked towards her office. Apparently, the female doctor’s mood was quite low from this. You could tell that the doctor was a good person, but precisely because she was a good person that she felt even more helpless and frustrated at the situation.

Bai Yi’s mood was also very heavy, after the female doctor left he walked to the ward and looked at the female baby.

A nurse was taking care of the baby at the moment, after seeing Bai Yi walk over she immediately said to the baby: “look, your daddy is here, smile!” Apparently, the nurse and the female doctor both thought that Bai Yi is the father of this baby.

Bai Yi forced a smile and did not bother explaining, but the baby who was originally quiet really turned around and revealed a young and tender smile to Bai Yi.

Pure!

The word instantly came up in Bai Yi’s mind. He could not think of any other word to describe the smile on the baby’s face. However, he now had to reject that smiling face as he isn’t the father of this baby.

“I’m sorry, but I am not her father.”

“What nonsense are you talking about, such a cute daughter, what if you hurt her with those words.” The pretty nurse said after standing blankly for a while. Apparently, she thought that Bai Yi was just joking around. 

“I am not her father.” Bai Yi said, turning around.

“Stop, stop right now! How can you be so irresponsible, are you going to abandon your daughter and leave!” The nurse held onto Bai Yi at the door and criticised him loudly.

“What responsibility do I need to take? She is not my daughter.”

“How can she not be your daughter? You were so worried when you sent the little princess to the hospital. I thought you were a responsible man, I never expected you to be like this.” The nurse continued criticising Bai Yi. At this point in time, the other people inside the hospital have discovered the commotion and started to gather around.

“Look! This couple seems to be quarrelling!”

“Hmph! That guy must be a playboy, trying to run away after fooling around! In the end, the woman came to make him take responsibility.”

“Seems like there is even a daughter but the man said that it wasn’t his, it can’t be that the woman had an affair?”

“Are you stupid? This is men’s most common excuse! Just claim that the child isn’t theirs after getting her pregnant, then they do not have to take any responsibility.”

More and more people started to gather around, even though they did not come close but they were whispering incessantly among themselves. The sound of this kind of whispering wasn’t soft either. When the nurse heard the whispers of the people around them get more and more ridiculous she couldn’t help but blush and then pinched Bai Yi’s ear.

“Hey, hey what are you doing! What kind of a nurse are you? Let go of me what did I do to you!” Bai Yi tried to struggle but the more he struggled the more painful his ear was. 

“Did you see that, you must be this bold as a woman! Dare to grab the guy by his ears, or else you can just wait to be bullied by them.” The people around started to become noise upon seeing the nurse’s actions. Amidst the snickering of the crowd, the nurse pulled Bai Yi by his ear into the ward.