An Unexpected Call

By Nai Zhu

A call came in on my cell from an “unknown caller.” After a bit of deliberation, I reluctantly picked up the phone:

Voice: Hello, is this Yuan Lei?

Me: Yes.

Voice: I play Mahjong with your dad. I’m sorry to say that he got into a terrible accident, and I just drove him to the emergency room at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University.

Me: Oh?

Voice: The hospital is just awful! They won’t perform the operation without paying first.I don’t have enough to cover the costs. I need you to quickly transfer funds into bank account number, 5203 5469 8853 8859.Please hurry for God’s sake!

Me: What about my mother?

Voice: I didn’t have the heart to tell your mom. I was afraid the shock might be more than her poor heart could bear. And anyway, there’s really no point in telling her, she won’t be able to make it without telling you. The first item of business is to save your father’s life!

Me: How do I know this isn’t a scam?

Voice: Your name is Yuan Lei,right? And your father’s name is Yuan XX, right?

Me: Yes.

Voice: Well, there ya go! Now,please hurry. If you keep delaying like this, your dad isn’t going to make it!

Me: Are you sure you’re really my dad’s Mahjong buddy?

Voice: Yes, of course.

Me: But, this is all just so unexpected…

Voice: What, that your dad would be gambling without the nerve to tell you?

Me: No what I mean is, I just burned a set of paper Mahjong tiles days ago, on Tomb Sweeping Day, to bring him good luck in the great beyond. I just never expected that he’d find a Mahjong partner so soon.

手机来电，显示“不明电话”。

对方：袁蕾吗？

我：是。

对方：我是跟你爸一起打牌的。你爸出车祸了，刚刚送到华西医大急救。

我：嗯？

对方：医生太坏了，不给钱就不上手术台。我身上钱不够，你赶快把钱打到账号5203 5469 8853 8859。

我：我妈呢？

对方：不敢通知你妈，怕吓到她。再说通知了也没用，她哪儿去找钱嘛。救人第一啊。

我：我怎么知道你是不是骗子？

对方：你叫袁蕾，你爸叫袁××，对不对？

我：对。

对方：这不就对了。搞快点，再耽误，你爸就不行了。

我：你确定是我爸爸的牌友？

对方：那当然。

我：主要是我没想到——

对方：可能他打牌不敢跟你说。

我：我是说，没想到清明才给他烧了一副麻将，他这么快就找到牌友了。