On June 18, 8-year-old Yan She replaced her illiterate father and signed on her medical record with clear strokes: "voluntarily give up Yan She's treatment." Yan She underwent chemotherapy that was hard to bear. Inside the glass door, Yan She lay in bed receiving an infusion. Beside her bed was a chair, and on the chair was a plastic basin. She had to turn aside frequently to vomit. The resilience of this little girl shocked everyone. Her attending doctor introduced that during chemotherapy, she experienced severe gastrointestinal reactions. At the beginning, Yan She would vomit half a basinful at a time, but she didn't utter a sound. When she was admitted to the hospital for a bone marrow puncture examination, the needle pierced through her ribcage, but she neither cried nor shed a tear, and didn't even flinch.
This disease requires very expensive medical costs, usually around 300,000 yuan. Mr. She was stunned. Looking at his daughter lying in the bed, he couldn't think too much; he had only one motive - to save his daughter! But borrowing money from relatives and friends was futile. A gap of 300,000 seemed insurmountable, so he decided to sell the family's only asset - their mud house. However, due to its dilapidated condition, no buyer could be found.
There was a beautiful little girl named Yu Yan, with sparkling big eyes and a transparent childlike heart. She was an orphan who lived in this world for only eight years. Her last words were, "I've been here, I've been good." She wished to die in autumn, her frail body resembling the natural blooming and fading process of a flower. Amidst the yellow flowers accumulating everywhere and leaves swirling in the air, she would see flocks of geese flying across the sky. She voluntarily abandoned treatment, dividing the 540,000 yuan donated by Chinese people around the world into seven parts, sharing her life like a hope-filled cake with seven other children hovering between life and death.
"I've been here, I've been good" - The Last Will of an Eight-Year-Old Girl. On September 24, the first girl to receive Yan She's gift, Xuli, successfully underwent surgery at Huaxi Medical University. With a pale face, she smiled faintly, saying, "I have received your gift of life. Thank you, Sister Yan She. You must be watching us from heaven. Please rest assured, our tombstones will also be engraved with: 'I've been here, I've been good'..."
Starting in May 2005, she often had nosebleeds. One morning while washing her face, Yan She noticed that the basin of water had turned red because blood was dripping from her nose, and no matter what measures were taken, it wouldn't stop. With no other choice, her father took her to the town health center for injections, but the small needle wound continued to bleed uncontrollably. Red spots appeared all over her legs. The doctor said they needed to go to a larger hospital immediately. Arriving at the Chengdu hospital, it was peak consultation time, so she couldn't get an appointment right away. Sitting alone on a long bench, holding her nose, her nosebleed streamed down like two lines, staining the floor red. Feeling embarrassed, she had to use a chamber pot to catch the blood. In less than ten minutes, the pot was already half full with blood. Upon seeing this, the doctor immediately brought her in for tests. After the examination, the doctor issued a critical illness notice. She had "acute leukemia"!
Looking at her father's melancholy eyes and increasingly emaciated face, Yan She always felt a pang of sorrow. Once, pulling her father's hand, before she could speak, tears welled up in her eyes: "Dad, I want to die..."
Yan She grew up without a single moment of maternal care. When Doctor Xu Ming offered, "Yan She, will you be my daughter?" Yan She's eyes lit up, and tears immediately flowed out. The next day, when Doctor Xu Ming came to her bedside, Yan She shyly called her "Xu Mommy" for the first time. Xu Ming was initially startled, then delighted, sweetly responding, "My daughter is good."
The next day, Dad asked Auntie to take Yan She to town, where they spent 30 yuan buying her two new sets of clothes. Yan She chose a pink sleeveless top and shorts for herself, while Auntie picked out a white dress with red dots for her. Once she tried them on, she didn't want to take them off. The three went to the photo studio, where Yan She, dressed in her new pink clothes, made a V sign with her hands and smiled as hard as she could. Eventually, she couldn't help but shed tears...
Behind was a brief introduction about Yan She's background, with the final two sentences reading: "In her lifetime, she felt the warmth of humanity. Little girl, please rest in peace; Heaven is more beautiful with you."
Unfortunately, she only wore her new clothes briefly, as it was time for an injection, requiring needles to be inserted into her feet. Soon, she had to take off her socks and shoes. This pitiful child was indeed extraordinary. From the age of five, she knew how to help her father with household chores – laundry, cooking, cutting grass – she excelled at everything. She realized she was different from other children. Other children had parents, but in her home, there were only her and her father. Together, they supported this home. She had to be very obedient, not giving her father any extra worries or reasons to be upset.
At night, after finishing work, Doctor Xu Ming took a taxi to a children's clothing boutique, spending 80 yuan on a pair of red leather shoes and two pairs of white socks.
Lifting her head shyly for a long time, Yan She timidly said, "I want a pair of red leather shoes, wearing white socks inside, just like Snow White."
"Because they are all kind people."
"But if you are a kind person, kind people should help each other, and thereby become even kinder."
"Auntie, I also want to be a kind person."
That night, Doctor Xu Ming returned home and bought a pair of red leather shoes and two pairs of white socks for 80 yuan.
The next day, when Xu Mom arrived at the ward, she put a pair of white socks on Yan She, casually saying, "Wear these so your feet don't get cold." Yan She happily replied, "Mom, this is the first time I've worn socks."
The following day, Xu Mom put the red leather shoes and white socks on Yan She. Yan She sat at the edge of the bed, her feet dangling above the ground, utterly delighted.
If it weren't for a journalist named Fu Yan from the Chengdu Evening News, Yan She would have quietly slipped away like a leaf falling silently from the wind.
That night, after returning home, Yan She, who had never made any requests to her dad since childhood, now made two requests: she wanted to wear a new set of clothes and take another photograph. She explained to her father, "When I'm gone, you can look at my picture when you miss me."
On June 21, Yan She, who had given up treatment and returned home awaiting death, was readmitted to Chengdu and settled into the Children's Hospital. With funds secured, the fragile life gained hope and reason to continue living.
A journalist learned the situation from the hospital and wrote a report detailing Yan She's story. Instantly, the story of the "Eight-Year-Old Girl Cleverly Arranging Her Afterlife" spread throughout Chengdu. Chengdu was moved, the internet was moved, countless citizens grieved for this unfortunate girl. From Chengdu to the entire country, even the world, both the real world and cyberspace worked together as all charitable individuals donated to save this fragile life. "Harmonious Society" became the strongest sentiment in everyone's hearts. Within a short span of ten days, donations from global Chinese exceeded 560,000 yuan, sufficient for the surgery. Little Yan She's spark of life was reignited by everyone's love!
This is an eight-year-old child who, on the brink of death, lay in bed and used a pencil to write a three-page will. Because the child was young, some characters she didn't know how to write, and there were many typos. It was evident that this article wasn't written in one continuous flow. Divided into six sections, it started with "Auntie Fu Yan" and ended with "Goodbye Auntie Fu Yan." Throughout the text, "Auntie Fu Yan" or "Auntie Fu" appeared seven times, and nine times simply as "Auntie." Behind these sixteen references, all were about her "entrustments" posthumously and her desire to express "gratitude" and "farewell" to the society that cared for her through the journalist.
On August 22, due to gastrointestinal bleeding, Yan She, who had almost a month without eating and relied solely on intravenous fluids, ate something for the first time. She broke a piece of instant noodles and put it in her mouth. Soon afterward, her gastrointestinal bleeding worsened, and the doctors and nurses urgently gave her blood transfusions and IVs... Watching Yan She endure unbearable abdominal pain and suffering, many doctors and nurses cried. Everyone wanted to share her pain, but despite trying every method, it was like adding a drop of water to a burning fire.
All hoped for a miracle to occur, all anticipated Yan She's rebirth. Many citizens visited the hospital to see Yan She, and numerous netizens online inquired about this unfortunate child. Her life illuminated this strange world with brightness!
According to Yan She's will, the remaining 5.4 million yuan in medical fees were to be given as a gift of life to other children with leukemia. These seven children were Yang Xinlin, Xu Li, Huang Zhiqiang, Liu Linglu, Zhang Yujie, Gao Jian, and Wang Jie. The oldest among these seven children was 19 years old, and the youngest only 2 years old. All came from extremely difficult backgrounds, struggling on the brink of death.
After announcing the end of the donation campaign, donations from all over the world continued to pour in. All the money was in place, and the doctors did their utmost. One by one, treatment hurdles were successfully overcome! Everyone smiled, awaiting the successful day... Some netizens wrote, "Yan She, my beloved child..."
Everyone was unable to accept this reality. Could that beautiful, pure-as-water "little fairy" really have gone to another world? Journalist Fu Yan touched Yan She's gradually cooling little face and sobbed uncontrollably. She could no longer call her aunt, and laughter could no longer be heard...
On August 20 in the early morning, she asked Fu Yan, "Auntie, tell me, why do they donate money to me?"
Yan She's abdomen was in unbearable pain, and she pleaded with all the doctors and nurses, "Let me die, I am suffering too much..."
Doctor Xu Ming instantly felt as if her heart was being pricked by needles, then asked her, "Tell Mommy, what else do you want?"
Yan She looked completely bewildered, unable to imagine what KFC was.
Doctor Xu Ming told Yan She, "When you recover, Mommy will take you to eat at KFC."
Sichuan Online, NetEase, and other websites were drowned in tears, the internet soaked in tears, "Painful to the point of not being able to breathe." Underneath every news post on every website were tens of thousands of comments, wreaths piled high, condolences like the sea. A middle-aged man murmured, "Child, you were originally an angel from heaven, open your little wings, and fly back obediently..." On August 26, her funeral was held in the rain. Inside and outside the cremation hall of Chengdu's East Suburban Funeral Parlor stood tearful citizens, all strangers to the eight-year-old girl Yan She. To ensure that this girl, who was abandoned at birth and later forced to abandon herself after contracting leukemia, didn't feel too lonely in her final departure, "parents" from all over silently braved the rain to bid farewell.
Her grave has a smiling photograph of her, with the inscription on the front of the tombstone reading: "I've been here, I've been good (November 30, 1996 – August 22, 2005)."
This letter left Fu Yan sobbing uncontrollably.
The eight-year-old girl Yan She finally escaped the torment of the disease and passed away peacefully.
She could no longer attend school and would often stand for long periods on the village road with her schoolbag, her eyes always wet.
The will made Fu Yan cry uncontrollably.
On November 30, 1996, which was the 20th day of the 10th lunar month that year, when "Dad" She Shiyou discovered a newborn baby, almost frozen to death, in the grass near a hillock in Shenjia Chong, Yongxing Town, he noticed a small piece of paper stuck to her chest that read, "12 o'clock on the night of October 20."