"Did Cece not come today?" Ethan’s voice was sharp and cold.

Chapter 32

"Cece?" Chen was stunned for a second, then realized he meant Clara Tang.

"Oh, are you looking for Sister Cece? She went home early today," Chen replied quickly.

Ethan’s heart relaxed, and the hostility in his eyes dissipated. He politely thanked Chen and left quickly.

"That man looks so familiar. Where have I seen him before?" Chen muttered to herself as she walked home.

Sitting in his car, Ethan tugged at his tie.

The tension that had gripped his body receded like a tide, and a profound weariness suddenly swept over him.

Without seeing Clara, his heart felt adrift and unsettled.

It felt as though he had been transported back to three years ago, the moment he first heard the news of her "death."

The overwhelming darkness had consumed him then; he could not survive that kind of grief and despair a third time.

Ethan’s fingertips gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

His turbulent emotions began to tear at his insides, making him break into a cold sweat from the pain.

With trembling hands, Ethan dialed his psychologist’s number. Since discovering Clara was alive, he hadn't visited the clinic in a long time.

"I need to come over now..." Ethan panted slightly, his eyes dark and sunken.

The lights of the psychological clinic were on, and there were few people inside.

Ethan walked straight to the office of the doctor who had been treating him.

The psychologist looked at the man whose dark hair was soaked with sweat and understood immediately—he was having an episode.

"Why didn't you come to the last consultation?" the doctor asked in a calm, non-judgmental voice.

"Because I found the person I wanted to see," Ethan said, his voice unusually tender.

The psychologist’s heart tightened. He remembered the cause of Ethan’s condition—depressive tendencies and trauma resulting from the loss of a loved one.

The word "loss" usually implied death.

The psychologist’s mind raced, and the way he looked at Ethan changed.

Ethan sensed it immediately. His voice carried a hint of slight joy. "It's not what you think. She isn't a hallucination. She’s truly alive."

The psychologist did not relax. He followed up: "How did you find her?"

Ethan explained the sequence of events.

Seeing the logical and coherent narrative, the doctor’s mind eased for a moment.

Then he heard Ethan say, "I went to the shop to find her today, but she had gone home early. I was terrified. My emotions haven't been right since. Have I... gotten worse?"

Three years ago, the moment Ethan first contemplated suicide, he realized he was ill.

While losing Clara drove him to madness, suicide was a betrayal of professional faith for someone who spent years on the front lines of rescue missions.

He shouldn't have been capable of such thoughts.

So, he had sought out a psychologist of his own accord. The suicidal thoughts were gone, but he had since become addicted to bi-weekly hypnosis sessions.

"It's hard to say. But for your illness, she is likely the key. As for what happens after the door is opened, that depends on what you are obsessed with."

"Obsessed?"

Ethan lowered his head slightly. An unusual light flickered in his eyes at the word.

His obsession?

He was obsessed with many things.

He wanted Clara to be alive, he wanted her to be happy, and he wanted her forgiveness.

He even felt a desperate urge to be near her, to have her look at him again, and to have her stop saying, "I don't owe you anymore."

His greatest hope, however, was still to stand by her side, to be her lover, and to be the one who spent the rest of his life with her.

Even if the hope was slim, Ethan still wanted to fight for it.

Chapter 33

Clara Tang was entirely unaware of what was happening to Ethan.

She was sitting in the Tang courtyard chatting with Song Qinghe. Song had been visiting frequently lately; ever since Mrs. Tang learned she had no living relatives, she had been exceptionally protective of her.

Marcus had also learned of the situation over the phone and had called Song Qinghe.

At first, Clara was a bit uneasy, fearing Marcus would think she had overstepped.

But seeing Song Qinghe’s eyes glowing after the call, Clara finally felt relieved.

As she listened to Song Qinghe recount funny stories from her and Marcus’s university days, memories of Ethan Shaw surfaced in Clara’s mind as well.

Since she woke up, no one had ever mentioned Ethan again.

She had learned to try and forget, but fragments of memory related to him would always be extracted from the smallest details.

"Cece, Cece..." Song Qinghe’s call made Clara instinctively turn toward the sound.

The next moment, something warm and smelling of medicinal herbs was pressed against Clara’s face.

"What is it?" Clara asked, tilting her head toward Song Qinghe.

Song Qinghe replied softly, "A prescription from a Chinese medicine practitioner I know. It's for external application. I made it into the shape of an eye mask."

Hearing Song Qinghe bring up this topic, Clara’s expression faltered for a moment, but she still smiled and thanked her.

"Cece, don't avoid treatment. Let's keep trying. You're still so young; it would be best if you could recover. If not, your brother will look after you for the rest of your life."

Hearing this, a wave of warmth flowed through Clara’s heart. She knew Song Qinghe was using her brother's name to say that she didn't mind the visual impairment and would also take care of her.

Listening to the conversation between Song Qinghe and her parents, and the scents wafting from all corners of the courtyard, Clara’s heart gradually found peace.

The next day, as soon as Clara entered the flower shop, Chen greeted her with gossip.

"Sister Cece, Sister Cece! Do you know a man who is very tall, very cold, but incredibly handsome?"

Chen’s description was very vague, but Ethan Shaw’s face instinctively appeared in Clara’s mind.

"What about him?"

Chen explained excitedly, "Last week, when you went out with Professor Song, a gentleman came looking for you at closing time."

"Looking for me? Did he say what it was about?" Clara asked, biting her lip.

Chen shook her head. "He just asked if you were in, and then he left."

A look of confusion appeared on Clara’s face, but before she could speak again, Chen’s tone turned gossipy.

"I think he's a suitor of yours, Sister Cece."

"Why?" Clara asked, her eyebrows arching curiously.

"Because I've seen that gentleman many times." To make Clara believe her, Chen emphasized "many times" and quickly added, "Remember when I said someone was waiting across the street? That was him. I've seen him sporadically many times since. But this was the first time we actually spoke."

Clara’s heart tightened. Could it be...

When Clara didn't respond for a long time, Chen rubbed her forehead awkwardly. "It's also possible I guessed wrong."

Clara placed her phone on the table and pushed it toward Chen, speaking as if she had finally made a decision. "Chen, open my photo gallery. There’s a hidden folder inside. See if it's the man in the photo."

As Chen moved, Clara’s hands tightened uncontrollably. she couldn't describe the feeling—it was as if she were suspended high in the clouds.

Following Clara’s instructions, Chen unlocked the folder step by step. The moment the photo appeared before her, she let out an instinctive gasp.

"It is him! Though the person in the photo looks a bit younger."

Chapter 34

The moment Chen finished speaking, Clara Tang felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow.

It really was Ethan Shaw. What was he doing here?

Clara’s face turned pale, and her breathing grew shallow.

The thought of her current appearance filled her with a sense of humiliation.

"Sister Cece, are you okay?" From the moment she opened the photo album, Chen’s mind had already begun constructing an elaborate drama of love and hate between the two.

Clearly, this man’s relationship with Clara was anything but ordinary.

He had never taken the initiative to approach her; had she been too careless by blurting it out like that?

Chen looked at her anxiously, but Clara snapped out of her daze at the sound of the question.

She bit her lower lip, thought for a moment, and said, "Chen... I want to go home early today."

As soon as she said it, Chen immediately agreed.

Clara led Abu outside, her hand tightly gripping her bag strap, betraying her turbulent emotions.

The weather today was somewhat gloomy. Clara walked forward, immersed in her own thoughts.

It wasn't until a hand pulled her from behind that she was startled back to reality, instinctively shrinking away.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

That familiar voice made her already pale complexion turn even whiter.