I shivered from the cold and stopped struggling.

"Calm now?"

We were extremely close, and I could feel each other’s warm breath.

I had no romantic notions whatsoever. I stiffened my face and reached out to push him away: "My business is no concern of Captain Julian’s."

Julian’s brows furrowed coldly, and he pursed his lips in displeasure.

I stood up to leave, but his shoulder strap caught on my inner camisole. With a "snap," the strap was ripped off!

Chapter 5

My front had been completely exposed.

Julian immediately shifted his gaze, stood up, and turned around.

Yet the scene that had just unfolded seemed etched into his mind, involuntarily reminding him of that day and night on the train.

Back then, for the sake of reputation, he couldn't call for help; he simply pressed me firmly under the quilt until I quieted down. Even though I was clothed, through the friction, he could still feel a softness so different from a man's...

With his back to me, he cleared his throat: "Keep the jacket. Get dressed properly before you come out."

With that, he opened the door and walked out, his pace somewhat unsteady.

Outside the lounge, Selina watched Julian emerge wearing only his short-sleeved undershirt. She clenched her fists, a dark glint flashing in her eyes.

I didn't try to be coy; I put on the jacket and headed straight for the ward, just in time to catch the surgeon.

"The patient suffered a severe blow to the back of her head. Let’s observe her for a while. If she doesn't wake up after a week, you’ll need to go to the Eastern Theater General Hospital to find Dr. Sterling. He is one of the country’s top medical experts and has done more advanced research on neurology."

Long after the doctor left, I still hadn't collected my thoughts.

I sat alone by the bedside, looking at my mother with a thick bandage wrapped around her head, my heart twisting in agony.

"Mom, can you hear me?"

"Mom, can we both try our best? I’ll work hard to earn money, and you... please try, too... give me a chance to lead us to a better life..."

"Mom..."

Julian returned after paying the medical bills. He stood at the entrance of Room 302 for quite a while, but I never noticed him.

I sat quietly, not crying, just talking to myself as if we were chatting about daily life, yet it inexplicably made him feel a suffocating tightness in his chest.

Julian didn't disturb me; he left a bag and quietly slipped away.

I hadn't noticed Julian’s presence at all until the nurse came to change the IV bag and brought the bag in for me.

I opened it and found several sets of clothes inside, even including the latest styles of undergarments.

There was also a note—

[For Elena.]

It was Julian’s handwriting.

I didn’t understand why Julian was suddenly concerned, but I was no longer foolish enough to think he had fallen for me.

I had learned the lesson of love the hard way once in my previous life—that was enough.

I didn’t touch the things in the bag. Instead, I borrowed a sewing kit from the nurse, mended my shirt, and washed Julian’s jacket.

Afterward, I stayed in the ward to take care of Evelyn.

The police came once during that time, and I don’t know if Victor was afraid, but he didn’t come to cause trouble again.

Three days later, once the jacket was dry, I took the bag and made a trip back to the Julian residence.

When I arrived, no one was home.

I breathed a sigh of relief and placed the clothes outside Julian’s room.

Just as I turned to leave, a sudden pain struck the back of my head, and then everything went black as I lost consciousness.

My head hurt so much.

I don’t know how much time had passed.

The excruciating pain forced my eyes open. I groped to pull myself up, only to find that I was sleeping in Julian’s bed—and I was naked!

Oh no.

If anyone saw this, I would never be able to clear my name, even if I jumped into the Yellow River.

I searched around but couldn't find my clothes, so I had no choice but to wrap myself in the quilt and prepare to get out of bed.

The door was suddenly pushed open, followed by a scream from Selina: "Elena, you’ve lost your mind! How could you strip naked and climb into Julian’s bed!"

Chapter 6

The moment Selina rushed in, I realized everything was her doing.

What kindness and grace?

Selina was the most treacherous person of all.

"Elena! Julian’s parents kindly adopted us, yet you keep seducing Julian over and over again! How can you expect everyone to feel at ease with you staying in the Julian home?"

"You should hurry up and apologize to Julian."

Behind Selina, as always, stood Julian.

Although he didn’t say a word, his cold, harsh posture made it clear he shared Selina’s opinion.

I really didn’t want to continue listening to their nonsense about seduction and entanglement, so I calmly dismissed them: "If you’ve said enough, get out. I need to get dressed."

There were no clothes in the room. Once they left, I wrapped myself in the quilt and returned to my own room.

After changing into my own clothes, I began packing my luggage without a word.

If Selina wanted to be the only daughter of the Julian family, I would grant her that wish.

Besides, no matter how hard I tried to explain things, my words never carried as much weight as Selina’s.

I didn’t want to be anyone’s "foil" in this life.

I walked out carrying my bundle, only to find Julian standing right outside the door.

I thought he had come to chase me out, so I thought for a moment before saying: "Captain Julian, thank you for your care over this time. The money you spent on my mother and me, I will earn back and repay you in the future. Someone like me is truly not suited to stay in the Julian home."

"Please rest assured, I am sincerely leaving. This is not a scheme, nor is it a game of 'playing hard to get.' Once I leave, I will never return, and I will never pester you again."

The string of "nevers" caused Julian’s fists to clench involuntarily: "I didn’t ask you anything. What is this supposed to be?"

He was somewhat angry: "Confessing without being questioned?"

I smiled: "Listen to yourself—'confessing without being questioned'? You’ve already made up your mind. If I defended myself and said Selina framed me, would you believe me?"

Julian frowned: "Selina has been in the study reading since morning; she couldn't have come downstairs to frame you. You shouldn't lie just because of a few reasonable speculations from her."

I looked at him with a look that was half-smile, half-sneer.

See? I knew that even if I explained, he would only believe Selina.

"Believe whatever you want to believe."

I started walking, disregarding the burning gaze of the man behind me.

I hurried to the hospital. Just as I turned the corner, I saw my stepfather, Victor, holding a long-stemmed pipe and cursing as he walked out of Evelyn’s ward.

"Damn it, a thousand yuan in three days! What a money-wasting loser! I’m discharging this dying hag this afternoon. I don’t believe she won't refund my money just because she isn't here!"

As he spoke, he spat on the ground.

My heart tightened. This old bastard!

Counting on the fact that no one saw him hit my mother, the police couldn't do anything to him, yet he still dared to come and wreak havoc on us.

But the poor have nothing to lose. I couldn't go head-to-head with a scoundrel like Victor.

I couldn't afford to provoke him, so I had to hide.

If he managed to take my mother away, we would truly be on a dead-end road, just like in my previous life! We couldn’t stay here any longer—we had to leave now!

I made up my mind and went straight to the doctor to inquire about discharging and transferring hospitals.

The doctor knew she was a martyr’s relative, so he proactively helped me contact hospitals in other cities and even helped me buy the train tickets.

The hospital was very efficient. An hour later, I took Evelyn and boarded the train.

Looking at the scenery rushing backward outside the window, I held the unconscious Evelyn tightly in my arms.

My eyes were bloodshot, but my gaze grew increasingly firm: "Mom, I’m sorry. I’m taking you somewhere very far away now. You might have to suffer for a while... but as long as we’re alive, there’s still hope, right?"

"Don’t worry. In this life, I will do my absolute best to take good care of you."

"As for the capital... we will never come back here again."