"I am doing this because she needs surgery."

"Not because she calls you sister."

With that, he turned and left, his white coat worn with a crisp efficiency, even his retreating back carrying a coldness that kept people at a distance.

She stared at him, holding it in for a long time, but couldn't help herself.

"Sister, he’s so heartless."

Her voice was very soft, but her anger was real: "You were right to leave him back then."

I immediately reached out and covered her mouth: "Stop that, don't talk nonsense."

Her eyes were still red, her lashes wet and clumped together.

She grabbed my wrist, muttering under her breath: "After I’m discharged, I’m going to help you throw away every single photo of you and him."

Ethan had already reached the door, his hand on the handle, but he didn't turn it immediately.

I watched his back, my chest aching.

Five years ago, Ethan was most afraid of me throwing away those photos.

Whenever he saw a female lead in a movie tear up pictures of her ex and throw them in the trash,

Ethan would turn around and pinch my cheeks.

"You are not allowed to learn her bad habits. We might be separated for a while, but you cannot throw away our photos. As long as you keep them, I’ll know you still love me."

I laughed at him for being childish then; now, recalling it, all I tasted was bitterness.

Ethan pulled the door open to leave.

A nurse happened to be coming in with a brown paper bag. Seeing the door suddenly swing open, she scrambled to avoid him.

The paper bag slipped from her arms, and cash scattered all over the floor.

A slip of paper also fell out, and the wind from the doorway blew it right to Ethan’s feet.

The nurse was so flustered her face turned red: "I'm so sorry, Dr. Ethan."

She crouched down to pick up the money and looked at me.

"Ms. Xu, a gentleman left this at the nurse’s station earlier and said I had to give it to you personally."

My hand slowly dropped from my sister's mouth.

The next second, he bent down and picked up the note, which had been dirtied by a shoe sole.

I saw the corner of the paper, and my face went pale.

But it was too late.

Ethan unfolded the note, his eyes falling upon it.

The note read—

【I'll give you the money you want.】

【Don't contact me again.】

【I don't want my wife to know about our business.】

Chapter 3

The humiliation surged over me like a tide.

Ethan put that piece of paper back on top of the stack of money without changing his expression.

I clenched my fist slightly, having long since prepared myself for him to say something cruel.

But he said nothing, asked nothing, and simply walked away.

In the past, whenever we argued, I would always say harsh things to provoke him, but he was always the one to lower his head and apologize first.

He used to say: "Clara, I know you only act this way because you care about me. If a person truly has no feelings for another, they won't even waste a sliver of emotion on them."

Now, he didn't even have a sliver of emotion left for me.

The young nurse put the money back into the brown paper bag and looked at me apologetically.

"Ms. Xu, is that gentleman your brother? You two have very similar features."

She had also seen the note, pausing for a moment before continuing: "There are no knots between siblings that can’t be untied; don't take it to heart."

It was as if all joy had been drained out of me.

I couldn't focus enough to respond to the nurse's comfort.

Sophie, on the other hand, began to laugh: "You’re so kind, much better than that 'Cold-Faced Hero'!"

The nurse giggled, glancing in Ethan's direction.

She lowered her voice and said quietly: "Actually, Dr. Ethan used to have a very good personality. It was only after he was betrayed by his first love that he was essentially hollowed out."

"I don't know what kind of taste that girl had. Dr. Ethan is handsome, wealthy, and capable; I can't believe she was willing to break up with him."

The smile on Sophie's face faded as she listened.

She looked at me quietly, her eyes full of astonishment.

The nurse, still full of envy, continued: "But Dr. Ethan has finally come through the bitter days. His fiancée is super beautiful and a fairly well-known singer named Elena. Have you heard her songs?"

The medicine I had been preparing for Sophie dropped from my hand, clattering onto the floor.

Elena, my best friend from college.

The nurse was called away by the call button, leaving only Sophie and me in the ward.

Sophie looked at the stack of money and then at me, her heart aching for me.

"Sister, did you go and beg our brother?"

"He’s already been so heartless as to cut ties with us; how much did you have to beg him for him to agree to give you this money..."

I had asked around; Sophie's surgery would cost at least 150,000.

Even with these 20,000, it still wasn't enough.

My brother wasn't heartless.

He had sold his house and his car for Sophie's illness, even giving up his own education to earn money for her treatment.

Now, at middle age, he wanted to live for himself, and I didn't want to resent him.

I patted Sophie's head: "This isn't something you should worry about. The only thing you need to do is rest well..."

Sophie finished the rest of the sentence for me: "Take your medicine and sleep well—my ears are already calloused from hearing that."

I pulled at the corner of my mouth to smile, then turned to mix another packet of medicine for her.

"Then be a good girl and drink your medicine, Sister is going to buy you some dinner."

There was a small stall outside the hospital; the porridge they sold was cheaper than the hospital cafeteria and had more ingredients.

On my way back after buying the porridge, a torrential rain suddenly began to fall.

Bean-sized raindrops pelted my body, and the sewage splashed by speeding cars soaked me.

The rain wove into a screen. Five years ago, it had been a rainy night just like this.

My best friend said she was drunk and asked me to pick her up at a club.

I went, and when I woke up, my indecent photos were plastered all over the campus forums.

A sudden rumble of thunder lit up my pale face.

"Clara!"

A man’s excited voice suddenly pulled me back to reality. I turned and saw a familiar face.

It was Ash.

After graduation, I worked as a substitute drinker at a bar, and he was the marketing manager there.

Five hundred per drink, five thousand for ten—the money came fast.

He was always helping me find work. When my sister was in urgent need of life-saving money, he had handed over his own wedding dowry without a second thought.

"My wife and I are here for a pre-marital check-up. What a coincidence to run into you."

"What's wrong? Did your sister have a relapse?"

Kind people are often rewarded by fate; three days after he lent me his dowry money, he won 500,000 in the lottery.

I said helplessly: "This illness is recurring. Modern medicine can't cure it completely, so we just have to endure."

"Congratulations on your upcoming wedding."

He looked down at my weary face and pulled a bank card from his wallet.

"You’re so stubborn, always wanting to carry everything on your own shoulders. I know your sister needs money right now. Use this first."

I was just about to decline when I saw a tall, upright figure.

The rain turned into beads of water as Ethan appeared in my sight, clutching a bouquet of white roses.

Amidst the patter of rain, Ash leaned in closer, asking me earnestly:

"Clara, why don't you consider coming back to work at the bar? The clients keep saying they miss you."

Chapter 4

Ethan’s look of disgust fell upon me.

It was cold, like a knife, but not surprising; that’s just how he looked at me now.

I loosened my clenched palms, my fingernails leaving shallow imprints in my skin.

"Ethan."

My voice was tight, half-muted by the sound of the rain: "Don't misunderstand. I was just working as a substitute drinker at the bar..."

Before I could finish, a girl in a yellow dress walked from behind him. She was gentle and bright, taking the bouquet from his hands.

"Ethan, you bought my favorite tulips! I’m going to hold these for our wedding registration photo!"

It was Elena.

The doting tenderness in Ethan's eyes could almost drown a person. He took off his coat and gently draped it over her.