"Okay."

After hanging up, when I looked up again, I didn't know when Sophie had woken up.

She was holding a brown plush bear and looking at me.

That little plush bear was already very old, the edges of its ears worn white, and the fur on its belly matted from being hugged.

But Sophie had always treasured it.

She had been hugging it since she was eight, saying that as long as it was with her, she wouldn't be lonely.

Now, she stuffed that plush bear into my arms.

"Sister, your birthday is in a few days, I want to give you this little plush bear in advance as a birthday gift."

My throat tightened, and I stroked her head.

"Why are you suddenly willing to give it to me?"

Sophie lowered her eyes, her fingers picking at the corner of the quilt: "I just feel that since it has accompanied me for so long, it should accompany you, too."

She said it lightly, but I understood; I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her.

"Sophie, are you afraid of having the surgery? It's okay, it's just a minor surgery."

These words were fake, but I had to say them: "Sophie is a girl protected by heaven; after the surgery, you will recover and go to school and play just like other children."

Sophie's eyes immediately turned red.

I tucked her loose hair behind her ears, keeping my voice as steady as possible.

"Sister's greatest wish is to see you healthy and safe."

Sophie suddenly hugged me; she had little strength, her thin arms wrapping around my waist.

Hot tears dripped onto my neck, and were soon chilled by the cold air in the ward.

She said: "Sister, Sophie's wish is also for you to be healthy and happy."

I didn't dare to speak, afraid that if I did, my voice would shatter.

Chapter 6

In the evening, I changed into a black dress that had been washed until it was faded, and tied up my hair.

My face in the mirror looked terrible, and there was no color on my lips.

I bought a carton of milk and two slices of bread from a small supermarket near the hospital and stood on the side of the road to finish them.

The bread was very dry, scraping my throat as I swallowed.

Still, I swallowed it bite by bite.

I had to drink tonight, and drinking on an empty stomach would be even more painful.

Led by Ash, I arrived at the bar's VIP room.

There were quite a few people sitting in the room.

The crystal chandelier was very bright, and the table was covered with alcohol—red, white, Western, bottle after bottle.

The client was Silas, Ethan's former arch-rival.

He never liked Ethan in the past.

Back in college, the two had competed many times over competitions, spots for postgraduate recommendations, and student union projects.

Later, Ethan entered the hospital, and he joined his family's company.

The two of them still didn't get along.

But I didn't expect that Ethan would also appear at this drinking party.

He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a stretch of cold, pale wrist bone.

He held a glass of alcohol in his hand, his demeanor very calm.

Elena was sitting leaning against him, wearing his coat.

The coat was a bit big for her, the shoulder lines hanging loosely, as if clearly telling everyone that she was the one being taken care of.

When she saw me come in, her gaze paused slightly.

Ethan did not look at me.

Or rather, he saw me, but pretended he didn't.

Silas, however, looked as if he had finally waited for a good show; he pointed at me and introduced me to the people in the room.

"This is the substitute drinker I found for tonight."

His gaze swept over Ethan, with a mocking smile.

"Ethan, aren't you quite the drinker? Do you want to compete with my substitute?"

Ethan finally lifted his eyes slightly; his gaze skimmed past my face, he placed the glass back on the table, his voice indifferent.

"Not interested."

Silas laughed: "Not interested, eh?"

He deliberately drew out the sound, his eyes filled with malice.

"Well, Ethan has a fiancée now, so of course he's not interested in the past."

Elena seemed not to hear the thorn in that sentence and coughed softly.

Ethan immediately turned his face to look at her, his brows furrowing imperceptibly.

"Is your throat uncomfortable?"

Elena shook her head: "It's nothing, maybe the AC is a bit cold."

Ethan took the AC remote control and turned the temperature up by two degrees.

He then picked up the orange juice on the table, poured it into a clean glass, and handed it to her side.

"Don't drink alcohol, drink this."

Elena took it with a smile: "Okay."

Throughout this drinking party, Ethan was busy taking care of Elena.

Pouring her orange juice, taking strawberries from the fruit platter for her, and carefully using a small fork to pick off the seeds on the surface.

When he did these things, his movements were very natural.

I sat in the shadows nearby, watching those thoughtful gestures that once belonged to me now falling onto someone else, little by little.

The bit of bread in my stomach felt heavy and suffocating, making it hard for me to breathe.

After several rounds of sarcasm from Silas, he didn't get any response from Ethan.

His expression gradually darkened.

Perhaps feeling that this show wasn't dramatic enough, he turned the target onto me.

He picked up a bottle of high-proof white spirit and personally filled a glass.

"Ms. Xu, I understand the rules of your trade—20,000 a glass, right?"

I looked at the glass of alcohol and nodded: "Yes."

Silas pushed the glass in front of me: "Then let's start with five glasses."

Someone in the room gasped.

Ash stood at the door, his expression changing instantly; just as he was about to speak, he was blocked by Silas's men.

I looked at Ash and gave him a reassuring look.

Then I picked up the five glasses of alcohol in front of me one by one and downed them, tilting my head back each time.

Silas watched my pale face and suddenly laughed, as if he had finally found the place where he could sting Ethan.

"Ethan."

He leaned back onto the sofa, his voice not loud, but enough for everyone to hear.

"You lost half your life for Clara back then, and now she can drink until she loses half her life for me."

He paused, the smile deepening.

"Don't you think your life is quite a failure."

The air in the entire room went deadly silent.

My breathing also became difficult, and my throat was full of the smell of alcohol, spicy and bitter.

I didn't look at Ethan, but I could feel that it had gone quiet on his side.

Then, I heard Ethan say: "Is that so?"

His voice was very flat, so flat that there wasn't a hint of fluctuation.

"I've forgotten."

As these three words fell, the cold air in the room seemed to suddenly burrow into my bones.

Chapter 7

Silas’s expression darkened.

He had brought me there just to irritate Ethan, but unfortunately, Ethan wasn't taking the bait.

He barely even lifted his eyelids.

The lights in the private room were bright, and the smell of alcohol mixed with perfume made it hard to breathe.

I picked up my glass and smiled, trying to smooth things over: "It’s just a drinking session, everyone, please continue. I’ll keep you company no matter how much you drink tonight; double is fine too, let’s all enjoy ourselves."

The words were light, but as the strong liquor slid down my throat, it felt like my stomach had been set on fire.

By the fifteenth glass, my legs began to feel weak. I stood up, gripping the edge of the table, and excused myself to the restroom.

As soon as the door closed, I slumped in front of the toilet, shoving my fingers down my throat.

Stomach acid mixed with alcohol surged out; my mouth was filled with bitterness, along with a hint of fishy sweetness.

I rinsed my mouth and splashed cold water on my face.

Looking back into the mirror, the person staring back had bloodshot eyes and a face so white it looked like a corpse.

I wiped the water from my face and walked back.

At the corner of the corridor, a hand suddenly grabbed my arm. Looking up, it was Elena.

She pulled me into a corner, took a bank card out of her bag, and gently pressed it into my palm.

"Clara, there is 200,000 here."

"Your sister will need a lot of money for her later treatment, right?" She looked at me. "As long as you guarantee that you will never see Ethan again after the surgery, this 200,000 is yours."