Chapter 4: “Xiao An Is All Grown Up…”

My foster mother had always treated me well. It was just a shame that her health was so fragile.

I only ever complained to her about him once.

Even now, I can still remember exactly how she looked that day. She trembled with anger and slapped Zhang Hao with every ounce of strength she had.

But immediately afterward, she doubled over, coughing violently.

Blood stained the palm of her hand bright red…

That moment, I didn’t dare tell her anything else.

Because I knew Zhang Hao wouldn’t change. Telling her would only break her heart and make her condition worse.

On my eighteenth birthday, Zhang Hao came home drunk and barged straight into my room.

“Xiao An. Happy birthday. You’re officially an adult now. Your big brother even bought you a birthday cake.”

The reek of alcohol made me nauseous.

I tried to run, but he easily grabbed both my wrists and held me down.

Sweet frosting smeared everywhere. The sickly-sweet smell filled the room until I could barely breathe.

I struggled wildly.

Then, from outside the room, I heard my foster mother’s voice.

“Stop! What are you two doing…?”

Her voice was filled with panic.

A second later—

Bang!

Something heavy came tumbling down the stairs.

My foster mother had fallen.

In that instant, my entire world seemed to stop.

I jolted back to the present.

Xiao Jiu was gently kissing the tears still clinging to the corners of my eyes, his face full of worry.

“Did I hurt you, Sis? Please don’t cry anymore, okay? I’ll be more careful next time.”

I reached up and lightly poked the tip of his nose.

“You idiot.”

That was what I said out loud.

But inside, I felt a warmth I’d never known before.

For the first time, someone genuinely worried about me. Someone actually hurt when they saw me cry.

Zhang Hao had been wrong.

Not everyone in this world hated me.

My foster mother’s birthday was getting closer.

I hesitated for a long time.

That year, she’d fallen down the stairs and suffered a brain hemorrhage, leaving her unconscious for years.

I’d always blamed myself.

If it hadn’t been for me, maybe she wouldn’t have ended up like this.

I hated Zhang Hao.

But sometimes, I hated myself even more.

In the end, I still went to the hospital, carrying a bouquet of carnations—her favorite flowers.

She lay motionless in the hospital bed, thin and pale.

The tangle of tubes attached to her made my heart ache.

I took her cold hand in mine.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

The hospital room door suddenly opened.

Zhang Hao walked in carrying a birthday cake, the corner of his mouth curled into a confident smile.

“I knew you’d come back. Mom always told me to take care of you.”

I stared at him coldly.

“You don’t deserve to say that.”

Ever since my eighteenth birthday, I hadn’t been able to touch birthday cake.

The slightest whiff of sweet frosting was enough to make me nauseous.

But Zhang Hao calmly set the cake on the table.

He lit the candles.

Then struck a match.

As if he were actually throwing a birthday party.

“Mom only wants the two of us to get along and stay together forever.”

He leaned forward and blew out the candles.

Then he looked at me.

The look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine.

“Her wish will come true.”

He cut himself a slice of cake and started walking toward me.

One step at a time.

Just like that nightmare from years ago.

I instinctively backed away.

“Zhang Hao, don’t come any closer.”

He laughed.

“Xiao An is all grown up now. You won’t even call me ‘Brother’ anymore.”

Then his voice turned cold.

“Nobody needs you. Your biological parents didn’t want you. Your foster mother can’t protect you. I’m the only family you have left. You’re only meant to be with me.”

I screamed.

“No! If it weren’t for you, Mom wouldn’t have ended up like this! You don’t deserve to call her your mother!”

Zhang Hao’s expression darkened instantly.

He gave a cold laugh.

“You’ve got it wrong. You’re the one who caused all of this. If you’d just been a little more obedient… If you hadn’t fought back… Mom wouldn’t have seen a thing.”

I shook my head over and over.

“No… You’re lying…”

But his words were like knives slicing into an old wound.

I could barely breathe.

That familiar terror came rushing back.

I clenched my hands so tightly that my nails cut into my palms.

There was only one name in my head.

Xiao Jiu… Xiao Jiu… Come save me… Please.

But then I remembered.

I was the one who’d left him a letter.

I was the one who’d changed the locks.

I was the one who’d pushed him away.

And then, from the doorway, a voice rang out.

“Stay away from her.”

A heavy impact followed.

Zhang Hao was knocked to the floor.

I looked up.

Xiao Jiu was standing in front of me.

His clothes were filthy, and his knees were scraped raw and bleeding.

No one knew how he’d found his way here.

But he’d come.

He wrapped an arm around my trembling shoulders and spoke softly.

“Sis. I’m here.”

Just those simple words.

And suddenly, all the fear inside me disappeared.

Zhang Hao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with contempt.

“Just some idiot.”

The two of them lunged at each other.

Neither was willing to back down.

Every punch made my blood run cold.

The crueler Zhang Hao’s words became, the harder Xiao Jiu hit him.

Suddenly, Zhang Hao broke free.

He grabbed the cake knife from the table and charged straight toward me, completely out of his mind.

“Xiao An! Go to hell with me!”

Everything seemed to slow down.

All I saw was a figure stepping in front of me.

Xiao Jiu.

He didn’t hesitate for even a second.

His eyes were still as gentle as ever.

Then his whole body gave a slight shudder.

The knife had plunged into his back.

Blood quickly spread across his clothes.

Xiao Jiu looked at me, his lips pale.

“Sis… I really, really like you… Please don’t leave me…”

Each word was so soft it seemed to disappear into the air.

Yet they tore through my heart until I could barely breathe.

The police quickly subdued Zhang Hao.

Even in handcuffs, he kept staring at me.

“Xiao An. No one will stay by your side except me…”

Then, from behind us, a weak voice suddenly sounded.

“Xiao An… Xiao Hao…”

I froze.

My foster mother was awake.

She looked at us with the same gentle eyes she’d had so many years ago.

“Mom…”

My voice trembled.

Even Zhang Hao couldn’t believe it.

“Mom… You’re awake?”

She looked at him for a long time.

“Xiao Hao. Mom loves you. But when you’ve done something wrong, you have to take responsibility.”

Then she turned to me.

Her eyes were filled with pain and regret.

“Xiao An. The thing I regret most is not protecting you better back then.”

I burst into tears, shaking my head again and again.

I’d never blamed her.

Not once.

She gave me a weak smile.

“You deserve to be happy. Don’t blame yourself anymore.”

Looking into her eyes, I suddenly understood.

This was the last time.

She’d held on until this moment just so she could say those words to me.

I held her hand tightly, but it slowly grew colder in mine.

At last, she closed her eyes, as if she’d simply drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The doctors rushed in to resuscitate her.

I lowered my head and stared at my hands.

Xiao Jiu’s blood had stained both palms red.

The doctor said he needed surgery immediately.

It would cost a lot of money.

A terrifying amount.

I stood there in silence for a long time.

Then I took out my phone and called a number I’d kept saved for years.

“Auntie Zhou. I agree to all your terms.”

A few minutes later, two hundred thousand yuan was transferred into my account.

I stared at the string of numbers on the screen.

The bridge of my nose suddenly burned.

So this was all I was worth…