The day I found out I had cancer.

 

Xia Wei frowned coldly: “Do you think that if you die, others will be saddened? No one will be sad about this.”

 

I said, “Whatever.”

 

I wished him all the best from the bottom of my heart: “I hope you can do what you say.”

 

After all, five of my brothers died to save me, they all looked at me: “Why wasn’t it you who died?”

 

Later, I climbed onto the roof of the abandoned building where my brother died and jumped from there.

 

But Xia Wei, why are you crying?

 

1.

 

Eight years after my brother’s death, I was diagnosed with cancer.

 

The hospital was bustling with people coming and going. The elderly doctor finished reading the thick stack of medical records in his hand, frowned, and asked me gently, “Did you come alone? Did anyone from your family accompany you?”

 

He asked me this question twice. Once when I had just walked in and sat down. Again now.

 

I thought my condition was probably quite serious. So I smiled and replied, “I don’t have any family, the doctor can tell me directly what my illness is.”

 

Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared.

 

When they returned the stack of medical records to me, I clutched the thin paper in my hand and, in an instant, felt like they were experience cards in a game.

 

Death is just a card of experience in this world that is about to expire.

 

Thinking about this, I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

Xia Wei’s call came right at that moment.

 

The year we fought the most, we said harsh things to each other, and when we met again, we would simply consider each other dead.

 

But now, unintentionally, I pressed the call button to connect with that unknown number.

 

Xia Wei’s voice came from the other end of the phone: “Dad’s birthday is in two days. Dad told me to ask you if you’d like to come over to our house for a meal.”

 

I answered firmly: “No. I don’t have time.”

 

I could clearly feel Xia Wei’s frustration on the other end of the line: “Every time I call you, you say you don’t have time. What are you busy with?”

 

I walked over to the trash can, lifted my foot to open the lid, threw away the stack of papers I was holding, and said casually, “I’m exhausted.”

 

“Can you stop saying things like…?”

 

Xia Wei didn’t seem to like hearing those words that threatened to kill at the slightest provocation. But I was too lazy to tell her, “Hang up.”

 

After saying that, I hung up.

 

2.

 

When I got home, I opened the door and Toa Toa jumped out.

 

Toa Toa is the cat my brother and I raised. He’s a tabby cat who doesn’t like to stay indoors.

 

I still remember the first time my brother brought him home; he was so small, snuggled up to his chest.

 

He looked malnourished; my brother and I did our best to raise him. But when he grew up, Toa Toa loved to go out and play.

 

We were still in school, so we couldn’t control him. So, over time, he became a cat who would go out hunting and come back to visit us every few days.

 

Perhaps that’s why I could still see him; there was still something that belonged to my brother.

 

When did Toa Toa start obediently waiting for me to come home?

 

It felt like a month ago.

 

I sat down and patted him on the head, murmuring, “So you know I’m about to die?”

 

Of course, Toa Toa didn’t respond; she snuggled into my arms, looking for a comfortable position to lie down.

 

I hugged him, served him some cat food, and went to open the refrigerator.

 

There were only two boxes of dumplings and a few bags of wontons in the refrigerator. On them was a note Fu Ziyi had scribbled about how long they needed to cook.

 

His handwriting was a bit bad.

 

I took out a bag of wontons and was boiling water when I received a second call from Xia Wei.

 

It was so boring that the number was blocked, so I called another one.

 

I got annoyed, so I answered the phone.

 

Xia Wei’s voice mingled with the sound of the water boiling in the pot. She said, “Dad is sick.”

 

I said, “So?”

 

Xia Wei paused, then continued, “Dad wants to see you.”

 

The water was boiling, I added the wontons and the steam rose hazily.

 

He was tired: “I’m not a doctor, it’s pointless for you to see me. Hang up.” “Wait,” Xia Wei said quickly, “Even though you keep blaming everyone, your father treats you very well. Can’t you go visit him when he’s sick?”

 

My fingers stopped on the phone screen, unresponsive, and then I pressed the power button.

 

3.

 

On my birthday, I rarely dressed up; I wore new clothes and was about to put on makeup to look fresh. Suddenly, my stomach hurt.

 

This feeling was all too familiar to me.

 

I leaned against the sink and felt nauseous. I saw a bright red color.

 

My hands were trembling as I searched for the painkiller and swallowed it. Only then did the pain subside.

 

A while later, I turned on the tap and rinsed off the blood.

 

The mirror reflected my pale, sickly face, my dark circles under my eyes, and my haggard expression.

 

In an instant, I changed my mind and called Xia Wei to ask her which hospital she was at.

 

It seemed that Xia Wei had guessed it and quickly sent the address.

 

4.

 

Xia Wei was a really strange person.

 

He called me and then he called Xia Du.

 

In the hospital room, the family sat around the bed in harmony and happiness. Xia Du held an apple, peeling it while laughing and talking about something.

 

Xia Wei stood beside her, her hand resting casually on her shoulder. On the other side, Mr. Xia listened intently, his expression gentle.

 

I stood outside the door and looked around for a while, feeling that I didn’t really need to go in.

 

It was completely unnecessary.

I was about to put down the fruit basket and leave when, by chance, I caught Mrs. Ha’s eye. It seemed that, without expecting it, she had glanced at the door.

 

His gaze was indifferent.

 

His gaze met mine for only a second; I looked away, turned around, and left.

 

“Jiang Yu.”

 

I turned around less than two steps away, not waiting for Mrs. Ha to call me back. I figured she would continue to ignore me, as she had for so many years.

 

But I didn’t stop.

 

Until Ha Duy ran out to block me.

 

He frowned, annoyed: “Mom called you, why are you running?”

 

I looked at him. When he looked at me, he always seemed a little dissatisfied. Quite the opposite of when he looked at Ha Du.

 

The truth is, for a long time I didn’t understand why Ha Duy was my real brother, but he was never by my side. Not even once?

 

5.

 

I first met Ha Duy when I was 15 years old.

 

Mr. Ha finally discovered that I was his biological daughter, adopted by mistake. So I was brought back to the Ha family.

 

Ha Du was that wrong daughter.

 

When I met her, Ha Du was sitting distractedly on the sofa. Upon seeing me, she tried to get up politely, but Ha Duy, who was sitting next to her playing, stopped her.

 

“If we’re already family, there’s no reason for us to give her a special welcome.”

 

Her gaze shifted from the phone screen to my face, looking at me indifferently.

 

At that moment, I didn’t realize he was defending Ha Du. It seemed he had already decided not to treat him well.

 

I simply followed Mr. Ha in silence and, upon seeing him, I smiled and greeted him.

 

There was no particular reason; I just seemed to have a natural affection for him. Because he was my brother. But he didn’t take to me well from the start. It wasn’t like he was my real brother.

 

6.

 

Life without being welcomed is not easy.

 

In order not to affect Xia Du, the Xia family announced to the outside world that I was an adopted child.

 

Xia Du’s friends didn’t like me either. They thought I was taking their place and they caused me trouble: they threw trash in my desk drawer, tossed my books around, and even scolded me…

 

“Don’t you have a family? You have to run to someone else’s house to take someone else’s family with you.”

 

“Cucos occupying the nest, why aren’t you ashamed to call someone else’s father ‘dad’?”

 

“You demon, have you no shame?”

 

I tried to ask Xia Wei for help.

 

After school, my path was blocked, so I called him.

 

But the person holding an umbrella, smiling and talking to Xia Du a second ago, upon seeing my call, their smile disappeared instantly.

 

I called him: “Brother”.

 

I hoped he could explain it to me. But on the other end of the line, only a cold phrase echoed: “What?”

 

So the words she hadn’t said were forgotten.

 

7.

 

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I asked Xia Du, “Do you hate me that much?”

 

Xia Du seemed very surprised: “Why? Why do you think that way about me?”

 

I asked, “So why do your friends keep seeking me out to cause trouble…”

 

Before I could finish speaking, Xia Wei interrupted me: “Enough, can you stop sowing discord?”

 

I was stunned.

 

Later, Mr. Xia smiled and comforted me, asking, “Were you bullied at school? Tell me about it.” After I finished speaking, he looked stunned and gently patted my head: “Okay, let Dad handle this, alright?”

 

So I had nothing more to say.

 

I don’t know how he handled it, anyway, those people didn’t bother me anymore.

 

But I will never forget that, after they dispersed, Ha Duy stood on the lobby stairs looking at me.

 

He said, “We’ve been together for so many years, I understand her better than you do. Your smear tactics are too clumsy.”

 

8.

 

In that difficult and miserable year, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I always wanted to call my brother.

 

My former brother, Giang Ky.

 

I wanted to tell him, “I don’t want to stay in Giang Thanh, I want to go home. Brother, they’re not good to me at all.”

 

But every time my brother asked, I swallowed my words.

 

I don’t want to embarrass my brother.

 

9.

 

I always regret it afterward. I should have asked my brother to give me a ride.

 

My brother is the one who treats me best.

 

When my father got drunk and went crazy, my brother always protected me. He would hide me under the bed and say, “I’m here, don’t be afraid.”

 

So I wasn’t afraid.

 

When I was 7 years old, my mother took me with him, secretly took my identity document and a few hundred dollars and left home.

 

He held my hand tightly in the chaotic crowd and said, “Take my hand, don’t get lost.”

 

This hug lasted for many years.

 

My mother took care of two children alone; she was under a lot of pressure, had a very busy job, and didn’t have time to take care of us.

 

From a young age, my brother learned to cook, do laundry, and take care of himself. Then he learned to take care of me. My brother bought me my first birthday cake.

 

He said, “God cannot hear your wish, but I can.”

I would buy myself candy to chew on and candied fruit on my way home from school.

 

The first time we fought was because someone called me a bad girl without a father.

 

From elementary school, middle school, and high school. Our schools were very far apart; he had to cross two long streets and go through five traffic lights to pick me up.

 

Later, I returned to the Ha family.

 

When I left, my brother instructed me sternly: “If you are not happy, tell me. I will come and get you.”

 

I said, “Okay.”

 

My brother was the best thing for me.

 

If I told him I wanted to go, he would definitely take me.

 

Thus, what happened next would not have happened.

 

10.

 

The day my brother died was a cloudy day.

 

I stood at the school gate waiting for Ha Du, waiting from the school until it got dark.

 

Then a group of vandals appeared and cornered me in an abandoned building next to the school.

 

I wanted to escape, but I couldn’t.

 

I recognized the leader. He was a student in my class; he confessed it to me, but I didn’t like him, so I refused.

 

He scolded me: “No one dares to reject the person I value.”

 

He tore my clothes.

 

I screamed for help, but there was no one there. Aside from a few more slaps, it was useless.

 

At the last minute, my brother appeared.

 

He yelled at me: “Run fast, don’t look back.”

 

Without thinking twice, I ran off, looking for someone to ask for help. Just in time, I came across Ha Duy and Ha Du walking together.

 

Ha Duy frowned and asked me, “What’s wrong with your face? Who hit you?”

 

I didn’t have time to explain to him, I just begged him to save my brother.

 

But when I turned around, I saw a flash before my eyes and a loud bang.

 

I heard a scream behind me and turned around, confused. Xia Wei quickly covered Xia Du’s eyes.

 

The terror I felt in my heart seemed to have come true. I lowered my head, unable to deceive myself.

 

The blurry image of flesh and blood in front of me was my brother

11.

Life is too light.

When the white cloth was covered, my brother became a handful of ashes, then an empty grave.

The first time I experienced death, I lost the person I loved most.

He never spoke to me or smiled at me again.

12.

At my brother’s funeral, Mr. Ha and Ha Duy met with Ha Du to comfort her.

I approached him and asked, “Why did you send me a message telling me to wait for you? Why did I wait so long and you didn’t come? Could it be…?”

Did you do it on purpose?

Before I could finish speaking, Mr. Ha interrupted me: “Enough, now is not the time to shirk responsibility. The person who died was your biological brother; he was even more heartbroken than you.”

I looked at them.

Ha Du looked extremely frightened, with a pale face, unable to speak.

Xia Wei supported her. Her face tightened, staring intently at me. Her eyes seemed to blame me for causing trouble for no reason.

In an instant, I felt they were monsters with ferocious faces.

But I took a step back; this time there was no brother to stop me.

13.

I called the police to make them pay. But the police said there were no surveillance cameras on that street, no evidence, and that it was difficult to convict them.

That was the first time I begged my biological parents.

I begged them, “Mom and Dad, I beg you to help me. I want you to pay for what you did.”

They remained silent for a moment, their faces grimacing, as they said, “Okay.”

They promised me.

They promised me.

But in the end, when the court announced the verdict, the ringleader was only sentenced to two years in prison.

In court, that guy looked at me with a provocative smile.

So I started waiting, waiting for him to get out of jail.

During those difficult days, I thought countless times about “dying with him.” But when the moment came, he only played me a recording.

Xia Du’s voice: “Do you want to get revenge on her? I can help you.”

I was stunned.

He laughed heartily: “Do you know why I only got two years in prison? Of course, it was more or less thanks to your good parents. I showed them this recording and they immediately agreed to help me.”

My ears were ringing; his words were sharper than a knife.

He also said, “Go and plead with them, but they believe their daughter is more important.”

14.

Upon returning to the Xia family, Xia Du was in the room.

When she saw me arrive, she even smiled: “Sister, why have you come?” I approached, pointed the knife at Xia Du’s neck, and asked her in anguish, “Why did you do that? Why did you do that? Why do you hate me so much?”

I didn’t really want to kill her, I just felt terrible pain, I just wanted an answer.

The people around me rushed towards me; some wanted to stop me, but they didn’t dare to step forward.

In the midst of the chaos, Xia Wei ran and grabbed the knife.

The sharp blade cut our hands, leaving a trail of fresh blood.

Xia Du shouted, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I would kill someone, I just wanted to teach you a lesson. I didn’t expect, I didn’t expect…”

But what didn’t I expect?

I didn’t expect that guy to covet beauty.

I didn’t expect my brother to show up.

I didn’t expect my brother to die for me.

As I hadn’t expected, it turned out that everyone knew the whole story, but they didn’t tell me.

Xia Wei said sternly, “Why are you crazy again?”

I stared at him, letting the blood from my hand drip onto the floor.

Perhaps frightened by my unfamiliar gaze, Xia Wei took a deep breath, wanting to pull my hand: “Go and heal your wound.”

But I retreated faster than he did.

Then, in a fit of rage, I gathered the few things I had left of the Xia family. The wound on my hand wasn’t bandaged, and while I was cleaning it, it tore several more times.

Throughout this whole process, Xia Wei was by my side. At first, she looked at me coldly, but then she couldn’t help but stop me: “Who are you doing this for?”

I didn’t need anyone to see me; anyway, nobody cared.

Xia Du was crying beside me, which enraged me: “Sister, why don’t you hit me? You can stab me with a knife. I’m sorry.”

She was a liar.

I knew he wouldn’t stab her.

15.

I looked up: “I have to leave. I’ll pay you back the money you’ve spent on me these past few years when I start earning money. From now on, we won’t see each other again.”

When I said these words, everyone was present.

Mr. Xia looked angry, but still said patiently, “We’re family, why are you saying those words?”

“Family?” I found it amusing. “Only you are family. Didn’t you help Shen Hang reduce his sentence? When you did, what did you think of me?”

Mr. Ha said coldly, “The whole family was wrong about this. But how long ago was it? Forget the past. It was very difficult to have peace in the family for a while. Don’t be angry anymore.”

I said each word clearly: “This can’t end. I hate you. I’ll never forgive you.”

Then I dragged my suitcase and left.

There were many people around, but no one said anything. Finally, Ha Duy raised his hand to stop me. The wound on his hand was still unbandaged and had half-dried blood stuck to it.

He said, “It’s too late.”

“Let her go,” Mr. Ha said, his voice neither joy nor anger intensifying. “Threatening your family with a random knife. Is that what your family taught you? I don’t think you need to come back until you’ve thought this through.”

“Are you all crazy?” Ha Duy rarely got angry; it was one of the few times he spoke for me: “He’s still a minor, where did you tell him to go?”

But I wasn’t moved.

I pulled my hand away; the pain made him frown.

I didn’t turn around.

This time it was 6 years.

16.

A lot has happened in the last 6 years.

I left the Ha family and moved to Nam Thanh to study at university.

The year I was poorest, I refused to hang my head, I only ate once a day and, after school, I worked part-time.

If things weren’t going well for me, it was normal for them to scold me and make me look bad.

Ha Duy came to see me several times. Perhaps he suddenly felt a pang of conscience.

But I didn’t want to say a word to her. Usually, as soon as I opened my mouth, I left.

The only time I didn’t kick him out was when I got home too late and a drunk followed me.

As soon as I called the police, I saw Xia Wei standing in front of me. He kicked the drunk out. Then he followed me back to my rented room.

Back then, to save money, I rented a single room next to the school. It was habitable, but the atmosphere wasn’t good.

Xia Wei remained silent the entire way home. After seeing the situation inside the house, she finally couldn’t help but ask, “Are you here?”

I was very tired and didn’t have the energy to argue with him, so I went to the kitchen to cook noodles. He complained a lot. Sometimes he criticized this and that; the conditions were bad.

In the end, nobody cared, so he got bored.

He asked me, “Do you prefer to stay here and not go home? When Dad got angry, he said you should go home and hang your head. Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

I put some freshly made noodles in my mouth and looked at him calmly: “Don’t come looking for me again.”

“Do you find it interesting to talk like this?” Xia Wei thought he was irritable.

I said wearily, “I’m so tired, I don’t have the energy to deal with you. Besides, every time I see you, I’ll think of my brother. I can’t sleep.”

Xia Wei looked at me with a lost gaze, speechless.

Finally, he left. He never reappeared.

But when he left, he left behind a wad of cash. It was in an envelope, a rather thick wad.

I glanced at it and put it away at the back of the closet.

After that, he would often send me money, always when I wasn’t paying attention to send it to my colleagues.

But he never appeared before me.

17.

The Xia family began contacting me in the third or fourth year after I left.

At that time, my life had just returned to normal. I had some savings and didn’t need to go looking for money.

Perhaps they realized they couldn’t control me that way, or perhaps, as Xia Wei said, they were just angry words.

It didn’t matter.

Anyway, when they started contacting me to make peace, I blocked all their communications. We never saw each other.

18.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Perhaps I stared at him for too long, which made Xia Wei uncomfortable.

I regained consciousness and asked him, “Is it fun to deceive me?”

Mr. Xia’s face lit up, and he didn’t look ill at all. He came closer and tried to stroke my head, but I dodged him, so the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat: “Xiao Yu.”

I said indifferently, “I already visited you, I have something to do, I’ll go first.”

“Xiao Yu,” Mr. Xia called to me in a barely perceptible pleading tone. “Shall we have dinner together? It’s been a long time since we ate together. Do you still blame me?”

I didn’t want to answer that question, and I didn’t want to stay. So I moved on quickly.

Behind me, I heard the sound of someone falling to the ground. I heard him shout loudly, “Dad!”

I stopped, turned around, and saw Xia Wei take out a pill and give it to Mr. Xia.

Xia Wei said, “I’m not lying to you. Two days ago, Dad had a heart attack and almost couldn’t be saved. When he woke up, he kept asking you to see him, afraid that one day he would suddenly die and you would blame him.”

I lowered my gaze, without saying anything.

19.

At the dining room table, Ha Du sat next to me.

She took some food containers out of the bag, opened them, and said, “This is something my mother made herself, everyone try it.”

Then she looked at me and whispered, “My mother knew you wanted to come, so she prepared dried fish.”

I looked at the pile of golden dried fish in front of me, remembering that summer.

At that time, the family was very poor; every day, after work, my mother would collect the vegetables that people threw away and bring them home for us to eat. There was a fishpond in the neighboring village. When the owner of the pond drained the water, he took the large fish, and the small ones that remained were left for everyone to collect freely.

My brother was still young at the time and he took me with him to collect a lot of small fish.

When we returned, we were covered in mud. My mother was angry because we were still young, and if something happened to us while we were running away to the pond, what would we do? One of us had no choice but to cry in secret with us.

Tonight, crispy and salty. I used to think I’d never get tired of eating it.

But I hadn’t eaten it in a long time. I didn’t want to either.

At the table, everyone stared at me, as if I didn’t blame them for not eating it.

Mr. Ha advised me: “Eat some, didn’t you like this dish better before? You haven’t been home for years and I wanted to learn how to prepare it.”

I looked at Mrs. Ha; she didn’t seem to expect Mr. Ha to say that, so she looked a little confused and then turned away shyly.

The truth is, I hate this.

Showing goodwill deliberately and suddenly only makes people uncomfortable.

I took a piece of fish and swallowed it.

Mr. Ha laughed twice and the atmosphere at the table finally seemed more relaxed.

20.

Since I got sick, I’ve had very little appetite and can only eat a little.

The rice bowl was full of the dishes Mr. Ha had prepared for me. I looked at it and lost my appetite.

I was afraid I would vomit, so I stopped eating.

After eating, they brought the birthday cake.

This time it was different: it wasn’t just one cake with the vague words “Happy Birthday, darling,” but two separate cakes. Our names were written separately on each cake.

Ha Du.

Ha Du.

Bland.

Perhaps to show me his concern, Mr. Ha quickly cut a piece of cake and gave it to me: “Dad, do you remember that you used to like to eat mangoes?”

The aroma of the bright yellow square pieces of mango made me nauseous.

I said, “You remembered wrong, it’s been a long time since I’ve liked eating mangoes.”

Mr. Ha’s hand holding the cake stopped: “So you’re switching to another one?”

Only the cake with the name Ha Du remained.

I wasn’t interested in any of the cakes, so I got up and wanted to leave: “No need, you eat, I still have things to do.”

Xia Wei grabbed my hand again: “Did you do that on purpose?”

I did not understand.

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you wait to finish this meal before leaving? Who are you showing that face to?”

He asked again, surprised: “Why are you so thin?”

I lowered my gaze and moved my hand away, not wanting to argue with him anymore.

I said, “You’re right. Next time, don’t look for someone who makes others unhappy like I do.”

When I let go of her hand, I couldn’t help but notice the zigzag scar on Xia Wei’s palm.

How ugly.

Mr. Xia wanted to give me some advice, but he couldn’t help coughing, his face red: “Xia Wei! Apologize!”

The atmosphere calmed down immediately.

I didn’t expect that after so many years, I would become so important.

Xia Wei remained motionless in the chair, staring at me.

Without waiting for her to open her mouth, I said, “No need, just remember to stay away from people like me next time.”

 

21.

As I was leaving through the door, Ha Du suddenly caught up with me and whispered from behind,
“Sister, I’m sorry.”

I paused for a moment, pretended not to hear, and left without turning around.

The weather was still good today. The sky was clear.

I passed a pastry shop and went in to buy a chocolate cake. Then I drove to the cemetery.

There was someone standing in front of my brother’s grave.

It was Mom.

He was waiting for me.

But I just stayed under a large, shady tree, without going any closer.

When my brother died, my mother hated me deeply.

She wouldn’t let me attend her funeral and, with reddened eyes, asked:
“Why weren’t you the one who died?”

I didn’t know how to respond.

I also truly wished that it had been me who died.

But I didn’t die.

I lived for a long time like a shadow, and I always went to see her in secret.

She always cursed me with cruel words. Words so hurtful that I could hardly believe they came from a mother’s mouth.

But back then I always felt guilty.

Until the recording was discovered, I left the Ha family and went to find my mother.

It was raining heavily that day. I stood in front of her building for a long time before she finally opened the door.

I gave her the recorder so she could listen to it. Trembling, I said,
“Mom, I have proof. I can report them. I’ll make them all pay for what they did.”

Mom’s face showed panic for a moment. Then, as if making a decision, she snatched the recorder from my hand and threw it forcefully to the floor.

The tape recorder shattered into pieces.

I felt like my heart was breaking into a thousand pieces too.

I no longer had the strength to pick up the pieces. I just asked her,
“Why, Mom?”

Her expression darkened in the dim light.

She told me,
“That’s enough. Isn’t it enough that you’ve ruined your brother? Do you need to destroy my entire family to feel satisfied?”

So in the end I couldn’t say anything. I sat down slowly and gathered the fragments from the recorder.

And I left, completely exhausted.

22.

I wanted to reopen my brother’s appeal trial.

It was not an easy task.

But luckily, I had  Pho Zi Yi  by my side. She helped me gather evidence, used her connections to hire the best lawyer, and paved the way for me.

We had almost made it.

But at the trial, the opposing lawyer confidently produced a letter of withdrawal signed by my mother.

Even now, when I remember it, I still get chills.

It was more terrifying than being stabbed.

I always believed that my mother was the closest person to me, someone I could trust my whole life.

But reality slapped me in the face.

She signed the withdrawal. The reason was simple: if a thorough investigation was conducted, Ha Du would inevitably be implicated.

Mom said,
“I only have one daughter left, Xiao Du. Can you leave her alone?”

I couldn’t say anything. I swallowed the phrase “I am your daughter too” along with the metallic taste of blood.

The cruel reality is that we don’t share the same blood.

My brother was my brother for 18 years, but legally, I was not considered part of his family.

My biological father, that violent man, was already dead. So my brother’s only legal relatives were Mom and Ha Du.

If they didn’t demand justice, there was nothing I could do.

Later, standing at my brother’s grave, Mom finally stopped hating me. She said, “
Leave it all here. The living must continue to live.”

I looked at her perplexed, as if I were meeting her for the first time.

Leave it all here?

How absurd.

My brother’s brilliant life, his promising future… does it all come down to that simple phrase: “leave it here”?

A selfish excuse.

What right do they have to “leave him here”… if it concerns my brother’s life?

23.

The past is like a messy ledger of debts that you never finish flipping through.

I’m a little sorry I didn’t check the calendar before leaving today. This day seems cursed, as if everyone takes turns showing up.

But I didn’t want to deal with anyone.

The sun began to set.

Mom waited from afternoon until nightfall.

I knew he was waiting for me to approach, for me to lower my head first. Like so many times before.

No mother apologizes to her daughter. Because she has suffered, so she can’t be expected to do so much.

My mother didn’t say “I’m sorry” either. Her way of making amends was to cook dried fish for me and talk to me about anything and everything.

And so, things went on as if nothing had happened.

But this time, I waited for Mom from the afternoon until the sun went down.

I didn’t go.

I can’t criticize her for anything, but I also can’t forgive her.

Finally, Mom left.

I, hidden behind the big tree, silently said goodbye:
“Goodbye, Mom.”

31.

Xu Zhi Yi is my pen pal.

A long time ago, I used to write novels. In them, I told everyday anecdotes about my brother and me.

She didn’t have many readers. They were naive, simple thoughts, the thoughts of a teenager. But Xu Zhi Yi read them very seriously, even arguing with me about them.

So we exchanged contact information.

After that, the novel had a disastrous ending, and I stopped writing those unrealistic stories.

The last time I saw a message from him was when I was writing my will, after logging into my old email account.

He had sent me many messages. The most recent one was from a few days ago, asking if I was doing well lately.

I replied to him, and I also told him that I would not write anymore.

She asked me, “Why? Is something wrong?”

I didn’t think about it too much. I also didn’t imagine we’d see each other again, so I didn’t lie: “I’m sick.”

I didn’t expect him to come and visit me.

The moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating her bright smile and sparkling eyes.

I was surprised. I smiled, opened my arms, waiting for him to throw himself into my embrace.

Ha Duy, off to one side, watched with a bewildered look.

Zhi Yi blinked and asked sharply, “Is this your brother? He’s very handsome!”

I was stunned and instinctively replied, “It isn’t.”

---

32.

“Is this your brother? He’s very handsome!”

That’s exactly what my friend said the first time she met my brother.

My brother. Not someone else.

I didn’t think Zhi Yi still remembered those boring plots.

Ha Duy was unusually quiet, he just stared at me without blinking, not knowing what to think.

Phó Tử Ý brought the food he had reheated: “There, let’s eat.”

Xu Zhi Yi is a cheerful and bright girl. With her around, the atmosphere became lively. Even though we had barely met, she didn’t feel like a stranger.

He asked Phó Tử Ý his name, repeated it several times, and suddenly looked at me with bright eyes, as if he had discovered a new world.

I felt nervous under her gaze, afraid she might say something inappropriate. But before I could speak, she already looked frightened: “Xiao Yu, your nose is bleeding!”

I ran to the bathroom on instinct.

Phó Tử Ý followed me immediately. He took out a handkerchief and placed it under my nose.

I glanced at him unconsciously, fearing he might notice something.

I wanted to explain, but I forgot what to say. I just stared at him, stunned. In the light, his eyes were like precious jewels.

Then I realized that the days we had left together were numbered.

Phó Tử Ý was also looking at me. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end he only murmured calmly, “Bow your head.”

I obeyed.

Time passed slowly. By the time I left, the food had cooled down a bit.

Zhi Yi looked at me with concern from the doorway: “Aren’t you recovering yet?”

I smiled at him, and told the second lie of the night: “I’m fine. It must be from staying up late lately.”

Zhi Yi took my hand tenderly: “If I had known, I would have brought you something to replace your blood.”

I was about to answer to downplay it, but Ha Duy suddenly intervened: “What illness do you have?”

I replied evasively: “Nothing, just a cold.”

Ha Duy thought for a moment: “In two days we’ll have a medical check-up at home. Do it with us.”

I refused: “No.”

Ha Duy frowned, annoyed: “You can’t refuse. There’s a history of illness in the family. Do you know how you looked a little while ago…?”

“That’s enough. I know how to handle my own affairs,” I interrupted, not wanting to continue the conversation. “Let’s eat first. The food is getting cold.”

Ha Duy kicked the wall in frustration and said coldly, “Do what you want.”

31.

Xu Zhiyi is my pen pal.

A long time ago, I was writing a novel. It compiled the trivialities between my brother and me.

Few people read it. A young man’s thoughts were naive and simple. Xu Zhiyi read it very carefully and discussed it with me.

So we added our contact details.

After that, the novel ended badly and I stopped writing such unrealistic stories.

The first time I saw your message was when I wrote my will, logging into my old email account.

He sent me a lot of messages. The last one was a few days ago; he asked me how I’ve been lately.

I replied to him and also told him that I would not write anymore.

He asked me: [What’s wrong?] Is something the matter?]

I didn’t think much of it, nor did I think we would meet, so I didn’t lie: [I’m sick].

I didn’t expect him to come and visit me.

The moonlight peeking through the window illuminated her radiant smile and her bright eyes.

I was surprised, smiling and opening my arms, waiting for him to jump into my arms.

Xia Wei was watching me out of the corner of her eye, her eyes slightly puzzled.

Tri Yi blinked and asked sharply, “Is that your brother? How handsome!”

I was stunned/oh, unconsciously, I replied: “No”.

32.

“Is that your brother? How handsome!”

These were exactly the words my friend said when she met my brother.

He was my brother, not someone else.

I didn’t expect Tri Yi to remember those boring stories.

Xia Wei was unusually silent, staring at me without blinking, not knowing what I was thinking.

Fu Ziyi brought out the reheated food: “Okay, let’s eat.”

Xu Zhiyi was a cheerful and lively girl. With her around, the atmosphere was always lively. Even though we barely knew each other, she didn’t seem distant.

He asked Fu Ziyi’s name, recited it several times, and then suddenly turned around; his eyes were sparkling as he looked at me as if he had just discovered a new world.

His gaze startled me, making me fear he might say something inappropriate. But he looked at me, and before I could say anything, his eyes filled with panic: “Xiaoyu, your nose is bleeding.”

Instinctively I ran to the sink.

Fu Ziyi followed me immediately. He took out a tissue and placed it under my nose.

I couldn’t help but look at him, fearing he would discover something.

The words to explain were on the tip of my tongue, but I forgot to say them. I stared at him, lost in thought. In the light, his eyes were as beautiful as precious gems.

Suddenly, I realized that the number of times we saw each other had started to decrease.

Fu Zi Yi also looked at me. His eyes hesitated, wanting to say something, but he stopped, but in the end he calmly uttered two words: “Crouch down.”

I followed him obediently.

Time passed minute by minute; when I left, the food on the table was a little cold.

Zhi Yi was at the door, looking at me with concern: “Haven’t you gotten better yet?”

I smiled at him, telling him the second lie of the night: “It’s okay, I must have been staying up really late lately.”

Zhi Yi stroked my hand, with a sentimental touch: “If I had known before coming, I would have bought you something to enrich your blood.” I was about to say something to change the subject when Xia Wei, beside me, suddenly intervened: “What illness?”

I said indifferently, “Nothing, just a mild illness.”

Xia Wei thought for a moment: “Then we’ll have a medical check-up in two days, you should discuss it with everyone.”

I refused: “No.”

Xia Wei frowned, disgusted: “No, our family has a history of illness, do you know how you looked just now…?”

“Enough. I know how to take care of my own business,” I interrupted, not wanting to continue the conversation. “Eat first, the food will get cold.”

Xia Wei, furious, coldly kicked the wall: “Whatever you want.”

33.

Actually, I didn’t want to think about it, but it seemed I couldn’t help it.

When I was still living with the Xia family, there was a flu epidemic. Almost everyone in the family got it.

Xia Yu complained that the medicine tasted bitter, and Xia Wei patiently bought her sweets to try and convince her. She even prepared warm milk for her.

“Sleep well and you’ll be fine.”

That was the first time in my life I felt that medicine tasted bitter.

I don’t know why I suddenly remembered this. Perhaps even those who weren’t cared for… would awkwardly wish to be cared for someday.

34.

After eating, Fu Ziyi took the cake out of the refrigerator. A small, ten-centimeter chocolate cake.

Xu Zhiyi turned off the lights; the candlelight on the cake was enough for him to vaguely see Fu Ziyi’s face on the other side.

The candle was slowly burning down; I glanced distractedly at Fu Ziyi.

He was looking at me too.

In the darkness, the candlelight danced in her eyes.

In the last moment before the candle went out, I gently closed my eyes and began to pray.

Forget me.

35.

When I left the room, Fu Ziyi had already finished washing the dishes.

He sat on the sofa, holding the remote control to change the channel.

Xia Wei sat down next to him.

I heard him ask, “Doesn’t the girl like to eat mangoes?”

Fu Ziyi’s face turned cold: “Yes.”

Xia Wei asked again, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you like them a lot before?”

Fu Ziyi’s hand movements did not stop, he did not look at him even once, he simply said calmly, “The day Jiang Qi died, he brought him a mango cake.”

Xia Wei stood up straight and remained silent for a long time before hearing him ask in a low voice, “Then why did you never say anything?”

Fu Ziyi looked curious and glanced at him. Seeing Xia Wei’s expression, he sneered, “Weren’t you also present at Jiang Qi’s funeral? Who are you showing that innocent face to now?”

36.

My brother left very few things.

When he died, his backpack contained documents for the competition and some assignments.

The rest were gifts that he brought to Xia Yu and me.

My gift was a literary work that she mentioned, and a small mango cake.

That cake was in pieces.

When my mother threw it at me, Fu Ziyi put her hand on my forehead to protect me.

He was still sick at that time.

I originally planned to visit him in the hospital. In the end, he came to find me.

I bent down on the floor, picked up the crushed pieces of mango cake, and put them in my mouth. Fu Ziyi held my hand.

At that moment, I was alone and everyone was criticizing me. Only Fu Ziyi hugged me, saying, “Don’t be afraid.”

Finally, I burst into tears.

I hugged Fu Ziyi tightly, collapsing: “Fu Ziyi, you no longer have a brother. From now on, you no longer have a brother.”

Fu Ziyi knelt on the ground and patted me firmly on the back: “I’m still here. I’ll protect you from now on, okay?”

But at that moment, where was Xia Wei?

He was busy comforting the frightened Xia Yu, not even letting her see her brother’s body.

Fu Ziyi was right. Xia Wei, or Mr. Xia, Mrs. Xia, if any of them were willing to pay me a little attention, would know why I didn’t eat mangoes.

But they didn’t.

If that was the case, why pretend you cared and keep asking us to see each other for no reason?

It was unnecessary.

37.

Xia Wei didn’t stay long. After turning on the TV to her favorite channel, she got ready to leave.

“Let’s go, she has to go to work tomorrow, don’t bother her.”

Xia Wei wanted to argue, but she couldn’t say anything. She knew nothing about me.

I accompanied them downstairs, and when I was about to go back up, Xia Wei suddenly called me.

He asked me, “Do you still hate us?”

Night fell, the sky was dark.

I turned my head and looked at him strangely.

We both understood what he meant.

But if it weren’t for his insistence on bringing me back to the Xia family, Xia Du wouldn’t be jealous or want to take revenge on me.

I would stay in Nancheng and not meet those people who treated me badly.

My brother wouldn’t die because of me.

My brother died, which of them is innocent?

When they lied to me, did they ever think about how important my brother was to me?

For more than two years, more than 700 days and nights, did they ever have any pangs of conscience?

They were worried that Xia Du would be condemned and hurt, so they made up lies, letting all the suffering, all the curses, all the attacks fall on me.

And they simply looked at me with indifference.

So, should I resent it?

Can’t I feel resentment?

Xia Wei stared at me stubbornly, as if she needed an answer.

I put my hands in my pockets to warm up, looked him in the eyes and said calmly, “It’s not about hating or not, you’re not that important.”

After saying that, I turned around and left.

“Actually, Du Du hasn’t been doing well these past few years.” Xia Wei called out from behind me, “Actually, you noticed it too, didn’t you? That year, Mom might not have ignored the fact that they accidentally hugged each other.”

Xia Wei knew how to use three phrases to hold people’s attention.

I stood on the narrow stairs, taking a few seconds to decide whether to listen to what she had to say.

When Du Du was little, her mother didn’t treat her well. I remember that she seemed to hate her. She wouldn’t smile at her, she was always angry, and sometimes she even hit her.

As a child, I didn’t understand why my mother did that; my father told me it was because of postpartum depression. I half understood it and I didn’t fully understand it.

Du Du was younger than me, and didn’t understand much. But she was more understanding than I was. She never cried loudly, rarely got angry, always kept a smile on her face, and cared about pleasing everyone.

Later, my mother had a hard time accepting it. But one night, before I arrived at the Xia family’s house, I heard my parents arguing again. My father asked my mother why she was secretly switching children.

This was the first time I learned about Xia Du’s past.

With these few words, I realized that I wasn’t living a very good life.

But I didn’t continue. Instead, I leaned against the wall, ready to listen to what he asked and answered about unrelated nonsense.

Xia Wei simply looked at me, without saying anything else.

The autumn wind was cold, and this autumn in Nancheng was colder than usual.

I covered myself with my coat, thinking about going back if I didn’t say anything else.

“Can you not hate her?”

Xia Wei asked me.

After so many years, he was still as naive as ever.

I blinked and suddenly asked curiously, “Do you hate me that much?”

Xia Wei didn’t seem to expect him to ask that, and she denied it: “Of course not.”

“So why is it that every time you talk to me and try to be a little nice, you tell me to give in?”

Xia Wei was speechless.

I turned around.

Ha Duy did not give up and shouted out loud: “But I am happier than her, aren’t I?”

I saw Fu Ziyi return.

He was wearing a black coat and carrying a bag of medicine. The bright white light from the stairwell illuminated him, giving him a solitary appearance.

It seemed like she didn’t want to come back with me; she just handed me the bag: “Go home early, it’s cold outside.”

If I had been more observant, I would have noticed that the bag contained the medicine the doctor had prescribed for me that day.

I took the medicine, walked a few steps, turned around, and called out to him: “Fu Ziyi. I’m on your side.”

He understood what she meant.

Fu Ziyi stood there, looked at me and smiled slightly: “I have always been on your side.”

39.

The next day, after saying goodbye to Xu Zhiyi, I went back to work at the law firm, completing the previous delivery tasks.

After the day I was correctly diagnosed, I submitted my resignation.

At first, my superiors took pity on me and gave me some advice. I didn’t hide my illness from them.

After hearing my story, my superiors said nothing more, approved immediately, and quickly let me through to receive treatment.

I didn’t say any depressing things either, like I was about to die, just good things.

The transfer was quick and my colleagues were very cooperative.

There was only one last case left that he had to defend in court.

Everything went smoothly.

At the end of the trial, when I bent down to speak to the client’s 5-year-old daughter, I felt dizzy when I stood up.

Su Ni held me, just talking and laughing, but then her voice faded away.

It looked like something was dripping on the floor.

I heard Su Ni’s worried voice: “Jiang Yu! What’s wrong?”

40.

The illness worsened more than I thought.

Su Ni brought porridge to the hospital room while I was still writing my will on the computer.

“How do you plan to treat him?” Su Ni asked me.

“Only surgery. Conservative treatment is very arduous.” I smiled calmly.

After thinking for a moment, I quickly said, “Don’t tell anyone.”

Su Ni was puzzled: “Didn’t your family say anything?”

I didn’t look up: “You’re wrong, I don’t have a family.”

Su Ni gave me a gentle pat.

We followed her gaze in surprise and saw Xia Wei standing in the doorway.

“You thought everyone was dead, didn’t you?”

I felt annoyed and asked him, “Why are you here?”

Xia Wei suppressed her anger and approached: “Xia Yu’s mother is ill, she can’t handle this alone.”

I said, “Uh, no.”

Xia Wei asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you still in the hospital?”

“Flu,” I replied without changing my expression.

Xia Wei glared at me. “Who are you kidding?”

“Who said the flu doesn’t kill?”

“Can’t you speak properly?”

We didn’t argue because her phone rang.

Xia Yu’s voice came through the line: “Brother, where have you been? I haven’t seen you.”

Xia Wei exhaled, softening her voice: “I have something to do, I’ll go later.”

As she hung up, Xia Wei’s expression hardened again: “You’d better be okay. I’ll have a doctor come and check on you later.”

I was too lazy to answer him.

He thought for a moment and then continued: “Do you want to go visit your mother?”

I was silent for a moment and then I said, “There’s nothing to visit.”

I’m not a doctor, it’s pointless. Someone is taking care of her; going alone would make us both unhappy.

On second thought, it’s better not to go.

But I didn’t expect my mother to come.

Obviously, she heard these words too and got angry: “So what if there are people who have raised me for over ten years? I still don’t get along with them. Let’s go, I don’t need you to worry about me even if I die.”

I lowered my head and didn’t answer.

Here is the Spanish translation of the text you provided:

Finally, Thẩm Hàng dragged his crippled legs and walked slowly towards me.

His legs were broken on my orders. Perhaps he had already accepted that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

He hid a fruit peeling knife; he wanted to kill me to end it all.

But he was stopped by my bodyguards.

I told his mother, “You see, he would still kill someone, he hasn’t changed one bit.”

Through the thick, clear glass, I heard Thẩm Hàng patiently ask, “Where is my mother?”

I paused deliberately, watching her expression grow increasingly anxious, tortured, before slowly opening my mouth: “She’s dead.”

Thẩm Hàng’s eyes opened wide, and he jumped up, agitated: “What the hell did you do to him?”

I enjoyed watching his reaction, until he was pressured again by the guards. He said, as if he were out of breath, “Whatever I did wrong, I take responsibility for. This has nothing to do with my mother. If you want revenge, take it out on me, don’t touch her.”

“How could it have nothing to do with her?” I leaned on my hand, bored, and asked him, “Why didn’t she raise you properly? Wasn’t she the one who allowed you to become what you are?”

Thẩm Hàng opened his eyes in extreme fury, but he could do nothing.

Suddenly he said, “Do you think I’m going to believe your lies?”

I smiled indifferently: “From now on, no one will come to visit you. Your mother is dead. I was promoted and moved to another city to further my career. Remember to repent while you work in prison, because you ruined your own life, and you killed your mother too.”

After saying this, I got up and left, paying no attention to Thẩm Hàng’s shouts.

As I left the visiting room, I didn’t feel the satisfaction of revenge as I had thought.

What I said was intentional. Actually, her mother wasn’t dead.

But in truth, she would never visit him again. She had a new family.

I also helped to fan that flame.

I printed the evidence of the murder committed by her son and turned it into a book, distributing it among people close to her. I sabotaged her work, denounced her business, and sent people to create disturbances.

My attitude was clear: as long as she continues to defend her murderous son, I will not let him go.

He knew that the person Thẩm Hàng cared about most was his mother.

But eternal love does not exist in this world.

In the end, I gave him a check for 200,000, and I said, “What’s the point of continuing like this? You’d better take the money, go far away, and start a new life.”

I had only one condition: that I not let her visit Thẩm Hàng, because if I did, I would take revenge.

Perhaps money tempted her too much, or the future seemed more appealing. Or perhaps a life full of obstacles was truly torture.

She agreed.

Thẩm Hàng didn’t know his mother had abandoned him. But he wasn’t going to tell her.

A man like him doesn’t deserve pity for being abandoned. There’s nothing to lament.

He thought he could spend the rest of his life lightly.

I stood in the doorway, looking back.

If Thẩm Hàng is lucky and his sentence is reduced, he will be old when he gets out.

So, I hope that by then he will definitely know the truth: that his regrets are useless, that not even the long years will be able to change anything.

He was abandoned.

What a pity.

Outside on the porch, it was raining softly, there was nobody around, everything was silent.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but remember my brother.

When I was in the southern city, he would always come to pick me up and take me home.

I shook my head, banishing those unreal thoughts.

I walked down the long prison corridor, the autumn rain was thundering, and Phó Tử Ý was waiting for me with a transparent umbrella.

It seems that people always remember past moments when something similar happens in the present.

Phó Tử Ý and I met because of a rainstorm.

At that time, I had just moved in with the Hạ family, and I went to school with Hạ Du. I didn’t like his friends and they ostracized me.

My life at school wasn’t easy. Although I wasn’t personally targeted, I couldn’t avoid being ignored.

At that moment I didn’t know how to resist. If I could endure it, I would.

So when I discovered that someone had taken my umbrella from the table, I kept quiet and prepared to go home in the rain.

Just as I was going down the stairs, I ran into Phó Tử Ý.

He casually asked, “Aren’t you bringing an umbrella?”

I answered with a “Yes” and added, “I forgot.”

He looked up, glanced outside, and without thinking much: “Okay, let’s go together.”

That was actually our second time seeing each other. But he still naturally tilted his umbrella toward me.

That inclination lasted seven years.

Looking back, he did many things for me.

It helped me teach a lesson to those who bothered me.

He stood up to protect me.

When I was alone and desperate, he was by my side during the dark days after my brother’s death.

Thẩm Hàng’s father ruined himself by his own design. That’s why his father brutally beat him, and he was in the hospital for a week.

He had agreed to study abroad, but then quietly appeared in the southern city.

He said he would always be by my side. I never doubted it. Because every word he said to me came true.

Perhaps Ha Duy wasn’t wrong. I was luckier than Ha Duy; even though my brother was gone, this world hadn’t completely abandoned me.

I still had Phó Tử Ý.

He had done so much for me, he had suffered so much.

But I was too selfish, I couldn’t stay for him.

At this moment, the umbrella covered my head again.

I asked Phó Tử Ý: “Why are you here?”

His expression was the same as always: “I’ve come to take you home.”

My gaze fell on his rain-soaked shoulder. My heart felt wet too. Worried, tense.

I remembered that the first time I came to this prison was also with him.

He saw me using underhanded methods to get revenge on them. He saw my desperate attitude as that of a madwoman.

That day, when I got home, I asked her, “Don’t you think I’m very mean?”

He wasn’t bothered, he simply patted my head casually and asked me calmly, “Okay. So, what are we having for dinner tonight?”

At that moment, I was lying back in the passenger seat of Phó Tử Ý’s car, listening silently as he spoke to me.

As so many times before.

He said, “The restaurant where we used to eat in the southern city has a new dish.”

She said, “The last time I bathed Toát Toát was last week, he always runs outside, I need to catch him to bathe him again.”

He said, “Yesterday I saw a hole in the sofa, do you want to replace it? The last time I went furniture shopping, I saw a really nice one.”

At first, I listened attentively, occasionally replying. But perhaps because I had worked so hard to find the courage to face the hateful man, I felt very drowsy.

Phó Tử Ý’s voice also calmed down.

I didn’t sleep deeply, and in my sleep, I felt as if someone was caressing my face.

Very gently. As if it were an illusion.

Here is the Spanish translation of the provided text:

At dawn, I gathered my things and dragged my suitcase towards the door.

I opened the door and saw Hạ Duy sleeping outside. Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes with difficulty and got up.

I told him, “Step aside.”

Ha Duy, I don’t know if he wasn’t fully awake yet, but strangely enough, he didn’t get angry. He stepped aside and asked, “Where are you going?”

I told him, “It’s none of your business.”

Toát Toát wanted to jump up and scratch him, but I stopped him. Even so, he growled at him.

Hạ Duy looked at Toát Toát, and suddenly asked: “Why did you cry yesterday?”

I pressed the elevator button; I didn’t want to talk to him. But Ha Duy kept insisting; he wanted to know the result.

I stared at him: “Hạ Duy, do you still remember when you said we shouldn’t have anything to do with each other for the rest of our lives?”

Hạ Duy’s face stiffened, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

Hạ Du had once attempted suicide.

The night I reviewed my brother’s file, I lost my mind.

My brother was also his brother.

I heard that after my brother’s death, she fell into a deep depression. She wasn’t punished legally, but her conscience weighed heavily on her.

That night, she took sleeping pills. She didn’t die; she was discovered in time.

That was the first time that, after leaving the Hạ family, Hạ Duy appeared in front of my house.

He asked me, “Can you forgive her?”

At the time, I found it very funny. I also discovered that Ha Duy really was a fool.

He thought that by putting aside his pride and dignity, and saying a few words of supplication, that would be a great sacrifice, as if the world had to revolve around him.

Once he humbled himself, he expected others to be moved and cry, to submit completely.

That’s why I replied, “Okay.”

But standing before Ha Du’s bed, I looked at her coldly as she screamed in pain, indifferent: “Yes, why didn’t she die?”

I still remember that, after saying that, everyone was surprised.

Ha Duy ran towards me and questioned me: “Do you know what you’re saying? She almost died!”

I felt no fear, I looked him straight in the eye, cruelly I opened my mouth: “She killed her own brother, shouldn’t she die?”

That was the first time Hạ Duy hit me.

But his hand did not fall on my face. Phó Tử Ý, who was beside me, raised his hand to protect me.

Hạ Duy’s hand struck Phó Tử Ý’s hand with a loud sound.

I heard Phó Tử Ý, full of anger: “Are you sick or what?”

Ha Duy continued to look at me resentfully, and said, “Go away, I don’t want to see you.”

I smiled indifferently and replied, “Whatever it is, you’d better do it. I don’t want to see your disgusting family again either.”

Hạ Duy tried to calm himself, wanting to deny it: “The thing is, I was angry and I said that.”

“Really?” I looked at him, very serious: “But I was telling the truth.”

Giang Dự left.

That’s how it was, he left without looking back.

I don’t know why, but Hạ Duy felt annoyed.

It seems that ever since he arrived in the southern city, things have always been this way.

He clearly wanted to make peace with her, but he couldn’t say two words without them fighting. And once a fight started, she’d leave without looking back, as if it were the last time they’d ever see each other.

And this time, it was true.

The discovery that Giang Dự was ill came days later.

In her mind echoed the words of an employee who had accidentally said at noon: “Such a capable person, it’s a shame that she’s sick with cancer so young.”

Upon hearing those words, his hand trembled involuntarily.

Cancer? Who? Giang Dự?

It couldn’t be.

But in his mind, images of her with blood coming out of her nose kept appearing.

If she’s not sick, why is she going to the hospital?

When did he leave his job? Why didn’t I know anything about that?

And why did she cry?

Instinctively, Hạ Duy wanted to call Giang Dự, but his number had been blocked a long time ago.

He felt somewhat regretful. If he had known sooner, he wouldn’t have been so harsh with her.

Hạ Duy tried to calm down, and then asked an employee to call with another number.

But no one could get through.

Suddenly he realized that if Giang Dự was determined to have no contact with him, he could no longer contact her.

This discovery made him feel completely defeated.

He went to her house and waited, squatting down. He thought that she, as on other occasions, would open the door with her suitcase and her wool hat.

But when the door opened, the person who came out was not her.

Giang Dự had sold that apartment.

I didn’t want to think about what that meant.

They were brothers, bound by blood. They shared the closest of relationships; they couldn’t break them.

He was deceiving himself, consoling himself in this way.

When, by chance, he saw the new owner’s son holding the night lamp that he had bought from Giang Dự.

He bought that lamp at an auction. When he bought it, he thought Giang Dự would enjoy it very much.

She was terrified of the dark; she liked objects with decorative details.

But she didn’t take that lamp. She didn’t even open the package.

The new owner, somewhat embarrassed, explained: “This seems to have value; we asked the previous owner, and she said it wasn’t important, so she left us to take care of it.”

Hạ Duy’s parents came out of the apartment across the hall: “She’s determined to break up with us. Forget it.”

Ha Duy was surprised: “How are you here?”

“Actually, we were thinking of moving closer so we could see each other more often, that way the relationship would be easier.” Her father sighed. “Forget it, we did everything we could. This girl can’t get near us.”

Hạ Duy did not understand why his father was saying that.

Her gaze focused on the pile of trash that the new owner had just put out.

He asked Hạ Cánh, his voice breaking: “Dad, do you remember what medicines my grandfather took before he died?”

Of course, Hạ Cánh remembered him. He was his mother’s biological father. Before he died, he had taken care of his father.

“Why are you asking that?”

Hạ Duy did not respond, he just took two pills out of the garbage pile.

At that moment, everyone had the same thought.

Giang Dự was really sick.

It was the same genetic disease that had killed his grandfather.

Gastric cancer.

Upon realizing this, Hạ Duy could not believe it.

I couldn’t connect the image of Giang Dự, so lively, shouting and crying, with the image of someone who is about to die.

In contrast, Hạ Cánh, with a pale face, could barely stand.

“What… what did I do?”

Here is the Spanish translation of the fragments you provided:

I woke up in the hospital.

The doctor said my illness was in its final stage, and my body couldn’t withstand strong emotional changes.

When the doctor said it, Hạ Duy was also present.

He was sitting in the armchair outside the room, murmuring, “How did we get to this?”

Phó Tử Ý responded sarcastically: “Weren’t you the ones who pushed her to this point?”

“It wasn’t like that,” Hạ Duy murmured. “I didn’t want to hurt her. But nobody lives well. Back then, Hạ Duy was depressed, sometimes she would cut her wrists with a knife. I was afraid she would do something stupid, so I…”

“Did Giang Dự try to commit suicide? Did you know that?” Phó Tử Ý looked at Hạ Duy, “It wasn’t exactly suicide, she just cut herself too much. Do you know what the first thing she said when I found her was? She said, ‘Don’t worry, my brother saved my life, I’m not going to die so easily.’”

Hurting myself was something that happened a long time ago.

It all started the night I lost my mind while investigating my brother’s case.

I wasn’t thinking about dying. My life was bought by my brother.

I was just suffering a lot, I wanted to relieve the internal pain with physical pain.

But I couldn’t cut myself too much because Phó Tử Ý discovered me.

When he discovered me, I didn’t care, I just said coldly, “I can’t die.”

When Phó Tử Ý held my hand with the knife, cutting himself, that’s when I realized how bright that blood was.

At that moment, I thought he was crazy.

Then I pulled away and cried, screaming in his face: “You’re crazy! Let me go! I won’t do it again!”

He let go of me.

I threw away the knife, but when I saw him crying, I couldn’t do anything.

That was the first time I saw Phó Tử Ý cry.

He asked me through tears, “Can you stop hurting yourself?”

That’s why I no longer had the courage to pick up the knife and stab myself again.

So far, our hands have scars in similar places.

“Enough, this is a family matter.”

Hạ Cánh said that again.

I remember that during those years in Jiang City, Phó Tử Ý helped me review the case; he even wanted to take me with him. Hạ Cánh said the same thing, coldly scolding, “Enough, this is my house. It’s not your place to make any unnecessary gestures.”

At that moment, I was on the second-floor balcony; I didn’t respond to their words. But now, I was behind them, and in a dark voice I said, “Get out.”

Ha Canh didn’t realize that he was right behind him, and suddenly felt nervous.

“When did you wake up?”

I didn’t want to waste any more time with them. I grabbed the fruit peeler from the table and pressed it against my neck: “If you don’t want to see me die here, get out. I never want to see you again.”

Hạ Cánh’s eyes were filled with terror; he couldn’t say a word.

Phó Tử Ý frowned and ran towards me, skillfully taking the knife, without blinking: “Drop it.”

I felt a little hurt, because he had never spoken to me like that before. But I finally let it go.

The knife fell to the ground with a metallic clang.

The nurse came in.

Phó Tử Ý wiped the blood from his hand and said, “Make a bandage for him.”

Through the clear glass of the window, I realized that so much blood didn’t seem to be just from Phó Tử Ý.

My mother arrived.

She brought soup and served it to me.

She understood me better than Ha Canh, and she didn’t mention anything about the past.

I couldn’t drink the soup.

My mother looked at me, and her face softened a little.

She took a box of mooncakes out of her backpack and opened it. Inside was a savings account book with 100, 10, and 5 yuan bills.

That box looked very familiar to me.

When I was 13 years old, I got sick.

At that time, I already knew something about the family’s financial situation, so I didn’t tell my mother. But my brother found out.

That day, my mother said nothing. She just took out the old mooncake box that was in the house. That’s where she kept all the money she had saved.

He took me to the hospital.

But fortunately, we arrived in time and my illness was quickly brought under control.

I didn’t understand why she was bringing that box now. Of course, it was useless.

“Your brother saved this money for you. In addition to this money, there is a savings account with more than 10,000 yuan.”

My hand, which was holding the spoon, stopped.

“At that time, your brother always wanted to come and pick you up. He said that when you were there you didn’t say much, and that you probably weren’t happy.”

My mother began to cry: “If I had known sooner, if I had known sooner, I wouldn’t have stopped it. Tiểu Ngư, go get treatment. With what you have now, your brother in heaven will not be at peace.”

My mother took my hand, crying sincerely, with great emotion.

But I just looked at her, without shedding a single tear.

Phó Tử Ý was smoking downstairs.

I was on the second-floor balcony; the wind was blowing hard.

I called on the phone.

“Phó Tử Ý, if I jump from here now, could you catch me?”

Phó Tử Ý’s voice came through the line: “No, it’s too loud, you’d hurt yourself.”

Actually, it wasn’t that tall, not even as tall as the wall we climbed in high school.

I put my phone in my pocket and hung over the railing.

Phó Tử Ý tensed: “Giang Dự, don’t jump.”

Even so, I jumped.

Phó Tử Ý caught me, hugged me, and we rolled on the ground together.

When we got up, he wasn’t angry, he just dusted me off and asked, “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head: “No.”

I thought for a moment, and then I said, “It seems I can’t go on any longer, take me.”

Phó Tử Ý crouched down.

I didn’t know where we were going, so Phó Tử Ý carried me on his back and walked slowly.

I rested my head on his shoulder: “Let’s escape.”

Let’s run fast, let’s catch the first ray of morning sun, let’s get on the train of time that roars towards the future.

Let’s run fast, towards a distant future that cannot be reached.

Phó Tử Ý was walking slowly and asked me, “Where do you want to go?”

The wind was blowing gently, and I felt drowsy.

Before closing my eyes, I whispered, “Spring, spring is coming.”

Suddenly, I remembered that I used to hate spring.

Spring in the southern city always brought continuous rain, and when spring arrived, the rain never stopped.

At that time, we were still in school. Our family was poor, the school was far away, and we only had an old electric bicycle.

The old, cheap raincoat I wore in the rain felt wet and smelled musty. That’s why I didn’t like spring, because it was so annoying.

But then, on my birthday, my brother bought me an orange raincoat. A very nice raincoat, which fit me perfectly. It had a transparent hood that protected my eyes, so the rain didn’t get them wet.

My brother said, “My sister is so pretty, she has to wear nice clothes.”

So I temporarily forgave the rainy spring.

Now, looking back, I feel there is nothing to regret in life.

Because I had two full springs.

On the train to Jiang City, the high-speed train sped past the surrounding scenery.

I peeled a candy and put it in my mouth, with a bittersweet taste.

Here is the Spanish translation of the text you provided:

In a semi-conscious state, I heard Hạ’s voice. He continued murmuring near my ear for a long time.

It was very noisy.

Perhaps after a while he got tired of talking.

He remained silent for a moment.

“The nurse said she saw you open your eyes. Tiểu Dự, are you angry with me?”

I didn’t want to hear any more.

“Tiểu Dự, please talk to me. I made a mistake, I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

It was too noisy.

When I opened my eyes again, I felt something soft and fluffy touch my hand before quickly moving away.

“Toát Toát, don’t do that.”

Phó Tử Ý stretched out his hand to push Toát Toát away. Then he turned and looked at me.

I felt a little uncomfortable; I thought that with all the tubes connected to my body, I probably looked really bad.

“You’re awake now.”

Her voice was so normal, as if it were just an ordinary day. I hadn’t hurt myself when I fell; I’d simply slept as usual.

I blinked at him. I wanted to ask why he was here; the southern city was so far away. But my throat felt like it was being pulled by the wind; it hurt so much.

Phó Tử Ý said: “Don’t speak, the doctor said your vocal cords are damaged, speaking will hurt you a lot.”

I blinked and still whispered very softly, “I’m sorry.”

Phó Tử Ý passed his hand over my eyes: “You don’t have to apologize. Do what makes you feel better, you don’t have to apologize.”

He placed his hand on my forehead and asked gently, “Are you feeling a little warm? Do you have a fever? Sleep a little longer; you’ll feel better when you wake up.”

At that moment, I fully understood what he meant.

Of everyone, only he understood me so well, only he cared about my suffering. That’s why he wouldn’t let me wait for death in this pain like I did.

I wanted to move my head, but I couldn’t.

My body was rigid, I could only whisper: “Don’t do it.”

Don’t be so cruel to yourself.

Don’t become like me, trapped in yourself, with no way out.

Don’t feel that weight when you think of me.

Phó Tử Ý, upon hearing me, looked away; it seemed as if she were crying again.

My mother rushed into the room in the last hours of the night, when only a sliver of moon remained in the sky.

Just as the doctor had just given the report that my condition was critical.

During these two days, many people had entered and left the room.

It seems my mother came in a hurry; she was only wearing a coat, some slippers, and her hair was a little messy.

When he saw me, he didn’t dare believe it. Only when he came closer and saw me clearly was he able to confirm that the person in the bed full of wires and tubes was me.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes: “Why did you jump from the building? Do you know how high it was? How could you do it? Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? Why didn’t you tell me anything? Aren’t I your mother? Is there something you can’t tell me?”

I looked at her, a little stunned.

I thought about the first time I was diagnosed with cancer. My mother, although she wasn’t happy, took all the money she had to treat me.

She said, “If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

Over the years, my mother’s image gradually became more like it used to be.

My gaze lingered on her face. After a long while, I whispered, “Mom, you’re getting old.”

In order to hear me clearly, my mother moved very close.

Upon hearing me, she cried and laughed at the same time: “Why are you so stupid? Why did you do something so stupid? You haven’t listened to me at all.”

I smiled slightly and said, “Mom, I saw my brother coming to pick me up.”

It seemed that the pain was no longer in my body.

Then, I finally understood that I was really about to die.

Is there reincarnation after death?

Will I be able to find my brother?

My mother looked at me in bewilderment, her face froze and she couldn’t shed a tear.

“I was wrong! Forgive me, daughter!” My mother, seemingly exhausted, collapsed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t take it the wrong way. I’ll take you to get treatment. When you were little, you always listened to me.”

My mother was stuttering, speaking incoherently, her hands trembling as she pressed the emergency button, so she didn’t hear the words: “Mom, I miss my brother so much.”

Or perhaps it was just my imagination; I truly no longer had the strength to speak. So, I gently closed my eyes.

My mother grabbed my hand, shouting into the void: “Giang Kỳ! Giang Kỳ! Don’t take her away. She’s still young, she hasn’t grown enough.”

Something fell on my hand and quickly disappeared.

In the darkness, I seemed to hear the sound of a mobile phone falling to the ground, hear Ha calling my name in a distressed voice, hear the worried voice of the medical staff.

Then the sounds became very soft, very soft.

My soul seemed to rise.

In the darkness, I saw a white light.

I flew gently towards her, and saw my brother standing there, smiling slightly as he looked at me.