Chapter 92 Will You Be My Sister?

black.

An endless expanse of black.

Only the operating room light illuminated one side of the room. In the darkness, the girl, her hands and feet bound, closed her eyes, her seaweed-like curly hair growing quietly in the darkness.

There was no sound, only deathly silence.

The man slumped over the display stand finally opened his eyes. He raised his head, his dry, silvery-white hair falling like spiderwebs, his pale skin like frost, his gray pupils devoid of light, staring blankly at a single point in front of him. Time ticked by. He blinked, seemingly regaining a little clarity, but then immediately picked up a scalpel and made a cut on his wrist.

"Clatter".

"Thud—"

Dark red blood flowed from his fingertips and splattered onto the display stand. The man watched himself bleed silently, and after it had mostly drained, he skillfully picked up a first-aid kit and bandaged his wound. He performed this series of actions with remarkable practice, for this was not the first time. Almost every time his sanity threatened to crumble and he was about to be assimilated into the world's consciousness as the real Zhou Songyin, he would strike with a knife.

Only in moments of such pain and life-threatening situations can he have a moment to catch his breath.

And he has been doing this for thirty years.

A thirty-year-old body should be in the prime of a man's life, but malnutrition-induced gray hair, pale skin, and a lifeless face make him look much older than his age.

In fact, he didn't feel like he was alive.

He shouldn't be living here.

So... who am I?

The man looked down at his bloodied wrist, his expression blank. In the long search, he had finally found a sliver of himself. His lips parted slightly, and he softly murmured a name—

"week……"

“Zhou Qu”.

Zhou Qu finally recalled that distant and unfamiliar memory.

*

"Poverty is the most vicious curse."

Zhou Qu paused for a moment when he saw the sentence, but was quickly interrupted by the nurse's call. Zhou Qu was an intern at a small hospital. He had just graduated this year and had been interning for less than half a year, but his outstanding abilities had already allowed him to gain a foothold in the hospital.

Although he was still in his internship, his supervisor had already allowed him to make house calls independently.

"Dr. Zhou, we have a new patient." The nurse said softly. As she spoke, she was secretly glancing at Zhou Qu. Twenty-four-year-old Zhou Qu had an exceptionally handsome face, sunny and dashing, with a clean and refined demeanor. He had a gentle smile and a knightly air that girls found very appealing.

He is very popular.

But he has never had a girlfriend.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Zhou Qu put on his glasses. He wasn't nearsighted; he just wore glasses to make himself look more mature and to make it easier for patients to trust him.

The patient had a heart condition, not very serious and easily treatable, but surgery was required. However, Zhou Qu knew that the patient wouldn't survive.

Because his family had no money.

Without money, there's no way to have surgery; without surgery, you can only wait to die.

"Dr. Zhou... Dr. Zhou, please save me, save my child, please... I beg you..."

The patient's elderly mother knelt on the ground, begging him with tears streaming down her face and her expression full of hope. Zhou Qu had seen this scene too many times, and his approach was always the same: "I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't perform the surgery without money. Besides, the surgery requires a long recovery period, which is also impossible without money."

“I…I will raise the money, I will raise the money…” the mother said quickly, “But can we have the surgery first? Please, Dr. Zhou, please, they said that as long as you are willing, we can do it this way.”

"I'm sorry," Zhou Qu's voice remained gentle, "I don't have that right."

He gently pried open the woman's fingers, gently helped her to a chair, and turned to leave.

Nothing different from usual.

Zhou Qu thought to himself.

After get off work, Zhou Qu grabbed his things and headed to his taxi. However, on the way, he was harassed by the woman from that morning. She was clearly out of control; she grabbed Zhou Qu's arm, her bloodshot eyes fixed on him.

"Why can't you save us?! Why can't you save my son? Aren't you a doctor? Shouldn't you be saving lives?! Why can't you make an exception? I already said I would raise the money, I said that."

As she spoke, she began to cry, her tears staining Zhou Qu's clothes. Zhou Qu glanced at the stain and said with a smile, "Are you sure you can raise 1.5 million for the surgery?"

Zhou Qu's blunt words startled the woman, her face turning deathly pale. She opened her mouth, "But if you just stand by and watch someone die, wouldn't that mean..."

However, Zhou Qu was too lazy to listen to her nonsense anymore. He took off his glasses, revealing a pair of smiling eyes that inexplicably sent chills down one's spine. "Was it really me who ruined her?"

"Didn't you kill her yourself? I really don't understand how you, with such poor and inferior genes, could have the nerve to bring her into this world to suffer. Isn't it you, the ignorant and foolish one, who ruined her life?"

"I……"

“I’ve already said, money can save her.” Zhou Qu lowered his eyes. “Do you have money?”

This person, of course, had no money. He collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected, while Zhou Qu coldly walked away.

He was going to squeeze onto the subway to go home.

In the bustling metropolis, even the last subway train was packed with the poor who parasitized the city. They sat on the subway, silent, their eyes numb, their faces burdened with weariness. Zhou Qu was like them. On this subway, he briefly shed his friendly mask; the smile that was always on his face disappeared, leaving him expressionless.

It was almost midnight when he arrived at the rented apartment. Zhou Qu climbed the creaking wooden stairs and stopped at the faded entrance. He took a deep breath, his face regaining its clean and cheerful smile, and then raised his hand to knock on the door.

Soon, a faint light shone through the window covered with newspaper, and then the door opened gently from the inside, letting in the light. A girl in pajamas stood in the doorway. Her hair reached her waist, her skin was pale, and there was a sickly air about her. However, this sickness did not diminish her beauty in the slightest. She wore few ornaments and her clothes were faded and white from washing, yet they were strangely harmonious.

Zhou Qu smiled sincerely and casually ruffled his hair. "Good evening, Xiao Ci."

"Thank you for opening the door for my brother again."

"No." Pei Ci obediently let him massage her. After he finished, she stepped aside and let Zhou take the massage.

This is their home.

The room had one bedroom, one kitchen, and one toilet, all laid out at a glance. Everywhere you looked was filled with items. If you had to praise something, it would probably be that it was very clean and cozy. On the table surrounded by various items, there was even a small wildflower growing in plastic.

"Hmm..." Zhou Qu took off his coat, put on an apron, and walked towards the kitchen to cook.

However, as soon as he walked towards the kitchen, Pei Ci followed him. She was very quiet, and if Zhou Qu hadn't glanced back unintentionally, he wouldn't have known that Pei Ci was following behind him like a little tail.

"How did you get in here?" Zhou Qu frowned. "Get out right now. This is not a place for you."

He quickly pushed the person out.

After escaping from his alcoholic and abusive father during high school, Zhou Qu unexpectedly encountered Pei Ci. Zhou Qu couldn't accurately describe how he felt when he saw Pei Ci. She was too beautiful, so beautiful that she stood out from the boys and girls around her, and even more so from the orphanage. Was she really a child born of an ordinary person? How could such a beautiful girl be abandoned by her parents?

Zhou Qu's mind was filled with doubts. He had long realized the principle of "like begets like," that only excellent parents could raise excellent children, and that alcoholic and abusive parents would only have children who would also become alcoholics and abusive. Zhou Qu had always firmly believed in this, but after seeing Pei Ci, this belief began to waver.

He had run away from home and was homeless. This gave him the perfect opportunity to stay and observe her closely. Soon, Zhou Qu discovered the reason for her abandonment: she was ill. Apparently, it was a very serious illness, requiring a lot of money. There were wealthy people around, but very few; they were only moderately wealthy. When they heard the cost of treating her, their expressions changed drastically. This wasn't a child; she was clearly a money-devouring beast. Moreover…

"If you can only watch her die after you've made contact with her, then perhaps it's a curse and a punishment."

Most adopters thought this way: to avoid future sadness, they avoided the possibility of sadness. Many people came to see Pei Ci, and many were willing to buy her gifts, but she stayed, and the number of children around her dwindled.

She is an attractive advertising billboard.

Soon, Zhou Qu discovered that even in this situation, the girl still didn't have any emotional reaction.

God gave her a perfect appearance, but also a cold personality.

"If all else fails, should I contact some wealthy people in the central city?"

"Surely someone can afford her medical treatment?"

The dean was discussing Pei Ci's fate with others, which was currently the best course of action for her. However, after speaking, the dean looked at Pei Ci's face and hesitated.

Pei Ci is naturally beautiful.

But the problem is that it's too beautiful.

Did she really go there to be a daughter?

Even before that, some very young men had approached her with tentative intentions.

Just as the dean was struggling with his decision, Zhou made his move.

He was a decisive and straightforward person. To escape his suffocating family, he endured hardship and bided his time, taking all the money, erasing all traces, and flying away. Now, Zhou Qu knew very well that the reason he had stayed here for so long was because of this girl; he liked this girl.

Zhou Qu possessed very little in his life. He hated being alone and didn't want to be by himself. He longed to build relationships and forge inseparable bonds with others. He could no longer rely on his original family; now he was in charge.

Pei Ci fulfilled all his fantasies about his sister.

Beautiful, silent, an orphan, she can only rely on him, and can only depend on him for survival.

So, he knew exactly what he was doing and took action. He changed into some nice clothes, walked up to Pei Ci with a smile, and asked in a deliberately practiced gentle voice, "Would you like to be my little sister?"