People often say that a father is like a mountain—more majestic than a mountain, broader than a river, more generous than the sea, and more magnanimous than a tree.

However, the man standing before me, who is called my father, presents a different face, blurring the meaning of these praises.

Chen Ru remained silent, and her family looked at me with disdainful eyes.

I gritted my teeth and signed the agreement and the IOU they had written.

Lu Jinnan tossed a card in front of me, and I bent down to pick it up from the floor.

“Thank you, Dad. I will pay you back as soon as possible.”

Perhaps I had been kneeling for too long; when I stood up, I felt a bit dizzy, but it didn’t attract anyone’s attention.

Chen Ru turned and went to the kitchen, and I left the Lu family’s home, feeling utterly exhausted.

The cold wind of the late night made me shiver involuntarily. I tightened my coat around me and walked into the darkness.

Due to my deteriorating condition, I hurried back to the hospital and handed over the money, hoping the doctor would start treatment according to the plan.

Then I returned to my hospital room, lying weakly on the bed.

My head throbbed painfully, tossing and turning made it hard to sleep.

Recently, my vision had been fluctuating, and I occasionally experienced uncoordinated limbs while walking, even sudden bouts of aphasia.

I knew my time was running out, but I still had many things to do.

When the pain became unbearable in the middle of the night, I barely managed to take a few painkillers before falling asleep.

My adoptive father began to show reactions after the first round of treatment; if it weren’t for the support of imported medications, I worried he wouldn’t make it.

However, the money in my account was running out quickly, and Su Li had not returned.

I tried every possible way to contact her, but ultimately to no avail.

As she had instructed, I went to the bank to apply for a loan, but Su Li had frozen all my assets.

The bank directly rejected my application, and I fell into despair once again.

I had no choice but to ask Zhao Hang to help take care of my elderly parents in the hospital while I went around borrowing money.

But when those people learned of my current situation, they all avoided me.

The recent running around had left me utterly exhausted, and I finally collapsed on the street.

I was sent to the hospital by passersby.

When I woke up, it was already noon the next day.

Perhaps my body was too fatigued; despite sleeping for so long, I still felt extremely tired.

Turning my head, I found Jiang Xun sitting by the bed, looking down at some films. When he saw I was awake, he shot me a dark look.

“When are you going to agree to undergo treatment?”

I forced a smile at him, “Aren’t I cooperating well?”

Jiang Xun was furious, “What kind of treatment is this? You haven’t shown up for a week! Are you waiting for a miracle?”

“If it weren’t for someone finding you in time on the road, no one would even be here to collect your body!”

“Lu Xiao, what are you waiting for? What are you considering?”

I managed a bitter smile and could only tell him about my adoptive parents’ situation. Compared to my own, I hoped they could fight for their lives.

Jiang Xun fell silent after hearing this.

I patted his shoulder to comfort him, “It’s okay; I’m glad to have such a good friend like you with me right now.”

“I’m already satisfied!”

Jiang Xun glanced at me, his eyes reddening.

“What do you want to eat for lunch? I’ll have my wife make it for you.”

I thought for a moment, “How about some sticky rice fish? I remember it’s my sister-in-law’s specialty.”

“Okay, I’ll text her right away.”

I nodded with a smile, and just as we were talking, Zhao Hang suddenly burst in.

From the looks of him, he must have run all the way here, his expression flustered, panting heavily.

When he saw me in the hospital bed, he froze, unable to speak for a long time.

I guessed it was because I had lost so much weight and looked so haggard that it scared him.

My symptoms were becoming increasingly obvious; I couldn’t eat anything and often felt nauseous and dizzy.

In just a week, I had lost over ten pounds.

Soon, I noticed something in his astonished gaze.

I felt a sense of unease creeping in, “What’s wrong with you?”

He suddenly lowered his head, avoiding my gaze, and paused for a long time.

A sense of anxiety gripped my heart, and I hurriedly got up to ask him.

“What’s going on?”

With red-rimmed eyes, he turned his head to the side, his voice choked as he said, “Your… adoptive father… just passed away.”

Jiang Xun and I both looked at him in disbelief.

At that moment, my mind went blank, and I felt completely stunned.

No! This can’t be true!

I had been gathering money, and I was almost there!

I couldn’t accept it; I didn’t want to believe it.

Struggling to suppress my inner turmoil, I asked him again, word by word.

“Zhao Hang, say what you just said again!”

Zhao Hang didn’t dare look me in the eye; he choked up and repeated it.

When I finally understood his words, my heart felt like it had been hollowed out.

It was just like when I heard about Chen Nuo’s death years ago; it felt as if the world had come to a standstill.

I frantically pulled out the IV needle from my hand and stumbled out of bed.

I fell and crawled to Zhao Hang, shaking his shoulders wildly.

“Zhao Hang, what nonsense are you talking about! I just left for a week and asked you to help take care of him! Why did this happen!”

“I had almost borrowed enough money; why did he have to go!”

“Tell me, you were just lying to me, right!!!”

“I promised to save him; I had enough money to save him!”

Jiang Xun grabbed me, who had lost all reason, trying to calm me down.

But at that moment, I had lost my sanity, feeling an endless strength as I clutched Zhao Hang’s clothes tightly.

Jiang Xun desperately tried to pull me away, holding me tightly!

“Lu Xiao! Calm down! A person cannot come back to life!”

“You have to accept the reality!”

How can you expect me to accept reality? He was only in the third stage; he had more hope than I did in the fourth stage!

My adoptive father had passed away.

It felt as if a piece of my heart had been gouged out, and that excruciating pain rendered me senseless.

I couldn’t hear any sounds around me, nor could I perceive anything.

The inner anguish overwhelmed me, and I could no longer hold back my tears.

Zhao Hang trembled as he replied, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Mr. Lu, I…”

I didn’t want to hear any apologies; I pushed him away and ran straight to my adoptive father’s room.

The ground was slippery, and I fell several times; the cold floor hurt terribly.

The pain made my head throb.

When I finally reached my adoptive father’s room, only my adoptive mother was sitting by the bed.

She wasn’t crying loudly; she was softly talking to my adoptive father, her eyes filled with tears, yet not a single tear fell.

“Just go in peace; I will be fine.”

“You don’t have to worry about the rice at home; I’ll have Zhang Wu help me harvest it. We have machines now, right?”

“There’s also Xiao Hei and Ah Hua at home to keep me company; you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“When you get to the other side, go find your old buddies; that way, you won’t be lonely…”

She gently held my adoptive father’s hand, and he wore a smile on his face, seemingly leaving in peace.

I stumbled and knelt by the bed, hitting my head against the edge of the bed. My adoptive mother immediately tried to help me up, but I didn’t move.

“Xiao’er, what are you doing? Get up.”

With red-rimmed eyes, I looked at my adoptive mother, “It’s all my fault; I came back too late.”

My adoptive mother’s tears finally fell; her voice was hoarse as she said, “It’s not your fault; he couldn’t bear it himself.”

“The chemotherapy was too painful; he said he didn’t want to suffer this pain while waiting to die.”

I looked at my adoptive mother in shock, “How did my adoptive father know about this?”