She wiped away a tear.

"Yesterday I went to buy some things, and when I came back, he was acting strange. Later, I found out that the nurse had handed him the bill for the unpaid fees."

"I guess he took the bill and went to ask other patients. They told him about their conditions, and he secretly looked at his own records."

"So, he kept holding onto me and talking all night long."

Her adoptive mother suddenly broke down in tears, "It's all my fault. Why didn't I notice sooner? I only found out this morning that he had already left."

Her frail body trembled as she cried. I wanted to hold her and weep, but I couldn't make a sound, only feeling the pain.

Although he would find out sooner or later, if I had borrowed money earlier, that bill wouldn't have reached him.

With my adoptive father gone, a piece of my heart felt empty; the only person in this world who protected me was gone.

Just as we were crying together, the door to the hospital room was opened.

"Mr. Lu, Ms. Su has come to the hospital."

After calming my mother's emotions, I stepped out and saw her standing at the entrance of the hospital, holding a bag and luggage.

It seemed she had just returned. When she saw me, she was momentarily taken aback.

Perhaps my appearance shocked her; my sudden weight loss made me look like a different person, but she merely said coldly, "I heard you were frantically looking for me. What do you want? Are you finally feeling regret?"

She stood in front of me with her arms crossed, looking at me with a scrutinizing gaze.

"If you regret it, then you should apologize to Gu Jiang for the last project."

She actually wanted me to apologize to Gu Jiang for the last project change.

I clenched my fists and angrily questioned her, "Why should I apologize to him? I will never apologize to him!"

"Not only will I not apologize to him, but I will also make him pay the price!"

Su Li looked at me in disbelief and directly scolded, "What right do you have to make him pay? Ask yourself!"

"You blocked so many people in the company last time, making him embarrassed. If it weren't for him, the Jinghai project would never have been secured."

Then Gu Jiang got out of the car and walked over to us with a smile.

"Sorry, Mr. Lu, oh no, I mean, Mr. Lu, you really don't need to apologize."

"After all, he's a man; I can understand how hard it is to say the word 'sorry'!"

Then he looked at Su Li, "Maybe it's better not to. I'm afraid Mr. Lu will misunderstand me even more."

"And I think Mr. Lu didn't mean it; he just doesn't like me..."

Su Li took out a card from her bag, "Here's the money you wanted, exactly 2 million!"

"Don't you want money? If you apologize, I can consider giving you 1 million."

"If Gu Jiang can accept your apology, then I'll give you 2 million. Didn't you just need 2 million?"

I didn't know whether to admire her generosity or to hate how she toyed with me.

2 million for an apology, buying back Gu Jiang's face.

I tightened my fists and looked at Su Li, "So my apology is worth 1 million?"

"Gu Jiang's forgiveness is worth 2 million?"

Su Li held up the card, smiling at me, "What do you think? Lu Xiao, I've told you before, I just want to torment you!"

"But I still feel sorry for you. Just one apology and I'll give you 2 million. Shouldn't you feel grateful?"

She suddenly laughed wantonly.

She had said she wouldn't let me go easily, that she would keep me around to humiliate and torment me repeatedly.

2 million for an apology to her lover.

2 million is just a word to them, yet it could save someone’s life!

I could no longer control the anger boiling inside me and snatched the card from Su Li's hand.

In front of her, I tore the card in half and threw it at her feet.

"I don't want your money!"

"I will never apologize!"

"Not only will I not apologize, but I will also make Gu Jiang pay a greater price for what he did today!"

Su Li looked at me in exasperation, "Are you crazy? You say you want it, and then you say you don't want it!"

"Are you trying to show off your backbone to me? How ridiculous! If you had any backbone, why would you be looking for me everywhere?"

Yes, I had been frantically searching for her.

"Yes, I was madly looking for you, but now I regret it!"

Su Li sneered, "I knew you couldn't stand the wait. Now you regret it? Too bad, it's too late."

I clenched my fists and looked at her; she was deliberately dragging this out by not answering my calls.

I raised my eyes and angrily questioned her, "So you didn't answer my calls on purpose, even going on vacation after my car accident?"

"Knowing my adoptive father was seriously ill, you blocked my number and refused to answer my calls."

"Just to force me to compromise with you, to make me bow my head and admit my mistakes, just because of that, right?!"

I could feel the veins in my neck bulging, my face flushed.

The anger surged to my head, making me feel like I was about to explode.

I couldn't believe this was what the person I once loved so much had done.

But Su Li casually said, "Ah, yes, I want to force you to compromise!"

She looked me up and down and then chuckled lightly.

"A car accident? How serious was it? You're standing right in front of me, aren't you?"

So as long as I wasn't dead, it meant nothing to her.

"You can hold a grudge against me, you can hate me, but why, knowing about my adoptive father's situation, do you still refuse to answer my calls?"

"Su Li, I never thought there would be a day you would become like this!"

As soon as I finished speaking, she seemed to remember something and suddenly turned to look at Gu Jiang, whose eyes were evasive.

It seemed they had reached some kind of unspoken agreement; although their glances were fleeting, I felt I understood something.

That expression told me she might not have known about my adoptive father's serious illness at all.

But Su Li's face quickly returned to calm, and she raised her eyes to ask, "So, you want 2 million to save your adoptive father?"

Su Li's words made me more certain that Gu Jiang hadn't conveyed my message to her.

And even though Su Li knew Gu Jiang had concealed the matter, she didn't pursue it; instead, she began to excuse him.

I angrily looked at Gu Jiang, "You didn't tell her what I asked you to!"

Gu Jiang's eyes flickered, "Ms. Su..."

Before Gu Jiang could finish, Su Li immediately interrupted.

"Gu, Gu Jiang told me, I thought you were just trying to force me back."

"So you made up such a lie. If it were true, you should have said it earlier."

She started to panic a little, took out her phone, and said, "I'll unfreeze the account right away; you can take it if you need it!"

The truth was out, and she still prioritized protecting Gu Jiang; my heart sank in disappointment.

Even if the account was unfrozen, it wouldn't save my adoptive father's life!

I could no longer control my inner pain and anger and knocked her phone out of her hand.

"Take your money and get out of my sight!"

Su Li looked at me in disbelief and shouted angrily, "Lu Xiao, are you out of your mind!"

Not only am I out of my mind, but I'm also about to die; if I die, I will take Gu Jiang down with me first!

I turned around, angrily grabbed Gu Jiang by the collar, and punched him in the face.

I mounted him and rained down punch after punch, hitting him with all my strength!