In the third year after breaking up with my boyfriend, he took me to court.

Demanding me to refund all the expenses made during our relationship.

He sued me not because he was short of money, but because his wife said she was bored,

And she saw me as entertainment.

He knew I was in poor health,

Knew that I could only sleep on medication after my parents died in a car accident, leaving me in depression.

Knew that I once attempted suicide, ended up in the hospital, with a critical notice issued.

Yet he did this anyway.

In court, his face was familiar yet foreign.

I knew him for seven years and was together for five.

Later, he went to study in the United States.

In the hardest times, I never thought of giving up.

Los Angeles was far, I flew back and forth more than a dozen times.

The court finally ruled that I needed to repay a total of one hundred and seventy thousand and twenty-three yuan.

The extra twenty-three yuan was for a fee on the streets of Los Angeles that year.

I craved a candied hawthorn, but a single one costs three dollars in Chinatown.

I couldn’t bear to spend it—but he bought it for me with a smile.

Now, however, that has become a dagger stabbing at me.

Little did he know,

that hundred thousand was all the money I had in my bank account, as well as the unpaid fee for my next round of cancer chemotherapy.

After the court’s verdict came out, I ran into Xu Zhizhou in the hallway.

Years had passed since we last met, and he had changed a lot.

The once poor student who started his own business in a cheap public rental house abroad, was now a magnate in the field of new energy.

He stood there in his neat suit, casting his gaze on me with a hint of distance and coldness.

Subconsciously, I stopped in my tracks, intending to ignore him and pass by.

However, he finally spoke up, "Do you... regret it now?”

Taken aback, I retorted, "What?"

Xu Zhizhou revealed a mocking smile, "You must regret abandoning me for money, right?"

The autumn wind was somewhat cold, brushing against my thin body. I instinctively clenched my fingers, but I still felt chill after chill.

After a moment, I took a deep breath and gave him a perfect smile, "Mr. Xu, I have returned your money, and we’ve broken up. Are you not afraid of being misunderstood by your wife when you say things like this?"

As I turned my head, I saw Sun Feifei fuming, standing there with a contorted face.

Quickly though, she masked her ire with a plastered smile.

Clad in high heels, Sun Feifei sauntered over and affectionately linked arms with Xu Zhizhou, asking, "Honey, how should I spend these hundred thousand yuan? Should I buy clothes? Shoes? Or that brand-name bag I had my eye on last week?"

She purposefully glanced my way and remarked regretfully, "It seems it's not quite enough. You could be a little more generous to your ex-girlfriend, you know. Such a petty amount hardly affords me a hairpin."

I was in love with Xu Zhizhou for five years. Throughout that time, he was studying in America while I incessantly traveled to Los Angeles each month.

The debt of one hundred thousand yuan was mostly paid through his menial jobs— money spent on my plane tickets.

Now, however, with the transaction history in their hands, he and Sun Feifei were demanding repayment, under the relentlessness of their lawyer.

The hairpin on Sun Feifei's head was Chanel's latest model from last week; it cost one hundred and fifty thousand yuan—an expense my wallet couldn't bear.

The following instant, Xu Zhizhou indulgently brushed her hair, promising, "Sweetie, use this as your pocket money. If it's not enough, I'll give you more."

At once, Sun Feifei beamed, kissing Xu Zhizhou's cheek and praising, "Husband, you treat me so well."

Afterwards, she reddened apologetically and told me, "Yu Wan, I'm genuinely sorry. We don't really need the money. But I bet with Zhizhou, and he was simply trying to please me..."

"You see, ever since we got married, Zhizhou doesn't want me to work because he thinks I'd strain myself. So other than skincare, beauty treatments, and travels, I have nothing to do at home, save finding someone for a bit of fun, right?"

She walked over, taking my hand, her eyes gleaming with triumph and gloat—"Thank you for making me so happy and for letting me know that my husband loves me so much."

I abruptly furrowed my brows; my heart ached, as if being jabbed by countless nebulously soft needles.

The pastime of the rich, I have always been but a tool to demonstrate how much Xu Zhizhou spoils his wife.

With trembling hands, I forced out yet another perfect smile, "Debts must be repaid, of course."

Sun Feifei wore a smile, "I hope you always think so."

"My husband is rather naive, deceived by a vain and status-seeking person, I wish to help him recover some dignity. Hope you won't mind."

Next instant, she suddenly clenched my hand, pinching hard on my wrist.

Caught off guard, I let out an alarmed cry, tumbling down the stairs, my knees hit the marble steps and began to bleed.

Furrowing my brows, I gritted my teeth against the pain, looking up at the person on the stairs.

Sun Feifei cupped her ruby lips, feigning surprise she said, "Why Yuwan, what happened? It’s just 100,000. You're not unsteady even on the stairs, are you? Seeing how badly you’re hurt, shouldn’t we drive you home?"

Flaunting her smile with a sense of arrogance, she said, "Zhizhou just bought me a sports car – worth 100,000. It should be enough for your ride home."

Sun Feifei's sports car was a wedding anniversary gift from Xu Zhizhou. Adorned with pink diamonds, it perfectly fits her taste. She often parades around town in it, making the headlines and earning countless envious glances.

I shifted my gaze onto Xu Zhizhou. His eyes, deep and icy, looked down upon me with an intimidating air.

I staggered up from the ground like a beaten stray, giving them another smile, "No need, I'll go back on my own."

Sun Feifei laughed melodiously, "Then, we'll be taking our leave."

Subsequently, she turned towards Xu Zhizhou and said, "Honey, I have decided on the purchase."

"Our pet, Lele’s bowl is broken. I want to get her a smart one."

Xu Zhizhou looked at me coldly, with complex emotions flowing in his eyes.

After a while, he spoke softly, saying, "As you wish."

Sun Feifei, with her arm wrapped around Xu Zhizhou's, left cheerfully.

Until their sparkling, eye-catching sports car roared past in front of me, until a taxi stopped at the side of the road.

That's when I suddenly remembered, I didn't even have the money to take a taxi now.

Xu Zhizhou wouldn't know.

The money he used to buy the dog bowl was actually my emergency fund.

I dragged my worn-out body home.

In the small house built with iron sheets at the top of the slum, every time a storm raged, a sharp metallic sound would emit, keeping me up all night. Without air conditioning, it was like an oven in the summer, and I couldn't afford the electric bill. I have had several heat strokes.

I thought Xu Zhizhou would never find me, but surprisingly, the next time I saw him was in a court.

At last, I glanced at the news cuttings stuck on my wall before ripping them off one by one.

These news images all featured photos of Xu Zhizhou. They were for his first interview as a rising star in the new energy sector, for when he was selected as one of the top ten outstanding young entrepreneurs in the capital, and also…

The time when he knelt on one knee to propose to Sun Feifei, their grand wedding that attracted the attention of the media and the public.

I took a deep breath and started to tear the news pages, hiding them all inside the cardboard box under my bed.

My eyes landed on the group photo at the bottom of the box.

A sour tinge filled my heart, staring at the photo of Xu Zhizhou embracing me, his smile timid yet jubilant.

Remembering his cold, distant figure in the courthouse corridor, a stranger from another life.

Now, he's the boss of a publicly-traded company, a rising business star in the capital, a renowned philanthropist, a perfect husband doting on Sun Feifei, everyone... but not my boyfriend.

I forced out a bitter smile at the end, sealing away those articles along with the photos in the dusty memories.

Then, I started to apply makeup in front of the mirror and put on tight-fitting clothes.

"Starting from today, I want to work the night shift," I told the shift manager.

Working in a bar at night, you'll encounter many sleazy, inappropriate men, but your tips would be more.

I have no other choices, in order to survive, I need to earn money for my medical treatments.

However, I didn't expect to encounter Xu Zhizhou there.

Seeing the figure well surrounded by the crowd, my fingers tightly clench, in the part where the skin was bare, it felt like it was burning.

Of course, he saw me too. After a momentary shock and disbelief, he presented an expression of contempt -

"So, you work at a place like this."

Sweat started to wet my palm, but I still composed myself, saying: "Sir, your drink."

The look of mockery on Xu Zhizhou's face, like observing a rodent struggling in the sewer: "Well, the men who frequent this place, even if you were to latch onto any of them, they’d suffice to support you for a lifetime, that's just your style."

I took another deep breath and repeated, "Sir, your drink."

Xu Zhizhou raised an eyebrow and asked, "How long have you been here? Can't you serve people properly?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a check, casually scribbling a number before disdainfully tossing it at my feet.

He then said, "Take good care of these friends of mine. This money is yours."

The check landed at my feet, and I slowly crouched down to pick it up, a sharp pain shooting through my knee.

When I saw the figure on the check, my pupils quivered, heart pounding painfully like it was being mercilessly squeezed. It was 107,023 yuan - the exact amount I had paid him in the court settlement.

He was using this number to humiliate me.

I stood still, looking at him, and after a long silence, I opened my mouth and asked, "So, this is my compensation from Mr. Xu... I don't need to pay it back, right?"

The doctor told me that I shouldn't drink alcohol.

But I didn't have a choice – I needed the money.

To survive these past years, I was willing to do anything, even let go of my dignity. Comparatively, a few bottles of alcohol were nothing.

Today, all those who came were friends of Xu Zhizhou, and they all knew our story.

Three years ago, when Xu Zhizhou was on the brink of committing suicide after multiple failed attempts to secure financing, I chose to leave him without looking back. Despite his fervent attempts to find me, leading to an accident that landed him in a hospital bed where he pleaded desperately for me not to leave, I didn't return.

These people loathed me, wanting to seek retribution on Xu Zhizhou's behalf. Naturally, they wouldn't show me any mercy.

I was knocked out from the drinks they pounded into me, sprawled out on the table like a puddle of sludge.

Seeing me reach for a bottle again, Xu Zhizhou lost his temper. In one swift move, he grabbed my wrist, "Are you really stooping to anything for money?"

In my daze, I hoisted my head, extending my hand out like a beggar, "Xu Zhizhou, the money… you promised…"

"As long as I drink and serve your brothers well, you said you'll give me money, and won't turn back on your word…"

Xu Zhizhou's gaze on me became even more perplexing.

His fingers traced along my wrist, where a few grotesque scars resided.

Ever since the car accident took my parents' lives, I have been suffering from depression. On multiple occasions, I tried to slit my wrists, and each time, Xu Zhizhou would pull me back from the brink of death.

He once held me, pleading, "Wanwan, you still have me. For me, at least, do try to stay alive, okay?"

But now, Xu Zhizhou tossed me aside as if touching something filthy.

With an even more mocking smile on his face, he said, "I did promise, but… take a look at my brothers. Have you served them well?"

Everyone circled around, their eyes filled with disdain and derision, staring at me like I was the joker.

The guests weren’t even drunk yet, and I had already passed out. I was indeed a poor host.

Ignoring the spasm in my stomach, I sent him an infatuated smile, "Then I’ll start over again, until you’re satisfied."

Seeing me reach for the bottle again, Xu Zhizhou, unable to control his anger any longer, kicked over the entire table.

The sound of the shattering bottle filled the air as it crashed to the floor, leaving me unprepared and falling onto the shattered glass, my palm smeared with blood.

The next moment, my best friend Peach burst into the room, rushing to hug me, "Wanwan, how are you?"

She lifted up her eyes filled with rage and growled, –

"Xu Zhizhou, are you even human anymore? Wanwan did so much for you, how could you make her drink so much?!”

"She has stomach cancer and she might die. Do you know that?”