When Wen Nan left the house, Pei Yu's stepmother, Fang Ling, had already dressed up. It seemed that she was ready to rush to a gambling session early in the morning. Pei Yu disliked her gambling, and she deliberately held back until morning.

A luxurious white fur was draped over her shoulders, complementing her wine-red embroidered qipao. Despite being in her forties, this woman took great care of her appearance. However, her heavily accentuated eyebrows gave her a harsh impression. Her lips were painted as though she had just consumed blood, yet she was surrounded by a group of wealthy women, all wearing gracious smiles as they flattered her with utmost respect.

"In the early morning, where are you going without even making breakfast? Did Pei Yu wake up? Pei Yu is busy every day with company matters, are you intentionally disturbing his sleep by getting up so early?"

"Mum, I have something to tell you," Wen Nan said, his lips pale.

The sound of "mom" clearly made Fang Ling feel relieved. In the Pei family, only Wen Nanshu called her mom.

Pei Yu is not her biological son, but her stepson. Back then, she was just a secretary who climbed into Pei Yu's father's bed. Pei Yu's biological mother passed away when he was seven due to illness. That's when she got the opportunity to be recognized as his mother. But who would have known that shortly after being recognized, Pei Yu's father passed away in a car accident.

She has been labeled with the big hat of being cursed with widowhood. The aristocratic circle detests this the most, especially since she is the widow of the top representative of the prestigious Pei family. Despite her outstanding appearance and beauty, her late husband died before the age of thirty, and no one dares to marry her. She can only remain a widow in the Pei family. Her treatment towards Pei Yu cannot be described as either good or bad; in any case, she has mastered the art of managing her public appearance and has done it perfectly. Pei Yu has treated her fairly well over the years.

Fang Ling came from a humble background. She was often berated by Old Master Pei for her involvement with Mr. Pei in the past, which was scandalous and disgraceful. But now, she has become the mistress of the Pei family, freeing herself from her past. As a result, she looks down even more on those who had a similar lowly upbringing as her own, especially Wen Nan Shu, whom Old Master Pei favors, and whom Fang Ling despises more than anyone else in her entire life.

"Leave the card that Pei Yu gave you." Fang Ling bossily pointed her finger at him, extending her hand.

Wen Nan paused for a moment. The card that Pei Yu had given him was used to deposit his living expenses, and that was the only card he had. However, now the money inside it was for his hospital treatment expenses.

What are you dawdling for? Dongdong caught a cold. Shouldn't we buy something for Dongdong before we go see him? How did you become his sister-in-law? You don't even use the money Pei Yu gave you on your own family, but you want to spend it on others outside?"

Fang Ling's treasure in her mouth was her younger brother's child from her mother's side of the family. Over the years, Fang Ling had secretly used the Pei family's money to support her own maternal family. However, the monthly allowance given to her by Pei Yu was just that much, and even more than enough. But she was so vain and extravagant, accustomed to being flattered by her girlfriends and maternal family. No matter how expensive it was, she had to buy it. Her own money was not enough to buy jewelry or gamble, so she naturally focused her attention on Wen Nan's easy-to-bully character.

Fang Ling was obviously waiting. This wasn't the first time she had done so, and every time, Wen Nanshu would give in to her demands. It was because Wen Nanshu was afraid that she would speak ill of him in front of Pei Yu.

Wen Nan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he took the card out from the thin wallet and handed it to Fang Ling. The wealthy ladies on the side looked at his worn-out wallet with disdain, almost rolling their eyes up to the sky in disgust.

Wen Nan felt uneasy and intolerable under the burning and mocking gazes from the crowd.

"Mum, then I'll leave first."

Wen Nan hurriedly escaped from this suffocating environment, but unfortunately, there were still people behind him who refused to let him go in order to please Fang Ling. They loudly jeered at his back, "Madam Pei, regardless of anything, Nan Shu is still a grandson's wife of the Pei family. You shouldn't be so thrifty. Look at the state of his money clip, it's embarrassing to take it out now. How can you let Pei Yu and the Pei family lose face?"

Fang Ling sneered as she put the card into her exquisite luxury handbag. Her sharp and thin voice intentionally raised and elongated, "What is the identity of our Pei Yu? It is already distressing enough for my son to marry home a chicken that can't lay eggs. Does he still deserve any precious things? It is better to have some self-awareness, so as not to let our Pei family become extinct."

Behind him, a middle-aged woman with excessive makeup burst into a laughter, her delicate face trembling. Wen Nan shu nearly fled in a state of disarray.

Wen Nan finally sat inside the car, and the completely sealed environment inside the car finally allowed him to relax and exhale a breath. Just as the car had just passed the gate, it was suddenly stopped by someone.

A boy wearing a duckbill hat with a dark gray hoodie pulled over it flagged down his car. The boy's face was tightly covered with a black mask and a pair of oversized black sunglasses, making him appear extremely mysterious. He forcefully stopped the car and asked, "Are you Wen Nan Shu?"

"Yes," Wen Nan Shu said wearily.

The boy firmly pressed down the partially lowered car window, reaching up to half-remove the large black sunglasses from his face, hanging them on his prominently raised nose bridge. With a clear hostile intent, he fixed his phoenix-like eyes on him:

Are you Pei Yu's wife? Not impressive at all. You pale like a ghost. Let me tell you, my name is Qi Ruobai, and I've been with Pei Yu for half a year now.

As she spoke, Qi Ruobai deliberately flaunted the sparkling diamond ring on her hand in front of Wen Nanshu's eyes. "Do you see this? It was a gift from Pei Yu. I know you're already twenty-seven, two years older than Pei Yu. You're getting old, and Pei Yu needs someone young and fun like me to accompany him. Did Pei Yu come home last night? Don't be proud, Pei Yu will be mine sooner or later!"

"You know that you're just a plaything, right?"

Wen Nan looked up at him and said calmly.

"You!!"

Wen Nan pressed the button to close the car window. He sat inside the car, and Qi Ruoba, in a fit of anger, directly threw the cup of coffee in his hand all over him.

"You are nothing but a lowly bug in the slums, how dare you dream of being Mrs. Pei? One day, I will make Pei Yu not even want to look at you! Mrs. Pei's position belongs to me! When the time comes, you better pack your things and leave!"

In the cold of late autumn, scalding hot coffee poured from Wen Nan's head and face, flowing down his hair and cheeks, sliding into his neck. The coffee that flowed recklessly soaked his shirt from the front to the back, even seeping onto the wound that had just split open last night during his intimate encounter with Pei Yu. The burning temperature stung the crimson flesh beneath his torn and tattered skin.

Wen Nan Book casually found an unmarked small shop on the street and bought a shirt and a coat. When he was swiping his card, he accidentally handed it to Fang Ling again. He didn't have much money left, but luckily the shirt and coat only cost a total of 300 yuan. After Wen Nan Book paid, he only had a pitiful few tens of yuan left in his wallet.

It was clearly before 7 o'clock in the morning when he set off, but after going through a series of turmoil and farce one after another in the morning, he was already exhausted by nearly 11 o'clock, both physically and mentally.

When he arrived at the hospital building, Wen Nanshu was scolded by his attending physician from the start. The doctor berated him, saying that he had just undergone such a major surgery and yet dared to leave the hospital without permission before the stitches were removed. The doctor even threatened to call the police when Wen Nanshu wasn't present during morning ward rounds!

The clamorous attending physician was his university drama club classmate and close friend, Wen Nan Shu had no choice but to interrupt him helplessly, "The incision on my wound seems to be cracked, can you take a look and see how serious it is?"

"Wen Nan book!!" Wei Siyan saw that there were two places on the knife wound where the threads had burst open, revealing two bloody pieces of tender flesh. She immediately jumped up and scolded, "Don't you know what pain is? The threads have already burst open like this, and yet you only show up now? Why weren't you in pain to death? What happened to the rest I told you to take? Go to the treatment room!!"

Wen Nan Shu had no idea why he wasn't in unbearable pain to death.

In the treatment room, Wei Siyan, wearing medical gloves, re-stitched the incision site. Despite attempting to administer local anesthesia with two or three injections, Wen Nanshu's clothes, bought from a street vendor, kept getting snagged by the needle, piercing through his flesh.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on again?" Wei Siyan caught a glimpse of the green and purple fingerprint bruise on the back of Wen Nan's waist. "Your wound burst open because... damn it! Is Pei Yu even human? How could he still...?!"

Wen Nan Shu remained silent, simply gazing outside the treatment room window. In the gradually chilly and desolate weather, rows of trees were gradually shedding their flesh and color, withering and becoming bleak. Their dried trunks curled up, preparing to withstand the upcoming winter.

Wei Siyan was a good friend of Wen Nanshu when he was studying at Wenna University. He knew how hard Wen Nanshu, an orphan, had to work to be able to get into K University. He also knew that Wen Nanshu's education was supported by the Pei family's educational fund all along, and later on, he was brought into the Pei family by Mr. Pei himself. He probably also knew a little bit about how much Wen Nanshu loved Pei Yu.

"Partly" because over the years, Pei Yu has been surrounded by a constant stream of gossip about various young models and rising stars. He hears chattering from nurses about his countless flings, but Wen Nanshu remains patient. After so many years of knowing Wen Nanshu, Pei Yu still doesn't know how deeply Wen Nanshu loves him, or where the line of that love is drawn.

Wei Siyan was still cursing Pei Yu. Feeling rich makes him superior? At most, he's just a wealthy, brainless creature who only thinks about indulging in pleasure! He's nothing but an animal as well!

In fact, Wei Siyan also wanted to divert Wen Nanshu's attention. After all, sewing the stitches was too painful. He cursed at the needle for a while and finished sewing. He heard Wen Nanshu ask, "When will the pathological test results of the cut-off tumor come out?"

"The results will only be available the day after tomorrow. When they are ready, just send them directly to me and I will show you. Don't worry, my teacher said that from the looks of it, yours doesn't appear to be malignant."

Wen Nan nodded lightly. Six months ago, his liver began to ache persistently, and it gradually became more severe over time, often causing him sleepless nights.

Until a month ago, it was discovered that there was a tumor growing on his liver. Once a tumor grows on the liver, there is a high chance that it is malignant cancer. He panicked and forgot to collect his medical examination report, leaving it on the bedside. The next day, he overheard Pei Yu instructing his secretary over the phone to bid on the bare diamond at the auction.

Wen Nan shu looked at his bare and nameless finger right now. Since that day until now, this is the first time in five years he has taken off his wedding ring. Every day, he has been waiting and hoping that Pei Yu would say the words "don't be afraid" to him. But Pei Yu went abroad directly, and he thought that Pei Yu would come back. However, until today, it was Qi Ruobai who made him realize that Pei Yu hasn't paid any attention to him at all. The comfort and surprises that he had been anticipating for a month were all given by Pei Yu to someone else.

He was more like a joke, making a fuss about himself from start to finish. Even when he found himself trapped in the sudden fear and dread brought about by the illness, he somehow still hoped that Pei Yu would shed some light on him.

"Si Yan, I want to find a job. Do you know anyone?" asked Wen Nan Shu.

"Hmm? Looking for a job?" Wei Siyan dropped her medical gloves. "All my acquaintances are in the hospital. You, a student majoring in auditing, not only lack the appropriate qualifications but also lack the necessary certification. Why suddenly want to find a job? What kind of job do you want to find?"

"I don't want to stay at the Pei family anymore," Wen Nanshu forced a bitter smile. He knew that he had been out of touch with society for too long. "Is there anything? Any job will do, the sooner the better."

Wei Siyan thought that he just didn't want to be a full-time housewife. "You should have realized this long ago! If it weren't for you resigning, with your abilities, you could have become a high-level executive. Even if you haven't worked for four or five years, you should have been quicker... Leave it all to me!"