Chapter 4 I Kowtowed to the Staff in the Hospital on the Ground

I went to the door with difficulty, opened the door, and lay on the big bed where I had been sleeping for three years. I fell asleep in a daze... I had a dream. In my dream, I went back to the time when I had seen Patrick for the first time 12 years ago. At that time, I was only 10 years old. And I went to have fun at a construction site nearby the orphanage which hadn't been completely furnished yet. It was in winter back then when there was nobody on the construction site. I met Patrick there, who was wounded and dying. Although I had been calling him for a long time, he didn't respond at all. Originally, thinking that he was dead, I was about to go back to turn to the teacher in the orphanage, only to hear a weak voice behind me, "Save me." At that time, I, who was thin and weak, pushed him out of the construction site with a tricycle for carrying cement and took him to the nearest hospital. Because I didn't have enough money, the staff in the hospital refused to save him. So I knelt down and kowtowed to them. In the end, only after a young doctor called the Vice Director over did they agreed to push him to the operating room. And I was waiting outside. Later, he woke up and asked my name, saying that he remembered my name and would come to me in the future. But there was a great gap between dream and reality. It turned out that Patrick woke up later and I, who was not allowed to enter the ward, could only look at him from a distance. Not long after, a group of men in black suits came and transferred him to another hospital. As the bed where he was passed by me, he saw me. He curled up his beautiful lips, smiled at me, and gently grabbed the tipping of my clothes. That was our last meeting. But his smile was imprinted in my heart. Even after 12 years, it still remained fresh in my mind. By the time I woke up, tears had soaked the pillow towel. It was already pitch dark outside the window. I was thirsty as well as hungry. And I, who wasn't as physically painful as I used to be, wanted to go to the kitchen to have a glass of water. Sensing that there wasn't any noise outside my room, I thought they should have fallen asleep. However, as soon as I walked to the entrance of the stairs, Caroline's voice came from the living room, "Should we let her go on living here? Didn't you say that the house would be vacant so that I could house my clothes there?" As I was wondering why she hadn't gone to Patrick's home, I heard her mother say, "Don't worry. I'll find a way to get her to sign the contract tomorrow and let her get out of here. Just endure her for the 4% shares." "4% shares?" "I wonder whether she is talking about me. It is just that I don't know about the shares at all." But soon, Caroline revealed the answer, "How come you took her back just for the 4% shares after hearing Grandma's words? Could it be that 4% shares worth a lot? Moreover, it can't be cashed in! And I have to address her as my sister!" "Do you think I'm not disgusted by her? She's so lowly. Every time she eats, it's like she hasn't eaten anything good for her whole life. She never wasted anything! Every time there's a guest at home, I think she embarrasses us!" "I agree. When I gave the clothes I rarely wore to her, she acted like she had hit a jackpot. I feel embarrassed to admit that she is my sister. And it is a relief for me seeing her being beaten up today!" "Alright. When she wakes up tomorrow morning, I'll ask her to sign the agreement! As for your grandmother, she surely won't hold us accountable if we tell her what happened at the wedding!" As I stood upstairs and heard Caroline and her mother's conversation, my hands, which had been holding onto the stairs' armrest, trembled violently. It was the dean of the orphanage who had told me that only did I eat up the food in my bowl would the cook be happy. As for the clothes that Caroline had given me, I disliked most of them. However,  fearing that she would be disappointed, I, who didn't have any other clothes, could only accept them with gratitude every time. To gratify the Archer Family, I earned my living expenses by doing part-time jobs except for the tuition fees which were subsidized by the kind-hearted people of the orphanage. It turned out that the family affection that I had valued and nurtured discreetly was such a thing. "It turns out that they put up with me for 4% shares!" And asking me to marry Patrick on behalf of Caroline, which had been well-calculated, was nothing but an excuse to kick me out of the Archer Family! "I'm the only one who's worshipping the family affection stupidly." It turned out that family affection was nothing at all! I bit my lips hard and tried my best to control my emotions. Then I hobbled downstairs and asked, "Is that so?"