A customer came in for a tattoo. Fearing she would disturb the man at work, Xu Huan considerately said she would contact him via WeChat and left the tattoo shop.
As soon as she stepped outside, Xu Huan received a call from her second older brother, Xu Jiaming. "Get your ass back home right now!"
Xu Jiaming hung up the moment he finished his command.
Though Xu Huan had no idea what this second brother wanted with her, her intuition told her it mostly likely had to do with Xu Yan.
Letting out a soft sigh, Xu Huan walked over to the roadside to hail a taxi back.
Even though she desperately didn't want to return, the submissiveness instilled in her since childhood made her habitually obey.
Just as she stepped through the front door, an unidentified object hurtled toward her.
With a dull thud, Xu Huan felt dizzy and staggered back a few steps, barely managing to steady herself against the wall before falling. Blood gushed from a wound on her forehead, blurring her vision.
Before Xu Huan could even process what had happened, someone violently grabbed her by the hair.
"Xu Huan, no matter how much you resent Yanyan, you had no right to destroy her competition entry! Do you have any idea how important today's competition is to her?!"
Her scalp stung with pain, and Xu Huan couldn't hold back her tears.
She forced herself to speak with difficulty, "I've never seen her artwork."
Hearing Xu Huan's words, Xu Jiaming struck even harder. "You're still lying? The surveillance footage clearly shows it was you who burned Yanyan's painting."
"Impossible." Xu Huan retorted without a second thought.
She had never even set foot in Xu Yan's art studio; how could she possibly appear in the surveillance footage?
"Still arguing back!"
Xu Jiaming shoved the evidence directly into Xu Huan's face.
Seeing the "herself" in the video sneaking into the art studio and burning the artwork, Xu Huan's pupils dilated in shock.
Xu Huan had no idea what was going on, but she would never admit to something she hadn't done. "This isn't me."
"The evidence is ironclad and you're still lying?"
Seeing Xu Huan deny her crime yet again, Xu Jiaming grew furious.
"Get over here."
He grabbed Xu Huan by the hand, dragging her over to Xu Yan. "Apologize to Yanyan."
Xu Yan sat huddled on the sofa with red-rimmed eyes, looking as though she had suffered the greatest grievance in the world.
Xu Huan pressed her lips together tightly. "I didn't do it. I'm not apologizing to her."
"Sister, why did you ruin my artwork? That was a masterpiece I spent three months painting! How could you..."
As Xu Yan spoke, she covered her face and began to weep, as if she could no longer hold back her grief.
Seeing Xu Yan cry, Xu Jiaming hurriedly coaxed her. "Don't cry, Yanyan. I'll have our eldest brother host another art exhibition for you later."
With that, he cast a fierce sideways glare at Xu Huan.
"Apologize!"
Xu Huan had no idea what was going on with the surveillance footage, but she would never take the blame for something she hadn't done. "I didn't do it. Why should I apologize?"
Xu Jiaming's gaze turned cold. He suddenly stood up and kicked Xu Huan.
Xu Huan's knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor. Pain and humiliation intertwined, turning her face deathly pale.
The wound on her forehead began to gush blood from the impact. Crimson droplets slid slowly down her cheek, landing on the cold floor to bloom into dazzling, ghastly flowers of blood.
Her breathing grew rapid and heavy, every inhalation accompanied by piercing pain.
Through her blurred vision, Xu Jiaming's face distorted into an even more ferocious snarl. He leaned down, looked right at her, and curved his lips into a cold sneer. "Are you going to apologize today or not?"
Enduring the agonizing pain in her knees, Xu Huan stubbornly raised her head. Her gaze burned like fire as she locked eyes with Xu Jiaming's furious glare. Her voice was weak, yet resolute: "If I didn't do it, I'll never admit to it, even if I die!"
"You—"
Livid with rage, Xu Jiaming raised his hand to slap Xu Huan.
However, before his palm could land, Xu Huan suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.
"What's wrong with you?"
Xu Jiaming was startled.
Through her blurred vision, Xu Huan looked at Xu Jiaming. Before she could speak, she lost consciousness and her body slumped forward uncontrollably.
Instinctively, Xu Jiaming reached out and caught her.
She was, after all, his full-blooded younger sister. When Xu Huan had first been brought back home, Xu Jiaming had looked forward to her return.
It was only because of some of Xu Huan's actions afterward that he grew to resent her, leading to his increasing aversion toward her.
Hitting her so hard today was also because Xu Huan had destroyed the masterpiece Xu Yan had painstakingly stayed up late to paint.
He had hoped the two of them could get along peacefully, but Xu Huan kept "targeting" Xu Yan.
Since he and Xu Yan had grown up together since childhood, naturally they were closer.
He simply couldn't stand by without getting angry when the sister he had watched grow up was being targeted.
Anger was anger, but Xu Huan vomiting blood just now genuinely frightened Xu Jiaming.
He scooped Xu Huan up into his arms.
The moment he lifted her effortlessly, Xu Jiaming couldn't help a flicker of astonishment.
The person in his arms was so light he couldn't even feel her weight. She felt like a sheet of paper that a gentle gust of wind could blow away.
How could she be this light? Had she not been eating properly?
For the first time, Xu Jiaming felt a stir of concern for the sister he had always ignored.
Sitting on the sofa, Xu Yan saw Xu Jiaming running outside with Xu Huan in his arms, panic written all over his face. She hurriedly stood up and followed.
At the hospital.
The doctor who had examined Xu Huan walked out with a grave expression.
"Are you two the patient's family members?"
Xu Jiaming nodded. "I'm her second older brother. What's wrong with her? She was fine—why did she suddenly vomit blood?"
The doctor parted his lips to speak.
Just then, Xu Yan caught the doctor's expression and let out a sharp shriek.
Xu Jiaming instantly looked at Xu Yan with tension in his voice. "What is it, Yanyan?"
Xu Yan grabbed the hem of Xu Jiaming's shirt, her innocent doe-like eyes brimming with moisture. "The amulet Mom gave me is missing."
"What do I do? That's the last thing Mom left for me. I can't lose it."
Xu Jiaming quickly coaxed her. "Don't cry yet. Second brother will go check the car for you; it might have fallen in there."
"Then go quickly, Second Brother!"
Xu Yan demanded willfully, wiping away her tears.
Xu Jiaming had always doted on Xu Yan, and seeing her cry was his absolute undoing.
Without a second thought, he turned and walked out.
Seeing this, the doctor was dumbfounded.
Having successfully gotten him out of the way, Xu Yan wiped away her tears with her finger, her eyes innocent yet laced with a feigned worry. "Doctor, what is wrong with my sister?"
The doctor pulled his gaze away from the direction Xu Jiaming had left and turned back to Xu Yan. "Are you the family member's younger sister?"
Xu Yan nodded.
The doctor said, "Your sister had a physical examination at our hospital before. She was diagnosed with blood cancer, and vomiting blood is one of the symptoms."
"Blood cancer?"
Learning that Xu Huan had contracted blood cancer, Xu Yan was somewhat surprised.
"Yes, the patient is already in the late stages. Have her hospitalized for chemotherapy as soon as possible, or she won't live past a month."
Hearing the doctor say that Xu Huan wouldn't live past a month without treatment, Xu Yan nearly failed to suppress the corners of her mouth.
Lifting a hand to cover her mouth, Xu Yan put on a sorrowful expression. "Alright, I'll persuade my sister to be hospitalized for treatment as soon as possible."
The doctor had other patients to attend to and did not linger.
The moment the doctor left, Xu Yan could no longer contain her wild ecstasy.
"System, did you hear that?" she asked softly in her mind, her voice laced with irrepressible excitement. "Xu Huan is going to die."