During a live New Year's Eve broadcast, my sister called me. I spoke first: "May you have peace and joy, and live a long, long life." My sister scoffed: "But I don't want you to have joy or a long life at all. "I wish you would suffer for the rest of your life." I had cut ties with my sister during the year she was at her absolute lowest. Now that she was successful and famous, the very first thing she did was seek revenge against me. My tone remained unchanged: "May you have peace and joy, and live a long, long life." My sister grew impatient: "Enough. I will never wish you well. "If I have to, then I wish you an eternity of pain." The host hesitated for a moment before finally reminding her: "Ms. Sterling... that was just a recording of Mr. Sterling's voice. "And when he passed away... it was indeed, as you wished, very painful." 1 "Passed away?" Chloe Sterling froze, then let out a cold laugh: "I hope you mean he died." The host paused, then pointed behind her. On the massive screen behind her, my face appeared. In the video, I slapped the camera lens. The rain plastered my hair and shirt tightly against my skin. I looked utterly miserable. My tone was filled with pure exhaustion and impatience: "Stop filming. I said no." Immediately after, a sweet, incredibly sincere voice replied: "I'm really not a scammer. I'm a vlogger who specifically documents the real struggles of everyday people. I can help you." I turned away from the dumpster I was digging through and shoved my face right up to the lens: "Really? Can you cure my cancer?" The girl froze. I smirked bitterly: "Don't waste your energy. Go find someone else." "Um... I can try!" She grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away. I looked her up and down. I let out a laugh, pointing out her T-shirt, belt, pants, and shoes one by one: "Twenty bucks. Sixty. Forty. Fifty. "Oh, and this camera... you bought it secondhand, right? "Do you have any idea how much my treatment costs?" I held up five fingers to the camera: "Half a million." The girl's breath hitched. Smiling, I turned and walked back into the rain, bending down in front of each trash can: "Shadow? Shadow, where are you?" She followed me: "What are you looking for?" "A dog." "Is it yours?" "No. When the pain made me pass out earlier, he licked me awake." The girl didn't say anything. I looked up: "If you don't have anything else to do, don't just stand there. There are plenty of people in this world you can actually help. Don't waste your time on me." I covered the camera lens with my hand. The screen went black. 2 [The Next Life — October 11, 2023, 9:32 AM — The Sterlings Never Need Anyone's Pity] "You're Liam Sterling, Chloe Sterling's younger brother, right?" I was sweeping the floor in the back kitchen of a coffee shop. Hearing that, I frowned: "Why are you here again?" The girl's voice came from behind the camera: "Everyone online is calling you a treacherous, ungrateful backstabber. But they don't know you have cancer. I want to shoot a documentary series about you, can I?" I shook my head: "Let them call me a backstabber. I worked so hard to build that persona, are you trying to ruin it for me?" "Wait!" She frantically grabbed my arm: "But you're completely broke right now! Where are you going to get the money for your medical bills? Let me help you. I have some savings." I turned my head and smiled: "Why do you think I cut ties with my sister?" She paused. I pulled my arm free and waved her off: "I have a job. I don't need your help. Just leave." "I asked around. You only make two thousand dollars a month here." "I still don't need it." I turned my back to her, glancing over my shoulder with a smile: "The Sterlings never need anyone's pity." The moment the words left my mouth, I suddenly collapsed to my knees. "Mr. Sterling!" The camera shook violently. On the floor was a massive pool of blood. "You...!" Sarah's voice was trembling. The camera was tossed aside as a slender girl rushed over to support me: "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital!" I raised a hand and pushed her away. I grabbed a rag, wiped the floor, and used the back of my hand to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth: "No need." Then I walked over to the sink and washed the blood off my face. Sarah's voice quivered: "Please, just let me help you, okay?" I cleaned off the last trace of blood, turned around, and looked at her seriously: "The Sterlings... never need anyone's help." With that, I walked out of the camera's frame. 3 [The Next Life — November 15, 2023, 3:21 PM — A Puppy Doesn't Know He's Dying; He Only Rejoices That He Has a Home] "What do you mean?" Inside the veterinary clinic, I stared at the vet in absolute shock. The vet sighed and shook his head: "I'm guessing the original owner abandoned him because they saw he wasn't going to make it. "This little guy has been starving every day, getting bullied by other stray dogs... he's already..." I offered a weak smile: "I know. You're going to say he doesn't have much time left, right?" The vet hesitated for a second, then nodded. It was the exact same reaction my attending oncologist had. Sarah frowned: "Is there really nothing we can do?" "...Just make him comfortable. Give him whatever he wants to eat." The room fell into silence. I petted Shadow's head: "No wonder we found each other." Shadow's tail was wagging a mile a minute. He kept rubbing against me, tongue lolling out, looking at me with bright, dark eyes. Sarah smiled bitterly: "He thinks you're his owner." I froze for a second: "Is that really something to be happy about?" Sarah nodded, petting the dog's head: "A puppy doesn't know he's dying. He only knows he finally has a home again." I was silent for a moment. I patted the dog's head: "Then I'll call you Shadow." Shadow let out a happy "Woof!" Carrying Shadow out of the clinic, I turned and faced the camera: "You found Shadow and brought him to me. In return, I agree to let you shoot your documentary series about me." 4 [The Next Life — December 31, 2023, 9:00 PM — Then I Wish You a Long, Long Life · Part 1] "Where did you get this stuff?" I looked at the old VHS tapes Sarah had brought over, frowning deeply. She shook the tapes and smiled: "A good vlogger has to fully understand her subject." Saying that, she popped a tape into the VCR. On the ancient TV left behind by the previous tenant, a young boy wearing a custom-tailored suit appeared, bending down to look into the lens. Back then, my eyes still sparkled with hope: "Hello, hello! Happy New Year 2015! I wish everyone peace and joy, and may all your dreams come true!" "You were so lively back then." Sarah sat next to me, watching the video with a smile in her eyes. I leaned back on the ratty sofa in my cheap apartment: "Did you literally dig through every single video on all my social media accounts?" "I thought it was interesting, so I brought them over to watch." I didn't say anything. I just watched my past self sitting amidst a mountain of presents. A familiar voice rang out: "Don't rush, Sister will help you open them." Chloe walked into the frame and sat down next to me. I held up a hand in a "Stop!" gesture: "Don't! Sis. The Sterlings are fiercely independent!" The camera angle shifted. My sister fastened a watch around my wrist: "Happy New Year, Liam." With a click!, the video captured my massive, beaming smile. Then came the sound of chaotic laughter. I had smeared a bit of frosting on my sister's face. She froze for a second, then raised her hand with a laugh: "Stop right there! Don't think just because it's your birthday I won't smack you!" The video was filled with my joyous laughter. Outside the video, I suddenly burst into laughter too. I wiped the corner of my eye, my sigh carrying a slight tremble: "After Mom and Dad died, everyone thought I was so pitiful. "But... actually, I wasn't pitiful at all. "I still had my sister, and my friends..." The freezing wind howled through the drafty apartment. I wrapped my blanket tighter around myself as tears fell silently. My red, freezing hands were suddenly enveloped by two small, warm hands. Sarah looked at me earnestly: "I've saved up some money. Tomorrow, let's go to the hospital and start your treatment." I sniffled and let out a laugh: "Your account doesn't even have a hundred followers yet, and you eat instant ramen with me every single day. How much money could you possibly have?" Her pale hands clenched tightly against her faded jeans: "It's enough... to help a little." "No need. I have good news for you. I saved up two thousand dollars. I can afford one chemo session now." Sarah froze. Then she started smiling: "Is it enough? Let me give you a little more." I shook my head stubbornly: "No. The Sterlings never need anyone's help." I lifted my chin proudly: "Don't worry, my current income can cover my medication. Look, I bought all these with my salary." Saying that, I grabbed a handful of colorful pills, tossed my head back, and swallowed them all at once. Then, frowning, I sat in silence for a long time before finally rubbing my chest and letting out a long breath. When I looked up, Sarah was watching me, the corners of her eyes a little red. I laughed: "Swallowing a whole handful of pills in one gulp... pretty impressive, right?" Sarah lowered her eyes, her smile laced with deep bitterness: "Yeah." 5 [The Next Life — December 31, 2023, 11:45 PM — Then I Wish You a Long, Long Life · Part 2] In the video, the two of us, having finished a modest meal, leaned against the sofa waiting for the New Year's bell. Sarah looked at me: "Are you sure that's all you're going to eat?" I sounded exhausted: "My stomach hurts. If I eat any more, I'll throw up." Sarah was silent for a moment before finally speaking up: "Ms. Sterling... she succeeded. Her new project just broke a hundred million in revenue." I kept my eyes closed: "I know." "Go back to her. She'll pay for your treatment." I shook my head. "Why? Do you want to just die like this?" "Did you think that when I cut ties with her, I still had any illusions about surviving?" Sarah choked on her words. Then, she asked with a slight tremble in her voice: "Why did you cut ties with her? Wouldn't it have been better to face this together?" I started laughing: "Since we were little, Mom and Dad always said that Sterling children never needed anyone's help. But the Sterling family helped a whole bunch of relatives. "But... when my sister went bankrupt, not a single one of those people was willing to help. "Do you know how it felt? Watching my sister swallow her pride, begging those relatives to just help pay my tuition?" My breath shuddered, and I gritted my teeth: "My sister never begged anyone for anything. After being rejected by all those relatives, she took me and found a tiny, twenty-square-foot apartment, about the same size as this one. "She told me that even if it was just her, she would get us back to the life we had before. "That's the sister I admired. Even when she had absolutely nothing, she never lost her ambition or her pride. "But..." I started laughing again, looking at Sarah: "Guess what she would do if she knew I was sick?" Sarah looked at me, speechless. "She would get on her knees and beg those relatives." As I said those words, my very heart was trembling: "Actually... just to get my tuition money, she almost got on her knees. Thank god I stopped her... haha..." I wiped away the tear stains at the corners of my eyes: "Before I left, the business she started with her partner was just starting to take off. "Guess whether her partner would have still been willing to invest if they found out there was a terminal medical burden in her family?" Sarah's voice trembled: "Liam..." I held up a hand to stop her: "Cancer will take my life. But half a million dollars... that would take her life." Sarah clenched her fists. I smiled and sighed: "The day I left, I completely destroyed her with the most vicious words I could think of. "In the end, she grabbed my arm, crying and begging me. She said things would get better soon, that she would definitely get us back to our old life. Seeing how glamorous and successful she is now, you probably can't even imagine how pathetic and desperate she looked back then... haha..." Sarah asked quietly: "How did she finally let you go?" I thought back: "I told her she was a failure. That her past success was only because of Mom and Dad. "I told her that acting so pathetic now was dragging Mom and Dad's reputation through the mud. I told her that if she cared about me even a little bit, she would let me go find my own happiness. "And then... she slowly let go of me." The New Year's bell rang. Fireworks exploded outside the window. I raised a hand and wiped the tears from my face. 6 [The Next Life — January 1, 2024, 0:00 AM — Then I Wish You a Long, Long Life · Part 3] Sarah turned to look out the window: "Happy New Year." "Thank you." "Aren't you going to wish me well?" I looked up: "You're asking a dying man for a blessing?" She gently placed her hand over my bony, emaciated one: "Please." I looked at the warm, golden fireworks outside the window. It felt like I was bathed in hope. I smiled: "Then I wish you a long, long life." The hand resting on mine clenched tightly, trembling slightly. Sarah stared out the window. I couldn't see her expression. The camera quickly cut, showing that we had both gone to sleep. But in the darkness, my figure slowly appeared. I leaned in close to the camera, frowning: "Why did you forget to turn the camera off?" I raised a hand to turn it off, but paused. After thinking for a second, I dragged a chair over and sat in front of the lens, adjusting the angle left and right, doubt in my eyes: "Will anyone actually ever see this video?" More fireworks exploded outside, the warm, yellow light illuminating my face. I took a deep breath and smiled gently at the camera: "If anyone does see this, then... I wish everyone peace and joy, and a long, long life." With that, I waved at the camera and hit the stop button.
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