A year after we broke up, I saw Ian again. He was laughing, his arm draped possessively around the heiress of the Lu family. Mia Lu offered me twenty thousand dollars to be a bridesmaid at their wedding. She said I could have the money once the ceremony was over. I agreed. Ian looked at me with pure disdain. "Is it true that if I give you money, you'll do anything?" I nodded, not bothering to hide it. I really needed the money. He extended his foot. There was a splash of red wine on his leather shoe. "Lick it clean," he said, his voice cold. "And I'll give you a million." I slowly crouched down, lowering my face toward his shoe. 1 The hospital gave me the final diagnosis. "Ms. Song, we can't delay this any longer. You need to be hospitalized immediately for treatment, or your condition will deteriorate rapidly." The doctor sounded anxious, but I, who usually cherish my life above all else, stopped right at the hospital entrance. "I'm sorry. I'm not going to treat it." "You have to think this through. Your illness has reached the late stages. Without treatment, your life is in immediate danger..." "I know," I replied softly. I hung up the phone and looked down at the legal notice in my hand. The name "Ian Ze" was printed clearly at the top. My boyfriend of seven years was now suing me. He wanted me to return every cent he had spent on me during our relationship. Since I was the one who left without a word back then, it was only right that I pay him back. I arrived at his villa. The door was opened by a girl with perfectly styled waves in her hair, wearing a haute couture dress. It was Mia Lu, Ian’s fiancée. The star of the upcoming "wedding of the century." "Oh, you actually came?" Mia looked at me with amusement, then turned her head and called out, "Honey, come see who's here!" Seeing Ian again felt like a lifetime had passed. He leaned against the doorframe, making no move to let me in. His eyes were cold, distant. I started to hand him the bank card, but Mia slapped my hand away. She looked at me with scorn. "This little bit of change isn't even enough to buy a cat bed for Fluffy! But Ms. Song, if you can fulfill a tiny request of mine, I might convince Ian to drop the lawsuit and let you keep the money." I looked up at her, startled. Her red lips curled into a mocking smile. "Be my bridesmaid at the wedding!" Ian wrapped his arm around Mia’s waist, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. "Having her as your bridesmaid? Isn't that lowering your standards? Look at her—there isn't a single clean spot on her. Just let her pay the money." Then he looked at Mia. "Twenty thousand is a bit cheap for Fluffy's bed. I'll transfer you two million later. Buy Fluffy some decent clothes." Fluffy was their ragdoll cat. Suddenly, the cat seemed to go berserk, lunging straight at me. I stumbled back in fright. Mia bent down to stroke the cat’s head, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm so sorry. My cat isn't used to seeing poor people. Ms. Song, next time you visit, maybe change into something decent so my cat doesn't try to bite you." They looked me up and down, taking in my cheap clothes, the sweatpants bleached from too many washes, and the sneakers that had lost their original color. Watching their intimate display, I clenched my fists. Mia, seemingly pleased by his words, pouted at Ian. "I'm short a bridesmaid. If I find someone else now, people will say I'm a homewrecker. Just let Ms. Song do it, okay?" I looked at Ian. He didn't refuse. The way he wouldn't even look at me made my heart ache. But... if I didn't have to pay back the money, I would have funds for my treatment. Compared to living, being Mia's bridesmaid was nothing. "If I'm your bridesmaid, I don't have to pay the money back?" Mia paused, then laughed. "Of course. I'm not a gold digger; I don't care about money." She glanced at my clothes again. "Unlike some people." "Okay. I agree." 2 Ian looked surprised. He hadn't expected me to agree, nor did he expect me to have no bottom line when it came to money. Mia handed me an exquisite paper bag. "Here's the bridesmaid dress. Don't be late the day after tomorrow. I don't like waiting." Her tone was dismissive, as if the dress were an act of charity. I didn't take it. "I have a dress. I won't embarrass you, Ms. Lu." I turned and left, feeling pathetic. I returned to my tiny rental, barely ten square meters. It only had a bed and a toilet. The neighborhood was desolate, and the roof leaked, but it gave me a strange sense of security. I thought I would never see Ian again, yet here we were. I dug out a light blue evening gown from the bottom of my trunk. The satin-like fabric felt cool to the touch. Hot tears rolled down my face. Ian gave me this dress when we graduated. He said he had a matching suit. He promised that after we met our parents, we would wear these outfits for our wedding photos. Now, the dress had been sealed away, and Ian had a fiancée. But it wasn't me. He was now a young entrepreneur with wealth rivaling nations, the CEO of the Ze Group, and soon to be Mia Lu's husband. We were worlds apart. Next to the dress was a heart-shaped box filled with 1,001 paper stars. He gave it to me for my birthday two years ago. He told me that 1,001 stars represented 1,001 wishes. Whatever I wished for, he would make come true. I was so moved back then. I cried in his arms and told him I didn't have that many wishes. My only wish was to walk down the aisle with him. My heart ached. I stroked the heart-shaped box, wondering if being Mia's bridesmaid counted as walking down the aisle with him. I let out a self-deprecating laugh and closed the box. Mia’s words were meant to hurt, but all I cared about was that they wouldn't ask for the twenty thousand back. Right now, I just wanted to live. On the wedding day, I arrived early, wearing the only decent thing I owned—the dress Ian gave me. Mia glanced at me and rolled her eyes. "Cindy Song, that dress is seasons old. Are you trying to embarrass me by wearing that?" Hearing her voice, Ian walked into the dressing room. The moment he saw me, the coldness in his eyes cracked. He recognized it. It was the dress he gave me. But he hid it well, turning to Mia with a doting smile. "Someone like her would make even designer clothes look cheap. If you don't like it, don't let her be a bridesmaid." My heart tightened. I knew being a bridesmaid would break my heart, but I hoped she wouldn't send me away. This was my only chance to walk down the red carpet with Ian. Hearing Ian belittle me, a look of satisfaction crossed Mia’s face. She huffed. "Forget it. I can't find anyone else on short notice. Cindy, just follow behind me and don't cause any trouble, understand?" I nodded quickly, hiding my excitement. Ian looked handsome today. His hair was styled back, revealing his sharp brows. In his white suit, he looked like a prince from a fairy tale. As the wedding march began, I followed closely behind Mia, trying to match my steps with Ian's. Watching him walk ahead with Mia on his arm, I tasted iron in my throat and swallowed the bitterness. It was fine. My wish had technically come true. 3 The wedding was grand, attended by business tycoons and many of Ian's friends. After the toasts, I followed Mia to the table where Ian's friends were seated. They congratulated the couple and then started pushing drinks on them. "It's your big day! You have to drink up!" Someone handed a bottle of red wine to Ian and Mia. Mia’s face flushed. She demurred. "I've already had so much. I'll get drunk if I have more." She leaned on Ian’s shoulder. "Honey, drink it for me?" Ian looked at her lovingly, but then handed the glass to me. "You have a bridesmaid. The bridesmaid should drink for you." Caught off guard, I fumbled and didn't catch the glass. Or maybe he dropped it on purpose, wanting to see me embarrass myself. Cold wine splashed down my chest, staining the light blue dress a jarring red. I shivered, soaked. The crowd laughed, some asking why they picked such a clumsy bridesmaid. Ian looked at me sideways, his eyes cold and unyielding. "You drink it." My heart seized. I looked at him in disbelief. Ian pulled a card from his suit pocket and tossed it on the ground. "Drink until we're happy, and I'll give you fifty thousand." I stared blankly at the card on the floor, a bitter smile forming on my lips. We were together for seven years. How could he not know I was allergic to alcohol? He raised an eyebrow, staring at me intently. "If you don't want to drink, you can do something else to liven things up." A flicker of hope ignited in my chest, only to be extinguished by his next words. "Strip for us. Since you have no bottom line when it comes to money, I assume this isn't your first time doing something like this." Tears welled in my eyes. Every word felt like a knife, stabbing me over and over until I was raw. Drinking would cause an allergic reaction, but if I stripped, he would see the ugly scars left by my foster parents. I didn't want him to see my miserable past. I didn't want to expose my scars to him. After a long silence, I picked up the card. "If I drink it all, will you really give me the money?" In that moment, my desire to live outweighed everything else. I was only twenty-six. I really didn't want to die. Ian frowned, his gaze complicated. I didn't hesitate. I picked up a glass of red wine and downed it in one gulp. Bitter. Three glasses in, dizziness hit me. I swayed, my skin burning, throat itching. Breathing became difficult. Ian's friends were the notorious rich kids of Shanghai. They knew about our history. Two years ago, the Ze family business faced bankruptcy due to a broken capital chain. Ian was deep in debt and nearly beaten to death by loan sharks. That was when I left him. He searched for me like a madman and fell into a deep depression. Now that the Ze family had risen again, these people wouldn't let me off easily. They whistled and jeered, taking videos with their phones. Ian's frown deepened. "What a money-grubbing woman." He grabbed my arm, revealing the small "Ian" tattoo on my wrist. Seeing it, he froze. Then he scoffed, shaking my hand off as if it were filthy. While wiping his hands with a napkin, he picked up the entire bottle of wine. "If you finish this bottle and lick the wine off my shoe, you can take the money and get out." The surrounding mockery was unbearable. I felt like a clown, looking at their sneering faces. Fighting the suffocating pain, I nodded. "Okay. I'll drink." As I raised the bottle to my lips, Ian finally snapped. He snatched the bottle and poured it over my head. Wine streamed down my hair, soaking me to the bone. I shivered uncontrollably. Finally, I couldn't hold it back. I coughed violently, spitting up bright red blood. A figure rushed to my side, catching me as I collapsed. It was my only friend, Vivi. "Cindy!" She helped me up, seeing the wine soaking me and smelling the alcohol on my breath. She slammed her fist on the table. "Ian! Are you even human? Cindy sacrificed so much for you, and you make her drink? Don't you know she's allergic to alcohol?" "Don't you know she has late-stage lung cancer? Contact with allergens could kill her! Are you trying to murder her?" 4 Ian froze. He frowned at Vivi, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. But soon, a cold smile returned. "Cindy Song, you're really something. You even tricked your best friend? Is there anything you won't do?" "Do you think I'd believe that?" Vivi didn't bother arguing. Seeing I was barely conscious, she dragged me to the hospital. I had gone into shock but survived. Lying in the hospital bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling. Vivi looked relieved when I woke up. "Cindy, you're finally awake!" She burst into tears. "You scared me to death!" Her eyes were red as she looked at me with pity. "Why are you so stupid? Is Ian really worth all this?" I stared at the ceiling. Was it worth it? I asked myself the same thing. I remembered when I met Ian in our senior year of high school. The class needed to buy study materials, and I was the only one who hadn't paid. Facing the teacher's questions and my classmates' disdain, I wanted to disappear. It wasn't that I didn't want to pay; I didn't have the money. I was an orphan, adopted from a welfare home. I thought I finally had a family. But two years later, they had their own biological daughter. They stopped treating me well. Letting me finish high school was already a mercy in their eyes. Even though I had good grades and a chance at a top university, my foster mother refused to support me. She said raising me was already more than enough. If she knew I'd cost so much, she would have sent me back. Their money was for my sister. I told Ian about my situation, just wanting to vent. I never expected him to help. He paid for my materials and encouraged me not to give up. We promised to apply to Shanghai University together. With his encouragement, I worked harder than ever and got in. But my foster mother wouldn't let me go. She tried to tear up my acceptance letter, trying to ruin my future. I fought back, refusing to let go. She beat me with a feather duster. "I'll pay Cindy Song's tuition." Ian appeared at my door, frowning, his face serious. From then on, I cut ties with my family. Ian supported me through college. Not long after we started school, Ian confessed his feelings. Fireworks lit up the sky over Shanghai University all night. I became the envy of every girl on campus. Many came to see the girl who had captured the heart of the aloof Ian Ze. He felt like a gift from the heavens. Tears streamed down my face, but I couldn't say a word. Vivi tried to comfort me. "There's a misunderstanding between you two. You had a reason for leaving back then. Why don't you tell him?" I let out a long sigh. "It's meaningless. From the moment I decided to leave Ian, I wasn't part of his future anymore." "Besides, he's married now. My appearance was a mistake to begin with." Vivi cried harder. "But why do you have to bear all this pain alone?" I gave a bitter smile. For Ian, this wasn't pain. Just then, Vivi's phone rang.
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