Early summer, a gentle warm breeze, lightly shaking a tree of white flower buds.

Cheng Yu tilts her head up, squinting slightly, looking at the brilliant golden light filtering through the flowers and leaves.

The sunlight is so warm, so good, casting a dazzling glow over the city; the distant rolling mountains, the nearby lush grass, beautiful like a painting.

Cheng Yu loves this kind of good weather, loves the lazy feeling of the sun on her body, loves listening to the sound of the wind, the rustling of the leaves, and the soft, crisp voice of a little boy nearby, acting spoiled with his father.

“Dad, look, my castle!” A boy, about four or five years old, holds a small shovel, squatting in the sand, proudly showing off his hand-built, crooked sandcastle to his father.

The man sits on a leisure chair in the park, with a laptop on his lap, watching his child play in the sand while still busy with work. His young face is adorned with a pair of black-framed glasses, giving him a scholarly air; his features are not particularly handsome, but they are sharp and defined, with a unique charm, especially his eyes behind the glasses, which are now gazing at his child with a tender light, his lips slightly curved, softening his stern features.

“Dad, look at my castle!” The little boy gets up and comes over to pull his father’s hand, insisting that he come and look.

The man puts down his laptop, complying with the little boy’s request, and the father and son squat in front of the not-so-impressive castle, seriously examining it.

“Isn’t Yang Yang’s castle good? Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes, it’s amazing, Dad can’t even do it.” Cheng Yu didn’t expect the man’s voice to be so low and pleasant, like the sound of a cello.

“Dad, play with me too.”

“No, Dad has to work.”

“But Auntie is sick today, you clearly said you would take a day off to be with me all day.”

“Dad did take the day off, but there’s still work to be done. Can you play by yourself first? Dad will come play with you once he’s done.” The man speaks to the child with great patience, coaxing him gently.

“Okay! I’ll play by myself.” The little boy pouts his red lips, somewhat reluctantly, but nods obediently, his big eyes shining like black jewels, lively and cute.

Cheng Yu gazes at him, almost unable to resist the urge to hug the little boy tightly and kiss his cheeks.

If her first child had been born smoothly, he would be about the same age as this little boy now, surely just as innocent and cute.

Her child…

Cheng Yu unconsciously places her hand on her belly, her fingers gradually tightening.

Just recently, she lost another child, a baby she had longed for for many years, but ultimately couldn’t keep.

It was because she saw with her own eyes that frivolous and heartless man entwined with another woman in the office.

She didn’t see who the woman was, and it didn’t matter who she was. She only knew that when that man was caught by his wife, he calmly put on his clothes and tied his tie, then said he had a business dinner later and wouldn’t be coming home that night.

Now, thinking back, she can’t quite remember her reaction at the time, her memory is blurry, as if she had screamed hysterically, and then somehow, she was impatiently pushed by that man, her belly hitting the corner of the table hard, and then she fell into unconsciousness.

When she woke up, the doctor told her with a hint of pity—she had a miscarriage.

Baby, gone again…

After resting in the hospital for two days, her husband didn’t even come to see her. She quietly handled her discharge and returned to the empty house.

Today, she was actually planning to go back to the hospital for a follow-up, because the doctor had discovered some issues when handling her miscarriage and arranged for her to have a series of detailed examinations.

She must go to hear the doctor’s diagnosis report.

She didn’t want to listen, and she didn’t need to listen to know what they would say. They would probably tell her that she could no longer have children, that she would never have a child of her own in this lifetime.

It didn’t matter, she didn’t care.

She didn’t care about anything anymore…

Cheng Yu stood up in a daze, forcing herself to look away from the little boy, and quietly turned around.

She didn’t expect the little boy to look up at her curiously and run over to her, pulling a piece of candy from his pocket.

“Auntie, for you.”

She stared blankly at the innocent-looking little boy.

“My dad says that eating candy will make you happy!” the little boy explained softly, his smile pure and sincere, without a hint of impurity.

The little boy handed her the candy and then ran off, saying something to his dad. His dad nodded approvingly and ruffled his hair, glancing at her from a distance.

That glance made Cheng Yu feel a mix of emotions.

The little boy must have noticed her unhappiness and wanted to cheer her up with a piece of candy. What kind of father would raise a child who knew to show kindness to strangers?

Cheng Yu felt lost and confused. She unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth, immediately tasting an indescribable flavor—

Was it sweet? It didn’t seem to be. She felt like it was mixed with a strong bitterness.

She shook her head bitterly and slowly chewed the candy, swallowing the conflicting taste with difficulty.

A few minutes later, she crossed the street and entered the hospital, smelling the distinctive scent of disinfectant.

The doctor took out her diagnosis report and looked at her with a sympathetic expression, even more cautious than when he had told her about her miscarriage.

“Miss Cheng, we found that you have cervical cancer, and the cancer cells have already spread…”

Cheng Yu stared at the doctor with a pair of hazy eyes, as if she hadn’t understood what he was saying.

“If you undergo chemotherapy, there might be a small chance, but I must be honest, the odds are not high…”

“How much time do I have left?” Cheng Yu asked woodenly, interrupting the doctor’s hesitant explanation.

“If you don’t receive any treatment, you might have three months, at most half a year…”

Three months to half a year.

Cheng Yu suddenly laughed, right there in the cold examination room, under the pitiful and surprised gazes of the doctor and nurses, laughing so freely and unrestrainedly.

“Thank you, doctor.” After laughing and crying, she still remembered to thank the doctor gracefully.

She didn’t discuss how to proceed with further treatment with the doctor and even refused the next follow-up appointment. She simply turned around and left, standing alone at the hospital entrance.

It started to rain.

The sky, which had been sunny just moments ago, was now covered with dark clouds. Lightning tore through the air, accompanied by thunder, and large raindrops suddenly poured down.

Cheng Yu didn’t avoid the rain. She stood dazed in the pouring rain, letting the raindrops strike every inch of her skin.

She thought back on her life.

In elementary school, a sudden earthquake had destroyed her family’s house. Her parents were buried alive in the rubble, holding her tightly to protect her with the last of their strength, giving her a chance to be rescued.

In that catastrophic earthquake, she lost her family, classmates, teachers, and almost all the neighbors in her small town who she saw every day.

After that, she was sent to a welfare institution and moved between two or three foster families before settling in an orphanage.

After graduating from high school, she worked part-time to pay for college, where she met her senior, Deng Ruofan.

Deng Ruofan took good care of her, his junior. She was introverted and always kept to herself, while he was like a natural star, charming and always surrounded by people and admirers.

She didn’t know why he took a liking to her, but he always brought her along to activities, forcing her to meet friends and socialize with groups.

They naturally got married, and for a short while, they enjoyed a sweet newlywed life. She thought she had found the most solid support in her life.

She thought she would never be alone or lonely again, that she could build a home with him, a warmer and happier home than she had ever known.

But it was all just a dream.

A rushed, ridiculous dream that ended like a bucket of cold water poured over her, leaving her in a miserable state.

This was her life, her entire existence. In the last few months of her life, all she had to reflect on was this day after day of desolation and bitterness.

Why did she have to live this kind of life? In the end, she had never truly owned anything, and nothing remained.

Cheng Yu, is this your entire life? Losing your beloved father and mother; losing two children you never got to meet; losing what you thought was love; losing the future; losing all the possibilities of life.

Why live like this?

Why die like this?

Why? Why!

“Ha ha, ha ha… woo woo…”

Her laughter turned into painful sobs. She cried uncontrollably in the rain, not caring about the strange looks from passersby, crying like a child who had lost her parents.

“Dad, Mom… my babies…” Her hoarse cries sounded especially sad and painful in the rain.

Ever since she experienced the pain of losing her parents, Cheng Yu had hardly shed a tear. Even during the days when she thought she had Deng Ruofan’s protection, she had never cried to him, always living so stubbornly.

Until today, until this very moment.

She cried until she was dizzy, with tears and snot streaming down her face, collapsing onto the wet street, sobbing non-stop.

What was the point of living so strong? In the end, she had nothing, and she had lost everything…