My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

Jiang Ran stood in front of the glass door, watching her sister's back as she pushed it open, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

She wanted to go in, but before she could even take a step, the scene before her eyes was already flashing by as if it had been fast-forwarded.

Looking again, Yan Ning was leaning against the counter joking with Su Qing, twirling a pen in his hand, saying that a new wasabi-flavored cream puff had just been released, and asking Su Qing if she wanted to be the first taster.

Su Qing looked at him expressionlessly and said that he had already fooled her once last month, and the same trick wouldn't work twice.

Yan Ning put the pen on the counter, just about to say something even more infuriating, when he suddenly sneezed.

He rubbed his nose, looked around, then took a step closer to Su Qing, rubbed his arms together a few times, and said somewhat nervously, "Qing, do you feel suddenly cold?"

Su Qing looked at him speechlessly, turned around and casually picked up a block of butter weighing dozens of kilograms from the shelf next to her and put it on the worktable. She said in a flat tone, "Isn't it suddenly cold? Who told you to be so idle all day? Maybe there's a ghost standing next to you who hates idle people the most."

Yan Ning shrugged, smiled, and patted Su Qing's head, saying that no one had ever died in this shop, so how could there be ghosts? Besides, it's broad daylight.

Su Qing slapped his hand away and said with a straight face, "I told you before, don't pat my head."

She was a head shorter than Yan Ning, and the way she looked up at him with her head tilted back made her look small and soft. Paired with those naturally aloof eyes, she not only lacked any intimidation, but also made people want to reach out and rub her again.

Yan Ning quickly raised her hands in surrender, apologized with a grin, and watched as Su Qing angrily carried the butter back to the kitchen, the smile on her lips still lingering.

  

He was completely unaware that less than half a step away from him stood a person he could neither see nor touch.

The man was staring intently at him, his usually calm eyes now flashing with an extremely dangerous, almost reddish light.

Yan Ning suddenly sneezed again, feeling even colder around him. He looked up at the air conditioner on the wall, which was always set at 26 degrees Celsius, and muttered to himself, "How strange. Is 26 degrees Celsius so cold in the middle of summer?" He rubbed his arms as he headed towards the kitchen.

Jiang Ran stood there, watching Yan Ning's figure disappear behind the door leading to the kitchen, the dangerous glint in her eyes slowly fading away.

She knew this person was very good to her sister, one of the few bright spots in her sister's dark years, but that didn't stop her from thinking that this person was really asking for a beating.

After a brief interlude, the scene resumed its jumps.

The days at the dessert shop flowed by like water before her eyes. She watched her sister busy at the counter every day, wearing an apron, watching her desserts become more and more exquisite and delicious, watching her chase Yan Ning all over the kitchen after he was teased, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

She could tell that her sister was doing very well here, better than anywhere else she had ever been, but a question lingered in her mind: if her sister had hope for the future here, why did he choose to adopt her?

Her question was quickly answered.

The scene continued to unfold before her, from summer to autumn, from autumn to winter, and then from winter to the following spring.

My sister still works at the Half Sugar Dessert Shop, still wearing an apron and standing in front of the counter every day, but she can clearly feel that her sister has changed. She had finally managed to recover a little, but her cheeks have shrunk again, and her face is getting paler day by day.

She saw her sister suddenly stop baking a cake, one hand bracing against the edge of the counter, the other unconsciously pressing against her stomach, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead.

She saw her sister bend over and squat on the ground while moving flour in the warehouse. It took her a long time to stand up, and her lips were as white as blood.

She noticed that her sister would only eat a few bites of her work lunch before putting down her chopsticks, pushing the rest of the food aside, and pretending to be full. But soon after, she would go to the kitchen, pour herself a cup of hot water, and slowly drink it, trying to deceive herself about her physical discomfort.

Then came a gloomy morning.

She watched as her sister took half a day off and went to the hospital alone.

Jiang Ran followed her sister through the crowded outpatient hall, queued up with him to register, and underwent one examination after another.

She sat in the empty seat next to her sister, watching him lean back in his chair, his hands clasped together on his knees, as he watched one patient after another, older than him, younger than him, and about his age, being called into the examination room and wheeled out by the nurses.

The fluorescent lights in the corridor were stark and glaring, the walls were covered with faded health science posters, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of disinfectant and traditional Chinese medicine.

Then the report came out.

She stood behind her sister, watching the doctor place the thin examination report on the table, and watching the doctor utter those words in a tone that was as tactful as possible but still cruel.

She watched her sister sitting on the cold iron chair in the examination room, one hand clutching the report, her fingers so tight that the edges of the paper were wrinkled.

His face didn't show much expression; he just sat there quietly listening, nodding occasionally, as if he were listening to something that didn't really concern him.

The doctor said this was caused by long-term physical depletion, malnutrition, and irregular eating habits. It has now progressed to the late stage and requires hospitalization as soon as possible.

Su Qing remained silent for a long time, then asked in a very calm voice how much longer she would have if the condition were left untreated.

The doctor was silent for a moment, then said about three months.

Jiang Ran stood behind her sister, staring at the words "late stage stomach cancer" on the report, her mind went blank.

She stared intently at those words, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but it was as if something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Her sister has stomach cancer... How could that be... It must be a misdiagnosis, the hospital must have made a mistake, her sister has always been very healthy...

No... her sister has never been in good health...

She had witnessed her sister's difficult time in the orphanage, watched her sister escape from the orphanage at the age of twelve, watched her go hungry, watched her eat dry bread and drink cold water, watched her skip breakfast to go to the construction site to save a few dollars, and watched her suffer from chronic malnutrition yet never buy herself a decent meal.

It would be strange if her sister didn't have stomach cancer...

Su Qing stood up, folded the report and put it in her pocket. She refused the doctor's proposed treatment plan, only got a few boxes of painkillers, and then turned and walked out of the consultation room.

His steps were as steady as when he came, his shoulders as straight as when he came, and he even slightly tilted his head to look at a crying child as he passed by in the corridor.

Jiang Ran followed behind him, looking at his back, which didn't seem too unusual, and felt even more afraid.

My sister is too calm.

She always felt that something was wrong with her sister, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

She followed her sister out of the hospital, watching him look up at the gray sky before bending down and getting into a taxi.

He spoke calmly when giving his address, just like when he went to the supermarket to buy groceries or to work at the dessert shop.

Jiang Ran sat in the empty seat next to him, turning her head to watch him gaze at the roadside trees rushing past the car window, watching his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on his knees, watching his unhurried steps as he got out of the car.

She followed him back to that small but clean dwelling, the first place her sister could truly call home since leaving the orphanage.

She watched as her sister opened the refrigerator, took out a piece of meat that had been frozen for a long time, and rummaged through the storage cabinet for some ingredients that she would never normally eat. Standing in the kitchen, she slowly began to wash, chop, and prepare the vegetables.

He was so serious when he did these things that Jiang Ran felt as if he hadn't just returned from the hospital, but was preparing to cook her a sumptuous dinner.

She thought her sister probably didn't believe it was true either.

Then the blade shifted slightly.

The sharp blade sliced ​​across the tip of his index finger, and a bead of bright red blood immediately gushed from the wound, dripping onto the cutting board and onto the piece of meat that hadn't yet been cut.

Su Qing stopped.

He looked down at his bleeding fingers, the kitchen knife slipping from his other hand and falling onto the stove with a dull metallic clang.

Then a drop of water fell on the cutting board, spreading out a small, dark water stain next to the drop of blood.

Then came the second drop, and the third drop.

Jiang Ran rushed forward, thinking it was just pain... her sister's hand had been cut, it must hurt a lot.

She anxiously squatted down in front of her sister, reaching out to touch him, wanting to press on his bleeding wound.

But her fingers were through the back of his hand, and she couldn't touch him. She could only look up at him, her voice trembling with anxiety: "Sister, sister, does it hurt a lot...? Pinch your finger, press on the wound, it will heal soon, it will stop hurting soon..."

"pain……"

Jiang Ran was stunned.

She looked away from the bleeding finger, slowly raised her head, and looked at her sister's face.

Su Qing stood in the kitchen, looking down at her bleeding fingers, tears silently welling up in her eyes and falling in large drops onto the cutting board.

His shoulders began to tremble violently, and the calm shell that had lasted all day, from the hospital to the rented room, from the registration window to the kitchen stove, finally shattered completely at this moment.

He didn't cry when he was beaten by a mob in the orphanage, he didn't cry when his hands were covered in blisters on the construction site, he didn't cry when he was so hungry on the street that he could barely walk, and he didn't cry when thugs cornered him in an alley and robbed him of all his money.

But now, standing alone in this rented room, with blood seeping from the tiny wound on his finger, he finally burst into tears.

His voice trembled as he sat helplessly on the cold tiled floor of the kitchen.

"I've tried so hard... I really tried so hard... I just want to live a good life, I just want to live like a human being... Why is it so hard? Why is it that no matter how hard I try, it doesn't work... It hurts... It really hurts..." His voice was broken and hoarse, mixed with suppressed sobs, crashing against the walls of the empty rented room and hitting Jiang Ran's heart.

She knelt before her sister, opened her arms, and pulled him into an embrace he would never feel again.

Her arms went through his shoulders, through his loose hair, through his back that was trembling violently from crying. Even though she couldn't touch anything, she still held him very, very tightly.

She told him in her heart over and over again that he had done very well and had tried his best.

She watched as her sister slowly curled up into a small ball in her arms, her shoulders trembling like leaves in the wind, her bleeding finger unconsciously clutching the clothes on her chest.

Jiang Ran felt as if her heart was being crushed inch by inch by something, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe.