She was unable to forget the person who had condemned her family to this state.
She hated Fu Tingyuan.
But she hated herself even more.
Continuing to live was an atonement for her sins, but her death… She could not die before the Luo family got back on its feet.
Luo Zhiying went in to see Luo Juntian. Meanwhile, Luo Nanchu leaned against the wall outside the room, lost in thought.
With her mind in chaos, her memories rushed back like dust that had been disturbed.
On the day the Luo family went bankrupt, she remembered how her towering father had collapsed within a single night. All their bank cards had been frozen, and all the possessions in their house had been taken away. Once the company changed hands, she had run straight to the hospital from home, but she could not muster a single cent to pay for the hospital bills.
Right then, she truly did not have a friend in the world.
Her younger brother was still a child, her younger sister was still in school, and all the relatives and friends who used to keep in close contact avoided them like the plague. Her entire family had almost become homeless and destitute.
As these thoughts washed over her, Luo Nanchu rubbed her temples forcefully. It was the height of summer, but these memories caused her to break out in a cold sweat from head to toe.
Luckily, Luo Juntian had been saved from death's door.
Even though their father was now in a vegetative state, the doctor had said that there was still a chance he might wake up, but that they would have to wait.
On the night her father had been wheeled out of the operating room, she cried her heart out in another corner of the hospital. She swore that she would live on. Even if she descended into the depths of hell, she had to ensure her family's safety.
"Sister." Luo Zhiying emerged from the room. Reaching out, she grasped Luo Nanchu's hand and caressed it.
"Your hands are so cold, Sister. What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" she asked with concern before pulling Luo Nanchu to a sunny area.
Luo Nanchu snapped out of it.
Shaking her head, she looked in the direction of the room and asked in a low voice, "How's Papa?"
"He's still the same," said Luo Zhiying, "but his complexion is much better. His face looks a little redder than the last time I came."
Luo Nanchu smiled and said, "That's good then."
She looked outside. The sun was about to set.
"Come, let me send you back to school," Luo Nanchu said.
"Mm." Luo Zhiying hugged her sister's arm. "Thanks, Sister."
Luo Nanchu turned her head to look at her sister, reached out to flick Luo Zhiying's forehead, and murmured, "Silly girl."
…
Luo Nanchu hailed a taxi to take Luo Zhiying back to school.
After getting out of the car, she helped smooth Luo Zhiying's hair.
"Go inside," Luo Nanchu said gently.
Hesitant, Luo Zhiying stood at the gates and said, "Sister…"
Luo Nanchu looked at her sister's face and asked, "What is it?"
However, Luo Zhiying shook her head and looked up with a smile.
"It's nothing. I'll be going now," she said.
Luo Nanchu caught her and frowned.
"Are you hiding something from me?" Luo Nanchu questioned.
Luo Zhiying shook her head and smiled, replying, "I'm not. I'll be going in now, Sister."
Luo Nanchu knitted her eyebrows together and stared at Luo Zhiying without letting go.
Under her strict expression, Luo Zhiying looked down and sighed softly.
"… Sister, I haven't finished paying off my school fees for this semester," she confessed.
Luo Nanchu's heart felt as if it had been pricked.
Luo Zhiying bit her lip and lowered her head.
In a guilty voice, she lamented, "I've been too useless, Sister. I didn't manage to make much money from working and even got duped. I posed for a modeling job, but they didn't pay me."
Luo Nanchu's eyes reddened instantly. With her breath trembling, she slowly let go of Luo Zhiying's hand. Leaning forward to hug her, she caressed Luo Zhiying's hair vigorously.
"Silly girl, why didn't you tell me you were short on money?" Luo Nanchu asked.
Luo Zhiying looked up at Luo Nanchu and said, "You're already working so hard to pay for Little Yi and Papa's hospital fees. How could I ask you for money when we're the same age?"