Ethan had no idea what his beautiful landlady was thinking. After thanking her profusely and seeing her off downstairs, his mind was already swimming with thoughts of a better future, imagining the days when he'd be making money. He patted his empty pockets and silently vowed, "No matter how dirty or exhausting this job might be, I'll push through. As long as I can make money, Sister-in-Law won't have to suffer so much anymore..."
For Ethan, who lost his parents at a young age, his older brother David and sister-in-law Ivy were the closest people in his life. Ever since David was diagnosed with kidney failure two years ago, the weight of the world had fallen on Ivy's slender shoulders. Kidney failure is a cruel disease, one that slowly drains both life and finances.
Just the cost of dialysis treatments alone was astronomical. Ivy quickly exhausted their meager savings and borrowed from anyone who would lend. Despite all this, David's condition worsened, reaching its terminal stage. A kidney transplant was his only hope. Ethan didn't hesitate to offer one of his kidneys to his brother, but life often has its cruel surprises.
The matching test. That d*mn test. The doctor had told Ethan that he and David weren't compatible for the transplant. In other words, the two brothers who had lived under the same roof for over a decade weren't actually biological siblings.
This revelation hit Ethan like a bolt of lightning on a clear day, shattering the last hope the couple had. David passed away, and before he left, he clutched Ivy's hand and made her promise to take care of Ethan, at least until he finished school.
With tears in her eyes, Ivy had agreed. After handling David's funeral in the simplest way possible, burdened with heavy debt, she made the decision to head south to find work, taking her non-biological brother-in-law with her. She had refused Ethan's request to drop out and earn money for the family dozens of times. After many hardships, she finally got him enrolled as a senior transfer student at River City High School.
For some people, promises are just empty words. But for Ivy, they were a responsibility, a heavy load on her shoulders, reflected in the streaks of white in her hair and the deep lines at the corners of her eyes.
Ethan had always excelled in his studies, but that didn't mean there was no tuition to pay. In fact, Ivy had gone through untold difficulties to get him into school.
By the time Ivy dragged her exhausted body back to their rented apartment that night, it was already 1 a.m. Out of habit, she glanced up at the window on the upper floor. Her brows furrowed slightly; the light seeping through the window indicated Ethan was still awake.
Usually, Ethan was very disciplined. No matter how much homework he had, he'd always go to bed by midnight. It couldn't be denied that the boy had a natural gift for learning. On most days, he studied for no more than two hours, spending the rest of his time on other interests: electronics repair, computer programming, cooking, bartending...
As Ethan liked to say, he was a "super storage box," accumulating skills for future use. He believed that one day, these talents would make money, enough to let his sister-in-law sleep soundly atop piles of cash.
Ivy quietly opened the door, her frown deepening as she spotted Ethan sitting at his computer. On the screen, a little penguin with a red scarf hopped around, filled with glee.
Ethan was too engrossed in typing to notice Ivy slowly approaching him. The chat on the screen was clear.
Ethan's online nickname was "Breeze," and he was currently engaged in a deep conversation with someone named Larry about life and love.
Larry: "Bro, why do men bother striving when they're broke?"
Breeze: "A man's goals are nothing more than career and love..."
Larry: "Haha! Those two things are more mundane than becoming a monk."
Breeze: "Mundane? How are career and love mundane?"
Larry: "A career is just making money, and love is just f***ing. Isn't that?"
Breeze: "...You're d*mn right."
Larry: "(Smirk emoji) A great career is earning big bucks, and perfect love is f***ing a hot babe. That's all men care about. No matter how hard they try, they can't escape these."
Breeze: "(Thumbs up emoji) awesome…"
"Pfft—" Ivy couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, startling Ethan so much that he nearly jumped out of his chair.
"Sis..." Ethan wanted to crawl into a hole. Twice in one day, he had been caught. He barely went online, and with his slow "hunt-and-peck" typing style, he'd been too absorbed in finding the keys to realize Ivy was standing right behind him.
A faint trace of displeasure appeared on Ivy's gaunt face as she pointed to the computer on the table. "Where did this come from?"
To her, a computer was a luxury item, and seeing her brother-in-law suddenly with one made her uneasy.
"It's from Mike on the second floor. He asked me to fix it." Ethan rubbed his hands awkwardly. In reality, it was Ms. Grace who had arranged his first job—repairing a computer. The issue was simple: a layer of oxidation on the RAM stick. A quick cleaning with an eraser had the computer up and running, earning him thirty bucks and some internet time.
"Is it fixed?" Ivy's eyes darted to the bouncing telephone icon in the corner of the screen, asking a silly question. If it weren't fixed, how could he be discussing "a man's views on love and life"?
"Yeah, made thirty bucks..." Ethan muttered, instantly regretting it the moment the words left his mouth. He wished he could smack himself for being so loose-lipped.
"Thirty bucks?" The displeasure on Ivy's face deepened. Realizing he couldn't hide it anymore, Ethan briefly recounted the day's events, omitting certain details.
Just as he pulled the ten-dollar deposit from his pocket to hand to Ivy, an unexpected clap of thunder echoed in his ears. Ivy's eyes welled up with tears, and she suddenly began to cry.
"Who asked you to make money? Who told you to make money..." Ivy sobbed, her voice rising by several octaves. All the bitterness and hardship she'd bottled up suddenly erupted. Ethan was stunned, standing there dumbfounded, still holding the ten-dollar bill.
"Ivy... I'm sorry, okay? Please, stop crying... Please..." Usually so eloquent, Ethan was now a wooden puppet, clumsily trying to comfort her. But his words only made Ivy cry harder.
"Who cares if you make money? Who asked you to make money...?" Her sobs pierced the quiet night, and Ethan's face began to pale. He understood. The burden on his sister-in-law had been too much these past two years. She was still enduring it all for a brother-in-law who wasn't even blood-related. It shouldn't be this way! It was his fault!
Guilt and regret washed over Ethan, all the negative emotions flooding his mind at once. In a daze, he clenched the crumpled bill in his hand and rushed out.