Volume One Chapter One Terminal Cancer

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My wife firmly believed I had killed her beloved, and to take revenge, she didn’t hesitate to have me sent to the police station on our wedding day. Disheveled and exhausted, I was interrogated all night, only to return home and find that she had placed her lost love’s memorial tablet in our bedroom.

“Get out. Someone like you doesn’t deserve to live in my room!”

“Why wasn’t it you who died instead?”

I could only smile bitterly at her, for she didn’t know that I had just been diagnosed with late-stage cancer—I truly didn’t have much time left.

…

The clock’s hands crept forward. The food on the table had been reheated countless times, yet I still waited for her to come home. This scene had repeated itself for a month now—an entire month in which my wife not only hadn’t come home but couldn’t even be reached by phone.

I remembered the cold words she spoke on our wedding day: “Why wasn’t it you who died?” In that moment, I suddenly realized that perhaps this time, she truly meant to leave me.

After my cancer diagnosis, my body could no longer withstand late nights or alcohol, but with the endless lonely nights stretching ahead, how else could I dull the sorrow of unrequited love?

Suddenly, my long-silent phone rang deafeningly. Startled, I fumbled to look at the screen and saw the name “Qingya.”

My hands trembled uncontrollably as I hurried to answer.

“Qingya, where are you—”

Before I could finish, Su Qingya cut me off.

Her voice, cold and distant through the phone, gave nothing away.

“Come to City Hospital. Now. Immediately.”

City Hospital?

Was she hurt?

The thought flashed through my mind. She had little sense for daily life; after a month alone, had her stomach issues worsened?

Without thinking, I threw on my clothes and rushed to the hospital as quickly as I could.

When I arrived, I barely had time to catch my breath before a dull pain throbbed in my chest. I cursed my unreliable body; after all, it hadn’t been easy to see her again. Why did I have to get sick now?

I’d left in such a hurry that I forgot my medication. All I could do was pound my chest, hoping Su Qingya wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

Standing outside the hospital room, I could faintly make out Su Qingya’s silhouette through the glass.

They say the closer you are to home, the more hesitant you become. Facing the woman I loved, I—the usually calm and composed—felt my nerves unravel.

I hastily straightened my hair and clothes, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

I saw her at once, standing by the window, as beautiful as ever—elegant, like a swan.

She turned at the sound of the door, her gaze icy and devoid of warmth.

In that moment, I felt dazed. Even though we were married, I was still nothing but a stranger to her.

“He’s here. Call the nurse to draw blood.”

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Hearing this, my heart sank. I turned and saw a man on the hospital bed, with a face strikingly similar to Fu Huaijin.

His name was Xu Zixuan—Su Qingya’s new favorite.

He was in poor health, born with anemia, and, as fate would have it, his blood type was so rare that only I was a perfect match.

So, naturally, I became Xu Zixuan’s walking blood bank.

But I knew Su Qingya didn’t truly love Xu Zixuan; she was only with him to spite me.

Everything Su Qingya asked of me, however difficult, I would do—but now, with late-stage cancer, my body could not bear another blood draw.

“Qingya, let’s not this time. My body—”

She cut me off impatiently. “I told you to give blood, so give blood. Gu Ze, you have no right to choose, do you understand?”

“Or are you planning to kill Zixuan after you killed Huaijin?”

My heart clenched again. The woman I loved most had never cared about my health.

Even though I’d explained countless times, I still wanted to try to defend myself one last time.

“Qingya, I had nothing to do with Fu Huaijin’s death, he was—”

“Shut up!” At the mention of his name, Su Qingya’s emotions frayed. “You’re not worthy of speaking that name.”

“You have only two choices: give blood, or divorce.”

Divorce was impossible. To me, Su Qingya was the only light in my dark life. No matter how battered I was, I could never let her go.

“Fine… I’ll do it.”

My voice trembled as I gritted my teeth and extended my arm, watching as the nurse inserted the needle into my vein.

By the time 200cc had been drawn, my face was already ashen.

The nurse, experienced, suggested stopping the draw, but without hesitation, Su Qingya refused.

“His life is worthless—so what if he dies? Keep going!”

I said nothing, simply nodding to the nurse to reassure her.

She hesitated but continued.

At 400cc, my vision blurred and my mind roared.

Before I fainted, I heard Su Qingya ask the doctor, “Is this enough? If not, keep going. He’s just a walking blood bank—don’t worry about whether he lives or dies.”

Pain and coldness flooded my heart.

Qingya, do you really hate me so much?

If I died, would your hatred for me fade?

When I woke again, I lay alone in a hospital bed, the scent of disinfectant in my nose.

I got up, dressed, and tried to leave, but paused outside Xu Zixuan’s room.

The door was slightly ajar, and through the crack, I could make out the scene inside.

Su Qingya’s expression was gentle as she carefully fed Xu Zixuan his medicine.

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In my memory, the last time I saw Su Qingya like this was when she was with Fu Huaijin.

I felt dazed. Even though this tenderness wasn’t for me, I couldn’t help but stop and watch.

But inside the room, Xu Zixuan saw me.

“Brother Gu Ze, are you all right?”

At his words, Su Qingya turned, her gaze instantly cold.

“What are you doing here?”

My fingers clenched involuntarily at my sides. I opened my mouth, cautiously asking, “Qingya, are you coming home tonight?”

“It’s been a whole month since you last came home. Your stomach isn’t good; you shouldn’t always be eating—”

“Can you stop nagging? Whether I come home or not has nothing to do with you,” Su Qingya said, looking at me as if at a stranger. “Besides, why would I go home?”

“Do you know how nauseated I feel just looking at your face?”

Pain stabbed through my heart, but even so, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

I just wanted, before I left, to look at Su Qingya a little longer—to look at the woman I loved so deeply.

“Sister Qingya, don’t say that. Brother Gu Ze is my lifesaver. If not for him, I’d probably have died many times by now,” Xu Zixuan said.

At his words, Su Qingya gently turned and stroked his hair.

“That’s what he’s supposed to do. Just enjoy it with a clear conscience.”

Love truly can be weighed differently. Su Qingya loved Fu Huaijin so much that even someone who merely resembled him could receive her tenderness.

But for me, even if I fainted in front of her, she wouldn’t spare me a glance.

If I were still healthy, I’d wait for her endlessly without regret. But now, I didn’t have much time left. I was truly exhausted.

All these years, she’d been the subject of countless scandals, humiliating me again and again, yet I endured it all—not because I didn’t care, but because I cared too much. I didn’t want to lose her, so I chose to be the one who endured.

But now, as long as I could see her happy, I asked for nothing more.

As I turned to leave, Xu Zixuan’s voice sounded again.

“Sister Qingya, it seems Brother Gu Ze really wants you to go home. Would you… consider going back to take a look?”

“We’ll see. I still need to look after you,” Su Qingya answered without a trace of hesitation.

“Besides, so what if I’m married to him? I’ve never considered him my husband.”

Even though I’d prepared myself for this countless times, hearing it still felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

On the way home, I pressed hard against my chest. This time, the pain was so sharp it felt like it could kill me.

I could feel that whatever time God had left for me was running out.