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The City Lord Huang had made her threats, but in reality, what could she truly do to Li Mingzhi? Beat him up? Tell his professor? In the end, causing a scandal about getting a girl pregnant and then abandoning her would do little more than provide some idle gossip for people’s leisure. Who would actually think he should spend his life with his migrant worker girlfriend out of some moral obligation?

The ancients said, “Do not forget friends made in poverty, nor cast aside the wife who shared your hardship.” The reason such tales became legends is precisely because so few could live up to them.

If this affair was exposed, at best it would ruin Li Mingzhi’s relationship with his current girlfriend and sully his reputation for a while. In time, the incident would fade; he’d continue his graduate studies, earn his degree, chase new girls, find a job, make money—nothing would really change. The only one truly hurt would be Tongfu. Whether she kept the child or not, she would be left emotionally and physically scarred, wounds that could never be healed.

Huang felt both furious and powerless. Reality was not a martial arts novel; justice was not so easily served, nor were grudges so neatly avenged.

Half an hour later, as expected, Li Mingzhi arrived. He had likely steeled himself and prepared his arguments on the way, appearing composed and unemotional, not even flinching at the sight of Huang. Xiao Juan jumped up, ready to curse him out, but was stopped by Huang.

Tongfu was staying on an extra bed set at the entrance to the restroom, plainly visible. Li Mingzhi found her at a glance, walked over, sat down on the stool by her bedside, and took her hand.

Tongfu, dozing, stirred at the touch and opened her eyes at once. Perhaps there truly was some form of telepathy between lovers; no matter how despicable Li Mingzhi was, he was someone Tongfu had loved deeply.

The restroom hadn’t been cleaned in a day, exuding a sour stench. The trash can by the door was overflowing. Li Mingzhi glanced around, then buried his face in Tongfu’s hand and began to weep.

Tongfu lay still, turning to look at him, and spoke gently, “Why are you crying?”

Between sobs, Li Mingzhi choked out, “Tongfu, how can you be living like this? Seeing you here reminds me... it hurts me so much...”

Tongfu replied, “This is the People’s Hospital, it’s already very good. There are too many patients, that’s why it’s crowded. Getting a bed at all is already lucky. I’ve stayed in worse places before.”

Tears streamed down Li Mingzhi’s face as he stammered, “It’s just... I remembered where we used to live. That room under the stairs, barely big enough for a bed, where you had to stoop or you’d hit your head. The moment you opened the door, you were right next to the restroom. We lived by the bathroom door, cooked on a little coal stove… After paying my tuition, we only had a hundred yuan left for the month, the two of us. We ate noodles boiled in soy sauce with a sprinkle of scallions, three meals a day, for a whole month… Now I can’t even look at noodles without wanting to throw up… Tongfu, the three years we spent together, that’s the life we had…”

Tears welled in Tongfu’s eyes. She stroked his head.

Huang, however, was unmoved, arms crossed, standing to the side with a stony face. So, you remember the hardship Tongfu went through with you, she thought. Yet you still have the nerve to play the heartless husband?

Li Mingzhi sobbed into Tongfu’s pillow, “They say poverty breeds sorrow in marriage. I never want to live like that again. I don’t even want to think about it… Now, finally, I’ve made it. I got into T University’s graduate program in business and management. I’ll never live like that again. Just a few days ago, an alumnus who works at a securities firm returned for the school celebration—he’s been out three years and already makes over a million a year. Do you know how much that is? We’ve never seen that kind of money in our lives…

“Now I’m studying under the most renowned professor in economics and management. I live in the new campus apartments. Every project my advisor takes on is worth tens of millions. In two years, when I graduate, I’ll land a job with a salary in the hundreds of thousands. I’ll be able to buy a house, a car, wear a suit and tie, and finally live like someone of status…

“I thought I’d finally escaped that nightmare of a past. But Tongfu, why did you have to come back? Why won’t you let me forget? Every time I see you, I think of that room where you could never stand up straight, that unending stench from the restroom, the taste of those soy sauce noodles—it makes me want to vomit…

“Tongfu, I’m begging you, let me forget. Don’t remind me anymore of how destitute, how defeated, how low I once was, please? I want a fresh start. Let’s each go our own way, remembering only the good and sparing each other further pain, can’t we?”

So this was Li Mingzhi’s ploy, playing the victim. Huang listened, itching to drag him out and beat him up. “Parting ways for a better life? Disgusting. Don’t sully famous lines with your self-pity. Your life is all new, but what about Tongfu? Do you want her to start a brand new life as a single mother, or as someone abandoned and forced to abort?”

Xiao Juan, unable to match Li Mingzhi’s manipulative words, fumed, muttering repeatedly, “I’ve never seen anyone so shameless, truly shameless…”

But Tongfu remained calm, even picking up a tissue to gently wipe Li Mingzhi’s tears. “Everyone wants to move upward; no one wants to be weighed down by the past. I don’t blame you.”

Huang and Xiao Juan immediately feared she’d melt under his tears and words, so they called out to her in unison, “Tongfu!”

Tongfu continued, “But the child is still yours. I’m in the hospital because of this, and Xiao Juan and Sister Huang here paid the fees for me—three thousand in all. Just pay it back, and we’ll call it even.”

Li Mingzhi’s tears froze on his face; his look of sorrow quickly shifted to cold indifference. His tone changed as well. “So in the end, it’s all about money. When you first found out, I told you to get rid of it—why didn’t you then? It would’ve only been three hundred. Now it’s three thousand!”

Huang had heard plenty of stories about friends and couples turning against each other over money, but this was her first time witnessing how someone could flip their face faster than a page in a book. In some ways, Li Mingzhi had a point—there are some people and situations so revolting that you’d rather never see them again, lest you be reminded of that feeling, just as he himself was now.

Li Mingzhi pulled out his wallet. “I’m just a poor student—where would I get that kind of money? My mom’s allowance and my advisor’s stipend together only add up to 1,600. I’ve taken it all out, that’s all I have. Take it or leave it.”

Tongfu turned away, refusing to look at him. “Then write me an IOU. Over these three and a half years, I’ve given you at least twenty thousand; let’s call it even at that. I’m not in a hurry—you can pay it back slowly. Soon you’ll be someone making hundreds of thousands a year, surely you won’t begrudge me this small sum.”

Li Mingzhi suddenly looked wretched. “This is really all I have, I swear. If I give it all to you, I won’t even have money left for food. Give me a couple of days and I’ll find a way.” He stuffed his wallet back into his pocket and tried to sneak away.

Xiao Juan stopped him. “Leave that 1,600 right here. If you go, where am I supposed to find you?”

Li Mingzhi took out the cash, keeping a single hundred. “I’ll give you half for now—I need at least a hundred to eat…”

Xiao Juan snatched all the money from his hand. “You said you’re done with Tongfu—well, I don’t know you, so why should I care if you eat or not? Besides, aren’t you supposed to be upper class now? Still worried about food?”

After chasing Li Mingzhi away, Xiao Juan was in a great mood and stuffed the money under Tongfu’s pillow. “This is how it should be—no need to be polite to someone so shameless! And you’d better get that twenty thousand too, that’s all your hard-earned money. Why let him get away with it?”

Tongfu took the money from under her pillow, counted out five hundred for Xiao Juan, and handed the rest to Huang. “Sister Huang, Xiao Juan is short on cash, and I still owe you. I’ll pay her back first; when Li Mingzhi brings the rest, I’ll pay you.”

Huang tried to give the money back. “I’m not desperate for it. You need cash in the hospital—who knows if the deposit will be enough. Better keep it for emergencies and settle up after you’re discharged.”

Tongfu needed someone to stay with her in the hospital these days, to help with IV drips, meals, and trips to the bathroom—all things a family member would handle. Hiring a caretaker would cost thirty a day, more than Xiao Juan’s daily wage, so she simply took a week off from her job to look after Tongfu full time, sleeping on a cot beside her at night.

Huang would come by every morning to relieve Xiao Juan, who would go home to catch up on sleep and wash up. Huang brought her laptop, writing her thesis while Tongfu slept, so nothing was delayed.

After two days passed without Li Mingzhi reappearing, Huang, on her way back to the dorm from the hospital, ran into his new girlfriend, Lin Ruoyi.

Lin Ruoyi was clearly waiting for Huang, standing straight under the dorm building and looking out for her from afar. Huang did not pretend not to see her and approached.

Lin Ruoyi greeted her. “You must be Huang Qi? I’m Li Mingzhi’s girlfriend—we’ve met before.”

“I remember,” Huang replied. “There are a lot of people here, and you’re well-known. Let’s talk inside.”

She took Lin Ruoyi upstairs to the second floor and found a quiet corner. “Did you want something?”

“It’s about Li Mingzhi. He’s been acting strange lately—irritable, avoiding me, and my classmates say he’s been borrowing money everywhere. I feel like he’s hiding something from me. Do you know what’s going on?”

Huang said, “I’m not close to him. You should ask him, not me.”

“But he started acting weird right after he got your call. It was late—he got a call from you, said it was urgent, and left right away, not coming back until much later.”

Huang quickly distanced herself. “We’re only acquaintances from the same hometown. I don’t even have his number saved. That’s all there is to it.”

Lin Ruoyi noticed Huang’s dismissive attitude toward Li Mingzhi and realized there was nothing between them. She probed, “Is this about the fellow townsman with the surname Zheng?”

Huang didn’t answer. Lin Ruoyi pressed on. “That Zheng—she’s a woman, isn’t she?”

Huang wanted badly to reveal the truth and ruin Li Mingzhi’s new romance, making sure he’d never get his rich, beautiful girlfriend. But Huang had always despised backstabbing and tattling behind people’s backs, and Lin Ruoyi had done her no harm. “Whatever’s between you two, you should settle yourselves. I don’t want to get involved. I just came back from the hospital and I’m tired. I’m heading back to sleep.”

Lin Ruoyi was sharp. “I went to your dorm this morning to look for you. Your roommate said you’ve been at the hospital every day caring for a friend from your hometown. Is that Zheng girl the one in the hospital? Is that why Li Mingzhi is borrowing money everywhere?”

Huang hadn’t expected her to be so perceptive. The more she said, the more likely she’d slip up, so she replied, “If you want to know, ask Li Mingzhi directly. I really can’t say more.” She quickly took her leave and returned to her dorm.

Huang thought Lin Ruoyi was just a typically suspicious girlfriend, and what happened between her and Li Mingzhi was none of her business. But the next morning, when she went to the hospital to relieve Xiao Juan, she was surprised to find Lin Ruoyi sitting at Tongfu’s bedside.