After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

At dusk.

In the dilapidated tenement buildings of the old northern city, the light is fragmented by the greasy glass windows.

The hissing sound of kerosene stove flames licking the bottom of the pot in the corridor, mixed with the pungent smell of cheap soybean oil and the sour stench coming up from the sewer, made it hard to breathe.

There was no light cord in the 50-square-meter partitioned room in the Zhao family's house.

Zhao Tiancheng, wearing a yellowed and stiff tank top, leaned against the creaking wooden bed like a rag doll.

Three empty bottles of Erguotou liquor with the Red Star logo were rolling on the ground.

Cigarette ash fell in a flurry onto the faded white sheets, burning black holes in them.

He was clutching a copy of the Health Newspaper tightly in his hand.

The edges of the newspaper were soggy from his sweaty hands, yet he repeatedly and forcefully smoothed them out on his knees.

The front page features a black and white photograph that occupies a quarter of the page.

Ye Zhen, dressed in a perfectly tailored black velvet gown, was surrounded by foreign luminaries from the North American Medical Association, figures whose names were usually only found in textbooks.

The black and white ink printing was rough, but it couldn't hide her straight back and calm, composed demeanor.

Zhao Tiancheng stared intently into the eyes of the woman in the photo.

Once upon a time, those eyes would only meekly follow his retreating figure.

At that time, he was the youngest and most promising surgical genius at the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital.

With just a glance from him, that country girl named Ye Zhen would be moved to tears, too afraid to even breathe loudly.

If only he hadn't been so blinded by greed and listened to Lin Wan's instigation to break off the engagement.

Now, standing in the photo, standing next to that woman who is the center of attention, and going to America to receive the world's worship, is none other than Zhao Tiancheng!

Reality, however, was like a resounding slap in the face.

This afternoon in the logistics warehouse.

He simply mixed up three boxes of imported saline solution with regular glucose.

The logistics section chief, a rough man who hadn't even graduated high school, slammed the oil-stained ledger right into his face.

"Zhao Tiancheng! You can't even figure out a simple inventory check? Has your proud college student lost his mind?"

"If you can't do it, get back to shoveling manure!"

A dozen or so temporary workers surrounded him, staring at him like he was a monkey.

Those who used to fawn over him now don't even bother to mock him behind his back.

Zhao Tiancheng let out a rough, panting sound, like a wild animal straining its bellows.

He grabbed the half-empty bottle of liquor beside him, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.

The spicy liquid burned its way down his esophagus into his stomach, causing him to cough violently.

The door was slammed open with a loud bang.

Lin Wan stepped across the threshold.

She was carrying two net bags, and as soon as she smelled the stench of alcohol in the room, her brows immediately furrowed into a tight knot.

"Smack."

The net bag slammed heavily onto the chipped-out eight-immortal table. Several packets of loose fruit candy and cheap Double Happiness paper-cuts fell out of the plastic bag.

"Zhao Tiancheng! Are you blind or deaf? Don't you know how to lend a hand?"

Zhao Tiancheng's hand holding the cigarette froze in mid-air, without even lifting his eyelids.

Lin Wan strode over, snatched the half-smoked cigarette from his hand, threw it on the ground, and stomped it out.

"We're having our wedding banquet the day after tomorrow, and you're still at home drinking! Your mother went to the tailor shop today and insisted on forcing him to replace the silk fabric of my red dress with coarse cloth! Who am I dressing up for?"

Lin Wan was so angry that her chest heaved violently and her eyes turned red.

"Your Zhao family is bullying me! You lowered the bride price from 800 to 200, and now you won't even lend me a jeep for the wedding procession, saying two old motorcycles can carry me back. I, Lin Wan, am still Lin Weiguo's daughter!"

Zhao Tiancheng finally made a move.

He chuckled, his voice hoarse and rough from the alcohol.

"Lin Weiguo is just a marginalized vice president now; they don't even include him in meetings. Do you really think you're some high-ranking official's daughter?"

These words struck a nerve with Lin Wan, and her face turned deathly pale.

In the months since she became pregnant out of wedlock, her reputation in the hospital has been completely ruined. She thought that marrying Zhao Tiancheng would be a guarantee of support, but who knew that this man was becoming more and more useless, and even his basic salary had been reduced by more than half.

She turned her head, and her gaze suddenly fell on the open copy of the Health News on the table.

The name Ye Zhen on the newspaper stung her eyes.

Lin Wan lunged forward, grabbed the newspaper with both hands, and tore it to shreds in a few rips.

Shredded paper scattered across the ashes-covered ground.

"Why are you looking at her? Are you still thinking about her?"

Lin Wan pointed at Zhao Tiancheng's nose and berated him sharply.

"She's an academician whom Americans treat with utmost respect. Why would she want a loser like you who works in a warehouse? Even if you knelt on the ground and licked her shoes, she'd still think you were dirty!"

The last thread in Zhao Tiancheng's mind snapped completely.

He stood up and shoved Lin Wan's shoulder away.

"You don't know anything!"

The veins on his neck throbbed, and the resentment that had been building up for half a year burst forth.

"If you hadn't been so shameless and relentlessly seduced me, would I be in this state today?"

Lin Wan stumbled back two steps and bumped into the cabinet door, immediately letting out a loud scream.

"Zhao Tiancheng, have you no shame?! You pulled up your pants and then denied it, and now you're trying to pin this on me?"

Zhao Tiancheng stared at her face, which was contorted with anger, his eyes filled with disgust.

"I was so blind! Look at your current shrewish, vulgar face, you're not even as good as a single hair on Ye Zhen's head!"

This sentence completely drove Lin Wan crazy.

She grabbed the empty glass bottle from the table and swung it at Zhao Tiancheng's head.

The bottle flew out with a whoosh.

Zhao Tiancheng turned his head to dodge.

"Bang!"

The bottle grazed his ear and smashed against the white wall, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

Zhao Tiancheng touched his earlobe, and blood appeared on his fingertip.

Lin Wan, her hair disheveled, pounced on him, grabbing his collar with both hands and scratching wildly at his chest and neck with her sharp nails.

"I'll fight you to the death! You heartless beast!"

Zhao Tiancheng was hit on the neck several times, and it burned with pain.

He grabbed Lin Wan's arm with his other hand, raised his right hand high, and delivered a resounding slap to her face.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the small room.

Lin Wan's head was knocked to one side, and she completely lost her balance, falling straight backward.

He slammed his side hard against the sharp corner of the octagonal table, then fell onto the floor amidst shards of glass and scraps of paper.

"ah--"

Lin Wan curled up in pain, clutching her lower abdomen tightly with both hands, a layer of cold sweat seeping from her forehead.

Dark red bloodstains slowly seeped into the gray-black cement floor from the hem of her cotton skirt.

Zhao Tiancheng's cold, condescending expression froze instantly.

His pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at the ever-expanding pool of blood.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down with difficulty.

The effects of the alcohol were instantly sobered up.

He took a stiff half-step forward.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.