Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I had just arrived home when Jiang Yu’s call came through.

The medical report in my bag had already been crumpled into a ball.

Her voice was cold, as if tempered in ice.

“The day before yesterday was Dad’s birthday.”

“Why didn’t you come back?”

I cut her off. “Because I didn’t want to.”

“It was enough that you went.”

The person on the other end seemed to flare up instantly.

“Xiao Chu even rushed back from abroad.”

“Why couldn’t you?”

Tang Chu was my uncle’s son. He had lived with our family since he was a child.

“It’s fine as long as he’s there. You only treat him like a brother anyway.”

With that, I pressed the end call button.

The last rays of sunset fell into the room.

I sat at the table and tore the medical report into tiny pieces.

As the fluttering scraps of paper landed on the table, my phone screen suddenly lit up.

It was a message from Jiang Yu: Mom’s death anniversary is coming up soon.

Jiang Yu is my older sister.

She has always hated me.

Because I am the culprit who took her mother away.

Over twenty years ago, my mother died during a difficult labor. At the same moment I was born, she lost her life on the operating table forever.

It was a murder committed in the name of new life.

No one welcomed my arrival.

Because of me, my father lost his beloved wife.

And Jiang Yu lost her mother.

This long-standing hatred began the day I was born and has stretched on until today.

I didn’t skip my father’s birthday on purpose.

It was just that on that day, the abdominal pain was so severe I nearly fainted. That was when I realized something was wrong.

But honestly, she would probably be more at ease if I didn’t show up.

Jiang Yu didn’t contact me again.

I took a deep breath as I stood downstairs at the company building.

After graduation, I joined her company.

I worked my way up from the bottom, yet no one ever discovered the relationship between us.

The number of times I met with her was even fewer than the times she met with ordinary employees.

An executive resigned last week, and the successor was to be announced this Monday.

Everyone said the position was rightfully mine.

At least, I had thought so too-until I received that medical report.

I happened to run into a colleague in the hallway. He greeted me and leaned in with a grin.

“Brother Zhe, don’t forget to treat us to a big meal once you’re promoted.”

I looked down and smiled. “It’s not certain yet.”

“It has to be you,” he said, grabbing my arm. “Out of everyone here, you’re the best.”

When I entered the meeting room, Jiang Yu was there. Our eyes met for a fleeting second before she looked away like a stranger.

“General Manager Jiang.”

She didn’t look at me, merely nodding.

She was so indifferent, it was as if we hadn’t argued at all that night.

The people in the meeting room gradually filled the seats.

Jiang Yu cleared her throat, and my colleague immediately began winking at me.

I lowered my eyes to avoid his gaze.

The next second, I heard a familiar name.

“Tang Chu.”

A familiar figure walked through the door, elegant and poised. Tang Chu’s smile was as sunny as ever.

Jiang Yu stood beside him and introduced him to everyone. “Mr. Tang has just returned from abroad and will be taking over the position of Deputy Manager.”

Someone instinctively looked at me. I averted my eyes and looked at the beaming Tang Chu on the stage. The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

An invisible undercurrent surged.

I smiled and began to clap.

Scattered applause broke the eerie vibe in the meeting room.

Tang Chu met my eyes, his own crinkling into a smile.