Chapter 1

When I was diagnosed, the doctor looked at me seriously and asked, “Why did you wait until now to come to the hospital, even though you’ve been coughing for so long and have started experiencing tinnitus?”

“I thought it was an allergy to cats.”

The doctor seemed unable to understand: “You keep a cat even though you’re allergic?”

“Yes.”

My husband and his ex-girlfriend’s cat.

I was still in a daze when I walked out of the hospital.

This morning, when Chi Zhou left, he forgot to close the bedroom door, and the cat he keeps slipped into the bedroom again.

Green Tea-that name was given by his ex-girlfriend, because the cat is just like that: always clinging to Chi Zhou, and apart from him, she’s not close to anyone.

Whenever Chi Zhou leaves home, Green Tea always jumps onto the bed and curls up where he used to sleep.

Whenever I, who am allergic to cats, am around, I start coughing and sneezing.

This time, it was especially bad.

I was woken up by my own coughing. Unlike before, my whole chest ached with every cough. When I saw the blood in my hand, I was stunned.

I never thought that a little allergy could cause such a big problem.

But the doctor told me my lung cancer was already at an advanced stage… The cancer cells had even spread to my brain.

So this was the real reason for my coughing and frequent hearing loss.

After leaving the hospital, I wandered the streets, not knowing what to do.

My body felt heavy, weak, and frail.

I was perfectly fine when I came for the check-up this morning.

Maybe it was psychological, but I really felt like I was about to die.

I subconsciously took out a cigarette from my pocket, then put it back.

I stumbled home, walked into the bedroom, took my medicine, curled up under the covers, and my mind went completely blank.

The light by the window gradually faded. When I opened my eyes again, it was Chi Zhou waking me up.

His cold, sharp eyes were fixed on me, saying something.

“Huh?” For a moment, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I could only see his lips moving, his whole demeanor heavy with frustration.

“And you didn’t close the front door. Green Tea is missing, do you know that?”

I forced myself to perk up. “Did you look for her at home?”

Green Tea doesn’t like going outside, but she likes to hide and observe from the shadows. Most likely, she was hiding somewhere in the house.

“What do you think?” Chi Zhou retorted. “Why didn’t you close the front door? Did you do it on purpose?”

“What?”

I wondered if I was not only having tinnitus but also hallucinations.

Who in their right mind would leave the door open on purpose?

I sighed and said flatly, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

I’m dying. I really didn’t pay attention to whether the door was closed or not, and I certainly didn’t mean to lose Green Tea.

I’ve put up with this for seven years, and with only a few days left to live, can’t I just keep enduring?

But I couldn’t say that to him.

I was afraid he’d be sad, but even more afraid he wouldn’t be.

Chi Zhou was angry at my indifference: “Xia Zhi, it’s just a cat. Why do you have to make things so difficult for her?”

It wasn’t the harshest thing he’d ever said, nor the most hurtful, but my heart still felt like it had been pricked by a needle.

If it were before, I would have apologized, softened, and tried to comfort him.

But now, I was just so tired.

I wanted him to comfort me for once.

“What if I said I did?” I looked up at him, my tone calm. “You know I’m allergic to cats. Would it really be so hard to give her to your family or let a friend take care of her?”

He froze for a moment, then his narrow eyes turned cold.

“Do you know what you’re saying? If you couldn’t accept Green Tea from the start, you shouldn’t have said all those high-sounding words. You know what I hate the most.”

I fell silent.

Of course I knew.

Chi Zhou frowned at me. “Xia Zhi, if Green Tea is lost, then don’t come back.”

With that, he slammed the door and left.

The last bit of hope in my heart instantly burst like a bubble.

It was as if I’d just woken from a long dream, suddenly understanding everything.

No matter how many years I stayed by his side, I was always someone not even as important as his ex-girlfriend’s cat.