Chapter 4

We arrived outside the hotel.

My sister trusted me completely.

She followed at my heels, looking around, curious about everything.

I took her up in the elevator and stopped outside the president’s room.

I told her,

“There’s a doctor inside who can treat you. Knock and go in by yourself.”

“If I get better, will Nannan stop hating me?”

She asked with wide eyes.

She still remembered bringing me lunch at school when I was in junior high.

A lot of my classmates had laughed at me.

So I’d called her an idiot in front of everyone.

I’d refused to acknowledge her as my sister.

“Yes. Go on, get in there.”

I was getting impatient.

I knocked for her.

A moment later, the door opened.

The president was in his pajamas. His gaze settled on her in surprise.

Before she could react, he grabbed her hair, covered her mouth, and began abusing her right in front of me.

He kept saying,

“Very nice. Worth every yuan. Every last yuan!”

My sister reached toward me, terror on her face.

She wanted so desperately for me to save her.

But I’d taken the money.

I casually helped close the door.

I don’t know how many cigarettes I smoked in the hallway.

Then the president messaged me.

“Can you hear anything out there?”

“No.”

“Then fuck off. Come get her at eight tomorrow morning.”

He even sent me an 888-yuan cash gift afterward.

I used it to find somewhere to amuse myself too.

I got blind drunk, with a woman in each arm.

When I woke up that morning,

I was told I’d run up a bill of 18,888 yuan.

I was stunned. I quickly messaged Jiang Cheng for help.

He transferred the money.

The price was that whenever he wanted her, I had to get my sister to him as quickly as possible.

Three times, and we’d be square.

Someone had me pinned to the bed by my hair. I couldn’t say no.

At eight, I arrived at the hotel on time to collect my sister.

Her arms were covered in bruises from the abuse.

Her eyes were unfocused, as if her soul had gone.

I turned to the president, a little angry.

“How am I supposed to take her home like this?”

He put a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

“You’re my brother now. If she’s hurt, don’t take her back yet. You said you were bringing her for treatment anyway. What’s wrong with staying a little longer?”

“I can send plenty of business your way. Rich boys, every one of them. I’ll get you into high society in no time.”

Then my parents called.

They wanted to know if things were going smoothly.

I hurried aside with my phone.

“It’s complicated, but the doctor says there’s still hope. I’ll have her stay here for now and take her to more appointments.”

After we hung up, Dad transferred ten thousand yuan to me.

He said they’d saved it by selling corn for two years.

He wanted me to use it for my sister’s treatment.

He was also ashamed he hadn’t bought me a computer yet.

He promised to buy one as soon as he could.

I took the money.

I don’t know why.

Maybe I felt that in this city, you couldn’t get anywhere without money. Nobody respected the poor.

I was thinking of my family’s future.