“Don’t you know smoking during work is forbidden?” Bill asked.
The man remained silent. He took a few puffs before extinguishing the cigarette and tossing it into the trash can. “I smoke too much, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” He said this while waving his hand in the air to dispel the odor of smoke.
Hours later, after leaving work, Bill felt he had lost his courage when he thought of the person he had just seen in the restaurant. After a brief hesitation, he put his phone back.
A few days later, Bill was not surprised when he received a message from her. The message read, “People are no longer cooperating with us, and they are unwilling to accuse Lemon. The regulators have now released their findings as well. Lemon will soon be able to prove its innocence. Is this how you get things done?”
Bill was chilled by the night wind. “I’ve done my part, and I’ve done everything as you requested,” he replied quickly.
Exhausted, he took a slow, deep breath as he looked up. After a while, Bill received another text message. As he walked away, a motorcycle roared past him, its tires rolling up the dust on the ground.
“Get the hell out of my fucking way!” The rider on the motorcycle yelled at him.
Hearing that, Bill turned around. He suddenly recalled that when he was younger, he often rode a motorcycle and cursed people he saw on the streets. And as he came back to his senses and realized how miserable he turned out to be, he was filled with conflicted emotions.
He laughed to himself, and his laughter became increasingly louder. Later on, his stomach hurt, and he had to squat on the sidewalk.
A couple passing next to him slowed their pace and quickly left after passing him hesitantly. “He’s drunk, isn’t he? He scared me!” Patting her chest, the girl said.
She had no idea what Bill was thinking or that he had been in many dangerous situations in his life. Years ago, he was stabbed in the stomach with a long knife. But he didn’t even groan at the time. However, on a normal night like this, he sat in the brightly lit street, crying and laughing like a lunatic.
Leaning against a tree, Bill sat on the ground, lit a cigarette and checked the text messages he received just now.
“I want Anna to be miserable. Joanna will be unable to have surgery until you complete this task. You can do the math on how much time you have left.”
“Is there anything else you want me to do?” Bill tapped the keyboard and texted back.
“You have two options. I’m going to warn you one more time. If you don’t keep your word, we’ll die together.”
Bill took one last drag of his cigarette while staring at the two simple, clear lines on his phone screen. He stomped out the cigarette and became fierce again in an instant. Much as he wanted to eliminate the person that just sent him a death threat, he calmed himself down, dusted off the ashes from his body, and continued walking through the busy street eventually. After all, that person could pay him a large sum of money that he could use to save Joanna’s life.
He was waiting for a traffic light when he noticed a mother and daughter standing before him. The girl was dressed in a puffy pink dress, a pink jacket, and pink leather shoes. She wore a pink bear hairpin in a pigtail and held a pink balloon in her hand. The moment he watched the little girl’s back, Bill became tender.
“How far do we have to walk to see Daddy, Mommy?” The little girl looked up at a woman and asked her with excitement.
“When we walk across this road, we can see him. Daddy is staying late at work! Okay, let’s bring him dinner.” The girl’s mother answered her while holding two bags.
“Okay,” the little girl smiled back at her mother. “Ah! My balloon!” Suddenly, she let out a scream as the balloon in her hand flew up into the sky
The girl then dashed forward and ran onto the road. At the same time, a bus was speeding towards the intersection at the time. The driver was startled when the girl ran out, braking and honking the horn in a panic.
“Baby!” The woman instantly dropped the bags in her hand and reached out, trying desperately to pull the girl back to safety. She only touched the girl’s skirt, however, which scared the hell out of her.
In the blink of an eye, before the woman could react, bill, who was behind her, rushed out and helped her save her daughter. When the woman finally calmed down a bit, she found that her daughter was safe and sound in his arms.
With an expressionless face, Bill said to the woman calmly, “The light has turned green. Be more careful next time.”
The stunned woman took the girl from Bill after crossing the street. Her eyes welled with tears as she knelt to take the little girl into her arms.
Bill frowned and prepared to leave after hearing her crying. One of his greatest fears was seeing a woman act vulnerable.
When he felt a small, delicate hand wrapping around his fingertips, Bill had just walked away. The warmth of her hand permeated his fingertips and into his bloodstream. And when he turned around, he saw the little girl gazing at him with her sparkling eyes.
He attempted to free himself from her grasp, but she tightened her grip on his index finger.
“What?” He said it harshly.
“Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.” The girl narrowed her eyes and smiled as she handed him the balloon in her other hand.
The girl’s mother then slowed down and smiled guiltily. She wiped her tears away and then opened her bag.
Bill looked at her and noticed that she had taken out all the cash from her bag. She then attempted to shove the cash into his hand. With a sullen face, Bill did not accept the money.
“Don’t get me wrong, sir. You are a good person, and I am truly thankful for you because you saved my daughter. Please accept the money,” the woman explained incoherently, not wanting to make Bill unhappy.
It wasn’t the woman’s giving his money that shocked Bill but her words: “You’re a kind person.” Stunned, Bill thought to himself, What makes you think I’m a good person? Nobody has ever described me as a good person. Do you know how many crimes I’ve committed? Do you have any idea I actually killed numerous people?
Before taking the balloon from the girl’s grasp, Bill panicked and tried to hide his emotions. Having hidden his panic, he said to the woman, “I don’t want your money. If you want to thank me, you can give me this balloon.”
“I have something to say to you, Sir!” With a smile, the little girl said.
“What is it?”
The little girl hooked her finger at him. He squatted down and then felt her warm breath on his cheek as the little girl kissed him on the cheek.
“Mommy says that I shouldn’t kiss strangers. But I don’t think Mommy would mind if I kiss you,” Smiling, the girl looked at Bill with admiration.
However, her mother appeared embarrassed. “Please don’t mind about that. She’s only a child,” she said to Bill as she drew the girl back into her arms.
The little girl’s words and action were like a fire that melted his stone-cold heart. Finally, Bill managed to squeeze a smile. He stood up, stroking the little girl’s head and saying to her gently, “Thank you.”
Looking at the receding backs of the woman and the little girl, Bill turned around and strolled down that street. He noticed that the wind was a little warmer, and the streetlights were a little brighter. And above him, a few stars were shining in the sky.
At that moment, he suddenly had an idea. He then pulled out his phone and texted the only person he cared about in the whole world. “I met a little girl on the road today! She’s really cute.”
While typing, he had already imagined Joanna’s surprised look at receiving this message and how she would laugh as she regained her composure.
“Are you still working? I haven’t eaten anything yet.” Johanna responded.
Bill smiled lightly and slipped his phone into his pocket as he reached for a cab. When he arrived at the hospital, he saw a thin woman sitting on the bed through the window.
With her bony hands, she was knitting a sweater quickly and skillfully. With a delighted smile, she stopped and placed the sleeve on her body. Her hospital gown was too noticeable in the light. Otherwise, everything would have looked fantastic.
Looking at her, Bill felt the urge to cry and then let out a cough.
The instant Joanna realized Bill had come to see her, she rushed to put the sweater away and shouted, “Bill! Hello.”
Joanna was already sitting on the bed when Bill opened the door and walked in. The sweater she was just knitting was tucked beneath her pillow, and two long, thin wooden needles stretched out.
“I brought you chicken soup.” Bill pretended not to notice anything and then handed Joanna a bowl of soup.
She smiled and took the box right away. As soon as she took it, Joanna noticed the scrape on his wrist. Frowning, she yanked on his arm and lifted his sleeve. After that, she saw more shocking bruises. Because Bill did nothing to the wound, the blood flowing from it stuck on his sleeve.
Biting her lip, Joanna immediately stood up and left the room. A moment later, she returned to the ward, clutching the gauze she had gotten from the nurse. Then she started to treat Bill’s wounds. She appeared to be very skilled at cleaning his wounds. Throughout, she remained silent, her head buried low.
“I was just waiting for a traffic light on the road when a car almost hit a little girl. While saving her, I accidentally bruised my arm.” He pretended to be distracted while explaining, straightening her messy hair with his other hand.
Joanna immediately stopped and asked, “Don’t you care about your own safety?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.