It was late when Joy arrived home, and she immediately saw Samuel standing at the door.

His expression was unreadable, but he appeared to have been waiting for her. Just when she walked over and wanted to ask him what he wanted, he demanded coldly, “Joy, could you stop targeting Yelena all the time? If you don’t like her, just say it. Why bully her in the dance studio?”

Joy was already tired, and when she heard him say such things, all sorts of complicated emotions surged to her like a tidal wave—sadness, indignity, and resignation.

She did not even have to guess; Yelena must have told him an exaggerated account of what had happened.

Joy did not offer any other explanation. She just bypassed him and returned to her room.

But from then on, Joy was less strict with Yelena.

This made Yelena increasingly smug. Every day, she just went to the dance studio to announce her presence before she left.

The others were furious and wanted to argue with her, but Joy just grabbed them and shook her head. This was Yelena’s life. She would be forced to quit if she did not pass the dance test. She chose this life, and she had to be responsible for it herself.

Besides, Joy did not have the time to continue teaching her.

She thought this was the end of the entire thing, but to her surprise, Samuel suddenly approached her and wanted her to let Yelena become the lead dancer of the dance routine.

In the beginning, Joy could not register what he said, and the demand only fully sunk in when he repeated it.

Then, Joy looked at him with eyes burning with cold fury. “You’re telling me to let her become the main dancer for the dance routine?”

She tried her best to control her emotions, but she could not hide the quiver in her voice.

Samuel did not notice anything strange about her. He just said coldly, “She’s your sister-in-law. Besides, it’s just the main dancer’s role. It’s not that important.”

The main dancer’s role was not that important?

At that moment, she could no longer control her own emotions.

“Samuel, five years ago, once you noticed that I loved dancing, you hired the best dance instructor for me.

“Four years ago, when I returned with the dance champion’s award, you could not sleep for the entire night because you were so excited about celebrating it with me.

“Three years ago, when I was ostracized after becoming the lead dancer, you supported me to continue pursuing my dreams and told me to not care about other people’s thoughts.

“Now, you’re telling me to let Yelena become the main dancer of the dance routine I choreographed for an entire year! You know exactly what dancing means to me!”

She clenched her fists, and her voice was choked up.

When he saw the tear-stained face, Samuel felt as if someone had gripped his heart, and memories of a girl jumping and landing repeatedly in a brightly lit dance studio rose to his mind.

He clenched his fists, but in the end, he said nothing and left in silence.

Ever since Yelena joined the dance troupe because of Samuel, the troupe had gradually split into two factions.

One faction was centered around Joy and worked hard with her as their goal. The other was centered around Yelena and neglected practice. All they thought about was how to get on Yelena’s good side so that she would put in a good word about them in front of Samuel and bring them benefits.

The two factions never spoke to each other face-to-face until the end of the practice session today.

With a smile, Yelena blocked Joy. “Joy, I don’t understand a certain part. Could you teach me?”

When she saw how unusually Yelena was behaving today, Joy instinctively frowned. Just as she was about to say something, one of Yelena’s lackeys suddenly pushed her.

“What’s the meaning of this? Yelena is asking you nicely. What’s with your attitude?”

The people beside Joy could not stand it, so they stood in front of Yelena. “‘What’s the meaning of this’? I would much rather want to know what Yelena means by this. She had plenty of time to ask during practice, but she didn’t. Instead, she only came over to ask after practice was over! She’s just doing this on purpose!”

Joy did not want any conflict to arise from this. She pulled her friend back, but Yelena’s lackeys thought that they were scared and started saying even more demeaning words.

“You’re scared of us, aren’t you? I’m telling you now. Yelena is going to be Samuel’s wife very soon. It’s Joy’s honor to be able to teach her!”

“That’s right! She’s just an orphan. If she makes Yelena mad, Samuel might just chase her out!”

As they spoke, someone threw the first hit, and both factions instantly started fighting against each other.

During the chaos, Yelena suddenly arrived beside Joy and shoved her.

Joy was standing at the edge of a tall platform. Just as she was about to fall, she grabbed Yelena and dragged her down as well.

Both of them fell. Screams erupted everywhere. It was pure chaos.

When Samuel rushed over, both of them were about to be pushed into the surgery room.

The sight of them covered in blood made his face turn pale, and his usually calm voice was laced with panic.

“What’s their situation?”

A doctor hurried over. “Mr. Foster, Ms. Foster and Ms. Jones fell from the platform, and their legs were broken. Ms. Foster was pinned under Ms. Jones, so her situation is worse.

“We only have one type of special medication to treat broken legs, but Ms. Jones doesn’t need it. Should we—”

Before the doctor finished speaking, Samuel interrupted him. “Give it to Yelena!”

“But—”

“Enough talk! Perform the surgery now!”

Joy had woken up right then due to the pain, and she heard his decision. She felt as if a hammer had struck her.

He knew just how vital legs were to a dancer.

The doctor had even said that Yelena could do without the medicine.

She endured the pain and used the last shred of her strength to cry out. She had always been prideful, but at that moment, she pleaded while crying, “Please, Sammy, give me the medication.

“I don’t mind if you don’t like me. I don’t care that you left me in the mountain valley for a day and night. You know just how important my legs are to me. I can’t lose them! I want to continue dancing! Dancing is my dream! Please!”

In the end, she broke down and started crying. Huge beads of tears fell down her pale cheeks.

In the past, no matter how heavily injured Joy was, she never cried, but at the moment, she cried in such despair that it made Samuel clench his fists. He trembled slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Yelena also woke up from the pain.

When she remembered the pain that came when she fell, she cried in panic as well. “Samuel, it hurts! My legs hurt… Save me…”

At that, Samuel flung Joy’s hand away and hurried over to hold Yelena. “Be good. I’ll have the doctor give you the medication right now.”

He no longer hesitated. He urged the doctor to give Yelena the medication.

Joy saw all this unfold. She hurriedly pushed herself up to reach out to Yelena so that she could grab the medication.

But her broken legs dragged her down and made her unable to move.

The cold needle pierced into Yelena’s legs, and Joy could only watch as the medication was injected into her.

Three days later, Joy finally woke up.

She saw Samuel waiting by her bed. He was exhausted, and his eyes were bloodshot.

When he saw her stir, he tried to help her up with trembling hands, but she avoided him.

Samuel’s hands froze in midair. After some time, he finally pulled his hands back.

With a hoarse voice, he said, “You can still walk, but you won’t be able to dance again.

“If you can’t, then don’t. I’ll take care of you. But Yelena is my fiancee. I can’t just abandon her.”

Joy should have felt plenty of things at that moment.

She should have been angry, be in despair, be sad, or be in suffering. Perhaps she should have even exploded in fury.

But all those emotions were contained in her heart. In the end, only a feeling of helplessness remained.

Finally, she said hoarsely and with a choked-up voice, “Please leave.”

The ward sank into a long period of silence. Eventually, Samuel got up and told her to rest before he left in silence.

When the door fell shut, Joy, who had been silently crying, finally wailed.

In the past, she had stayed day and night in the dance studio just to dance.

In the past, she had kept on practicing despite the scorching summer.

In the past, she swore that she would bring her dance troupe to newer heights.

In the past, she said she would keep dancing until the end of her life.

But all those things were destroyed because of her injured legs.

All her dreams were utterly crushed.

Ever since the doctor told Joy that she could no longer dance, Joy gradually turned into a shadow of her former self and was more akin to a walking corpse.

She no longer cried or laughed. She only sat in her chair with a blanket over her legs as she stared outside numbly.

Then, the day of the dance troupe’s official performance arrived.

Despite Martha and Francis trying to stop her, she had someone help her to the performance hall, and she sat at the last row.

The lights dimmed. Piano music played.

Joy looked to the stage.

Yelena wore the dress that was supposed to belong to her and performed the dance she was supposed to do.

She received the applause and flowers Joy was supposed to receive.

When the curtains fell, everyone stood up and clapped. Samuel even brought flowers up to kiss her. The others stood up and went to praise as well as flatter Yelena.

Joy alone sat in her seat while she watched the people move about before they left.

After a long period of time passed, she stood up and went on stage.

When Samuel saw her, he instinctively stood in front of Yelena. “If you’re angry, come at me. Don’t hurt her.”

She only watched him quietly with eyes as dead as still water.

Yelena gave Joy a provocative smirk before she tugged at Samuel’s shirt. She pretended to be pitiful and said, “It’s fine, Samuel. No matter what, it’s my fault for stealing her role as the lead dancer and performing the dance she choreographed. It’s only fair for her to be mad.”

Joy shook her head. “I’m not angry. I’m here to give you two a gift.”

Those words shocked everyone.

What gift?

“Come with me.”

With that said, Joy headed out of the performance hall.

Precisely when they exited, fireworks shot to the cry and exploded before falling like rain.

They continued exploding and lighting up the sky.

Samuel was stunned. The next second, he heard Joy say, “Samuel, do you still remember putting on a fireworks show for me on the day I became the lead dancer? You said that you hoped that my life would continue shining brightly, and that I can live my life as freely as the wind. I’m returning the fireworks show to you. I hope that you can be together forever with my sister-in-law.”

When she declared Yelena as her sister-in-law, Samuel widened his eyes and looked over at her instinctively.

It was the first time Joy had publicly declared Yelena to be sister-in-law!

His heart clenched. Just as he was about to say something, Joy had already turned around and disappeared.