After my fiancée helped her male best friend have a child through artificial insemination, I left behind the divorce papers and walked away.

Before leaving, I commented under their photo together on social media: "Remember to sign the divorce papers. Wishing your family happiness."

A minute later, she called me, "Lu Tao, can you stop being unreasonable? He doesn't like women, and I'm just helping him have a child."

I replied with a cold laugh, "That's why I'm stepping aside so you can be with someone who doesn't make a fuss."

But she was getting anxious.

Fiancée Li Mengyao had assisted her male best friend, Zhang Xuan, with artificial insemination before I left the divorce papers behind.

Before departing, I commented under their social media photo together: "Remember to sign the divorce papers. Wishing your family happiness."

Soon, Li Mengyao's message came through: "What kind of madness are you up to?"

I didn't respond. A minute later, she called, questioning me, "Lu Tao, why didn't you reply to my message?"

I hadn't expected Li Mengyao's first words to be an interrogation; hearing her angry voice made me laugh.

How ironic, Li Mengyao had told me she was against having children, not wanting them to restrict her life.

Although I loved children, I loved her more, so I respected her decision.

Yet she went to have artificial insemination for Zhang Xuan, to bear children for him.

And she was questioning me about not replying to her message.

Li Mengyao knew her actions were outrageous, and she softened her tone, saying, "Lu Tao, A-Xuan's family wants him to have a child. I don't want A-Xuan to bear too much pressure."

"This child can be A-Xuan's wedding gift to us. Please stop being unreasonable, okay?"

Listening to Li Mengyao's shameless words, I laughed aloud.

Hearing my laughter, Li Mengyao got angry, "Lu Tao, can you stop being unreasonable? He doesn't like women, and I'm just helping him have a child. "

"You and Zhang Xuan are half-brothers, so the child will have a blood relationship. You love children so much; can't you just treat him as your own?"

Zhang Xuan is my half-brother, born from my mother's affair.

I opened my phone and looked at their social media photo.

In the picture, Li Mengyao and Zhang Xuan were holding hands, the background was the hospital corridor.

The caption read: "Finally pregnant with our child for my best friend! I will definitely be good to you!"

Seeing this post again felt like a shocking betrayal, nearly knocking me down.

The pain in my chest spread uncontrollably, leaving me drenched in sweat.

After struggling to calm down, I said lightly, "It doesn't mean anything. I do love children, but I don't like being a fool."

"You always said I was being unreasonable, so now I'm stepping aside to let you be with someone who doesn't make a fuss."

Having said that, I hung up the phone.

Li Mengyao didn't expect me to dare hang up on her, and she was furious, continuously calling me.

I didn't answer any calls.

Watching the phone screen flash with incoming calls, I sighed deeply.

I felt exhausted but didn't know who to talk to.

I had loved Li Mengyao for ten years, dated her for ten years, yet in the end, I lost to someone else.

I grew up alongside Li Mengyao, our families were close friends.

When I was seven, my parents divorced, and the following year, my father tragically died in a car accident during a business trip.

That left me, an eight-year-old, all alone.

My mother returned with Zhang Xuan, who was six at the time, and her new husband. They moved into my father's house, throwing out all of his belongings. I begged on my knees, and in the end, I was allowed to keep just one photograph of my father and me.

My mother never liked me; she only cared for Zhang Xuan, whom she considered her true child. My existence was merely the outcome of her reluctant union with my father.

That year, when they moved in, she treated me with disdain, often hitting me and denying me food. I was forced to move from my bedroom to a small, unwelcoming room.

I lived humbly in that house, clinging to the photograph as my only solace.

However, Zhang Xuan eventually took even that from me. When I tried to retrieve it, I accidentally pushed him down.

Seeing this, my mother beat me with a belt, tore the photograph to pieces, and finally threw me out, barely alive.

That day, it rained heavily. I knelt at the door, begging them to let me back in.

Just as despair set in, Li Mengyao appeared before me.

She took my hand and led me to her home.

Seeing my sorry state, Li's father was outraged at the injustice. He leveraged his influence to ensure my mother's family left.

Li's mother, noticing my young age, discussed with Li's father and decided to let me live with them, alongside Li Mengyao.

To me, Li Mengyao was my guardian angel. On that rainy day, she reached out and saved me.

My life was hers, and I was willing to give her everything.

When I was fifteen, I confessed my feelings to Li Mengyao. She giggled and hugged me warmly, "So you like me too! I knew it!"

That year was filled with happiness. The one I loved loved me back, and everyone was rooting for us.

In college, although I had the chance to attend a better school, Li Mengyao said she couldn't bear to be apart from me.

As soon as she said that, I disregarded everything else to be by her side.

But during college, Li Mengyao met Zhang Xuan, and they became fast friends.

We argued several times over this. Li Mengyao, exasperated, said, "That was so long ago. Why are you still holding onto it?

You must have been the one who was out of line. What kind of mother treats her child like that? Ah Xuan told me he always saw you as a brother."

From then on, Li Mengyao started calling me Lu Tao, saying she didn't want Zhang Xuan to feel neglected. She cared about both of us.

But Zhang Xuan was like a constant irritation in our lives.

He would call Li Mengyao away during our dates, or sometimes join us.

It frustrated me, leading to a huge argument with Li Mengyao, resulting in us going through a period of not speaking.

Two weeks later, Li Mengyao approached me, looking worn out, and cried while holding my hand, "Can't you forgive Ah Xuan and treat him as a friend for my sake?"

Seeing her so distressed, my heart softened completely.

After breaking up with Li Mengyao, I returned to my own home.

Unexpectedly, the very next day, Li Mengyao stormed in angrily to confront me, accompanied by a middle-aged woman.

When I saw this woman, I was momentarily dazed—it was my mother.

Since being kicked out of the house that year, I hadn't seen her again. Even though Zhang Xuan frequently appeared in my life later on, I only heard about her through him.

This was the first time in all these years that I actually saw her.

She had aged significantly, with wrinkles on her face and a head of hair that had turned gray.

Life hadn't been kind to her these past years.

Seeing Li Mengyao still brought a pang of pain to my heart, but seeing my mother intensified the pain, making it hard for me to breathe.

Li Mengyao, with a stern expression, asked, "Lu Tao, do you really have no sense of loyalty or care for our past?"

I said nothing, looking at her indifferently.

Li Mengyao, her eyes red, stared at me intently. "You're A-Xuan's biological brother. Do you know that A-Xuan is sick?"

I sneered. Why should I care about his illness? I couldn't care less if he lives or dies.

My indifferent attitude provoked Li Mengyao. She shrieked and angrily approached me, but in her haste, she stumbled.

Instinctively, I caught her to prevent her from falling to the ground.

Once she steadied herself, Li Mengyao shook off my hand.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and urgently grabbed my hand again. "Lu Tao, you're the only one who can save A-Xuan now. He needs your kidney, please, I beg you."

I stared at Li Mengyao in shock, tasting the bitter taste of irony.

How absurd!

My fiancée, pregnant with her male best friend's child, was pleading with me to donate a kidney to him.

As my vision blurred, I staggered backward, Li Mengyao's once beautiful face now unfamiliar and indistinct before me.

She continued speaking, "You and A-Xuan are blood brothers! I'm carrying A-Xuan's child; you wouldn't want him to grow up without his biological father…"

Li Mengyao's mouth opened and closed, but all I felt was a splitting headache. I pushed her away.

My mother, who had been watching, suddenly bent her knees and knelt on the ground. "Lu Tao, he's your brother; we are your only family in this world. Please, save him."

Suddenly, a voice broke through, "Save him? Zhang Meijuan, you're truly skilled at manipulating emotions!"

Li Mengyao and I turned to look, both surprised to see the newcomers.

Li Mengyao's face turned pale—it was her parents.

Upon seeing them, tears welled up in Li Mengyao's eyes again. She walked over and clung to her mother's hand. "Mother, Father, Lu Tao wants to break up with me, and he refuses to save A-Xuan. Please, try to persuade him.He always listens to you…"