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…"

I sighed, opened my phone, and played a recording.

It was a conversation between Li Mengyao and Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan said, "Yaoyao, can you have a child for me? My mom is putting a lot of pressure on me, and I don't know what to do! Maybe I should just end it all."

Li Mengyao's voice came through, comforting him, and she agreed to his request without hesitation. Then Zhang Xuan pretended to be worried, saying, "Wouldn't that be unfair to Lu Tao?"

Li Mengyao replied indifferently, "Lu Tao loves children the most. He would love the child I have even more! Besides, I'm not planning to give him one. If I don't, who will inherit all his wealth? He should be thankful that you're even considering having a child for him."

But faced with Zhang Xuan's appeal, Li Mengyao suddenly hesitated, "Ah Xuan, we can't do this. It's not right to Lu Tao. We should go for a medical procedure to have a child instead."

After listening to the recording, everyone present had different expressions. Li Mengyao angrily said, "What are you trying to say by playing this recording? I wasn't wrong. I'm not planning to have a child with you, so who do you want to benefit from your wealth... "

Before she could finish, Mrs. Li raised her hand and slapped her.

She held my hand, her face full of guilt, "I'm sorry, Lu Tao, we failed to raise Mengyao properly."

They knew my feelings for Li Mengyao and assumed she initiated the breakup.

The two elders worried I was upset and came to talk to me, trying to comfort me.

But who would have thought we'd hear such explosive news?

Mr. Li was furious, continuously scolding Li Mengyao, who was too ashamed to speak.

Until Mr. Li mentioned Zhang Xuan, Li Mengyao suddenly stood her ground and said defiantly, "I won't let you speak badly about Ah Xuan. He's not at fault!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li, who was tending to my wounds, turned pale. She looked at Li Mengyao in disappointment, "Zhang Xuan is not at fault? He knew you were going to marry Lu Tao, yet he asked you to have a child for him. How could I have such a foolish daughter?"

"Li Mengyao, how did we teach you? Be faithful in relationships, yet you asked Lu Tao to donate a kidney to Zhang Xuan? Do you know how Zhang Xuan bullied Lu Tao back then?"

Li Mengyao gritted her teeth, defending Zhang Xuan.

But hearing Li Mengyao's words, Mr. Li and Mrs. Li grew increasingly disappointed.

Mr. Li scolded, "Zhang Xuan is just a rascal. He approached you only for the Li family's money! Do you really think he wanted to be friends with you? What kind of friend meddles so heedlessly in your relationship?"

Listening to Mr. Li and Mrs. Li's protective words towards me, I suddenly felt a wave of grievance.

Li Mengyao erupted in anger, "Lu Tao, Lu Tao! You only care about Lu Tao! You only know Zhang Xuan bullied Lu Tao! Ah Xuan even tried to cover for Lu Tao, but do you know that when Lu Tao was young, he was dishonest and disrespectful to Aunt Zhang, which is why Ah Xuan hit him!"

"You only care about money! You use your dirty minds to think of the pure friendship between me and Ah Xuan. You truly disgust me!"

"Lu Tao is just a hypocrite. He claims he loves me, but if he loves me so much, why won't he let me have a child for Ah Xuan? Ah Xuan is near death, why won't he donate a kidney for him? Is this what he calls love?"

Listening to Li Mengyao's audacious claims, Mr. Li and Mrs. Li's eyes widened in disbelief.

Li Mengyao's words grew increasingly outrageous, even saying my mom shouldn't have given birth to such an ungrateful son. Thankfully, she divorced my dad early and left me with him; otherwise, I would have been the death of her.

She accused me of being disrespectful to elders, watching my mom kneel in front of me without offering help.

Hearing Li Mengyao's words, Mr. Li was so angry he couldn't catch his breath, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.