From then on, she put those words into action.
Rain or shine, freezing cold or scorching heat—Serena didn't slack off a single day.
She already had a head for business. Once she shed that careless, good-for-nothing disguise, she became unstoppable.
In just a few years, she'd built up her own network and saved a decent amount of money.
Every time Serena came back after finishing her rounds, her favorite thing was counting money at home. She liked to divide it into little stacks, one after another, muttering with conviction.
"This portion's for buying a house."
"This portion's for marrying Alex."
"This portion's for buying him new clothes."
I felt sorry for how hard she worked.
But Serena always said that as long as I was happy, everything she endured had meaning.
Just like that, we finally saved enough to buy a house.
But it was also that year that Serena was diagnosed with heart failure.
The surgery fee was astronomical.
Even if I gave up everything I had. Even if her underling friends emptied their savings, running around everywhere to borrow money.
We were still three hundred thousand short.
I went to loan sharks. Relatives and friends dodged me the moment they saw me coming.
I had no other choice. So I sold myself.
I went to find Third Master—the man who had tricked me into The Underground all those years ago.
I promised that if he'd give me three hundred thousand, I would follow him wholeheartedly and work for him for the rest of my life.
After hearing my offer, Third Master laughed so hard he couldn't straighten his back. He looked at me with contempt.
"With that plain face of yours, you think you're worth three hundred thousand?"
He sized me up from top to bottom, his eyes calculating.
"Three hundred thousand to buy a person isn't worth it. But to buy some face—now that's worth it."
"I just don't know if you're willing."
To me back then, as long as I could save Serena's life, I would agree to anything.
Even if it meant hurting her.
To satisfy Third Master's twisted sense of entertainment, I lied to Serena and told her I'd fallen in love with another woman.
I made Serena kneel to me in public.
I posted her humble, helpless image online.
I used every vicious method I could think of to hurt her.
During that time, Serena really humbled herself to the extreme.
She cut her wrists. Banged her head against walls. Countless times, she looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and asked me why.