Vincent Warner was montarily stunned before nodding and saying: "Okay."
For the next few days, Vincent Warner did not appear again. Tomorrow, Stella Charlie was supposed to remove the bandages, but she wasn’t sure whether Vincent’s promise still stood.
The next day, Stella Charlie woke up around six, feeling the light filtering through the bandages over her eyes.
Shortly after seven, the caregiver delivered breakfast punctually.
Just before nine, the attending doctor ca to remove her bandages.
Until two days later when Stella Charlie was discharged from the hospital, Vincent Warner still hadn’t appeared.
No one wanted to be associated with such a burden like her.
Before leaving, Stella Charlie found Dr. Linton to express her gratitude and said: "...If you have contact with that gentleman, please help thank him."
"...Alright."
The sun outside the hospital was sowhat glaring, and the scent of disinfectant was no longer in the air.
Stella Charlie stood for a long ti at the crosswalk in front of the hospital, waiting for the green light to change several tis before finally stepping onto the zebra crossing to cross the street.
The continuous sound of cicadas on the trees was a bit noisy. She boarded the familiar bus, which stopped a few stations later at the intersection where the accident had occurred that night.
The bloodstains on the ground had long been washed away, and everything around was as usual.
At the entrance of the alley, in front of the small shop, several elderly folks were sitting and chatting.
When the elderly saw Stella Charlie approaching, they all seed to have seen a ghost, their gazes fixed on her, coming to a sudden halt in their conversation.
Stella Charlie didn’t understand why they looked at her so strangely. She kept her head down and walked straight into the alley.
Inside the alley was an old residential area, with dilapidated buildings.
Stella Charlie’s family had lived there for over ten years; a boy who lived on the first floor was her middle school classmate.
As Stella Charlie was about to go upstairs, the boy excitedly rushed out of the house: "You’re not dead?!"
Stella Charlie froze: "...What do you an?"
The boy said matter-of-factly: "The police ca several tis recently. Later, your mom told us you had been killed in a car accident, so we all assud..."
No wonder the elderly at the intersection were looking at her with those strange eyes.
During the ti she was in the hospital, Stella Charlie thought her heart had been hardened enough, yet hearing this still hurt.
"And they moved away a few days ago, I heard they received a large compensation because of your accident, so they aren’t living here anymore."
At that mont, Stella Charlie felt as if she had truly died once.
While sitting on the bus, she even hoped that when she returned ho, her family, who had always been indifferent to her, might show a slight hint of joy at her miraculous survival.
When she climbed upstairs and stood before that familiar door, there was nothing left except so old furniture and appliances and the all-too-familiar damp and moldy sll.
No one was waiting for her return, and no one was rejoicing or celebrating her survival.
She fought back tears, leaving amid the neighbors’ strange gazes and gossip.
Her phone balance had only a few hundred yuan left, the remains of the living expenses she had frugally saved during school, initially intended for buying spectacles when college started.
She wandered the streets for a long ti, bought so cold buns from a shop about to close and filled her stomach, then headed to an internet café on the corner.
She started researching various job websites, submitted her resu, and looked at most of the job requirents.
Her education and age beca obstacles to her job search.
In the afternoon, she visited several service industry stores to inquire, finding so that were hiring sumr workers, but the pay was low and didn’t include food and lodging. Forget about earning tuition, supporting herself would be difficult.
As dusk slowly fell, and Stella Charlie was helplessly wandering the streets, she suddenly received an unexpected call from a stranger: "Is this Miss Stella Charlie? I saw your resu online, are you available for an interview now?"
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