Chapter 7 You Are A Bastard!

Nina angrily said to Bobby, "Maybe you think I owe you from today. And yes, you might have saved me by throwing a lot of money at Mr. Tang. But you have to be reasonable! It is…"

Bobby interrupted her tirade by swatting off her fingers from gripping his car door. "You didn't tell them my name back there. That's good. And because of that, I won't force you to pay back the money immediately. But when I need you, I'll call you and you'll have to show up in front of me," Bobby said as he tried to close the door of his car, ready to drive away.

"No!" Nina stopped him. "What do you mean by that? I'm not some hussy on call! And besides, aren't you forgetting something? If you didn't take me away last night, I wouldn’t have offended Mr. Tang in the first place. Obviously, this is all your fault. You can't expect me to pay off the money you gave him as an apology!"

Bobby looked at Nina up and down before he sneered at her, "Why are you pretending like you are innocent? I've seen my fair share of women like you. You're all the same," he answered before he turned his head in disgust.

Nina cried out at his insulting words. "No! You couldn't be more wrong. I'm not like that at all!"

"Are you sure? Then why were you dressed like that last night? You were also in a rush to his hotel last night. Tell me, was I wrong for thinking that way? It's you who wanted to sell yourself. That was your plan. Last night, I asked you if I should let you go. It was you who decided to stay and go on."

Nina stomped her feet in frustration. Their discussion was clearly not going anywhere. She pointed at him. "You know nothing about me! Yes, I have no self-respect. I didn't care what I put myself into. But how can a person like you, who already have everything you need and more, know about the difficulties of others? You don't deserve to be my idol at all. You're… You're a bastard!" In her anger, she took out her phone and fumbled with it as she removed the phone card. Once it was out, she threw it at Bobby's face. "You changed my phone card without my knowing. How dare you?! And I swear, the money you gave me? I will pay you back in the future. No matter how long it takes!"

Nina turned around and ran away. Bobby clutched at the phone card she threw at his face. Something about their standoff made him feel hesitant to move on. Angrily, he closed his door and looked at the back through his rearview mirror.

There was pain in his chest as he watched her run away. He bit his lower lip and threw away the phone card. He started his car and followed her. She was wiping her face from what he supposed were tears as she awkwardly tried to get on the bus.

He forced himself to look away and leave. She wasn't his problem now. But after driving off a few meters, he suddenly stopped the car. His face was a mask of cold determination.

He patted the steering wheel and turned the car around. He followed the bus she got on and kept a safe distance from it. Unconsciously, his face dropped into a sad expression.

Nina smelled like alcohol and looked like a mess. When she got to her stop, she squeezed out of the crowd and got off.

There were so many commuters at this time of the night. She was still wearing the clothes Daisy gave her, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She could feel eyes on every inch of her exposed skin.

After she got out, she went straight to the hospital. She was afraid that her brother would see her wearing these horrible, skimpy clothes so she rushed into the ladies' room first. She was completely unaware of the person who was following her from a distance.

She changed her clothes and washed off the sticky beer from her hair.

The cold water was a relief against her tender scalp. Still, the chill of the water was a shock to her system, making her cry out.

It was such a long and tiring day. She tried to hold back the tears from streaming down her face. But once they were out, there was no stopping them. She was so scared. She let the sobs wrack through her thin body until people started streaming into the washroom. She washed the tears away and tried to put on a smile. Once she looked decent enough, she stuffed her clothes into her bag and walked out.

Nina walked into her brother's ward with light steps. She closed the door lightly behind her. Unbeknownst to her, Bobby watched and took note of the room number she entered. Stealthily, he snuck into the duty room and changed into a set of white coat and mask. He then went into the busy nursing station to check the record of Bed 17.

"Sis, you're back!" Leon woke up from the sound of the door shutting and found his sister back in his room. His operation went well this afternoon but that didn't mean he could escape the machines hooked into his frail body. Even sleeping was difficult for him. "Have you taken a shower?"

Nina nodded. "Yes, it was hot outside. I went back with Daisy and sweated."

"Sis, the kidney transplant worked well this time so I won't be your burden anymore. When I leave the hospital, we can go home together." Hope shone through Leon's eyes. "Will our home still be there?"

"Yes. It will be waiting for us. I won the prize, remember? I just need to go to the bank tomorrow to get our house back. And we'll ask the tenant to move out. We're getting our home back, Leon!"

Her news made Leon hopeful and excited. "The last few months had been very difficult for you, sis. If it weren't for me and my condition, you wouldn't have to live in a shabby house now. It's all my fault."

Nina smiled at her brother. "Let's stop talking about this. You're my brother. Of course, I'd do everything I could to save you. And besides, I'm sure everything will be fine now." She reached out to affectionately tap Leon's head. "Get some rest. I won't disturb you anymore. I have to go back to the shabby house. I was busy with you today that I forgot to pay my rent there."

After leaving the hospital, Nina went straight to the shabby house she had rented. In order to have enough money for Leon's operations, she came up with a lot of ways. For example, she rented out their big house to earn two thousand and three hundred dollars monthly. She herself had to move out and lived in a room of a shabby house, which only cost one hundred fifty dollars a month.

There was almost no space in that room except for a double bed.

She got on the bus on the way to the shabby house, without knowing that someone was following her.

Inside the sports car, a beep sounded. Bobby pressed his earphone to answer the call.

"Sir, Daisy told me that girl had to raise money because her brother needed a kidney transplant."

Bobby watched the bus in front of him. An awed smile graced his face. "I already knew. Tell that old woman to shut her mouth and leave this city. I don't want to see her face ever again."

"Got that, boss. But don't you think she is just..."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" After that, Bobby hung up the phone. He continued to watch the bus in front of him, a small smile still on his face.

"Aunt Ellen, this is the rent for the past three months and the next month. Please don't kick me out yet, okay?" Nina stared at her luggage that was thrown out of the house. Her landlord had just kicked her out. Nina hurriedly paid what she owed and begged her to take her back.

"But what about the next months? I know you're in dire straits and your brother is sick. But I also need the money, Nina. I need to eat and live, too. I've been trying to call you the entire day to let you know but you weren't answering. I already rented your room to another person. I'll only take what you owe me and you can keep the rest. It's getting late, Nina. Go back to the hospital and find another place to stay tomorrow morning."

The landlord turned around and went back inside her house. She slammed the door on her way and it sounded a lot like the final nail on the coffin that sealed Nina's fate that night.

But she didn't want to give up. She tried to bang on the door. Before she could do so, an arm shot up and grabbed her hand. She turned around in surprise only to find Bobby Teng behind her. His handsome face was marred with a deep frown. In a whisper, he said, "Come with me."