My foot was stuck in the security bars.

The firefighter who came to the rescue was my ex-boyfriend.

If there was anything more mortifying than that, it would be what my ex-boyfriend said next...

"You've got looks, that's for sure. As for brains... well, you've got looks."

1

"The sparrows outside the window, chattering on the telephone pole..."

Seeing the scene outside my window, I felt inspired to post something artsy on my feed.

I never would have stuck my phone out past the security bars to take a picture of those birds. Then my phone wouldn't have fallen. And I certainly wouldn't have, while enduring excruciating pain, squeezed my foot through the bars to try and hook it back with my toes.

I regret everything.

When my ex-boyfriend walked through the door twenty minutes later, I regretted it even more.

I would rather be stuck here for the rest of my life than have my ex see me in such a pathetic state.

Ian Sheffield, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised to see me at all. He walked over, glanced at my leg, which had been scraped raw by the old security bars, and frowned.

Just when I thought that, even after being broken up for three years, my ex might still feel a little sorry for me...

Ian Sheffield spotted my phone on the ledge below. He chuckled, then said something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

"Chantal Chancellor, you've got looks, that's for sure. As for brains... well, you've got looks."

'Isn't he just straight-up calling me brainless?'

My pride flared up in an instant. I craned my neck stubbornly and yelled at him, "Go away! I don't need your help!"

Ian Sheffield ignored me and began his 'hero rescues the damsel' act.

I live in an old residential complex, and the security bars were ancient and solid. It took Ian Sheffield a great deal of effort to pry them open.

My foot was finally free, but the part of my leg scraped by the edges of the bars was now bright red and streaked with blood.

Ian Sheffield glanced at my injury again and said to his colleagues, "You guys get the phone. I'll take her to the hospital."

I mustered up my pride and quickly refused. "No need! An injury like this? It doesn't hurt at all."

Ian Sheffield stared at me for a moment. No matter how I looked at it, his expression was the kind you give a real genius.

"Fine. You're so tough. Even if you get tetanus..."

My resolve crumbled instantly. "I'll go!"

At the hospital, the doctor cleaned and dressed my wound, gave me a tetanus shot, and went over some things to keep in mind. Then he turned to Ian Sheffield and asked, "Got all that?"

I froze for a second, then turned to see Ian Sheffield standing behind me. He nodded.

A moment later, Ian Sheffield placed a pair of pink slippers on the floor in front of me.

The skin on my foot was broken too, and it was wrapped in gauze. Slippers would indeed be more convenient.

I put on the slippers and limped my way out.

Ian Sheffield, walking beside me, asked, "Still hurts?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why don't you try it and find out?"

Ian Sheffield laughed. "A normal person wouldn't try."

"..."

'That was the second time today he'd insinuated I wasn't normal. I was furious!'

Seeing the look on my face, Ian Sheffield didn't say anything else. He just hailed a taxi to take me home.

His colleagues had also retrieved my phone for me. The only casualty was the security bars.

2

After Ian Sheffield left, the stiff posture I'd been holding crumbled.

'Honestly, today was so embarrassing. Ian Sheffield is definitely going to laugh at me.'

'We were at the point of discussing marriage when I broke up with him. There's no way he doesn't hold a grudge.'

Ian Sheffield and I were classmates in middle school, attended the same high school, and even went to university in the same city. You could say we were childhood sweethearts.

Ian Sheffield proposed to me right after we graduated from college, and I accepted without a moment's hesitation.

But in the end, I broke up with him.

Because I just wasn't cut out to be a firefighter's wife.

I would have worried about him constantly. I didn't want to be reminded of him every time the news reported an incident involving firefighters. I didn't want to live my life on pins and needles.

So, I broke up with Ian Sheffield.

I never expected to see him again today.

Three years had passed, and he was still just as sharp-tongued, yet also just as gentle and attentive.

I stared at the pair of slippers for a long time. The anguish from when we first broke up felt like it had solidified into a heavy stone, pressing on my chest and making it difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

It was the Landlord.

The Landlord came in smiling cheerfully. At first, he seemed very concerned when he saw the gauze wrapped around my foot and leg, but his expression changed in an instant when he spotted the damaged security bars.

"What happened here?"

I hurriedly explained, "I'm sorry, sir. My phone accidentally fell outside, and I stuck my foot out to…"

The Landlord glared at me. "So just because you dropped your phone, that gives you the right to destroy my property?"

I opened my mouth to protest. "No, that's not it. It was because my foot—"

"Alright, that's enough. You don't need to say anything else. Just hurry up and find a place to move out." The Landlord gave me no chance to explain, leaving those words behind as he walked out.

I called the Landlord and told him my lease wasn't up yet and that I wasn't moving out.

An hour later, the Landlord showed up at my door with two burly men. I had no choice but to leave.

I walked alone down the street, dragging my suitcase behind me. The pavement was wet.

I didn't know where to go, so my only option was to call my mom.

"Mom, the landlord kicked me out. I…"

"Was it because you didn't pay rent? You make so much money a month, what did you do with it all? Let me tell you, there's no room for you at home. Your brother and his wife already think it's too small. Fine, you can come back, but only after you go out, make a fortune, and buy your brother a house… Two Dots!"

My mom hung up.

3

That's right.

My mom doesn't love me. She loves my brother.

Refusing to give up, I called my mom again. This time, she was clearly impatient, yelling at me over the phone, "Chantal, what's wrong with you? I'm playing mahjong, and you just keep bothering me! If I lose because of this..."

I felt a surge of helplessness, but I cut her off. "I just want my money back. You've taken almost all of my salary for the past few years."

The moment she heard I was asking for money, my mom's voice turned shrill. "What money? Chantal, I raised you for twenty-five years, and you have the nerve to ask me for money? Do you have any conscience at all? I don't have any money. Go ask whoever you want!"

Strangely, in that moment, I felt a sense of liberation instead.

"Fine. I don't want the money anymore. Consider it my repayment for giving me life. From now on, I'll remember that I have no mother."

I hung up as soon as I finished speaking, her curses still echoing in my ears. Then I blocked her number.

'It's a relief, really. My world is finally quiet. No more petty family squabbles, no more favoring sons over daughters.'

'But where am I supposed to go now?'

'I only have a little over a thousand in my bank account, and payday is still more than twenty days away. I can't bear to spend it on a hotel.'

'This thousand or so isn't enough to rent a new place, either.'

Just then, a black car pulled up in front of me, and a familiar voice called out.

"Chantal."

I looked up. It was Ian Sheffield.

He looked me in the eye, his face expressionless. "Get in."

I wanted to refuse, but a car behind us honked just then, so I had no choice but to get into Ian Sheffield's car.

I sat in the back seat.

After Ian Sheffield had driven a short distance, I finally managed to stammer, "I... I'm headed out on a business trip."

Ian Sheffield was silent for a moment before he spoke again, his voice even. "Chantal, you can't fool me."

My heart gave a painful lurch, and tears of indignation welled up in my eyes.

I hadn't felt this sense of indignation even when I cut ties with my mom, but a single sentence from Ian Sheffield was all it took to shatter my composure.

I quickly wiped my tears away. "Why would I lie to you?"