Elaine Foster loved to test my love for her. She faked a chronic illness and convinced me to donate blood for her 99 times.

When it came for the 100th time, I was already severely anemic. I finally said no. She turned around and used the blood I had given her to make blood sausages for Karl Claflin’s dog. Karl was the most popular guy on campus.

Curled up in Karl’s arms, she said to me, “Michael Messner, I was never sick. I only pretended to be, just to see if you really loved me. Unfortunately, you failed the final test. I’m very disappointed. We are done.”

I smiled indifferently and walked away without looking back.

Five years later, we met again at the top hospital in the country.

By then, neither Elaine nor Karl knew that they both had malignant gliomas growing in their brains.

I had become the only neurosurgeon in the country capable of successfully removing them.

When she saw me in plain clothes, wiping vomit off the hospital floor, she had assumed I was a janitor.

She sneered, “Michael, you’d really stoop to anything to run into me, wouldn’t you? You even followed me here. It’s time you faced reality. I’m worth millions now, and you are just a janitor. We are worlds apart. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

I did not bother answering. At that moment, I was only thinking about which nurse I would need to speak to for slacking off on the job.

Luckily, I had just finished surgery and was going home when I spotted the patient in distress. Otherwise, the patient could have been in serious danger.

From head to toe, Elaine Foster was draped in designer brands. Her arm linked through Karl Claflin’s as they waited for their test results.

They had both been suffering from frequent headaches lately, so they had come to the hospital together for a check-up.

As they passed the ward, Elaine immediately spotted me.

I had just come out of a six-hour surgery and changed out of my scrubs, ready to go home, when I noticed something off about a patient.

Ignoring my exhaustion, I stepped in and handled it myself. I induced vomiting and stayed with him until his condition stabilized.

The nurses were completely overwhelmed, so I ended up crouching down and cleaning up the mess myself.

In Elaine’s eyes, she only saw me in a sorry state, working as a janitor.

She strode straight toward me. Her expression was a mix of disgust and ridicule as she said, “Michael Messner, look at where you’ve ended up. You’ve sunk so low that you are working as a janitor in a hospital. Without me, you’re nothing. If you’d passed my test back then, you’d be the one standing beside me now.”

She tightened her grip on Karl’s hand and continued, “But I suppose I should thank you. Because of you, I found someone who really loves me.”

Karl gave her a gentle smile before turning to me. “He must regret it now. But he has no one to blame but himself. He was selfish and refused to give you what you needed. He brought this upon himself. Besides, he never even finished college. It’s no surprise he ended up like this.”

Karl turned to the hospital staff passing by and said, “This is a VIP ward. The people who come here are distinguished. You need to throw this janitor out right now. The stench of poverty on him makes us sick.”

At this hospital, I spent most of my time in scrubs and a mask, moving between operating rooms and restricted floors. I only took the most complex cases.

Therefore, the newer nurses did not recognize me. Taking Karl at his word, they said politely, “Sorry, sir. Cleaning is not needed during patient care hours. Please step outside.”

I did not stop working. Not wanting to make things difficult for them, I replied calmly, “I’m a doctor here. I’ll leave after I finish cleaning this up.”

Their priority was the patients. They were already stretched thin. When I did not move, they chose not to argue and hurried off to call security.

Elaine, however, acted as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Michael, you? A doctor? You could not even finish college. That is honestly pathetic. Just look at you. Cleaning up other people’s vomit suits you perfectly.”

She turned to the small crowd that had begun to gather.

“Let me tell you all a story about him. Back then, he refused to donate blood for me. He failed my test because he was too selfish. Now, I am worth millions, and he missed his chance to marry me. I bet he regrets it every single day. Poor people stay poor for a reason. They’re selfish. They have no vision. The smallest tests reveal their true nature.”

I looked at Elaine and asked, “Do you remember why I didn’t finish college?”

Elaine’s expression froze for a moment, as if something had crossed her mind.

Back then, she had faked her illness and convinced me to donate blood for her 99 times. The constant blood loss had taken a serious toll on my body. I was severely anemic.

Even walking a short distance would leave me dizzy and weak.

When it came time for the 100th session, I accidentally discovered that Elaine was not only well, but her family was also extremely wealthy.

She had hired people to play along with her sick game. It was all to manipulate me into giving her my blood again and again.

On top of that, she turned around and used my precious blood to make blood sausages for Karl’s dog. Karl was the most popular guy on campus.

I was disappointed and hurt. After refusing her final test, I took a leave of absence from school and went home to recuperate.

She never knew that I came from a family of doctors. Medicine always came naturally to me. After restoring my health, I went abroad to restart my medical studies. Later, I became a top neurosurgeon, recognized both at home and around the world.

Karl did not notice the subtle shift in Elaine’s expression. He continued to insult me. “It was because your fake act fell apart. You dropped out because you were too ashamed to show your face at school.”

Elaine suddenly spoke in a cold voice. “Enough. Throw him out. I don’t want to see him.”

The security guards did not hesitate. They stepped forward and reached out to throw me out.

I shook them off and said coldly, “Don’t touch me. I’m the hospital’s specially appointed chief neurosurgeon, Brandon Messner.”

I had changed my name while studying abroad. Brandon Messner was my current name.

Karl cackled and said, “Dr. Messner is one of the top neurosurgeons in the world. His surgeries have never failed. People would pay a fortune just to get on his schedule. The only thing you have in common with him is your last name. You’re just a janitor pretending to be him. That’s honestly pathetic. But since we went to the same school, maybe one day, Elaine and I can hire you as a nanny for our kid.”

I shot back. “That depends on whether you can even have children. And what exactly do you do for a living other than living off a rich woman?”

That hit its mark. Karl’s expression twisted.

He had tried more than once to get Elaine pregnant, but every time, it had failed.

The truth was, Elaine had no intention of having a child at the moment, no matter how he tried to persuade her.

Karl spat on the floor. He continued to insult me. “Get on your knees and lick it clean.”

Elaine frowned slightly and cut in, “Karl, forget it. We have things to do. Don’t waste time on him.”

A dark look passed through Karl’s eyes. He was deeply displeased with Elaine for defending me.

I gave him a look of disdain. I could not be bothered to keep arguing with them. I stood up and started walking toward the door.

However, Karl lunged from behind and slammed me to the ground. He hissed, “Michael, you’re just a janitor. Don’t act like you’re above me. Why are you even hanging around here? Were you hoping to win Elaine back? Let me make this clear, that’s never going to happen. She already knows exactly what kind of person you are. If I see you anywhere near her again, I’ll slash that pretty boy face of yours open.”

I shoved him off me with all my strength and snapped, “Get off me. What’s wrong with you? I’ve been married for years. I love my wife. I have zero interest in anyone else.”

Elaine’s expression turned dark. She stared at me in disbelief and asked, “Michael, what did you just say? You’re married?”

I replied flatly, “Yes. So relax. Stay together, grow old together, do whatever you want.”

Elaine shook her head and repeated, “You married another woman? No, that’s impossible. I can’t believe you’d ever get over me.”

I was baffled by her reaction. “Why would that be so hard to believe? We broke up years ago.”

Elaine did not believe me. Her gaze suddenly stopped on my chest.

I followed her line of sight. In the scuffle just now, the chain around my neck had slipped into view.

Elaine wore a knowing expression. She smiled and said, “Michael, you’re still keeping up the act. I knew you couldn’t forget me. Why else would you still be wearing the matching couple’s necklace I gave you? If you apologize to me right now and beg for my forgiveness, I might just give you another chance.”

Her necklace?

Back then, she had pretended to be poor and sick. The necklace she gave me had been some cheap two-for-nine-ninety-nine shipping-included piece from an online store. It had rusted and fallen apart and disappeared years ago.

This necklace was a gift from my wife on our wedding day. It was a token of our love. A master craftsman had custom-made it by private order. I wore it every day without ever taking it off.

I stared at her, completely exasperated. “Take a good look at the diamond. Does that look like something you could’ve afforded? My wife gave this to me. It has nothing to do with you.”

The diamonds set into the pendant were exquisite and luxurious. Anyone could see they were worth a fortune.

Karl, however, reached out and ripped the necklace right off my neck. His eyes were malicious as he said, “Michael, how could someone like you ever afford such expensive jewelry? The people who come to this hospital are wealthy. You must’ve stolen this from one of them. If you’re so broke that you can’t even afford a meal, you could’ve just told me. I’d be happy to pack up the leftovers from my house every day.”

I snorted. “Keep your leftovers for yourself. As I recall, you’re not a picky eater. You’d eat anything.”

Karl knew that I was implying the way he had once clung to rich older women for money. His face flushed with rage and humiliation.

He turned and barked at the security guards who had hurried over. “Are you deaf? Why have you not thrown him out yet? Do I need to file a complaint against all of you?”

The guards did not give me a chance to explain myself. They grabbed my arms and began dragging me out by force.

Their grip hurt my arms. Worrying it might affect my ability to perform surgery tomorrow, I wrenched myself free.

“I’ll walk out on my own. Don’t touch me!”

Karl opened his mouth to hurl more insults at me.

Then, a nurse suddenly rushed over and handed them the results of their head scans.

Elaine and Karl stared at the diagnosis printed on the papers. It was malignant gliomas in both of their brains. They cried out in disbelief, “How could it be this serious? And malignant?”

The nurse offered them a kind reminder before hurrying off without stopping. She did not notice me standing behind them.

“Only our nation’s top neurosurgeon, Dr. Brandon Messner, has a perfect success rate with glioma operations. You’re in luck. He’s currently working at this hospital. Your conditions are very serious. If you want to live, you need to contact Dr. Messner as soon as possible and schedule your surgeries.”

Elaine knew exactly how much weight Brandon Messner’s name carried. A few years ago, an elder in her family had suffered from the same disease.

However, they had not been able to get on Brandon’s surgical schedule at all. They had been forced to find another surgeon. The operation had failed, and the elder had died.

It was a hereditary condition in her family. There was a thirty percent chance of developing it. She had never imagined being part of that thirty percent.

On the other hand, Karl could not understand why he had fallen ill with the same disease at such a young age.

Panic gripped them. Their minds raced, desperately trying to think of any way to convince Brandon to operate on them.

They did not know that the man who could save their lives was standing right in front of them.

I was a doctor, but I was not the kind who would help anyone without reason. I turned and walked away.

Seeing that I was about to leave, a cunning gleam flashed in Karl’s eyes. He quickly stepped forward and blocked my path.

“Michael, you’re not getting away that easily. Your little act of pretending to be Dr. Brandon Messner is not over yet. If Dr. Messner ever finds out about this, he won’t let you off lightly.”

Elaine exchanged a glance with him. She understood what he was trying to do instantly.

They had a golden opportunity.

Brandon Messner was in this hospital. If they caught the fraud who was impersonating him, they would have a legitimate reason to meet the real doctor. They could use that meeting to ingratiate themselves with him.

With their lives hanging in the balance, they turned toward me with looks that were far from friendly.

Karl shouted for security to pin me down as I tried to leave. Then, he stepped hard on my fingers.

Pain shot through my hand as he ground his foot down on purpose.

I had several critical surgeries scheduled for the next day. I could not afford any injury to my hands.

I snapped. “Get your foot off my hand! I really am Brandon Messner! If you ruin my hands, you can kiss your own lives goodbye!”

He was already in a foul mood because of the diagnosis. Hearing that only made him press down harder.

He smirked viciously.

“Michael, you really don’t know when to stop. Look at yourself. You used to pretend to be devoted and had Elaine completely fooled, but the moment you were tested, your true colors showed. Right now, you dare to impersonate Dr. Messner? We’re just doing him a favor by teaching you a lesson. When we meet him, he will thank us. As for you, you can look forward to prison.”

Karl would not listen to a single word I said. His fists and kicks came down on me without restraint.

I was being beaten for no reason. Rage flooded through me, but I could not break free from the guards holding me down.

Still not satisfied, he grabbed a chair from the side and raised it, about to bring it crashing down on me.

Just then, Elaine frowned and stopped him.

“Karl, that’s enough. There’s no need to go this far. If you injure him, he won’t even be able to afford treatment. Let’s just take Michael to Dr. Messner’s office. The point is to get Dr. Messner to appreciate what we have done and move us up for surgery.”

Karl noticed Elaine defending me. Jealousy flared in his eyes. He deliberately adopted a sarcastic tone.

“Right. Or maybe you should give him some money for medical bills, Elaine. Back then, he left because he couldn’t handle the hardship of your illness, right? He ended up running off with some rich woman overseas. Now that he has been dumped, he came crawling back to work as a janitor. If you want to be generous and help him for the sake of your shared history, that would be very generous of you.”

Elaine’s expression darkened. She clearly caught the sarcasm in his words.

Even I did not expect such a ridiculous story to have been made up about me after I left school.

I had reached my limit. Right there in front of everyone, I decided to expose Karl.

“Karl, do you think nobody knows how you strung Elaine along all those years while living off other women’s money? I have to hand it to you, though. You certainly have a way with women. You’ve had her completely fooled all these years.”