Seeing their son finally pull himself together, his parents wept with joy, thinking he had finally let it all go.

But only Ethan knew in his heart that the Ethan who held hope for the future had already died on that night he learned Ivy would never return.

His heart, however, had already completely died.

A few months later, through near-masochistic exercise, Ethan’s body had not only fully recovered but was even hardier than before.

And right at this moment, a massive earthquake struck the African region, causing heavy casualties and shocking the entire country.

Chapter 16

The images of the disaster zone on the TV screen and the constantly climbing casualty numbers struck everyone in the heart.

Rescue forces from all over the country rushed to assist.

Ethan watched the familiar outline of the mountain ranges in the news, watching those orange figures rushing through the ruins.

His long-dormant heart stirred with a ripple; he had once been one of them—the proudest among them.

His phone rang; it was the deputy captain of his former rescue team.

"Ethan, don’t you do anything foolish! Your body has just recovered, don't run over there; that's not where you should be right now!"

The voice on the other end was incredibly anxious.

Ethan listened in silence, his gaze never leaving the television.

His voice was hoarse but unusually calm: "I am no longer the captain, Old Zhou."

"I know your heart is hurting, but what can you do even if you go? You have already..."

Ethan didn't wait for him to finish, hanging up the phone directly and pulling out the SIM card to toss it into the toilet.

He was no longer a rescue captain, so naturally, he couldn't save people in the capacity of a captain.

But he could use his own way to complete a late apology.

He told no one that he had quietly arrived at the core area where the disaster was most severe.

The equatorial sun was like fire, scorching this barren and wild African land.

Ethan, wearing a faded volunteer vest, was unloading heavy medical supplies box by box from a truck.

The once high-and-mighty CEO of the Fu Group now had skin tanned dark, and his rough hands were covered in calluses and fine, jagged wounds.

He had sold off all the remaining assets of the Fu Group, exchanging them for hundreds of tons of food, water purification equipment, and emergency medicine, following in Ivy’s footsteps to this place.

This was the only way he could think of to atone.

Outside the medical tent not far away, a familiar, lighthearted laugh rang out.

Ethan’s movement in unloading cargo stiffened abruptly, and he subconsciously hid in the truck's shadow.

Through the gap, he watched that familiar figure with greed and pain.

Ivy was wearing a rescue suit, carefully leaning down to bandage a local child; the sunlight fell on her face, peaceful and beautiful.

And standing beside her was a young doctor in a white coat, Lucas.

Lucas naturally pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from Ivy’s forehead.

The two shared a smile, with uncontainable, intense affection in their eyes.

Ivy even playfully nudged Lucas with her elbow, the two standing very close and whispering something, causing Ivy’s eyes to curve into crescents again.

That smile was one Ethan hadn't seen in many years.

Only now, that smile no longer belonged to him.

His heart felt like it was being pierced by countless needles; Ethan clenched his fists so tightly his nails nearly sank into his flesh, yet he could only swallow the bitterness in his mouth.

He didn't dare to approach.

Because he knew Ivy didn't want to see him at all.

The moment he appeared, the light in her eyes would instantly vanish, turning into sheer disgust and contempt.

"Mr. Fu."

A cold voice interrupted Ethan’s self-torture; Lucas had walked over at some point, blocking his line of sight.

"We’ve received the supplies. Thank you on behalf of the locals."

Lucas looked at him straight on, carrying an undisguised warning.

"Please keep your distance from Ivy. Everything you do every day only causes her distress. Your self-indulgent sentimentality cannot compensate for the harm you once caused her."

Chapter 17

Ethan lowered his eyes, his tall frame appearing infinitely humble at this moment:

"I know. I am only responsible for transporting the supplies; I won’t disturb her."

Lucas looked at this man who had once commanded the winds and clouds, now reduced to speaking in low, humble tones, frowned, and turned back to Ivy’s side.

Days passed one by one under the scorching sun and through the torment.

Ethan used all his strength to help the locals, paving roads and digging wells.

It was as if only by exhausting his body to the extreme could he briefly numb the pain in his heart.

Until that sudden disaster struck.

That afternoon, the earth shook without warning, and a violent earthquake tore the peaceful village apart.

"Earthquake! Run!"

Screams and the roar of collapsing buildings instantly intertwined.

Amidst the filling dust, Ethan ran like a madman, against the flow of escaping crowds, bolting toward the medical tent.

"Ivy! Ivy!"

He shouted hoarsely, his voice filled with endless fear and dread.

Just as he reached the vicinity of the tent, an aftershock hit again.

A discarded water tower next to the medical station collapsed with a boom, and a massive chunk of concrete smashed straight down toward the spot where Ivy stood!

"Ivy!"

Ethan’s eyes were bloodshot, and he lunged forward without regard for his own life.

But just as he was about to touch Ivy, another figure was faster and more resolute.

Lucas tackled Ivy to the ground, using his own body to shield her firmly beneath him, the two of them rolling into a safe, open space.

Rumble! With dust filling the air, Ethan froze in place, maintaining the posture of reaching out.

He watched as Lucas anxiously held Ivy’s face to check for injuries; he watched Ivy hold Lucas tightly, still shaken from the shock.

At the moment of life and death, the person she relied on, the person protecting her, was no longer him.

He was completely out of the game.

A profound sense of powerlessness and silence submerged him.

Just then, a faint crying came from under the ruins not far away.

It was Amina, the local homeless little girl who followed behind him every day and would call him "Uncle Fu" in broken Chinese.

She was trapped under a tottering mud wall.

And above the wall, a massive beam was breaking and falling down.

Ethan’s hollow eyes flashed with a hint of resolution.

Since his life had become meaningless to Ivy, let it end today.

He didn't hesitate, turning and rushing toward the little girl, shielding Amina firmly with his broad back at the moment the beam crashed down.

"Pff—"

The muffled thud of shattering bones accompanied the spraying of a mouthful of blood.

Ethan felt his spine instantly break into pieces, intense pain sweeping through his whole body.

But he tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a wretched smile of relief.

...

Inside the makeshift emergency tent, the air was heavy with the thick scent of blood.

Ethan lay covered in blood on a simple hospital bed, relying on instruments to maintain his last, weak breath.

With internal hemorrhaging and a shattered spine, there was no saving him.

"The patient has a spinal fracture. We don't know if he will ever stand again in the second half of his life..."

"Our suggestion is to send him back to the country for treatment as soon as possible, to at least preserve the lower waist..."

"I understand."

Lying on the hospital bed, Ethan heard Ivy’s voice, and a final spark of hope burst forth from his fading pupils.

He exerted all his strength, struggling to shift his gaze toward Ivy, who was standing a few steps away.

He was waiting.

Waiting for a glance that might never come, waiting for a word of forgiveness, even if given as charity.

However, Ivy looked down at the gasping Ethan from above.

There was no concern in her eyes—not even the hatred that had once been there.

"I will immediately contact the hospital back home and your family."

Chapter 18

Ivy’s voice was light and airy, yet it felt like it was slicing through Ethan’s already broken heart, inch by inch.

"Ivy, even like this, you have to drive me away? I did it for you..."

She raised a hand to interrupt Ethan’s words, "Stop saying it was for me. We haven't had any relationship for a long time, have we?"

A diamond ring on her ring finger refracted a glaring light under the dim tent lamp.

"Lucas and I are leaving here immediately."

Ivy looked at Ethan, her tone without a ripple.

"After returning to the country, we will hold our wedding."

Ethan, his eye sockets red, opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it again.