I transmigrated into the villain's white moonlight, but the protagonist is my brother.

Zhang Zhihong looked unwell, but after a moment of surprise, he laughed. "I'm getting old. A checkup revealed high blood pressure and stuff, so I'm here for a follow-up..."

He glanced at the colorful list of papers in Xie Yan's hand. "And you, Xie, are you sick?"

"Oh no, I'm just accompanying Shen Yan to get his leg checked."

Xie Yan chatted casually with Zhang Zhihong for a few minutes. She regarded this Uncle Zhang as a kind elder, and he, like all middle-aged and elderly people, was keen to gossip about the marriage and love situations of young people.

The two walked a few steps outside the courtyard, and Zhang Zhihong laughed, "Have you and Xiao Yan known each other for a long time? Are you together now?"

Hearing this, Xie Yan gave an awkward laugh. She glanced at the time and said, "I'm in a hurry, Uncle Zhang, so I'll be going now."

She left in a hurry, unaware of Zhang Zhihong's fading smile behind her.

Nine and a half minutes, with about twenty seconds to go.

Just as Shen Yan was about to get up and go find her, Xie Yan arrived just in time. "How about it? I'm not late, am I?"

Shen Yan let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief, and he took Xie Yan's hand and stroked it back and forth, "Mmm."

"Then let's go to the inpatient department first, then find the head of the rehabilitation department, and then..."

"Ah."

Meanwhile, the oncology department.

The doctor looked at the dark X-ray, glanced at the haggard-looking middle-aged man beside him, and asked gravely, "Have your family members arrived?"

Zhang Zhihong smiled, already prepared. "I'm all alone, with no family. I know what's wrong with me, so just tell me, doctor."

The doctor visibly showed sympathy. Stage IV liver cancer, no family members—who wouldn't feel sorry for such a patient?

"It's already in the late stage. With proper care, it can last a year, while in less favorable cases it can last 2 to 4 months, depending on the individual's situation."

The doctor put down the scans and started typing on the computer. "I'll prescribe a targeted therapy for you. Don't worry about the price; it'll be covered by medical insurance. You'll still need to find someone to take care of you. If you don't have family, find a friend or a caregiver..."

The doctor was a kind and considerate person, but Zhang Zhihong refused, simply saying "No need" and turning to leave.

As Zhang Zhihong walked out of the hospital, he looked up at the gray sky, a hint of nostalgia and emotion in his somewhat cloudy eyes.

He used to have a family, a wife and children.

But they've all passed away.

He walked through this world, and in the end, he had nothing.

nothing left.

Zhang Zhihong returned to the snack shop in the neighborhood, where Yang Huiyun was frying chicken cutlets with a newly recruited part-time college student. When she saw him return, she wiped her hands and came over.

"Where have you been? Why are you all sweaty?"

Yang Huiyun smiled and wiped his sweat. "Luckily, I recently hired a new helper, otherwise I would be too busy. There have been so many customers lately."

She was, after all, a former female owner of a chain hotel. Although she was now old and no longer managed that business, under Shen Yan's care, she was provided with the best food, clothing, and daily necessities, and her maintenance was quite good.

Zhang Zhihong forced a smile. "It's my fault for being too busy lately to come and help every day. You've worked so hard, Huiyun."

"Not at all, this is my own shop." Yang Huiyun smiled, deepening the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. "Have you eaten? I'll heat up some steamed buns for you?"

"I need to go home, I have something to do."

"Then I'll pack it up for you to take home and eat."

A few minutes later, Yang Huiyun came out of the back kitchen with a food bag containing several thin-skinned and generously filled buns, both meat and vegetarian, steaming hot and emitting the aroma of wheat.

Only after seeing Zhang Zhihong leave with the bag did she go back to chat with the part-time worker.

The young woman working part-time had clear eyes. "Auntie, your steamed buns smell so good."

Upon hearing this, Yang Huiyun lowered her head, pursed her lips, and smiled faintly, "When I was young, I ran a breakfast stall, and many people said that my food was delicious."

"Oh, I heard that selling breakfast can be very profitable. If I could get up in the morning, I would also like to start my own breakfast business! Auntie, did you make money from a street stall before opening a shop?"

The woman shook her head. "I started this business to earn money for my daughter's surgery. I stopped after the surgery."

The girl gave a knowing "oh," and asked, "Is she alright? Was the surgery successful?"

Yang Huiyun fiddled with the bowls and chopsticks in her hands. "There are still a few buns left in the pot. Xiao Rui, do you want some?"

The girl's eyes immediately lit up. "Eat! Thank you, Auntie!"

The bun was absolutely delicious. The girl rolled her eyes at the aroma and exclaimed that it was a great loss for the people of Beicheng that the auntie had given up selling breakfast. It was a sin! This made Yang Huiyun laugh heartily.

No one knew that the other steamed buns she considered delicacies were lying quietly in a trash can dozens of meters away on the street, along with their food bags, untouched.