The Bennett Family lived on the third floor. Fiona Bennett looked up for a long time.

“Do you want me to go up with you?” Frank Bishop asked.

Fiona Bennett shook her head.

“Then I’ll wait for you here. Let me know when you’re okay. If your dad hits you, just come stay at my place for a few days until he calms down.”

Fiona Bennett’s face was pale. She forced a smile at him, said nothing, and walked into the building.

3

Frederick Bennett was surprised to see his daughter standing at the door with her luggage. He asked, Why are you back? Fiona Bennett said, I quit my job. Frederick Bennett asked, What did you say? Fiona Bennett said, I quit, I’m not doing it anymore. Frederick Bennett was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the luggage. At that moment, he heard his daughter repeat, I can’t be a doctor anymore. He jerked his head up and slapped Fiona Bennett to the ground, cursing, Say it again, I dare you to say it again. When Laura Cooper rushed out, the door was still open. She pushed her husband away with all her strength, pulled her daughter up, closed the door, and said, What’s going on, what are you doing, Xuxu, what happened to you? Then she started crying herself.

Fiona Bennett said, I made a medical error. Before she could finish, Frederick Bennett slapped her again and said, You were fired, weren’t you? What did you do? Laura Cooper was now sobbing uncontrollably, stuck between the two of them, saying, Hit me instead, talk it out, it’s the New Year, are you trying to beat Xuxu to death? Frederick Bennett shoved Laura Cooper aside, jabbed his finger at Fiona Bennett’s forehead and said, Fine, I won’t hit you. Tell me clearly.

Violet Bennett said, During surgery, I dropped the patient’s great saphenous vein on the floor, so the patient had to be cut open again. It was a serious medical accident. The patient is fine, I resigned, I wasn’t fired. Frederick Bennett said, All those years of school were wasted, medical school was wasted, you caused a disaster as soon as you started working. I don’t have a daughter like you. The hospital didn’t fire you, so you quit yourself. Aren’t you something? Do you know how much money we spent to put you through college? Now you’ve quit, do you want to sweep the streets? Go back to the hospital. If the hospital won’t take you, don’t come back.

Fiona Bennett suddenly slapped Frederick Bennett’s hand away. Frederick Bennett was stunned. As he was about to use his fists to teach his daughter a lesson, he saw her finally break down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably, and screaming at him in a hysteria he had never seen before.

Do you know why I made a mistake? Because I faint at the sight of blood. This time the patient didn’t die, but next time something worse will happen. How can someone who faints at blood be a doctor? You knew I faint at blood, so why did you force me to go to medical school? It’s all because of you. Do you think this is the army, this is war, and I’m your soldier? You always say that in war, those who can’t pass the test die. You passed, you won, you survived, but there are always people who lose, always people who die. Now I’ve lost, I’m dead, are you satisfied? My whole life is ruined, are you satisfied? I hate you! Frederick Bennett, I hate you!

Laura Cooper was already stunned, just crying. Frederick Bennett pointed at Fiona Bennett’s nose several times and said, Get out, I never had a daughter like you. Fiona Bennett turned and left, not even caring about her luggage on the floor. She heard Frederick Bennett shouting at Laura Cooper behind her, If you dare go after her, don’t come back either. Let her go, let her go. Then came a door slam so loud it made the whole building buzz.

Fiona Bennett ran outside in one breath, feeling as if all the bones in her body had been pulled out. She squatted by the fire hydrant and cried. At that moment, she desperately wished her mother would come after her and drag her back upstairs, but in the end, she didn’t. She remembered Frank Bishop was still waiting for her, looked up, but couldn’t see him. She cried for a while, wiped her face with her sleeve, and walked forward. Frank Bishop really wasn’t there—maybe the hospital had called him back urgently. Fiona Bennett didn’t think much about it, only felt that at this moment the whole world had abandoned her, and she didn’t know where to go. She didn’t know what lay ahead, but she couldn’t stop.

At the first intersection, she heard someone calling her name loudly. She looked up and saw Frank Bishop running straight across the street toward her and hugging her. She rested her head on Frank Bishop’s shoulder and said, My dad doesn’t want me anymore, I have nowhere to go.

Frank Bishop let her hold him for a while, then gently pushed her away. He took a box out of his pocket and opened it; inside was a platinum ring. Right there on the sidewalk, he knelt down and said, Marry me, will you?

Their wedding was held a year and a half later. The delay was because the relationship between Fiona Bennett and Frederick Bennett had never been repaired, and Frank Bishop’s parents insisted that the in-laws be present at the wedding. The father and daughter hadn’t seen each other since that afternoon, neither side willing to give in. Even Fiona Bennett’s belongings were all taken from her home by Frank Bishop, trip after trip. Frank Bishop felt that if Fiona Bennett would just soften a little, things could be smoothed over, but Fiona Bennett refused. She said, This is how my life is now, who can I blame? I’ll never forgive him. I’ll just pretend I don’t have a father, pretend I was born from a crack in a rock. Don’t try to persuade me about this. You’re marrying me, not my dad. Whenever this topic came up, Fiona Bennett would get agitated, so Frank Bishop could only give up. Every time Frank Bishop went to The Bennett Family, Laura Cooper would always pull him into a small room to ask about Fiona Bennett, and later even arranged for him to secretly meet her a few times. But Frederick Bennett always kept a stony face and barely spoke to him, as if since he no longer acknowledged his daughter, there was no such thing as a son-in-law either.

In July 2002, Fiona Bennett became pregnant. The wedding couldn’t be delayed any longer, so Frank Bishop’s parents had to give in. The wedding was held in a small hall at the Jinjiang Hotel. All of the bride’s family except Frederick Bennett attended; he simply refused to come, but no one else tried to stop the wedding. When making the guest list, Fiona Bennett said, Can we not invite my classmates? Frank Bishop asked why, saying it would look odd. Fiona Bennett couldn’t say the real reason, so she didn’t insist.

At the wedding, Laura Cooper naturally cried her eyes out again, and Fiona Bennett cried with her. When it was time to toast the table of college classmates, everyone smiled and said, Congratulations, wishing you a long and happy marriage and an early child. Every face was plastered with a thick smile. Fiona Bennett had never seen these classmates smile so broadly in front of her before; it felt as if a sharp fingernail was digging from her neck down to her tailbone. That malice, from who knows where, couldn’t be covered by all the joy in the room. She thought, I’ll just get drunk, picked up her glass and took a sip, almost gagging. She finished it in one gulp, then suddenly remembered—she was pregnant and shouldn’t be drinking.

Fiona Bennett’s friends and family made up only about thirty percent of the guests; aside from relatives, most were classmates from childhood. Fiona Bennett couldn’t even count which table this was, just saw everyone stand up—except one person, who remained seated. Looking closely, she realized it was Gabriel Adams. Laura Cooper had originally suggested he be the best man, but Gabriel Adams said he’d be on assignment and couldn’t make it to the wedding, then a few days before said he could come. Fiona Bennett knew he had liked her before and was a little afraid he’d get drunk and cause a scene.

Fiona Bennett and Frank Bishop toasted the others first. After a while, Gabriel Adams finally stood up slowly, pressing both hands on the table. His face was as pale as paper, his eyes sharp as an eagle’s. He raised his glass to Fiona Bennett, but it was empty. Sensing trouble, Frank Bishop quickly said, Fill it up, fill it up. Gabriel Adams brushed him aside in an instant—no one knew where such strength came from in his thin body. He smiled at Fiona Bennett, pressed her shoulder with his other hand, and leaned his whole body toward her. Fiona Bennett cried out and dodged to the side, and Gabriel Adams fell to the floor, motionless.

Then someone nearby said, Gabriel Adams had already drunk nearly two jin of Luzhou Laojiao.

That was the last thing from that night that Fiona Bennett remembered clearly. Not long after, the alcohol hit her, and she excused herself, saying she didn’t feel well, so there was no wedding-night mischief. Frank Bishop was tormented in another room, while she fell into a deep sleep.

Later, she heard that Gabriel Adams had drunk too much that night and was taken to the hospital.

Later still, she lost her baby—it was a girl.

Four: A Man Named Gabriel Adams

1

Fiona Bennett had never imagined that gathering thirty or forty cats and dogs together would be so chaotic—it was like setting off a billion firecrackers in the room, exploding over and over.

This was a charity event she had organized to rescue abandoned cats and dogs. Anyone who saw the announcement online could join, bringing a gift for the animals and spending some time playing with them. If they could adopt one, even better. Since morning, they’d received plenty of gifts, but few people stayed at the shelter for more than half an hour—it was just too noisy. Fortunately, two dogs and a cat had already been adopted, which made Fiona Bennett feel that all her effort organizing the event was worthwhile.

A short, chubby man pushed the door open. The beautiful early autumn sunlight flashed on the glass, making Fiona Bennett turn her head away. The big golden retriever immediately pounced on him. He wasn’t afraid, patted the dog’s head as if to push it away, but the retriever clung to his leg and wouldn’t let go. He asked Fiona Bennett if he could feed them directly, then took seven or eight big pork bones out of a plastic bag and tossed them aside. All the dogs rushed over. He looked up at Fiona Bennett and smiled, saying, We haven’t seen each other in four years, have we?

Fiona Bennett had already felt he looked familiar, but the noise from the animals had her head spinning, and she didn’t react right away.

“I’m Gabriel Adams.”

As the dogs fought over the bones, the barking actually quieted down a bit. Fiona Bennett caught most of what he said. She took two steps forward to hear more clearly, and then suddenly realized—it really was Gabriel Adams. Gabriel Adams had always been a skinny guy, but now he looked at least thirty pounds heavier, his whole appearance completely changed.

“How did you end up here?”