Emily Quinn supported herself on the stairway, slowly walking up: "As a medical student, I agree with and admire your choice, but there's no need to run away from home over it. Just explain things to your family properly."

……

On July 19, 2022, China's renowned orthopedic expert Emily Quinn regained her sight through an eyeball transplant surgery. Her eyeball donor was quite special: the champion of "Dream Youth 307," Chris Bolton. This young star signed a full-body organ donation agreement on the day he became an adult, and at least four people gained new lives thanks to his kindness.

Although the world lost this shooting star, Chris Bolton's life ultimately continues in others. During a phone interview, Dr. Quinn stated that she would return to the operating table after her recovery to do her best to save more patients.

Chapter 7 Sugar Exchange

Not long after his rebirth, Chris Bolton had already seen the doctor twice. Fortunately, he was lucky—each time the injuries were minor, just the usual "everyday bumps and scrapes that won't leave any aftereffects."

Ballet was out of the question until he healed, and the same went for being an ice page. But honestly, figure skating competitions in China weren't that popular anyway, and the things the audience threw onto the ice were limited. Without him, the other ice pages didn't have much more to do, so it didn't matter at all.

So Chris Bolton was perfectly content to recuperate. He had finished his winter break homework early, and with nothing else to do, he lounged at home eating, drinking, and reading. Grace Bolton had bought a bunch of pork stomach, piglets, and oxtail a few days ago, simmered them in marinade, and stewed them—the aroma drifted far and wide.

Chris Bolton especially loved sneaking marinated eggs out of the pot, relying on his youth to not worry about high cholesterol, eating one after another.

When Jack Bolton came to his house, he saw the kid wearing a fluffy brown bear onesie, lying on the sofa leisurely reading "Tao Zhexuan Teaches You Math," with a little pompom on his butt.

Deborah Foster was about to go out to practice violin, so he was dressed a bit more properly—sweater and long pants. At the moment, he was leaning over the coffee table shelling sunflower seeds, his hands moving nonstop, and his round eyes fixed on the TV screen playing "The Qin Empire: The Rise."

When Jack Bolton walked in, the sunflower seeds had just filled a small dish about half the size of a palm. Deborah Foster nudged Chris Bolton, and Chris Bolton immediately got up and poured the seeds into his mouth from the dish.

Jack Bolton: ...What is this? A brother with a little brother is a treasure?

He was carrying two insulated food containers: "Stop eating, or you'll get a sore throat. Xiao Yu, Er De, come eat. Uncle made you pig's feet and braised prawns. Is the rice cooked?"

Deborah Foster immediately replied crisply, "Ge already cooked it. I washed the cabbage and boiled water—just need to blanch it and it's ready to eat."

Jack Bolton looked surprised: "Xiao Yu can cook rice? I thought Er De was the one taking care of you."

Deborah Foster did seem more diligent than Chris Bolton, and as for Chris Bolton... just look at how lazily he's lying there now.

Deborah Foster heard this and showed a hint of displeasure: "My brother might have done it."

Jack Bolton twitched his mouth: "Yes, yes, your brother is the best."

The Xu family parents were both busy. When the family wasn't as well-off as now, Ian Foster and Grace Bolton were both working hard to earn money and couldn't take care of the kids. At first, they hired a part-time nanny to pick up and drop off the children, but after two months, they discovered she was stealing, too lazy to cook, only feeding the kids snacks, and even hitting them.

Chris Bolton, though as pretty as a little girl, had a tough temper. Once, when he saw bruises on his younger brother's arm, he exploded and fought back with a folding stool.

The incident ended with Chris Bolton losing a front tooth to the adult nanny, Ian Foster firing her on the spot in anger, and Grace Bolton hugging the kids and crying her heart out. After that, they never considered hiring anyone to look after their children again.

When Chris Bolton came home from school, he would pick up his brother from kindergarten on the way, then stand on a stool to cook noodles. Deborah Foster would stand beside him, clutching his brother's shirt, so hungry that tears and drool ran down together.

As long as Chris Bolton was there, Deborah Foster never went hungry. In the morning, his brother took him out for fried dough sticks, meat porridge, and tofu pudding. Lunch was at kindergarten, and at night, at first, they only had noodles. Once Chris Bolton leveled up his stir-fry skills, Deborah Foster gained six pounds in three months.

So now, this kid is the type who will never go west if his brother says go east—which is understandable.

What Jack Bolton didn't know was that if he ever got cancer, Chris Bolton would take great care of him too—making red bean water on time to ease chemo discomfort, bringing him meals, washing his body, cleaning his underwear and socks, breaking the old saying that "no child is filial at a sickbed for long."

Everyone who had spent time with Chris Bolton knew he treated his family very well. It was just that fate took them all away, so by his early twenties, Chris Bolton was already sighing that nothing in this world lasts. But even if he said it, no one was really listening.

The world is so big, his own joys and sorrows were insignificant. Chris Bolton simply stopped talking about it, swallowing all his bitterness and pain alone, showing only effort and dreams on his face.

Now, Chris Bolton was gnawing on pig's feet stewed by his still-young, handsome, baby-faced uncle, with a bowl of fragrant northeastern rice. After the meal, Deborah Foster washed the dishes, and Chris Bolton was carried on someone's back to see Dr. Quinn.

He asked Jack Bolton, "Uncle, do you really want men's singles to rise to the top?"