She replied: He's not my son!

Late at night.

Noelle often heard her father say how much he liked Mirage City. He used to say that living there made you feel like you were truly connected to the world, and you wouldn’t feel like just a tiny speck of dust, born to live outside the tracks of life, destined to live a mundane existence.

When her father was young, his family was very poor. They lived in a remote mountain area where, during those times, even getting a full meal was a challenge. But later, when he became wealthy, he made a habit of filling the fridge to the brim.

He would hold a small version of himself and point at the fully stocked fridge, which had no gaps, smiling and saying, “Noey, look, this is Dad's sense of security—living in Mirage City, with a full fridge and a happy family of four. Dad is content!”

But now, Noey also lives in Mirage City and has a fully stocked fridge. Yet, why does it feel so empty and cold? Why does it feel so lost?

Noelle sat in front of the open fridge, with all its doors wide open. The cold air hit her face. Perhaps it was because the hospital-provided dormitory had limited electrical capacity. With all the fridge doors open, the power consumption was too high. The old building had a malfunctioning voltage protector.

The plug started emitting white smoke.

Noelle was lost in thought and didn't notice.

Until—

Bang, bang, bang—

The door, covered in flyers, was violently slammed. It sounded like someone kicked it several times.

Noelle frowned, gradually coming back to her senses.

The door opened.

Callum pushed past her, his anger evident. He marched into the kitchen, pulled the switch, and stopped the fridge from overloading and catching fire.

Bang! Bang!

The fridge doors slammed shut one after another with such force that the fridge trembled and almost fell apart.

Noelle didn’t go inside but leaned against the security door, smiling faintly. "You came to see me—have you thought it over? Are you willing to sell the villa to me?"

“Noelle, don’t smile at me like that! You make me sick!” Callum was furious.

Noelle shrugged nonchalantly. “Sell me the villa, and we can be done with each other, never to cross paths again.”

“Just like the past five years? You’ll vanish from my life?”

This man seemed off today. What was he angry about?

The house had almost caught fire, and wasn’t he supposed to hate her, feel disgusted by her? If she had died in the fire, wouldn't that have been just what he wanted?

Callum seemed to sense her confusion. He paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and flatly said, “Prospera has taken on your hospital's pharmaceutical negotiation project and is collaborating with the city’s medical insurance. Faye starts working on the project today, and she’ll be staying upstairs.”

Ha! She knew it!

Noelle grinned slightly. “Sell me the villa, and I’ll move out immediately, I promise I won’t ‘bother’ your wife!”

She emphasized the word "bother" sarcastically. She could throw shade too!

Callum looked a bit irritated. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, tapped it, and was about to light it.

Noelle coughed a few times.

She had just returned to the country less than a month ago and was still adjusting to the local conditions, catching a cold.

She lowered her eyes and gave a bitter smile.

Callum froze for a moment, and then, with a slight hesitation, threw the cigarette into the trash can without lighting it.

Noelle glanced at him.

He averted his gaze, saying, “Faye’s pregnant, so I’m quitting smoking.”

“Oh.”

Why was he explaining to her? The pregnant person wasn’t her!

She only cared about one thing: “Mr. Lockridge, the villa...”

“Noelle, is there anything else you want to talk about, other than the villa?”

“Hmm.”

Noelle wasn’t lying.

Callum clenched his fist, looking like he was holding back some frustration.

What was wrong with this man?

After a moment, he seemed to sigh and said, “You’ll join the project team with Faye. She just graduated from college and lacks experience, so she needs someone to be her assistant. You’re a perfect fit. If this project goes well, I’ll consider the villa.”

“Won’t you be involved in the collaboration with the city’s medical insurance?” Noelle was surprised.

Callum’s expression softened slightly. “Faye is with Prospera. If she wants to quickly rise to an executive position, she needs to handle a major negotiation project herself.”

In other words, this collaboration with the city’s medical insurance was a platform Callum had specially set up for Faye, breaking his usual business principles.

And for Noelle, to put it nicely, she was Faye’s assistant. In reality, she was just there to take the blame whenever something went wrong, working for free.

All the benefits would go to Faye. If anything went wrong, it would be Noelle who took the fall and got the blame.

Callum didn’t like wasting words. He urged her to make a decision. “So, will you make the deal or not?”

“Mr. Lockridge, so when you love someone, you really lose all principles!” Noelle gestured toward the door. “I agree. You can leave now.”

Callum’s gaze shifted, but he didn’t move.

Noelle wondered, if one day Faye’s family became Callum’s enemies, how would he handle it? Would he treat them the same way he treated her, completely destroying them?

No. He wouldn’t.

Noelle believed that he would always sacrifice his principles for her, enduring everything for her. That’s what love was supposed to be.

The next day, Noelle had just arrived at the hospital when the director called for her.

According to regulations, because the hospital was negotiating with a level-three overseas pharmaceutical company, all members of the project team had to wrap up their current work within one day. Afterward, a dedicated person would escort them to the hotel. This was to prevent any potential corruption or bribery.

Noelle worked efficiently. By noon, she had almost finished sorting out her patient cases.

The director sincerely praised her. “Noey, your achievements in Frosthaven are well known. If you can successfully assist with this project and secure the collaboration with the city’s medical insurance, the position of deputy director will definitely be yours.”

Noelle had heard about the deputy director position when she arrived at work today. The original deputy director had suffered a stroke suddenly, and the hospital had put forward two interim candidates.

One was in his fifties, with years of service, but his abilities were quite average—he was the head of cardiology. The other candidate was Noelle.

The director had high hopes for Noelle, but the anonymous background check from the hospital's senior management revealed that while Noelle was indeed highly skilled, her age was a concern, and she wasn’t well-liked.

“Noey, you’ve really caught a break this time. If Mr. Lockridge hadn’t recommended you for the project team, the issue with your years of service would’ve been hard to overcome.”

The director personally escorted Noelle downstairs. On the way, he kept talking, as though testing her. “Kid, don’t think of me as just your superior. Think of me as your familiar old grandpa. Grandpa wants to ask you, are you very close with Mr. Lockridge?”

“No, not really.”

Noelle smiled habitually, but her demeanor was that of an aloof, icy beauty—appearing approachable, but once you tried to interact with her, you’d realize she was mostly immersed in her medical research, with a life that was incredibly dull, lacking in any color or passion. She never liked talking to people.

The director gave an awkward laugh. “If you’re not close, then how come Mr. Lockridge is willing to help you secure the deputy director position?”