Ficorpio
Chapter 1
The livestream was Claire Bennett’s first interview since winning Best Actress.
During an improvised segment, the host asked her to call the person she regretted losing most.
My phone rang.
“Why did you leave me back then?” she asked. “Was it because I was poor?”
I looked down at my skeletal arm and smiled faintly.
“Claire, could you lend me a hundred thousand yuan?”
She hung up at once.
Turning back to the livestream, she said, “I don’t have any regrets now. I’m only grateful.”
At that moment, I smiled, finally at peace.
Claire wasn’t alone for the interview. Adrian Sterling, her costar in the award-winning film, sat beside her.
The livestream was packed with viewers.
After asking Claire and Adrian a long series of questions, the host, Martin Hale, leaned forward with an air of mystery.
“We’ve added one last segment at the last minute. I hope neither of you minds.”
“Not at all,” Claire replied with her usual polished grace.
“We’d like you to call the person connected to the greatest regret of your life, right here on the show, and tell them what you regret most.”
Martin could barely contain his excitement.
Claire fell silent.
The live chat immediately went wild.
“I wonder who the Best Actress regrets losing most. What happened between them? I need to know!”
“This can’t be about love, can it? Claire Bennett is gorgeous. Anyone who walked away from her would regret it for the rest of their life.”
“I heard she really did get her heart broken once. Supposedly, that person was the reason she entered the entertainment industry.”
“Claire?” Martin prompted when the silence stretched on.
She came back to herself and smiled.
“All right.”
She took out her smartphone and made the call.
I never imagined she would call me.
Claire and I had been apart for five years. In all that time, we hadn’t contacted each other once.
I had even begun to suspect that she’d deleted my number.
When my phone rang, my emotions tangled into something I couldn’t name.
In the end, I answered.
For a long time after the call connected, Claire said nothing.
Neither did I.
It felt as though an entire lifetime passed between us in silence.
The viewers grew impatient.
“This is so tense. Who could make Claire go quiet for this long? She’s gripping her phone so hard her knuckles are turning white.”
“Who is it? The suspense is killing me. My heart can’t take this.”
“Is this the person who hurt Claire? Tell us who it is! I can’t wait anymore!”
Just when I thought she might hang up without saying a word, Claire spoke in a low voice.
“Why did you leave me back then? Was it because I was poor?”
The livestream exploded.
“OMG! Claire really was abandoned!”
“Who is it? Who? Who could possibly be blind enough to walk away from her?”
Chapter 2
“They must regret it now. Claire can’t forgive them. She absolutely can’t!”
I looked down at my skeletal arm and smiled faintly.
“Claire, could you lend me a hundred thousand yuan?”
Claire smiled on the livestream.
She was still as breathtaking as ever, but the sight of that smile only made everyone ache for her.
Messages of support flooded the live chat.
“Don’t smile. A man like that isn’t worth it.”
“Claire, you’ll always be perfect in our eyes. If he didn’t know how to cherish you, that’s his loss!”
“Who is this guy? Someone expose him! How dare he hurt our Claire like this?”
Claire ended the call.
In an instant, all emotion vanished from her face. She turned to Martin Hale and said calmly, “I have no regrets now. I’m only grateful.”
Martin hurried to agree. “Life is a process of learning who deserves a place in it. Some people simply aren’t worth holding on to.”
The live chat filled with viewers applauding his words, broken only by the occasional insult aimed at me.
“And now it’s Adrian’s turn.” Martin looked at Adrian Sterling with an encouraging smile.
“All right.” Adrian smiled back.
He took out his phone and placed a call without hesitation.
A ringtone sounded in the studio.
Only when Claire picked up her phone did everyone realize Adrian had called her.
She looked across at him.
Still smiling, Adrian motioned for her to answer.
The live chat erupted.
“Oh my God! Is my favorite ship finally becoming real?”
“Don’t let us down! Claire and Adrian are perfect together!”
“I love these two so much! I love how brave Adrian is!”
Claire slowly accepted the call.
“Claire, I’ve waited for you for so many years,” Adrian said, his eyes turning red. “From high school to college, and then into the entertainment industry. From the days when you were a background actor to the day you became Best Actress. From the time you loved him until now.”
His voice trembled with humility and sincerity.
“And now that you’ve finally let him go… can you accept me?”
The viewers immediately began urging her on.
“Say yes to Adrian! Claire, hurry up and say yes!”
“Adrian stayed by her side for all these years. It would be a crime against fate if they didn’t end up together!”
“Claire, accept Adrian. Forget that heartless man!”
Claire remained silent for a long time.
Adrian’s eyes grew redder, tears glimmering in them.
“All right,” Claire said at last.
The moment she agreed, Adrian’s face lit up with wild joy, and the tears in his eyes became even more apparent.
The live chat filled with congratulations.
A relieved smile tugged at my lips as well.
But after the livestream ended, a notification suddenly appeared on my phone.
A hundred thousand yuan had been transferred into my account.
Chapter 3
I never thought Claire would actually send me the money.
But I accepted it.
I truly did need it.
Maybe, to Claire, the money was simply a way to give her so-called greatest regret a proper ending.
I never expected to see her again.
And I wouldn’t have, if she hadn’t come to the hospital to film a television drama.
I was lying in bed when the patient beside me suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my God, is that really Claire Bennett? She’s filming here at the hospital? I can’t believe it!”
“I want to go downstairs and ask for her autograph. Do you think she’d be disgusted by me?”
“She’s even more beautiful in person than she is on-screen.” The patient leaned over the windowsill and kept up an excited stream of commentary. “Ethan, come look. She’s absolutely stunning.”
In the end, I couldn’t resist.
I joined him at the window.
A crowd had gathered below, but Claire stood out at a glance, shining brighter than everyone around her.
She was sitting in a chair off to one side, waiting for her scene. Adrian Sterling sat beside her, talking and laughing with her.
“Wow. I completely understand why fans ship those two.” My fellow patient watched them with a delighted smile.
He was right.
They looked perfect together.
“What kind of idiot would abandon Claire Bennett?” he demanded indignantly. “And then, when she called him last time, he had the nerve to ask her for money. What a shameless bastard.”
“He probably had no idea she was livestreaming. Now that he knows, I bet he’s sick with regret.”
He kept talking until, without warning, his excitement surged again.
“Wait! Claire’s looking up here. She saw me!”
At that exact moment, I turned away from the window.
She probably hadn’t seen me.
“Ethan Reed, bed sixteen.” A nurse approached with my discharge papers. “Everything has been processed. You’re free to leave. Once you’re home, remember to come back for a follow-up once a month. If you feel unwell at any point, don’t wait. Return to the hospital immediately.”
“All right.”
I changed out of my hospital gown.
My fellow patient looked reluctant to see me go. “You’re being discharged already. I’m so jealous.”
“Don’t be. You still have hope.”
I didn’t.
I’d been diagnosed with advanced leukemia five years ago.
I had no family left, and the hospital had never found a compatible marrow donor for a transplant.
At this point, all I could do was leave the rest to fate.
After packing my things, I left the hospital.
And there she was again.
Claire seized me with surprising force and dragged me into her car.
“Ethan Reed, what are you doing here?”
“What if I told you I found out you were filming at the hospital and came here to follow you?” I forced myself to smile as naturally as I could. “Would you believe me?”
Claire froze for a moment. Then disgust flooded her eyes.
“What do you want?”
“I regret leaving you.” I gazed at her with deliberate desperation.