1708 Sis, please forgive me.

"You may be unable to understand why I made such a stupid decision back then, but do you know that I was really left with no other choice? I couldn't stand by and do nothing!"

That year when the Yun family's business faced a crisis happened to be the coldest winter in history.

She took such a drastic action because she experienced first-hand those loan sharks' never-ending harassment. In one of their more violent threats, those unscrupulous creditors audaciously forced their family to stand precariously on the edge of a room's balcony on the thirteenth floor of a building and threatened to push them down one at a time if her father could not pay back the loan within an hour.

Yun Na had urinary incontinence upon hearing that as she burst into fearful tears but none bothered about her.

Her father had to beg literally for money from one house to another until his head was covered in bruises before gathering just enough to pay off the interest. Only then did the thugs leave them alone.

There was another time when a money collector dragged her to the minus-five-degree-Celsius snowy ground, only to pour a bucket of cold water over her head. The dampness seeped right into her bone marrows and caused her to shake intensely from hypothermia. She passed out soon after.

When she woke up, her father was covered in injuries after receiving a harsh beating from those lawless folks.

Because of that incident, her body remained frail and weak even to this day.

She also witnessed those people dragging her father to the water fountain in the small district they used to live. They grabbed him by his hair and dunked his head into the freezing water as a form of torture. His face turned red with frostbite by the time his head resurfaced.

How could she sit by and do nothing?

She could not pretend to be unconcerned.

Forced with no way out, she took that action of sacrificing her chastity.

At that time, if she could not find a solution fast, the Yun family would be gone for good!

Her head bowed heavily as she narrated her past. Her two hands lay helplessly on the tabletop, her fingers interlaced with one another. She looked lost and despondent.

The scar that had healed was bleeding once more after being torn open this time. It was a painful memory.

In truth, she did not want to recall those nightmarish scenes.

Her helpless and desolate look shot through her brother's heart and rendered it numb.

"I'm sorry, sister…"

He sat next to her helplessly, held her shoulders, and pulled her into his arms to hug her tightly.

He was very regretful of his action.

How stupid was he to upset her again?

He seemed to have constantly been annoying her since they were children, but this was not what he actually wanted.

Under his constant consolation, she finally calmed down and told him calmly, "Xiao Jie, I didn't intend to hide it from you, but that's a memory from my past that I really wanted to forget; I'm only recounting it to you now because you want to know."

"Don't say anymore!" He stopped her. "I know now that I'm in the wrong. I shouldn't have questioned you regarding that as it forced you to remember that ugly portion of your past."

He caressed her cheek lightly, his voice sounding gentle and apologetic when he spoke. "Sis, I'm in the wrong. Can you forgive me, please?"

"Then… will you be coming to my engagement ceremony?" she asked, full of anticipation.

He stared pensively into her eyes. Pausing for a moment, he replied, "Let me think about it first, alright?"

"Eh! I won't force you, but I really hope that you'll be present in the most important event of my life!"

His heart went soft at her heartfelt words.