Chapter 45

It took more than a minute before the old wooden door creaked open from the inside.

A pale, paper-like face appeared before John.

"Miss Philip?!"

Seeing this face, John was startled and involuntarily took a step back. After swallowing hard, he asked in a shocked voice, which became unusually shrill due to his shock.

This, this was Miss Philip, who had taught him music and painting for half a year?

Although Miss Philip's skin had never been healthy and was too pale, it had never reached this extreme. Her already bloodless skin now looked as if she had just been released from a dungeon where she had been locked for decades, with a ghastly gray hue that made one's heart tremble!

As a former doctor, John certainly knew what this meant.

It wasn't necessarily due to a medical condition; it could be from overwork or severe psychological issues. But it definitely indicated that Miss Philip's condition was very poor and she was on the verge of a dangerous state!

"John?"

With a somewhat dazed look, Miss Philip stared at John for a while before slowly shaking her head and speaking in a hoarse voice, "You, you shouldn't have come to this place. This is not where you should be..."

"Phew..."

John exhaled forcefully, then sized up the other person and asked in a grave tone, "Miss Philip, what exactly happened?! Why are you..."

The Miss Philip he remembered, though dressed simply, always had a proud demeanor. Her light blue dress was now spattered with stains from her busy work; her once neat and clean hair, now unkempt and greasy, seemed to emit an unpleasant odor; and her blue eyes were filled with deep helplessness, pain, and fatigue, as if...

Flipping through the vocabulary in his mind, John found that no language could describe Miss Philip's current gaze.

"I'm sorry, John."

After a moment of silence, Miss Philip bit her lip hard and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm very sorry, I, my recent life has been quite bad, so... the hundred dollars I owe you..."

As she spoke, a flicker of emotion appeared in Miss Philip's eyes, and she slowly lowered her head. As a proud lady, being confronted by a creditor was extremely embarrassing for her. If not for her small house behind her, she might have turned and run away.

"No, no, I think you misunderstood!"

John sighed inwardly and quickly shook his head, "Miss Philip, I didn't come here for... Can I come in? It's not appropriate to talk at the door."

Seeing that people around were starting to pay attention, John also felt uncomfortable.

Hearing John's request, Miss Philip clearly fell into a strange state again, as if hesitating about something. But in the end, she nodded and stepped aside to let him in.

Turning to nod at Fei, indicating for him to wait outside, John stepped inside.

"Bang!"

As Miss Philip slammed the door behind her, John's heart tightened, and he suddenly felt a bit short of breath.

The room was extremely small.

At most, it was only about six to seven square meters, cold and cramped, with only one window directly opposite the door, through which sunlight streamed, bringing some life to the room. The room was relatively clean and tidy, with only a small bed, a small cabinet, and a table.

No!

After scanning the room, John suddenly turned his head, his eyes focusing sharply on the shadow under the table!

"This is my daughter."

Before John could ask, Miss Philip spoke in a hoarse voice, "Serena, come out and greet the guest. This is Mr. John Hunter."

A little girl, no more than three years old, crawled out from under the table.

She was wearing a dress that was much too large, covering her small hands and feet, with only her slightly dry hair and dirty face exposed. To John, she looked no different from the other children in the alley outside, except that her small, cute face was much prettier than her mother's.

However...

The moment John saw Serena, he suddenly felt something was off.

After a brief moment of confusion, John quickly realized what was wrong. The child's face lacked a certain vitality! The kind of vitality that a three-year-old girl should have, whether it be lively, outgoing, shy, or timid. Her face showed no expression, and her eyes were somewhat vacant, as if she was very slow to react to John's arrival.

"Hi, hello, Serena."

With his doubts in mind, John tried to make his expression as gentle as possible and waved a greeting.

"Hehe."

After looking at John for a moment, the little girl suddenly grinned.

Seeing this smile, John felt much more at ease. He smiled and continued, "Serena, I'm your mother's friend. You can call me John..."

John wanted to continue talking to the cute little girl, but Miss Philip, who looked somewhat tense, stepped between him and her daughter and said sternly, "Serena, go lie on the bed, okay?"

"Uh..."

John remained silent for a moment, not saying much. From the bits of information he had, he had already guessed some things. The most plausible conclusion was that Miss Philip's child had a serious illness, which led to her losing her job and having a fight with her husband. So, John could understand.

However, as Serena tilted her head and obediently climbed onto the bed, John's gaze fell on her small foot, which was briefly exposed as she climbed.

"Ah?!"

The moment he saw the small foot, John's pupils suddenly constricted, and his face changed dramatically!

After being stunned for a few seconds, John came to his senses, and a surge of uncontrollable anger instantly rose in his heart. He turned around and glared at Anna Philip with an extremely angry look, "Miss Philip, what have you done to this child?!"

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