"I-I'm not finished eating yet." Xavier Gonzalez's voice was a bit wooden, but his tone was so guileless it made him sound almost endearingly clueless.

Emily Blair paused nearby, listening for a moment.

Elizabeth Wilson was still busy frying up skewers for other customers, her hands never stopping. "I'm telling you, you should hurry up and get to the capital. Didn't you say you were going there to look for a job?"

The capital.

Something flickered in Emily's eyes.

Xavier nodded earnestly. "Yeah, but that's in a few days. My lease isn't up yet, and I don't want to leave early. It feels like such a waste to go before it's over."

Elizabeth didn't even look his way. "Why should I care?"

Emily stepped forward. “Elizabeth, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Elizabeth glanced up in the midst of her work. "Emily Blair, shouldn't you be at the hospital? What brings you here? You sound so serious-what do you want to talk about?"

Emily lifted her chin slightly, noticing the redness at the corners of Elizabeth's eyes. "I'll wait until you're done."

Not long after, the three of them gathered at Elizabeth's grandmother's place.

Elizabeth shot an exasperated look at Xavier, who was crouched by the doorway, still munching on a skewer. "Why are you still hanging around?”

Emily just smiled and turned to Elizabeth. “So, tell me. What's been going on with you lately?"

Elizabeth looked at her, feigning surprise. "What could possibly be going on? I'm great, really!"

Emily gave a soft chuckle, then pointed at Elizabeth's puffy red eyes. “How long did you cry last night? Your eyes are so swollen-I can tell right away. Come on, what happened?"

Elizabeth froze, then looked away, fumbling for a mirror. "Nothing happened... My eyes are just swollen from all the spicy food I had last night, made me tear up, that's all. Don't overthink it... Where's my mirror? Where did I put it?"

Emily held it out. "Looking for this?"

Elizabeth's movements were stiff as she took the mirror, clearly uncomfortable with her own reflection.

She quickly tried to change the subject. "What about you, anyway? How are things between you and Isabella Austin? People are still trashing you online..."

Emily just watched her quietly for a moment. Elizabeth's eyes grew redder, tears welling up, her nose turning pink.

Setting the mirror down, Elizabeth covered her face with both hands, her voice trembling. “Emily Blair, what am I going to do? The doctor says my grandma's getting worse, and we have to go to the capital to see Dr. Main-he's the only one in the country who can help her..."

Emily's gaze softened; she lowered her eyes and spoke gently. "Then you should go."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't. I don't have the money. There's no way we can afford it."

Emily said quietly, "I have money. I'll lend it to you."

Elizabeth gave a watery sniff. "How much could you possibly have? You're just a student."

Emily's lips curled in a small, reassuring smile. "It's not much, but it's enough to cover your grandma's treatment."

Elizabeth slowly lifted her head, dropping her hands from her eyes. They were red and shining with tears.

"Emily Blair..."

"Don't rush to refuse," Emily said, cutting her off gently.

She explained her plan. As Emily spoke, Elizabeth's expression shifted from indignation to disgust to a helpless acceptance, her eyes gradually widening. Emily gave her a clean tissue. “Here. Wipe your tears first."