Chapter 10
Back home, my mom and I sat on the sofa, both momentarily speechless.
Finally, I took out a storage box and began decluttering.
The gifts Jackson had given me since childhood, apart from those in the large display cabinet in the living room, had already filled half a box with items scattered around my room.
When I pushed the box out from my bedroom, I saw that the display cabinet had already been completely emptied.
My mom kicked the box by her feet and dusted off her hands.
“Out with the old, in with the new.”
The once carefully arranged items now carelessly piled in the box looked suddenly coarse and dull.
I took out my phone to photograph them, opened Facebook, and posted a new update.
[The person in question has arrived at the hospital. I’m home now, with years of exchanged gifts packed up.]
[From now on, we’re going our separate ways, with nothing to do with each other!]
Returning to my profile, I discovered my previous post had a frighteningly high view count.
Over 40,000 views, 6,000 likes, 4,000 saves, and more than 10,000 comments.
Seeing my new post, netizens flocked to comment:
[Is Phone Off Guy’s dad okay?]
[No wonder Subject 1# suddenly deleted her post. Looks like Phone Off Guy doesn’t want to let go of either of them.]
[I got this. Men always want something new but can’t let go of the old.]
[Shh, keep it down. Meeting a scumbag isn’t something to be proud of.]
I clarified in a pinned reply:
[We’ve broken up.]
My mom peered over, reading aloud with interest:
“Sis, college is where you’ll truly enjoy life. Let this unfaithful man go!””
She clapped in approval, repeatedly agreeing.
“Don’t be sad. Once you’re in college, you’ll meet all kinds of guys from everywhere. Take your time to find someone you like.”
“If you’re unsure, date around. When you’ve met enough people, you’ll naturally know who you truly like and who’s truly right for you.”
Getting carried away, she expressed her dissatisfaction with Jackson’s family.
“At the hospital, I finally understood-Jackson and that girl had been together for quite a while. His parents probably knew about it
7.6%
all along.”
“And most importantly, with his mom’s personality-and I’m not looking down on people with anxiety-but if you had actually married into that family, dealing with her aggressive attitude, I can’t imagine how much you would have suffered!”
“Ava, Jackson’s mind is so impure-breaking up is for the best. But you must not soften…”
As she continued with her grand visions, I felt that if I let her go on, she’d soon envision me as a queen with the pick of men in the
world.
“Mom, Jackson really did change his application. He’s going to Chicago, and I’ll be in Boston, so he won’t affect me.”
With that, I waved my phone.
“Besides, nearly all our classmates know about him and Morgan now.”
“He has no face to come find me.”
My mom smiled with satisfaction.
“My daughter is so outstanding, knowing when to cut her losses!”
Just as mother and daughter were praising each other, my dad called.
He sounded exhausted: “Jackson’s dad is out of surgery. It went very well.”
Despite her anger, my mom still said “Thank goodness…”
Before she finished, my dad added: “You need to come over.”
“Someone needs to stay with Jackson’s dad. Jackson hit that girl and has been taken away by the police.”
