"Does William dislike me? I called him today, and before I could finish speaking, he suddenly hung up on me." The woman, clad in a black dress that hugged her well-maintained figure, had hair that curled slightly and fell by her collarbone, adding to her feminine charm. She appeared to be in her twenties, looking very well-preserved.
"The little brat doesn't understand things, don't take it to heart." Philip took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and with his slender fingers, stubbed out the remainder of the cigarette in the ashtray.
Scarlett held the phone and said, "Should I call him again? I'm afraid he might not answer my calls."
"He's at No. 6 Middle School; you can go directly to the school gate to find him, or come to the house."
"Alright, I'll go to the school gate to find him. It's been so long, I wonder how tall William has grown."
Philip said, "Taller than both of us, he takes more after you in looks. Naturally, you'll see when you meet him."
"William was so small before, only up to my waist," Scarlett reminisced, recalling the time when William clung to her legs, pleading with her not to leave. She said, "I wonder if he still holds a grudge against me after all these years."
"He won't, it was my inability back then," Philip wanted to say more, but he heard a clear "Mom" from the other end.
"I won't talk to you anymore, I'll contact you again if there's anything."
Scarlett hung up the phone, rubbed the little boy in front of her on the head, and said, "Sweetheart, are you hungry? Mom will cook for you right away."
"Mom, who was the uncle you were just talking to on the phone?" Ashley, clutching Scarlett's dress with an innocent look, asked.
Scarlett didn't know how to explain it to him. She squatted down, rubbed his head, and said, "Actually, Ashley has an older brother, and that was the brother's dad on the phone."
"Can I go find my brother?"
Scarlett looked at the child in front of her, who bore a striking resemblance to William as a child, rubbed his head, and said, "Your brother might not be willing to see us yet. When he is ready, mom will take you to meet him, okay?"
"Great, Ashley has a brother now," Ashley's face lit up with a smile.
Scarlett looked at his smile and, for a moment, it was as if she saw William as a child, tugging at her sleeve and calling her "mom," just as well-behaved.
However, she still did not regret her choice. She absolutely could not accompany him to live such a hard life. The more she thought of young William, the better she treated Ashley, as if this could make up for the guilt in her heart.
After so many years, she still wanted to see what William had grown into.
"Honey, I'm home."
Scarlett took the bag from his hand and said, "Why are you back so early today?"
Logan, reeking of alcohol, leaned on her and said, "I missed you. I wanted to come back early and see you."
"How much have you drunk? You reek of alcohol," Scarlett said, smelling the alcohol on him as she helped him lie down on the sofa. She then squatted down to take off his shoes and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go to the kitchen and make you some honey water."
Scarlett came out of the kitchen to see Logan already fast asleep on the sofa. She put the honey water on the table and tried to wake him up, noticing his phone screen lit up.
She didn't want to look, but the phone kept popping up with several messages.
[Are you feeling well today? I'll wait for you at the usual place next time /blushing/blushing]
[Have you gotten home? Why didn't you reply suddenly?]
[Cute cat emoji jpg]
Scarlett held the phone and looked at it for a while, then brought it close to Logan's face to unlock it successfully. She opened the chat interface.
Logan's note for her was Jade.
The messages between the two of them only went back to last Saturday; the earlier ones must have been deleted.
[Jade: Picture]
[Jade: Picture]
[Jade: Picture]
[Jade: These are my new clothes, do you think they look good?]
[Jade: Cute cat jpg]
[Logan: They will all be torn by me anyway, all the same /lewd]
[Jade: Blushing jpg]
[Jade: You are so improper.]
[Logan: I will "hurt" you properly tonight]
[Jade: If you keep this up, I will be angry and ignore you.]
[Logan: Alright, don't be angry, how about I take you to your favorite restaurant tonight?]
...
Last Saturday, Logan told her he was working overtime, but he was actually with this girl. And on Monday, when Logan bought her a bracelet and asked if she liked it, it turned out to be a freebie from the necklace and ring he bought for this girl.
Logan had mentioned a particular dish was delicious, said it was recommended by a colleague, but it turned out to be Jade's favorite.
She looked at Jade's WeChat Moments.
There was a photo of her in a white dress, standing under a tree, looking pure and lovely.
Logan had said he fell in love with her at first sight, not minding that she had been married and had a child. But now he turned around and found a girl about the same age as her.
She went through all their chat records and found that the two shared everything, from what they ate, the weather today, to anything interesting.
In just a few days, their messages were more than what they had exchanged in months.
Originally, when she messaged Logan, he always said he was busy working overtime. Later, she was afraid of disturbing him and reduced the frequency of her messages.
She waited at home for him to come back for dinner, while he was outside celebrating another woman's birthday.
She didn't know how many more chat records there were between the two, all deleted by Logan.
Scarlett looked at the man still snoring on the sofa and suddenly wanted to splash the water on the table over him to wake him up.
She lowered her head and smelled Logan, and indeed, besides the smell of alcohol, there was a faint scent of perfume that she hadn't noticed earlier.
The honey water had cooled on the table, and Scarlett just sat quietly on the sofa, looking at Logan in front of her, feeling both familiar and strange.
At that time, after her divorce from Philip, she met Logan who pursued her. Logan was good-looking, from a good family, and a gentleman. He didn't mind her past and maintained an appropriate distance, not rushing her to accept his pursuit. He said he would wait for her forever.
Logan said it was love at first sight when he saw her in a white dress, pure as if she had stepped out of a painting, an unforgettable moment.
After spending some time with Logan, Scarlett found him to be a reliable person with good conditions, and they quickly got married.
A few years after marriage, she got pregnant and gave birth to Ashley, and the two became a model couple in the eyes of others.