Thirty days into our argument, my girlfriend kissed her first love passionately right in front of me.

I quietly asked my boss for a transfer to the Northern City branch, which was thousands of miles away.

Her friends clapped and teased me.

“Ivan, your girlfriend’s getting a new boyfriend. Aren’t you going to win her back?”

I held her hand and sincerely said, “I’m sorry.”

She looked down at me with a proud smile.

“Okay, I forgive you. Tomorrow, pack your things. We’re going to see my parents.”

I smiled and agreed.

But she did not know I was leaving for Northern City that night.

It had been 30 days since our fight, and Jade Oakley still had not said a word to me.

That evening, she finally sent me the address of a campsite and told me I had to go.

As I got closer, I heard people cheering.

In the middle of the crowd, Jade stood up holding hands with her first love, Zach Simmons. They walked to the center together.

They looked at each other for a moment before Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Everyone suddenly started cheering and clapping.

One of her friends saw me and said with a smile, “Ivan, your girlfriend’s getting a new boyfriend. Aren’t you going to win her back?

“We all know you had been trying to win her heart for eight years before she finally said yes. Are you really willing to let her go?”

It was already 8 p.m.

Jade still had her hand on Zach’s shoulder when she turned to look at me.

In front of everyone, I took her hand and sincerely said, “I’m sorry.”

Even though I had done nothing wrong, I still apologized.

I had been through this too many times.

No matter the reason, anything that made Jade angry was my fault.

She silently gazed at me.

She did not look happy.

Under her stare, I got down on one knee and said loudly, “I’m sorry!”

Her friends tried to help calm things down.

“Jade, he’s already kneeling. Just forgive him.

“After this, he probably won’t dare make you mad again.”

Jade finally smiled a little.

“Okay, I forgive you. Later, pack your things. We’re going to see my parents.”

I did not ask why and just said okay.

After she walked off holding Zach’s hand, I slowly stood up.

Everyone else sat around laughing and chatting.

Jade leaned on Zach’s shoulder and called me over with a bright smile.

She noticed I did not look happy and started explaining, “Zach and I are really close. We’re practically siblings.

“That kiss didn’t mean anything. There are no feelings between us.

“You’re still the one I like.”

She said it like she was sure I would not be upset.

And honestly, after all the time we had been together, I had never once gotten angry with her.

I had let her hurt me over and over, just because we had grown up together.

But that night, I finally understood something.

She was not the same girl I had met when we were kids.

That afternoon, when I asked to be transferred to the Northern City branch, my boss and friend, Ryan Lane, was so shocked he accidentally signed the wrong name on the contract.

“Are you really giving me your shares and moving to Northern City?

“That place is way behind. No one knows if it’ll even work out.

“You’re going so far. Is your girlfriend okay with this?”

I put the transfer request in front of Ryan.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m not changing it.”

As for Jade, she no longer mattered.

“We’ve broken up.”

“What?!”

Ryan was completely shocked.

“Yeah. We haven’t talked for 30 days. I’ve already accepted that it’s over.”

Yesterday, I found out through social media that Zach had come back to the country.

On the first day of us not speaking to each other, Jade went to the airport to pick him up.

In just 30 days, they traveled all around the country together. They filmed videos of themselves embracing tightly at every tourist spot.

Zach had posted all the videos online.

After watching the videos, people online said it made them believe in love again.

Jade replied to one of them with a shy emoji.

She did not deny anything.

In the last video, Zach smiled and asked, “Do you want to get married?”

Jade leaned on his shoulder and shook her head.

“No.

“I already have someone better to marry.

“He’s gentle, listens to me, has a great temperament, and even does housework. He’s the perfect guy to settle down with.

“As for you, just keep living your life freely.”

I had known Jade for many years, but it was the first time I saw her care about someone else.

We had known each other since we were kids.

The first time I saw her, she wore short overalls and carried a bag of rice.

Her face was dirty, but her eyes were bright with life.

For some reason, I pulled my luggage over and asked, “Do you need help?”

She did not hesitate and handed me the bag of rice. Then, she took my luggage.

When we arrived, I discovered that she was also staying with her grandmother in the countryside.

I was there because my parents had died, and she was there because her parents were too busy to take care of her.

I also found out I was one year older than her.

After some time, I started looking after her.

When she started attending my high school, I realized I had a crush on her. I would sometimes give her little gifts and always pay attention to everything she did.

Everyone knew I liked her.

I saw her date another guy, but that relationship ended for some reason.

After high school, I told her how I felt.

We dated for almost ten years.

To me, she was still the lively, passionate girl I first met.

She was just a little immature.

That was okay. I was happy to accept her.

But over time, she started to act worse.

One day after work, a subordinate was so tired she fainted in the office. I found her and helped when the ambulance came.

Jade heard from her nurse friend that I was with another woman. She came over and made a scene.

Even when the subordinate said a few words to me, Jade called her a bad name.

But there was nothing between us.

I was just helping her, and her husband was already on the way.

When Jade saw the husband, she sneered.

“Your wife hooked up with my boyfriend.”

Then, she stormed out.

Luckily, the husband did not believe Jade and thanked me many times.

After I finished, I called Jade, but she blocked me.

I went home, and she moved all her things to another room.

I wrote her many letters, but she tore them up and threw them away.

The food I made was thrown out, too.

When she was hungry, she ordered takeout and left the trash by the door for me to clean.

No matter what, she would not talk to me.

Later, she made me stay at a hotel. She said she did not want to see me and told me to reflect on myself before coming back.

Thinking of this, I shook my head.

She did not really want me to reflect on myself. She was just afraid I would stop her from traveling with Zach.

Honestly, I did not really want to leave this place.

But business here was already running smoothly, and with or without me, it would be fine.

The Northern City branch was different. It was still growing, and if I went there, I would have the chance to do something meaningful again.

I could build something of my own and feel useful again.

Besides, Ryan let me take over the Northern City branch.

I shook myself out of my thoughts.

Jade’s friends told me not to be jealous.

“Yes, they’re just like siblings.

“If something was going on, Jade would have brought him home to meet her parents, not you.”

I looked around. Everyone was sitting in a circle.

There was barely any room for me.

Jade noticed and asked them to move a little to make space for me.

They moved but did not seem happy about it.

In the end, I only got a tiny spot.

I was tall, so it was a tough fit.

Jade did not care and patted the spot behind her.

“Sit here. It’s tight, but you can see everything.”

Then, she fed Zach some chips and stopped looking at me.

Someone asked, “Zach, I heard you’ve been traveling a lot.

“Why did you come back?”

Zach smiled and held Jade’s hand.

“Because I wanted to see who the girl I once liked is going to marry.”

Everyone then looked at me.

I could not tell what they were thinking from their eyes.

I looked around but did not say anything.

Jade was upset and looked at me like she was blaming me.

“Why can’t you even say one promise?”

I sighed. I was about to speak so that she would not throw a tantrum, but Zach stopped me.

“Alright, Alright. We’re all men. I get it.

“I know he wants to treat Jade well.”

Jade looked disappointed and did not talk to me all night.

They ate barbecue while Zach told stories about his travels.

He said he once sold candy on the street and used the money to start a business.

He earned hundreds of thousands and gave it all to charity.

He made videos online and had two million followers.

Everyone thought he was brave for trying so many things.

He looked proud.

“That’s normal. I’m not scared to be independent.

“You have to try many things to find out what you really want.”

Jade looked just as impressed.

I did not say a word. I just quietly started counting down the time and thought about how to leave.

At some point, Zach looked at me with a smirk and said, “Ivan, when are you going to start your own company so Jade can be the boss’s wife?”

The truth was, I never told Jade I actually owned part of the company.

Ryan invested the money, and I contributed my skills.

In the end, he gave me 30% of the shares.

So, really, I was a co-owner. I just did not like handling business decisions and left most of it to Ryan.

I even called him “boss” like everyone else.

To Jade, I was just an ordinary employee getting a monthly paycheck.

She clicked her tongue and said, “Come on.

“He’s the kind of guy who’ll be working for someone else his whole life.

“If I’m counting on him, I might as well wish for a miracle.

“You’d be better off asking him how not to get fired.”

Everyone laughed.

Jade, enjoying the attention, started telling embarrassing stories about me.

She talked about how I once fell into a smelly ditch trying to protect her, or how I knelt while begging her to eat breakfast.

If she called me, I had to show up right away. Otherwise, I was not allowed to come home.

Everyone laughed hard.

“So Ivan is Jade’s simp!”

“Looks like Jade really knows how to keep him in line!”

I clenched my teeth and took a big sip of the beer.

“It’s just a few silly things. I don’t even care.”

Everyone went quiet for a second.

“Ivan, no need to act tough just to save face.

“There’s nothing wrong with having a regular job. You’ll just be broke forever, that’s all.”

Zach laughed like I was a joke.

“Alright then, tell us. What major, amazing thing have you ever done?”

“Maybe he fell in that dirty ditch out of embarrassment!” someone added and laughed.

I looked at everyone and calmly said the name of a medicine that played a huge role during the pandemic.

Everyone went quiet again.

“You’re saying we got through the pandemic faster because of you?”

“Wow, someone’s really full of himself.”

“If that were true, you’d be rich by now. But look at you. Your clothes are cheap.”

Honestly, I was indeed rich from the profits, but growing up in the countryside taught me to live simply.

Even Jade knew nothing of this.

She looked annoyed.

“Okay, that’s enough. Stop making things up.”

As soon as she said that, everyone relaxed.

“See? Jade knows. Ivan just likes to brag.”

I looked straight at Zach and asked, “Then tell me, what kind of sugar do you use to make those candies? How long does it take to set?

“You said you invested. What exactly did you invest in?

“And if you donated to charity, where did the money go?”

Zach could not answer clearly. I caught him off guard, and he was speechless for a while.

In the end, he got mad.

“What’s it to you?

“Jade, what’s your boyfriend trying to do? Interrogate me?

“I came to hang out, not to be questioned!”

The more he spoke, the angrier he got.

Jade got scared and quickly tried to calm him down. Then, she glared at me.

“Apologize.”

Everyone else joined in.

“Yeah, hurry up and say sorry.”

“You made Zach upset, and now Jade has to fix it. Was that really necessary?”

I gave a cold laugh but did not say a word.

I looked at my phone. There were three hours left before my flight.

Everyone was staring at me as I stood up.

“I’ve got something to do. I’m leaving.”

Jade chased after me. Just as I opened the car door, she stepped in front of me.

“Ivan, were you just trying to cause trouble tonight?

“Now look, everyone’s upset.”

She grabbed my hand and tried to pull me back.

“Come with me and say sorry. If you don’t, I won’t take you to meet my parents tomorrow.”

I shook her off and said coldly, “Why should I?

“They said all those awful things. Why didn’t you ask them to apologize to me?”

Jade frowned. She was clearly annoyed. “They were just joking. If you don’t like it, we’ll be more careful next time.”

At that point, she was still taking their side.

“Forget it. Go pack our stuff. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon.”

I replied, “Okay.”

She looked relieved.

“Pick me up later. I’ll call you.”

I held the plane ticket in my pocket, smiled, and nodded.

Seeing that I was not angry anymore, she ran back to the group.

Once I saw her sit down again, I got in the car and drove straight to the airport.

I stared at her number for a while. Then, I blocked and deleted it.

She stayed in Southern City while I went to Northern City.

From that day on, we were done.