Half-groggy, I was jolted awake by a loud bang on the door.

Outside, it was already dark.

Snow was standing in the doorway and glaring at me. When she saw I was awake, she strode over to the couch.

“Jared, do you have any idea how many times I called you? Why didn’t you answer?”

I rubbed my forehead and instinctively reached for my phone. That was when I realized it had died. I did not even notice that the battery had run out.

I held the phone out to her. She stared at the black screen for a moment, slightly stunned. She smelled faintly of a mix of alcohol and laundry detergent as she stood there.

My mind slowly cleared. Everything that had happened during the day suddenly came rushing back.

I finally understood why she, who normally never reached out to me, suddenly got angry when she could not reach me.

Was it because I had disrespected her father, or because of that comment I left?

Snow furrowed her brows. She said in a cold voice, “Then, you shouldn’t have made it impossible for me to find you.”

I asked, “When did you call me?”

“When?! I spent the entire day trying to reach you! I’ve been calling since 10 a.m.!”

‘10 a.m.…’ I remembered clearly.

That was shortly after I had posted that comment.

So, Snow had not been too busy to check her phone. It was not that she did not know how desperately I needed her at that moment. She simply did not care.

It was because I openly challenged Yulan that she could no longer stay calm.

I let out a bitter laugh and asked, “Snow, my life is just school and home every day. If you really had something important, you could have come to me yourself. Is there some reason you couldn’t?”

Snow furrowed her brows. She opened her mouth to speak but could not say a word.

“I would never do something as childish as deliberately ignoring your calls. I’ve been busy with a lot of things at school lately. Since you’re fine, there’s no need to force a conversation.”

I was completely drained and had no energy to argue with her. After that, I went back to my room.

Not long after, Snow came in.

She sat down beside me and, unusually patient, began explaining herself.

“Jared, my dad told me everything that happened today. I know you aren’t at fault, but he’s older. You need to show him some respect.”

‘Ha! Respect!’ I thought.

I had tiptoed around Richard for the past five years, but all I ever received was an accusation that I was the disrespectful one.

Besides, what had her family ever done over the years to show me an ounce of respect?

Thinking about it was pointless.

Snow thought I was still sulking, but the truth was, I had already started wondering if it was time to let her go.

When I did not react, Snow took my arm and said, “Come on! Look at how tired you are! If school’s really that busy, you should quit and rest at home for a while. Teaching doesn’t earn much anyway.”

I did not understand why, but her touch suddenly felt unpleasant to me. I silently pulled my arm away and thought about what she said. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like mockery.

Back when she had just graduated and could not get a job, it was this so-called low-paying job that had kept her clothed and fed. I was the one who supported her and stood by her through everything.

In her eyes at the present, I was no different from the job she looked down on.

“Snow, my job doesn’t pay much, but teaching still means something to me. I’m not as free as you. I don’t have the time to run over to someone else’s place to do their laundry. But that doesn’t mean I should quit.”

Snow shot up from the couch as if my words had struck a nerve. Her face twisted with mockery.

“Jared, is that what you really think? You’ve been acting as if nothing bothers you, but you’re just angry because of the video Yulan posted!

“I haven’t even asked what that comment was supposed to mean! My coworker was drunk, and I couldn’t leave him alone. Do you really have to corner me like this?”

She had said things like this to me before.

Back then, Yulan had just joined the company as a new recruit. Snow worried he would not fit in, so she fussed over him and put him first every time.

Unfortunately, that was also when I came down with acute gastroenteritis. I went out to buy medicine and realized I had forgotten my keys when I got home.

It was the middle of winter. I crouched against the wall with stomach pain and called Snow. She did not answer until half an hour later. When she finally picked up and found out why I had called her, she lost her temper.

“Jared, how old are you? How can you still be so careless? It’s freezing right now. Yulan’s rental place has no heating, and I’m helping him buy a heater. Do you really need me to rush home just to open the door for you?”

That was the first time I was truly angry with Snow. I was aloof and distant when she finally returned.

She acted pitifully and told me repeatedly that Yulan was like a brother to her. She said she had not been thinking clearly earlier, and that was why she had snapped at me.

I let her soft words sway me. I even convinced myself that I had been too petty to get upset over someone much younger than me.

Thinking about that, it felt ridiculous and sad.

That night, Snow and I ended things on bad terms. She went to the guest room and slept there.

When I woke up the next morning, she was already gone.

The house was a mess. Her clothes, shoes, and leftover food were scattered everywhere.

If I did not clean up, it would stay like that forever.

It felt absurd. We had dated for three years and had been married for five. I had treated Snow like a princess. She said she could not cook and that laundry detergent would hurt her hands, so I handled every chore myself.

Yet the woman who never touched a dish at home somehow had the energy to wash clothes in another man’s place.

She had even shown up at Yulan’s place in a lace camisole. The two of them looked more like a married couple than Snow and I ever did in our eight years together.

Seeing Snow’s clothes scattered across the floor, I decided I was done cleaning up after her.

Soon, all of her things would be packed up and taken out of this house anyway. There was no reason for me to lift a finger.

When I left work that evening, I did not expect to find Snow waiting at the school gate.

She leaned against her car and lifted her head a little. She looked in my direction like she had been waiting for a while for me.

As soon as she spotted me, she walked over quickly.

I could not hide my surprise. “Why are you here?”

Snow lowered her head and said softly, “Jared, I thought about everything today. I was the one who messed up. I made you misunderstand things.”

First a scolding, then a sweet gesture. Snow had always known how to play that game.

“I don’t have much going on at work today, so I came to find you. Do you want to go get some crab or shrimp from that seafood place we like?”

Snow loved the seafood from the place near the school. Whenever her appetite was low, I would always bring some back for her.

But it was her favorite, not mine.

I closed my eyes and said in a low voice, “Snow, I’m allergic to seafood. I can’t go with you.”

The moment I said it, Snow’s face stiffened.

She suddenly realized how serious it was that she had forgotten about her husband’s seafood allergy.

She said guiltily, “I’m sorry. I—”

“Enough. You don’t need to say anything else.” I glanced at my watch. “You should go home. I have things to take care of.”

I was not lying to avoid being alone with Snow. I really did have things to do.

Every year, the school offered teachers the chance to go abroad for further studies. My name was on the list every year.

But I had always given up those opportunities to stay with Snow. I was willing to remain a teaching assistant with no real future.

There was nothing left at home worth holding onto. I decided it was time to focus on my own life. I set up a meeting with a colleague from the research department to ask about studying abroad.

I was about to leave for the meeting.

Right then, Snow’s phone rang.

She hesitated, glanced at the caller, and then answered.

We were close by, and I could hear Yulan’s voice on the other end.

Snow listened, and her brows furrowed.

“What? Don’t hang up! I’ll be there right away!”

I had no idea what Yulan had said, but Snow suddenly looked anxious. Without looking back, she hurried to her car. She only remembered I was there when she was about to close the door.

“Jared, something urgent came up at the company. I… I have to take care of it.”

I was used to Snow dropping everything at a moment’s notice for Yulan. It hardly affected me anymore.

This time, I did not want to play along like I usually did.

“What if I said I don’t want you to go?”

Snow froze. She probably did not expect me, who always did whatever she wanted, to say no.

She looked uneasy. “Jared, don’t make this difficult. I really have something important to do!”

“Oh? What’s so urgent?”

Snow stammered but could not explain coherently. She bit her lip and finally got into the car. She said, “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow.”

At that moment, the doubts that I had been grappling with for two days cleared completely. I made my decision.

I met Snow’s anxious gaze and shook my head with a faint smile. “No need. You don’t have to come here anymore.”