At the class reunion, Jack Brown who my girlfriend Anna Taylor liked in college was also there.

He was very attentive to my girlfriend and even wiped her mouth.

My classmates looked at me, thinking I would be angry.

But I just said calmly, "You two are a good match and should be together!"

——

When I was on annual leave, Anna wanted to go on a self-driving tour. And on the day of departure I found out that Jack was also with us.

Along the way, I drove and the two of them sat in the back talking and laughing.

When I woke up the next day, they had left on a plane.

After driving home alone, I was unable to suppress the anger in my heart and asked her why she had left me behind.

She said, "You make a fuss about it. I just had to do something on the spur of the moment, so I forgot to tell you."

Because of the incident, we had given each other the silent treatment for a long time.

Until the day before, Anna took the initiative to talk to me.

"I know you're definitely not angry anymore. To make it up to you, let's go fishing this weekend."

Over the years, because I loved her, Anna had been trampling on my feelings with impunity. Now she gave in, not because she really thought that she was wrong, but because after a while, her mother would have surgery, and the doctor in charge of the surgery was my old classmate.

Every time we quarreled before, I was always the one who gave in. Anna never felt that she was wrong. I cherished the relationship more than she did, and I was really afraid of losing her. So whenever we quarreled before, I would send gifts and make delicious food to seek forgiveness.

But it would often take many days before Anna would give me a smile.

Gradually, she seemed to be accustomed to my lowliness, so that every time, she waited for me to give in.

And I loved her by magic so much that I lost myself and my soul.

Now, I realized that I couldn't get love of her by giving in all the time, so I might as well let go.

In response to Anna's invitation, I just replied indifferently, "Ok." Then I went to take a shower.

I liked fishing. I invited her to go fishing with me many times before, but she always refused. While when Jack invited her to go fishing, she immediately prepared and dressed up carefully. And Jack deliberately talked about going fishing with Anna in our friends group. I was angry about it for a long time.

But they thought that I was too narrow-minded and overthinking.

When I came out of the shower, Anna was gone. She had not shown up at the agreed time for fishing. I did not call her, took my tools and drove to the destination by myself.

The fishing spot was beautiful. The owner of the fish pond had planted flowers all around. I found a secluded corner and sat down. Then I took a photo and posted it on my Moments with the caption "Beautiful scenery, good weather, and good mood!".

Jack also posted a picture on his Moments at the same time. The picture showed him being put on a drip, and Anna was taking care of him, holding the needle tubing for him with thoughtfulness.

I put down my phone without any emotion and continued fishing. They were always like that and I was used to it.

After a while my phone started vibrating constantly, but I didn't want to answer it.

In the past, I would have called to question Anna, but there was no need now.

After all, people who were not in love were the most free and easy.

When I got home from fishing, the table was full of dishes and Anna was busy in the kitchen.

But I had already eaten on the way back, so I went straight into the bedroom to sleep.

Sleepy, I heard someone calling my name.

But I was so tired that I didn't want to speak and slept.

Once before, she asked me to go to a movie with her. It rained heavily that day and I waited at the entrance of the cinema for a long time. But she didn't come, instead she accompanied Jack to dye his hair.

Then she also prepared a full table of dishes as an apology. I was very touched at first, but when I saw the take-away boxes in the trash can, I realized how perfunctory she was.

When I woke up the next day, Anna was already sitting at the dining table, which was filled with breakfast.

"I'm sorry that I had something urgent to do yesterday and forgot to let you go fishing alone.

"I will definitely go fishing with you this weekend!

"Believe me!"

I said expressionless, "Well."

In fact, it was quite nice to fish alone. Looking at the calm water, I felt a quietness that I had never felt in the past few years. I seemed to gradually enjoy the quietness.

I had an appointment with a friend to discuss something, so I didn't eat the breakfast she made and went out directly when I came out of the bathroom, seeing Anna not in the living room.

Over the years, whenever something happened to Jack, Anna would leave me behind to take care of him and then come back later to coax me. I loved her so much that I never had the heart to blame her.

But I also realized that no matter how much I loved her, she really didn't love me.

My friend and I discussed starting a business. We had been friends for many years and were also business partners. We had both built up a lot of connections over the years, so we were ready to start our own business.

Just when we were halfway through the conversation, Anna called.

"You didn't have breakfast? Are you still angry? I've explained everything to you! Can you..."

I interrupted her.

"I know you two are good friends. I'm not angry. Okay, I have something to do. I am busy now!"

There was no sound from Anna. Then I hung up the phone.

As before, she would be very angry and blame me for being narrow-minded. But that time I was not angry and she got uncomfortable. Maybe she was pleased.

But it didn't matter. She had nothing to do with me anymore.

She would never affect me anymore!

It was already late at night when I got home after discussing. At that time, Anna also arrived home.

She was holding a gift in her hand. It looked expensive and must be from Jack.

I had given her gifts before, but she just threw them aside. She told me that if I had no money, I didn't have to give her gifts. In her eyes, gifts that were not branded were garbage.

But she didn't know that the gifts I gave her were specially designed by a designer that I had spent a long time saving up for. They were unique in the world.

She threw the gifts I gave her on the ground, and put the gifts Jack gave her in the cabinet. And every now and then she took them out to maintain and admire.

Over the years, I had become accustomed to it. From the first bouquet of flowers I gave her to the last bag, she treated them all like that.

Sometimes I would even see the gifts I gave her in the trash can downstairs the next day.

"Put it down for me!"

Anna handed the gift to me while she was changing her shoes.

But the cabinet she kept the gifts from Jack was full. I took away the bag that I gave her and put the bag that Jack gave her into the cabinet.

I turned around and found that Anna was looking at me.

"What are you doing? Why did you do that?"

Anna was very angry, and I realized that she might think I did it on purpose.

"You think too much!"

My attitude stunned her. I turned and walked into the bedroom.

I heard the sound of the door closing. She must be angry again and left.

She had often done that before. I usually chased her out and begged her for forgiveness, but now I didn't do that.

I turned on the computer and read the business plan. My friend and I were planning to start a company, so we had to prepare well. Before, I often left my work behind for Anna and only wanted to make her happy. Now I didn't want to care about her anymore, and I found that working made me so happy.

"Everything is ready and we can open next week!"

I sent the message to my friend and invited a few friends in the business community to attend. It was already late at night when I finished all that.

Anna hadn't come back yet, but I prepared to go to bed, because I still had a lot of things to do the next day and I didn't have time to think about meaningless things.

For some reason, when I decided to give up, I didn't feel the slightest bit of reluctance in my heart. Instead, I felt a sense of relief that I had never felt before.

It seemed that it was time to work hard for my ideals.

But just when I was about to fall asleep, Jack called!