After receiving the gastric cancer diagnosis, I tried to seek comfort from my girlfriend, Selina Garcia, but I couldn't reach her all night.

The next day, she posted on Instagram a picture of her hand in hand with Kevin, strolling by the river.

The caption read: [One day, we will find happiness.]

In response, I immediately froze the credit card in Selina's possession and changed the locks at home.

If she were chasing happiness, went for it. I was not going to wait for she anymore!

*****

"Mr. Watson, I'm sorry to have to tell you this news, but according to the test results, you have gastric cancer."

In the quiet restroom, the doctor's words still echoed in my ears.

Gastric cancer.

I never thought a disease that only appeared on TV would happen to me.

A sense of helplessness and fear washed over me...

I looked at the phone on the sink countless times, hoping it would suddenly light up with a message from Selina.

At this moment, I desperately wanted her comfort.

But I was destined to be disappointed.

I sent her countless messages and even made many calls, but they all fell on deaf ears.

It was late at night while I was still trying.

"I can't sleep. I can't sleep yet..."

I turned on the faucet and washed my face vigorously.

With this state, I fell asleep drowsily.

The next day, my biological clock woke me up.

I instinctively checked my phone and found that Selina had posted on Instagram.

The moment I clicked in, my expression froze.

What Selina, my girlfriend, posted was not a blessing for me to overcome the illness, but a picture of her walking by the river with her handsome male classmate.

She looked coy in the photo.

The caption was: [One day, we will find happiness.]

Seeing this, I had the urge to confront her.

But when I looked up at the mirror, I was stunned.

My eyes were bloodshot, with deep dark circles, as if sleepiness could strike at any moment.

My face was pale, my skin lacked luster, and I looked drained of vitality and energy, enveloped by fatigue.

"I'm really tired..."

I suddenly felt that questioning Selina was pointless.

She had shown many signs before.

When Kevin was sick, she canceled our date to take care of him.

She used my card to buy him a gift on his birthday.

There were too many similar incidents. I was bewitched before, thinking there was nothing wrong with this.

But Selina's Instagram feed was the last straw.

I no longer understand the meaning of persisting in this relationship.

I took my phone and went into Selina's chat interface.

I texted: [Selina, I'm tired. Let's break up.]

Sending this message, I felt an indescribable sense of relief.

It felt as if the mountain pressing on me had been removed.

I exhaled slowly and left the restroom, ready to go to work.

Treatment costs money. Without work, there is no money, and this illness was caused by working.

This made me feel a bit of dark humor.

After work, I barely mustered the energy to walk out of the company's door.

According to the usual arrangement, I should have gone to pick up Selina after work.

But she had nothing to do with me.

At this time, I saw Selina waiting by the roadside for someone.

She kept looking at her watch, impatient.

I ignored her, planning to leave directly.

"Jack, stop right there!"

She saw me with sharp eyes and stormed towards me.

"What's wrong, Ms. Garcia?"

Seeing that I couldn't leave, I turned my head and said indifferently, my voice full of thick, unhidden fatigue.

"What's the matter, Jack? Why did you get off work so late today? Why didn't you come to pick me up? You even broke up with me in a huff. Jack, what do you mean?"

Selina didn't notice that my mental state was not right and was still questioning me.

"That's what it means."

I arrived at the parking lot and opened the driver's door.

"What does that mean? Explain it to me properly!"

Selina also skillfully opened the passenger door and sat in.

"Ms. Garcia, please get out of the car," I said impatiently.

I dared not drive with Selina, a ticking time bomb, in the car.

"Don't be so childish, Jack," Selina said, unmoved by my words.

"This is not a matter of being childish or not. We are no longer a couple. Mind your words, Ms. Garcia!" I said.

"Jack, don't be so childish! It's just because Kevin asked me to take a walk by the river. You don't have to be angry about this!"

Garcia said indignantly, "As a man, you should be generous. How can you be so petty with a student and even break up with me over this?"

Listening to Selina's self-righteous tone, I knew she didn't think she had done anything wrong.

Instead, she thought it was my fault.

"Generous? Very well, Selina. As my girlfriend, you can be so close to another man that you don't respond to my messages or answer my calls. I thought Kevin was your boyfriend!" I said with a bitter laugh.

"Kevin was in a bad mood that day. To take care of him attentively, I blocked messages from everyone..."

Selina's tone weakened.

"But why could your best friends still contact you?"

I pulled out yesterday's chat records.

Unable to contact Selina directly, I had to try to reach her through others.

They could all talk to Selina directly, except for me.

"It's not like that. It's because Kevin..."

Selina wanted to argue.

"Kevin, Kevin... You're always thinking about your Kevin. You're so concerned about his feelings, afraid of hurting him..."

I said coldly, "Aren't you afraid of hurting me?!"

"He's just a college student."

Selina didn't know what to say and used Kevin's status as an excuse.

"So what if he's a student? He's about to graduate. He's not a kindergarten kid. You care so much about his affairs. How come you don't care why I was so eager to contact you yesterday?"

I looked at her coldly.

"I know the reason. You're angry because I was with Kevin..."

Selina finally turned on her phone and carefully read my messages from yesterday.

"Gastric cancer? Don't joke, Jack. You're buried in work every day. You almost live in the company. Do you look like someone with gastric cancer? Even if it's an excuse, you should find a more reasonable one."

She was always so condescending, unable to say a simple apology.

Faced with such a message from her boyfriend, even if it was fake, she should have apologized first for not seeing the message in time.

Then, she should have expressed her concern and comfort and finally verified the truth of the illness.

However, Selina immediately judged my message as a joke, just like every other fight we had before.

Every fight ended with me humbly making up, while Selina could be as willful as she pleased.

My friends used to joke that I didn't have a girlfriend but a master. At first, I could laugh along with them, but now I couldn't bring myself to laugh.

"It's true."

I reached over and pulled the gastric cancer lab report from the glove box of the passenger seat.

I had intended to use it to get more money from the company when I couldn't hold on any longer.

I never expected it to come in handy at this moment.

"You must be lying to me... You've always been in perfect health, haven't you?"

Selina's hands trembled uncontrollably as she held the lab report.

"Who do you think I've become like this for? Do you really think I love work that much?" I said coldly.

"I... I didn't see this coming... I thought..." Selina stammered.

"You thought I made up such a joke just to be jealous of Kevin, right?"

I attempted to reclaim the lab report from Selina's grasp, only to find her clutching it tightly.

"Let go."

Under my warning gaze, she reluctantly released her grip on the report.

"Jack, let's go to the hospital right now. We can cure it," Selina said anxiously.

"It's too late for that, Ms. Garcia. I'll handle my illness on my own. You have no say in the matter," I responded indifferently.

"Jack, stop being so stubborn. I am your girlfriend. Who else is there to care for you?" Selina pleaded frantically.

"Yes, who else would care about me... But unfortunately, your boyfriend is already gone. He died on the night you strolled by the river with Kevin, on the night he needed your comfort the most, yet couldn't reach you all night. Now, can you please leave my car, Ms. Garcia?"

I pushed Selina out of the car coldly and drove away, leaving her standing there alone.

"Awake, Jack? I've prepared oatmeal. Freshen up and come eat. I've researched it, oatmeal is beneficial for gastric cancer patients. You can't eat just anything anymore."

The next morning, I found Selina bustling about in my kitchen.

Had this been the old me witnessing this scene, I would have been overjoyed for the entire day.

But now, I felt nothing, not even a flicker. I even regretted not retrieving my salary card and house keys from Selina yesterday.

The keys were inconsequential. It was the salary card that mattered. I resolved to take a leave from work shortly and head to the bank to report it lost and get a new card with a different number.

I was determined in my heart to have no further contact with Selina.

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to wash up? You're going to be late for work," Selina said to me with a smile.

I didn't respond to her, but to keep her at bay for the moment, I went to wash up.

However, upon exiting the bathroom and seeing the pot of burnt oatmeal on the dining table, I felt silent.

It suddenly dawned on me that I was always the one to prepare or buy breakfast and deliver it to Selina's office downstairs.

She was such a novice that she couldn't even distinguish between peas and green beans.

At this thought, my appetite for breakfast vanished. I simply put on my coat, ready to head out immediately.

"Jack, you must eat breakfast!"

Selina blocked my path.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Garcia. I'm not in a position to enjoy your breakfast."

I said sternly, "Furthermore, do not trespass on my property. If you do it again, I will call the police."

"Jack! How long are you going to act unreasonably? I've gone this far! Can't we just go back to how things were?!"

Faced with my cold demeanor, Selina finally snapped.

Just as I was about to retort, Selina's phone on the dining table suddenly lit up.

I distinctly saw it was a call from Kevin.

The campus romance-themed ringtone set my heart even colder.

Selina picked up the phone, glanced at my expression, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately decided to ignore the call.

"Why aren't you answering the call?"

I looked at her with a mocking smile.

"Your situation is more important," Selina said.

But no sooner had she finished speaking than Kevin called again.

This time, Selina lacked the resoluteness she had initially shown. She wavered, staring at the phone screen.

"You must be thinking something serious must have happened so that he's calling so urgently, right? In that case, you should answer. After all, we've already broken up. I have no right to interfere with what you like to do. Similarly, you can't control what I do."

I exposed Selina's indecision.

Upon hearing my words, Selina finally made her choice. She answered the call.

"Selin, where are you? I've been in a car accident. I'm so scared right now!"

A distinctive male voice came through, the petulant tone sending shivers down my spine.

Although Kevin's voice sounded feeble, the news he shared was far from trivial.

"What? Kevin, don't panic. I'm coming right away!"

Selina immediately became flustered and hastily removed the apron she was wearing.

In her haste, the oatmeal on the dining table was knocked to the floor.

The pot crashed onto the cold ground, shattering into pieces, much like my heart at that moment.

So ironic. She had just said my situation was more important, but upon receiving Kevin's call, she panicked so much.

She didn't even show this level of concern when she found out about my gastric cancer yesterday.

I was filled with mixed emotions and decided to leave, but Selina suddenly grabbed my arm forcefully.

"Jack, where are you going? Hurry up and drive to Azure Street. Kevin is waiting for us!" she said urgently.

"Why should I drive you there? He only called out your name. You can go just by yourself!"

I shook off Selina's grip.

"Jack, have you had enough of this nonsense? Kevin has been in an accident, and the outcome is still uncertain! If anything happens to Kevin because of you, I will..."

Selina's voice trailed off because I was staring at her with an icy gaze.

"What will you do? Go on..." I said, enunciating each word.

"I... I... I don't care. In any case, if you don't take me to Kevin, you don't love me anymore! You're a murderer who stands idly by!"

Selina threw caution to the wind recklessly.

"It wasn't me who caused his accident. Why are you calling me a murderer?"

I countered with a bitter laugh, "Since you're so desperate to see him, I'll take you to him."

After this incident, I felt an even greater urgency to change the locks and freeze the credit card.

Coincidentally, both tasks could be accomplished on Azure Street.

Selina had the audacity to call me a murderer. If I delayed any longer, I shuddered to think what she might do next.