When I opened it, a limited edition brand-name baby blanket appeared in front of me.
My eyes darkened.
After becoming a father, all the gifts Sophia Carter gave me were related to children.
She wanted to trap me step by step under the title of Leo's father.
Two almost overlapping notification tones came from the phone.
There is news from the firm I communicated with before.
"I heard that Xu Lu had temporarily retired to take care of his children. I didn't expect him to contact us on his own initiative."
"I believe that with your joining, we will be even more powerful."
“I wish us a pleasant cooperation.”
I replied to the message politely, exited the dialog box, and it showed that someone had added me as a friend.
The verification message is only five words long.
My name is Ryan Young.
The moment I passed through, his message came.
There were spots of blood on one towel and traces of moisture on the bed sheet.
[Your wife said I could satisfy her better, so she wanted to give me her first time and had a hymen repair surgery.]
I understand his subtext.
A little boy who just graduated and has nothing.
Faced with Sophia Carter's advances, he thought he had won her whole heart and rushed over to show his status.
Young people always have the courage of a moth flying into a flame.
Suddenly, I seemed to see myself when I was younger.
When I was sixteen, Sophia Carter and I became the only two students in our small town to be admitted to a key high school.
Sophia Carter's parents, who are middle school teachers, were so happy that they held banquets for three consecutive days.
But I didn't dare tell my parents the news.
When I was eight years old, my biological parents died early and I was adopted by Uncle Hank.
The days of living under someone else's roof taught me early on how to read people's faces and do things accordingly.
Uncle Hank had three or five wine bottles at his feet. He looked at me while clinking glasses with the factory manager.
"Damn it, my sister died a long time ago, leaving me with only a debt collector like you."
"Fortunately, it's a boy and he's strong. He should be able to get a good price, right?"
"Of course," the factory manager agreed, "He will give you 80% of his monthly salary and the remaining 10% will be used as a referral fee."
The two of us clinked glasses and chatted, and a few words described the trajectory of my life.
So Sophia Carter came to me excitedly and asked me when I would report.
I stammered and couldn't utter a complete sentence.
The door suddenly opened, and Uncle Hank's flattering voice came,
"My boy is good in every way. As long as you are ready, I will send him over immediately."
They looked at me as if I were a commodity.
"I'm not going to school. I'm going to work."
"Do you want to learn?" Sophia Carter's voice came timidly.
The response was buried in silence.
That night, Sophia Carter secretly opened the door. Under the night sky, her eyes were brighter than the stars.
"I brought the money, let's go to school."
When my parents were dying, they endured the pain and taught me to listen to Uncle Hank.
But at that moment, all I wanted was to hold Sophia Carter's hand.
In high school, I was ostracized and laughed at because of my accent and the way I dressed.
Sophia Carter was cheerful and sunny, and she quickly became friends with her city classmates.
Sensing my resistance to her, Sophia Carter pulled me to a corner with a sullen face.
"Ethan, if you don't like me playing with them, I'll only play with you."
"Don't hate me."
Suddenly I seemed to have the confidence.
All the anxiety exploded at that moment.
I cried silently, and she waited quietly for me to vent all my emotions.
From then on, Sophia Carter would find me eating alone in a corner of the cafeteria.
Every day she would accompany me to drink white porridge which cost 50 cents a bowl.
Facing the strange looks from her classmates, Sophia Carter remained calm and resolute.
