"Are you still a man? How badly did you bully Joanna? She ran out alone at night, and you're not worried?"

Liam berated me loudly.

"Isn't she with you? Why should I worry?"

I retorted and hung up, then resumed chatting with a few friends on the forum.

They all thought I could get back into the industry. With my talent, I could keep up with the trends.

I made up my mind to start living for myself.

Not long after.

I heard the door open, probably Joanna coming back, but I didn't bother to check and continued chatting with my friends.

One of my friends, John Miller, worked at a top gaming company and wanted to invite me to be a lead artist.

So when he heard I was back, he immediately got me an interview opportunity with his boss.

I readily agreed and decided to go for the interview the next day.

The next day.

I didn't get up to make breakfast for Joanna as usual. I slept until past nine, made myself a sandwich, and had some milk and juice.

In the past, I had to cater to Joanna's taste, making different dishes to please her.

Sometimes, she would say she wanted something the night before, but when I made it the next day, she didn't want it and asked for something else.

She even asked me to make a portion for Liam.

It felt like I was their nanny, always at their beck and call.

Compared to that, not having to get up at six to please Joanna and having no worries now was incredibly comfortable.

Even the sunlight outside felt much brighter.

After arriving at the company.

With my friend's introduction, I met the general manager and had a long conversation.

Then, I presented my award-winning works and previous game scene and character illustrations.

The general manager was very impressed and asked me to design a game character poster within three days.

If I passed this test, I could join the company directly.

I nodded in agreement, cherishing this opportunity and planning to work hard for the next three days. After all, applicants for top gaming companies were as numerous as cattle.

Since I had turned off my phone for the interview, I only remembered to turn it back on after leaving the company. Immediately, I saw a message reminder from Joanna half an hour ago.

But when I clicked on it, the message had been retracted.

At that moment, someone in the classmates' group chat tagged me.

I clicked in and saw that Joanna, who rarely showed up, was unusually active in the group chat today, constantly interacting with Liam and posting photos she took of him.

Some photos were quite intimate.

Joanna was leaning on Liam's shoulder while Liam was stroking her hair.

It seemed they went to take photos together this morning, enjoying their happy world.

The classmates were all making a fuss, and many asked me how the photos looked.

I simply replied with "nice."

The group chat fell silent instantly.

Joanna didn't show up again.

In fact, as someone who used to see Joanna as the center of my world, I had long seen through everything.

Joanna deliberately sent me the pictures and then retracted them to make me ask about them.

Then she would send the pictures again to provoke me.

But I was in an interview and didn't reply, so Joanna posted them in the group chat.

She just wanted to make me more angry and jealous, then call to question her or even trouble Liam.

Then she would call me petty, use all sorts of psychological manipulation, defend Liam, and get some classmates and friends to mediate.

Ultimately, she would crush my self-esteem.

But now, I was immersed in the joy of a successful interview. Those photos didn't make me angry at all, and I wouldn't call Joanna to demand an explanation.

I put away my phone, submitted my resignation to the company, then went home, dove into the study, put my phone on silent, and started looking at game character materials.

I wanted to lay a solid foundation for the upcoming design.

I didn't pick up my phone again until I got hungry in the evening and wanted to order takeout. I found that Joanna had called me seven or eight times a few minutes ago.

So I called her back.

"Hey, why didn't you answer the phone? Were you too busy with work?"

In the past, Joanna would have been furious and scolded me, saying I was getting bold by not answering her calls.

But this time, Joanna's tone was very gentle.

"Yeah, what's up?"

I calmly asked.

"Let's have dinner with my parents tonight."

Joanna said.

I initially wanted to refuse, but then I thought that Joanna's parents were nice, and maybe I could take this opportunity to explain everything.

If you can't hold onto sand, let it scatter.

If the entanglement isn't clear, it would be torture for both of us.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I found that Liam was also there, sitting next to Joanna and chatting enthusiastically with her parents.

It looked like they were a complete family, and I felt like an outsider.

Maybe Joanna wanted to use this opportunity to reveal everything.

Well, that's fine!

"Andrew."

Joanna's mom, Crystal Perez saw me and immediately stood up to wave.

I walked over with a smile, but Liam still sat next to Joanna, giving me a provocative look.

Another familiar scene.

With Liam's personality, he definitely wanted to provoke me into an argument so he could play the victim.

He would say they were just friends and tell me not to target him.

Joanna would feel sorry for him, defend him, and make me apologize.

I didn't want to do things that made myself angry anymore, and I was truly tired.

So I pulled a chair and sat alone on one side.

Joanna was visibly stunned.

Her parents' expressions became a bit strange, their eyes darting between Liam and me.

Eventually, the waiter served the dishes, breaking the silent atmosphere.

Crystal served me a piece of meat and said with a smile. "Andrew, you don't look well. Eat more to replenish your nutrition."

"Thank you, Auntie."

I smiled and lowered my head to eat, but I could feel Liam's jealous gaze.

To get back into my old profession and not mess up the interview, I had prepared for a long time last night and drank three cups of coffee in the morning to stay awake.

Now I was both tired and hungry.

"Andrew."

"Why are you eating by yourself? Even if you two are having a fight, you shouldn't sulk in front of the elders."

Liam couldn't hold back, speaking sarcastically to me while serving food to Joanna.

He tried to appear very considerate.

"Are you two fighting? What's going on?" Crystal asked anxiously.

Joanna's dad also stop eating and his expression becoming serious.

Before Joanna and I could answer, Liam interjected, "It's nothing, really. Just because Joanna didn't watch the sunrise with him."

Hearing this, Joanna's parents sighed in relief and started to persuade me not to get angry over small things and to go another day.

Joanna also chimed in.

"Uncle, Auntie, I'm not angry. I'm just tired from staying up late."

I forced a smile and said.

"That's good."

Joanna's parents nodded.

Then the atmosphere became awkward again. Only Liam tried to start conversations, but Joanna's parents didn't respond, so it quickly went silent again.

I just focused on eating. During this time, Joanna's parents served me more food several times.

But Joanna, apart from occasionally glancing at me, didn't mention anything about revealing the truth.

I was puzzled.

Clearly, Joanna brought Liam over to reveal everything, so why wasn't she saying anything?

Was it because she didn't want to be the bad guy in front of her parents and wanted me to be the villain?

The dinner ended.

Before leaving, Crystal pulled Joanna aside for a chat.

Meanwhile, Joanna's dad called me aside and said earnestly, "Andrew, Joanna can be quite difficult at times. Please be more tolerant and don't argue with her too much."

Be more tolerant?

I had always been doing that, thinking that one day Joanna would understand me.

But I was wrong.

After Joanna's parents left, Liam smiled and said, "Let's go sing and call a few more classmates."