On the bus, William’s mind was in turmoil.
He stared blankly at the street scene outside the window, his mind in chaos.
If Nana found out about this, they would definitely never have a chance to reconcile.
At the moment, all William could do was pray in his heart that Scarlet wouldn’t entangle him.
He wasn’t irresponsible, a man who caused chaos and then abandoned everything. He just didn’t want to be with a woman he didn’t love.
Recalling the absurd night from the previous evening, William couldn’t understand how he had let himself lose control.
But the deed was done, and he couldn’t escape it. The only thing he could do was to earn money as quickly as possible.
That day, William went to the labor market and searched for odd jobs. After a while, he found a job carrying cement.
“Five dollars per bag, climb up to the sixth floor. Are you up for it?” the person introducing the job asked.
Hearing the question, William calculated in his mind and felt that the price was a bit low.
“Can I add one more dollar?” he tentatively negotiated.
“At this price, if you don’t want to do it, I’ll find someone else,” the person replied, turning to leave.
Seeing the introducer about to leave, and eager to earn money, William reluctantly agreed.
In the evening, William received his wages. He had carried a hundred bags of cement, and his hands and legs were trembling.
He was drenched in sweat and exhausted, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Clutching the five hundred dollars in his hand, William pondered whether to save it.
On one hand, he wanted to save money to make it up to Scarlet, but on the other hand, he wanted to visit Nana.
Torn between the two choices, William happened to pass by a maternity and baby supplies store, and his desire to see Nana became urgent.
He bought a few toys for Janelle and arrived at their house.
Jerry and Tracy had changed their attitude towards William, so they didn’t reject his visit.
Nana took him to her room, and they played with the child while chatting.
“William, doing odd jobs every day isn’t a solution. Don’t forget that you’re a university graduate. You’ve spent so many years studying, is it all just to carry cement?” Nana felt uncomfortable when she heard that William had gone to the labor market.
“I couldn’t find a suitable job for now. It’s better than being idle,” William chuckled, picking up a toy he had obtained from carrying cement and waving it in front of Janelle.
After a while, he sat for a moment and then left. Tracy politely invited him to stay for dinner, but he shook his head and declined.
“William, let me take you!” Just as William was about to step out of the threshold, Nana handed Janelle to her mother and hurriedly followed him, carrying a bag.
They descended the stairs together, but Nana didn’t intend to accompany him far, so they stopped at the entrance of the corridor.
She opened her bag and stuffed a stack of banknotes into William’s hand.
“Do as I say, don’t do odd jobs anymore. Take this thirty thousand dollars. You can slowly look for a job as long as you don’t waste yourself.”
Even though they were no longer lovers, Nana hoped that William could return to his energetic self from before.
William was stunned, feeling both touched and ashamed at the same time.
After a brief pause, he returned the money to Nana and gathered the courage to speak, “Nana, I don’t want your money. Can we start over again?”
Nana’s eyes widened in surprise, and she slowly retracted her hand, her face reserved as she declined, “William, we can’t live in the past. Let’s just be friends.”
William wasn’t surprised by this outcome. He understood Nana’s personality, so he didn’t attempt to confess his feelings.
Awkwardly smiling, William nodded and agreed, “Being friends is fine. Can I come over often to see you and the child?”
“Sure,” Nana nodded with a smile, once again stuffing the banknotes into William’s hand. “Since we’re friends, don’t refuse me, even if you consider it a loan.”
Currently, William was indeed in need of money. He planned to return it to Nana once he earned enough, so he reluctantly accepted it.
After bidding farewell to Nana, William returned to his shabby rental house.
Just as he reached the door, he saw a disoriented woman sitting under the low house.
“Scarlet? What are you doing here…” William was surprised as he looked at Scarlet, who had her head buried and occasionally twitched.
“Are you crying?” William tilted his head, carefully holding her hand.
Scarlet slowly lifted her head, and indeed, her face was covered in tears.
“William, I came to bid you farewell. I quit my job and am preparing to return to my hometown.”
Upon hearing these words, William was taken aback.
“Why? Didn’t you say you wanted to work hard in this city and bring your parents here in the future?”
Scarlet stood up, implying something else. “I lost the most important thing here. Since I can’t find it again, I might as well go back to my hometown and live peacefully.”
William understood Scarlet’s meaning. He frowned and took out the money from his pocket.
“Scarlet, this money is my compensation to you. If you insist on going back to your hometown, I wish you a happy and fulfilling life.”
When faced with the money handed to her by William, Scarlet’s face instantly contorted.
“What do you mean? Do you think I’m someone you can buy?”
Scarlet’s expression turned angry, and she forcefully pushed William’s hand away.
“I gave you the most important thing, and you can think I’m worthless, but you can’t insult me with money!”
Scarlet raised her head in indignation, tears once again flowing from her eyes.
For a moment, William felt flustered. He quickly wiped away Scarlet’s tears and asked in confusion, “What should I do then? How can I make it up to you?”
Hearing William’s willingness to compromise, Scarlet bit her lip and spoke in a gentle voice, “I want you to take care of me until I feel better.”
Was it really that simple to take care of her?
William clearly didn’t understand Scarlet’s hint.
“Alright, I’ll take care of you for a while. Starting tomorrow, let’s look for jobs together.”
William smiled warmly, opened the door, and invited Scarlet into the rental house.
From that moment on, the two of them lived together. In order to fulfill his promise, William took care of Scarlet meticulously.
He cooked and did household chores, becoming a considerate and caring man.
Not long after William left, Nana received a call from Mrs. Waters.
Upon hearing that Mrs. Waters wanted to meet her, Nana was unsure of her intentions and straightforwardly refused.
It wasn’t until she learned that Mrs. Waters wanted to discuss the issue of raising the child that Nana agreed to meet, in order to resolve the matter once and for all.
“Mom, Jane has something to discuss with me. I won’t be having dinner at home tonight.”
Nana changed into different clothes and left, lying to her parents.
Shortly after, she arrived at the restaurant where she had agreed to meet Mrs. Waters and was led into a private room by the waiter.
Mrs. Waters was still dressed extravagantly, exuding an air of wealth from head to toe.
“You’re here, have a seat.”
Mrs. Waters spoke in a slightly condescending tone, and there was a hint of arrogance in her demeanor.
Nana sat across from Mrs. Waters, no longer needing to tolerate her future mother-in-law as before, and got straight to the point, saying, “If you have something to say, please do. I need to go home and take care of my child.”
Upon mentioning Janelle, a trace of sharpness flashed in Mrs. Waters’ eyes.