For the next two hours, her phone remained silent. The feeling of disappointment grew endlessly within her. Agnes picked up and put down her phone countless times, this emotion was driving her crazy!
She began to regret it, maybe she shouldn’t have disturbed him. Why did she send that message? But it was too late to retract it now. This feeling was draining her… Agnes swore to control this madness, how could she be so useless? How could she let a man affect her so much? How could she love him so deeply and feel so lost all the time? But feelings are like this, sometimes you understand them, sometimes you don’t, constantly doubting yourself, picking up the phone and putting it down again.
Finally, her phone chimed with a notification. She didn’t even hope it was him, but when she checked, it was a message from Tom – “Just got out of the lab.”
Seeing this delayed reply was at least some sort of response. He didn’t ignore her message after all. But after being tormented by emotions for so long, she didn’t know what to reply, afraid that she might kill the conversation. After a while, she typed two words and sent them – “Tired?” She genuinely cared for him, worried about him.
This time, he didn’t make her wait long. Within five minutes, Tom replied – “Not too bad.”
So Agnes found herself at a loss for words. The girl who could write a hundred-thousand-word script in one go was suddenly out of words.
“Not too bad…”
That probably meant he was tired but didn’t want to admit it as a man. So she sincerely typed a message – “When you have time, rest well. Don’t get up so early every day. You don’t have to insist on morning runs; prioritize your sleep. Your health is most important.”
She checked the text three times to ensure there were no typos before sending it.
Soon, Tom replied with two words: “Okay.”
And then there was nothing more. Agnes didn’t disturb him further. Every time she had endless things to say, his replies were always lukewarm and very formal. She felt disappointed but understood him; he was very busy and had heavy responsibilities.
So what is love? Love is humble; it’s unconditional indulgence. Even when you feel sad and wronged, you’re still willing to excuse the other person.
In Palo Alto, California, at Stanford University’s laboratory in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tom Fritz communicated with his team members; they had just finished the first phase of their experiment. Everyone remained tense and serious about their research work. Leaving the lab, he took off his lab coat.
“Professor, you should rest early today; you’ve been up for three nights in a row,” his student said.
“Okay,” Tom replied.
He went to wash his hands and carefully dried them with a towel before stepping outside. He hadn’t returned to his apartment for three days and had been in the lab the entire time without proper meals; he was indeed very busy.
As he walked out of the building, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Jeffery quickly got out of the car and came over with an umbrella.
“Tom.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Tom said as he stepped down the stairs towards the car.
Jeffery held the umbrella beside him.
“You must be tired? How long can you rest?”
“Ten hours.”
“Let’s hurry then; what do you want to eat?” Jeffery asked him.
“I’ll have them prepare it so you can eat as soon as we get back.”
“I’m not hungry; just a cup of milk will do.”
His eyes were deep-set, his mind filled with work.