Tom appeared calm, though a flicker of surprise crossed his mind. How could it be Ansel? This was unexpected. Agnes smiled to mask her slight shock. She and Tom continued walking towards them.
They soon arrived in front of them. Susan was genuinely happy. “You’re pregnant! Congratulations! You’re going to be a mom!”
“Thank you,” Agnes replied gently.
Susan noticed how handsome the man beside Agnes was. He was even taller, more handsome, and more charismatic than she had imagined. There was an indescribable aura about him, unlike ordinary people.
“Long time no see, Susan,” Agnes greeted her with a smile, also very happy.
Ansel’s gaze remained on Agnes’s prominently swollen belly. After all this time, seeing her again still caused a pang in his heart. This must be the power of a first love.
“Let me introduce you. This is Ansel, my colleague,” Susan said brightly, glancing between Agnes and Tom before looking at the young man beside her.
Ansel snapped back to reality. He lifted his eyes and briefly met Tom’s gaze before looking at Agnes again, a slight smile on his lips. “Hello.”
“Hello.”
Both Tom and Agnes greeted him with smiles.
Only Susan was unaware of their past connections. She beamed, “Since we’re all here, shall we go inside?”
“Sure.”
She led everyone inside, enthusiastically introducing the art exhibition because she had done her homework. The paintings were very realistic and related to left-behind children. Every painting featured children whose eyes were especially pure, like the brightest stars in the night sky.
Below each painting was a few sentences summarizing the child’s story.
Agnes and Tom found it particularly moving, as did Ansel. They appreciated each piece not for its artistic excellence but for its authenticity and emotional impact.
The visitors came in an endless stream but remained particularly quiet.
“This isn’t just an art exhibition; it’s a window for those living happily outside to understand and pay attention to left-behind children,” Agnes remarked with some emotion. “It’s so sad that in these backward villages, medical care can’t keep up, so most of these children’s parents die early.”
“Some fathers die early, and then the mothers remarry and leave,” Susan sighed lightly. “The person who organized this exhibition is my friend. He’s a philanthropist and an artist who has helped many left-behind children.”
Susan shared several real stories she knew about, combined with these tear-jerking paintings and the children’s innocent yet longing eyes, making everyone feel heavy-hearted.
Children are always the soft spot for kind-hearted people.
Many people attended the exhibition today, either appreciating it alone or taking photos with their phones, deeply moved.
Except for Tom Fritz, everyone else was an art major, so they had much to talk about.
Tom, though not from this field, had attended many art exhibitions and possessed artistic talent with excellent appreciation skills and some understanding of painting.
So he often joined in the conversation.
By noon, after finishing their tour of the exhibition, Susan suggested lunch at a nearby restaurant with a good environment that she had been wanting to try.
Agnes couldn’t refuse, and Tom would certainly accompany her.
Ansel initially intended to leave but chose to stay.
Thus, the four of them had lunch together. Ansel saw Tom serving Agnes food and peeling shrimp for her.
Ansel gradually began to let go. He needed to bravely move on from the past because Agnes was truly gone from his life.
He couldn’t afford to lose Susan because of this. Over time, he had grown fond of Susan and understood her feelings.
However, when Agnes reappeared before him, Ansel still felt a ripple in his heart because she was like his first love.
But this painful feeling helped him recognize reality more clearly: it was time to say goodbye to the past and start a new relationship.