Chapter 59: Confused action
Erica tightly clutched her exam admission ticket, which had her registration number scribbled on it. She widened her eyes, struggling to locate her results on the notice board. However, there were many people blocking her view, and being of modest height, Erica found it hard to see anything. Ansel silently stood behind her, observing the situation, and decided to help when he saw Erica struggling.
Ansel walked up to her and stood next to Erica, briefly glancing at her admission ticket. Then he looked at the notice board. Ansel was fortunate to be tall enough to see the information on the notice board more clearly than Erica.
“4222023. That’s your registration number, Erica. It’s right at the top of the board,” Ansel said.
“Congratulations, Erica. You have passed the exam,” he continued.
Erica was focused on looking ahead, but when she heard Ansel speak, she immediately turned to look at him with an expression of surprise.
“Really?” Erica asked, her face filled with excitement.
“Is 4222023 your registration number?” Ansel asked Erica in response.
“Exactly,” Erica replied, then, unsure, she looked down at the exam ticket in her hand.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
“I see your registration number is at the top,” Ansel continued, directing Erica’s attention back to the notice board.
“What does that mean?” Erica asked naively.
“It means you scored a perfect score,” Ansel emphasized, suddenly feeling very proud of Erica.
“Are you saying that I… Did I…?” Erica stumbled over her words. She understood what Ansel was saying, but she couldn’t believe it was true.
“You achieved the highest score,” Ansel said louder, thinking Erica didn’t hear him. “You passed the difficult exam.”
“Is that true?” Erica wanted to confirm once more.
“Yes, it is,” Ansel patiently repeated for Erica.
Erica felt so happy that she couldn’t contain her emotions. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back the tears that were sparkling in her eyes.
“Ansel, I passed!” Erica exclaimed. “I got the top spot.”
“That’s right. Congratulations.” Ansel said. He was truly happy for Erica.
“That’s amazing. Oh, I’m so happy.” Erica exclaimed, feeling incredibly excited.
Lost in her joy, Erica unconsciously jumped up and hugged Ansel. Ansel was surprised and embarrassed by Erica’s sudden action. He was both pleased to be hugged by Erica and confused about what to do next. Should he reject the hug? Ansel thought about it for a while but eventually decided to remain silent and let Erica continue to celebrate her happiness.
“Thank you so much.” She spoke to Ansel with a loving voice.
Ansel smiled back, trying to feel the happiness that Erica’s hug brought. Ansel decided to respond to Erica’s hug by gently patting her back and saying:
“You deserve that success.”
As Ansel’s hand lightly patted Erica’s back, she was startled. Erica was embarrassed to realize that her actions might have made Ansel uncomfortable. She felt ashamed and awkward. Erica quickly moved away from Ansel and apologized.
“I’m sorry, Ansel. I shouldn’t have done that,” Erica said, her voice low and embarrassed.
Ansel gently chuckled to reassure her. “It’s okay, Erica. I understand that you’re very excited about achieving such great success.”
Although Ansel said so, he felt a sense of regret that Erica’s hug had ended. Erica felt relieved to see that Ansel wasn’t angry about her actions. But at the same time, she also felt sad, thinking that Ansel didn’t seem to care about the hug. Putting aside those negative emotions, Erica wanted to express her gratitude to Ansel. Thanks to him, she was able to complete the program and become a doctor. She wanted to invite Ansel to lunch.
“Ansel, can I treat you to a meal? Consider it a thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” Erica expressed her sincerity, but Ansel firmly declined.
“Perhaps another time. I have to take care of something now,” Ansel said, bidding farewell to Erica. “I’ll see you later.”
Erica realized that Ansel didn’t intend to continue the conversation, so she wanted to leave early.
Erica felt a little disappointed, but she also understood that this was probably best for both of them.
…
After meeting Erica at the university, Ansel’s mood became unstable. For the rest of the day, Ansel couldn’t focus on work because his mind kept going back to Erica. Ansel had never missed Desi like he missed Erica. Ansel’s longing for Erica was intense and deep. The sadness on Erica’s face and the hurt in her eyes when Ansel coldly refused her lunch invitation felt like a sharp knife cutting into Ansel’s heart. Ansel had never experienced anything like this before. Previously, Ansel had often declined Desi’s invitations. Although Desi was sad and disappointed, Ansel didn’t feel as troubled and tormented as he did now.
It was terrible. It was foolish. Ansel scolded himself. Why did he do that? It was just a lunch invitation, did Ansel need to overthink it to the point of disappointing Erica like that? Unable to bear the restless thoughts and self-blame, Ansel decided to invite Nika and Kevin to a bar. Ansel thought that alcohol would help him relieve the tension and dispel the negative thoughts. However, before Ansel could call his two friends, he received a call from his mother.
“What’s up, Mom? Is something the matter?”
Ansel answered the phone and immediately felt a sense of worry about what was happening. He tried to find a way to listen to his mother attentively.
“Where are you, Ansel?” His mother asked with curiosity.
Unable to lie and afraid of making his mother sad, Ansel honestly replied, “I’m at work.”
“What?” His mother’s voice suddenly raised. Ansel could sense her anger dominating her mood. The only thing Ansel could think of doing was to be silent and listen.
“Ansel. Are you crazy? I made it clear that you needed to rest. Don’t you remember your illness?” His mother scolded him harshly. Ansel was too stubborn to follow anyone’s advice.
“I know,” Ansel softly replied, wanting to resolve things gently. But his mother went too far.
“You know, but you still go against my wishes?” The woman asked with a heavy tone. “Are you disrespecting your own life and wanting to argue with me?”
Ansel sighed helplessly. He deliberately moved the phone away from his ear to relax a bit. Ansel really didn’t want to argue with his mother. But he also couldn’t neglect his work. He truly wanted to explain to his mother that his illness was just a false rumor spread to mislead his enemies. But Ansel had to hold back, all for the greater good. Now was not the right time to end the play.
“Mom, please stay calm. Don’t overreact like that. I’m just taking care of some simple tasks. It’s not too exhausting.” Ansel gently persuaded his mother, “So please don’t worry too much.”
“How can I not worry about you? What if something happens to you?” The woman then spoke firmly, “You need to leave the company immediately and come home for me.”
“I’m still working…”
“I don’t care.” Ansel’s mother cut in, “You come home for me now.”
“I will come home after work.” Ansel calmly replied.
“Right now.” The order was absolute: “Your father and I need to talk to you. We have an important matter to discuss.”
Ansel sighed helplessly again after failing to persuade his mother. Ansel had to accept her request.