Chapter 8

The next day, Neal took a cab to the address Sherman gave him. As soon as he entered the private room, Sherman called him over to the seat beside him. Despite not having seen each other for years, everyone had a lot to talk about throughout the alumni reunion. Time flew by as they chatted while eating. Neal was in the middle of a conversation with Sherman when his phone started ringing. He pulled it out and saw a call from Lisa Trainor, the intern at Joyce's law firm. When he answered it, Lisa hurriedly said in a panic, "Mr. Bolton, Ms. Slater is having another gastric attack, but I don't know what kind of medication she needs. What should I do?" Neal gave Lisa the names of two types of medication that Joyce regularly consumed. He heard the sound of someone frantically rummaging through something, but before long, Lisa asked tearfully, "I couldn't find any of the medication in the office, Mr. Bolton. Can you bring them over?" In the past, Neal would've agreed to it right away, but this time, he declined without hesitation. "If you can't find the medication, just get some from the nearby drugstore. You can even get it delivered to the office. It's amazing how convenient things are these days. Anyway, I won't be coming over." Once he finished speaking, he ended the call. Sherman, who'd been silent the whole time, asked, "Is that the girlfriend for whom you gave up everything back then?" "Yeah," Neal replied with a nod. Looking at Neal, Sherman queried in concern, "Is she fine with you going abroad?" Neal had been top of his class back in college, and he loved designing jewelry. Not only was he blessed with talent, but he was also willing to put in the effort. He had a bright future ahead of him, but after getting into a relationship, he sacrificed his chance to pursue a career in jewelry design to devote himself to looking after his girlfriend. Therefore, Sherman was still worried that Neal would give up this rare opportunity because of his girlfriend's protests. Thankfully, Neal shook his head before replying, "It doesn't matter what she thinks about it. I've decided to break up with her." Sherman didn't expect his spur-of-the-moment question to result in such a wonderful surprise. Laughing heartily, he declared, "Excellent! That's more like it! No one should ever give up their future for someone else. "You're the most talented student I have ever had the honor of mentoring, Neal. If you persist in this field, I'm sure you'll have a brilliant future ahead of you! It's such a shame that you missed your shot once. This time, you must make the most of it!" With a faint smile, Neal replied, "I will. I've learned to love myself." It was already rather late when Neal got home after the alumni reunion ended. He entered the living room and turned on the lights, only to see a sullen-faced Joyce sitting on the couch. Startled, he couldn't help but frown when he saw Joyce. "What are you doing here?" Joyce, who looked a little ashen, fixed her eyes on Neal. After a while, she finally spoke, though she didn't answer his question. "Where did you go? What were you doing? Why did you come home so late? Didn't you hear that I had a gastric attack today? Why didn't you come over to check on me?" The barrage of questions signified Joyce's displeasure, but unlike her, Neal remained calm, his expression emotionless. "I was busy today, and I was quite far from your office anyway, so there was no point in going over. It would've been better if you sent someone out for the medication or had it delivered to you. Even if I did head over to your office, it's not like I could've done anything to help you," Neal replied before turning to leave. Alas, Joyce could no longer keep her cool. Her voice was sharp and loud as she cried out, "Neal! This is not what you would've done in the past!" Eyeing her coolly, Neal questioned, "What did I do in the past?" Joyce was trembling. It looked like she was about to have an emotional outburst. Neal rubbed his forehead before grabbing her hand, but what came out of his mouth only made Joyce feel as though she'd plunged into a pool of icy water. "It's getting late. I'm tired. You should calm down. I'm going to bed."