Perhaps, for the past eighteen years, I’d been
struggling in the mud, my feet stuck fast,
unable to pull myself out, only able to gasp
for breath and wriggle my scarred body.
Now, I’d pulled myself out, I’d broken free!
The sky was high, the sea was wide; I would
shake off the mud of the past!
My mom hesitated, perhaps sensing something different about me.
But she still insisted I come back. “Ashley,
you really don’t want to come home? We
talked to Jessica, and you can stay for a few days…
“Don’t misunderstand. You can stay as long as you want, but we’re afraid Jessica will get stressed again…”
Heh.
So coming home required Jessica’s
permission.
“No, bye.”
I hung up, ignoring the four or five
consecutive calls from my mother.
8
Winter break passed quickly, and the new
semester began.
In my sophomore year, I signed up for the
“National Talent Cup” National University
Foreign Language Ability Competition.
Winning this competition would greatly benefit my future graduate school
applications.
I went crazy studying during my sophomore
year.
Occasionally, during my free time, I’d check
the family group chat for updates on my family.
My family still revolved around Jessica. Jessica was a music student, and this year, she got into a decent arts college and started
actively pursuing a career as a singer.
The group chat had many videos of her
singing, accompanied by praise from my
parents and brother.
Sometimes I’d listen; it was mediocre, barely
good enough for karaoke.
I didn’t bother paying attention, focusing on
my goals and moving forward bravely.
L
In October, the “National Talent Cup” campus competition started, and I became famous,
winning first place at Zhongda University! In November, the provincial competition began, and I continued to advance, becoming one of the fifteen people to enter the national competition!
In December, I dominated the national competition, winning the gold award for international communication and the silver award for interpretation.
It was a remarkable achievement!
That night, I cried while holding my trophy
and then posted a selfie on my Moments,
giving a thumbs–up.
Of course, with my trophy.
My classmates and friends all liked it; the
numerous likes made my eyes dizzy.
Among the numerous likes, I spotted a
familiar profile picture.
It was my brother, Ethan.
He hadn’t changed his profile picture for
years.
After liking it, he commented.
[I almost didn’t recognize you, Ashley. You
won two awards in the National Talent Cup? Amazing!]
Ethan was a top student at a prestigious university and understood the value of the National Talent Cup.
I ignored it and went out to eat with some friends.
I even rarely drank beer, becoming dizzy but
laughing happily.
I slept soundly until noon the next day.
My phone was filled with missed calls and
messages.
The missed calls were mainly from my
parents, and the messages were from Ethan.
Ethan had sent me over twenty messages,
initially congratulating me on winning. Seeing my lack of response, he tried other
topics.
But I ignored him, and he got angry.
[What’s the meaning of not replying? Are you too arrogant after winning?]
[You haven’t come home in two years. I don’t understand what you’re thinking!]
[Jessica wants to be with us all the time, and
you’re running so far away, never coming home. People’s hearts will grow cold!]
I felt suffocated and immediately went to
vomit.
Then I felt better.
I deleted Ethan’s messages, took a hot
shower, and finally felt alive.
At the same time, a video call from my mom
came in.
9
I didn’t want to answer my mom’s video call,
so I hung up.
Then my dad called.
While drying my hair, I answered.
There were three people on the other side. Besides my dad, there was Ethan with a grim
face and my mom with a complex expression.
My mom spoke first. “Ashley, you finally
answered. We thought something happened
to you; it scared us.”
I said I’d been drinking last night and slept
through the night, so I didn’t answer.
“Drinking?” My dad frowned.
His rules were strict; he absolutely wouldn’t
allow his daughters to drink.
I calmly nodded.
Yes, I had.
My dad was about to lecture me, but my mom
stopped him and happily praised me. “It’s fine
to drink a little. You won an award; drink if
<
you want.”
I hummed in response, continuing to style my
hair, not looking at the screen.
My mom continued to praise me. “Ashley,
you’ve changed so much; we didn’t recognize
you.”
