Chapter 40
“Yeah, I’m heading back now, Sophia whispered, “Gotta hang up.”
And then she hung up the phone.
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Brandon slowly put down his phone only when the busy signal “beep beep” hit his ears, ncing at the
screen.
The phone had already gone back to the lock screen.
He unlocked it and, on the call log page, that dialed number was still just a string of digits.
That string of digits had been saved in Brandon’s contacts for eight years.
A number he jotted down in his youth, during the time he reconnected with Sophia, he almost never
dialed it, even though he knew it by heart without having to save it
Brandon couldn’t tell why he never called in those years. He often thought of Sophia, remembered how
she stood. quietly at the podium, introducing herself with her unique soft voice, “Hi everyone, I’m
Sophia.” Every time he thought of her, he couldn’t help but fish out the number, but he never actually
dialed it.
He couldn’t quite pinpoint his feelings during those years Every time his finger hovered over the call
button, memories of the graduation party when the teacher regretfully informed everyone that Sophia
couldn’t make it, wishing everyone fun, would flood him with a sense of loss and anger. That year,
Sophia had left without a word.
On the other hand, after that loss and anger, there was theplex feeling that Sophia was not
Ynda.
Under the mix of anger andplex disappointment, every time he faced the number, he never
followed through with the call.
Brandon even thought that Sophia must have changed her number by then.
It turned out she kept it all along.
He knew her number like the back of his hand, but as for his own number which hadn’t changed in
eight years, Sophia didn’t seem to recall it
Thinking back to her polite “Hello, who’s this? on the phone just now, Brandon’s eyes dimmed again.
If he remembered correctly, this wasn’t the first time she had responded with “Hello, who’s this? She
genuinely didn’t know who was on the other end of the line.
Sophia’s figure appeared at the turn of the stairwell in the teaching building, quietly looking around.
There were quite a few cars parked in front of the building, and she couldn’t spot Brandon’s car right
away.
Brandon, seated in the driver’s seat, remained still, just watching her search.
Sophia nced around but didn’t notice Brandon’s car, and as she turned to head in a different
direction, Brandon suddenly honked the horn.
Sophia followed the sound and saw Brandon inside the car. She walked over to him.
“Sorry, I didn’t see your car just now.” Sophia apologized with a warm voice as she got into the car, her
politeness tinged with distance.
Brandon faintly remembered that Sophia had always been like this. During their school days, upon their
reunion, and even during the two years they were married, she never seemed overly affectionate or
clingy. It was as if she was always polite to a fault.
For the first time, Brandon realized that he actually didn’t like this kind of politeness.
in fact, he even despised it.
He couldn’t help but nce at her
Sophie perplexed by his stare, asked, “What’s up?
sta indifferent as Brandon turned the steering wheel emonthly nullion cu
Sophia was used to his aloofness and sat up straighter, her gaze shifted to the road ahead, and she
stayed quiet.
Brandon took a quick look at her. Her beautiful profile bathed in the evening sun, a wisp of hair curled
by the wind created a delicate arc beside her cheek, looking serene yet tender.
“Are you adjusting okay at school?” Brandon asked.
Sophia nced at him, surprised. She remembered Brandon wasn’t one for small talk, but she nodded
gently, “Yeah, it’s alright”
“Did you have a lot of sses today?
“Not really. Sophia didn’t want to outright say she just didn’t want to go back, “Today the school had a
recruitment presentation by Dempsey Architects. It looked pretty good, so I checked it out.”
Brandon turned to look at her. “Are you thinking of looking for a job?”