Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 41
Hogan and I finally parted ways on a sour note..
But this time around, I wasn't freaking out.
Sure, Hogan was a tough cookie, but with Cecilia in the picture, he'd got his
Achilles heel
Had a dreamless night, and when I woke up, my phone was buzzing with a few
unread
messages.
They were from Tina.
We hit it off at Darren's birthday bash and added each other.
[Xaviera, are you and Darren actually an item now?]
She was fishing for some juicy gossip.
It seemed that she caught wind of that post too.
1 had no choice but to run through the whole spiel I gave Cecilia yesterday, and
ended it with [Do me a solid and clear the air with the rest of the gang, will ya?]
Tina was a peach, and she agreed right away.
But thinking about how all this might affect Darren, I was still feeling edgy, so I
gave him a ring.
“This is why you're blowing up my phone first thing in the morning?” Darren
asked in his usual laid-back tone, sounding a bit miffed, “Xaviera, do you really
think I'm that petty?”
“Darren.”
“And besides, to be linked with you, Xaviera, is an honor for me.”
Darren cut me off, his voice as warm and comforting as the autumn sun at its
zenith.
“I'm tied up at the moment, you go on with your day.”
I quickly hung up.
Of course, I wasn't trying to brush Darren off on purpose. I had to check in on my
uncle today—it was his second day here in Rivertown.
He was staying in a no-frills residential area in the eastern part of Rivertown.
When I got to the staff dorm with some fruit, his colleague told me my uncle had
the morning shift and was already out patrolling the commercial street.
I politely handed out some snacks to everyone and then headed to the street
corner to look for him.
I hadn't gone far when I heard my uncle’s intermittent voice. My heart skipped a
beat, and I hurried over.
There was this middle-aged woman with dyed yellow hair, red lips, and dressed
to the nines in Chanel style, pointing fingers at my uncle.
“When did our neighborhood lose its class? Are we hiring security guards or
inviting trouble?”
My usually meek uncle was nervously clasping his hands, apologizing to the
woman while stuttering. “I just thought n—nobody wanted it, I-I'm not a thief.”
His dark skin glistened with sweat, and his eyes were filled with embarrassment.
“Uncle!”
My uncle Jason turned at the sound of my voice, and a genuine smile briefly
crossed his simple face before he looked down again, clearly uncomfortable.
Jason had a stutter his whole life.
Probably worried about embarrassing me, he hung his head low, looking like he
was caught red-handed.
I stepped in front of him and asked the woman, “Ma’am, seems like there's been
some misunderstanding?”
She tilted her chin up arrogantly, “And you are? Related to this thief?"
Her calling him a “thief” drew a small crowd.
“Ma'am, you're calling my uncle a thief. Got any proof?” I glanced at the
cardboard boxes at her feet, speaking with authority.
The woman probably didn’t expect me to push back so hard. She pointed at me
and said, “Denying it, huh? I had my cardboard boxes sitting right outside my
door, and he just takes. them without a word. Isn't that stealing?”
I got the picture right away.
Jason had been a pushover his whole life, always on the receiving end of
bullying; he'd never stoop to petty theft.
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I glanced over at the snack shop and
sya , al -
said, “Ma’am, this is a commercial
street. The area where youd GPnped
yur patdioatd is managed by the
property company. Since my uncle
) 5
works here. he's naturally obliged to
. "
keep the street clean. As for stealing.
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I paused, then continued, “Ma'am, who would steal something in broad daylight?”
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The woman was left speechless by
my argument, stompin her foptin
“ ’
Li Cg pelle the boxes
: )
withdut saying a word. Isn't that
” :
theft!” The content is on
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chapter there!
I turned to my uncle and asked patiently. “Is that what happened?”
Jason looked at me, shook his head, and managed to say, “I-I told the
shopkeeper.”
Now the woman had no comeback.
Chapter 41
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, 5 :
The onlookers couldn't stand it either,
Ta NT
chiming in. “It's Ll qardboard
oA nq oped € make a mountain
2 BTR .
out of a molehill.” The content is on
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“Exactly, give the security guard a break, don’t nitpick.”
The more the woman listened, the more annoyed she became, waving us off.
“Alright, alright, that's enough, off you go!"
Her gesture was like she was shooing away a beggar.
Watching my uncle's unwillingness to make a fuss, I felt a bitter taste in my
mouth.
Just because he stuttered and couldn't talk smoothly, this woman thought she
could trample on his dignity in public?