No Waiting(5)

Six Years Later (Extra 1)

Jessalyn arrived home at 11:00 p.m.

As soon as she got home, she was hugged by Zachariah from behind when she changed her shoes at the entrance. He sobbed, "Ms. Gaffner, you left me alone..."

Jessalyn struggled to change her shoes under the burden of Zachariah. Her dimples could not help but deepen, but she still wanted to tease him. "What's wrong? Was my show bad?"

Zachariah hurriedly raised his hands to prove his identity as a true fan. "No, no. Ms. Gaffner, your program is particularly nice. You are beautiful, good at commenting, and professional."

Jessalyn smiled more deeply and pinched Zachariah's cheek.

Since college, Jessalyn and Charmaine often participated in activities together. Charmaine was a designer, while Jessalyn was a model. Jessalyn accumulated influence in the industry bit by bit, starting from the competition in a small magazine.

In six years, they also created their own women's boutique brand. At that moment, the brand had become famous, and Jessalyn occasionally received some invitations for fashion shows in addition to her own business.

Jessalyn did not expect that she had made herself famous by trying out some shows. At that moment, all kinds of programs would find her. She was unable to attend to other things at the same time.

Jessalyn thought about herself. She did spend lesser time with Zachariah.

She patted Zachariah's head and said, "I will definitely spare some time for your solo exhibition next month, okay?"

Zachariah did not let go of her hands. "No, Jess, I need you to compensate me now."

"So? What do you want me to do?" Jessalyn looked at Zachariah, who was aggrieved but looked cunning.

"Jess, can you call me darling?"

After a few seconds of silence, Jessalyn said softly, "Zachariah, did you see any strange questions online again?"

Jessalyn's voice was not loud, but Zachariah was so frightened that he immediately let go of his hands. "Jess, this is not a strange question. Boys really want to hear their girlfriends call them darling. Ah, don't hit me."

It was midnight.

Zachariah was packing Jessalyn's luggage.

He cursed in his heart, "Why does the evil program team arrange the recording date so packed? She is totally a tool for them. What if Jess is tired and ill?"

He pricked up his ears and heard the sound of water in the bathroom stop. He quickly sealed half of the suitcase and pretended to be casual and perfunctory.

Jessalyn went back to the bedroom while wiping her hair. She saw Zachariah's figure, who was silently packing her luggage.

Jessalyn looked at him casually, carefully distributing the vitamins by type, labeling them, and placing them in the interlayer.

She thought of the six years all that while.

Within the past six years, they were ridiculed by their seniors when they first entered the industry, they were forced to give up the places they had won by relying on their strength, and their competitors maliciously reported their brand.

Since she was 20 years old, she was no longer alone in all the dark moments in her life. She had such a person to accompany her and spend such moments with her.

In the past six years, she also witnessed Zachariah get closer step by step to his dream. Slowly, he became a young photography artist who could currently hold a solo exhibition.

They were all improving and getting prouder of each other.

She opened her arms, hugged him from behind, rested her head on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "Darling, thank you. Thank you."

Then, she saw the reddened ears of Zachariah, who wanted her to call him darling.

Zachariah turned around, held Jessalyn, and stood up, letting Jessalyn clasp his neck with both hands.

Their foreheads touched. Zachariah blinked his watery eyes and looked at Jessalyn. Even though Zachariah was taller than Jessalyn and stared at Jessalyn from above, Jessalyn still had the illusion that he was like a pitiful Samoyed.

Zachariah wiggled a little. "Jess, will you listen to your darling tonight?"

At the moment before the lights were turned off, Jessalyn felt that Zachariah was so coquettish.

Out of Reach (Extra 2)

In the counseling room, the counselor asked him, "I think the feeling you just said seems to be a great regret. Could you tell me what you regret the most in your life so far?"

The plane took off with instantaneous tinnitus and then gradually stabilized.

Stanley opened the visor and saw the grand, dazzling sun above the clouds.

He thought of the most regrettable thing in his life.

What he regretted in his life seemed not to be a thing but a person and a period of time.

When he saw Jessalyn for the first time, he was still a child who was not afraid of anything.

The children of the same age he had met before were all short, especially girls. They wore beautiful skirts and spun around him as if he was their grandfather.

Jessalyn was one head taller than him. When he first saw her, he felt like he had seen an alien.

However, only she would not leave him.

Children's attention came and went quickly. They would go near whoever had new toys to play with or whoever had brought a lot of snacks.

The Zabel family was very strict with the management of their children. Stanley did not have many new toys to share with others. Everyone praised him for his good appearance, but they did not surround him daily.

Only Jessalyn would carry her toys from home and reach out to him when he was sad, just like the first time she handed him a lollipop. She said to him, "It doesn't matter. I'll give you my toys. Let's play."

Childhood passed by in a blink of an eye.

The hormones during puberty were restless. He saw many female students in the same grade hiding in the distance, watching him, whispering but not daring to approach. There were even seniors waiting directly on the basketball court to confess to him.

Probably satisfied with his vanity, he listened to the cheers around him and did not even see what the senior looked like. He casually replied, "Okay."

He glanced at Jessalyn, who was holding a bottle of water and a towel for him. She seemed to be stunned. For some reason, he was a little afraid to look into her eyes at that moment. He hurriedly picked up the water and left the basketball court with the senior in his arms.

Two weeks later, he broke up with the senior.

After school, he still went home with Jessalyn, walked past Juset Park, and shared the snacks bought at the stall.

However, something was different.

He seemed unable to put his arms around her shoulders as he used to. "Dude, treat me to an ice cream."

Then she pretended to be a little disgusted and shook off his arm to run to the canteen to buy his favorite flavor.

When he found that the boy in the next class was waiting for her at Juset Park every day, he felt angry subconsciously.

However, he was confused when he finished teaching the boy a lesson. He stared at the swing moving in the night breeze and asked himself why.

He could not figure out the reason for his actions.

The beaten boy was furious and spread the incident to the school.

A friend asked him, "Stanley, do you like Jessalyn?"

He immediately stood up and shouted, "She is my good friend. What the hell are you talking about?"

He saw Jessalyn, who sent him notes outside the window.

She smiled, but the smile was insincere. Then she put the notes at the window and left silently.

From that day on, they never went home together.

In those days as a restless and shallow youth, he sometimes imagined what his future partner would look like.

It seemed that she would be like all his friends. She would be beautiful, fair, cute, or pure. In short, he would imagine those superstars as his girlfriend.

When he was discussing with his classmates, he would occasionally have a thought in his mind. However, he would change his thought process at that moment.

She had been his friend since childhood, and she was his most important friend.

He tried to assure himself that it was the truth.

In that chaos, he met Charmaine.

Charmaine had a typical goddess face, but she rarely smiled at others.

The boys struggled to give her gifts and love letters, but she would not respond. She stuffed those things in her drawer. Once her drawer was full, she would throw them into the trash can.

Someone mocked her for being arrogant. She stared at them coldly and said, "It's none of your business."

At that time, Stanley happened to pass by her classroom and witnessed her sitting down without a change of expression after she finished speaking.

He felt that the girl seemed to be a bit similar to Jessalyn from some angles.

However, she was different from Jessalyn and many other people.

For the first time in his life, he wanted to pursue someone.

However, he failed. He ended up in a miserable defeat.

That time, Charmaine did not throw his gifts into the trash can but returned them to him.

She said, "Being nice to someone for no reason will make you lose yourself. Think about it."

She spoke to him, but she stared at Jessalyn.

In fact, Jessalyn did not know that Charmaine also left him a note with the word "trash" on it.

After being rejected by Charmaine shamefully, he began to fall into a kind of revenge. He would fall in love unscrupulously, get together quickly, and break up quickly.

For many years, that type of relationship seemed to have become a habit for him.

He knew that couples would typically break up after being together. He also knew what they valued about him. It was just his face.

That was how he looked at relationships.

However, only Jessalyn would not leave him.

When his fair-weather friends provoked him to introduce a boyfriend to her that year after graduation, his first reaction was annoyance. He stared coldly at the friend who led the provocation. He knew it was none of their business.

However, what he said was like what he had done as a child. He subconsciously denied it and hurt her.

After saying that, he regretted it.

He could not help but observe Jessalyn sitting in the shadows in the corner. The light was too dark, and he seemed to see her silent as usual.

He could not find a way to resolve the matter. Hence, he tried his luck by joining a gathering with his friends.

Years later, he dreamed of Jessalyn's expression, which could not be seen in the shadow. He suddenly woke up from bed.

He realized that maybe, from that moment on, he had lost her forever.

He had lost a friend who grew up with him and a girl who had loved him her whole youth.

The sound of the plane landing was heard. Stanley snapped back to his senses.

After three years of separation, he finally returned to his familiar hometown again.

After discussing with the investor, the manager, who had a good personal relationship with him, took out a ticket for an art photography exhibition and suggested he visit the exhibition. After all, the photographer named Zack was a new star in the industry who had caught the attention of many people.

The following weekend, Stanley rented a car to go to the exhibition gallery.

He did not expect that he would reunite with Jessalyn that way.

They had not met for three years. Jessalyn seemed to be blooming in the days without him, and she had outstanding achievements.

She wore a simple black dress, a platinum pearl necklace, and earrings, but no one could forget her cold and charming temperament.

She had grown up.

Stanley's hand trembled involuntarily. He calmed down and wanted to walk forward.

However, he did not know what he should say to her.

He thought, "Long time no see?

Are you fine?

I miss you?

Can we introduce ourselves again?"

The thoughts abruptly stopped when he saw a man holding her hand.

It was Zachariah.

He unfolded the ticket in his hand and realized that Zack was Zachariah.

Zachariah held Jessalyn's left hand with their fingers intertwined on the stage.

Zachariah held the microphone with the other hand and spoke to the audience.

"Many years ago, I met a girl. I didn't meet her. I only saw her photos."

He continued, "At that time, I had just entered the industry and was in a mess. I also suspect that I could stick to this path. But the moment I saw her photo, I was suddenly blessed with inspiration. The photo was very simple, but the moment I saw her, I felt like I was about to start understanding a story. At that moment, I found my direction. I need to show the story of each individual and each life."

Zachariah added, "This girl who inspired me is my girlfriend, Jessalyn, who has been with me for six years. But today, I have one more thing to do."

After saying that, Zachariah faced Jessalyn, knelt on one knee, and took out the ring box from his pocket.

Everyone was excited.

The photographer who recorded the ceremony hurriedly redirected the camera and focused on the two of them.

Stanley's tinnitus appeared again for a moment. He could not hear them, but Jessalyn, who pounced on Zachariah with a tearful smile, explained everything.

He could not remember how he left.

When he returned to his senses, he was already at the entrance of the exhibition gallery. A spasm suddenly came from his heart like an electric shock hitting him, and the pain filled his chest.

Stanley squatted down and buried his head in his knees.

He remembered what Nancy had said to him when he was a child.

She said looking for the other half in one's life was like walking into a wheat field, hoping to find the best and brightest wheat ears.

However, one would never know when the suitable one would appear.

Many people thought there was still a lot at the back. Hence, they threw away those in front.

Others thought that they would never have any hope again. Hence, they picked up one at the entrance and left.

At that moment, he finally understood that fate had blessed him. It turned out it had already given him the most precious things when he entered the field.

However, he was too childish and stupid and abused her sincerity.