I didn''t expect Laura to be arriving the next day. I suddenly felt a bit nervous.


    Felicia was straightforward about wanting to introduce me to her mother, likely hoping to let us meet. For me, though, it felt a bit too soon. After all, we had only been dating for just over a month.


    But given the circumstances—her family facing a heavy rainstorm and her mother''s cornfield suffering damage-if I didn''t step up now, I would be a useless boyfriend.


    Early the next morning, Felicia came to find me at the dorm and even brought breakfast.


    I drank the coffee she bought and ate the croissant, smiling and feeling content.


    In the past, I used to buy breakfast for Lina and wait for her at the dorm every morning. Now, the roles were reversed, and I was receiving care from someone else.


    Felicia linked her arm with mine, excitedly saying, "I couldn''t sleepst night. It''s my mother''s first time traveling alone, and I''m worried about her. I''m afraid something might happen to her."


    "It''ll be fine. With how convenient transportation is now, there''s not much to worry about."


    "She''s taking the metro. When she gets off, she has to do it on her own. I''m worried she might miss her stop."


    The metro? Was that still in service? I had thought that everything had switched to high-speed trains by now. Fortunately, I kept that thought to myself, or it might have sounded out of touch, and Felicia would have felt bad.


    We had nned to meet with Veronica and wait for their mothers at the school entrance, but Felicia was too anxious. So, we took a taxi and went directly to the train station.


    When we arrived at the station, she became even more nervous. "William, you stay here and wait. I''ll go up ahead and check!"


    There were too many people ahead, and she probably didn''t want to crowd me out. She refused to let me follow her, charging ahead into the crowd alone. How could I possibly feel at ease with that?


    I immediately followed after her, but the crowd was so thick that I quickly lost sight of her.


    As I walked further into the crowd, I spotted an arch-like exit, and arge group of people headed out together. I scanned the crowd, looking for two women walking together, but I couldn''t find them.


    Just then, a woman bumped into me. I turned, only to have her re at me aggressively.


    "What are you looking at?"


    I was speechless. "Madam, you bumped into me first!"


    "Who are you calling ''madam''? Why are you so rude? Did your parents not teach


    you manners? Are they dead?"


    I was stunned. Who was this woman cursing my parents like that?


    Although I didn''t want to argue with someone so rude, I couldn''t let her insult my parents without saying anything. I immediately retorted, "My parents are perfectly fine and will live long lives.


    "But you won''tst long acting like this. Watch where you''re going when you leave. Don''t end up on the rails after getting off the train."


    "Brat, what did you say?"


    The woman dropped her luggage and charged at me, but a tall, slim woman beside her stopped her "Stop it. It''s just a trivial matter. Let''s all move on. Don''t make a big deal out of it."


    Then she smiled at me. "I''m sorry, young man. We were carrying too many bags


    and didn''t notice. I''m sorry about that."


    Her polite tone made me feel bad for continuing the argument, so I nodded. "It''s fine. I was in the way, too."


    Just as I finished speaking, the two women suddenly appeared before me.