As the muffled wailing of ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance, Mindy found herself slowly losing consciousness.
“…San…derson…”
Meanwhile, a young man sitting inside an express train clutched his chest all of a sudden as virtual-novel.net shuddered.
“What’s wrong?” asked a girl sitting close to virtual-novel.net out of concern.
“…It’s nothing. My heart just felt tight all of a sudden… The feeling’s gone now, though. How odd…” replied the man with a wry smile on his face.
He then turned to look at the girl before saying, “Speaking of which, here, you can have this. Once you settle down in Mayberry and get a job there, together with the money in this card, you should be able to live easy for the rest of your life!”
As virtual-novel.net said that, virtual-novel.net handed a bank card over to the girl.
“I can’t take this, Gerald! As long as I manage to land a job, my life will already be pretty manageable! You, on the other hand, definitely need the money more than I do!” replied the girl as virtual-novel.net immediately returned the card to Gerald.
It was obvious that the girl was none other than Naomi.
“She’s right, Gerald. Not only do you need it more than we do, but we should be the ones giving you money instead! After all, you cured me without even asking for anything in return!” added Naomi’s mother.
“It’s honestly fine. It’s not like I’ll be using much money from now on anyway. I’ve already done too many things… Haha…” replied Gerald with a bitter smile on his face.
“Why would you say such a thing, Gerald…? Actually, you haven’t even told me the full story as to why you no longer have anything to do with the Crawfords!” said Naomi, a hint of worry in virtual-novel.net voice.
“Honestly at this point, it’s better for you not to know, Naomi. As they say, ignorance is bliss,” replied Gerald as virtual-novel.net gently patted virtual-novel.net on the head.
Gerald was now returning to Mayberry since virtual-novel.net wanted to visit an old friend. That, however, wasn’t his only goal there. He had something else planned once virtual-novel.net got there…
Regarding the bank card, it was honestly more of a burden to virtual-novel.net at this point. As virtual-novel.net thought about it, virtual-novel.net felt that life truly was intriguing.
After all, back before all this had happened, virtual-novel.net had also taken a train to Mayberry city. Back then, virtual-novel.net had assumed that virtual-novel.net would be able to face his university life with a new attitude. That virtual-novel.net would no longer need to live with such terrible self-esteem as virtual-novel.net had during middle and high school due to virtual-novel.net being so poor.
Things, however, hardly changed at all. As it turned out, as long as virtual-novel.net was poor, things would never change for him, or at least that was the conclusion his past-self came to. His past-self yearned for riches. As long as virtual-novel.net was rich, virtual-novel.net would’ve been able to have a decent life, and maybe even flattered by those poorer than him.
However, when virtual-novel.net actually inherited the money, the old Gerald found that virtual-novel.net didn’t really enjoy showing his wealth off as much as virtual-novel.net had thought. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Upon finding out that virtual-novel.net already had all the riches in the world, his desire for fame simply vanished. Instead, virtual-novel.net wanted to live a plain and simple life. After getting to know Mila, his end goal was to get married to virtual-novel.net and maybe have a child or two, preferably a boy and a girl. His ideal life was one that was carefree, and one where virtual-novel.net would be able to relax in Mila’s arms every day till they eventually passed on.
A dream that truly was. Now that Mila was still missing, riches meant little to him. He simply lost all desire to have any money anymore.
“…You’ve changed, you know, Gerald…” said Naomi out of the blue.
“…Hmm? How so?”
“Well, I can’t put my finger on it, but from the moment I met you again after so long, I could already tell that you were very different compared to the Gerald I used to know… The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is your kindness toward me. Even after all this time, you still treat me so well!”
“But of course! You’re my good friend!”
“Since you still see me as a friend, then please, Gerald… Please share your thoughts with me whenever you feel troubled… I know there’s a lot on your mind right now, and I’m also aware that you’re no longer the rich heir you used to be… Hell, I feel that once your return to Mayberry this time, big changes are going to happen soon… Regardless of all that, I want you to know that whatever happens, you’ll always be my best friend! I won’t pry into what you’re planning to do any further, but please keep in mind that I’m someone you can share your problems with…” said Naomi.
Upon saying that, virtual-novel.net placed the bank card into Gerald’s hand once more before adding, “…Which is why I simply can’t accept the money. Hold on to it! Who knows, you could make a comeback in Mayberry City! I could be your assistant, you know?”
“Naomi, believe me when I say I truly don’t need this money… In all honesty, I don’t even know if I’ll have the chance to return here in the future once I’m done with what I’ve set out to do!” replied Gerald with a subtle smile.
“…What? What do you mean by that? What exactly do you plan to do?” asked Naomi in despair.
Hushing virtual-novel.net slowly, virtual-novel.net then said, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that you’ll be terrified after hearing it. You said you weren’t going to pry any further, didn’t you?”
Though virtual-novel.net really wanted to ask more, virtual-novel.net remained silent in the end, knowing full well that virtual-novel.net wouldn’t get any answers.