Chapter 5 Block Her

Andy still vaguely remembers.

At that time, after she casually mentioned her name, Charlie just dragged out an "ah" sound, and then didn't say anything more.

Now that she thinks back, she can almost imagine his thought process, first-"I want to hear how masculine your name is," then-"Andy?" and finally-"Oh, not that impressive."

The proud, almost arrogant look on his face back then is almost the same as it is now.

But maybe because of growing older, he no longer shows emotions as openly as when he was younger; or perhaps, it's simply because they haven't seen each other for years, and they've become strangers. His indifference now seems to encompass all his emotions.

Just as she reached the subway station.

While searching for her metro card in her bag, she took out her phone. Seeing Sara's Facebook, she replied casually to a few posts. Then, she suddenly remembered that Charlie was on her Facebook list.

A couple of years ago, when more people started using Facebook, Andy registered an account. At that time, she imported her contacts directly, and since Charlie's number was still in her phone, she sent him a friend request.

He probably accepted it without thinking.

Since then, they hadn't exchanged a word.

But Andy thought that, when he accepted her request, he probably didn't know it was her.

Because by then, she had already changed her number to one from Chicago.

Thinking about this, Andy clicked on her contact list, scrolled down to the "C" section, and found Charlie. She clicked on his profile, glanced at his empty page, and quickly exited.

There was nothing on his profile.

He probably blocked her, or maybe he had already deleted her?

Or maybe the person she added wasn't even Charlie.

Maybe he had already changed his phone number long ago.

Andy hesitated for a few seconds at the delete button but ultimately decided to exit.

Since she wasn't sure, and she wasn't the type to delete people, it didn't matter much if he stayed there, silently.

Back home.

Andy called her landlord to discuss ending her lease.

The landlord was very understanding, having heard her situation multiple times, and sympathized with her living alone. He quickly agreed, saying that if she wanted to move out now, both the deposit and the prepaid rent would be refunded to her.

Andy thanked him gratefully.

After settling that, she opened her computer and started browsing rental websites.

After browsing for a while, she hadn't found anything suitable.

Finding a place in New York City was really hard.

As a first-tier city, a one-bedroom apartment fully furnished, close to New York City, with good security, the cheapest rent Andy had seen was around three to four thousand dollars a month.

This was quite a challenge given her current financial situation.

Andy was feeling a bit stressed.

She decided to text Sara, [Sara, I'm thinking about moving.]

Andy, [When you have time, can you ask your friends if they have any available rental places?]

Soon, Sara called.

Andy answered the call.

Sara was curious and directly asked, "What happened? Why do you want to move all of a sudden? Didn't you pay for three months' rent?"

"Neighbor harassment," Andy explained briefly, calmly recounting what had happened today. "I called the police this morning, and we went to the station. He's been detained for five days. I'm worried he might retaliate, so it's better to move sooner."

"......" Sara was stunned, then took a while to process it. "Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I'm fine, he didn't do anything too extreme, just knocking on my door. By the time I went to the police station, it was already around three or four a.m., and there were police there, so it was safe. No need for you to come over," Andy said. "How far are you? It was the middle of the night."

"I'm sorry," Sara felt guilty. "I thought this place was pretty good, cheap and close to your work..."

"You don't have to apologize. Without you helping me find a place, I might have ended up on the street," Andy laughed. "And I really liked the place. If it weren't for the neighbor, I probably would've rented it long term."

"Sigh, so what are you going to do now? Do you want to stay at my place for a while?" Sara asked.

"No need, your sister-in-law just had her second child, right?" Andy said. "If I go there, it might make them uncomfortable, and I'd be causing trouble. It's really no problem, I'll move as soon as I find a place."

Sara had a big family. Besides an older brother who was married, there was also a younger sister in high school, and they all lived together with their parents. After work, Sara also had to help take care of her sister and nephew.

Knowing this, Sara didn't press further, sighing again.

"Well, how about going to your mom's place?"

"I haven't told her I'm back in New York City, and she doesn't have a place for me either." Before Sara could ask more, Andy changed the subject. "If I haven't found a place before my neighbor gets out, I'll stay with you for a few days."

Sara finally felt a bit more at ease. "Okay."

Andy switched topics, half-joking, "I kind of regret my impulsive decision. I saw my neighbor's legs this morning, they're as thick as a barrel. It would take half an hour to chop them with a knife."

"......" Sara couldn't help but retort, "You're making it sound too scary."

"That's why I'm scared," Andy said slowly. "If he holds a grudge and tries to retaliate, who knows, there might be a chance that..."

"What?"

"If I have a chainsaw, I still might not be able to beat him."

"......"

The Phone Call Ended.

Andy opened another rental website and skimmed through it again. After a while, she still couldn't find anything suitable, so she closed her computer and stood up to take a shower.

Moving was not something that could be rushed. If she hastily found a new place and ended up with more problems, it would be pointless. It would just be a waste of energy and resources.

Andy didn't want to trouble anyone, but if she couldn't find a place in the short term, she would have to stay at Sara's for a while.

The next day was the last day of 2013.

The New York City government, in collaboration with New York City Broadcasting, hosted a New Year's Eve fireworks show, splitting the viewing areas into two zones, Bamboo Gulf Resort and Nith Square. The tickets were free, but required online reservations and a lottery.

Only citizens who had reserved tickets and won the lottery could participate.

When Sara made her reservation, she chose the Bamboo Gulf viewing area and invited Andy to join her after she won the lottery.

Andy didn't waste her spot.

This event had been approved by the station two weeks prior, and as usual, Andy had to work overtime to broadcast live from the venue. However, unlike Sara, she would be going to Ninth Square.

Andy had applied for an interview vehicle from the station.

The team arrived early to set up. Abraham, her instructor, was driving. Besides the two of them, John also came along, and an experienced journalist, Angel, was there to serve as the on-site reporter.

By the time they arrived, there was still a long wait before the fireworks began.

The square had three entrances, labeled ABC, dividing the viewing areas into three distinct sections. Many people had already arrived, and the staff were checking tickets and IDs at the entrance, letting people in gradually.

They were just one of the assigned groups, placed in the A section.

In addition to them, there were many other reporters from TV stations and newspapers.

They found a suitable spot for filming, and Abraham began setting up the equipment. It was a relatively large event, with a lot of people and no assigned seats, so a variety of people of all professions and ages were around.

Perhaps because they saw the camera, a group of people gradually gathered around them, whispering and chatting.

The square was covered by the sea breeze and the night, with tall buildings in the distance emitting colorful lights. The sea wind was wet and cold, ruthlessly slapping against Andy, biting through any gap and chilling to her bones.

Andy still hadn't fully adjusted to the humid and cold weather in New York City, and today, she had also started her period, so she wasn't feeling too well.

She rummaged through her bag for a mask and put it on.

She stood there for a while longer.

Looking at the time, Andy decided to take the opportunity to visit the restroom. Abraham and Angel were still communicating with the control room, so she didn't want to disturb them and simply told John.

Following the signs, she walked about a hundred meters and finally reached the public restroom. Nearby, there was an old, dilapidated pavilion, filled with people, some resting, others waiting.

The restroom wasn't large, and the line for the women's restroom had stretched outside for about five meters.

On the other hand, there was no one waiting outside the men's restroom.

The contrast was stark.

Andy resigned herself and joined the line.

Bored, she took out her phone to browse Twitter. After a short while, she heard a light conversation nearby. One of the voices seemed somewhat familiar.

Andy turned her head.

Near the outer edge of the pavilion, there was a small open space with bright white lights, somewhat harsh on the eyes.

She squinted, and through the clear view, she once again saw Charlie, whom she had just met yesterday.

It almost felt like a hallucination.

From this angle, she could only see his profile.

The man's expression was indifferent, leaning slightly against the pavilion. He wore a military-green windbreaker, his broad shoulders and long legs making him stand out. He was wiping his hands with a tissue, looking like he had just come out of the restroom.

He slightly bent forward as he spoke to a middle-aged woman sitting on a nearby bench.

The woman looked up at him. "Done?"

Charlie, "Mm."

The woman stood up. "Then you can wait here. She's still in line. I'll go find your dad first."

"......" Charlie paused, slowly raising his eyelids. "You need to wait for someone just for using the restroom?"

"There are a lot of people," the woman said. "And I'm spending some alone time with your dad. Why are you tagging along?"

"So, what did you bring me here for?" Charlie said, laughing in frustration. "To babysit?"

The woman patted his arm, seemingly a bit satisfied. "If you had figured that out sooner, I wouldn't have to keep coming up with excuses like this."

Charlie, "......"

Before leaving, the woman said, "By the way, you should talk to your sister. She seems to be under a lot of pressure lately. She's even lost some weight recently."

Charlie tugged at the corner of his lips, his expression almost a smile as he said, "Talk to her?"

The woman, "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Not only do we have a generation gap," Charlie said, pulling out his phone from his pocket, his tone casual, "-but there's also the gender difference. So I'll leave that to you."

Silence for three seconds.

The woman said only ten words, "Can't get you to do anything now, huh?"

"......"

After the woman left, Andy realized she had been listening to their conversation the whole time. The line moved forward at that moment, and she snapped out of her thoughts, taking a few steps ahead.

From this position, she couldn't see Charlie anymore.

About a minute later, Sara sent her three messages.

Sara, [[/Image]]

Sara, [I'm shocked.]

Sara, [I sent him a group message with New Year's wishes before, and he never replied. I thought he wasn't using Facebook anymore.]

Andy opened the image to take a look.

It was Sara's chat history with Charlie.

Charlie had sent a message.

It looked like a group message, with only four words, [Happy New Year.]

Seeing this, Andy instinctively closed the chat window and quickly glanced at the unread messages.

There was no message from Charlie.

But his profile picture in her contacts was the same as in the screenshot.

So she probably didn't add the wrong person.

Then why hadn't she received the group message?

He surely wouldn't be petty enough to intentionally exclude her from it.

Or maybe it wasn't a group message?

But just moments ago, he had been scolded by his mother right under her nose, and he didn't seem like someone who would have the time to send individual New Year's wishes.

After thinking for a while, Andy concluded that the most likely explanation was what she had thought earlier.

He had already deleted her.

With this thought, she recalled all the random people in her contact list and decided to send a group message, using it as an excuse to remove the people who had blocked her.

Soon after sending it, she received responses from several people.

Andy started reading the replies, responding to a few here and there.

When she got to the last message, she froze for a moment.

She was horrified to find that the person replying was the very person she had mistakenly thought had deleted her, the one she had just seen standing a few meters away.

He had sent just one symbol.

Charlie, [?]

"......"