Chapter 122
By evening, Avery was laughing and chatting with Jaden, her arm comfortably linked with his as they strolled out of the exhibition hall. Jaden looked at her with admiration and said, "Avery, I had no idea you knew so much about artificial intelligence and robotics. You seem to understand it even better than the guides. If you decided to dive into AI, you’d definitely become a top expert."
Avery thought to herself, ’Mate, I already am.’ She flashed him a confident smile and replied, "Well, with my talent, I’d probably excel at just about anything."
They continued chatting about the AI and robots they’d seen, their conversation flowing effortlessly as they made their way to the basement level of the building.
Meanwhile, Linda, watching from a distance, felt her jealousy and anxiety grow. Seeing Jaden and Avery leave together, she immediately followed them in her car. She assumed Jaden was heading back to Viento Court but was shocked when she saw him pull into Mid-Level Mountain Garden. As his car disappeared into the complex, she thought, ’Jaden’s living with that girl now? How did he fall so far? Isn’t this worse than what I did? No, I can’t think like that about Jaden.’
She shook her head. ’People change, but Jaden wouldn’t. I have to believe in him. He might just be there for something, and he’ll come out soon.’ So, she parked under a tree near the entrance of the complex, waiting for Jaden to come out.
Half an hour went by. An hour passed. Two hours later, Jaden still hadn’t shown up, and neither had the car. As the night deepened, Linda’s heart felt like it was sinking, much like a grand ship slowly descending into the sea, unable to surface. ’Jaden’s spending the night at that woman’s place! He’s not mine anymore,’ she thought. She drove away, tears streaming down her face.
Back at the Carter family villa, dinner had ended, and everyone was sprawled on the couch, watching TV. Avery was recounting their afternoon at the robotics exhibition with a playful tone. "Jaden seemed completely smitten with those robots. He looked like he wanted to run off with them."
Arthur, chomping on ribs, said, "Jaden’s always been into robots. He wanted to study AI but ended up going into agriculture instead. It’s such a shame."
Avery was intrigued. Over the past few days, she’d noticed how sharp and capable Jaden was. With his brains and drive, it seemed like he could succeed at anything. So, why did he give up his passion? she wondered. Of course, she didn’t ask him directly.
Jaden responded, "It’s not really a pity. If I had chosen AI at a different university, things might have turned out differently. But I’m doing well now. My choices back then didn’t go against what I truly wanted." He smiled and added, "Life is like the moon and tides—sometimes it’s about balancing gains and losses. A little regret isn’t such a bad thing."
The adults nodded in agreement, while the younger ones seemed indifferent. Avery was really enjoying this new routine of curling up with the family, watching TV, and chatting together. But she couldn’t deny that she was incredibly busy.