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Chapter 236: Heading to Boston
🕑 Added 2025-05-01 05:05:48 +0000 UTC*MAX’s Diner.*
“It’s nothing.”
Chandler shrugged and said, “You guys know that Susie has been working in a field team for a long time. We rarely see each other, and over time, our feelings naturally faded. Breaking up was inevitable.”
Seeing Adam still looking at him, Chandler added, “Neither of us initiated it—we both felt the same way. It was an amicable breakup.”
“I have the most experience with these kinds of calm breakups. It’s really no big deal.”
Adam patted Chandler on the shoulder.
“…”
Everyone was at a loss for words.
Because, honestly, that was the truth.
But why did it sound so strange?
Seeing MAX giving him a weird look, Adam leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “A sugar daddy and a naughty girl can’t just have a calm breakup~”
“Right, if we were to break up, I’d accuse you of domestic violence.”
MAX quipped sarcastically, “You wouldn’t be able to explain yourself, and my body would be covered in evidence.”
“…”
The corner of Adam’s mouth twitched, and he suddenly looked uncomfortable.
“Relax, I’m just joking.”
Noticing Adam’s discomfort, MAX was surprised.
“You don’t understand—this kind of thing is no joke.”
Adam said seriously.
In his past life, the scandal involving Dong Ge had been so explosive that even a bystander like Adam had been deeply impressed by it. He had heard that this kind of setup was an old American trick—what some people called the “American honey trap.”
Even though he knew MAX wasn’t that kind of person, the idea still gave him chills.
“Got it.”
Although MAX didn’t fully understand, she nodded in agreement.
“I want to go home.”
Rachel, noticing that the conversation had gone off track and that no one was paying attention to comforting her anymore, stood up unhappily.
“Should I take some time off and go back with you?”
Monica asked with concern.
“No need. I just want to be alone for a while.”
Rachel waved her hand.
“That’s probably a good idea.”
Adam said, “Being alone to think might help you realize that arguing serves no purpose. Of course, that is—if you really want to be alone and don’t want anyone to keep you company?”
“No, I don’t.”
Rachel shook her head.
Since she insisted, no one tried to persuade her otherwise.
After Rachel left—
“What was that look?”
MAX noticed Adam’s expression when he last looked at Rachel and asked.
“It’s nothing.”
Adam smiled. “I just hope Rachel really is spending time alone thinking. If that male colleague calls her again, insisting on keeping her company and helping her ‘work through it,’ and she agrees… then I’d say she and Ross are completely done.”
“No way.”
Monica exclaimed in shock.
“A woman’s words are full of deception.”
MAX snarked. “Adam’s guess is totally possible.”
“No, I have to take time off and go back.”
Monica couldn’t sit still anymore.
Ross was her brother, and Rachel was her best friend. She had always believed in their relationship and didn’t want things to be permanently ruined over a moment of impulse.
Thinking from Rachel’s perspective, if she were in Rachel’s position—having just broken up because she couldn’t stand her boyfriend interfering in her work—and a handsome male colleague who had always been supportive insisted on coming over to comfort her, she probably wouldn’t be able to refuse such kindness.
In fact, deep down, she might even be a little happy about it.
And if they had a few drinks, the atmosphere got emotional, their eyes met… sparks could fly.
Then, things would definitely go downhill from there.
After Monica left, MAX had other customers to tend to, leaving only Adam and Chandler.
“You’re really fine?”
Adam smiled.
“Really fine.”
Chandler shrugged. “To be honest, Susie is great, but our relationship was always more about comfort than passion. We never had that feeling of ‘I can’t live without you.’”
“I get it.”
Adam chuckled. “It’s that ‘more than friends, less than lovers’ kind of situation. Now you understand why I don’t do relationships? I just can’t seem to find that one person who makes me feel like I can’t live without them.”
“We’re not the same.”
Chandler gave him a look of disdain. “I wanted to be in a relationship but just didn’t find the right feeling. You, on the other hand, never wanted to be in one in the first place. One is by accident, the other is by choice—how is that the same?”
“So, you’re really fine.”
Adam said with a deadpan expression.
If he could think so clearly about all this, then he was obviously fine.
Watching Chandler in good spirits, Adam held back from saying something:
If I hadn’t been so firm about not dating in the first place, you might have ended up calling me stepdad by now.
---
The Next Few Weeks
As the semester neared its end, Adam became busier. And knowing all the drama going on between Ross and Rachel, he decided to skip every gathering, only catching up on the latest gossip during his morning runs with Chandler and Monica.
Monica had been too late.
Even though she was only delayed by a few words and arrived just minutes later, the heavy traffic slowed her down. By the time she got there, the handsome male colleague had already arrived.
As Monica mentally cursed Rachel and that guy for moving at light speed while also feeling relieved that she had come in time to prevent further escalation, the phone rang.
That handsome male colleague casually walked over, picked up the phone, and answered it.
One could only imagine Ross’s reaction when he heard that guy’s voice on the other end.
He hung up immediately.
Then, he went out and started partying with some girl at a bar.
Only then did Monica realize what had happened. She snatched the phone, trying to explain things to Ross, but he was already gone.
What could Rachel say at that point?
The guy had rushed over at lightning speed just to comfort her, and picking up the phone was an accident. It wasn’t intentional…
The next morning, Rachel went to Ross’s apartment to try to reconcile, nearly catching him with the girl he had met at the bar.
Luckily, the bar girl was decent enough to slip away quietly.
Now, if Ross had just kept his mouth shut, the issue might have blown over.
But no—he had to go and tell Joey about it.
And Joey, of course, insisted that Rachel had to know the truth.
Honesty is key in relationships, right?
Tsk, tsk.
Way too naive. Way too reckless.
The result, unsurprisingly, was a complete breakup.
And with such a messy split, how could they possibly stay friends?
Now, their friend group was fractured.
If they hung out with Rachel, Ross couldn’t come.
If they hung out with Ross, Rachel couldn’t be there.
Both of them kept trying to get their friends to take sides.
Events were planned so far in advance that their schedules were filled for the next year.
If they went to one person’s gathering, the other felt upset.
Stuck in the middle, their mutual friends were miserable—having to put on a polite smile while feeling completely torn.
Even Adam got dragged into the drama.
Since they were all good friends, whenever Monica and the others were with one of them, the other would come to Adam for comfort—completely ignoring any sense of timing.
Some even stayed overnight, seriously disrupting Adam and MAX’s study sessions.
---
“What? You’re going to Boston?”
Ross was in the middle of his nth rant about how he technically hadn’t cheated when Adam suddenly spoke up. Ross looked at him in shock.
“Yeah.”
Adam said, pretending to be reluctant.
“Boston is a cultural hub, and my publisher has been trying to get me to do a live book signing there. Since Lord of Mysteries IV is about to be released, they’re insisting I go to promote it.
I’m just an author—I can’t say no to the big bosses. No choice.”
---
