Chapter 130

Sophia quickly covered her mouth with her hand, trying to suppress the rising nausea.

But after two seconds, the nausea intensified and became more overwhelming.

Unable to hold it back any longer, Sophia turned and ran a few steps to the side, bending over and vomiting everything from her stomach.

There wasn't much in her stomach, just what she had eaten earlier.

Seeing Sophia in this state, Henry quickly put down the bucket of feed and rushed to her side, patting her back.

Sophia continued to dry heave even after emptying her stomach.

Frowning with concern, Henry asked, "What's wrong? Why did it get so bad all of a sudden? Did you not cover yourself well last night?"

Sophia felt so miserable that tears streamed down her face, unable to speak.

After a while, she felt slightly better and straightened up, still covering her mouth. In a weak and muffled voice, she told Henry, "I need to go rinse my mouth."

With that, she turned and headed back to the dormitory.

Henry didn't follow her immediately. He hurriedly let the animals out to eat, then closed the pen and ran back to the dormitory with the bucket.

When he entered the courtyard of the center, Sophia had already rinsed her mouth.

Instead of returning to her dorm to rest, she was sitting on a bench in front of the kitchen, clutching her chest.

She curled up into a ball, looking even more exhausted than before.

Henry casually dropped the bucket and walked straight to her.

Kneeling in front of Sophia, his expression filled with worry, he asked her a few more questions, then told her to stay in the dormitory to rest while he and Charlie and Gabe went to work.

Sophia, feeling weak and drained after vomiting, didn't insist on going to work. She listened to Henry and stayed at the center to rest.

Feeling unwell and emotionally burdened, she found it hard to sit or stand comfortably. Eventually, she returned to the dormitory to lie down.

Exhausted from a poor night's sleep, she quickly fell asleep.

But just as she was drifting off, she was woken by the sound of the door opening and people talking.

Lily and Cecilia had entered the dormitory.

Lily scolded Cecilia, "How could you not know when you're due? You should always be prepared!"

Embarrassed, Cecilia replied, "I don't like keeping track of the dates. Usually, I know it's coming when I wake up in the morning. Who knew it would be late this time? It's so embarrassing."

Lily reassured her, "It's okay. Your pants are dark; no one probably noticed. Hurry and change your clothes and use some tissue. We don't have much break time, and we can't afford to lose work points."

Cecilia nodded and quickly gathered her sanitary items and clean clothes, then rushed behind the tattered curtain to change.

She didn't have time to wash the soiled pants immediately, so she soaked them in a basin of water, left them in the dormitory, and hurried out with Lily to the fields.

Sophia had woken up when they entered but kept her eyes closed and stayed silent.

She and Lily rarely spoke unless necessary, and she had no interest in Cecilia's predicament. Once the dormitory was quiet again, she turned over and tried to go back to sleep.

But suddenly, she sat up with a start.

Cecilia didn't keep track of her cycle, and neither did she.

How long had it been since her last period?

***

The green train snaked along the tracks, its wheels grinding over the iron rails.

Summer sat by the window, with nothing to do but watch the passing scenery.

The view felt entirely different from when she first came, reflecting her changed mood.

Her gaze shifted from the distant landscape to the faint reflection in the window.

In the faint reflection, she could see Logan sitting next to her, eyes closed in sleep.

She watched Logan's reflection for a while before turning to look at him directly.

Logan had been sleeping most of the time since they boarded the train, exhausted from a short night's sleep.

Summer stared at him, unintentionally writing four words on his face with her eyes: "Cold-hearted."

She wondered if Logan felt any reluctance about leaving the countryside. From her perspective, his farewells seemed acted, with no lingering sentiment.

He showed no attachment to the villagers and students, and naturally, none to her.

Summer thought to herself that once they reached Washington, she would keep a very distant relationship from him, not clinging to him daily anymore.

Even if she needed his energy occasionally, it wouldn't be frequent.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Logan opening his eyes.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Summer blinked and looked away, pretending nothing had happened, and continued watching the scenery.

Logan said nothing, turning his head to continue resting with his eyes closed.

***

When the train finally arrived, it was already past ten at night.

Summer followed Logan off the train, taking a deep breath and saying, "Finally back..."

She then caught up with Logan as they left the station.

The closer they got to the exit, the more her heart raced with excitement, her steps feeling lighter and lighter.

As they neared the station's exit, Summer turned to Logan, "How are you getting home? My parents should be here to pick me up. Do you want to come with us?"

She had sent a telegram to her parents confirming her return date, and they had replied that they would pick her up tonight.

Logan, disliking the hassle, declined, "No, it's not on my way."

Accepting his answer, Summer didn't press further.

Together, they left the station. As they stepped outside, Summer heard someone calling, "Summer! Summer!"

She turned towards the sound and quickly spotted her parents.

Her excitement reached its peak as she ran towards them, shouting, "Dad! Mom!"

Shaw and Carman walked forward to meet her.

Shaw took her travel bag while Summer hugged Carman tightly, saying, "Mom, I'm finally back. I missed you so much."

Letters couldn't alleviate the longing she felt.

Tears filled Carman's eyes as she hugged Summer back, "It's good to have you home. We missed you terribly."

Summer buried her face in her mother's shoulder, "I missed you both so much."

Releasing her mother, she looked at Shaw, "You were right to oppose my decision to go to the countryside. I'm sorry for making you worry."

Shaw smiled, "What's done is done. Let's not dwell on it. Let's go home."

Summer nodded, "Yes, let's go home!"

She smiled and walked with them, but suddenly remembered Logan.

Turning around, she realized he was already gone.

It dawned on her that she hadn't even said goodbye.