Chapter 10
After school, my former girlfriends came to find me again.
“Emily Anderson,” a girl with a Chanel bag on her shoulder put her arm around
- me.
“How come we never see you coming out to play anymore?”
“She’s a good student now, studying hard!” Another girl said sarcastically. “How could she hang out with us riffraff?”
“Come on! There’s an event tonight with a band you love. Let’s go relax and have a drink, shall we?”
I looked at them, hesitating a bit.
I was really tempted.
I had been so exhausted lately, getting up earlier than the chickens and going to bed later than the dogs. I was really worn out.
Sometimes I would get drowsy even while eating.
Going out for a drink… it felt like it had been so long.
I had made so much progress, surely I could go relax a bit?
Just a little while.
“Okay, let’s go check it out then.”
I grabbed my bag and went with them to get a taxi.
“That’s right,” my girlfriend laughed. “Our families are so rich, why bother working so hard studying?”
“In the future, they’ll just end up working for us anyway. What a bunch of poor saps!”
I didn’t say anything and followed them into the bar.
Usually there weren’t many people at this hour, but today there was an event and quite a few had already arrived.
Handsome men and beautiful women walked in through the entrance one after another, the flashing lights on the ground colorful yet mottled.
“Let’s start with a 3888 package,” my girlfriend sat in the booth and handed me the pad. “Emily, what are you drinking?”
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I randomly picked some drinks and sat in my seat, lost in thought.
A few guys walked over from the side and asked if we wanted to have a drink.
together.
Feeling the deafening music and the noisy chatter, I suddenly felt a bit out of place
here.
This place used to be like my second home, but now I felt very uncomfortable.
A strange, indescribable sense of guilt suddenly welled up in my heart.
I shouldn’t be wasting time here.
How many words could I have memorized during this time?
What about my vocabulary words for today?
“Emily, what are you spacing out for? Drink up!”
The girl next to me pushed me and poured me a glass of beer.
One of the guys from earlier took out his phone and asked me, “Can I get your
WeChat?”
Looking at all this, I just felt an unbearable emptiness in my heart..
I told myself I had to get out of here!
No sooner said than done, I abruptly stood up, threw out an “I have something to
do,” and ran out.
The people behind me were all shouting, “Where are you going? Finish your drink.
before you leave!”
“Missing one day won’t hurt! Aren’t you tired? Take a break!”
Those voices were like the murmurs of demons, tempting me to fall again. I rant out of the bar as if escaping, flagged down a random taxi, and stuffed myself in. Only after getting in the car did I exhale as if completely spent.
Watching the bustling traffic and bright lights outside the window, I felt an
indescribable melancholy.
But then I had no time to feel melancholy. I got back late today and didn’t know.
how Daniel Collins would scold me.
He might even hit me.
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However, the previously suppressed emotions seemed to be lightening up. That sense of guilt also disappeared.
When I got home, Daniel Collins was indeed waiting for me in the room as
expected.
I felt a bit guilty and walked in pretending nothing had happened.
“Where did you go?” He stood by the window, his black hair falling naturally with a few golden strands.
I licked my lips and said unnaturally, “Nowhere, I had something today…”
Daniel Collins turned his head and looked at me fixedly.
“You were drinking?”
This guy had a nose keener than a dog’s. I only had one sip and he could still smell
- it.
Having my lie exposed, I felt a bit ashamed and angry. I simply threw my bag on
the table and said directly,
“Yeah, I went out for a drink. I’ve been studying so much these days, what’s wrong
with taking a break?”
Daniel Collins looked at me coldly.
“What was your score? I went and asked. 559, right? 27th place. Definitely can’t
make first–tier, at most a second–tier university.”
“Emily Anderson.” He lifted his chin slightly to look down at me, the disdain in his
eyes undisguised.
“You think you’re so great, don’t you?”
My pride was deeply wounded by his words. I said angrily,
“I’ve only been studying for a little over two months. You only know how to say I’m
stupid, that I can’t do it. Is this how you should be?!”
Daniel Collins crossed his arms. “You want me to lie and say you’re doing great?”
“Emily Anderson, what right do you have to go out drinking? Do you know how far behind the top student you are?”
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“You still want to get into Harvard like this? Harvard wouldn’t even take you for al vocational school!”
“It’s none of your business!” My rationality snapped and I yelled.
But as soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted it.
Daniel Collins had played an indispensable role in my progress.
He tutored me every day without a single complaint. When my mom tried to pay. him, he absolutely refused to take it.
What did a Harvard PhD candidate stand to gain by tutoring a high school student like me? I should be grateful!
But before I could say anything, Daniel Collins‘ expression changed.
His thick black eyebrows raised slightly, a flash of anger crossing his face.
“Fine, you said it yourself. It’s indeed none of my business.”
“I was a fool for sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, like a dog chasing a
mouse.”
With that, he strode out the door, slamming it shut hard.
I felt my eyes sting. Pride be damned, I ran out after him.
The elevator doors were about to close. I thrust my hand in hard!
The elevator pinched my hand and opened again. I cried out in pain.
“Are you crazy, Emily Anderson!”
Daniel Collins walked out and grabbed my wrist. “What are you trying to do now?”
Tears flowed down my face uncontrollably. I choked out, “I was wrong!”
“Daniel Collins, I was wrong. Please forgive me!”
His brows furrowed. He seemed about to scold me, but his tone softened. “…I give up. You crybaby.”
Sitting at the desk, I took out my test paper, sobbing.
“Stop crying!” Daniel Collins wiped my face roughly with a tissue. “You still have the face to cry!”
“Why did you only get this many points? Did your studying all go into a dog’s
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belly?”
I opened my mouth to wail, but he suddenly pinched my mouth shut.
“Okay, okay, I admit you made good progress. Hurry up and look at the problems.
you got wrong!”
“You got a similar question wrong before. Why did you make the same mistake again?”
“For this one, don’t tell me I never taught it. What were you even listening to?”
“And this one, if I remember correctly, you got a similar type of question wrong for the third time. Emily Anderson, perk up your ears and listen carefully!”
The night passed quickly yet slowly as Daniel Collins went over the test paper. Close to ten o’clock, Daniel Collins put down his pen and asked me seriously, “Emily Anderson, what do you think you’re studying for?”
I answered without hesitation, “To beat Natalie Wilkinson and Jason Brooks!” Daniel Collins didn’t say anything. He stood up and walked to the bedside. He was very tall, probably around 6’2“, with a slender and upright posture.
The night enveloped him, his profile buried in shadow, hard to make out clearly. “Emily Anderson, we study for ourselves.”
Daniel Collins‘ voice was soft, falling into the endless night.
“I hope you understand that studying isn’t everything, but it can provide you with opportunities to choose.”
“We don’t want to be stuck being chosen our whole lives, walking the only path
available to us. Studying allows you to knock on higher doors.”
“Only then,” he turned his head to look at me, his eyes deep, “will you have the
right to choose your own life.”
I stared at him dumbly, opening my mouth but unable to say a word. Daniel Collins didn’t seem to expect a response. He walked over, patted my head,
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picked up his bag and left.
Before leaving, he said one last thing:
“You did well this time. You made great progress. Keep up the hard work.”
I watched his retreating figure, unable to stop a silly grin from spreading across my face.
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