08
Last winter, my father passed away due to illness.
Following his wishes, the funeral was simple, only notifying some old war buddies.
Uncle Collins, tall and sturdy with a fierce face, wiped away tears at the memorial service.
Aunt Collins told me that from now on, I should spend New Year’s at their house.
After all, I had grown up eating at their place when I was little.
They didn’t tell Ethan.
Ethan was preparing for a competition during that time.
It wasn’t until late December that he learned about my father’s passing.
I’m twenty now, so this doesn’t count as adoption, nor is there any blood or legal relationship.
So. Ethan and I can’t really be considered true siblings
2:53 PM G·
<
I don’t have to call him brother either.
But I just want to see Ethan’s frustrated look when he can’t express his anger.
At the New Year’s Eve dinner table, I chatted with Uncle and Auntie.
Auntie asked: “Lily, what about that boyfriend of yours from the Literature department?”
Ethan’s chopsticks paused.
Me: “We broke up.”
“Oh? Weren’t you still together last month? I was going to invite him to our house for dinner, so your uncle and I could check him out for you.”
“Thank you, Auntie, but we broke up two weeks ago.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, Aunt Collins didn’t want me to feel sad, “Auntie has many young handsome guys at her workplace, I’ll introduce you to
them.”
“Mom!” Ethan interrupted loudly, throwing down his chopsticks, “The fish is too salty.”
Auntie rolled her eyes: “Eat it or don’t, next time cook it yourself.”
Then Auntie continued chatting with me about dating.
I smiled and said: “I don’t have very high requirements for looks, Auntie. As long as he’s a good person, I like someone with a good temper, humble, not arrogant or full of himself.”
“I see, you like the complete opposite of Ethan.””
Ethan threw his chopsticks again: “Lily Knowles, don’t go too far.”
I feigned surprise: “How can brother say that? Don’t you want me to find you a gentle brother–in–law?”
“Who’s your brother! You cunning, scheming, two–faced-”
He didn’t dare continue.
After all, it wasn’t something to be proud of.
After dinner, the elders went to sleep.
I didn’t want to be alone with Ethan, so I retreated to the side room early.
At two in the morning, feeling a bit hungry, I went to the living room to find some snacks.
Without turning on the lights, I walked to the coffee table and accidentally bumped my leg.
The pain made me wince, and I instinctively fell to the side.
I fell onto a tall, sturdy body.
Ethan: “Are you trying to kill yourself?”
His breath was swirling by my ear, and I could clearly smell the shower gel on his body.
I stiffened: “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“Thinking about the question from earlier today.”
“What question?”
2:53 PM G•
<
“Did you enjoy playing me, Lily Knowles? You still haven’t answered me.”
How should I put this?
In the darkness, I could only see Ethan’s vague silhouette.
Tall and muscular, quite attractive.
I had to admit, compared to three years ago, Ethan had grown up.
He was more mature, yet still retained a hint of youthfulness, at the perfect age where he had everything going for him.
I said: “I can’t answer because I never played you!”
Three years ago, I just wanted to give myself closure.
How could that be considered playing?
But Ethan didn’t understand.
He let out a cold “huh.”
“Alright, Ethan Collins, if you really want to hear an answer,”
I considered for a moment, then said magnanimously,
“Then why don’t I play with you now and see?”
09
I went to high school in the city.
Coming back to the city for New Year’s, of course I had to attend the class reunion.
Quite a few people showed up. My old friend Emma and I sat in a corner.
Emma asked: “Are you and Ethan still not talking?”
“More or less.”
Actually, I couldn’t really say.
It was strange.
On New Year’s Eve, I wanted to tease Ethan, so I said I wanted to play with him.
It was just talk, anyone could tell.
But Ethan was silent for five seconds, then suddenly said very seriously: “Okay”
My punch had landed on cotton.
“I was just joking,” I said to smooth things over at the time, “I stopped liking you a long time ago.”
In the darkness, Ethan instantly became dejected.
For the next few days, I hardly spoke to him at all.
My thoughts were interrupted as Ethan arrived.
A group of people swarmed around him.
<
Back in school, he was always the “moon” surrounded by stars.
Emma pointed at the girl next to Ethan: “Do you remember Rose Wilson? She used to be our school beauty.”
“Mm, I remember.”
“She’s quite close to Ethan now.”
As we spoke, the young and beautiful girl had already sat down next to Ethan, even pouring him a drink.
Our classmates started teasing: “The school beauty and the campus heartthrob, perfect match!”
“After all these years, you two still aren’t together?”
“Yeah, should we bring the civil affairs bureau here for you?”
Ethan didn’t smile.
Rose, however, was very happy: “Hey, don’t joke around.”
Suddenly someone said: “Oh right, I remember Lily Knowles used to follow Ethan around all the time too.”
All eyes turned to me.
“Everyone knew Lily had a crush on Ethan.” Someone laughed.
I smiled too: “That’s all in the past. Love should be between equals, I gave up long ago.”
The implication being, I knew I wasn’t good enough.
Ethan looked at me, his gaze like daggers.
He seemed to want to say something.
Rose spoke up before he could: “Lily, you should have figured it out earlier.”
“How many times did Ethan reject you? If you had given up earlier, he wouldn’t have disliked you so much.”
I smiled: “You’re right.”
“I heard Ethan is going to be recommended for postgrad at Q University? That’s the top school in the country. Lily, don’t even think about it, you can’t reach that level.”
There was a loud “crack.”
Ethan’s temper flared, and he smashed his glass: “Can you shut up?”
His almond eyes glared angrily at Rose.
The atmosphere in the private room suddenly became tense.
Rose’s face turned red: “Ethan, what’s wrong? Don’t you hate Lily the most…”
“I hate you the most.”
Ethan took off his jacket and threw it on the ground.
“You touched this jacket just now? I don’t want it anymore. From now on, stay away from me. Stay away from Lily too.”
Rose was instantly speechless.
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<
10
This little episode didn’t affect everyone’s mood for the reunion.
After a while, the atmosphere relaxed.
They started playing games.
Truth or Dare, and Ethan was picked in the first round.
He chose truth.
“How many girlfriends have you had so far?”
Ethan: “One.”
Emma leaned close to my ear: “He’s been in a relationship? When? Did you know about this?”
I shook my head: “I guess he dated someone at university.”
But what surprised me was that he’d only had one? Who would believe that?
A classmate clicked their tongue: “Do you have a photo? I want to know which beauty caught your eye.”
Ethan said: “That’s a separate question.”
The game continued.
Soon, Ethan was picked again.
He still chose truth.
“When was your first kiss?”
“Winter break of freshman year.”
I nearly spat out my cola.
Wasn’t that with me…
Ethan turned his head to look at me, his gaze like water.
The game was in full swing when the door to the private room opened.
“Sorry I’m late.”
A gentle–looking guy with glasses stood in the doorway.
As soon as he appeared, Ethan’s whole body seemed to bristle with spines.
His name was Ryan Parker, originally Ethan’s best friend.
But, he had confessed to me before.
11
Regarding Ryan liking me, I always found it unbelievable.
In my mind, he was the same type of person as Ethan.
Rich family, good grades, very popular with girls.
2:53 PM G
<
That’s why he could be Ethan’s brother.
Before, when I was Ethan’s little follower, Ryan would stand by and laugh.
He was always very gentle, unlike Ethan, seeming like a person without a temper.
Ryan also went to university in London.
After I said goodbye to Ethan, Ryan came to confess to me.
He said he had secretly liked me since high school.
I was surprised and turned him down.
Even now, Ryan still occasionally sends me messages on social media.
Emma asked: “Do you know why those two fell out?”
“I heard about it, but I don’t know why.”
“It happened in the second semester of freshman year. Think about it, think carefully.” Emma gave me a meaningful look.
The implication being, it probably had something to do with me.
Ryan naturally sat down next to me.
“Sorry I’m late, what game are you playing?” He smiled at me.
“Truth or Dare, want to join?”
“Of course.”
Ryan joined the game.
He chose dare and was required to do a drinking game with someone of the opposite sex in the room.
His gaze fell on me: “Lily.”
Everyone immediately started teasing.
I stood up gracefully, poured some alcohol into the glass, and linked arms with Ryan.
Just as we were about to drink, Ethan snatched my glass away.
“Lily is allergic to alcohol.”
He downed it in one go, looking at Ryan challengingly.
Anyone could see the tension between them.
As close as they used to be, today they were just as cold.
For the next two hours, I chatted with Emma and Ryan.
Ethan was surrounded by people in the center, but he seemed restless.
He drank glass after glass, occasionally glancing at me.
He seemed to have forgotten that he couldn’t hold his liquor well.
Sure enough, by the time everyone was leaving, he was drunk.
2:53
<
Ryan said to me: “It’s late, little sister Lily, why don’t you walk me out?”
“Okay-”
Before I could finish saying “okay” Ethan ran over.
“Lily Knowles!! Are you abandoning me again??”
He shouted so loudly that anyone who wasn’t deaf could hear.
At that moment, everyone silently turned to look at me.
12
Thank you, Ethan Collins.
Right now, I just want to find a crack in the ground to disappear into.
Ethan was drunk and couldn’t stop talking.
“You abandoned me three years ago, and now you’re abandoning me again? I’ve been faithful to you, how could you run off with other men?”
He pointed at Ryan, looking very hurt, with tears in his eyes.
“This guy is a liar! He’s been driving a wedge between us all these years. I can’t believe I considered him a brother.”
Ryan pushed up his glasses: “Ethan, you’re drunk and talking nonsense.”
“I’m perfectly sober!”
He glared at Ryan, “Don’t you know what you did back then? You told me Lily made a bet with Rose to chase after me. You said she didn’t truly like me, which is why I avoided her!
“You said you were going to university in the south, but you secretly applied to the same school as Lily!
“And you knew very well that the milk in my desk drawer was from Lily, but you and Rose conspired to trick me, saying it was from Rose!”
I didn’t know any of this.
Like everyone else, I was stunned, just taking it all in.
Ryan smiled faintly, looking quite devious.
“That’s right, I did lie to you. But the fact that you fell for it so easily shows that you never really trusted Lily either.”
Ethan’s whole body trembled.
This hit his weak spot.
He looked at me painfully: “I’m sorry, I…”
What ‘I‘?
I don’t want to be the center of attention anymore!
I tugged on Ethan’s sleeve: “The Uber’s here, let’s go.”
I pushed and shoved him into the car.
I’m definitely never coming to these class reunions again.
Ethan’s parents were already asleep.
<
Ethan’s parents were already asleep.
I helped Ethan into the house, but he grabbed a green scarf and wrapped it around his head.
“Lily, look at my hat.”
“Stop playing around, drink this hangover cure.”
“I won’t drink it. After three years of dating, my girlfriend cheated on me countless times. Let me drink myself to death. Maybe if I die, she’ll feel bad.”
… What a dramatic, self–pitying statement.
But was he really that miserable?
I said, “Even if you drink yourself to death here, she won’t see it. It’s not worth it.”
“Why won’t she see?”
Ethan wrapped his “green hat” tighter, pointing at me pitifully.
“Aren’t you right here?”
13
I said, “You’re drunk. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“No mistake. You’re Lily Knowles, my girlfriend of three years.”
“When were we ever together?”
*From the day we slept together, until now.”
Me:
My silence was deafening.
What followed was a moment of us staring at each other in disbelief.
After a long while, Ethan licked his lips, hesitating: “Don’t tell me… you didn’t think of it that way…?”
My brain was about to short–circuit.
I’m sure Ethan’s was too.
We both gazed at each other, incredulous and bewildered.
Ethan: “We slept together, of course that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend!”
Me: “Without a formal proposal, it doesn’t count!”
Ethan: “Who needs to propose? After what we did, what we did! Why would we need to propose?!”
Me: “Two consenting adults, it’s not the same thing at all!”
Ethan was on the verge of a breakdown: “So for these three years, you never once thought of me as your boyfriend?”
I was about to break down too: “So for these three years, you’ve always thought of me as your girlfriend?”
“Of course! That was my precious first time!”
Wait a minute, my head’s itching. Am I growing a brain or something?
<
2:53 PM
I said, “Ethan, have you ever heard of a couple who doesn’t meet or contact each other for three years?”
“I tried to find you, but you wouldn’t see me.”
He huffed, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol.
I tried to reason with him: “After not seeing each other for so long, even if we were dating, we should have broken up.”
“You never said we broke up, how could it count as a breakup?”
Such a double standard.
A relationship can be decided by telepathy, but a breakup must be verbally stated.
I said, “I’ve dated so many times since then, didn’t you notice anything wrong?!”
Bringing this up made Ethan even more upset.
“I thought… you were dating other guys to make me jealous…”
I was suddenly struck by a realization.
For these three years, Ethan had been in a one–sided, imaginary relationship with me.
A new, avant–garde kind of relationship.
How should I put this-
It’s utterly ridiculous, but happening to Ethan, it somehow became reasonable.
This guy, proud on the outside, was actually extremely innocent at heart.
“Oh right, those two hundred dollars,” Ethan suddenly brought up, “were they for me?”
I nodded: “Yes.”
He exploded: “In your eyes, am I only worth two hundred dollars?!”
That was my share of the hotel fee.
But his outburst was quite interesting, fierce yet pitiful.
I suddenly didn’t want to explain anymore.
“You’re not satisfied? Next time I’ll add fifty more. Anything over two hundred and fifty isn’t worth it.”
Ethan’s eyes turned red with anger.
But soon, his anger dissipated, and he turned away dejectedly.
“Lily, I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“Ryan was right,” he said softly. “It’s not his fault, it’s mine. I didn’t trust you, which is why his meddling succeeded.”
Ethan was very remorseful.
But I wasn’t angry.
It wasn’t surprising that he fell for it.
C
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<
་་ “བo་་་ བས་ P་tatnyu་བ་་‘S IE‘” Iv་ It,
Ethan had always lived a carefree life, loved by his parents and praised by teachers. He hadn’t experienced much hardship and didn’t understand how treacherous people could be.
For a boy like that, at sixteen, to believe his friend’s lies was perfectly normal.
Ethan said, “Three years ago, when I learned the truth, I had a big fight with him. Later, I went to find you for two reasons. One was to apologize to you in person.”
“And the second?”
“Second, I simply wanted to see you. I missed you.”
Silence flowed between us.
I don’t know how long it lasted, but Ethan’s shoulders began to shake slightly.
Under the influence of alcohol, he was sobbing.
“I’m sorry.”
14
You know what, I’ll tell you what.
Ethan crying was quite… tempting to bully.
“Stop crying. What about all those beautiful girls in your social media photos?”
“What beautiful girls?” Ethan replied, “They were all club members or student council members. I can’t even remember their names.”
“What about Ryan? Tell me about that.”
From his mouth, I learned another truth.
Apparently, when he was sixteen, Ethan had shown signs of awakening feelings.
At that time, I was still a bit dark–skinned, with a plain appearance.
After being annoyed with me for so many years, he didn’t know why, but suddenly found me pleasing to the eye.
He became curious about me.
On Monday during flag–raising, Ethan stared at me.
He asked Ryan, “Has Lily grown taller?”
During the 800–meter run, I was leading the pack.
He asked Ryan, “Is Lily pushing herself too hard? What if she throws up later?”
Ryan saw all these changes.
Ryan liked me, but he didn’t say anything.
He just smiled gently: “Ethan, you’ve known Lily for so long, you’re just used to her presence. How could it be love?”
Ethan, not fully aware of his feelings, thought this made sense.
Later, Ryan and Rose worked together to deceive him.
2:53 PM
<
They created a fake QQ account using my avatar and nickname, fabricating chat logs.
They said I had bet a thousand dollars with Rose that I could win Ethan over.
Ethan couldn’t believe it.
He came to ask me if I was making some kind of bet with Rose.
I looked bewildered: “No, of course not.”
But Rose told him: “Lily won’t tell you, of course. If she tells you, she loses the bet.”
Ethan was very disappointed.
I followed him around every day, but apparently only saw him as a stepping stone for a thousand dollars.
The more persistent I was, the more annoyed he became.
Moreover, Ryan and Rose, each with their own motives, worked together.
-Constantly whispering in his ear.
Our conflicts escalated continuously.
This “whispering” didn’t stop even in college.
Ryan went to university in London, and Ethan initially asked him to look after me.
In the first month, Ryan sent Ethan a message:
“Lily is getting close to guys at school. She’s probably forgotten about you.”
Ethan felt hurt and angry, and asked: “Should I send her a message to check on her?”
“Absolutely not. Lily likes aloof guys. If you make the first move, you’ll definitely lose.”
Ethan believed him and stopped reaching out to me.
The misunderstanding snowballed, getting bigger and bigger… until that New Year’s Eve.
Hearing this, I curiously asked: “Why did you suddenly accept me that day?”
“Because you said you had liked me for a long time.”
Ethan lowered his eyelids, speaking slowly, “Hearing those words made me very happy, so I made a decision.”
“What decision?”
“Even if it was just a bet, I wanted to let you win.”
15
Ethan said it was his turn to pursue me now.
Every morning, he sent me a message: Good morning, another day of missing you!
I didn’t reply.
When I went to the kitchen to heat up milk, Ethan asked: “Did you see my message?”
“I did.”
2:54 PM
<
“Then why didn’t you reply?”
I yawned: “We’re just separated by a wall, what’s there to reply to?”
On the last three days of the holiday, Emma invited me to her house, saying she had something to show me.
She took out an old phone.
I remembered it.
In our senior year of high school, she had used this phone to record many videos.
I asked, “What do you want to show me?”
“Do you remember this video?”
She opened a video.
It was a “photo” of Ethan and me the day before the college entrance exam.
At the time, Ethan was laughing and joking with someone in the background, and I asked Emma to secretly film a clip for me.
I faced the camera, with a silly smile-
Wait.
I widened my eyes.
Emma was very excited: “You noticed it too? Ethan suddenly entered the frame!!”
Yes.
Without any post–processing.
In the video, Ethan caught a glimpse of me taking a photo and suddenly squeezed into the frame.
He stood there for as long as I was filming.
My 18–year–old self said: “Girl, make me look pretty.”
Emma: “Call me daddy and I’ll make you look beautiful!”
“Get lost.”
At this moment, hearing our conversation, 18–year–old Ethan gently curled up the corners of his mouth.
16
Holidays are always short.
Before returning to London, I accompanied Aunt Collins to buy groceries.
The former amusement park had long been demolished and replaced by high–rise buildings.
As we walked, Aunt Collins suddenly stopped: “Lily, look at that utility pole!”
“I see it.”
It hasn’t been torn down, Auntie smiled, “When you were ten and left at the amusement park, he stood under this pole waiting for you.”
“What? He waited for me?”
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<
0
“Yes, Ethan left you there, but then felt guilty. He didn’t have money to buy another ticket to go back in, so he could only wait here, thinking you would come out.”
“But I was waiting for him too.”
“Right, you waited for him until dark, and he waited for you until dark. When he didn’t see you, he panicked and went to find the police.”
Recalling the past, Aunt Collins sighed.
“Ethan cried so hard that day, thinking he had really lost you… In the blink of an eye, you’ve both grown up so much.”
I stuck out my tongue: “Auntie, to be honest, I thought he was crying because he got beaten.”
Aunt Collins: “Oh, you didn’t know? When Ethan came home that day, he knelt down and begged to be punished. We were really angry though,
so we might have been a bit too harsh…”
Walking past that utility pole.
I seemed to see ten–year–old Ethan, stubbornly standing there.
“Actually, Auntie could tell, Aunt Collins said, “Ethan has always liked you quite a bit.”
I waved my hands repeatedly: “No way, he couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”
“That’s not true. Since high school, Ethan has been waiting for you to go to school every day.”
“Wasn’t it me who insisted on sticking to him?”
Auntie laughed: “You don’t understand. If Ethan didn’t want you to stick around, could you have caught him? He actually got up earlier than you every day, deliberately dawdled, and purposely wandered in front of you, waiting for you to come and stick to him.”
I had no idea…
We walked past the road we used to take to school.
The setting sun spread out, softening my heart.
On the last night at Ethan’s house.
After the elders went to bed, Ethan sent me a message.
“Where did you go with my mom today?”
“The old amusement park.”
He didn’t reply after that.
A while later, he knocked on my door.
Ethan looked embarrassed: “I came to apologize.”
“What are you apologizing for now?”
1
“For leaving you at the amusement park. It could have turned into a big mistake. I’m really sorry.”
“Why didn’t you just say this in a message?”
Ethan was very serious: “Apologizing is something that must be done in person to show sincerity. In my opinion, no text or letter can compare to the sincerity of a face–to–face apology.”
No wonder he persisted in coming to London to find me, even after being turned away so many times over the past three years.
2:54 PM
<
No wonder he persisted in coming to London to find me, even after being turned away so many times over the past three years.
He was adhering to his principles.
I said, “I’m going back to London tomorrow.”
“Mm.” He looked at me reluctantly, “Just wait another half year, I’ll be there in September.”
Three years ago, he had promised to go to London for graduate school, and now he had fulfilled that promise.
“Ethan.”
“Yes?”
“Come in.”
He took a step forward, entering the bedroom.
I closed the door and turned off the light.
The sudden darkness made it hard for us to open our eyes.
I asked, “If I push you, will you fall?”
“I will,” Ethan whispered in my ear, “For you, I’ll lie wherever you point.”
And so, we spent a sleepless night.
17
The next day, Ethan was still asleep.
I turned off his alarm and prepared to go to the train station with my suitcase.
Just before leaving, I suddenly remembered that I had asked him to buy a pair of shoes for me a few days ago.
I hadn’t paid him yet.
How much was it again?
I think it was two hundred and fifty yuan.
I happened to have cash, so I left it on his bedside table.
I slept the whole way on the high–speed train.
When I woke up, I found that Ethan had blown up my WeChat.
“Lily Knowles!! What do you mean by this?!”
“Leaving without saying goodbye again?? Are you trying to drive me crazy??”
“Haha, you sure know how to humiliate someone! Two hundred and fifty yuan! I must have owed you in my past life to be tormented by you in
this one!”
“I’m coming to London right now to settle this with you!!”
“Fine, I’ve thought it through. If it’s two hundred and fifty, then two hundred and fifty it is.”
“As long as you’re happy, I’m fine with anything 🙂”
He went through the whole process from anger to comforting himself.
.
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<
Very thoughtful, I didn’t even need to comfort him.
So I took a photo of the shoes and sent it to him.
“Thank you for buying the shoes for me.”
Ethan:…
“Oh, so that’s what it was. Never mind, those messages weren’t from me, my phone was stolen by the neighbor’s golden retriever.”
Me: “Hehe.”
“So, where do we stand now?”
“Don’t overthink it, we’re adults.”
Ethan: “TvT.”
Back at school, life returned to normal.
Ethan messaged me every day, often sending snacks and clothes.
Afraid that I might run off with someone else, he came to London every few days. After all, he didn’t have classes in the second half of his
senior year.
My roommates all got to know him.
He even won them over, and they kept praising him.
One night during a dorm chat, my lower bunk roommate suddenly sat up.
“Oh no, oh no, Lily, there’s something I forgot to tell you!”
“What?”
“That letter I gave you before, it was actually from your childhood friend!”
I was stunned for a moment.
She thought I couldn’t remember, so she hurriedly said, “You know, at the end of last year, I gave you a letter? I didn’t tell you who it was from at the time because you said you wouldn’t accept anything from Ethan…”
She felt guilty for a moment, then explained:
“I didn’t want to help at first, but it was really cold that day, and it was snowing. You were away on an internship and not at school. Ethan didn’t know, and he waited for you outside our dorm for a long time. A boy, it was quite pitiful.”
“I remember this,” another roommate said, “The whole building was talking about him at the time. After all, our school doesn’t have such
handsome guys.”
I was dazed: “And then?”
“He didn’t get to see you and was very disappointed. He asked me to pass on that letter… But I didn’t dare tell you, I just said it was from a guy in the neighboring department.”
“I’m sorry, Lily. I don’t know what was written in the letter. Did it cause any misunderstanding between you two?”
I was silent for a long time.
Actually, I should have recognized it.
I was very familiar with Ethan’s handwriting.
2:54
<
I was very familiar with Ethan’s handwriting.
But when my roommate said it was from a guy in the neighboring department, I didn’t think much of it.
That was the second month after my father passed away.
Ethan learned about it that day.
The letter contained just one sentence:
“You still have me.”
18
Winter passed, spring came, and flowers bloomed.
I heard a few things from Emma.
Rose was admitted to graduate school but was reported during the public announcement period.
She had made many enemies, and there were screenshots of her inappropriate comments from before.
Her admission was canceled.
Ryan came to find me a few more times, but I firmly rejected him.
He also applied for graduate school but was eliminated in the interview round.
I heard he wanted to use connections to get into a big company in London, but he didn’t have many true friends, and no one was willing to help
him.
I don’t know what happened to them after that.
In May, as I was finishing up my graduation thesis, Ethan came to see me again.
Before leaving, he confessed once more.
“It’s the season of gardenias again.”
“Mm–hmm.”
“Before, you gave me gardenias. I actually really liked them. Lily, will you be my girlfriend?”
I said, “When you get off at London West Station, if I appear at the exit, that means I agree. If I don’t show up, then you’ll have to try harder.”
Four hours later.
When Ethan saw me at the exit, his eyes instantly lit up.
I smiled at him.
He bounded over joyfully, like a shy teenager, crossing the sea of people to reach me.
“Little sister~” he called out affectionately.
Before, when I asked him to call me that, he wouldn’t. Now that we’ve confirmed our relationship, he calls me in such a flirtatious way.
“Little sister, do you know what day it is today?”
“The first day of our relationship anniversary?”
“There’s more.”
D
“Little sister~” he called out affectionately.
Before, when I asked him to call me that, he wouldn’t. Now that we’ve confirmed our relationship, he calls me in such a flirtatious way.
“Little sister, do you know what day it is today?”
“The first day of our relationship anniversary?”
“There’s more.”
“Hm?”
“Twelve years ago today, ten–year–old Lily arrived in the city with her backpack-
“And met ten–year–old me.”
Ethan took out a dried flower bookmark.
It was the one I had given him back then.
Dried to preserve it for a long time.
“Happy twelve years.
“Lily Knowles, I will love you forever.”
