03
My ill–fated connection with Ethan Collins could be traced back twelve years.
My dad brought me from the county to the city.
He and Ethan’s father were war buddies, but after retiring, one ended up in heaven and the other on earth.
My dad was the one on earth.
City living was expensive, and he drove a bus, barely making ends meet.
As for why we had to live in the city, my dad said the education was better here, and I could get into a good university.
City housing prices were also high, and thanks to Ethan’s father, we were lent two rooms to live in.
Ethan’s parents were very kind to me.
My dad was often away, so after school, I’d go to Ethan’s house for meals.
I practically ate, lived, and went to school with Ethan.
But he didn’t like me.
Ethan’s friends were mostly handsome, beautiful, or from wealthy families.
I was a country bumpkin, dark–skinned and chubby.
I insisted on following him around, which annoyed him greatly.
Once, he deliberately left me at an amusement park, nearly causing me to get lost.
Ethan got a severe beating for that incident.
He still has scars on his bottom because of it.
He hated me even more after that, always trying to find ways to tease me.
But back then, I was naive.
I always thought Ethan was different from the boys back home.
He was so good–looking, with such fair skin.
When he smiled, it seemed magical.
I stubbornly followed behind him, hiding my budding feelings,
Looking back now, Ethan’s annoyance with me was undisguised.
One spring, when all the flowers at school were in bloom,
Ethan’s friends asked him which flower he liked best.
Ethan said, “I don’t have a favorite, only one I hate the most. I hate gardenias, they’re too sweet and cloying, absolutely awful.”
As he said this, he glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
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I immediately understood that these words were meant for me to hear.
Because that morning, I had just picked two gardenias for him.
The year we graduated from high school, another incident occurred.
I asked Ethan, “Where are you planning to apply for college?”
Ethan thought for a moment: “London.”
Excited, I filled out applications for schools in London.
The day the acceptance letters came, I found out.
Ethan was going to New York.
He had lied to me, just to get away from me.
What a cruel reality.
