Chapter 3

Alex's face went instantly awkward.

He said quietly, "Is Ronnie mad because of me?"

Flora, her face cold, set the bottle of iced cola back on the table.

"Ignore him."

"It's such a tiny thing, and he has to make a scene like this."

The classmates at the table went silent, staring at the three of us, baffled.

I grabbed my backpack, shoved back my chair, turned, and rushed out of the hotpot restaurant.

My mother was sitting in the living room. When she saw me come home, she asked,

"Did you and Flora fight again?"

"Flora messaged me saying you blocked her."

I said nothing for a while.

I thought to myself with a bitter, self-mocking smile: it's been a whole night, and Flora finally noticed she'd been blocked.

"What did she say to you?"

"Nothing much, just reminded me not to forget to have you do your college applications, and to pick one close to her school."

After she finished, she couldn't help launching into her nagging.

"Flora's really a good girl. The two of you grew up together, and she usually looks out for you."

"Such a pity, though. Your grades are average, you're not especially good-looking, and Flora doesn't feel that way about you. Otherwise I'd honestly love to have her as my daughter-in-law."

I kept my eyes lowered and said nothing.

My mother, not noticing my silence, went on:

"We don't know anything about college applications either. You should ask Flora about it later, get her some advice."

"I saw her helping her boyfriend with his applications the other day, so serious about it."

"The two of them holed up at home for days, didn't even leave at night. Tsk tsk tsk, young people, all that fire and passion."

My fingers clenched hard, and I pressed a hand to my chest.

My mother kept talking:

"When I went over to drop something off, I even heard her telling someone he had to get into the best major at an Ivy League school, that not a single point could go to waste."

I stood frozen, my heart feeling as if someone had squeezed it hard.

Flora and I had agreed to apply to universities in the same city.

The cutoff scores in the capital were high. With my grades, I'd have to fight tooth and nail just to scrape into an ordinary decent school there.

When the results came out, I begged her to help me with my applications.

She'd glanced at her phone and said offhandedly,

"I don't get this stuff. Anyway, your grades are just enough for a decent school. Just apply somewhere that isn't too far from mine."

"As for the major, it's all pretty much the same for you."

Back then I even made excuses for her.

Flora was worn out from the college entrance exams; I shouldn't add to her troubles.

But now, I could no longer lie to myself.

My mother remembered something.

"Oh, but your teacher called me too, said the cutoff for the capital is too high and asked me to talk you out of it. You—"

I cut her off.

"I'm not going to the capital."

I looked up and forced a smile at her.

"Didn't you always want me to get into a good school?"

"I want to apply to a school in Newport."

"My score is high enough to get into a top-tier university."

I turned and went back to my room, and shut the door.

From Weston City to the capital was more than three thousand kilometers.

Far enough that I'd never have to chase after Flora's back again.

The day the acceptance letter came, my mother held the package with trembling hands.

"Ronnie, you really got into a top-tier university."

She grabbed her phone, about to call the relatives with the good news, and I pressed her hand down.

"Don't tell them yet."

I said in a low voice, "Wait until after school starts."

That whole summer, I barely left the house.

She knew I was hurting, but didn't know how to comfort me, so all she could do was push me to go out and clear my head.

But I never expected to run into Flora and Alex at the airport.

They were dressed in matching colors, and from a distance they looked exactly like a couple.

When Flora saw me, her eyes visibly lit up.

But the next second, her face went cold again.

"Weren't you sulking at me, giving me the silent treatment?"

"So why come chasing after me now?"

I froze for a moment, then remembered that before the exams, to encourage me, she'd booked a couples' flight package.

She'd said once the exams were over, she'd take me on a trip.

The departure date happened to be today.

Alex forced a smile and stepped back half a pace.

"Since Ronnie's here, I'll bow out."

Flora immediately frowned and pulled him back to her side.

"Absolutely not."

"You spent days getting ready for this trip. You have to go this time."

A bitter laugh rose in me: she felt sorry for Alex, who'd spent days getting ready.

But she forgot that the travel guide in their hands

was the one I'd stayed up night after night putting together, bit by bit, after the exams.

I was about to say never mind when Flora had already turned and run to the machine off to the side.

Left alone with me, Alex suddenly spoke.

"Ronnie, some gaps can't be closed by hard work alone."

"What Flora needs is someone who can stand as her equal, not some loser who's beneath her in every way."

He smiled and said, "That night after the hotpot, we went out for drinks."

"I told her how I felt, and I kissed her. She didn't push me away."

I dug my nails into my palm, but still spoke calmly.

"If you like her, then I'll step aside for you."

Alex's face went instantly ugly.

Flora came running back with a ticket and held it out to me.

"There's only a standing ticket left for the train. Alex has a bad back and can't stand for long, so you take it."

Then she glanced at the time and, a little anxious, tugged him toward the ticket gate.

"We're heading in now. Alex and I will wait for you there!"

Alex smiled at me like a man who'd won.

I looked down at the printed ticket.

She hadn't even noticed it was a ticket for a train that didn't depart for another three months.

I crushed the ticket into a ball and dropped it in the trash.

Then I turned around and boarded my own flight.

After the trip, I went home to pick up my acceptance letter.

I'd just reached the bottom of the building when Flora stopped me.

Her face was awful. She reached out and gripped my wrist.

"Where's Alex's acceptance letter?"