Chapter 2

After I withdrew my transfer application, the notifications on my phone kept buzzing.

The two of them were chatting up a storm.

I sent a quick message: [Have you guys eaten yet?]

But my message was instantly buried, as if it had been muted.

No one replied.

Just moments ago, the group chat was supposed to be about planning my birthday dinner for tomorrow.

But somehow, it had drifted back into a dense geological discussion that I couldn't wedge myself into.

Without hesitating, I left the group chat.

Almost immediately, Julian sent me a private message with a question mark.

Chloe sent one too.

I didn't reply to either.

Then, Julian called. His voice was as gentle as always.

"Avery, why did you leave the group chat?"

Julian didn't notice my silence. He just kept coaxing me in that patronizing, patient tone of his.

"Chloe made that group. You leaving like that out of nowhere really hurt her feelings."

"If you're upset about something, let's talk about it when we meet tomorrow, okay? Just join the group back first."

Even though they were the ones who ignored me first, Julian still chose to prioritize Chloe’s feelings.

I sat on my bed, staring blankly.

The phone suddenly felt incredibly heavy in my hand, making it hard to breathe.

I hung up, joined the group back, but still didn't reply to any of their messages.

The next morning, I was still trying to sleep when my phone vibrated aggressively with several calls.

Chloe's voice was bubbly and cheerful when I picked up.

"Avery! Come on out, let's celebrate your birthday! We still have class this afternoon!"

Out of habit, I dragged myself out of bed to match their schedule. It was only when I walked downstairs that the cold air finally woke me up.

But Chloe had already thrown her arms around me.

Julian stood behind her with a warm smile, looking every bit like her boyfriend instead of mine.

Chloe mysteriously pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift box.

"Open it! Julian and I picked this out together for your birthday."

Staring at the elegant box—exactly like the one from my past life—I felt absolutely no desire to open it.

Because I already knew what was inside: a plush toy that screamed of a lazy stereotype.

In my past life, I had opened it with high expectations, only to feel like a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head.

Chloe and Julian had been so excited.

"Do you like it? We spent so much time picking it out. We both thought it looked just like you!"

Back then, I didn't see through it.

It wasn't until Chloe's birthday three months later, when Julian went through endless trouble to buy her a piece of a lunar meteorite as a gift, that I realized what true effort looked like.

I took the gift calmly.

"Thanks."

Chloe pouted slightly.

"Why do you look so down, Avery?"

Julian answered casually for me.

"She's busy with her major transfer paperwork these days. She's just tired, not unhappy."

He indeed knew what I was busy with, because he was the one who had convinced me to switch majors in the first place.

Back then, Julian had told me:

"If your classes are too hard, just transfer to Geology. Chloe and I will look after you."

So, I had blindly jumped into Geology in my junior year.

But later, when I was yelled at by the professor, he was also the one who said impatiently:

"You're the one who insisted on studying Geology, even though you knew you weren't cut out for it."

Hearing his confident words now, I just smiled.

They had no idea that I wasn't transferring anymore.

Chloe nodded, dragging me toward a nearby diner.

As soon as we sat down, Julian walked out with a birthday cake.

The moment I saw the rich, dark chocolate frosting, my stomach churned with nausea.

"Why is it chocolate cake again?"

Julian shrugged.

"You don't really care for cake anyway, so I let Chloe pick her favorite."

Chloe whined playfully.

"But chocolate is the best! Avery, you really need to change your stubborn habits."

"I don't eat chocolate."

They both knew damn well that I hated chocolate. But every single time, they bought this exact flavor just to please Chloe.

Julian gave me a strange, searching look.

But Chloe quickly turned off the restaurant lights, and he looked away.

The candle flames flickered.

Julian urged, "Make a wish, Avery."

I didn't have the patience. I closed my eyes halfway.

Through the dim light, I saw Chloe excitedly putting on my birthday crown, closing her eyes, and making a wish alongside me.

The warm candlelight illuminated Julian’s gaze beside her—so tender, so incredibly doting.

A bitter, sickening feeling washed over me.

It turned out that every single one of my birthdays was just a shared wish-granting ceremony for Chloe. No wonder my annual wish of "I hope the three of us stay happy together forever" never came true.