It was midnight when my childhood friend, who had been missing for a year, sent me a message. [I want to get married] I hastily replied: Go ahead. The next day, I received a staggering sum of $1 million. Note: Wedding gift. Olivia James was my childhood friend. Her dad was in business while mine was in medicine. Some twist of fate brought us together. From holding hands crossing the street in kindergarten, to being deskmates for six years in elementary school, and sitting in front and back rows for three years in middle school. I thought I’d finally escape her in high school, but who knew we’d end up sharing the same taxi on registration day. I frowned: “Miss James, did all your family’s drivers die or something?” She yawned: “I’m just going the same way.” Yeah right, I thought. But it turned out to be true – she entered the International Baccalaureate program at our school.
Being in the same school was one thing, but at least she’d go abroad for college. That’s what I thought, until one day at lunch when I ran into her again. “Nathan, which building is your class in?” she asked softly, her voice lilting. I grabbed my friend: “Let’s go.” Her friend chimed in: “You’re ignoring a pretty girl who’s trying to talk to you?” I shot her a cold look: “You go away too.” … From then on, I decided never to eat in the cafeteria again. Surely I wouldn’t see her anymore now, right? I was happily doing homework in my dorm when my roommate sent me a message. Mike: Bro, what should I do?! Me: What’s up? Mike: I think I’ve fallen for that pretty girl we met in the cafeteria today! Mike: Nathan, help me pursue her, please~ Me: Add an S. SOS!
For the first time at school, I stayed up all night, unable to figure out what part of Mike’s brain had malfunctioned. Okay, I admit, the only thing I agreed with was that Olivia was pretty. Skipping evening study hall, Mike and I hid in the bushes by the basketball court to spy on her. “If you like her, just go for it. Why all this sneaking around?” I asked. “Who’s sneaking around?” I looked down and made eye contact with a bug in the bushes. It said: Good evening. I said: Ahh, get lost! Then something even more terrifying than the bug appeared. “Why is it you two again?” Olivia’s best friend spoke up. I gritted my teeth: “Can’t we admire the moon in peace?” Thunder rumbled in the overcast sky, completely out of place. Olivia snickered: “More like admiring the lightning.” I came to a conclusion. Mike must not have a brain at all to like Olivia. No, anyone who likes Olivia must not have a brain! That night back in the dorm, I ranted under my covers. Then deleted it all. I left one post on the campus forum: Whoever likes Olivia James, I’ll laugh at them for life. The day after I posted that, I experienced both cyberbullying and real-life bullying. During class, a note fell on my face out of nowhere. It was covered in different handwriting. The gist was: Who’s the person with the username “Thor’s Hammer”? I pursed my lips and quietly destroyed the evidence.
My identity was exposed that afternoon. Now the whole school knew that Nathan Scott from Class 5 was a great critic. And I, I apologized to my buddy. Under the threat of complete alienation and another condition. I agreed to help him deliver a love letter to Olivia. For a second, I wished I could die on the way to the IB building. “Please give this to Olivia James in your class.” “Who?” That girl pretended not to hear. “Olivia James,” I repeated slowly. “Oh,” she flicked water off her hands, “she’s behind you.” “…” She raised an eyebrow and pulled the pink envelope from my hand, laughing for a while. “Thor, you even write love letters?” “Can’t you see clearly, I didn’t write this.” Olivia just glanced down at it and said: “I don’t believe you.” This idiot brushed past me. I turned and yelled after her: “Olivia James, what’s wrong with you?” Her friend passed by me, leaning in to whisper: “You’re surrounded by pink bubbles.” “…” I’ll give you a pink snot bubble. … This incident spread like wildfire through the school. Everyone I passed in the halls was talking about: Thor from Class 5 wrote a love letter to the school beauty. I scrolled through the campus forum posts, unfazed. A message popped up that instantly shattered my calm. From my homeroom teacher: Have your dad come to school tomorrow. I was speechless, nearly replying: Don’t you have a dad? Why do you need mine?
I’d always been a top student, even in high school. I’d cultivated an image of the aloof academic genius. In my life, I’d never hit anyone except Olivia. Getting my parents called in was a first. I later heard my dad had canceled a whole morning of surgeries to rush to school. I just kept my head down, not daring to speak. It was so unfair. A crowd had gathered outside the office, including that troublemaker Olivia. The homeroom teacher lectured my dad about the dangers of puppy love for nearly an hour, from 7:30 to 8:30. When she finally finished, I got up to leave, but met my dad’s gloomy face. It felt like lightning struck me. Sure enough, my dad called me to the car. “I’m really not dating anyone,” I weakly explained. He let out a long sigh. “Nathan, Dad will allow you to date as long as your grades don’t slip.” I looked at him in disbelief as he added: “But it can’t be Olivia James.” I was about to ask why when Dad cut me off. “Your mom and I have to go on a business trip this month, so you’ll have to stay in the dorm for now.” “But…” “No buts, it’s already decided. Go back to class now.” Dad could be so forceful sometimes. After getting out of the car, I didn’t return to the classroom. Today was a review day, all self-study. I hadn’t taken the love letter thing too seriously, and I didn’t really care even if it was real puppy love. What bothered me was how they just dumped me at school without a word. I sat down on the stadium steps. They said I was a good kid, so they indulged me. They said I was a good kid, so I could live independently. They said I was a good kid, so I could be left behind. But even good kids want lots and lots of love. I just sat there spacing out, trying to forget everything by emptying my mind. Until a figure appeared in front of me. “Why aren’t you in class?” she asked. I didn’t answer. She stood there for a moment, then apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know this would blow up so much. I’ll explain on the forum and to your dad…” “What did your dad say to you?” She crouched down and poked my head. “Are you really mad?” I finally looked up to meet her gaze, only then feeling tears run down my cheeks. She seemed to freeze for a moment, then reached out to wipe the tears from my face. “I said I’d fix it, what are you crying for?” I lowered my head and choked out: “It’s nothing, my stomach just hurts.” … At the breakfast shop, Olivia rested her chin on her hand, watching me. “It wasn’t that simple, was it?” I bit the straw, playing dumb. “What wasn’t simple?” “When you broke your arm as a kid and went to the hospital, that little girl next to you fainted from crying, but you didn’t shed a single tear.” I froze for a moment and looked up. For a second I was sure she froze too. Until a napkin brushed across my lips. I stared at her wide-eyed, and her hand stopped. “Or do you want to wipe it yourself?” “…” “My parents are going out of town this month.” “And?” “And what?! Can I stay at your place or something?” She nodded. “It’s settled then.” She got up and grabbed her school jacket, leaving. I slapped the table and stood up. Damn, Olivia didn’t pay!
Mike has inexplicably gotten into social media lately. His first sponsored post was for some hickey-making device. Of course, not the “hickey” you grow in a garden. This was the fifth time today he’d peeked down at me from his top bunk. “Nathan, you have the best collarbones in the whole dorm. Let me take a photo?” “No way.” “I’ll split the ad money with you.” “Deal.” The money wasn’t really important, I just wanted to help a friend out. After taking the photos, I didn’t pay much attention to that thing. I didn’t even think about packing my bags. I thought she was just joking that day to get out of paying. But on Friday afternoon, I was caught off guard and dragged into a private car. Damn, I thought I was being kidnapped for a second. Olivia entered and casually tossed her keys on the table. I walked right in like I owned the place. “I knew your family wouldn’t be home either.” The person looking down nearby chuckled. “Did you ever consider this might be my own house?” Sorry, poverty limited my imagination. “…You don’t usually come back, so you just let an empty house collect dust?” She seemed to move closer. “What else, Mr. Scott? Is your name on the deed or something?” “If you want to give me a free mansion, I wouldn’t mind.” I shot back at her. “Where’s the bathroom? I need a shower.” … In less than five minutes, I suddenly felt like I wouldn’t be able to use this house even if she gave it to me. “How do you adjust the water temperature in your bathroom?” “There’s a remote in the waterproof bag hanging on the side.” I hadn’t even found the remote when Olivia came in. “I threw out the instructions. Left is hot, right is cold, bottom row controls the heat settings.” Her clear voice echoed in the bathroom. The cool white bathroom light fell on her profile, and under the faint shadows of her eyelashes, I saw those almond eyes staring at me. I was sure I was fully clothed. But why was she looking at me? No, she wasn’t staring at my face. But at… I looked down at that spot. It hadn’t faded after three days. This hickey-maker was definitely worth recommending. She looked at me questioningly. I returned the same questioning look. The atmosphere was tense for a second. Until Olivia walked out of the bathroom without a word. Warm air filled my nostrils. Why had I forgotten to breathe? No, I’d seen her in all states before, why get nervous now? … After leisurely washing away a week’s fatigue, I left the bathroom. Olivia sat on the couch with her arms crossed, watching TV. From when I came out to when I walked over, it took five seconds. And she stared at me for those five seconds. “Olivia, do I look like a soccer ball or something?” She didn’t answer my question. Instead, she raised her hand and turned off the TV. Okay, I’d never seen her with such a serious expression before. “Nathan, you can’t date other girls.” I opened my mouth to argue, but thought it over and realized something was off. If I don’t date girls, am I supposed to date guys? Channeling my dad’s righteous speech from this morning, I said: “My dad allows me to date, it’s just…” “That’s not allowed either. I don’t allow it.” I stopped talking and just looked at her with a “are you a sore loser” expression. After a long moment, I got up to leave. “Nathan, aren’t you going to tell me who it is?” I gave her a cold shoulder: “Guess if you want. No prize though.” … The next day I was woken up by Mike’s call. I looked at the clock. What the hell, bro, it’s only 7 AM! “Give me one good reason why you’re bothering me this early.” He shouted “Nathan” and then started barking excitedly. I was sure he’d lost his mind, so I put down the phone and pulled the covers back over me. Until I heard “Olivia James” among his stream of “Ahhh”s, which made me open my eyes. “What did you say?” “I said Olivia James just added me on Snapchat!!” “Did she see my love letter and fall for me?! Is she going to confess to me? Is she…” “No, she must be out of her mind.” I sat up cross-legged and put him on speaker, about to say something. When the person who’d been leaning on my doorframe for who knows how long entered my line of sight. “Who’s out of their mind?” she asked. If I had another chance, I’d definitely remember to lock the door. The voice on the other end clearly paused: “Nathan, why is there a girl’s voice there?” My gaze didn’t leave Olivia’s cold face. “No one, just my childhood friend.” “Alright then Nathan, I gotta go. If we end up together, you’ll be the MVP!” Click- “Why did you add Mike on Snapchat?” She said coldly: “Guess if you want. No prize.” I raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You’re not actually into him, are you?” “Modern civilized high school students don’t date, unlike some people.” I chuckled twice. “Then why are you harassing him?” “I…” “You’re not crushing on someone in our class, are you?” She laughed angrily, looking like she wanted to say “How could that be?” or “I said I’m not dating.” But she just stared at me for two seconds. “Yes, I like someone in your class.” That sentence fried my brain. We’d been split into arts and science classes after the first week of school. We were an all-science class with only ten guys. Excluding Mike, Olivia had barely even seen the others. Could it be… “I respect your choice.” “?” “Don’t worry about what society thinks. We’re in an open-minded era now.” She looked at me like I was an idiot and said “Nathan, you really have brain damage” before turning to leave. After she left, Mike sent me a screenshot. It was a message Olivia had sent him. [Are there any girls prettier than me in your class?]
For some reason, after finding out Olivia’s secret, I didn’t run into her at school for a while. Rich people play more openly, I guess that’s normal. The next time I saw Olivia was around New Year’s. We weren’t really relatives, but our families always visited each other for the holidays. But this time we weren’t the only guests. The adults said they needed to discuss high-level matters and shooed me to Olivia’s room. When I went in, the room was eerily quiet. Something wasn’t right. Usually when I came over, she’d be gaming or watching anime. I checked the time. It was only 10 PM, surely she wasn’t asleep this early? I knocked twice: “I’m coming in.” As soon as I said that, a voice from inside hit me like a ton of bricks. I heard Olivia curse under her breath, then get up from her gaming chair. “I just got this little ancestor to fall asleep…” My hand was still on the doorknob as my gaze followed Olivia to the baby on the bed. “Why is he sleeping in your room?” “How should I know? He started crying as soon as I walked in.” Olivia picked up the baby, imitating an adult as she rested the baby’s head on her shoulder. I walked over and looked at the baby behind her. “Aww, such a good baby.” I reached out and gently pinched the baby’s cheek. Olivia’s body suddenly stiffened. “Does this baby really have to cry?” She seemed to be asking me. “What else would you call a baby? What did your mom call you when you were little? Livvy? Liv? Or Baby Liv?” “You… you call your child ‘baby’, so what do you call your wife?” “We’ll figure that out later.” Olivia turned to face me, holding the baby: “Then what do you call your girlfriend now?” My hand froze in mid-air, then dropped. “I’ve been single for 16 years, where would I get a girlfriend?” She stared at me intently, looking a bit angry. “Oh, you mean this!” I belatedly remembered the hickey. I pulled down my shirt a bit: “It’s gone, see?” “What good is it being gone? Can’t you get another one?” “Tch, you want to give me one?” “Go ask your girlfriend to give you one.” She gently laid the baby back on the bed and pulled up the covers. What a good wife and mother. “I’m really not dating anyone. If I were to date, it’d be with physics.” She turned her head, her face in shadow: “Who is it?” “…” “What about you? Which guy in our class do you like?” I couldn’t see Olivia’s expression, but I felt like her face darkened. “I’m not gay!” Great, with that shout, the baby started crying again. Later it seemed like Olivia really did start dating someone. According to the campus forum, not only was Olivia the school beauty, her grades were also top of the IB program. No wonder she had so many followers. She usually acted completely uninterested in guys. I guess that’s why she got labeled as aloof, which was quite the contrast. The first time I heard Olivia had a boyfriend was from a post on the campus forum in our second year. The photo showed Olivia walking with a guy, just their backs, but they were extremely close. She’s dating? I don’t believe it. I lay in bed, eating melon seeds in the comments section.
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