In college, I had “bought” a boyfriend. As long as he was with me, I would help him with his family’s medical expenses. That impoverished academic genius followed me for four years in a humiliating way. Then my family went bankrupt. On the day we broke up, he was still indifferent and didn’t even try to save the relationship. Later, I worked as a waitress at a wine club to pay off debts, and he became an important person in the tech world. He even started a relationship with Yolanda, the most beautiful girl in our class. He asked me, “Do you regret it?” “No.” “But I regret it.” *** After graduating for so many years, I never thought that I would reunite with Joseph Kirk in this way. When I served the fruit plate, I lowered my head, fearing that he would see my face. Yolanda sat next to him. They looked stunning, like a match made in heaven. “Waitress.” Joseph called me, so I walked over, and he said, “Cut up the orange.” With my back to him, I cut the orange into slices. A long time ago, when I loved to eat oranges, Joseph would cut them for me. He was good with the knife and could cut each piece to an even size. At that time, I even thought he loved me. Later I realized that it was just his habit to be perfect. When he cut oranges, he would think about everything in the world except me. We hadn’t seen each other for four years. However, it felt like half a lifetime had passed between us. Somehow, the guests started chatting about school romances. Someone said, “I heard Mr. Kirk had a four-year-long girlfriend when he was in college.” My movements paused. Joseph said, “Hmm.” “Isn’t that great? Four years, it’s basically your whole college life.” Joseph didn’t answer him. The man felt awkward and quickly found another topic, “Since the relationship lasted four years, it should be very memorable, right?” Still, Joseph remained silent like a serene lake. After an unknown amount of time, Joseph laughed. “Not at all.”
“It’s good enough that Joseph doesn’t hate her.” Yolanda explained. “Joseph and I were in the same college. Back then… Well, he had suffered. If it wasn’t for his ex-girlfriend getting in the way, would Joseph and I only get together now?” “Yes, exactly. Ms. Lynch is such a famous actress. No matter how good his ex-girlfriend was, she is inferior to you.” With that, the atmosphere became lively again. I pressed down my hat. All I wanted was to leave quickly. Then, I accidentally cut my hand with the fruit knife, and let out a cry in pain, which attracted the guests’ attention. “What’s the matter? You can’t even cut a fruit?” Yolanda complained. “Sorry, I’ll go get a clean plate.” After saying that, I took the plate and was about to leave. “Wait.” Joseph suddenly stopped me and said word for word, “Turn around.” My body seemed to be nailed in place. One second, two seconds… Fortunately, my manager, Morgan, came in time. “I’m sorry, this girl is new here. She’s not yet skilled at work. As an apology, all the fruit platters today are free.” Morgan winked at me, “Well? Aren’t you going to get a new fruit platter?” I was able to escape immediately. Later, Morgan came and talk to me. “Be smarter next time when something happens. Everyone starts from being a newcomer. If you were complained by the guest, everything you did tonight might be in vain.” “Thank you.” “You’re welcome. Be especially careful when you’re at that VIP box. The distinguished guests are always there, especially the youngest and most handsome one in the middle. He’s the boss of an innovative technology company. We can’t afford to offend him.” “Miss Morgan, I’m a little scared. Can you please deliver the oranges for me?” I pleaded. “Sure.” I breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone in this world had already offended Joseph thoroughly, it would only be me. I am that nasty ex he mentioned just now. I still remember when I was a freshman in college. Joseph was wearing old clothes that had been washed into white. Standing in the pile of freshmen, he looked quite out of place. He was visibly poor. However, he was also tall and straight. I liked his clear and cold tone when he spoke. I also liked the way his thin eyelids drooped down when he looked at me. At that time, Joseph was very short on money, and the quota for poor students was given to others by the teacher. Therefore, after a certain evening class, I held his tender hand eagerly. “Joseph, I like you. Why don’t you become my boyfriend? I’m quite rich, and I can share my living expenses with you from now on. If you don’t want that, I will also give you money for a kiss.” Without a doubt, I was rejected. But at that time, my life was going pretty well, and I didn’t understand what setbacks were. The more he refused, the more I was entangled with him. Until one day, Joseph’s grandfather, who raised him, became critically ill. I paid the medical expenses for him without blinking an eye. Only then Joseph finally gave in to me. I foolishly thought that I had done him a great favor. It took me a long time to understand… Back then, I had had him but also destroyed him. After we were together, he still worked every day to earn living expenses. Although he rarely used my money, the situation got worse. There were rumors about Joseph circulating in school. They said he sold his body for money. The way our classmates looked at him changed, and some people even gave him hideous nicknames. At that time, I was still optimistic and naive. I took his hand and said, “Don’t bother them. They are all jealous.” …… I lived in my own world and never realized that Joseph was fighting that battle alone. In my senior year, my family went bankrupt. But I didn’t tell Joseph. I just called him out and said, “Let’s break up.” “Why?” He asked. “I’m tired.” “Okay.” That was how we parted. I guess he was happy because he was free at last. On the day we broke up, I deleted my WhatsApp account, broke my sim card, and got on the train to work in other cities to pay off my debts. I didn’t come back here until three months ago. From the look of it, Joseph seemed to be doing well. He had always been a genius. In college, he was the kind of super genius who out-turned the whole department. And, he was already a new star in the technology industry and finance magazine only four years after graduation. Yolanda was the prettiest girl in our class back then. She debuted in the entertainment industry and became a celebrity in her junior year. I never expected that they had become a pair. “Great. That’s great.” I muttered to myself. I clutched my chest, suppressing the sore feeling in my heart. At four o’clock in the morning, I finally got off work. I was the last one to leave. My colleagues thought there was no one else, so they turned off the lights early, and the elevator was shut down. I pressed the elevator button irritably, hoping it would light up. “You should make a call.” Joseph’s voice suddenly sounded behind me.
My movements became stiff, and I called a colleague. With that, the elevator reopened. Joseph and I stood in the cramped space. “Do you guys always leave work so late?” He asked calmly. “We can’t leave until the guests are gone.” “Is the pay very high here?” “It’s fine.” I lowered my head, using the brim of my hat to hide my face. Joseph didn’t seem to recognize me. He chatted casually and then looked at his watch. “This elevator is really slow. My girlfriend might be anxiously waiting for me. She is very clingy and loves to act coquettishly.” I was startled and realized he was talking about Yolanda. “What about you? You get off work so late. Won’t your boyfriend come to pick you up?” “I live close by.” Soon, the elevator arrived. As soon as the door opened, I walked out quickly. Joseph, who had been calm for several minutes, finally burst into anger. “What are you running for?” “Where else do you think you can run to? Scarlett!” “Was it fun for you to walk away and disappear without a trace?” With those questions, Joseph approached step by step. He was still the young man in my memory, but his youthfulness had faded, and he had become more mature and restrained. “You deleted your WhatsApp account. Your phone was unreachable. Even the college couldn’t find you. Heh! Scarlett, you are amazing.” I slowly raised my head to meet his gaze. “You should have… inquired about it with your connections, right? My family went bankrupt, and my dad got into financial disputes. We still haven’t paid off the debt…” “Why didn’t you tell me then?” I was dumbfounded. “Was it because you felt embarrassed? Ms. Reynolds?” “No…” Before I could finish, Yolanda came over. “Oh? Scarlett! It’s really you!” She was more beautiful than in college, delicate to every strand of her hair. “It’s been a long time! All our classmates have been looking for you. Why haven’t we heard anything about you in four years?” “I went to the south.” “No wonder.” Then, Yolanda looked at my clothes and said in surprise, “Scarlett, isn’t this the down jacket you bought in your junior year? The fluff has come out. Why are you still wearing it?” I used to buy clothes and throw them away after only wearing them for a year. She asked that question to make me feel embarrassed. However, at that point in my life, I was numb to such sarcasm. “There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s still wearable.” Yolanda looked as if she understood, “Are you going through something difficult right now? You should’ve told me earlier. I can help you.” She took out a bank card and handed it to me. “Take this and use it. You don’t have to pay back.” “Thanks, but I don’t need it,” I replied while looking at her, then at Joseph, and smiled quietly. “I’m getting married soon. Remember to attend when the time comes.” As soon as I finished, Joseph was stunned. Working at the club was just my part-time job. During the day, I still had to go to work. On Monday morning, a client visited the company. My colleagues were chatting, “I heard this client is a genius. He created this system intending to find someone.” “Huh? Who was he looking for?” “His ex-girlfriend.” Hearing that, my eyelids twitched, and I vaguely had a bad premonition. “So did he find her?” “I don’t know. The system has not been completed yet, but I heard that a lot of money had been invested, and the prospects are promising. That’s why our boss also wants to cooperate with him.” Later, I sorted out the information and walked to the reception room. At the door of the reception room, I heard Joseph’s voice. “About the cooperation, let me think about it.” I pushed the door open and put the documents on the table. Joseph’s gaze was scorching and he asked, “Why are you here?” “For work.” It is my official job. Mr. Lawrence, the general manager of the company, was curious, “Scarlett, do you know Mr. Kirk?” I thought about it and replied, “We’ve met before.” “Only met?” Joseph was mad again. I was unsure what he was angry about. Wasn’t he the one who never looked back on the day we broke up? He pointed at me, “Mr. Lawrence, I can sign the contract, provided that Scarlett is brought in as my assistant.” Lawrence agreed immediately, without even giving me a chance to refute. Then, they discussed the project for a whole day. In the evening, I packed my bag and planned to leave work on time. Joseph stopped me, “Where are you going? I haven’t let you go yet.” “Mr. Kirk, I can’t work overtime today. I have something else to deal with.” “What is that exactly?” “I’m going to deliver food,” I answered. Joseph looked at me in disbelief. I used to be so delicate that I never eat takeaway at all. During his four years in college, Joseph went to work part-time after class, delivering food. His dinner was often a hamburger given for free by the delivery company. Once I went to find him. In the cramped room, he huddled with a group, eating hamburgers from a box. Back then, I said, “Joseph, why are you eating this? It’s not clean.” His expression was unnatural, “Does it matter if it’s clean?” “Come with me. Accompany me to have steak.” Then, I took him to a newly opened restaurant that was expensive. He stood at the restaurant’s door for a while and took off his delivery clothes in silence. After my family went bankrupt, I finally understood his emotions that day. It was just like today. It snowed while I was preparing to deliver food. The ground was very slippery, I fell, and the takeaway fell to the ground too. I called the client to explain, but he scolded me instead. He shouted, “Don’t make excuses! If you are late, you are late.” The scratches on my palm hurt in the cold winter, but I didn’t care about it and kept apologizing. Suddenly, Joseph appeared and picked up my scooter. I didn’t know when he came and how long he had been looking at me. Subconsciously, I hid my hands behind my back. “Don’t hide it.” He said in a hoarse voice. His eyes were red as he continued, “Go and wash it off.” “I have to deliver food.” “Get in the car. I’ll take you there.” The customer lived on the first floor. When I delivered the food, he muttered, “Wow, even those who drive a Porsche also deliver food?” Later, I wanted to accept more orders. Joseph said, “Don’t take more orders.” “No, I earned too little tonight.” I retorted. “Then I’ll buy it.” “What?” I was dumbfounded. With a ding, the system automatically accepted the order he had assigned. “I’ll buy your time tonight.”
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