After the SAT, I confessed my love to Jared, whom I had been secretly in love with for three years, under the influence of alcohol.

However, he said in front of everyone, "Are you shameless? You always show off when you have the chance. I don't like proactive people like you."

I gave up my feelings and chose a university that was completely opposite to his, distancing myself from his life.

We met again at my friend's engagement party.

I attended the party with my boyfriend. But Jared suddenly lost control and said with red eyes, "Did you let him go on your own, or should I help you?"

——

The air was filled with an intoxicating atmosphere.

But I felt like I was in an ice cellar.

Jared's handsome face looked hazy under the lights, and his cold gaze was filled with sarcasm and disgust.

The laughter quieted down after he finished speaking.

Soon, there was a burst of sneering laughter from the corner.

"No, Ilisa, are you sure?"

"A dog should have the self-awareness of a dog. Don't you understand this principle?"

I stood still, letting the dazzling lights sweep across my pale face.

A dog?

My secret crush had long been known to everyone.

Jared's eyes were full of disgust in front of me.

In a daze, his words from last night were swirling in my mind.

After the exam yesterday, I asked him tactfully, "Jared, I like someone. Do you think I will succeed if I confess my feelings to him?"

At that time, he smiled recklessly, "You are such a good girl. It's his blessing to be confessed to. Why not give it a try?"

Just because of his words, I deliberately drank more today and finally mustered up the courage under the influence of alcohol.

But I got his humiliation.

My throat was so dry that I couldn't speak, I looked at him blankly, "Jared, you said that yesterday..."

"What did I say yesterday? Did I ask you to confess to me? A person should know their own limits, Ilisa, why do you think I would like you?"

His every word was like a sharp sword, stabbing fiercely at my heart.

Yes, he had never said that he liked me.

All of this was just me being delusional.

I wanted to cry. I was about to lose control, and my eyes became moist.

"I...I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Trembling, I was about to leave after saying this.

But at that moment when I turned around, I heard cheers coming from behind me.

"Yeah, as I expected, she confessed today. Hand over the money quickly."

I stood still in place and turned around to look when I heard these words.

The person who lost the bet was unwilling to take out the money, and was still grumbling and cursing.

"I can't stand it. I can't bear it for a day. I don't know which family can teach such a shameless daughter."

"Exactly, if I were her mother, I would feel heartbroken and annoyed. Half of my monthly living expenses would be gone."

"Oh, come on, stop talking nonsense. I still have to give half of it to Jared. If it wasn't for him, your money wouldn't have ended up in my pocket."

They repeatedly brought out my embarrassment and whipped me with it.

They completely forgot that I was still here.

I looked at Jared, who stood in the middle of the crowd.

He smiled, holding his spoils in his hand.

Originally, my confession was their bet.

So Jared only said those words to me yesterday.

Suddenly, my vision became blurred.

His figure was no longer so clear.

Started emitting a foul smell.

I couldn't understand why the elegant and graceful boy in my memory suddenly decayed.

Suddenly, it seemed that he noticed my gaze and looked at me.

In an instant, I pushed open the door and ran away in a panic.

I lowered my head and ran, completely forgetting that I was not good at running.

My left foot tripped over my right foot, and I fell uncontrollably to the ground.

The intense pain made my whole body go numb, and tears instantly welled up in my eyes.

Passersby laughed at me as if saying, "How silly is this person, even falling while running."

The beginning of my intersection with Jared was in a similar situation.

I was not good at sports since I was young, and running was my weakness.

When I just entered the first year of high school, I was always nervous during physical education class, afraid of embarrassing myself in front of everyone.

However, no matter how careful I was, I still couldn't avoid this.

The day I fell.

The sky was cloudless, and the sun was shining on me, causing sweat to pour down.

I fell to the ground, whimpering in pain.

As expected, laughter came from the surroundings.

It was Jared, the sports committee member, who stood up and stopped them.

He carefully helped me up and scolded them angrily, saying, "What are you laughing at? Haven't you ever fallen down before?"

He scolded them, reported to the teacher, and took me to rest nearby.

"Wait here, I'll go buy some band-aids."

After saying that, he didn't wait for my response and ran off.

That day was the first time we had any interaction since the start of the school year.

But it left a strong impression in my heart.

After that, he took good care of me.

During physical education class, he would intentionally walk beside me and watch my steps.

When I struggled to finish the whole course, he would smile and praise me, saying, "Great job, Ilisa."

I thought the spirited young man in the novel was just like him.

But why?

In just two years, the boy in my memory had changed a lot.

They all knew that I liked him, and he knew too.

But he indulged them deliberately playing with me.

Was my liking really as cheap as he said?

Or was it that in his eyes, I was just a pastime toy?

"Are you waiting for someone to come and laugh at you?"

A familiar voice came from above, instantly pulling me back to my thoughts.

I looked up in a daze, Ervin was smiling, and he squatted down and reached out to me, "Don't stand there stupidly, get up quickly, it's embarrassing."

I realized and stood up with his help.

Fortunately, the corridor was carpeted, so I didn't get hurt when I fell heavily.

But it left a large bruise.

He glanced at my knees in a short skirt, then looked at my face, his eyebrows suddenly furrowed, "Are you crying?"

I smiled and shook my head with difficulty, "No, you misunderstood."

He was my neighbor, and we grew up together since we were young. We were considered childhood sweethearts in their eyes.

But he was always focused on studying, so we didn't have much interaction after high school.

We just occasionally greet each other when we meet.

Anyway, it was really embarrassing to be seen by him in such a miserable state.

I dare not look into his eyes and deliberately avoid them, "Your party hasn't ended yet, so I won't disturb you. I'll go back first."

I limped away, but he reached out and grabbed my arm.

"There's nothing interesting here. Let's go together."

We were all silent on the way back.

I thought this silence would last until we got home.

I didn't expect that as soon as we got out of the taxi, I heard him say, "Ilisa, which university do you want to choose?"

Hearing this, I was stunned.

I originally planned to follow Jared to apply to the same university, wherever he went, I would go.

However, now I had changed my mind.

I looked up at the star-studded sky and said with relief, "I have never seen the sea before, so I should choose a coastal city."

This way, I could fulfill his wish and stay away from him.

Unexpected.

Woke up the next day.

Just two hours ago, Jared sent me a message.

"Didn't you say you would give me a gift after graduation? Give you a chance to bring it to me."

He talked and directly sent me an address.

Recalling the embarrassment of last night, I didn't reply to his message.

However, in a place I didn't know.

Jared stared at his phone waiting for my reply.

"Jared, don't worry. After being your loyal follower for three years, she won't easily let go. She will definitely come to find you."

Jared put down his phone and sneered, "Who cares if she comes? She's just a dog who comes running at a beckoning hand, who cares!"

He occasionally glanced at his phone while saying that.

But he couldn't get a response from me.

He became increasingly irritable and kicked the coffee table.

Not long after, I received another message from him.

He said, "Ilisa, you think you're something, not replying to my messages, huh? Then don't ever message me again!"

When I saw this message, I happened to be filling out my college application.

I quickly glanced at it and focused my attention on more important matters.

When I finished filling out the application and picked up my phone to send him a message to mutually delete our chat history, I noticed a red exclamation mark next to the message I sent.

He was playing this game again.

As long as things didn't go his way.

He would casually delete me.

Waiting for me to beg him.

He added back with a proud attitude.

Every time, it was always me who lowered my head.

But now I lowered my head and looked at the bruises on my knees.

The scenes from last night flashed through my mind again.

It was like reminding me that my unhidden crush should end.

This time, I didn't beg him to add me back like before.

Instead, I deleted everything about him.

After doing these things, I looked at Instagram.

Just saw a fresh video from the people who were making a fuss in the private room yesterday.

The background was the private room. They were cheering and making noise in the video.

Meanwhile, I stood opposite Jared, looking at him affectionately.

The video captured all of my embarrassment.

The person who posted the video, George, even mentioned me specifically and said, "One failure doesn't count. Come again next time, and if there's something funny like this, remember to let us know in advance."

My heart ached.

I had calmed down, watching the video again, Jared's gaze towards me was filled with annoyance.

He made it so obvious.

Why couldn't I see through it?

My confession.

For Jared, it may be considered an insult.

And for those who were watching the show, I was a clown bringing a funny performance.

I took a deep breath and tried my best to restrain my surging heart, and replied to him, "It's impossible."

There was no possibility between me and Jared anymore.

We were originally two straight parallel lines, and it was impossible to force it.

My mom was shocked for a moment after knowing the university I applied for.

She asked in confusion, "Did you make an appointment with Ervin?"

What does it mean?

I looked at her curiously and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You both chose the same university, and he performed exceptionally well this time. I thought he would choose a better school."

My mom was muttering something, and I couldn't hear it clearly.

All I knew was that in this unfamiliar city, I had someone relatively familiar.