June Twitty's roommate invited her to a birthday party last month. At the party, Darren Bradley, June's ex-boyfriend came to her, and the two went out for half a night before she came back home.

　　I saw them hugging downstairs, and I gave her cold shoulders for half a month because of that.

　　Yesterday, June sent me a photo of the dining table at home. She had put in a lot of effort to arrange it and said that she wanna a candlelight dinner with me tonight.

　　I knew. She wanted me to give in.

　　After all, every time we quarreled or stopped talking to each other, I was always the one who bowed first.

　　I should be the angry one. Yet if I didn't make any kind of gesture, she'd find a way to have me give in.

　　If I didn't play along, she'd come and question me if I had stopped loving her.

　　Anger was bad for one's health. I loved her, and I didn't want her body to be affected just because of our quarrels.

　　After three years we were together, I had already become her simp. All my friends teased me, saying that I was obsessed with her, but I didn't care.

　　Because my love was so humble. Every time we quarreled, as long as she treated me nicely, played coquettishly, or said something sweet, I'd be soften-hearted, forget those unpleasant things that had happened, and then patch things up with her.

　　We had been like this for the last three years. I was her puppet, and she controlled all my emotions, including my happiness and sadness.

　　Every time I saw the innocent expression on her face, I'd always put my dignity and pride aside.

　　But yesterday, when she said that she wanted to spend an unforgettable night with me, I wasn't exactly excited.

　　If it were in the past, I would have been very happy if she had done something for me. After all, after we lived together, I was in charge of all the chores, including washing her underwear.

　　Looking at her message, I replied with an emoji.

　　Then I turned off my phone and continued to read. Unlike before, I wasn't secretly happy because she took the initiative. Instead, I was very calm.

　　When I got home in the evening, it was all silent. I didn't see June.

　　I sat alone in the living room until late at night and saw her Instagram. She was celebrating Darren's birthday with him.

　　She posted nine photos, showing their candlelight dinner, some flowers, a cake, and her gift for him.

　　Seemed that she had prepared it all for him.

　　I had been with her for three years, but she had never prepared a decent birthday party for me.

　　I used to be like a clown. I'd spend a lot of time trying to figure out what she was thinking, and I had to remind her indirectly before each of my birthdays. Yet though she said she'd prepare a birthday surprise for me, she'd always break her promise and then go and stay with Darren. Gradually, I stopped looking forward to my birthday.

　　I turned off my phone, fried a steak for myself, opened a bottle of wine, bought some food, and watched a TV drama while eating.

　　I didn't feel aggrieved or angry that night. I had already known that between Darren and me, she'd choose him, and I was used to it.

　　How strange. I wasn't sad anymore.

　　I didn't go to bed until early in the morning, and she still didn't come back before I fell asleep.

　　I had no idea how long I had been sleeping. Anyway, when I was sleeping soundly, I heard her footsteps.

　　Seemed she was standing by my bed. I was a little annoyed and didn't wanna talk to her, so I turned over and continued to sleep.

　　But her gaze was so intense that I couldn't ignore it. She seemed to be staring at me angrily.

　　What's wrong with her? It's early in the morning. Is she mad?

　　Again?

　　Because I slept without waiting for her to come back? Or because I turned off all the lights at home?

　　In the past, when she went out, I'd call her and text her a lot till she was bugged and replied to me. Then I'd turn on the lights and wait for her on the sofa no matter how late it was. As long as she said that she was on her way back, I'd wait.

　　Come to think of it, I was so clingy. Of course, she was bugged by me.

　　I didn't ask her why she didn't come back this time, and I didn't reach out to her. Shouldn't she be happy?

　　"Todd?"

　　She stood by my bed for a while and suddenly called out to me.

　　She probably couldn't believe that I fell asleep before she came back.

　　After all, I used to be so jealous. As long as she made contact with any man, or something about Darren came up, I'd ask her if anything had happened that I didn't know.

　　Every time, she'd stand there with her arms crossed and look at me coldly as if my madness had nothing to do with her.

　　She didn't bother to explain, which only proved further how unreasonable and ridiculous I was.

　　After I snapped, she'd say to me pitifully that she was with me. Then my heart would be filled with joy.

　　Now that I thought about it, it made sense that she was sick of me. I was so stupid and crazy. In fact, I hated myself at that time, too.

　　After she left, I opened my eyes.

　　I looked at the dark bedroom, and my mind was filled with mixed feelings.

　　I heard her deliberately lower her voice when she was talking to someone on the phone.

　　"It's fine. He's asleep. You can come pick me up. Let's go out and have breakfast."

　　I knew who was on the other end of the line.

　　As long as Darren called, he'd be the only one she could think of, even though she was still at home.

　　Back then, she had a big crush on him. Now that he reached out, presumably, she'd be with him at once. Right?

　　The next morning, I went out for my internship. As soon as I sat down at my desk, I saw a WhatsApp message from her.

　　If it were in the past, I would have put down everything and focused on replying to her messages, but today I didn't.

　　I was immersed in my work and communicated with my colleagues about the upcoming projects. I also mentioned that I was about to graduate.

　　After work, I had dinner with my colleagues outside. During that, she sent me an emoji, and I replied to her only when I was on the way back.

　　When I got home, I saw that she was already back.

　　How strange that she didn't go out.

　　"You didn't go out?"

　　I put down my bag and poured myself a glass of water.

　　When I finished it and was about to go to the study, she called out to me, "Todd, what do you want for dinner? I'll fix it for you."

　　I shook my head slightly. "I've already eaten. You can eat by yourself. If you don't wanna cook, order takeout."

　　She looked surprised, not expecting me to say that at all.

　　I used to make dinner every day after work and wait for her to come back. I never wanted her to order takeout. She knew that in my eyes, takeout was unhealthy.

　　"Todd, last night, I..."

　　"It's fine. I've got work to do, and I'll probably be late. Gotta go."

　　"I'm sorry, Todd, that I didn't show up. I was called away by Drake and the others last night. Drake told me it was Darren's birthday, and I didn't know it before that. He said Darren wanted me to be there for Darren's birthday party and drove to pick me up. I felt that refusing him would be rude, so..."

　　I nodded in silence, knowing that Drake Taylor was one of Darren's friends. When I turned to enter the study, she grabbed my arm. There was a flash of anxiety on her face, which I had never seen before.

　　"Todd, did you misunderstand me? I didn't have anything else in mind. It was just a birthday. I..."

　　I interrupted her, "I believe you.

　　"Birthday is indeed very important, not to mention that his friend came to pick you up. Well, time to rest."

　　I broke free from her grip and entered the study.

　　This time, I didn't give in.

　　She must be angry.

　　According to my experience, we were about to give each other cold shoulders again.

　　Every time at this point in the past, I'd try to patch things up with her as soon as possible.

　　But this time, I felt relieved.

　　In the evening, she went back to school to stay the night, while I slept alone. I felt great.

　　I didn't have to prepare anything for her in the morning. I had another 20 minutes to myself, and I could use the time to do more stuff.

　　When I arrived at the company, I no longer thought about her, and I didn't text her again, asking all those unimportant questions. And of course, she wouldn't say I was chatty again.

　　I majored in computer science. There were many people in my major who went to be postgraduates. Yet since I went to college, I started dating June, and I spent all my time with her, having no interest in studying at all. Now I realized that all my roommates were talking about studies in the chat group, and my colleagues around me were studying, too.

　　I suddenly came to a realization.

　　I once thought about being a postgraduate so that I could improve my academic qualifications and academic level. But every time I wanted to read and study, June filled my mind. I wanna know whether she ate, whether she had enough clothes on her when it was freezing, and even whether she went to Darren again.

　　She was my life and my soul. I was almost obsessed with her.

　　In the past, I was texting her all the time. If she didn't text me back immediately or didn't text me back at all, I'd start to doubt myself. Did I do something wrong, and she didn't love me that much? Was our relationship coming to an end?

　　Meanwhile, she gained the upper hand, watching me as I got more and more insecure indifferently.

　　Now that I thought about it, the past me was so pathetic.

　　I should stop living in a world where she was the only one. I should create my own world.

　　So, I decided to take the postgraduate entrance exam.

　　The exam was three months away. Time for me to work hard.

　　As for our relationship, I had already made up my mind.

　　When I was about to get off work, June called me.

　　In the past, I'd answer her phone happily. Every time she took the initiative to call me, I'd be a complete fool in love, feeling that my world was filled with sweet love.

　　Yet now, looking at the book in my hand, I felt a little annoyed. I wanted to read for a while more after getting off work.

　　"Todd, what should we eat tonight?"

　　I was stunned.

　　How come she suddenly wanna having dinner with me?

　　The graduation was around the corner, and recently, she always went to school to hang out with her classmates every time she got off work.

　　And I knew Darren was always there.

　　"Todd, do you fancy some hamburger? I suddenly have an appetite. I heard that the new joint opposite the school had some great hamburgers."

　　I agreed, and she smiled, "Then wait for me to pick you up after work."

　　"Are you free? I can take a taxi there."

　　Once, I asked her to pick me up, and she said unhappily, "Don't you know the way home? It's inconvenient to pick you up from my company because of the traffic jam."

　　She grinned, saying, "I can't wait to see you."

　　I didn't expect her to say such sweet nothing. If she had said that in the past, I would have wanted to fly to her.

　　After work, I read a book for a while. When she arrived, she called me, and only then did I go downstairs.

　　Her car was parked on the side of the road. As soon as I approached, I saw Darren in the passenger seat.

　　"June, he's a grown man. Of course, he can find his way. You don't have to pick him up at all. It's such a waste of your time."

　　"Darren, when we were going out, I waited for you at the door of your classroom every day and went to the canteen early to get you a spot in the line. How come you don't say that was a waste of my time?"

　　He grinned and said, "Actually, I enjoyed the feeling.

　　"Todd won't mind that I join you today, will he? He doesn't get jealous that easily, right?"

　　June shook her head and said proudly, "He always does everything I say."

　　Darren's laughter rang out. I walked over and stood in front of them expressionlessly.

　　Darren's eyes were full of provocation. "Todd, June picked me up on the way. You don't mind I join you, do you?"

　　Before I could say anything, June beat me to it. She said, "Todd, Darren gets carsick when he sits in the back. Why don't you take the back seat?"