My girlfriend loves to test my love for her.

After the college entrance exam results were released, she, who usually scored over 1450 in mock exams, told me she did not do well and only got 1070. She asked if I would be willing to repeat a year and retake the exam with her.

I agreed, even though I had a perfect score.

However, when school started, I found out that she actually scored 1540 and had already received her acceptance letter to MIT.

I waited at the high school gate for two hours with my bag. Today marked the start of the new term for me and my girlfriend, Rachel Ivey, as we decided to re-study for the college entrance exam together. The breakfast I bought for her, which I had queued up for at 6:30 AM, had already gone cold, but Rachel was still nowhere to be seen.

I called Rachel for the tenth time, and she finally answered.

Her voice was light and cheerful. "Zoran, are you at the school gate?"

"I am. Where are you? Did something happen on the way?"

Rachel sent me a photo. "I'm at the school gate too! But it's MIT's school gate!"

My smile faded, and the breakfast slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. I managed to say, "What are you doing at MIT?"

Rachel said smugly, "Zoran, I've been holding it in for so long, but I can finally tell you now! I overperformed on the exam and scored 1540! I finally got into MIT! Aren't you happy for me?"

"Didn't you say you only got 1070 and we were going to retake the exam together?"

Rachel giggled. "I was just testing you. I wanted to see if you really loved me. Congratulations, you passed!"

Feeling suffocated by my emotions, I asked, "Why are you only telling me this now?"

"This is my second test for you, to see if you'd get mad when you found out I was lying."

Her voice was casual and nonchalant, as if this test was just a trivial matter.

When I remained silent for a long time, Rachel's voice turned unhappy. "Don't tell me you're mad, Zoran Faraday? With your grades, you could spend a year without studying and still easily get into MIT next year. Do you have to be mad at me? If that upsets you, then let's break up!"

I reluctantly accepted the fact that I would be retaking the exam. Besides the wasted time, retaking the exam wasn't too stressful for me. I even found time to get a driver's license.

Time flew by, and it was finally time to take the exam again a year later.

Five days before the exam, Rachel came home early for the summer holiday in order to keep me company throughout the exam.

To make it easier for me to study, my family had rented an apartment near the school.

Rachel was on her best behavior. She got up early every day to make me breakfast and took care of all my meals.

When I was studying, she would sit next to me with her laptop and deal with her schoolwork.

When I got tired, she would go downstairs with me for a walk or to play sports. At night, she would give me a shoulder massage before bed.

The days were warm and peaceful, just like the married life I often fantasized about.

I had already discussed with my family my plan to propose to Rachel once the exam was over, and we would marry right after college graduation.

On the day of the exam, Rachel made breakfast for me as usual. Knowing that my stomach was delicate, she made me a special porridge.

We set out together. She wore a cyan dress with a slit on the side that went all the way up to the root of her thigh, outlining her graceful curves. She hoped it would bring me good luck.

Right after we left the apartment, Rachel suddenly received a call from her family. After hanging up, she told me in a hurry that there was an emergency at home and asked me to go to the exam venue without her.

With a knot of worry in my heart, I drove to the exam venue. Just as I was about to go through the first security check, Rachel called.

"Zoran, help! My mom locked me in the room and is forcing me to marry a forty-year-old divorced man in the countryside! I'm so scared! Can you come save me?"

I took back my ID that was being checked and ran out of the school, ignoring the shocked and confused gaze of the proctor.

I asked Rachel to send me her location. I also told her not to hang up and to keep updating me of her current situation.

However, following a scream, the phone hung up. When I called back, the phone was turned off.

I sprinted to the parking lot as fast as I could, ignoring the stinging pain in my throat and the metallic taste in my mouth. I stepped on the accelerator and sped towards Rachel's location.

It was rush hour, and traffic was heavy. I was caught at several red lights. Desperate, I stopped at an intersection, abandoned my car, and rented a motorcycle.

The location Rachel sent me was at the outskirts of the city, where the roads were bumpy and rough.

I failed to spot a large pothole at the bottom of a slope, causing my front wheel to get stuck and my motorcycle to flip over.

My left leg was pinned under the seat. It took me a long time to climb back up.

Ignoring the wounds and pain, I managed to lift the motorcycle back up. Luckily, it was still intact and started normally.

I hopped back on and once again rushed towards the location Rachel had sent me.

The rest of the road was smoother, and within three minutes, I found the house where Rachel was supposed to be among a row of independent houses in the countryside.

The black metal gate stood wide open. In the narrow shady area inside, Rachel and three other people I did not recognize were sitting around a table, casually eating watermelon and playing cards.

My fierce and intimidating aura startled everyone.

Seeing me dirty and bloody all over, Rachel's eyes flashed with satisfaction.

She turned to the others and said, "Chill. He’s my boyfriend."

Rachel pulled me over and introduced me to her friends. "Zoran, these three are my childhood friends."

I was fuming. The metallic taste of blood was growing stronger in my mouth. "Didn’t you say your parents locked you up?"

A blush of embarrassment appeared briefly on Rachel’s face, but she quickly glossed over it. She said a little awkwardly, "Actually, this is also a test!"

She added, "I didn’t plan to do this. They called me this morning saying they were back from out of town and would be leaving at noon. We haven't seen each other for years, so I rushed back. I told them you gave up on going to MIT for me last year but they didn’t believe me, and that’s why I put you through this test."

The more she spoke, the prouder she sounded. She boasted to her friends, "I told you my boyfriend would miss the exam for me. You guys lost the bet! $100 each, pay up!"

I felt a surge of blood in my throat. I was furious, my chest rising and falling violently.

I could not believe that Rachel had sacrificed my year of hard work just to show off to her friends.

She waved 3 green bills in front of me, brimming with pride. "Aren't I amazing, Zoran? I just made 300 bucks. We can have a lavish meal tonight!"

I looked down and saw that Rachel's hand, casually resting on my arm, was pressing against my wound. Sticky blood gushed out.

Noticing that something was wrong, Rachel looked down at her hand.

Her delicate hand, which had never done any hard work, was now covered in my blood. She took a step back in panic, her face ashen.

Her friend pointed out, "Looks like your boyfriend is hurt. You should take him to the hospital."

I had three broken ribs, which almost pierced my lungs.

My right leg was also fractured from the motorcycle falling on it. I almost became a cripple.

My parents were abroad. I didn't want them to worry, so I didn't tell them that I was injured and hospitalized. Instead, I paid for a personal nurse to take care of me.

Rachel came to see me every day, but I never said a word to her.

This time, I was truly mad. I even considered breaking up with her.

Three days later, Rachel was sent to the hospital after she jumped off a building.

After coming out of the operating room, she was sent to the bed next to mine in my ward. She was still unconscious, her eyes closed.

Rachel's parents waited next to her bed. When they occasionally looked up and meet my gaze, their eyes were full of apology.

"Zoran, we know Rachel is the one at fault. After tricking you and preventing you from going to college last year, she lied to you again. She deserves this. It's our fault for not educating her properly."

The two elders bowed to me repeatedly, making me feel very uncomfortable.

Two hours later, Rachel woke up.

The effects of the anesthesia had not worn off, and she could not move her body. She could only turn her face and look at me with those beautiful eyes, her gaze empty and complicated.

She told me softly with trembling lips, "I'm sorry."

Rachel jumped off a building because I would not forgive her.

She said she wanted to personally experience the pain I felt when I fell off the motorcycle when I went to look for her.

No one could truly empathize with another person's pain without experiencing it firsthand. She wanted to personally feel the pain I had suffered as atonement.

In the end, my heart softened.

We ended up staying in the hospital together the entire summer break.

After being discharged from the hospital, Rachel said she would help me with the procedures to retake the exam.

I shook my head and refused her, taking out an acceptance letter from MIT from my backpack.

"There's no need. I already got in through direct admission."

Before the first year's exam, I had already received a spot from MIT through direct admission, but at that time, Rachel's mock exam scores were still slightly lower than MIT's usual cutoff. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to get into MIT with me, so I declined the offer.

I thought Rachel would be ecstatic when she saw my acceptance letter. We would not have to be in a long distance relationship anymore. We could live together in the same city and go to the same school.

However, when Rachel saw my acceptance letter, her gentle smile abruptly vanished.

She erupted in rage, hitting my ribs that were still recovering from injury.

"Zoran Faraday, you lied to me! You didn't give up the exam for me at all. You went to look for me because you were already accepted. I can't believe I jumped off a building for you! It turns out you don't love me at all!"