Ethan did not come home all night. Early the next morning, Pearl saw a new post on Vivian's social media account.

"Going through a rough patch, but lucky to have someone willing to say 'let's go' and join me for a spontaneous midnight hike up Fishtail Mountain!"

Though the photo was primarily a selfie of Vivian, the tall male figure in the background was unmistakably Ethan.

Her followers in the comments were already gossiping.

"Free-spirited girls really are irresistible. The line of guys chasing Vivian probably stretches across the ocean."

"I knew Vivian wouldn't stay down after that cheating scumbag ex-husband. What an inspiration!"

"The mystery man in the background looks so tall. When are you going to show us his face?"

Pearl laughed softly. If these fans knew this 'mystery man' was married, what would they think?

Vivian had also left a comment. "Does anyone know the legend about Fishtail Mountain?"

According to legends, couples who climbed to the summit together would be soulmates for life. When Fishtail Mountain went viral online last year, Pearl had wanted Ethan to go with her.

She had begged him several times, but Ethan had only replied with a straight face, "Pearl, I thought you weren't the type to blindly follow trends?"

She had been speechless at the time and had to give up.

It was the same activity. However, when she proposed it, he said she had no mind of her own. When Vivian did it, she was carefree and independent.

That was the difference between love and indifference.

Pearl simply could not understand men. How could desire still function without love? To avoid a repeat of last night, she decided to pack up her belongings and take everything with her. She would not return here until she had the divorce certificate in hand.

Pearl lived on campus most of the time anyway. She had very few things here. All her clothes fit in a single suitcase.

Finally, she opened the nightstand drawer and took out a thick album of instant photos. Every single photo was of Ethan, but each one was a candid shot of his profile. It was because Ethan never cooperated when she wanted to take photos, much less pose for her.

Unlike the photo Vivian posted, where even though Ethan only showed his back, you could tell he had deliberately angled himself for the shot.

When she left, Pearl took the album downstairs and threw it in the trash. It was worth less than trash now.

As graduation approached, Pearl became so busy she barely had time to breathe. For two straight weeks, she hardly thought about Ethan at all.

After her Friday group meeting ended, Pearl looked at the missed calls from Ethan on her phone, somewhat confused.

In the last four years, no matter what happened, she had always been the one to contact Ethan first. Sometimes, she even had to make appointments through his secretary.

"Phone calls are the most inefficient form of communication. It's a waste of time."

Remembering what Ethan had told her before, she deleted the notifications, intending to ignore his calls.

Unexpectedly, Ethan called several more times in succession. Then, text messages followed.

"My dad wants us to visit him together."

Ever since Yolanda passed away two years ago, Oliver had never recovered. His health deteriorated almost overnight. He resigned from all his positions and voluntarily moved into a care facility.

Before, Pearl used to organize visits every ten days or so. Since last month's upheaval, she really had not been to see him in a long time.

Pearl felt a pang of guilt. Even though she and Ethan could not remain husband and wife, both Oliver and Yolanda had genuinely cared for her.

While she was still in the capital, she really should visit Oliver more.

Ethan drove to pick her up. As soon as they met, he asked, "Why haven't you been coming home lately?"

"Busy with school."

"That's good. Vivian thought you were angry that she and I were getting too close."

Ethan lightly tapped the steering wheel. "I told her you're not that petty, but she didn't believe me. She says she's moving out next month to avoid any awkwardness."

"Tell her there's no need. I don't mind at all." Pearl's voice was languid.

Ethan frowned slightly. This was exactly the answer he had wanted, but hearing Pearl say it so casually made him feel something was off.

At the red light, he wanted to look at Pearl's expression more carefully. However, she had already fallen asleep in the passenger seat.

After more than a month of not seeing him, Oliver looked much older. His hands trembled as he opened a box and pulled out an emerald bracelet, pressing it into Pearl's hand.

"Pearl, this was Yolanda's. It's the Sterling family's heirloom meant to be passed down to daughters-in-law. She passed so suddenly that she never had the chance to give it to you. Today, I'm putting it on you myself, in case I pass away one of these days too..."

"Oliver, please don't talk like that."

Seeing her once vigorous mentor now frail and elderly, Pearl's eyes grew moist. However, she knew clearly that she and Ethan were about to divorce. She could not accept this heirloom meant for a Sterling daughter-in-law.

However, Oliver insisted on slipping it around her wrist. He continued, "You were still in school before, and you and Ethan didn't have a proper wedding. Now that you're graduating soon, you should make time for a ceremony. That was Yolanda's dying wish."

Neither Pearl nor Ethan responded. Oliver went on about the wedding for quite a while, then pulled out two tickets and handed them to Ethan. "These are from Peter for you two. His son is directing this musical. It's happening tonight."

"Peter?" Ethan frowned.

Oliver immediately smiled. "Pearl knows him. He's my friend at the care facility. Last time Pearl visited, she happened to run into Peter, who collapsed on the roadside after having a heart attack."

Oliver looked at Pearl with pride. "Thanks to Pearl's quick emergency care, Peter survived. He's always remembered Pearl since then. He even said he wants to attend your wedding ceremony and congratulate you both."

"That happened? Why didn't you tell me?" Ethan looked at Pearl. He had known nothing about it.

Pearl did not expose him in front of Oliver. After she saved that man, she sent Ethan several voice messages. He had not replied to any of them at the time.

Now, she understood. He had never bothered to listen to her voice messages at all.

After leaving the care facility, Pearl wanted to take a cab straight back to school. However, Ethan waved the tickets in his hand. "Someone went out of their way to save these for you. It would be rude not to go."

Thinking of Oliver and Peter's thoughtfulness, Pearl took the ticket and decided to go.

On the way, Ethan said he needed to swing by home to get his work phone.

Pearl thought to herself that when he had spontaneously gone up that mountain with Vivian, his work phone had rung all night in the study, yet he had been fine with that. When he was with her, however, work suddenly became so important.

With that thought, Pearl took off the bracelet from her wrist. The things that did not belong to her should be returned to their rightful owner sooner rather than later.

She had just removed the bracelet when she looked up and saw Vivian stepping out of the elevator.

"Ethan! No wonder you weren't home when I went looking for you. Where were you?"

Vivian completely ignored Pearl and bounced over to Ethan like a rabbit. Pearl consciously took a step back.

"You were looking for me? What for?"

"To get you to join the competition, of course! Look, I already got the bikes ready for you..."

Only then did Pearl notice there were three bicycles in the elevator along with a lady with blonde hair. Pearl recognized the lady as an influencer named Joy Walker who had appeared in Vivian's videos before.

Joy greeted them cheerfully, then teased Vivian with a knowing look, "So, this is the mystery man from your photo! He really is gorgeous!"

Her gaze landed on Pearl standing behind them, puzzled. "And who's this?"

Both Vivian and Ethan looked embarrassed. Pearl simply pointed at Ethan. "I'm his sister."

Ethan and Vivian said nothing, tacitly confirming it.

Ethan cleared his throat, steering the conversation back. He asked Vivian, "What competition?"

Vivian stuck out her tongue. "A night cycling race around the lake. I signed you up. You're not mad, are you?"

Ethan fell silent again, his gaze shifting to Pearl.

Pearl shrugged. "You two go ahead. I need to get back to school to work on my thesis anyway."

Joy, unable to read the dynamics between them, extended a friendly invitation to Pearl. "You should come along too!"

"Pearl probably wouldn't enjoy something as tomboyish as cycling." Before Pearl could respond, Vivian had already declined for her.

Ethan chimed in, "Right. Pearl's kind of timid and not really athletic."

Pearl did not argue. She thought about how she had been captain of the kickboxing club for three years and was unbeatable in her entire department. If her junior club members heard what Ethan just said, they would probably be furious enough to clock him on the spot.

She did not want to waste more time arguing. She pulled out the bracelet she had removed earlier and handed it to Ethan. "This..."

She wanted to remind Ethan to keep it safe, but Joy saw the bracelet and immediately snatched it up with gleaming eyes. "Oh my God! What a flawless piece of emerald!"

She looked at Vivian enviously. "You mentioned a few days ago that you wanted to find a quality bracelet, and your Mr. Sterling got you this! Why don't I have such thoughtful old classmates..."

Vivian lowered her head somewhat shyly.

Joy continued to egg them on, saying, "Vivian, put it on and let's see! I've never seen an emerald of this quality before! It must be worth at least several hundred thousand dollars..."

Under Vivian's expectant gaze, Ethan hesitantly took the bracelet and handed it to Vivian. However, he kept watching Pearl's expression the entire time.

When Pearl saw Vivian slip on the bracelet, she breathed a long sigh of relief. This Sterling family heirloom had been a hot potato in her hands.

It would end up with Vivian sooner or later anyway. It was better to hand it over now and be done with it.

"You guys have fun. I'm getting a cab." Pearl walked into the elevator without looking back.

Behind her, Ethan, who had always been the one she watched, found himself watching her retreating figure for the first time. Ethan stared as the elevator doors slowly closed. Seeing Pearl leave so decisively stirred an indescribable feeling in his chest.

Afterward, Pearl went to see the musical alone. The tragic story made her cry through most of it.

On the cab ride back to school, she saw Vivian's latest social media post.

The bracelet was on Vivian's wrist, and her caption read, "Wearing emerald while cycling around the lake. Living my best life!"

In the photo, Ethan's shadow clung closely to hers. Pearl then quietly opened Vivian's profile, unfollowed her, and muted her posts.

When Vivian first burst into her life, Pearl had combed through every post on her feed. Now, however, she no longer cared.

For the past few years, she had merely been a spectator in Ethan's life. She had laughed and cried, but now, the show was over. It was time to extract herself from this tragedy.

As the departure date for the Arcanum project drew closer, several of Pearl's close classmates took leave to go home, saying they wanted to spend a few more days with their families.

Pearl, who stayed at school, took on all the team's logistics work. She ran around preparing supplies and stayed busy for several more days.

Ten days before departure, she needed to stock up on medicine from the pharmacy. When she saw pregnancy tests on the shelf, she grabbed one on impulse. She had been nauseous and vomiting every day lately, and her period was late.

What she feared most came true. When she saw the two lines on the pregnancy test, Pearl nearly cursed out loud.

She forced herself to calm down. Pregnancy tests could give false positives. She immediately made an appointment online and went straight to the obstetrics department for a blood test first thing the next morning.

An hour later, she was clutching a report that read 'two months pregnant'. She stood in the hospital lobby, feeling her head buzz.

Two months. That would be right before Vivian returned to the country, the last time she and Ethan had slept together.

What terrible timing!

In just a few days, she would have her divorce certificate and be on her way to Arcanum. Pearl could not help but pull up Ethan's number.

No matter how strong she was, she was still just a 24-year-old graduate student. After hesitating for a moment, she tapped the dial button.

The next second, a phone rang not far from where she stood.

Pearl followed the sound. Ethan, in his trench coat, stood with Vivian, who had perfect, smooth skin and red lips. They looked like the perfect match.

Hearing the ringtone, Ethan frowned and pulled out his phone. Pearl quickly ended the call before it was answered and ducked into the shadows.