We didn't talk for almost a month.

In the early morning, I took my bag and was about to leave when Lara suddenly appeared and stopped me.

"I didn't come home last night. Aren't you worried about me, Danny?"

I was stunned. I didn't care about her whereabouts at all, so how could I know that she didn't come back all night last night?

"I drank too much last night. I was worried that if I came back, I might wake you up, so I asked Austin to send me to a nearby hotel..."

When she said that, she stared at me without blinking.

I knew she was trying to use Austin to provoke me.

What kind of expression on my face was she expecting to see?

Grievance? Anger? Or perhaps disappointment?

But she would be disappointed this time.

"You didn't come back last night?" My tone was indifferent, showing no emotion.

Lara's eyes turned red in an instant, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

Before, I was the one with the mood swings, while Lara always remained indifferent.

Now that our roles had reversed, I felt no pity for her. I was filled with indescribable restlessness.

She stared at me, her big eyes teary. It seemed she was waiting for me to admit I was wrong.

Unfortunately, I couldn't understand what she meant, and I didn't want to.

"I'll pick you up after work today!"

Instinctively, I wanted to say no.

"No need. I have to work overtime today."

"Till when?"

"Eight o'clock. It'll be late. You don't have to come pick me up. It's too troublesome."

"I'll wait for you downstairs at eight o'clock!" She quickly ran away as if afraid of being rejected by me.

In order to get my story straight, I took out the review materials and studied hard in the office after work.

I was so involved that I lost track of time.

"Hey, Danny, are you still busy? We're downstairs."

It was Austin. He always used his cleverness to subtly mock that I was inferior to him.

I went downstairs and naturally sat in the back seat after opening the car door.

As long as Austin was there, I'd never sit in the front passenger seat.

I did question Lara.

"Have you ever considered my feelings when you let your male best friend sit in the front passenger seat?"

"Danny, you're a grown man, OK? Stop being so petty. Austin gets carsick. Can't you humor him? There's nothing between me and him..."

I said nothing after I got in the car.

Austin said.

"Danny, why the silence? Please don't get us wrong. I drank today and couldn't drive. Lara was so worried about me that she insisted on picking me up."

I closed my eyes and rested. I was too tired after studying all day, so I really didn't have the energy to watch the clown performance in the passenger seat.

"The crabs at that restaurant today were delicious. Let's go again someday."

"Austin, thanks for peeling the crabs for me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to eat them at all."

"You silly girl..."

They in front were chatting casually.

I was dozing off in the back seat. They were so noisy!

Austin suddenly turned to me.

"Lara loves crabs but doesn't want to peel. Danny, you must have helped her peel at home a lot, right?"

Obviously, he was being sarcastic.

In the past, whenever we ordered crabs, I would pick up the special tools and start peeling them for here. I would carefully put the crab meat onto her plate.

I still remembered. She put down the fork and pushed the plate filled with crab meat a little further away.

"Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me in front of so many people? I have hands. I can peel them myself!"

She didn't love me, so everything I did was wrong.

After that, I never peeled crabs for her again.

Austin's eyes were so eager, making it impossible for me to ignore him.

He looked at me triumphantly, his eyes full of mockery.

It seemed he was saying, "So what if you're Lara's boyfriend? She loves me more."

In the past, I would have snapped when I saw this look in his eyes. Yet now, I simply found it boring. She was just a heartless woman. Whoever wanted her could have her.

When we got home, I put down my bag and was about to take a shower.

Lara stopped me.

"Danny, don't you have anything ... to ask me?"

She pinched the corner of her clothes as if she had made a great determination before asking me.

"What do you want me to ask?" I was impatient and just wanted her to leave me alone.

"Luna organized today's gathering. They are all my college classmates, and I figured that if I turned them down, I'd be rude... I didn't know they invited Austin, too..."

In the past, it was always me who mentioned Austin. I was jealous, angry, or aggrieved.

Now that I didn't care anymore, she took the initiative to explain.

"It is your business. No need to explain to me. You can call the shots."

"Danny, these days... You have been cold to me... I'm scared..."

I interrupted her before she finished speaking.

"You're overthinking. I'm too tired, so I'm going to sleep."

After saying that, I turned around without hesitation, leaving Lara behind.

The next night after work, I unexpectedly saw Lara's car downstairs again.

For some reason, I felt a little scared and annoyed. I wanted to return to the office building, but Lara stopped me.

"Danny, why do you run away when you see me? Am I some kind of ferocious monster?" She lowered her head, sobbing.

It was the same old trick. Before, she always manipulated me with such a look.

"No. I just forgot something..."

"It's Luna's birthday party. She invited both of us... Danny, you..."

"You may go. I'm not interested."

Luna Jordan was Lara's college roommate. When Lara pursued Austin back then, the group of people, including Luna, offered Lara lots of suggestions. They became close and had been friends till now.

"All of them will bring a date. Don't worry... It won't be late. I swear."

Perhaps not wanting to argue with her anymore, as she started the car, I said nothing, agreeing to go in silence.

As soon as we arrived at Luna's doorstep, a bunch of roses suddenly fell from the door frame, catching Lara and me off guard.

Before we could react, Austin jumped out from the corner.

"Flowers match beautiful women! Welcome, Lara."

The atmosphere became tense, and everyone was secretly observing my expression.

They all knew that I loved Lara so deeply, so I definitely couldn't tolerate someone who sent roses to her in such a way.

But I just sat down in my seat under their gazes.

"Why isn't anyone sitting?"

Lara threw the roses aside and ran towards me.

"Danny, don't take it seriously. I'm just too close to Austin. He doesn't mean anything. He just wants to surprise me!"

"She's right, Danny. We used to mess around like this all the time. You didn't know, and that's all. It's just the interaction between friends!"

Austin's words "used to", "all the time", and "you didn't know" caught my attention. I knew what he was trying to do.

He wouldn't miss any opportunity to sow discord between me and Lara.

His tricks were so lame. He better kept them to himself.

During the meal, Austin kept putting food on Lara's plate.

"Lara, it's the braised pork you like. Have some more..."

They used to put food on each other's plates frequently and called that normal interaction between friends. It no longer affected me.

After finishing the meal, I was thinking about my plan for the civil service exam, so I wanted to leave.

"Danny, are you leaving so soon? Let's stay a little longer and hang out." Lara tried to stop me.

"No. You guys may hang out. I'm leaving. I have something to do."

"Then... Then I'll go back too!" I looked at Lara in surprise as I heard her say that. She used to be eager for me to leave early, let alone go with me.

"You're both leaving? I didn't drive. Lara, could you give me a ride?" Austin said.

I opened the door to the back seat of the car directly.

As soon as I got in the car, I put on my headphones and reviewed the knowledge I learned in the morning.

The civil service exam was around the corner, and I had devoted myself to it almost entirely.

Concentrating on reviewing several pages of the questions I answered wrongly in the morning, I suddenly realized that it was unusually quiet in the car today.

I took off my headphones.

"Lara, what's wrong with you today? I asked you a question. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Don't talk while I'm driving."

Austin's gaze fell on me again. This time, there was resentment instead of complacency in his eyes.

He mouthed at me.

"Did you say something to Lara and instigate our relationship? You are such a despicable person."

I smiled and ignored him.

After all, paying attention to such a person was as boring as scolding the air.