When the plane was conducting take-off and landing training, I made a mistake and almost perished in the clouds.

The alarms rang throughout the base that night. I barely escaped death, only to see Lily Green's solo concert successfully held, with someone giving her a heartfelt hug and kiss.

I was very familiar with that figure. It was my boyfriend, Nathan Hale.

Overnight, the epic kiss between the pilot and the cellist went viral on the internet.

Lily also said sweetly, "Hand in hand for ten years, your silhouette still shines among the stars."

Insiders were waiting to see me, the official girlfriend, become a joke, speculating who Nathan would choose this time.

I smiled serenely and replied, "Congratulations, but I never play second fiddle."

Later, I joined the maritime rescue team and was isolated from the world for many years.

But I heard that Nathan was searching for me everywhere, nearly going mad.

——

The day after I narrowly escaped death, Nathan finally returned to the training base.

Seeing me lying on the bed, he didn't care about my injuries, but questioned me why I said those things last night.

"Lily finally held a solo concert. Couldn't you refrain from being a buzzkill?"

"Hugs and kisses are common social etiquette abroad. Why must you misinterpret my relationship with her?"

As soon as he entered, he bombarded me with questions, not mentioning the accident at the base or my injuries.

I looked at him and said, "Nathan, I'm injured. Can you..."

"Don't change the subject!"

He yelled at me, glanced at my injured leg, and said angrily, "I told you that your skills were not good enough for solo flight, but you always don't listen to me."

I remained silent, letting him belittle me.

In the three years since entering the base for training, he always felt that my skills were inferior to others—not as good as those male pilots, nor equal to the female pilots of my level.

But the coach said I had the best flying skills in my cohort, already capable of solo missions.

The mistake I made last night was just because I was trying to avoid a flock of birds. It was a miracle that I was able to land safely.

But Nathan never cared about these. He just thought I was trying to be brave and pretending to be calm and even my current behavior was just to attract his attention.

Seeing that I didn't respond to him, he seemed deflated.

But his aggressive demeanor had lasted too long to retract quickly, so he stiffly said, "Anyway, I don't want to hear what you said last night again."

After saying that, he slammed the ward door and left.

I stared at his back for a long time, finally letting out a self-mocking laugh.

What Lily said was indeed right. All the pain came from his lack of love for me.

But Nathan, I don't want to love you anymore either.

On the seventh day of my injury, I was finally discharged.

The mishap didn't cause me any fatal harm but brought me an unexpected commendation from the unit.

The reason was that I successfully avoided residential areas and landed the plane on the beach.

But no one knew why I insisted on flying that day despite no flight tasks or training.

Holding the medal, I smiled and replied, "I just wanted to see the sunset by the sea."

The coach gave me a thumbs-up and reminded me about joining the rescue team again.

"The selection for Rescue Team has already begun. We only have one spot for the entire base. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

It has always been my dream to become a female pilot and rescue lives in the blue sea and sky.

That's why I resolutely chose an aviation major in college, to one day become the person I always wanted to be.

But three years ago, I gave up this opportunity for Nathan.

The coach was regretful but he respected my decision.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many at our base. You're a talent and shouldn't be confined to this small base. Your journey should be to the stars and the sea." the coach persuaded me earnestly.

Clutching the medal, I quickly made up my mind without much thought.

"Okay, I'll go.''

"That's right! You will definitely become the best pilot and soar through the skies!"

The coach excitedly replied, happily messaging the selection coordinator.

I also opened my phone to respond to the congratulations from relatives and friends.

There wasn't a single message from Nathan.

He probably had already blocked me, and his Moments were set to private.

In these past few years, my life seemed to revolve around Nathan alone.

I always silently watched him, regarding him as my direction, but now I'm tired.

I opened Nathan’s Twitter and sent him a message.

"Let's break up."

What responded to me was a bright red exclamation mark.

Sure enough, he had blocked me.

I laughed, about to click to call him, but accidentally clicked on the Moments.

Lily updated her Moments a minute ago with a video of Nathan playing the piano with her.

Caption: [Perfect match.]

I didn't feel angry, disappointed, or even surprised.

I already guessed when he didn't attend my commendation ceremony tonight. Only Lily Green could make him defy unit orders.

It seemed that Nathan and I were in a cold war.

He didn't respond to my unilateral breakup.

For half a month, I haven't seen him or received any calls from him.

After my reexamination at the hospital, the unit approved a one-week vacation for me.

I planned to use this week to move.

During our relationship, Nathan and I rented a one-bedroom apartment near our workplace.

When I stepped in again, memories flooded back.

Everything here was still the same as it was half a month ago, suggesting that he hadn't been back during this period either.

I also blocked him these days and deleted all contacts thoroughly.

So when he suddenly appeared while I was packing, I was momentarily stunned.

"It is clean enough. No need to tidy up further."

Nathan frowned and helped me pick up a letter from the floor.

It was the letter I gave him when I confessed. He entered the training base a year earlier than me and had always been our role model.

On the first day I came in, I was deeply attracted by his seriousness and began to pursue him passionately.

But I didn't expect that the taste of this delicious dish would change once I got it.

But it was also true that only the white moonlight in the sky like Lily was worthy of his ten-year devotion.

Nathan didn't pay much attention to the letter. He looked a little embarrassed and asked unnaturally, "Shall we have dinner together tomorrow?"

I was stunned, pausing my packing.

Whenever he told me this, it signaled the end of our cold war.

Previously, I'd be overjoyed, immediately dropping everything to see him.

But now I just calmly replied, "I have something to do tonight."

"Are you still angry?"

He wanted to come over and hug me, but I avoided him.

Actually, I didn't lie to him. I indeed had something to do tonight.

The rescue team's night test started tonight, and I had to pass it successfully so that I could leave this place more quickly.

Nathan didn't say anything else, and we just stayed quietly in the same room, both harboring our thoughts but neither wanting to speak first.

After his words, I didn’t want to continue cleaning up.

I could only stand up with my hands on the table, and that was how he noticed that something was wrong with me.

"Your leg isn't healed yet?"

I looked down at my bandaged leg, unwilling to explain any more.

I had already told him about my injury a long time ago.

"The surgery is already done. it's okay."

A trace of guilt flashed across Nathan's face. He awkwardly wanted to step forward to help me, but I limped toward the door.

"I know you're still sad about what happened between me and Lily, but I really... I really don't have anything with her."

Meeting my indifferent gaze, he could no longer continue and just lowered his head, mumbling.

"That's none of my business."

I coldly replied, then slammed the door.

Nathan did not chase after me, perhaps thinking it was unnecessary.

In the past, when I got angry with him, we would get along quickly.

In less than three days, I would show up in our rental house and continue to play the role of his close girlfriend.

Now, in retrospect, there was some reason why I wasn’t cherished in the past.

Unattainable things always stir desire.

Why did it take me so long to understand this?

That night, I slept in the dormitory of my unit.

The night flight technical test went smoothly and I was one step closer to joining the rescue team.

All my colleagues who knew the news congratulated me in advance, but Nathan never asked.

Even though we worked in the same unit, we were no different from strangers now.

I solemnly placed the test report under my pillow, and in return I had a good night's sleep.

The next morning, I was woken by noise.

I heard that the unit was going to hold a cultural performance soon, inviting the recently popular musician Lily Green to perform.

I was having breakfast in the cafeteria when I heard this.

Looking up, I saw two familiar figures walking in from the cafeteria entrance.

"Hey, Emily is here too."

She waved at me excitedly, but I pretended not to see her, lowering my head to continue eating.

"Nathan, does Emily not welcome me?"

Lily approached Nathan with a look of grievance on her face.

To comfort her, Nathan immediately brought her towards me.

"Lily greeted you. Why didn't you respond?"

I finally raised my head from the food bowl, glancing at them and saying nothing.

But Lily, a pretentious coquet, noticed my slightly weird walking posture, frowned and asked, "What's wrong with your legs?"

I didn't reply, and she feigned surprise and said, " Was it the day of my concert? I remember that day many people called Nathan, but he was so engrossed in the concert that he didn't answer."

Her voice trembled, but her eyes revealed a hidden pride.

After hearing this, Nathan also felt a little embarrassed, tugging at the corner of Lily's clothes, then walking up to me and trying to talk to me.

"Don't touch me!"

I couldn't control my volume, shaking off his hand.

During peak dining hours, everyone's eyes turned our way.