I pouted and turned to look out the window.

The neon lights lit up the night scene. Not long after, he started the engine, and the scenery began to change. I didn't know where we were headed at all.

In the past five years, the city had changed a lot, and most of the shops had become unfamiliar.

"You still live in Glory Garden?"

Shane looked ahead, and there was a hint of expectation in his tone that I had not noticed.

It was as if nothing had happened between us. He was simply kindly taking his drunk college classmate home.

I nodded, and then neither of us said anything again.

My favorite peppermint scent filled the air as he drove smoothly. The wine kicked off again, and I closed my eyes.

I had no idea how long it passed, and it seemed that I had a dream.

In the dream, the car suddenly heaved and wobbled.

Shane chuckled beside me, and the security guard was asking how I was doing. But I couldn't hear their voices clearly.

"Girlfriend..."

"For now..."

I opened my eyes in a daze and happened to see the side of Shane's face. He was smiling, which made him deadly attractive.

After admiring his face for a while, I came to realize that I was in his arms. The surroundings seemed familiar.

We had arrived at Glory Garden.

I struggled in his warm embrace, trying to get down.

It's been five years since we broke up. It's not proper for him to hold me in his arms. This time, it's not me who pesters him for a hug.

His hands on my waist and legs were very strong, and I was still in his arms.

"I wanna walk on my own!" I was a bit fierce.

Shane lowered his head to look at me. There was a doting look in his eyes, which was rare and made me feel very uneasy.

"Can you walk on your own?"

"Of course!"

He put me down. Wanting to prove I was right, I strode forward. However, I overestimated myself. My legs went weak, and I fell forward out of inertia.

A pair of hands supported me in time. I didn't know if he was intentional or not, anyway, I fell into his arms. My right ear was pressed against his warm chest which was trembling slightly.

He was obviously making fun of me!

I glared at him.

However, he didn't care. He held me in his arms again and said in a gentle voice.

"Be good. The autumn wind is freezing. You'll catch a cold now that you're drunk."

Choosing between catching a cold and being held in his arms while going back home? Of course, I'll choose the latter. He has held me in his arms plenty of times.

I snorted and stopped struggling.

It was not until Shane skillfully entered the password, went inside, and put me on the big soft bed that I blushed.

The password was the day I started going out with him. I forgot to change it!

I tugged at the hem of his shirt and explained.

"I... I just came back and forgot to change the password. Don't think too much."

"I know."

He said it so casually that it made me sound a bit too intentional.

"Thanks for taking me back. You're such a nice friend. Guess I won't see you off then."

"A nice friend?"

Shane repeated those words slowly and stared at me without blinking.

Being stared at, I panicked and covered myself with the quilt. I didn't want to look at him anymore.

"I'm going to sleep!"

I refused to face him and tried to get him out, yet it seemed he had no intention of doing so at all.

"Give me the contact information of the doctor who removed your tattoo."

"What?"

I was confused and slowly popped half of my head out.

"He did a neat job. I'll go to him sometime."

Shane's tone was very calm. He wanted to tell me that he had yet to remove his tattoo simply because he hadn't found a doctor who was skilled enough.

"OK."

I suppressed the bitterness in my heart, friended him on WhatsApp, and forwarded him the doctor's account.

Surprisingly, Shane had never changed his WhatsApp profile picture at all. He was still using the one matching with mine. I picked those profile pictures for us back then.

He probably didn't bother to change it. After all, he had always used a pure-black profile picture before we met.

"It's been five years. You still wanna block and delete me?"

I was choked on his words. How did he know what I was thinking?

I coughed, refusing to admit that he was right.

"I'm not that childish, OK?"

"Alright."

Did I hear him wrong? Seemed he chuckled a bit.

When I looked up, he was already gone.

The first time we met was during the military training. He was particularly outstanding among the boys.

His face was fair under the brim of his hat. He was tall and had long legs. Dressing in camouflage clothes, he stood straight and seriously.

The breeze was dry and hot, and my heart seemed to be restless.

I elbowed Tess Holmes, the girl who had taken leave with me to watch the military training, and my eyes were still glued to Shane.

"Tess, I had a crush on someone."

She looked up from her Kindle and followed my line of sight. Then she looked at me sympathetically.

"A piece of advice? Stop."

"Why?"

Tess said that she was Shane's classmate in high school, and given his excellent appearance and grades, he won the hearts of countless girls.

But every one of them ended up crying while leaving after they confessed their love to him, and he tossed every gift he received away.

Because of that, none of the girls dared to confess to him again. Some quickly got over it, yet some were obsessed and could only suffer from their affection. They barely got to talk to him though it was three years.

Tess wept for them.

"I see.

"Tess, I wanna woo him!"

"I'm glad you've decided to give up... What?"

I had always been stubborn. Once I had made up my mind, I would not easily give up.

Seeing that I insisted, Tess had no choice but to tell me everything she knew about Shane and then wish me good luck.

I searched online, and the first step to pursuing a man was to get familiar with him.

The summer in Boston was extremely hot. I almost felt I was burning.

Although the drill master was kind enough to let the students train in the shade, they were still sweating profusely.

I was rich and ordered juicy and sweet iced watermelons and cold drinks. I talked to the drill master and was ready to share them with every classmate during the break.

"Attention! Halt!

"Alma bought you iced watermelons and cold drinks."

After a burst of cheers, the drill master cleared his throat and said, "Let's thank her. Three! Two! One!"

"Thank you, Alma!"

The boys and girls spoke in unison, loud and formal. Those in the other teams next to us looked in my direction because of the noise.

I didn't get shy easily, but what the drill master did still made me embarrassed. I blushed in an instant, and I stammered.

"You... You're welcome. Enjoy."

The drill master said everyone could take five, and my classmates all walked toward me. He distributed the watermelons and cold drinks to them.

I took a piece of watermelon and a cold drink and limped to Shane, who was resting in the shade, and handed them to him.

A few drops of sweat flowed down his fair cheeks, sliding down to the collar of his camouflage uniform, and his collarbones could be vaguely seen.

I couldn't help but lick my lips. Then I smiled as sweet as I could and sweetened my voice.

"Shane, you must have been tired. Here's your share."

"No need."

He turned me down at once, but I was mentally prepared and didn't mind.

He was good-looking and had a nice voice, which was like a clear spring flowing in the mountains, and I was instantly more motivated.

"OK then. Can I sit here?"

I pointed to the spot next to him.

"Whatever."

Shane followed my fingertip and glanced in the direction. His voice was cold and indifferent.

I jumped over, sat next to him, and enjoyed my milk tea. Since he wasn't looking at me, I admired his delicate profile bluntly, and my eyes were full of obvious passion and obsession.

I was like this every day during the two weeks of military training.

Anyone who wasn't blind could tell that I had a crush on Shane.

Coupled with my showy treat, word spread fast.

Alma Austin, a beautiful freshman girl from the Department of Finance was rich and determined, and nothing could stop her from winning the heart of Shane Powell, her classmate.

Everyone knew Shane.

He scored high on the SAT exam, yet he chose to be in this school. The principal was so overjoyed that he praised Shane again and again at the opening ceremony. Besides, Shane was handsome. He was always the center of attention wherever he went.

On the contrary, I was just an ordinary-looking girl who had some money.

Shane didn't care about these rumors at all, and he treated me distantly the way he treated everyone else.

After the military training, he became very busy, working part-time and participating in various prize-winning competitions held by the school.

I had no idea how to be part of his extremely busy life. I didn't wanna disturb him and annoy him.

The only thing I could do was try my best to find a reason to show up when he was around every day.

Since he wanted to make money, I hired him to be my tutor and teach me advanced mathematics, which I was not good at.

"I'll give you 100 dollars an hour. The mid-term exam is around the corner. Can you tutor me, please, Shane? You're so good at math."