Chapter 1
1123 Words
I took a ten-hour flight to Pacshire to visit my boyfriend, who was studying there, only to discover the very second I stepped off the plane that he had cheated on me.
*****
I found out about this thanks to a post on i********: by John's best buddy.
The caption reads:
In memory of John and his girlfriend's first date.
The picture showed John's hand intertwined with another girl's hand.
I was stunned on the spot. Just as I was about to click on the full-size image to take a closer look, I found the post had already been deleted.
It was so quick that I almost thought I had seen it wrong.
Just as I was still in shock, John's call came through.
When I answered the call, his deep voice came through the receiver.
He said, "Della, why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming to Pacshire? This is going to throw off my schedule."
Ever since I met him ten years ago, he always spoke this harshly.
A year ago, when he first came to Pacshire to study, I came to visit him, and he immediately skipped class and braved the downpour to pick me up.
The moment he saw me, he still couldn't stop complaining.
"It's all your fault for not telling me in advance. Now I have to be punished by the professor. It's so annoying."
I said, "If you weren't holding me so tight, I'd believe you."
A lot of the time, John was just that kind of person who stubbornly refused to admit defeat.
But I knew him well enough to understand the true meaning behind his every word.
For example, I could tell that he was not pretending to complain right now.
He was genuinely getting impatient with my arrival.
I clenched my fists and said calmly, "Then I'll just go to your apartment myself. No need to bother coming to pick me up."
John tutted,"Forget it, I have to."
The weather in Pacshire had been quite cold these days.
After waiting at the airport for half an hour with my arms crossed, John arrived.
His handsome brows were furrowed as he walked over quickly, taking off his coat and draping it over my shoulders.
He said, "It's been cold in Pacshire lately. Don't you check the weather forecast?"
He took my suitcase in one hand, held my hand with the other, and walked out of the airport.
A strange car was parked outside the airport.
I saw him get into the driver's seat and turn on the heater with ease, realizing he had bought a car.
From the passenger seat, my eyes lingered on his wrist as it gripped the steering wheel.
There, he wore a thin silver bracelet.
I asked instinctively, "What's that?"
John paused for a moment and explained casually, "I thought it looked nice, so I bought it."
My heart sank, "Really? Didn't you say before that you didn't like such things?"
The couple bracelets I customized before, John thought they were too troublesome and never wore them.
I couldn't help but think of the i********: photo I saw earlier. In that fleeting glimpse, the bracelet the girl was wearing seemed to be this one.
John furrowed his brow and said casually, "It's such a small thing. I forgot to mention it to you."
I didn't ask further, just turned to look out the window.
A year ago, before John went abroad, we agreed to video chat every day.
At first, he would send me good morning and good night messages every day and tell me about every little thing he encountered in Pacshire, from school to daily life to the scenery…
But, six months ago, John's good morning messages stopped abruptly on a very ordinary day.
After that, he stopped venting to me about his recent troubles, stopped complaining about the food he hated, and stopped mentioning the people and events he encountered at school.
So I didn't know he'd bought a car, nor did I know when he'd started liking such bracelets. It just seemed like the natural thing to do.
The car stopped, but it wasn't at John's apartment, rather at a nearby hotel.
He said, "I've been in the middle of moving recently, so you can stay here for now."
John helped me check in, carried my luggage up to the room, and only then asked me, "Why did you suddenly come to Pacshire?"
I pushed aside the heaviness in my heart and said with a smile, "Last month on our video call, you said you wanted me to spend your birthday with you. Your birthday is next week, so I came to be with you."
John was a bit stunned, somewhat touched, "I just said it casually."
I replied gently, "But I took it seriously."
I took every word John said to heart.
A year ago, he video-called me for the first time, and the moment the call connected, he looked at me with tears in his eyes.
He rambled on about a lot of things and finally said, "Pacshire is not nice at all, it would be great if you were here."
I worked hard for a whole year for this word, and finally managed to get a spot as an international exchange student.
I was still naive enough to want to surprise him on his birthday.
John pressed his lips together, his voice slightly hoarse, "You do whatever I say, silly girl."
I looked at him and was about to speak when he suddenly lowered his head and kissed me.
Everything around us had come to a standstill, leaving only the intense beating of our hearts echoing between us.
I instinctively held my breath and was just about to close my eyes.
Suddenly, John's phone buzzed.
He frowned at his phone and his expression changed. "There's something going on in the lab. I have to go back."
He was lying.
The profile picture in the chat interface is of the same girl who was in that i********: photo earlier.
I looked at John's face, which was naturally calm without any flaws. There was a slight dryness in his throat, but I still said, "Okay."
After John left, I started searching for that bracelet on the online shopping site.
After flipping through dozens of pages, I finally saw the same style listed in a*****e, where it was clearly labeled as a couple's set.
Below was a comment with a picture, the same one posted by John's friend on i********:.
My fingertips trembled as I clicked on it, and a line of text jumped out at me.
This is the gift I gave him for our three-month relationship. He really likes it.
- Writer
