Chapter 3

The next day after school,it suddenly started raining outside.

I had not brought an umbrella,so I could only stand at the entrance of the academic building and wait for the rain to let up.

That was when Ava came over,naturally linking her arm through mine.

"It's pouring.How are you getting home?Ethan's coming to pick me up.We'll drop you off."

I was just about to refuse when a black SUV stopped at the steps.

The window rolled down,and Ethan looked at me."Get in.This rain isn't stopping anytime soon."

With both of them saying it,refusing again would only make me look deliberate.

But when I was about to get in,Ethan suddenly opened the front passenger door for me.

"Don't you get carsick in the back?"

My hand froze on the rear door handle,and Ava looked at me too.

The truth was,I did not get carsick.I had once thrown up on the school bus because I had been exhausted from work and had not eaten breakfast.

Later,when Ethan asked about it,I casually said I had felt sick in the car.I had not expected him to remember it for so long.

I smiled."You remembered wrong.I don't get carsick."

Ethan paused,then quickly corrected himself.

"I was asking Ava."

Ava's expression eased a little.

She got into the passenger seat,and I sat in the back,looking out the window the whole way.

Rain slid down the glass,and Ava looked at me through the rearview mirror several times.

"Lily,didn't you have an online boyfriend before too?"

My fingers tightened.

Mia really could not keep anything to herself.

"Yeah."

"You broke up?"

"We met in person.It wasn't right."

Ava gave a soft laugh."That's how online relationships are,I guess.Behind a screen,anyone can pretend to be devoted."

I did not answer,and Ethan did not say anything either.

When the car stopped near my house,I almost immediately opened the door.

"Thanks.I'll go now."

That night,after I showered,a message from an unfamiliar number popped up on my phone.

It was Ethan.

"Stay away from Ava at school from now on.She's smart.She'll notice things she shouldn't."

I stared at the line,and my chest suddenly felt blocked.

Just a few days ago,he had still been my boyfriend.Now,after seeing me in person,he could only remind me not to make his girlfriend suspicious.

I replied:"To keep her from misunderstanding,we shouldn't contact each other anymore."

After sending it,I blocked that number too.

When I went to school the next day,my eyes were a little swollen.Mia handed me a bottle of ice water.

"You didn't actually cry all night over that internet guy,did you?"

"No."I unscrewed the cap."I just didn't sleep well."

She was about to say something else when Ava happened to walk by.I did not know how much she heard.I only saw her steps pause for a second.

After the last morning class,my advisor asked me to bring some documents to the reception room.She said a board member's son was there to discuss sponsorship for the spring charity dance.

I walked in with the files in my arms,and as soon as I opened the door,I saw Noah Brooks sitting inside.

When he looked up and saw me,his eyes lit up.

"Lily?We meet again."