Chapter 4

People acted on stage.

The audience below was noisy.

But my world was silent.

He still performed.

My face was bloodless as I watched that boy who'd grown up with me, who had once been my whole world, on stage.

My heart felt so empty. Wind passed through it, leaving only coldness.

The performance was very successful.

Vivian beamed on stage.

Chase was distracted, his gaze urgently searching for something in the crowd.

But I had long since left the school.

"Evelyn, where are you?"

"It's just a performance, everyone's going crazy before graduation, don't be so sensitive."

"Answer the phone. Let's talk."

"Evelyn, answer the phone!"

All calls went unanswered.

Chase panicked.

He ran to the office to ask about interview results.

The answer he got was that Evelyn's guaranteed admission was almost certain.

The boy relaxed again.

After the college entrance exam, he performed well. His messages to me became:

"When school starts, we'll go to NYU together and everything will be fine."

"I made a NYU freshman guide. I'll take you to the most famous food street—they have the Thai crepes you like."

"Evelyn, let's date."

But all messages sank like stones in the sea.

Chase felt uneasy, but he still believed that when September came and school started, everything would get back on track.

He still had four years to coax an angry girl.

Finally, September 1st arrived.

NYU started school. New students were chattering everywhere.

After Chase finished organizing his dorm, he rushed to the girls' dormitory and waited downstairs.

His face was full of anticipation, with a trace of barely noticeable nervousness.

The phone rang a few times.

It connected.

"Hello? Evelyn, where are you? Come downstairs. Let's go to the food street."

Chase tried to relax his tone, acting familiar and natural.

"We haven't seen each other in so long and you didn't look for me."

"But I'm magnanimous. I forgive you."

The other end was very quiet.

After a while, my voice came through, very soft.

But also very clear.

"I didn't apply to NYU."

The boy froze.

"...What?"

"I'm at Oxford University."

The sun was high.

Chase suddenly felt the whole world spinning.