Chapter 1

"Dad, Mom, I'll study abroad." Hearing their daughter agreeing to it at last, the Madden couple who were far away in Choann sounded pleased as they cheered, "Saoirse, you've finally come to your senses. We're so relieved! Prepare yourself during this time. Your dad and I will make the arrangements. Our family will be reunited in about a month." Unlike the cheerful tone of her parents, Saoirse Madden's voice was flat and subdued. "Alright." After they exchanged a few more pleasantries, the call was disconnected. It was pitch black outside the window, but Saoirse did not turn on the lights. Her red eyes hardly showed any emotion. Half an hour later, footsteps could be heard at the door. Saoirse did not get up as she usually did. Instead, she quietly watched as the glaring incandescent light overhead was turned on. When Julian Stone changed his shoes and entered the living room, he noticed Saoirse leaning on the couch. He looked up slightly and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?" "I was waiting for you. Did you not see the message I sent you?" Saoirse's tone wasn't particularly friendly. However, Julian didn't mind it at all. He quickly made up an excuse. "I was in the lab all day. I didn't have time to check my phone." After saying this, he took off his coat and went straight to the bathroom, not caring whether she believed him or not. Soon, the phone he had left on the coffee table began to ring while the sound of dripping water echoed. As Saoirse recalled what she had overheard during the day, her hands, which were clasped together, trembled slightly. She leaned forward to pick up the chiming phone and swiftly entered the password to unlock it. The messages came from a woman named Gina who had a pink rabbit for her profile photo. "Julian, thank you for your hospitality today! "I'm home now!" Noticing the affectionate tone, Saoirse swiped up to check the message history. It was the chat record from 9:00 pm the night before. "Will you come to pick me up when I return to the country today?" "Your address?" There were no timestamps between the two messages, indicating the reply was sent immediately. Last night, Julian returned home at 8:50 pm and took a shower. He only came out of the bathroom an hour later. It turned out he was replying to messages from "Gina." Saoirse's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she pressed her lips together. She then clicked on the return button and opened the contact labeled "Saoirse." From reminders to bring an umbrella on rainy days to noon break reminders, several photos of shopping carts, and candid pictures of cute dogs taken on the street, the chat was densely packed with white message bubbles. All of them were messages she had sent him, none of which he had replied to. In contrast, she, as his "girlfriend," seemed quite pitiful. Whether it was because she had decided to leave or had truly moved on, Saoirse did not feel hurt upon realizing this. She gently placed the phone back in its place, her mind in a whirl. Saoirse remembered the first time she met Julian. At the freshman orientation ceremony, he gave a speech as a representative of the new students. With his stunningly handsome face, he quickly topped the popularity charts within a minute and earned the title of campus heartthrob. Over the years, many women had persistently pursued him to win over this man who seemed out of reach. However, he was inherently indifferent, ignoring even the campus beauties, leaving many hearts broken. Saoirse, who was deeply infatuated with him, was rejected as well. However, she was more tenacious than the other women. The harsher the rejection, the more determined she became. Perhaps heaven rewarded those who put in the effort. After persisting for a year, having confessed her feelings more than 20 times, she officially became Julian's girlfriend. Even so, he remained distant just as he had been after they were together—ignoring messages, not answering calls, and speaking only in terse phrases. Saoirse, who had achieved her wish, was not disheartened by his coldness. Instead, she never stopped trying to maintain their relationship. After three years of dating, she had formed a fixed impression of Julian as someone who had a cold personality. It wasn't until recently when her laptop broke and she borrowed his computer that she accidentally opened a folder and saw thousands of photos of the same woman… She secretly copied one of the photos. After asking a few familiar friends, she managed to uncover some information. The woman who had been on Julian's USB drive for a long time was Georgina Shaw, his childhood friend. Although they were part of the same social circle and had friends in common, the two of them were particularly close. Some said Julian liked Georgina and was planning to confess his feelings after the college entrance exams when Georgina rejected him, telling him, "We'll always be good friends." Georgina was then sent abroad for further studies, while Julian went to Hufter University. That was when they went their separate ways. After learning all this, Saoirse realized that Julian wasn't a cold person; he simply hadn't found anyone worthy of his affection. For the past half month, she had been in a daze, wanting to find an opportunity to ask him if he had moved on from Georgina. But before she could say anything, she accidentally heard another piece of news. Someone told her that Julian had agreed to be with her only to forget Georgina. He wanted to use a new relationship to fill the void Georgina left behind. If Georgina didn't exist, Saoirse would willingly warm his heart for ten years, because she had always been the one he had gone public with. But after learning about Georgina, Saoirse, who had not given up despite being neglected for three years, felt tired for the first time. She wanted to let go. She didn't want to be the tool Julian used to forget someone else. She didn't want to wait for a man who still held onto his first love. At last, Saoirse decided to leave Julian without his knowledge.