In the Western restaurant, an elegant woman was playing the violin nearby. The soft lighting, beautiful roses, and Ethan looking at me with affection…
1 felt like I was in a dream. My high school crush was actually confessing to me.
Openly, in front of everyone.
Ethan, his face red, confessed to me, “Lily, I’ve liked you for eight years now. I first saw you on the basketball court in our first year of high school. I was originally in Class 1, but I transferred to Class 3 because of you.””
“Back then, I didn’t know what it meant to like someone. I just inexplicably wanted to look at you. You were different from other girls, quiet and gentle. You were a dream in my high school life.”
“After graduation, I went abroad to study. I thought your shadow would disappear in the river of time, but you kept appearing in my dreams unexpectedly. I thought, if I don’t try, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I might be a bit clueless and not understand girls‘ thoughts well. But if you’re willing to tell me, I’m willing to learn. With marriage as the goal, I want to date you properly. Is that okay?”
There was no urging or teasing from anyone else. His clear eyes were filled with nervousness and anticipation.
His hands were trembling slightly.
With tears in my eyes, I nodded, “Okay. With marriage as the goal, let’s date properly.”
Hearing this, Ethan was as happy as a child.
I suddenly remembered in high school, when he sat in front of me, he would often share
candies and snacks with us.
Once, my hand accidentally brushed against his, and his ears turned red.
At the time, I just thought he was cute. I didn’t realize he had already started to have feelings for me then.
On the weekend, Ethan bought a bunch of things and took me to his home.
I thought rich people’s mothers would look down on others, or at least be arrogant. After all, Jack’s mother never liked me and made me do the dishes the first time I visited.
But Ethan’s mother gently held my hand and proudly showed me Ethan’s photos from childhood to adulthood, including ones of him in diapers and even dressed as a girl…
She piled food into my bowl like a small mountain.
“Lily dear, I’ve seen you before at parent–teacher meetings, but I couldn’t see clearly then. You’re even prettier now.”
I felt honored but also a bit awkward.
Auntie joked, “Don’t worry, I can swim. If you and I fall into water in the future, Ethan and I will save you first. Have children if you want, don’t if you don’t want to. The house and car will be in your name. If he ever cheats, he’ll leave with nothing but the clothes on his
back.”
My eyes suddenly welled up with tears. No one had been this kind to me since my parents passed away.
Compared to how it was with Jack, I felt unworthy of such a good man and
mother–in–law.
It seems that when God closed the window of Jack, he left me the door of Ethan.
Ethan handed me a tissue, gently comforting me.
Though silent, I felt incredibly warm inside.
After dinner, while eating fruit and watching TV, Auntie asked me with a smile, “When
you have time, let our Ethan come to your place for a meal and meet your parents. Then both sets of parents should have a meal together.”
I explained quietly, “Auntie, my parents passed away in a car accident five years ago.”
Ethan’s hand, which was peeling an orange, paused. He looked at me in shock.
Auntie was also stunned, but she immediately pulled me into her arms and patted my back, saying, “It’s okay, from now on, treat your uncle and me as your own parents. We are your family, your support!”
In that moment, I broke down crying.
No one knew how I got through those days back then. I felt like the sky had fallen.
My parents accidentally hit a pregnant woman while driving. The accident was terrible,
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and all our family assets were sold to pay off the debt.
My family fell apart, and so did the pregnant woman’s family. I went to their home to apologize and kowtow, but I was chased out.
The house I’m living in now was my mother’s before she got married. I didn’t want to go back before because I didn’t want to face it.
The reason I liked Jack in college was that his smile reminded me of my mother.
