Chapter 2

After a month of grueling work, the project finally made significant progress.

The company gave us five days off.

The interns were so excited they nearly cried.

I politely declined their invitation for a celebratory dinner, packed my bags, and drove straight back to my hometown.

I hadn’t been back in half a year.

Luckily, my hometown was only about sixty miles from the city where I worked, a four-hour drive.

It was late at night when I arrived home.

My sudden return startled my mom, who happily went to make up my bed, while my dad hummed a tune as he headed to the kitchen to fix me a late-night snack.

I put away my luggage and quietly pushed open the door to a small room.

By the light from the living room, I saw a little girl buried under her covers, sleeping peacefully and adorably.

Lexie was an unexpected blessing my parents had when I was in high school.

Suddenly having such a young sister was a big adjustment at first.

But as Lexie grew up, she became more and more adorable, inheriting my mom’s patience and my dad’s intelligence perfectly.

And she was so clingy. She always thought of me first whenever she got something good.

The next morning, I groggily opened my eyes at the sound of movement and saw Lexie perched by my bed.

Her eyes were bright, staring at me without blinking.

“Summer, you’re back!”

“Yeah.” I closed my eyes again. “Be a good girl, Sis. I need to sleep a little longer.”

“Okay! I’m going to school now. I’ll bring you a present when I get back!”

I mumbled a reply.

Lexie quietly tiptoed out, carefully closing the door behind her.

This little kid, she’s so thoughtful.

Looks like she has quite a bit of allowance, to be able to bring me a gift?

I was a little excited.

By the time I got up, it was almost 11 AM.

Lexie was picked up from school by Dad.

Mom and Dad asked me to watch her for a bit, then they went to the supermarket together.

As soon as they left, Lexie eagerly pulled something out of her backpack and mysteriously scooted closer to me.

“Summer, guess what gift I brought you?”

How was I supposed to guess that?

I was about to blurt out a random answer when she couldn’t hold back anymore, holding up an envelope in front of me.

“Summer, look! Your name is written on it!”

I froze for a moment, then took the letter.

The paper was a bit yellowed, looking like it was from years ago.

The front of the envelope read, “To Summer.”

My name? What are the chances of finding someone with such an uncommon name?

Lexie chattered on. “Our school held a charity sale today. We brought old stuff from home that we didn’t need anymore, and students could buy whatever they wanted. All the money we raise will be donated to a charity!

“My deskmate brought a lot of stuff—old books, old stationery. I found this letter inside a book and bought it for five dollars.”

Lexie looked at me, expecting praise. “Summer! Do you like it?”