Chapter 6

Apart from me, everyone else had a few drinks. Their faces were slightly flushed, clearly a little tipsy.

Someone, I don’t know who started it, suddenly began to complain about their ex-boyfriends.

Some burst into laughter, others had tears in their eyes.

Some of the stories were so outrageous that Chloe couldn’t stop laughing. She casually nudged me, the only sober one.

“Vivian, what about you?”

I looked blank for a moment, my mind involuntarily drifting back to those past events.

For some reason, I found it hard to speak.

After all this time, I actually didn't feel sad when Julian’s name came up. It was just that, looking at these young girls, a few years younger than me and still students, I truly didn’t know how to begin.

The atmosphere fell silent.

Chloe realized something was amiss and quickly changed the subject, not putting me in an awkward position.

After everyone had left, Chloe’s mind cleared a little. She came over, cautiously apologizing.

“I’m sorry, Vivian. I had too much to drink, and I wasn’t thinking straight earlier.”

Of course, I wouldn’t blame her. I smiled, gently ruffled the poor, sheepish girl’s head, and urged her to go rest.

After tidying the room, I washed up, lay on the bed, and opened the SnapChat account I had newly registered before coming to Australia.

I had only given this SnapChat to one friend. No one else knew where I had gone or what my new contact information was.

Looking at the dozens of messages on my phone, and the constantly increasing red dots, my eyes widened in surprise.

I tapped it open and saw that almost all the messages were related to Julian.

“Julian is crazy, isn’t he? Wasn’t he perfectly happy with his 'first love' before? Now that you’re gone, it’s like he suddenly had an epiphany, realized how important you are. It’s hilarious; he really thinks he’s the male lead in a 'chase-his-wife-after-burning-bridges' drama, doesn’t he? Like a few regrets will magically win back his love?”

“He comes looking for me every other day, asking where you are. But don’t worry, sis, I’d never tell him your location.”

“Oh, right, a month ago Julian had a huge fight with his mom at their family dinner. I only overheard bits and pieces, but it sounded like he was blaming her for driving you away.”

“That guy is definitely sick. What does it have to do with his mom? The main problem is him being two-timing and trying to deceive you!”

“He’s also been drinking heavily lately. I heard he almost got stomach perforation a few days ago and ended up in the ICU. The doctors gave strict warnings not to drink like that anymore. If you ask me, he’s just too lucky. Why didn’t he drink himself to death?”

“…”

There were many more messages cursing Julian below.

Receiving so many messages about Julian again, I felt no ripple of emotion in my heart. It felt so distant, almost as if those past events had happened in another lifetime.

I pulled back the curtains. Outside, the sky was clear and vast, a brilliant blue like a perfectly polished sapphire.

The warm sunshine, bright and radiant, dispelled the chill from my body.

“Vivian, I’m off to class!”

Outside, the cheerful shout of the young girl rang out.

I smiled, told her to be careful on her way, and opened my phone, my voice filled with relief and lightness.

“From now on, you don’t need to tell me any news about Julian.”

The lingering sense of unreality that had clung to my heart finally dissipated completely.

### Chapter 1