Love Never Turns Back

Ethan initially tried to stop me, but then Lily called, saying she had accidentally twisted her ankle and was in so much pain that she couldn’t move. Immediately, he turned around and drove off to pick her up. Before leaving, he threw a harsh remark at me.

“Julia, I don’t have time to talk to you right now, but you’d better give me an explanation on chat!”

I ignored him and kept walking.

Suddenly, someone called out to me from behind. I turned around and saw it was the guy I’d given the watch to. Scratching the back of his head, he said, “Why don’t we exchange contact information? I really like this watch, but I don’t have enough money now. Once I save up, I’ll pay you back.”

I shook my head. “No need. It’s a gift.”

“That won’t do. I’d feel uneasy wearing it without paying you. My name’s Ryan Green. What’s yours?”

“Julia Quinn,” I replied.

After exchanging names, he declared us as a friend. I couldn’t argue with him, so I eventually added him on my contact.

That night, I went back to my dorm and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, I woke up to messages from Ethan. He was someone who had never initiated contact before and rarely even replied to me. Yet, last night, he had sent over a hundred messages, almost one every hour, though none were pleasant. Scanning through, I saw the usual expressions:

[Julia, where’s my explanation?]

[Are you trying to break up?]

[You’d better prepare an even more expensive gift for me!]

I couldn’t help but laughed and didn’t respond to a single message.

I didn’t have any classes in the morning, so I laid in my dorm all morning, discussing plans for studying abroad with my family. I was in my senior year and originally, I hadn’t planned on going for further studies. I’d thought I’d graduate, rent a place with Ethan and we’d work together to earn a simple living. But now, I realized how utterly foolish I’d been to give up a chance to study abroad for him.

Luckily, I’d woken up to reality now; it wasn’t too late.

In the afternoon, on my way to meet with my advisor to revise my thesis, I saw two people holding hands, strolling by the track. Their backs were familiar—it was Ethan and Lily. When he noticed me out of the corner of his eye, he pulled her closer by the waist and she giggled, leaning into his chest, acting even more delicate.

I ignored them and kept walking.

Furious, Ethan dragged Lily over to block my path.

“Julia, are you fucking blind?!”

“What?” I frowned. “Watch your tone when you talk to me.”

Ethan took a deep breath. “I sent you so many messages. Don’t you see them?”

He looked genuinely upset about this. It made sense—whenever he messaged me before, I’d reply immediately, often asking what he was up to every few minutes. If he didn’t respond within two hours, I’d spam him with missed calls. But last night, I hadn’t responded at all. The sudden shift must have been unsettling for him.

But he’d better start getting used to it.

“I lost my phone,” I lied casually.

Ethan’s face twisted in anger and he shoved me hard. “Then what the hell is that in your hand?!”

I stumbled and fell to the ground, a sharp pain radiated from my ankle. My palm scraped against the ground and a jagged rock lodged into my flesh, causing blood to gush out.

Ethan was stunned and reached out to help me, but just then, Lily let out a groan, clutching her stomach and bending over in pain.

“Ouch... it hurts so much,” she whimpered.

Ethan looked at me, then back at Lily, his face torn with indecision, as though he were fighting an intense internal battle.

“Ah...” Lily whimpered weakly again. Ethan gritted his teeth, turned away from me and went to support her.

“Lily, are you okay?”

She leaned into his arms. “Ethan, I think my stomach ache is acting up. Could you take me to the medical center?”

With a pained look in his eyes, he scooped her up in a princess carry and walked away without looking back.

I gritted my teeth and struggled to stand. My palm had a deep cut from a jagged stone and the pain made my legs shaky and weak. Just as I started to fall back, someone caught me.