“Um, eight o’clock,” I pressed on with the lie.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you downstairs at eight,” he said and hung up.
1:05 PM
<
sex
To maintain the lie, I didn’t leave after work. Instead, I took out my exam materials and started studying in the office.
At eight o’clock, I packed up my things and went downstairs with my bag.
As soon as I walked out the main entrance, I saw the familiar car parked not far away.
I walked over and opened the car door to find Chloe sitting in the passenger seat, flashing me a smile.
“Olivia, I just had dinner with Zachary, and he’s giving me a ride home on the way,” Chloe said.
“Mm–hmm,” I nodded, opened the back door, and got in.
Whenever Chloe was in this car, I never sat in the front passenger seat.
I had argued about this more than once, but Zachary clearly favored Chloe, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
He said Chloe got carsick, so she was just sitting in the front. He asked why I had to be so petty about such a small thing.
I said the front passenger seat was reserved for girlfriends, but he just sneered at me for being fussy.
I had never won against Chloe on this issue.
But every time it happened, I would be upset.
However, now, I didn’t have the mind to care about it at all.
After a full day of work and two hours of studying, I felt drowsy as soon as I sat in the car.
“Zachary, the crayfish we had today was so delicious. Let’s go to that place again next time,” Chloe said excitedly.
Zachary: “Mm, if you like it, we’ll go again next time.”
“But every time we eat crayfish, I have to trouble you to peel the shells for me. You don’t find it annoying, do you?” Chloe’s tone was playful.
“I don’t. I’m used to it.”
“Olivia, Zachary is so good at peeling crayfish. I trained him when we were in college,” Chloe suddenly turned to look at me. “How about that? Shouldn’t you thank me?‘
Thank her? Thank her for what?
For training Zachary to peel crayfish?
But he had never peeled crayfish for me.
I remember watching a TV show once where a female celebrity said she loved eating crayfish, but if no one helped her peel them, she’d rather not eat them because she didn’t want to peel them herself.
The first time I went to eat crayfish with Zachary after we got together, I also acted coy, asking him to peel the shells for me.
He paused, looked at me with a half–smile, and said, “Don’t you have hands?”
The one who loves more is always the humble one. I immediately fell silent.
After that, I never mentioned peeling crayfish in front of him again.
сл
1:05 PM
<
I looked up at Chloe.
The light in the car was dim, but I could still see the smugness and provocation in her eyes.
She was always like this, subtly provoking me to get angry, then waiting for Zachary to scold me and protect her.
Time and time again, she never tired of it.
However, at this moment, I wasn’t stirred by any emotions, nor did I have any interest in confronting her.
“Oh, well, thank you then,” I said perfunctorily.
Not achieving her goal, Chloe bit her lip and turned to chat with Zachary again, smiling.
Zachary always spoke to her in a gentle tone.
Listening to them chatting animatedly, I felt my eyelids getting heavier, and the surrounding sounds gradually faded away.
When I woke up, I found the car parked outside our apartment building, with Zachary sitting quietly in the front seat.
Chloe was no longer in the passenger seat.
“Why didn’t you wake me up when we got home?” I sat up straight and opened the car door.
Zachary followed behind me, not saying a word.
As we walked out of the elevator and into our apartment, he finally spoke: “Tired?”
“Huh?”
“Chloe and I were still talking, but you fell asleep in the car.”
“Yeah, a bit tired.”
¡ wasn’t interested in chatting with him, just wanting to shower and go to bed quickly.
“Today was Henry’s gathering, just the old college dorm mates. He invited Chloe too. You know, they’re all close to her and like to invite her every time we have dinner. Since it was on the way, I gave her a ride back,” he suddenly started explaining.
It was quite rare. In the past, when I argued and asked him why he always hung out with Chloe, he never bothered to explain.
Now that I wasn’t asking, he took the initiative to explain.
“Mm,” I nodded, walking towards the bathroom.
“I originally wanted to bring you along, but you said you had to work overtime, so I only came to pick you up after dinner,” he continued to explain.
“Okay, I got it. I’m going to take a shower now,” I said, quickly walking away.
After showering, I went straight to bed.
The next evening after work, I was surprised to see Zachary downstairs again.
This time, there was no Chloe in the car.
049
1:05 PM C
<
I still sat in the back seat. Zachary turned to look at me, seeming like he wanted to say something but held back.
I have to say, sitting in the back gives me a feeling of treating him like a chauffeur, which is quite nice.
I shouldn’t have cared about this before.
“Mike is moving house today and invited us over for hotpot,” Zachary said as he started the car.
Mike was also his college roommate.
Coincidentally, all four of Zachary’s college dormmates ended up staying in this city after graduation.
They were close and often organized gatherings or dinners.
Zachary had pursued Chloe in college, and his roommates all acted as wingmen, offering advice and strategies.
Although he didn’t succeed in winning her over, it didn’t stop Chloe from becoming close with all of them.
Over the years, Chloe had dated several boyfriends, but she said, “Boyfriends are boyfriends, friends are friends.”
She said Zachary would always be her good friend.
Recently, Chloe broke up with her previous boyfriend and started hanging out with them frequently again.
Every time I saw Zachary taking care of her, my blood pressure would rise.
I had argued and made a fuss about it, but it was useless. Eventually, I simply stopped going to their gatherings. Out of sight, out of mind.
“You guys go ahead. Just drop me off at home first,” I said.
I really had no interest in their dinner gatherings.
Zachary: “We’ll come back right after dinner. It won’t be too late. Mike specifically asked me to bring you along, saying he hasn’t seen you in a long time.”
“Alright then,” I didn’t insist anymore.
We stood at the door of Mike’s new home, and after the doorbell rang, the door opened.
Suddenly, someone burst out from inside, jumping onto Zachary’s back like a monkey, arms tightly wrapped around his neck.
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The movement was so quick that Zachary almost lost his balance, but he seemed used to this kind of action and instinctively reached back to support the person.
“Haha, Zachary, you’re late! As punishment, you have to do ten push–ups while carrying me on your back!” Chloe shouted gleefully from his back.
After steadying the person, Zachary suddenly froze, then looked up at
