As Sophie stepped out of the civil affairs bureau, she immediately leaped into Ethan’s arms, exclaiming, “Ethan, we’re registering our marriage tomorrow!” Turning to me, she added, “Kyle, I wasted several years on you. Do you know how much I regret it? Today is truly the happiest day of my life.”
With that, she linked her arm with Ethan’s and said, “Let’s go, darling.”
Ethan looked at me with a mocking expression and said, “You must come to our wedding when Sophie and I have it. You have to wish us well.” He then embraced Sophie tightly as they walked away, all smiles and affection.
For a long time, I had no news about Sophie and Ethan. However, I occasionally visited my professor and his wife, sharing meals and taking walks with them.>
One day, my professor invited me over for dinner. To my surprise, there was a female student present.}
With cheerful smiles, my professor and his wife introduced her. “Kyle’s here! Meet your junior sister, Emma. She’s the professor’s prized student. If you have any questions, just ask your senior brother Kyle; your professor is getting old and doesn’t have the energy to guide you through your thesis anymore.“}
Emma was friendly and outgoing. She handed me her phone and said, “Sure! Let’s exchange contact information. I’ll reach out if I have questions.”>
I glanced at my professor helplessly; was this his way of setting me up?
While preparing dinner, my professor’s wife whispered to me, “Emma is the daughter of your professor’s old friend. She comes from a scholarly family and has a great personality. Your professor took a long time to select her for you; you should take this opportunity seriously.”
After dinner, my professor asked me to escort Emma back to her dormitory.
Once outside, I sighed in relief and said to Emma, “I’m sorry about what happened earlier; I didn’t expect the professor to do that. Please don’t take it seriously.”
Emma smiled brightly and replied, “Doesn’t you want to help with my studies? Haha! No worries; I’ll gladly take advantage of being your junior sister so you can guide me with my thesis.“}
Thanks to Emma’s cheerful nature, we began to interact more frequently!
We met weekly at the professor’s house for dinner, after which I’d walk her back home.
Observing how my professor and his wife kept nudging me to seize opportunities with Emma made me finally confess during one of our walks months later. “Emma… would you like to be my girlfriend?”}
At that moment, Emma took a deep breath and simultaneously said with excitement, “Kyle, would you like to be my boyfriend?”
We both froze for a second before bursting into laughter and agreeing, “Sure!”
As I began dating Emma, I realized it had been half a year since I’d heard anything about Sophie.
That changed when I attended a lecture at the Harbor City University and caught up with some classmates who mentioned casually. “Hey, did you hear? Professor Smith’s daughter Sophie married Ethan! They’re in Harbor City now. But rumor has it Ethan got scammed on a project–he doesn’t understand engineering at all–and lost everything.”
“Apparently he’s been borrowing money everywhere; he’s exhausted all his connections. I bet Sophie regrets marrying him now.”
I remained silent; Sophie made her own choices and had to live with them.&
Soon after returning to school, I learned that my professor was hospitalized. When Emma and I arrived at the hospital, we found his wife sitting outside the emergency room in tears–Sophie and Ethan were there too..
Seeing us arrive, she grasped my hand tightly, “Kyle, please help save your professor.”
Sophie rolled her eyes impatiently, “Mom, your daughter and son–in–law are right here; why ask an outsider for help?”
Ethan pretended to console her, “Don’t be upset, dear.”
My professor’s wife retorted angrily, “If it weren’t for your noisy return home causing chaos, your father wouldn’t be in the hospital.“}
