Chapter 2

As I turned to leave, she grabbed my arm.

I had no intention of tangling with her, but as we struggled, we had already reached the stairway.

She flashed an extremely innocent smile. Before I could react, we both fell.

As we fell together, I saw Liam grab the other person's hand.

I tumbled down the stairs heavily. I tried to protect my abdomen, but it was all in vain.

Something was flowing out of my body, blood everywhere.

Liam stumbled down the stairs after me, holding me in panic like a child, no longer showing any of his usual calm composure:

"Nora, ambulance, Nora, please don't sleep, ambulance"

I gradually lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, I was back to when I was 18 years old.

In a small alley, on a rainy day, a young man was being pushed into a puddle of dirty water.

I looked over belatedly and met Liam's eyes.

His eyes were full of hatred and unwillingness, like a wolf cub.

This was my first meeting with Liam.

Later, when we talked about this first encounter, Liam would always look at me with tender eyes:

"You were clearly terrified, but you still trembled as you stood in front of me."

"I thought then, how could there be such a foolish person in this world!"

I would get annoyed and try to hit him, and he would just look at me with a smile as I fussed.

But at this moment, I stared steadily at the young man lying injured on the ground.

"If you don't want to die, get lost," the thug with dyed hair said menacingly, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

I took the lollipop out of my mouth and asked calmly:

"Can I watch? I've never seen someone being beaten up before."

The man seemed a bit surprised, looked at me, and laughed:

"Interested?"

I nodded, and he had his men throw Liam back into the mud puddle, tormenting him over and over.

Liam lay on the ground like a lifeless object.

I just watched expressionlessly. I had originally thought I might get some satisfaction from this.

But there was nothing - no excitement, no sadness, no anger, like an ancient well that had been still for ten thousand years.

I shrugged, "Boring," and turned to leave.

Behind me, Liam's suppressed cries of pain continued.

But all of this had nothing to do with me anymore.

If the story had developed as before, Liam would have originally chosen me as his deskmate.

And thus began our ill-fated relationship.

But now...

I looked up at Liam who was entering the classroom door.

The young man was thin, wearing a slightly yellowed school uniform. Backlit by the sun, his expression was unclear.

At this moment, he was leaning against the podium with his hands in his pockets, looking at me with a half-smile.

I lowered my head and continued to focus on the problems on the paper.

The questions weren't difficult, but it still took some time to pick it up again after so long.

A loud thud sounded beside me as Liam dropped his desk next to mine.

He spoke in a mocking tone, arms crossed:

"Hello, new deskmate."

I glanced at him indifferently, not wanting to engage.

But he persisted, seeming determined to get to the bottom of that day's incident.

Annoyed by his questions, I finally replied:

"There's no reason. I just don't like you."

"Why don't you like me?"

I slammed my pen on the desk and glared at him fiercely:

"Phoenix eyes, passionate; thin lips, fickle; thick eyebrows, promiscuous."

"I've studied physiognomy. You're naturally a heartless, unfaithful person. I can't stand it, okay?"

Liam was clearly stunned for a moment. When he tried to speak again, I had already put on my earphones.

But my heart was in turmoil. I wasn't as indifferent as I thought I was.

After being together for over a decade, Liam's betrayal had left a hole in my heart, filled with nothing but pitch-black hatred.

But the 18-year-old Liam knew nothing of this.

The young Liam had a vindictive personality. He resented me for laughing at him that day, so he started opposing me in everything.

Young people have their own ways of tormenting others, yet leaving no evidence.

He knew I was terrified of insects, so he would catch them and hide them in corners. When the insects crawled out during class, I would be on edge the whole time.

At those times, Liam's phoenix eyes would be full of mirth, taking pleasure in my panic and distress.