Chapter 2

The most recent time was a few weeks ago.

At one in the morning, my girlfriend suddenly told me that she had started her period and that there were no supplies left at home. So I went out to buy some.

But when I reached the convenience store, I realized I had brought the wrong phone.

Our phones were both the newest model, with only the colors being different. The screen lock password and payment password were the same too.

I figured I could still pay, so I didn’t think much of it.

But just as I was about to check out, the screen lit up.

It was a message from an account named Summer’s Adrian.

Baby, I love the Chanel perfume you bought me. You should try it next time too.

I frowned.

I didn’t recognize the account at all. I tried to unlock the phone, only to discover that Chloe had changed her password.

With no other choice, I put everything back on the shelf and left the store under the cashier’s puzzled gaze.

When I returned home empty-handed, Chloe didn’t blame me. Instead, she hurried over to comfort me.

“Did all the stores close? It’s okay, baby. I found some of the ones I hadn’t used yet.”

She had a beautiful smile. It was charming, with her eyes curving into crescents.

But now, no matter how I looked at that smile, I couldn’t feel happy.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was hiding something from me.

I didn’t say anything. I simply handed her phone back.

“I brought the wrong phone with me. I noticed you changed your password.”

Her smile stiffened slightly, but only for a few seconds.

Then she explained softly, “I’m sorry, baby. I forgot to tell you. When I went home a while back, my brother’s son kept sneaking onto my phone. I was worried he might buy something by accident, so I changed the password. I just forgot to tell you.”

I said nothing and only hummed in response.

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Chloe and I had started dating during our freshman year of college.

I was one year ahead of her in the finance department.

On the day new students arrived, I was recruiting members as president of the debate club. Chloe had turned down invitations from several other clubs before crossing through the crowd and stopping in front of me.

She declared confidently that she wanted to join the debate club.

She was articulate and had an impressive grasp of the subject. During competitions, she could always think on her feet and leave her opponents speechless.

She was dazzling onstage.

We were both gentle by nature, and we were in the same department. So from then on, we were almost always together.

We discussed assignments together and went to the library together.

When we had free time, we volunteered together. When the pressure got too heavy, we played video games to relax.

We both loved playing Honor of Kings. Her best character was Daji.

Once, while we were playing on the same team, the opposing side picked an assassin character.

He targeted her again and again until her score became 0–7. Her teammates couldn’t stop complaining, and the assassin kept taunting her.

For the first time, she complained to me with tears in her voice.

After that, my main character changed from Li Bai to that assassin.

She still played Daji.

Our nightly ranked matches became part of our routine.

Sometimes we chatted until late into the night, smiling without realizing it.

I felt fulfilled. My stress disappeared.