Ice-Melting(1)

Author：Qiao Ke Li A Hua Tian

1

I saw two messages on my boyfriend's phone at 2 a.m.

"I love no one but you."

"Just say the word, and I'll be right by your side."

That was so sweet. Too bad they weren't for me.

My hand trembled, and I dropped the phone. My tears welled up.

The two messages, lying alone on the chat screen without even getting a reply, seemed to mock me.

See, the person you were deeply in love with was just someone else's simp.

Ryan Clark liked Samantha Lennon as long as I liked him.

But I didn't expect him to tell Samantha a month before we were to get engaged that I was just his backup.

He was lying on the bed, sleeping soundly and reeking of alcohol.

I was suddenly disheartened.

I'd been chasing him for six years.

He only stayed with me because Samantha, the prettiest girl in our department, euphemistically rejected his 11th confession.

When he was drowning his sorrows by the lakeside, he called me and asked me to accompany him.

At midnight, I snuck out of the dorm through the window and skinned my knees from the fall.

As I limped toward the artificial lake, a drunken Ryan hugged me and said in a hoarse voice, "Mia, let's be together. I'll be good to you."

My heart raced, and I nodded heavily.

I knew very well that I was not his crush.

But I felt that if I tried a little harder, I could impress him, and one day, he would like me.

After graduating from college, Samantha and I joined the same prestigious company.

Ryan didn't get an offer until after graduation when he reluctantly joined a small company.

And because of his low salary, I paid for our rent and daily expenses during the years we were together.

But...

Trembling, I picked up the phone and scrolled up the chat history.

I found that every holiday, Ryan would transfer some money to Samantha and even buy her many expensive gifts.

She took the money and gifts but never responded to him.

However, the most expensive gift he bought me was a $7 piratical Pikachu throw pillow.

At that moment, I finally understood that no matter how hard I tried, I could not take Samantha's place in his heart.

I didn't sleep a wink all night scrolling through his chat logs.

Early the next morning, when he went to work, I asked for leave from my office, decisively packed all my things, and paid the movers to have them all delivered to my best friend Olivia Wilson's house.

Then I texted Ryan: "Let's break up."

It took him two hours to get back to me: "Don't get emotional."

"I moved out. Starting next month, you pay your rent."

The chat box showed "typing" for a few moments before he replied mockingly, "Suit yourself."

He was sure it would be like old times again, and that I was the one who lost my temper and also the one who couldn't resist making peace.

Olivia helped me put my things away with a look of disbelief. "Mia, are you sure you really want to break up with him this time?"

"Mm," I replied.

Leaving him didn't seem as hard as I thought.

"Didn't you say the other day that you were going to meet your parents and get engaged next month?"

There was a long silence before I whispered, "I told my mom, and she supported my breakup."

All those years, my friends saw how I'd run after Ryan, trying to get him to look back at me.

Even my mother knew how humble I was in this relationship.

My mother's reaction to this decision was unexpected.

She said, "Mom supports you. I'm tired of you treating him like that."

When I graduated from college, I passed up an interview with a leading company in my industry so that I could join the same company as him, but he failed the interview.

At first, he picked me up from work every day, and I was moved.

One day, I went downstairs late and found him talking to Samantha.

The way he was cautious in front of her and the cold look on her face reminded me of myself in front of him.

I fled in panic.

Maybe he upset her that day, and when he got home, he was mad at me. "I told you I was going to pick you up from work, but you came back alone without telling me. The long wait is killing me!"

I didn't say anything for a while. Finally, I said hoarsely, "You don't have to pick me up anymore."

And he really never came to pick me up again.

One night, I worked overtime until the wee hours of the next morning. It was pouring outside, and there were hundreds of people waiting for taxis near the office building.

I called Ryan, but he didn't answer.

I had no choice but to return to the office and spend the night at my desk.

The next morning, as I dragged my aching body downstairs to get coffee, I saw Ryan's car at the gate of the building.

He was dropping Samantha off at work.

This had happened too many times. Gradually, I couldn't be bothered to argue with him and just pretended not to know.

But my accumulated grievances and sorrows over the years almost wore away my enthusiasm for him.

His use of me as his backup was the straw that broke the camel's back.

2

At night, I slept soundly at Olivia's house. The night was not as rough as I thought it would be. Or maybe it was because I was tired from moving.

The next day when I arrived at the office, my boss informed me that we were about to start a big project.

Party A would send someone over this afternoon to share with us some suggestions on the modification of the scheme.

I spent all morning in front of the computer revising the scheme. When I went to the bathroom before the meeting this afternoon, I found Samantha carefully retouching her makeup in front of the mirror and not even teasing me as she used to.

I was confused at first.

As I walked into the meeting room, I saw a pair of smiling eyes.

The owner of them had a handsome face.

"My name is Alfredo Pierce, and I'm the person in charge of Supreva. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

As I spoke as the scheme's writer, his eyes were fixed on me, looking focused and serious.

When I finished speaking and sat down, my eyes inadvertently swept over Samantha sitting beside me.

She was staring at Alfredo, and the affection in her eyes was plain to see.

After the meeting, she ran after Alfredo and whispered, "Hello, Alfredo!"

Alfredo stopped, turned his head, and said something to her. His expression remained calm.

In the end, the penny dropped.

It turned out that she had not agreed to Ryan's pursuit because she had someone else in her heart.

For a moment, a bold and crazy idea flashed through my mind.

I was gonna hook up with the guy Samantha loved.

After work, I found Alfredo's handle in the project team's chat group.

About five minutes later, he approved my friend request.

I said in a businesslike tone, "Mr. Pierce, there are a few things I'd like to confirm with you about the proposed changes at this afternoon's meeting. Are you free now?"

Alfredo was silent for a moment.

Then he said, "I'm on my way to dinner. Why don't you come with me? We can talk over dinner. It's my treat."

I immediately took a taxi to the restaurant he mentioned.

It was a hot pot restaurant near the office.

Alfredo booked a table and then came to meet me at the door.

When we were seated, he naturally handed me the menu. "What would you like to have?"

It was the kind of consideration I never got from Ryan, even when we were in a relationship.

Ryan couldn't take spicy food, so I had never had any spicy dishes I liked.

Every time we went out for dinner, I would pick the restaurant he liked and wait in line for a table.

After I ordered his favorite dishes, he would arrive late and perfunctorily bring me a drink.

He had no idea that I didn't like the drink he had bought me.

Samantha was the one who liked that drink.

As we waited for the dishes to be served, I took my computer out of my bag and confirmed with Alfredo a few points from the afternoon meeting.

He smiled, his eyes like a crescent moon. "Yes, just change it like this. Don't worry, I read the plan you wrote and I am very confident about your ability to work."

I nodded, put away my computer, and mentally went over my previous thought, pretending to ask casually, "Did you graduate from Carvonia University as well?"

"Yeah, I was a communications engineering major. I think I'm three years ahead of you."

I was shocked when I knew he was a senior in my department.

He nodded, his smile bright and gentle.

With this starting point, it would be much easier for me to get to the next topic.

We talked about our college's new swimming pool and even the 80th anniversary in two months.

"If I'm not busy then, I'll go back and check it out."

As soon as I said that, I heard Alfredo say across from me, "Let's go together then."

I didn't expect the plan to get close to him to go so well.

When chatting with him, I even felt long-lost relaxation and comfort.

It was not like when I was with Ryan. I needed to keep an eye on Ryan's expressions and reactions and gauge how he was feeling so I knew what to say next to suit him.

After dinner, Alfredo drove me home naturally.

I sat in the passenger seat, strapped in, and said with embarrassment, "It's so much trouble for you, as a client, to treat me to dinner and take me home."

"It's normal to invite you to dinner and discuss work. As for taking you home..." He paused and smiled sideways. "I'm sending home my junior, not my partner."

He defined our relationship easily.

In the following period of time, I would go to his company every once in a while to follow up on our project.

Sometimes I'd stay there until the end of the day, go grab a bite with him, and ride home in his car.

My rented apartment was in the same neighborhood as Olivia's.

She even asked me who the cute guy that drove me home every day was and if I was planning on starting a new relationship.

"Well, it's just a client of mine."

I admitted that when I first approached Alfredo, I wanted to get back at Samantha and Ryan.

But the more time we spent together, the more I realized what a considerate man he was.

He would be mindful of my tastes and, knowing that I preferred spicy food to cilantro, he would avoid the latter when ordering.

After discovering that I liked black coffee with sugar and no milk, he would prepare one for me every time I went to his office.

One night, I was in a bad mood and shared a sad song on Twitter.

Five minutes later, he texted me, patiently and gently dispelled my sadness until midnight, and politely said good night.

The more I spent time with Alfredo, the more I realized that the years I spent courting Ryan seemed like a stubborn, mind-numbingly nightmare.

I didn't know when I began to find that my feelings for Ryan had faded to the point where they were about to vanish.

3

One day, on my way out of the office, my colleague in the operation department took a leave of absence, and my boss asked Samantha to go with me.

When we got there, I worked hard all night to debug the code, but Samantha took credit for it with a few words.

"Alfredo, this is the latest version I've been working on with Mia. Please see what else needs to be optimized."

I froze and then pushed the computer forward.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Why don't you ask Samantha to walk you through the mid-term optimizations, Mr. Pierce?"

Before Samantha could react, I got up and went out.

Samantha quickly caught up with me and scolded me.

"Do you think it's fun to get personal? You broke up with Ryan. Do you have to bring your emotions to work?"

I wiped the water off my hands with a tissue and looked sideways at her.

Samantha did have a much better face than I did.

But we were in Alfredo's company. It was where we talked about our project, and it was my home field.

"If you don't want to delay the project, do what you have to do and don't take credit for it." I looked at her calmly.

I knew she was just trying to impress Alfredo.

In the end, Samantha had to say yes. But when we were having lunch, she pretended to mention my relationship with Ryan inadvertently.

"Mia, Ryan and you are getting engaged soon. Don't get emotional and argue with him."

Her words were tinged with helplessness and blame.

To her, I seemed to be the unreasonable and arrogant one.

Alfredo, sitting opposite, suddenly looked up at us.

I subconsciously clenched my fork to calm myself down. "We broke up."

Samantha seemed surprised by my calmness.

She used to like to mention Ryan to my face because she loved to see my sad, forced face.

But this time, I abandoned Ryan.

"Mia," Alfredo said, "do you have time to go out with me this afternoon? Part of the project needs to be confirmed with the branch company. You are the person in charge. No one knows better than you what this plan is about."

Samantha was about to say something, but what Alfredo said stopped her.

I readily agreed, "No problem."

Alfredo glanced casually at Samantha and said, "You stay here and work with my colleague in the operation department."

It was a wonderful feeling.

In the past, every time Samantha said something unpleasant to me, Ryan always asked me to humor her and not to argue with her.

"She's younger than you and innocent, and she doesn't mean what she says. Don't be so petty."

Younger than me? Did a week count?

For a long time, I was almost used to her unpleasant sarcasm and taunts and learned to ignore them.

I worked my ass off, writing and rewriting plans like hell, just to get back at her at work.

That was why I became the main planner of the project while she was still a team member, even though we joined the company at the same time.

I didn't expect Alfredo, whom I'd known for less than a month, to stand up for me at a time like this.

In the afternoon, when Alfredo and I returned from the branch, he drove me home as usual and stopped by my office so I could get my charger.

I had just stepped out of the building gate when a figure suddenly rushed in front of me.

"Mia, have you had enough of this?"

I was a little shocked to find out it was Ryan.

"You've been throwing a tantrum for a month. Don't you think it's time to stop?" His tone softened a little. "My parents are coming over next week. We can't delay our engagement."

I looked at him blankly and said, "I'm serious. We have broken up."

He froze, and then said through gritted teeth, "Mia Lawson, you begged to be with me. How could you break up with me over a trifle?"

"If I don't break up with you, do you expect me to watch you be Samantha's simp after we get engaged?"

I looked at Ryan in front of me.

When I looked at him after my love for him was gone, I just felt sick of him.

"Mia." Alfredo parked his car and walked over. He didn't even look at Ryan and just asked me, "Did you get your charger?"

Before I could answer, Ryan had a look of enlightenment on his face. "Good! You're seeing some man right after you broke up with me. Have you no shame?!"

To be fair, Ryan had a good-looking face, or I wouldn't have liked him for so long.

It was a pity that he was so fierce now that he was not as gentle and elegant as he used to be.

I bit my lip, embarrassed. "Don't talk nonsense."

"I am not! Aren't you a whor..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Alfredo suddenly grabbed my wrist.

I felt the warmth from his fingertips.

"You're mistaken. I'm the one who's been courting Mia," said Alfredo.

When he said that, I felt even the wind blowing past my ears grow gentler.

In the silence, I could almost hear my heart beating faster and faster.

It was a wonderful feeling I hadn't had for a long time. I felt like I was in love again.

Once I fainted from heat stroke in PE class. Ryan stood behind me and rushed into the school infirmary with me in his arms. After that, he visited me several times.

He asked me out for lunch, we went to the library together, and he even took me to the hot spring town that I'd always wanted to visit.

As I liked him more and more, his attitude cooled.

Later, I learned that he had caught a glimpse of Samantha, the Heather of his life, in gym class.

From then on, I became his backup, his second line.

In fact, during my years of college, I had men chase me.

But each time, Ryan would tell me that those men must have an ulterior motive as I looked ordinary, grew up in a regular family, and had nothing good except good grades.

Suddenly it dawned on me that he just said that to stop me from starting a relationship, so I could be his backup.

"I didn't quite understand before why someone would break up with a girl as good as her."

Alfredo curled his lips as he looked at Ryan.

"Now I understand that animals and humans have different aesthetics. Thank you for letting her go, so I could woo her."