16About a week later, I received a parcel from the city where Nathan was. The sender's name was Nathan.After getting rid of the layers of explosion-proof packaging, I saw what the gift was.It was a miniature moon model, and the texture of the material seemed familiar. I gently stroked its surface and it took me a long time to remember.It was made of the same material as the astronaut Nathan sent in the past.I got up and went to the bedroom. I took out the small astronaut from the drawer and put the two things together. Only then did I realize that the moon model didn't seem to be brand new. The tiny traces left on its body was basically the same as those left on the small astronaut.It was as if they were born to be one.On the spur of the moment, I took a picture of the two things and post it on my social media.Not long after, someone sent me a message. "That moon model has fallen into your hands eventually."The guy who sent the message was called Michael Brown. He was
22When I talked to the editor about the copyright and officially signed the contract, it was almost the end of the year.That morning, I woke up in a daze and picked up a phone call.Then I heard Julia's excited voice come from the other end of the phone. "Jess, watch the morning news, now!""...What?""Watch the morning news. Damn! Nathan is amazing! He is so talented. I can't even believe his existence! Watch it now, Jess!"I sat up in a daze and clicked on the video that Julia just sent me, feeling sleepy.Then I woke up in an instant.It was a short piece of morning news. The general idea was that a graduate student of a famous school would be directly hired as a senior talent because of his breakthrough in technology and tracking algorithm.And this graduate student's name was Nathan Turner.At that moment, I suddenly recalled what Nathan had said before he left my house that afternoon.He said that he would see me soon.Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagine
Author: Ming Che Echo Did you believe in love at first sight? I did. The first time I saw Kevin, I fell in love with him, unconditionally and irrevocably.Humbly and carefully, I had tried my best to meet all of his needs while protecting his pride. All the time I had been enthusiastic and passionate, but our relationship was quite delicate.One day, I was exhausted and decided to give up.At this point when my life was a mess, another man appeared."That's why I appeared in your life," he said.He aroused my desire, I had to admit.He saw through my little game and saw the real me. He knew I was greedy, selfish, and prone to run from my problems. But he held my hand still.From that day on, he never let go of my hand.I kept receiving messages from Kevin, but they no longer meant anything to me.1To my mind, I was good at handling problems and obstacles, emotionally and mentally.While I was with Kevin, I tried my best to work through my negative emotions on my own,
5When I woke up, I received four messages on WhatsApp.I rubbed my eyes, wondering who it could be, and found it was Elliott."Good morning."It came with an emoji of a bear struggling to get up.It had been a long time since anyone said good morning to me."I just woke up," I replied, pretending to be calm.I got out of bed and washed up. As I was chewing the bread I bought last night in a trance, my phone vibrated again.Elliott sent another message. "I almost missed the bus and jogged all the way to the classroom.""Always arrived right on cue, didn't you?" I teased."Yes, and because of that, all the teachers in our department know me. Bad news spreads far and wide."As graduation season was in full swing, most of us were busy with our graduation projects and dissertations. Elliott had to do experiments in an off-campus lab, while I wrote my dissertation in my dorm.I went down to get an ice cream to refresh myself. As was my habit, I took a picture of it. It was a pea
7I was surprised to receive a message from Kevin.He asked me about my job and which city I wanted to live in.I didn't want to reply.The first time I broke up with Kevin was about... three months after we got together.My memory had dimmed.I used to be very honest with him. When he asked me if I was in a relationship, I told him I had been in love once.He was upset and thought it was unfair because it was the first time he had been in a relationship. He hoped the same thing from his girlfriend.I didn't say anything.This topic drove a wedge between us.While we were shopping, he pointed at a light camel-colored dress and asked me to try it on. I shook my head in panic and said that I was too fat for it.Was I fat? I didn't know.My first boyfriend was a control freak. He gaslighted me by frequently telling me that I was fat and that "it was my blessing to be with him".The smile on Kevin's face disappeared instantly. He knew I was thinking of my first boyfriend. "I k
9"Babe, you have perfect skin." Elliott complimented me on the way to the library.I knew I had good skin and long legs, so I chose a mint green shirt, a white pleated skirt, and knee-length socks, which made my legs look straighter.After coming out of the library, Elliott and I started discussing what to do over the holiday.We decided to go to the restaurant we both liked and then spend the afternoon petting the dogs in a special cafe and playing the escape game.I was timid. I had only played the game once. But when he said he wanted to go, I got curious and intrigued enough to agree.The game he chose wasn't very scary. After booking the tickets, he looked at me and said in a gentle tone, "Actually, the game doesn't appeal to me, but playing it with you does."I avoided his gaze and rested my chin on my hand, blinking constantly.Actually, I liked it when he tried to ingratiate himself with me.When I was with Kevin, I suppressed my desires and pretended to be pure in bo
10I liked the feeling of being in love, and I gave myself to and enjoyed all my relationships. I had never denied that I hadn't been single for too long at university.The night I officially became Elliott's girlfriend, I approached him uneasily and asked in a fake soft voice, "Maybe it's not appropriate to talk about this now, but I want to be clear. Do you have a... virgin complex?"He froze and then hugged me. "I think I'm very lucky to have met you."This was an unexpected answer. I wished he was telling the truth.That night, almost all of his relatives and friends knew about me, his girlfriend. After that, almost every one of his Instagrams was related to me.One night we came out of the library exhausted and went to the sports field to get some fresh air."I'm part of your future plans, aren't I?" he asked slowly, looking up to study my expression.In fact, I didn't dare to think so far.I had always thought too much. I was greedy and selfish, but I liked to disguise m
Author: Yueyang Yue Ya I spent nearly 1,000 dollars asking a policeman for his WhatsApp number.But he sternly refused. He even asked me if I was flirting with him to get back at my ex-boyfriend.He got me!Worse, my ex-boyfriend came to borrow money again.Before I could answer, the policeman stretched his wrists...1I met an extremely handsome policeman when I reported a phishing scam at the police station.He looked vigorous and upright in his well-ironed uniform.He knocked on the desk and asked me to tell him what had happened."Here's the thing. My ex-boyfriend, Mark Casey, cheated on me. I spent a whole year chasing him, even lending him money. But what have I got? The bastard cheated on me after we were together for two months..."The policeman frowned and interrupted me."Wait a minute. I'm asking for the details of the phishing scam".Really? So he wasn't asking me about my love life?"I accidentally clicked on a link and all the money in my account was
9With uneasiness, I arrived at the restaurant where Aaron and I would meet.I was ready to tell him the truth.I believed Aaron was smart enough to recognize me.I was waiting for his surprised look.I was ready to answer his questions.But when we met, Aaron didn't mention anything about the past."I finally meet my counselor."Aaron looked at me and said with a smile, "You are beautiful, Maggie."He talked about the topics we had talked about on the Internet, about the present and the future with me, just like we were close friends. There was no embarrassment.After all, we were very familiar with each other in the past half a year. At least, I knew Aaron's past very well.Just as I thought, Aaron was really a gentleman. He had taken all my emotions into consideration.He probably didn't relate me to the fat girl a month ago.After all, no one would have thought that someone would lose nearly 30 pounds in 60 days.After dinner, Aaron stopped me and said, "Maggie, when
5In fact, Darren didn't disappear. He just didn't reply to my messages the whole day.I ate according to the recipes listed by Darren and reported to him on WhatsApp on time, but all the messages were not replied to, and he didn't even go to the gym at night.Then I realized that Darren was angry.But I didn't know why.Maybe it was because I lied to him in the beginning.I had always been sensitive to relationships.Since he didn't show up for two days, I stopped sending messages to him and continued to lose weight alone.I began to eat less and less.I didn't mean to eat less, but I found that I had lost my appetite.When Darren accompanied me to lose weight, I didn't think it was a boring and difficult task. Darren tried every means to satisfy my appetite with all kinds of healthy food, and then exercised with me. I was full of hope for every day.But after Darren left, I began to feel meaningless.It was strange. I decided to lose weight for Aaron.Three days later, D
Author:Ding Shi San I had a secret. As a psychiatrist, I fell in love with my patient.I spent half a year with him and helped him overcome his inferiority complex.During this period, I could tell he had some feelings for me.Today, he asked to meet me, but I refused.I couldn't. Nor did I deserve it.However, I did hope that one day I could be great enough to say to him directly, "I like you."1Aaron Williams was the dream boy of all the girls.He was very quiet. He liked reading and didn't talk much. Every time he listened to others, he would look into their eyes with a gentle smile.Though outstanding Aaron was, he had his secret.His right ear was deaf, so he could only hear with an audiphone.I knew him by accident.I was a volunteer counselor in an online psychological team. My responsibility was to help some students with psychological problems who were embarrassed to have face-to-face psychological consultations. Aaron was my patient.I recognized him w
3The test finished in two days. It was the first time in two years that I didn't feel that nervous about the exam.After that, I resumed my life with the previous study routine.A few days later, my grades came out. I couldn't calm down for a long time after I got my result.Jared turned around and smiled at me, patted me on the shoulder, and said, "I told you that you can do it. You ought to listen to a straight-A student like me."I smiled, too. It was my best grade ever. I was ranked fifth.I was in the top ten in the next few mock tests.It seemed that after the walk with Jared on the field that day, I hadn't been that stressed about studying anymore.Then came the college entrance exams.Finally, we graduated from high school.Our class organized a dinner party. All the teachers were drunk.I was a little tipsy, too. I came out and sat in a chair outside the door to get some fresh air.After a while, Jared also came out and sat next to me.I smiled and said, "At last
2He replied to me expressionlessly, "You're welcome. Just don't be a burden to the group."I gathered myself.But I was still curious about why he chose me. I wondered if it was because I was a good friend of Mellissa.At night, I went home and pondered about the turn of events for a while but was still a little baffled.I took out my phone and sent him a message on WhatsApp: [Why did you choose me as a group member?]After I finished my homework and almost dozed off, he replied: [You really don't know why I chose you?]I answered honestly: [I don't.]After a while, he replied: [I was the one who asked the vice principal to let you stay. I can't watch you keep coming last in class. Your deskmate ranks 11th, while my deskmate ranks 12th. I have chosen two top students to average your scores. If you don't study hard, you will drag the three of us down.]After reading his message, which felt like a lecture, I felt like an incompetent student.Following that, he started training
Author:Yao Ling Er 1Ever wondered how one could get along with a boy one had been having a crush on for three years?Well, I was pretty crushed.Jared Coulson's name was remembered by the whole of Grade 10 on the first day of school.He was admitted to Primrose High School with the top score in the city.He was chosen as the freshman representative to give a speech during the orientation. His handsome look, eloquence, and remarkable temperament had got him a lot of admirers.It was as though he was the heavens' favorite creation.Therefore, from the first day of Grade 10, Jared was dubbed as the campus hunk in our school. It was an indisputable statement that no one had any objection.There was no distinction between arts and science classes in Grade 10 in our school. My classroom was on the second floor, and his classroom was on the first floor. There wasn't a chance for us to interact with each other.Every time I went downstairs and passed by his classroom, I woul
9A few days ago, Daniel lost his key. In case he opened the door and came in tonight, I took the spare key he kept under the doormat.I took several bottles of beer from the fridge and drank them one by one.I had no idea how much I had drunk. My head was dizzy and I was completely drunk. In a daze, I seemed to hear the sound of the door lock rattling.Then it became quiet again.But soon, the sound of water boiling and the clink of cups came from the kitchen.After a while, I heard the steady footsteps of a man slowly approaching me.The light in front of me dimmed, and something icy covered my forehead. Then I heard Daniel say in a low voice, "You have stomach illness. You shouldn't have drunk so much."He lifted my chin gently and whispered in a comforting voice, "Honey, get up and drink some honey water."I closed my eyes and dodged his hand unconsciously."Listen to me," Daniel said patiently.His words were like a pebble thrown into an even lake, which sobered me up
7Daniel was my real boyfriend.That night on Valentine's Day, I did give Jason a hand-copied copy of Shakespeare's sonnets, accompanied Horace to take the Ferris wheel, and finally went to the supermarket with Daniel.All these were reasonable.I had a crush on Daniel since I was in grade 10.At that time, I just transferred from another city. I hadn't yet adapted to the learning environment here, so I failed the first month's exam.As a result, my teacher asked Daniel, my desk-mate, to tutor me in my studies. He and I would do homework in the classroom for a half hour after school.I recalled the calm, cool look in Daniel's eyes, his gentle voice as he carefully explained the math problems, the coffee he handed me when I was sleepy, and the considerate way he stopped to wait for me in the dim corridor.There were countless moments when I fell in love with him.When I was about to tell him about it, Daniel became my brother in name.I plucked up my courage and wrote a love l
4In a burst of noise, the three of them walked up to me.The classroom suddenly quieted down.Curiosity, envy, jealousy... All sorts of gazes rushed to me.Horace said briskly, "Amanda, I'm coming to attend class with you!"Jason said softly, "It's my first time accompanying my girlfriend in her class. Just tell me if you have any advice."Horace retorted, "I'm Amanda's boyfriend!"Daniel just looked at me and said quietly, "You forgot to take the notes I organized for you last night."I heard many people gasping.From the corner of my eye, I saw the pale faces and unbelievable looks of Portia and Jenifer.Jason asked Joyce with a smile, "Can I switch seats with you?"Joyce looked between Jason and me.In a trance, she nodded and left her seat stiffly.So this was how it went.Daniel sat on my left, Jason sat on my right, and Horace sat behind me, poking me with his hand from time to time. More and more students came to see them, almost filling the classroom.The teac