I got up sneakily and opened the door slightly to create a small crack. In the pitch-black living room, there was only one tiny illuminated corner. I could vaguely make out Colin's face. His fingers danced on his phone screen as the light from the screen made his face look extra eerie.Sick of his incessant messages, I replied to him, "I know you don't like where you're sleeping. You still can go home, you know."I didn't mean to kick him out, but I had to do something. What if he wanted to text me for two or three hours? I was exhausted and sleepy. Everyone was already asleep at this hour. We shouldn't stay up."No, I don't want to go home. Open the door, babe. Let me sneak in."What the heck? My dad already hated the fact that he was staying. He also said that we shouldn't do anything. Did Colin not get the message? Was he trying to challenge my dad's authority? That wasn't nice, was it?Colin wanted to spend a night with me right under my parents' noses. Plus, my dad already wa
Whatever. I should just call Felix. The call went through. After more than 40 seconds of monotonous beeping, someone finally picked it up and asked in a tired voice, "Who is this?"It was a cute female voice. Was it Hannah? Were they living together? I wasn't in the mood to gossip. Otherwise, I'd have loved to ask them about their relationship status. Wasn't it too fast to live together?I couldn't care less about Felix, but Hannah was a kind girl. I didn't want her to get hurt. "It's me, Luna. Is Felix there?" I knew I was asking a redundant question, but I couldn't just ask for Felix right away. Hannah would be too abashed.Another voice sounded, asking who called. Hannah said my name, and all of a sudden, I heard Felix's panicked and laborious breathing. "Lulu, don't have the wrong idea. Nothing happened between us."I was stunned. What did I have anything to do with them? Did he have to give me an explanation? They were staying together, but nothing happened? There had to be so
"Where did you go? Come clean now." When I saw that Colin wasn't on the couch and I couldn't reach him via phone, I was so scared that I woke my parents up.For the first time in my life, I behaved like a strict wife. I folded my arms before my chest and gave Colin a look that said, "I won't let this slide unless you give me a valid explanation."Colin's face twitched, and he pursed his lips. He was visibly uncomfortable with the question. As I glared at him and my parents shot him a quizzical look, he confessed, knowing full well that if he did not explain himself, no one would let things slide."I went back to the house opposite us. Our house.""What house? What's going on, Colin? Explain properly now. You won't be able to lie your way out," warned my dad sternly. He was already pissed about the sudden engagement, and he needed to vent all the pent-up frustration.As Colin's future father-in-law, he had to assert his dominance by kicking up a fuss about Colin's late-night disa
Colin couldn't hold it back anymore and barked, "I told you not to move. You—"Before I could hear the rest of the sentence, my hand was seized by his. When I knew it, it was already touching something hard and throbbing. My cheeks turned scarlet right away, burning up."Let go of me. I don't want to touch it! Hey!" I tried to withdraw my hand and pull away. However, Colin's grip was tight. No matter how hard I tried to yank my hand, it refused to budge. "Let go!" I cried out in desperation.He pulled my head onto his chest with his other hand to hide his face of forbearance from me. Then, he uttered huskily, "Be a good girl, baby. Just hold it like this. I won't move or do anything. I swear."I quieted down. Indeed, he didn't do anything. The temperature of his tense body slowly cooled down, but the thing in my palm was still as huge as before. When I woke up, it was already morning. I heard people walking in the living room.My body felt sore, and I wanted to move. However, my m
Oh, how wonderful it was to have a boyfriend who was also your childhood friend. He loved his parents a lot, yet he could do things for me and my family too.He found the best solution to solve the problem, and what was this if not happiness? Mom got herself a tissue paper to wipe away the tears at the corner of her eyes. Then, she thanked Colin, "Thank you, Colin. Lulu didn't used to stay with us either."When she was studying, she came back every summer or winter break, and we often looked forward to it. Now that she's all grown up, she's about to get married soon. Truth be told, Colin, when I think about how Lulu will one day build her own family and stop visiting us, I'll begin crying."She's a pampered kid with quite a few quirks. We're so afraid that she might get bullied and she won't tell us. Thank goodness for your solution. You're allowing us to continue protecting her. Otherwise, I'd be so sad. Thank you. You truly have my best interest at heart. Gerald and I appreciate t
The experiment required a lot of paint. As we were still developing the paint formula, we didn't mass produce it or employ any assistants. Nico and I had to do everything. Since there was a sudden hike in the demand for paint, we would be kept quite busy for a while.However, I was certain that our hard work would come to fruition. This winter, thanks to Colin's and my constant efforts, we had completed slightly more than half of the colonial-style project. At our current progress, it would take us another one and a half years maximum to finish everything.In December, also on the day Jinovy snowed for the first time, Colin and I received an invitation letter from Lincoln University. The university's 100th anniversary would be held on December 18th. As stellar alumni, Colin and I were invited to attend it.Our exceptional achievements after graduation would be celebrated, and they could inspire the current students. As a Lincoln University alumnus, I felt honored. I had worked day a
The snow was heavy, covering the ground like a thick blanket.The orange streetlights cast various shades of color onto the pure white snow, making it seem as if fine snowflakes were still drifting through the air.Inside the car, soothing music was playing, and a faint scent of jasmine lingered in the air. Leaning against Colin's shoulder, I looked at the flickering lights that seemed like the memories of the past years. The bad ones were like darkness, which were best to be forgotten, while the good ones were like light, so they should remain along with time.The car stopped near the hotel's gate, which was still about a hundred yards from the lobby.Winter in Denville was astonishingly cold. Once we stepped out of the car, the icy air froze my cheeks, making it difficult to breathe. The cold quickly penetrated my thick coat through the collar. I pulled up the hood of the coat and tightened the collar before quickly dashing toward the lobby. The snow beneath my shoes squeaked wit
There were three segments—recalling the past, looking at the present, and envisioning the future. Each segment received enthusiastic applause from the thousands of students in the audience.Colin was asked to give a speech on the spot as a representative.The university didn't mention this before, so he wasn't prepared. But Colin was a renowned lecturer at Jesselton College. With a less than ten-minute speech that was both inspiring and motivational, he successfully energized the crowd.Most students, who had heard of him but had never seen him in person, went wild with their cheers.Even after he returned to his seat, they were still shouting his name.After the ceremony, the university held a reception in the cafeteria. There would be performances in the open-air venue in the evening.Because of the incident with Jasmine, Colin and I had become well-known figures at Lincoln University. Moreover, the series of paintings I created for the Dreamlight project further boosted my fam