“I’ve been working out. It’s improved my health, and now I’m absolutely in love with it. My trainer is a Mr. Hong Kong winner,” she said, admiring herself in the mirror with pride.
Yes, everything changes.
“Huan’er, are you afraid of losing Xiao Jue?” Meng Meng asked me.
“I’m terrified—more than I fear death,” I said.
"He's your first man. Most women don’t end up spending their lives with their first man. I just want you to remember, in case you lose him—"
"Do you think he will change?" I interrupted her.
"Who can guarantee they won't change? He never used to treat you like he did that day. You love him too much, and that’s why he dares to hurt you."
"He loves me. We’ve just been apart for three years, and we need time to adjust."
I didn’t dare tell Meng Meng that Xiao Jue had called me "lowly." For a woman, those words hurt more than hearing "I don’t love you." Any man could criticize me for being "lowly," but not my own man.
"Sometimes, I envy you," Meng Meng said.
"What do I have that’s worth envying? I envy you," I replied.
"It takes a lot of love to trust a man the way you do."
"Yes, but if he changes, I’ll have nothing. If Xiao Jue changes, I’ll never love another man again," I said.
"We keep talking as if Xiao Jue will change. What if he doesn’t?" Meng Meng patted my hand. "Go home and wait for his call."
I hurried home and waited for Xiao Jue’s call.
"Sis."
Le’er handed me her report card. Her grades were terrible—only two passing marks.
"Have you been studying at all?" I asked angrily.
"I ran into Brother Xiao Jue on the street today," she said.
"Don’t change the subject."
"He was with a woman."
"Probably a colleague. What’s so special about that?"
"They were very close!"
It felt like an ax had struck my heart. So he had fallen in love with someone else. He wanted to leave. It wasn’t because I was "lowly." That was just an excuse.
The next day after work, I waited for him outside his accounting firm. When he saw me, he looked surprised.
"Huan’er, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Are you never going to contact me again?"
"I just think we both need some time to cool off."
"Do you have someone else?" I asked directly.
"If there’s a problem between us, it doesn’t matter if there’s someone else or not."
"So is there someone else or not?" I pressed.
"No," he said firmly.
Could Le’er have lied?
"I don’t understand. We waited three years to finally be together. Why is this happening?" I asked him desperately.
"I know you’ve done so much for me over the past three years. I’m not ungrateful."
"You don’t have to stay with me out of gratitude. That’s not what I need."
"Can we both just calm down? Maybe we’ve been apart for too long, and we need time to adjust."
I was amazed at how calm he sounded. Was it possible that I loved him far more than he loved me at that moment?
That evening, when I got home, I was ready to scold Le’er, but Dad was pacing, worried.
"Le’er still isn’t back," he said.
I checked my watch. It was midnight. Le’er had never been out this late.
I searched her drawers and found that she had taken her ID card, some clothes, and the $800 I had kept there.
"We should report this to the police. She’s run away from home."
By the time we left the station, it was past 2 a.m. I didn’t want to disturb Xiao Jue, so I called Tiehan instead.
"Even though this isn’t my district, I’ll help you look for your sister after my shift," Tiehan said. "Maybe she’s just gone out for a few days. Don’t worry too much."
The next day, I told Xiao Jue that my sister was missing.
"I’m not going to work today. I’ll search everywhere for her," I said.
"Where would you even start in a city full of people?" he said. "I can’t take time off."
Dad and I searched all of Le’er’s usual hangouts but couldn’t find her.
The next day, detectives from the missing persons unit came to take statements.
"Who does your sister usually hang out with?" one of them asked me.
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