The man's identity needed no introduction. Sara forced a stiff smile, silently cursing her dad for the inaccurate information. He had said Jamie only came back to the village on holidays and weekends, which was why she had specifically chosen to return on a Thursday!
Even though it was awkward, she couldn't resist sneaking glances at Jamie. Even though he was good-looking as a kid, now he's downright striking, and his whole vibe has completely changed.
His current reserved and introverted demeanor made it hard to imagine he was once the shy little boy who often cried following Sara around.
While she was staring at Jamie in a daze, his gaze was also taking in every detail of her appearance now.
She hadn't changed much from when she left, just like her thirteen-year-old self scaled up to an adult.
Her skin was much fairer now, and the red string around her slender neck stood out prominently. Her face was slightly sunburned, with a thin layer of sweat. The baby fat on her cheeks made her face look a bit round, but because her face was small, the roundness only made her look more adorably cute. Her rosy lips were small, and her pert nose was small too, making her big almond-shaped eyes seem even larger. Her long, curled eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings when she blinked.
Jamie swallowed uncomfortably to moisten his dry, itchy throat. But the itch in his heart became even more pronounced, like someone was tickling it with a feather.
The two of them silently stared at each other, while the people under the eaves once again showed the same teasing expressions. Someone opened their mouth to say something, but the person next to them quickly put a finger to their lips, silently and tensely shushing them.
The exchange of glances was silent, but it somehow felt like they were discussing something incredibly juicy.
Grandma Shania cleared her throat softly, but Jamie heard it. He glanced sideways at the elders, whose expressions were all exaggerated with effort, and couldn't help but fall silent.
His expression brought Sara back to reality. She instinctively wanted to turn around and see what he was looking at, but as soon as she tilted her head, Jamie's calm voice came to her ear.
"If you don't want to be teased, don't turn around."
She had a pretty good guess about what was happening behind her. After hesitating for only two seconds, she turned back to look at him, a pained expression on her face, and asked, "I can't just stand here forever, right?"
The cloud that had just blocked the sun had drifted away. Sara, who always feared the heat and sweated easily, was nearly soaked in sweat under the scorching sun, and her mind was starting to feel a bit foggy from the heat.
So, as if she had thought it through carefully or perhaps her brain had just checked out, she came up with an idea and without hesitation waved at him, "Hey, it's been a while!"
The coldness in Jamie's eyes seemed to lessen. Sara saw him lift his hand to say something, but she didn't hear it clearly.
She immediately waved again, "See you next time, bye!"
Then she dashed off towards the village before anyone could react, tossing the small trash can into a large bin at the entrance as she ran.
She caught a glimpse of the stunned expressions of the villagers, and as she was about to turn a corner and leave them behind, she couldn't help but smile smugly.
Avoidance is shameful, but it works!
She could vaguely hear the sound of bells in the distance, but Sara, busy running, didn't catch it clearly. She kept her head down and continued sprinting forward, ready to make a turn.
However, the villagers around her heard it and their expressions changed. One of them stood up and shouted, "Sara ! Stop running—!"
But he shouted too late. Sara couldn't stop in time, and the three-wheeler that suddenly appeared at the intersection, moving at a moderate speed, collided with her.
"Bang—"
"Ah—"
Everything spun around her, and Sara found herself lying sprawled on the ground, the blinding sun above her. She closed her eyes, feeling hopeless.
Great, after all these years, my first meeting with the villagers and she've managed to lose all the face I've saved up over the past decade.
The crowd: "..."
Everyone rushed over, but seeing her lying still, they hesitated to touch her, afraid she might be hurt seriously.
So they asked anxiously, "Sara, are you alright? Are you hurt? Can you get up?"
Sara: "..." She thought to herself, "I can't get up, this is too embarrassing. I might as well just lie here forever."
Another person said, "Sara ? Why aren't you speaking? Is she unconscious? Someone call 911!"
Sara: "..." Sara thought: "Go ahead, call 911. Let them take me away from this place."
And of course, someone had to bring it up: "Why did you suddenly run off? Weren't you having a moment with Jamie?"
Sara: "..."
She silently covered her face with one arm.
"Just end it all. I don't want to live anymore", she thought.
Someone nudged the person who had spoken, signaling him to stop talking.
Covered her face, leaving everyone even more at a loss. So, they all stepped back in unison, turning their gazes simultaneously toward the man.
Jamie: ...
With a hint of a helpless smile in his eyes, he opened the car door and took his suit jacket from the front seat. He walked through the crowd step by step, knelt down on one knee beside her, and draped the custom-tailored, expensive jacket over her head.
Sara's despondency was interrupted by the feel of the jacket covering her. A cool hand grasped her arm and lifted her, followed by Jamie's calm voice.
"No one can see you now. Get up. I'll take you home."
Sara was silent for a while before asking, "Isn't this just deluding myself?"
She said it, but she still followed his lead and stood up. Covering her head did make it less mortifying. Jamie held her hand, leading her forward, and responded with a light "Hmm."
"If it works, it works," he said.
Sara pouted, unable to help saying, "It's so embarrassing."
After a few seconds, Jamie replied, "Indeed."
Sara felt a pang in her heart and heard him add, "You embarrassed me too."
She closed her mouth silently. This time, Jamie really suffered a lot, being teased about having a girlfriend, then being watched by everyone while she stared at him, and finally...
In a small voice, she said, "I’m sorry."
She waited for a long time before hearing Jamie sigh. Listening closely, he still sounded calm, "There's no need to apologize for this."
What does he mean by that? Sara felt it was strange but didn't understand. Immersed in her embarrassment, she just mumbled, "Oh," and stopped talking.
However, the initial sense of distance and unfamiliarity seemed to slowly dissolve in the silence.
