I thought he had lost his mind.
I let him in, poured him a glass of water, and asked, perplexed, "Do you know what you just said?"
He nodded.
"My dad said that when you return home this year, they want us to meet each other... But since you didn't come back, I came to find you myself."
I fell silent for a long while before saying, "I won't meet with you. Go back."
"Why?" he asked, puzzled. "You've hated me since childhood, but I've never done anything wrong to you..."
"Hating someone doesn't need a reason," I replied. "Leave now, or I'll be forced to throw you out."
"Try to be reasonable..."
"I am reasonable, and I am very clear-headed."
I looked up at him, speaking slowly, one word at a time.
"I hate you. I really hate you."
"Arthur, no matter how capable you are now, no matter how high your status, please leave my house right now. I never want to see you again."
---
Arthur liked me, and I knew it.
People are always highly sensitive to the emotion of "liking."
When we were in elementary school, he used to tutor me, gently knocking on my forehead, calling me "silly."
In middle school, when the teacher suggested he skip a grade, he came to find me, asking in the cold wind, "Do you want me to skip a grade?"
"Do whatever you want."
He ran up, hugged me quickly, and pulled away.
"Even if I skip a grade, we'll still be the best of friends."
Later, his rumors spread like wildfire in high school—tr skipping class, fighting, and dating the school beauty.
I knew about it, but never asked.
Until one day, he showed up on my way home, battered and bruised, with red eyes, asking me:
"Lily, why didn't you come ask me what happened? Don't you care about me? It hurts so much..."
The memory cut off.
Arthur had already left. From the look on his face, it seemed I had angered him deeply.
The water in front of me had gone cold. I cleaned the cup, then sat on the sofa, starting the projector to watch a movie.
If I wasn't mistaken, my phone would soon be filled with messages from my parents.
They would scold me for being ungrateful:
"Arthur is such a good person, and you dare reject him? Do you what are you doing?"
"He's willing to marry you, and that's your honor! You shameless girl! You don't even come home when you go out and act like a prostitute, and we raised you for nothing..."
"I wish I had never given birth to you!"
...
I smiled faintly.
In truth, I wished I had never been born.
