After Aurora and Zane got together,
Zane always took her for walks through the garden,
watching the birds singing merrily in the flowers that grow after being bathed in the spring beeze,
noticing the color of the leaves which dropped down on the lake,
pausing to admire the romantic sculpture full of artistic atmosphere,
strolling leisurely along the outer path of the park, savoring the warmth around them and perceiving the gentle passage of time.
When they were too tired to take another step,
Zane would carry her on his back,
yelling, "Carrying my wife to go home!"
At first, Aurora would shyly cover her face, but later, she'd pull Zane's ear and call him to stop teasing.
They passed their dull high school years in passionate and happy moments.
During their senior year, Aurora had to return to her home state for dealing some troubles caused by her father.
She had to go back home.
When Zane saw her off, he ran behind the car for a long time.
Aurora's father looked stern and said, "I paid for you to study, not to fall in love."
After he finished his tirade of vulgarities, he suddenly seemed to think of something and asked her,
"How is the boy's family situation?"
Aurora thought about the various odd gifts Zane had given her and nodded.
Her father's demeanor changed instantly as he said, "Stay in touch with him. Girls studying doesn't mean much. Even if you get into a good university and find a good job, it's better to marry well."
"I've kept track of every penny I've invested in you, and you'll pay me back someday."
Aurora suddenly felt suffocated.
She hated her father.
She didn't want to be a parasite on Zane.
She would study hard, rely on herself to get into a good university, find a good job, and work hard for a bright future.
Aurora wanted to be her own strongest support, not looking up to anyone.
They graduated with frequent phone calls between them.
Aurora got accepted into a university in City B.
She attended the same university as Zane.
They were a famous model couple at the university.
Everyone who knew them would say,
"If Zane and Aurora don't get married, there's no true love in this world."
Aurora believed it too.
Because from high school to university, this was their fourth year together, and they had already passed the honeymoon phase.
But they were still as loving as if they were in the throes of a new romance every day.
They knew each other's preferences inside and out.
Aurora always used a pink straw when drinking soda.
A staunch vegetarian, she never ate meat.
She didn't like her hair to be pressed when sleeping.
Her bank card password was Zane's birthday.
Her dream was world peace.
Zane liked to accompany Aurora for pizza but couldn't eat spicy food due to his stomach issues.
He liked traveling and taking photos with Aurora.
He enjoyed telling ghost stories at night and cuddling with Aurora to sleep.
His bank card password was Aurora's birthday.
His dream was for Aurora to achieve hers.
They were so happy that even heaven envied them.
Soon, a sudden piece of tragic news completely shattered them.
One day, while eating lunch, Aurora received a call from her mother,
"Aurora, it's over—"
Aurora was confused and asked what had happened.
Her mother told her that her father had been driving under the influence and fled the scene of an accident.
He had taken all of their savings and run away with his mistress.
Her mother vented her resentment on her, saying, "If you were a son, your father wouldn't have left us."
Aurora couldn't even cry.
She never imagined her father could cause such a disaster.
Fleeing the scene of an accident was a charge she had never even considered.
She trembled as she asked her mother, "What happened to the person who was hit?"
Her mother's response shocked her even more:
"Your father didn't want to take responsibility, so he threw the man into the lake."
In that instant, Aurora felt as though the sky had fallen.
She had to believe that desperate people in lower class could act ruthlessly and badly.
Her father was uneducated and ignorant of the law; he was so arrogant that he didn't understand anything.
She remembered that her father had been in a car accident back in their hometown.
He had killed a large dog.
Aurora was terrified and cried, begging her father to bury the dog and pray at the church.
Who knew that her father cared nothing about it.
He had no respect for life.
He cooked and ate the bloody dog.
Just like that.
And he forced Aurora to eat it, but she gritted her teeth and refused.
For dinner, Aurora ate vegetables,
while her father laughed and asked, "Is it tasty?"
"This is the vegetable your mother stir-fried with oil from the fat of that dead dog."
"Isn't it delicious?"
Aurora vomited all day, and from then on, she never touched any meat again.
Years passed, but her brutish father hadn't changed at all.
After hitting someone, his first reaction wasn't to save them but to avoid responsibility by cruelly sinking them into the lake.
What if that innocent person was still alive?
Aurora didn't dare to think about it.
She immediately called the police.
