Chapter 5 Recalling The Past

"John, please let me explain. It's all Edward's fault. He was set on avenging his girlfriend and maligned my family..." Emily explained anxiously.

Meanwhile, John could only shake his head at her attempt. "You don't have to explain. I fell in love with you because I saw your attractive face. I didn't expect you to be so flirty. If only I had known you were more than just an innocent face, I wouldn't hold back but slept with you the first chance I got."

Emily couldn't believe the crass words that left John's usually respectful mouth. Her lips trembled in fear. "John, this is not you."

"Do you really not understand? Or are you just pretending to keep up the naive facade? Let me tell you the truth. I made a bet with others. I begged you countless of times before to sleep with me but you insisted on waiting for marriage. I was unwilling to break up with you because despite everything, I wanted you. And now... You're not a virgin anymore. I don't see what we have to talk about anymore."

And with a bitter smile, John left with his umbrella.

Emily's face paled. She was too stunned to say a word. She stood there like a statue in the middle of rain.

John's words hurt a lot. But it also made her realize that she had sacrificed a lot of things just to be with him.

What happened with them was heartbreaking. But in a way, she counted herself lucky not to have given him her virginity. Maybe she should thank Edward for revealing this side of John.

Suddenly, she realized that love, the one thing that poets and singers had been lauding about since the dawn of time, was a lie.

Rain mixed with the hot tears that leaked out of her eyes.

She stood there, letting the rain wash away the hurt and pain in her heart.

Soon, the downpour got heavier. She walked away from the Xu mansion aimlessly. Exhaustion was slowly setting in. Suddenly, she staggered and fell awkwardly to the ground. It wasn't until she couldn't feel her legs anymore that she realized they were too sore for her to get up.

A black figure suddenly appeared in front of her. He held a black umbrella and approached her.

"Miss, can I help you?" A luxury car pulled over beside them. A man got out of the car hurriedly.

"Who are you?" Emily managed to ask before she felt her eyelids grew heavy. Her head was getting hotter. The world tilted before her eyes until she couldn't hold on any longer. She passed out before she could hear the man's reply.

Meanwhile, the man asked the person in the car, "Sir, what do we do now? She fainted."

Before he could even say anything more, his boss got off the car, squatted down and collected the woman. He pushed a few errant hair that covered her face. There was an unusual tenderness that shone through his eyes as he looked at her.

His boss was surrounded by many women but despite the abundance of them, he had never been tempted to touch them. Except for this one. What had happened today?

"My dear, I had finally found you," he murmured at her sleeping figure.

When Emily came to, she found herself in a strange and unfamiliar place. The room seemed to belong to a man. She laid on an exquisitely carved bed. The room itself had simple decorations but exuded elegance and comfort.

Without putting on her shoes, Emily left the room in a hurry. Preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice someone was standing in her way until she hit his hard chest. Unfortunately, he had a steaming mug of coffee that soon found its contents on her hand.

"Did you get burned?" a deep voice asked.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted into her nose. He carefully took her hand to examine. She could feel the softness of his touch as he wiped away the coffee splash on her skin.

"I'm fine, thank you." Emily shyly retrieved her hand from his hold. As soon as she raised her head, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ryan? Why are you here?" Her memory flashbacked to the old days when she was still a junior in high school.

She could still remember how everyone fawned over Ryan Ning.

He still shone as bright as the sun, like he did before.

He was known as the prince of the school. All the girls were in love with him. He was smart, handsome, and came from a wealthy family. He was every girl's dream boy.

They somehow met at a school activity, but nothing special happened after that. As a practical girl, Emily knew chasing after him was pointless. He would always remain her unattainable senior.

Not long after he graduated high school, he went to Emily's dream university. Even as a university student, Ryan would always make time to visit their high school.

She remembered how he found her studying intently at the library one day. He encouraged her to never give up. That was one of her most cherished memories of her life.

She tried her best to study so she could attend the same university as him. But despite her best efforts, she still couldn't get into the university he went into.

Later on, she heard something happened with his family and they had to move to England.

"Why not me?" He gave her a gentle smile. It was still as sunny and warm as she remembered.

"It's been so long, Ryan. I didn't expect to see you under this weird situation," Emily explained sheepishly.

"Well, let me see your hand again. Let's check if the skin was burned." Ryan took her hand again and look at it carefully.

"I'm fine, really." Emily shook her head.

"Your skin look a little red. Let me take you to clean it and apply some ointment on it," he offered.

"Alright." It would be embarrassing to refuse again if he insisted.

They went to the kitchen to wash her hand before they applied an ointment on it.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other. You're still as reckless as ever." Despite his teasing voice, his touch remained gentle.

"And you are still as serious as before," Emily teased back.

"You naughty girl," Ryan said with a sigh. There was tenderness in his eyes as he regarded her.

Unconsciously, Emily began to relax. It felt like she was back to her high school self. In front of her senior crush, she could forget her adult worries and be a carefree girl again.

With soft eyes, Emily asked, "Ryan, how have you been in England these years?"

Ryan lowered his eyes and paused thoughtfully. "Not good."

"Why?" she asked empathically.

Ryan raised his eyes to look into hers. There was a thousand of emotions behind them that spoke to her. With a faint smile, he said, "Because I missed someone too much."

"Oh. Who was it? Is it someone I know?" Emily asked curiously.

Something sad glittered in his eyes before he looked away. He cleared his throat, changing the subject. "How have you been these years? And what were you doing, walking alone in the rain when I found you? What happened?"

She thought for a while before she answered, "My father is being suspected of a commercial crime. Someone sued him for it and I'm just really worried about him."

"Tell me more. Maybe I can help you."

And so Emily found herself telling Ryan everything about her father's case. Vaguely, she remembered he majored in law back at the university.

After a moment's silence, Ryan said confidently, "Leave everything to me. You'll only have to wait for the judge to acquit your father of charges. Your father will be released soon after."

"Really?" Emily couldn't believe it.

"But... how would you repay me?" She didn't notice the hint of mischief and tenderness in his eyes.

"I'll treat you to dinner, just like the good old days," Emily answered with a smile.