50
Before sentencing, Kana’s father tried to pull strings to have her sent back to Japan for trial.
Kana wanted to see Ryan one last time.
I went with him.
Separated by the glass, Kana glared at me with hatred. “I won’t let you off.”
“It’s me who won’t let you off,” Ryan said, pulling me a little behind him.
I felt his hand grip mine—warm and strong.
Ryan said, “I only agreed to see you so you’d know—
“Monsters belong where monsters belong.”
Kana got agitated. “Brother, why won’t you like me?!
“She’s not even as pretty as me! She’s already dated someone else!”
“So what?” Ryan replied.
“No matter what she does, I trust her.”
“And besides—” Ryan held my hand, flashing that confident, cocky smile I remembered from when we first met.
“We both put up with so much for so long, just to deal with you.”
Kana was on the verge of losing it, pounding the glass and screaming, “So what?! Did you forget I can read minds?! I can still hear your thoughts anytime I want! I’ll always be in your life!”
Ryan turned back.
After a long pause, he sneered,
“No. You can’t hear them anymore.”
51
In the car, I was still thinking about how Kana had completely lost it.
Curious, I asked, “How do you know she can’t read minds anymore?”
Ryan said, “Just a guess.
“And when I was looking for a solution, I found someone from those mind-reading rumors. She told me not to worry, that if the person didn’t truly love you, the mind reading would disappear.
“When love changes, it loses its special power.”
I squeezed Ryan’s hand. “That’s great.
“Ryan, you’re free now.”
Ryan looked down at me, his voice low and deep. “Yeah, I’m free.
“But if this freedom really came at the cost of your life, do you think I could ever live with myself?”
“No,” I answered quickly. “I calculated everything, and I tested it so many times! I—”
He let go of my hand, gently pulled me closer, and tapped me on the back of the head.
His kiss landed softly.
His voice trembled with relief and emotion.
“Lily Wang, I waited so long.
“But not for you to risk your life for me.”
52
None of that matters anymore.
What matters is that, even in the days when we weren’t together,
Ryan and I were both fighting for our futures, both working on our own plans.
Luckily, it all turned out okay.
Later, Sophie asked me, “When did you two start dating…?!
“Wait—was it when Ryan was in the hospital for hemorrhoid surgery?”
I sighed and explained, “He actually wasn’t…”
The door banged open.
Ryan stood in the doorway, his eyes and tone cool.
“Lily Wang, let’s go.”
Sophie turned pale and hurriedly slipped away after a few quick words.
That Valentine’s Day, Ryan booked a restaurant.
On the drive, he barely said a word.
I thought he was still traumatized by the whole “hemorrhoid” rumor and tried to comfort him. “It’s really not a big deal. Everyone gets hemorrhoids eventually.
“It’s just a matter of time…”
He slammed on the brakes.
Ryan reached over, hooked my chin, and kissed me hard.
At first, he was fierce, but then the kiss softened.
“What really pisses me off is—wasn’t Sophie always trying to set you up with Eric?”
So that’s what he was mad about?
I laughed. “Well, it didn’t work, did it?”
He kissed me again, shamelessly. “That’s only because I’m so handsome.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I don’t even know what I see in you. Is it your bad temper or your hemorrhoids?”
“Lily Wang,” Ryan grumbled, “I wasn’t in the hospital for hemorrhoids.”
“Then what else would you be in that ward for?”
“Constipation, okay?!”
Constipation bad enough to need surgery?! I stared at him.
I burst out laughing. “Even handsome guys get constipated, huh, hahaha…”
But my laughter was cut short.
Ryan pinned me to the car seat and kissed me fiercely all over again.
Afterward, I wrapped my arms around his waist, snuggling into his embrace.
“So now, I know your secret.”
“If you don’t want me to spill it, you’d better stay with me forever.”
Ryan looked down, his eyes suddenly gentle.
“Okay, Lily Wang. Remember what you said.
“Be with me forever.”
Yeah. Forever.