Jane McCain stared at him in a daze, then burst out laughing.
"Yeah, right, you’ve had so many girlfriends."
She ignored him and walked ahead on her own, unable to suppress a smile at the corners of her lips.
Allen Rivera quickened his pace to catch up, clasped her hand, interlacing their fingers, and then slowed down to walk alongside her.
Beneath their feet were the ancient bluestones, flanked by a rustling bamboo grove, and occasionally they would spot a solitary coarse pottery water jar, half buried in the earth, surrounded by scattered faded petals. It gave off a sense of tranquility and peace, like a silent, serene Zen state that prompted contemplation.
They walked shoulder to shoulder without speaking.
After a while, Jane McCain asked Allen Rivera, "What are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about the past," Allen Rivera replied.
"Thinking about your past girlfriends?" Jane McCain said, half jokingly and half earnestly, "Don’t think about them; I’ll get jealous."
Allen Rivera shook his head with a smile, "No, I was just thinking... fortunately, I didn’t et you back then."
In his youth, he was too arrogant, eager to try everything yet cherished nothing. Had he t Jane McCain at that ti, he feared things wouldn’t have turned out so well.
Fate was overly generous to him. Without any effort, things others envied were already placed before him: family background, wealth, a handso appearance, and a brilliant mind.
He could easily top his class without much studying, casually play basketball and beco a star scorer. He needed to do nothing, and girls would flock to him.
Everything ca so easily.
What cos easily seems dull and cheap, like those sincere and passionate youthful hearts.
He had grown numb to receiving love letters and chocolates. When girls beca bold, they could really surprise you. There were those who gave him umbrellas during thunderstorms only to walk ho drenched themselves, and those who waited long hours by the basketball court just to wipe his sweat, as well as those who approached him with howork problems as an excuse to get close.
He found it all very annoying.
But undeniably, these things greatly satisfied the shallow vanity of his adolescent years.
So he didn’t refuse them.
It felt like picking up sothing on the roadside; if it’s free, why not take it? But once taken ho, there’s little desire to cherish it, since it was free after all, wasn’t it?
He still rembered once a young girlfriend quarreled with him and talked about breaking up, questioning why he never returned calls or ssages.
He replied expressionlessly, "When you were pursuing , didn’t you say that just being with was enough, even if you could only watch silently? Now you call every day, expect responses, want gifts, and my company for shopping. Getting so greedy all of a sudden makes troubled too."
The girl called him a jerk.
His response was equally cold-blooded, "I asked if you minded when we started, and you said you didn’t, which is why I agreed to date you. What are you doing now? Throwing a tantrum?"
Later, the girl cried and, before leaving, swore he’d regret it.
He chuckled lightly, what’s there to regret?
Later still, the girl’s close female friends tead up to scold him, accusing him of toying with others’ feelings.
He paid them no mind, thinking they were like beggars on the roadside, showing an ugly face when not given charity, utterly unreasonable.
In truth, he had long forgotten the girl’s na and appearance, but what she said would occasionally flash in his mind.
He was curious if he would truly regret it himself... He hadn’t regretted it back then, and even now, upon reflection, he still doesn’t regret it. At most, he thinks of his youthful ignorance.
But...
Allen Rivera glanced at Jane McCain at his side, feeling a touch of emotion, and sighed softly, "Luckily, it wasn’t you back then."
Otherwise, he’d surely regret it, deeply and profoundly regret it.
Upon hearing this, Jane McCain’s smile was bright, "How could you have t ? I was just starting elentary school!"
Allen Rivera laughed too, patting her head, "Yes, you were so young back then..."
Making wait all this ti.
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