Chapter 7
When recounting the past, Archie rarely showed such an embarrassed expression.
At the time, he was reading outside the library when he spotted me in the distance.
I stood under a dim streetlight, one hand resting against the back of a chair, the other using my fingertips to lift Finley’s chin.
I looked down at Finley with an innate sense of control.
This scene made Archie hold his breath.
Archie shamefully envied Finley and even felt a twinge of jealousy.
When he heard Finley deny having a girlfriend, Archie’s jealousy completely transformed into resentment.
From then on, Archie began targeting Finley at every turn.
He not only stole Finley’s scholarship spot but also anonymously reported issues with Finley’s thesis data.
On the day of the job fair, Archie watched from the dormitory building as Finley and I confronted each other.
A surge of wild joy rushed through him, and he almost couldn’t suppress his laughter.
Then Archie eagerly printed out his resume.
No one knew that when he submitted his resume, his fingertips were trembling.
After telling me all this, Archie couldn’t meet my eyes.
He dejectedly held his head in his hands, his voice muffled as he said, “I’m so despicable. Are you going to hate me now?”
Only then did I remember that Finley had been particularly irritable for a while.
When mentioning unpleasant incidents at school, he would constantly complain about someone in his department who loved showing off, always trying to get ahead of everyone else, making everyone else look like supporting characters.
Now I realized that person was Archie.
I smiled and ruffled Archie’s hair.
I said, “How could I? You did great, very straightforward.”
Archie immediately nuzzled my palm like a large dog being petted comfortably.
He said, “Isabelle, I don’t want to go back to the dorm tonight.”
We indulged ourselves all night, barely stopping until dawn.
The next day, my legs were extremely weak.
I had to admit that young men just have better stamina.
Archie was not only thoroughly satisfied but also said he wanted to go back to school to help his professor with work.
Before leaving, he made breakfast and told me to eat before going back to sleep.
My place was at least a fifteen-minute drive from MIT.
Archie was constantly traveling back and forth, which was really inconvenient.
I thought of the apartment I had bought near the school.
Previously, I had always kept it for Finley to stay in temporarily.
Now, I should clean up that apartment.
I had Eva go to the apartment early to clean.
After waking up, I texted Archie to meet me at the apartment in an hour.
Wanting to surprise him, I deliberately went early to set things
The moment I pushed open the apartment door, I froze.
More than a dozen students were sitting in the living room, with
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a cake placed in the center of the table.
The chocolate plaque on the cake read “Happy Birthday, Finley.”
So today was Finley’s birthday.
The lively chatter suddenly stopped.
Albie, who had seen me once downstairs at the dorm, was the first to break the silence: “Finley, you said you two weren’t close, but she came to celebrate your birthday.”
Finley stammered his way through a response, looking extremely guilty.
The girl with a ponytail beside him immediately said with displeasure, “Finley, isn’t this the house your parents bought you? Why does she know the passcode? This old woman isn’t your tattletale aunt, is she?”
“Emilia.” Finley quickly stopped her, then hurried over to me.
When he saw the party decorations in my shopping bag, his expression visibly relaxed.
He lowered his voice and said, “Isabelle, I know everything you said before was just to make me angry. I’ve done things wrong too. During this time, I’ve been busy with research and have indeed neglected you.”
Finley glanced back at his classmates.
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Then he continued, “But today is my birthday party. If you’re here, they’ll be very nervous. Could you go back first? I won’t be mad that you didn’t bring me a birthday gift. I promise, after the party ends, I’ll come find you.”
Then Finley flashed a pleasing smile that I knew all too well.
He said, “Haven’t you always wanted to make our relationship. public? I have half a year left until graduation. When that time comes, I’ll definitely make our relationship public on social media.”
