I was preparing a birthday surprise for Liam when I suddenly came across a post on Reddit. Title: I fell for a guy who has a girlfriend. Can I confess to him on his birthday? The comments were full of question marks. To gain support, the OP, u/MedSchoolBabe98, continued to update the thread: Just a humble medical resident here. I'm currently training at a top-tier hospital. Honestly, whether it's my current education or my future social status, I think I'm far superior to his current girlfriend. His girlfriend got in via some 'outstanding student' recommendation program. You know how much water is in those degrees. We've known this group of friends for almost a year, and nobody has ever seen a photo of this girl. She's either ugly or he just doesn't like her that much. She seems like a total simp. Just posts sappy quotes every day, while I use actual actions to show my feelings for him. We've known each other for 332 days, and our Snapchat streak has been going for 300 days. I'd rate myself an 8 in looks and body, with a great personality. I have high EQ. Whether in work or life, I can be his best partner. I clicked on her attached photo. My gaze landed on the man's watch. Even without seeing his face, I immediately recognized him. It was Liam. The day we broke up, everyone told me, "It's just casual sharing. It doesn't even count as emotional cheating." I shook my head. "Sharing meaningless things is essentially a desire to be involved in each other's lives." And endless sharing is the connection of love. 1 I didn't tell Liam I was coming back this time. I wanted to give him a birthday surprise. Half an hour ago, Liam sent me his location. A new hotpot place. He and a few colleagues were going to try it after work. [If it's good, I'll definitely bring you next time!] He was still the same as always, reporting everything to me the moment he had time. I turned off my phone screen and changed my destination. When I arrived at the hotpot restaurant, they had just been seated. Wearing a cap, I chose a table behind them. Liam came back from washing his hands. A girl not far away walked up to him with a dipping sauce bowl. "They have a secret sauce, plus I added the stuff you usually eat. I mixed one for you." Liam took the bowl from her naturally and tasted it. "The secret sauce is actually pretty spicy. You shouldn't eat it." The girl smiled happily. "Thanks for the warning." Two people sitting closest to me lowered their voices to gossip. "Are they seriously not together yet? I wouldn't believe it if you told me." "Liam kept his distance from so many girls who liked him in school. Who knew his soulmate was waiting here?" "You can't deny it. Liam is busy as a dog, but he still helps Bella check her night shift logs. They are definitely a power couple in the future." "And Bella is so sweet to Liam. Not even a year, and she's already washing his clothes at his place." ... Soulmate. Power couple. Personally washing Liam's clothes. My phone vibrated. That Reddit thread was updating again. Out for hotpot with my crush! He's so meticulous; he even tasted the dipping sauce first to warn me it was spicy. Who wouldn't love a man like this? Someone immediately commented: [No matter how good he is, he's someone else's boyfriend right now. Suggest OP figures out the relationship status before growing a love brain.] That comment was quickly deleted. I put down my phone. Liam's group had started eating and complaining. From the regret of choosing their major during college applications to the bitterness of yesterday's night shift. Someone suddenly changed the topic. "Isn't it Liam's birthday in two days? Should we go out and celebrate?" Liam declined as usual. "I have plans that day. It's just a birthday, no need to make a big deal." "Is it because Bella isn't on shift that day so you won't come? Bella, say something." Bella put down her chopsticks, sounding a bit petulant. "His girlfriend wants to celebrate with him alone. Who am I to interfere?" "Girlfriend? Oh right, I heard rumors, but... so you really have a girlfriend." I slowly lowered my eyes. This was my eighth year with Liam. We smoothly passed the seven-year itch and met each other's parents. So whether or not he had my photos on his social media had long been irrelevant to me. He never posted on social media anyway. But at this moment, I was actually worried about his answer. I subconsciously took a gulp of water, choking until my chest hurt. "I do. But we're in a long-distance relationship." It was Liam's voice. Deep and calm. I still remember when we first started college. The first time I visited him at his school. He insisted on dragging me to class, wishing every professor knew I was his girlfriend. A classmate in the front row just wanted to ask if it was raining outside. Liam answered irrelevantly, holding my hand with shining eyes: "How did you know my girlfriend is here?" Unlike now. His sentence had an answer, a transition, and a hidden meaning. The girl named Bella couldn't help but speak up. "Is there no better choice around? Aren't you tired enough? Why maintain a relationship that gives you zero return?" Liam was silent for a moment. "Feelings... aren't about profit." "Then let's talk about liking. Does she know how tired you are? Does she know your pressure? Do you really have no regrets in your heart?" Bella's voice was obviously choked up, full of grievance and unwillingness. The people at the table suddenly fell silent. I don't know how long passed before I finally heard Liam's voice. He said: "There are regrets, but I will force myself to make peace with them." "Besides, my current situation doesn't allow me to think about anything else." ... I closed my eyes abruptly. My fault. I made him have regrets for no reason. I made him helpless, forcing himself to make peace. I put him in a situation where he couldn't think about anything else. But he seemed to have forgotten, we started together for the sake of each other's completeness. "Okay, okay, these things can't be cleared up in a hotpot restaurant. What gift does Liam want for his birthday?" Someone saw the awkwardness and started smoothing things over. Bella said angrily: "I don't know what you guys are giving, but I know what his precious girlfriend gave. Last year for his birthday, she wrote him a letter. Just two sentences. Not even complete sentences." "Couldn't even write two sentences? Liam's girlfriend shouldn't be uneducated, right?" Bella glanced at Liam and continued to roast: "That's not necessarily true. I remember she wrote something like 'Safe and sound' and 'Always by my side'. I mean, she's really a simp. Even if she can't write love words, she could copy some online." I held my chopsticks in a daze, not even noticing the boiling water from the pot splashing on my hand. Last year on Liam's birthday, I was required by my advisor to run data. That was the first time I didn't celebrate with him since we got together. I originally wanted to write a very long paragraph to prove how important he was to me. But I wrote and rewrote, edited and re-edited. I found that all I wanted to say to him were two sentences. Safe and sound. Always by my side. But the words I wrote with full devotion were treated as a joke after dinner. At this moment, Liam was unworthy of forgiveness for the rest of his life. 3 I stood up and dragged my suitcase out of the hotpot restaurant. A autumn rain in Boston brought winter instantly. I wrapped myself in my hoodie and walked aimlessly on the street. There was a long line at a shop not far away. It was the bakery I loved most. I remembered senior year of high school. I huddled in my seat in a down jacket and casually told my desk mate I wanted a mooncake. "The savory pork ones from September Life are the best, but they get cold by the time delivery arrives." My desk mate stuffed a cookie in my mouth. "Just eat this. I'll buy you one next mid-autumn festival." But Liam, sitting behind me, remembered. Before evening self-study, a bag was on my desk, steaming hot. Liam didn't even look up, his voice steady as usual. "Just happened to leave school. Eat it while it's hot." That night's ranking results came out. I was still one place ahead of him. My desk mate teased: "Liam, you get crushed by Sophia every day. If I were you, I'd poison her mooncake." He laughed, looking at me with serious and focused eyes. "I'm not competing with her for rank." Later, we agreed to go to New York together. I got a guaranteed admission offer. He had to fight in the SATs. But fate had its own arrangement. A few points difference left him in Boston. The day he sent me off to school, my parents didn't cry, but his eyes were red. "Will you meet a better guy and not want me? I will work hard." I hugged him. "I won't." From the day I agreed to be with him, I was determined to hold his hand through every season. That Christmas, I rushed back from New York overnight to his campus. I had his best friends trick him to the square. When Liam saw me jump out of the huge gift box, he stood there looking at me for a long time. Long enough that I thought he wouldn't speak again. "What's wrong? Not happy to see me?" He hugged me fiercely. "Sophia, we will get married, right? I really, really want to have a home with you." "That way I can see you every day. I will love you forever." ... Countless beautiful scenes played in my mind like a revolving lantern. Until yesterday, I still rejected my advisor's suggestion for me to stay in New York. Because I couldn't bear to let Liam be alone anymore. But the me back then didn't know, "forever" is just a hype word for love's existence. Nor did I know that Liam was no longer that person. Every day I wasn't by his side, every holiday I missed. He had found someone to replace me. 4 I went to Liam's apartment. There were still some things to deal with. The computer in the study wasn't turned off. The screen was still on the Snapchat chat interface. The girl was the resident who entered the hospital at the same time as him. The streak was exactly 300 days. A little flame icon waved at me from the interface. As if mocking my stupidity. I scrolled up one by one. [This sticker is so cute, looks like you. Did the head nurse yell at you today?] [No, she just has a loud voice.] [Liam, you are really so good.] [You are good too.] ... [Liam, look at this resident's miserable life, LMAO.] [Hahaha, that's our reality.] [I saw you didn't go to the cafeteria for breakfast. No time?] [Didn't make it.] [You are lucky you met me. I'll bring you some!] ... [Liam, are you married?] [What are you saying, definitely not.] [Oh, I heard you have a girlfriend, but it's fine if you're not married.] [...Don't overthink it. Night shift tomorrow?] [If I survive tomorrow's night shift safely, I'll treat you to dinner!] [Good luck then.] ... [Let's eat together tomorrow night. If it's too late to go back, I'll crash at your place. Old rules, you sleep on the couch.] [Good boy.jpg] [In return, I left fruit on your desk. Washed.] [Grateful heart.] [Easy easy. See you tomorrow night.] [Okay.] ... From sharing videos roasting the medical profession to making funny AI photos of each other. To talking about everything now. The dense chat history made me feel increasingly ridiculous. They talked from high school to university. From the new coffee shop on the corner to the sunset after work. When Liam was busy following his mentor into the operating room, too busy to reply to my messages, he could still find time to comfort her grievance of being yelled at by a patient. For a year, I felt sorry for his endless night shifts with no time to sleep, never disturbing him unless absolutely necessary. But Bella could blame him anytime, anywhere for almost losing the streak, as if it was nothing. When I worried about his health, buying him convenient breakfasts he liked, reminding him to exercise. He could accompany her to eat street food to celebrate her surviving a night shift. And the day I broke down most during my Ph.D. I found impurities in the lab petri dish that ruined two months of my effort. My emotions collapsed instantly. I couldn't help calling Liam. He hung up. Didn't even reply with a message. I thought he was busy. But actually that day, he was with Bella at her first concert. No disturbances allowed. Now I finally know, the impurities in the petri dish only ruined two months of my effort. But the impurities in my relationship with Liam ruined my eight years. Tears fell almost uncontrollably. New messages from two people suddenly synced on the computer screen. [Are you sure we won't celebrate together on your birthday?] [Next time.] [...] [Pat head.jpg] [Promise, we'll celebrate together next year.] [Yes sir, your wish is my command.] ... That thread started updating again. He sent me home after dinner~ Today we almost broke that layer of paper. I'm actually a guiding type of lover. I can make him realize his own heart, but it's not time yet... I still hope he can discover his feelings himself. Attached was a photo she took from the rearview mirror. Liam's hand was rubbing her head, the corner of his mouth slightly raised. [Read this three times, I can't stand you anymore! You have to chase! You're so excellent, why wait for a scumbag to realize his feelings? Isn't that letting him harm others? Promise me, chase him immediately!] [Exactly! OP is beautiful, educated, and successful. Why spoil his girlfriend? Must chase! No negotiation! If you don't chase, you're a dog!] [Start with emotion, stop at propriety. I advise OP to stop. Feelings are one thing, but humans have morals and shame lol.] [Keep it down. Is this something glorious? Some people are just cheap in private.] ... I sent Liam a message extremely calmly. [Can't come back.] [My birthday? Why didn't you accompany me last year and not this year either? Our Sophia is busy.] I turned off the phone, no more replies. Liam. From now on, every one of your birthdays will be without me. Busy or not, I won't be there.
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