Chapter 18
Back then, Elliot was a real shrimp, he probably only reached up to her chin.
Elliot only shared a class with her for a semester, during which he didn’t do much more than call her ‘Tallie Julie.‘ It wasn’t until the day before he was leaving for abroad that Elliot suddenly asked Julie, “Tallie Julie, how about I treat you to ice cream tonight. and tell you how to win Kieran’s heart? Are you in?”
Julie didn’t give two shits about the ice cream, but winning Kieran’s heart was her master plan! Without thinking twice, she agreed and arranged to meet Elliot at the food street near their school gate.
At that time, Julie, a junior high school student, was only about fifteen or sixteen. She hadn’t expected Elliot to be a genuine scammer, the kind who tricked girls.
She still remembered that night; it was drizzling and they were sitting at a roadside kebab stall.
Julie eagerly asked Elliot, “Quick, tell me, how can I win over someone as aloof as Kerry?”
Elliot found Julie’s worried and anxious look kind of cute. After quietly observing her for a whole semester, Elliot knew that if he didn’t say certain things now, he might never get another chance. So, somehow, he ended up leaning in and gently kissing her lips. Then he seriously bullshitted her, “Boys never forget the girl who stole their first kiss.”
Julie, naive and innocent, was stunned for a moment. Before she could react, she saw Kieran, who just happened to be passing. by on his bike.
Upon realizing what happened, Julie slapped her forehead and looked at Kieran with an innocent and cute expression, “Kerry, it’s not what you think; let me explain…”
Before Julie could even finish her explanation, Kieran had already coolly walked away with his bike.
Julie turned back and glared at Elliot, pointing at his nose, “You’re done for, you’re done! Don’t you dare walk away from school tomorrow!” After saying this, she chased after Kieran with her short legs and stubbornly sat on the back of his bike, insisting on explaining to him. In the end, Kieran just ditched his bike altogether. So Julie hopped on Kieran’s bike and chased after him.
Looking back now, Kieran never really cared about the thing she desperately wanted to explain. She had spent half of her life in a one–sided love affair.
Anyway, Julie never managed to explain herself. The next day, she stormed off to school, ready to confront Elliot, only to find out
that Elliot had transferred schools.
As time went by, Julie slowly forgot about the whole incident; even Elliot’s face started to blur in her memory. Maybe it was just as Elliot had said, she probably didn’t remember anything that wasn’t about Kieran.
Remembering the past made Elliot seem a lot more familiar to Julie. Julie found it somewhat amusing to think about how nervous she was around Elliot last night.
She looked at Elliot naturally and said, “Your behavior last night was indeed a bit creepy. When we were in junior high, you were not even up to my chin, but now you’re a head taller than me, your voice has changed, and your face has improved, so it’s normal for me not to recognize you. By the way, I was planning to confront you at school back then. But then I found out you had already gone abroad.”
Elliot laughed because he had gone abroad; the affection he couldn’t express at that time was buried in the past.
As Julie spoke, she started laughing. Although her youthful sincerity was misplaced, looking back, it had a certain charm.
Elliot looked at Julie somewhat gloomily.
Julie laughed and said, “I didn’t expect you to recognize me; I’m quite flattered…”
Suddenly, Elliot bent down and pushed Julie’s loose hair behind her ear. His sculpted lips brushed past her earlobe, and from the side, it looked like he was kissing her.
He said, “Boys never forget the girl who stole their first kiss. When I said that back then, I meant it.”
Julie was taken aback and hadn’t thought of how to respond to Elliot. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man who was extremely familiar standing not far away.
