[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260322C9288E-197":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},197,10,"Chapter 10: The Last Bottle of Green Tea","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The fierce, unyielding Eden was coming for him. And this time, he wouldn’t be able to just leave her behind and walk away like he did all those years ago.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden had aced her entrance exams, placing first in the entire city, which earned her a spot at the prestigious City Academy. Standing before the red-lettered merit board posted outside the Municipal Board of Education, her eyes finally found the name she had been tethered to for three long years. Lucas Powell had placed second, just four points behind her. He was coming to City Academy, too.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A sharp, familiar ache bloomed in her chest. Tears welled up, spilling over before she could blink.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Patrick, her father, who had accompanied her to check the results, mistook her tears for sheer joy. He patted her shoulder, his voice thick with pride. \"You worked hard, kiddo.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She had worked hard. God, had she ever.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Lucas, do you have any idea?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This road was grueling. But it was worth it. Every sleepless night, every grueling practice session—it was all worth it because, finally, I’ll be able to see you again.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden wiped her face with a frantic, messy hand, her eyes locked onto his name once more. A watery smile curved her lips.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I took first place!\" Back at home, she sprawled across her bed, staring at the ceiling, playing out the scene in her head: how she would flaunt her victory in front of him. \"You lost to me this time, Lucas.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Throughout the summer, she’d enrolled in prep courses, spent hours refining her style, buying new clothes, and suppressing her volatile temper—all just to be the best version of herself when they finally collided.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The girl everyone saw as the perfect, untouchable Eden was willing to burn it all down just to be a little better for one person.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*It’s just to make him regret it,* she told herself.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When school started, she promised she’d confront him. Why did you leave without saying goodbye? She’d warn him—never do that again. Or, if it came down to it, she’d swallow her pride. She’d promise to stop being so difficult, to stop snapping at him. She just wanted to know which city he liked. Did he like Beijing? If he did, they could go to university there together.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was done with separations. Three years had been an eternity, a yawning chasm in her life that swallowed her joy and freedom whole. No one could fill that gap—only Lucas could.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was never going to lose him again. She refused to be this miserable anymore.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The day before registration, Eden arrived early to handle her dorm check-in. She lugged her suitcase from the house to the bus terminal and boarded the coach headed for the city center. It was only an hour and a half from F-County to the city, but it had taken her three years to make this trip.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">As she dragged her trunk through the gates of City Academy, a wave of unprecedented liberation washed over her. Every brick, every leaf, every tree on this campus looked radiant. Perhaps it was because this was a gateway to the future, and because he would be here, too. Everything felt infused with a new, strange magic.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden navigated the girls' dorm, following the room assignments posted in the lobby. Inside her assigned room, two girls were chatting while unpacking. They looked up, their faces lighting up with excitement.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Hi,\" Eden said, greeting them with polite, practiced distance.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">One of them, wearing a yellow sundress, tossed her belongings aside and practically sprinted over, grabbing Eden’s luggage. \"Oh my god! You’re the legendary Fairy!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden offered an awkward, tight-lipped smile.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’m Molly Lee,\" the girl chirped. \"You can call me 'Orange,' Fairy!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I'm Shelby Rivera.\" The other girl, dressed in an oversized black tee and distressed jeans with a sharp, pixie-cut bob, spoke with a cool, tomboyish confidence.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’m Eden,\" she replied.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Fairy, I’m younger than you, so I’ll just call you Eden-sis,\" Molly said with a grin.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Molly and Shelby lived in the city and were registered as day students; they would only be around during the day. After Shelby finished unpacking and headed home, Eden decided to hit the campus convenience store for toiletries. Molly looped her arm through Eden’s, insisting on tagging along.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Molly chattered the entire way, buzzing with energy and fishing for gossip about the \"campus celebrity.\" Eden responded with stiff smiles and monosyllables. She could never quite master the art of intimacy; being this close to someone felt like an invasion. Back in middle school, the boys who chased her had branded her as cold and arrogant because she didn't play their games. The girls weren't much better—they’d latch onto her arm after class, inviting her to gym or drills, but Eden could always sense the prying, the hunger to dissect her. Their company didn't cure her loneliness; it only made it more suffocating.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The extended Anderson family had never liked her parents, and by extension, they didn't like her. They saw her high marks and pretty face as nothing more than a shallow veneer, claiming she was emotionally stunted and ice-cold.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Only Lucas had been different. He was the only one who didn't care about her walls, the only one who loved to make her cry and tease her until she laughed. With him, she wasn't a stiff, frozen doll. She could be messy. She could be real.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The thought of him made her heart stutter. A cool evening breeze stirred her hair, pressing loose strands against her flushed cheek.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Inside the store, Molly began tossing snacks into her basket with wild abandon. \"I have a neighbor who's a freshman, too. He's coming tomorrow. Shelby and I went to junior high with him, and we’re all pretty tight. I’ll introduce you tomorrow!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Sure,\" Eden nodded.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Oh, look! Green tea!\" Molly shrieked with delight. \"My neighbor is obsessed with this brand. You can never find it anywhere, not even in the city shops. I have to grab some for him!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden looked, her eyes landing on the last bottle of green tea on the shelf. A flash of vertigo hit her. Instinctively, her hand shot out and snatched the bottle before Molly could reach it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Molly paused, blinking. \"Oh, Eden-sis, do you like this stuff too?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden stared at the plastic bottle, her expression softening into something genuine and hazy. \"Yes. I do.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"It's all yours, then!\" Molly laughed, waving it off.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Eden mumbled a quiet thanks and dropped it into her basket. At the register, she packed her items away but kept the bottle of tea in her hand, her fingers tracing the cold condensation.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"See you tomorrow, Eden-sis!\" Molly chirped as they parted ways outside.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"See you,\" Eden said. She turned and walked toward the dorm, the sunset painting the pavement in streaks of liquid gold. The heat of the dusk warmed her skin, and she pressed the cold bottle against her cheek, her lips curling into a secret smile.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She let her imagination run wild. What would Lucas look like now? His parents were tall; he must have shot up. Was he still that reckless, carefree brat who loved to stir up trouble? Would he look at her with that same flash of recognition in his dark eyes? Would he call her name as if no time had passed at all?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her heart hammered against her ribs, her palm damp against the bottle. She wasn't nervous—of course not. Eden told herself it was Lucas who should be nervous.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The fierce, unyielding Eden was coming for him. And this time, he wouldn't be able to just leave her behind and walk away.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272926301]