Chapter 3

Sienna quickly stepped between us, smiling as she tried to ease the tension.

“Alright, stop arguing. Adrian already booked tickets to Buffalo. It’s supposed to be a surprise for you.”

I froze for a moment. I never expected Adrian to still remember that I once told him I wanted to see the falls.

But now, I could not feel even the slightest trace of excitement.

“I’m not going. You two can go instead.”

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Adrian frowned at me, his voice turning cold.

“Elena, how long are you going to keep this up?”

He turned around and walked away, clearly convinced that I would chase after him and coax him like I always did.

But I did not care. My eyes returned to the computer screen.

There were only five minutes left before the final match ended.

Just as my future self had told me, Argentina and France were tied 3–3, and everyone’s attention was now fixed on the penalty shootout.

My hands trembled as I took the betting slip out of my pocket and placed it on the table.

Five minutes later, Argentina scored the decisive penalty and secured the victory.

Five thousand dollars. At two-thousand-to-one odds, I won a total of ten million dollars.

After setting aside enough money for my tuition and living expenses, I immediately contacted my stockbroker and invested the remaining funds in Nexa Tech stock.

It took me two days to finish everything.

When I finally returned home, I unexpectedly ran into Adrian at the entrance.

I never imagined that he would be the one coming to make peace.

He walked toward me awkwardly and said, “Alright, Elena. You’ve been giving me the silent treatment for two days. Let’s just make up.”

“I canceled Sienna’s ticket. This trip will only be for the two of us.”

I looked up at him in surprise.

Adrian turned his face slightly and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

“I’ve thought it over. I admit I’ve been spending too much time with Sienna recently, and I understand why that made you uncomfortable. That was my fault.”

“We’ve never been apart before. These past two days without you just felt strange.”

He let out a resigned sigh.

“I guess you really do have me wrapped around your finger. Fine, anyway, we’re going to the same university, so we won’t have to be separated in the future.”

I took a step back and looked at him coldly.

“What about Sienna? Didn’t you make plans with her too?”

Perhaps my tone was colder than he expected.

Adrian paused for a moment before instinctively replying,

“What does that matter? She’s your sister. It’s only natural that she comes with us.”

I said nothing more.

At that moment, I suddenly felt as if the childhood sweetheart I had loved for so many years had somehow become someone I no longer recognized.

He was no longer worth staying for, not even for a moment.

A week later, my classmates began receiving their college acceptance letters one after another.

I was also officially accepted by Harvard University.

Looking at the acceptance letter in my inbox, I thought of the old, worn-out version of myself from the future, and my eyes slowly turned red.

Thankfully, this time, I had changed everything.

Just then, after a long silence, Adrian called me.

“Are you feeling better now? You should have received your California Institute of Technology acceptance letter too, right? We’re still going to college together.”

I frowned slightly and replied,

“Who told you I was going to California Institute of Technology?”