Chapter 4

Christian's POV

I met Giselle's gaze as calmly as I could. "That's none of your business."

Her hand froze midair.

When I was ten, I was practically attached to her. If she went to play tennis, I would sit on the sidelines, hugging her water bottle. If she went to the library, I would sit across from her, flipping through picture books.

I told her everything, and she was always the first person to find out about things in my life—when I got a perfect score, when a teacher praised me, or when I spotted a cute orange tabby on the street.

She was someone I would rush home just to talk to.

At that time, I had told her, "From now on, you'll know everything about my life."

She hadn't even looked up, but I knew her lips had curved into the faintest smile. "Sure."

Later, after I grew up, I realized that I was probably nothing more than an annoying tagalong to Giselle. Now that the tagalong had finally left on its own, she wasn't used to it.

After the meal, Giselle stopped me outside the restaurant. "Christian, what is going on with you?"

I turned around, my tone flat. "Nothing. Just realized how childish I was when I was younger."

She let out an annoyed huff and strode away without another word.

Since then, Giselle never took the initiative to speak to me again. We slipped right back into our silent standoff. And honestly, I didn't mind.

Summer vacation flew by. Every day, I slept until I woke up naturally, watched a movie after getting out of bed, and occasionally worked on my study-abroad applications.

My days were surprisingly peaceful and fulfilling.

Spencer, on the other hand, updated his social media almost every day.

Sometimes, it was a candid photo of Giselle staring out the window at a milkshake shop. Sometimes, it was a picture of two movie tickets side by side.

"Finally dragged the top student out for some fresh air," he wrote in the caption.

Once, he posted a mirror selfie. The focus was on him, but I couldn't help but notice Giselle in the background.

I stared at his posts for a while before an email notification popped up on my screen. My study-abroad application had been approved!

I looked at the acceptance email and smiled for a long time.

The day the exam results were released, the class group chat exploded.

"Wait, what? Giselle ranked first in the class? The eternal runner-up finally took the top spot!"

"What about Christian? Where did he place? He's never lost first place before."

"Guys, stop asking. He missed one of the exams…"

I was just about to keep reading when a message from Giselle popped up. It was the first time she had contacted me all summer. The message was brief.

"We're going back to school to visit the teachers tomorrow. You coming?"

I replied, "Sure."

The following day, Spencer trailed behind Giselle as always. It was as if he had taken my place, becoming her new tagalong.

Our homeroom teacher was thrilled to see us. She beamed from ear to ear as she pulled us over to introduce us to the younger students.

By the time we left the office, the afternoon sun was blazing.

When we arrived at the school's honor roll, Spencer suddenly stopped. Starting from the top, he slowly traced the rankings with his finger as he read them aloud.

"Wow. Hannah Miller, first in the grade. That's amazing… You crushed it this time, too, Giselle. Oh, look. Someone else from our class also made the list…"

His finger slowly slid to the bottom. "There you are, Christian. You know, it's not a big deal, even if you didn't do well. Getting into community college isn't so bad."

He smiled with what looked like genuine concern.

I looked him straight in the eye and coldly asked, "Why do you care?"

Giselle stepped forward, placing herself in front of Spencer. I caught the faint trace of reproach in her eyes. "That's enough."

I shifted my gaze to her, the very same person who had once promised to protect me, but was now standing in front of someone else.

"Okay," I said, then turned around and walked toward the school gates.

Giselle reached out and tried to grab me, but I pulled free.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out behind us. Several younger students gathered around the bulletin board and gasped under their breath.

"Guys, look! There's another list over here!"

"Oh, my gosh. Isn't that the senior from earlier?"

"Full scholarship… and he's studying abroad with Hannah Miller!"