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Home / The Summer the Old Breeze Lingered / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of The Summer the Old Breeze Lingered: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

19 Chapters

Chapter 1

Everyone at Oakridge High had noticed that Claire Walsh, the notoriously boy-crazy airhead, had been acting a bit off lately.Before, she was all looks and no brains, spending every single day chasing after Floyd Sterling. While others were studying in the morning, she made breakfast for Floyd; while others were paying attention in class, she folded paper cranes for him; while others pounded through practice exam problems, she penned him love letters.But recently, she hadn't shown up outside Floyd's AP Honors classroom for days on end. Instead, she spent every waking moment holed up in the library, the first to arrive and the last to leave.On the day the matriculation exams finally ended, Claire bumped head-on into Floyd. Startled, she turned to walk away, only for the tall, lean boy to step right into her path, blocking her way."Claire," Floyd said, the golden light of the setting sun filtering over his cold, handsome features. "Are you dodging me?"Claire's fingers tightene

Chapter 2

Claire froze, looking up to see her phone lying on the desk behind her, unlocked.It immediately clicked that Floyd had gone through it.On Floyd's birthday last year, she had prepared 18 separate gifts, presenting them to him like prized treasures while waving her phone in the air."Floyd, these 18 gifts are to make up for the 18 birthdays I wasn't there for. I even changed my phone passcode to your birthday, hoping I can spend every birthday with you from now on."She had never imagined Floyd would go through her phone. A flare of irritation over her violated privacy rose inside her, but before she could speak a word, Shirley rushed over, her eyes rimmed red with tears."Claire, I know you don't like me, but no matter how much you hate me, you shouldn't have contacted the Plimford Unversity admissions office to slander me just to keep them from accepting me," she accused."What are you talking about?" Claire said, completely baffled. "They called me because..."Before she coul

Chapter 3

Claire froze as realization dawned on her.Floyd believed she had known all along that he would give her the button, so she had deliberately made a bet with Shirley just to torment her."I didn't," she said flatly.Yet the instant the words left her mouth, she caught herself. Why would Floyd ever believe her over Shirley anyway?After a pause, she simply opened her palm and offered calmly, "If you don't believe me, you can have the button back."Floyd stood rooted to the spot, unable to believe his ears. "What did you just say?"He still remembered the moment he had agreed to give her the button months ago—how her tear-stained face had burst into a triumphant smile as she skipped around him on the track, shouting, "Floyd Sterling, I'm about to win your heart."Yet now, she was agreeing to return the button without a second thought? Floyd's mind went blank. Interpreting his silence as dissatisfaction, Claire creased her brows."Still not enough? Do you want me to go run the laps

Chapter 4

With that single accusation, the expressions of everyone present turned subtle and mocking as they looked at Claire.Claire knew full well what Shirley was playing at, but clean hands needed no washing. Wanting no part in the drama, she tried to walk straight past them, only for Floyd to suddenly grab her wrist in a tight grip.Looking up, she met the boy's icy composure."Claire," he said, his voice dropping to a frigid low. "Are you really that desperate? Any man will do?"Claire froze on the spot, staring at Floyd in utter disbelief. She had thought that even if everyone else doubted her, Floyd never would.After all, for such a long time, her heart and mind had belonged solely to this bright, untarnished boy.She had believed that even if her warmth and love couldn't melt his heart, it would at least prove her sincerity. But as it turned out, her devoted pursuit had earned her nothing more than harsh mockery.Her thoughts drifted back to how fiercely Floyd had defended Shirl

Chapter 5

When she woke up, Claire was in the hospital.The curtain beside her hospital bed was drawn shut, but she could still hear Shirley crying on the other side. "Floyd, you were out of your mind back there. To save Claire, you almost got hit by that truck yourself!"Other classmates joined in with chiming voices."Yeah, Floyd. Don't tell us you've fallen for Claire? Why else would you risk your neck just to save her?"...Silence hung behind the curtain for a moment before Floyd's cold, detached voice rang out."You're overthinking it," he said. "I only saved Claire because we teased her with that button and misunderstood her today. I didn't want her to hold a grudge and cause trouble to ruin Shirley's admission to Yewhaven Unversity."A long silence followed before Shirley asked softly, "Is that really the only reason?""What else would it be?" Floyd's tone grew impatient. "Do you guys honestly think I'd fall for a useless, airheaded bimbo like Claire?"Those descriptors landed h

Chapter 6

Before Claire could even utter a word, the roommate beside them chimed in with righteous indignation, "I was wondering why you were being so generous all of a sudden, giving away a scarf you knitted so easily. Turns out, you dumped something on it!"Spill it! What did you sprinkle on this scarf when we weren't looking? Were you trying to hurt Shirley on purpose?"Faced with this barrage of accusations, Claire didn't rush to explain herself. Instead, she put down her packing box, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.The roommate grabbed her arm. "What are you doing? Don't play dumb and ignore us!"Claire finally raised her eyes, her expression completely calm. "I'm calling an ambulance. Since you're all so worried about Shirley, let's just have the paramedics come over and see what's actually on this scarf."Shirley's expression shifted instantly, and she quickly interjected in a panic, "I'm fine. It... was probably just too painful when it brushed against the open wound. I m

Chapter 7

Floyd downed the shot in one gulp, then set a glass of orange juice down in front of Claire."You drink this," he said flatly before going back to his seat.Claire's desk mate rushed over excitedly, lowering her voice. "What's going on? How did Floyd know you're allergic to alcohol? I didn't even know that."Claire drifted into thought. She remembered when she had first fallen genuinely for Floyd, terrified that he would think she was some bad girl who smoked and drank.She had trailed after him all the way to the library, whispering in his ear, "Floyd, don't judge me by my cover. I don't smoke or drink. In fact, I have a severe alcohol allergy. I can't drink a single drop."She remembered the sunlight tracing his handsome profile—cool, distant, and deeply focused. She had assumed he wasn't listening at all. Yet, to her surprise, he had remembered every detail.Claire took a quiet sip of her orange juice, an unexplainable sensation stirring in her chest. The party dragged on unt

Chapter 8

Floyd and his classmates were helping their teacher organize the graduation yearbooks.Suddenly, one of the boys let out a sharp cry and bolted to his feet."Holy crap!" he gasped. "Have you guys checked the announcement just posted on the school website? The headline says this year's statewide top scorer is from our school."Everyone snapped their heads up instantly. "Top scorer? Wouldn't that be Floyd?"They turned to look at Floyd in unison. "Floyd, didn't the teachers mention anything to you beforehand?"As everyone knew, the scores of the top 20 students statewide were locked in the system. And within their class, they had already compared notes earlier.Floyd was the only one whose scores had been locked.Floyd furrowed his brows. Although he didn't know his exact score or rank yet, based on the attitude of the university admissions officers who had reached out and the tone of his teachers, he felt he was likely in the top 5, but not the top scorer.If it wasn't him, who

Chapter 9

Floyd: [I'm applying to Yewhaven Unversity.]Although he had mentioned before that he had negotiated with the Yewhaven Unversity admissions office to accept both him and Shirley, anything could still change before the application deadline.With enrollment opening tonight, he wanted to make things crystal clear in case Claire would get confused and end up applying to Plimford Unversity instead, missing him completely.Then all her hard work would be a total waste. After all, her biggest wish in life had always been to attend the same university as him.Holding onto this thought, Floyd briefly set aside his pride and took the initiative to send Claire that message. He assumed that since he had extended the olive branch, no matter how upset she was, she would take the cue.One hour... Two hours... Three hours... had passed, but there was still no reply from Claire. Losing his patience, Floyd tossed his phone aside, turning it off altogether to go to sleep.Yet, even with his steady

Chapter 10

Floyd went rigid on the spot, unable to believe his ears. "What? Where did Claire go?"Marvin paused. "Abroad. She caught a flight to Farrowdene.""Going abroad?" Floyd's composure crumbled instantly. He grabbed Marvin in a vice-like grip. "What did she go to Farrowdene for? Is she traveling? On vacation?"Marvin blinked, even more bewildered. "She went to study, of course.""That's right!" Kelly chimed in, her tone dripping with blame. "That girl is unbelievable. Playing dumb all these years and fooling us was bad enough."Now after causing such a massive mess, she just patted her hands and walked away. All she left was a letter, saying she went to Farrowdene to study. She barely turned 18. Leaving just like that without even saying goodbye is utterly outrageous."In reality, they had been in the dark about Claire's plans to study abroad as well. From her university applications to packing her luggage, Claire had never intended to tell them a thing.It wasn't until Claire faile

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