All Chapters of The Summer the Old Breeze Lingered: Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

19 Chapters

Chapter 11

Zoe was surprised to see Floyd behaving like that.Claire's crush on Floyd was common knowledge throughout the school. In the past, Zoe had felt the two were ill-suited for each other.But after discovering that Claire's foolish, incompetent persona was merely a shield to protect herself, Zoe couldn't help feeling a pang of sorrow for this pair of young souls who had ultimately passed each other by.Now Floyd's unraveled state said it all."She went abroad to study," Zoe explained. "She independently entered an international programming competition earlier, won an award, and submitted an application. The university made an exception and offered her a full undergraduate scholarship."Their only condition was that her matriculation exam score ranked in the top 10 statewide. When the results came out, they booked a flight for her. She should have already left the country yesterday."With those words, every shred of hope in Floyd's heart was brutally shattered. He stumbled backward,

Chapter 12

Truth be told, when they first met, Floyd didn't hate the bright, free-spirited girl.But Shirley kept whispering to him, telling stories of how Claire had supposedly tormented and bullied her since childhood.Only then did he gradually grow to despise Claire. He started to despise her vibrant spiritedness, viewing it as selfishness. He despised her bright energy, perceiving it as malice.It wasn't until yesterday that he finally understood. It had all been a lie.Claire's supposed incompetence was merely a shield to protect herself, while Shirley's so-called quiet, pitied innocence was nothing more than a façade.From start to finish, he had gotten everything wrong. He had mistaken a worthless bead for a pearl, all while grinding the genuine pearl beneath his feet, trampling it again and again....Floyd felt a sharp pain tear through his chest. Staring at Shirley, he forced out the words through gritted teeth."And what about earlier when you said Plimford Unversity didn't ad

Chapter 13

Across the ocean, Claire jolted awake from a nightmare.Her roommate rushed over in a panic. "Claire, are you okay?"Drenched in a cold sweat, Claire sat frozen for a long moment before coming back to her senses. She was no longer in Falconbury; she was on a college campus in Farrowdene."I'm fine," she smiled. "I just had a bad dream."She had dreamt of the days when she learned ballet as a young girl. She had loved ballet dearly back when she was little.During middle school, her academic performance was exceptional, and she had even won first place in a citywide ballet competition.But later, her mother passed away. Shirley and Kelly moved into her home, and Kelly sent both her and Shirley to ballet classes together.In that competition, Claire took first place, while Shirley didn't even make it to the finals. The next day during practice, she found a handful of thumbtacks stuffed inside her pointe shoes.Her toes were stabbed severely, and as she frantically tried to pull t

Chapter 14

Claire paused, only then realizing she was being hit on in a foreign country.The guy scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I know this might seem a bit forward, but you give me this inexplicably... familiar feeling. So, I really want to get to know you."If anyone else had said those words, Claire might have dismissed them as a cliché pick-up line. But the guy in front of her spoke with such utmost sincerity that she found herself believing him.Not only that, deep down, she shared his feelings. The guy gave her an indescribable sense of familiarity, too.So, after a pause, she nodded and exchanged numbers with him. After that, they exchanged names."Claire Walsh." The guy snapped his head up, staring at her in disbelief.Claire didn't notice since she was taking a phone call from a friend. She gave him a quick wave and hurried off.Standing rooted to the spot, the guy watched her receding figure, his fingers tightening around his phone. A long moment passed before

Chapter 15

The news struck Claire dumb.In her mind, her departure would be nothing more than an inconsequential detail to Floyd. At most, he would be surprised upon learning she had become the top scorer and then move on with his life.She never expected he would be searching everywhere for her."What is he looking for me for?" she asked with a frown.He wasn't looking to retaliate against her for reporting Shirley's drunk driving to the police, was he?"What do you think?" Hilda asked back, wishing she could crawl through the phone line right then and give her oblivious friend a tap on the head."He realized he's in love with you, obvious as day. Isn't that how all the dramas and novels go? Indifferent when you're around, only to realize you're a gem once you're gone, and then queue the frantic groveling arc."Claire chuckled at Hilda's theatricality. "No way. He doesn't like me.""How do you know he doesn't?" Hilda pressed. "He's always treated you differently."Claire remained calm a

Chapter 16

Seeing Claire's bewildered expression, Ethan let out a soft sigh and continued, "Fair enough. I did change my last name, after all. If Ross doesn't ring a bell... how about Murray?"Claire froze, then suddenly remembered something. "My neighbor, Ethan?"Back when her mother was still alive, a boy named Ethan Murray lived right next door. They were childhood friends who had grown up side by side, sharing a deep bond.Before she entered middle school, however, Ethan's family immigrated to Farrowdene.What followed was the onset of her worst nightmares. Phoebe passed away. Shirley and Kelly moved into the house.From that point on, laughter vanished from her world. Among the few cherished memories she clung to, the only warm chapter was when Phoebe was still alive and Ethan was living next door.Never in her wildest dreams did she expect the guy standing in front of her to be Ethan. She gaped at him, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "You... grew up int

Chapter 17

Claire's footsteps ground to a sudden halt. In the next instant, a shadow fell over her head.Looking up, she met the face that had once consumed her every thought—a face that now felt like a relic from a past life.It was none other than Floyd.Even though Hilda had already warned her over the phone that Floyd was searching the globe for her, Claire still never imagined he would show up here.The man standing before her was overwhelmed by a storm of emotions the moment his eyes landed on her. There was relief, excitement, and a surge of lingering anger.He was still angry about her leaving without saying a word. He was angry about her calm, almost detached attitude right now. Even more so that her first instinct upon seeing him was to turn around and run away.A thousand words lodged in his throat, ultimately dissolving into a line through his gritted teeth. "Claire, were you just trying to avoid me?"Claire paused, averting her eyes. "No. You misread the situation.""You're l

Chapter 18

Throughout this period, as Floyd searched high and low for Claire, he had finally come to terms with his true feelings.At first, he convinced himself it was merely an obsession. Later, he risked infuriating the Dean of Academic Affairs and even provoked his father into a furious outburst."What on earth are you looking for that girl for?"That was when the truth hit him like a lightning bolt. It was a wake-up call.Yes. Why had he been pursuing her so desperately, casting everything else aside? It wasn't just to explain or apologize.It was because he had fallen in love with Claire a long time ago—even before he saw Shirley's true colors. Even back when he was manipulated and constantly held prejudices against her, his heart had already been stirred.He had simply refused to admit it, deceiving himself into believing she was merely a convenient shield—a decoy to keep teachers from suspecting any romantic ties between him and Shirley.That was why he had hurt her with cruel, bit

Chapter 19

In a split second, too much happened all at once.When that bullet whizzed through the air, Ethan had already shielded Claire securely in his arms. At the same time, Floyd had thrown himself forward, intending to push her out of harm's way.Yet before he could even touch Claire, the bullet struck him in the center of his chest.Far off in the distance, standing behind the shrieking and scattering crowd, was none other than Shirley. Though it had only been a short time since they last saw her, she looked like a completely different person.The once-pretty girl was now disheveled. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face gaunt and sunken."Go to hell!" she rasped. "All of you!"She had truly lost her mind.Because she now had a criminal record, the school could no longer look the other way and had slapped a major disciplinary mark on her file.With that mark, forget Yewhaven Unversity—no university in the country would ever accept her. Her entire life had collapsed into ruin.Ultimatel

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