Chapter 1

I forwarded the post to Lu Yan.

“We’re done. I’m stepping aside so you two can make up for ten years of missed chances.”

Then I blocked him.

It felt as though a huge weight had lifted from my chest.

When I accepted Lu Yan yesterday, his eyes had gone wide with disbelief. I hadn’t missed the fleeting trace of regret that followed.

He hadn’t seemed all that happy that I’d said yes.

But the next moment, delight lit up his face. He took my hand and pulled me into a tight embrace.

My entire body went rigid. Gritting my teeth, I tried to talk myself into it.

I’d agreed of my own free will. I could at least give it a try. Maybe I’d come to like him eventually.

The instant I opened my eyes the next morning, however, one thought filled my head.

I wanted to break up…

While condemning myself for being a terrible woman, I searched a lifestyle app for ways to subtly break up with a boyfriend I’d been dating for one day.

Before long, an assortment of other posts distracted me, and I forgot why I’d opened the app in the first place.

One post had ten thousand likes. Everyone in the comments was mourning the tragedy of a ten-year crush.

I glanced at the poster’s profile picture, and my heart skipped a beat.

I switched to WeChat. Lu Yan’s profile picture was his Samoyed. He’d once sent me an illustration of the dog that his childhood sweetheart had commissioned.

He had joked at the time, “Zheng Ziyu loves doing this kind of fancy stuff. I don’t think it’s as good as your art.”

I’d been busy then. I gave it a cursory look and didn’t reply, and he soon changed the subject.

The illustration had warm colors. I remembered it.

It was identical to the poster’s profile picture.

Suspicion stirring, I checked the IP location and tapped on the pinned reply.

The account had no posts, but its saved items were all restaurants Lu Yan had recommended to me before.

I stared blankly for a moment.

This was indeed the man who had become my boyfriend only yesterday.

And the woman who wrote the post was my boyfriend’s childhood sweetheart.

They had missed their chance and spent ten years nursing the wounds of youth. How heartbreaking.

As a kindhearted soul, how could I stand by and let such a tragedy unfold before my eyes?

Grinning from ear to ear, I left a comment.

[Oh my God, what a shame! You should’ve said something sooner. I’m already shipping you two.]

[But it’s not too late. I’ll dump him right now and give him back to you. Wishing you love forever!]

Once I’d blessed Zheng Ziyu and blocked Lu Yan, I crawled back into bed and went to sleep.

Regretting my decision to date him had kept me awake all night.

Now that there was nothing left weighing on my mind, I fell into a deep sleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

It felt as if I’d only just closed my eyes when the doorbell began ringing like mad.

My face blank and my temper simmering, I trudged to the entryway.

Through the peephole, I saw two people.

Lu Yan, frantic with worry.

Zheng Ziyu, crestfallen.

I checked my phone.

My inbox on the app had exploded.

The rubberneckers were multiplying by the minute.

An unknown number had sent me countless messages.

Every one of them was Lu Yan begging me to stay.

I raked an irritated hand through my hair.

What the hell were they doing?

After ten years of suffering, they should have been off somewhere making out. Why had they come here to mourn at my door?

The people outside gave up on the bell and started knocking. Lu Yan called, “Miaomiao, it isn’t what you think! You’re the only one I love.”

The moment he shouted my name, I could already imagine the strange looks my neighbor would give me next time we met.

Would he gossip behind my back?

“That’s her. The one whose suitor came begging at her door. Tsk, tsk.”

A chill raced down my spine. I flung open the door. “Shut up!”

Lu Yan’s eyes immediately brightened. “Miaomiao, I brought Zheng Ziyu so she could explain. There’s nothing between us. We’re only childhood friends.”

Eyes red and face pale, Zheng Ziyu gave a bitter smile and nodded. “That’s right. We’re only childhood friends.”

But my attention was elsewhere.

My godforsaken neighbor’s door had slowly opened a crack.