Chapter 7: Start Over Again

In the bar, the music was deafening and the lights flashed constantly.

Everywhere were young people dancing to the music, or couples making out in the dim lighting.

Adam sat in the best booth, surrounded by his friends who were each holding pretty girls, drinking loudly and making a ruckus - the scene was quite lively.

But Adam seemed oblivious to it all.

He kept holding his phone, staring at it intently. The screen was still on the message he'd sent to Emily.

He remembered that in the past, whenever he messaged Emily, she would always reply quickly, and might even call him directly.

She would either ask why he was working so late, or remind him to take care of himself.

A few times she'd even come straight to the office looking for him, and when she couldn't find him, she'd call him like crazy.

He used to really hate Emily's constant questioning. He had his own life, his own things to do - what right did Emily have to control him so much?

This time was no different.

He'd deliberately been out eating, drinking, and having fun with Vivian. He was sure Emily must have seen it.

Maybe she'd already gone to the office looking for him?

But even so, she should at least reply to his message or call to ask him about it.

Why had so much time passed without any word from her?

He unconsciously gripped his phone tighter. Adam suddenly felt irritated.

"Adam, what are you doing? Come have a drink!"

A friend nearby poured him a drink enthusiastically, urging him to come join the fun.

"Yeah, what's so interesting about that phone? Don't tell me Emily's nagging you to come home again?"

"Speaking of which, Emily really doesn't know how to have fun. Not only does she never come out with Adam, she won't even let Adam hang out. Every night if he's not home on time, she calls like crazy - so annoying!"

"Exactly! She can't compare to how sweet and understanding Vivian is."

Vivian smiled shyly, but from the corner of her eye she noticed Adam's lips pressed tight and his tense expression. Her heart skipped a beat.

Looking closer, she saw his phone screen was stopped on Emily's chat page.

Vivian's gaze darkened.

Meanwhile, Adam's memories were stirred up by his friends' words. Yeah, by now Emily should have come to nag him no matter what - why was there no reaction from her this time?

Something seemed to have slipped out of his control, leaving him with an unsettled emptiness and confusion.

And even a panic he didn't want to admit to.

He recalled Emily's cold look at the office, the way she looked at him as if he were just anyone else, her calm demeanor when they passed each other.

His heart tightened, and a strange panic filled his mind.

He gripped his phone and finally gave up resisting, preparing to message Emily.

"Sorry, sorry, Adam, are you okay?"

Suddenly, Vivian accidentally bumped into Adam, spilling her drink all over his phone screen.

Adam jumped up quickly. Vivian immediately grabbed tissues to help him wipe it off.

"It's fine, you didn't do it on purpose. Don't worry about it."

Adam turned off his phone and wiped it casually.

Right, why was he overthinking this?

The more he reached out first, the happier Emily would probably be, maybe even thinking he couldn't live without her.

He couldn't let Emily get too full of herself, and he definitely couldn't give in first. This wasn't his fault - why should he be the one to back down?

"It's all my fault. Take off your jacket and let me clean it for you."

Vivian said apologetically. Adam didn't think much of it and tossed his phone into his jacket pocket before taking it off.

"Come on, let's keep going! We're drinking till we drop!"

After thinking it through, Adam got into the spirit and started pouring drinks straight from the bottle.

"Adam, you should drink less."

Vivian advised him gently.

The others around them laughed and teased.

"Vivian, you're worried about him?"

"I'm so jealous of Adam."

"You guys are too much, always picking on Vivian."

Adam shot them a look and they quickly shut up, then laughingly pulled Adam into drinking more rounds without realizing it.

Vivian blushed shyly, but still deliberately took a tissue to wipe Adam's clothes, and in the process grabbed his phone and turned it off.

Looking at the now-black screen, Vivian's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

She was going to crush Emily completely, make Adam forget about Emily entirely, so she'd never have a chance to come back!

Meanwhile, Emily had finished packing everything.

She left behind all the things Adam had given her.

She planned to throw away their photos together - they were an eyesore. She selectively tossed other things too.

After all, she was going back to her old life. Some things, some people, were better left behind completely.

Not that there was much to leave behind - it was all in the past for her anyway.

Looking around this place where she'd lived for years, she felt no attachment whatsoever.

Maybe it was because her heart had been completely broken, and whatever good feelings she'd had were gradually worn away.

Emily shook her head lightly and took out her phone, preparing to say one last thing to Adam and put a perfect end to this relationship.

But unexpectedly, Adam hadn't sent her any more messages.

She was about to leave, and still had to face his half-hearted lies. How ridiculous.

"Adam, have you been playing me for a fool this whole time? Whatever. Since you like Vivian so much, I wish you both happiness forever."

Emily's face was full of mockery as she deleted and blocked Adam. Looking at her clean phone, she finally felt completely relieved.

Then she grabbed her luggage and went downstairs to catch a cab.

Watching the familiar house get smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, Emily finally had a real sense of saying goodbye to the past.

"Goodbye, Adam. I hope we never meet again."

Emily looked at the scenery flashing by outside the window, some familiar, some strange.

But one thing was clear - from now on, she would never come back.

Thinking about this, she felt incredibly relieved.

Like she'd finally dropped an incredibly heavy burden and regained her freedom.

...

At the airport.

Emily pulled her suitcase and successfully found her flight's check-in counter.

Emily handed over her documents, her voice calm.

"Hello, could you please check tonight's flights? I'd like to change my booking to a flight tonight."