Chapter 9

Hidden behind the door, I was startled to hear Luciano's outburst.

Elen still had photos of us together!

How was that possible?

She hated me so much - surely she would have gotten rid of anything related to me.

Yet she still kept things about me on her phone!

I could hardly believe it.

What was she thinking?

Elen and I dated for over two years. In my memory, we had taken several photos together.

The most memorable one was from our high school graduation ceremony.

After taking the class graduation photo, many students, realizing we would part ways after three years of high school, were moved to tears and chose to take photos together as mementos.

Against this backdrop, Elen and I also took a photo together.

At that time, neither of us could have imagined what would happen later.

Looking at each other in that photo, we both treated it almost like a wedding photo, our hearts filled with sweetness.

We looked forward to the day we could exchange our school uniforms for a wedding dress and suit.

Unfortunately, that day would never come.

We parted ways before summer vacation even ended.

That photo became the swan song of our vows of eternal love.

I couldn't believe Elen still kept this photo until now!

And even stored it on her phone.

That was even more unbelievable to me.

Now that Luciano was Elen's boyfriend and knew about our relationship, seeing our photo on her phone naturally enraged him.

Hearing Luciano's words, Elen frowned and grabbed back her phone, saying: "You promised not to look at my phone!"

At this point Luciano didn't care what he had promised Elen, saying coldly:

"If I hadn't looked, I wouldn't have known you still keep this photo!"

"What is this supposed to mean? You're not over him? Or you want to rekindle things?"

"That man dumped you! Yet you still keep things related to him!"

"Where does this leave my face? If people found out about this, how could I face anyone?"

"Most importantly, Elen, you've never taken a photo with me even once!"

"What right does this man have to take photos with you? What right?!"

Hearing this, I finally understood why Luciano was so angry.

Elen had given me something she hadn't given him!

People resent inequality more than scarcity. Not just Luciano - any man would feel unbalanced and inevitably jealous.

But Luciano was foolish in this regard.

Didn't he know Elen and I were each other's first love?

Back then, experiencing first love, all we wanted was to give each other the best in the world.

Taking a photo together was nothing special.

Hadn't Luciano taken photos with his first love?

Yet he was making such a fuss about this!

I instantly realized Luciano wasn't just playing with Elen and being a scumbag - he was also incredibly narrow-minded.

"What, based on one photo, you conclude I want to rekindle things with him?"

"Why don't you think - if I wanted to rekindle things, why would I have told you when I met him at the hotpot restaurant?"

"I could have done it secretly. Even if I really did rekindle things with him someday, you wouldn't know."

Elen said calmly.

Luciano said: "I don't care what your attitude is, this photo cannot stay on your phone!"

Elen said: "Fine, if that's how it is, I'll destroy this photo."

Luciano was delighted.

But before he could speak, Elen continued: "But we're also finished."

The joy on Luciano's face instantly froze, his eyes showing a trace of panic as he said: "Ele, that's not what I meant."

I knew Elen's temperament too well.

This woman couldn't tolerate even a speck of sand in her eye.

Especially wrongful accusations - she would never swallow them quietly. If someone dared to throw dirt on her, Elen would turn on them immediately, no matter who they were.

Luciano saw a photo of Elen and me and thought he had caught her red-handed.

What he didn't know was that we were both people of our word.

Having broken up, how could we possibly get back together?

Luciano thought seeing a photo on Elen's phone meant he could accuse her of wanting to rekindle things with me, but didn't expect Elen wouldn't stand for it at all.

In her view, since Luciano wouldn't trust her, there was no point continuing with this man.

Luciano clearly didn't want to break up with Elen.

Hearing the hint of breaking up in her words, he immediately lost his composure. How dare he be jealous now?

He immediately softened his tone, apologizing: "Ele, you know I was just jealous. I don't want to break up with you."

Elen snorted without speaking.

From the day I met Elen, I found she was a very strong-willed woman.

This woman would never yield.

Whatever she did had to be on her own initiative - she would never simply follow others' commands.

Even with Luciano wanting her to delete the photo.

Elen wouldn't obey Luciano's words.

"Hmph, if you randomly suspect me again in the future, what I just said won't just be words," Elen said.

Then she opened her photo album, about to delete our photo.

Seeing this scene, I knew she had decided to move toward a new life.

If I were healthy, this scene would surely break my heart.

How could I want to see the woman I loved start a new life with another man?

That would be absolutely unacceptable to me.

But now I was a late-stage liver cancer patient.

I no longer had the right to desire Elen as mine.

She should move on to someone else - that was the right choice.

A dying person has no right to ask for others' care, much less love.

This was my deepest realization after getting sick.

"Sir, why are you here?"

"This is our phone store's warehouse. Outsiders, even customers, aren't allowed in here. Please leave."

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a phone store employee's voice suddenly came from behind me.

An employee carrying several phone boxes was standing behind me.

Seeing I wasn't store staff but just a customer, the employee immediately tried to drive me out from behind the door.

I had planned to leave after Elen and Luciano left.

I didn't expect to be thwarted by the phone store employee.

Seeing I was a customer and this was the warehouse, the employee seemed worried I might steal something. Without letting me explain or negotiate, they pulled me out from behind the door.

"It's you!"

"Why are you here?"

Luciano and Elen's attention was drawn by the employee's voice.

Looking closer and discovering it was me, their expressions instantly turned to surprise.