Chapter 222
Out of habit, I took my phone over. I noticed a few missed calls, all from Colin.
I patted my forehead and wailed internally.
It had been almost an hour since I returned, but I forgot to inform him.
I felt a numbness on my scalp. I wanted to call Colin to let him know I had returned safely, but I was worried it might be too late. So, I quickly messaged him instead.
After Helen was done with her daily exercises, she stood by the window to drink some water and rest. In a doubtful tone, she said, “That man has been loitering downstairs for quite some time. He seems familiar. I wonder if he’s someone’s admirer.”
I leaned over and curiously took a look. Soon, I was stunned, and there was an inexplicable emotion rising in my heart.
Of course, he looked familiar. It was Colin.
Had he been standing there? Was he so anxious that he came over and waited for me downstairs because there had been no news from me?
My guilt deepened. Because of my negligence, Colin had come to look for me this late into the night.
He was under a tree, walking back and forth. He looked indescribably lonely under the night sky.
I quickly unlocked my phone screen and called Colin.
I was standing before the window, and I saw the phone in his right hand suddenly glowing. He had been holding his phone, waiting for me to tell him I was safe.
Even from upstairs, I could see that he repeatedly looked at his phone screen before answering the call.
“Lulu,” he called out in a deep and hoarse voice.
“Sorry, Colin. I’ve been back for a while. The smell of barbecue on me was quite strong, so I went to take a shower immediately after coming back and forgot to call you.”
Maybe I felt guilty, but I almost rushed to finish my words. Despite that, I still couldn’t hide my guilt.
+35 BONUS
Colin’s low laughter sounded. “Well, sleep well, then. Good night.”
I did sleep, just not well.
My recurring dream featured him waiting for me downstairs, causing a constant sense of guilt.
I was tormented by my guilt all night. The next day, I went to have breakfast with heavy dark circles under my eyes.
Helen accompanied me and ordered my favorite ravioli. Perhaps because of my poor sleep last night, I didn’t think that the ravioli tasted as good as usual.
When I arrived at the classroom, it was still early. I chose a spot to set my books down and took out my phone to pass the time. Soon, I found a Facebook post with a high number of likes.
The young college teacher who posted it had a good relationship with Colin. I became friends with him by chance.
It was a three–second video shot inside a car with a dark background, and the lights were constantly receding.
On the left side of the video, I could see a person’s profile with deep features and a mole at the corner of his right eye.
The video was captioned “Forge ahead” at 10:21 pm yesterday.
Although the man’s profile in the video wasn’t clear enough, I could still recognize him. It was Colin.
In other words, he had driven off after leaving my apartment. But I didn’t know his destination.
I wanted to call and ask him why he had gone out so late.
However, the lecture had already started. While I replayed the video several times, the classroom had almost filled up. Reluctantly, I put my phone away and focused on the lecture.