Elise opened her mouth and wanted to stop him, but no words came out. Lifting the phone, she glanced at it and suddenly understood what was going on. From afar, she watched his back disappear into the endless night, and she sighed deeply. She didn’t realize when it had started, but she was actually connected to and able to feel the pain of this man. Just like now, even though there wasn’t any interaction, her spirit gradually fell glum as he walked further and further away. Previously, Alexander did mention that he hated being deceived the most, and she had stepped on his bottom line. Despite that, Elise didn’t think that it was such an unforgivable act that she tried to hide her identity in order to protect herself.
Furthermore, her identity as the interpreter happened after they met, but there was simply no suitable opportunity for her to come clean. After all, she couldn’t grab him suddenly and start pouring out to him all the skills she had learned since young. That would be similar to blowing her own trumpet; she couldn’t do it, and neither would she do such a thing. All of a sudden, she felt a vibration on her hand, and it was a notification from Alexander’s text messaging service. As he didn’t set up a lockscreen, she could see the list of messages by just lifting her hand. There were some from the company and also from the Griffith brothers. Staring at the screen of the phone, she burst into a giggle out of the blue and muttered to herself, “Looks like he trusts me a lot.”
A few seconds later, she gathered her emotions and kept the phone away in her backpack. As if nothing had happened, she paced toward the dorms. She had to admit that everything was very comfortable when both of them were together by themselves, and if she had to choose one person to spend the rest of her life with, that person would definitely be Alexander. But a relationship wasn’t something that would work purely by logical analysis. With different values and life experiences, there would be disagreements about the same topic. In the end, couples still split up because they had different views in life. Both Elise and Alexander weren’t ordinary people, and a relationship was just an extra accessory in their lives.
While they might have it, it was not a necessity to them. All she could guarantee was that he was a different existence to her compared to everyone else. As for being unreserved, nobody could really open up another’s heart to look into it. There was no need to sugarcoat something uncertain as the problem would always be there and wouldn’t disappear by pretending to be big-hearted. … The next day early morning, Elise was still nestled in her bedsheets when she was awakened by her monitor, who had woken up before her. “Elise, Professor Merlin from the Math Faculty is waiting for you downstairs.” “Oh, I got it. Thanks.” In a daze, Elise climbed out of bed and put on a jacket before trotting off downstairs.
Right after she reached downstairs, she saw from afar that Professor Merlin was standing at the entrance of the dorms with his back facing her. Quickening her steps, she jogged over. “Professor Merlin, why are you looking for me so early in the morning?” The cold wind wheezed past her neck, sending a shiver through her body, and she quickly tightened the jacket around herself. Autumns in Tissote were always like this—cold in the morning and evening, which would cause one to have a cold and fever if they were not careful. The delight on Professor Merlin’s face was beyond words. “Elise, I guess you already know that you’ve passed the pre-trial stage, right?” Elise pressed her lips together and said, “I know a little about it. It’s all thanks to your guidance.”
“Hey, the most important thing in mathematics research is to seek truth from the facts, and you should graciously acknowledge the honor which belongs to you. There’s no need to be so humble about it,” he said, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose. Despite what he said, he felt a trace of comfort at Elise’s humility. Flattery was not a thing Elise was accustomed to, and she smiled along awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Fortunately, Professor Merlin had a straightforward personality, and he immediately told her the purpose of his visit. “I wanted to tell you that there will be a mathematics field award ceremony tonight. Get ready and come with me to expand your network.”
After years of focusing on mathematics, Professor Merlin knew the various benefits of socializing. Despite his interest, there was only so much to his talent. However, it was different with Elise because he could see the endless possibilities of the country’s mathematics field in her. For the passion in his heart, he would spare no effort to overcome all difficulties and open up the path for Elise. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Elise, who had little interest in parties and socializing, quickly found an excuse to turn it down. “Those who could attend the ceremony are scholars like you, who have made great contributions to mathematics research. An unknown student like me is not qualified to sit at the same table with the other professors.”
On the other hand, Professor Merlin merely thought that she was being polite and waved his hand, gesturing to her that he would take care of everything. “You don’t have to worry about this and just come along. I assure you that no one would dare to stop you.” Pausing, he raised two fingers and swayed it in front of Elise. “Now, your name is more famous than mine in the mathematics field,” he said with a hint of pride. Since he had said that, Elise couldn’t turn him down anymore and accepted it sullenly. In the evening, she picked out and changed into a relatively simple white dress, getting ready for the ceremony. Before she left her place, the phone in her backpack kept ringing. Following the sound of the ringing, she fished out the phone and saw that the screen of Alexander’s phone was turned on.
It was then she remembered that he didn’t even tell her when he would come and pick it up. As it was Danny who was calling, Elise thought there might be something important and picked up the call. “Hello?” Just from one word, Danny was able to recognize her voice. “Boss? Isn’t this Alexander’s phone? Why are you the one who’s picking it up? Are you guys together?” After letting out a knowing ‘oh’, he turned gossipy. “Could it be that… both of you spent the night together last night and went all the way? Did you? Am I going to have a nephew soon? Goodness! No, I would like it if it’s a niece as well…” Dumbfounded, Elise was speechless as well as helpless. This guy has such a rich imagination. Without even flinching, she shattered his dreams indifferently. “You’re overthinking. The truth is, Alex left his phone with me.
If you’re so free, then come over and pick it up for him.” In an instant, Danny was disheartened. Damn, there goes my baby niece. Lifelessly, he groaned, “You have no idea what it’s like to be single now that you’re in a relationship. I’m still single while both of you are already a pair. If I don’t race against time, how will I find the one for me? Moreover, I’m not a messenger, and both of you are meeting everyday since you’re still in the heat of a relationship. Just pass it to Alex when he comes to visit you on campus.” As Elise had no idea how to explain the problem between herself and Alexander to him, she suddenly slipped into silence.
It was fine if he didn’t bring it up, but now that he did, she suddenly felt that there was a hole in her heart, as though she was missing a piece. Both of them had indeed spent too much time together recently, and that was why she couldn’t really get used to it when they didn’t contact or see each other after such a long time. Am I getting used to the feeling of having him by my side? she wondered. Since she wasn’t sure and neither was she in a rush to find out, she said something perfunctory and hung up quickly. “Okay, then. I’ll do it myself. Alright, I’m hanging up now.”
Then, she quickly ended the call. On the other end, Danny glanced at his phone and saw that it had already returned to his contact list page. Recalling Elise’s resolute attitude when she hung up earlier, he somehow felt that there was something odd about it. I didn’t even tell her why I called, and she hung up just like that, as though she didn’t want to speak about Alex, he thought. One is missing in action—not picking up his calls or answering to his messages—while the other is acting dodgy and hiding herself. Is this couple dancing to the same tune?
