Liyami lay lazily on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the ceiling above. She looked extremely listless.
Lavinia couldn’t stand it anymore. She couldn’t help but say, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so listless? You’ve been lying there all day! The weather is so nice today, why don’t you go out and play?”
Faced with Lavinia’s question, Liyami seemed very weak. She slightly raised her hand and waved it, indicating she had no interest at all. After that, she turned over and buried her face in the gap of the sofa.
Seeing this, Lavinia’s eyelids twitched, but in the end, she just sighed softly and said nothing more.
There was a reason Liyami was so listless. Ever since she saw Eleanor’s persistence toward Kolin yesterday, a worry had been brewing in her heart. Even though Kolin had clarified yesterday that he and Eleanor didn’t have any so-called promise, Liyami was still afraid that Eleanor might actually end up with Kolin. Plus, from this morning onward, Kolin and Eleanor had both gone out and hadn’t returned yet, which only intensified her anxiety. That’s why she was so depressed.
But now, Liyami could only think about it. After all, it wasn’t her who went out with Kolin—it was Eleanor. She could only stay here and pray that Eleanor wouldn’t get her wish.
Although hoping for a friend’s failed confession was a bad thought, who could blame her? They liked the same person, after all. In matters like this, Liyami wouldn’t give in to a friend.
As Liyami buried her face in the sofa, silence fell around them again. This went on for a long time, until Lavinia finally got tired of flipping through the fashion magazine she had already read countless times.
She put down the magazine and prepared to talk to Liyami properly. She could have just left—after all, this was Liyami’s own problem and didn’t affect her. She could have gone out to play with Laura and the others.
But Lavinia chose to stay with Liyami. Not only because she didn’t want to see her friend in such a state, but also because she really didn’t want to be a third wheel around Laine and Xiaolan. Thinking about it, Lavinia had to admire Laura a little. After getting over the initial discomfort, Laura had completely stopped caring about those two lovebirds flaunting their affection. She just ignored them and played happily with them—something Lavinia found hard to do.
In any case, Lavinia finally decided to stay with Liyami and try to talk some sense into her. So here they were.
Seeing Liyami trying to burrow into the sofa crevice, Lavinia couldn’t help but hold her forehead and said with exasperation, “Is it really because of this morning? Because Kolin and Eleanor went out to play together? It’s not that big a deal. Hasn’t it happened many times before? You don’t need to worry so much, right?”
Hearing this, Liyami seemed to react a little. She turned her body and faced Lavinia again. Lavinia could now clearly see the worry that covered Liyami’s entire face.
“The past is the past, now is now! Haven’t you seen what Eleanor’s been doing lately? She’s been so proactive! What if, today, she confesses directly? What do I do then?”
Liyami’s concern wasn’t unfounded. Eleanor had been making more and more advances toward Kolin recently. Lavinia had noticed it too, and she understood that at this rate, Eleanor would confess either today or tomorrow.
But even so, Lavinia didn’t think it was a problem. She said to Liyami again, “What you said is true. Given the situation, Eleanor really might confess today.”
Hearing this, Liyami’s face fell. She looked at Lavinia with a tearful expression, her voice even a little choked.
“What then? What if Kolin actually… No!!!”
Compared to Liyami’s full-on worry, Lavinia remained calm.
“Don’t be so anxious. Sure, Eleanor might confess, but that doesn’t mean Kolin will accept her. From what I know, even if she confesses directly, Kolin probably won’t agree.”
Lavinia said this with confidence, and Liyami was a little affected by her certainty. She temporarily stopped her anxious fantasies and looked at Lavinia with hopeful eyes, asking softly, “R-really?”
After seeing Lavinia nod, Liyami finally cheered up a little, easing her worry.
‘That’s right. I should have some faith in myself and Kolin.’
Liyami encouraged herself internally. This was her first time falling in love as a woman, so it was natural for her to have all these uncharacteristically anxious thoughts.
After coming back to her senses, Liyami noticed a problem. She looked at Lavinia with a puzzled expression, wondering why she was so calm.
“How can you be so calm? I thought you liked Kolin too. Are you really that confident?”
At this question, Lavinia’s face stiffened for a moment but quickly recovered. She lowered her head, a trace of loneliness appearing on her face.
“About that… I’ve just faced reality. I’ve decided to withdraw from this battle. That’s why I’m so calm. After all, whichever of you two wins Kolin’s heart, it doesn’t matter to me anymore, right?”
Hearing Lavinia’s words, Liyami couldn’t help but say, “But didn’t you say before that you wouldn’t give up?”
Lavinia gently shook her head, her tone helpless and lonely. “Didn’t you just say it yourself? The past is the past, now is now! I did have a little confidence to say that before, but now I don’t even have that confidence left. If I don’t give up early, am I supposed to get hurt even more? I’m not a masochist, you know.”
After saying that, Lavinia suddenly changed the subject, pointing at Liyami.
“As for you, since I’ve withdrawn, this battle is now just between you and Eleanor. You need to work harder! Oh, and there’s Hifny too. But given the current situation, the battle will probably be over before she comes back.”
Hearing Lavinia’s encouragement, Liyami didn’t know what to say to comfort her. She really wasn’t good at consoling others, so she just mumbled a few words of agreement and fell silent again.
Just as Liyami thought it might be bad to stay silent after Lavinia had just declared she was completely out of the running, she heard someone enter the door.
Laine and Xiaolan had already told them they would go out for dinner together and would probably be back very late. As for Laura, no one knew where she was going, so maybe the person coming back now was her.
But there were other possibilities too. It could be Kolin, or Eleanor, or both of them together, or someone else entirely.
Liyami had no time to worry about Lavinia’s feelings anymore. She turned her head toward the door, and standing there was a tall, sturdy, somewhat handsome figure.
It was Kolin.