To the Love of My Life

Steve Burton gazed at the delicate and tender smile on the girl’s face, his heart swaying. He gently nodded but before he could speak, Ruby Gregory looked at him with a somewhat uneasy expression and asked, “Steve, are you sure I don’t have an incurable illness?”

Perhaps it was due to her gentle and sweet smile that touched his heart. He showed unusual patience, nodded towards Ruby, and gave her an answer, “This is a normal physiological phenomenon for humans. It happens once a month.”

A normal physiological phenomenon?

Ruby’s worried heart finally settled down.

Steve looked at her relieved expression and felt himself relaxing. He raised his hand and touched her long hair, softly saying, “Let’s go.”

With that, he held Ruby’s hand and they started walking downstairs.

However, just after they had taken a few steps, Ruby suddenly turned her head, looking at Steve while asking, “Steve, do you also experience unstoppable bleeding like I did today, every month?”

Steve’s face instantly darkened. Abruptly, he let go of Ruby’s hand, quickened his pace, and soon put some distance between them.

Ruby pouted, jogging to catch up with Steve and once again taking his hand. She whispered, “You said it’s a normal physiological phenomenon for humans. Aren’t you human?”

Steve’s face grew colder, and he instinctively tried to pull his hand away.

Ruby tightened her grip on his hand.

Steve turned his head, looking at Ruby’s innocent face. His struggles gradually weakened, and he added, “It’s a normal physiological phenomenon for women.”

Ruby nodded her head in sudden realization and obediently stayed silent.

As they continued to walk hand in hand, Steve finally clasped Ruby’s hand back, looking straight ahead without turning. Out of the blue, he spoke in a clear, cold voice, “Ruby, if you have any problems in the future, you can come to me.”

Ruby made an “Eh?” sound.

Steve stopped walking, still holding her hand. He turned to face her directly.

In the early summer schoolyard, the trees were lush and buzzing with cicadas. The flowers in the flowerbeds bloomed brightly, with a flock of pigeons fluttering their wings and flying overhead.

Steve looked into Ruby’s eyes, filled with a gentle light. Unexpectedly, he explained what he had just said, “Didn’t you just ask me if you can come to me with any problem?”

“I said yes, you can come to me with any problem, and I will help you solve it.”

That day, the sky was exceptionally blue, and there was no wind at all.

That youthful statement was like a solemn promise, deeply engraved into Ruby’s heart.

So much so that when she first entered high school and faced danger, her first thought was of Steve.

Later, that thought became a habit that persisted until three years ago when she went to England, and the habit was finally broken.

Ruby slowly withdrew from those fairytale-like memories.

Fortunately, just before she fainted, she quickly turned her phone to silent and slipped it into her pocket. She moved her tied hands to the pocket and struggled to pull the phone out.

Although she couldn’t see anything, she was so familiar with her phone that she could easily take a screenshot and press the home button.

She had Steve’s number saved directly on her phone’s desktop.

Feeling the edge of her phone, she roughly estimated the position and clicked on it. Immediately, she heard a quiet beeping sound coming from the phone.

She wasn’t sure if she was pressing it correctly, but her heart was pounding anxiously. After a while, she heard Steve’s familiar cold voice coming from the phone, “What’s the matter?”

PS: The most beautiful thing about childhood sweethearts is the memories. Now that I’m older, I miss my youth and school days more and more. Today’s award goes to: Aperson°