The Story Afterward(1)

Author: You San

Brandon slowly loosened his tie, approached me, and said in a deep voice, "How is a kid better than a man?"

Before he could touch me, William stopped him. "Old men are useless. They have just pretty faces. I suggest you be a bit more sensible."

Brandon smiled and looked at me. "You tell him. Am I useful?"

I stammered but was unable to get a proper word out. I waved at them and ran away.

1

Brandon Jones was my first crush.

When I was a freshman, he spoke on behalf of the students at the orientation party. I fell in love with Brandon at first sight and was completely head over heels for him ever since.

I was not the only one who fell in love with him that day, but I was the most obsessed.

I didn't date or skip classes in my four years at university, throwing myself instead into my studies just so I could catch up to him.

I had thought we would be like Noah and Allie, but Brandon didn't even know my name.

I joined the same club as him, and I summoned the courage to talk to him that day, but someone else beat me to it.

Brandon's girlfriend was also an outstanding senior from our school. Everyone teased her when she came to invite him for dinner. She smiled shyly and held onto Brandon's arm. She didn't put on any makeup and was naturally pretty, much more than me, even after I spent two hours carefully applying makeup. Her cheeks were slightly dusted pink, making her look more beautiful than the clouds in the evening sky.

At that moment, I realized how big the gap between us was.

She seemed to notice my gaze and smiled at me. I avoided her eyes and lowered my head to play with my phone. Later, she said that she would treat us to dinner to thank us for taking care of Brandon.

I didn't attend the dinner, but when I read everyone's messages in the group chat, I could imagine just how loving the couple was.

It was not as easy as I thought to give up, but it would be immoral of me to get in between them. I silently buried my feelings in my heart. After a long time, I was used to them showing off their love. I even felt that they were really a match made in heaven and sweeter than couples in idol dramas.

However, they broke up in the end.

His girlfriend went abroad, and Brandon graduated.

After that, he went back to school as the representative of graduates to give a speech. My roommate was the one who received him. When he gave the speech, I didn't dare to listen and squatted in the bushes at the back door of the auditorium to feed Ginger, a cat. I had developed a close bond with her throughout university and was planning to take her home with me once I found a place to stay.

A noise sounded beside the grass. Spooked, Ginger retreated. I turned around and saw Brandon standing there, smoking. This was the first time I saw him smoking. In midst of the white smoke, he stood tall and straight. We were quite far away from each other, and I couldn't see his expression clearly.

At that moment, he felt so close, yet so distant.

My legs were numb after squatting for a long time, and I almost fell when I stood up. He heard the sound and looked in my direction.

I grinned awkwardly. "Brandon."

Ginger was still meowing. I whispered to her, "Don't be afraid. Brandon won't hurt you." I walked toward him, and the wind brought the smell of smoke to my nostrils. I couldn't hold back my cough. He put out the cigarette. I greeted him, and he nodded at me and apologized.

It was the first time we had talked in four years.

2

After graduation, I went to work at Brandon's firm.

He climbed the corporate ladder while I remained a junior assistant. He was as dazzling as he was in college, or maybe I should say he was even more so now.

He completely shed the aura of an inexperienced young boy and matured into a charming man. Many girls in the company were attracted to him, but he never dated anyone. Everyone guessed that he had been greatly hurt by love, and he either still couldn't get over his first crush or didn't like girls.

When my colleague, Ashley Hall, told me about it, I blurted out, "Don't talk nonsense. He has had a girlfriend."

"Oh? How do you know that?"

Before I could figure out a good reason, she patted her forehead and said, "Oh, I almost forgot that you attended the same university as him. Mr. Jones must have been very popular when he was in university. Who was his girlfriend? Did you have any photos? Did she look good? Why did they break up?"

Ashley wanted to know all gossip, but I didn't answer her. I just said, "I don't know. I don't know them very well either."

In fact, Brandon had long forgotten who I was.

One time, at an after-work party, a colleague told him that we were university mates. He merely tossed me an indifferent glance.

I was so nervous that I grabbed the tablecloth with both hands and exchanged pleasantries with him. He was soon whisked off to drink with others, and we didn't even exchange contact numbers.

However, someone did add my number to his contact list that day.

He was a new intern at the company and also my junior at university.

When I got home, I received a notification that someone had messaged me. My heart was pounding, and my breathing became rapid. I tapped on the message and was immediately disappointed.

It was not Brandon. I didn't know what I was expecting.

"Hello, Noelle. I'm William Campbell."

I saved his number and chucked my phone aside.

3

I was aware that William had feelings for me, and I wasn't being full of myself. I met him in my third year at university. While I only had eyes for Brandon, he only had eyes for me. Sometimes, I would think about how similar and pathetic William and I were.

He confessed his love, but nothing came out of it. Yet, he continued to pester me. I was afraid that he would be as crazy as me, so I blocked his number.

I never expected that William would come to our firm for an internship.

At noon, he asked me if I wanted to have lunch together. He didn't ask me alone but also the colleagues around us. Everyone agreed because it had been a week since he joined, and they hadn't treated him to a meal yet. The leader waved his hand and said that he would treat the interns to lunch.

Brandon was also at the dining table, but as usual, he just ate without saying anything. William, on the other hand, amused our colleagues with his sweet talk. Jessica Larson, one of our colleagues, asked eagerly, "Hey, Will, do you have a girlfriend?"

William looked at me. I immediately lowered my head and stuffed my face with food. He smiled, shaking his head as he replied, "No, not yet."

Jessica sighed. "Why are all young people nowadays single? If they don't look for partners now, years later, they can only pick from the remaining options that nobody wanted."

I didn't know what William was thinking, but he suddenly turned to me and asked, "Are you single too, Noelle?"

There were not many young people present. Except for me, the others had either gotten married early or were always posting their couple pictures on Instagram.

I coughed. Before I could speak, Jessica answered for me, "Yes, she is. I even introduced her to some handsome young guys, but she didn't like any of them!"

William shot me an almost teasing look. "You have very high standards, Ella."

Everyone noticed it and looked very curious. Then, William added, "You don't have to trouble yourself, Jessica. I have a girl I like, and I'm currently pursuing her. She hasn't agreed to go out with me yet."

Someone asked, "What kind of girl is she? Is she beautiful?" William thought for a while and replied, "She's very beautiful. Unfortunately, she doesn't have good taste in men. I hope she can forget her first love soon and consider me."

He sounded just like a man who was head over heels in love. One of our colleagues immediately piped up, "One's first love is always a beautiful tragedy. You'll eventually forget her as time passes." Everyone then occupied him by asking questions about his crush. I was getting more and more restless and wanted to leave.

After lunch was finally over, Ashley was still feeling emotional about William's infatuation. I had to pretend that I didn't understand.

"Ella, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you think William is very loyal? People like him are so rare."

She talked so much that my ears were about to fall off, so I echoed casually, "Yeah, what a good man."

"Do you think so too, Noelle?"

I looked back and found that William was already standing behind me.

It was quite awkward. I could feel my face burning. My cheeks were definitely as red as a monkey's butt.

Ashley asked him what he was doing there, and he replied that Brandon wanted me to visit his office.

Brandon was looking for me?

My cheeks grew even redder, and my heartbeat sped up to the point where I could clearly hear each resounding beat. I was such a loser.