Chapter 840 She Saved My Life
Chapter 840 She Saved My Life
Right before Michelle sent the message, she hesitated.
Sometimes seeing something didn't necessarily mean it was the truth. Case in point, when she had seen Leon and Valerie come out of a hotel together, she had misunderstood the situation.
She had been too hurt to ask Leon about it, and as a result, they had been separated for three long years.
Michelle sighed. It was such a pity that they had wasted three years.
Lydia had been in secret love with Austin for three years when they were in college, and they had been together as a couple the three years following college.
Six years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Michelle deleted the message she typed out and started composing a different text.
"Lydia, I think you should go to Austin and ask about his relationship with that girl," she texted.
A moment later, Lydia replied, "I have no right to ask him."
"You're his girlfriend now, of course you have the right."
Lydia didn't reply immediately this time. Michelle kept glancing at her phone, checking to see if she responded. At some point, Adams had to caution her. "Don't play with your phone while you're walking. Your mother and I are busy shopping, we can't keep an eye on you 24/7."
"You might bump into someone," Elaine added.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Michelle said, raising her head to look at her parents. "I'm just chatting with Lydia."
Elaine wanted to protest, but Tim cut in and said, "I'll keep an eye on her."
Elaine shook her head helplessly. "Okay."
The following day was the New Year's Eve. The street was crowded and noisy. Endless sounds of talking, walking, and selling bombarded passers-by. However, Michelle's attention was focused solely on her phone.
Following her silently, Tim kept an eye on her, making sure she wouldn't run into somebody or make a wrong turn.
He occasionally spoke up, reminding her to slow down or speed up.
Like a robot that operated on command, Michelle obediently slowed down or sped up, whichever was required of her at that moment.
About two or three minutes later, Lydia finally replied.
"I might be Austin's girlfriend, but just nominally. Haven't I told you that? There were a lot of girls pursuing him. I saw that he was getting a little impatient about it, so I suggested I become his girlfriend to make those girls back off.
That's it."
The last sentence was so full of helplessness and pain, just like her relationship with Austin.
Michelle sighed.
Lydia sent another message. "In other people's eyes, we are a couple. But I know we aren't in real life, so I try to act like a good friend instead. I never ask inappropriate questions, and I never act jealous in front of him. Sometimes, I even have to joke about how he'd look good with another girl.
It's painful, but I chose this life.
Am I a masochist?
It's all so...overwhelming."
Michelle understood this feeling, but she didn't know what words would comfort her heartbroken friend. Instead, she sent a hugging emoji.
Lydia replied with the same emoji.
"If that's the case, can't you ask him if he has a crush on anyone—as a friend? If he says yes, you can ask who she is.
If you feel embarrassed and don't want to ask, how about I ask him for you?" Michelle texted.
After a while, Lydia replied, "Okay! Go and ask!"
Michelle stared at her phone incredulously. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
'Well, I guess I'm just going to ask him, ' she thought to herself.
Just as Michelle raised her head, she almost ran into a passer-by who was waving goodbye to his friend. Before she knew what was happening, a long arm reached out and pulled her to his side.
Her foot accidentally tripped the passer-by, causing him to stagger. Fortunately, he was a reasonable person and he quickly bowed and apologized.
Michelle smiled guiltily and bowed at the person as well.
Only then did she realize that the person who saved her was none other than Tim.
She looked up at him in a daze, his arm draped across her shoulder protectively.
The passers-by on the road didn't think it strange at all.
With Michelle as tall as Tim's underarm, they all just thought they were a couple with the cutest height difference.
Tim enjoyed the moment thoroughly, but Michelle felt the opposite. She awkwardly shook off his arm and thanked him under her breath.
Tim's arm froze in the air for a second. He felt a cold wind blow where Michelle's warm body had been just now.
He slowly put his arm down and said, against his will, that there was no need to thank him. However, as soon as he said that, he regretted it. Perhaps he could get something in return.
Tim never considered himself a gentleman, so he paused for a while before asking, "How about you stay up late on New Year's Eve with me?"
Michelle looked at him confusedly.
"Consider it your way of thanking me," Tim continued.
'Didn't he just say that I didn't need to thank him?' If it was Nina or James or any of her other friends, she would've said this out loud.
But the person in front of her was Tim, and they weren't that close, so she had no choice but to nod awkwardly.
There was a few hours of time difference between C Island and Lexingport City, so she knew she would still be able to keep Leon company, even if she did stay up late on New Year's Eve with Tim.
On New Year's Eve, Elaine and Michelle were bustling about the kitchen, preparing dinner. Adams and Tim, on the other hand, were hanging red lanterns at the door. The house was filled with the festival atmosphere.
Over dinner, Adams and Tim drank a lot. Michelle had two glasses of wine. Elaine, however, said she was better at pouring wine than drinking it.
At some point, Tim became very talkative. He had been a mercenary for many years. During that time, he met lots of people. He shared about his life a little more freely. Michelle was somewhat surprised to see him so sociable.
No matter what Adams asked, Tim would answer.
Last year, Michelle's grandparents came over to celebrate New Year's Eve with them. Adams also downed a couple of glasses with his father-in-law, but the old man was too old and didn't enjoy drinking anymore.
Now that Tim was there, Adams was having a lot of fun, drinking to his heart's content. They kept cheering to glasses of wine, and he smiled more than usual.
By the time Adams was drunk, he slapped one hand on Tim's shoulder and bluntly asked, "You like my daughter, right?"
Michelle froze.
She heard from Leon that Tim liked her, but she had never heard it from Tim himself. She held her breath, curious yet also worried as to whether Tim would say "yes."
If he admitted that he liked her, she would be too embarrassed to even look him in the eye.
She never liked it when friends around her started seeing her a different way. In her eyes, this would tarnish the friendship.
Glancing at Michelle briefly, Tim only said, "She saved my life."
The three of them all looked at him in surprise.
Michelle was clueless. It was obvious that she had no recollection of saving him. This only made Tim feel gloomy.
"Three years ago, I was injured in BL Alley one night. I fell beside a trash. It was Michelle who took care of my wound and lured away the people who were looking for me."
"BL Alley?" It finally dawned on Michelle. She covered her mouth in shock and said, "It's you!"
She remembered.
"It's me," Tim murmured, smiling slightly.