My Manor

"Uh, do you really want to hear it?" Seeing Selena, who had been somewhat lifeless earlier, suddenly so interested in his past, Jiang Hai was momentarily stunned. He wondered why she was so curious.

In reality, Jiang Hai didn't have any love stories to share. After graduating from college, he was a homebody and focused on work, so he didn't have a girlfriend. Later, when his circumstances improved and he wanted to make friends, his parents ran into trouble, leaving him with no time for relationships. Then, he married Qi Li in a daze, and everyone knew what happened next.

So, in essence, Jiang Hai never really had a girlfriend. When he mentioned it earlier, he was doing so to save face and to comfort Selena. He didn't expect her to still be interested.

Confused by her words, Jiang Hai quickly gathered his thoughts.

"Yes, can you tell me? We're friends, and friends should talk about things friends talk about," Selena said seriously, setting aside the unhappiness from the previous night.

"Well, okay, I'll tell you." Seeing Selena's eager expression, Jiang Hai organized his words.

"I remember it was a long time ago. I fell in love with a girl. We met, fell in love, and when we kissed for the first time, just a second before the kiss, she suddenly said, 'Wait a minute!'" Jiang Hai began slowly, meeting her serious gaze. Selena listened carefully, but she didn't understand why the girl would stop the kiss.

"I was very confused at the time. I thought if she didn't want to, she could just push me away. So I was wondering what was going on. Then, she took out three hard candies from her pocket. They were the kind of candies kids love: one strawberry-flavored, one apple-flavored, and one lychee-flavored. She asked me which one I liked. I pointed at the lychee one. Before I could ask her why, she ate the candy and pulled me into the kiss. The whole thing tasted like lychee." Jiang Hai glanced at Selena, who was still listening intently.

"What does this mean?" Selena interrupted, confused by his story.

Jiang Hai nodded, recalling his own confusion at the time. "Yes, I was curious too. After the kiss, I asked her what that was about. She told me that life is so long, and she didn't have the confidence to stay with me forever. She could only make me remember her through the taste of lychee. In the future, whenever I ate lychee-flavored things, I'd think of her."

"Wow, that's a really good idea." Selena said seriously after hearing his explanation.

"Yes, but after graduation, she moved to another city, and we lost contact. Later, I got married, but my marriage wasn't happy. Time didn't heal things. One day, I finally earned enough money to leave the country, but before I left, I couldn't suppress my feelings. I decided to find her." Jiang Hai looked out the window, lost in thought.

"You should have gone to find her. That's a beautiful love story. Did you find her?" Selena asked, her voice softening as she seemed to get lost in the story herself. Though she didn't like Jiang Hai, hearing about his romantic past stirred something in her heart.

"I searched for a long time, asking people everywhere. Eventually, I learned that after graduation, she moved to another city, got a good job, quit a few years later, and opened a candy store. She worked hard and made a living. I even found the location of her store. I went there, wearing my favorite clothes and bringing her flowers. I finally found her!" Jiang Hai's voice was steady, though his expression remained distant, as if afraid to move too much.

Selena listened, engrossed in the story.

"When I saw her, the first thing she said was, 'Do you remember the taste of lychee candy?' With tears in her eyes, she told me she'd never forgotten it, that's why she opened the candy store. Hearing this, I was so moved that I almost cried. I asked her if we could start over again, but she shook her head. She said, 'We loved each other, but we can never go back.'"

At that, Selena's eyes welled up with emotion, though a strange sense of relief washed over her as well.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know this story would end like that." Selena whispered, her heart softening as she realized the depth of Jiang Hai's past.

"No, you don't have to apologize. Even though she didn't accept me, I'm not sad at all." Jiang Hai interrupted her, shaking his head.

"Not sad?" Selena was surprised. "Is it because you see that she's happy?"

Jiang Hai glanced at her, and for a moment, Selena thought she saw something in his eyes. She had assumed he was holding back tears, but now she wasn't so sure.

"No, I'm really not sad at all. Because…" Jiang Hai paused for a moment, his voice taking on a mischievous tone, "I made up the whole story. Looks like it's going to rain."

"You bastard!" Selena punched Jiang Hai's arm with all her might, furious at his joke.

Jiang Hai winced, holding up his hands defensively. "Hey, hey, hey, you're going to kill me." He chuckled, knowing he had just made up the story—there was no way he was going to tell her the truth about his nonexistent love life.

"You bastard," Selena muttered, still upset but secretly amused. "I thought I was listening to your heartbreaking love story, but it was all a lie."

"Come on, I don't have a girlfriend or anything like that. If it weren't for some family issues, I'd probably still be a single guy." Jiang Hai laughed, poking fun at himself. But seeing Selena's expression lighten, he could tell she was in a better mood.

At that moment, the car started moving again, crossing the bridge.

The atmosphere in the car was no longer as tense as before.

"Single dog, huh? Well, I'm a single dog too," Selena sighed, looking out at the dark clouds. She felt a pang of loneliness sometimes.

"I have a solution," Jiang Hai said with a grin, trying to lighten the mood again. "An old dog like me has a trick for dealing with being single."

"Really?" Selena turned to him, curious.

"If you're lonely, find a small room, turn off the lights, and watch a horror movie," Jiang Hai said seriously.

"Why would I do that? Aren't you afraid?" Selena raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Afraid? No, so you'll feel like you're not alone in the room after a while…" Jiang Hai's mischievous grin said it all, and sure enough, Selena jumped to her feet, hitting him with playful fists.

She was laughing now, but her hand hurt from the force of the punch, and Jiang Hai, unaffected, chuckled in return.

"You have a sweet mouth, don't you? Tell me, have you used this trick on other women?" Selena asked, her face serious, though there was a glint of amusement in her eyes. As a woman, she knew a good sense of humor when she saw one.

Jiang Hai raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don't say that. I'm still a C-grade man."

"Ha! Don't think I don't know," Selena teased, her eyes narrowing. "Yesterday, when we got into the car, there were two girls in it."

Jiang Hai shrugged. "I just talked to them about life and ideals, it doesn't count."

"They don't count? Well, I didn't see it, so you can still lie. What about me?" Selena smirked, poking his arm.

Jiang Hai was caught off guard, and though he tried to deflect, Selena wasn't about to let him off the hook.

"You're still not married," Jiang Hai teased.

Selena looked at him in disbelief, playfully raising a fist. "Your shamelessness is infuriating. I really want to kick you out of the car!"

"Kick me out, and who's going to drive?" Jiang Hai laughed, enjoying the banter.

"I can drive!" Selena snapped, her face flushed with frustration.

"I'm not saying you can't, I'm just saying you're short." Jiang Hai took in Selena's height, teasing her as he did. She was about 1.65 meters tall, not quite as tall as he was.

"Ah, you're asking for trouble," Selena grinned, finally launching at him.