Unimaginable things had happened within the last eight years. It turned out, committing the same
mistakes was not a good idea.
"Mand, stop crying. Seeing you cry is killing me," Daniel said. "I hate it, the distance between us. I miss
seeing your face close to me, beaming with radiance," he continued. Feeling sad, Daniel stretched out
his hand in an attempt to touch Mandy's face, which seemed so close to him. As his hand got closer,
he was woken up by the coldness of the glass between them. Thinking that he couldn't caress Mandy's
cheeks ever again made Daniel reevaluate his whole life. He smiled bitterly as he thought about his life.
Daniel's loving eyes pierced straight into Mandy. It reminded her of the days when they were crazily in
love with each other. 'He used to look at me like that, ' Mandy thought, and the memories made her
burst into tears.
"Tell me, Daniel, why have you done this? I still can't believe it," she wailed. "I just want to know why
you did it." Mandy was having a breakdown, slamming the glass over and over. In order to put her mind
to rest, she clutched her hands and forced him to tell the truth.
She was confused. She knew he didn't love her anymore, but why did Daniel keep showing signs that
he still loved her? Everything felt so ridiculous.
Daniel kept telling her to glow like the sunshine. But how could she smile after those things had
happened? For Mandy, it felt like she was trapped inside a mysterious maze, and she had no idea how
and when she could get out of it.
All her life, sunshine would always win over gloomy storms. This time, however, the storm would not go
away, and it felt that the storm was slowly sucking out her soul.
The guards noticed Mandy's nervous breakdown and took her away from the glass. Knowing what they
should do whenever something like this happens, the guards assisted her to sit down and relax on a
chair. Once the visiting time was over, Daniel was taken away without notifying either him or Mandy.
Tears streamed down on Mandy's cheeks.
Mandy felt that she was being eaten alive. Not only because Daniel had ended up behind bars nor
because he had lied to her. She was feeling miserable because it was no longer possible to spend their
whole life together the way they had planned it. Mandy felt that a part of her life had been completely
ruined.
Many years later, Nathan would say to her that it was human nature for people to tell lies, especially in
dire times. But Mandy did not give in to this thought at this moment, especially seeing Daniel so
miserable. After all, she could only show Daniel some sympathy.
It took Mandy quite a while to pick herself up and walk out of the police station. She was slightly
depressed, quite different from how she had arrived at the police station. Her face was flushed red, and
her nose flared as she decided to get to the bottom of everything, and finally understand what had
really happened.
Everything was different as she left the police station. She was feeling embarrassed as she didn't have
a clue why everything had ended up the way it did.
Mandy held her hands above her eyebrows, covering the sun's intense heat. The sun's heat was
getting to Mandy, and she started to feel dizzy, making her unable to think clearly.
It was believed that there were two things in this world that people couldn't possibly see through. One
was the sun, and the other was the human heart.
Despite everything, Mandy still found the strength to reach her car. She sat inside it for a while. After so
long, she finally calmed down and started the car.
At the gate of No. 1 High School, the students were already on their way out the school.
The summer vacation would start in two weeks. Fiona would be in the third grade in the next school
year. However, Fiona wasn't looking forward to her vacation as she was worried about the college
entrance exams she would be taking.
Fiona had a friend with her when Mandy arrived to pick her up. Her classmate wore her hair in a long
pigtail. The two girls were talking and laughing.
It reminded Mandy of how simple it was back in her high school days before she had met Daniel. She
also had a best friend, and they did almost everything together.
She remembered that they would also laugh together and walk side by side holding hands.
"What a surprise, Mandy! What are you doing here?" Fiona happily shouted when she saw her elder
sister's car.
"I'm here to pick you up," Mandy said with a big smile on her face. Mandy was not looking well. She
was restless, and she looked pale and weak.
"Oh! This is Tina, my best friend. Tina, meet my sister–Mandy," Fiona introduced the two to each other.
She was excited to see the two important people in her life finally meet each other.
"It's nice to meet you!" Tina politely greeted.
"Nice to meet you, too. I've heard a lot of good things about you," Mandy said. "Where do you live,
Tina? I'll drive you home," she offered. Seeing Tina and Fiona, Mandy's heart felt pure and full of youth
again. The innocence of the two teenagers made her believe again that the world was not as cruel as
she thought. They made her think that the world could actually be beautiful, pure, and a worthy place to
live in.
"Oh, please don't bother. I live somewhere really far, and it would take you hours. I'll just get a bus,"
Tina politely refused.
"Please, I insist. Think of it this way: at least, you can spend more time with Fiona. I think Fiona and I
would really enjoy your company," Mandy persuaded.
Fiona grabbed Tina's arm before she could refuse again. They both got in the car and sat down. "It's
still early. How about we go to the cinema and watch Captain America? I heard it was a box office hit,"
Fiona said. She was so excited to spend some time with both her sister and best friend.
"That's sounds like a great idea! How about you, Tina? Do you have any other plans for later?" Mandy
asked.
"Uhm... I don't know. I think I'd better head home," Tina answered a bit overwhelmed with what was
happening. She'd like to, but she felt embarrassed at letting Mandy pay for their trip. Besides, she
wouldn't want to interrupt Fiona's family time.
"Don't worry. We can call your parents and ask if it's okay with them. Besides, it's my treat!" Mandy
said, twinkling her eyes at Tina in the rear view mirror.
Soon enough, they have already arrived at Eaton Square.
They had to hustle their way among the crowds of people in order to get to the cinema.
"Mandy, is that you?" a familiar voice called from behind.
When Mandy checked whose voice it was, it was Bruce, standing there like a typical top student–
brightly smiling in a pair of thick-framed glasses.
"Mr. Xu! What a surprise!" Tina stammered. She appeared to be nervous as her face was as pale as a
white wall.
"Nice to meet you here, Mr. Xu!" Fiona said, not tense at all. She nodded at Bruce respectfully.
"Oh, my God! I'm so glad to see you here, Bruce!" Mandy greeted, just as surprised as Tina and Fiona.
The two previously hadn't seen each other for over ten years. The last time Mandy ran into him was
because of Fiona. It had been such a coincidence that they would then finally meet again after all those
years.
"Going to watch a movie?" Bruce asked while adjusting his glasses.
"Yes. The girls want to watch Captain America. Are you going to the movies, too?" Mandy said, trying
to make conversation.
"Really? Me, too! Would you like to watch the movie together?" Bruce excitedly said.
The four of them decided to watch the movie together. Mandy and Bruce walked ahead of the two girls.
Tina dragged Fiona and whispered into her ear, "Does your sister know Mr. Xu? It seems that this is not
the first time the two meet."
"Yes, they do. I only found out about this a few days ago. They were childhood friends. They lived next
door to each other back then," Fiona explained. She didn't want to tell anyone before, but bumping into
him made it impossible to keep it from Tina.
"It's so weird to watch a movie with our teacher. I feel like this isn't real!" Tina exclaimed. Bruce was the
headteacher in their school. He seldom smiled at school and always wore a long face. Most of the
students were actually afraid of him. Fiona and Tina even doubted that they would ever see him smile.
"He's a really nice person, and he's always caring about other people," Fiona said, trying to calm Tina
down.
After the movie, Bruce offered for them to have dinner together. Mandy wanted to refuse Bruce's offer,
but finally, she opted not to do so. After all, it had been a long time since they had known each other
and there were a lot of old times to catch up on. Also, Tina and Fiona were eager to go. They wanted to
know their teacher outside the school setting.
Bruce asked what Mandy, Fiona, and Tina wanted before ordering as a true gentleman would.
"Fiona, could you accompany me to the lady's room?" Tina asked Fiona, discreetly winking at her.
Fiona got the signal, Tina was about to say something to her. "All right. Let's go," she replied, and the
two of them stood up together.
Bruce and Mandy chuckled at Tina and Fiona, who were both hopping towards the lady's washroom.
"Those girls. They always gossip in the washroom," Bruce said.
"Fiona is very popular in school. Many of my students like her, as far as I know," he added, stressing
the last few words.
"Really?" Mandy exclaimed, not pleased with the thought at all. Her eyes looked serious all of a
sudden. She was afraid that her worries were coming true. Boys would definitely affect Fiona's studies.
In Mandy's mind, she wouldn't allow her sister to date at such an early age.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda