chapter 18 Affectionate confession

The water in the fountain pool flowed downwards like a waterfall along the huge sculpture. The strange trio of Penelope, Emily and I looked at each other amidst the sound of flowing water, and no one broke the silence for a while. Finally Emily smiled and said to me: "Long time no see, Maxwell." "Yeah." I only responded with one word. I was afraid that there would be too many words and she would hear my trembling voice, and I was even more afraid that she would know that I was scared. Emily just smiled at my answer, looked at Penelope and asked, "Your girlfriend?" Only then did I realize that I was still holding on to Penelope, and didn't bother to let go of her. I thought to myself: If Penelope is really my girlfriend, that is enough to prove that I have lived a good life after breaking up with Emily. Yes, at least he didn't die alone. My instinct was not to let Emily see me living a miserable life. Driven by this instinct, I actually nodded to Emily and said, "Yes, she is my girlfriend." After saying that, I looked nervously at Penelope next to me for fear that she would expose me in front of me and turn me into a joke. Penelope frowned and remained silent, as if she planned to show mercy to me, but also seemed unwilling to give up this perfect opportunity to take revenge on me. I quickly said to Penelope: "Don't you have something urgent to deal with in the company? Go quickly. I will explain it to my friends later and they will understand." Penelope struggled and threw away my hand, as if she was eager to leave here. She turned around and walked towards her car without leaving a word. The red Q7 drove close to my body with a burst of air. The air seemed to be filled with Penelope's angry breath. It seemed that I really pissed her off. The fountain was still surging, but Emily and I were the only ones left. I lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and pretended to be helpless and complained: "Oh, she is just busy, busy all day long." "Really, but your girlfriend looks pretty nice." "What do you mean it looks pretty good? Of course it's pretty good." I stood up straight and corrected Emily dissatisfied. Emily looked at me for a while and said, "Maxwell, you still haven't changed." "What's the meaning" Before Emily could answer, the best man Brian waved to Emily from a distance and said that the master of ceremonies was looking for her and there was a part of the wedding that she needed to cooperate with. Emily responded to Brian, looked at me again, and asked: "The luncheon will start soon, won't you go in?" "I'll finish my cigarette." Watching Emily's leaving back, my heart was full of loss. I wanted to tell her: She was right. I have indeed not changed. I still miss the days when we were together. I still remember: I couldn't be with her that day. When her family met, they could only hide in a corner to see her off. I also remember that she cried and wrote "wait" heavily on the car window with lipstick. I watched from a distance until the word "wait" appeared on the car window. My vision was completely blurred until there were two lines of tears on my face that she would never see. I was immersed in the past scenes, and even wanted to rush over and hug her desperately, telling her that I still love her. But just now, the conversation we had after reuniting after a long separation was so pale and tasteless, even for ordinary friends. It doesn’t even count. I know that the love that rejoices in silence is getting farther and farther away from us. If my heart is a city, at this moment, the whole city is crying The wedding banquet began, and everyone took their seats. My colleagues and I sat slightly at the back, while Emily, Brian, the groom, and the bride sat at the front table. I couldn't resist looking at Emily, but I couldn't help it at all. I was ridiculous. How could I oppress a woman who reminded me of me every night after three years of separation? When she was only a few feet away from me, how could I oppress her? I can't resist the urge to miss her. When my colleagues around me talked to me, I dealt with it absent-mindedly, but always found a reason in my heart to look in Emily direction. From the beginning to the end, Emily didn't even give me a look in response, but just talked to the people around me from time to time. Chatting in the Brian, they would basically smile knowingly after saying a few words. The two of them were very congenial, and Emily seemed to be in a good mood. The emcee encouraged Wesley and Zoey to have an intimate interaction on the stage. People in the audience started to boo, but I remained silent and drank one glass after another. In a daze, Brian came to me with a wine glass. I picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. When Brian came to me, I had poured myself a full glass of wine and shouted to Brian: " Brother Brian, come here and lie down for me." Brian smiled and said, "I'm not sure who will be partying. How many drinks are I going to drink this time?" What Brian and I call lying down is a bad habit left over from college. When we were young and frivolous, we would drink until each other fell down. At that time, the only person standing at the end of the drink would be awesome. People who lie down are called grandsons. During the four years of college, I lied down, Wesley did it, and Brian naturally did it too. So the three of us alternately became grandsons for four years, but we never admitted that the other two were grandsons. Lord In fact, since I entered the society, I no longer drink stupidly like I did in college. But today, no matter if it is Brian or anyone else, as long as they hold a glass with me, I will accompany them for any wine or as many cups as they want, because I feel happy for Wesley and Zoey, and feel sad for myself. With so many emotions, maybe wine is my best antidote. I changed to a large-sized goblet, poured almost a full glass of white wine, picked up the glass and said to Brian: "Same as before, one cup per person. If you can't drink anymore, get down on the ground and pretend to be dead. Don't beg for mercy. Don’t explain.” Everyone was amused by my words and burst into laughter. They just thought we were joking, but I didn't blink. I really picked up the cup and drank a full glass of white wine in two gulps, and then pointed the cup down to indicate that I had finished drinking. Amidst the exclamation, everyone's attention shifted from Wesley and Zoey to me and Brian, including Emily who also looked here. "Maxwell, you're still so fierce after graduating for several years, but I will definitely drink this wine, because I am very happy today." After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and then looked towards Emily. Take a look. I discovered this detail, and a string in my heart was suddenly pulled. I understood who the happiness in Brian mouth was for. When I was in college, he and I pursued Emily together, but Emily chose me. Then he became a brother and sister to Emily, and he still provided meticulous care. Of course, this seemed like a relief at the time, but now I He has broken up with Emily and Emily has returned to China. If Emily is still single, then he can legitimately pursue Emily again. I remained silent, but Brian poured me another full glass of white wine and said, "Brother Maxwell, do me a favor, let's have another glass." I nodded and poured another glass of white wine, ready to drink it all, but Brian held down my glass and said, "I'll drink it first this time." After Brian finished speaking, he raised his head and drank a whole glass of white wine, then put the glass on the table and walked towards Emily. Emily scolded Xiang Brian in a concerned tone: "Drink less. Aren't you afraid of harming yourself if you drink like this?" "With all the wine I drank, I want to talk to you about what's in my heart." After Brian finished speaking, he raised his head, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then borrowed the microphone from the emcee, and watched Emily enter the affectionate mood. status. I suddenly had a premonition that the scene that would happen next was enough to tear me apart The whole place was silent. At this moment, Brian's expression was full of sincerity, tenderness and emotion. He held Emily's hand tightly, stared at it for a long time and said, "Today is a day full of joy, and it is also a day I have been looking forward to for a long time. Emily, I have loved you deeply for 5 years, and it has never changed. Even if you are with Maxwell, I have never given up loving you. I once thought Maxwell would give you happiness, and I chose to bless you silently, but it turns out that you Your love is a failure. I will not judge your love. After all, love is free. It makes no sense for anyone to dwell on the past. Now that you are single, I hope you can be my girlfriend. I am really willing to do it for you. I will give everything, even if you still plan to return to the United States, I am willing to go abroad with you. In short, I will accompany you to the end of the world, just like the time I went to the United States to accompany you two years ago to make you happy and give you happiness." My heart felt like it was exploding. Brian’s words reminded me of something: it was a month after Emily and I broke up. Brian did go abroad for a while, but he didn’t tell us which country he went to. Now it can be confirmed that he went to the United States to accompany Emily after her breakup. It turns out that he has kept in touch with Emily over the years. Everyone was waiting for whether Emily would agree to Brian, but at this moment I completely understood that what Emily loved in college was a feeling, but what she loved after graduation was a well-matched match. No matter from which aspect, Brian and Emily are the best match. I thought: maybe I already know the answer Emily is about to give to Brian. In the tearing pain, I seemed to see the words "Waiting" written heavily on the car window with lipstick while she was crying and seeing her off that day.