The Bond of Young Love

1.

After over six months of an online relationship, I got dumped on the day we were supposed to meet up in person.

Here was how it happened:

My online partner and I had been chatting for more than half a year, and we planned to meet on our 200th day anniversary.

That day, I woke up early, put on the most ladylike dress from my closet, and happily went to the meeting place.

Little did I know, waiting for me was not the gentle online partner I had imagined, but the notorious playboy Rick Durden of our school.

Inside the cinema.

"Hey, Rick, you're here to watch a movie too?" I awkwardly greeted him.

"Yeah." Rick replied nonchalantly, his eyes glued to his phone screen.

The movie had already started, and people were trickling in, but my online partner was nowhere to be seen.

I wondered if he had already arrived, saw me, and left.

Despite dressing up today, I still felt a bit insecure.

My palms were sweaty as I nervously typed a message and hit send, "Rick! Are you here yet?"

"Ding!"

Rick's phone chimed beside me!

He opened WhatsApp and grinned foolishly at the screen.

Shortly after, he sent a voice message in an unusually gentle tone, "Rosa! I'm here, where are you?"

I was covered in goosebumps. Rick, who always seemed so cold, was speaking in such a sickly sweet manner.

At that moment, my phone also received a message.

"Rosa! I'm here, where are you?"

The familiar voice rang out, and I stood there, rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning.

Could this really be happening?

I walked heavily to a corner and dialed the familiar number, my eyes fixed on Rick, secretly hoping, "Please, not him, not him."

But fate wasn't on my side.

Rick answered the call with excitement, "Rosa! Are you here yet?"

Once I confirmed it was him, I hung up the phone as quickly as I could.

Rick looked a bit puzzled.

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up his phone and called again.

I quickly declined the call and sent him a message, "I'm sorry, let's break up."

His expression darkened instantly, and he called again.

I hung up in a panic, and he called again, and I hung up again, repeating the cycle.

His face grew serious as he started typing furiously.

People would laugh their heads off if they found out that the notorious playboy had to resort to online dating!

My phone kept buzzing with messages, but I didn't notice someone watching me from afar.

I was too absorbed in the shocking revelation that my online partner was a playboy.

I, Rosa Snow, had always lived a virtuous life, the worst thing I'd done was scare the bird.

Why did my first love have to be a playboy?

2.

Online dating was risky; meeting in person required extra caution!

Feeling really bummed out, I couldn't even be bothered to check my messages. I put on a mask and prepared to leave.

"Hey, wait up!" Rick called out to me.

My heart jumped to my throat as I turned back to look at him in confusion.

"Hey, I don't even know your name yet."

We had only met once at a school club event, so of course, he didn't know my name.

"Julian, my name is Julian."

My brain worked quickly, and I gave him the nickname my godmother had given me, a name not many people knew.

"Julian, what a coincidence, I have a sister named Julian too."

Before I could say anything, he continued, "I happened to buy two tickets, and the person I was waiting for stood me up. If you don't mind, we could watch the movie together."

He gave me a meaningful, somewhat expectant look, as if he was trying to gauge my reaction through his gaze.

Ha, typical playboy!

Casting a wide net, and when one girlfriend doesn't show up, he calmly invites another girl to watch a movie.

"Jerk!" I cursed him a hundred times in my heart.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have to head back to school for something, " I coldly declined.

Although the excuse sounded rather lame, anyone with a normal mind could tell that I was turning him down, right?

"Oh, I see."

It seemed my rejection worked, and I breathed a sigh of relief, ready to leave.

But then he said, "Watching a movie alone is too unbearable for me; I'll go back to school with you."

What? What was he doing? Were we that close? Wait, did he recognize me?

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind.

I carefully considered that I hadn't let anything slip. He probably just wanted someone to watch the movie with.

So, I reluctantly agreed.

When we went back into the cinema, the movie was already halfway through.

My ears burned with embarrassment. While sitting next to Rick, I was feeling strange.

I couldn't focus on the movie; my peripheral vision was glued to Rick's every move.

Rick seemed at ease, pulling out his phone as soon as he sat down.

After a while, his face turned red, his brows furrowed, and even the veins on his arms were manifested.

I was curious about what was troubling him so much.

He typed furiously, pausing occasionally to think, then deleting what he wrote.

To an outsider, it might look like he was taking meeting notes instead of watching a movie.

I leaned over slightly, trying to sneak a peek at what he was writing.

The moment I saw his phone screen, my heart skipped a beat.

This fool was writing a long message to me, deleting and rewriting it over and over.

I pretended nothing happened and focused on the movie.

Rick sighed beside me, frustrated, and turned off his phone.

Until the movie ended, I never received that long message.

As we parted ways, Rick tried to add me on WhatsApp, which scared me half to death. I was too nervous to speak.

In the end, I managed to dodge by saying I used Facebook more often.

3.

Back in the dorm, my roommates were excitedly discussing gossip.

"Rosa, Rosa, come here, I have something to show you. That playboy Rick is really something."