Chapter 4

Charlie and I met during a basketball game in college,

Charlie's team represented our department in the finals, and we girls acted as cheerleaders to support them.

He stood out in the crowd, a tall guy over six feet, with a muscular build. Through his loose jersey, I could even clearly see the abs hidden underneath.

He was sweating freely on the court, making one cool shot after another.

What girl doesn't have a crush?

The youthful Charlie captured my heart in an instant.

Perhaps it was fate, but later I was chosen to be a cheerleader.

This gave me the opportunity to interact with Charlie,

Later, I found out we were from the same hometown, which gave us even more to talk about, so we often chatted and ate together.

We were interested in each other, just never expressed it openly.

Until that year, when Charlie's father suddenly passed away.

This hit him hard. When Charlie returned after the mourning period, he was depressed all day, surrounded by a gloomy aura.

I couldn't bear to see him like this, so I stuck by him every day.

Until one day, I took Charlie out drinking to drown his sorrows,

In his drunken state, Charlie poured out his grievances to me.

It was then that I learned Charlie's life wasn't as good as it seemed, quite different from the sunny and positive image he always portrayed.