Chapter 3

That evening, following Mrs. Ashford's request, I delivered medicine to the suburban vacation villa for her, only to discover that only Ethan, Lucas, and Ryan were there.

We then realized we had all been tricked into coming here by our parents.

Moreover, our cars had all been driven away, and late at night like this, there was no way back to the city.

Mrs. Ashford said on the phone that she hoped we could find our childhood memories at this place where we used to play often, and reconcile.

Ryan scoffed: "How boring and such a waste of time. I wonder if Lily will be okay without us."

His words made both Ethan and Lucas frown with worry.

I agreed it was a waste of time, but looking at this familiar villa, I still felt a bit dazed.

I walked over to a piano. It had been here for over ten years, hadn't it?

I remembered once, the four of us played eight-handed pieces together. Ryan was always causing trouble, making us argue noisily, while the aunties and uncles watched us with smiles, taking many photos of us sitting at this piano.

"Lily's been learning piano lately. Look at this video I took of her."

Ryan pulled out his phone and played a video.

Ethan and Lucas quickly gathered around to watch.

The intermittent sound of piano playing and a sweet voice came through. The three of them watched seriously, their faces full of smiles.

I stepped out of the villa. The lights illuminated the pool area.

I hazily remembered that year when the three of them competed in the pool to see who could hold their breath the longest. Young and naive, I didn't understand and thought they were drowning. I was so scared I jumped into the water to save them.

"Ethan, Lucas, Ryan, don't be scared, I'm here to save you—"

But when I jumped into the water, I swallowed several mouthfuls.

The three of them pulled me up together, wanting to laugh at me but also feeling helpless.

"Sienna is both cute and silly. We must protect you well from now on."

Their words still echoed in my ears. They truly protected me as they said, all the way through growing up.

Blocking all the dangers I faced as a child, taking me to eat good food, taking me to play...

My vision seemed filled with many happy voices and laughter.

Suddenly a voice from reality broke the illusion.

"Lily, don't be scared, we'll come keep you company right away!"

Ethan answered a call from Lily, extremely anxious.

"There's thunder in the city, and Lily was so scared she cried. We need to go be with her!"

Ethan said anxiously to the other two, and they were also frantic.

They rushed out of the villa, looking left and right.

"There's not a single car!"

"No, I can't wait anymore. I'm going to walk back!"

Ryan gritted his teeth and immediately rushed outside.

The other two also anxiously rushed into the night.

"Wait." I called out to them.

Ryan turned and glared at me: "Sienna Walsh, Lily is so scared she's crying, and you're still jealous here trying to stop us?"

Ethan and Lucas also glared at me disapprovingly.

My expression was indifferent: "If you walk back like this, the thunder will have long stopped, and Lily will have already gotten over her fear."

"Then what should we do? We can't just wait here doing nothing!"

Ryan gritted his teeth and was about to rush into the night again.

Lucas calmed down and stopped him: "Let's contact someone to pick us up first, and also look for any transportation."

They searched around the villa anxiously with their phone flashlights.

We were familiar with every corner of this place because we had played countless games of hide-and-seek here before.

"There's an abandoned car here that can be driven."

My phone's flashlight shone on a broken-down car in the corner.

They immediately rushed over.

The broken car was pushed out, and Ethan got in the driver's seat.

Lucas and Ryan got in the back, but the space was cramped. They were tall and large, and there was no room for a third person.

They hesitated and looked at me.

I shrugged: "I never planned to take this back to the city with you anyway. Do as you please."

"Sienna—" Lucas began.

I said coolly: "Lily might really be terrified by now."

When they heard this, they immediately became anxious and couldn't care about anything else.

"Sienna, we'll send someone to pick you up."

I calmly watched them disappear into the night, rushing with all their might toward the girl they cared about.

Along with them disappeared twenty years of memories.

"Goodbye, Ethan, Lucas, Ryan."

A car suddenly drove up, and the man who got out had just gotten off a plane to rush here.

I smiled and ran over, throwing myself into his arms.