Chapter 195
I was so annoyed by Elizabeth's pestering, and what she said did soften my heart a bit.
After all, whether it was the old me or the current Lily, we'd both been troubled by problems like this.
Feeling hurt and heartbroken was inevitable.
But that doesn't mean there's no solution.
"Your problem is simple."
I stopped walking, turned around and looked at her seriously.
Elizabeth's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "What is it? Tell me quick!"
I said, "Just like someone else instead."
Elizabeth gritted her teeth, her voice full of embarrassed anger at being played, "Sue, you're messing with me!"
I shook my head and answered calmly, "No, I'm being completely honest."
"Trying to please someone is exhausting. I used to do stupid things like that too - being so careful, trying so hard to perform, hoping she would see me, like me, love me."
"Later, I realized that no matter what I did, she would never like me. She just simply disliked me, for no reason at all."
"After I figured that out, I was sad for a long time, until eventually I let it go, stopped trying to please her, and stopped caring about her."
I shrugged, "See? Look how happy I am now."
"Since you're already feeling the pain, just pull yourself out of it. Don't force it. You'll find the whole world gets better, and naturally your mood will get better too."
Elizabeth listened for a while, then looked at me with mixed emotions, "Who are you talking about?"
I said, "My mom."
After a pause, I added, "My biological mom."
"How could your own mom be like that? Doesn't she have a heart?"
Elizabeth frowned, looking at me with more sympathy, "You're so pitiful."
I raised an eyebrow, "I'm not pitiful now. You are."
I'd said everything I needed to say, so I turned and walked away.
Elizabeth chased after me again.
Her tone was conflicted and reluctant, "But I really like Brian. From the first moment I saw him, I fell in love with him. I never thought we'd break up. Just thinking about that possibility makes my heart hurt so much I can't accept it!"
"What am I supposed to do?"
I didn't say anything and kept walking forward.
Elizabeth still followed me, her mouth running non-stop, "Sue, I think you're really amazing. You managed to win over someone as difficult as Jason - you must have some secret, right? Please, be nice and tell me!"
Lily looked up and saw Elizabeth chasing after me, talking non-stop.
I calmly sat down at my seat.
To my surprise, Elizabeth not only didn't leave, but pulled up a chair and sat next to me.
She looked at me pleadingly, "Sue, please, just share your secret with me! My wish is simple - I just want to be with Brian, not break up with him."
"You look like a good person, and good people have kind hearts. Good people get rewarded. Please help me!"
Lily was completely confused and raised her hand to block Elizabeth's line of sight, mouthing to me, "What's going on?"
I spread my hands and shrugged.
I was really impressed by Elizabeth - she actually came to me for advice.
I'm not someone who's great at relationships, so asking me won't help.
Seeing that I still wouldn't talk, Elizabeth actually grabbed my arm and shook it hard, "Sue! Please! Just help me!"
I was so bothered by her pestering that I had no choice but to pull my arm away and say helplessly, "I do have one idea..."
Meeting Elizabeth's increasingly bright eyes, I slowly added the second half, "But let me say this first - I can't guarantee it'll work, and I can't guarantee there won't be side effects."
Elizabeth nodded repeatedly, "Tell me, tell me! Don't worry, even if it fails, I definitely won't blame you!"
Even Lily looked at me curiously.
I cleared my throat, "Find a guy to parade in front of him, hold onto that guy's arm, make him jealous, really make him jealous."
Elizabeth didn't even think before shaking her head in refusal, "That won't work. What if it completely drives Brian away? I won't even have anywhere to cry!"
I shrugged, "You haven't caught him anyway. I've given you an idea - whether you use it or not is up to you."
Elizabeth tried to struggle, "Isn't there any other way?"
I shook my head, lowered my head to eat, and ignored her.
We don't have a friendly relationship, and there's no connection between us.
In my view, Elizabeth suddenly coming to ask me about this was pretty presumptuous to begin with.
Elizabeth stood up and left, looking a bit dazed.
Only then did Lily lower her voice and ask, "Didn't she splash water on you before? Why are you giving her advice?"
I said helplessly, "You saw it too - she's really annoying. If I didn't give her advice, I wouldn't have been able to eat this meal in peace."
Lily couldn't help but smile, a bit curious, "Will that idea of yours work?"
"I don't know."
I put a piece of meat in my mouth, "At least I got rid of her."
After eating with me, Lily drove to Ryan's apartment.
She raised her hand and entered the password, opening the door herself.
Lily walked in - the lights were off, it was quiet, Ryan wasn't home.
She turned on the lights, changed her shoes, and sat on the sofa waiting for Ryan to come back.
But after waiting for an hour, he still hadn't shown up.
Only then did Lily drive away.
On the way back, while waiting at a red light, Lily caught a glimpse of a restaurant out of the corner of her eye. A man and woman were sitting by the window.
That wasn't the point - the point was the man was Ryan!
Lily's eyes focused, her lips pressed together, and she finally turned the steering wheel and parked the car on the side of the road.
Her gaze unconsciously fell on the girl.
The girl looked sweet and cute, and most importantly, the way she looked at Ryan was full of love.
Lily's heart tightened.
Looking at Ryan, his expression was indifferent, his emotions unreadable.
He probably doesn't like that girl, right?
But what's their relationship?
Lily felt like her heart was being scratched from the inside. She couldn't hold back and dialed Ryan's number.
The call connected quickly. She stared at Ryan by the window and asked softly, "What are you doing?"
Ryan's tone was immediate, "Having dinner at home with my parents."
Lily's breathing hitched. After a two-second pause, she said softly, "Lying isn't what good kids do."
With that, Lily hung up directly.
Ryan's heart jumped. He instinctively looked around, and when his eyes caught the familiar car parked on the street, he immediately ran out.
The girl behind him also chased out, "Ryan! Where are you going!"
Ryan ignored her and ran straight toward Lily's car.
But Lily didn't give him a chance to speak and drove away.
Ryan gritted his teeth and immediately got in his own car to chase her.
Lily had just arrived downstairs at her place and just gotten out of the car when Ryan caught up and blocked her path, "Let me explain, it's not what you think!"
Lily's face was expressionless, "Then what is it?"
Ryan looked at her cold demeanor, his heart panicking, "I just lied because I was afraid you'd misunderstand, I..."
"What's your relationship with her?"
Lily cut him off directly.