In the 22 years of my life, I had never faced an accident until that moment.

Everything happened so suddenly. One second I was walking, and the next, I was standing in the middle of the road, frozen. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. My body refused to respond, as if time itself had stopped just for me.

All I could think about… was death.

And in that terrifying stillness, it felt like I could see the angel of death slowly approaching me…

I am Mero. I am 22 years old, and my life is about to change after this moment.

In my life, I only have my father.

I used to have a mother… and a brother too. But unfortunately, I lost them both. My mother committed suicide when I was only five years old. At that age, I didn’t even understand what death truly meant. I just knew that she was gone… and she was never coming back.

I don’t know what a mother’s love feels like. I don’t remember being held, comforted, or loved the way other children are. There’s always been this quiet emptiness inside me something I could never explain, no matter how hard I tried.

After that, everything in our lives changed.

When I was five, my father took everything upon himself. The weight of the entire world fell on his shoulders, yet he never complained. He never remarried he chose us over everything else. Over his own happiness.

My brother was three years older than me. At first, my father thought of sending us to our mother’s family, hoping they could raise us better. But they said they would only take my brother… not me.

That moment changed something in him.

He refused.

He chose both of us.

And just like that, it became the three of us me, Baba, and my gēge (older brother), in a small house filled with quiet struggles and unspoken love.

Now, this story goes back to my teenage years… before my gēge died.

It was 7 o’clock in the morning.

The soft morning light barely touched the room when Baba came in to wake us up. His voice was gentle, but firm the kind of voice that carried both warmth and responsibility.

I was in grade 4, and my gēge was in grade 8.

“Mero… wake up,” Baba said softly.

I buried my face deeper into the pillow, my voice muffled and heavy with sleep.

“Baba… I don’t want to go to school. I’ve been a regular student… just let me sleep today, please… I want to miss school…”

There was a small pause.

Then Baba chuckled quietly a soft, tired laugh that carried years of patience.

“Maybe next time, Mero. Now get up. You’re going to be late.”

There was no escaping that voice.

After a lot of slow movements and quiet complaints, I finally dragged myself out of bed. My eyes were still half-closed as I got ready, moving like a sleepy ghost through the room.

But then something caught my eye.

My gēge… was still sleeping.

I immediately pointed at him, my voice rising in protest.

“Baba! Zǐháo is still sleeping! Why did I have to wake up first?!”

My voice echoed louder than I intended.

Gēge stirred, clearly annoyed, his eyes barely opening.

“Because…” he muttered lazily, “you take two hours to get ready, and I only need five minutes.”

I froze for a second.

…He wasn’t wrong.

Zǐháo had always been faster than me at everything. Smarter, quicker, calmer. While I was always the slow, sleepy one.

Still… it wasn’t fair.

After that small chaos, we sat down for breakfast.

The house was quiet again, except for the soft clinking of plates.

But mornings were never easy for me.

I had a problem with morning sickness. Just the smell of food sometimes made my stomach turn. I pushed the food around my plate, trying not to draw attention.

Because I knew… if I ate, there was a high chance I would throw up on the way to school.

So I avoided it.

Like always.

Soon, we stepped outside.

The morning air was cool, carrying a faint silence that felt oddly comforting. Our house was far from school, so we had to wait for the transport every day.

I stood there quietly, still half-asleep, while Baba watched over us his eyes always alert, always protective.

When the transport finally arrived, I didn’t say anything.

No greetings.

No smiles.

Nothing.

I just walked in, took my seat by the window… and fell asleep almost instantly.

As if the world around me didn’t exist.

To be continued…

At 9:30 a.m., the school gates were already half-closed when Mero and her brother Zîháo rushed in.

SL School wasn’t like other schools. It stretched the day from morning to night 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.strict, structured, and exhausting. Students often joked it felt more like a system than a school.

They were late but not entirely to blame.

“Transport kids,” teachers usually said with a sigh, as if that explained everything.

Mero slipped into her classroom quietly, trying not to draw attention. Her eyes quickly found familiar faces Carol and Lily.

Her circle was small. Safe.

Not that she didn’t know others she did. But knowing people and trusting them were two very different things.

Ever since Grade 3… she has learned that the hard way.

Some laughs weren’t friendly. Some whispers weren’t harmless.

So now, she chose carefully.

The morning class began as usual.

Mero sat somewhere in the middle not a topper, not a failure. Just… there.

Present, but not noticeable.

A small folded paper slid onto her desk.

She glanced sideways.

Lily.

Mero unfolded it.

“You know Carol is dating someone?”

Mero quickly scribbled back.

“You’ve got to be kidding. We’re only in Grade 4.”

“I know. That’s why it’s weird.”

Mero paused for a second before writing again.

“A teacher told me during tiffin… something about Sarah and these things. Said I should either talk to Carol or stay away.”

Lily read it, eyebrows slightly raised.

She wrote back:

“So what are you going to do?”

Mero stared at the paper.

Then slowly wrote:

“What do you think?”

“We should talk to her.”

Mero didn’t reply.

She just folded the paper again.

Lunch break.

The three of them sat together.

For a moment, everything felt normal until Lily gently brought up the topic.

Carol hesitated.

Her fingers played with the edge of her lunchbox.

“Actually… I am,” she admitted softly. “But I don’t know if it’s serious.”

Lily leaned forward slightly, her voice calm, almost mature for her age.

She explained things carefully how relationships could be distracting, how feelings at this age could be confusing, how it might not last.

Not judging.

Just… guiding.

Carol nodded.

But her eyes shifted.

To Mero.

Mero hadn’t said anything the entire time.

She was biting her lip.

Again.

That small habit she had when something was stuck inside her chest, unable to come out.

“Do you want to say something?” Carol asked gently.

Mero froze for a second.

Then shook her head.

“No.”

And just like that, she changed the topic.

But silence doesn’t mean absence.

Sometimes it means too much is there.

Afternoon approached.

Before heading back to class, Mero found Zîháo near the corridor and told him everything.

He listened, then chuckled.

“You kids are hilarious,” he said lightly. “Don’t worry. It won’t last.”

“I hope so,” Mero muttered. “I don’t like that guy.”

Zîháo smirked. “Why?”

Mero shrugged, looking away. “He just… looks weird.”

Zîháo laughed and nudged her toward her classroom.

Back inside, Mero sat beside Lily again.

“Is Carol okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Lily replied. “She’ll be fine.”

Mero nodded, but something about it didn’t feel finished.

She opened her book and tried to focus.

Her grades weren’t improving like others.

And maybe… focusing was easier than thinking.

A few minutes later, she went to the washroom.

Cold water. Quiet space.

A small escape.

But when she stepped out

She stopped.

Liang.

Standing near the senior section.

Like he always did.

Like he belonged everywhere without trying.

He was older than Mero he was in Grade 6. Known for being kind, a little chaotic… and just enough of a flirt to make people talk.

And those dimples.

Mero hated how noticeable they were.

Before she could move, someone else walked up to him.

Sarah.

Beautiful. Confident. A senior.

She handed him a letter.

Casually.

Like it wasn’t her first time.

Like it meant something.

Mero felt something shift inside her.

Not surprise.

She already knew.

There had always been someone before her.

Still…

It felt different seeing it.

Real.

Close.

She glanced at him.

And their eyes met.

“Hey, Mero. What’s up?” Liang said, as if nothing mattered.

“Nothing, senior,” she replied quickly. “Just passing by.”

“Hmm,” he nodded, then walked away.

Just like that.

Easy.

Normal.

Unbothered.

Mero stood there for a moment.

Her chest felt… strange.

Not heavy.

Not painful.

Just unfamiliar.

She didn’t understand what a “crush” really was.

But she knew this:

When she saw him, something changed.

Something soft.

Something confusing.

Something she couldn’t explain.

A quiet feeling…

That suddenly felt very loud.

She walked back to her classroom.

Sat down.

Opened her book.

And said nothing to anyone.

Because some feelings…

Are easier to hide than to understand.

~Time Passes~

Mero was now in Grade 10, the most stressful year of her school life so far. Meanwhile, Zîháo had already finished his higher secondary education. Unfortunately, Liang had transferred to another school because that school was near his house.

At first, Mero thought about Liang often.

But slowly, academic pressure buried those thoughts deep inside her mind. Assignments, coaching classes, mock tests, and endless exams consumed her daily life. Sometimes Liang still appeared in her thoughts unexpectedly, usually during quiet evenings or rainy days, but she would only sigh softly before returning to her books.

Studies came first now.

As usual, Mero arrived at school and met her friends Carol and Lily near their classroom.

Carol was no longer dating anyone and surprisingly had become more serious about her studies. Lily, meanwhile, remained the smartest among the three. She was ranked 2nd in the entire grade, while Carol stayed somewhere around the top 15.

Mero… well

she was surviving.

Her grades weren’t bad, but they weren’t excellent either. Usually she ranked between 18th and 25th depending on the subject. Mathematics and economics were her strongest subjects, but science absolutely destroyed her mental health.

~Final Exams Were Approaching~

The atmosphere inside the school had completely changed.

Students stopped talking loudly in hallways. Teachers gave extra homework every single day. Even the school library became crowded from morning till evening.

Everyone looked half-dead.

Mero dropped her head dramatically onto the desk.

“Bruhhhhh~ I can’t do it anymore. There’s TOO MUCH to study. I can’t!!”

Lily chuckled softly while highlighting her notes.

“I told you to finish the syllabus instead of playing games all night. Now face the consequences.”

Carol laughed.

“Heheheh, Mero, you’re kinda cooked girl. You should’ve studied earlier.”

“I DID study,” Mero protested. “And I stopped gaming a month ago 😮‍💨”

Lily raised an eyebrow.

“Okaayyy then. Tell me the formula for present annuity due.”

Mero froze for a second.

“Ummm… wait… present or future?”

“Present.”

Mero quickly straightened herself proudly.

“So the formula is…”

PVdue\=(A×1−(1+i)−ni)(1+i)PV_{due}\=\left(A\times\frac{1-(1+i)^{-n}}{i}\right)(1+i)PVdue​\=(A×i1−(1+i)−n​)(1+i)

Carol blinked in surprise.

“Girl that’s actually correct. So you ARE studying huhhh.”

“I am,” Mero mumbled. “But do you really think the exam will be this easy?”

Lily sighed dramatically.

“That’s the scary part.”

The classroom suddenly became quiet again as everyone returned to studying.

After a few minutes, Mero suddenly lifted her head.

“Hey… let’s go to Nanjing after finals.”

Carol immediately shouted,

“YESSSSSS!!!!!”

Even Lily smiled a little.

“That actually sounds nice… but first let’s survive the finals.”

She covered her face. “(⁠T⁠T⁠)”

The final exams eventually arrived like a storm.

For two straight weeks, students barely slept. Coffee, instant noodles, and stress became part of everyday life.

When the results were finally published a week later, the entire school crowded around the notice board.

Lily ranked 2nd again.

Carol managed to enter the top 10 for the first time.

And Mero

Mero stood silently for a moment before smiling proudly.

Rank 14.

It was her highest ranking ever.

That evening, Mero returned home with Zîháo. But while walking beside him, she noticed something unusual.

He seemed distracted.

Quiet.

Almost troubled.

“Are you okay?” she asked carefully.

Zîháo glanced at her.

“Yeah. Why?”

“You just look bothered about something.”

For a moment, he stayed silent before smiling softly.

“Neh, I’m alright. Want some ice cream?”

Mero instantly brightened.

“Sureeeeeeeeee!”

Zîháo chuckled.

“Let’s gooo.”

Mero nodded and walked beside him, though the strange feeling in her chest remained.

Maybe he fought with his girlfriend…

Thinking that, she started chatting about random things while they walked together beneath the orange evening sky

completely unaware that someone from her past was slowly about to return into her life again.