Chapter 5
Not achieving her goal, Chloe bit her lip and turned to chat with Zachary again, smiling.
Zachary always spoke to her in a gentle tone.
Listening to them chatting animatedly, I felt my eyelids getting heavier, and the surrounding sounds gradually faded away.
When I woke up, I found the car parked outside our apartment building, with Zachary sitting quietly in the front seat.
Chloe was no longer in the passenger seat.
“Why didn’t you wake me up when we got home?” I sat up straight and opened the car door.
Zachary followed behind me, not saying a word.
As we walked out of the elevator and into our apartment, he finally spoke: “Tired?”
“Huh?”
“Chloe and I were still talking, but you fell asleep in the car.”
“Yeah, a bit tired.”
I wasn’t interested in chatting with him, just wanting to shower and go to bed quickly.
“Today was Henry’s gathering, just the old college dorm mates. He invited Chloe too. You know, they’re all close to her and like to invite her every time we have dinner. Since it was on the way, I gave her a ride back,” he suddenly started explaining.
It was quite rare. In the past, when I argued and asked him why he always hung out with Chloe, he never bothered to explain.
Now that I wasn’t asking, he took the initiative to explain.
“Mm,” I nodded, walking towards the bathroom.
“I originally wanted to bring you along, but you said you had to work overtime, so I only came to pick you up after dinner,” he continued to explain.
“Okay, I got it. I’m going to take a shower now,” I said, quickly walking away.
After showering, I went straight to bed.
The next evening after work, I was surprised to see Zachary downstairs again.
This time, there was no Chloe in the car.
I still sat in the back seat. Zachary turned to look at me, seeming like he wanted to say something but held back.
I have to say, sitting in the back gives me a feeling of treating him like a chauffeur, which is quite nice.
I shouldn’t have cared about this before.
“Mike is moving house today and invited us over for hotpot,” Zachary said as he started the car.
Mike was also his college roommate.
Coincidentally, all four of Zachary’s college dormmates ended up staying in this city after graduation.
They were close and often organized gatherings or dinners.
Zachary had pursued Chloe in college, and his roommates all acted as wingmen, offering advice and strategies.
Although he didn’t succeed in winning her over, it didn’t stop Chloe from becoming close with all of them.
Over the years, Chloe had dated several boyfriends, but she said, “Boyfriends are boyfriends, friends are friends.”
She said Zachary would always be her good friend.
Recently, Chloe broke up with her previous boyfriend and started hanging out with them frequently again.
Every time I saw Zachary taking care of her, my blood pressure would rise.
I had argued and made a fuss about it, but it was useless. Eventually, I simply stopped going to their gatherings. Out of sight, out of mind.
“You guys go ahead. Just drop me off at home first,” I said.
I really had no interest in their dinner gatherings.
Zachary: “We’ll come back right after dinner. It won’t be too late. Mike specifically asked me to bring you along, saying he hasn’t seen you in a long time.”
“Alright then,” I didn’t insist anymore.
We stood at the door of Mike’s new home, and after the doorbell rang, the door opened.
Suddenly, someone burst out from inside, jumping onto Zachary’s back like a monkey, arms tightly wrapped around his neck.