When I Stopped Loving, I Stopped Crying

On May Day, during a self-driving tour, I drove recklessly at night, causing the car to overturn and catch fire.

Chandler ignored me trapped in the backseat with my thigh stuck in the door, seriously injured.

He hurriedly rescued his scratched childhood sweetheart, hailed a car, and left me behind.

The next day, after waking up from surgery, I saw his childhood sweetheart’s post on her social media.

"Who says childhood sweethearts can't compete with new romances? I will always be the first in his heart!"

Everyone aware of the situation was waiting to see if I, the real girlfriend, would make a scene and embarrass myself.

I replied indifferently, "Congratulations, the leash is off, and you don't have to sneak around eating shit anymore!"

——

The day after the accident, Chandler finally remembered me, his girlfriend.

But he didn't ask about my whereabouts or injuries.

Instead, he came questioning me, seeking justice for his childhood sweetheart, Lily.

"Yasmine, how can you talk like that? Lily is my junior sister. She got hurt, and I can't just watch!"

"We are innocent. Why do you always misinterpret us? People with a dirty mind see everything as dirty!"

Not a word about how I survived that dark night in the burning car.

I merely mentioned, "Chandler, I am injured too..."

"Are you crazy, imitating how others speak? Can't you stop being so boring?"

He impatiently hung up.

Six days later, with a steel plate in my thigh, I was discharged.

Chandler finally decided to unblock me.

"Where are you? Shall we have dinner together tonight?"

I knew the cold war was ending.

In our relationship, he always acted on his own whims - quarreling, cold shouldering, or reconciling when he pleased.

I was the humble one, never refusing, never saying "no."

But after this brush with death, I felt extremely tired and bored.

Usually when he initiated reconciliation, I was relieved and joyful.

But this time, I remained calm and simply replied,

"In hospital."

He finally called me, asked for the location, and insisted on picking me up.

It was a half-hour drive.

I was limping on one leg, running up and down to get discharged. Even the cleaning lady couldn't bear to watch and came to help me.

Finally, everything was done. I waited at the hospital entrance with my bag in hand from morning to sunset.

I never saw him, nor received another call.

When I finally left by taxi, Lily updated a picture of Chandler's back as he mopped floors,

The caption read: "A good senior who is suitable for home and family!"

The other shoe dropped.

No anger or disappointment, just faint relief at the expected.

Lily was right, I would always be second to her.

At home, everything was as I'd left it before our May Day trip.

Chandler hadn't been back all week.

I cleared out the guest room and collapsed, exhausted.

Ten hours after he promised to pick me up, still no word.

Then my business mentor sent a message.

"Are you sure you don't want to participate in this project? Although it requires staying in the desert for five years, it's a national scientific research project. It's the opportunity you dreamed of when you were in school!"

Since I was a child, I had dreamed of exploring the stars and the sea, so I chose aerospace as my major in college.

I thought that after graduation, I would pursue a career in scientific research and realize my childhood dream.

But I didn't expect to meet Chandler. To be with him every day, I gave up my dreams of becoming an aerospace engineer, scientist, and academician.

"Yasmine, you have good grades in your major. Although you've been delayed for two years, you still have time to catch up. If you give up this opportunity, it will be difficult to get back into this industry in the future."

My tutor advised earnestly.

"Teacher, I am willing to participate in this project."

The mentor responded excitedly,

"That's right. If this project succeeds, it will go down in history. Your name will appear on the country's wall of honor!"

"The project is currently in preparation. Take this opportunity to consolidate your professional knowledge. It would be best if you could study carefully based on recent experimental data."

My life had become so barren, with only Chandler remaining.

Yet he abandoned me when I needed him most.

I decided then - while I still had time, I would live for myself.

I should have just broken up with him.

But now that I have taken on this project, I decided to hold off on breaking up to avoid wasting the limited time I have left on emotional entanglements.