An Unchangeable Result

When his unattainable crush confessed her love to Terry Holland, my childhood sweetheart, I told the teacher, causing them to miss their chance to be together forever.

He blamed it all on me.

He pretended to treat me well, but during a criminal pursuit, he put me in the line of fire.

As I lay dying, he told me that if it weren't for me, his crush wouldn't have gone astray.

He said I should feel the same despair she felt in her final moments.

Then I woke up from the dream. I was back eight years ago, and this time, I chose to respect their love.

01

"Terry, I like you. Will you be with me?"

The lively sound echoed as Donna Ward stood in the center of the crowd, and she was gazing at Terry with eyes full of affection.

Her face was flushed, and her gentle voice carried a hint of nervousness.

Terry was momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, he quickly stepped forward, pulling Donna into his arms, and softly replied, "I will."

His voice was quiet, but I could hear it clearly from behind the crowd.

A searing pain radiated from my heart, engulfing my entire being in an instant.

I took a couple of deep breaths, intending to leave, but then I heard the sarcastic voice of Thea Harper, Donna's best friend.

"Terry, your little childhood sweetheart is here too! She is your good friend, do you think she would tell the teacher about you two being together?"

Donna's smile faltered, and she looked at Terry nervously, her fingers clutching his sleeve tighter.

Her cautious and anxious demeanor made Terry's heart ache.

Just as Terry was about to explain, he looked up and realized that I was no longer in the crowd.

That day, I ran many laps around the playground until the bell for evening lesson rang, and I slowly walked back to the classroom.

But as soon as I sat down, my teacher called me to the office.

Terry and Donna were also in the office, standing at the back.

When I entered, Terry reassuringly hooked his pinky finger around Donna's, and they exchanged a smile.

"Ada, I want you to persuade Terry." The teacher said. "You two grew up together. You can't just watch him fall in love at such an important time, right before the SAT exams!"

I never expected that the words I had said to the teacher in the previous life would be thrown back at me.

In the previous life, I accidentally learned about Donna's plan to confess and informed the teacher before she could speak, causing them to miss their chance.

After Terry found out, he wasn't angry. Instead, he studied even harder, and we both got into the same university.

He treated me well at college.

On the day my roommates encouraged me to confess, his eyes were cold, but he still nodded in agreement.

We became the perfect couple everyone envied, but during a mission, he betrayed me without hesitation, watching as a bullet pierced my body.

With a twisted expression, he stabbed a knife into my chest, saying, "Did you know? Every moment with you made me sick. But only by experiencing the joy of heaven can one truly understand despair. Ada Roberts, you destroyed the happiness between Donna and me, so you should also feel the despair she felt before her death!"

So, upon being reborn, I chose to respect them.

But I didn't expect that without me, the teacher would still find out about them.

Seeing that I remained silent for a long time, the teacher sighed and gently patted my shoulder.

"Actually, I still think you and Terry are a good match. You both come from police families and grew up together..."

Before the teacher could finish, Terry quickly walked over and spoke anxiously.

"Mr. Green, don't say that. She and I," Terry glanced back at me, his eyes carrying a hint of distance, "we're just neighbors. She has no right to interfere in our matters!"

02

Just neighbors, huh?

Terry wasn't wrong, and neither was the teacher.

Both Terry and I came from police families. My family had been forensic scientists for generations, while his family had been criminal police officers.

We grew up together, and from a young age, we heard the heroic stories of solving cases from our elders.

Those stories planted a seed in our young hearts, and Terry and I promised to work hard together and get into the police academy.

He would accompany me silently when I struggled to finish a long run, telling me that the finish line was just ahead.

And I would patiently explain to him that solving problems was like solving cases. Once we found the clues, we could resolve them smoothly.

We complemented and supported each other, and on the day we received our acceptance letters to the prestigious high school, he excitedly rushed into my house.

"Ada, we're one step closer to our dream! Are you ready to uphold justice and fight against evil?"

His youthful face brimmed with dreams and determination.

I smiled at him, "I'm ready, Officer Holland."

Unfortunately, our firm ideals couldn't withstand the stirrings of youth.

Terry's conversations were gradually no longer just about studying and sports, and they now included Donna.

He said, "Ada, I never realized how wonderful girls could be. She smiles at me gently, and her words are so soft that just hearing them makes me happy."

That was the first time I saw a different light in his eyes.

After that, Terry stopped studying and exercising with me.

When I was running laps alone on the track, I often saw him playing basketball. His eyes would occasionally drift towards Donna, who was sitting in the stands.

After the game ended, Donna, with her flushed face, handed a bottle of water to Terry, and laughter erupted from the stands.

Terry accepted it with a smile, then positioned himself to shield Donna from the view of the stands, gently patting her head and thanking her softly.

It was the first time I had seen Terry so gentle. He had never treated me that way.

Perhaps due to being spoiled at home, I had always been bold and lively, as vibrant as the summer's sunlight.

Terry once said I didn't seem like a girl-I didn't keep long hair, didn't like wearing dresses, and even my personality wasn't gentle.

I remembered I playfully chased him around for a long time after he said that.

But he never knew that I didn't want to be a forensic scientist, instead, I wanted to be a criminal police officer, to fight alongside him.

However, as I was a premature baby, I had always been frail, and to pass the physical tests, I had to train twice as hard.

I also loved beauty, but those things were burdensome. I wanted to try hard so that in times of danger, I could protect him too.

I never expected that while I was silently working hard, Terry would abandon the dreams we shared.

His heart and eyes were filled only with Donna.

And I, after years of companionship, was reduced to just a neighbor.

03

The incident that day ended with my refusal.

The teacher also contacted Terry's parents, but Terry was determined to be with Donna. Even though Terry's father punished him so severely that he couldn't get out of bed for days, he remained steadfast.

His parents were at a loss and could only let him be.

Soon, the day of the police academy's physical test arrived. I was well-prepared and completed the test in excellent condition. Just as I was packing my bag to leave, I overheard Terry on the phone.

On the other end, Donna was sobbing, recounting how she had been bullied.

Terry's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists tightly, and he immediately called a few of his close friends.

As he hung up and walked out, he bumped into me.

Terry raised an eyebrow, looking at me with impatience. "Did you hear everything? Ada, I hope you won't meddle in this!"

I zipped up my backpack, looked up at him with a cold expression, and said, "Don't worry, I won't interfere."

Terry's eyes were full of doubt.

But I meant it. In my previous life, fearing for his safety, I meddled and called the police.

The police went to the school and took Donna away. The news of Donna being bullied by thugs outside the school spread throughout the campus.

Donna was too ashamed to stay at the school and had to transfer.

On the day she left, Terry went to see her, but Donna, with tears streaming down her face, looked at him and said, "Terry, I'm tainted now. I'm not worthy of someone as good as you! Maybe we just aren't meant to be. Let's not contact each other anymore!"

Donna left, and for the first time, Terry was furious with me. He stormed into my room and smashed the glass bottle on my desk.

The paper stars inside scattered on the floor, crushed under Terry's foot, just like a young girl's budding feelings destroyed before they could grow.

After that day, Terry apologized to me, and it seemed like we returned to how things were before.

It wasn't until I died that I realized everything was a carefully constructed illusion he had created for me.

My budding feelings had long been crushed, yet I still tried to grow them, which were only be trampled into a painful reminder when they finally bloomed.

Every day since my rebirth, I had asked myself if I made a mistake back then.

So this time, I had resolved not to get involved in their affairs.

But just as I stepped out the door, I saw his mother pulling at Terry, she pleaded with him, only to be shrugged off and left on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

I quickly went over to help Mrs. Holland up, but she clung to my hand, begging incessantly, "Ada, please help me stop Terry. I can't bear to see him get into trouble!"

Watching Terry's hurried departure, I sighed softly and picked up my phone to call the police.

This time, I didn't mention Donna at all, only reported the gathering for a fight.

Terry and his friends were taken to the police station.

As the one who reported it, I gave my statement at the police office. And when I was leaving, Donna rushed up to me, slapping me across the face.

The taste of blood lingered in my mouth as I slowly lifted my head to meet her bloodshot eyes.

"Ada, how could you do this to him! Terry is going to apply to the police academy. Don't you know you could ruin him by doing this!"

I let out a cold laugh, looking at Donna with disdain. "Then what should I have said? Told the police you were assaulted?"

A flicker of panic crossed Donna's eyes, but she stubbornly stared at me. "I would have been willing! I'm willing to sacrifice myself for Terry!"

"No!"

Terry suddenly rushed out, carefully pulling Donna into his arms as if she were a fragile treasure.

"Donna, no, I don't want to see you sacrifice for me. It's enough that I protect you."

A wave of nausea rose from my stomach. I couldn't stand watching them any longer, so I picked up my backpack and prepared to leave.

"Ada, let's just be strangers."

My grip on the backpack tightened slightly. I looked at Terry silently for a long time, then finally let out a self-deprecating laugh and spoke softly.

"Alright."