Chapter 41 – The Beginning of a Misunderstanding .
The noise from the basketball court gradually faded behind them.
The voices of the crowd grew quieter with every step, yet the turmoil rising inside Adam's heart only became louder.
The two of them walked silently along the stone pathway that led toward the school's garden.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves overhead, while the afternoon sun slowly descended toward the horizon. Golden rays filtered through the branches, scattering warm patches of light across the path beneath their feet.
Jinjin let out a long breath, as though she had just escaped a difficult ordeal.
After a moment, she said with a faint look of annoyance,
"That was so awkward, wasn't it?"
Adam quietly turned to look at her.
"What was?"
"Everything..."
she replied softly.
"I really didn't like all of that... especially with so many people watching."
She unconsciously clasped her hands together, as though the memory alone was enough to make her nervous again.
"I was honestly terrified."
She tried to laugh, but there was still an unmistakable trace of embarrassment in her voice.
"I didn't even know what I was supposed to say."
Adam listened to her in silence.
But inside his mind, only one sentence continued to echo.
"I already like someone else."
Those words sank deeper into his heart with every passing second.
And then...
His heart accepted something that had never been true.
"She likes someone else..."
"And that person..."
His eyes drifted toward Jinjin without realizing it.
"Maybe... it's me."
The thought alone made his heartbeat quicken.
He immediately looked away, afraid she might notice the hope reflected in his eyes.
After several moments of silence, he finally gathered the courage to ask,
"Jinjin..."
"Hm?"
"What you said back there..."
He hesitated, carefully searching for the right words.
"...Do you really like someone?"
Jinjin looked at him in surprise.
Then, the very next second, she laughed.
"Oh, no!"
She waved her hand casually.
"I only said that so I could get out of that situation."
A small smile spread across her face.
"If I had simply rejected him in front of everyone, they would've made an even bigger scene."
"So the first excuse that came to mind was saying I liked someone else."
She shrugged lightly.
"That's all it was."
For a brief moment, Adam stopped walking.
Part of his heart sighed in relief...
While another part quietly gave birth to a brand-new hope.
"So... there's no one in her life."
A faint smile appeared on his lips before he quickly hid it.
Jinjin had no idea that her simple explanation had ignited such hope inside him.
She continued talking as naturally as ever.
Sometimes she laughed about the race.
Sometimes she expressed her surprise at the basketball player's sudden confession.
Sometimes she laughed at how flustered she herself had been.
But Adam...
He could barely hear any of it.
Only one thought kept repeating itself inside his heart.
"Maybe... one day..."
"Maybe one day I'll be able to tell her how I truly feel."
"And maybe..."
"She won't reject me."
That evening, as the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon...
Adam silently made a promise to himself.
He wouldn't rush.
He would wait.
He would wait for the day...
When he was ready to confess his feelings.
And when that day finally came...
He would stand before Jinjin and tell her, with complete honesty, that he loved her.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
A firm conviction quietly took root deep within his heart.
A hope...
One that carried no certainty.
No promise.
Yet it refused to fade.
He truly believed...
That when the day finally came for him to confess his love...
Jinjin would smile...
And say, "Yes."
Little did he know...
That a person's greatest weakness is not always hatred...
Sometimes...
It is the false hope they choose to believe.
And fate...
Has a habit of testing those hopes before anything else.