When the group reached the front of the girls’ dormitory building, Jason Bolton suddenly turned right. Liam called out to him in confusion, “You’re going the wrong way! Our dorm is the second building ahead, this is the girls’ dorm…”

“Of course he knows it’s the girls’ dorm!” Paul Young interrupted Liam, “He’s deliberately turning this way. You guys don’t need to worry about him! Right, ‘he’?” As he spoke, he followed and turned as well.

But Jason Bolton pushed him back, “You don’t need to worry about me either! Go do your own thing!”

Paul Young rolled his eyes and said to the other two, “Forget it, let’s go eat!”

After they rounded the dorm building, Jason Bolton finally walked toward the girls’ dorm, but after just a few steps, he stopped, staring fixedly at the main entrance.

Sophie and Shawn Thompson waved goodbye and turned to enter the building, while Shawn Thompson turned and walked in Jason Bolton’s direction. When he caught sight of Jason Bolton standing by the roadside, he was struck by a thought, jumped up excitedly, clenched his fists, smiled, and ran past Jason Bolton.

Jason Bolton stood there alone, a bit dazed, as dusk gradually fell. The lights from inside the building reflected in the puddles on the ground. When the wind blew, the reflections shattered. The rain had stopped in the afternoon, but a strong wind had picked up, messing up his hair and his thoughts.

Chapter 007: What’s Wrong

On Sunday’s make-up match, the History Department once again won by a large margin and advanced to the semifinals, with Jason Bolton continuing his hat-trick legend.

As usual, Sophie went to cheer him on, with Shawn Thompson standing right beside her.

Jason Bolton noticed, but didn’t show any reaction—he just kept shooting and scoring.

What struck Sophie as odd was that Shawn Thompson, who had never been interested in soccer, had actually come to watch the game in person.

After the match, Jason Bolton ran out alone through a side gate, evading the many fans who tried to stop him. Paul Young wasn’t surprised; after all, anyone would get tired of being mobbed every time, so slipping away quickly was the best move.

Sophie was a bit disappointed. She had thought Jason Bolton would come over and say a few words to her, but instead he ran off in the opposite direction. Shawn Thompson, meanwhile, offered enthusiastically, “Let me walk you back? It’s on my way anyway!”

Sophie looked at him and nodded.

Vera Smith knew that Jason Bolton already had a girlfriend, but she didn’t mind at all and kept trying persistently. Now, her chance had finally come! For some reason, Jason Bolton seemed to be having issues with his girlfriend and had been in a bad mood lately.

Vera Smith stepped up her efforts. If before she had only seen a small crack, now she hoped that with her persistence, the whole house would collapse, and she and Jason Bolton could build a new one together on its ruins.

However, Jason Bolton still seemed wooden and oblivious to her intentions. Vera Smith was a bit angry and anxious—like playing music to a cow!

This Wednesday, October 20th, was the Freshman Cup semifinal and Sophie’s eighteenth birthday.

The weather was clear, the temperature pleasant, no wind—by all accounts, a perfect day.

Shawn Thompson had somehow found out that today was Sophie’s birthday. He went downtown and bought a huge “Rogue Rabbit” plush toy, soft and adorable. When Shawn Thompson gave it to Sophie, she was a bit surprised. “This is…”

“Happy birthday! Today’s your birthday, right? Haha!” Shawn Thompson said with a smile.

“How did you know?” Sophie was pleasantly surprised, hugging the plush rabbit. “It’s so big!”

“Eighteen—you’re an adult now! Of course the gift has to be big!”

“Thank you!” Sophie smiled at Shawn Thompson.

Shawn Thompson felt like he was floating—this girl’s smile was just too beautiful! The ancients said a smile is worth a thousand gold pieces, but his mere hundred yuan was more than worth it!

Sophie was indeed very happy. In her eighteen years, it was the first time she’d received such a “big” gift for her birthday. But what she looked forward to even more was the upcoming Freshman Cup semifinal. Ever since her first year of high school, whenever there was a match around her birthday, Jason Bolton would always give her a hat-trick as a present. Although in previous Freshman Cups, Jason Bolton scored hat-tricks as easily as slicing melons, only the two of them knew which hat-trick was special and unique. This tacit understanding had lasted from her first to her third year of high school—three whole years. Even though, like birthday cake, it no longer brought much surprise, Sophie still looked forward to it—the birthday gift that touched her the most.

Jason Bolton was carefully cleaning his soccer shoes. Today, these shoes would shoulder a very, very important task and needed to be treated with care.

Yes, there had been a small problem between him and Sophie, but he hadn’t shown any obvious signs—not even his best friend Paul Young knew.