Daniel raised a hand slightly, "Let’s go, let’s sit on the terrace over there, there are fewer people."
I opened my mouth slightly, paused, and asked, "Don’t you need to entertain the guests?"
"Aren’t you a guest?" implying that keeping me company was also entertaining a guest.
My cheeks flushed again, and I walked with him to the second-floor terrace, feeling the cool night breeze outside and the fragrant grass and trees in the mountains. The question resurfaced in my mind.
After a moment of silence, we both suddenly turned to look at each other and spoke at the same time.
Then our eyes met, and we both stopped, unable to help but laugh.
Daniel raised his hand, "You go first."
I pressed my lips, trying to calm my chaotic heartbeat, looked at him, and asked, "I want to know if you have known me for a long time? And if you’ve been intentionally getting close to me all this time?"
Daniel’s Adam’s apple moved, and his deep, captivating eyes fixedly looked at me. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke, "Lily, do you really have no impression of me at all?" Original content can be found at novèlfire.net
I was puzzled, eyes wide open looking at him, "We... did we know each other before?"
As I said this, I frantically searched my mind for any trace of this person in front of me, but there was indeed no impression.
Seeing my face full of confusion, Daniel smiled elegantly and gave a hint, "It was many years ago, so it’s normal that you don’t remember."
"Many years ago?" I was even more puzzled, tentatively asked, "Could it be when I was a child?"
"Yes, when you were eight or nine, in Granshire."
He mentioned a place name, and my eyes suddenly lit up, "My grandmother’s hometown?"
"Yes." Daniel leaned slightly on the terrace railing, and his handsome face seemed lost in memories, "I was about ten years old then, and because I was rebellious and unruly, my grandfather took me to his army’s station, and I stayed in Granshire for three years."
I frowned, trying to recall, but the time was too long ago, and it was hard to remember.
"I was quite bold as a child too. My grandmother said I dared to fight with the boys in town, could it be that I happened to beat you up?" Otherwise, why would he remember me after so many years?
Daniel laughed even more, shaking his head, "You didn’t beat me up, you actually saved me, and you saved me twice."
"What? I saved you? And saved you twice?" I was even more shocked, having no memory of such heroic deeds when I was a child.
"Yes, one time was when I and a few kids from the army’s family quarters got into a fight with a group of kids outside over basketball. The other kids were a bit older, and we got beaten badly. Later, the police came and we were saved. If the police hadn’t arrived, things could have gone really bad—later I learned that it was a little girl who ran to the police station that day and told the police about the fight at the basketball court, with heads broken and bleeding, and that lives were in danger..."
Daniel hadn’t finished when a distant, vague image flashed through my mind.
It seemed like there was such a thing...
That day I was on my way home from playing at a friend’s house, and as I passed the basketball court, I saw a group of boys fighting, throwing bricks from the grass, with blood flowing from their heads, still fighting.
I shouted for them to stop, saying someone would get killed, but no one paid attention to me, so I sprinted to the town police station and called for the police.
But when I and the police were halfway there, I met my grandmother calling me home for dinner, and I went home with her.
"You were among the injured?" I was shocked, my voice so high it went out of tune.
"Yes, the one with a bloody head was me." Daniel nodded in acknowledgment, then bent down and pointed to the spot on his forehead at the hairline, "It’s right here, but it was many years ago, and the scar isn’t obvious anymore—it got five stitches back then."
I followed his words and looked over.
Sure enough, on the right side of his forehead, at the hairline, there was a fine scar, lighter in color, and not noticeable unless you looked closely.
"When I recovered, I learned that we were saved because a kind person called the police, so I went to the town police station to ask about the person who called in, but by the time I found your house, your grandmother had already taken you back to the city, and we missed each other then."
I stared, stunned, looking at him, not knowing what to say.
It turned out that my "connection" with him could be traced back to childhood.
"Then... what about the other time?" Since we missed each other, how did I save him another time?
Daniel nodded, continuing, "The other time was the following summer vacation when I went swimming with two kids from the family quarters by the river. Actually, I’m a pretty good swimmer, but I was unlucky that time, and I got a leg cramp shortly after getting into the water. The kids with me saw me being carried away by the water and tried to save me at first but couldn’t catch up, so they ran to find an adult..."
As he said this, I suddenly remembered!
My eyes lit up, and I continued, "At that time I was passing by Granshire Bridge, about to go to the street to buy ice cream. I saw someone struggling in the river and quickly called for help, but it was midday and there was no one on the road!"
Seeing I remembered, Daniel’s eyes and brows showed a smile again, "You hurriedly ran down to the riverbank, first threw a rotten stick to me, but it was too light and small and was washed away immediately. You then picked up a tree root and handed it to me. At that time, I was holding onto water weeds, and the weeds were about to break. Luckily you handed the tree root to me just in time. I luckily grabbed it — just then, the friends who went to get help also called over some adults and successfully got me out."
I had a pretty vivid memory of this incident.
Because afterward, I remember a few officers in uniform brought many gifts to my grandmother’s house.
But I was so nervous and shy back then, hadn’t seen much of the world, that seeing so many officers in uniform visit my house scared me so much that I hid in my room and didn’t come out.
"My grandpa took me to your house to thank you, but you refused to come out, only your grandmother greeted us. I saw you hiding behind the bedroom door, and I even smiled at you."
"Really?" I asked in surprise, having no memory of that scene.
Daniel said helplessly, "It’s the first time I’ve been ignored so thoroughly in my life."
I felt a bit embarrassed, my smile awkward, and modestly said, "Actually that time it didn’t really count as me saving you... Even without me, your friends had called for adults."
"No, I had already drifted far in the river by that time, my leg was cramping and I couldn’t exert strength, I could only try to keep my face above water, but I swallowed quite a bit of water, and my strength was completely exhausted. If you hadn’t thrown the tree root to me in time, when the water weeds broke, I would have sunk directly. Even if help had arrived, they might not have gotten to me in time to save me."
After Daniel finished speaking, his deep, intense gaze fixed on me, and he said seriously, "So it was you who saved me."
My cheeks burned hotly, completely unexpected that he would remember something so vividly from over ten years ago.
I lowered my eyes shyly, remained silent for a moment, and suddenly thought of something, "Have you been keeping an eye on me all these years? Then why didn’t you ever... ever—"