Chapter 11 Christian’s Call
10 Free Coint
A robotic voice echoed from the phone, “The number you dialed is not in service, please check the number and try again…”
Jocelyn exhaled with relief. Thankfully, it was a disconnected number. It appeared that Zachary had genuinely canceled it.
When someone is truly letting go, even knowing that reaching them is impossible, it doesn’t leave a heavy sadness in the heart.
Jocelyn had anticipated this result for a long time. Was there any regret? It seemed her feelings had mostly faded. In her previous life, she had endured similar losses, and now there was nothing she clung to.
From the age of four or five, Zachary had been a part of her life for eleven years.
At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Zachary discovering the matters between her and Christian in the future.
Zachary had always been very controlling since her childhood. He acted not just as an older brother but also as a stern guardian.
In her complete dependence on him, she had overlooked the fact that he was never truly hers alone.
At eight–thirty in the evening, in a small, run–down rented room, a desk lamp still cast its light.
Jocelyn had just begun her homework when her silent phone suddenly lit up with an incoming call.
She couldn’t forget this number. Even in her current predicament, if she called this person, he would come to her like a savior, no matter where he was.
Unknowingly, as she saw the number on her screen, a smile crept onto her lips.
As the call was about to end, Jocelyn set the phone aside and answered it.
At first, only faint breathing came through the receiver. While drawing straight lines on a page covered in formulas with a ballpoint pen, she asked, “Christian? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Only after she spoke did she hear his voice reply, “I already know.”
Jocelyn asked, “Know what?”
In that instant, a realization struck her. Her hand paused mid–stroke, and she felt her face flush. After a brief hesitation, she forced herself to explain, “Who told you to look into this? It’s none of your business. I made a mistake on the test because I was distracted. Let’s not discuss it anymore, understood?”
In her mind, she pictured Christian’s rugged face–stem and serious, with a look of hesitation. She asked, Is there something you need when you call me?”
Christian said, “You don’t need to write the reflection essay.”
Jocelyn was puzzled and then she responded, “You didn’t write it on my behalf, did you?”
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Christian replied without hesitation, “Don’t worry about it being discovered. I copied it based on your handwriting, and I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”
In the mirror, her innocent face smiled back at her as she lowered her head. He was still so kind.
“It’s not your fault. You don’t need to do this for me,” she said.
Christian stayed quiet.
There was no response from him.
The two lapsed into quiet once more, and Jocelyn reached for a math workbook. “Christian, could you help me with these problems? I told the teacher I’d work on boosting my score in the mock test. Could you assist me with a review?”
He agreed promptly, “Sure.”
Jocelyn understood that his family was facing difficulties, and he had to take on part–time work to cover his mother’s medical bills.
“Christian, I’ll compensate you for tutoring,” she offered
But Christian replied, “I don’t want your money.”
Jocelyn carefully explained the questions, and the person on the other end of the phone helped her understand them patiently. Christian was correct. Her basic knowledge was not bad, and she could solve the problems with a few formulas.
In her past life, she managed to enter Dreunga University mainly due to her connection with Zachary
This time, she wanted to see if she could succeed on her own without relying on him.
Christian broke down the questions into simple terms, making them easy to grasp. Jocelyn worked through the calculations, compared her answers with his, and ultimately solved the problems.
A pleased smile touched her face as she said, “Christian, I got the answers right, and it doesn’t seem so hard
now,”
Christian replied calmly, “I’ve told you before, your basics are not bad.
“Jocelyn, keep working hard…
Why does he still seem so concerned about me? We’ve only met a few times. How can he be so thoughtful towards me?
“Okay.”
With that, she continued to ask Christian for help with other topics.
After a while, Jocelyn sneezed, covering her mouth.
Hearing the sneeze, the person on the phone stopped discussing the topic. I’ll wrap up the rest quickly. You should get some rest.”
Jocelyn replied drowsily, “Alright. And what about you? Noting the background noise on his end, she 2/4
suspected he was still quite busy.
He simply responded, “Get some sleep early.”
“Hold on!”
Christian remained silent.
Jocelyn said, “Christian, have a good night.”
After a few seconds of silence, Christian’s voice eventually said, “Good night.”
After the call ended, Jocelyn organized her books, shut off her phone, put it on the bedside to charge, and left a light on in the room.
When she drifted off to sleep, it was rare for her to be free from nightmares.
She slept through the night until morning.
When the alarm went off, she freshened up briefly and left the house as the sky began to brighten.
On the bus, Jocelyn took her usual seat. There weren’t many passengers today. After two stops, she spotted Christian in his school uniform waiting for the bus at the next stop.
Propped against the window with her chin resting on her hand, she openly watched the eighteen–year–old Christian ahead of her.
She couldn’t grasp why Christian, just eighteen years old, seemed so average at the moment. However, by the time he reached his thirties or forties, he would become more attractive with age.
His features were strong and defined, with a healthy tan complexion, radiating a rugged masculinity.
As the bus came to a halt, Christian disembarked and stood tall among the crowd. Jocelyn took the opportunity to sit by the window, clutching her backpack. However, Christian acted as if he hadn’t noticed her and stood in front of her, holding onto the handrail. It was unusual to encounter a fellow student in this setting. His grip on the rail was firm, but his palm was rough, with calluses that even hand lotion couldn’t smooth out.
In her previous life, whenever he touched her, Jocelyn always felt uneasy because of the rough texture of his skin.
Christian pulled out a folded white piece of paper from his backpack and said, “Here, take this.”
“Is it another love letter you’ve written for me?” Jocelyn teased softly. Her eyes, soft and warm, gazed at the back of his ear. Although his expression stayed neutral he couldn’t hide his shyness. It was remarkable how someone could be so reserved and modest.
Christian stayed quiet.
Jocelyn unfolded the paper and discovered an eight–hundred–word reflection essay that resembled her own writing style.
She was astonished. “Did you actually write this?”
Examining the strokes, she noticed they were nearly id before, and it didn’t look like this. Mimicking someone could be mastered quickly.
It became clear that Christian had been up to a lot behi unaware of
the strokes, she noticed they were nearly identical to her own. She had seen his handwriting before, and it didn’t look like this. Mimicking someone’s handwriting so precisely wasn’t something that could be mastered quickly.
It became clear that Christian had been up to a lot behind her back, doing things she was completely unaware of
