Life Is a Poker Game

A New Me

I added, "Aileen, watch your words.

"You're the one that asks me for gifts again and again.

"I'm not a decent man, but it's you spending my money without shame.

"you said you just borrowed my money. But have you ever once paid it back?"

"Now get out of my way."

I went between Aileen and Emma and ran to class...

This was a language class.

I listened very carefully.

Actually, I was a smart boy. Teachers had said that if I worked hard, I could achieve high.

I finished learning the whole textbook after listening carefully to my teacher.

The bell rang.

Emma walked over to my desk uninvited.

She whispered, "If you're willing to buy Aileen that recently launched phone, she can forgive you for what you said to her."

I looked back at Aileen. She seemed to be slightly nervous.

I said indifferently, "You tell her that keeping her alive is already the biggest forgiveness I have for her.

"Stay as far away from me as she can. I'm sick of seeing her!"

Emma's mouth was wide open. She could not believe what I said.

I adored Aileen from freshman year to senior year, and it was known throughout the school.

Why I suddenly changed and didn't take Aileen seriously?

On the other hand, my classmates began to talk about us.

They were very loud.

"Hey, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. So let's all bet on how much money Patrick will spend on Aileen this time?"

"Tens of thousands of dollars?"

I deliberately walked out of the classroom through the crowd.

I turned around and said, "Not a single penny!"

My classmates all froze...

In the afternoon, we would have a language quiz in the first class.

We would get the score before the end of the class.

Aileen ranked, as always, first in the class. She was as good as ever.

But, surprisingly, I ranked fifteenth this time.

The teacher and my classmates were very surprised.

If I worked hard, I could make huge progress.

Because of my outstanding grades, I was moved to sit with Cynthia.

Cynthia was from a rich family, like me.

It was only that her grades stood out among the rich children.

The teacher let me sit with her, and it was a recognition of my performance.

Cynthia shook my hand and said, "Welcome, my study companion."

Cynthia was more than pretty. She was gorgeous.

She was also very easy-going and kind.

I shook her hand as well and showed my respect to her.

From the beginning of the afternoon class to the end of the evening class, I was all about "preparing" for the class.

My classmates were very surprised.

In the past, my whole mind was on Aileen.

I would either talk to her or send her a small gift.

Why had I changed my mind today? I was actually ignoring Aileen.

After the evening class, Aileen took the initiative to invite the whole class to the Rivefield Restaurant for dinner.

She said it was a celebration of Valentine's Day.

And, she came to invite me herself.

As smart as I was, I understood what she meant.

It was all a lie.

She just wanted an expensive gift from me.

And I would be the one who ended up paying the bill.

I wasn't nice to her.

I said, "Invite someone else. I have to go home and review my notes.

"You are on my way."

Aileen's eyes widened.

She stopped me again.

She then said, "Did you ignore me on purpose? Is it about the gift?"

It was funny.

I was speechless.

"What's the matter? Do I have to give you gifts?

"Who am I to you?"

Aileen didn't know how to answer my question. She had already gotten used to me being nice to her.

She took it all for granted.

I was the one who always gave unconditionally.

Anger flashed across Aileen's face.

Afterward, she said, "Alright, Patrick, it's fine if you don't go. Then you can lend me your membership card for the Riverfield Restaurant.

"OK?"

The membership card for the Riverfield Restaurant was worth at least 30 thousand dollars.

What she really meant was to let me pay for the bill.

Who said she was an innocent and outstanding girl?

She once said she would become a big shot.

And I was going to be a loser.

But now she wanted me to settle the bill?

She really wanted all.

A wave of nausea almost made me throw up.

Aileen was disgusting.

I took out my membership card and handed it to Aileen.

"Take it and stop pestering me."

Aileen snatched away the card I hadn't even handed to her.

In fact, she had no intention of pestering me at all, other than trying to take advantage of me.

In the evening, I reviewed my textbooks at home.

These books were too easy for me, and I really regretted not concentrating on my studies before.

Instead, what I thought about was Aileen.

But, thankfully, it was not too late.

It was nice to see that my mom and dad were both healthy and doing well in their careers.

It was great to have loved ones!

I put down my textbook and stretched. It was done here for now.

Then Aileen called me.

I smiled and glanced at the number on the screen, purposely picking it up and hanging it up again.

I wanted her to know that I got her call.

But, I didn't want to answer it.

Then, Aileen made five or six more calls, and I did the same thing.

I felt excited to think about Aileen's anxious appearance.

Maybe it was because I didn't answer Aileen's call, so Emma called me.

I picked it up, and it was Aileen's voice.

"Patrick, what the hell is wrong with you?

"Why do you lend me a card with no money?"

On the other side of the phone, I couldn't stop laughing.

I said, "You didn't say you had to borrow one with money?

"And why should I lend it to you?"

Aileen said in a broken voice.

"Are you kidding me? You know how embarrassed I am now?"

I sneered, "So what if I did that on purpose? Want to hit me?

"You feel embarrassed in front of your classmates. What does that have to do with me?"