Chapter 141: Chapter 141: I Will Be His Only Choice
Thea Lynch couldn’t help but feel it was absurd...
"I was only in junior high at that time, right?" She thought Julian Zimmerman must have remembered incorrectly.
"Probably." Julian Zimmerman didn’t entirely dismiss the idea, "This is just something I deduced. It probably was during his college years."
She stammered, "I thought it was when I arrived in Westmere."
Ian Preston did mention once that he hurriedly returned home after graduating and didn’t stay abroad, partly because of her.
But she had thought he merely had a slight fondness for her back then. To call it love, it should have been later, right?
Thea Lynch carefully recalled that during Ian Preston’s four years in college, he didn’t seem to return home particularly often.
He mostly came back for major holidays. So during that time, they didn’t meet frequently.
Most of their interactions were in group chats, not privately.
If you really liked someone, wouldn’t you frequently keep in touch with them?
"If you think about it carefully, it’s not without traces." Julian Zimmerman naturally knew what she was puzzled about. He slowed his pace, his voice light, seemingly reminiscing.
"When he was studying abroad, Grandpa Preston told him he didn’t need to come back for every holiday. Just wait until the Spring Festival. But he still insisted on coming home frequently."
"I understand Ian Preston’s personality. If he had no one he wanted to see, he wouldn’t have been so persistent back then."
After speaking, Julian Zimmerman glanced sideways at Thea Lynch.
The person "Ian Preston wanted to see" choked on her breath.
"No, no way." Thea Lynch nervously averted her gaze.
Although she said "no way" aloud, she knew full well how fast her heart was beating.
"Back then it felt like nothing, but looking back now, it’s definitely special."
"Do you remember that he always came back long before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and every time just in time for your birthday?"
"Isn’t that quite a coincidence?"
At that point, Julian Zimmerman mentioned, and Thea Lynch suddenly remembered the gifts Ian Preston gave her every year.
Not just for her birthday but for other holidays too. The key thing was that every gift he chose was something she particularly liked at that stage.
In the beginning, he would ask if there was something she wanted.
Over time, he stopped asking.
It seemed like even back then, he understood her well.
"I didn’t contact him much at the time. If you don’t want to ask him directly, I suggest you talk to Silas Cheney or Sean Bell. They might have the answers you’re looking for."
These two certainly knew a lot.
Especially Sean Bell.
Back then, Sean Bell and Thea Lynch were in the same school, studying together. He knew Thea Lynch’s daily life best. If Ian Preston wanted to understand Thea Lynch, Sean Bell would definitely be the one.
Thea Lynch understood naturally.
"So, did Sam say anything else?"
Thea Lynch probed cautiously.
Hearing this, Julian Zimmerman couldn’t help but laugh, rubbing her head, "Lynch was never one to inquire about this before. Looks like I was right after all."
Thea Lynch couldn’t help but blush, "I just asked casually."
Julian Zimmerman still chuckled.
How should I put it, Thea Lynch wasn’t particularly concerned about anything before, nor did she ask. Others would be unable to resist sharing with her.
She was very interested in their conversation that day, so it’s true about her relationship with Ian Preston.
Even if it’s not apparent now, it’s just a matter of time.
"He explained your current relationship to me, said he’s liked you for a long time, and that you aren’t together yet. I asked him about your thoughts, and he said he wasn’t sure."
"Looking at it now, you two should like each other, right?"
Thea Lynch opened her mouth, "I..."
"It’s okay if you don’t want to answer; we can skip this topic."
"No." Thea Lynch shook her head forcefully.
No need to hide it in front of Sam.
Sam fully understood and could see clearly. He insisted on asking because he wanted to know when it started.
She had hidden it so well back then.
"When I arrived in Westmere, he was often by my side. I didn’t know if that was right, and others told me it wasn’t. But back then, I did like him very much. Or what shouldn’t be denied is, even now I feel the same."
"Why is it not right?" Julian Zimmerman frowned.
He stopped walking, pulling back Thea Lynch, and discussed the issue with her face-to-face.
"No one has the right to judge your emotions."
"Liking someone doesn’t come with right or wrong."
"Our Thea is obviously so smart, so why let others’ thoughts influence your decisions? Why trap yourself in such emotions?"
That’s not Thea Lynch.
In Julian Zimmerman’s memory, he remembered Thea Lynch as a very independent and self-sufficient girl with her own ideas.
"Because..." Thea Lynch suddenly smiled, "Because I thought back then I was really unworthy of Ian Preston."
"!"
"How could you have such thoughts?" Julian Zimmerman found it absurd, but he paused and somewhat understood. When you like someone, looking at them, it’s like there’s a filter.
No matter how perfect you are, you feel inferior at that moment.
"Our Thea is very excellent too."
Thea Lynch shook her head, "Whether it was then or now, I can’t quite reach him."
"At that time, I struggled every day in strange and contradictory emotions. I thought I knew him since childhood, that our elders were familiar, the family backgrounds were clean. I definitely had the right to stand by his side."
"But I quickly thought about my solitary nature, incomplete speech, declining hearing—essentially having lost hearing in one ear. So like fighting between left and right hands, my own flaws continuously suppressed the advantages my family gave me."
"During that stage, I was definitely not the best choice for him."
"As for now..."
"I am still an advantage. And at present, the greatest advantage is that he likes me."
"But I want to stand a bit taller. I don’t want to become his accessory."
At seventeen, she didn’t have the confidence to stand with Ian Preston; she couldn’t stop Aunt Honor’s gossip or refute Nina Sinclair’s words.
All she had was what her family provided. So this time, she wanted to catch up with Ian Preston’s pace first.
If a freshly graduate Ian Preston could rely on himself to stand firm in Coronet, why couldn’t she?
"I want to maximize my advantages and make my greatest advantage that I’ll be his only choice."
"Not for him, but for a better version of myself."
She was confident in herself, "I certainly have the ability to stand by his side."
Looking into each other’s eyes, Julian Zimmerman saw "ambition" in Thea Lynch’s eyes.
"That’s how it should be." He suddenly felt relieved, opening his arms to embrace her, "I believe this day will come very soon."
