No Substitutes for the Bigshots' Dream Girl Anymore!-Chapter 1928: Hayes Edwards Extra (85)

But Grace Winter was not upset and even laughed as she said to him, "It’s okay, Hayes Edwards is cheering me on in my heart; I can hear it."

This was something he had mentioned casually before, and he hadn’t expected her to still remember it.

As for the gift, by the time he remembered, he heard the news of Grace Winter going abroad.

There was no warning, the separation came too suddenly, like a heavy rainstorm on a sunny day. They didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye in person.

Mother Edwards had also just learned about this and had taken special leave to see her off at the airport. Upon returning and seeing Hayes staring blankly at the house opposite, she explained, "Grace’s grandmother moved abroad a few years ago, and she’s fallen ill, missing her granddaughter. Grace’s parents got worried and booked the earliest flight over."

Hayes felt like his mind was blank; he could only see the white wall in front of him, and the sounds around him came and went.

After a while, he heard his own voice asking, "Will she ever come back?"

Mother Edwards didn’t know for sure, but thinking about how the two kids had grown up together for so many years, their bond deep, and how sudden separation was hard for anyone to handle, she comforted, "Yes, she will."

Hayes also believed she would; they had agreed to get into the same high school, to be in the same school.

They had promised.

In July, the results of the high school entrance exam were released.

Students were checking their results online and also went to school to collect the last report card of their junior high school career.

Grace Winter still hadn’t returned, and there was no news about her from abroad.

Just like every other holiday, Hayes met up with old friends to play basketball, hang out, or sneak into the school together.

On the day he came back from school, Helena brought back Grace Winter’s report card, but as Grace wasn’t home, she could only give it to Hayes.

The report card didn’t have specific scores, only grades. All of Grace Winter’s grades were the highest, without any extra points, and her total score was also the highest grade.

With these grades, she would have been accepted into their high school.

Hayes could already picture her taking the top spot in the grade in the future, and by then, he would proudly say to others, "I know her; we grew up together. We are—childhood friends."

But she still hadn’t come back.

He was even a little angry.

Angry that she hadn’t contacted him, not even a phone call. Did she not plan to come back?

The day before the registration deadline, Hayes found out that Grace Winter had never signed up.

She hadn’t chosen their high school, nor did she choose any other school. It was as if... she didn’t plan on coming back at all.

Hayes locked himself in his room, calling Grace Winter repeatedly, wanting to ask her if she didn’t plan to come back or didn’t plan to contact him.

But there was no response, none at all.

It was as if she had suddenly disappeared, as if she had never existed in his world.

Gradually, it seemed like everyone around him was beginning to forget her. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Forgetting the little girl who always followed him holding a doll, forgetting the little girl who wouldn’t get angry even when bullied, forgetting the little girl who would cry for him when she fell.

Or perhaps, everyone hadn’t forgotten.

It’s just that time moves forward, pushing memories back.