After playing in the study for a while, Yvonne drifted off to sleep in Cristofer’s arms. Cristofer then replicated what Estelle used to do to soothe the children to sleep. He gently patted Yvonne’s back for a while. Once he was certain she was in a deep sleep, he adjusted his posture and let her rest comfortably in his arms.
Among the three children, Yvonne looked like Estelle the most. She had Estelle’s big eyes, long eyelashes, and cherry mouth. Gazing lovingly at Yvonne, Cristofer was not in the mood to work anymore. And he suddenly remembered that he used to take Estelle to the river by bike in the evening when they were still students. The two of them would sit on the bench under the willow tree by the river and watch the stars. At that time, Estelle always laid down her head on his lap.
‘If only we could go back in time,’ Cristofer thought. He had had such a thought countless times. Subconsciously, he reached out, opened the drawer on his right-hand side, and took out a slightly old but well-preserved diary from it.
It was Estelle’s diary that she wrote when she was in her girlhood, and it had a leather cover and a buckle at its side. After unbuckling the buckle, Cristofer opened the diary, and Estelle’s beautiful handwriting came into view. He had only read the diaries once and only had a deep impression of the wish list that Estelle had made before. Somehow, he wanted to read the diaries again.
After being torn between reading the diaries and closing the diary, Cristofer put the diary on the table and turned to the first page.
January 29, 2007
‘I bought this new diary today. When I was in the shop buying a diary, I saw Cristofer. My friend told me that he looked at me when I was choosing among the notebooks. If she hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known about it! Oh, God. I didn’t wash my hair after today’s exercise. I must be looking untidy at that time. Cristofer is so popular. Many girls who liked him followed him to the shop. The shop was so crowded that I almost couldn’t get out of there. How could those girls be so crazy? It’s so annoying.’
At that time, Estelle felt upset when seeing that there were many girls around Cristofer but she hadn’t realized that she had feelings for Cristofer. So many years had passed, but Cristofer, who had a good memory, still remembered what happened that day.
In the afternoon of that day, after PE class, he didn’t intend to go to the shop. But when he saw Estelle enter the shop, he followed her in. He had wanted to walk to her but there were too many girls around him and it was difficult for him to move a single step. As a result, he missed the opportunity to talk to her.
Thinking of this, Cristofer couldn’t help smiling. Then, he read a few more of Estelle’s diaries. Estelle confided to her journal and wrote sensitively, which was typical of a girl when she was in her puberty.
February 3, 2007
‘It suddenly rained today and I forgot to bring an umbrella with me. If Cristofer hadn’t suddenly appeared, I would have been drenched to the skin. He should have gotten that umbrella from a girl because there was a cartoon pattern on it. Although Cristofer is a handsome straight-A student who is good at playing football, I still think it is too exaggerated that girls are so attentive to him!’
Perhaps it was because Estelle felt that her words were more like a compliment than a complaint, so she crossed out the first half of the last sentence. Since she just crossed out the words lightly, Cristofer still could see what she had written.
In fact, Cristofer bought that umbrella. When he noticed that it was going to rain, he ran to the shop as fast as he could to buy it. And it was because he thought that Estelle liked cartoon patterns that he chose that umbrella. But he didn’t expect that Estelle would misunderstand him because of the pattern. After reading the diary, Cristofer smiled helplessly.
May 5, 2007
‘Cristofer confessed his love to me today! It’s so unbelievable! When he said he liked me, I doubted whether I was dreaming. Oh, my God. Why is my heart beating so fast now?’
Actually, before that day, Cristofer had been pursuing Estelle for a long time. However, Estelle thought that Cristofer was kind to her just because he took her as his sister. So Cristofer had to confess his love to her directly. Cristofer still remembered that when he told Estelle that he liked her, Estelle flushed from ear to ear. Her red face was like a ripe tomato and she looked lovely.
That day, Estelle didn’t agree to be his girlfriend immediately and said she needed some time to think about it. In the next half a month, he appeared in Estelle’s diary every day. She not only wrote what had happened between them but also sketched him. And she caught his appearance perfectly.
To make Yvonne sleep more comfortably in his arms, Cristofer turned off the light in the study and only left the lamp on the lowest setting. In the dim light, he continued to read Estelle’s diaries, forgetting all his unhappiness. The notebook was very thick. When Cristofer finished reading about one-third of Estelle’s diary, he finally knew on which day Estelle finally fell in love with him.
May 13, 2007
‘It was a rainy day again and I forgot to take an umbrella with me again. And again, I met Cristofer. To my surprise, he didn’t take an umbrella with him either. I asked him why he didn’t take an umbrella with him. He said it was romantic to get wet with me. But after saying that, he took off his coat and held it over my head. As a result, I was just a little wet with rain while he was soaked to the skin. Cristofer is so caring. I suddenly feel that it’s not bad to have such a boyfriend.’
May 17, 2007
‘I’ll go out with Cristofer for the first time tomorrow. I must dress up and make myself look attractive. I’ll wear my favorite floral dress because Cristofer said I look beautiful in floral dresses. Hope he will praise me when we meet tomorrow.’
May 20, 2007
‘It felt so good to sit on the rear seat of Cristofer’s bike with my arms around his waist. The next time he takes me for a ride, I’ll hold his wrist more tightly…’