The third time my childhood friend brought up the scholarship student, I laughed and teased him. “You think she has a crush on you?” His expression turned serious. “Merrin,” he said, his voice firm, “don’t joke like that. She’s not like us. You should never look down on someone who works hard.” I stuck my tongue out, a lump forming in my throat. In the end, the two of them went to the best music conservatory in the country together. And I? I threw away my violin, moved to another continent, and switched my major to finance. The battle between the red rose and the white one was a thing of the distant past. The day I came back, he took me to dinner and placed a piece of fish on my plate. Without thinking, I pushed it to the side. He froze, a long silence stretching between us. 01 I only told my parents I was coming back, but the Chows and the Langleys have always been close. So, when I saw Adrian Chow at the airport terminal, I wasn’t surprised. Years had passed, but he was still devastatingly handsome. His features were sharp and elegant, his posture refined. Dressed in a dark trench coat, he approached me with an unhurried grace that was all his own. The girls nearby were stealing glances at him, captivated by that unique musician’s aura. He smiled and naturally took the suitcase from my hand. “Merrin, was the flight tiring?” he asked, his voice as smooth as I remembered. “The car’s warm. Why don’t you get in first?” When I didn’t move, his smile widened. “Your dad asked me to pick you up.” I hesitated for a second before sliding into the back seat. “Aren’t you busy?” I asked, making small talk. “It’s a Monday.” “The princess has returned,” he said, his eyes deep and unreadable. “How could I possibly be too busy for that?” I waved a hand dismissively, forcing a laugh. “Don’t tease me. That nickname is so childish. It’s weird hearing it now.” He faltered, just for a moment, then recovered. “It’s been so long. We should get dinner.” It was already late. I thought about it. “Alright.” In the rearview mirror, I could feel Adrian’s gaze on me. I pretended not to notice, looking down at my phone to reply to a message. Just landed. The reply was almost instantaneous. Have some fun in the city for a bit. I’ll be there next week, as soon as I wrap things up here. I was about to type back when another message came through. Things have been crazy. I miss you. The London Stock Exchange had been volatile lately. He was probably swamped with meetings. My heart softened. “Don’t stare at your phone in the car,” Adrian said gently, noticing my silence. “You’ll get dizzy.” I paused. That familiar, caring tone—gentle and a little bit indulgent. I couldn’t help but look at him. It had been years since we’d really talked, not since our last, bitter fight. But he was acting as if nothing had ever happened. He smiled, a dimple appearing in his cheek. I put my phone down. “How are my parents?” Coming back was mostly for them. Seven years had passed. The old obsessions and resentments had faded. “Your mom was discharged a few days ago. The surgery was a success,” he said, his tone light. “Don’t worry. I’m here, aren’t I?” I fell silent. His uncle was one of the most renowned doctors in the city. The Chow family had clearly been a great help. I offered a polite, distant smile. “Thank you.” The words hung in the air. Adrian froze. I used to be shameless with him. I’d make him buy me milk tea. I’d complain that my hand was sore from playing the violin and make him massage it. I’d even fake-trip so he’d have to kneel down and tie my shoelaces. I would laugh and throw my arms around his neck, never once saying thank you. He would just flick my forehead, exasperated. “You’re impossible. You have to grow up sometime.” The car stopped at a red light. Adrian rested his hand on the open window. “And you?” he asked, his voice casual. “How have you been, all these years?” 02 After I’d dropped my things at my apartment, he took me to a nearby restaurant. It was a French place I used to love. As the waiter served our steaks, I answered his question nonchalantly. “Fine. London’s great.” Adrian smiled warmly. “I should visit sometime.” He stopped talking and replaced my glass of red wine with a soft drink. I sighed. “You know, I’m a grown woman. You don’t have to do that.” He was insistent. “Girls should drink less.” The restaurant had a small stage for live music. A few young women who were performing spotted Adrian, their eyes lighting up. They rushed over for an autograph. After he signed, he whispered something to them. They covered their mouths, glanced at me, and then scurried back to the stage, giddy with excitement. A moment later, a familiar melody began to play. My hand froze mid-air. It was a violin. A Norwegian dance. A complex piece with the crisp, clean scent of summer. I could still remember the summer I turned seventeen, with Adrian sitting beside me, patiently practicing it with me over and over again. In the candlelight, he smiled. “By the way, Merrin, you should come over soon. My parents are always asking about you. And we have your favorite mille-feuille. Oh, and our cat had kittens last year…” As he spoke, he casually placed a piece of salmon on my plate. I looked down and pushed it to the side. Adrian’s voice trailed off. He fell silent for a long time, then rubbed his temples, a sudden weariness in his eyes. “Merrin,” he said, his voice low. “After all this time, do you still hate me?” My fork clattered against my plate. He looked genuinely bewildered. “We grew up together. Is it all because I held her hand during a curtain call?” The violin music continued to drift through the restaurant. As the piece transitioned, the melody soured, dredging up older, uglier memories. Memories that made my stomach churn with anger and disgust. Adrian’s voice grew louder, his fingers tapping against his wine glass. “Is that why you gave up on your dream? Why you never touched the violin again? You just threw everything away and left the country by yourself?” He frowned. “All I did was not shake off her hand when she reached for me… We were on stage, Merrin. Why do you always have to be so stubborn?” Heads were turning in our direction. I stopped moving, the years-old argument rising up again, a bitter taste in my mouth. I dropped my knife and fork, the silverware clinking sharply. I tilted my head, my eyes curving into a smile. “Mr. Chow, I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. A beautiful first love in your youth? It’s a classic romance story.” I feigned confusion. “Why would I be angry?” Adrian stared at me. I picked up my purse. “You have your dreams, and I’m allowed to choose my own path,” I said coolly. “There’s no need to bring up the past.” I glanced at the musicians on stage. “And honestly,” I said, my voice clear and cutting, “I find this piece rather unpleasant.” The music stopped abruptly. As I turned to leave, Adrian grabbed my wrist. His eyes were unreadable. “So, you studied finance, something you were never good at, and just accepted your family’s arranged marriage?” he demanded, his voice low and intense. “You’re going to marry a man you don’t even know, just to get back at me?” He shook his head slowly. “Merrin Langley, you must have lost your mind.” I calmly pulled my hand away. “What’s it to you?” I asked softly. “Adrian, in what capacity are you even speaking to me right now?” His eyes were dark as ink. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. I smiled. As I walked out, I paused. “Oh, by the way. I heard you and Nelly Guan were both made principal players this year. Congratulations.” 03 My head was throbbing. I stopped at a coffee shop and ordered an Americano. While I waited, a woman in a pencil skirt with a sharp, short haircut sat down across from me. Her eyes scanned the room and then landed on me. Her face lit up. “Merrin! What a coincidence!” She put down her phone and extended a hand. “It’s been so long! I was in your class in high school.” I was a bit taken aback. That part of my life, the part I had deliberately tried to erase, had become a blur. “You and Adrian helped pay my tuition once,” she continued, her voice filled with genuine gratitude. “I’ve always wanted to thank you both properly.” When I didn’t respond, she waved her hand dismissively. “It’s okay if you don’t remember. You two were so popular, you helped so many people. You’re still as gorgeous as ever! You and Adrian were always such a perfect match.” I lowered my eyes, unsure what to say. The woman, however, was just getting started. “You two are so low-key, though! Not a single word about you getting together all these years. You know, there was this crazy betting pool on the school forum back in the day. The Red Rose versus the White Moonlight. The arguments were epic.” She took a sip of her coffee, her expression indignant. “It made me so mad. How could Nelly Guan even compare to you? You were childhood sweethearts! She had nothing on that.” “Ma’am, your Americano is ready.” I stood up, a wry smile touching my lips. I remembered the forum. Seven years ago, arrogant and full of myself, I had publicly cast a vote for myself. I never imagined I’d be the one to flee in defeat. I turned back to her. “I’m sorry, I have to run.” She wasn’t offended at all. She just waved cheerfully. “Merrin, you have to invite me to your next concert! I’ll buy out the whole place!” I froze for a second before pushing the door open and stepping out into the cold night air. I didn’t have the heart to tell her, to see the disappointment in her hopeful eyes. I had abandoned that dream a long time ago. I haven’t touched a violin in seven years. The city nights were dry and cold, nothing like the soft, persistent drizzle of London. Some memories, you can’t escape. They creep back in, uninvited, and turn your world upside down. My mind drifted back. Everyone used to know I had two loves in my life: the violin, and Adrian Chow. It was simple. I’d known him forever. We’d started playing at the same time, lived in the same neighborhood, our parents were lifelong friends. We shared a natural, innate talent for music. We practiced together, competed together, learned together. We knew everything about each other. We were a perfect match. I was proud and playful; he was gentle and patient. We did everything together. Skiing in the Alps, getting into the same elite high school, riding our bikes home after class. He carried my backpack, bought me milk tea, tied my shoes. Family background, looks, talent—it all aligned. Everyone assumed I would become a world-renowned musician. And then, I would marry Adrian Chow. But in the summer of our sophomore year, someone completely different entered our lives. Her name was Nelly Guan. She was just an ordinary girl. 04 Adrian first noticed his new deskmate when he casually offered her a milk tea. The shop had gotten my order wrong, and I was, as always, picky. He shrugged, about to toss it in the trash. “Excuse me… could I have that?” A small, timid voice. It was Nelly, looking up at him with wide, uncertain eyes. On the way home, Adrian told me about it. “I think she has low blood sugar. She doesn’t have much money for food.” It was the first time I’d ever heard him show concern for anyone else. At the time, I was at the peak of my youthful arrogance. I thought he was just being soft-hearted. In our specialized music program, Nelly was a try-hard, always at the bottom of the class. She only ever wore the standard blue-and-white school uniform. She’d get flustered and miss a beat while playing the piano, then start crying. She was a completely unremarkable girl. But then, Adrian started talking about her more and more. He’d say how talented she was, how much he admired her. “But I’m a hundred times better than her,” I’d protest. He would stop and look at me seriously. “Merrin, she’s not like us. Don’t look down on people who are ordinary and hardworking.” Sometimes, in class, a ripple of laughter would spread from the back of the room. We’d all turn to see Adrian, blushing, trying to cover Nelly’s mouth as she giggled. She would just blink innocently, her eyes meeting mine across the room. He started bringing her things when he brought them for me. He let her use our private practice room. He never said no to her. People started joking about it. Nelly was the white moonlight, and I was the red rose. One pure and simple, the other proud and vibrant. The battle of the red rose and the white moonlight became a recurring theme for the next three years. The labels stuck to me like a shadow, a constant, ghostly presence. Whenever Adrian and I were together, the comparison was inevitable. “She has such a princess attitude. Nelly is so much nicer.” “Guys always prefer the gentle type. And Nelly’s situation is so sad.” “Merrin Langley is too competitive. Though I guess she’s prettier than Nelly.” Nelly, Nelly, Nelly… I became agitated, prone to fits of temper. I couldn’t believe it. “Are you really falling for her?” I demanded. He would just flick my forehead. “Don’t say things like that. It’s not fair to her.” At the school festival, he agreed to accompany her on the piano. They were perfect together, earning thunderous applause. In the excitement of the moment, during their final bow, Nelly grabbed his hand. Flushed and radiant, the usually plain girl looked almost beautiful. Adrian hesitated for a moment, then let her hold it. A photo of them—his white shirt, her white dress—went viral online. I saw red. I threw out every single one of his white shirts. We didn’t speak for weeks. From then on, the sight of white clothes made me want to vomit. 05 The faint, ethereal sound of a violin drifted from somewhere nearby. That’s right, a slow tempo, a rising and falling melody. I was sitting in the audition room. The adjudicators were all familiar faces. The piece I’d drawn was the Norwegian dance. Outside the glass, I saw Adrian let out a quiet sigh of relief. This was our song, the soundtrack to the summer we turned seventeen. I knew it by heart. My lips were pale. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and began to play. The notes were clear and bright, but in my mind, a sickening scene was unfolding. This passage—where their hands had intertwined. This measure—where he had patiently tapped out the rhythm for her. My violin—where her hair had brushed against the strings… How could he? How could he? And why, of all the pieces in the world, did it have to be this one? A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I played faster and faster, my fingers flying across the fingerboard. A string snapped, slicing my finger open. I opened my eyes, stood up calmly, bowed to the stunned adjudicators, and walked out of the room. ... “Ma’am? Can you spare some change?” I was pulled back to the present. A small boy stood on the street corner, holding a battered old violin. I knelt down. “Were you the one playing just now?” “Yeah! It’s the only song I know…” He looked downcast. “My mom broke my violin. I’m trying to save up to fix it. I saw you listening for a long time. You must like the violin too. Can you help me out?” I’d just gotten back from abroad and had no cash on me. A hand with long, elegant fingers reached past me, holding out a few large bills. “Here, kid. Get your violin fixed. And practice hard.” A cool, familiar voice. Adrian. He ruffled the boy’s hair, his eyes flicking to me. “He’s got spirit,” he said, a teasing note in his voice. “More than some people I know.” I stood up and walked away without a word. Adrian fell into step beside me. The moonlight cast long shadows on the pavement. After a while, he spoke, his voice quiet. “Giving up after one failure… that’s not the Merrin Langley I know. How does that make you any better than the Nelly Guan you always looked down on?” My eyes were chips of ice. I stopped walking. “So? What are you trying to say? You two got what you wanted. Why are you still bothering me?” He looked at me, a deep, searching gaze, and handed me a ticket. “A very famous investment banker is coming to the city next week. I’ve been scheduled to perform. The tickets are impossible to get. I want you to be there… There’s something I need to tell you.”
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