“Then there's only one possibility."

Claudia felt a sense of deja vu, and before she could respond, Lucille said, "Before you met him, he must have seen you and loved you from afar!"

Claudia chuckled. "You're saying the same thing as Aurora did."

“That's because she and I are both observant!"

Trying to change the subject, Claudia asked, “Can we talk about something else?"

Lucille smiled and looked at Claudia's red ears. "Sure, let's change the topic. How's life been after marrying him?"

Claudia didn't know what to say.

She didn't want to talk about that either.

After they chatted for over two hours, Lucille's phone rang.

Claudia got up and went to the bathroom. When she returned, Lucille had already packed up. “I need to get back to the hotel. There's some issue with the performance tomorrow night."

“Let me drive you there."

Lucille hesitated for a moment, then agreed. "Alright, thanks."

At around 4 p.m., it wasn't time to get off work, so there weren't many cars on the roads. Claudia was able to drive Lucille back to the hotel quickly.

Once they arrived, Lucille unfastened her seatbelt and opened the door. But she hesitated before stepping out of the car.

She pursed her lips and turned to Claudia. "I won't have long hair anymore."

With those words, she stepped out of the car and added, “Drive safely!"

Claudia remained stunned for a moment before comprehending Lucille's meaning.

She pressed her lips tightly and watched through the window as Lucille slowly walked away. Only when Lucille had vanished from sight did she finally start the car and drive away.

Even after so many years had passed, Claudia vividly recalled the expression on Lucille's face when she'd mentioned that her love would marry her once she grew her hair down to her waist.

But now, she would never have long hair.

Perhaps it wasn't that Lucille wouldn't grow her hair long; it was just that she would never have waist-length hair waiting for her man again.

It was only 5 p.m. when Claudia got home. When she walked through the door, Marcia asked what she wanted to eat for dinner, but Claudia was in a bad mood and replied indifferently, “Whatever you want, Marcia."

She had no appetite.

With a glass of water in her hand, she went up the stairs, feeling forlorn.