Chapter 54
〈Do you know what that means?〉
Ashley’s voice echoed in his mind. Koi opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. Ashley’s words kept replaying by his ear.
〈Think carefully. What I did for you today, and why I did it.〉
He said it was to return the favor for the homecoming ticket. But even Koi, clueless as he often was, knew that going this far as a thank-you made no sense. It had to mean something. But what?
〈If you really think about it, you’ll {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} figure it out. You already know the answer.〉
His memories of the day returned one by one. Ashley, who had acted different from usual—wasn’t he unusually kind?
Because he’s rich.
The thought slipped in suddenly. Ash is rich, unlike me. Maybe for someone like him, this kind of return is perfectly normal. Ash had said it himself—rich people pay more taxes, and people like me have different limits when it comes to “the best.” Maybe this was just Ash showing his gratitude in his own way.
No.
A voice inside him immediately disagreed. He knew Ashley wasn’t like that. Not once had he ever shown off his wealth or used money to act superior to his friends.
Buying him clothes, taking him to that fancy restaurant, even the way he dressed and drove today—it was all different.
Wasn’t that... just like a date?