**Apartment 520**
Everyone continued chatting for a while.
Richard got up and left.
Because of his age, there was always some gap between him and the group. Chandler and the others weren't too keen on including him in their activities, so he usually just dated Monica alone.
Monica gazed longingly at his departing figure, her face filled with happiness.
"He's already gone; your soul can return now," Chandler joked. "Is it really that serious?"
"Oh, you have the nerve to say that to me?" Monica fired back. "Who was the one who said he was just playing around with Aurora? And who was the one who personally brought her breakfast in the morning, then got all jealous and whiny when she left? Who was that hopeless romantic?"
"Chandler!" Rachel laughed.
"Okay, okay."
Chandler raised his hands in surrender. "Aurora was just an accident. Didn't you see how decisively I broke up with her?"
"Decisively?"
Monica scoffed. "Oh, dear God, you stabbed a fork into her neck!"
"But that saved her life," Adam reminded them. "Without Chandler, she probably wouldn't have known she had a heart condition…"
"Thank you, thank you."
Chandler playfully bowed, smugly glancing around.
"...If Chandler hadn't thrown himself at her and gotten bitten instead, who knows what she would've sunk her teeth into?"
Adam suddenly changed his tone, teasing, "And let's be honest—who else would have reacted as fast as Chandler? Who else could have wielded a fork with such precision and skill to make her let go?"
"Hahaha!"
The group burst into laughter.
Chandler rolled his eyes at Adam.
"Oh, oh! And let's not forget that other time!" Joey added. "If it weren't for Aurora giving Chandler a psychological fear of public places, he would've totally scored with that elementary school classmate of his last time."
"He would've been better off letting her have her way with him."
Monica and the other women gave Chandler a look of disdain. "You pulled a girl's pants down in front of everyone, and you expect her not to get revenge?"
"That was in elementary school! It was decades ago!"
Chandler protested, "And it wasn't on purpose!"
"But you still pulled her pants down."
Adam chuckled. "She remembers it to this day. She's been holding a grudge for over twenty years. She even tried seducing you first just so she could get revenge. That just shows how much that incident meant to her. If you ask me, you should've just gone along with it and let her get it out of her system."
"I already apologized!"
Chandler was exasperated. "What else do you want me to do? Let her trick me into a bathroom, strip me naked, steal my clothes, and make me walk out in my birthday suit? Would that make her feel better?"
"Why not?"
Adam teased. "That's still nowhere near as bad as what you did to her. Let her have this one."
"Exactly."
Monica and the other two women nodded in unison.
Ross and Joey also nodded, looking as if they wanted no part in this.
"Should I just call her right now and tell her she can punish me however she wants?"
Chandler said sarcastically.
"Really?"
Joey's eyes lit up. "I still have her business card! I can dial for you."
He sprang up from the couch and ran to the other apartment to find it.
Don't be surprised!
That elementary school classmate of Chandler's was a makeup artist for a film crew and knew a lot of industry people. Joey never missed an opportunity to make connections.
"Good thing this isn't a battlefield, or I'd definitely be killed by friendly fire instead of the enemy," Chandler muttered.
"Don't think of it that way. A sincere apology is the least you can do. You left her with a psychological scar that lasted over twenty years. If anyone should understand how that feels, it's you."
Adam reminded him, "Put yourself in her shoes. If you had a chance to erase a psychological trauma from your past, what would you do?"
Chandler froze. "I'd be willing to pay any price."
His parents' messed-up history had nearly ruined his life.
In the original timeline, he kept getting into relationships, only to back out every time things got serious. He was terrified of intimacy, scared he'd end up like his parents.
Later, even when he and Monica were on the verge of marriage, he first pretended he didn't want to get married just so he could surprise her with a proposal. But Monica, knowing his past too well, believed him and was so heartbroken that she almost ran back to Richard. If she hadn't stopped herself at the last moment, their beautiful relationship would have ended right there.
If that had happened, Chandler might have ended up just as he feared—dying alone like the crazy old man who lived downstairs.
"Exactly."
Adam encouraged him. "She's not even asking for much—just for you to be embarrassed for a moment. To let you feel what she felt back then. You're a grown man now. So what if you lose face for a second? You'll get over it."
Monica and the other two women exchanged glances, then all subtly glanced down at Chandler's lower half.
"What?"
Adam immediately sensed something was off.
"Nothing."
"You were saying?"
The three of them stifled their laughter and quickly looked away.
"We've all seen your elementary school classmate. Be honest—she's smoking hot, isn't she? She could totally be a movie star," Adam said with a smirk. "Who knows? Maybe after you two make peace, you'll have a little romance."
"Yeah! I always said she looked like Julia Roberts."
"Like Vivian from *Pretty Woman*!"
The group buzzed with excitement.
"Should I really do this?"
Chandler hesitated, though part of him was clearly tempted—especially since Adam's argument about facing past trauma had struck a chord. And, well, he *was* a little dazzled by how stunning his old classmate had become.
"Absolutely!"
Everyone cheered.
"Okay!"
Chandler jumped up, clapping his hands and wiggling his hips. "I'm calling her right now! I need to resolve this! I don't want to be her shadow anymore!"
"Go for it!"
The group egged him on.
Still no sign of Joey. Chandler couldn't wait, so he ran back to his apartment to find the number himself.
"What now?"
Adam asked, noticing Monica and the others looking at him strangely.
"You're acting weird."
"Really weird."
"You're *way* too nice to Chandler."
Monica and the other two women suddenly said something that made Adam's heart skip a beat.
"Am I?"
Luckily, Adam had mastered the art of acting the moment he arrived in this world. He kept his face perfectly innocent.
"Of course!"
Monica exclaimed. "Every time Chandler has a problem, you're super patient and supportive."
"Yeah! But when it's Ross, all you do is tease and mock him," Rachel added. "The difference in treatment is *obvious*."
Ross frowned suspiciously.
"Oh, *that's* what this is about?"
Adam laughed. "Chandler and Ross don't have the same experiences or personalities, do they? Monica, you should know that best. By your own words, Ross was a 'prince' growing up, and you always wished you could trade parents with him."
Seeing Monica nod, Adam continued, "You went through a lot growing up, but even *your* childhood trauma doesn't compare to Chandler's. So isn't it natural for me to be more patient with him? Think about it—aren't I patient with you too?"
"So *I* deserve to be teased and mocked?"
Ross grumbled.
"Absolutely!"
This time, Monica beat Adam to it. "Adam's right. What's a little teasing? You grew up spoiled, and now you want extra attention? You're being greedy!"
"Wow, Adam really put thought into this."
Phoebe praised. "Adam, you're amazing!"
"Heh."
Adam chuckled humbly, but inside, he was letting out a deep sigh of relief.
That was close.
He had almost been exposed.
(End of Chapter)