Seeing how insistent he was, Ivy did not argue and simply said, "I believe in you."

"How so?" he asked.

"I believe that you will be really accomplished in the future, at least more so than what you imagine now," she said. "We don't have to compare ourselves to others. There’s no point in that. We are living for ourselves, not to fulfill others' expectations."

"I'm not that ambitious, really," Lucas said.

"You don't have to be! I know what you are thinking; you think you aren't worthy of me, and you are worried that my family will be against us dating, right?"

Lucas fell silent.

"My parents aren't that kind of people. You might not believe me now, but I will bring you to meet them one day. You can still meet my parents even if we are just friends!"

"We will see." Lucas sipped on his water.

"Yeah. We are still young, anyway. We don't have to rush."

They ended dinner at half past nine. The streets were noticeably quieter, with fewer cars in sight.

"I'll drive you back