"Xue Yang, I don't like you. Can you stop bothering me!
"I told you that I'd say yes to you once you got into the same university as me. That was a lie. Couldn't you tell? You didn't actually think I said that to encourage you, did you? You never stopped to think about how terrible your grades were back then. I only said that to make you give up. Who knew you'd actually get into Yanbei University!
"Please, just leave me alone. Do you have any idea how much trouble your public confession caused me today? Because of what you did, I don't even know how I'm supposed to face everyone at the university anymore. I'm about to start my internship. Just leave me some dignity!
"Xue Yang, get lost! Get out of my sight. I don't want to see you ever again."
...
Six years!
For six whole years, he had worked hard to chase after her. In the year before the college entrance exam, he studied so hard that he fainted several times. Each time, before he had even fully recovered, he would rush back to school to continue his classes. In his senior year of high school alone, he lost twenty-two pounds.
At six-foot-one and weighing only 121 pounds, he was painfully thin. His parents worried that something was wrong with his health.
But after he had finally caught up to her, she said, "Leave me alone. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"
I don't like you! I just wanted you to give up! Xue Yang, get lost! Get out of my sight. I don't want to see you anymore.
The past was vivid in his mind. As the cold rain lashed his face, Xue Yang felt nothing. He let it fall, no longer able to distinguish rain from tears.
They say a man doesn't shed tears easily, only when he is truly heartbroken.
He was eighteen, having just started his freshman year of college this September. He had been in love with a senior for six years.
When Xue Yang had just started junior high, she was already in her third year. It was his first time leaving home to board at school. The moment she took his luggage, he had fallen hopelessly for her.
Whether in junior high, high school, or college, she had always been the belle of the school.
She had countless admirers, and Xue Yang was just one of them—not the best, but not the worst either.
There were many boys at school who, like him, had liked her for years. But not one of them dared to declare their love as loudly as Xue Yang, letting everyone know that he was pursuing her.
His love was passionate and protracted. He wrote her a love letter every so often, and she accepted every single one. He also gave her other things, like roses, stuffed toys, milk tea, and designer bags... she accepted them all.
Xue Yang had always thought he had a chance. And he did—a chance to be a player in her game.
After six years, even a block of iron should have warmed up. Yet, she was like a popsicle frozen for ten thousand years, impossible to thaw. Utterly impossible.
She had never liked him from the very beginning. To her, his fervent affection was nothing but a huge nuisance.
A nuisance. What a fitting word.
She knew perfectly well that he had been desperately pursuing her for six years, yet when he finally caught up and confessed his feelings, the word she used was "nuisance."
From start to finish, the person he loved had only seen him as a joke. A massive joke.
It was over. Six years of playing the clown—over.
The greatest sorrow in the world is to be so moved by your own devotion in a relationship, only to have the other person not give a damn.
At that moment, Xue Yang finally understood. For six years, he had been nothing more than a buffoon.
She never explicitly rejected you because she wanted you to give up on your own. It was never because she was interested or was testing you in some way. She was never, ever going to like you for your persistence. Who said that accepting your gifts means she has to accept you? Dislike is dislike. It won't change with the passage of time, nor will she be moved no matter how many gifts she receives from you. Love is not something that can withstand being tested.
Chen Ying, from this day forward, I'm done loving you.
Xue Yang looked up at the sky, letting the drizzling rain wash over his face and cleanse away the humiliating past.
Don't assume the whole world has abandoned you; the world simply doesn't have time to bother with you.
After wiping the rain from his face, Xue Yang realized he was the only person on the entire road, apart from his own shadow, elongated by the streetlight.
No, that's not quite right. There's someone else.
Under a large tree nearby, illuminated by the streetlight, a small, helpless figure was huddled up, taking shelter from the rain. Her hair was done up in two cute pigtails that fell on either side of her face. She had straight-cut bangs and wore a pink, cat-eared hat.
She wore a mask, revealing a pair of large, limpid eyes. She was dressed in a pink, heart-patterned Lolita outfit. Beneath the pleated skirt was a pair of straight, pale legs in white, knee-high stockings, and on her feet were small, black leather shoes. On closer inspection, it somewhat resembled a maid's uniform. Her clothes were damp, and she looked as pitiful as a kitten abandoned by its owner.
It was hard not to notice a girl like that standing on the side of the road.
Xue Yang glanced over as if by accident, and his eyes met the Lolita girl's. He quickly looked away. Both of them were drenched, both alone on the roadside so late at night. There was a sense of kinship between them, like two fellow sufferers in a vast world.
But no, they didn't know each other at all.
Xue Yang nonchalantly walked past the girl, though a part of him was still concerned.
It's already past midnight, and a girl is standing all alone by the road. Is she waiting for someone? If she is, why not wait in a convenience store or somewhere similar? Besides, it's so late. If she's a student from the university, she should be back in her dorm asleep by now. The dorm matron locks the doors after midnight, and no amount of pleading will get you in. And from the look of her, she seems to have run into some trouble, which is why she's out here. It's still raining, and she's just hiding under a big tree. What if there's lightning? Wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous? And what if she runs into someone with bad intentions? Wouldn't that be even more dangerous?
He was definitely concerned.
Xue Yang stopped and turned back.
"Miss," Xue Yang called out to the girl.
The girl flinched and didn't reply immediately. Instead, she gave him a wary look. She looked even more like a kitten now. A Xiao Naimao, to be precise—fierce in a cute way.
"I just wanted to warn you," he said. "It's best not to stand under a large tree when it's raining. It's dangerous."
...
"Don't get me wrong," he added quickly. "I'm a student at the university nearby. Just a friendly warning."
...
Although his status as a university student made him seem less dangerous, the girl remained extremely wary. Her large eyes stared at him without blinking, as if she might lash out with her claws at any second.
Forget it. My own life is a complete mess. How can I find the energy to meddle in someone else's affairs? What if she's the dangerous one, and I'm just the fish she's baiting?
...