Li Xiao was the kind of boy people only noticed when they needed someone to feel superior to.
Eighteen years old, tall but lean from years of not-quite-enough meals, dark hair that always fell into his eyes, and a face that was handsome in a quiet, unassuming way.
At Beautiful Hearts Academy—the most prestigious private high school in the entire province—he was the scholarship student.
The charity case.
Beautiful Hearts Academy was a world unto itself.
Towering marble buildings draped in climbing roses, cherry-blossom-lined paths that bloomed year-round, glass-domed libraries, and private dorms that looked like five-star hotels.
Students arrived in sports cars or were dropped off by chauffeurs.
Designer uniforms, latest phones, weekend trips to private resorts.
The girls were breathtaking, the boys confident, and the hierarchy was clear from day one.
Li Xiao's place was at the very bottom.
He had no parents.
His mother died when he was six, his father long gone before that.
He grew up in a state-run orphanage on the outskirts of the city, sharing a room with seven other kids, eating the same bland meals every day, wearing whatever clothes the donations provided.
But he had a brain.
A scary-good brain.
Perfect scores on every national exam.
Top of every practice test.
That was how he earned the one and only full scholarship Beautiful Hearts Academy gave out each year—the golden ticket that let a nobody like him walk through those rose-covered gates.
He kept his head down from the first day.
Wore the same slightly worn uniform without complaint.
Carried a second-hand backpack.
Ate alone in the cafeteria corner.
Studied in the library until it closed.
The rich kids whispered "poor trash" or "charity boy" when he passed.
He ignored them.
He had a plan: graduate at the top, get into the best university, build a life where no one could look down on him again.
He never expected anyone to see him as anything more.
But someone did.
**Chen Xiaoyu**.
She was beautiful in a simple, natural way that stood out among all the designer perfection.
Long, straight brown hair that she usually tied in a ponytail,
warm hazel eyes that always seemed to smile,
fair skin with a few freckles across her nose,
and a figure that was curvy in all the right places but never flaunted.
She wasn't from a great family.
Her parents ran a small convenience store in the city.
She got into Beautiful Hearts on a partial scholarship and hard work.
She was kind to everyone,
but especially to Li Xiao.
It started small.
She sat next to him in math class when no one else would.
She shared her lunch when he forgot his money.
She laughed at his quiet jokes.
One rainy afternoon in the library,
when he was struggling with a physics problem,
she leaned over and explained it in a way that suddenly made sense.
"Thanks," he said, surprised.
She smiled.
"You're welcome.
You're really smart, Li Xiao.
You just need someone to believe in you."
They started studying together.
Then eating lunch together.
Then walking home together when their shifts aligned.
One spring evening under the cherry blossom trees behind the school,
petals falling around them,
she stopped, turned to him, and said:
"Li Xiao… I like you.
Be my boyfriend?"
His heart raced.
He said yes.
For eight months, they were happy.
She held his hand openly, not caring who saw.
She waited for him after his part-time job.
They shared dreams—getting out of their small lives, building something together.
She was his first kiss, his first everything.
He thought she was his future.
Until the day everything changed.
A new transfer student arrived.
**Zhao Haoran**.
Son of the Zhao Group—one of the four great business empires.
Tall, handsome, rich, confident.
He saw Chen Xiaoyu and decided he wanted her.
He started small—gifts, invitations, attention.
Xiaoyu refused at first.
But Zhao Haoran was persistent.
And he offered something Li Xiao never could: money.
A lot of money.
He promised to pay off her parents' store debt,
send her little brother to the best schools,
give her family a life they could only dream of.
All she had to do
was be his girlfriend.
Li Xiao found out the night of the school festival.
He had saved to buy her a simple silver necklace—nothing fancy, but it was all he could afford.
He went to the dance looking for her.
And saw her.
On Zhao Haoran's arm,
wearing an expensive dress he knew she couldn't afford,
smiling in a way she used to smile only for him.
Later that night, she texted him:
"Li Xiao… I'm sorry.
Zhao Haoran can give me and my family a better life.
We're too different.
It was nice, but it's over.
Please don't contact me."
No tears.
No explanation in person.
Just like that.
Li Xiao walked home alone in the cold night air,
the unopened necklace box heavy in his pocket,
heart feeling like it had been ripped out.
He had trusted her.
He had believed in them.
And she had chosen money.
The poor orphan
was alone again.
Just like always.