I chased after Jiang Yu’an, completely out of breath. Unfortunately for me, the guy had legs for days and kept marching forward. I shouted until my throat was raw, but he stubbornly refused to slow down.

“Ow!”

“Oh, my gosh, it hurts so bad!”

I pulled out my oldest trick in the book, dramatically collapsing onto both knees. After a brief pause, I peeked up from under my lashes.

Sure enough, Jiang Yu’an was already crouching right in front of me. His lips were pressed in a tight line, completely silent, but his eyes were a storm of churning emotions… and a whole world of hurt.

“Where does it hurt?” he asked.

That was the cue I’d been waiting for. I threw myself into his arms, clinging to him like a helpless child. “It hurts right here! In my My heart!”

I felt his entire body freeze, turning as stiff as an ice statue nailed to the floor. He didn’t even dare to take a deep breath.

“Just listen to me explain first. I wanted to give you a surprise today. I know you tend to feel insecure, so I wanted to do a proper confession to show you how sincere I really am. I know you thought I was just making a joke out of you back there, didn’t you? But I swear on my life I wasn’t! Who could’ve guessed that third-wheel Zheng Xian and his clique would pop out of nowhere and ruin everything?”

The more I spoke, the more choked up I became. “I spent all day planning this, wasting so much effort. I’m the victim here too, you know… Give me a hug, please?”

His arms trembled slightly as he awkwardly wrapped them around my waist. Taking full advantage, I held onto him tighter, rubbing my cheek against his broad chest. Beneath my ear, his heart pounded like a war drum, accelerating with every passing second.

“Why?” His low, raspy voice drifted down from above, tinged with a quiet bitterness. “I have nothing to offer. Why do you like me?”

I lifted my head from his chest, gently pushing back the bangs covering his forehead to reveal his handsome, pale face.

“Who says you have nothing to offer? You’re super hard-working, extremely thoughtful, and ridiculously smart—you practically sweep all the top scholarships! On top of that, you love animals so much that the two stray cats on campus have been fed until they look like little pigs. You have a whole laundry list of amazing qualities, so why do you keep putting yourself down? If you like me, why shouldn’t I like you back? It’s a two-way street! When two people love each other, they’re supposed to be together!”

Back when my world revolved around Zheng Xian, I had gotten used to giving without expecting anything in return. I used to foolishly think that heartbreak and tears were just part of the recipe for true love. Doesn’t everyone who falls in love have to endure some suffering?

But later on, it was Jiang Yu’an who taught me better: loving someone is like cherishing a delicate flower. Guys who get a kick out of making a woman cry really only love themselves. Those kinds of scumbags—the bottom-tier players in the dating pool—aren’t even worth mentioning. In a relationship built on real respect and affection, you never treat the person you love like that.

“What about you?” I cupped his cheeks in both hands, my eyes bright as stars as I pressed him. “When did you start falling for me?”

His eyes widened, his long eyelashes fluttering softly. Flustered again. God, he’s ridiculously cute!

I leaned closer, seizing the golden opportunity to plant a swift kiss right on his lips. This time, Jiang Yu’an completely froze, his dark pupils reflecting my mischievous, triumphant smirk. Pressing my advantage, I snuggled closer and coaxed softly, “It’s not like we haven’t kissed before anyway. Can I have one more?”

“Xu Zhizhi!”

Zheng Xian’s thunderous roar erupted from behind us. He came storming over, his face pale with fury, his features twisted in anger. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

I had almost forgotten we were out in public. Putting on a modest, well-behaved posture, I smoothed my clothes and stood up, and Jiang Yu’an immediately followed suit. Calmly stepping forward, he used his broad back as a shield in front of me, facing off cold-eyed against the scumbag.

Peeking out from behind his back, I fired off with shamelessly brassy logic, “Are your eyes just for decoration? You saw it loud and clear—why ask the obvious?”

“Have you lost your damn mind, Xu Zhizhi? You’re really throwing yourself at this dirt-poor nobody?” Zheng Xian’s voice suddenly dropped into a dangerously calm tone. Narrowing his eyes, he subjected the two of us to an intensely bitter, judging glare. “Or is this just another ‘playing hard to get’ scheme like Lin Xi said? Did you pull this trick just to get my attention?”

Me: “Do I look like I have nothing better to do than play games?”

Zheng Xian: “Don’t you love me?”

We spoke at the exact same time. Zheng Xian’s question cut me off like a rooster choked mid-crow. Speechless, a wave of sheer embarrassment washed over me as a catastrophic memory resurfaced: not too long ago, my secret diary detailing my crush on him had been exposed.

Fair enough—I really had been crazy about Zheng Xian once upon a time. Knowing him for over ten years, his presence had practically defined my youth. Besides, we used to share such wonderful times together; how could a teenage girl not fall for that?

The boy in my memories always wore crisp white shirts, his smile as radiant as summer sunshine. He shared meals with me, took walks with me. When I ran a high fever, he was the frantic one who carried me piggyback all the way to the infirmary. Knowing I struggled with physics, he gave up his soccer time just to sit with me, patiently explaining problem after problem.

I had meticulously written down every single heart-fluttering moment he gave me in that diary. So of course, with just one glance, Zheng Xian knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the boy I was secretly in love with.

The problem was, that was all ancient history now! Ever since Lin Xi entered the picture, he and I had drifted further and further apart. I was the only fool left, unable to accept the end of our childhood friendship, lowering myself to follow him around like a pathetic shadow, holding onto the foolish hope that he might turn around and look at me again one day.

But fate had other plans. Disappointment piled up layer upon layer until an off-road racing event hosted by Lin Xi crushed the last remaining spark in my heart. On that rare occasion, he had actually invited me along. Yet the moment Lin Xi surged past his car and flipped him a provocative middle finger, Zheng Xian’s stubborn competitiveness flared up, and he abandoned me right there on a deserted mountain road. He told me to just wait for him, promising he’d come back after he won the race.

To make matters worse, a torrential downpour triggered a landslide that day, and I got swept away by the mudslide. When I woke up in the hospital, I saw Zheng Xian slapping his own face in deep remorse, muttering endlessly, his leg wrapped in a thick plaster cast.

I asked numbly, “Did you come back to save me?” He didn’t deny it, while the nurse standing nearby shook her head and chimed in, “The boy who carried you in was covered in blood—it was pitiful just looking at him.”

I closed my eyes, ultimately unable to bring myself to scold him. But knowing that the whole nightmare had been set off by him in the first place, the very last trace of affection I held for him vanished into thin air.