(1)
Xuxia was a high school girl.
More precisely, a senior in her third year of high school.
Well-developed, she stood tall and graceful, with the right curves in all the right places. On campus, she was known as a pretty girl, and since her first year, there had never been a shortage of people wanting to date her.
She hadn’t turned them all down, either. She had dated a few boys.
But the funny thing was, every boy who dated her ended up with their grades plummeting. And each time, during the relationship, she was the one who got hurt.
It seemed like every boy she dated—or rather, the ones she chose to date—had an unhealthy possessive streak toward her: forbidding her from talking to other guys, deleting her male friends’ contact info, trying to control her entire life.
This wasn’t just Xuxia’s side of the story. At least from those around her, those guys really were like that. A few of them even admitted it themselves—they wanted to monopolize Xuxia and never let any other guy touch her.
At the end of the day, the most you could say was that Xuxia had bad luck with the people she met and couldn’t pick the right boyfriend. But that wasn’t something to blame her for. If anything, it made other guys even more eager to pursue her—everyone wanted to be the last boyfriend who could truly cherish her.
“Xuxia~ Xuxia?” Her best friend sitting next to her gently shook her shoulder, snapping her out of her daze. “What’s up? You spacing out? There’s only a few days left until the Gao Kao, you know.”
“Huh…? Nothing, really.”
“Speaking of which, you’ve been in a pretty good mood lately, haven’t you? You even have a smile on your face when you’re daydreaming.”
“Oh, is it that obvious?”
“Yeah! Hmph, what’s the good news? Share it with me?”
“It’s not really that great of news… Didn’t I tell you before? I started seeing a middle school boy—a ninth grader.”
“Oh, I remember—wait, you’re still together? A ninth grader? He’s way younger than you. Can he really take care of you?”
“He’s really considerate… and treats me well. Besides, he’s only three years younger. That’s not too much, is it?” Xuxia covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed softly. “I was thinking, when I start college, he’ll just be starting high school. Then I can often wait for him at his school gate after class.”
“Wow~ sounds pretty romantic. But usually it’s the guy waiting for the girl, isn’t it?”
“It’s no big deal for a girl to wait for the guy sometimes.”
“Do you really like him?” Her best friend’s expression turned a little odd. “I thought you were just…”
“Just what?”
“Hmm… nothing? I guess I always thought I understood you, but now I’m not so sure what you’re thinking.”
“Tell me.”
“…How should I put it? You have this vibe that drives guys crazy for you, right? But… maybe it’s your subconscious doing it on purpose… leading them on?”
“Huh? No way. Why would you say that all of a sudden… You’ve never said that before…”
“Well, graduation’s coming up, and I just had to get it off my chest. Don’t be mad. I’m just really curious… You’re not actually doing it on purpose, are you?”
“No! If you keep saying that… I’m going to get mad… I really did like every boyfriend before we broke up…”
“Alright, alright. So, you’ll be fine when you’re in college? He’ll be super busy in high school, you know.”
“I’m going to college in T City anyway. It’s not that far.”
“Still, it’s a bit of a distance…”
“Then I’ll just learn to ride a motorcycle!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to get a driver’s license instead?”
“A car is too expensive.”
“Hmm…” Xuxia’s best friend rubbed her forehead with a strange look. “What does that guy look like?”
“Well… really handsome? There’s a kind of melancholy in his eyes. He’s tall, a little over five foot seven. He might grow a bit more later.”
“And his personality?”
“He’s really comfortable to be around…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, nothing! I mean, being with him is really comfortable!”
“Sounds like a precocious little brat!”
“No, it’s not that fake mature kind. He’s genuinely mature—feels like a college student. Way more mature than most of the guys in our class.”
“Oh—but guys like that usually have been through a lot.”
“Why?”
“You really are naive… If he hasn’t been through a lot, how could he be that mature?”
“Maybe… maybe he was born that way?”
“…I don’t think that’s likely.”
“After the Gao Kao, should I go see him every day?”
“He won’t have finished his Zhong Kao by then, right?”
“But I can’t help it…”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to break up with him before his Zhong Kao…” Her best friend pursed her lips.
“What…? Didn’t catch that…”
“Oh, nothing, nothing.”
The bell for the end of class rang just then. Xuxia stood up with a smile on her face. “Want to go to the restroom together?”
“No, I just went last period.” Her best friend shook her head, resting her chin on her hand.
When Xuxia walked out of the classroom alone, a girl from the front row immediately leaned in teasingly: “Wow, Xuxia’s still pretending.”
“Who knows if it’s really fake…”
“Of course it’s fake. Every time they break up, it’s the other guy’s fault. As if that even happens! Acting all pure… pfft.”
“I don’t have any proof either, but I get that feeling too. She seems really calculating.”
“Hey hey~ Is that how you talk about your bestie?”
“We’re about to graduate anyway. To be honest, being her bestie is pretty stressful. I’m always afraid I’ll say something wrong and she’ll badmouth me behind my back.”
“Yeah, and she always wears that innocent look. So gross!”
“Even though it seems unintentional…”
“No one believes that. And did you hear? She said she’s going to go see that boy after the Gao Kao, and he hasn’t even taken his Zhong Kao yet! Care to bet she’ll cook up something to break up with him right before, and make him mess up his Zhong Kao? Little boys are easily affected by that kind of thing, you know?”
“Uh…”
“And she has a history. Every guy she’s gone out with had their grades tank. That guy from the class next door in second year—he was top three in the grade. His grades started dropping when he dated her, and after the breakup he fell right out of the top two hundred. Only started recovering a bit this year, but even then he only made it back to the top hundred.”
“You sure pay close attention…”
“Of course! I kind of liked that guy back then! I used to think he was useless for not handling the breakup, but now I think Xuxia did it on purpose.”
“So you think she’ll just dump the middle school kid outright?”
“Pfft, she won’t say it directly. But she’ll come up with all kinds of ways and reasons to break up, leaving him with major psychological trauma. Then he’ll bomb his Zhong Kao, and maybe even have to repeat a year!”
“Wow… that’s pretty vicious thinking.”
“I’ve got good reasons! And she’ll probably be secretly gloating about it.”
“What’s in it for her?”
“Satisfying her sick desire to destroy things. Ruining a perfectly good boy would make her really happy. You know, sometimes I really wonder if she hates all outstanding guys…”
“Should we warn that boy?”
“What good would that do? He’d think we’re trying to stir up trouble. Besides, we don’t have his contact info. Nothing we can do. It’s fate, I guess… Tsk, being in the same class as such a scheming woman is terrifying. Finally about to graduate…”
(2)
In the last week or so before the Gao Kao, evening self-study was finally canceled. All the students got to enjoy a normal end to the school day. Many walked out of the school gate and saw the sun still bright and not yet set, and felt an unreal sense of disbelief.
Xuxia walked together with her best friend. They were going to take the bus back together.
“School’s out early today. I want to go to Dapeng Shopping Street. Want to come with me?”
“I can, but what are you going to buy?”
“Hmm—I want to buy a gift.”
“A gift?”
“A gift for him, for after I finish the Gao Kao.”
“Oh…” Her best friend nodded lightly, instinctively associating “gift” with “humiliation after breakup” in her mind.
“Any suggestions…?” Xuxia brushed the bangs from her forehead a little shyly.
“Suggestions…? Hmm… I don’t know, I’ve never been in a relationship either.”
“That’s true… Or maybe I should buy him some clothes?”
“Whatever works…”
“Or I could buy something for myself—dress up nice and give myself as a gift to him…”
When her best friend heard that, an image flashed through her mind: Xuxia all dressed up, standing in front of that little ninth grader, accusing him of not deserving someone so beautiful, spouting insults, then turning and walking away…
She decided it was better to help that boy out, at least so the breakup wouldn’t hurt as much. “Why not buy him an outfit he can wear? I think he’d really like that.”
“Yeah… I just don’t know if he’ll grow again soon. Then the clothes I buy now won’t fit.”
“Then buy something a bit looser? He can wear it as casual now, and later it’ll be like a sporty fit.”
“That works! I’ll buy clothes!”
“Do you know his exact height? I can help you decide.”
“If I remember right, he’s about five foot eight, and… he has a really athletic build. Not fat at all, but you can feel some muscle when you pinch him.”
“Sounds like he’s really handsome…” Her best friend clicked her tongue. She thought about Xuxia’s previous boyfriends—all good-looking, not necessarily super handsome, but the kind that were pleasant to look at.
She felt that maybe that other girl was right…
Xuxia was really good at pretending.
That flawless facade was actually more unsettling.
“The bus is here! This one goes to Dapeng Shopping Street. Hurry, hurry, get on!”
“Oh, right, right…”
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