4At around six in the morning every day, I would grab two hard-boiled eggs from the cafeteria and then run to the empty classroom to study.Although I was bottom of the class in my previous life, I had seen the behavior of my hardworking classmates before. Moreover, I wasn't an extremely unintelligent person. After all, I was ranked one of the top few in middle school, which allowed me to meet the quota for qualified students to enter Strasson High School, the best high school in the whole city.Never in my wildest dreams could I have thought I would be crushed repeatedly by natural science subjects that were not my forte, as well as by intelligent classmates after attending Strasson High School. Eventually, it led to a huge gap between Finneas and me. The difference between us was like night and day.What was strange was that Joaquin, who normally preferred to arrive at school just in time, acted weirdly. Like me, he started coming to school very early every morning and even stol
6On the day the result was out, I squeezed into the crowd in front of the bulletin board and looked for my name, starting from the back to the front.I was ranked 46th in liberal arts. Among all, I was ranked in the top 20 for both literature and French, respectively. I even ranked 101st in maths, the subject that had previously dragged me down the most. I scored 116 marks.It was the best rank that I had during high school in this lifetime and my previous life. I managed to suppress my feeling of joy and wanting to scream in front of everyone, and I felt like I was walking on clouds as I walked back to the class."I—""Got it. You've improved so much, but it was expected." He seemed to know it quicker than I did as he sat in his seat, leisurely flipping through a book.Joaquin's annoying face, which usually made people grit their teeth, was particularly cute to me."Remember this." Then, he gently tapped me on the head before adding, "Your success in this exam only meant that
8"How long will it take to get to the top of the mountain?""I guess it's not that far anymore. What's the matter?""Nothing." I grasped my collar tightly. The more I climbed up, the stronger the wind became. My ankle became more and more painful. I could only grit my teeth and endure the pain, as I did not want to show weakness in front of him."There's a corner here that can block the wind. Let's take a break." Finneas took me to sit behind a large mountain rock, took off his coat, and threw it to me. "Here, put it on.""It's all right. Thank you." Stiffly, I waved my hand dismissively and threw it back to him."Oh, whatever." He sat down nonchalantly, but it so happened that he blocked most of the wind for me."I had gone too far with what I said last time. Don't take it to heart."There was silence."Why has your attitude changed suddenly to this?" Finneas did not look at me, and his voice reverberated vaguely in the wind.I turned my head slightly and looked at the moun
10I always suspected that the reason why our high school only ranked first in our city but repeatedly failed to score high marks for the university entrance exam when compared to the high school in the neighboring county over the years was that our school held various strange activities every now and then each year. In turn, it seriously affected the students' learning efficiency.Did the school leaders really think that most students were geniuses who could easily and casually enter top-tier universities?They always organized activities all year round. Thus, ordinary people like us, who had no talent, would not have the time to do practice questions.Of course, Joaquin and Finneas, whose brains were different from ordinary people, would not be included in the discussion.I sighed for the future of the school, and secretly raised my textbook in order to block Adam's view. Then, I lay on the desk and tried hard to answer the maths questions, which were my biggest weakness."Our
12How did the saying go?When there was a will, there would be a way. If one had confidence, one would become successful.Our vice principal would repeat the sayings in a thick accent every week at the grade-level assembly.At the beginning of Grade 12, as I bit the tip of my pen, I wrote the sayings on the cover of my notes for each subject. I even had Joaquin ridicule me unscrupulously."You look so foolish when you try hard." It was apparent from his tone that he was trying hard not to burst out laughing.Was I foolish? However, what did the kid know? Studying hard was the wisdom.In Grade 12 that year, I used all my strength from my current and previous life. In order not to leave any regret, I would keep an eye on the outstanding students in the class. If any of them did not leave their seat, I would be determined not to get any rest.Meanwhile, I kept mumbling around to memorize the terms for politics as I walked between the cafeteria, restroom, and classroom.After the
14"Stop teasing me, I mean it."I rolled my eyes at him guiltily."I'm not teasing you. Am I not giving you a solution right now? We have a good relationship. Can't I help you with this little favor?""I have very high requirements...""Say it.""I... My ideal man..." Somehow, Finneas' image suddenly appeared in my mind. I shook my head vigorously to drive him out. "First of all, you must be smarter than me. You have to look handsome as well. You can't be a player. You'd better have a slightly cold demeanor.""Do you like a cold demeanor?" Joaquin smiled brightly and said, "I can pretend.""There is one last small request...""Say it.""I like those with muscles and a well-defined body. You are too skinny."His face stiffened. "I'm too skinny?""Forget it, Joaquin. You really don't have to sacrifice so much for me. I can just grab any handsome guy in the university and practice with him. I won't delay you from finding a wife." Raising my head sincerely, I added, "It's real
16"Wait for a while..." I whispered to Joaquin, who wanted to go and open the door. Then, with much embarrassment, I pointed to the lipstick that was ruined slightly too much. "How am I going to see Queenie like this? At the very least, I need to sort it out first.""Just let her see it. Tell her that I kissed you. What's wrong with that?""Hey!""All right, my lady. Then, you can go to the room to freshen up. I'll take her to the supermarket later. You can have plenty of time to freshen up before you come out to see Queenie." Joaquin pointed to the second floor helplessly. I glared at him and hurriedly walked up the stairs as I took the agreement by its edge."Huh? Joaquin, why is there a woman's shoes at the door?" Queenie asked."Bella is too shy to come out to see you. Let's go to the supermarket first and give her some time to settle down...""Bella is around?""Ahem! What's wrong with your face?""I had an allergy this morning. I don't even dare to wear makeup, so I jus
18Tiny bits of raindrops were falling from the sky. It was raining.It suddenly occurred to me that the night I fell off the building was similar to such a rainy night, and the rooftop was wet and slippery.When I looked down, my legs were already suspended halfway in the air. My pupils constricted rapidly and I fell back instinctively, falling heavily on the damp and hard floor of the rooftop behind me.When the back of my head was knocked to the ground, a buzzing sound was heard, and I was unable to get up because I was in pain.I groaned briefly. My mind was a mess. I closed my eyes and began to remember how I came to this place.After quarreling with Joaquin in the rain, I ran out alone. I walked down a staircase and crossed a very long corridor, and rushed over to an empty road.The end of the corridor was connected to the corner of a winding mountain road. I only realized after I rushed out that there was a red car driving at high speed from my left. It did not turn on th
9With uneasiness, I arrived at the restaurant where Aaron and I would meet.I was ready to tell him the truth.I believed Aaron was smart enough to recognize me.I was waiting for his surprised look.I was ready to answer his questions.But when we met, Aaron didn't mention anything about the past."I finally meet my counselor."Aaron looked at me and said with a smile, "You are beautiful, Maggie."He talked about the topics we had talked about on the Internet, about the present and the future with me, just like we were close friends. There was no embarrassment.After all, we were very familiar with each other in the past half a year. At least, I knew Aaron's past very well.Just as I thought, Aaron was really a gentleman. He had taken all my emotions into consideration.He probably didn't relate me to the fat girl a month ago.After all, no one would have thought that someone would lose nearly 30 pounds in 60 days.After dinner, Aaron stopped me and said, "Maggie, when
5In fact, Darren didn't disappear. He just didn't reply to my messages the whole day.I ate according to the recipes listed by Darren and reported to him on WhatsApp on time, but all the messages were not replied to, and he didn't even go to the gym at night.Then I realized that Darren was angry.But I didn't know why.Maybe it was because I lied to him in the beginning.I had always been sensitive to relationships.Since he didn't show up for two days, I stopped sending messages to him and continued to lose weight alone.I began to eat less and less.I didn't mean to eat less, but I found that I had lost my appetite.When Darren accompanied me to lose weight, I didn't think it was a boring and difficult task. Darren tried every means to satisfy my appetite with all kinds of healthy food, and then exercised with me. I was full of hope for every day.But after Darren left, I began to feel meaningless.It was strange. I decided to lose weight for Aaron.Three days later, D
Author:Ding Shi San I had a secret. As a psychiatrist, I fell in love with my patient.I spent half a year with him and helped him overcome his inferiority complex.During this period, I could tell he had some feelings for me.Today, he asked to meet me, but I refused.I couldn't. Nor did I deserve it.However, I did hope that one day I could be great enough to say to him directly, "I like you."1Aaron Williams was the dream boy of all the girls.He was very quiet. He liked reading and didn't talk much. Every time he listened to others, he would look into their eyes with a gentle smile.Though outstanding Aaron was, he had his secret.His right ear was deaf, so he could only hear with an audiphone.I knew him by accident.I was a volunteer counselor in an online psychological team. My responsibility was to help some students with psychological problems who were embarrassed to have face-to-face psychological consultations. Aaron was my patient.I recognized him w
3The test finished in two days. It was the first time in two years that I didn't feel that nervous about the exam.After that, I resumed my life with the previous study routine.A few days later, my grades came out. I couldn't calm down for a long time after I got my result.Jared turned around and smiled at me, patted me on the shoulder, and said, "I told you that you can do it. You ought to listen to a straight-A student like me."I smiled, too. It was my best grade ever. I was ranked fifth.I was in the top ten in the next few mock tests.It seemed that after the walk with Jared on the field that day, I hadn't been that stressed about studying anymore.Then came the college entrance exams.Finally, we graduated from high school.Our class organized a dinner party. All the teachers were drunk.I was a little tipsy, too. I came out and sat in a chair outside the door to get some fresh air.After a while, Jared also came out and sat next to me.I smiled and said, "At last
2He replied to me expressionlessly, "You're welcome. Just don't be a burden to the group."I gathered myself.But I was still curious about why he chose me. I wondered if it was because I was a good friend of Mellissa.At night, I went home and pondered about the turn of events for a while but was still a little baffled.I took out my phone and sent him a message on WhatsApp: [Why did you choose me as a group member?]After I finished my homework and almost dozed off, he replied: [You really don't know why I chose you?]I answered honestly: [I don't.]After a while, he replied: [I was the one who asked the vice principal to let you stay. I can't watch you keep coming last in class. Your deskmate ranks 11th, while my deskmate ranks 12th. I have chosen two top students to average your scores. If you don't study hard, you will drag the three of us down.]After reading his message, which felt like a lecture, I felt like an incompetent student.Following that, he started training
Author:Yao Ling Er 1Ever wondered how one could get along with a boy one had been having a crush on for three years?Well, I was pretty crushed.Jared Coulson's name was remembered by the whole of Grade 10 on the first day of school.He was admitted to Primrose High School with the top score in the city.He was chosen as the freshman representative to give a speech during the orientation. His handsome look, eloquence, and remarkable temperament had got him a lot of admirers.It was as though he was the heavens' favorite creation.Therefore, from the first day of Grade 10, Jared was dubbed as the campus hunk in our school. It was an indisputable statement that no one had any objection.There was no distinction between arts and science classes in Grade 10 in our school. My classroom was on the second floor, and his classroom was on the first floor. There wasn't a chance for us to interact with each other.Every time I went downstairs and passed by his classroom, I woul
9A few days ago, Daniel lost his key. In case he opened the door and came in tonight, I took the spare key he kept under the doormat.I took several bottles of beer from the fridge and drank them one by one.I had no idea how much I had drunk. My head was dizzy and I was completely drunk. In a daze, I seemed to hear the sound of the door lock rattling.Then it became quiet again.But soon, the sound of water boiling and the clink of cups came from the kitchen.After a while, I heard the steady footsteps of a man slowly approaching me.The light in front of me dimmed, and something icy covered my forehead. Then I heard Daniel say in a low voice, "You have stomach illness. You shouldn't have drunk so much."He lifted my chin gently and whispered in a comforting voice, "Honey, get up and drink some honey water."I closed my eyes and dodged his hand unconsciously."Listen to me," Daniel said patiently.His words were like a pebble thrown into an even lake, which sobered me up
7Daniel was my real boyfriend.That night on Valentine's Day, I did give Jason a hand-copied copy of Shakespeare's sonnets, accompanied Horace to take the Ferris wheel, and finally went to the supermarket with Daniel.All these were reasonable.I had a crush on Daniel since I was in grade 10.At that time, I just transferred from another city. I hadn't yet adapted to the learning environment here, so I failed the first month's exam.As a result, my teacher asked Daniel, my desk-mate, to tutor me in my studies. He and I would do homework in the classroom for a half hour after school.I recalled the calm, cool look in Daniel's eyes, his gentle voice as he carefully explained the math problems, the coffee he handed me when I was sleepy, and the considerate way he stopped to wait for me in the dim corridor.There were countless moments when I fell in love with him.When I was about to tell him about it, Daniel became my brother in name.I plucked up my courage and wrote a love l
4In a burst of noise, the three of them walked up to me.The classroom suddenly quieted down.Curiosity, envy, jealousy... All sorts of gazes rushed to me.Horace said briskly, "Amanda, I'm coming to attend class with you!"Jason said softly, "It's my first time accompanying my girlfriend in her class. Just tell me if you have any advice."Horace retorted, "I'm Amanda's boyfriend!"Daniel just looked at me and said quietly, "You forgot to take the notes I organized for you last night."I heard many people gasping.From the corner of my eye, I saw the pale faces and unbelievable looks of Portia and Jenifer.Jason asked Joyce with a smile, "Can I switch seats with you?"Joyce looked between Jason and me.In a trance, she nodded and left her seat stiffly.So this was how it went.Daniel sat on my left, Jason sat on my right, and Horace sat behind me, poking me with his hand from time to time. More and more students came to see them, almost filling the classroom.The teac