Rejected before confessing my feelings
She had no choice but to follow him all the way. Fu Jia neither turned back nor chased her away, letting her be his little shadow.
After a while, she tried to speak: "Um—"
Before she could even speak, Fu Jia interrupted her: "Don't talk, I'm annoyed!" Xia Tong had no choice but to shut up.
After a short while, she couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up again: "Um—"
Fu Jia replied arrogantly, "I'm still angry!" Xia Tong pouted and had no choice but to remain silent.
They walked a very long way, passing some classmates who kept glancing at the odd couple before turning away with pursed lips. It was late autumn, and the road was littered with golden or withered leaves. The wind, though not cold, was enough to steal away warmth; everyone was bundled up in thick coats, except for one person who seemed to be roaming in just a shirt. He first coughed casually, but Xia Xiaotong, following behind, kept her head down, showing no reaction. After a while, he coughed again, waiting for her reaction. However, she was lost in thought and didn't notice the commotion. Fu Jia glanced at her quickly, only to find she was completely ignoring him, so he immediately stopped and angrily demanded, "Why are you following me?!"
Xia Tong handed over the phone with both hands: "Here's your phone back."
Fu Jia frowned: "I already told you it was for you!"
“But I don’t want to—” Xia Tong said softly.
"If you don't want it, throw it away! Didn't you hear what I just said?" His anger flared up again after hearing her repeated rejections. He had never seen such a stubborn girl!
"Don't be like this." Xia Tong bit her lip, as if she had been thinking for a long time, before finally saying this.
"What?" Fu Jia frowned, tilting his head to listen to her explanation.
"Don't give me a phone, I don't want to contact you." Her voice sounded extremely calm, although she still appeared timid on the surface, she had the courage to say these well-thought-out words.
"Damn it!" Fu Jia exclaimed, his eyes wide with fury. Was this girl planning a rebellion?!
"I don't like you!" Xia Tong closed her eyes tightly and finally said the words she had wanted to say for many years.
This time, Fu Jia was truly enraged. In the crisp autumn air, his usually handsome and proud face flushed crimson, like a boiled shrimp. Whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell: "Damn it, Xia Xiaotong, do you think I like you?!"
“Since we don’t like each other, there’s even less need to contact each other.” Xia Tong panicked a little watching him flailing about, then placed her phone at Fu Jia’s feet and quickly left. Although still somewhat flustered, she had already shown some initial decisiveness.
Fu Jia kicked the phone off his feet with all his might. The once pampered and delicate phone was sent flying by his kick, landing silently in a flowerbed by the street. Gone was the pride of its high price and popularity. It was bearing the same boundless anger after being rejected as its owner, the immense loss after being discarded, the incurable pain after being almost smashed, the self-pity after being crushed into the mud, and a tiny glimmer of hope that it could be favored again.
That kick seemed to have used up all his strength. Fu Jia sat down without any regard for his image. He, who was usually very well-mannered, had never sat on the curb so casually before, but now he didn't care at all, only looking at the crowds and the endless stream of vehicles passing by.
He felt humiliated. He'd come all this way only to be rejected by such a timid and obedient girl. He was confused. He'd always thought she liked him, so why did she suddenly stop? He also felt wronged. Why didn't she like him? "I've protected you and cherished you since we were little, what's wrong with that?"
For sixteen years, Fu Jia, the domineering ruler who had always gotten whatever he wanted, squatted by a dusty roadside, feeling defeated for the first time. He had always treated her as his possession, ordering her around, forcing her, bullying her, and—protecting her—with the most natural attitude. But he never imagined that one day, this little bean he had held in his hand, always so quiet and obedient, would tell him she hated him and want to leave.
If the bean really escapes, then what will this hand, which seems to have been born to hold her, grasp next? He doesn't know.
After sitting for a long time, he finally stood up and walked forward step by step, his usual arrogance gone, replaced by a somewhat dejected air. The chilly wind tugged at the scarves of passersby, like a child begging for a glance from someone unwilling to be abandoned. But the wind couldn't lift his thin shirt, nor could it take away his warmth, for his heart, which had just fallen into an icy abyss, hadn't yet had time to warm up.
When he got home, it was past lunchtime. Li Funing was clearing the dishes when she saw him return. She was surprised and asked, "Didn't you say you weren't coming home for lunch today?" Then she noticed that he was dressed very differently from others and couldn't help but praise him, "As expected of my son, you look really handsome in your clothes today!"
Looking disheveled, Fu Jia didn't greet his mother with his usual smug and narcissistic "Of course! Who am I?" He simply raised his head slightly, glanced at her, and said, "What's the use of being handsome? Nobody likes me anyway." Then he closed the door and went inside.
Once some things are said, some people will inevitably be hurt and disappointed, while others will feel relieved. Breakfast time is always the best time for gossip. The boys talk about last night's ball game and all sorts of topics that sound boring and tedious to the girls, while the girls gather together to talk about the male lead of last night's TV drama and—the boys who might become the male lead in their own or their acquaintances' dramas.
Li Jingjing, biting her straw, asked her, "I heard that a super, super handsome guy came to see you after school yesterday at noon? Why didn't you tell me? I only found out from a classmate last night. That's so unfair of you!"
Xia Tong, who was drinking her porridge with her head down, was taken aback, and then mumbled, "Mm."
Li Jingjing pressed down on the spoon in her hand: "What are you humming about? Tell me quickly, who is it and what do they want?"
Xia Tong looked up and saw the gossip and excitement gleaming in her eyes. She suddenly remembered a few years ago when a girl she was very close to asked about Fu Jia, she had the same expression. She was vaguely afraid of repeating the same mistake, but she still pretended to be calm, pushed away Li Jingjing's hand, picked up the spoon and took another sip of porridge, and then said casually, "Oh, he's my former classmate. He came to ask me to pay him back yesterday."
"Huh? Pay back the money? No way, how much do you owe him?"
"Twenty yuan." Xia Tong kept her head down, as if explaining everything to the bowl.
"Twenty yuan! I heard that handsome guy is from Lan Ying. Lan Ying is a gathering place for the richest kids in our city. How could she be so stingy as to come all the way here to ask you for twenty yuan? You're kidding me!"
"Isn't Grandet also very rich?" Her question made Xia Tong's eyelids twitch, but the truth of lying is that you can only keep lying to cover it up.
How can he compare to that old man?
“When I was a kid, if I lent him a pencil, he would tell me how many words I could write.” Xia Tong continued, her expression unchanged.
"My God? It's not scientifically possible to be this stingy!" Li Jingjing said with disdain, "He's supposed to be rich, yet he's so stingy!" Then she stopped talking about Fu Jia and went to talk about other things.
Xia Tong remained silent for a long time, considering the matter a thousand times in her mind, but finally couldn't suppress her curiosity: "Yesterday, I saw that girl who always came to our class to find you walking with a boy, did you know that?"
"You mean Yu Xiaonian? Oh, her? Isn't she always walking with that handsome young man?" Xia Tong's eyes lit up, and she nodded slightly, showing great interest. Encouraged, Li Jingjing naturally continued, "I forgot what that handsome young man's name is, but he's her relative, I think he's her aunt's or her maternal aunt's, anyway, he's her younger brother."
Xia Tong nodded and said "Oh" meaningfully.
"Her younger brother is actually quite good-looking, he gives off a very sunny vibe." Li Jingjing seemed to be recalling something, but her voice suddenly rose: "Oh, it's such a pity you haven't heard his voice! It's so magnetic, so... oh, I don't even know how to describe it! His voice is gentler than he is, and more beautiful than he is. Anyway, you'll definitely fall for him, I promise!" She became more and more excited as she talked, and looking at Xia Tong, who was unusually engrossed in listening, she suddenly noticed something. Sensing the gossip, she stared at her: "Why are you asking about him? You seemed to have subtly asked me about this before, but I didn't pay attention then. Tell me! Are you interested in him?!"
"No, I was just asking casually." Xia Tong lowered her head again, but two blushes crept onto her face.
"Why would I blush if I didn't try? Pfft, when have you ever actively inquired about guys? There's definitely something fishy going on!" She was as excited as if she had caught a fish by the tail. "But I can help you make the connection. Yu Xiaonian has a pretty good impression of you, so she shouldn't refuse to help you!"
"Don't just jump to conclusions!" Xia Tong picked up her tray and quickly walked towards the recycling bin, leaving Li Jingjing, who hadn't finished her milk tea and breakfast, yelling at her to wait for her.
How could she not have heard his voice before? The "You're welcome" he said after helping her right a row of overturned bicycles, his excited chatter about the ball game with his friends as she deliberately passed by him, and his constant refrain to the shopkeeper when buying milk tea, "Red beans, no pearls"—all of these had echoed in her ears countless times.
Tan Zhihao, I've heard more than just your voice.
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Oh, my poor Xia Xiaotong, don't be sad~ *pat pat* Your bad days are over! Mommy's giving you a chance to get back at the Big Bad Wolf, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to retaliate later! By the way... I'm out of drafts. Although I'm a slow-paced author, I'll definitely update at the speed of a turtle shell hitting the earth!!! Hey everyone, don't hog me, leave a comment and add it to your favorites~~~~~~
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