During the years I believed in pure love, I wrote a love diary every day. Sterling Vance pretended he didn't care about anything. But when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he blushed and blurted out that he wanted my diary. My heart was so sweet it could burst. Until the class president, Aria Sterling, sent me a video— In the first part of the video, there was my diary, filled with words I had written stroke by stroke. The lines spoke of a girl's sincere, innocent, and secret love. In the second part, Sterling smiled lazily. "If it weren't for making Aria jealous and giving her a little sense of crisis, I wouldn't be interested in dealing with a low-achiever like Stella Starling." "Compared to a trophy girlfriend who follows me around like a puppy, I much prefer a cool, intellectual type like Aria." Oh. So I was just a pawn in their love game. I didn't cry or make a scene. I asked my brother to transfer me to another school, voluntarily exiting their passionate world of two. Eight years later. Sterling, who had searched the entire city for me, suddenly saw a trending topic about a top star's wedding. The beautiful bride wore a pure white wedding dress, smiling brightly at the camera. Hundreds of love diary entries written to his wife on the star's secret social media account were also exposed. "May 6, 2025. Tuesday. Sunny." "The Blue Gum has met its migration bird; I love nothing in this world but you." 1 While I was getting an IV drip at the hospital, a message suddenly popped up on my phone. It was from our class president, Aria Sterling. She had forwarded a video to me. The first part of the video showed the diary I had painstakingly written. Between the lines, it poured out a young girl's sincere, green, and hidden affection. Then the video cut to Sterling Vance. He was leaning back, his long legs stretched out, looking bored. "Reading that trashy diary every day makes me sick. No wonder her grades are so bad; you don't need a brain to be a clingy admirer." He glanced casually at Aria, who was sitting not far away. "Compared to a pretty vase like Stella Starling, I much prefer a cool, intellectual type." Aria kept her head down, reading her textbook, acting as if she hadn't heard a thing. Sterling scoffed and walked over to her desk. He leaned over, placing both hands on the desk, trapping her between the desk and his arms. "So, my genius lady, are you going to keep rejecting me?" Aria looked up, pursing her lips, cool and stubborn. "Sterling, what do you take me for?" "You're already with Stella. I won't be the other woman." Sterling raised an eyebrow. "Who said you're the other woman?" Tears instantly welled up in Aria's eyes, looking full of grievance. Sterling's gaze softened. He ruffled her hair and explained gently. "I'm just playing around with Stella." "If I didn't provoke you, how could I force you to show your true feelings?" "If anyone is the third wheel, it's Stella, not you." ... The video ended. I stared blankly at the phone screen. I was at a loss. What did Sterling mean? What did he mean by "just playing around" with me? 2 Before I could recover, Aria sent another voice message. "Stella, did you watch the video?" I took a deep breath. Clutching the phone, I wanted to demand an explanation. But my hands were trembling so much that I couldn't type a single word. Aria's voice messages came one after another. "I have your diary. Sterling gave it to me." "Actually, Sterling has been chasing me for two years, but I wanted to focus on my studies and never agreed." "I just didn't expect him to get involved with you just to force me to admit my feelings." "I'm really angry, but I have to admit, his tactic was very effective. I can no longer ignore his feelings." "Sterling said you're too love-struck and was afraid you couldn't handle it if he told you directly. He wanted to break it to you slowly. But I think it's better to rip off the bandage quickly. So Stella, I'm officially notifying you—" "Don't have any delusions about Sterling. He belongs to me." "We've already agreed to apply to Stanford together." "I advise you to focus on your studies. The SATs are in a year. With your current grades, it'll be hard for you to get into even a decent state college, right?" Aria's voice was clear and cool, her pacing unhurried, her emotions calm and stable. She carried the unique confidence of a straight-A student. 3 Sterling had said similar things to me. My grades were lopsided. I excelled only in English and Creative Writing, having won several national writing competitions. But my other subjects were barely passable, and my Math was a complete disaster. If I was a natural underachiever, then Sterling was a natural genius. His grades were incredibly stable, always ranking in the top ten of our grade. The gap between us was like a chasm. But I was delusional. I studied day and night, wanting to apply to Stanford with Sterling. Sterling saw through my little ambition and laughed at me. "Why torture yourself?" "With your grades, forget about Stanford; you'll struggle to get into a mediocre state school." My heart stung, and my eyes couldn't help but redden. He then came to comfort me. "Okay, okay, my bad. How about I tutor you to make up for it?" During that time, for the sake of tutoring, we were inseparable. I had attended cram schools and hired tutors, but Sterling was better than all of them. His explanations were clear, and he knew my weak points. Under his tutoring, my math scores actually improved significantly. When I got my report card, I excitedly hugged him and cried loudly. His eyes held a smile. But his gaze was wandering, landing somewhere in the distance. At that time, immersed in the joy of progress, I was oblivious. Only now did I realize. The direction he was looking at back then was clearly where Aria sat. Proactively helping me with tutoring. The intimate interactions. It was all an act. Sterling indeed never confessed to me. I thought we had a tacit understanding of mutual affection, just waiting for someone to break the silence. But in Sterling's eyes, I was just a tool to make Aria jealous. 4 Just as I walked out of the hospital entrance after finishing my IV, I heard someone call my name. "Stella!" I looked back. Sterling and Hayes were standing under a huge oak tree. Standing together, the two of them were handsome in their own unique ways. Sunlight filtered through the branches, dappling light and shadow on them, like a scene from a teen drama, causing passersby to glance over repeatedly. I walked over slowly. Looking up, I stared straight at him. Noticing my gaze, he asked with amusement: "What? Is there something on my face?" I lowered my head and said nothing. Sterling suddenly leaned in close, examining me carefully. "Why are your eyes red? Like a little kid, did you cry from the shot?" Saying this, he took my hand and blew gently on the needle mark. "Let me blow on it for our little Stella. It won't hurt after I blow on it." I awkwardly pulled my hand back and asked in a muffled voice. "Where is my diary?" A trace of unnaturalness flashed in Sterling's eyes, then he frowned and said. "It's on the bookshelf at my house." "Since you gave it to me, it's mine. Why are you asking?" I didn't expose him. Sterling took out the notes for the classes I missed today from his backpack and handed them to me. "Hayes took these notes. His handwriting is better than mine, and he marked the key points for you. Take a look yourself." Hearing this, I glanced at Hayes, who had been standing silently by the side. Seeing me look at him, he smiled at me, his eyes curving. Sterling hooked his arm around Hayes' shoulder and continued. "I won't tutor you today. Hayes and I are going to play basketball tonight." "I suddenly have something to do. You go play by yourself," Hayes said calmly, pushing Sterling's hand away.
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