In the year when I was most sensitive and insecure, I rejected the confession of our high school’s most popular guy, Arthur Vance. The boy, wearing his school uniform, leaned against the wall, raised an eyebrow, and asked: "Are you really rejecting me?" I nodded, my hands anxiously twisting my sleeves. "I really hate you." "Fine." He gave a single nod, hooked his backpack off the floor with one hand, slung it over his shoulder, and said: "Then here's to us never seeing each other again." Later, by a twist of fate during my graduate studies, he and I were admitted to the same prestigious university. As soon as Arthur entered the school, he became the hottest topic on the campus confession wall. Everyone was curious about what kind of girl the campus god liked. Some guessed he liked good figures, others said he preferred innocent faces, and some even thought he liked high GPAs. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the campus god made an appearance and coolly typed a few words. [Someone who isn't insecure.] That night, downstairs at the bustling men's dormitory, I blocked Arthur's path. In the cold wind, he tapped his toe on the ground and sneered: "Didn't you say you hated me?" I tugged at the corner of his shirt and shook it: "I'm not insecure anymore. Can you like me again?" 1 When Arthur and Mia made it onto the confession wall together, I had just finished pulling an all-nighter in the lab, looking covered in dust and grime. As I took my water bottle and sat down in a chair to rest for a bit, I scrolled past this confession post. Someone had secretly taken a photo of Arthur again and submitted it. Arthur became famous on the day of school registration. In the candid photo taken by a passerby, he was wearing thin glasses, leaning over to sign the registration roster with a pen. Half of his side profile was visible—the lines were refined and smooth, with a high nose bridge and thin lips, dark hair against pale skin, and a distinct, cool little mole at the corner of his eye. This photo was specifically featured on our university's official Facebook page by the school's promotional department. With the boost of short videos, it went viral across the entire university overnight, and even showed a slight trend of breaking out of our school's bubble. Later, people dug up his phenomenal SAT score of 1580, discovered he had studied at a top-tier Ivy League university with straight A's, and found his graduate entrance exam score, ranking him first in his major. The hashtag #ArthurVanceCampusGod hit the trending searches. Since then, Arthur has been famous throughout our entire university. It was totally normal for someone like him to be on the confession wall. Ever since school started, he was "randomly encountered" an average of two or three times a day. It would actually be weird if there was a day he wasn't spotted on the confession wall. But most of the posts were asking for his contact info or begging for his details. This was the first time he was photographed walking together with a girl. The background of the photo was the main dining hall of our university, taken from behind and to the side. Arthur held a dining tray in one hand, his black backpack slung over one shoulder, while his other hand was raised, hovering protectively behind a girl's lower back. The moment the guy looked down, the girl happened to look up. The two locked eyes, their gazes so tender you could practically pull strings of sugar from them. I quietly finished reading this confession post and scrolled down to the comments section. The comments section was bustling with activity. There were people wailing about their broken hearts, people curious about the girl's identity, people feeling it was a pity for the campus god... But mostly, it was passersby offering genuine blessings. [Handsome guy and beautiful girl, they look like a perfect match.] [This is what I come online to see. Stop recommending ugly people to me.] [Wishing them a long and happy life together.] With the explosive popularity of this post, the girl's identity was also dug up. She was in the same college as us, named Mia. [Isn't she the one who hosted the freshman welcome gala this year? I saw her at the venue then and thought she was so pretty!] [I was the one who guided her during the freshman orientation, she's a really outgoing junior.] [Mia, oh my god, she's in our college. She's in the same college as the campus god, the College of Electronic and Information Engineering. It's true that the early bird gets the worm.] Mia was admitted as a recommended graduate student. As soon as she arrived, she became the head of the publicity department for the graduate student union. She was very famous in our college. Since enrolling, she had been seen hosting galas big and small. It made perfect sense that Arthur would like a radiant girl like her. I turned off my phone and stood back in front of the lab bench. 2 "Holy crap, Chloe, I just heard some bad news." My roommate and fellow lab mate, Sarah, burst through the door like a whirlwind: "You saw the confession wall, right?" "The campus god is dating!" The campus god had many fangirls, and my roommate Sarah was one of them. "I saw it," I said, my hands continuing to work at the same speed, giving a small smile: "What, are you heartbroken?" "Heartbroken my ass, it's Mia! Mia!" "Arthur is going to help Mia in the competition." My eyelashes fluttered, and I nearly dropped the lab tool in my hand. 3 The competition Sarah mentioned was the electronic design competition for graduate students in our College of Electronic and Information Engineering. The prize money was thirty thousand dollars, and many people in our college had signed up to participate. I had participated too. "Look—" Sarah shoved her phone into my hand. In our small competition group chat. First-Year Grad Mia: [Professor~ Can our team add one more person?] The professor was probably busy and didn't see Mia's message, so he didn't reply immediately. Someone below asked her: [Is it convenient to ask who you're adding?] AAA King of BBQ: [Is it Arthur?] Destroy This World: [Holy crap, the campus god?] Don't Call Me Hey: [Is it really Arthur? He's the universally recognized top genius of our college, someone who can independently solve core technical bottlenecks. His advisor is the dean of our college. Whether he participates or not makes a huge difference in a team's success rate.] The small group chat, which had been dead silent except for competition notices, suddenly exploded with activity because of this message. The chat was flooded with people talking all at once. Finally, Mia popped up and replied with a shy emoji. [I'll talk to the professor privately.] She said. I pretended to be calm and handed the phone back to Sarah: "It's not set in stone yet, right?" "Once it's set in stone, it'll be too late." "Look what this is?" Sarah, exasperated, showed me Mia's Instagram story. The newest one. [The campus god has joined the team~ Thank you campus god for helping me with the competition~] In the bottom right corner of the photo attached to the post, the clean, narrow silhouette of Arthur in the lab was partially visible. I stood there, suddenly not knowing what to do. Finally, I just put down my lab tool and said calmly to Sarah: "I'm going to the restroom, Sarah." 4 The college placed great importance on this competition. Eye-catching promotional posters were plastered on both sides of the lab building corridors. The thirty thousand dollar prize money at the very bottom was specifically circled and highlighted. After I came out of the lab, I stood under one of the posters and looked up. My main reason for participating in this competition was for the thirty thousand dollars. My parents passed away very early. In high school, my poor uncle and aunt took me in when I was orphaned and helpless. Although their family was poor, they never mistreated me and always gave me the best. Yesterday, I received a message from my aunt. My uncle needs a radical surgery for early-stage liver cancer. They are still short twenty thousand dollars. I had a total of ten thousand dollars to my name at the time, and I transferred it all to them. If I could get this thirty thousand dollars, we wouldn't have to worry about my uncle's surgery fees. But I never imagined I would be facing Arthur. Arthur was simply too incredible. His resume showed that for his undergraduate degree, he studied at a top 3 QS-ranked university abroad. As an undergrad, he independently conducted experiments and published in top journals. From his freshman year, he participated in competitions, winning first place in the MCM/ICM math modeling competition, first place in the national electronic design competition... the list of awards went on and on, his achievements so rich they left people speechless. When Arthur returned from abroad, the dean of our college, who was preparing to retire and hadn't taken on any graduate students for years, made an exception and personally requested him as his student. Facing an Arthur like this, I really had no confidence in winning. I stood under the poster for a while, took out my phone, and opened iMessage. I still had Arthur's number because he added me to tutor me in high school. Even after going abroad, he hadn't deleted me. But the two of us hadn't spoken a word since graduating high school. He had just been quietly sitting on my contact list. I thought about it and sent him a message. [Arthur, are you joining Mia's team?] After sending it, I held my phone and waited for a long time. The message showed as delivered, but he didn't reply to me. I put the phone back in my pocket, turned around, and went back to the lab. 5 Arthur probably hated me right now. In high school, he confessed his feelings to me. The first time we met was on the first day of school. At the time, the school hadn't issued uniforms yet. I was wearing a washed-out white T-shirt and wrinkled, cheap jeans. When everyone gathered on the field, I hugged the wall and walked at the very back. He mistook me for someone else. I don't know who he thought I was, but he patted my shoulder. "Classmate, the holiday assignment the English teacher gave..." I turned around. The boy's words came to an abrupt halt. He froze for a second, then politely nodded: "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else." We got to know each other because of this incident, but I had an avoidant personality and always tried to push people away. The first time Arthur saw my poor physics grades, he offered to tutor me. He asked me to meet him on the rooftop after evening study hall. I agreed readily at the time, but then turned around and sold his whereabouts to the school beauty, who had come to ask me about Arthur's movements. The school beauty went to the meeting in my place. This angered him. The next day, during morning study hall, the boy brazenly barged into our classroom and stood in front of my desk. The boy's eyes were light brown, the mole at the corner of his eye aloof and cold. His fists, hanging by his sides, were clenched in suppressed anger. "Chloe, you are really going too far." The second time was on the day the college entrance exams ended. He confessed to me. Arthur cornered me in the stairwell, his features handsome and youthful, and said earnestly: "Chloe, I like you." "The exams are over, we can date now." I looked at my cheap shoes and clothes, feeling unworthy of him. So I shook my head and said loudly: "I don't like you at all, and I don't want to see you either. Being with you is just because you can give me a lot of things I don't have. It satisfies my vanity." Who could stand the person they like repeatedly saying nasty things to them? Moreover, Arthur wasn't the kind of guy who lacked girls chasing after him. He didn't speak, stared at me for a while, and then let out a laugh of pure exasperation. "Fine." He nodded, hooked his backpack off the floor with one hand, slung it over his shoulder: "Then here's to us never seeing each other again." After he left that day, I stood at the top of the stairs and stared at his back for a long time. I hadn't told anyone, but I liked Arthur. But I felt the gap between us was too vast, and I wasn't worthy of him. 6 College students love gossip. After the girl's identity was exposed, a new betting thread appeared on the campus wall that night, betting on whether Mia was truly the campus god's girlfriend. There were "Yes" and "No" options, and you could only see the voting ratio after selecting one. I also saw this post. After hesitating for a moment, I clicked "Yes." The "Yes" option had 10% more votes than the "No" option. In the comments section, the gossiping netizens were discussing it heatedly. [The aloof campus god and the alluring beauty, they are simply too perfect together!] [Agree with the above, but I also doubt if the campus god really likes this type?] [Me too (silently raising a hand). They are both so strikingly good-looking, they match perfectly in appearance.] [I'm an Arthur fangirl, I don't care, this is all fake, fake!] I quietly lurked in the comments section for a while, then silently exited. I got out of bed, opened my laptop, and continued revising the project proposal. "Holy crap, Chloe, it's already midnight, aren't you going to sleep?" Sarah saw me turn on my desk lamp, poked her head out from her curtains, and asked me in disbelief. "I want to make a few more revisions." I stared at the computer, not turning my head. "Sigh." Sarah let out a long sigh: "Just accept it, Chloe." "Now that the campus god is involved, his actual abilities are so strong, it's no disgrace for us to lose to him, right?" I knew Sarah was trying to comfort me. I didn't speak, just felt my eyes staring at the computer screen getting a bit sore. "It's different, Sarah." I said softly. "What's different?" Sarah asked me strangely. "I don't want to lose to him." Sarah. I stared at the computer, my eyes suddenly stinging. I don't want to lose to Arthur, and I don't want to lose to Mia either. 7 I revised the proposal until the latter half of the night, slept for four hours, and climbed out of bed early the next morning. My family's financial situation was poor, and I had to rely on myself for everything. So as soon as school started, I contacted a tutoring agency and prepared to work as a tutor. Today was the first day. While buying breakfast at the dining hall, I ran into Arthur. We were in the same major, but our research directions were different, and the classes we took were different too. This was the first time I had seen him since school started. He bent down in front of a stall selling sandwiches, his long, slender hand taking the sandwich from inside, and walked out with another guy. It was late summer. He dressed crisply in a white T-shirt and black pants, with broad shoulders and long legs. He carried a black backpack on one shoulder, walking towards the light. His back was lean and straight, like a proud, upright birch tree. Seeing that he was about to walk out of the dining hall. I don't know where I got the courage from, but I dropped a "Ma'am, I don't want the coffee anymore" and hurried out after him. My outfit and hair today really couldn't be called pretty. A baggy white T-shirt and jeans, my hair loosely tied in a ponytail, without a drop of makeup on my face. "Arthur!" When he reached the door, I managed to call out to him in time. His back visibly stiffened; he stopped and turned around. His aloof, beautiful eyes scanned me faintly. This kind of competition matter wasn't suitable for shouting in a public place. I hesitated for a moment, eventually running over quickly, panting, and looked up to ask him: "Are you going to join Mia's team?" Arthur was a head taller than me. He lowered his eyelashes and looked at me quietly. He didn't reply for a long time. After a while, he curled his lip and said coldly: "Does it have anything to do with you?" "I just wanted to understand my opponent's situation." I looked at him, pretending to be calm. My sharp fingernails were already digging into my palms. "Chloe." He called me in a heavy voice. "You've sought me out a few times just for this kind of boring question?" My eyes felt dry: "Does it have to be Mia?" Does it have to be her? "Chloe." The hand Arthur used to grip his backpack strap turned white. He was visibly angry and sneered: "Why don't you go back and read the competition rules again?" The competition rules strictly forbade privately probing into opponents' situations. His words made me feel a bit embarrassed. Not knowing what else to say, I just muttered softly: "I'm... I'm sorry." Arthur gave me a look, lifted the door curtain, and left. 8 In college, my essay writing was very strong. The professor asked me to write an essay and hand it in to her. Then, Mia took that essay to participate in a competition. She won first prize in the state with my essay, and the certificate had her name on it. I couldn't swallow my anger. The highly sensitive and timid me gathered the courage to confront her for the first time. Then, Mia dragged her little clique into isolating me. She pushed me to the floor in the restroom, looking down at me from above. "You think you're worthy of competing with me for an award?" Mia's family had money, and mine was poor. My grades weren't as good as hers either, so almost all the teachers favored her. In graduate school, I unexpectedly ended up in the same institution as her, and even participated in the same competition. This time, I wanted to get justice for the seventeen-year-old Chloe. After finishing my tutoring session, I specially took a detour to the hospital to visit my uncle. My uncle and aunt were both good people. In high school, they were the ones who took in the homeless me. My uncle lay in the hospital bed, emaciated, while my aunt sat silently in the corner wiping her tears. "If it really can't be cured, we just won't treat it. It's not worth sacrificing your future." But if this surgery is successful, my uncle can live for a long time. So no matter what, I had to scrape together this money for them. I sat by the hospital bed, staring blankly at iMessage on my phone. In our competition group chat, Mia's messages were constantly flooding the screen. She threw a very difficult question into the group, and after a while, replied to her own message. [Alright everyone, Arthur has already helped me solve it~] No one played along with her, except for one girl who didn't want things to be awkward and popped out to say a sentence. [It's so good that the campus god treats you well.] Mia shyly denied it: [What are you talking about? We're not in that kind of relationship.] [But the campus god is really patient with girls.] [Today our research directions happened to be in the same class. I got stuck while presenting my PPT, and the campus god helped me out of the situation.] Mia boasted. I lurked and watched the screen for a while, then silently exited the app. 9 I gathered all the things Arthur had given me in high school, filling a large plastic box. In high school, Arthur gave me a lot of things. There were expensive ones, practical ones, coasters, starry sky projectors, bracelets from brands I didn't recognize, expensive watches... At the time, I always lived cautiously. My family was poor, and I couldn't afford to use good things. But Arthur saw all of this, and he helped me both overtly and covertly. The seventeen-year-old boy was youthful. After evening study hall, he would secretly pull me to a corner. His backpack was like a magic pocket; he could always pull out many things from it. "Chloe, I bought all these for you. They're not worth much." He awkwardly stuffed them into my arms. The tips of the boy's ears turned red with shyness, and the mole at the corner of his eye was endearingly charming at that moment. I was preparing to return these things to him. He had been abroad all these years, and I never had the chance to return them to him. Now that the two of us were about to become opponents in the arena, there was even less chance I could return them on equal footing. It was better to just send them back now, so I wouldn't owe him anything anymore.
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