The Bully Who Cried

I stumbled upon the school bully’s secret.

Every time he got into a fight, he’d hide in a corner and cry alone.

“It hurts so bad, it’s killing me, boohoo—”

When I caught him, he quickly wiped away his tears and put on a fierce face. “What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll punch you!”

1

It all started because I was in a hurry to get home. Instead of taking the main road, I decided to cut through an alley.

That day, my mom promised me she’d make sweet and sour ribs for dinner.

I was craving them so badly that the moment school ended, I hopped on my bike and pedaled like crazy.

When I reached the alley entrance, I couldn’t resist turning in.

I’d heard this neighborhood wasn’t safe.

There were always thugs hanging around, extorting money.

I figured since I was on a bike, I had nothing to worry about.

So I turned and rode into the alley.

I hadn’t gone far when I faintly heard the sounds of a scuffle deeper in.

Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

Bold as could be, I parked my bike and crept deeper into the alley.

But it seemed I was too late.

By the time I reached the spot, everyone was already gone.

I was about to turn back when I heard a sob.

The sound came from the very end of the alley.

I took a few more steps forward.

The sky was half-dark, and the streetlights flickered on.

There, curled up next to a trash can, was someone quietly whimpering.

“My wound hurts so bad, I can’t take it, boohoo—”

I moved closer. He heard my footsteps and looked up sharply.

When our eyes met, I froze.

Then my jaw dropped.

Wasn’t this the infamous bully from our school?

What was he doing here, crying?

Jace, the school bully, quickly wiped his tears and put on a fierce expression.

“What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll hit you!”

But I didn’t take him seriously at all.

I even took another step forward and asked curiously:

“Why are you crying? Did you lose a fight?”

Jace turned his head away.

“None of your business. Get lost!”

I’ve always been thick-skinned. When he told me to leave, I did the opposite.

I made a funny face at him.

“Hehe, I’m not going anywhere. Tomorrow, I’ll tell the whole school that the bully was crying in an alley~”

Jace stopped crying. Anger flared in his eyes, and his raised fist nearly slammed into my face.

I jumped back, realizing this was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Not someone to mess with.

I quickly stepped back and went to find my bike.

“I’m done messing with you. My mom’s waiting for me to come home for dinner—”

Before I could finish, the person behind me suddenly let out a loud “Wah!” and started crying even harder.

I had no choice but to turn around and look at him helplessly.

“Hey, I didn’t bully you. Don’t try to frame me. What are you crying about?”

He wiped his tears with his hand and stammered for a long time before finally lifting his arm to show me. Between sobs, he said:

“My wound... my wound hurts so bad, boohoo...”

I looked at the long gash on his arm and was speechless for a moment.

“Who told you to fight? Getting hurt is normal, isn’t it?”

He sniffled, pouting. “They started it.”

“What did they do to you?”

“They said I’m a kid without a mom.”

I froze, and my tone softened.

“So your mom...”

At that, Jace suddenly stopped crying. His voice turned calm.

“She ran off with another man. She doesn’t want me.”

The warm yellow streetlight illuminated his stubborn, tear-streaked face.

He stared at the ground, a fresh wound on his nose. He looked like a pitiful stray puppy.

Watching him, a wave of sympathy washed over me.

“It’s late. Aren’t you going home for dinner?”

Jace shook his head.

“My dad drinks every day. He doesn’t care about me.”

He stood up, and the autumn wind blew. He pulled up his jacket hood, shoved his hands into his pockets, and said:

“Forget it. I’m fine. You go ahead. I’ll just grab some instant noodles from the convenience store.”

I still felt a pang of pity.

“Wait—”

He turned around and looked at me.

“Um... how about you come to my place for a meal?”

Jace’s eyes widened. He blinked, then smiled, revealing two dimples.

“Really?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

2

To be honest, bringing a stranger home for dinner made me a bit nervous.

Especially since this stranger wasn’t just anyone—he was the school bully, known for his fighting skills.

What if he turned on me and sold me off on the way?

But luckily, my worries were completely unnecessary.

Soon, I led Jace to my house.

I knocked on the door, and my mom opened it.

“Elaine, you’re late.”

When my mom saw Jace standing next to me, she froze.

I quickly used the excuse I’d prepared.

“Mom, this is my desk mate. His parents aren’t home today, so he wanted to come over for dinner.”

Jace nodded vigorously beside me and greeted my mom with a smile.

“Mom— I mean, Auntie, hello. My name is Jace.”

I shot him a sidelong glance.

What was he doing? Coming to my house to steal my mom?

My mom was momentarily taken aback, then gave a kind smile.

“Jace, welcome, welcome—”

My mom was always warm and hospitable.

But as piece after piece of sweet and sour ribs disappeared from my plate and landed in Jace’s bowl,

I started to regret bringing him home.

I quickly grabbed some meat and said, “Oh, Mom, he has a small appetite. He can’t eat that much.”

But Jace finished every last bit of meat in his bowl, then looked up seriously and said:

“No way. I have a huge appetite. Don’t worry, I can finish it all.”

I stared at him, my mouth twitching. Speechless.

It turns out you shouldn’t just bring random strangers home for dinner.

Otherwise... the family dog won’t get to eat.

As I watched Jace scoop spoonful after spoonful of rice from the pot, I started worrying about my dog.

“Jace, eat less. If you keep eating, there won’t be any left for my dog—”

Jace paused, his spoon in midair, and looked at me pitifully.

“But I’m still a little hungry.”

My mom was the first to defend him.

“The kid’s growing. Let him eat. It’s not like he’s eating your rice.”

I froze and shut up.

Fine. He really was here to steal my mom.

And my mom got along with him really well.

Before he left, Jace even hugged my mom, his smile sickly sweet.

“Goodbye, Auntie!”

My mom: “Come play again!”

I silently pet my hungry dog. Today it was his turn to go hungry. Tomorrow, it might be mine.

Don’t come back. Please, don’t ever come back.

If he came again, my mom might not want me anymore.

That Jace was way too much.

I was nice to him, and he steals my mom!

After he left, I couldn’t help but ask my mom:

“Mom, why are you nicer to Jace than to me?”

My mom shook her head and sighed.

“A few days ago, I saw that kid squatting outside the convenience store eating instant noodles. I saw him for several days in a row. I don’t know what his parents are doing, not making him meals. Poor kid.”

I froze, and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him.

3

The next day on my way to school, I ran into Jace again.

He was pushing his bike, buying breakfast from a stall.

When our eyes met, his face lit up.

He grabbed his breakfast and pedaled over to me.

Jace lifted the breakfast bag hanging from his bike and smiled at me.

“Hey, want some?”

He tossed a steaming roasted sweet potato at me, and I caught it quickly.

Before I could even say thanks, Jace had already pedaled away, disappearing into the distance.

I took a bite of the sweet potato. It was sweet and fragrant.

I couldn’t help but smile. That Jace kid knew how to repay a favor.

But strangely, every time I ran into him after that, he’d avoid me. The moment he saw me, he’d dart away.

A few days later, I overheard some classmates gossiping.

“Hey, did you hear? The school bully announced that Elaine from Class 3 is under his protection. Anyone who messes with her is messing with him!”

I froze. This guy was being so cheesy.

The classmates around me started teasing.

“Ooh, Elaine, what’s your relationship with the school bully?”

I frowned and ignored them.

It was fine once or twice, but my classmates kept making jokes about it.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

The next time I saw him, I chased after him.

He knew his words had caused me trouble.

So when I caught him, he struggled desperately.

Finally, he stopped, bit his lip, and looked flustered.

“S-sorry. I just wanted to protect you. I didn’t know it would cause you trouble.”

He glanced at me, his brows furrowed.

“Do you hate me? Please don’t hate me... okay... okay...”

His voice grew softer and softer.

I suddenly felt something was off. I looked up and saw his eyes glistening with tears.

I panicked and immediately let him go.

“Hey, if you’re going to explain, explain. What’s with the crying?”

Jace nodded frantically, quickly wiping his tears with his school uniform sleeve.

Seeing the wet mark on his sleeve, he frowned in disgust.

“So embarrassing...”

He sniffled and composed himself.

“Anyway... I’ll fix this. Don’t worry.”

Watching him like this, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I reached out and patted his head.

“Alright, I’ll wait.”

He looked up at my hand on his head, his voice a little whiny:

“Hey... don’t pat my head. I’m not a dog.”

4

But I never expected Jace’s “fix” to be like this.

The next day, a new rumor spread.

“Hey, did you hear? Jace said Elaine is his cousin. He told everyone to stop spreading rumors.”

I was dumbfounded when I heard this while walking into the classroom, chewing on a bun.

What? He’s my brother?

How could that genius Jace say something like that with a straight face!

During the break, I went to the convenience store to buy snacks.

While waiting in line to pay, I happened to be right behind Jace.

Just then, an annoying classmate walked by.

“Oh, Elaine, aren’t you two siblings going to say hi? ‘Cousin’—are you sure you’re not lying to us?”

Jace turned around and froze when he saw me.

He gave me a look.

I frowned reluctantly and called out to him:

“Brother...”

Jace’s eyes lit up. He bit his lip, beaming, his smile practically reaching the sky.

Even I could tell he was secretly thrilled.

The moment we left the store, I smacked him on the forehead.

He winced. “Ow—”

“Who told you to go around saying you’re my brother?”

He rubbed his head, looking serious.

“Sorry. I was planning to beat up everyone who was spreading rumors, but that was too slow... so I came up with this idea.”

...

Classic school bully.

There was still some time before class, so I wanted to chat with him.

But he hurriedly said he had something to do and needed to leave.

I grabbed his sleeve and asked:

“You’re the school bully. You don’t study, you don’t do homework. What could you possibly have to do?”

He turned to look at me and gave a helpless smile before telling the truth:

“If I stay with you, I’m afraid I’ll cause you more trouble.”

With that, he turned and walked away quickly. The cold wind billowed his school jacket into a big lump.

His back looked lonely and desolate.

Come to think of it, other school bullies had a group of followers.

But he was always alone.

Watching his back, my nose tingled.

What a poor little dog. Not only did he not get enough to eat, but he also had no friends.

But his personality was actually pretty nice.

Why didn’t anyone want to hang out with him? I found it strange.

5

I felt that he wasn’t a bad person. Later, whenever I ran into him, I’d always say hi.

But when he saw me, he’d pretend not to notice and run away as fast as he could.

One weekend, my mom suddenly asked me:

“Elaine, why haven’t you brought that classmate home for dinner lately? I saw him at the convenience store yesterday, and he said hi to me. Poor kid, he looks even thinner.”

I froze and told my mom the truth:

“Mom, actually... he’s the school bully.”

My mom paused.

“But he doesn’t seem like a bad kid. Well, anyway, you can’t judge someone based on what others say. If you trust him, you can bring him over for dinner more often.”

Later, I did some digging and found out why he was called the school bully.

In middle school, he took on three guys by himself and won. He even nearly broke one of their arms.

I was shocked when I heard that.

One day at lunch in the cafeteria, Jace saw me and, for the first time, walked over.

I instinctively stepped back and asked weakly:

“I-I heard you almost broke someone’s arm before?”

He nodded calmly. “Yeah, so?”

I was dumbfounded. I gritted my teeth and wanted to run...

He continued:

“I was just defending myself. They tried to gang up on me, so I fought back. And then... I accidentally went too hard...”

I was stunned.

Okay, it was self-defense, but... it was still kind of scary.

Seeing my dazed expression, he gave a bitter smile.

“I thought we were friends. I guess you’re scared of me too. Whatever. Everyone’s scared of me anyway. I’m used to it.”

He bit his lip, pretending to be strong.

Then he turned and walked away.

After that, I avoided Jace for a few days.

He didn’t say anything. He just quietly kept his distance.

But ever since I started avoiding him, every time we ran into each other, he’d look at me with a longing gaze.

One day, when I saw Jace sitting alone in a corner of the cafeteria eating, I finally gathered the courage to sit down across from him.

He looked up, surprised.

“You’re... not scared of me anymore?”

I took a deep breath and mustered my courage.

“Aren’t you my brother? Why would I be scared?”

He froze, then scratched his head and smiled, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

6

I looked down and started eating.

The food in the school cafeteria was terrible. After a couple of bites, I couldn’t stomach it anymore.

But Jace was wolfing it down.

I paused and pointed at the food in my bowl.

“Do you actually think this is good?”

He stopped shoveling food into his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and mumbled:

“Well... at least it’s better than instant noodles.”

Then he started grumbling.

“Speaking of which, those instant noodle companies should really come up with new flavors. I’m so sick of the ones at the convenience store...”

Listening to him, my heart felt heavy.

So I pushed all my food over to him.

“Ugh, I hate these vegetables. You can have them.”

He frowned, catching on.

“You don’t like greens, carrots, or pumpkin? Elaine, what did you eat growing up?”

I looked embarrassed and poked at the chicken leg in my bowl.

I’d given him all my vegetables, but I kept the chicken leg for myself.

Because the chicken leg was the best thing in the cafeteria, and I couldn’t bear to part with it.

Jace didn’t say anything. He accepted my offer.

But then he picked up his own chicken leg and put it in my bowl.

He smiled.

“Here. For you.”

I froze.

“You... don’t like it?”

“I do. But it’s for you.”

I looked up. Jace was resting his chin on his hand, smiling at me.

Meeting his gaze, my heart trembled.

Days passed, and Jace kept getting visibly thinner.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

So one day at lunch, I said to him:

“Jace, come home with me for dinner tonight.”

Jace was eating. When he heard my words, he froze for a long time before shaking his head.

“No need.”

I paused and changed my approach.

“If you don’t eat, you won’t grow tall. How tall are you now?”

“Five-foot-eight.”

“Can you reach six feet?”

“Why do I need to be six feet?”

“Other girls like tall guys.”

He glanced at me, was silent for a moment, then said flatly:

“Do you... like tall guys too?”

I thought about it and nodded. “Yeah.”

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Then I’ll come.”

7

So after school, I brought him home.

After dinner, he started fighting with my mom over who would do the dishes.

With the dishes taken care of, my mom sat down next to me to watch TV.

There was a drama on, showing a wedding scene.

My mom cracked sunflower seeds and started chatting.

“Oh, Elaine, when you find a partner, you should find someone as hardworking as Jace.”

As soon as she said that, a crashing sound came from the kitchen.

I rushed to the kitchen and saw Jace, his face red, looking helplessly at the broken pieces on the floor.

When he saw me, he panicked even more and bent down to pick up the shards.

I quickly stopped him.

“Don’t touch—”

But I was too late.

When I looked down again, there was a streak of red on Jace’s hand.

I went to get bandages while scolding him.

“How can you be so careless?”

He followed me cautiously, explaining:

“When I heard what Auntie said, I got nervous, and...”

What did my mom say?

When I remembered, I blushed.

After finding the bandages, I started treating his wound.

When I finished bandaging him and looked up, I saw his lips curled into a huge smile. He looked really happy.

I frowned. Was this kid crazy? He got hurt and he was smiling like that.

“What are you smiling about?”

He froze, his smile fading a little.

“Nothing. It’s just... it feels like you really care about me.”

“Yeah, so what if I do?”

He looked at me directly.

“Hmm... I’m really happy.”

I froze, feeling my face heat up.

I quickly poured myself a glass of cold water and drank it.

Jace watched me quietly.

“Elaine, I really like you...”

“Pfft—”

I spat out the water, my face turning even redder.

Jace froze, then finished his sentence: “...your mom’s cooking...”

I stared at him, my face dark, my mouth twitching.

“Jace, if you can’t finish a sentence, just don’t.”

He looked wronged. “You’re the one who interrupted me...”

“You’re the one who...”

He raised a finger to his lips and shushed me. “Okay, it’s my fault.”

I froze. He was so obedient.

8

In November, the school held its sports meet.

Jace was a sports student, and he was incredibly good.

When I heard he was participating in the sprint, I told him I’d come cheer him on.

He looked at me and smiled.

“Better not.”

I froze. “What do you mean?”

He smirked, his eyes curving like bridges.

“I’m afraid I’ll spend all my time looking for you and forget to run forward.”

I chuckled softly.

On the day of the race, I went anyway.

As expected, Jace was amazing.

He won without a doubt, leaving the second-place finisher far behind.

When he crossed the finish line, he looked around in confusion.

I waved at him. “Over here!”

I tossed him a bottle of water, and Jace caught it easily.

He unscrewed the cap and tilted his head back, chugging it down.

After a few sips, he poured the rest over his head.

His hair was soaked. He shook his head casually, stood there catching his breath, and smiled at me for a long time.

I looked at him and couldn’t help but smile back.

The autumn wind picked up, and the flags fluttered.

At that moment, I couldn’t tell if it was the wind moving or my heart.

After school, Jace said his teacher needed to talk to him and told me to go ahead.

I nodded and left alone.

As I passed the alley where I first met Jace, everything went black.

Someone grabbed me by the neck and dragged me away.

I was terrified.

The air was silent for a few seconds.

Then, without warning, the people who had grabbed me started punching and kicking me.

One hit to the leg, one to the stomach...

It hurt so much...

I bit my lip, crying from fear.

I didn’t know how long it lasted before they stopped.

One of them kicked me.

“You’re Elaine, right? Tell Jace to back off and stop showing off!”

The alley fell silent for a moment.

“Clunk—”

The sound of a bike hitting the ground.

Then, the sounds of fighting and screaming erupted around me.

“If you have a problem with me, come at me! Picking on a girl—what kind of man are you!”

I was dazed, but I snapped back to reality. It was Jace!

Footsteps approached me. Suddenly, the sack over my head was yanked off.

I opened my eyes. Jace was crouching in front of me, his face panicked.

The group of people scrambled away.

Jace looked at me, reached out a trembling hand, and wiped the tears from my face.

His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, all my fault...”

His voice grew softer. He hugged me, sobbing quietly.

I patted his head. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine.”

But he didn’t respond. He just kept saying, “I’m sorry.”

I gave a helpless smile.

“What are you doing? You’re crying worse than I am.”

I was still curious, so I asked:

“Who were those people?”

Jace lowered his head, his eyes darting away.

“The second-place finisher from today’s sprint. I left him way behind.”

I froze. So that was it.

But after what happened, instead of wanting to distance myself from him, I trusted him even more.

Still, Jace’s mood didn’t seem right.

The next day after school, I waited for Jace at his classroom door to walk home together.

When I saw him, I smiled, but he had a cold expression.

On the way home, I tried to lighten the mood by telling him funny stories from class.

But he still looked troubled.

When we got near his house, he suddenly turned to face me.

Jace took a deep breath and said:

“Maybe we should stop seeing each other.”

He looked regretful and guilty. “I always cause you trouble...”

I froze.

So he was still hung up on what happened last night.

I forced a lighthearted tone and punched him playfully.

“Hey, I got bullied because of you. Instead of protecting me, you want to run away?”

He shook his head frantically. “That’s not what I meant...”

“Then from now on, you’re in charge of escorting me home.”

“I...”

“Stop ‘I’-ing. It’s settled.”

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, Jace shook his head and muttered, “I can’t do anything with you.”

9

A few days later, Jace went to compete in another city. He said he wouldn’t be back until Monday.

On Sunday night at 10 p.m., someone knocked on my door. I opened it to find Jace.

His face was beaming, and he was holding a big bag of snacks.

His face was flushed, and he was panting heavily, as if he’d run all the way here.

When he saw me, his grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Elaine! I got first place in the competition!”

I smiled. “Congratulations!”

I invited him in.

He’d barely sat down and taken a sip of water before he eagerly continued:

“And also... I signed a contract with A University! As long as I don’t flunk the college entrance exam, I can get in through the sports recruitment program!”

I froze. A University was one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

The kind I could study my whole life and never get into.

I forced a smile to congratulate him.

But inside, I was worried. I couldn’t get into A University.

Seeing my troubled expression, Jace’s smile faded.

“What’s wrong? Are you... unhappy?”

I shook my head.

“No... I was just thinking about how hard I’d have to study to get into A University.”

“It’s okay. If you really can’t get in, we can go to schools close to each other.”

After the college entrance exam, I applied to a school that was only an hour away from A University.

As the start of the semester approached, I grew more and more anxious.

I felt like I was drifting further and further away from Jace.

It was like he was sprinting on a track, getting faster and faster.

And I could only watch his back, unable to catch up.

So, before school started,

I confessed to him while we were walking down the street.

He was tilting his head back, drinking a soda, swaying lazily.

I looked up at him and said:

“Jace, will you be with me?”

He froze and glanced at me.

His eyes flickered.

Then, he looked down and said in a low voice:

“Can’t we... just stay like this?”

My heart sank. I nodded lightly to go along with it.

In the dim light, I couldn’t read his expression.

I stared blankly at the stars above, not saying another word.

That night, I hid under my covers and couldn’t help but cry.

It was the first time I cried as pathetically as Jace had.

I wondered if I’d misread the signs.

Maybe Jace... had never liked me.

10

After starting college, Jace and I talked much less.

Sometimes I’d text him in the morning, and he wouldn’t reply until night.

I couldn’t help but think back to how dismissive he was when I confessed.

Now he was getting colder and colder.

Was he busy wagging his tail at someone else?

The thought made me miserable, and I stopped texting him for days.

Luckily, it turned out he wasn’t.

After military training ended, Jace finally texted me first.

“Are you free? I’ll come see you in a couple of days.”

I was happy, but I was still a little upset.

“Mr. Busy, who doesn’t even have time to reply to messages, suddenly has time to see me?”

He replied with a voice message almost immediately.

When I played it, his voice dragged, sounding a little whiny:

“I’m sorry, okay—”

My heart trembled. Just those three words, and I couldn’t help but forgive him.

“Sunday afternoon, then.”

“Got it.”

He replied instantly, along with a sticker of a puppy wagging its tail.

I looked at the sticker and couldn’t help but laugh.

“That’s you.”

He sent another voice message, his tone resigned.

“Whatever you say.”

On Sunday, he came to see me.

The moment he saw me, he reached out to touch my face but stopped mid-air.

He smiled and said casually, “You got darker.”

I tensed up.

“No way. I’m wearing makeup, and you still noticed? Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah.”

I punched him. “So tactless.”

I showed him around the campus.

Time flew by. The sun set, and it was time for him to leave.

Before he left, he said:

“Oh, I sent you some money. Buy yourself something to eat.”

I opened my phone and saw he’d sent me a thousand yuan.

I tensed up.

“Where did you get this money?”

His eyes darted away, and he stammered:

“Uh, c-competition prize money.”

I frowned. He was the worst liar.

I dragged out my words: “Tell me the truth—”

He lowered his head. “I... I earned it.”

“How?”

He scratched his head. “Just some manual labor.”

I tensed up even more.

“Manual labor is bad for your health. Just focus on your training. Don’t sacrifice the big picture for small gains.”

He nodded obediently. “Okay. I’ll listen to you.”

I opened my phone to transfer the money back.

But he stopped me.

“It’s for you. Keep it.”

“I don’t need money. Why are you giving me money?”

He grinned. “I just want to give it to you. I just want to see you happy.”

11

I used the money to buy him some snacks and a puppy-patterned pajama set, which I mailed to his school.

After that, Jace came to see me occasionally.

He brought me mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival and zongzi for Dragon Boat Festival, but he never gave me flowers on romantic holidays.

On Valentine’s Day, I used the excuse of visiting him.

I even secretly brought a bouquet of flowers.

That night, I waited outside his dormitory for a long time, but he never showed.

He stood me up.

He didn’t even give me a reason. Just a vague “something came up.”

I waited in the cold wind until midnight.

In the end, I threw the flowers into the trash.

No matter how much I liked him, I couldn’t keep humiliating myself.

After that, I rarely contacted him.

But he kept texting me.

He’d update me on his daily schedule, like... how a boyfriend would text his girlfriend.

Finally, one day, I got annoyed.

I sent him a voice message.

“Jace, do you have no sense of boundaries? We’re friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend.”

He typed for a long time.

Finally, I got his reply. Just two words:

“I’m sorry.”

I stared at the message, feeling an emptiness in my chest.

After that, we barely talked.

I heard that Jace was incredibly talented and trained very hard, winning many awards.

But no matter how brilliant he became, it had nothing to do with me anymore.

Before I knew it, it was my sophomore year.

That semester, the workload was especially heavy.

One night, a few classmates and I were filming a group project on the sports field.

I was playing the female lead, walking side by side with the male lead across the field.

Suddenly, I thought I saw Jace in the crowd.

It turned out I wasn’t imagining it.

Jace was carrying a bunch of things, walking quickly with a happy expression.

What was he doing here?

As I acted, I kept glancing at him.

Then, as he hurried across the field, our eyes met.

His smile froze. He glanced at the guy beside me.

After a long pause, he turned around and walked away without looking back.

He must have misunderstood. I wanted to explain, but the filming was still going on, and I couldn’t get away.

An hour later, the filming ended.

I checked my phone and saw a message from Jace:

“Elaine, I came to see you. I have amazing news!”

What news? I was curious, so I called him.

The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered.

“Hello...”

His voice was hoarse, with a hint of a sniffle.

I froze, frowning, and asked cautiously:

“Are you... crying?”

Jace was silent for a moment, then said, “Yeah...”

“Why are you crying?”

He stayed quiet for a long time.

Finally, he said, “You know why.”

I was stunned. Oh, he must have misunderstood my relationship with the male lead.

But he’d been stringing me along for so long. Why was he suddenly jealous?

Thinking that, I deliberately didn’t explain and changed the subject.

“What’s the good news?”

He sniffled.

“Nothing. I just won a competition and wanted to split the prize money with you. I’ve already sent it. Wish you... happiness.”

Then he hung up.

I was dumbfounded. What was that idiot talking about?

I pulled down the notification bar and saw:

“Jace sent you a transfer of 25,000 yuan.”

I was even more confused. Where did he get so much money?

I called him again. Luckily, he didn’t hang up in anger.

I asked, “Where are you?”

“On... the train back to school.”

“Wait for me. I’m coming to your school.”

12

When I arrived at Jace’s dormitory building, I called him again.

“I’m here. Come out.”

He mumbled, “No...”

“Come out...”

His voice was a little hoarse over the phone.

“I already showered. I don’t want to come down. Just tell me over the phone.”

I lost my patience. “I’ll give you five minutes. Get down here.”

On the other end, he sighed and hung up.

Five minutes later, he showed up.

He really had showered. He was wearing the puppy-patterned pajama set I’d bought him.

He had the hood up, wrapping himself up tightly.

He looked so cute that I couldn’t resist pinching the little dog ears on his hood.

But he stepped back.

“Don’t touch me...”

If he hadn’t spoken, I wouldn’t have noticed. But his voice was thick with tears.

The streetlight was too dim for me to see his face clearly.

So I pulled out my phone and shone the flashlight on him.

I was shocked by what I saw.

His eyes were swollen and bloodshot.

But I didn’t feel sorry for him at all. He deserved it for stringing me along.

“Oh, crying?”

I said flatly.

He sniffled, his nose turning red. His eyes glistened, and he looked like he was about to cry again.

I quickly got serious.

“Stop crying. People are walking by. It’s embarrassing.”

He wiped his tears with his sleeve, looked at me, and said pitifully:

“You’re going to run away with someone else too... You don’t want me anymore...”

I wanted to cry, but I ended up laughing.

He completely lost it, tears streaming down his face.

“And you’re laughing...”

I explained.

“He’s not my boyfriend. We were just acting. It was a group project.”

He froze and wiped his nose. “Really?”

I showed him a photo of the male lead with his girlfriend.

“Believe me now?”

Jace immediately stopped crying. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? You made me embarrass myself...”

I smiled. “You know it’s embarrassing?

“But honestly, if this hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have known you cared this much. Crying like that?”

His eyes darted away. He didn’t admit it, but he didn’t deny it either.

Seeing him silent, I felt a little disappointed.

I changed the subject.

“Where did you get so much money?”

“It really is competition prize money this time.”

He pulled out his phone and showed me a photo of a trophy, smiling.

“Am I awesome?”

I looked closely. It was a national-level competition.

“You’re the best—”

Even though he was still avoiding the topic, I was determined to get an answer today.

So I said, “Go upstairs and change. Let’s go for a walk?”

He nodded.

13

Unfortunately, it started to drizzle.

When Jace came back down, he was holding two umbrellas.

We wandered through the cold, rainy streets.

We walked side by side.

There was hardly anyone on the street, so I started messing around.

I walked behind him and suddenly shoved my cold hand down the back of his neck.

He yelped from the shock, then grabbed my mischievous hand and stuffed it into his pocket.

But I wasn’t satisfied. I took his hand.

“Mind if I borrow your hand to warm up?”

He froze, then nodded, his face turning red.

I was so happy I started babbling nonsense.

“Puppy’s hands are so warm...

“Hmm, I bet his abs are even warmer—”

Jace frowned in disgust. “Who’s a puppy?”

I poked his nose and laughed. “