Heartwarming love story
Two lives were born at the same time in a secluded alley of a poor small town—a boy and a girl. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was because the adults believed the fortune teller’s words that the baby’s life would be preserved only if a betrothal was arranged at birth.
The two families arranged an infant betrothal. The boy’s mother pointed at the girl and said, “She will be your wife in the future.” The boy giggled, while the girl cried. They were too young to understand.
Two years passed with laughter and tears. One day, the boy learned to use chopsticks and immediately asked his mother to carry him to the girl’s house. The girl saw the boy’s skill with chopsticks and cried because he could use them, but she couldn’t.
The boy cried after returning home because he saw the girl cry. After that, the boy insisted on not using chopsticks during meals. Eventually, the girl learned how to use chopsticks, but the boy forgot how.
At three years old, the boy and girl both went to kindergarten. One afternoon, the girl wet the bed. When the kindergarten teacher asked who wet the bed, the girl was scared and cried. The boy raised his hand and said, “Teacher, it was me.”
However, the teacher still noticed the girl’s wet pants and told her mother. The girl angrily pointed at the boy and said, “You must have told the teacher. I will never talk to you again.” The next day, the boy wet his own bed and reported it to the teacher, who scolded him to tears.
At seven years old, they started first grade. The boy got the highest score in the first semester’s exam and received praise from teachers and parents. The girl also did well but went home upset. From then on, the boy stopped participating in exams until the fifth grade.
The girl was thrilled to bring home a first-place certificate, but the boy had no scores. The boy’s mother was furious and beat him until he couldn’t get out of bed. Later, the teacher explained that for some reason, the boy refused to take exams or receive scores. The teacher had to give him private tests without announcing his scores.
Six years later, the boy and girl were admitted to the same school. By this time, both of their parents had lost their jobs and survived by doing odd jobs.
At noon, they ate at the school cafeteria. The girl had a small appetite and always had leftovers, which the boy ate without complaint whenever she said, “I don’t want to waste food.” In the three years of middle school, the girl always came first, and the boy had no scores. In the high school entrance exams, the girl got the top score in the province and was admitted to a key provincial high school.
The boy failed. The girl cried and asked why. The boy said, “I haven’t been studying for a long time. I was just worried about you being alone at school.” In fact, there was another reason: neither family could afford it, but the boy wanted the girl to continue her studies even though his actual scores were better.
That summer was the happiest time for the boy because the girl was always with him and never got mad. Her smile was his source of joy.
The girl was leaving for the provincial capital the next day. That night, they sat at the door until midnight. The girl couldn’t stop crying; she wasn’t used to being without the boy, who had always let her bully him and taken care of her. Without him, she felt scared.
The next day, on the way to the city, the girl saw the boy carrying a bundle, hitchhiking. She asked, “Why are you here?” The boy said, “This way, I save half the fare.” They both laughed.
The girl lived frugally at school, and the boy worked hard at a construction site to send money to the girl’s mother every month. The girl visited the boy whenever she could. Every time he sent her off, he would say, “Study hard and get into college.”
One day, when the girl visited, she asked, “A boy said he likes me. What should I do?” The boy was stunned, then said, “Study hard, okay? Talk about it after you get into college.” The boy couldn’t look at her. She smiled and said, “I told him I have a boyfriend.” The boy smiled and said, “There will be better ones in college.”
After she left, the boy was silent for many days, working hard and shedding tears and sweat. For three years, the girl didn’t go home during vacations, staying at school to study, and the boy worked extra jobs without returning home.
Three years of hard studying paid off. The girl got into a prestigious university. When she received the acceptance letter, they hugged, crying with happiness.
The boy felt the girl would move farther away from him, but he only wanted her to be happy, no matter how much he suffered. They took the bus home together. Their families praised the girl, making her feel bittersweet.
To pay for her college, the girl tutored other children every day, while the boy did odd jobs. When it was time to leave, the girl took her hard-earned money, along with her family’s savings, and boarded the bus to the university with the boy. In the new, bustling city, the girl lived frugally and found a part-time job, while the boy worked at a construction site, saving for her tuition.
One day, someone told the girl, “Someone outside found your belongings and wants to return them.” The girl went out and saw the boy standing far away, covered in dirt from the construction site. She walked over, brushed the dirt off, and asked, “Why did you say you found my belongings? Why not say you are my hometown friend?”
The boy smiled and said, “Look at how I’m dressed. If I said I was your friend, wouldn’t it embarrass you?” The girl cried and said, “When have I ever been ashamed of you?” The boy gently took out a diamond hairpin and gave it to her, saying, “I saw city people wearing these. You’ll look better than them with it.” The girl cried even harder.
Not long after, the girl received a call saying the boy had been injured on the job and was in the hospital. When she arrived, he had already lost an arm. The girl, tearful, approached the boy, who excitedly told her, “We have money now; your tuition is paid.” The girl was confused. The boy explained, “I bought insurance a few days ago.”
The girl realized he had intentionally gotten hurt to pay her tuition. She cried, “I’d rather not go to school than have you get hurt for money.” The next day, the school issued a notice saying her tuition was paid. The boy took the remaining money home and opened a small shop just to get by.
After the boy went home, the girl wrote countless letters, but he never replied. She never went home during breaks, staying at school to work. The boy, despite longing to see her, stayed away. Finally, in her senior year, the boy visited her. She had grown into a beautiful, refined woman, making the boy feel inadequate.
They were supposed to be happy to see each other, but the girl was cold. She resented him for what he did to himself, for disappearing without a word, and for not saying anything about their future even now. They sat in silence. The boy went home, and the girl cried all night at the station.
Months later, a woman came to the boy’s house, his arranged bride. The families thought the girl was too good for the boy, and her family seemed to agree. The wedding was quickly arranged. The boy called the girl and told her he was getting married. She trembled and asked who it was. He said, “A girl from a nearby village, nice but missing an eye.”
The girl immediately took leave and returned home. She went to the boy’s house and saw him cooking with one hand, but a woman was there helping. She cried and told the boy, “We were engaged first. Don’t you remember?” The boy cried and said, “You deserve a better life. I can’t take care of you. Our parents don’t agree, either.”
The girl ran home, knelt before her parents, and recounted the past: how the boy took the blame for her in kindergarten, didn’t take exams in elementary school for her, ate her leftovers in middle school, intentionally injured himself for her tuition, and more. Her parents were moved to tears. Her father said, “If you don’t marry him, you’re not human.”
After graduation, the girl found a job at a foreign company with a high salary. Four months later, she returned home. Everyone in the town envied her but pitied the boy. Despite her new appearance, the boy felt she was out of his league.
The girl gave the woman 5000 yuan. Though the woman prepared to leave, she left with words of encouragement: “Loving someone truly in this life is rare. He gave you a lifetime of happiness; you should repay him with your life.” Yes, she was meant to repay him for life. She had never thought of leaving him. Since childhood, since the moment he left her in middle school, she knew she belonged to him forever.
The woman left. The girl, full of joy, went to the boy and said, “Now you can tell me what you should have said in college, right?” The boy had said it thousands of times in his heart but couldn’t believe this elegant girl still cared for him. He shook his head, “I don’t want to
hold you back.” The girl, angry and crying, said, “My heart was yours when you left school to work for me. Everything you did is beyond ordinary.” She kissed him, and he tasted the sweetness in his tears. He knew it was real. Gathering all his strength, he finally said, “I love you.”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
