First love school story: Love Under the Purple-Tong Tree
Behind the school stood a purple-tong tree, and in my free time, I always liked to sit under it and watch the sunset.
I wasn’t handsome, didn’t do well in school, didn’t like sports, and wasn’t very sociable. But I had one trait that everyone envied: an astonishing talent.
During class, while my mind was wandering, the teacher threw a piece of chalk that hit me square on the head. “Not this trick again,” I thought. “Can’t you come up with something new?” I bent down to pick up the chalk to return it to the teacher, but I noticed something different: the teacher’s usually stern face was smiling brightly today.
“Class, today we have a new student. Her name is Zitong.” She was a cute girl with a retro-looking ponytail, slightly dazed in appearance. The teacher pointed to the seat next to me, “She will be helping you. Zitong is very exceptional.”
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before her reputation spread throughout the school. First, she won the championship in a long-distance running competition, then she became class president, and soon after, she achieved the top score in the entire school on an exam. However, as she achieved such outstanding results, sitting next to her made me her biggest victim. I, once a carefree troublemaker, was now completely under her control.
To my surprise, I found myself growing fond of being under Zitong’s control. But this couldn’t continue, so I passed her a note: “Stop thinking you’re so great and don’t be so full of yourself. I don’t believe you can control me. Stop bossing me around at school, and don’t pull my ear anymore. It’s embarrassing!”
She gave me a slight smile: “Soon, you’ll fall in love with this feeling.”
Zitong was beautiful and exceptional, which won the hearts of many boys. This led to a flood of love letters in our class, causing wave after wave of commotion. It was hard to imagine how one person could be so extraordinary, so brilliant. What made it even more frustrating was that, despite my dislike for her, I found myself slowly becoming infatuated with her too.
One morning, the vice class president gathered everyone in our class, except for Zitong, for an emergency meeting. He announced that something important would happen today. During self-study, he suddenly raised his head and shouted to Zitong, “I love you!” He pulled out a bouquet of flowers and presented them to her. The whole class turned towards Zitong, urging her to accept him. Zitong glared at me, then smiled and accepted his flowers.
That evening, I lay in bed, unable to sleep. Was it envy or jealousy? I realized that at some point, I had fallen in love with her. The thought of her being with the vice president made my heart ache. Whenever I felt troubled, I would sit on the stone bench under the purple-tong tree, gazing at the sky in silence. But this time, a petite figure was already sitting there. “What are you doing here? This is my spot.”
“I’m watching the stars.” “Says who? Whoever gets here first owns it.” Zitong mischievously smiled at me. “Why is your face so red? Could it be that you like me?”
“Hmph! Of course not! Don’t you like the vice president?” I refused to look at her and quickly ran away.
Soon after, Zitong made a shocking announcement at school: If any boy surpassed her in the end-of-month exam, she would date him. Instantly, all the boys in school went crazy and started studying like mad, including me. For the sake of Zitong’s happiness, I had to surpass her in the exam.
Maybe because I was studying seriously, Zitong stopped managing me. Whenever I answered a difficult question correctly in class, she would encourage me with a sweet smile.
The end-of-month exam results were announced today, and when I saw my name at the top, I wasn’t sure whether I was happy or sad. I scored 575 points, just 0.5 points more than her. During class, Zitong held the report card and announced that she would fulfill her promise to be my girlfriend, and the whole class applauded. I snatched the report card from her and tore it to pieces. This wasn’t what I wanted. After I rejected her, Zitong left the classroom in tears.
A few days later, life returned to normal, but the news that a fool had given up the best girl spread throughout the school.
“Do you regret it?” Zitong asked me.
“No, I don’t. I know you like me too, right?”
“Yes,” Zitong smiled, lifting her head as if recalling something.
In the days that followed, after school, Zitong and I would sit under the purple-tong tree, chatting and watching the sunset.
Epilogue:
Not long after, Zitong left, quietly, without telling anyone.
In her desk, I found a letter:
“I love you. Do you know that? I liked you from the moment I first saw you. I like your mischief, your cuteness, everything about you. But now, I have to leave. I won’t boss you around anymore, and I won’t pull your ear anymore. But you have to study hard, okay? Maybe one day, we’ll meet again. Under the purple-tong tree behind the school are my most beautiful memories.”
Love, Zitong.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
