High school crush rejection story
When I first got into the second high school, I was deeply depressed.
I didn’t perform well in the entrance exam, missing the top school by just one point. Frustrated, I was listless from the first day of military training.
Military training was boring, especially when we had to stand still in formation for half an hour. During this long half-hour, although our bodies remained motionless, our eyes wandered, observing each other. The instructor was amusing; once, he even ordered boys and girls to stand face-to-face at a close distance.
Standing in front of me was Lu Haoyu, his face less than 30 centimeters away from mine. I could even feel his breathing. After a few days in the sun, his face looked a bit tanned, but with his short, upright hair, he appeared particularly spirited.
I also noticed his well-defined features, especially his bright, sparkling eyes that exuded a gentle warmth.
I stared at his face in a daze, and his gaze stayed on mine.
Sometimes, falling for someone happens in an instant. Lu Haoyu’s sharp face, clear eyes, and short, upright hair were deeply etched in my heart.
When we were assigned seats, Lu Haoyu ended up right behind me, and I silently thanked our homeroom teacher.
My desk mate, Wen Yi, was a quiet girl, but Lu Haoyu’s desk mate, Xiao Bin, was lively and talkative. Because of him, I often turned around to chat during breaks.
My eyes were always on Lu Haoyu, and when our conversations got lively, he would join in and say a few words.
I hinted at my feelings to Lu Haoyu and conveyed my emotions through my gaze, but he acted oblivious and didn’t respond. I felt disheartened, but my affection for him was not something I could easily let go of.
I secretly passed notes to Lu Haoyu. He didn’t reply. Unwilling to give up, I started buying breakfast for him. However, the first breakfast I bought for him was eaten by Xiao Bin, who hadn’t had breakfast that morning.
After eating, Xiao Bin excitedly said, “Haoyu, is someone crushing on you? They even prepared breakfast for you! But today, I did you a favor because I was starving.”
Holding a book in my hands, I listened carefully to their conversation and was furious with Xiao Bin.
“Even food can’t keep your mouth shut?” Lu Haoyu said.
I felt a bit disappointed, but I persisted. For five consecutive days, I brought different breakfasts for Lu Haoyu each day, but he never ate them. Instead, he gave the breakfasts I specially prepared for him to classmates who hadn’t eaten.
On Friday afternoon, before school ended, Lu Haoyu couldn’t hold back anymore and slipped a note into my book: “I know the breakfasts were from you. Thank you on behalf of those classmates! But I hope this ends here.”
He doesn’t like me? That was my first reaction, and my heart felt like it was stung, a hard, raw pain.
On quiet nights, I tossed and turned, with images of Lu Haoyu’s clear eyes floating in my mind.
When I accidentally heard from Xiao Bin that Lu Haoyu liked girls with short hair, I ruthlessly cut off the long hair I had grown for three years. When I learned that Lu Haoyu liked slim girls, I started strictly controlling my diet, even though I wasn’t overweight to begin with, and completely avoided the temptation of snacks.
Lu Haoyu once mentioned that “quiet girls are especially cute” while chatting with others, so I stopped speaking loudly, hoping my quiet demeanor would make him accept me. Whenever we didn’t have to wear uniforms, I wore clothes in the colors he liked.
One time, by coincidence, we both wore sky blue T-shirts and jeans to school. Xiao Bin, upon seeing us, exclaimed, “Isn’t that couple’s attire?” Seeing Lu Haoyu’s flushed face, I felt immense joy.
Until the end of our first year, Lu Haoyu remained lukewarm toward me. From an outsider’s perspective, he seemed even more enthusiastic toward my desk mate, Wen Yi. I was angry but helpless.
After the final exams, I passed him a note again, inviting him to a movie that night. Lu Haoyu came, but he brought Wen Yi and Xiao Bin along.
That night, Lu Haoyu was more active than usual, but I wasn’t happy. What I hoped would be a date turned into a group outing. What was my role in it?
I wholeheartedly liked Lu Haoyu and did what I thought he might like.
One day, on my way home from school, I accidentally saw him chatting and laughing with a junior girl. She was the freshman representative and had wowed everyone at the welcome party with her peacock dance.
Seeing the concern in Lu Haoyu’s eyes, I felt as if my heart was being eaten by bugs. For the first time, I ran to that girl’s class to warn her.
She calmly told me that Lu Haoyu was her cousin. Hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief, but her next words made my heart hang in the balance again.
She said, “From what I know of my cousin, you’re probably not his type.”
“Mind your own business. Just don’t interfere,” I said.
“Then good luck! My cousin likes girls with personality,” she suggested as we parted.
When I noticed another girl in class showing interest in Lu Haoyu, I openly and secretly picked on her. Lu Haoyu saw me bullying that girl and came to ask me to stop being so domineering.
His words angered me, so during a break, I sneaked to the bike rack and deflated that girl’s bicycle tires. Lu Haoyu confronted me again, asking if I could restrain myself. He said he never had feelings for me.
Seeing his stern face, I tried to explain and make one last effort, but he resolutely said, “I’ve rejected you so many times. Don’t you understand? How could I like a girl who doesn’t respect herself?”
He said I didn’t respect myself… All my bravado crumbled in that moment. I forced a smile, holding back tears, and said, “I like my feelings, what’s it to you?” Then I turned and walked away.
After walking a long way, I finally broke down in tears under the bright noon sun.
For two years, I did so many ridiculous things for Lu Haoyu, but he only thought I didn’t respect myself. Was I really such a terrible girl?
In the dark night, I sat alone by the window. For the first time, I realized that in liking someone, I had lost myself. I forgot my dreams, forgot the love of my parents, and did so many unlikable things…
The transformation that summer surprised even me. I hired tutors and attended cram classes. It was a summer of relentless studying, a race against time. I pushed myself into a corner with no way out.
In the first exam of senior year, I went from being ranked over 600th to the top 100. My change surprised everyone, and of course, there were rumors, but I no longer cared.
The pain of being mocked, the heartache of Lu Haoyu’s rejection, became my driving force. I studied tirelessly, reviewing three years’ worth of textbooks twice. I forced myself to study for fourteen hours a day and stopped talking to others.
The “chaotic” senior year left me no time to think about Lu Haoyu.
Heaven rewards diligence. A year of hard work finally paid off in the college entrance exam.
I didn’t expect that the night the scores were released, Lu Haoyu would call me. He congratulated me and then fell silent.
I knew he was waiting for me to speak, but I was caught off guard and didn’t know what to say. Throughout the whole senior year, I had forgotten about him.
After a long silence, I said, “Lu Haoyu, thank you for rejecting me. You woke me up and taught me to respect myself. I once hated you, but now, I just want to say: thank you!”
Yes, now I just want to thank him. His rejection gave me the most perfect ending to my high school years.
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