He began to understand the bitterness in her heart, so he didn't want to give up. Instead, he silently said to himself: "I still need to work harder." That night, he suffered from insomnia and couldn't fall asleep all night. He thought for a long time about many things. He loved her and didn't want to see his beloved living such a decadent life. He was thinking of a way to bring Xiao Si back to her original life... Xiao Si responded cruelly with a smile: "Who are you? What qualifications do you have to boss me around, little brother? Go play somewhere else!" Later, the hooligans around her joined in and drove him away, not allowing him to approach Xiao Si. But he insisted, saying: "Xiao Si, you said you were afraid of the dark. Let me send you home." Upon hearing this, Xiao Si inexplicably allowed him.
One day in August, the girl went out to fight again, and the boy followed closely behind her as always. This fight was different from the usual ones. In the past, when they went out to fight, only a few people carried knives. But this time, everyone had one, even he got a knife. The blade was very sharp and heavy, but his heart felt heavier. He had no right to stop the girl, but she wouldn't listen to him anyway.
One night in July, she came out drunk from a bar with several of her so-called good buddies when they met their class president, Xiao Yue, the person she loved. Xiao Yue recognized the girl far away who was holding a wine bottle, dressed strangely, walking unsteadily, and barely standing upright. Seeing her with a group of hooligans, Xiao Yue was worried, felt heartache, and also blamed himself. He wanted to try bringing her back on the right path, letting her return to her original life. He quickly approached Xiao Si and softly said to her: "Xiao Si, you've had too much to drink. Do you need me to send you home?"
Standing alone under the pale moonlight of the dark night, he saw no light, only its coldness. The next morning, early, Xiao Yue was already holding roses at the crossroads where Xiao Si passed by every day waiting for her. After waiting for a long time, the person he loved finally arrived. Xiao Yue blushed as he walked towards her, handed her the roses, and confessed his love. Xiao Si couldn't believe what the person in front of her was saying was true. In her eyes, his claim of liking her was just because she was now hanging out with a group of hooligans, wasting her life. He was merely sympathizing with her, feeling sorry for her. He also tasted the bitterness of rejection, it was truly hard to endure, his heart ached, an indescribable pain.
The fight started, and he stood dumbfounded in the corner, extremely scared. Because this time was really different from before; this time they were fighting for their lives, each one armed with real weapons. Soon, there was blood on the ground, and many people were injured. He saw blood streaming from many people's wrists, faces, foreheads, arms, abdomens, and legs, but they refused to stop fighting, continuing the battle with a fierce determination. The girl was also injured, her wrist dripping with fresh red blood, yet she continued to fight alongside the hooligans. He couldn't bear to see it anymore. He, who had never fought before, raised the heavy knife in his hand and rushed to the girl's side to help her fight. Later, he noticed someone behind the girl preparing to attack her. The knife gleamed with a shiny white light. He tried shouting to warn the girl to look back, but she didn't listen. With no other choice, as the knife neared her, he quickly pushed the girl aside. She fell down, bruising her arm and bleeding, but when she got up ready to scold the boy, she was speechless. She was terrified by the scene in front of her. The boy lay in a pool of blood, a red knife piercing his chest, its tip still dripping blood. The girl screamed hysterically for help, but everyone ran away upon seeing the situation.
The girl cried again, crying very sadly. The boy weakly raised his right hand to wipe away the tears on the girl's face and said to her: "Xiao Si, please don't cry, alright? I truly love you, I have always loved you. My feelings for you have never changed. If I'm gone, take care of yourself, be careful every single day. Everyone loves you. Don't cry, I like your smile..."
This sentence completely shattered Xiao Si's heart. She cried and left silently from the playground. Her retreating figure seemed so lonely and sorrowful in the darkness. Yet, she didn't know that after she left, Xiao Yue also cried.
On the day of the boy's funeral, the girl did not attend. She dressed beautifully, coming to the crossroads where he first gave her flowers. Facing the moving vehicles, she said a long passage: "Dear, I've come. I'm used to having you walk behind me all the time. Without you, I'm not happy, I'm sad. This time, I won't let you walk behind me anymore. This time, we'll hold hands and walk shoulder to shoulder together. I've come, wait for me."
When people found the girl, she was already lying at the crossroads, covered in blood like the boy when he died. But the corners of the girl's mouth were always upturned, she kept smiling, she left with a smile. Because the boy said he liked her smile, so she wanted to find him with a smile.
Why does love always end so painfully? Why do lovers always part? It's because when we love, we don't know how to cherish. If you love him (her), let him (her) know. If you love him (her), be kinder to him (her). If you love him (her), don't hurt him (her). Not every story has a perfect ending, but every story can be made beautiful. Love your him (her) well, if you love him (her), tell him (her), let him (her) know. Cherish what you have now, make your love more beautiful.
But unexpectedly, things turned out differently. Starting from that day, Xiao Si never focused on studying again. During class, she would always daydream and lose focus. During this period, Xiao Yue tried to explain to Xiao Si, but whenever Xiao Si saw Xiao Yue, she would sneak away like a rat seeing a cat, not giving him a chance to explain or even speak. Later, the opening scene of the story appeared - Xiao Si failed the high school entrance exam and began her decadent life. The girl didn't cry, she kept smiling, always smiling.
After crying, Xiao Yue prepared to leave and go home. But in the dark corner of the playground, he heard a girl crying in the dark night. He knew that the girl hiding in the corner crying was Xiao Si. He walked over and asked her: "Are you okay? It's not safe for a girl to go home so late. Come on, I'll send you home." Xiao Si didn't say anything, but that night, he still sent her home. The night scene was the same as that night, and so was their silence throughout the journey. Along the way, Xiao Si only said one sentence: "Do you know? I'm very afraid of the dark. I wish I could..."
Every day since then, he would send her roses, and every day he would follow her closely. When she went to the bar to drink, he would drink for her. When she smoked, he would snatch the cigarette from her hand and throw it away. When she fought, he would silently watch from the side because he knew he couldn't persuade her, but if anyone attacked her, he would immediately rush forward to protect her, using his body to shield her from any harm.
They walked one after another on a quiet small road. There was no one on the roadside. In the dark night, only a few weak beams of light shone from others' rooms. It was very quiet, very quiet. All along, they both remained silent, neither taking the initiative to speak. The boy just quietly walked behind the girl, looking at her tired and weary back, feeling very heartbroken. The road wasn't long, but they walked for a long time. Finally, the girl arrived home. As she was about to enter, the boy finally spoke, saying to the girl: "Xiao Si, can you stop being like this? Even for my sake, please don't continue like this, alright?" The girl paused for a moment, then smiled and replied: "Who do you think you are! For your sake? Laughable! Who is here for me? Do we even have any relationship? Isn't that what you said?"
That was something that happened a month ago, on June 1st, which was the girl's birthday. The girl was very happy, receiving many gifts, making her feel satisfied and finding her 16th birthday meaningful. But she felt something was missing because she had fallen in love with their class president, Xiao Yue.
He wanted to know how Xiao Yue felt about him, so after school, he slipped a note to Xiao Yue that read: "Xiao Yue, come to the playground after evening study, I have something to tell you, don't miss it!" Xiao Yue came to the playground as agreed, but when Xiao Si confessed to him, Xiao Yue rejected her and said some very harsh words: "You said you like me, tell me, what exactly do you like about me? What kind of relationship do we have?" These were answers Xiao Si didn't expect, leaving her speechless and choosing silence instead. Xiao Yue continued: "Alright, you don't know, right? I know. Apart from being classmates, we have nothing else between us. We have no relationship."
Before finishing his sentence, Xiao Yue passed away.
Days passed slowly, unchanged.