After My Sweetheart Favored the Top Student, I Quit

On the day of the graduation photo, the photographer told the couples to stand closer together.

But Flora pressed down on my shoulder and pushed me to the edge of the line, putting Alex next to her instead.

Alex and I are the top humanities and top science students, so it makes sense for us to stand together.

This wasn't the first time she'd pushed me away.

When I brought her the problems I'd gotten wrong, she said my foundation was weak and I was wasting her time.

Alex was weak in math, but she'd stay up until dawn to break down every problem for him into the simplest steps.

When I wanted to go study at the library with her, she frowned and said it would throw off her studying.

Yet she'd skip class to walk with Alex along the seaside just because he'd dropped a rank.

The photographer teased with a smile, "You two aren't a couple, are you? You look good together, and your grades match up too."

Flora looked at Alex, smiling gently and proudly. "We've always been the most compatible partners."

Alex smiled and tightened his arm around her waist, and the classmates around them cheered them on.

I stood outside the crowd, still clutching the number tag for the photo I'd wanted to take with her.

The spot beside her had never been saved for me.

And now, I didn't want it anymore.

1.

I looked down at the number tag in my hand and suddenly it seemed ridiculous.

Just to have a graduation photo with her, I'd not only paid to bring in a professional photographer, I'd even bought matching couples' outfits for us.

But today Flora wasn't wearing the matching outfit I'd bought. She was wearing the exact same competition team uniform as Alex.

In the end, I didn't even have the right to stand beside her.

I turned, walked over to the trash can, and dropped the number tag inside.

In the homeroom teacher's office, he handed me my report card and clapped me on the shoulder with a smile.

"You did well. Go home and prepare well for your college applications."

He thought for a moment, then said,

"I hear you're planning to apply to universities in the capital with Flora? The admissions cutoffs in the capital are too high. With your grades, going to the capital... isn't really worth it. My advice is to put your own future first."

I gripped my report card, thanked the teacher,

and the moment I stepped out of the office, I ran straight into Flora and Alex.

When they saw me, both of them froze for a second.

Then Alex hurried over to me, his smile warm and easy. "So this is where you went."

He smiled and held out a drink toward me.

"We bought drinksFlora got one for you too."

I looked down.

They were each holding the same jasmine milk green tea, the cups stamped with couples' combo meal stickers.

And what he was handing me was the mango tea that came free with the combo.

I'm allergic to mango. Flora knew that.

I forced a smile, took the mango tea, turned, and dropped it in the trash can beside me.

Alex's face stiffened, and he looked at Flora, at a loss.

Flora's brows drew together at once. "Ronnie, what are you upset about now?"

Her tone dropped a few degrees.

"Just because I pushed you aside a moment ago and let Alex stand next to me? I'm the one who did itwhy are you taking it out on Alex?"

"I already explained it to you! I'm the top humanities student and Alex is the top science student. Us taking a photo together is perfect for the school to use in their promotions."

"Besides, didn't I say I'd take one alone with you later?"

I looked at her, and suddenly I didn't even have the strength to press her.

She'd said she would take a photo with me.

But once the group photo was done, she never thought of me again.

In our classmates' social media posts, there were more than a dozen photos of just her and Alex.

Everyone egged them on for a solid ten-odd minutes while she leaned in close against Alex's chest, smiling sweetly.

After that she went with Alex to the back alley to buy drinks, and now here she was, coming to the office for her report card.

For a whole hour she hadn't sent me a single message. She'd forgotten I even existed long ago.

It was as if everything had changed the moment Alex transferred in.

Flora was the top humanities student, he was the top science student, and their names were always mentioned side by side.

No matter how hard I fought, I could barely trail behind themit took me forever just to work out a problem they mentioned in passing.

Flora brought up Alex more and more.

Time and again, under the excuse of helping him fit in with the group, she pulled him into the moments that were supposed to be just the two of us.

And now, I'd finally become the one who didn't matter.

Seeing that I said nothing, Flora seemed to lose her patience at last.

"We'll take it now, all right?"

Before I could answer, she'd already snatched my phone and handed it off to Alex.

Alex hesitated, but took it anyway.

Flora came to stand beside me, but her shoulder didn't move an inch closer.

Before I could even lift my head, she'd already reached out, taken the phone back, and pushed it into my palm.

"There, no more fussing now."

"I'm going with Alex to get his report card. Wait here. We'll go home together after."

With that, she turned and pulled Alex into the office.

I stood where I was, looked down, and opened the photo album.

In the picture, the shot was blurred, catching only the gray-white floor of the hallway and half a corner of her clothes as she turned away from me.

I stared at that photo for a long time, and finally let out a soft laugh.

I hit delete, then blocked Flora.

Gripping my report card, I turned and left the school.

A few classmates I usually hung out with called for me in the group chat, saying that now we'd graduated we should get a farewell dinner together.

Right in the middle of the meal, the guy next to me suddenly let out a snort.

"Holy crap, did Alex just make it official?"

He flipped his phone onto the table.

On the screen was a post Alex had just put up on social media.

Two movie tickets, captioned with only two words.

Official announcement.

In the corner of the photo, a girl's wrist showed too.

On it was a couples' watch.

It was the gift she'd bought last month with her competition scholarship.

I'd been quietly happy, thinking she meant it as a birthday present for me.

But today, I finally understood the person she wanted to wear a matching one with wasn't me.

The others were already crowded around the phone, chattering their guesses.

"Who is this? She's not from our school, is she?"

"Hasn't he always been close with Flora Henson? I always figured the two of them were already a couple."

I spoke calmly.

"It's Flora Henson."

They looked up at me, gossip in their eyes, and then froze.

"Ronnie, why are your eyes so red?"

I lowered my head, picked up my chopsticks, and took a piece of vegetable.

"The hotpot's too spicy."

No sooner had I said it than the door of the hotpot restaurant swung open.

Flora and Alex walked in one after the other.

Alex had her bag slung over his shoulder and was carrying her coat in his hand.

A server came over and asked what they wanted to eat.

Alex glanced at the menu and said with a smile, "The couples' combo meal looks a little cheaper. Let's get the couples' combo."

A few classmates nearby immediately started ribbing them.

"Flora, we knew a long time ago something was going on between you two!"

When Flora saw me, she paused for a moment, but quickly regained her composure and walked over to my side as if nothing had happened.

"What a coincidence. Let's eat together."

She was so open about it.

So open that it was as if all the awkwardness was just me flattering myself.

The others couldn't help but ask her.

"So you're really with Alex now?"

Flora glanced at Alex's post and let out a low laugh.

"This? Alex means it's the official announcement for the movie."

She raised her eyes and swept them over everyone, finally landing on me.

"You didn't all actually believe it, did you?"

Alex just smiled and offered no explanation.

The mood at the table got even livelier.

Flora sat down next to me and slid her hand out from under the table, trying to pinch my fingers the way she always used to.

I moved away.

Her hand stopped in midair, her face going a little cold.

She pulled it back and moved straight over next to Alex.

The two of them pressed their arms tightly together, and Alex's ears turned red.

For the whole meal, every topic revolved around her and Alex.

Someone asked if they'd applied to the same university.

Someone else joked that with the top humanities student and the top science student joining forces, their kid's IQ would be terrifying.

I sat off to the side, like a stranger who'd been squeezed in at the table.

I looked down at the food in my bowl, and my stomach ached in waves.

Flora lowered her head to eat, her long hair slipping down beside her face.

She leaned naturally toward Alex's hand, letting him tie her hair up for her.

Watching his hands, I suddenly remembered that I'd once wanted to help her tie her hair.

She'd frowned and stepped back: "Ronnie, you know I treasure my hair more than anything. You'll wreck it if you're careless with it."

Alex picked up the iced cola beside him and was about to open it when Flora frowned and snatched it away.

"Didn't you say your stomach was bothering you the other day? Don't drink anything cold."

When she finished, she glanced down at me, as if she'd finally remembered I was still here.

"Your face looks all red. Did the spice get to you?"

She held that bottle of iced cola out to me.

"Have something cold."

I looked at the bottle of cola still fogged with cold, and the corner of my mouth twitched.

I've had stomach trouble since I was a kid I can't touch anything cold.

Flora used to remember that.

She used to fix me warm water every day, frowning as she watched me finish it on time.

But now she remembered some offhand remark Alex had made a few days ago about not feeling well.

And she handed that bottle of iced cola to me.

I didn't take it.

Flora frowned again.

"Ronnie, how long are you going to keep being difficult like this?"

I shook my head, pressing down all the bitterness, and stood up.

"I'm not feeling well. I'm heading back."

Alex's face went instantly awkward.

He said quietly, "Is Ronnie mad because of me?"

Flora, her face cold, set the bottle of iced cola back on the table.

"Ignore him."

"It's such a tiny thing, and he has to make a scene like this."

The classmates at the table went silent, staring at the three of us, baffled.

I grabbed my backpack, shoved back my chair, turned, and rushed out of the hotpot restaurant.

My mother was sitting in the living room. When she saw me come home, she asked,

"Did you and Flora fight again?"

"Flora messaged me saying you blocked her."

I said nothing for a while.

I thought to myself with a bitter, self-mocking smile: it's been a whole night, and Flora finally noticed she'd been blocked.

"What did she say to you?"

"Nothing much, just reminded me not to forget to have you do your college applications, and to pick one close to her school."

After she finished, she couldn't help launching into her nagging.

"Flora's really a good girl. The two of you grew up together, and she usually looks out for you."

"Such a pity, though. Your grades are average, you're not especially good-looking, and Flora doesn't feel that way about you. Otherwise I'd honestly love to have her as my daughter-in-law."

I kept my eyes lowered and said nothing.

My mother, not noticing my silence, went on:

"We don't know anything about college applications either. You should ask Flora about it later, get her some advice."

"I saw her helping her boyfriend with his applications the other day, so serious about it."

"The two of them holed up at home for days, didn't even leave at night. Tsk tsk tsk, young people, all that fire and passion."

My fingers clenched hard, and I pressed a hand to my chest.

My mother kept talking:

"When I went over to drop something off, I even heard her telling someone he had to get into the best major at an Ivy League school, that not a single point could go to waste."

I stood frozen, my heart feeling as if someone had squeezed it hard.

Flora and I had agreed to apply to universities in the same city.

The cutoff scores in the capital were high. With my grades, I'd have to fight tooth and nail just to scrape into an ordinary decent school there.

When the results came out, I begged her to help me with my applications.

She'd glanced at her phone and said offhandedly,

"I don't get this stuff. Anyway, your grades are just enough for a decent school. Just apply somewhere that isn't too far from mine."

"As for the major, it's all pretty much the same for you."

Back then I even made excuses for her.

Flora was worn out from the college entrance exams; I shouldn't add to her troubles.

But now, I could no longer lie to myself.

My mother remembered something.

"Oh, but your teacher called me too, said the cutoff for the capital is too high and asked me to talk you out of it. You"

I cut her off.

"I'm not going to the capital."

I looked up and forced a smile at her.

"Didn't you always want me to get into a good school?"

"I want to apply to a school in Newport."

"My score is high enough to get into a top-tier university."

I turned and went back to my room, and shut the door.

From Weston City to the capital was more than three thousand kilometers.

Far enough that I'd never have to chase after Flora's back again.

The day the acceptance letter came, my mother held the package with trembling hands.

"Ronnie, you really got into a top-tier university."

She grabbed her phone, about to call the relatives with the good news, and I pressed her hand down.

"Don't tell them yet."

I said in a low voice, "Wait until after school starts."

That whole summer, I barely left the house.

She knew I was hurting, but didn't know how to comfort me, so all she could do was push me to go out and clear my head.

But I never expected to run into Flora and Alex at the airport.

They were dressed in matching colors, and from a distance they looked exactly like a couple.

When Flora saw me, her eyes visibly lit up.

But the next second, her face went cold again.

"Weren't you sulking at me, giving me the silent treatment?"

"So why come chasing after me now?"

I froze for a moment, then remembered that before the exams, to encourage me, she'd booked a couples' flight package.

She'd said once the exams were over, she'd take me on a trip.

The departure date happened to be today.

Alex forced a smile and stepped back half a pace.

"Since Ronnie's here, I'll bow out."

Flora immediately frowned and pulled him back to her side.

"Absolutely not."

"You spent days getting ready for this trip. You have to go this time."

A bitter laugh rose in me: she felt sorry for Alex, who'd spent days getting ready.

But she forgot that the travel guide in their hands

was the one I'd stayed up night after night putting together, bit by bit, after the exams.

I was about to say never mind when Flora had already turned and run to the machine off to the side.

Left alone with me, Alex suddenly spoke.

"Ronnie, some gaps can't be closed by hard work alone."

"What Flora needs is someone who can stand as her equal, not some loser who's beneath her in every way."

He smiled and said, "That night after the hotpot, we went out for drinks."

"I told her how I felt, and I kissed her. She didn't push me away."

I dug my nails into my palm, but still spoke calmly.

"If you like her, then I'll step aside for you."

Alex's face went instantly ugly.

Flora came running back with a ticket and held it out to me.

"There's only a standing ticket left for the train. Alex has a bad back and can't stand for long, so you take it."

Then she glanced at the time and, a little anxious, tugged him toward the ticket gate.

"We're heading in now. Alex and I will wait for you there!"

Alex smiled at me like a man who'd won.

I looked down at the printed ticket.

She hadn't even noticed it was a ticket for a train that didn't depart for another three months.

I crushed the ticket into a ball and dropped it in the trash.

Then I turned around and boarded my own flight.

After the trip, I went home to pick up my acceptance letter.

I'd just reached the bottom of the building when Flora stopped me.

Her face was awful. She reached out and gripped my wrist.

"Where's Alex's acceptance letter?"

I winced in pain.

"What acceptance letter?"

She said coldly, "Stop pretending."

"Alex's college acceptance letter was delivered to my house. The mailman said someone picked it up for him."

"You've been home these past few days! Who else could it be but you! If you have a problem, take it out on me! Since when do you bully Alex like this!"

I stared at her in disbelief.

Alex stepped out from behind her, his eyes badly red.

"If you're upset that Flora and I have been close, I can apologize to you."

"And I can promise I'll never have anything to do with her again."

His voice broke as he looked at me:

"But I'm begging you, give me back my acceptance letter. It really means so much to me! I worked so hard to get into an Ivy League university!"

My eyes went red with anger. "I didn't take it!"

"I only just got back today!"

But Flora didn't seem to take in a single word.

Her gaze fell on the delivery bag in my arms, and she suddenly reached out and snatched it away.

My face changed, and I lunged to take it back.

"Flora, give it back to me!"

She looked coldly at my frantic, reddened eyes, and said:

"I'll count to three."

"Hand over Alex's acceptance letter, or I'll tear it up!"

I tried desperately to explain:

"I really didn't take it!"

"Three."

"I just got off the plane, and I only just picked up the letter. You can check the security footage, or ask my mom."

"Two."

"Flora! I'm begging you..."

Without a moment's hesitation, Flora tore my acceptance letter in half, the pieces fluttering down at my feet.

I looked down at the fragments and forgot even to cry.

Flora was about to speak when a hesitant voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Flora, is this what you two are looking for?"

Her family's housekeeper stood at the door, holding an intact college acceptance letter.

"I'm the one who brought the letter back. I was tidying up earlier and forgot to say."

Alex's crying froze on the spot.

Flora whipped around to look at me, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

I didn't wait for her to speak.

I took a step back and slammed the door shut.

It was silent outside the door for a long time. Not even an apology.

The next day, she slipped a plane ticket to the capital under the door, with a note pressed beside it.

Let's go together.

She'd always been proud, certain that as long as she gave me a way to save face, I'd bow my head and lean right back in, just like every time before.

But this time, I only glanced at it before tossing it in the trash, and I dragged my luggage off to Weston City two days early.

Two days later, Flora showed up at my door with Alex.

She was carrying her suitcase, her tone unusually light.

"Mrs. Hayward, I've come to pick up Ronnie so we can go to the capital together."