Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In my third year of middle school, I was as chubby as a little piglet, and my face was covered in puberty-induced acne.

To help me lose weight, my mother steeled her heart and restricted my food intake.

I had sneaked into my father’s office to secretly gnaw on a chicken leg, and that was exactly when Jiang Bai arrived.

He was a year older than me and already in his first year of high school. He wore a white T-shirt and faded jeans.

When Jiang Bai walked in, he carried an air of cold melancholy that almost seemed to freeze the surrounding air.

I knew of him; my father had been sponsoring him for three years.

When he was eight, his mother fell seriously ill, a burden that eventually bankrupted their family.

He had been in the local newspapers since he was a child. The articles spoke of how he stayed by his mother’s hospital bed at such a young age, cooking and doing laundry for her.

His father was a gambling addict who beat him constantly. It wasn’t until the neighbors made a scene at the neighborhood committee that his father finally backed off a little.

Later, his mother passed away, and his father vanished without a trace. He was left to depend on his grandmother. My father knew his grandmother, which was why he began sponsoring Jiang Bai’s education. Every year, Jiang Bai ranked first in his entire school, and he would always send his grades to my father.

Every time he was mentioned, my father would talk about how outstanding he was, taking the opportunity to put me down a bit. But I was like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water-I didn’t care at all.

That was until I saw him in person, and I pathetically fell for him…

He was so handsome!

His grandmother had fallen ill, and he had come to ask my father for a loan.

Upon hearing the news, I went to the hospital that very night with a basket of fruit, ready to launch my offensive.

However, when I arrived at the hospital, I saw a girl in a pale yellow dress crying in Jiang Bai’s arms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve borrowed the money. Grandma will be fine.” Jiang Bai held her by the shoulders, helping her stand straight. His expression was filled with nothing but tenderness.

“Stop crying. It’s late; your parents will be worried. I’m just about to leave the hospital anyway, so let’s go home together.”

Standing in the hazy light, Jiang Bai lowered his head to wipe away the girl’s tears.

I gripped the fruit in my hands tightly. Looking down at my own chubby fingers, I ultimately couldn’t bring myself to take that step forward.

From then on, I became like a thief, peeking into Jiang Bai’s life from the shadows.

I watched him take first place in an English speech contest, watched him rank first in his grade again, and watched him be named a city-level Merit Student.

I also watched him give Su Xue a ride home on his bike, watched him stand on the lecture podium with Su Xue, and watched him carry Su Xue’s backpack.

I hired tutor after tutor, cramming my studies like a madwoman and never going out to play anymore.

I pushed myself to the limit to lose weight, hiding in my room crying while gnawing on raw lettuce leaves. No matter what my father said, I refused to eat meat.

It took me three whole years just to reach Jiang Bai’s side.

And it took another three whole years to make Jiang Bai my boyfriend.