Outside the Jiangzhou University girls' dormitory.
"Xia Wenbin, we're not right for each other! You're a good person, and I think you can find a girl who's better than me."
The graceful girl standing before him was Xu Jing, a freshman in the art department.
Not long after the semester started, Xia Wenbin had met Xu Jing at an evening social. Although Xu Jing wasn't considered a campus belle, she had plenty of talents, top-tier looks, and a great temperament. Spending time with her always felt like a breath of fresh spring air.
From that moment on, Xia Wenbin had frequently appeared by Xu Jing's side. He would check in on her from time to time, walk with her to and from classes, spend weekends studying together in the library, and occasionally deliver breakfast to the bottom of the girls' dormitory.
In the eyes of many outsiders, Xia Wenbin and Xu Jing were a recognized "unofficial couple."
Yet today.
Standing right outside the girls' dormitory in front of numerous classmates and passersby, Xu Jing had actually rejected Xia Wenbin's confession in public.
Hearing Xu Jing's clear and unambiguous rejection, Xia Wenbin—usually so vibrant and cheerful—suffered an instant shock to his entire being, freezing in place as if struck by lightning.
Perhaps because he had rushed out in too much of a hurry today, he hadn't even had time to fix his hair, giving him a somewhat unkempt appearance. Left alone in the howling wind, he cut a rather desolate figure.
Someone in the crowd, eager for a spectacle, even pulled out a phone and started playing a classic background track:
*Snowflakes drifting, northern winds wailing,*
*Heaven and earth a vast expanse of white.*
*A solitary plum blossom stands proud in the snow,*
*Its fragrance drifting only for the one it awaits...*
After a long silence, Xia Wenbin fought back the tears welling in his eyes and offered Xu Jing an apology.
"I'm sorry, Xu Jing! Actually, I had imagined it might end this way, but I still wanted to try."
"After spending so much time together, I actually noticed you deliberately avoiding me many times. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."
"I'm sorry for putting you in such an awkward position!"
Seeing Xia Wenbin's disheveled and miserable state, Xu Jing said with a touch of reluctance:
"It really doesn't matter, maybe it's just my own reasons! But matters of the heart can't be forced, so I don't want you wasting your time on me."
"Besides, I believe you can find a girl who suits you better. At the very least, we're still going to be good friends, aren't we?"
With that, she forced a slight smile and extended her right hand toward Xia Wenbin.
Xu Jing had added that final word—"friends." Because she didn't want to cause this boy too much heartbreak, this was perhaps the only thing she could do for him now.
Xia Wenbin stared blankly at the hand before him.
He had once imagined holding its owner's hand as they strolled together across campus. Yet now, a handshake between them would mark the "farewell" of their romance.
After a moment of hesitation, Xia Wenbin reached out and took her hand.
For a split second, it felt like holding a piece of soft jade—tender and smooth. It was just a pity the owner of this hand had no affection for him.
"Right, still good... friends. Thank you!"
With that, Xia Wenbin let go of Xu Jing, turned, and walked away through the crowd, leaving the girls' dormitory behind.
As he walked down the bustling campus pathways, noticing people turning to point and whisper every now and then, Xia Wenbin felt as though everyone was looking at him, their eyes laced with mockery.
After stepping out of the university gates, Xia Wenbin broke into a frantic run down the street, though he had no idea where he was going. He only knew that if he didn't run far enough, others would see the pathetic, tear-streaked mess he had become.
This wasn't the first time he had endured the sorrow of a rejected confession.
Back in high school, he had fallen in love with his deskmate. To make her happy, he had secretly spent class time writing romance novels for her, drawing funny comic books, and preparing a different lunch for her every single day.
Every day after class and after school, he would silently stay by her side. When she was in danger, Xia Wenbin hadn't hesitated to shoulder everything on his own.
It was precisely because of that disciplinary penalty that Xia Wenbin—whose grades should have easily secured him a spot at the prestigious Qinghai University—had no choice but to settle for nearby Jiangzhou University instead.
Yet what hurt him most was that the girl had never contacted him again after that. The only parting words she left behind at the graduation ceremony were a hasty, "Xia Wenbin, you're a good person, I hope you find happiness!"
A good-person card, yet another good-person card!
Why was it that no matter how hard he tried, Xia Wenbin could never get the happiness he wanted?
All those things people said online—*“In love, as long as you play the loyal simping dog, you can have it all!”*—were complete bullshit!
Three years of effort in high school had earned him a good-person card, and now, finally meeting a suitable girl in college, he still couldn't escape the curse of the "good-person card"?
With his heart twisting as if being sliced by a knife, Xia Wenbin ran all the way to the small lake in a nearby park. Seeing that there was no one around, he faced the lake and screamed at the top of his lungs:
"Screw the good-person card! Screw love!"
"Since even the heavens won't look after a good guy like me, why should I bother being a good person anymore?"
"All that talk about hard work paying off is a lie!"
"This world has never been truly fair from start to finish. To hell with everything! You blind heavens..."
After venting every ounce of his grievances, Xia Wenbin flipped a giant middle finger up at the sky.
*—CRACK, BOOM—RUMBLE—*
Yet the very second Xia Wenbin extended his middle finger, a sudden gale whipped up, accompanied by flashes of lightning and deafening thunder. A streak of purple lightning tore savagely across the sky, striking squarely on the top of Xia Wenbin's head.
"What the... hell! Blind... heavens... you're blinding... my eyes..."
*●█?█▄*
Accompanied by the smell of burning, scorched flesh, Xia Wenbin lost consciousness and plunged headfirst into the lake, sending up a splash over half a meter high.
***
When Xia Wenbin woke up, it was already the next morning.
He blinked dazedly, his head heavy and foggy as if it had taken a brutal blow. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light in the room, he noticed the white hospital walls smelling of disinfectant, an IV drip, a heart monitor, a hospital bed...
Wasn't this a hospital?! Why was he here?
Xia Wenbin tried to sit up to check his situation, but a wave of dizziness hit him, forcing him to lie right back down.
If anyone had been standing beside him at that moment, they would have seen that both his forehead and the back of his head were wrapped in layers of gauze.
Lying in the hospital bed, Xia Wenbin began to carefully piece together his memories of yesterday:
He had been handed a good-person card by Xu Jing, the girl he had pursued for so long.
Distraught, he had run off to the lakeside all by himself to vent his emotions?
Then he had sworn an oath that he "didn't want to be a good guy anymore, didn't want to be a simping dog anymore..."
And right after that, he had flipped the almighty heavens a... middle finger?
"What the hell—I remember now! I got struck by lightning!"
Xia Wenbin never could have imagined encountering such a bizarre thing; the only miracle was that he was still alive. If he had been struck dead, he wouldn't even have a place to cry about it!
So, good-natured as he was, Xia Wenbin couldn't help breaking out into a furious tirade:
"Blind heavens! I'm already this miserable, and you still had to strike me with lightning? Just how blind and malicious can you possibly be?!"
"There are plenty of utterly wicked scumbags out there doing evil things every day—why don't you strike them?! Why did you have to target me, a three-good heartbroken young man just blowing off a little steam?"
...
He spent a better part of the day raging. It wasn't until Xia Wenbin felt his throat go dry and his brain starting to lack oxygen that he finally trailed off.
At the end, he didn't forget to summarize with one final declaration: "The Way of Heaven is unjust, bullying people too far!"
*"Ding—System activated—"*
*"Ding—Pairing successful—"*
Xia Wenbin felt as though a voice had suddenly appeared in his mind, talking to him.
Judging by the sound, it seemed to belong to a young lady, though it still had a slight electronic synthesized edge to it. Still, he had to admit her overall vocal timbre was quite pleasant.
*(づ??????)づ?~*