Chapter 1: She Awakens and Kisses the Situation Under Control

Welcome, dear readers.
Meeting is fate, and we're so glad you're here!

Welcome to the sweet world of Xu Sui'an and Shi Yubai.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey.

To all you beautiful, handsome, kind-hearted, and fabulously wealthy readers—
The story begins now!

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Sunlight filtered through the swaying willow branches, casting dappled shadows across the path.

The campus heartthrob of Southern University, Shi Yubai, stood holding a bouquet of roses, his gaze burning with affection.

“Suisui, I like you.
Will you be my girlfriend?”

Every envious gaze fell upon Xu Sui’an, certain she would nod in agreement.

“I won’t.”

Those four simple words crashed down like thunder, leaving everyone around them staring in disbelief.

“Why?”

“You’re… my childhood neighbor.
You’ll always be like an older brother to me…”

“I… understand.”

As Shi Yubai’s bitter reply faded into the air, he took a step back to steady himself.

His fingers trembled.

The bouquet slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

“Are… are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine.”

Keeping his head lowered to hide the tears gathering in his eyes, Shi Yubai slowly turned away.

His footsteps felt unbearably heavy.

He didn’t have the courage to stay another second.

Xu Sui’an’s eyes instinctively followed his retreating figure.

Without thinking, she reached out and caught the corner of his shirt.

The lively square seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.

Then, as Shi Yubai walked away, the crowd erupted.

“Damn! Shi Yubai got rejected by Xu Sui’an again!”

“I heard they’ve been childhood sweethearts.
Is this one-sided love?”

“…”

Xu Sui’an could no longer hear the whispers surrounding her.

A dizzy spell struck her without warning.

Her body swayed twice before she managed to steady herself against a willow tree.

The moment she rejected Shi Yubai’s confession for the third time…

She awakened.

She was the villainess in a novel.

In the early chapters, she was the male lead’s childhood sweetheart—the unforgettable first love etched into his heart.

By the end, however, she became nothing more than a pitiful cannon-fodder character who spent her life drowning in regret before dying from depression.

Her only purpose was to serve as a stepping stone for the romance between the male and female leads.

The happier the heroine, Ruan Qingqing, became…

The more miserable Xu Sui’an’s ending would be.

She would love him for her entire life…

And never be loved in return.

Shi Yubai had started confessing to her when he was eighteen.

Every year on the Summer Solstice, without fail.

Every year, she rejected him.

This year marked his confession at twenty years old.

And just like the previous two…

She had rejected him again.

Xu Sui’an clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“Why?”

Her childhood sweetheart.

The boy she’d grown up with.

Why should he become someone else’s happy ending?

More than ten years…

She had practically raised the perfect boyfriend.

And now she was supposed to hand him over without a fight?

Just because she was the villainess?

Just because the brain-dead plot demanded she suffer a tragic ending?

‘Not happening.’

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Xu Sui’an’s face.

Her heart ached so fiercely it felt ready to split apart.

Manipulated by the plot, she had personally pushed Shi Yubai away.

He was the obsession she would never be able to obtain.

Tonight, Shi Yubai’s roommate and best friend, Ruan Qingyang, would take him to Zero Degree, the biggest bar in Nancheng.

Officially, it was to comfort him after his heartbreak.

Unofficially…

It was to introduce him to Ruan Qingyang’s younger sister—

Ruan Qingqing.

“Suisui, why are you crying?
Do you regret it now?

“You obviously like him.
So why can’t you admit it?

“Why are you so stubborn?

“If his heart grows cold, warming it again will be harder than reaching the heavens.

“When his feelings finally die, no matter how much you cry, he’ll never turn back.

“No one waits forever.

“If love goes unanswered for too long…

“Even the hottest heart will eventually freeze.

“Who can keep loving someone forever without getting anything in return?”

Leng Ningxue looked at Xu Sui’an with undisguised concern.

She simply couldn’t understand her best friend’s bizarre way of thinking.

Xu Sui’an suddenly snapped back to reality.

Her voice trembled with sobs.

“Xue’er…
You’re right.

“I’m going to find Shi Yubai.”

“Suisui…
Are you serious?”

Half skeptical, Leng Ningxue reached over and touched her forehead.

“Xue’er, please help me.

“Ask Zhuang Yan to stall Shi Yubai.

“No matter what happens, don’t let him leave campus.

“I’m worried.”

Xu Sui’an nodded frantically like a pecking chick before taking off at a run.

“You only realize what you’ve lost after it’s gone.”

Leng Ningxue sighed, both angry and helpless.

She pulled out her phone and texted her boyfriend.

As Xu Sui’an ran, she silently cursed that damned plot.

It had hurt Shi Yubai again and again.

She couldn’t bear to waste even a single second.

“Shi Yubai!
Wait for me!”

Her eyes landed on a patch of green foxtail grass by the roadside.

An idea immediately flashed through her mind.

Apologize?

He was furious right now.

That probably wouldn’t work.

Anyone would lose heart after being rejected three years in a row.

She’d clung to the title of childhood sweetheart while enjoying all the privileges of being his girlfriend.

Worst of all…

When he asked her to make their relationship official…

She refused.

Should she cry first?

In the original story, this was the moment Shi Yubai completely gave up.

Would her tears still have any effect?

Standing beneath Shi Yubai’s dormitory building, Xu Sui’an’s heart pounded wildly.

In her hand was a freshly woven ring made from foxtail grass.

Its bright green color was almost dazzling.

‘Forget it.’

‘I’ll see him first and figure out the rest later.’

At the corner of the stairwell inside the abandoned library building, the lighting was dim.

A thin layer of dust coated the steps, making the place feel forgotten by time.

Shi Yubai sat motionless on the stairs.

The sorrow in his eyes was so deep it seemed impossible to dissolve.

Fragments of the past drifted through his mind.

The name Xu Sui’an had been engraved into his heart since childhood.

Her smiles.

Her tears.

She had accompanied him through his childhood and adolescence.

Ruan Qingyang let out a sigh before forcing a smile.

Patting Shi Yubai on the shoulder, he spoke gently.

“Brother Shi, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

“Why hang yourself on your little childhood sweetheart?

“Come on.

“My treat at Zero Degree.

“Let’s mend that broken heart of yours.”

Inside, however, he was thinking something entirely different.

‘You’ve finally decided to let go of that ungrateful childhood sweetheart.’

‘What perfect timing.’

‘Tonight, I’ll introduce you to my little sister, Qingqing.’

“Okay.”

Shi Yubai’s voice was painfully hoarse.

His lowered lashes hid the redness in his eyes.

The moment he heard the words childhood sweetheart…

The ache in his chest became impossible to conceal.

How could feelings nurtured over a lifetime disappear overnight?

But if he didn’t let go…

What else could he do?

Suisui had rejected him once again.

An older brother next door?

That had never been what he wanted.

A crushing sense of helplessness washed over him.

She wanted freedom.

No matter how painful it was…

He had to learn to let go.

Zhuang Yan watched him with confusion and sympathy.

It was obvious Xu Sui’an’s feelings for Shi Yubai were different from everyone else’s.

The way she looked at him couldn’t possibly be fake.

So why had she rejected him?

His phone suddenly lit up.

He glanced at the screen.

It was an order from his queen.

[Keep Shi Yubai there.
Wait for Suisui!]

His eyes immediately brightened.

He walked over and sat beside Shi Yubai.

“Brother Shi…

“Have you really decided to give up?

“Can you honestly bear it?

“The moment you let go, countless guys will start chasing Xu Sui’an.”

Shi Yubai tightened his grip on the bottle of mineral water.

His fingertips turned pale.

Even the water in his mouth tasted bitter.

“If I don’t let go…

“What else can I do?

“She said I’m just the boy next door.

“I’m afraid if I keep bothering her…

“She’ll end up hating me.

“Maybe…

“It really is time to let go.

“Meeting her at all was already life’s greatest blessing.

“In the end…

“I was the one forcing things.

“It’s been three years.

“It’s time I tried to move on.”

Ruan Qingyang frowned at Zhuang Yan before reaching over to pull Shi Yubai up.

“Come on!

“Let’s go get drunk.

“We’ll bury this hopeless love of yours tonight.

“As your brother, I’ll drink with you until we both collapse!”

Absentmindedly, Shi Yubai stood.

His heart had already gone numb from the pain.

He wanted nothing more than to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Zhuang Yan scratched his head anxiously.

His brain raced as he desperately searched for excuses to buy more time.

“Um…

“Wait a second.

“My leg’s gone numb.”

“What a pain.”

Ruan Qingyang rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Even so, he didn’t drag the distracted Shi Yubai out.

Outside the stairwell door, Xu Sui’an stood panting heavily.

She raised her hand and knocked.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Zhuang Yan’s eyes lit up.

Dropping his act of rubbing his leg, he shot toward the door like an arrow.

“I’ll get it!”

‘Thank goodness!’

‘You finally made it.’

‘If you’d been any later, I wouldn’t have been able to stop them.’

The moment the door opened…

Xu Sui’an slipped inside.

Like a gust of wind, she leaped straight toward Shi Yubai.

“Shi Yubai!”

By pure reflex, Shi Yubai caught her.

His large hands carefully supported her legs to keep her from falling.

Whenever Xu Sui’an was happy, she called him Xiaobai.

When she was angry, she called him Wooden Blockhead Bai.

But whenever she called him by his full name…

That had always been their childhood signal.

Back then, they used to play a game where she pretended to be a kitten climbing a tree.

And he was always that tree.

Ever since confessing to her at eighteen…

Xu Sui’an had never called him “Shi Yubai” again.

“Xu Sui’an.

“Get down.”

Shi Yubai couldn’t describe the feeling in his heart.

Bitterness mingled with sweetness.

He couldn’t tell which was stronger.

“I…

“I’m not getting down.”

Xu Sui’an wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Her heart hurt so much it almost suffocated her.

Without turning around, she waved a hand behind her.

Zhuang Yan instantly understood.

He grabbed Ruan Qingyang before the latter could step forward and hurried him out of the stairwell.

Thoughtfully, he shut the door behind them.

Afraid Ruan Qingyang would interfere, he deliberately stood in front of him.

“Brother Shi and Suisui need to settle this themselves.”

That single sentence left Ruan Qingyang speechless.

Silence returned to the stairwell.

Only tiny specks of dust danced gracefully through the lone beam of sunlight.

Xu Sui’an still clung to Shi Yubai.

She refused to let go.

“What exactly do you want?

“Didn’t I already give you the freedom you wanted?

“So why are you here provoking me again?

“Did you come just to warn me to stay away from you?”

Shi Yubai’s eyes were filled with helplessness.

Even now…

He still couldn’t bear to push her away.

He was afraid of hurting her.

Hearing the sorrow in his voice, Xu Sui’an’s heart twisted painfully.

‘To hell with being the villainess!’

‘Damn this cursed plot!’

‘It made my Xiaobai so heartbroken.’

Not knowing how to explain herself, panic took over.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

The next second…

Without giving him a chance to react…

She pressed her lips against his.

Silencing everything with a kiss.