The Growth Story of Chenxi Boy

The story of how I got the nickname "strategist" goes back to when I was in sixth grade.

"Ah Dong, where's your phone?"

A-Dong scratched his head, his gaze drifting to the utility pole by the roadside, his tone full of frustration and resentment: "Ugh, don't even mention it, I gave it to someone else."

"You gave it to someone else?" Xu Yi was taken aback, looking him up and down. "When did you become so generous as to just give away a phone like that? Did you lose a bet while bragging again?"

Ah Dong's lips moved, as if a sore spot had been touched. He couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time, and finally said in a muffled voice, "I don't want to talk about it anymore. Ask Wu Zhengjing." After saying that, he lowered his head and walked home with dragging steps.

Wu Zhengjing touched his nose, his fingertips unconsciously brushing against the cuff of his school uniform. A hint of guilt lurked in his eyes, mixed with a touch of hindsight-wise indifference. He leaned closer to the roadside, kicking a small pebble away before slowly speaking, "That day I provoked Adong, saying his King of Glory skills were so-so, he couldn't even beat Lü Lin, who'd only been playing for a few months. I made him bet with Lü Lin: if he won, Lü Lin would give him a hundred yuan; if he lost, he'd have to leave his phone as collateral."

He paused, raised an eyebrow, and the urge to persuade him still lingered in his tone: "I told A-Dong that this was a chance to make money for free, and he agreed without thinking."

But reality is rarely so kind. Lü Lin was truly strong, his gameplay was ridiculously stable, while A Dong became increasingly anxious as the game progressed, his mentality collapsed, and his gameplay became distorted, ultimately resulting in a crushing defeat.

"His face turned pale. He held onto the phone tightly and wouldn't give it up. In the end, he got angry and threw it on the ground. The screen cracked like a spider web on the spot." Wu Zhengjing's voice softened as he said this, and his eyes flickered. "Lü Lin picked it up and said that the phone was now his, and A Dong would have to pay for the screen repair himself. That's how it happened."

Xu Yi was stunned and took a long time to come to her senses. She pointed at Wu Zhengjing and said with a mix of laughter and tears, "No, this is outrageous for anyone, only you could do something like this. You always give A Dong these kinds of crazy ideas, and you've really messed him up. From now on, we might as well call you the strategist, since you only come up with bad ideas."

Wu Zhengjing's earlier guilt vanished instantly after being teased like that. He scratched his head and forced a smile, but the smile didn't last long before it collapsed. He leaned against the wall, his shoulders slightly slumped, all his usual carefree attitude gone. His fingers fidgeted with his school uniform pocket. After a long silence, he finally spoke in a muffled voice, "Ugh, let's not talk about A-Dong... I've recently developed a crush on a girl in the next class."

Xu Yi raised an eyebrow: "If you like her, just go for it! Aren't you usually full of clever ideas?"

Wu Zhengjing's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes swirling with the timid yet burning emotions unique to young people. He glanced towards the teaching building, then quickly lowered his head, as if afraid the sunlight would reveal his shameful crush: "It's Su Wan, the one with the most crushes in our building. Everyone in the same grade knows Su Wan."

She stood quietly in the crowd, yet she seemed to draw all the light down the corridor. The school uniform, which hung loosely on others, looked as clean as a freshly washed white shirt on her. She didn't talk much, but when she smiled, her eyes curved slightly, enough to make all the boys in the grade secretly stage a dramatic scene in their minds. Her drawer always contained anonymous love letters and snacks; people would always pretend to bump into her on the way home from school; and if she stood by the basketball court for even a moment, the players would go crazy, tilting the rim.

She's like Chen Wenwen standing by the window of the literary society in Dragon Raja, an unattainable white moonlight in the hearts of all the unlucky kids—clean, gentle, and distant. You can only look at her from afar, and even going up to say a word feels like defiling that light.

The line of people who secretly admired her could stretch from the teaching building to the school gate, and Wu Zhengjing was just the most inconspicuous one in the line. Ordinary, mediocre, with no outstanding qualities, even his affections seemed cheap and timid.

"I don't dare." Wu Zhengjing chuckled self-deprecatingly, his voice as soft as a sigh. "I'm afraid that if I say it, we won't even be able to remain classmates, and I won't even have the right to glance at her from afar."

His heart had been in turmoil countless times. He secretly watched her back from behind in the corner of the corridor, daydreamed about her in class, and mustered the courage to speak to her countless times, only to hold back at the last moment. No matter how proud a young man is, he will shrink back in front of the person he likes, becoming as timid as a turtle hiding in its shell.

"What are you afraid of? I'm here." Xu Yi patted his shoulder. "I'll go with you. I'll stand next to you to give you courage. Just say what you want."

Wu Zhengjing looked up abruptly, his eyes first wide with surprise, then surged with a desperate courage. His fingertips clenched so tightly they turned white, and his heart pounded as if it would burst out of his chest. That pitiful yet burning youthful spirit suddenly ignited at that moment, and even knowing that there was a cliff ahead, he wanted to try jumping.

He took a deep breath, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "Really?"

Xu Yi nodded: "Mm."

"it is good."

He should have answered readily, but only he knew that the courage in his heart was like a flickering candle in the wind, burning brightly and dimly. He both longed for that moment to come quickly and feared that when he actually stood in front of her, all the words would be stuck in his throat.

The next day after school, the setting sun cast long shadows of the school building, like an endless road. Wu Zhengjing followed behind Xu Yi, his steps heavy as if filled with lead, his palms sweaty, his school uniform collar crumpled from being gripped so tightly, and his heart pounding with each step.

Su Wan stood at the entrance of the teaching building, chatting and laughing with her classmates. The setting sun cast a soft golden glow on her hair, and even the wind seemed to slow its pace as it passed by. She stood there quietly, embodying the gentleness of the entire twilight, and illuminating Wu Zhengjing's pitiful expectations, leaving them nowhere to hide.

He stood not far away, looking at her smiling face, and suddenly wanted to run away.

Xu Yi gave him a push, and he forced himself to walk over, his voice terribly dry: "Um... I have something I want to tell you."

Su Wan stopped and looked at him with a puzzled expression. His eyes were clear, gentle, and polite, yet distant, devoid of any extraneous emotion, as if he were looking at an ordinary classmate.

The surrounding noise vanished instantly, leaving only the sound of his own rapid breathing. Wu Zhengjing gritted his teeth and blurted out the words he had held back for countless days and nights: "I've liked you for a long time."

The air was still for a few seconds.

The doubt on Su Wan's face slowly faded, replaced by a polite yet firm apology. She gently shook her head, her voice as light as a snowflake falling on the heart, chilling to the bone: "I'm sorry, I've always thought of you as a classmate, I had no other thoughts." These words came from her mouth without the slightest hesitation, her tone as calm as if nothing had happened, as if she had experienced it countless times, just like a daily routine she would do while playing games.

With just one sentence, the strategist's pitiful yet burning youthful spirit was completely extinguished.

Courage shattered, expectations vanished, and the joy and impulse hidden deep in my heart seemed so ridiculous at this moment.

He stood there, stunned, his face drained of color, and all the sounds around him became blurry and distant, as if separated by a layer of water. He tried to force a nonchalant smile and say, "It's okay, I was just kidding," but he couldn't lift his lips. He felt a tightness in his throat and his eyes burning slightly, barely managing to hold back his tears.

It turns out that some crushes are destined to have no future from the very beginning.

He stood in the sunset, watching Su Wan and her classmates turn and leave, their figures receding into the distance until they disappeared around the corner. He didn't hear a word Xu Yi said beside him.

The wind swirled fallen leaves, carrying the chill of late spring and the sound of a young man's broken heart. He walked slowly home, his head down, his fingers curled up in his pocket, clutching only the coldness in his palms and an unspeakable sadness.

He once had the youthful ambition, thinking that one act of courage would allow him to grasp the light, but in the end he realized that some moons are destined to hang in the sky and will not fall for you.

He's still that good-for-nothing kid who can't even get rejected when he likes someone.

The strategist and Apeng sat on the lawn chatting about the past. When they talked about this incident and thought back on it, they felt embarrassed, awkward, and regretful that day.

Of all the people around me, you've had the most relationships, so I'll ask you anyway.

"Sigh," the strategist said angrily. "Ah Peng, you're no good either. You're always up to no good with your mouth and hands. You love to joke around and mock others. You're not even handsome, just a little tall. So why do you still have so many friends and even girlfriends?"

Apeng thought for a moment and said, "Actually, not long after you confessed your feelings, I got together with Su Wan, but it didn't last long either, just a few months, and I used the same methods as before."

During class, when the teacher wasn't looking, Ah Peng would slip her a little note to tease her, either saying her pen was ugly or laughing at her handwriting, which would make Su Wan angry and glare at him, making him laugh even more infuriatingly. Sometimes he would deliberately lean over and say that her hairstyle looked silly that day, but then he would turn around and stuff the candy he had just bought into her desk drawer.

Su Wan was annoyed by him and ignored him all day. He wasn't worried at all. After class, he stuck to her seat, holding his workbook and asking seriously, "How do I do this problem? Class representative, please teach me."

Su Wan ignored him, but he kept asking, from the front door of the classroom to the back door, from the end of get out of class to the beginning of class. The surrounding students joined in the commotion. Su Wan's face turned red and she was angry, but in the end she couldn't help but explain the problem to him.

He didn't listen attentively either, nitpicking as he listened, saying her explanation was too complicated, and that her handwriting was too small. When Su Wanzhen got angry, he immediately backed down: "Okay, okay, you're absolutely right. I'm stupid, alright?"

He kept going back and forth like this, sometimes making Su Wan laugh out loud, sometimes making her so angry she wanted to hit him. Other people pursue girls by coaxing and pleasing them, but he did the opposite. Yet, Su Wan's gaze couldn't help but drift towards him—it was hard to ignore him; his presence was too strong.

Before long, the two naturally got together.

The strategist remained silent for a long time after listening, finally blurting out, "Weren't you the same before? Always chasing after people asking all sorts of questions, fawning over them, what's the difference between you and Jiahao, that simp?" It's really funny.

Ah Peng chuckled and shook his head:

"A 'simp' is someone who constantly tries to please, lowers themselves, and is afraid of upsetting the other person, ultimately not daring to show any emotion. "I have never been subservient, nor have I ever lost myself. When she smiles at me, it's genuine happiness; when she's fierce towards me, it's genuine emotion. That's what dating is all about, not one-sided subservience."

Also, do you really think Su Wan had absolutely no feelings for me? I did pretend to ask her for help with my homework, but think about it, if she really disliked me, why could I always find her after class? Was I fast enough? No, it was because she would deliberately sit in her seat and wait for me for a while. Actually, back then, neither of us knew what liking someone meant, and I didn't really pursue her seriously. I couldn't tell the difference back then either.

You can't tell the difference, and you've accepted it?

Why not?

Ah Peng raised his head, thought for a moment, looked at the stars in the sky, as if recalling something, and replied as he thought: "Hmph, strategist, you are kind-hearted and loyal, but you have no modeling skills, no money, and you are too thin-skinned. When you blend into a crowd, you are as transparent as air. You always deliberately try to reduce your presence and avoid attracting attention, so naturally you can only be an NPC."

"You need to understand that with girls, you first need to pique their interest in you, then generate emotions in them, and make a lasting impression. Emotional fluctuations, whether happy or angry, don't matter too much, as long as you maintain the right balance and don't overdo it. After that, it'll be easier to pursue them. From another perspective, everyone is like that."

"If you have time, read more psychology books. Once you understand them, you can easily figure out the intricacies of other people's minds and even influence their emotions."

"I'm not going to be like you, you're such a jerk."

"Haha, I have my own world. Let me correct you, I'm sincere and serious about every girl I date."

Hmm... If all else fails, I can introduce you to a few women and see if you can win them over. You'll gain experience after a few more conversations.

The strategist shook his head and said, "Forget it, it's more comfortable to lie at home and play my 'Honor of Kings'. Give me a phone and a 'Honor of Kings' account, and I can play for a lifetime. What's the point of dating? It's a waste of money and time. I'd rather use that time to get more stars, isn't that better? I can even make some money."

Ah Peng chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, strategists never go to the battlefield; once they do, they're just sycophants."