The First Time She Rejected Someone for Me

Xu Daohui arrived to find nothing.

By the time he and Chen Jun reached the table tennis tables, there was no one there.

Only a few first-year boys were left, fiercely smashing the ball back and forth.

There was no sign of He Chengxi.

“Hui Ge, class is almost over. They probably went to return the paddles,” Chen Jun guessed.

“I’m not here looking for anyone.”

Xu Daohui refused to admit it.

“Oh.” Chen Jun scratched his head, feeling he couldn’t hold it much longer. “Hui Ge, let’s hurry to the restroom then.”

“You go. I’m going to buy something first.”

“Alright, Hui Ge. I’ll head back up first.”

Xu Daohui dismissed Chen Jun, intending to wander near the equipment room and playground to see if he could “run into her by chance” He Chengxi.

High school students often did things that left others baffled.

This was normal.

At an age of vigorous hormone secretion, their bodies could be driven to do things that felt embarrassing to recall later.

For instance, when Xu Daohui saw He Chengxi walking side-by-side with a tall, sturdy boy, his body acted uncontrollably, and he ran up to greet her.

“Chengxi, you’re here too. Who’s this guy?”

Xu Daohui had originally wanted a casual chance encounter or to scope out a potential love rival.

But the moment he saw that boy, he couldn’t hold back.

Intense emotions overwhelmed his usually cautious and well-mannered behavior.

Xu Daohui’s grades were in the top ten of the grade.

His looks were above average, scholarly with gold-rimmed glasses and a strong scholarly air.

Quite a few girls had flirted with him, which gave him a rather high self-evaluation.

This was also his confidence in pursuing He Chengxi.

Yet seeing the boy beside He Chengxi instantly filled him with a tremendous sense of crisis—he was too handsome.

The kind of strikingly handsome appearance that made even a fellow guy like himself admit it.

Though he firmly believed He Chengxi wasn’t shallow enough to judge by looks alone, nothing was absolute.

He had to probe He Chengxi’s attitude.

“Xu Daohui, the college entrance exam is almost here. Why are you still pestering Xi Bao?”

Hu Zhuyue shed her earlier shy demeanor, answering for He Chengxi.

She knew Xi Bao didn’t like this Xu Daohui.

But Xi Bao was too well-bred and bookish, rejecting people too politely, which only made this guy increasingly clueless.

He had repeatedly and openly declared his liking for Xi Bao in class, sparking countless pieces of gossip among classmates.

Hu Zhuyue had a dark suspicion that this guy wanted to use classmates’ teasing and public opinion to make Xi Bao notice him or to create an ambiguous atmosphere to close the distance.

That was why she had never given Xu Daohui a good look.

She felt his intentions were far from pure, overly sleazy.

When upright pursuit failed, he resorted to crooked methods.

A stinking fly that wouldn’t stop clinging on when Xi Bao clearly didn’t like him—annoying.

“I wasn’t asking you, Hu Zhuyue. Why do you always answer for Chengxi?”

Xu Daohui had also disliked Hu Zhuyue for a long time.

From his perspective, Hu Zhuyue was that vicious best-friend type who surely bad-mouthed him constantly, hindering his chances to get close to He Chengxi.

At first, he had tried to curry favor with her, hoping she’d put in a good word for him with He Chengxi.

After finding out she didn’t think well of him at all and often cursed him, he simply tore off the mask, ready to argue whenever they met.

“Classmate Pei is my friend.”

He Chengxi’s voice returned to the cold, distant tone she used on the podium—the kind that kept people at arm’s length.

She didn’t like Xu Daohui.

Her good upbringing prevented her from saying vicious or aggressive words, and her clear rejections had proven ineffective.

Fortunately, Hu Zhuyue acted as her mouthpiece, or she would truly be troubled.

“Oh, right. Buddy, I like He Chengxi, so I’m a bit concerned. Don’t mind me.”

Xu Daohui acted carefree and brazen, contrary to his usual refined image.

This was one of Xu Daohui’s small calculated moves.

After falling for He Chengxi, he told everyone he liked her.

This could deter many thin-skinned people.

Most adolescent boys and girls were thin-skinned.

Hearing someone else declare their liking first made them feel too embarrassed to compete.

Pei Du watched his performance and ignored him.

He didn’t know what this stranger was trying to do.

Asserting ownership? But clearly, He Chengxi didn’t like this person.

So what was this? Getting jealous over one-sided affection?

“Classmate Xu, I do not like you. Please do not disturb my friend either.”

He Chengxi’s voice grew even colder.

She was truly fed up with Xu Daohui telling everyone he liked her.

Despite her many rejections, he still told everyone, leading to constant gossip.

Now he was affecting her normal friendships. That was really going too far.

The petite girl’s willow brows knit slightly, a light hint of anger on her face, which in others’ eyes was still moving in its own way.

“Chengxi, I know you don’t want to date in high school,” Xu Daohui recalled one of He Chengxi’s past reasons for rejection. “I can wait until you graduate to slowly consider me.”

Previously, he had only dared to tell other boys he liked her behind her back.

Because in his impression, He Chengxi had never made friends with boys, always maintaining a polite but distant image.

Thus, he didn’t need to put effort into openly “showing off”; a few casual words behind her back were enough.

But now, seeing her coming and going with another boy, he couldn’t help but jump out in front of her and say something.

“Are you sick? Calling her Chengxi over and over. Is Xi Bao that close with you?”

Hu Zhuyue couldn’t stand it anymore.

She rolled her eyes and pulled He Chengxi upstairs.

Passing Pei Du, He Chengxi gave him an apologetic glance before following Hu Zhuyue back to class.

Xu Daohui didn’t chase after them.

He knew his strategy was persistent pestering, but he didn’t dare go too far.

That He Chengxi hadn’t reported him to a teacher yet was solely because she gave people face.

If he went too far and it reached the teachers, he’d have no chance left.

“Buddy, do you like Chengxi too?”

He foolishly used the familiar form of address for He Chengxi and struck up a conversation with Pei Du as if they were close, trying to probe Pei Du’s situation.

How would Pei Du possibly respond?

To people who chatted with him in good faith, like Chen Xintian, Pei Du would reply politely with a few words.

For someone like Xu Daohui with ulterior motives, Pei Du couldn’t be bothered to spare even a glance.

Taking long strides, Pei Du also headed upstairs, leaving Xu Daohui below to perform for empty air.

Seeing Pei Du completely ignore him, Xu Daohui’s expression soured.

Muttering something under his breath, he said,

“What an act.”

…

“Classmates…”

The bell rang, signaling the end of class.

The crowd began to bustle noisily.

“Congratulations, host. Repelled a love rival. Reward: +1 to emotional distance with the first perfect life partner.”

Pei Du was speechless.

He had done nothing, yet he was given a title and a completely useless reward.

He truly thought this system was broken.

“When will you ever give useful rewards?”

Walking upstairs, Pei Du asked.

“Host request detected. Issuing task.”

Pei Du hadn’t expected the system to actually assign tasks.

He thought it only offered bad ideas or played dead.

[Invite He Chengxi to your birthday dinner.]

[Reward: One arbitrary attribute point]

[Note: This is a great first step in male-female relationships.]

Attribute point? What was that?

The system opened a blue panel at the right time, with black text displayed:

[Host: Pei Du]

[Attribute Overview:

Intelligence: 8 (Subcategories: Memory, Logical Deduction, Emotional Control…)

Physique: 6 (Subcategories: Stamina, Agility, Strength…)

Appeal: 8 (Subcategories: Aura, Appearance, Physique…)]

[Note: The fully healthy standard for an average person is 5.]

After reading, Pei Du admitted he was tempted.

His cheat ability was finally showing its extraordinary side.

Earlier rewards like money, while tempting, weren’t absolutely necessary; he believed he could earn money himself.

But this attribute point felt like a shortcut on the path of life.

It could save so much time and effort, especially for Intelligence and Appeal, which weren’t things one could easily improve through mere exercise.

But this task… Pei Du’s mood grew slightly heavy.

It felt like being arranged to date, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Just because the system designated He Chengxi as his first perfect life partner, should he follow its whims and do inexplicable things?

How was he supposed to trample the world underfoot if he was first being completely controlled by the system?

This was what Pei Du, who had watched plenty of anime and light novels, thought.

Yet the abnormally generous reward made it difficult for him to decide.

Should he abandon his principles to cater to the system?

One or two sparrows landed on the railing at the stairwell turn, completely unfazed by people, chirping twice at Pei Du.

The class bell finished ringing.

Pei Du returned to his classroom.