Mike fell asleep unknowingly while lost in thought. The next day, he woke up even earlier than his alarm, anxiously preparing to go out and find Lizza. As he hurriedly got ready and opened the door to leave, he was surprised to find Lizza already standing at his doorstep.
“Why are you here so early?” Mike looked at her in astonishment, feeling a bit confused, but there was no emotion on Lizza’s face, as if she was hiding something. Mike tried to read something from her expression but found nothing.
The two walked silently towards the bus stop, the atmosphere much heavier than usual. Mike thought about the words he had been wanting to say, and at that moment, he decided he had to tell Lizza no matter what. “I have something to tell you…” Mike gathered his courage, but was abruptly interrupted by Lizza’s loud voice: “Don’t say it, I don’t want to hear it right now!”
Mike’s heart sank instantly; he felt hurt, unsure if Lizza had already guessed what he wanted to say, but he suppressed his emotions and softly replied, “If you want to hear it later, just let me know. I’ll be waiting for you anytime.”
Their conversation ended there, leaving a heavy silence between them. They boarded the bus, heading to their respective schools.
After the university entrance exams, life seemed to have become much easier. The enormous burden that had weighed on his heart disappeared, and the atmosphere among classmates became more pleasant. But Lizza was the exception; she still felt a stone weighing on her heart, praying every day, hoping to attend the same university as Mike.
A month later, the day of the results arrived. Everyone was at home waiting for the scores to be released on their computers, and Mike and Lizza were no exception.
The moment the results were announced, Mike immediately checked his score—703 points. He was extremely excited and quickly messaged Lizza to share the good news. However, five minutes passed, then ten, and Lizza still hadn’t responded. Mike’s heart tightened, and he grew anxious. Unable to hold back, he ran to Lizza’s house, knocked on the door, but no one answered.
Looking down, Mike noticed that the front door was actually unlocked. He felt a surge of urgency and pushed the door open. In the living room, Lizza was sitting there, staring blankly at the score column on the computer screen—640 points.
This was actually a very good score, but Lizza knew she could have done better. Her heart was filled with disappointment and self-blame, seemingly unable to find any comfort in this score.
Lizza could not accept the reality that she and Mike would not be attending the same university. 640 points, although it placed her among the top five in her class, could not mask the gap and disappointment she felt inside. She knew this score was far from enough to fulfill the promise she had made with Mike. She felt that all her efforts had been in vain, and her future with Mike seemed to be drifting further apart.
After returning to school, her classmates’ attitudes towards her remained filled with hostility. Although her score had far surpassed most of her peers, those who had once mocked her did not cease their attacks. On the contrary, their sarcastic remarks became even more cutting.
“You’re not satisfied with such a good score? What do you want, exactly?”
“Who doesn’t know she used to be at the bottom of the class? In a grade of 200 in our school, she was ranked 150.”
“Don’t think you can flaunt these scores just because you got into a good school.”
These words were like sharp daggers, stabbing into Lizza’s heart time and again. She felt her defenses gradually crumbling, and the emotions she had suppressed for so long surged back to the surface. The blow of not being able to attend the same university, combined with the resurgence of her depression, left her feeling utterly helpless and despairing.
She tried to ignore those voices, telling herself that these were just insignificant words from insignificant people, but those words took deep root in her heart, impossible to forget. Lizza felt her world growing increasingly gray, and those voices became louder, like an echo that wouldn’t stop.
