The day of the exam finally arrived, and a tense atmosphere enveloped the entire campus. Although Lizza and Mike were in different exam rooms, both felt a mix of anticipation and anxiety about the upcoming test. To ensure that Lizza wouldn’t go hungry, Mike woke up early to make sandwiches and even brought a bottle of milk. As they walked to the exam room together, Mike smiled slightly and handed the sandwich to Lizza.
“Don’t forget to eat; I made this myself,” he said firmly.
Lizza gratefully accepted the sandwich, a smile spreading across her face. “Thank you, Mike! I will definitely eat it well.”
Just as she was about to enter the exam room, Mike suddenly grabbed her hand, making her stop. Lizza turned back in confusion and saw Mike pull out a small safety talisman from his pocket.
“I got this talisman the day before the exam. I hope we both do well and get into the same university. Also… wait for me after the exam; I have something to tell you,” Mike explained, his gaze steady and gentle.
Lizza felt a surge of emotion, gripping the talisman tightly and silently reciting the blessing in her heart. They exchanged smiles, but then Mike hurried away, worried about being late for the exam.
However, once Lizza entered the exam room, her classmates began to launch verbal attacks against her. Jealous of her recent rapid progress, they continuously mocked her. She heard someone deliberately say loudly, “Look, Lizza can actually do so well; she really doesn’t know her place!” As the taunts escalated, more classmates joined in, forming a small group targeting her.
One girl viciously said, “Lizza is just a lowly failure; how could she possibly get into our school!” Soon, others began to laugh at her, mimicking her voice and even making disdainful snorts. These words cut like sharp blades, igniting a surge of nameless anger and unease within Lizza.
The anxiety in her heart made it impossible for her to focus on the exam paper. As time passed, her emotions grew heavier. Halfway through the exam, her mind was a chaotic mess, unable to recall the knowledge she had learned. The exam paper seemed increasingly out of reach, and a multitude of anxious thoughts flooded her mind.
At that moment, someone from behind deliberately kicked her chair. She turned slightly to see the girl wearing a provocative smile, intentionally turning her head away, completely indifferent to her actions. At that moment, Lizza felt a wave of fear and despair, filled with an indescribable sense of grievance.
“You won’t make me back down like this!” she silently vowed in her heart, yet she couldn’t break free from the shackles of her emotions. As the exam time dragged on, the mocking voices echoed in her mind, further distracting her focus. Her heart was filled with disappointment and unwillingness, yet she couldn’t change the current situation. As she walked out of the exam room, the cold jeers of her classmates weighed heavily on her heart.
Lizza returned to Mike’s house in a daze, planning to pack her things and prepare to move back home. She completely forgot about Mike’s previous promises and reminders. Just as she got home, she happened to run into Mike looking for her. But Lizza said nothing, silently staring at the floor, her heart filled with helplessness and despair.
Mike sensed something was wrong; she had been fine before the exam, and a hint of unease rose in his heart. He hurriedly asked, “Lizza, did something happen before the exam?”
However, Lizza remained silent, only lowering her head as if trapped in her own emotions. She then opened the door to her house, shutting Mike out. Faced with this situation, Mike felt a surge of anxiety, and the image of Jiang Lian flashed through his mind. He quickly rushed to ask Jiang Lian, only to learn about what had happened during the exam.
“Damn it!” Mike’s anger surged, filled with uncontrollable rage. He wished he could confront those classmates and stand up for Lizza. He had painstakingly rescued the princess from the abyss, only to see her pushed back down so easily by those people.
Back at home, Mike’s thoughts drifted back to the past, recalling those seemingly ordinary moments that gradually made him realize that Lizza’s behavior had long revealed the hidden pain in her heart.
He remembered how she often seemed distracted in class, her eyes vacant, occasionally gazing out the window as if lost in thought, always carrying a hint of sadness. Whenever the teacher asked a question, she would lower her head, too afraid to look up. That posture of fear and retreat was hidden beneath her usually cheerful exterior, unnoticed by others.
There was also a time when Lizza watched a movie with him; it was supposed to be a light-hearted comedy, yet he noticed she would suddenly fall silent during certain scenes, even shedding tears unconsciously. He had thought she was just moved, not realizing that behind it lay her helplessness and anxiety about life. At that time, she merely wiped her tears casually and tried to cover her emotions with laughter, but Mike felt something was off.
Whenever she faced setbacks at school, Lizza’s reactions puzzled him. She seemed overly harsh on herself, often talking to her reflection in the mirror after exams, complaining about how stupid she was. Although she would say, “It’s okay, I’ll try harder tomorrow,” he could see that behind those words lay unspoken pain and insecurity.
These subtle behaviors, if not observed closely, would be difficult for others to notice. Now, looking back, Mike felt as if he had been enlightened, realizing that Lizza’s depression was not a fleeting emotion but a long-standing struggle buried deep within her heart. The more he thought about it, the more heartbroken he became, regretting that he had not noticed it before, that he had not actively cared for her, letting her know that he was always by her side.
