A photo of me and Chloe Thorne went viral overnight. In it, we’re wearing our blue and white school uniforms, standing side-by-side, throwing up peace signs. Attached is a photo of the grade rankings: Chloe is #1, I am #2. A netizen commented: [There’s zero romance in their eyes. Just pure determination to study the other one to death.] I’ve been crushed by Chloe for ten years. I thought I was doomed to be the eternal runner-up. Until one day, I woke up... And realized I’m the villainous male side character in a high school romance novel. And Chloe is the female lead. Realizing this didn't make me sad at all. I knew my chance had come! I'm going to be number one! 1 I've been second to Chloe Thorne for a decade. Every exam, I'm exactly one rank behind her. I am the eternal runner-up on the honor roll. Then one day, while napping on my desk during a break, I gained sentience. I discovered I'm the villainous side character in a YA romance novel. In the story, I wreak havoc to sabotage the romance between the female lead and the male lead, eventually getting myself expelled. The female lead and the transfer student male lead, after "overcoming" the obstacle that is me, successfully get together. However, their grades slip due to dating, and their families force them apart. To save the male lead from his abusive father, the female lead intentionally misses the SATs, repeats a year with him, and they both get into their dream university, living happily ever after. The heroine of this story is Chloe Thorne, the girl who always beats me. After waking up, I sat up straight and glanced at Chloe, who was chatting with the person in front of her in the next row. The world is going to hell. How can this old rival be the heroine? But it doesn't matter. In the novel, the male lead is supposed to transfer to our class in the next few days. His arrival marks the beginning of my bright future. As long as I refuse to play the villain, I won't be affected by their plot. I can defeat Chloe and finally become number one! My excitement lasted almost the entire day. Just thinking about my upcoming comeback made it hard to control my facial expressions. That evening, walking home with Chloe, I didn't bother suppressing my glee. Chloe’s face remained neutral, but she was speed-walking like an Olympian. Our moms are best friends, and we live directly across the street from each other. Before entering her house, she looked at me like I was an idiot, then quickly slammed the door. After dinner, I got a text from my buddy, Mike: "Bro, you're a legend!" Attached was a link to a video I posted on social media a few days ago when the midterm results came out. The video contained only two images. One was a screenshot of me and Chloe, the other was the midterm ranking list. No caption, but the netizens understood me perfectly. "There’s zero romance in their eyes. Just pure determination to study the other one to death." "The girl is even holding a pen in the photo." "When is the guy gonna assassinate the girl to take first place?" I liked the comment about assassination. Soon. 2 The male lead transferred to our class the next day. When he introduced himself as Julian Summerfield, I knew it. He was the one. My dream wasn't baseless; this was all real. Just like in the novel, Julian was seated next to Chloe. I sat diagonally behind Chloe. A slight turn of my head, and I could see their backs. On the first day, Julian probably hadn't received his new textbooks yet. Chloe placed her worksheet between their desks so they could share. The math teacher was explaining a crucial concept. Both of them lowered their heads simultaneously to look at the problem. They looked up at the same time, finding their faces inches apart. Realizing the awkwardness, both quickly sat up straight. I couldn't see their expressions, but I clearly saw Julian awkwardly bring a fist to his mouth and cough lightly. And Chloe's ears and neck turned bright red. A strange feeling bubbled up inside me. I steadied myself and looked away. This is what I wanted, right? Ethan Vance, stop looking at women! Focus on studying! I took a deep breath and forced my attention to the blackboard. After the first period, several girls gathered around Julian's desk. I glanced over. Two of them were the "artsy" girls in our class, known for partying and dating around. The male lead is handsome; naturally, he attracted their attention. Suddenly surrounded, Julian looked overwhelmed in his seat. As the class monitor, I was about to go over and maintain order, but I saw Chloe returning from the bathroom and stepping in front of Julian. "Nothing better to do? I just saw Mr. Davis in the lobby, heading this way." Hearing the homeroom teacher was coming, the girls scattered back to their seats. Julian smiled shyly at Chloe in gratitude. I sheepishly pulled back the leg I was about to step forward with. A moment later, Mr. Davis did appear at the door. But he didn't come in. Instead, he waved me over to the office to check some files. Standing in the office, mechanically searching through a stack of papers for my classmates' tests... My mind was filled with the image from earlier: the girl in the blue and white uniform, backlit by the window, shielding the anxious boy behind her. And the boy looking at her with eyes full of gratitude and shyness. That must be what liking someone looks like. Sure enough, the male and female leads are destined to attract each other. It's only the first day, and they're already like positive and negative poles, rapidly closing the distance. I looked at the answer sheet I had absentmindedly flipped through and shook my head, trying to shake those unwanted emotions out of my brain. Walking home with Chloe that night, I was unusually silent, contrary to my usual chatterbox self. Surprisingly, Chloe, usually the listener, spoke first. "What's wrong today? Something on your mind?" I looked up into her confused and concerned eyes. What should I say? That what I'm thinking about has to do with her? Growing up together for over ten years, this was the first time I hesitated to speak to her. After thinking for a while, I could only ask indirectly. "What do you think... of Julian Summerfield?" A flicker of confusion passed through Chloe's eyes. "Why ask about him?" "Oh, you know, I'm the class monitor. Gotta get to know the classmates, makes communication easier later." I lied with a laugh, but Chloe nodded understandingly. "Him? He's nice. A very quiet guy." It was a neutral comment, but my heart sank inexplicably. Freshman year, our parents suspected us of dating early. We sat between our two dads explaining for nearly an afternoon. But because Chloe said, "How could I like Ethan Vance? If I liked anyone, it would be a quiet guy." I punched her several times right in front of our parents. That was also when the slight flutter in my adolescent heart for her was strangled in the cradle. My feelings for her were complicated. At least, I couldn't figure them out myself. We were just childhood friends who grew up bickering. So why am I so sad right now? I didn't speak again the whole way. She just walked quietly beside me. When we parted ways at our doors, she hesitated, then just said one thing. "See you tomorrow." 3 Julian successfully integrated into the class. He was beautiful, kind, and had a great personality. Everyone liked him. Even I had to admit, he was a good guy. No wonder Chloe, usually so picky, liked him so much. Without my interference this time, their relationship would probably progress faster. And it did. In just a few days, the way Julian looked at Chloe changed noticeably. Julian wasn't great at math, so Mr. Davis asked Chloe, his desk mate, to help tutor him. During that time, besides breaks, Chloe would stay late after school to tutor Julian in math. For several days, our walk home changed from the two of us to just me. I tried desperately to ignore the strange feeling in my heart. Studying until midnight every day, waking up at 5:30 AM sharp, washing up, breakfast, school. Being extremely busy seemed to make me forget the loss. Until a week later at dismissal, Chloe rarely rejected Julian's tutoring request, quickly packed her bag, and ran to me. "Let's go! Got my allowance today, treating you to hotpot." I looked at her blankly. "Don't you need to tutor him today?" Almost the instant the words left my mouth, I regretted it. What does it matter to me what she does? I sounded jealous. But Chloe didn't mind at all, still smiling at me. "I don't have to tutor him every day. I taught him what he needed. From now on, I can walk home with you every day again." Seeing her smiling eyes, I was stunned for a moment. "O-okay. I'm on cleaning duty today, wait for me a sec." Chloe wordlessly helped me with most of the work, grabbed her bag, and left the classroom with me. On the way, we happily discussed ordering two plates of beef brisket and a plate of shrimp paste. Just out of the school gate, we passed a secluded alley. It was the route Chloe and I took to school every day. Usually quiet. But today, from a distance, I heard voices and a boy crying. Exchanging a glance with Chloe, we simultaneously quickened our pace. At the alley entrance, we saw several hooligans surrounding a boy in our uniform. It was Julian. Seeing them getting handsy, Chloe charged straight in. She grabbed the wrist of a blond punk trying to touch him. "Ah! Hurt! Are you crazy? Let go of me!" Amidst the blond's wailing, the others quickly surrounded me and Chloe. "Yo, another handsome guy? How about you play with us sisters, and we'll let you go?" One of them scanned me up and down, whistling flirtatiously. Chloe grabbed her collar and lifted her up. The others moved to help, but I kicked out. To prevent us from being bullied, our parents sent us to learn kickboxing from a young age. We weren't pros, but dealing with a few punks was more than enough. Soon, we had them on the ground. Except one didn't fight fair, pulling a knife and slashing my arm. Chloe's eyes turned red with rage. She picked that person up to punch them again, but I stopped her. That night, accompanied by Chloe and Julian, I went to the hospital to get stitched up. On the way, Julian kept thanking us. He was thanking both of us, but the way he looked at Chloe held something different. Admiration, and worship. In the end, we didn't get hotpot. The doctor said my wound wasn't serious but I needed to eat bland food. Chloe and I got home after 8 PM. My mom nagged me for an hour about the wound on my arm. 4 For a while after that, Julian was obviously more attentive to Chloe. When Chloe played basketball, he waited in the crowd to give her water. I don't know if Chloe accepted it, but everyone could see Julian liked Chloe. Chloe herself didn't react much to it. I studied desperately, moving only between school and home, squeezing out every second to learn. But sometimes, my brain uncontrollably thought about Chloe. That face, always gentle with me, only frowning even when angry, visited my dreams more and more frequently. Before, I didn't want to admit it. But now, I clearly realized I really liked Chloe. But she's the female lead. Destined to be with the male lead. And I'm just the villainous side character. Villains who like the heroine never have a good ending.
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