He Had Rules for Me, But Passion for Her

After three years together, Xander set a rule: we couldn't hold hands for more than three minutes a day. He said we had to meet at the summit---that we absolutely couldn't let ourselves get distracted before the SAT exams. I believed him. I suppressed my desires and stayed up late studying with him. The night the scores came out, there was a class party. I went to find him with my results---scores high enough to get into the same university as him. But at the bar, I caught him pinning Summer, the worst student in our class, against the wall, kissing her with wild, unrestrained passion. Summer gasped and pushed him away: "Xander, your girlfriend will be angry if she finds out..." Xander laughed carelessly: "She's obedient as a dog. I just need to buy her a gift and say a few sweet words, and she'll be fine. She can't leave me." Outside the door, my hands and feet went ice cold. My heart hurt so much I couldn't breathe. I thought he had a low sex drive. Turns out he just wasn't interested in me. I forced back the tears threatening to spill from my eyes and tore up that application form where I'd filled in the same choices as him, piece by piece.

I wiped away my tears, tossed the scraps into the trash, and walked back to our private room without looking back. Five minutes later, Xander and Summer pushed through the door one after the other. Xander's expression was normal as he walked straight over to sit beside me, handing me a glass of water. "Have some water. Your voice sounded a bit hoarse from singing earlier." I didn't take it. My eyes were fixed on the faint red mark at the corner of his mouth. He noticed my gaze and casually wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of indulgent helplessness. I felt nauseous. Before I could speak, a delicate cry suddenly came from the other end of the room. "Oh no!" Summer had fallen onto the sofa by the karaoke machine, her eyes rimmed with red. "I think I twisted my ankle. It hurts so much..." She clutched her ankle, but her gaze traveled over the crowd to land on Xander. Several guys immediately rushed over with concern. But Summer bit her lower lip and shook her head pitifully: "You don't need to trouble yourselves. I'll... I'll just take a cab home." Xander set down the water glass, his brow furrowing slightly. He stood up and turned to look at me. "Mia, it's not safe for Summer to take a cab alone. Let me take her home." I looked up at this face I'd loved for three years. "She just twisted her ankle, not broken her leg. Can't the classmate take her?" A flash of impatience crossed his eyes, quickly suppressed. He reached out to ruffle my hair. "Come on, we're all classmates. It's just helping each other out." "Don't be so sensitive. Tomorrow I'll go with you to submit your applications, and I'll grab that Black Forest cake you love from my house, okay?" I turned my head away, avoiding his hand. This was the first time in three years I'd refused his touch. Xander's hand froze in mid-air. "Xander, if Mia isn't happy about it, forget it. I can manage on my own..." Summer grabbed the hem of his shirt, her voice choked with tears. Xander's expression darkened. Without looking at me again, he gripped Summer's arm and helped her up. "Let's go. I'll take you." He didn't give me a single extra word of explanation before walking out of the room supporting Summer. The moment the door closed, I heard classmates whispering: "Xander is way too good to Summer. I'm surprised Mia isn't even mad?" When the party ended, it was already ten at night. I walked the streets alone. Passing by the corner convenience store that Xander and I used to frequent, my feet seemed nailed to the ground. Through the glass, I saw a young couple in school uniforms huddled together working on homework. The boy draped his jacket over the girl's shoulders, saying something in a low voice. I stood in the wind, my nails digging deep into the soft flesh of my palms. The sharp pain came, and my eyes instantly rimmed red. But I bit my lip hard, refusing to let the tears fall. Back home, I turned on my computer by the light of the streetlamp streaming through the window. The screen lit up. In the center of the desktop was a folder named "MIT Sprint." It contained scanned copies of every handwritten note Xander had made for me over these three years. My hand gripped the mouse, the cursor hovering over that folder for a full thirty seconds. Then I permanently deleted it. Just then, my phone on the desk suddenly lit up. It was a shopping link from Xander---a white floral dress. Immediately, a second message popped up. "Wear this dress tomorrow when we submit applications. I just bought it, it'll look really good on you." I stared at the product photo. This dress looked way too familiar. Last week, Summer had posted on Ins about receiving an early birthday gift---the exact same style. I pulled at the corner of my mouth in an extremely short, cold laugh. "I don't want this so-called meeting at the summit anymore."

"Mia, over here!" The next morning, outside the school hallway. Xander waved at me, holding a small cake box. A little flag was stuck in the box with the words: "See you at MIT." I walked up to him, glanced at the cake, but didn't take it. "What time did you get home last night after taking Summer back?" I looked into his eyes, my tone calm. Xander's gaze flickered for a moment, the smile at the corner of his mouth slightly fading. "Around nine. Why?" I pulled out my phone, brought up a screenshot, and held it in front of him. "Then the message you sent her at 11:47 saying 'home safe, remember to use the body wash I gave you'---were you sleepwalking when you sent that?" Last night after clearing the folder, I casually checked my social media feed. Summer had posted at 23:50 saying "Thanks Xander for taking me home, got the body wash." Though she deleted it two minutes later, I'd already taken a screenshot. Xander panicked instantly, his fingers tightening on the edge of the cake box, but he quickly recovered. "Stop making everything into a big deal. We were stressed for three years in senior year---can't I relax a bit?" "Or are you trying to control who I'm friends with too? Mia, when did you become so unreasonable?" Hearing these words, my mind flashed to the week before finals in second semester of junior year. Another guy in class had asked me to study together at the library on the weekend. When Xander found out, he gave me the cold shoulder for two whole days. In the end, I apologized first and deleted that guy's contact, and only then did he return to normal. He had always held double standards. I'd just been too in love with him before, choosing selective blindness. "Say whatever you want." I put away my phone and walked past him. He called after me: "Cool off for a bit. Fill in MIT computer science major for your application like we agreed. Don't gamble with your future out of spite." I stopped, looking back through the hallway's glass window. Right in front of me, he answered a phone call. The name flashing on the screen was Summer. When he answered, the corners of his mouth turned up, his voice softened, his steps became light. Exactly like when he used to chase after me. I withdrew my gaze and walked alone into the classroom, sitting down at the computer. I logged into the application system. On the screen, the first choice field blinked with an empty cursor. I remembered when we first got together in freshman year, when Xander leaned on his desk and drew me a future plan. Freshman year, take photos together at the MIT entrance. Junior year, intern together. Senior year, he'd propose. I'd kept that draft paper tucked in my diary for three whole years. The mouse clicked. First choice: MIT Computer Science and Technology. I hit the backspace key. Cleared it and typed again. First choice: Harvard University, Law. The South. Two thousand miles away. This was my original dream when I started high school---the dream I'd personally abandoned to attend the same school as Xander. My finger hovered above the submit button. My hand was shaking. Not because I was hesitating, but because I suddenly realized that from this moment on, the boy who used to lean on his desk and draw me our future---he was truly dead. I clicked submit. Then I pulled out my backpack and extracted that future plan I'd saved for three years. I folded it once, then again. Then stuffed it into the paper bin in the corner of the classroom. As I left the classroom, Summer's voice came from the end of the hallway. Around a corner, her voice floated over clearly. "Xander, I sneaked a bite of the cake you just bought for Mia... She won't be mad, will she?" Then came Xander's suppressed laughter: "You need to eat less sugar or your teeth will hurt again." I carried my bag and left through the hallway's other exit.

"Mia, why have you been ignoring Xander these past few days?" The first week after submitting applications, a classmate messaged me. I didn't reply, just silenced my phone and tossed it on the bed. In the past, whenever we fought, as long as he gave me the cold treatment for three days, I'd be the first to back down. This time, Xander was clearly waiting again. I found an empty shoebox and packed all the things he'd given me into it. Handwritten problem sets, a cheap silver bracelet, sticky notes covered with physics formulas. When I got to the workbook from second semester of junior year, I opened the cover page. "Mia, I've organized the thought process for every wrong answer in this book. If you master them all, MIT is guaranteed. ---Your Xander." I ran my fingertip over the words "Your Xander." Then I closed the book and put it in the shoebox. I picked up the packing tape, preparing to seal it. I didn't cry, but when sealing the tape, I had to tear it three times before it broke. Because my fingers had completely lost their strength. On the third day, Xander finally sent me a message: "Been at my grandma's in my hometown these past few days. Bad phone signal. Stop being mad and reply." Below was a photo from his hometown. I still didn't reply. That afternoon, I went to a bookstore downtown, planning to buy some travel guides for the South. While picking books on the second floor, my peripheral vision caught the first-floor café area. Xander, who said he was in his hometown, was sitting by the window helping Summer organize travel plans. On the table sat two milk teas, with two straws in Summer's cup. I stood behind the bookshelf, my fingers crushing the corner of the book in my hand. Summer's voice floated up clearly. "Xander, will Mia be upset that you came out with me?" "Is she still mad at you? Actually... my scores aren't high enough for MIT either. You don't need to worry about me." Xander laughed lightly: "She's so stubborn---where else would she go besides to me?" "She definitely filled in MIT. Don't worry about it. After school starts in September, once she's on my turf, I can just sweet-talk her a bit and it'll be fine." He paused, then added another line. "You're different. I'm worried about you going to that community college alone. After I get settled, I'll fly over to see you on weekends." Summer giggled and tapped his hand. "But what about Mia?" "Her? She's very sensible. Just buy her some flowers and she'll be fine. Don't worry!" I slowly released the crumpled book pages. I remembered the New Year's Eve party in sophomore year, on the way home when Xander walked me back. I'd asked him: "If we ever fight, will you go comfort other girls?" Seventeen-year-old Xander had stopped and turned to look at me. Seriously and clumsily, he'd said: "Mia, I've given you all the patience I have in this lifetime. How could I have any left to give to someone else?" That was the best sweet talk I'd ever heard. Looking back now, it was just empty promises casually made by a teenage boy. I finally stopped feeling the pain. Because the boy who said those words and the person downstairs who said "just sweet-talk her a bit" weren't the same person at all. I put the book back on the shelf, turned around, and went downstairs. I went home, grabbed that sealed shoebox, and stuffed it into the roadside clothing donation bin. Then I pulled out my phone and blocked his contact one by one. At the same moment, on the bookstore's first floor. Xander's phone buzzed. He glanced at it---not a message from Mia. He paid it no mind and continued helping Summer check travel routes. "I'll give her the cold shoulder for two more days. When the acceptance letters come, I'll take mine to her apartment building. I guarantee she'll be moved to tears." What he didn't know was that below the group message he'd scrolled past, there was another one. The advisor had sent an @everyone notice in the grade group chat. "Please verify your application information, everyone. The system has been locked and cannot be changed."

Mid-August, the acceptance letters finally arrived. Xander looked at the MIT acceptance letter in his hand, unable to suppress the smile spreading across his face. He pulled out his phone, took a close-up shot of the acceptance letter, and prepared to send it to Mia. He clicked send. A red exclamation mark popped up on the screen. Below it, a line of small text: "The other party has enabled friend verification. You are not yet their friend." Xander froze for two seconds, then let out a scoffing laugh. He opened Ins. The message wouldn't send. He called. It went straight to voicemail. But he didn't panic. He even found it a bit amusing. This was the first time Mia had escalated the cold war to blocking him across all platforms. She must be really angry this time. But it didn't matter. No matter how much of a fuss she made, wouldn't she come back in the end? Xander switched back to the group chat and typed: "Mia blocked me, hahaha, she's really going all out this time." The group chat instantly exploded. "Xander, you're so bold. You ignored her for a whole month and you're not even worried?" "Mia's such a good girl. If you just stand at her door with that MIT acceptance letter, won't she just cry and throw herself into your arms?" He looked at these messages, in high spirits. He admitted that these past few months he'd gotten too close to Summer, and he felt a bit guilty. But that was different. Summer was just novelty. Mia was the one who truly understood him, who'd endured three years with him. He thought to himself that once school started, he'd definitely make it up to her properly. Xander rode his bike to the mall and walked into a flower shop. "Give me a bouquet of your most expensive red roses." He tapped the counter. Payment: $399, more than double the $188 bouquet he'd bought for Summer. Next, he went to the jewelry counter and picked out a silver necklace with small diamonds. When he was paying, the clerk smiled and asked: "Sir, this necklace comes with free engraving. Would you like anything engraved?" Xander thought for a moment, his mind flashing to the words he'd written on the corner of their desk freshman year. "Engrave 'Meet at the Summit.'" He thought this arrangement was absolutely perfect. He went home and changed into a dress shirt, checked his hair in the mirror, then pulled out his phone. He sent Summer a message: "Got something to do today. I'll contact you tonight." Summer instantly replied with a cute emoji. "Okay. Contact me when you're done, Xander!" Xander smiled slightly and casually cleared his entire chat history with Summer. Just in case Mia wanted to check his phone when they met later. He rode his bicycle, holding that bouquet of gorgeous red roses with one hand. In the rear storage basket sat the cake box and the necklace box. He rode across the entire city toward Mia's house. In his mind, he was already imagining Mia's expression when she opened the door and saw all this. She'd probably keep a stern face at first, pretending to be unhappy. Then when she saw "Meet at the Summit" engraved on the necklace, her eyes would slowly redden. Finally, she'd reach out to take the flowers and quietly complain, "It's good you know you were wrong." She was always like this. For three years, he'd understood her too well. She couldn't escape from the palm of his hand. Two blocks from Mia's house, his phone started vibrating violently in his pocket. He stopped his bicycle, pulled out his phone and saw it was his high school teacher Mr. Johnson calling. Xander answered the phone, his tone relaxed and cheerful: "Mr. Johnson, I received the acceptance letter. MIT Computer Science. Thank you for three years of guidance..." Mr. Johnson cut him off directly. "Xander, I'm not calling about you. I'm asking you---what's going on with Mia?" He frowned. "Mia? She should have received her MIT acceptance letter too, right?" A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone: "With her scores, getting into MIT would have been more than enough. I even told other teachers you two would definitely go together." "But when I got the final admissions list today..." Mr. Johnson's voice suddenly rose. "Her application---she ended up choosing Harvard University Law School. That's over two thousand miles from you."

? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "393697", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster