The Choice Between Love and Hate

As an August downpour pounded the thatched roof, Jiang Yihan heard her dreams shatter.

Her father was bedridden, and the hand clutching her physics competition problems trembled.

A knock suddenly sounded from outside the window. Lin Xu, a transfer student from the city, stood there with an umbrella and a stack of brand-new study guides tucked under his arm.

“Can’t solve the competition problems? I’ll teach you.”

Under the kerosene lamp, their heads drew closer and closer, until the roar of an engine cut through the rain.

Lin Xu’s wealthy mother rips up the study guides and flings banknotes in Jiang Yihan’s face.

“Stay away from my son, you poor nobody!”

As Jiang Yihan bends to pick up the money, she sees the words “I like you” on one of the falling scraps of paper.