Best friends turned sworn rivals. Two female leads. No CP. High school setting.
Outwardly sunny, carefree, and easygoing, but inwardly sensitive and insecure x Pretends to be indifferent to everything, but is actually stubborn and sharp-tongued
A girl's true concerns are never just secret crushes and anxiety about her looks. They're worries about the future, fierce competition over rankings, and doubts about her own talent.
A girl's true concerns are thinking she's exceptional and being fiercely ambitious.
True kindred rivals look for each other's names first the moment they get their report cards.
From sixteen to eighteen, they go from best friends to sworn rivals.
In the end, one gets into Tsinghua and the other into Peking University.
*
At the graduation gala, Fu Qingyun and Xiao Siying are invited to speak as outstanding graduates, and their seats are next to each other. No matter how uproariously funny the performances onstage are, the two remain expressionless and silent from beginning to end. They seem out of place in the noisy hall, as if they're in another world.
Then comes the graduation address.
Fu Qingyun's final words are: "...I once had a friend. We used to tell each other everything. I also have a rival I still haven't beaten. Youth and friendship never take their leave. Life is long, and there will be many more days ahead."
The applause thunders. Fu Qingyun walks down as Xiao Siying walks up, and they pass each other.
Xiao Siying stands ramrod straight, cool and peerless, her gaze haughty. "...It seems to everyone that I have everything anyone could envy. But if you ask whether I have any regrets about my three years of high school, then yes. During the time I studied like a mad dog, I lost the most important person in my life."
Someone in the audience calls out teasingly.
Xiao Siying says, "But fortunately, we're in the same city now, and there's still a long road ahead. I hope you won't let your guard down. I'll keep moving forward until you can't even see me in the distance."
One is onstage, the other below. Their eyes meet in a silent contest.
The grade director arranges for them to present flowers. The two are invited onto the stage once more, each holding a bouquet as all eyes turn to them and applause fills the hall.
The scene freezes: two bouquets, two people. One laughs openly, poised and unrestrained; the other's hair tips flutter, her cool beauty peerless.
*
My youth has never had an absent male lead. I'm the heroine of my own story.
Fortunately, I have a rival like you in this world, so life isn't too boring.
This is the author's favorite work so far, though hardly anyone has found it yet. It's hidden away in the inner chambers, unknown to the world. Someday, if you dear readers happen to open this novel, I hope it makes you happy.
Theme: Hard work and perseverance are talents, too
