Pu Qu is a country girl, slender and stubborn as a reed. After three years of hard study in a poor, remote village, she gets into a prestigious high school in the city.
Her parents use an old friend's connections to arrange for her to live with a well-off family.
In her host family, Aunt Jiang is gentle and considerate, and Uncle Xie is understanding.
Only the family's young master, Xie Fan, is a problem. He has a naturally handsome face but a spoiled, nasty personality, and he treats her with disdain and hostility.
Pu Qu transfers to a new school, where she doesn't know anyone.
"Don't pretend we're close at school," Xie Fan tells her.
When Pu Qu is ostracized by her classmates, he does nothing to help.
Whenever they talk, he's always arrogant and curt, sometimes even making snide remarks.
Over the three years of high school, they get along sometimes and clash at others. Seven parts bad, three parts good.
When they fill out their college applications, Xie Fan suddenly asks which school she plans to apply to. Pu Qu says she'll stay in the area.
Behind her back, Xie Fan unhesitatingly applies to a local school too.
When the applications arrive, Xie Fan learns that she lied.
She's going to study in Beicheng. She has always wanted to escape this place, to get away from him.
On a drizzly night, Pu Qu is carrying her suitcase when Xie Fan stops her. His eyes are dark, and his hand is wrapped tightly around her wrist.
"Do you hate me that much, Pu Qu?"
She looks at him with clear, dark eyes and asks in return,
"If I don't hate you, am I supposed to love you?"
"..."
They say that if you leave a cat that doesn't like to cuddle alone for a while, it'll become clingy and well-behaved when you bring it home again.
Xie Fan thinks he's the one in control, the cat's owner. In truth, he's the cat Pu Qu abandoned.
Years later, they meet again at a gathering. She has a boyfriend now, kind and attentive.
Xie Fan watches them with jealous eyes, drowning his sorrows in drink, one glass after another.
In an empty corner of the hallway, Xie Fan is so drunk he can barely stand. He corners Pu Qu just as she's about to leave.
He rests his head in the crook of her shoulder, one hand braced beside her ear, and murmurs,
"Take me home, Pu Qu."
Cool, stubborn girl x arrogant, spoiled rich boy
* He secretly loves her. Both are each other's first love. After their reunion, there will be some competition for her affection.
Theme: Being good
