101 Breakups [Loop]

In the third year of her secret crush on Li Jing, Xia Qiao confessed to him.

She liked how smart he was, how he could get the highest grade in the year without even trying.

She liked how cool he was: he dared to defy teachers and did whatever he pleased. Skipping class, sleeping, and handing in blank papers never affected his grades.

And of course she liked how tall and handsome he was. In Xia Qiao's eyes, he was better-looking than every celebrity.

The boy leaned against the wall. After hearing her confession, he gave a mocking laugh.

His eyes were utterly indifferent. "You don't know me at all, so don't go saying you like me."

She'd been rejected.

Xia Qiao walked away in a daze. As she crossed the road without looking, a speeding car hit her.

Oh no, I'm going to die! I don't want to die yet!

Her desperate will to live forced Xia Qiao to open her eyes. Li Jing's face appeared before her. His mouth moved, and the words drifted into her ears: "You don't know me at all, so don't go saying you like me."

Xia Qiao: "?"

Had she... fallen into a time loop?!

*

Xia Qiao thought the key to breaking the loop lay in Li Jing's rejection.

She had to get to know him!

Then she found out...

At school, he never studied. At home, he studied himself to the bone, until dark circles appeared under his eyes. When his friends asked about it, he just said breezily, "Stayed up gaming."

Xia Qiao: ...The aloof campus heartthrob was such a poser.

When he "skipped class," he wasn't going to an internet cafe or picking a fight with students from another school. He went to the hospital for checkups and medication, then wandered off to feed the fish in the park because he had nothing better to do.

Xia Qiao: ...The rebellious school bully was actually delicate and sickly?!

He treasured a hair tie given to him by the girl he liked.

Xia Qiao: (heartbroken) (inconsolable) (weeping floods of tears) ...Wait, why does this hair tie look so familiar?

*

After a hundred loops, Xia Qiao confessed for the 101st time.

Not only did she know him now, she also told him a secret: "I gave you that hair tie when we were kids."

Li Jing said, "I know."

Xia Qiao froze, then shyly asked, "So can you accept my confession now?"

Li Jing rejected her.

Xia Qiao: "...?!"

When she opened her eyes for the 102nd time, she heard Li Jing say, "You don't know me at all, so don't go saying you like me."

A surge of wicked courage came over Xia Qiao. "That's hilarious. I don't even like you that much! And you're such a poser. So what if you're handsome and rank first in the year? What's so great about that? Just wait. If I study hard today, I'll knock you off the top spot tomorrow!"

Li Jing: "?"

Theme: Youth is invincible.