The schoolyard was quiet that morning. Tiểu My was strolling leisurely when…
"Hey, you, stop!" a loud shout came from a group of girls, led by Uyển Nghi.
Tiểu My's eyes widened as she looked at Uyển Nghi, who was holding the book that had just been thrown at her head from a distance.
"Hey, are you done with this madness?"
Tiểu My was annoyed. She couldn't count how many times this had happened since the early grades, and they were in 11th grade now.
Uyển Nghi always bullied and teased her.
Uyển Nghi glared fiercely at Tiểu My.
"Did you just call me crazy?
You've got a lot of nerve, you ugly duckling! You guys, beat her up for me!"
At the same time, she raised her hand to slap Tiểu My's face. Just then, a large hand and a tall, imposing figure blocked Uyển Nghi's arm. As Tiểu My ducked beneath that handsome figure, with the morning sun shining through the leaves of the banyan tree, she secretly peeked, drooling, a level 7 crush.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, she snapped out of it, and slapped both her cheeks hard. She was squatting, her face scrunched up.
She thought to herself, "What's going on? I'm the one getting ganged up on, so why am I imagining myself as the beauty being saved by a hero? Oh my god." She looked at herself and thought, "Wait, what part of me looks like a beauty? Better just drop that thought."
As for the guy, he was Dĩ Thiên, from a wealthy and influential family in the country. He had the looks of a heartthrob, making countless girls dream of being his girlfriend, and a top-tier IQ.
Due to his playful nature, his grandfather had punished him by making him transfer schools closer to him for supervision.
Dĩ Thiên suddenly remembered Tiểu My. He glanced down and caught Tiểu My's eyes staring intently at him, and his face stiffened as he looked at her.
"This silly girl."
"Hey, girl, have you stared enough?"
"Heh!" Tiểu My looked at him sheepishly.
When her hand was caught, Uyển Nghi yelled at Dĩ Thiên.
"Let go of my hand!"
Dĩ Thiên said to Uyển Nghi and her group.
"Your hand is so pretty, only a dog would grab it!"
Tiểu My couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"But he's holding it! What does that make him, then?"
He looked flustered at Tiểu My.
"Watch your mouth!"
Then he continued speaking to Uyển Nghi.
Dĩ Thiên was from a rich family, so he wasn't afraid of anyone.
"If your hand tries to hit someone again, I won't hesitate to make it part ways with your body!"
"A bunch of silly girls ganging up on one girl? Come fight me instead!"
The girls froze when he told them to fight him.
Tiểu My thought to herself, "Oh my god, a guy fighting girls? Does he want to be buried with green grass on his grave?" The group of girls dispersed.
Uyển Nghi turned to leave but still looked back.
Uyển Nghi's heart was stirred by Dĩ Thiên, which meant more trouble for Tiểu My.
Dĩ Thiên smugly showed off his achievement and demanded a favor from Tiểu My.
"Hey, do you have a brain? I, a dazzlingly handsome guy, just saved an ugly duckling like you, you know!"
He poked Tiểu My's forehead with his index finger.
As if to thank him, she extended her hand to shake his.
Having a friend like him would be good; she'd have someone to protect her.
"So, let's be friends."
Dĩ Thiên was stunned. She was so easy to befriend.
In that moment, he found her smile truly radiant.
"Alright, ugly duckling. Consider it a lesson in knowing your place!"
Hearing the words "ugly duckling," she felt a pang of sadness.
"Hey, I have a name, you know! Why call me an ugly duckling?"
He rolled his eyes, tilted his head, and looked her up and down, his hand on his chin as if studying her.
"You're not ugly, so why do they tease you as an ugly duckling?"
Tiểu My felt a lump in her throat.
"He noticed that too? He's the only one who's helped me and said I'm not ugly.
I feel so comforted."
"I don't know."
Suddenly, he put his arms around her, bracing his hands against the large tree trunk behind her, as if embracing her entirely. His face was so close to hers that she panicked, pressing her back against the tree trunk, unable to move. Her face flushed red with embarrassment.
Duckling
“Stop teasing me, get out of the way!”
Tiểu My bent down and slipped out of his grasp, quickly moving out of his sight.
Ten minutes later.
Class 12Y6, which had been quietly waiting for the teacher to start the lesson, suddenly stirred when a new male student arrived. All the girls vied to praise him.
“Wow, he’s so handsome.”
“Oh my god, I’m crushing on a guy for the first time.”
“Hey, come sit with me!”
Teacher Thy walked in.
“Hello everyone, this is Dĩ Thiên. From now on, he’ll be studying with us! Please take a seat.”
Suddenly, he approached the desk of a girl who was holding a book titled *Make Him Fall For You*.
Tiểu My covered her face, hoping he wouldn’t choose her seat. She had actually seen him walk in. Surprised, she covered her face, thinking, *What a coincidence?*
Sure enough, just as she expected, he walked step by step towards her, placed his bag on the chair, and sat down comfortably.
“Hey, Duckling, we’re fated, you don’t need to make me fall for you, I’ll fall on my own!”
Tiểu My suddenly realized she was reading that novel because she had hastily used it to cover her face.
“Hey, even if I were to make someone fall for me, it wouldn’t be you.”
[……]
As days passed, Tiểu My was constantly teased by Dĩ Thiên, and they eventually became close friends. Gradually, without even realizing it, he shed his spendthrift, playboy habits, captivated by her morning smile as she arrived at class. He cared about her falling asleep at her desk, the innocent hand-holding while admiring the night view at the children’s amusement park, playing childish games. At some point, he started wondering if she liked him… many images of her flashed through his mind…
In the schoolyard, Dĩ Thiên and Tiểu My were reviewing for their final exams. Dĩ Thiên sat with his arm draped behind her on the back of the stone bench. He gazed intently at her focused face and figure, smiling to himself. She turned around and accidentally caught him.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you, laughing at me like that?”
Dĩ Thiên was embarrassed and found an excuse to deflect.
“You just look so silly!”
Suddenly, from a distance, Uyển Nghi ran over and inserted herself between them.
“You two, let’s go to class!”
Uyển Nghi always clung to Tiểu My with the intention of getting Dĩ Thiên to notice her. Uyển Nghi linked arms with Dĩ Thiên, but he suddenly pushed her away.
“Get away from me.”
Seeing their tension, Tiểu My immediately spoke up.
“Hey, you’re a guy, it’s not like she’ll get pregnant just by touching you. Stop being so grumpy, or you’ll end up single forever.”
Dĩ Thiên turned, suddenly leaned in close to Tiểu My’s face, and said softly, his expression serious.
“I only like *you* touching me, got it?”
Uyển Nghi realized Dĩ Thiên’s special interest in Tiểu My. *Fine, just you wait, Tiểu My.*
After that, they went to class.
Finally, the final exams were over. As always, they celebrated the end of exams by going to the grassy area near the school’s amusement park, sitting on the grass, eating, and chatting away….!