Volume 1 Chapter 8: Lin Lin’s Lifelong Enemy!
That was a very long time ago…
“Lin Lin, what kind of person do you want to become when you grow up?”
The sun was setting, and the cool autumn evening wind was blowing. It was the beginning of first grade, just after school had started.
The boy was sitting on a swing, swinging very high, so high that even the nearby security guards felt a bit nervous watching him.
Next to him, a little girl held a lollipop and looked at the boy with admiration.
Of course she had a reason to admire him, because the lollipop in her hand was bought by the boy with a wave of his small hand.
The girl’s smile was very cute. Her cheeks were chubby, and when she smiled, two dimples appeared. She was wearing a pink jacket and clean white long socks.
At that time, Lin Lin didn’t really pay attention to those things. With his innocent thoughts, he answered the girl’s question.
“Me… when I grow up… I want to be Spider-Man?”
Lin Lin raised his head proudly, puffed out his chest, and once again confirmed his idea.
“Yes, Spider-Man!”
“Huh? Spider-Man…” The girl licked her lollipop and asked in a confused way, “Why?”
She didn’t really understand the charm of Spider-Man. She had only heard of him a little. In fact, at this age, boys and girls already had very different interests.
Girls liked Barbie dolls. Boys liked Ultraman, Superman, and Spider-Man.
But Lin Lin still explained excitedly to the girl.
“Because Spider-Man is a superhero! He’s the hero of the whole city! Everyone admires superheroes!”
“Oh… I see.”
The girl nodded, looking like she half understood.
She might not understand the childish heroic dreams that boys keep from childhood—even into middle age, but…
Everyone wants to be popular, right?
The boy was not very popular in his class. Thin and weak, standing among many early-growing boys, he sometimes looked as pitiful as a bullied little kid.
Because of that, the girl slowly began to notice him. The two of them eventually became desk mates. The boy would save his small allowance to buy snacks for the girl, using this old and simple way to show his innocent feelings.
The girl, in return, would stay a little longer after school just to talk with him.
Maybe the road after school was a bit dangerous, but…
With Lin Lin walking with her, she wasn’t afraid.
Thinking about this, the girl showed a small smile, revealing her sweet dimples.
The boy suddenly stopped. After a long pause, he gently pulled on the girl’s sleeve and asked:
“What about you, Xiao Ling… what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I… me?” The girl’s face turned slightly red. She lowered her head and, after a long moment, spoke in a very soft voice, “I’ll just be… the hero’s wife?”
“Huh?”
The boy’s face lit up with surprise, and he quickly asked in an awkward, straightforward way, “R-really?”
“Pfft, I said I want to be the hero’s wife. Why are you so excited, Xiao Lin? You’re not even a hero yet~”
“I—I—I will be one in the future!”
Lin Lin hurriedly said. The girl kept smiling softly and teased him, “Really? But… Xiao Lin, you’re not even taller than me yet.”
“Uh…”
Lin Lin felt a little embarrassed, but still stubbornly said, “Well… girls grow earlier than boys by two years! The teacher said so!”
Actually…
That girl was already considered quite small among girls her age.
But… so what?
At that time, the two of them still had innocent and pure hearts. As long as Lin Lin puffed out his chest and said, “I will definitely become the most popular great hero in the future!” it was enough to make little Xiao Ling laugh happily, and after laughing, she would sweetly and innocently reply:
“I’ll wait for you.”
The evening wind carried the two of them toward home. Under the setting sun, they looked like a pair of lonely yet enviable birds returning to their nest.
This was probably the most beautiful scene in Lin Lin’s life.
But…
What Lin Lin did not expect was that behind every peak in life, there is often a deep low point ahead.
And his “peak”, which was nothing more than holding hands with a little girl, was probably not even as high as the small hill at the school gate.
However, the low point that followed…
Was already close to the Mariana Trench.
Ahem…
Or maybe the East African Rift Valley!
Anyway…
It was the kind of story that starts a little green and ends a little dry…
………………
In the second semester of third grade, on the day the final exams ended, on the way home from school.
The boy, with a face full of sadness and anger, reached out to stop the now-grown little girl and asked in a hurt voice.
“Xiao Ling! You… why are you playing with him?!”
“Uh…” The girl looked ashamed. She lowered her head and said awkwardly, “S-sorry, Xiao Lin, because… he… he’s really handsome…”
“Huh?”
When the boy said that “huh,” it was hard for him to even describe what he was feeling.
He only felt despair, helplessness, and pain. He even felt that being distracted during the exam because of her now seemed ridiculous.
What…?
How could things suddenly…
Change just like that?
So was everything before just a childish joke?
The girl didn’t explain any further. Maybe any explanation would be useless.
She just covered her face and ran away, too embarrassed to even say goodbye. From far away, Lin Lin seemed to see the figure of another boy.
That was the guy Xiao Ling and many girls at the time were obsessed with.
That guy stood there among a group of short-haired elementary school boys, wearing a very bold hairstyle. He had deep eyes, a straight posture, sharp features, and his hands in his pockets.
He… really was kind of handsome.
He didn’t need to do anything. Just standing there, his face alone was enough to make him popular.
If he studied well, he was the perfect top student. If he studied poorly, he was the cool school boss.
No matter what, everything about him was a plus.
Lin Lin stood there awkwardly, looking at the guy’s expensive, fashionable clothes and his natural “sad prince” vibe.
He stayed silent.
After a long time, he picked up his schoolbag and quietly left alone, carrying his hurt and sadness with him.
That was his lost youth.
…………………
Ahem.
Back in the present, Lin Lin raised her head, still a bit shaken.
Ah, this trash world!
Waa—
She hadn’t thought about this for a long time, but she had to admit, it was still something she couldn’t get over.
Later, when they moved on to middle school, Xiao Ling moved away. Lin Lin never saw her again. But he did occasionally see that handsome jerk he hated so much… and that guy was still very popular.
Lin Lin always saw him as a lifelong enemy, but… that guy probably didn’t even know who Lin Lin was.
Ah—coming back to her senses, she realized she had talked too much again.
Of course, when she told this story, she didn’t reveal her own identity. She only used “the boy” and “the girl” instead.
So now, the chat was filled with strange comments.
【The streamer is obviously the girl! Scammer!】
【One look and I can tell, this is pure heartbreak!】
【I’m dying laughing, he really was that handsome hahaha…】
【Good thing the streamer didn’t become Spider-Man’s girlfriend, that would’ve required some sacrifice…】
Huh… what?
Everyone seems to think she was Xiao Ling…
Lin Lin felt like crying but had no tears.
Damn it…
I was the boy!
I WAS THE BOY!