I turned to my parents. "Mom, Dad, throw him out. I never want to see this person again."

After saying this, I didn't glance at him again, turned back to my room, and slammed the door shut.

Outside, the sounds of my parents' angry eviction and Seth’s desperate, wailing pleas echoed.

Eventually, everything culminated in one final, forceful slam of the front door. The world was finally quiet.

08

After Seth was thrown out, there was a long silence in the living room.

I could hear my mother’s stifled sobbing and my father’s heavy sighs.

I opened my bedroom door and walked out.

When my mother saw me, she immediately wiped away her tears and stood up as if to say something, but her lips moved without a sound, not knowing where to begin.

Father sat on the sofa, seemingly having aged several years overnight. He beckoned to me, "Nina, come sit."

I walked over and sat down on the single armchair opposite them.

"Child, it’s our fault," Father’s voice was hoarse, filled with guilt. "As soon as you got back, we yelled at you without even asking what happened... We didn't know... We didn't know Seth that little brat could be such a scum! We watched him grow up—we were simply blind!"

Mother choked back tears as well, saying, "My foolish child, you’ve suffered such a great injustice, why didn't you tell us the moment it happened? If you had told us sooner, we..."

"And what if I had told you?" I looked at them calmly. "If I had, would you have rushed to the school, tracked down Seth and his parents, and made a huge scene? And then what? The whole thing would have been common knowledge, and I would have had to continue staying at that school under the weight of everyone’s pity and gossip? Having to see him and his girlfriend every day, pretending as if nothing happened?"

My words rendered them speechless. Indeed, for me, that outcome would have been another kind of prolonged torture.

"So, withdrawing was the best solution I could think of," I continued. "A clean break. It hurts, but the wound heals faster."

Watching my near-cruel calmness, Mother’s tears flowed again. "But that was the university you worked so hard to get into... Your future..."

"There isn't only one path to a future." I interrupted her worry, revealing the plan I had carefully considered while locked in my room. "Mom, Dad, I want to repeat a year and take the college entrance exam again next year."

This decision carried even more impact than the words "I’m withdrawing."

My parents were stunned, looking at me in disbelief.

"Repeat a year?" Father’s brows furrowed tightly. "Nina, have you thought this through? Repeating is very hard—even harder than the senior year. Besides, you’ve already been to university; going back to sit with students younger than you... there will be no end to the gossip."

"I’m not afraid of hardship," my eyes were incredibly firm. "I’ve tasted the bitterness of senior year once; tasting it again is no problem. As for gossip, compared to being treated like a joke at university, what do a few whispers of 'a college student coming back to repeat' in high school matter? Besides," I paused, saying every word clearly, "this time, I’m going to take the exam for myself."

To get into the same university as Seth, I had abandoned the teaching major I was more interested in and chose Computer Science because he liked it.

To accommodate his desire to stay near home, I had given up the chance to go to a further, more developed city.

My life had been tethered to that so-called "childhood sweetheart" bond for far too long.

"This time, I’m going to the city I want to go to, to study the major I like. A place without Seth, without anyone I know, where I can start over."

My words were filled with undeniable strength. Father gazed at me for a long time; what he saw in my eyes was not impulse or willfulness, but the determination of someone burning their bridges, coupled with a clear plan for the future.

His furrowed brows slowly smoothed out, replaced by a sense of relief and pride.

He nodded heavily: "Good! That’s my daughter! You have backbone! Dad supports you! Repeating is repeating, it’s no big deal! There are plenty of roads in this world; we won't take that frustrating one! Don't worry about the money; your mother and I will figure it out!"

Mother looked at me, then at Father. The worry in her eyes was gradually replaced by her daughter's resolve. She wiped away her tears and nodded forcefully: "Right! Our Nina is so smart; taking the exam again, you’ll definitely get an even better result! Mom supports you too!"

Just then, the home phone rang. Mother went to pick it up, but the moment she said "Hello," her expression changed.

"Mrs. Miller, I don't think we have anything left to talk about." Her tone was cold and distant.

I don't know what was said on the other end, but Mother’s voice rose sharply: "Your son did nothing wrong? Your son was just joking? Wang Xiucin, have you no shame! Your son trampled on my daughter’s dignity in front of the entire school, and you call that a joke? Let me tell you, my daughter has already withdrawn and come home. The friendship between our two families ended the moment your son picked up those scissors! From now on, please don't call here again! We can’t afford to associate with your family!"

After saying this, she slammed the phone down.

After hanging up, she leaned against the wall, gasping for air as if she had used up all her strength, but her eyes were unusually bright.

I knew that from this moment on, I had the firmest support behind me.

Our family had finally pulled together as one, facing this storm in unity.

And my new war was about to begin in the sea of books and mountains of exam papers.

09

After making the decision to repeat, the dark clouds that had hung over our house seemed to have largely dissipated.

Father and Mother no longer sighed; they began to actively run about on my behalf. Father went to contact my old high school to consult about the procedures for re-enrolling as a repeater, while Mother began researching various nutritional recipes, muttering about how she had to "make up for the body Nina lost during her senior year."

The family atmosphere shifted from oppressive sadness to a busy, hopeful energy.

And I, after resting for two days and completely adjusting my mindset, began my own actions.

The first thing was to get a haircut.

I walked into a barbershop near the complex that had been open for over a decade. When the owner, Li, saw me, her mouth hung open in surprise.

"Oh my, Nina? This hair... did you cut it yourself? How did it get like this?"

I looked in the mirror at the messy hair ruined by the joint efforts of Sonia and Seth. It was like an ugly brand, a constant reminder of that night’s humiliation.

"Li, please cut it off," I said calmly.

"Cut it short?"

"Yes, cut it into the shortest style, like a boy's. The neater, the better."

Though filled with questions, Li picked up her scissors and began to work.

The scissors snapped by my ears. This time, I felt no fear or cold; instead, there was a sense of relief and liberation.

Locks of uneven hair continued to fall, as if taking away those heavy, unbearable memories.

Half an hour later, Li set down her tools.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked somewhat like a stranger, yet incredibly clear.

The girl in the mirror had her clean face completely revealed. Without the cover of long hair, her brows and eyes appeared more delicate and firm. The extremely short hair clung refreshing to her scalp, outlining a sharp silhouette that made her look like a small tree preparing to break through the soil in winter, filled with stubbornness and vitality.

"Very spirited," Li praised sincerely. "Good bone structure—anything looks good."

I smiled at her, paid, and walked out of the barbershop.

The sun shone on my new hairstyle, warm and bright. I touched the back of my neck; there was no longer the sensation of long hair, only smoothness and freshness.

I felt as if I had shed a heavy shell, and my whole person had become light.

The second thing was to go to the city's largest bookstore to buy review materials.

With my backpack on, I caught a bus, traveled across half the city, and arrived at the place where I used to linger every weekend, making my final sprints toward the college entrance exam.

The bookstore was filled with the familiar scent of ink and paper. I went straight to the high school supplement section, which was packed with the latest editions of exam workbooks and various specialized training sets.