Zhang Yuanshan stood silently in front of the trash bin—this was the most humiliating, the most despairing moment of his life.
With a self-deprecating smile, he reached into the bin and pulled out a pink scarf.
The scarf had a cute cartoon design woven into it, and beneath the design, there was a small embroidered character: "Yan."
It was no secret that he liked Jiang Xiaoyan.
And he wasn't the only one—countless guys liked her too.
Jiang Xiaoyan wasn't just the class belle of Class 12.
She was the school's number one beauty.
She was the goddess in the hearts of many, and frankly, every guy wanted to have her.
Her beauty was ethereal, her temperament elegant and refined.
Every beautiful moment Zhang Yuanshan had ever imagined included this goddess in the picture.
He still remembered that day when Jiang Xiaoyan received an expensive gift from another boy. She had frowned and complained,
"I hate guys like this the most. Do they really think the more expensive the gift, the more they can touch my heart?"
"So tacky!"
"This trick only works on gold-diggers. I'm not a gold-digger."
"What I truly like… is sincerity."
"True sincerity is the rarest thing in this world. Even a thousand paper cranes folded by hand, or a simple hand-drawn portrait, is far more precious than something bought with daddy's money!"
At the time, Zhang Yuanshan had been deeply moved.
He felt lucky that he had fallen for the right person.
As time passed, their relationship grew more ambiguous, and Jiang Xiaoyan had almost become his girlfriend in name.
Her birthday was approaching.
Zhang Yuanshan racked his brain over what to gift her.
In the late autumn, when the red leaves drifted in the breeze, he finally decided to hand-knit a scarf for her.
Though it was rare for a guy to knit something by hand, wasn't that precisely what made it more special? Didn't it highlight his sincerity?
A scarf over a meter long—he had clumsily followed online tutorials, awkwardly handling knitting needles, and spent an entire month making it!
The moment he arrived at school, he excitedly presented the scarf to Jiang Xiaoyan.
He eagerly told her that he had made it for her by hand, expecting her to be moved.
But when she glanced at it, her expression remained unchanged. She merely muttered a casual "Thanks."
In the end, it seemed that the only one moved was himself.
"Maybe… maybe Xiaoyan just doesn't like to show her emotions?"
He tried to comfort himself.
Yet, when she received gifts from others, her eyes would light up, and she would sweetly say,
"Thank you! I love it so much!"
Zhang Yuanshan felt a pang of disappointment.
He began to reflect—was he, as her so-called boyfriend, not doing enough?
Maybe she simply didn't like scarves.
Maybe she didn't like the cartoon design on it.
It was his fault—he hadn't paid enough attention to detail.
He should have done more research on what she liked before deciding.
But it wasn't too late to make up for it!
Today was her birthday—he could order a big cake and show his sincerity properly.
He could still fix this!
With renewed determination, Zhang Yuanshan straightened up and started making plans.
But then…
As he passed a corner and turned back inadvertently—
What did he see?
He saw Jiang Xiaoyan casually tossing something into the trash bin.
She threw it away so carelessly, without hesitation.
What she had thrown away was a pink scarf—the very one Zhang Yuanshan had spent a month knitting in secret, afraid of being laughed at by his parents. The scarf into which he had poured all his love for her.
But what she discarded wasn't just a scarf.
She had thrown away his entire heart.
In shock and pain, Zhang Yuanshan rushed back and confronted her, demanding to know why she threw it away.
He desperately hoped to see guilt in her expression.
That she would hurriedly pick up the scarf and say, "Oh no! I didn't mean to! I threw it away by mistake!"
But that didn't happen.
Jiang Xiaoyan only showed a fleeting moment of surprise and awkwardness. Then, she calmly said,
"I didn't like it. Even if I took it home, it would just end up collecting dust in a corner."
"Besides, I received too many gifts. I can't carry them all, so I threw away a few unnecessary ones. What's the problem?"
She was confident and unapologetic.
"Unnecessary things?"
Zhang Yuanshan was stunned.
Oh…
So that's how it was.
"Sorry."
"Turns out I was the one who was wrong."
He shouldn't have been so self-righteous, thinking that his sincerity was something precious. He had foolishly poured his feelings into a cheap and laughable scarf, as if that would ever touch her heart.
She wasn't wrong.
If she didn't like something, she had every right to throw it away.
Why should she take it home just to annoy herself?
After hearing her response, Zhang Yuanshan felt as if his world had shattered. He couldn't hold back his tears.
A grown man—reduced to crying by a girl.
How pathetic.
Jiang Xiaoyan looked at him with utter disdain and muttered,
"Such a loser. What's there to cry about…?"
Then, she delivered the final blow.
"We're breaking up. Right now."
Jiang Xiaoyan couldn't accept having a boyfriend this embarrassing.
That was the ultimate humiliation.
The ten or so classmates who were nearby all turned to watch the spectacle unfold.
Some pitied him.
Others sneered, enjoying the drama.
Zhang Yuanshan's face burned—as if someone had slapped him hard.
In that moment—
His dignity was thrown to the ground and stomped on by Jiang Xiaoyan's merciless words.
He wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
His classmates pointed, whispered, and laughed at him like he was a pathetic clown.
And Jiang Xiaoyan?
She seemed to enjoy it.
Perhaps rejecting a pursuer so brutally only reinforced her status as the school's high-cold goddess.
Despite everything, Zhang Yuanshan still picked up the scarf from the trash.
He used a napkin to wipe away the dirt and stains, then slowly walked away—leaving Jiang Xiaoyan and her friends behind as they continued chatting and laughing.
For a fleeting moment, Jiang Xiaoyan glanced back at him.
There was no denying it—she was truly stunning.
Even compared to the most famous idols, she was just as beautiful.
Her delicate features, flowing hair…
Her perfect body, with long legs and a perky, round butt—every time she walked across campus, countless boys would stare at the way she swayed her hips.
She was flawless…
Except for one thing—
She had no place for Zhang Yuanshan in her heart.
But then again… wasn't that her right?
Zhang Yuanshan liked Jiang Xiaoyan, yes.
But he had never pestered her like some of the other guys.
And Jiang Xiaoyan had never told him she disliked him.
She had simply enjoyed his kindness, his flattery—like an ATM that she could withdraw from whenever she pleased.
If only she had just said, "Zhang Yuanshan, you're annoying. Stop hovering around me."
He would have understood.
He would have walked away.
But clearly—Jiang Xiaoyan didn't even think he was worth that much respect.