I have crossed over into a novel, becoming the Cannon Fodder Second Female Lead who is despised by everyone. Tonight is my Coming-of-Age Banquet.
The red wine on the table is being downed by everyone, and many classmates are getting drunk. Even the usually timid and shy girls are using the alcohol as courage to confess their feelings to their crushes. Some even succeed.
In the private room, everyone is cheering. A group of girls surrounds Cheng Cheng.
“Cheng Cheng, I like you!”
“Cheng Cheng brother, let’s study together for college, and then we can be together in university, okay?”
These girls are politely rejected one by one by Cheng Cheng. Finally, Class Beauty Fang Meiqin steps forward.
“Cheng Cheng, I have always liked you. Would you be my boyfriend?”
At the moment Fang Meiqin confesses, the atmosphere in the room reaches its peak. Everyone is focused on Cheng Cheng's reaction. Only I quietly push open the door of the private room and walk out. No one notices my departure.
A few minutes later, Cheng Cheng rejects Fang Meiqin. The room fills with a chorus of sighs. Shortly after, a boy realizes I am also missing.
“Hey, where did Jiang Banxia go?”
“Could she be preparing some surprise to confess to Cheng Cheng?”
"Her? No way!" Cheng Cheng said decisively.
"Don't say that. Actually, Jiang Banxia is quite good-looking, just not very noticeable."
"Right, she and Fang Meiqin have the same father, yet their looks are so different."
"If you look closely, Jiang Banxia is actually pretty attractive, especially her legs."
"Come on, what do you mean by 'pretty'?"
...
The boys' conversation drifted further off topic.
Cheng Cheng grew impatient and pushed open the door to the private room, stepping out.
Tonight was the adult ceremony banquet, and everyone was celebrating wildly.
The usually shy girls in class, emboldened by alcohol, kissed their crushes.
Boys pinned the confessing girls against the wall, kissing them without a care for anyone else.
Everyone joined in the teasing.
I knew that Cheng Cheng was surrounded by girls confessing their feelings.
But he would reject them all.
Just like earlier when he turned down Class Beauty Fang Meiqin.
I gently closed the door to the private room and stepped outside.
Not a single person noticed my departure.
A few minutes later, Cheng Cheng came out as well.
A few boys draped their arms over his shoulders and jokingly asked, "Cheng Cheng, why aren't you staying inside a bit longer?"
"Isn't Jiang Banxia into you? Why didn't she confess?"
Cheng Cheng scoffed, "If she could make me interested, then she'd have some skill."
After turning eighteen, everyone seemed bolder and more reckless.
Tonight, many succeeded in their confessions, while just as many faced rejection.
I looked at everything in front of me, and in a daze, I recalled my former self. If it were the old me, I would have recklessly pursued Cheng Cheng. But now, I turned around and hailed a cab, leaving this place behind.
Once I got in the car, I received a WeChat message from Cheng Cheng: [Jiang Banxia, Fang Meiqin confessed to me.] I glanced at it but didn’t reply.
I opened our chat history; the last conversation was over two months ago. I exited WeChat and chose to ignore it.
Until I entered the school gate, my WeChat notifications kept ringing non-stop. When I checked, it was everyone flooding the chat with screenshots of Cheng Cheng and Fang Meiqin’s official announcement.
I clicked on their group photo. Cheng Cheng had his arms tightly around Fang Meiqin, his eyes filled with an unmistakable affectionate smile. Yet, my heart felt no stir. Three months ago, I discovered that I had transmigrated into a novel as the Cannon Fodder Second Female Lead.
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