Even Top Students Fail

The Nerd Gets Kissed

William, usually handsome, looked disheveled and low-spirited, likely due to alcohol. Lilith hadn't paid him much attention lately, focused on exams and reassigned away from him by Linda. She'd occasionally felt a twinge of regret, but nothing more.

After all, William had a girlfriend now - a top student and beauty from the advanced class. Compared to her, Lilith's accomplishments paled. Though Lilith had good grades and looks, she wasn't from the advanced class. There was still a gap.

Lilith remembered being William's girlfriend in her past life. She felt uneasy and jealous at first, thinking William had done this on purpose, but forced herself to accept it. Lilith and William just weren't meant to be. Seeing how his girlfriend excelled in every way, Lilith let it go.

One of Lilith's strengths was her ability to adjust. Otherwise, the repeated disappointments of her past life would have crushed her long ago. Perhaps subconsciously, she never had much hope for a relationship with William. With exams distracting her, she'd almost forgotten about it entirely.

Now, seeing William's intense gaze, she felt bewildered. He was the one who'd acted improperly, so why was he looking at her with those abandoned puppy-dog eyes?

Seeing Lilith's confused expression, William felt bitter. It seemed this girl really hadn't taken him to heart.

After Lilith rejected his confession, William had impulsively accepted Angela from the advanced class, nursing his wounded pride. Angela was superior to Lilith in every way. How could Lilith compare?

But perhaps the grass is always greener. After getting together with Angela, William found Lilith more alluring than ever. Everything about her was captivating - the way she studied, ate, even her awkward interactions with her deskmate. He even found her less graceful moments adorable.

William felt he must be under some spell. Every day, he deliberately flaunted his intimacy with Angela in front of Lilith, just to catch her eye.

At first, when Lilith fell ill, William felt both concerned and hopeful. He even thought that if Lilith said just one word, he would break up with Angela immediately.

But to his surprise, Lilith's moment of weakness lasted only a few days. After that, she acted as if nothing had happened. His aunt even reassigned him to a different position.

In the days that followed, William wandered around in a daze. He broke up with Angela, while Lilith continued to ace every test. Her scores soared even higher during the final sprint.

He even overheard his aunt telling his uncle, "Lilith is practically guaranteed to get into Harvard now. It seems she doesn't have feelings for William after all. I was worried they might get involved and William would hold her back. Such promising students are rare these days."

As the only boy in the Xu family, William was doted on by his grandparents. He had always carried himself with an air of superiority. Now, being so blatantly looked down upon by his aunt was hard to swallow. He had never realized that others saw him as unworthy of Lilith.

In fact, William hadn't heard the full conversation. His aunt was speaking purely from a teacher's perspective. She hadn't taken the children's relationship seriously, since William had been receiving love letters from girls since elementary school. He had exchanged notes with pretty girls throughout middle school, but it was always just for fun. Linda assumed his pursuit of Lilith was the same.

All of this only made William more determined not to let Lilith go. But he couldn't bring himself to pursue her again, so he could only watch her from afar.

Sometimes love or affection needs just one catalyst. At first, William's pursuit of Lilith was based on liking - he liked her looks, her academic prowess. If things had gone smoothly and he had won Lilith over easily, he might have quickly moved on. But all these twists and turns had, without William even realizing it, made Lilith someone he couldn't let go.

William arrived late to the dinner party today, but he still witnessed several guys confessing to Lilith. His face turned green with envy. In this state, he drank too much.

Seeing Lilith look at him like he was crazy, William's mind went blank. In a rash move, he grabbed Lilith and ran.

William's feelings were an open secret among his buddies. Seeing his actions, they cheered him on. Bros before hoes - they even held back Lilith's girlfriends to avoid interrupting.

After running for a while, they reached a secluded spot. It was dark all around. Lilith caught her breath and asked, "William, what are you doing?"

"Lilith, why don't you like me? Is it because my grades aren't good enough?" After racking his brains, this was the only reason William could come up with.

He considered himself good-looking. His face had won him countless admirers over the years.

If he were sober, he would never say something so embarrassing. But he was drunk now, and riled up by the guys confessing to Lilith. The words tumbled out, tinged with deep hurt. He looked like an abandoned puppy.

He had sailed through life easily until now. This was his first taste of rejection. Though he was making a fool of himself, he still couldn't win her over.

The guys who had just confessed to Lilith were no match for him. Their only advantage was slightly better grades. But Lilith had smiled sweetly at them as they confessed, completely different from how she had reacted to him. William had to admit he was scared. He didn't want Lilith to find a boyfriend.

His tone and words made it sound like Lilith had abandoned him. Lilith felt angry too. In both lifetimes, he had found a new girlfriend before she could even process her feelings.

So she replied with some irritation, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you with Angela now?"

"I don't like Angela. We broke up. Will you be with me? I promise I'll study hard from now on." William pleaded pitifully. Whether from the alcohol or something else, there were even tears in his eyes.

He was like a child promising to study hard to get candy from his parents.

William usually acted so proud and aloof. Seeing him beg like this, Lilith didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had never seen this side of him before. Was this his true self, or just the alcohol talking? And now he was promising to study hard - was she his mother or his teacher? But Lilith's heart softened. After all, William was her first love. For that reason alone, she was always more lenient with him than others. So she said softly, "William, love isn't something to be taken lightly. You were already with Angela. I've thought about it, and we're not really compatible. We're both so young, and we'll be at different colleges..."

"I don't want to hear it! You're just saying all this because you think my grades are bad. It's all about studying and college with you. I don't believe it." William's face was flushed red. His already muddled mind was further confused by Lilith's words. He couldn't understand why she still refused him even after he had humbled himself like this.

The Xu family motto had always been to aim high in education, no matter what. In a rash move, William grabbed Lilith and kissed her hard. The sweet scent of the young girl momentarily cleared his foggy mind. Realizing what he had done, he didn't dare look at Lilith's expression. Putting on a tough front to mask his nervousness, he said, "I don't care. You started this. Wait for me for a year, just one year. Don't date anyone your freshman year. I'm warning you, Lilith. If I find out you're dating someone, you'll be in trouble." With that, he ran off.

After William left, it took Lilith a while to come back to her senses. She could still feel the imprint of the boy's kiss on her cheek. Unconsciously, she touched the spot. Though William had only pecked her cheek briefly, barely making contact before pulling away, her face still burned hotter than when she had a fever. Her heart was churning like boiling water, ready to burst. In that moment, all the heart-fluttering feelings from her past life came rushing back.

Lilith was confused whether her reaction meant she still had feelings for William, or if it was just because this was her first kiss in two lifetimes.

Remembering William's stern warning not to date in her freshman year, Lilith smiled wryly. Just when she thought the connection between them was over, things had taken this turn.

After spacing out for a while, Lilith couldn't be bothered to return to the restaurant and face everyone's questions. She decided to head back to the dorm to clear her head. Fortunately, it wasn't far from the school. Otherwise, she would have been scared to walk alone so late at night. Even with an adult soul, she was still afraid of the dark. What Lilith didn't know was that William had come back after running off. He had followed at a distance, watching until she entered the dorm safely before leaving. She was too dazed to notice.

Lilith hadn't finished packing yet. Taking advantage of the empty dorm, she organized her luggage, ready for her parents to pick her up in the morning. Keeping her hands busy helped calm her mind. She had just finished when Jennifer and the other two returned.

Everyone knew William had dragged Lilith away earlier. Seeing her in the dorm now, they eagerly asked what had happened between them. Lilith didn't know William had broken up with Angela, but Jennifer and the others did. They just hadn't mentioned it to her.

Lilith smiled faintly without answering. She teased Jennifer instead, "You still have time to worry about me? I thought the class president would have you all mixed up by now." She didn't want to discuss William at all.

"You're right about that. Who knew such a serious guy could be so romantic? So, Jen, did you say yes?" Barbara said with a laugh. The class president's move tonight had shocked them all. Many people confessed at the graduation party, but most weren't serious about getting together. After all, college was full of unknowns. Most confessions were just to give closure to their crushes.

But David was different. His feelings for Jennifer were genuine. He even planned to apply to the same university as her, moving everyone to tears.

Jennifer's cheeks were still flushed. Embarrassed by her roommates' teasing, she said, "Oh, stop it. Go pack your things. Why are you all so nosy?"

Seeing Jennifer's red face, everyone giggled. The party had been quite lively, and they were all tired now. After a bit more joking around, they went to bed.

Everyone was curious about Lilith and William, but Lilith clearly didn't want to discuss it. They weren't the type to pry, so they let it go.

The only one who might have said more was Jennifer, but she was lost in her own romantic bubble, letting Lilith off the hook.