Chapter 1

Shen Jiu left the dance room, her heart sinking deeper with every step. As the former dance queen of the academic year, she had dreamed of reclaiming her title, of standing under the spotlight one last time before her final year ended.But now, just a week before the main event, that dream had been shattered. Zheng Tianyi—her boyfriend of two months, the one person she had trusted to stand by her side—had abandoned her. He was supposed to dance with her, to create something breathtaking together, but instead, he had chosen someone else. Shen Jiu had confronted him just moments ago, only to watch as he effortlessly twirled across the dance floor with Kim Hyein, his new partner. The betrayal cut through her like a blade, leaving her breathless, her chest tight with unspoken pain.She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill. But no matter how hard she tried, the weight of everything crushed her. Her vision blurred, and hot tears rolled down her cheeks before she knew it.She barely noticed the students in the corridor, their whispers growing louder as they turned to watch her—the school beauty, the once-revered dance queen, now reduced to a shadow of herself. Her hands clenched at her sides as she walked faster, her breathing uneven.The walls seemed to close in around her, suffocating her with memories of long hours spent practicing with Tianyi, of whispered encouragements and stolen glances that had once meant the world to her. Now, all of it felt like a cruel joke.A sob tore from her throat as she finally broke into a run. She didn't care about the stares, didn't care about the murmurs that followed her. All she wanted was to get away, to escape the suffocating walls of the dance room, the judgmental eyes of those who had witnessed her downfall.Her feet pounded against the tiled floors as she dashed through the corridors, her tears falling freely now. She ran past the library, past the common hall, past every place that once held warmth and comfort. The ache in her chest only grew heavier with each step.Her lungs burned, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. She wanted to run until she was far away from everything—far away from the betrayal, the disappointment, the pain.As she reached the hostel building, her legs finally gave out. She stumbled into the dimly lit hallway, her hands trembling as she clutched the door to her room.

The silence around her felt deafening. The moment she stepped inside, she let out a shaky breath and collapsed onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow as the sobs wracked her body.

Shen Jiu rushed back to her hostel, barely able to see through the flood of tears clouding her vision. The moment she reached her single room, she threw the door open and collapsed onto the bed, her body trembling with sobs.The silence of the room only amplified the ache in her heart, the unbearable weight pressing down on her chest. She buried her face in the pillow, her hands gripping the sheets as if they could somehow hold her together. But nothing could—she was breaking apart, piece by piece.As she cried, memories of the past came crashing over her like a relentless tide. The beginning of her story with Tianyi had been nothing short of a whirlwind—unexpected, almost surreal. He had written her love letters every single day, always in anonymous form, pouring his heart out in words she hadn't known how to respond to.She had never once suspected it was him. And then, on her birthday, after receiving the 27th letter, she had finally decided to acknowledge the unknown admirer. She left a response on her desk, a simple reply without much thought—just curiosity, maybe even a sense of obligation after receiving so many letters.And that's when she found out. Zheng Tianyi The confident, charming, ever-so-popular Zheng Tianyi had been the one behind those letters. It had caught her completely off guard. She hadn't been in love, not then, not ever. Love had never been a serious topic for her, never something she had given much thought to.But when she saw the anticipation in his eyes, the sincerity in his words, she had felt the need to repay his love—to at least try.

She had never loved him the way he had loved her. She had wanted to, maybe.

She had tried. But love had always felt distant, unfamiliar, like something she was supposed to feel but never truly did. And yet, despite everything, despite the fact that she had never fully given her heart to him, the pain of his betrayal still tore through her like a storm."I messed up so bad," she whispered, her voice cracking between sobs. She cried for an hour straight, cursing herself—not for losing him, but for ever thinking that things could work, for ever stepping into something she had never truly understood.Maybe this was inevitable. Maybe this was the price of trying to return a love she had never really felt.