I was born fat. Before prom started, everyone was asking each other to be their date. Someone shoved me toward Nicholas Reed and shouted for us to get together. My face turned red, and I stumbled right into the arms of my tall, handsome childhood friend. But Nicholas shoved me hard to the floor like he had touched something filthy. “You disgusting fat pig, don’t touch me! Gross!” “If I didn’t feel sorry for you getting bullied, I wouldn’t even bother with you!” The whole class laughed at me. Austin Walker, the star quarterback on the football team, helped me up from the floor. “Nicholas Reed.” “Do you really think everyone in the world is as blind as you?” The whole room went silent in an instant. He lowered his head and glanced at me, looking too serious for it to be a joke. “Serena Hayes, you’ll be beautiful once you lose weight.” Nicholas let out a sneer. “If she looks even half as good as the cheer captain after losing weight, I’ll livestream myself eating crap!” He looked at my dress, which had split at the seams. “But, well, this sow’s biggest hobby is eating, so there’s no way she can lose weight!” Another round of laughter broke out around us. I covered my torn dress, looked at him, and all twelve years of my crush vanished in that moment. That night, after I got home, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. Five foot nine, 250 pounds. I wrote down a plan in my notebook: First, lose weight. Second, change my college application and stop going to Harvard University with him.
“LOL, the toad really wants to eat swan meat.” “She’s 250 pounds and still dares to like Nicholas. Where does she get the courage?” … My classmates’ mocking did not stop. Chloe Summers, the queen bee, laughed the loudest and deliberately picked up a plate piled high with cream cake. Then she pressed the plate into my face. Cream smeared all over my face. “Serena, don’t be sad.” “Eat more, just like a pig eating feed. Once you’re full, you won’t be sad anymore.” Someone chimed in, “Serena, if you want a boyfriend, you might as well find a boar, haha!” The prom exploded with laughter again. Nicholas held a glass of champagne, the remnants of mockery still hanging at the corner of his mouth, as if none of this had anything to do with him. Austin Walker, the star quarterback, frowned and glanced at him, but said nothing more. Instead, Chloe Summers, who was standing beside Nicholas, leaned over and whispered something. Nicholas gave a low laugh, as if he were sneering. I wiped the cream from my face and stood up. “I’m leaving first.” Chloe immediately put on a caring expression. “Serena, don’t be mad, we were really just joking…” I ignored her, got up, and walked out. When I passed by Nicholas, he did not even lift his head and was still chatting with Chloe. I stopped. “Nicholas Reed.” He finally looked up at me, with a trace of impatience in his eyes. “What?” I looked at him. I remembered when we were six, when he moved next door to my house and scraped his knee on the very first day. I was the one who carried him on my back and took him to the neighborhood clinic. Back then, he smiled at me, even though I was already chubby. That one smile stayed with me for twelve years. “Every word you said today,” I said very softly, “one day, you’ll regret it.” He raised an eyebrow and sneered without taking me seriously. “Me, regret it? Fatass, in this life I…” I did not listen to the rest and pushed the door open. The hallway was very quiet. My hands were shaking, but my tears did not fall. It was not that it did not hurt. It hurt too much, so much that I could not cry. My best friend Nina chased after me and grabbed my wrist. “Serena, I’ll go back right now and help you…” “Nina,” I cut her off, my voice hoarse, “walk with me.” The sunset stretched our shadows very long. I walked a long way before I spoke. “He’s right. I really am 250 pounds right now.” “But he said I’ll never lose weight in this lifetime.” “I’m going to lose it just to show him.” Nina bit her lip and said nothing, only holding my hand even tighter. When I got home that night, everyone was asleep. I stood alone in front of the mirror. My frame clearly was not small, but it was completely buried under fat. My face was as round as a big ball of dough, and I had three full layers of chin. But when I leaned closer, my eye shape was pretty. My nose bridge was high. The little mole at the corner of my eye looked like it had been drawn on. Austin Walker’s words echoed in my ears. “Serena Hayes, you’ll be beautiful once you lose weight.” Was it true? I did not know. But tonight, I made two decisions. First, lose weight, with a goal of 110 pounds. Second, cancel my Harvard University application. I opened my laptop and logged into the application system. On the screen, Harvard University’s admission confirmation page glowed quietly. The mouse hovered over Decline Offer. Nicholas’s words seemed to ring in my ears again. “You disgusting fat pig, don’t touch me. Gross.” I did not hesitate again. I clicked decline. Then I wrote another application email. It was to Stanford University, more than a thousand miles away from Boston. Because of Nicholas, I had never even looked at it before. For him, I applied to law, a major I did not like. Now, I chose the major I liked and clicked send. Thanks to my excellent grades, the other side soon sent me an admission notice. I clicked Accept and closed my laptop. But my heart felt lighter than ever. Starting today. I would no longer live for Nicholas Reed. I would live for myself.
At five the next morning, when the alarm rang, the sky was still dark. I put on my sneakers, went out, and took a jump rope to the community square. On the first day, I only jumped two hundred times before I was panting like I was about to die. On the third day, I increased it to five hundred, and my calves were so sore they trembled when I went upstairs. On the fifth day, after jumping one thousand times, I leaned over a trash can and threw up. But I never stopped for even one day. On the evening of the sixth day, I was stretching downstairs when Nicholas came back from playing soccer outside. He held a soccer ball and looked me up and down. “Why are you covered in sweat?” I did not speak and kept stretching my leg. He walked over and leaned against the wall, saying casually, “A classmate saw you jumping rope to lose weight?” I still said nothing. He kept talking to himself, his tone carrying that careless certainty he always had. “If you really want to lose weight, get a gym membership. Jumping rope alone won’t do much. With your weight… never mind.” After a pause, he added, “By the way, did you get your Harvard University admission letter? Mine arrived.” My hand paused for a moment. He thought I was still going to Harvard University. Everyone thought so. I straightened up and walked into the building with no expression on my face. Behind me, he shouted, “Did you get it or not?” The building door closed, cutting off his voice. As I went upstairs, the corner of my mouth actually curved slightly. Nicholas Reed, take your time waiting. When October third comes, you’ll know. On the eighth night, someone posted a video in the class group chat. It was footage of me jumping rope in the community square. Heavy panting, soaked clothes, jumping once and stopping once, and my fat shaking nonstop with every rise and fall. The person filming had deliberately chosen the ugliest angle. [I’m dying hahahaha Serena Hayes really started losing weight!!] [Nicholas’s words really hit her hard, huh?] [Austin said she’d look good after losing weight? I couldn’t see any potential in that face even with a magnifying glass.] Chloe Summers: [Serena, good luck! Anyway, there are tons of pretty girls at Harvard Law, so if you don’t lose a little weight, you’ll seriously feel inferior once school starts.] Nicholas also came out and sent a message. My heart jumped. He said: [Stop posting stuff like this. Are you all children?] Someone teased him: [Nicholas, are you feeling sorry for her???] He replied: [Are you guys bored? What does her losing weight have to do with me? I never liked her.] What did it have to do with him? Right, it never had anything to do with him. I liked him for twelve years, and he said it had nothing to do with him. Fine. From now on, it really would have nothing to do with you. I left the class group chat. I opened Nina’s chat box. [I’m going to stay at my grandma’s place until school starts. Keep it a secret for me. If anyone asks, say you don’t know.] Nina: [Leave it to me. But you have to promise me you’ll come back alive.] I smiled and typed an OK. Then I opened Nicholas’s chat box. I looked at all the messages I had sent him over the past three years. “My mom made apple pie today. Want to come over?” “It’s raining on the way home. I brought you an umbrella.” “Good night.” Every single one had been read and ignored. On the rare occasions he replied, it was always “Mm,” “Got it,” or “Stop bothering me.” I took a deep breath. Delete friend. No hesitation. Early the next morning, I dragged my suitcase downstairs. Downstairs, I ran into Nicholas’s mom. “Serena, where are you going?” “To my grandma’s place for a while.” “Then when Nicholas comes to your house for dinner later…” “Mrs. Reed,” I smiled, “Nicholas is already an adult, so there’s no need to trouble my mom anymore.” When I carried my suitcase out of the community, a window opened behind me. I knew it was Nicholas’s room. But I did not look back. Not even once.
My grandma lived on a farm in the countryside, where the phone signal had only one bar and there was almost no WiFi. On the first day I arrived, I locked my phone in a cabinet. Every day, I got up at five to jump rope. In the morning, I power-walked along the wooded trail outside the farm. In the afternoon, I helped my grandma prune fruit trees, move hay, and take care of the horses. The meal plan Grandma made for me was chicken breast with roasted vegetables, rotating between oatmeal, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. In the first week, I lost six pounds, down to 194 pounds. In the second week, I lost five pounds, down to 189 pounds. Starting from the third week, the weight dropped more slowly, so I added two thousand extra jumps every day and one set of strength training. In the fourth week, I was 180 pounds. In one month, I had lost a full twenty pounds. There were changes in the mirror, but they were not obvious enough. My face was not as round anymore, but my jawline was still blurry, and my body was loose and sagging like deflated dough. I did not waver at all. Continue. In the fifth week, I was 173 pounds. In the sixth week, I was 166 pounds. I turned on my phone for the first time. Dozens of messages flooded in. Nina’s messages: [Nicholas came to me! He asked where you went! I played dumb!] [He asked again today! He even asked if you changed your number!] [Hahahaha guess what he said? He said, “She’s definitely just throwing a tantrum. She’ll be back in a couple days.”] I let out a sneer. Throwing a tantrum? Nicholas Reed, you really think too highly of yourself. I kept scrolling. Nina had sent more: [He’s getting closer and closer to Chloe Summers. Today Chloe posted a photo of them playing ball together. Everyone in the group is saying they might be together.] I looked at that message. Then I waited for my heart’s reaction. Unexpectedly, there was nothing. It did not hurt anymore. It really did not hurt anymore. I turned off my phone and kept training. In the seventh week, I was 158 pounds. In the eighth week, I was 150 pounds. The changes in the mirror started becoming dramatic. My jawline emerged sharply, my cheekbones became clear, and my whole face looked as if it had been carved all over again. My body proportions began to show, my collarbones came out, and the lines of my legs changed from thick to long and lean. But it was still not enough. I knew the best version of myself had not appeared yet. Continue. In the ninth week, I was 142 pounds. When I went to the pharmacy in town to buy medicine for Grandma, the girl behind the counter froze when she took the prescription. She stared at my face for a long time. “You look like some movie star… I can’t remember who right now.” Grandma quickly pulled me away. After we got home, Grandma sat on the porch rocking chair and worried. “Your mother was like this back then too. She was chubby as a kid, and no one paid attention to her. Then she suddenly slimmed down, and the whole high school went crazy.” “You’re even more dramatic than your mother.” I thought Grandma was exaggerating too much. In the tenth week, I was 135 pounds. I turned on my phone for the second time. Nina’s latest message: [Nicholas told me to tell you that if you don’t join the Harvard freshman group soon, it’ll be too late. His exact words were, “Is she still throwing a tantrum? Tell her I won’t pay attention to her when the time comes, so she shouldn’t get her hopes up.”] I looked at this sentence and could not help laughing. Even now, he still thought I would go to Harvard University. He still thought I would chase after him like I used to. Nicholas Reed, what kind of dream are you living in? I replied to Nina: [Don’t tell anyone I went to Stanford University to study computer science. Including him. Let him find out himself.] Nina replied: [Okay! I can’t wait to see his face!!!] In the eleventh week, I was 125 pounds. Grandma officially forbade me from going out alone. “When you went to town to buy things the day before yesterday, those college boys in the supermarket kept following you. Did you know that?” “…It can’t be that serious, right?” “Go look in the mirror yourself!” I went to look. Then I fell silent. In the mirror was a face… even I found unfamiliar. A height of five foot nine and a weight of 125 pounds had released every advantage of my bone structure. My features looked delicate, as if someone had drawn them stroke by stroke. The corners of my eyes tilted slightly upward, my eyes were a pale blue, and my lips were a very light rose color. My collarbones looked like butterfly wings, and my waist looked small enough to hold in one hand. The mole at the corner of my eye was like the final stroke, pushing my whole face from “pretty” to “stunning.” I stared for a long time. So what Austin Walker said was true. In the twelfth week, I was 110 pounds. Grandma stood behind me and let out a long sigh. “What a sin. Your parents spent more than ten years fattening you up, and now it’s all wasted.” I finally could not hold back. “What are you all talking about? What happened to me when I was little?” Grandma shook her head and refused to say. She only muttered: “After school starts, wear a hat and sunglasses. Don’t cause trouble.” I replied, “Okay.” But in my heart, I thought— Nicholas Reed, on October third, you will look for me in the crowd of freshmen checking in at Harvard University. You will search every classroom in the law school. You will go through every freshman list. But you will never find the name Serena Hayes. Because I am no longer there. I will never stand behind you again.
The day before school started. Nina sent me a string of screenshots. They were chat records from the high school class group. Chloe Summers had posted a photo of herself and Nicholas standing at the Harvard University gate. She leaned against his shoulder and smiled brightly, with the caption: [Thank God you’re here with me!] A bunch of people teased them underneath. [Perfect match! Harvard University’s best couple!] Nicholas also rarely showed up, and his tone was very relaxed: [Don’t talk nonsense. We’re friends.] Then someone asked: [Hey, where’s Serena Hayes? Didn’t she also apply to Harvard Law? Why haven’t we seen her among the freshmen?] Chloe replied instantly: [Maybe she’s still losing weight, hahaha. After all, there are plenty of pretty girls in law school. If she shows up at 250 pounds…] A string of laughing-crying emojis followed. Nicholas’s reply came right after: [She’s probably still throwing a tantrum. She’ll be here in a couple days.] Someone chimed in: [Nicholas, you know her pretty well.] He replied: [We grew up together. How could I not know what she’s like? She’ll calm down after making a fuss for a couple days.] I stared at that sentence for a long time. “How could I not know what she’s like?” Nicholas Reed. You really do not understand me at all. You do not know I have already slimmed down to 110 pounds. You do not know I am already in California, three thousand miles away. And you know even less that the Serena Hayes who used to chase after you is long dead. I closed the screenshots and calmly packed the clothes I would wear tomorrow. White shirt, black suit pants, blond hair. That was enough. September first. Stanford University freshman welcome ceremony. The campus main auditorium was full of freshmen. The freshman representative speech for the School of Computer Science was scheduled for last. I was the last person to go on stage. Backstage was noisy, and the students in front of me were so nervous their palms were sweating. Instead, I was very calm. Five foot nine. One hundred ten pounds. My white shirt was tucked into high-waisted trousers, and below my waistline, it was all legs. When the staff member in charge of the microphone adjusted the equipment for me, they could not help freezing for a moment. “You’re… a freshman from the School of Computer Science?” I smiled and said nothing. The last thought that passed through my mind was— Nicholas Reed was probably still waiting in the Harvard freshman group to see my name. Then keep waiting. “Next, please welcome the freshman representative of the School of Computer Science—Serena Hayes.” I stepped into the lights and walked onto the stage. The moment the spotlight fell on me. Thousands of people in the audience lost their voices at the same time. It was not silence. It was suffocation. As if everyone had forgotten how to breathe at the same time. Five foot nine. One hundred ten pounds. White shirt, black trousers, ponytail. No heavy makeup, no fancy dress. Only a clean, simple face. And the tiny mole at the corner of my eye. I walked step by step to the podium. The silence lasted three seconds. Then the auditorium seemed to explode. Screams, applause, and whistles rose one after another. They mixed together, shaking the whole auditorium with echoes. Someone stood up. One row. Two rows. Ten rows. People in the back kept raising their phones to take photos. When I reached the podium, I stood still. I tilted my head slightly. The light covered my whole body. I smiled. The shutter sounds were as dense as a rainstorm. I suddenly remembered what Nicholas said at prom three months ago. “She’ll never lose weight in this lifetime.” “If she looks even half as good as the cheer captain after losing weight, I’ll livestream myself eating crap.” At this moment, I stood before thousands of freshmen. I stood where the spotlight was brightest. Nicholas Reed. You owe me an apology. But. I no longer need it. After the welcome ceremony ended. Nina’s messages hit me like bombs. [Your photos are being shared everywhere online!!!! I can’t hold it in anymore, I’m posting them in the class group!!!!] I had not even had time to reply. She had already posted them. In the screenshot was her caption: [@everyone Nicholas Reed, you said if she looked half as good as the cheer captain after losing weight, you’d livestream yourself eating crap.] [Come on. Take a look. Is this enough to be half?] The photo was taken at the welcome ceremony just now. Under the lights. White shirt, black trousers, the moment I tilted my head. Five foot nine. One hundred ten pounds. A mole at the corner of my eye. Then the group exploded. Messages flooded the screen like a tidal wave. [???????? Who is this???? Is this Serena Hayes????] [No way!!! This isn’t Harvard University!!! It’s Photoshopped, right!!!] [Wait… is this Stanford????] [@Nicholas Reed Where are you?! Come out!! Do you admit what you said or not!!!]
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “442025”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster
Leave a Reply