I met Su Jiang in the second year of high school.

We were desk mates.

He was very kind to me.

His mother was our high school teacher at the time.

He would use his mother's meal card to buy noodles for me in the teachers' cafeteria.

He would bring over the steaming noodles for me, then rub his ears repeatedly after placing them on the table, causing his hands and face to turn red.

The noodles Su Jiang brought me were delicious, generous in portion, and cheap.

Su Jiang would save the Tetra Pak milk his mother gave him and secretly place it on the windowsill next to my desk.

I blushed and asked him not to do that.

At that time, his smile was as warm as the winter sun, making me feel all warm and cozy.

Su Jiang comforted me, telling me not to feel pressured.

He said his grades were not good, he just wanted me to explain more when he asked me about homework questions.

I believed him.

So, I patiently explained the questions to him.

One day, the most beautiful girl in our class wore a pink hair clip.

She was already beautiful, but the hair clip added to her charm.

That day, when the girl with the pink hair clip entered the classroom, Su Jiang suddenly looked up at her.

I felt a pang in my heart, so I used a pencil to tap his hand, telling him to pay attention.

A few days later, as I passed by a small jewelry store, I saw the same pink hair clip displayed in the showcase. I inexplicably walked over, and the shopkeeper said it cost two yuan and five jiao.

I used my two days' worth of lunch money to buy that pink hair clip.

When I tried it on in front of the mirror at home that night, my dad saw me.

My dad came over and slapped me twice.

I didn't say anything. I was used to it, used to my dad's sudden outbursts, used to his sudden violence. I just bowed my head in silence.

My dad was lecturing me.

He was afraid I would be distracted from my studies.

Even with my eyes closed, I knew what my dad was going to say.

As a result, my dad called me a whore.

He said only a whore would, at such a young age, wear these frivolous accessories and act coquettishly.

My dad used pliers to hit my mouth, my face, causing my nose to bleed drop by drop.

All because 16-year-old me wore a pink hair clip.

Or maybe it was just because my dad was in a bad mood that day and took it out on me.