Love To Hate Me

01. Not-so Nice to Meet You

Little Yu Yan really loved playing in the sand. Every day during recess, she would sit in the sandbox and pat the sand into little buckets. She would then slowly slide the bucket off of the compact sand and built nice little sandcastles. She would then beam in pride of her handiwork. She didn't care that nobody wanted to play with her. As long has she had her sandbox and bucket, she was happy. So was the gentle nature of Little Yu Yan.

Little Xie Xue, however, loved playing with anything and everything ridiculous. Climbing slides up the wrong way, using hard soccer balls as dodgeballs, poking lizards with a pencil, pulling other girl's pigtails and playing "horsie," and scaring other kids in the playground with a stick. You name it, little Xie Xue will find a way to play with it. What's worse, little Xu Xinwen would be dragged wherever she went, and she would also end up in trouble along with little Xie Xue. So was the mischievous nature of little Xie Xue.

So, it was no surprise that one faithful day, little Xu Xinwen eventually got fed up with little Xie Xue, leaving the mischievous girl to play in the sandbox where nobody wanted to play. That sandbox happened to be the same sandbox little Yu Yan usually played.

Now little Yu Yan was surprised that little Xie Xue showed up. Nobody ever wanted to play with little Yu Yan before. So, little Yu Yan shared a sand bucket with little Xie Xue as a peace offering. Little Xie Xue decided to wear the bucket on her head while rolling the sand into nice little balls.

She's a little strange, little Yu Yan thought to herself.

Little Xie Xue intently watched little Yu Yan slide her bucket carefully off of the neat pile of sand. She watched the other girl beam happily. Something was stirring inside of little Xie Xue. What she did next would change the entire course of history.

Little Xie Xue threw a sand ball at little Yu Yan. But she missed and the sand ball hit the nice little sand castle instead.

"Ah!" little Yu Yan gasped, tearing up, and turned to little Xie Xue who was laughing.

As soon as she saw that little Yu Yan had burst into tears, little Xie Xue stopped laughing. She felt guilty now, something she had never felt before after making many kids cry.

"I'm so sorry!" little Xie Xue was quick to console little Yu Yan. "I didn't mean to hit your castle!"

Little Yu Yan sobbed louder.

"Look, look!" little Xie Xue desperately tried to lump the sand castle back together. "It's as good as new!"

Little Yu Yan's sobs subsided. Little Xie Xue patted little Yu Yan on the head. Little Yu Yan batted her arms away and turned away from the troublemaker.

"What's the matter?" little Xie Xue asked.

"I don't like you!" little Yu Yan sniffled.

"Awn, okay."

Little Xie Xue trudged to the opposite side of the sandbox and sulked. Nobody had ever said these words to her before, and little Xie Xue had to admit that hurt.

Meanwhile, two very young high school teachers were watching the exchange from the window of the high school campus next to the elementary school playgroud.

"Jony J," Ella, one of the teachers, said. "I bet you a hundred dollars that these two kids are going to end up together."

Jony J raised a brow.

"I never said I'd bet."

"Well, I am! In the next eight years or so, those kids will end up dating."

Jony J snorted.

The two kids, oblivious of the teachers spying on them, continued sulking all of recess.