Chapter 7: I’m Done Being A Simp

Three years of saving every penny, working every grunt job imaginable, skipping meals just to buy her a gift she would never appreciate.

And for what? To be publicly humiliated? To be treated like a stray dog begging for scraps?

But even now, even after everything, there was a part of him that still remembered the first time he saw her. The way her smile had lit up the classroom. The way his heart had skipped a beat, and he had known, just known, that she was the one.

Three years. Three years of stolen glances, of nervous butterflies, of hoping that maybe, just maybe, if he tried hard enough, she would see him. Really see him.

And she never did.

"I’m done."

His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. But the words hung heavy in the air, and even as he said them, a small, stubborn part of his heart rebelled.

A part that still wanted to believe she would change. A part that still clung to the ghost of a hope he couldn’t quite kill.

"I’m done being a simp."

He tossed the iPhone 17 box onto his desk with a dull thud. The sound echoed in the quiet room. He didn’t even look at it. The sight of it made his stomach churn with shame.

Wester and Jason exchanged glances, both of them caught off guard by the shift in his tone.

"Ryan, you okay?" Wester asked carefully.

Ryan didn’t answer right away. He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long, shaky breath. His eyes were red, but not from tears. From anger. And behind that anger, something else.

A deep, aching hurt that he couldn’t shake no matter how hard he tried.

"Three years," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "Three years I wasted on her. I gave her everything I had. And she couldn’t even look at me like I was human."

Jason put a hand on his shoulder. "Man, we tried to tell you—"

"I know." Ryan cut him off, his voice hard. "I know you guys told me. I didn’t listen. I was too stupid, too blind."

He stood up abruptly, pacing the small dorm room. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.

"She didn’t even care. When Kai showed up, she forgot I existed. Like I was nothing. Like all those years meant nothing."

His voice broke on the last word, and he had to stop for a moment, swallowing hard. The image of Tina walking away with Kai, hand in hand, was burned into his mind.

He hated it. He hated her for making him feel this way. But beneath the hatred, beneath the humiliation, there was still that quiet, stubborn love that refused to die.

Wester frowned. "So what are you gonna do now?"

Ryan stopped pacing. He turned to face his roommates, and for the first time, there was a cold resolve in his eyes that neither of them had ever seen before.

But if they looked closely, they could still see the pain flickering underneath.

"I’m done," he repeated, his voice steadier now, though it trembled at the edges.

"I’m not going to chase her anymore. I’m not going to beg for her attention. I’m not going to waste another penny, another second, on someone who treats me like garbage."

He walked over to his desk, picked up the iPhone 17 box, and threw it into his drawer with a sharp motion.

"From now on, she’s nothing to me. I don’t care what she does, who she dates, or how she lives her life. I’m done."

But even as he said it, a traitorous voice whispered in the back of his mind. You don’t mean that. You know you don’t.

You’ll wake up tomorrow and check your phone, hoping she messaged. You’ll see her in the hallway and your heart will skip. You’ll never be over her.

Ryan clenched his fists, forcing the thought down.

Jason let out a low whistle. "You really mean it?"

"I really mean it."

Ryan sat back down on his bed, his shoulders slumping slightly as the adrenaline faded. He felt exhausted, hollowed out. But beneath that emptiness, there was something else.

A flicker of anger, cold and steady, warring with a lingering ache that refused to leave.

"She made me look like a fool in front of everyone. But I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me broken."

Wester nodded slowly. "Good for you, bro. It’s about time."

Jason added, "And hey, you still got that phone. You could return it or sell it. At least get some of your money back."

Ryan shook his head. "I’ll figure it out later. Right now... I just need to be alone for a bit."

His roommates understood. They gave him a nod and quietly left the room, closing the door behind them.

Ryan lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His mind replayed the scene over and over. Tina’s cold expression. Kai’s smug face. The laughter of the crowd.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made a silent promise to himself.

No more simping. No more begging for scraps of affection. No more sacrificing his dignity for someone who wouldn’t even spare him a second glance.

But even as he made that promise, a small, stubborn part of him whispered, What if she changes her mind? What if one day she sees what she missed?

He shook his head violently, as if trying to physically dislodge the thought. His heart ached with a familiar, dull pain, the pain of three years of unrequited love.

He didn’t know what the future held, but one thing was certain. He would never let himself be humiliated like that again. He would try to move on. He would try to forget her.

Even if his heart wasn’t ready to let go.

"From now on, I’m done," he whispered to himself, the words feeling both final and hollow.

And for the first time in three years, he meant it. But even as he said it, he knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Love like his didn’t just disappear overnight.

But he had to try. He had to.

----------

Across from the school, in a rented two-bedroom apartment.

In the living room, a sweet and cute women dressed in revealing clothes sat with creamy white legs and arms that were pure temptation. Her skin was fair as tofu, delicate and smooth.

She was so adorable, like a porcelain doll, that you could not help but think dangerous thoughts.

Layla stared at her phone and exclaimed, "Sis, check WhatsApp. Your boyfriend took Tina out for her birthday!"

"What???"

Anna grabbed her phone and scrolled through the group messages.

A broke dog’s confession, a rich playboy stealing the girl away, what a melodramatic plot. It was spreading like wildfire through every campus group.

Anna’s expression grew increasingly sour, her teeth clenching involuntarily.

Layla asked in surprise, "Sis, what’s going on???"

"Damned men, just like dogs. Can’t even hold it for two days. And that Tina girl is just cheap."

Anna snapped back to reality and gritted her teeth: "This playboy just got together with me and was already trying to get handsy, so I started icing him out. And now he’s already running to someone else."

Her little sister acted as the family servant, bringing Anna fresh kiwi juice.

"Sis, that’s terrible. Just break up with him then."

Anna sipped her juice while adjusting her computer and snorted coldly: "I’m not that pathetic, calling him up to confront him."

"Kai is obviously trying to get a rise out of me. And that Tina girl throwing herself at him is just as cheap."

"Kai might look flashy, but his parents give him a set allowance. He’s not as generous as people think."

"To be honest, if it weren’t for keeping the flies away, I wouldn’t even bother with those gifts he gives."

That was what she said, but Anna could not hide her anger. She was proud and haughty.

She had just announced her relationship with Kai, and now he was already chasing other women, an outright slap to her dignity.

Layla asked innocently, "Sis, since that’s the case, shouldn’t you at least curse him out?"

Anna sneered: "I’m no shrew throwing a tantrum. He’s making this so public just to piss me off. Idiot."

And Kai’s goal succeeded, Anna was furious now, no matter what he intended.

By doing this, the masses were waiting to see how the official girlfriend, the campus beauty, would react to such humiliation.

Layla asked cautiously, "Sis, what should we do?"

"What to do? Nothing!!!"

Anna glanced at her phone again, frowned and said, "It’s this guy again!!!"

"Sis, you know this simp??"

Layla could not help asking.

"Ryan, the number one simp of the Literature department, the most pathetic simp on campus."

Anna said with contempt, "How could I not know him? He’s the one who hit on me yesterday."