“Asher and I are together now.” Daphne’s words felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. I involuntarily stopped my stretching routine, frozen for a moment before forcing out a smile. “That’s… sudden.” Asher had only been back for five days, and I had introduced Daphne to him just three days ago. Yes, how could I have forgotten? The lady beside me was known as the “straight guy killer” of our performing arts school. Apparently, even the guy I’d been crushing on for five years wasn’t immune to her charms. Chapter One “He’s picking me up for dinner this afternoon. Want to join us?” she invited. “No thanks, I don’t want to be a third wheel on your date,” I refused without hesitation. “He said he wants to thank you. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have met. So you have to come,” she insisted, wrapping her arms around mine and pouting. I gave in and nodded, “Alright.” Daphne had once seen my phone gallery, which included a photo of Asher and me from our high school graduation. “You like him?” she had asked point-blank. Embarrassed at having my feelings exposed, I blushed and defended myself, “We’re just good friends from school.” I don’t know if she believed me, but from that moment on, she started showing an unusual interest in Asher, constantly pestering me for information about him. A few days ago, when Asher returned to the States and asked me out for dinner, Daphne saw the message. What was supposed to be a one-on-one catch-up turned into a group hangout. I never imagined that with just one simple meeting, I’d hand over the guy I’d been crushing on for five years to someone else. That afternoon, Daphne and I walked out of the school gates. In the distance, we saw Asher leaning against his car, waving at us. Daphne immediately beamed and ran towards him. He caught her in an embrace, his smile affectionate. I stood rooted to the spot, the scene before me almost too painful to watch. After two minutes of cuddling, they finally remembered my existence. “Olivia, come on!” he called out, holding Daphne’s hand. I nodded at him and walked over, tactfully getting into the back seat. As soon as I got in, a huge bouquet of roses on the front passenger seat caught my eye. Daphne, true to his expectations, was delighted. She hugged the flowers, happily cooing, “Baby, I love you so much.” So, he was quite the romantic after all. He drove us to the best restaurant in the city. Daphne’s eyes darted around, taking in the luxurious surroundings. Although she tried to hide it well, I could see the longing in her eyes at that moment. “Olivia, thank you for introducing me to Daphne. This is a gift we picked out for you,” he said, pulling out an elegantly wrapped box from behind him and handing it to me. “Olivia, take it. It’s that perfume you like,” Daphne said, hanging on his arm, sounding like a princess bestowing a gift upon her handmaiden. I suddenly felt a sense of time displacement. Just three days ago, I was standing next to Asher, introducing him: “This is my roommate, Daphne.” How did our roles reverse so quickly? I felt like an awkward and out-of-place clown between them. The table was laden with exquisite and expensive dishes, but I could hardly swallow a bite. Chapter Two After that dinner, I didn’t see Asher alone again. Since starting her relationship with him, Daphne began frequently skipping classes and not returning to the dorm. On the rare occasions she did come back, she always carried shopping bags with designer logos, excitedly telling us about the places Asher had taken her. Lucy, our other roommate, expressed her envy. Daphne proudly lifted her chin and with a grand gesture, pulled out a bag from one of the shopping bags. “This one’s for you.” Lucy happily accepted it. “Daphne, you’re so generous!” Then she looked at me. “Olivia, why don’t you pick one too?” I waved my hand in refusal. “No need.” After thinking for a moment, I reminded her, “You haven’t been to the dance studio in a long time. The competition is coming up soon. Shouldn’t you come back to practice?” She smacked her forehead. “Olivia, you’re the best. I’ve been having so much fun lately that I almost forgot about it. I’ll go practice with you tomorrow.” I nodded in agreement. The next day, as soon as we entered the rehearsal room, our instructor’s face darkened upon seeing her. “Daphne Shaw, come out for a moment.” Although they went outside, I could roughly guess what was being said from the snippets of conversation and their expressions. Daphne’s professional performance had always been at the top of our school, and the instructor had been grooming her as the standard-bearer. The upcoming competition, if she won, would secure her a position at the National Dance Company. At a time like this, how could the instructor not be angry about her frequent absences and missed practices? About half an hour later, she returned and plopped down next to me, her face slightly pale. “What happened?” I asked. She sighed, “Ms. Harrison warned me that if I skip any more classes before next week’s competition, she’ll revoke my eligibility to compete.” “Then maybe you should stay in and practice for now. You can go out and have fun after the competition,” I suggested. “But it’s Asher’s birthday tomorrow. I’ve already planned a surprise for him. I can’t not be there.” Words of persuasion got stuck in my throat. That day, Daphne was clearly distracted during class. The next morning, when I woke up, her bed was already neatly made, and she was nowhere to be seen. As expected, when I arrived at the rehearsal room, Ms. Harrison was already fuming. “Olivia, what’s going on with Daphne?” “I don’t know.” “She wasn’t in the dorm last night?” “She was.” “Call her now. Tell her if I don’t see her here in half an hour, her eligibility for the competition is revoked.” I went to my locker, took out my phone, and dialed her number. After a moment, a mechanical voice responded, “The number you have dialed is currently switched off…” Ms. Harrison’s face was filled with disappointment. “Fine, she made her choice. I hope she doesn’t regret it later.” For the next week, Daphne didn’t appear at school at all. But through her Instagram, I knew she had meticulously prepared a perfect birthday for Asher. She posted a photo of them kissing at sunset, and everyone flooded her comments with congratulations. I right-clicked and also hit the like button. A moment later, her message popped up. “Olivia, you’re competing tomorrow?” “Yes.” “Oh, Asher and I will come cheer you on.” I put away my phone without replying. Chapter Three On the day of the competition, backstage, Ms. Harrison handed me my costume. “Olivia, with Daphne absent, you’re the most likely to win. Don’t let us down.” The dance I was performing was one I had practiced for two months. As long as nothing went wrong and I performed steadily, I was confident I could take first place. According to the draw order, I was the third to perform. As I walked out from backstage, I saw Asher and Daphne sitting in the audience from afar. Daphne mouthed “Good luck” to me, but I pretended not to see her and walked straight to center stage. The lights dimmed, and the music began. I twirled, my skirt gradually slowing as the music faded. As I completed the final pose with the last notes, the auditorium fell silent for two seconds before erupting into thunderous applause. Ms. Harrison stood below, giving me a satisfied thumbs up. I knew I had won. I won first place in the competition without any suspense, which meant I could enter the National Dance Company. After the competition, I sat backstage preparing to remove my makeup when Daphne, arm-in-arm with Asher, approached me. “Congratulations,Cora,” he spoke first, handing me a bouquet. “Thank you.” “Congrats,Cora. You can join the company now,” Daphne said, her congratulations sounding a bit stiff. I looked at their tightly clasped hands and felt momentarily dazed. I noticed a small letter tattooed on Asher’s ring finger. Seeing my gaze fixed there, he awkwardly withdrew his hand from Daphne’s grasp. “You got a tattoo?” I asked curiously. “Mm.” “Oh, you mean this?” Daphne chimed in. “It’s the name of his dog, Dobby.” I was taken aback. I knew about Asher’s dog; it was a Bichon Frise he got after going abroad. But in my memory, that dog was called Ruby. Seeing Asher’s unusual expression, I didn’t ask further. “Want to have dinner together later?” he asked. “I can’t today. There’s a celebration banquet later. Why don’t you join us?” Hearing my words, Daphne’s face immediately showed discomfort. Indeed, her presence at such an event now would only be rubbing salt in the wound. Asher must have realized this too. “We’d better not. We’ll celebrate with you another time.” “Alright,” I agreed. After that competition, I started frequently rehearsing with the dance company and gradually participating in some major events. Now Daphne and I had switched roles. I often missed school classes due to company rehearsals or events, while Daphne began attending every class without fail. Before the National Day holiday, I returned to school briefly. As soon as I entered the dorm, everyone was animatedly discussing something. Seeing me return, Lucy immediately held up her phone to show me. “Olivia, a famous director is coming to our school to cast the lead actress for his new movie!” I took her phone and looked carefully. Indeed, it was that internationally renowned director. If one could star as the lead in his film, it would already be a height that many established stars could only dream of. “Are you going to audition?” Lucy continued to ask. “The company is quite busy lately. I’m not sure if the timing will work out.” “Oh, what a shame. I heard Ms. Harrison recommended you and Daphne to the director.” Daphne, hearing her name mentioned, turned her head somewhat uncomfortably to look at me. “Ms. Harrison hasn’t told me the exact time yet. I’ll text you when she does.” I nodded. “Okay, I’ll go if there’s no schedule conflict.” I’m not sure when it started, but even though Daphne and I had never openly confronted each other about anything, the atmosphere between us had become strangely polite. I put down my things and started tidying up on my own. She left the dorm with Lucy, and we all maintained this safe distance with tacit and aloof understanding. Chapter Four Late at night, I opened my phone and scrolled through Asher’s Twitter. He was someone who liked to share his daily life on social media, so he often posted updates. But I noticed that since he got together with Daphne, the frequency of his tweets had significantly decreased. In contrast to his Instagram, where nine out of ten posts were about Daphne, his Twitter feed showed no trace of her. I couldn’t even find Daphne’s presence in his comments. Unconsciously, I scrolled back to the period when he was abroad. A particular person in the comments gradually caught my attention. I clicked into her Twitter profile, and the image that appeared on my phone screen left me momentarily stunned. After a while, I turned off my phone and pulled back my bed curtain to look at the bed opposite. Daphne’s even breathing could be heard. After a moment of struggle, I decided to let it go. The next day, because the dance company had rehearsal in the afternoon, I attended morning classes and then excused myself early. Soon after returning to the company, I received a message from Daphne. “Tomorrow at 11 AM, Building 3, Room 201.” “Okay, thanks,” I replied briefly. “Will you be able to come back tomorrow?” “I have something in the morning, but I can adjust. Besides, it’s not easy to get an interview with Director Wen, so I’ll definitely go for this opportunity.” “Oh.” Looking at Daphne’s text showing no particular emotional fluctuation, I didn’t reply further. I put my phone back and continued rehearsing. On the day of the interview, I woke up early and went to a makeup artist I had worked with before. She did an exquisite yet not overly flashy makeup for me. After finishing, she admired her work in the mirror. “Olivia, with your current state, this year’s newcomer award is yours for sure. When you become famous, you can hire me as your personal makeup artist. I’m not expensive,” she said teasingly, holding her brush. I gently pinched her chubby cheeks. “I’ll take that as a good omen.” Calculating the time, I still had a while before the interview. I went with her to pick out an outfit. When I arrived at school, it was just 10:30 AM. I walked towards Building 3 with my prepared materials, seeing a crowd already gathered at the door from afar. Besides some students who came to watch, there were also a few staff members. I politely handed my materials to a staff member at the door. “Hello, I’m here for the interview.” “Interview?” A man wearing a brown vest, who was organizing documents on the table, looked up at me with a puzzled expression when he heard my words. “Yes, for Director Wen’s movie. My recommender is my teacher, Ms. Harrison.” “Oh, didn’t Ms. Harrison tell you about the interview time?” He suddenly seemed to understand. “Isn’t it at 11 AM?” Hearing my words, he looked at me with a complex expression for a long time, then spoke. “I’m sorry, miss. I don’t know what misunderstanding occurred in your communication, but our interviews started at 9 AM and have already ended. Director Wen has already left the school.” I was stunned by his words. But Daphne clearly told me it was at 11 AM. He might have seen many similar situations, and seeing that I hadn’t spoken for a while, he sighed. “It’s alright, there will be other opportunities in the future.” “Thank you,” I said dejectedly as I took back my materials from his table. Just as I was about to turn and leave, I saw Daphne walking out of the restroom, smiling broadly and dressed in designer clothes. Chapter Five “Can you explain this to me?” I walked up to her, showing her the message where she had informed me of the time. She shrugged indifferently, while using a tissue to wipe off the remaining water on her freshly washed hands. “Olivia, you don’t need to rush to confront me. I don’t owe you anything.” “What do you mean?” “You must be very proud of snatching my position at the dance company, right? After all, I’ve always been a step ahead of you since we entered school. The underdog suddenly becoming the phoenix must be worth celebrating. I understand, so every time you come back to school to show off, I haven’t given you any trouble. I’m just taking back what belongs to me. That position can be my compensation to you. We’re even now, so stop acting like a victim in front of me. It makes me sick.” I was amused by her confusing speech. “Daphne, let’s be clear. When you didn’t go to the competition, it wasn’t because I tied you up and prevented you from going. You’re blaming all the consequences of your love-struck behavior on me. Do you think that’s reasonable?” She shrugged indifferently. “Whatever, think what you want. Anyway, we’ve always had a fake friendship. By the way, you don’t know this, but I’ve never considered you my friend. I’ve disliked you since the first day of school.” This last sentence from Daphne was unexpected. Seeing that I didn’t refute, she leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Oh, I forgot to tell you something else.” She paused deliberately before continuing. “You really like my boyfriend, don’t you?” Bang! My heart suddenly accelerated. I could feel my face burning hot. “What… what are you talking about?” I stammered. “Hahahahaha, why are you stuttering? Let me show you something interesting.” She pulled out a notebook from her bag. My breath caught. I couldn’t be more familiar with this notebook. It was the diary I had been writing since high school, containing everything I had recorded about Asher.
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