The first thing I did after I was reborn was dump Chloe, my devoted girlfriend, and immediately turn around to accept the obsessive Serena’s advances. Only because in my past life, my so-called best friend, Ryan, had bound an App that could transfer all of Chloe’s love for me straight to him. I remembered asking her, eyes burning red, why she’d changed. But she had just looked at me with chilling disgust. “We broke up ages ago. Stop harassing my boyfriend!” On my birthday, Ryan went live on Instagram, showing off the private island Chloe had booked for him. Meanwhile, I was locked away by them in a psychiatric hospital. They called me a delusional stalker, a crazy person. I died in despair amidst endless, so-called treatments and drug injections. Then, I opened my eyes again. I was back. This time, I wouldn’t give Chloe an ounce of my true feelings. Instead, I’d pretend to reciprocate Serena’s. When Ryan opened that App again, ready to siphon off Serena’s overwhelming, pathological love, I just smiled. I wanted to see if he could actually handle it.
“Alex, I love you!” The resounding, unwavering confession, accompanied by the drone swarm’s hum and the crowd’s excited screams, snapped my consciousness back. Chloe stood in the center of a star-filled pattern crafted from roses and lights, microphone in hand, her eyes shining as she gazed at me. The cheers were deafening. “Say yes! Say yes!” It took a moment for me to realize I had been reborn. I was back to the annual campus celebration, the very day Chloe planned to publicly declare her love for me with a drone light show. In my past life, I’d stood right here, heart pounding like a drum, waiting for her to walk toward me. But just as she was about to utter her final vows, her gaze had drifted past me, landing on Ryan, my friend, who was standing behind me. I’d never forgotten that moment. Later, I learned Ryan had an App on his phone, one that could steal love. It was him, like a thief, who had stolen Chloe’s love for me. And now, history seemed poised to repeat itself. I could almost feel Ryan, behind me, subtly tightening his grip on his phone, ready to pull the same stunt again. The shouts from the crowd grew louder, and Chloe’s smile became even more radiant and sweet. Before she could utter the crucial words, I stepped forward, took the spare microphone offered by someone nearby, and spoke in a chillingly calm voice: “Chloe, we’re over.” “I don’t like you anymore. I just don’t feel anything.” Those words landed like a bombshell, exploding in the stunned crowd. “Is Alex crazy? Chloe’s been chasing him forever, put on such a huge show, and he’s publicly blowing her off?” “How could the most popular girl on campus not be good enough for him? He actually broke up with her?” “This guy’s brutal, didn’t hold back at all!” Chloe’s face instantly went white. “Why? Alex, tell me why? Is there something I did wrong? I can change!” In my past life, I had pleaded with her just like that, only to be met with her cold disdain. Now, it was her turn to bear that pain. “Alex!” A hand clamped hard on my arm. It was Ryan, his face etched with fake concern. “Don’t be impulsive, man. You and Chloe have such a great relationship, everyone’s jealous. How can you just break up like that? Apologize to her, stop messing around.” I looked at his face, plastered with hypocritical concern, and smirked inwardly. He was definitely panicking. Suddenly, I completely understood: his App probably only worked on his current partner’s love. Once Chloe and I broke up, he couldn’t steal anything from her. That’s why he was so desperate to get us back together. I violently pulled my arm away, my former dejected self gone, my eyes sharp as daggers as I stared at him. “My business is none of yours.” With that, I pushed through the crowd without looking back, leaving behind a wave of stunned murmurs and Chloe’s muffled sobs.
The news of me publicly dumping Chloe spread like wildfire across the entire campus. I became the campus jerk in everyone’s eyes—ungrateful, cold, and ruthless. Everywhere I went, I felt eyes on my back, heard hushed whispers. “That’s him, the one who dumped Chloe, his perfect girlfriend.” “I heard he’d wanted to break up for a while, just waited for today to totally humiliate her.” I couldn’t have cared less. These rumors and whispers felt like a gentle breeze compared to the ‘treatments’ and torment I endured in that psychiatric hospital in my past life. Ryan had been clinging to me like glue these past two days, trying to tirelessly convince me to get back with Chloe. His words constantly hinted at how much pain Chloe was in, how she was drowning in tears. “Alex, Chloe hasn’t eaten or drunk anything in two days. She’s completely wasted away. Can you really be so heartless?” He hooked his arm over my shoulder, saying with feigned sincerity, “You two were everyone’s favorite couple, the benchmark for love. Don’t give up because of a misunderstanding.” I brushed his arm off, looking at his shifty eyes, finding him utterly ridiculous. “If you’re so concerned about her, why don’t you go comfort her yourself?” I said flatly. Ryan’s face stiffened for a second, then he forced a smile again. “I’m doing this for your own good! You’re my best friend, I can’t just stand by and watch you make a mistake!” “Really?” I laughed. “Well, I guess I should really thank you for your friendship, then.” I ignored him, walking directly toward the school garden. Under the arbor, a figure stood out. Her skin was a morbid, almost translucent white, her eyes as black as ink. A tear-drop mole beneath her eye gave her an unnerving charm. She wasn’t admiring the flowers; she was just lazily leaning on a swing, the silence around her broken only by the wind. This was Serena, from a powerful family, but with a volatile, unpredictable personality—a true control freak. In my past life, I’d heard stories about her: a guy she dated for a short time eventually had a mental breakdown and dropped out of school. I took a deep breath, walked down the winding path, and stopped in front of Serena. She seemed to sense someone approaching, and lazily lifted her eyelids, her inky black eyes landing on me with an appraising gaze, laced with a flicker of dangerous curiosity. “Something wrong?” I met her eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately. “Chloe and I broke up. Now, I accept your offer to be your boyfriend.” Her words hung in the air. Serena froze. She slowly rose from the swing, a playful, almost childlike smile curving her lips. “When I pursued you before, didn’t you say Chloe was the only one in your heart?” “What, now you’re finally willing to break up?” Serena’s words made me briefly remember the warm times I’d spent with Chloe in my past life. Back then, we were deeply in love, but that was before Ryan stole her affection. I forced my voice to remain steady. “Not interested? Fine, then.” I started to turn away, but she suddenly chuckled softly. “Oh, I’m interested.” With that, a kiss landed on my lips.
The news of Serena and me getting together spread even faster and wider than my breakup with Chloe. The entire campus was buzzing. “Oh my god, did Alex lose his mind? Dumping Chloe just to mess with Serena?” “Does he think Serena is some sweet-tempered girl like Chloe? Just wait, he’ll be driven to a mental breakdown in less than three days.” “I bet a week, he’ll come crawling back to Chloe, looking completely defeated.” I became the talk of the campus, everyone waiting to see the spectacle of my downfall. And Chloe, whom I had so cruelly dumped, finally broke down after hearing the news. She rushed into my classroom, her eyes red and swollen, and confronted me in front of everyone. “Alex! What exactly do you think you’re doing?!” She pointed at me, her voice filled with the pain and fury of betrayal. “You broke up with me just to be with her? Don’t you know what kind of person Serena is? Why are you degrading yourself like this?!” Before I could reply, Ryan immediately stepped forward, looking deeply distressed. “Chloe, don’t get so worked up.” He stood in front of Chloe, but turned to me with fake concern. “Alex, how could you be so foolish!” “You’re throwing away a perfectly good Chloe for some Serena. That kind of woman, what makes her worth it?!” “As your friend, even if you think I’m meddling, I have to knock some sense into you!” He stood on his moral high horse, lecturing me righteously, as if he genuinely cared. The surrounding students also started to whisper. “Ryan’s right, Alex, wake up!” “Chloe was so good to you, don’t be an idiot.” I watched the ridiculous drama unfolding before me, finding it laughable. “Chloe, you’re old news. Why can’t I start a new life?” Then I turned to Ryan, my eyes filled with scorn. “And you, Ryan, aren’t you being a bit too nosy?” Ryan’s face went completely pale. He probably hadn’t expected me to publicly disrespect him like that. Chloe was trembling with anger, tears welling in her eyes, biting her lip, unable to utter a single word. Suddenly, a female voice cut through the tension. “Since when did you all get to lecture my boyfriend?” Serena leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a knowing, almost taunting smirk playing on her lips as she looked at everyone. She slowly walked over to me, casually linked her arm through mine, her fingertips squeezing slightly. Her gaze landed on Chloe, and her words were a sweetly venomous taunt. “Chloe, there’s no shame in losing to me.” “After all, whether it’s family background, looks, or…” She paused, her eyes sweeping over me. “Your taste in men, you’re far behind. Maybe you should go look in a mirror and ask yourself why you got dumped.” Chloe’s face turned ashen with humiliation. She shot me a furious glare, then turned and ran out. At that moment, I noticed Ryan’s gaze glued to Serena. The greed and burning desire in his eyes were even more blatant than when he used to look at Chloe. A cold smile touched my lips. The fish had taken the bait. From that day on, he stopped trying to get Chloe and me back together. Instead, he started actively trying to push Serena and me together. He practically leaked all my preferences, habits, and even my weaknesses to Serena. The unbelievable thing was, Serena actually listened to Ryan and pretended to be the perfect girlfriend. Until one night at a friend’s dinner, Ryan deliberately led a drunk Serena and me to the same lounge, and then “accidentally” locked the door. As he closed the door, he turned back to me, flashing a meaningful, encouraging smirk. He believed that after tonight, Serena’s love for me would reach its peak. Then he could sit back and reap the rewards, stealing all that intense, dangerous love for himself. He wasn’t wrong. He just didn’t know that I was also waiting for this exact moment.
In the lounge, it was just Serena and me. She was indeed very drunk, her eyes glazed over, an unhealthy flush on her morbidly pale face. She took a step closer to me, her icy fingers tracing my jawline, whispering my name. “Alex, you’re mine. Always mine…” The mix of her perfume and alcohol enveloped me. She wanted to forcefully possess me. At that moment, I was chillingly calm. Just as her lips were about to meet mine again, and her arms wrapped around me, I didn’t struggle. Instead, I naturally wrapped my arm around her waist, my other hand silently rising and delivering a swift chop to the back of her neck. Serena’s body went limp in my arms, completely losing consciousness. I carefully laid her on the sofa, looking at her unconscious form. No ripple of emotion stirred within me. The night was long. I sat in a nearby armchair, quietly watching the sleeping Serena. During this time, I had felt her bone-chilling love, a hundred times more possessive, a thousand times more suffocating than Chloe’s. It felt like countless invisible chains binding and choking me. In my past life, I had died in despair in that psychiatric hospital, feeling Chloe’s chilling transformation of love into hate. This time, I would make Ryan experience for himself what it felt like to be devoured by such pathological, twisted love. Time ticked by, second by second. Finally, as dawn approached, I felt the heavy, suffocating hold on me suddenly and violently ripped away! What followed was a lightness I hadn’t felt since my rebirth. I smiled. Ryan, you finally made your move. Almost simultaneously, a soft click echoed from the lounge door. The door opened. Ryan stood in the doorway, seeing me sitting neatly dressed and alone. He clearly froze for a moment. “Alex! Are you okay? I… I drank too much last night, accidentally lost the key card. I looked for it all morning before I found a staff member to open the door.” “How are things… with you and Serena?” He spoke, his eyes urgently darting into the room, searching for Serena’s figure. I played along with his act, putting on an exhausted and utterly defeated expression, rubbing my temples. “We… it’s probably over.” I said hoarsely, “When she woke up, she was like a different person. Said she was bored of me, told me to get lost.” Ryan’s eyes instantly flared with unconcealed triumph and ruthless ambition. He barely managed to suppress the smirk that almost split his face, walking over with fake concern to pat my shoulder. “Alex, don’t be sad! Good riddance to that kind of woman! She wasn’t good enough for you! I’ll introduce you to someone better, man!” “Yeah…” I lowered my gaze, and in the shadow of his sight, a sly smile touched my lips. “I’m heading back to campus now. I need some time alone.” I pushed past him, walking out with feigned heavy steps. Ryan almost eagerly stepped aside to let me pass. I didn’t actually go far. Instead, I hid in the shadows, watching coldly. Sure enough, the moment I left, he straightened his clothes, a victor’s smirk on his face, and pushed open the lounge door. The door didn’t close completely, leaving a small gap. Soon, I heard Serena’s voice, just waking up, followed by Ryan’s coaxing, overtly solicitous words. “Serena, you’re awake?” “…Who are you?”
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