Author: Momo Chan

My family arranged for me to marry into the Sterling conglomerate, and both families sat down together to discuss the wedding details. My parents asked me who I wanted to marry. Figuring I had to marry someone anyway, I casually pointed at Ezra Sterling, whom I had known for years. Before I could even speak, a barrage of text comments suddenly materialized and floated across my vision. [Is this female supporting character a glutton for punishment? There are so many men in the world, why does she have to cling to the male lead? So disgusting!] [It’s fine. The female lead is already pregnant with a mind-reading miracle baby anyway. Eventually, everyone will find out about all the terrible things the female supporting character did.] [So trashy. Can the female supporting character just die off already? I want to see the female lead and her cute baby!] [Let me give you a spoiler: the female supporting character dies a miserable death. Her family goes bankrupt, the male lead doesn’t love her, her friends are all useless trash, and in the end, she jumps off a building wearing stolen clothes and dies!] Seeing these comments, my heart leaped into my throat. Only one thought echoed in my mind: whatever the hell was going on, under no circumstances could I choose Ezra Sterling. So, I subtly shifted my hand and pointed directly at the Sterling family’s notorious playboy: “I choose him!” 1 “These are all the unmarried boys in the Sterling family. Chloe, take your pick.” As soon as Grandpa Sterling finished speaking, everyone in the private dining room looked at me. I scanned the room, my eyes landing on Ezra Sterling. I looked at him; he looked at me. The moment our eyes met, he gave me a slight nod. The implication was clear: I was allowed to choose him. I reached out my hand and pointed at Ezra: “Then I’ll choose Ez…” Before the words could leave my mouth, a flood of text comments drifted across my vision. [Is this female supporting character a glutton for punishment? There are so many men in the world, why does she have to cling to the male lead? So disgusting!] [It’s fine. The female lead is already pregnant with a mind-reading miracle baby anyway. Eventually, everyone will find out about all the terrible things the female supporting character did.] [So trashy. Can the female supporting character just die off already? I want to see the female lead and her cute baby!] [Let me give you a spoiler: the female supporting character dies a miserable death. Her family goes bankrupt, the male lead doesn’t love her, her friends are all useless trash, and in the end, she jumps off a building wearing stolen clothes and dies!] There was even a “Next Page” button below, showing 999+ comments. Female supporting character? Me? Did I commit some grave sin against the heavens? I agree to a business marriage, and as a result, my family goes bankrupt, and I end up jumping off a building and dying? I usually enjoy reading web novels, including those with live comment sections, so I naturally understood what was happening. My brain worked lightning fast. Right now, I only had one thought: even if I had to choose Ezra Sterling’s dad, I absolutely could not choose Ezra Sterling! Of course, Ezra’s dad wasn’t in this room; the older generation was in the private room next door. Aside from Grandpa Sterling, everyone sitting here was an unmarried male of suitable age. Today’s banquet was essentially a giant matchmaking session prepared specifically for me. Therefore, I had plenty of men to choose from. With a quick flick of my wrist, I pointed directly at the man sitting next to Ezra: “…Asher.” Whatever, he’ll do. The rest of them I either didn’t know well or they just weren’t my type. The man had been playing on his phone. Hearing me call his name, his head snapped up. A flash of surprise crossed his peach-blossom eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but was there a hint of pleasant surprise in his gaze, too? He put his phone away, looked around the room, and then laughed: “Chloe, you must have misspoken. Ezra is sitting right next to me.” He nudged Ezra with his elbow, gesturing for him to stand up. The surprise and impatience in Ezra’s eyes vanished in a flash. He adjusted his collar, just about to stand up. I spoke clearly: “Sit down. Asher Sterling, I called your name.” Grandpa Sterling was also full of surprise. He looked at me kindly and said, “It’s alright, Chloe. Think it through carefully before you choose.” “That’s right, Chloe. After all, marriage is a major life event. We need to be a bit more prudent,” my dad chimed in. Before coming here, we had a family meeting to discuss who I should marry. Ezra Sterling was the top candidate. He was good-looking, and we had been classmates since we were kids. In all these years, I had never heard a single scandal about him. He seemed to keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble. He truly was a solid choice for a marriage of convenience. And during our discussion, the absolute worst choice was Asher Sterling, the number one playboy in the city. Just the title alone was enough to make anyone keep their distance. I shook my head and kept my eyes fixed on Asher: “No need. He’s the one.” 2 After dinner, everyone left with their own hidden agendas. Although Grandpa Sterling was very surprised by my choice, he still asked Asher to drive me home, suggesting we use the opportunity to cultivate some feelings. We sat in the same car, neither of us speaking. Technically, Asher was three years younger than me, and I had practically watched him grow up. But we hadn’t interacted much; we usually just exchanged polite greetings when we saw each other. Now, having suddenly gone from mere acquaintances to fiancés, let alone him, even I hadn’t fully adjusted to the shift. “Um, Chloe, I…” Before he could finish his sentence, the car door next to me was pulled open. Ezra Sterling sat down right beside me, frowning at Asher: “I have something to discuss with her. You and the driver step out.” They flanked me on the left and right, squishing me in the middle. I felt a surge of annoyance. When Ezra leaned closer, the strong scent of tobacco clinging to him suffocated my breathing space even more. I raised a hand, signaling Ezra to back off and maintain a safe social distance: “No need. Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.” Ezra’s brow furrowed tightly, clearly displeased, but he asked anyway: “Why did you choose him? There are plenty of people in the Sterling family you could have chosen. He’s not the only option.” I shimmied my butt to the other side, trying hard to put some distance between Ezra and me. Inevitably, I bumped into Asher. I looked Ezra straight in the eye and countered: “What about you? Why did you insist I choose you? There are plenty of unmarried men in the Sterling family. Why did it have to be you?” Ezra froze, seemingly not expecting me to ask that. Just as I was trying to think of an excuse to get him out of the car, he sneered: “You’d rather choose a playboy with a terrible reputation than choose me?” Earlier, I was still weighing my options, but now my resolve was ironclad. I wasn’t narcissistic enough to believe that Ezra loved me so much he couldn’t live without me. He must have some ulterior motive for insisting on marrying me. Thinking of this, I conveniently leaned back, resting against Asher. I smiled: “What’s wrong with a playboy? I happen to like them wild.” The car fell dead silent. The driver stared straight ahead, not even daring to breathe too loudly. I heard Asher’s heartbeat suddenly accelerate. Thump thump thump, thump thump thump. Even through his clothes, I could feel the heat radiating from his body. A faint, woody cologne drifted into my nose, cutting through the stale smell of smoke in the car. Ezra: “You! How could you be this kind of person?! Frivolous!” He glared at me resentfully, then slammed the car door and stormed off a moment later. Only me, Asher, and the driver were left in the car. The driver very tactfully raised the privacy partition. Now, it was time for Asher and me to have a private conversation. Asher’s voice drifted from the back of my neck: “Chloe, um, maybe you could sit up first?” His voice was as quiet as a mosquito, his gentle breath ghosting over my skin. The atmosphere was so ambiguous that my face flushed slightly. So he wouldn’t notice anything was off, I pulled out of his embrace and put some distance between us. Once I was settled, Asher finally spoke: “Do you want to reconsider the marriage alliance? You know my reputation is terrible. If you’re with me, your future…” “No need,” I shook my head. “Since I chose you, I’m not going to change my mind. But I need you to agree to three conditions.” He nodded almost instantly: “Okay. Tell me.” “I don’t care who you were tangled up with before, cut all ties within three days. I don’t want any negative press surrounding our marriage. “Get a full physical exam and a three-panel STD test. I need to know you’re healthy. Naturally, I’ll get tested too. “Third, we can divorce after we have a child. During the marriage, absolutely no cheating is allowed. The same goes for me.” After laying out my three conditions, I looked at Asher. For a notorious playboy, these three conditions were undeniably challenging. But it wasn’t like I had to marry him. If Asher couldn’t do it, there were other men in the Sterling family. But to my surprise, Asher nodded without hesitation: “There has never been anyone else. And I promise you, there will never be a third person between us.” With that, he lowered the partition and told the driver: “Turn around. Go to the nearest medical testing center.” 3 Money makes the world go round. Not long after our blood was drawn, the three-panel STD test results were in my hands. Asher stood before me, holding the report: “Here are my test results. Absolutely no issues. Is there anything else you want to check?” All indicators were normal; everything was negative. If I didn’t have much of an impression of him before, I was highly satisfied with Asher now. His facial features were softer than Ezra’s, and he spoke softly, but there was nothing soft about his physique. In the car earlier, I hadn’t just heard his racing heartbeat; I had felt the sudden, firm flex of his chest muscles. A man’s chest muscles are soft when they aren’t flexing them. What a scheming man. But I was an absolute sucker for this little trick. I nodded in satisfaction: “Excellent. Since that’s settled, when we get back, we’ll discuss the engagement date. Everything else is out of our hands.” Asher nodded eagerly, his tone eager: “It’s still early. Do you want to go grab a couple of drinks?” Since we were going to be partners in life from now on, I naturally didn’t refuse. But before we even walked out the hospital doors, a young woman walked past me. The moment she passed, the floating text appeared before my eyes again. [The female lead came to the hospital all alone to get her baby checked, while the male lead is still out drinking with that Vance woman. It’s so tragic!] [Thank goodness the miracle baby is well-behaved and doesn’t cause the female lead any trouble, otherwise our hearts would literally break for her.] [When is the female supporting character going to die off? I can’t stand reading about her for another chapter. I wish I could reach through the screen and slap her. Isn’t she pathetic?!] So the girl who just walked past was Ezra’s girlfriend? I glanced at her retreating back. Remembering that my marriage partner had been swapped to Asher, I immediately looked away. Mind my own business. But the second I turned my head, I saw text popping up around Asher, too. [Oh no, our Mia was spotted by the villain! The villain is going to use this to blackmail the male lead, and the male lead is going to have to give up so many shares to the villain to keep it quiet!] [Our Ezra and Mia are so tragic. They clearly love each other so much, why did the author have to write in a misunderstanding between them?!] [Can the villain just die together with the female supporting character? Those two pieces of trash should just be packaged up and sent to hell together!] So Asher, the guy I casually pointed at, was the villain of this book? Looking at his harmless, innocent face, I really couldn’t tell he was capable of blackmail. Asher: “Did you know that girl who just walked by?” I shook my head: “No. She looked heavily pregnant and was here at the hospital all alone. Just seemed a bit pitiful.” Asher: “I saw that girl a few months ago. I think she’s a new intern at one of Ezra’s branch companies.” I took one last look at the girl’s retreating back: “Let’s go.” 4 Returning home, I faced my parents, who had been waiting for me. Before they could even speak, I slapped Asher’s medical report on the table: “Mom, Dad, there’s a reason for this, and I couldn’t say it at the dinner table. But as of right now, Asher is a much better fit than Ezra.” After looking over the report, my mom finally asked: “And your reason for not choosing Ezra? We’ve practically watched Ezra grow up. We know his character.” It seemed my parents didn’t know about Ezra and the intern either. “Ezra has a girlfriend, and she’s already pregnant with his child.” My simple explanation left my parents stunned. Ezra’s usual reputation was so spotless that my parents even felt suspicious: “Did Asher tell you this?” I shook my head: “I looked into it myself.” To remember a lowly intern for months, and to specifically choose the hospital where the female lead was getting her prenatal checkups to do his medical exam—clearly, Asher wasn’t entirely innocent either. But compared to Ezra, who hid his romantic history to go on a blind date with me, Asher’s little schemes could only be seen as him aggressively courting me. My dad frowned, just about to say something, when the butler walked in: “Sir, there is a Ms. Mia outside requesting to see Miss Chloe.” Ms. Mia? I was confused: “Which Ms. Mia? Let her in first.” When she arrived, I understood. It was Ezra’s girlfriend. And the moment she walked through the door, she dropped to her knees right on the floor: “Ms. Vance, I’m begging you! Please marry my boss!” 5 Good thing I dodged quickly, otherwise her kneeling to me would have definitely cursed my lifespan. I shook my head: “Ms. Mia, I don’t quite understand what you mean. Who is your boss?” Even though I knew her relationship with Ezra, I couldn’t just come out and say it. Play dumb and make her say it herself. Mia choked back a sob for a moment, then said: “My boss is Ezra Sterling. His company recently ran into a bit of a crisis and needs a massive injection of funds to bridge the gap. If he doesn’t get this money, everything he’s worked for will be bought out…” Oh? Speaking of buyouts, my eyes lit up. The children of the Sterling family received a startup fund when they came of age, free to use for their own entrepreneurial ventures. Ezra had founded a large AI research company. The project launched last year and saw a brief period of massive popularity online. But the market was saturated with competing products, and now the company was languishing in mediocrity. If there was a buyout happening, I definitely wanted a piece of the action. But right now, I needed to deal with the woman in front of me first. I sighed: “Sister, does your boss know you’re here begging me?” Mia fell silent. I said: “Butler, please escort Ms. Mia out. Having a pregnant woman kneeling in our house… if something happens to her, we won’t be able to explain ourselves.” But no matter what I said, she remained stubbornly on her knees, refusing to get up. Anyone watching would think her knees had taken root and sprouted in my living room. “Ms. Vance, if you don’t agree, I will kneel here until I die! I won’t get up!” She spoke stubbornly, straightening her back, looking like she was defying the unfairness of fate. And I was that unfair fate. Looking at this pregnant woman, my mouth twitched. I turned around and called Asher. “Why are you calling me now?” Asher’s voice on the other end was soft and gentle. I asked directly: “Do you know where Ezra is?” He paused for a second. His tone wasn’t quite as gentle as before, carrying a hint of resentment: “How should I know? After we got back tonight, Grandpa called him away again. Why are you looking for him?” Looking at the woman kneeling on the floor, I sneered: “His girlfriend is currently kneeling in front of me, demanding that I marry him.” Asher let out a sharp “Ah”: “Who?! Wait for me at your house, I’ll be right there.” “Make sure you bring Grandpa Sterling with you.” Family matters are best resolved by the family themselves. After hanging up, I looked at the woman staring at me with hopeful eyes: “The Sterling family will be here shortly. I think rather than having me marry Ezra, it’s better to let the Sterling family decide the fate of this marriage.” Mia visibly panicked: “This is my own private matter! It has absolutely nothing to do with my boss! My actions have nothing to do with him! Ms. Vance, please don’t drag him into this, and please don’t take your anger out on him because of what I’ve done.” “Too late,” I said flatly. “A pregnant woman running into my house late at night and kneeling in my living room… If word of this gets out, people who don’t know any better will think I, Chloe Vance, committed some heinous crime. “Who do you think you are, that you can dictate my marriage?” After saying that, I looked at my parents: “Mom, Dad, do you understand now why I chose Asher instead of Ezra?” My mom was basically a princess herself. She had been protected her entire life, and after marrying my dad, he treated her like royalty. She had never been dragged into wealthy family drama. To see a heavily pregnant woman show up at our door before I was even married left her completely dumbfounded. My mom sighed: “You can marry whoever you want. Your dad and I will always stand by your side.” Hearing my mom say that, tears silently welled up in my heart. Even though I didn’t know exactly what kind of book my world was set in, I could tell from the massive amount of floating text that I was the vicious female supporting character in a novel. I died a mysterious, miserable death, and my parents probably didn’t fare much better. By not marrying Ezra, I could probably live a few years longer. 6 Mia remained kneeling in my house until Grandpa Sterling arrived with Ezra and Asher. The moment he saw Mia, Grandpa Sterling started coughing violently. I thoughtfully called the butler over and asked him to pour the old man a glass of water. Grandpa Sterling sighed: “Young lady, whose child are you carrying?” Even now, Ezra’s lips remained pressed into a tight, straight line. Naturally, Mia refused to admit the truth: “Grandpa, this has absolutely nothing to do with anyone else. This was entirely my own reckless decision, my own idea. I didn’t tell anyone. Please, please don’t be angry over this.” The old man scoffed coldly: “You are an employee at Ezra’s company, and you’re claiming your actions have nothing to do with him? Fine. Ezra, contact HR immediately and have her fired.” Ezra, who hadn’t said a word until now, finally spoke up: “No! Grandpa, I followed your orders and went on the blind dates. I’ll do whatever you ask, but I cannot let her leave me.” I wore a sarcastic expression: “Are you implying that you forced yourself to go on a blind date with me, suffering an immense grievance, just to protect your true love?” I glanced at the woman kneeling on the floor and shook my head: “I really should be celebrating the fact that I chose Asher instead of you.” Ezra shot me an icy glare, but quickly masked it, replacing it with a look of tragic sorrow directed at the woman in front of him. He immediately dropped to his knees, facing Grandpa Sterling: “Grandpa, I have already gone on the blind dates you arranged. I hope you can accept Mia. I will do whatever you command!” Grandpa Sterling let out a long, heavy exhale. He was clearly furious with Ezra. “Since you already have a child on the way, you shouldn’t have lied to us and said you didn’t have someone you loved. We aren’t living in the feudal era anymore. If you want to choose who you love, us elders wouldn’t have objected! “Now that things have reached this point, pick a good day and marry this Ms. Mia.” Hearing Grandpa Sterling’s words, I nodded in agreement from the sidelines. The baby is almost due, if you don’t get married now, what are you waiting for? None of the people in my social circle ever had the habit of keeping mistresses on the side. We didn’t tolerate that kind of dirt in our eyes. Ezra blurted out almost instantly: “But if I marry Mia, what will happen to my company?” At this moment, Mia, still kneeling on the floor, burst into hysterical tears upon hearing Ezra’s words. She crawled forward on her knees and hugged Grandpa Sterling’s leg: “Grandpa, I don’t want money, and I don’t want a title! I don’t want anything! I watched him build his company from nothing with my own two eyes. I don’t want his life’s work to be destroyed! I’m begging you, please help him! “I will have the baby, and I will find a quiet corner where no one knows me. I’ll hide away and never appear in front of you for the rest of my life. “Ms. Vance, say something! I know you are a gentle, kind woman. Ezra told me that a woman like you would never make things difficult for me.” My parents and I were absolutely stunned. We exchanged bewildered glances. What kind of melodramatic soap opera were we watching? Asher coughed: “That’s where you’re wrong, Ms. Mia. Ms. Chloe is my girlfriend, and my fiancée. She has absolutely nothing to do with your boss. I suggest you think carefully before you speak.” Although he was smiling, his eyes were full of mockery. Ezra’s jaw tightened, but he couldn’t utter a single word. In comparison, Asher had just scored another point. Mia shot Asher a vicious, venomous glare: “No! I know about you! You’ve always been fighting Ezra for everything! Whenever there’s something he wants, you try to steal it! Ms. Vance, he doesn’t truly love you!” “Enough!” Hearing this, I had absolutely reached the limit of my patience and immediately ordered them out. “Mr. Sterling, this is Ezra’s family drama. Having this argument in my house is highly inappropriate, isn’t it?” Grandpa Sterling coughed a few times. His eyes were currently filled with profound disappointment: “I’ve let you youngsters see a shameful spectacle. The Sterling family will handle this internally. You focus on preparing for your wedding with Asher.” In the end, a reluctant Mia was led away by Ezra.

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My sister and I both possessed a Family Selection System. She chose the richest couple in the city to be her parents, the most popular guy in school to be her boyfriend, and the prettiest girl in our grade to be her best friend. I chose a pair of dedicated teachers as my parents, a brilliant scholar as my boyfriend, and a top-ranking nerd as my best friend. My sister laughed at me, saying I picked a bunch of useless, boring bookworms. But she didn’t understand. Money and looks can never measure a person’s true worth. 1 Chloe and I stared intensely at the system screen, our palms sweating. After sacrificing ourselves to save someone, my sister Chloe and I were both reborn in an orphanage, and we were both granted a System. The system told us we had three chances to choose our “family.” We could choose our parents, our best friend, and our boyfriend. Right now, Chloe and I were choosing our parents. Pair after pair of potential parents flashed across our screens: high-ranking politicians, janitors, award-winning actors, Olympic champions, exceptional teachers, billionaires… When Chloe saw the final pair—the billionaire couple—her breathing quickened. She eagerly pointed at the screen, her voice shrill: “I want them! I choose the billionaire parents!” The system turned to me. Chloe immediately shot me a defensive, glaring look. I understood her psychology. She was terrified I would steal them from her. Parents could be chosen simultaneously. If we both chose the billionaires, we would be sisters again, which meant she would have someone competing with her for their affection and wealth. I looked at the massive screen, my eyes slowly moving past the various options, finally stopping on a pair of nationally recognized, award-winning Master Teachers. According to their character profiles, they were gentle, kind, and completely indifferent to fame and fortune. Because they were both exceptional educators, they valued their child’s education above absolutely everything else. It was obvious that growing up in that household would guarantee the best possible education. I chose the teacher parents. Chloe let out a massive sigh of relief, followed immediately by a mocking laugh. “Mia, are you actually stupid? What’s the point of choosing a pair of broke teachers? At least pick someone with some money!” I lowered my eyes and stayed silent. Having lived a past life, how could I not understand? Wealth can be lost in an instant, but knowledge and skills are yours forever. It’s better to have your own capabilities than to rely on rich parents. Once the selection process ended, the orphanage director rushed over, announcing that two different couples were here to adopt us at the exact same time. Chloe’s eyes gleamed with greed. She sprinted out to meet her billionaire parents, only to find a single Rolls-Royce waiting. A stiff, formal assistant informed her that her new parents were too busy to come, but the car was a welcoming gift. Chloe stared at the luxury car with pure, unadulterated excitement and greed. My new parents, the teachers, stood off to the side. One held a bag with new clothes, while the other carefully balanced a small cake. I walked over and gave them a bright smile. “Mom, Dad. I’m Mia.” They hugged me, overflowing with joy. Chloe looked down on us from her high horse, her face a mask of absolute disdain. “The joy of poor people is so cheap.” I thought back to the brief character profile I had read about the billionaire parents. The system balanced the total points for every set of parents. That meant if they excelled in one area, they would be severely lacking in another. For example, my teacher parents could provide me with endless love and a top-tier education, but they lacked massive wealth. Chloe’s billionaire parents, on the other hand, could give her an endless supply of money. But they were also both psychopathic, violent, and sadistic. Their favorite way to relieve stress was by torturing their children. Once Chloe officially became their child, her life was going to be a living hell. As Chloe climbed into the luxury car to leave, she shot me a smug, victorious smile. I smiled back. I wondered if she would still be smiling like that after enduring a few rounds of combined abuse from her new billionaire parents. 2 As soon as we got home, my teacher parents immediately drew up a comprehensive, customized study plan for me. They originally assumed that, given my young age, I would hate studying. But to their surprise, I threw myself into my books, studying day and night, forgetting to eat or sleep. “Our daughter is an absolute treasure.” They would constantly praise me, beaming with pride. I just smiled. They had no idea how desperately I craved an education. In my past life, my parents blatantly favored Chloe. They gave her the only opportunity to go to school, forcing me to drop out early and work menial jobs to support the family. Because I lacked education and knowledge, I suffered unimaginably in the real world. Reborn into this life, my only desire was to study as hard as humanly possible. I graduated middle school ranked first in my entire school. I had my pick of any top high school in the city, but I set my sights on something much higher: Arwood Academy. If the city’s top high schools selected the best students locally, Arwood Academy recruited the absolute best minds from across the entire country. Everyone said that stepping through the gates of Arwood Academy was basically keeping one foot in the Ivy League. Because of this, Arwood’s admission standards were brutal. The number of applicants was astronomical, but the number of students actually accepted was microscopic. When I arrived at Arwood Academy for the entrance exams, I realized the rumors weren’t exaggerated. The campus was packed with a sea of people. Despite the grueling, multi-stage elimination process, a few hundred students made it to the final round. And among them, I saw Chloe. Chloe looked incredibly haggard. Her bright eyes were heavily bloodshot, and the skin exposed by her uniform was covered in a terrifying crisscross of fresh and fading scars. It seemed Chloe’s life these past few years had been exactly as horrific as I predicted. Her irritated, impatient gaze swept over the crowd and landed on me. Seeing my healthy, glowing complexion, her face instantly darkened. She forced a stiff, fake smile. “Mia, you’re applying to Arwood too? Keep dreaming. You probably won’t even pass the first round.” Right then, an admissions officer walked over to me, smiling brightly. “Mia, I reviewed your scores. Don’t worry, you are absolutely getting in. You’ll be placed in the elite Class 1.” Hearing this, Chloe couldn’t even maintain her fake smile. The admissions officer then turned to Chloe, frowning deeply. “Chloe, your scores are far too low. You were eliminated in the very first round. Why are you still here? If you don’t leave, I’m calling security.” Chloe completely dropped the act, grinding her teeth in fury. She quickly turned to the assistant standing next to her and threw a tantrum: “I want to go to Arwood Academy! And I want to be in Class 1!” Her billionaire father ended up donating ten new buildings to Arwood Academy, securing Chloe the right to enter Class 1. Waving her admission letter in my face, Chloe gloated. “See, Mia? Ten years of grueling, bone-chilling studying, and you still can’t beat ten minutes of my ‘effort’.” “Hard work can never beat a wealthy background. It’s not my fault I have billionaire parents. Unlike you, stuck with broke teachers, having to fight tooth and nail for everything yourself.” Thanks to her ability to buy her way in, Chloe’s initial irritation and gloom were completely replaced by smug arrogance. Her resentment over the abuse from her parents seemed to vanish, replaced entirely by the smug satisfaction of being a billionaire heiress. She felt like she had finally beaten me, tying the score. I, however, just stared at the ugly, jagged scars covering her hands. Given her parents’ psychopathic nature, the fact that Chloe made them cough up the cash for ten buildings meant they were going to exact payment for it entirely on her body. Chloe’s collection of scars was about to grow significantly. 3 As expected, Chloe didn’t show up for the first month of school. My classmates whispered among themselves, saying that whenever they walked past the billionaire estate, they could hear Chloe’s blood-curdling screams echoing from inside. I paused for a second, then lowered my head and went back to my practice exam. Our class was filled with the absolute best students from all over the country. I was the top student in my city, but here, I was barely average. There’s always someone better, always a higher mountain. Even though I studied relentlessly, sheer effort is nothing in the face of raw, natural genius. Every single student at the top of our class was a prodigy. I only had average talent. Even with my Master Teacher parents guiding me, surpassing them would require exponentially more effort. After studying until my brain felt numb, I got up to use the restroom. But as I approached the door, I heard a commotion inside. “So you got first place, huh? Think you’re tough? You’re still just a pathetic punching bag for us.” “If you try to dodge again, I’m shoving this dirty mop in your mouth and making you drink the water.” “Look at your hands, they’re completely chapped and rotting. You’re so broke you can’t even afford hand cream. You deserve to be bullied.” … I glanced into the dim restroom and was shocked to discover that the ringleader of the bullies was Sarah Jenkins, the prettiest girl in our class, often called the ‘Class Beauty.’ And the person being bullied was our class valedictorian, Elara Vance. I had a very strong impression of Elara. Not just because of the incredibly prominent burn scar on her face, but because of her absolute, terrifying genius. No matter the subject, she only had to read the textbook once to score a perfect 100. She was a pure, natural-born prodigy. But she was also incredibly isolated and silent. She was always a lone wolf in class, never speaking to anyone. Seeing the blood seeping from the corner of Elara’s mouth, a sudden, blinding rage ignited in my chest. Having been raised by my parents, I knew exactly how rare and precious a genuinely gifted student was. How dare Sarah treat her like this?! I took a few large strides forward, aggressively shoved Sarah and her crew aside, and pulled Elara behind me. “Stop it right now! Bullying is strictly prohibited!” Sarah sneered at me, her voice dripping with threat: “My parents are high-ranking government officials. If you try to stop me, I’ll beat you up too.” Behind me, Elara pulled her hand out of my grasp, her voice cold and detached: “I don’t need your help. Just leave.” I grabbed her hand again, smiling brightly. “Don’t be scared. I know exactly how to handle this.” I turned to Sarah, speaking slowly and deliberately: “I know your parents are high-ranking officials. But if you dare touch a single hair on my head, your parents’ careers will be over.” Sarah frowned, demanding to know why. I enunciated every single word: “My parents are teachers. Nationally Recognized, Award-Winning Master Teachers.” Sarah’s face instantly changed. Broke teachers might mean absolutely nothing to someone like Chloe, whose family only cared about money and avoided political power. But Sarah’s family was completely different. Government officials care about their public image and reputation above absolutely everything else. They have to be incredibly careful with their every word and action, terrified of giving anyone leverage over them. My parents were poor, yes. But their students were everywhere, working in every industry imaginable. And they held honorary titles bestowed directly by the national government. If the news got out that their child was being violently bullied, I guarantee I wouldn’t be the one suffering the consequences. Realizing the massive political risk, Sarah dropped the dirty mop and begrudgingly walked away. I turned and helped Elara up, asking with genuine concern, “If she bullies you again, you can tell the teachers.” Given Elara’s exceptional grades, if she reported it, the teachers would absolutely intervene and protect her. But Elara just shook her head apathetically. She muttered a quick ‘thank you’ and turned to leave. After she walked away, I noticed a full bottle of sleeping pills lying exactly where she had been standing. 4 I started paying close attention to Elara, and that’s when I realized the sleeping pills weren’t just for insomnia. She wanted to commit suicide. After doing some discreet investigating, her backstory became even more horrifying. Both of Elara’s parents were police officers who died in the line of duty. Before they died, they entrusted Elara to her aunt and uncle, leaving behind a massive pension—more than enough to comfortably support Elara for the rest of her life. But before Elara even turned twelve, her aunt funneled every single cent of that pension to her gambling-addicted son, using endless, fabricated excuses. Not only did the son gamble away the entire pension, but he also racked up so much debt that he forced his mother to sell their house and flee to this distant city. Once they arrived in this unfamiliar city, where Elara had absolutely no one to turn to, the family officially began physically and mentally abusing her. They forced Elara to work multiple part-time jobs just to pay for her own tuition. And her older cousin—the gambling addict—would constantly steal her meager earnings to fund his habit. When her money was stolen, her aunt would simply blame Elara for being “careless” and refuse to compensate her. Elara’s life at school was an agonizing struggle. She pinned every last shred of hope on the college entrance exams, studying with a desperate, terrifying intensity. But all her hopes were brutally shattered the day her aunt announced her plan: she was going to force Elara to marry her older, gambling-addicted cousin. “You are going to marry my son. You can tell the teachers all you want, but don’t forget, we are your legal guardians. If you make a fuss, we’ll just move to another city. Let’s see how long you can keep fighting.” “This time it was just a burn on your face. Next time, we’ll break your hands so you can never hold a pen again. Let’s see you dream about college then.” While I was lost in thought, remembering the neighbor’s vivid reenactment of her aunt’s threats, a thick, heavy notebook suddenly appeared right in front of my face. “The curriculum here has a different focus. I’ve outlined some of the key concepts and most difficult topics. You should review them.” Elara’s cold, clear voice brought me back to reality. The sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the grotesque, jagged burn scar on her face, making it look glaringly harsh. For some inexplicable reason, my chest tightened with an overwhelming sense of sorrow. I suddenly grabbed Elara’s thin, frail wrist, blurting out impulsively: “Do you want to come hang out at my house this weekend?” Elara’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly refused. I didn’t give up. I started following her around relentlessly while she studied. I brought her home-cooked meals every day, and made sure to stick by her side during P.E. class so she would never be the one left out. She never said anything about it, but the amount of time she spent tutoring me grew longer and longer, and my grades started skyrocketing. It took two full months for Chloe to recover enough from her injuries to finally return to class. But she had no idea that the moment she walked into the classroom, she became Sarah’s new target. Having lost Elara as her punching bag, Sarah immediately locked her sights on Chloe, cornering her in the restroom and beating her up every single day. Chloe tried telling her billionaire parents, but they completely ignored her. Given their psychopathic tendencies, they probably enjoyed the fact that she was being tortured. Reporting it to the teachers was useless; the teachers couldn’t afford to offend either the billionaire or the government official. Chloe tried to deflect Sarah’s bullying onto me. “Bully Mia! She’s the perfect target to be bullied!” Hearing Chloe’s desperate screams, I just laughed. I casually brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “If I get bullied, my parents will tear this school apart to protect me. But your parents are probably just sitting at home, praying you suffer even more.” Chloe’s face instantly twisted in pure, unadulterated rage. She finally, truly realized that she had chosen the absolute wrong parents. “System! System, get out here! I want to make my best friend selection! I choose Sarah Jenkins to be my best friend!” Chloe glared at me, a sudden, triumphant smirk spreading across her face. “Mia, don’t think you can escape your destiny of being bullied! I chose Sarah as my best friend. That means she’s completely loyal to me now!” “It’s your turn to get beaten.” 5 Chloe officially selected Sarah as her ‘Family: Best Friend.’ However, the system didn’t prompt me to make my selection. When I looked at it in confusion, it spoke with a meaningful tone: “You don’t need to make a selection. You’ve already found your family, haven’t you?” I froze for a second, then a massive smile broke across my face. The system was absolutely right. I had already found Elara. I didn’t need to choose. “The second family member, ‘Best Friend,’ has been selected. The final family member, ‘Boyfriend,’ cannot be selected at this time. Due to system regulations, high school students are strictly prohibited from dating. The ‘Boyfriend’ selection will unlock after the college entrance exams.” With that, the system vanished. Riding her high, Chloe couldn’t resist mocking me: “Mia, that’s what you get for hanging around that ugly freak all day! You really screwed yourself over this time!” “My best friend is the Class Beauty, Sarah Jenkins! Your best friend is a scarred, ugly freak! Let’s see how you’re going to beat me now!” Chloe and Sarah officially became best friends. Sarah stopped bullying Chloe. Instead, they spent every single day skipping class, scaling the school walls, wearing tailored, customized uniforms, and dancing wildly in local nightclubs. While Elara and I were burying ourselves in textbooks and practice exams, Chloe and Sarah were living recklessly, burning through their youth in dark, chaotic clubs. I finally managed to convince Elara to come home with me. My parents had already prepared a bedroom specifically for her. They smiled warmly and said, “Welcome home.” Elara looked at me in absolute shock. I scratched my head awkwardly. “I told my mom and dad last night that they needed to start working overtime because they were about to have another daughter to support.” “If you’re willing, we can finalize the adoption papers tomorrow. Don’t worry about your aunt and uncle. My parents are experts at handling this kind of thing. The police will arrest them for severe child abuse, the pension they stole will be fully recovered and returned to you, and they will never, ever be allowed to show their faces in front of you again.” Elara bit her lip tightly, massive, heavy tears suddenly rolling down her cheeks. “I have a home again.” I heard her whisper. Elara officially became a member of our family. It was only after my parents started teaching Elara that they realized she was an absolute, once-in-a-generation genius. Her natural aptitude for learning was unparalleled. My parents felt like they had discovered a priceless treasure and poured all their energy into cultivating her potential. Elara, in return, focused all her energy entirely on me. I had the work ethic but lacked the natural talent, so she meticulously broke down her advanced problem-solving methodologies into bite-sized pieces and spoon-fed them to me. Over time, I completely internalized the thought processes of a top-tier academic elite. In this perfect, symbiotic loop, both Elara’s and my grades exploded at an absurd rate. We became legendary throughout the school, known as the ‘Twin Pearls’ of Arwood Academy’s history. Chloe and Sarah were equally famous, but for all the wrong reasons. Their reputation was absolute garbage. They constantly skipped class, spent every night in seedy clubs, bullied weaker students on campus, and were constantly drunk off campus. Until one massive event completely shattered their decadent lifestyle. 6 Right before the college entrance exams, Sarah’s father was arrested and imprisoned for massive political corruption. Her family went completely bankrupt overnight. Having lost her entire source of income, Sarah immediately locked her predatory gaze back onto Chloe. She started brutally beating and torturing Chloe again. After draining every last cent Chloe had on her, she forced Chloe to go to her billionaire parents and beg for more money. Anytime Chloe showed the slightest hint of resistance, Sarah would threaten to leak the highly explicit, compromising photos she had taken of her. If Chloe stole money from her parents, she would be subjected to horrific, agonizing beatings by them. If she didn’t steal the money, she would be subjected to relentless, brutal bullying by Sarah. Every single day of her life was a living hell. They were supposed to be best friends, but now, just the sight of Sarah made Chloe tremble uncontrollably. Meanwhile, Elara, who shared the exact same eligibility for early admission to a top-tier university as I did, officially surrendered the only guaranteed admission slot to me. When the teacher announced that I had received the guaranteed admission, the entire class erupted in genuine, enthusiastic applause for me. Chloe, sitting in the back corner covered in bruises, fanning Sarah like a servant, heard the announcement and her face instantly turned a dark, venomous shade of green. I looked at Elara in shock, feeling absolutely no joy. Based on pure merit, that guaranteed slot belonged to her. After class, I tried to find the teacher to decline the offer, but Elara stopped me with a smile. “Don’t. I don’t need to take the college entrance exams either. I’ve already secured a different path.” Elara leaned in close and whispered mysteriously into my ear, “I’ve been recruited by a highly classified, top-secret national intelligence agency for specialized training. I can’t say anything more.” I was completely stunned. I knew that when a true, once-in-a-generation prodigy appeared, the government would often intervene to cultivate them directly. But to catch the eye of a top-secret agency, raw intelligence wasn’t enough. You needed absolute, terrifyingly effective practical execution skills. I suddenly remembered Sarah’s father going to prison, and I remembered my parents casually mentioning a few months ago that Elara’s uncle and his family had been beaten to death in the streets for failing to pay off massive gambling debts. Sensing my shock, Elara smiled faintly. “I compiled the evidence of his corruption. And I orchestrated the situation with my uncle’s family. But they were all guilty, and they all got exactly what they deserved.” A sudden chill ran down my spine. Elara smiled, gently taking my hand, her eyes warm and affectionate. “Mia, take the admission slot. Compared to everything you’ve done for me, a single college admission is absolutely nothing.” I walked back to the classroom in a daze, only to run into Chloe at the door. Her face was a twisted mask of jealousy and utter confusion. She glared at me, demanding in a low, furious hiss, “What kind of manipulation did you use?! Why does she treat you so well?!” They were both supposed to be ‘Best Friends.’ But Sarah spent every waking moment finding new ways to torture and extort Chloe, while Elara had just handed me the only guaranteed admission to a top-tier university on a silver platter. Any high school student understood the absolute, life-changing value of that admission slot. The jealousy in Chloe’s eyes was practically boiling over. Seeing my silence, Chloe sneered with bitter resentment. “Mia, don’t get too arrogant! So what if I failed with my parents and my best friend? I still have the ‘Boyfriend’ selection!” “Parents and best friends don’t matter anyway. Picking the right boyfriend is the only thing that actually matters! With a powerful boyfriend to rely on, I will definitely live the best life out of anyone!” Perhaps triggered by the massive contrast between her life and mine, the next time Sarah tried to beat her, Chloe finally snapped. They got into a vicious brawl, and Chloe plunged a knife directly into Sarah’s thigh. Sarah was permanently crippled. She completely lost her mind, dragging Chloe to court, desperate to see her rot in prison. But she failed. The billionaire parents used their massive wealth to keep Chloe out of jail, and then had Sarah forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital under the guise of mental instability. After all, they were the system-selected parents. No matter how psychopathic they were, they would never allow Chloe to actually go to prison. They would just handle her punishment internally, significantly increasing the severity of their abuse. Because of the ten buildings her parents donated, Chloe was allowed to continue attending school. But she grew more silent by the day, her face growing paler and more hollow with every passing week. When the college entrance exam results were released, Chloe became the biggest laughingstock in the history of Arwood Academy. Her combined score across all subjects was a pathetic 3 points. When she saw the score, she literally fainted on the spot. My photo was placed at the very top of the Honor Roll. Chloe stared at it every single day, her face twisted in pure, venomous hatred. Elara warned me cautiously, “You need to watch out for Chloe. I can feel her hostility toward you. It feels like she’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a massive move against you.” I just laughed. After the first two massive comparisons, I knew I had long since become Chloe’s ultimate enemy. As for what she was waiting for… I knew exactly what she was waiting for. She was waiting for the ‘Boyfriend’ selection to unlock. I thought the timing was still a while off, but I never expected that on the very first day of university, Chloe would find a boyfriend who would make everyone incredibly jealous.

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During a live New Year’s Eve broadcast, my sister called me. I spoke first: “May you have peace and joy, and live a long, long life.” My sister scoffed: “But I don’t want you to have joy or a long life at all. “I wish you would suffer for the rest of your life.” I had cut ties with my sister during the year she was at her absolute lowest. Now that she was successful and famous, the very first thing she did was seek revenge against me. My tone remained unchanged: “May you have peace and joy, and live a long, long life.” My sister grew impatient: “Enough. I will never wish you well. “If I have to, then I wish you an eternity of pain.” The host hesitated for a moment before finally reminding her: “Ms. Sterling… that was just a recording of Mr. Sterling’s voice. “And when he passed away… it was indeed, as you wished, very painful.” 1 “Passed away?” Chloe Sterling froze, then let out a cold laugh: “I hope you mean he died.” The host paused, then pointed behind her. On the massive screen behind her, my face appeared. In the video, I slapped the camera lens. The rain plastered my hair and shirt tightly against my skin. I looked utterly miserable. My tone was filled with pure exhaustion and impatience: “Stop filming. I said no.” Immediately after, a sweet, incredibly sincere voice replied: “I’m really not a scammer. I’m a vlogger who specifically documents the real struggles of everyday people. I can help you.” I turned away from the dumpster I was digging through and shoved my face right up to the lens: “Really? Can you cure my cancer?” The girl froze. I smirked bitterly: “Don’t waste your energy. Go find someone else.” “Um… I can try!” She grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away. I looked her up and down. I let out a laugh, pointing out her T-shirt, belt, pants, and shoes one by one: “Twenty bucks. Sixty. Forty. Fifty. “Oh, and this camera… you bought it secondhand, right? “Do you have any idea how much my treatment costs?” I held up five fingers to the camera: “Half a million.” The girl’s breath hitched. Smiling, I turned and walked back into the rain, bending down in front of each trash can: “Shadow? Shadow, where are you?” She followed me: “What are you looking for?” “A dog.” “Is it yours?” “No. When the pain made me pass out earlier, he licked me awake.” The girl didn’t say anything. I looked up: “If you don’t have anything else to do, don’t just stand there. There are plenty of people in this world you can actually help. Don’t waste your time on me.” I covered the camera lens with my hand. The screen went black. 2 [The Next Life — October 11, 2023, 9:32 AM — The Sterlings Never Need Anyone’s Pity] “You’re Liam Sterling, Chloe Sterling’s younger brother, right?” I was sweeping the floor in the back kitchen of a coffee shop. Hearing that, I frowned: “Why are you here again?” The girl’s voice came from behind the camera: “Everyone online is calling you a treacherous, ungrateful backstabber. But they don’t know you have cancer. I want to shoot a documentary series about you, can I?” I shook my head: “Let them call me a backstabber. I worked so hard to build that persona, are you trying to ruin it for me?” “Wait!” She frantically grabbed my arm: “But you’re completely broke right now! Where are you going to get the money for your medical bills? Let me help you. I have some savings.” I turned my head and smiled: “Why do you think I cut ties with my sister?” She paused. I pulled my arm free and waved her off: “I have a job. I don’t need your help. Just leave.” “I asked around. You only make two thousand dollars a month here.” “I still don’t need it.” I turned my back to her, glancing over my shoulder with a smile: “The Sterlings never need anyone’s pity.” The moment the words left my mouth, I suddenly collapsed to my knees. “Mr. Sterling!” The camera shook violently. On the floor was a massive pool of blood. “You…!” Sarah’s voice was trembling. The camera was tossed aside as a slender girl rushed over to support me: “Come on, I’m taking you to the hospital!” I raised a hand and pushed her away. I grabbed a rag, wiped the floor, and used the back of my hand to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth: “No need.” Then I walked over to the sink and washed the blood off my face. Sarah’s voice quivered: “Please, just let me help you, okay?” I cleaned off the last trace of blood, turned around, and looked at her seriously: “The Sterlings… never need anyone’s help.” With that, I walked out of the camera’s frame. 3 [The Next Life — November 15, 2023, 3:21 PM — A Puppy Doesn’t Know He’s Dying; He Only Rejoices That He Has a Home] “What do you mean?” Inside the veterinary clinic, I stared at the vet in absolute shock. The vet sighed and shook his head: “I’m guessing the original owner abandoned him because they saw he wasn’t going to make it. “This little guy has been starving every day, getting bullied by other stray dogs… he’s already…” I offered a weak smile: “I know. You’re going to say he doesn’t have much time left, right?” The vet hesitated for a second, then nodded. It was the exact same reaction my attending oncologist had. Sarah frowned: “Is there really nothing we can do?” “…Just make him comfortable. Give him whatever he wants to eat.” The room fell into silence. I petted Shadow’s head: “No wonder we found each other.” Shadow’s tail was wagging a mile a minute. He kept rubbing against me, tongue lolling out, looking at me with bright, dark eyes. Sarah smiled bitterly: “He thinks you’re his owner.” I froze for a second: “Is that really something to be happy about?” Sarah nodded, petting the dog’s head: “A puppy doesn’t know he’s dying. He only knows he finally has a home again.” I was silent for a moment. I patted the dog’s head: “Then I’ll call you Shadow.” Shadow let out a happy “Woof!” Carrying Shadow out of the clinic, I turned and faced the camera: “You found Shadow and brought him to me. In return, I agree to let you shoot your documentary series about me.” 4 [The Next Life — December 31, 2023, 9:00 PM — Then I Wish You a Long, Long Life · Part 1] “Where did you get this stuff?” I looked at the old VHS tapes Sarah had brought over, frowning deeply. She shook the tapes and smiled: “A good vlogger has to fully understand her subject.” Saying that, she popped a tape into the VCR. On the ancient TV left behind by the previous tenant, a young boy wearing a custom-tailored suit appeared, bending down to look into the lens. Back then, my eyes still sparkled with hope: “Hello, hello! Happy New Year 2015! I wish everyone peace and joy, and may all your dreams come true!” “You were so lively back then.” Sarah sat next to me, watching the video with a smile in her eyes. I leaned back on the ratty sofa in my cheap apartment: “Did you literally dig through every single video on all my social media accounts?” “I thought it was interesting, so I brought them over to watch.” I didn’t say anything. I just watched my past self sitting amidst a mountain of presents. A familiar voice rang out: “Don’t rush, Sister will help you open them.” Chloe walked into the frame and sat down next to me. I held up a hand in a “Stop!” gesture: “Don’t! Sis. The Sterlings are fiercely independent!” The camera angle shifted. My sister fastened a watch around my wrist: “Happy New Year, Liam.” With a click!, the video captured my massive, beaming smile. Then came the sound of chaotic laughter. I had smeared a bit of frosting on my sister’s face. She froze for a second, then raised her hand with a laugh: “Stop right there! Don’t think just because it’s your birthday I won’t smack you!” The video was filled with my joyous laughter. Outside the video, I suddenly burst into laughter too. I wiped the corner of my eye, my sigh carrying a slight tremble: “After Mom and Dad died, everyone thought I was so pitiful. “But… actually, I wasn’t pitiful at all. “I still had my sister, and my friends…” The freezing wind howled through the drafty apartment. I wrapped my blanket tighter around myself as tears fell silently. My red, freezing hands were suddenly enveloped by two small, warm hands. Sarah looked at me earnestly: “I’ve saved up some money. Tomorrow, let’s go to the hospital and start your treatment.” I sniffled and let out a laugh: “Your account doesn’t even have a hundred followers yet, and you eat instant ramen with me every single day. How much money could you possibly have?” Her pale hands clenched tightly against her faded jeans: “It’s enough… to help a little.” “No need. I have good news for you. I saved up two thousand dollars. I can afford one chemo session now.” Sarah froze. Then she started smiling: “Is it enough? Let me give you a little more.” I shook my head stubbornly: “No. The Sterlings never need anyone’s help.” I lifted my chin proudly: “Don’t worry, my current income can cover my medication. Look, I bought all these with my salary.” Saying that, I grabbed a handful of colorful pills, tossed my head back, and swallowed them all at once. Then, frowning, I sat in silence for a long time before finally rubbing my chest and letting out a long breath. When I looked up, Sarah was watching me, the corners of her eyes a little red. I laughed: “Swallowing a whole handful of pills in one gulp… pretty impressive, right?” Sarah lowered her eyes, her smile laced with deep bitterness: “Yeah.” 5 [The Next Life — December 31, 2023, 11:45 PM — Then I Wish You a Long, Long Life · Part 2] In the video, the two of us, having finished a modest meal, leaned against the sofa waiting for the New Year’s bell. Sarah looked at me: “Are you sure that’s all you’re going to eat?” I sounded exhausted: “My stomach hurts. If I eat any more, I’ll throw up.” Sarah was silent for a moment before finally speaking up: “Ms. Sterling… she succeeded. Her new project just broke a hundred million in revenue.” I kept my eyes closed: “I know.” “Go back to her. She’ll pay for your treatment.” I shook my head. “Why? Do you want to just die like this?” “Did you think that when I cut ties with her, I still had any illusions about surviving?” Sarah choked on her words. Then, she asked with a slight tremble in her voice: “Why did you cut ties with her? Wouldn’t it have been better to face this together?” I started laughing: “Since we were little, Mom and Dad always said that Sterling children never needed anyone’s help. But the Sterling family helped a whole bunch of relatives. “But… when my sister went bankrupt, not a single one of those people was willing to help. “Do you know how it felt? Watching my sister swallow her pride, begging those relatives to just help pay my tuition?” My breath shuddered, and I gritted my teeth: “My sister never begged anyone for anything. After being rejected by all those relatives, she took me and found a tiny, twenty-square-foot apartment, about the same size as this one. “She told me that even if it was just her, she would get us back to the life we had before. “That’s the sister I admired. Even when she had absolutely nothing, she never lost her ambition or her pride. “But…” I started laughing again, looking at Sarah: “Guess what she would do if she knew I was sick?” Sarah looked at me, speechless. “She would get on her knees and beg those relatives.” As I said those words, my very heart was trembling: “Actually… just to get my tuition money, she almost got on her knees. Thank god I stopped her… haha…” I wiped away the tear stains at the corners of my eyes: “Before I left, the business she started with her partner was just starting to take off. “Guess whether her partner would have still been willing to invest if they found out there was a terminal medical burden in her family?” Sarah’s voice trembled: “Liam…” I held up a hand to stop her: “Cancer will take my life. But half a million dollars… that would take her life.” Sarah clenched her fists. I smiled and sighed: “The day I left, I completely destroyed her with the most vicious words I could think of. “In the end, she grabbed my arm, crying and begging me. She said things would get better soon, that she would definitely get us back to our old life. Seeing how glamorous and successful she is now, you probably can’t even imagine how pathetic and desperate she looked back then… haha…” Sarah asked quietly: “How did she finally let you go?” I thought back: “I told her she was a failure. That her past success was only because of Mom and Dad. “I told her that acting so pathetic now was dragging Mom and Dad’s reputation through the mud. I told her that if she cared about me even a little bit, she would let me go find my own happiness. “And then… she slowly let go of me.” The New Year’s bell rang. Fireworks exploded outside the window. I raised a hand and wiped the tears from my face. 6 [The Next Life — January 1, 2024, 0:00 AM — Then I Wish You a Long, Long Life · Part 3] Sarah turned to look out the window: “Happy New Year.” “Thank you.” “Aren’t you going to wish me well?” I looked up: “You’re asking a dying man for a blessing?” She gently placed her hand over my bony, emaciated one: “Please.” I looked at the warm, golden fireworks outside the window. It felt like I was bathed in hope. I smiled: “Then I wish you a long, long life.” The hand resting on mine clenched tightly, trembling slightly. Sarah stared out the window. I couldn’t see her expression. The camera quickly cut, showing that we had both gone to sleep. But in the darkness, my figure slowly appeared. I leaned in close to the camera, frowning: “Why did you forget to turn the camera off?” I raised a hand to turn it off, but paused. After thinking for a second, I dragged a chair over and sat in front of the lens, adjusting the angle left and right, doubt in my eyes: “Will anyone actually ever see this video?” More fireworks exploded outside, the warm, yellow light illuminating my face. I took a deep breath and smiled gently at the camera: “If anyone does see this, then… I wish everyone peace and joy, and a long, long life.” With that, I waved at the camera and hit the stop button.

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I was reborn on the exact day I originally confessed my feelings to my childhood crush. Surrounded by the cheering crowd, he looked at my tear-stained face and asked coldly, “Mia Harrison, do you really find this pathetic attention-seeking fun?” Then, he turned to the girl standing next to him—his perfect ‘unattainable ideal’—and his voice softened entirely: “Wait for me a minute. I’ll come find you as soon as I deal with this.” He turned back to me, lecturing me impatiently: “Why are you always crying?” “If you have free time, you should try reading a book. Stop obsessing over this romantic nonsense all day…” I was so incredibly annoyed. I shoved him hard, stumbling past him, and threw myself directly onto the notorious school delinquent who was standing behind him, watching the drama. “Hubby…” I buried my face in his chest, sobbing hysterically. Eighteen-year-old Liam Vance was still alive. Everything could still be fixed. 01 Before Liam died, he made me pinky-promise that I would live to be a hundred years old before I came to find him. I promised him, and then I turned around and lied. On the third day after his death, I followed him. Right before I closed my eyes, I even found a convenient excuse for myself. When I saw him, I’d tell him I had a nightmare that he was flirting with other ghost girls in the afterlife, so I had to come check on him. The truth was, I hadn’t slept at all. Without him, I literally couldn’t sleep. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back in my 18-year-old body. I was standing in the middle of a crowd, holding a bouquet of flowers, surrounded by relentless chanting and cheering. “Confess! Confess!” The crowd was massive, but my eyes instantly locked onto that blinding head of bleached blonde hair. He was standing in a corner no one was paying attention to. His gaze swept over me—seemingly casual, but incredibly intense. Looking at him, I instantly lost control of my tears. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, Arthur Sterling’s voice cut through the noise. “Mia Harrison, do you really find this pathetic attention-seeking fun?” In my daze, I finally noticed the person standing right in front of me. His brow was slightly furrowed, his expression freezing cold. The lively atmosphere instantly died. The awkward silence stretched until Chloe Sinclair finally broke it. “Arthur, we need to finalize the draft for the award acceptance speech.” Arthur turned to look at her. “Wait for me a minute. I’ll come find you as soon as I deal with this.” His expression held a rare, genuine tenderness. Chloe was a top-tier academic prodigy, just like Arthur. People constantly joked that the valedictorian and the salutatorian were a match made in heaven. Chloe would just scoff and reply dismissively: “I’m not one of those pathetic little girls who only has romance and boys in her head.” When she said that, Arthur looked at her with a rare, profound admiration. He had told me the exact same thing once—that he despised girls who only cared about romance. But back then, my brain was exclusively occupied by him. I was actually delusional enough to think that if I confessed to him on my birthday, he wouldn’t embarrass me in public. It was only much later that I realized how deeply he despised feeling emotionally manipulated. Just like he did right now. He snatched the flowers from my arms, looking incredibly impatient. “If you have free time, you should try reading a book. Stop obsessing over this romantic nonsense all day.” 02 I froze. Whispers erupted from the crowd. “Look, Mia is crying.” “She’s been trailing after Arthur for years. Looks like the school beauty just became the school joke.” “Ugh, I feel second-hand embarrassment just watching this.” In my past life, I definitely cried hysterically because of the sheer humiliation. But right now, the only thing I could see was that blonde guy standing in the corner. I stared directly at him, my mouth opening and closing. I was trembling so hard I couldn’t make a sound. The tears just kept streaming down my face. Seeing my reaction, Arthur frowned deeply and let out a heavy sigh. “Mia, why are you always crying?” I was so incredibly annoyed. He wouldn’t stop talking, and he was physically blocking my view. I forcefully shoved Arthur out of the way, sprinting forward and throwing myself onto the boy I had miraculously gotten back. “Hubby…” “Hubby, you’re still alive… thank God, waaaahhh…” His chest was burning hot, radiating that familiar, sunny scent. I held onto him, sobbing so hard I was hiccuping. The body in my arms went completely rigid. “Uh… sis… I think you’ve got the wrong guy?” His face was flushed bright red all the way to the tips of his ears. 03 “Mia Harrison, who the hell are you calling ‘hubby’?!” Arthur’s voice rang out from behind me, laced with unmistakable anger. “How many times are you going to pull this exact same stunt?” Oh, right. In my past life, to make Arthur jealous, I frequently pretended to be overly intimate with other guys. He would get slightly annoyed and then offer some half-hearted coaxing. Except, this time, the guy I chose was the delinquent thug he despised more than anyone else in the school. I ignored Arthur, clinging to Liam and crying even harder. “Waaaah, hubby, you really are still alive…” I couldn’t believe it. My hands instinctively dove under his shirt, desperate to feel his chest and confirm the fatal stab wound from my past life wasn’t there. Liam was absolutely terrified by my actions. “Holy shit! What are you doing?!” I sobbed through my hiccups, “Take your shirt off. Let me see.” His face instantly turned a dark, explosive red. “I am a respectable man!” I cried even harder. “Waaaah, hubby, I need to see it, please, just let me see…” His hands hovered in the air, completely unsure of where to put them. Finally, he lowered his voice in sheer desperation. “Hiss… wait… can we wait until there’s no one around, please?” Watching this spectacle, Arthur’s eyes filled with absolute disgust. “Mia, aren’t you humiliated putting on this kind of show in public?” “I am not going to coddle you this time.” He turned on his heel and stormed off. Without the main attraction, the crowd quickly dispersed, grumbling in disappointment. 04 “Princess, the show’s over. Aren’t you going to let go?” The voice above my head carried a heavy dose of sarcasm. I just shook my head violently, burying my face in his neck, sobbing and hiccuping. “Never. I am never letting go for the rest of my life…” Eighteen-year-old Mia Harrison didn’t have shattered legs. She wasn’t consumed by clinical depression. Eighteen-year-old Liam Vance hadn’t jumped in front of a knife for her yet. Everything could still be fixed. Liam stared at me in disbelief and threatened, “I’m going to walk out of here right now, you know that?” “Mm…” He scooped me up into his arms and carried me out of the classroom. The moment we stepped into the hallway, the booming voice of the Dean of Discipline echoed toward us. “Hey! Liam Vance! Instead of being at practice, you’re out here holding a female student?! Are you sexually harassing her?!” I continued to cling to him like a koala, completely unbothered. Seeing my absolute refusal to move, Liam’s face flushed red as he frantically explained: “Reporting to the Dean! The female student broke her leg! I’m carrying her to the nurse’s office!” The Dean’s tone softened considerably. “You little punk. Didn’t know you had a caring side.” Suddenly, the memory hit me. In my past life, Liam had done exactly this. Carrying me all over the world to see specialists for my legs, staying by my side through every grueling physical therapy session. Once the Dean was out of earshot, Liam looked down at me, looking like he was about to lose his mind. “Seriously, Princess, what exactly is your endgame here?” I kept my arms locked tightly around his neck. “Hubby…” He shuddered, his scalp literally tingling. He gritted his teeth. “Do not call me ‘hubby’!! Who the hell is your hubby?!” “You are…” I pouted, looking incredibly wronged. “You’re my favorite, sweetest hubby…” His brain looked like it was about to short-circuit. He reminded me through gritted teeth: “Princess, do you remember who literally threw my love letter in the trash yesterday?” I felt a sudden, massive wave of awkwardness. My timing couldn’t have been worse. Liam had confessed his feelings to me yesterday. And I had viciously stomped his letter into the dirt. “I absolutely despise meathead sports jocks like you. All brawn and zero brains.” Ironically, I was an arts student—all flexibility and zero brains. Honestly, I didn’t actually hate Liam. I only hated him because Arthur hated him. Arthur despised anyone he considered stupid, especially someone like Liam, who had terrible grades and threw his weight around the school. I blinked innocently, offering my most sincere, earnest explanation: “Um, yesterday was actually… a test. I was testing you.” I quickly added a solemn vow: “Hubby, I promise, from now on, I will only ever like you.” The corner of Liam’s mouth twitched violently. “Hiss… can you please stop calling me ‘hubby’?” I shook my head firmly. “No.” He gritted his teeth, finally accepting his fate. “Ugh, whatever… call me whatever the fuck you want…” He looked down at me, still clinging to him like a monkey, and sighed heavily. “But seriously, Mia… “You are a human being, not a primate. Can you please get off me now?” “But I want to hold you a little longer, hubby~” His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously. The tips of his ears were burning bright red. Eighteen-year-old Liam was trying to act tough, but he was actually just a soft, easily flustered puppy. 05 Liam ended up carrying me all the way to his Second Great-Uncle’s house. The old man sat in an alleyway, doing fortune-telling and mystical readings, acting cryptic and bizarre every single day. “Uncle, I think she’s possessed.” The old man stroked his beard, taking one look at my tear-streaked face and bloodshot eyes. “Hmm. Eyes blood-red. She’s definitely got something dark attached to her.” He pulled out a piece of yellow paper and hastily scribbled a talisman on it. “Stick this talisman on her. It wards off evil spirits and demonic attachments.” Liam set me down outside the door and ordered me: “Wait here for a second. Do not follow me. I’ll be right back.” I completely ignored him and stealthily crept right up to the doorframe. I heard him asking in a hushed, secretive whisper: “Uncle… what I actually want to know is… do you have a talisman that will make her stay ‘possessed’ like this forever?” I secretly rejoiced in my heart: You little idiot. You’ve been madly, hopelessly, dangerously in love with me this whole time. Liam, in this life, it’s my turn to run to you. 06 I actually lived with the Sterling family. Our families had been close for generations, and Arthur and I had an arranged marriage setup since we were babies. When I was ten, my parents died in a sudden accident. Arthur had gripped my hand tightly. “Mia, you still have me. I will always stay by your side.” I moved into the Sterling estate, and his parents treated me incredibly well. Since I started dancing at a young age, his mother hired the absolute best instructors for me. My closet was overflowing with beautiful clothes she bought for me. But no matter how good they were to me, I wasn’t their actual child. They were raising me to be their future daughter-in-law. It wasn’t until my legs were shattered and I couldn’t walk normally that they decided a “crippled” daughter-in-law was too humiliating for their family image. They told me: “Mia, we’ve always loved you like our own daughter, and Arthur sees you as his own little sister. Don’t worry, we will definitely find you a good husband.” At the dinner table, Arthur’s parents put food in my bowl and asked about my studies. Remembering what they said in my past life, I found the whole scene incredibly ironic. I set down my chopsticks. “Uncle, Auntie, I want to move into the school dormitories. It’ll help me focus better on my studies, and you both know my academic grades aren’t very good.” They looked visibly surprised. “The dorm environment is so rough, how could you possibly live there?” “Mia, don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Arthur’s grades are excellent; just have him tutor you.” I shook my head calmly. “No, he’s been really busy preparing for academic competitions lately. I shouldn’t bother him.” Arthur’s mother seemed to pick up on something. “Did you two have a fight?” Arthur remained silent. I just smiled. “Not at all. He treats me very well, and I’ve always seen Arthur as my own older brother.” “I’m sure that in the future, he’ll find a daughter-in-law for you who is just as brilliant and exceptional as he is.” Arthur’s gaze snapped to me, pausing for a long moment.

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After my mother died, I seduced the son of her lover. In the heat of passion, he pinned me by the neck and demanded, “Is this how you seduced my father?” Later, his younger half-brother also fell for me. Consumed by frantic jealousy, he snarled, “Having a great time with that little bastard, huh?” I feigned terror, but inside, I was laughing hysterically. Go crazy. Father against son, brother against brother. How entertaining! 1. My mother plummeted to her death from a high-rise. For years, she had been imprisoned in a towering attic, treated as a plaything, a forbidden canary. She was forced to endure his demands, all for my sake. On the day I came of age, my mother, as delicate and fragile as white porcelain, threw herself from that high attic and shattered right in front of me. The man who caused her death was Richard Vance. The patriarch of the Vance family. After my father died, Richard seized our family’s business. Along with the business, he also forcibly took my beautiful, vibrant mother. That animal, Richard Vance, fell in love with his best friend’s wife. To get my mother, he orchestrated my father’s death and stole our family’s fortune. Now that my mother is gone, he has set his sights on me. I need to protect myself. I need revenge. I need Richard Vance to pay in blood. He took everything from my father, so I will destroy everything he holds dear—his wealth, his status, even his life. I want him to feel the exact same agonizing pain of losing his family that I did. The first step in my revenge is to destroy the son he is most proud of. His own son, falling in love with his kept canary. Father and son fighting over the same woman, turning into bitter enemies. How entertaining would that be? Just thinking about it thrills me. My revenge begins tonight. 2. Hailed as a business prodigy, Liam Vance is the Vance family’s most outstanding heir. At only twenty-four, he has already founded his own company and become the most sought-after new money in the city. I gently trace the outline of Liam’s face in my mind. Such an aloof, arrogant man—what would he look like groveling at my feet? I’m very curious. Richard is currently on a business trip in Europe, away from the main estate. This gives me the perfect opportunity to seduce his son. As night fell, I specifically chose a white lace nightgown. It exuded a mix of innocent purity and just the right amount of seductive charm. I softly pushed open Liam’s door. He didn’t have the habit of locking it. Right now, he was taking a shower in the en-suite bathroom. I pulled back the covers and slipped into his dark-colored king-size bed, enveloped by his crisp, cold scent. The mattress dipped beside me. He was in bed. I knew Liam slept naked. Sure enough, as soon as he got in, he noticed me pretending to be asleep. I knew exactly how alluring I looked right now. Glossy, rosy lips, cheeks flushed as if from deep sleep. And the hem of my nightgown, hiked up to my upper thighs due to my “restless” sleeping position. The sight of my full, unconstrained curves was undoubtedly stimulating the fragile nerves of a slightly drunk man. I could feel Liam’s burning gaze on me. I purposely let out a soft whimper, rolling over to hug him as he lay hesitating beside me. The solid muscles of his entire body instantly tensed. He was restraining himself. Am I not tempting enough? Seems I haven’t stoked the fire quite enough. I purposely rubbed against him, as if talking in my sleep. Liam finally lost control. With a dark gaze, he pinched my chin. “Are you seducing me?” Suddenly, something soft and cold covered my lips. It was his mouth. I pretended to be startled awake by him, looking at him with innocent, confused eyes. “What are you doing?” My sweet, soft voice carried a hint of sleepy desire. The thin strap of my nightgown slipped down, half-exposing my shoulder. Pure yet seductive. Hearing my voice, Liam froze. Then, his kisses rained down on me overwhelmingly. “Be good. Let me kiss you.” His voice was deep and husky, thick with undeniable lust. Pinned beneath him, I struggled in a panicked flurry. “Brother, you can’t do this.” Just then, footsteps echoed from the hallway. Click, clack, click, clack! It was Mrs. Vance. 3. “Liam, I made you some hangover soup. Get up and drink a little.” Eleanor Vance pushed the door open without knocking. She knew her son had been at a business dinner and drank quite a bit. I cowered in fear, trembling slightly. And “accidentally” brushed against Liam’s terrifyingly hard, sensitive arousal. He gently pressed a kiss to my forehead to calm me. Then he pulled the covers up, hiding me completely beneath him. His aggressive, masculine scent surrounded me entirely. His current position essentially had me caged in his arms. Liam answered impatiently, “Mom, I’m going to sleep.” Eleanor walked in and placed the hangover soup on the desk. “Liam, why is your face so red?” Of course his face was red. He was currently lying naked against me, our hearts beating wildly against each other. If his own mother saw this, how thrilling would that be? The thrill of the taboo caused a thin layer of sweat to break out on Liam’s body. A drop of sweat rolled down his temple and past his Adam’s apple. Eleanor tried to step closer, but Liam stopped her. “I need to sleep. Please leave!” Eleanor knew her son was always haughty and didn’t dare cross him. “Then remember to drink your soup.” She gave a few more instructions before turning to leave. Liam was nearing his breaking point. My hot breath hit his chest, every exhale scratching at his heart like a feather. I wasn’t going to let him off that easily. I deliberately shifted my body, my soft, glossy lips brushing against his chest. My fingertips also “accidentally” grazed his straining desire. “Ah!” He let out an agonizing, heavy pant. “Liam, what’s wrong?” Eleanor, who was just about to leave, turned back around. She approached with concern to check on her son, who was acting strangely. “I’m fine!” Liam irritably yanked the covers up even higher, covering himself completely. Trapped beneath him, I couldn’t move an inch. I used my hands to push against his chest, which was pressed tightly against mine. My soft, seemingly boneless hands touching his burning, rock-hard chest pushed his sensitive nerves to the brink of collapse. Eleanor cast a suspicious glance at the unnaturally high lump under the covers. She seemed to have noticed something. The shape of the blanket… was there someone else hiding in there? 4. Eleanor held her tongue and didn’t expose her son. Her son was her only support in the Vance family; she didn’t want a direct confrontation with him. Forcing down her shock and fury, Eleanor closed the door to Liam’s room. She then ordered the servants not to disturb the young master’s rest. After Eleanor left, I pushed Liam away forcefully. I slumped on the bed, gasping for fresh air. My violent movements caused my nightgown to slip entirely. My beautiful figure was fully exposed. The alcohol had mostly worn off Liam. He stared at me with a dark expression. Just as he opened his mouth to interrogate me. I scrambled off the bed before him and ran away in a panic, tears trailing from the corners of my eyes. Liam watched in stunned silence as I fled. For a moment, he actually felt a pang of frustration. Is she disgusted by me? After I left, Liam didn’t sleep. He kept replaying the scene of me pinned beneath him. Lying in bed, he sought release again and again. He had no idea that while he was passionately calling my name, I was peeking at him from outside the door. … The next day was a weekend. I was painting in the art studio. Eleanor stormed in with her people. “Grab Chloe!” “You little slut, just as cheap as your mother!” Furious beyond words, she dragged me into the greenhouse and threw me onto the floor. The greenhouse was her territory. Her favorite thing to do here was stab me with needles. Richard Vance didn’t allow any visible marks on my body. So she could only use needles. After stabbing my back, she still wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to jam the needles under my fingernails. To be honest, I was terrified. Memories of her abusing me when I was little flooded back, and I almost passed out from the fear. I was gambling. Gambling that either Richard or Liam would come save me. Sure enough, a split second before the steel needle pierced my finger, Richard kicked the greenhouse door open. He yanked Eleanor away. “Eleanor, I’m warning you. Don’t forget your place.” Pushed to the ground, Eleanor screamed hysterically. “Do you know what she did?! She seduced Liam! She’s a shameless slut just like her mother!” Richard ignored her. He picked me up and walked straight toward the attic. That was the forbidden zone of the Vance estate, the place where my mother lived before she died. Richard threw me onto the rug. He stood in front of me, slowly unbuckling his belt. He wasn’t saving me; he was just torturing me in a different way. He tied my hands and feet, leaving me completely immobilized. Richard drank heavily. With every gulp of liquor, he lashed me with the belt. The belt snapped against my skin, bringing a fiery, agonizing pain. When he was tired of beating me, he collapsed onto the sofa, panting. My opportunity was coming. I silently counted the time, waiting for him to get completely drunk. Richard grabbed me by the hair, forcing me to look up at him. “Chloe, you should know exactly why I’m keeping you.” With that, he threw the belt aside, untied me, and started tearing at my clothes. I struggled desperately, crying and reminding him. “Uncle Richard, you promised my mom you wouldn’t touch me.” His hands paused for a fraction of a second, but then he started biting me even more frantically. I calmed myself down, tried my best to imitate my mother’s voice, and spoke coldly: “Richard Vance, are you an animal?” Richard froze, his blurry eyes focusing on me… 5. “Joy… we met first. I fell in love with you first. Why did you…” His voice cracked with a sob. I knew I had succeeded. Richard had mistaken me for my mother. I pushed him away and picked up the dropped belt. My pale, delicate foot stepped hard on his surging desire. I viciously whipped him with all my strength. He didn’t dodge; he took it with a mix of pain and twisted excitement. Richard Vance was a sick, twisted pervert. “On your knees!” I whipped him again. Richard trembled violently as he knelt straight up. It seemed he really enjoyed this. Suppressing my nausea, I used the handle of the whip to lift his chin. “Richard Vance, do you know how filthy you are? You disgust me!” He didn’t look away, his eyes staring at me in a hazy daze. “Joy, I just love you too much. Please, give yourself to me. Give me a child that belongs only to us.” “You don’t deserve it!” I slapped him hard across the face. I pinched his jaw open and poured the rest of the liquor down his throat. He got dead drunk and finally collapsed onto the floor. I tied him up and escaped from the little attic. As I was returning to my room, I happened to run into Liam coming home. The purple and blue whip marks on my pale skin shocked his system. Liam glanced at me, then walked straight into his room. I let him see it on purpose. I wanted him to know the horrific marks his beloved, respected father left on my body. 6. After showering, I sat at my vanity, trying to apply ointment. The wounds were on my back; I tried several times but couldn’t reach them. The door was pushed open, and Liam walked in holding a tube of ointment. He tossed it onto the bed and turned to leave. I grabbed the hem of his shirt, my voice pitiful. “Brother, can you help me apply the ointment?” I knew exactly how alluring I looked right now. My pale, glowing skin was slightly exposed, highlighting my full curves. He hesitated for a long time before finally sitting on the edge of the bed. Liam squeezed a dab of the cooling ointment onto his long index finger and applied it to my lower back. The moment his finger, slick with the cold ointment, touched my skin, I instinctively flinched like a startled fawn. I even let out a small cry of pain, “Ah~” My innocent, fragile, girlish voice, laced with suppressed pain and a hint of coquettishness, was more intoxicating than any stimulant. Liam’s finger paused, and he looked up at me. My eyes were brimming with tears. Forcing myself to hold the crystalline drops in my eyes, I looked devastatingly pitiful. “It hurts. Be gentle, brother.” Liam’s prominent Adam’s apple bobbed twice. He put down the ointment and stood up to leave. “It’s done.” I stood up faster than he did, but the moment I got up, I “accidentally” tripped and let out a gasp as I fell forward. Liam reached out and caught my soft waist. With a gentle pull, I landed squarely on his lap. His legs were strong, muscular, and radiated power. Liam looked at me. “Careful.” Pretending to lose my balance, I instinctively wrapped my soft, pale arms around his neck. The unique, sweet scent of a young girl filled his senses. Liam’s rationality crumbled. He kissed my lips gently, and I responded with feigned inexperience. This time, he was completely sober. I knew I had succeeded. But halfway through the kiss, Liam suddenly grabbed my throat.

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After pulling three consecutive all-nighters, I was resting my head on my desk during my lunch break when the boss’s daughter, who had just returned from studying abroad, viciously kicked my desk. “The company is full of employees like you. No wonder we’re barely turning a profit.” She turned up an alarm and woke up every single employee who was resting. “From now on, the hour-and-a-half lunch break is canceled. You get ten minutes to eat. “Also, you are required to work five days of unpaid overtime every week. If profits don’t triple by next month, you’re all fired.” I just smiled. Firing your most critical talent? Brains are a wonderful thing, it’s just a shame she didn’t have one. 01 Hearing the boss’s daughter say this, everyone started whispering, expressing their intense dissatisfaction. HR Manager Sarah walked over to her and whispered, “Ms. Sterling, this violates regulations. Besides, this is the tech department—the absolute core of our company!” She pointed at me and added, “Like Chloe here, we spent a fortune to recruit her. We should probably inform your father about this.” Evelyn Sterling scoffed and looked me up and down with absolute disdain. “Her? A highly-paid talent? Dressed like a peacock, she looks more like she’s here to seduce people. No need to tell my dad. I’m in charge here now. Implement the rules immediately!” Naturally, I couldn’t accept such tyrannical terms. I worked incredibly hard; dressing nicely was at least a small comfort to myself. Who was she to judge me? But many people had already sat up straight and started working. After all, jobs were hard to come by these days. So, I naturally got to work too. Seeing everyone get back to work, Evelyn lifted her chin proudly. However, I directly called our biggest client. The phone rang for over a minute before someone answered. It was obvious they were also on their lunch break. The voice was incredibly impatient: “What is it?” I smiled. “Manager Davis, we need you to review that proposal. We can’t move forward until you give it the green light.” “Yeah, yeah. Let’s talk after lunch.” Manager Davis hung up on me. I called right back. Manager Davis raised his voice: “I said we’ll review it after lunch! Do you people not sleep?!” I shrugged. “I’m so sorry, Manager Davis, but our boss’s daughter just canceled our lunch breaks. We’ll probably be bothering you a lot around this time from now on. Could you try to get used to it?” 02 Manager Davis completely lost it upon hearing this. “What?! It’s going to be like this every day?! You’re going to kill me!” To finalize this proposal, our team and Manager Davis’s team had stayed up for three entire nights. Even a body made of iron would collapse under that strain. Manager Davis started cursing profusely over the phone. I put him on speaker: “We are the clients! How dare you make things this difficult for us?! And your boss’s daughter is out of her mind! I need to talk to your boss.” Evelyn’s face turned bright red from Manager Davis’s scolding, but since he was a major client, she had to swallow it. She pointed at me and started yelling, “Couldn’t you do other work first?!” I spread my hands helplessly. “We can’t proceed to the next step until the proposal is approved, right?” Hearing my cue, everyone else chimed in: “Exactly. We can’t start working until Manager Davis approves it.” “Yeah, maybe I should give Manager Davis another call.” Evelyn clenched her fists tightly in anger, but she had no choice but to stop us. The very next second, her phone rang. Our boss’s piercing scream erupted from the speaker: “Evelyn, what the hell are you doing?! Manager Davis is our biggest client, you absolutely cannot offend him!” Looking incredibly awkward, Evelyn covered her phone and ran into a private office to take the call. Everyone gave me a thumbs up. I was a highly sought-after talent that the boss had spent a whole month negotiating with HR to recruit. Plus, I had brought along several other skilled tech personnel. If we hadn’t worked so hard, the company would still be drowning in debt. Right now, the company had four active projects. Two of them were brought in specifically by my former partners who found out I had jumped ship. In other words, if they fired me, this company could just wait to go bankrupt. 03 Last month, I heard the boss mention he was bringing his daughter into the company to gain some experience. I didn’t pay much attention at the time. As long as I did my job, it didn’t matter to me who the boss was. But the very next day, Evelyn joined the company group chat. As soon as she got in, she started ordering us around and even demanded we call her “Miss.” When we discussed work matters in the group, she had to interject, claiming we were incompetent because we couldn’t solve minor issues, spouting absolute nonsense. Her comments were completely irrelevant because she majored in marketing; she knew nothing about tech. She even said that when she got back to the States, she was going to “rectify” us and show us how Gen Z cleans up the workplace. No one else in the group dared to say anything, so I was the only one who fired back at her. I guess she held a grudge against me from that moment on. So, on her very first day, she wanted to establish her dominance by making an example out of me. But did I look like someone who was easy to bully? After finishing the call with her dad, Evelyn looked terrible. With a dark expression, she walked over to us and said, “Rest for now. Contact Manager Davis after lunch.” Everyone held back their laughter. After all, she was the boss’s daughter; we had to give her some face. As Evelyn walked past me, she shot me a vicious glare. The message was clear: Just you wait. Sure enough, by the time afternoon work hours started, everyone had received the new regulations sent by Evelyn. 04 The new regulations were as follows: Everyone must work unpaid overtime until 12:00 AM every week. Violators will be fined $100. Everyone must submit a daily work report of exactly 1000 words. A $1 fine will be applied for every missing word. Everyone must complete 5 projects every month. Failure to do so will result in immediate termination. Bathroom breaks must not exceed 10 minutes, or a $100 fine will be applied. If profits do not triple by next month, the entire tech department will be fired. Everyone in the office was complaining. Suddenly, Lily clutched her stomach and sprinted into the bathroom. 15 minutes later, we heard Lily’s plea for help in the group chat: [Help me, the bathroom door won’t open.] We rushed over only to discover that timed locks had been installed on the bathroom doors. If facial recognition showed you had been inside for more than 10 minutes, the door automatically locked. You had to pay the fine; otherwise, the person inside couldn’t get out, and people outside couldn’t get in. This infuriated us. We all agreed to tell Lily not to pay and stay put. If worst came to worst, we’d just use the public restrooms outside the office. Suddenly, Evelyn posted another message in the group: [Leaving your workstation for more than 30 minutes is considered absence from work. This month’s performance bonus and half your salary will be deducted.] This threw Lily into an absolute panic. She had a two-year-old at home and desperately needed the money. Ignoring my advice, she pulled out her phone to pay the fine. As the minutes ticked by, Evelyn started announcing in the group: [All members of the tech department have been away from their workstations for over 20 minutes. If it exceeds 30 minutes, it will be considered an absence.] She also tagged HR Manager Sarah: [From now on, go check on the tech department every 10 minutes.] Just as we were all grinding our teeth in anger, two new hires from the sales department walked toward the bathroom. The facial recognition system announced: “Identified as a member of the sales department. No time limit for restroom use.” We were all stunned. A few colleagues who really needed to use the bathroom tried to push their way in while the door was unlocked, but the two sales girls blocked them. Refusing to accept this, our team started arguing with them. Surprisingly, the sales girls sneered, “Ms. Sterling said the sales department is the core of the company, so we aren’t subject to any restrictions.” I completely lost it. I took a screenshot of Evelyn’s new rules and posted it online, captioning it: [Great news! Death-sentence regulations! Everyone, hurry up and apply to our company.] 05 I graduated from MIT, the most prestigious university in the country. During my time there, I won numerous programming awards and was heavily recruited by top tech companies before I even graduated. I spent six years working at major tech giants, gaining a wealth of experience. But the corporate grind at those massive companies was too intense, and new talent was constantly pouring in. So, I made a bold decision to return to my hometown to build my career. The day I moved back, I started a social media account to document my life and began posting free, basic programming tutorials. Over the past year, I had amassed over a million followers. So, shortly after I posted the screenshot, it caught the attention of many people. Within half an hour, my followers had pushed it onto the trending list. Everyone started tearing the regulations apart. [Corporate drones are humans too!] [I give this company a month before it goes bankrupt!] [This boss’s daughter is out of her mind. Go to hell!] People swarmed the company’s official website, leaving a barrage of insults. The site eventually crashed from the sheer volume of traffic. Even the websites of merchants we previously collaborated with were flooded with comments from netizens: [Are products built on the blood and sweat of corporate slaves actually any good?] Terrified, the merchants immediately pulled that line of products from their shelves. Even the clients who were planning to renew their contracts with us issued statements suspending all collaboration. Our boss had always wanted to take the company public. But an IPO requires a stellar reputation. Right now, there wasn’t a single positive review on our site; it was all one-star reviews. Watching the trending topics climb higher, I smiled in satisfaction. Listening closely, I could hear agonized wails coming from Evelyn’s office. It turned out many reporters were calling to interview her. Given Evelyn’s personality, she naturally cursed right back at them: “They’re just a bunch of lowly workers! If they don’t want to work, they can get the hell out!” She wasn’t just insulting our tech department; she was insulting every working-class person out there. I hid outside her door, recorded that sentence, and posted it online. This time, the backlash was even bigger because her target audience had expanded exponentially. 06 Netizens who were just watching the drama unfold were now absolutely furious. [What the hell? I’m just surfing the web and I get insulted?!] [Everyone, follow me! Let’s tear down this capitalist dog’s daughter!] In the information age, a casual deep dive by netizens exposed everything about Evelyn. They revealed that while studying abroad, she had slept around constantly, practically changing boyfriends every week. Someone even found a video of her grinding against several large men at a frat party. On top of that, it was exposed that she had been arrested for bullying on campus abroad, and the boss had to pay a massive bail to get her out. The online vitriol against her reached a fever pitch. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. Someone leaked that Evelyn was actually the boss’s illegitimate child from an affair. The internet completely exploded. What started as insults directed solely at Evelyn now dragged the boss down with her. Evelyn had personal social media accounts, originally used for flaunting her wealth and posting selfies. Now, they were overrun by angry netizens. Shortly after, the boss arrived at the office. He screamed at Evelyn, tearing her a new one for a solid hour. It wasn’t until right before closing time that HR Manager Sarah notified the tech department to head to the conference room for an emergency meeting. Evelyn sat to the side, her head hanging low. The boss immediately walked up to me when he saw me. “Chloe, if there’s a problem, we can resolve it internally. Why did you have to take it to the internet?” I signaled for everyone to sit down and replied to him with absolute seriousness: “I am the team leader. I have to take responsibility for my team members. Furthermore, when you recruited me, you promised me absolute autonomy.” When the boss recruited me, he offered me triple my previous salary and explicitly exempted me from mandatory clock-ins. However, out of fairness and to lead by example, I still clocked in and out on time every day. The boss pushed up his glasses to hide his embarrassment. “It’s true my daughter acted inappropriately. That’s why we’re having this meeting to resolve it. How about this: you propose a solution.” 07 To be honest, our project deadlines were incredibly tight. We simply didn’t have time to deal with Evelyn’s nonsense. After a brief discussion, we proposed a resolution. First, all the regulations Evelyn introduced must be abolished immediately. Second, she must apologize to every single one of us. Finally, the company must distribute the bonuses for our current projects in advance. The boss hesitated. Seeing this, I stood up, ready to leave. Our tech department was full of young, elite professionals. We had no fear of not finding new jobs elsewhere. The boss immediately grabbed my arm and agreed to the terms. Right in front of all of us, Evelyn bowed deeply and apologized. The boss also immediately instructed finance to distribute a $5,000 bonus to every member of the tech department. Seeing the money hit my account, I kept my promise and posted the final resolution online. But there was no way I was going to let it go that easily. I continued using my burner account to steer the narrative online. [It’s ending just like this? We haven’t even forgiven her yet!] Left with no choice, Evelyn had to issue a public apology via live stream: “The workers are the soul of the company. Everyone, I was wrong.” I used my burner account in the live chat: [If you want our forgiveness, get on your knees!] As soon as I posted that, a massive wave of people copied and pasted it. In an instant, the live stream with 100,000 viewers was flooded entirely with comments demanding she “kneel.” I was the one who suggested this live stream apology method. The boss was standing right next to me, anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof. He naturally didn’t notice me frantically typing on my phone hidden in my pocket. “Chloe, what do we do? I can’t actually make my daughter kneel, can I?” I shrugged, indicating there was no other way. “If you want the netizens to forgive her, this is the only way. Otherwise, forget about the IPO; the company might actually go bankrupt next month.” The boss loved his daughter, but this company was his life’s work. He couldn’t let it fail. He had no choice but to order Evelyn to kneel. Evelyn’s eyes were bloodshot, but she was powerless to resist. She obediently knelt down. “I’m sorry, everyone. I was wrong.” That video was reposted across the entire internet and even remixed into countless memes. Evelyn didn’t show her face at the office for a whole month. Pathetic. She thought she could take me down with those pathetic little tricks? We enjoyed a month of peace. But a month later, Evelyn returned in a highly ostentatious, bright red pantsuit, a man standing by her side. 08 During the month without Evelyn causing trouble, we smoothly pushed through more than half of our current projects. Many of them were already operational. Most notably, the companion robot—our most highly anticipated project—was already capable of performing basic movements. Just as we were discussing the next phase, Evelyn walked into our office, holding her boyfriend’s hand. “Let me introduce everyone. This is William. From now on, he will be the team leader of Tech Group Two. Please welcome him.” William stepped forward, took off his sunglasses, and gave us a gentlemanly bow. “I look forward to working with you all. Even though I studied abroad and my skills are undoubtedly superior to yours, I still hope you can look at me as an ordinary person.” Cue a collective eye roll from the entire room. What a massive poser! Lily raised her hand and asked, “Since when did the tech department have a Group Two?” Evelyn smiled and replied, “Starting today. I am announcing that the eight members of the tech department will be evenly divided between the two team leaders. After a month, we will evaluate performance. Only one group will remain.” Everyone gasped and looked at me. This Evelyn had gotten smarter. Instead of using ridiculous rules, she was trying to dismantle us from the inside. But why did this William look so familiar? I remembered. He was the underclassman who confessed his feelings to me back in college. I also remembered completely eliminating him in the very first round of a programming competition. Back then, his name was Bill Zhang. William clearly recognized me, freezing for a second before returning to normal. However, a newfound trace of hatred flashed in his eyes. Great. Another person in this company who wants me dead. But I wasn’t scared. 09 Evelyn wanted the team to voluntarily choose four people to join William, but no one wanted to go with him. After all, over the past year, not only had I secured excellent benefits for them, but I was also very generous with approving time off. I immediately contacted the boss. However, he was currently vacationing in the Maldives with his mistress. Over the phone, he gave me nothing but non-committal answers. “William studied abroad, you know. I brought in a talent like him to share your burden! Let him participate in all your projects; it’ll make things easier for you.” I understood the boss’s true intentions now. He simply wanted William to take over all my projects, and then he would fire me. Seeing that complaining to the boss was useless, Evelyn flashed a smug smile. Finally, she came up with an idea: drawing straws. Everyone reluctantly drew straws, and the two groups were finally formed. William swaggered into the conference room with his four team members, even pulling down the blinds as if I were going to spy on them. I immediately turned around and texted the headhunter who had contacted me before: [Hey Brenda, please set up a meeting with Horizon Group, the one that tried to poach me last time. I’m very interested now.] Brenda replied instantly: [You finally figured it out! I’ll contact them immediately.] After the whole fiasco with Evelyn, I realized that sometimes, you truly have no control over your circumstances. I just wanted to coast in this small company, but there was always someone trying to sabotage me. Since I was still young, I might as well throw myself back into the ultra-competitive corporate grind. Horizon Group was the largest conglomerate in the city, and their robotics division ranked among the top in the nation. Their tech department was full of elites. Once you were in, how much you earned depended entirely on your own abilities. That evening, Brenda replied: [I’ve set up a lunch meeting for you tomorrow. Make sure you bring your A-game.] [Received!]

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When my parents divorced, they both fought tooth and nail for my younger sister, treating me like a plague they couldn’t wait to escape. Ultimately, I was awarded to my father. My mother held my sister’s hand, watching gleefully from the sidelines as my father slapped me across the face. “Hit her harder! Beat her to death so you don’t have to raise her! It’ll save you so much trouble!” The stepmother who had just walked through the door picked me up. “From now on, I am your mother. Do you understand?” Years later, I bought my stepmother a mansion and a luxury car. Meanwhile, my biological mother, who hadn’t shown her face in years, lay in a hospital bed, crying and begging me to save her life. I smiled as I peeled her fingers off my arm. “You can go ahead and die now. Rest assured, I won’t save you.” 1 Less than six months after the divorce, my father remarried. The woman was a divorcee, three years younger than my father. On the day of their wedding, I was locked in a storage closet. My father warned me, “If you dare cause any trouble today, I’ll beat you to death!” That evening, as the guests departed and the house gradually fell silent, I sneaked into the kitchen. While trying to cook some instant noodles, I accidentally knocked over a thermos. Boiling water splashed all over me, and I couldn’t stop a scream of agony from escaping my lips. The door across the hall creaked open, and a woman rushed in after hearing the noise. “What happened? Where did you get burned?” The woman picked me up. She had a faint, very pleasant fragrance. “You must be Mia, right?” I nodded, staring hungrily at the dried fruits on her bed and swallowing hard. She brought me a bunch of snacks, but I hesitated for a few seconds, afraid to take them. “Please don’t tell my dad, okay?” “Why not?” “I broke the thermos. He’ll beat me.” The woman let out a soft “Oh” and said, “I won’t tell him.” I was still anxious. “Pinky promise?” “Okay, pinky promise.” I ate like a starved bandit king. The woman watched me and started to laugh. “Do you know who I am?” I didn’t say a word. “From today on, I am your mother.” I froze mid-chew, my brain rapidly scrolling through all the fairy tales I knew: Snow White and the Evil Queen, Cinderella and the Wicked Stepmother… I was doomed. I was absolutely doomed! I stared blankly at my new stepmother. She frowned and asked, “How did your pants get dirty?” My heart seized. I quickly scrambled off the bed, only to see that a large stain had already soiled the clean bedsheets. Head down, I scrambled frantically toward the bathroom, but my stepmother grabbed my arm. “You’re on your period. Why aren’t you using a pad?” My entire face flushed crimson, as if I had been slapped. “Don’t say that word!” My stepmother looked confused. “Which word?” “That… that word.” “What ‘that’ word? You mean period? Has no one ever taught you about this?” I remained silent. The look in my stepmother’s eyes grew increasingly complex. The day I got my first period, I soiled my pants at school. A classmate’s mother comforted me, saying it was a good thing, proof that I was growing up, and told me I should ask my parents to make me a nice meal to celebrate. I ran home excitedly, but before I could even open my mouth, a vicious slap landed on my face. My mother stood with her hands on her hips, kicking me until I fell to the floor. Her booming voice assaulted my eardrums: “Have you no shame?! Swaying your ass around outside all day, afraid people won’t know you’re prime whore material?!” “If you’re so desperate, why even go to school?! I’ll tell your homeroom teacher tomorrow, and you can just go stand outside a nightclub! Let’s see which blind idiot picks you up!” I covered my pants, slowly getting up, stuttering as I tried to explain to my mother, but she immediately cut me off. “Your pants are dirty, so who’s going to wash them for you?! Who?! Do you think I’m a maid, that this whole family exists just to serve you?! You literally can’t go a single day without acting like a slut!” I was ten years old. Because I got my period, I was forced to kneel on the bathroom floor for an entire day. “Mom, my pants are dirty, and I’m still bleeding…” “Let it bleed! What’s the point of telling me?! Get back to your room, you disgraceful little bitch!” I had never used a sanitary pad. Every month, getting my period felt like a massive, humiliating test. If I bled, I had to use toilet paper to pad my underwear. If I used too much, I was scolded for being selfish. When my pants inevitably got dirty, the boys in class would whistle and jeer at me. My mother would just mock me: “Stop pretending! You want to be a whore but still want a monument to your chastity? I think you’re just a slut!” Later, I found out that my sister had a cold sore on her face that day, which might have affected her video shoot the next morning. My mother was angry and anxious, so she used me as a punching bag. My stepmother was the first person to teach me how to use a sanitary pad. She told me there was absolutely nothing shameful about it. She picked me up and looked me in the eyes. “From now on, I am your mother. Do you understand?” 2 My sister was beautiful, with big eyes and pale skin. Even though we were biological sisters, we looked absolutely nothing alike. She started working as a child model when she was very young and made a lot of money. She was the apple of everyone’s eye. My parents often sighed, “If only our precious baby had been born first, then we wouldn’t have needed the older one.” Even our names were worlds apart. When my sister was born, my parents practically wore out the dictionary and even hired a fortune teller to name her Lily, symbolizing happiness, perfection, and a smooth life. My name was Mia. It didn’t have any special meaning; it just meant I was the extra, unnecessary one in the family. So when they divorced, my parents each grabbed one of my sister’s arms, physically fighting over her custody. “Be a good girl, Lily. Stay with Mommy. Mom will buy you the most beautiful princess dresses and take you to France!” “Don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense! Daddy loves you the most. I’ve already bought a house just for you!” They argued endlessly. The judge, holding my hand, asked somewhat awkwardly, “Which of you is willing to take the older daughter?” In an instant, both my parents took a half-step back. One wailed that they were too poor to afford raising me, while the other claimed they were too careless and unsuited to raise a child. Ultimately, custody of my sister was awarded to my mother. She smiled so wide her mouth almost ripped. My father, furious at losing, slapped me across the face. “You jinx! I should have strangled you or drowned you when you were born!” My mother gloated from the sidelines. “Hit her harder! Beat her to death so you don’t have to raise her! It’ll save you so much trouble!” All I could do was curl myself tightly into a ball and keep my mouth shut. As long as I didn’t argue or open my mouth, I’d suffer a little less physical pain. After my stepmother arrived, my life actually improved. She combed my hair, made me breakfast, took me to school, and bought me several new sets of clothes—enough so that my hands wouldn’t be covered in frostbite during the dead of winter. My mother’s side of the family scoffed at this. My grandmother said stepmothers were all evil, calculating bitches who were just putting on an act to get their hands on my father’s meager assets. I defended my stepmother a little, and my grandmother was so furious she hit me with her cane. “You dead girl, you ungrateful little wretch! That woman has only been here a few days, and you’ve already forgotten your own mother?! You deserve to be unwanted!” Once, my stepmother took me shopping. I ran off on my own and ended up getting hit by a car, needing five stitches on my head. When I opened my eyes in the hospital, my biological mother—who hadn’t sent me a single message in a year—was hugging me, wailing loudly. “My poor daughter! It’s all Mommy’s fault, it’s Mommy’s mistake…” I pushed her away. A flash of embarrassment crossed her face before she pointed at my stepmother and began hurling abuse. “You bitch! How dare you abuse my daughter?! Do you think our family is dead?! You’re not leaving here today without giving us an explanation!” The relatives who had come with her were all filled with righteous indignation, spitting as they shouted, demanding my stepmother explain herself. I stood in front of her to shield her. “I tripped on my own. It wasn’t Auntie’s fault.” My mother grabbed me, desperately trying to twist me around to face the crowd. The cheap perfume she wore was so overpowering it made me want to throw up. “Look at this, everyone! Look how terrified this woman has made my poor Mia! She even taught her to lie!” I forcefully broke free from her grasp. “Are you done acting?! How long are you going to keep filming this?!” My mother’s face froze, and she cast a panicked glance at the crowd. The photographer had already slipped away. She was only doing this because my sister had recently been scouted by a talent agent. My mother was clearing away any potential obstacles to her career, which naturally meant she didn’t want the reputation of having abandoned her older daughter. Instead, she wanted to use my stepmother to craft an image of herself as a loving, victimized mother. She just hadn’t expected me to refuse to play along. “You child, I’ve just been so busy lately, but of course, you’re always in my heart…” “Is that so? Then pay my medical bill. It’s six hundred dollars.” My mother wrung her hands and started crying about how incredibly hard it was to raise my sister alone, and how ungrateful I was as an older daughter. In the sunlight, the jade bracelet on her wrist sparkled brightly. My stepmother, who had been silent until now, stood up, slapped the receipt onto my mother’s face, and glared at her sharply: “I already paid the bill. Get the hell out!” My mother immediately shut her mouth. 3 In truth, my stepmother wasn’t wealthy. If she were, she never would have married a useless loser like my father. My father held tight control over the family finances. Whenever I needed money for school supplies, he would glare at me darkly, pull a few crumpled bills from a stack, and throw them at my head: “Study, study, study! You study so much you’re practically dead, and all you know is how to ask for money! I’d be better off raising a pig!” “Why should I spend my money on you?! Figure it out yourself next time! If you can’t afford it, get out and go work in a factory!” I spent my days stressing over living expenses. That was when Julian approached me, waving hundred-dollar bills. “Hey, wanna make a deal?” Julian was a year below me, a notorious delinquent. At first, teachers tried to call his parents in, but Julian just started hitting people in the office, even causing a pregnant teacher to miscarry. His parents didn’t care either; they just paid a settlement of seventy or eighty thousand dollars, and the matter was swept under the rug. Julian became infamous—his family owned a company; they had money, so they could do whatever they wanted! Julian liked my sister, but they had recently fought and hadn’t spoken for days. Julian wanted me to pretend to be his girlfriend to make her jealous. I glanced at the money in his hand and estimated it to be over a thousand dollars. To me, that was a massive sum. Julian watched me crouch down to pick up the money, looking at me like I was a dog being thrown scraps. “Well? It’s easy money.” “What do you want me to do?” Julian thought for a moment. “Write a few apology letters for me—they need to be poetic. Then write ‘I love you, Lily’ ten thousand times and fold them into paper cranes. And have lunch with me sometimes…” “That costs extra.” “Huh?” I shoved the thousand dollars into my pocket and negotiated terms with him. “Apology letters, paper cranes, having meals—those are all separate items and need to be billed accordingly.” Julian was hesitant at first, but after I mocked him with a few choice words, he grew furious. “Who says I don’t love Lily enough?! Here!” He angrily threw another three thousand dollars at me. Within a few days, my sister predictably lost her cool, especially when she saw Julian chatting with me. She looked like she wanted to lunge at me and claw my face off; she bit her lip until it bled. One afternoon, my father called me incessantly, ordering me to deliver something to Lily. Her classroom was empty, so I shoved the item into her desk and left. The next day, Lily ran to the teachers’ office, sobbing hysterically and demanding to know: “Sister, I don’t care if you hate me, but how could you steal money?!” 4 Lily was the class treasurer. Three thousand dollars she had kept in her desk—money for the entire class’s textbooks—was missing. I demanded they check the security cameras, but the teacher told me the school’s electronics were undergoing maintenance and couldn’t be viewed. Lily’s eyes were red. “It’s okay, sister. As long as you have the courage to admit your mistake, I’ll pay the money back for you. But you really need to stop hanging around Julian so much. What if you do something truly shameful…” The office fell silent. My biological mother was the first to arrive. Upon hearing this, she charged forward and kicked me squarely in the chest. “You dead girl! If you want to go around seducing men, fine, but don’t drag your sister down with you! I’ll beat you to death!” Lily retreated to the side in a panic, looking utterly innocent. “Ah? Did… did I say something wrong? But I clearly saw my sister and Julian in the woods yesterday…” “Don’t be afraid, my precious! Your sister is a born slut, and her father refuses to discipline her, so today I’m going to teach this little bastard a lesson!” I struggled to my feet, laughing wildly. “Yes, I’m a slut! I’m a bastard! I have a mother who gave birth to me but never raised me—my mother died a long time ago!” “What did you say?! You little bitch, how dare you curse me!” My mother shrieked in fury. Just as the office descended into absolute chaos, the door banged open. My stepmother pulled me behind her, shouting fiercely: “I am Mia’s guardian! If you have a problem, take it up with me! An adult who only bullies a child—have you no shame?! Aren’t you afraid of karma?!” “Fine! Let’s settle this! How are we handling this accusation that Mia stole money?!” My stepmother touched my face, looked down, and asked gently, “Is what they’re saying true?” I shook my head. My biological mother flew into a rage. “Still pretending?! It was clearly you! Birds of a feather flock together—you two are both bitches!” “Where is the evidence?” Lily immediately interjected. “Auntie, I saw it with my own eyes…” My stepmother stared at her meaningfully for a few seconds. “So whatever you say is the truth? Well, I say you stole the money! Little girl, being too scheming isn’t a good thing. Don’t treat everyone else like an idiot.” “Also, laying a hand on my daughter without a shred of evidence—I can sue you for that! Are the teachers here dead?! You just stand there watching them cause a scene and don’t even try to stop it?!” The homeroom teacher smiled tightly, attempting to smooth things over. “You said yourself there’s no evidence. Maybe we should just let this go…” “I have evidence.” 5 I played the video, watching as my biological mother’s face cycled from green to red, inflating like a balloon before finally exploding with a pop. The person in the video was my sister. Although the lighting was dim, it was easy to see that she was acting intimately with a boy. Ten minutes later, Julian was standing in the doorway, looking casual and indifferent. My mother was furious; she marched up, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped him. “You little animal! Is your entire family dead?! How dare you target my daughter!” Julian retaliated by punching my mother in the face. The artificial implant in my mother’s nose flew out and hit the homeroom teacher in the face. The situation became incredibly awkward. Lily threw herself onto Julian. “Mom, if you dare touch him, you might as well beat me to death! I don’t want to live anyway!” My mother almost choked on her own breath. I couldn’t help but laugh. My mother finally noticed me, her tone instantly softening. “Mia, can we just pretend this didn’t happen today? Your sister can’t have any negative press right now.” I drawled slowly, “But what about her framing me for stealing the money…” Before I could finish, Lily very conscientiously began slapping her own face. The force was weak; it hurt less than when my mother pinched me. I didn’t say a word. My mother gritted her teeth and slapped Lily on both sides of her face, her curses growing louder and louder. After the beating, Lily’s fake crying turned real. She was practically wailing, her face swollen like a puffy steamed bun. My stepmother grabbed my hand, turned around, and walked away. That night, my stepmother applied ointment to my bruises under the light of a desk lamp. She glanced at me. “If you want to cry, just cry. There’s no one else here. What if you hold it all in and make yourself sick?” My biological mother was incredibly heavy-handed. That kick to my chest still ached. I blinked. “I actually feel pretty badass. Lily got beaten way worse than I did, and she won’t be able to shoot any commercials for days. I’m too busy laughing to cry!” As I was getting ready for bed, my stepmother came to tuck me in. Two shallow dimples appeared on her face. “You’re right, you really are badass. Goodnight!” But my smile didn’t last long. My father suddenly cut off my tuition and ordered me to go work in a factory. I had been accepted into a prestigious high school, but my father absolutely refused to pay the tuition. He contacted a recruiter, packed my bags, and told me I could leave at any time. I remember kneeling for a very long time that day. I said everything I could think of. I kowtowed until my forehead bled. I promised that I would be a hundred times more filial, that I would repay him in full, if only he would let me go to school. I wanted to study. It was my only way out. My tears didn’t move my father. He threw an ashtray at me, cursing my delusional dreams and insisting I wasn’t cut out for studying. I realized later that this was Lily’s revenge. She was our parents’ cash cow. The moment she complained, my father inevitably sacrificed me to appease her. I was fifteen that year. I dragged an empty suitcase and followed a stranger to the factory. I worked day and night, losing track of time. The calluses on my hands tore open, but I couldn’t feel the pain. All I could see were the numb, exhausted eyes behind the surgical masks around me. Barring a miracle, I was going to be buried there, becoming just another walking corpse. My stepmother was that miracle. She appeared at the door of my dorm and slapped me hard across the face. It was the first time she had ever hit me. She looked thinner and darker. Her hands were shaking. She yelled at me: “Mia, what do you think you’re doing?! If you don’t go to school now, what are you going to do with your future?! If I hadn’t come, were you planning to live like this for the rest of your life?! You told me you wanted to go to the elite high school!” I was momentarily dazed. The elite high school… that felt like a lifetime ago. I hugged her and sobbed hysterically. I wanted to go to school, but fate loved to play jokes on me. This path was destined to be treacherous. My stepmother wiped away my tears. Her eyes were resolute. “Be good. Stop crying. I have money. I’ll pay for your schooling!” She took me home. My father was unhappy about it, but when he heard my stepmother was willing to pay, he shut his mouth. Entering the honors class, I clearly struggled to keep up, constantly hovering around twentieth place. That rank was enough for a good university, but far from my goal of an elite Ivy League-tier school. So, my stepmother hired a private tutor for me. I had no idea this would be the beginning of my nightmare.

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After traveling through time and space. Following the system’s instructions, I reclaimed my identity as the true heiress of a wealthy family, serving as the foil to the fake heiress. In this lonely world, I constantly tried to integrate into this family, but every step was a struggle, and I hit a wall at every turn. She was smothered in love and affection by our parents, while I suffered endless cold stares and grievances, even enduring her bullying and humiliation. Until I received the diagnosis of terminal leukemia, and the system still hadn’t given me any further instructions. Completely disillusioned and heartbroken, I decided to use my own death to buy a glimmer of hope to return to my original world. Dragging my failing body, I personally found a mortician for myself and pre-booked a luxurious burial at sea. But when they realized I was truly determined to die. The family members who had once bullied and neglected me turned back, kneeling at my feet, weeping and repenting bitterly. But what they didn’t know was… I had given up on them a long time ago. 1. Standing on the roof of the City Zenith building. I adjusted my breathing, making my final preparations to jump. Having gathered enough courage, I took a step toward the railing. I had barely taken two steps when my phone rang. It was the funeral home. “Ms. Vance, I am so incredibly sorry, but all our transport vehicles have flat tires. Could we… possibly reschedule the pickup time?” No! I’m about to jump off a building, and you’re telling me to reschedule now?! Anger shot straight to my head, but having grown accustomed to acting like a startled bird, I had become timid and cautious. My anger was instinctively suppressed. “I paid the money, and the agreement clearly stated the time.” “Yes, yes… but… how about this? You could switch to a different funeral home? I can recommend one. I have a friend who works there, and I guarantee their service will satisfy you!” “I want your place.” Having traveled to this alternate world years ago, I had endured endless cold stares and grievances. I’m in the terminal stages of leukemia and about to die, and the system still hasn’t given me any new instructions. I want to go back to my original world. I’ve tried every possible method; death is the only option left. To increase my chances of going home. The exact time to die, the best funeral home, the exact time for the funeral, the best burial method… I took my birth chart to a master fortune-teller to calculate all of this. It cannot be changed! “Then there’s really nothing we can do. If you’re really in a hurry, you’ll just have to bring it over yourself.” I forced a wry smile. “I’m sorry, I really can’t deliver it myself.” I couldn’t win my parents’ and brothers’ love from the fake heiress, but I was determined to get the auspicious time I picked for jumping off this building. “I am currently jumping off a building. The body you need to pick up is mine.” Silence fell on the other end of the line. “Um, look, how about you borrow a car from a friend and drive over here first?” 2. After a long pause without him saying anything else, I took it as him agreeing to my proposal. “Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.” I hung up, but the more I thought about it, the more uncertain I felt. There were too many unpredictable variables. I had calculated an auspicious time; I absolutely could not afford any mistakes. It would be much safer to find someone to supervise them while they worked. After giving myself three pep talks, I braced myself and sent a message to the pinned family group chat. [Sorry to bother everyone, but I’m jumping off a building tonight. Could someone please find the time to collect my body?] [It won’t be too much trouble. I’ve already arranged all the afterlife affairs. I just need someone to go and supervise them while they work.] [@everyone] Just as I sent the summarized schedule of my afterlife affairs to the group, I was kicked out of the chat by my second brother, Ethan Vance. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been kicked out. Every time, I was the one begging Ethan to pull me back in. Bitterness spread infinitely within me. Swallowing my pride, I created a new group chat. To increase credibility. I quickly snapped a picture of the rooftop and sent it to the group along with the afterlife schedule. [I promise, this is the last time.] [Time waits for no one. Please, I just need a little help.] After three minutes of dead silence, there was finally a reply. Eldest Brother: [Fine.] 3. A simple Fine. [Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.] With that weight off my mind, I prepared to focus on jumping. But my phone started buzzing incessantly. Mia Vance: [Sister, I’m sorry… Eldest Brother has a surgery tonight. Let’s not bother him.] Mia Vance: [I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… Please don’t do anything impulsive. Mom, Dad, the brothers, and I are rushing home right now.] Reading Mia’s two messages, every sentence dripping with apologies. I knew I had become the target of public criticism once again. Ethan was the first to explode. Ethan: [Mia, why are you apologizing? What did you do wrong to her?] Ethan: [She’s just throwing a tantrum because the whole family went camping with you instead of staying to celebrate her 18th birthday!] Ethan: [Chloe Vance, didn’t you say yourself that you didn’t want to celebrate your birthday? Now you’re threatening suicide? Do you think this is funny?] Tears fell uncontrollably. [It’s not funny. I’m going to die soon.] Mia Vance was a stray child my parents adopted after accidentally losing me. To make up for their guilt toward me, the Vance family poured everything they had into treating Mia well. Including the love that should have been mine—they gave it all to Mia. Even after I found my way back to the Vance family and tried desperately to please them, nothing changed. Instead, because of my efforts to please them, the Vance family worried Mia would misunderstand, overthink things, or feel hurt. They spoiled her even more and even started complaining about why I ever came back. Mia was no saint either. Afraid I would steal the Vance family’s affection, she never stopped framing me and would always play the victim first. Whenever that happened, the Vance family would pull her into their arms with pity and point their fingers at me from the moral high ground. “Can’t you just be a little more generous? Do you really have to pick fights with Mia?” I was heartbroken and couldn’t defend myself. I used to be the precious treasure my parents held in the palms of their hands in my original world, too. Having traveled through time and space, the system forcefully bound me to the memories and emotional system of this alternate world. While missing my parents in my original world, I was also uncontrollably tormented by the various injustices of this one. These two extreme emotions intertwined, leaving me living in absolute agony every single day. But it’s fine now. I have terminal leukemia. I’m going to die soon. 4. I suddenly remembered that the master fortune-teller only calculated an auspicious time; he didn’t specify a location for jumping. The Vance family was unreliable, so I might as well take a taxi to the funeral home and just jump off the building there. On the way, my phone kept buzzing non-stop. Dad: [Chloe, my daughter, how did things get to this point…] Dad: [Don’t blame Mia. It was Dad who insisted on bringing Mia camping.] Dad: [Dad is coming back right now to celebrate your birthday, okay? Chloe… stop messing around.] Ethan: [Let her throw her tantrum! I want to see what other tricks she can pull!] Ethan: [Jumping off a building, huh?! Why not just go jump in the ocean?! Saves money and effort!] Ethan: [Sometimes I really hate it. I hate that the Vance family produced such an ungrateful thing like you! Why didn’t you just die out there all those years ago?!] Looking at those words, my nose stung, and tears slipped down my face uncontrollably. Misfortunes never come singly. Just as I arrived at the funeral home, the sea burial agent called me. He told me the sea burial had to be postponed. The boat I had booked was mistaken for firewood by a family camping on a nearby island and chopped up for a barbecue. The whole “jumping off a building” plan, having progressed to this point, was forced to a halt. Standing on the roof of the funeral home, my body swaying unsteadily, I held onto the wall and sat down. My illness was flaring up more and more frequently. I was exhausted, and could only curl up into a ball and fall into a hazy sleep. And just like that, on the roof of a funeral home, I spent my lonely 18th birthday in this alternate world. The next morning, bathed in the morning light, I dragged my exhausted body toward the beach. This time, I decided to fulfill Ethan’s wish and jump into the ocean. 5. The sea breeze blew gently, and the waves crashed. The endless ocean sparkled with light. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. “This really is a good place to end a life.” Bathed in the warm sun, I walked resolutely into the sea. It was early autumn; the seawater was freezing, chilling me to the bone. With my parents from my original world in my heart, I firmly walked toward the deep ocean. “Mom, Dad, Chloe misses you so much. She wants to go home so badly.” “Chloe is coming to find you.” 6. I still didn’t manage to die. I was rescued by a fisherman and taken to the nearest hospital. The exact hospital where my eldest brother, Liam Vance, worked. “Miss, you’re awake! Doctor, come quick!” The fisherman guarding my bed yelled excitedly for the doctor. “Chloe Vance, that’s enough acting.” As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Liam standing in front of me, his voice carrying a distant reprimand. “Did you know I was on shift today and purposely came here for attention?” I smirked, nodding. “Whatever you say is right.” Seeing my dismissive attitude, he grew even colder. “There needs to be a limit to your tantrums. Going too far just makes people disgusted!” There are two sons in the Vance family. My eldest brother is always busy with work and used to ignoring me. His sudden cold words stung me deeply. The fisherman who saved me couldn’t stand listening to it anymore. He pulled the attending doctor right up to my bed. “Are all doctors this unprofessional nowadays?! A patient wakes up, and instead of examining her, you just stand there running your mouth?! Your actions are slow, but your tongue sure is sharp! “Believe me, I will report this hospital!” Liam was speechless, his eyes wide as he glared viciously at me. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smirked and scoffed, “You’re always crying wolf. Only someone as kind as Mia would still believe you. “She took Mom and Dad home last night, while you disappeared for the entire night. “You really don’t deserve Mia’s kindness towards you, and you certainly don’t deserve the effort she put into cooking for you!” After saying that, he pointedly addressed the doctor examining me: “There are plenty of critically ill patients. Yet someone who’s just here causing trouble is taking up a bed, and as the attending doctor, you don’t know how to advise her to leave?” The doctor looked incredibly awkward. I propped myself up and got off the bed. “Thank you, Doctor. I’m fine. No need to examine me.” As I was about to leave, the fisherman quickly grabbed my arm. “Miss, don’t get angry at a doctor with no morals. “Your face is terrifyingly pale. It’s better to let the doctor check you out to be safe. Don’t fight against your own body.” I really was too sensitive; a few kind words from a stranger actually brought tears to my eyes. Not wanting to cry in front of Liam, I turned back toward the consultation desk. “Sigh, you’re right, sir. I’ll get examined.” 7. Having been repeatedly rebuffed, Liam’s face was dark as he turned to leave. After the doctor inputted my information, he suddenly raised his voice: “Terminal leukemia? “You were diagnosed three weeks ago. Why aren’t you on the waiting list for a match?” The clinic fell into absolute silence. The fisherman looked at me in shock. I calmly shook my head, breaking the silence. “No need. I don’t want treatment anymore.” Liam stopped in his tracks. Unlike the fisherman, his face clearly showed disdain. “Chloe Vance, you really are an expert at getting attention. “First jumping off a building, then jumping into the ocean, and now you’ve concocted ‘terminal leukemia’. “You definitely picked the perfect time to jump into the ocean, going right to where people were. “Everyone knows you learned to swim with Mia, taught by the exact same instructor. Mia won a gold medal in the campus tournament; how bad could your technique possibly be?” He glanced at the fisherman as he spoke. “Without some serious skills, how could you hold out until someone came to save you, and still be completely uninjured?” It’s true that I learned to swim with Mia, but I am a genuine, 100% landlubber. Back then, Mia played plenty of dirty tricks. Once, when the instructor wasn’t looking, she actually stepped on me at the bottom of the pool, trying to drown me. If the instructor hadn’t noticed in time, I would have drowned. When I went home and complained, what did the Vance family say? “You’re just being paranoid. Mia wouldn’t bother trying to kill you.” Right. In the eyes of the Vance family, Mia was doted on by everyone. Why would she want a worthless life like mine? From that day on, I never went to another swimming lesson, and I developed a bone-deep fear of water. Seeing my silence, Liam thought he had figured out my little scheme. “Stop trying to jump into the ocean. Let me give you an idea. Go find an old-growth forest and lie down inside. I guarantee nothing will go wrong.” I lowered my head and smiled bitterly, nodding in self-mockery. “Okay.” My attitude completely enraged Liam. He pinched the bridge of his nose, radiating coldness. “I’ve been working non-stop all day, I’m exhausted. I don’t have the patience to stand here and watch you act.” “If you’re tired, go home and rest early.” Catching a glimpse of my eyes, which were as calm as a pool of dead water, a trace of confusion flashed in Liam’s eyes. I knew why he was looking at me like that. In the past, whenever he said he was tired, I would eagerly rush over, carefully trying to please him, offering warm comfort. But this time, I sat completely still. “Stop using death as an excuse. If you have the guts, don’t ever come home again!” Having grown accustomed to his vicious words, my heart was surprisingly calm right now. “Okay. I won’t go back.” “Bullshit! Chloe’s last name is Vance, why shouldn’t she go back?!” My best friend, Sarah, burst through the door, standing protectively in front of me, blocking Liam’s view. “The Vance family truly lives up to its reputation as a prestigious household. Your family’s upbringing is truly un-complimentary!” “…You.” Liam dared to arrogantly scold me, but facing the Tang family—whose social standing was far above the Vance family’s—he didn’t dare say a word to Sarah. Sarah’s attitude was hostile. “You what? Get lost!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “391818”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My former best friend Chloe’s birthday is also the anniversary of my mother’s death. The moment I saw Chloe and Arthur Sterling picking out a birthday cake together, I knew. This former best friend, who had already stolen my father, was now going to steal my husband. But I wasn’t going to let her win. Determined not to repeat the tragedy of my mother—who was driven to suicide—I ruined Chloe’s birthday party. Then, I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago and moved out of our home that very night. It had been less than seven hours since it happened. In those seven hours: I spent one hour packing, and one hour getting to the high-speed rail station. It took me three hours to reach my grandmother’s house. For the final two hours, I successfully convinced my grandmother to let me stay with her. Arthur Sterling? I was done with him. When Arthur realized Mia had blocked him, he was genuinely stunned. In their three years of marriage, Mia, as Mrs. Sterling, had always been the epitome of grace, dignity, and generosity. No matter the occasion, her behavior had always been completely irreproachable. It wasn’t until he returned home and saw the divorce papers sitting on the table that he belatedly realized he had made a catastrophic mistake. “It’s been years. Chloe has been trying to make peace with you. There’s no need to keep things this hostile. Today is her birthday. She offered a toast to you as your elder; you should have accepted it.” “When you were younger, you could blame your trauma on your family background. But if you still can’t regulate your emotions now, it just shows you haven’t matured. With you in this state, how can I possibly have children with you?” Arthur picked up the divorce papers, read through the terms, and set them back down on the table. He didn’t think he had done anything wrong. Whether Mia accepted it or not, Chloe had long since transitioned from her best friend to her stepmother. Mia’s constant, rigid hostility toward Chloe created intense family friction, making it incredibly difficult for him to navigate social events that required his wife’s attendance. Besides, from what he had seen, Chloe wasn’t nearly as terrible as Mia claimed. He genuinely believed that instead of desperately clinging to the past, Mia should change her mindset and embrace the future with a smile. But realizing this was the first time Mia had ever been this angry, a flicker of panic took root in his chest. His grip on his phone tightened, and Arthur tried calling Mia again. He was still blocked. From the exact moment I saw Arthur and Chloe standing together in that bakery, carefully selecting a birthday cake, I knew my marriage to Arthur had reached its bitter end. Determined not to suffer my mother’s fate, I shattered Chloe’s birthday celebration, packed my bags, and walked out of the home Arthur and I shared. It had been less than seven hours since it all went down. In those seven hours: I spent one hour packing, and one hour rushing to the high-speed rail station. Three hours traveling to my grandmother’s house. And the final two hours successfully convincing her to let me stay. “Grandma, I told you a long time ago, you have terrible taste in men.” “First, you picked a scumbag for my mom, and now you introduced me to a piece of trash. You ruined both of our lives. You have to take responsibility.” I smiled as I fed my grandmother a slice of sweet melon. I gently rested my head against her back, just like I did when I was a little girl. Truthfully, before I brought Chloe home with me, my parents had a pretty good relationship. Back then, forget my mother—even I never would have guessed that eighteen-year-old Chloe had her sights set on my forty-five-year-old father. Despite a massive twenty-seven-year age gap, they pursued their twisted romance with reckless abandon. My mother, a fiercely proud and independent woman her entire life, simply could not accept that her husband was divorcing her for her own daughter’s classmate. In a moment of absolute, suffocating despair, she jumped from the 18th floor. Terrified that staying with my father would destroy me, my grandmother took me in to live with her. Seeing me remain single for years after entering the workforce, she realized I had developed a profound phobia of men and marriage. Terrified I would end up completely alone after she passed away, she introduced me to Arthur Sterling. She originally thought that since she was close friends with Arthur’s grandmother, the connection provided a solid foundation of trust. But even she couldn’t have predicted that Arthur—flawless on paper—was fundamentally, pathologically rational. In every relationship, he only weighed the pros and cons, never considering genuine human emotion. So, when he tricked me into attending Chloe’s birthday dinner, constantly claiming it was “for my own good,” and eventually grabbed my wrist, trying to physically force me to drink the toast Chloe offered… I flipped the table. I completely destroyed Chloe’s birthday dinner. And I pointed directly at my father’s face, demanding to know if he remembered what day it was. 2 Yes. It’s a hilariously cruel joke. Chloe’s birthday is also the exact anniversary of my mother’s death. But besides me, no one remembered. Not even Arthur. He used to hold me close, whispering sweet promises: “From now on, I’ll go with you to pay our respects on your mother’s anniversary. I won’t ever make you face the past alone.” Yet, on the actual day of her anniversary, stopped at a literal intersection between the bustling downtown district and the quiet, desolate cemetery, he chose to turn toward the city center. He physically dragged me into the opulent, blindingly bright hotel lobby. Everywhere I looked, I saw massive, glamorous promotional cutouts of Chloe. There were solo shots of her, and photos of her passionately kissing my father. When we entered the private dining room, Chloe was wearing a pale purple strapless gown, her long, heavily styled hair cascading down her back. She sat at the head of the table, radiating the absolute authority of a matriarch. A massive, multi-carat diamond ring sparkled on her pale, bony finger, the glare almost physically hurting my eyes. When my mother was alive, she once told my father that for her fortieth birthday, she wanted a diamond ring. Nothing extravagant. Just something for a few thousand dollars. But on the day of my mother’s fortieth birthday, my father didn’t even come home. In the end, I used all my saved-up allowance money to buy my mother a diamond ring myself. The ring Chloe was wearing? I actually owned the exact same one. Arthur had given it to me for our wedding anniversary last year. It cost over three million dollars. I desperately didn’t want to look, but my eyes were drawn to it anyway. I noticed my father gazing at Chloe with absolute, unfiltered adoration. Seeing a stray hair on her shoulder, he gently picked it off and threw it away. My mother had never, ever experienced that level of meticulous, tender care. I bit down hard on my tongue. My entire body was shaking. “Mia, you’re here? I’m so incredibly happy to see you today.” Chloe’s gaze slowly traveled over Arthur’s face before finally landing on me, her expression entirely dismissive. She stood up gracefully, her diamond-encrusted nails glittering under the chandelier, perfectly matching the crystal wine glass in her hand. She swirled the deep red wine in her glass, over and over. Seeing that I was refusing to acknowledge Chloe’s gesture, Arthur picked up the wine glass sitting in front of me and drank it for me. But before he could even finish the glass, I beat him to the punch and violently flipped the entire table. Even now, I can still perfectly recall the look Arthur gave me as a table full of exquisite, outrageously expensive food crashed onto the floor in a catastrophic mess. Disappointment, intense displeasure, and pure disgust. 3 The usually dignified and composed Mrs. Sterling had lost her composure. I had humiliated him. Thinking back carefully, since the day I met Arthur, that was the very first time he had ever looked at me like that. When we first started dating, we were just like any normal couple. We climbed mountains together. We watched the sunset. We went camping and stargazing. On our wedding night, he promised me that he would never, ever let me suffer a single grievance in this life. He swore he would never force me to do anything I didn’t want to do. He vowed he would absolutely never repeat the horrific mistakes my father made. At that time, Chloe hadn’t yet set her sights on him. It wasn’t until I started noticing inconsistencies in his behavior and hired an investigator that I learned the truth. It turned out that, starting over a year ago, Chloe had been secretly contacting Arthur under the guise of wanting to “repair her relationship” with me. For an entire year. Arthur hadn’t breathed a single syllable of this to me. It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered making Arthur my safe harbor, of trying to genuinely trust him. But I am profoundly grateful that I always kept a piece of myself guarded. It allowed me to instantly, cleanly sever ties the absolute second a problem arose. Chloe’s betrayal and my mother’s suicide had permanently burned a complete inability to trust others into my core. Because of this deeply ingrained habit, I spent the last three years constantly preparing for the worst. I never actually expected that my three years of preparation would inevitably be put to use. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” My grandmother sighed softly. She knew I was joking earlier; she knew I had never blamed her. She truly, deeply didn’t want to see my marriage to Arthur end like this. “Yes. Better to do it now, before we have kids.” After Arthur and I got married, we had genuinely discussed having children. 4 But Arthur always felt I wasn’t “positive” or “sunny” enough. He was worried my psychological state wouldn’t provide a healthy environment for raising a child. To “fix” me, he signed me up for expensive psychology courses. He even hired a private therapist for me. I told him that, to me, he was infinitely more important than any therapist. He clearly didn’t take that seriously. The moment he started secretly contacting Chloe—having dinner with her, grabbing coffee, even going shopping and exchanging gifts—my psychological state was doomed to crash. While packing my bags, I only intended to take my personal belongings. I never expected to find a thick stack of shopping receipts hidden at the very bottom of his closet. From small items like luxury car keychains to massive purchases like high-end watches and jewelry. Under the guise of an ‘elder’ and a ‘younger generation,’ a ‘stepmother’ and a ‘son-in-law,’ they had been showering each other with attention. Honestly, if Arthur had chosen literally anyone else, I might have considered my grandmother’s feelings and maintained a facade of a happy marriage. But he absolutely, categorically should never have chosen Chloe! No one understands exactly what kind of person Chloe is better than I do. Before our friendship imploded, she used to jokingly complain to me: Why is your family so rich? Why do I have to live like a poor person? If I ever get the chance, I’m going to steal everything you have. I’m going to make what’s yours, mine. So, she stole my father from my mother. And now, realizing my father is getting old and his earning potential is declining, she wants to steal Arthur from me. “Since you’ve made up your mind, Grandma supports you. Just… please don’t be foolish like your mother was.” When my mother died, she acted too impulsively. She left me with virtually no assets. The moment Chloe married my father, she seized absolute control of my family’s finances. My living expenses plummeted the instant she became my father’s wife. “She just can’t stand seeing you live a better life than her! Women like her always get what’s coming to them!” My grandmother was fiercely furious on my behalf when it came to Chloe. Remembering my mother’s horrific tragedy, she wiped away tears of heartbreak. “I am going to live a better life than her. Better than both of them.” 5 Thinking about the preparations I had made over the past three years, I felt a deep sense of confidence. “Mia, I heard you and Arthur had a fight. If it’s because I asked Arthur to bring you to my birthday dinner, I apologize. This has absolutely nothing to do with him. I was the one who begged him to help us repair our relationship.” “You’ve ignored me for so many years, and it genuinely breaks my heart.” “Legally speaking, you are my daughter now. I truly, deeply want us to go back to how we used to be.” Chloe knows exactly how to nauseate me. So, she intentionally chose the most offensive, triggering words possible. I didn’t even need to see her face. I knew exactly what kind of smug, triumphant expression Chloe was wearing on the other end of the line. “Are you done? If you’re done, I’m hanging up.” I had blocked Chloe’s number years ago. I only answered this time because she must have used someone else’s phone, and I didn’t recognize the number. I felt violently physically ill. It seemed that from now on, I couldn’t answer unknown numbers either. “Mia, what’s done is done. Do you think hiding is going to make it disappear? Whether you accept it or not, you cannot change my current status!” Terrified I would hang up, Chloe instantly dropped the sweet act and hardened her tone. As expected. Now that her status had changed, she no longer spoke to me with that pathetic, subservient tone she used to use—constantly following me around, clinging to me, calling me ‘Mia’ affectionately. Now, she was addressing me by my full name like an equal! “I have zero desire to change it. If you want to dig through my garbage and take the trash I threw away, I couldn’t care less. Go right ahead!” I had cut ties with that scumbag father of mine a long time ago. As for Arthur, she wanted to steal him so badly, right? I’ll gift-wrap him for her! “You know?” Chloe didn’t realize I already knew about her secret meetings with Arthur over the past year. Her voice instantly turned cold. “Whether I know or not is entirely irrelevant. What matters is whether my father knows!” I let out a cold laugh and ended the call. I remembered that the very first thing I did after walking out of Chloe’s birthday dinner was forward that massive compilation of evidence straight to my father’s email. I was fully prepared to sit back and watch those two rabid dogs tear each other to pieces. As for Arthur, if he agreed to a clean divorce, we could handle it smoothly. If he refused, I would simply file a lawsuit. And a lawsuit meant I would walk away with significantly more. “Mr. Sterling, why didn’t you bring Mrs. Sterling today? It’s highly unusual for you to attend an event like this solo.” Arthur had barely taken his seat. The people around him, confirming Mia’s absence, immediately started teasing him. 6 Everyone in their social circle knew that Arthur and Mia were the ultimate model couple. If an event allowed plus-ones, Mia was absolutely guaranteed to be standing right by Arthur’s side. “Next time.” Arthur’s expression was noticeably dark. He couldn’t stop thinking about how Mia had been gone for over a week. And during that entire week, no matter how he tried to contact her, her only response was always the exact same sentence: “Have you signed the divorce papers yet?” It was infuriating. Normally, with Mia by his side, he could gather crucial business intel through her casual conversations with the other executives’ wives. Now, without Mia’s strategic assists, something felt fundamentally wrong. It felt like… his information wasn’t complete. He felt unanchored. Even though, before they got married, he used to secure massive contracts entirely on his own. Had Mia really changed his workflow this drastically in just three short years? “Arthur, I am so incredibly sorry. I know I shouldn’t be bothering you at this hour. But I genuinely have nowhere else to go.” When Arthur returned home from the networking event, Chloe was crouched outside his door, wearing a flowing white fringed dress. Hearing the elevator ping, she looked up, her expression a masterclass in pathetic vulnerability. Her eyes were a complex mix of shame, embarrassment, and profound victimization. “What happened?” Arthur glanced at Chloe briefly before unlocking the door with his fingerprint and stepping inside. “Mia took some videos of us meeting over the past year, edited them completely out of context, and sent them to her dad. He misunderstood the situation between us and threw me out of the house.” Chloe’s eyes darted around, taking in Arthur and Mia’s marital home. Even though she had seen her fair share of opulence living with Arthur’s father, all of that suddenly felt cheap and insignificant compared to the breathtaking, floor-to-ceiling display of rare collectibles lining Arthur’s walls. She expertly masked the flash of raw greed in her eyes, letting her long hair fall forward to hide her expression. She played the role of the helpless, fragile victim to absolute perfection. “She’s throwing a tantrum because she’s angry at me. Please don’t blame her. I’ll explain everything to her clearly, and then I’ll have her come here and apologize to you and her father.” Even now, Arthur genuinely refused to believe that Mia’s demand for a divorce was real. He was absolutely certain she was just throwing a fit. She was waiting for him to go and coax her. “I think she’s much angrier at me. You just got dragged into the crossfire. From the day I met Mia, I’ve always known that once she sets her mind to something, she never changes it.” 7 “I was too greedy. I never should have asked you to help me.” After saying that, Chloe raised a hand to her forehead, swaying dramatically as if she were about to faint. “What’s wrong? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?” Arthur frowned. Looking at Chloe’s pale lips and obvious distress, he hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out to support her. “I haven’t eaten anything all day. It’s probably low blood sugar. Can I please just crash here for one night? I’ll go back tomorrow after I figure out exactly how to explain everything.” This “crashing for the night” tactic was the exact same move Chloe had used years ago to sleep with my father in the middle of the night, right under my and my mother’s noses. She was planning to run the exact same play. My father had indeed gotten into a massive fight with her. But after she vehemently, desperately denied everything, he had actually apologized to her. She was the one who insisted on leaving; my father couldn’t stop her. “Do whatever you want.” Seeing that Chloe genuinely looked unwell, her lips entirely devoid of color… And remembering that she was technically Mia’s family… he let go of her, turned around, and went to his own room. Having achieved half her objective, Chloe listened to the sound of Arthur’s door closing. She pulled out her phone and snapped a selfie. Then, she sent it to me. I had blocked her number. But today, specifically to contact me, she had bought a brand new SIM card. That night, she left her bedroom door unlocked, waiting for Arthur to walk in for the entire night. But she was deeply disappointed. Arthur didn’t barge into her room like my father had. Chloe realized that even though she had spent a year laying the groundwork, and had confirmed that Arthur wasn’t repulsed by her… if she wanted to escalate their relationship, she needed to manufacture a different kind of opportunity. I was at the supermarket with my grandmother when I received Chloe’s photo. “Just a solo shot? You don’t have any photos of the two of you? Nothing a little more explicit?” I typed out a completely emotionless reply and hit send. “Your heart must be bleeding right now, isn’t it? Still pretending you don’t care? Mia, the look of absolute agony in your eyes when you flipped that table at my party was much more convincing!” Terrified that a text message would leave a digital trail I could use against her, Chloe immediately called me. “Done acting? This is your true face. You’ve been putting on that fake act for so many years, if you didn’t finally show your true, disgusting colors, I almost would have forgotten what you really looked like!” I listened to Chloe’s cold sneer through the speaker. Ever since she married my father, she had constantly put on the airs of a devoted stepmother. Every word out of her mouth was dripping with hypocritical concern and fake affection. I was sick to death of it. “Haven’t you always desperately wanted me to divorce your father? Congratulations, your wish is about to come true. I demanded a divorce from him last night. Barring any surprises, in a month, your father will be all yours! I will never fight you for him again!” Chloe’s obsession with marrying my father, despite the intense public scrutiny, wasn’t just for the luxurious lifestyle the Harrison family provided. It was also because she was intensely jealous of the paternal love my father used to show me. Her own father had abused and beaten her since childhood. She had never experienced a father’s love in her entire life. So, she sacrificed her youth and beauty to buy the years of devotion my father offered her. 8 What others saw as a pathetic, degrading trade, she saw as the ultimate victory. “Are you sure he’s actually willing to divorce you? What if he refuses?” I knew exactly what this was. Chloe wanted to kick my father to the curb and hook up with Arthur. After all, Arthur was young, handsome, insanely wealthy, and powerful. Unlike my father, who was aging, gaining weight, and had seen his assets shrink significantly in recent years due to the economic downturn. Comparing the two, Arthur won flawlessly. But just because Chloe wanted a divorce didn’t mean my father wanted one. My father had already divorced his wife of many years for Chloe, entirely alienating his only daughter in the process. If he divorced Chloe now, he would become the ultimate, pathetic laughingstock! “You don’t need to worry about that. I have my ways. Besides, your father acts like a trained dog around me. If I tell him to go left, he wouldn’t dare go right!” Chloe possessed an incredible sense of superiority when it came to my father. This superiority gave her the delusion that her charm was absolutely limitless. Just like years ago. No matter how incredibly kind I was to her, in her eyes, I only valued her for her beauty. She believed I only wanted to be friends with her to draw more attention to myself, to make myself look more noble and arrogant. People project their own toxic nature onto others; they assume everyone thinks exactly the way they do. “Unlike your mother, who was with him for over a decade and couldn’t control him in the slightest!” “Honestly, it’s a good thing your mother died. Otherwise, seeing how obedient your father is to me, she probably would have died of a rage-induced stroke anyway!” “Chloe, karma is real! You murdered my mother, and now you have the absolute audacity to insult her memory?! Aren’t you terrified of divine retribution?!” Hearing her shamelessly drag my mother’s name through the mud, my grip on my phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. I told myself: Wait just a little longer! Karma is coming, and it’s coming fast! Terrified that I was recording the call, and realizing she had said things that completely destroyed her carefully crafted persona, Chloe abruptly hung up. She was incredibly arrogant when she called me, but she hung up looking like a panicked rat. After that. Certain that Arthur was never going to sign the divorce papers voluntarily, I didn’t even bother informing him. I went straight to the courthouse and filed a formal lawsuit for divorce. The first attempt at a lawsuit usually doesn’t end in a granted divorce. Knowing full well I wouldn’t get the immediate result I wanted, I filed anyway to intentionally manufacture a massive media scandal. Arthur’s tech company was scheduled to go public next year. The longer this dragged out, and the closer we got to his IPO, the less he could afford a messy divorce. And exactly as I predicted. When his lawyers received the official notice from the court, Arthur couldn’t handle the pressure. He showed up at my grandmother’s house in the middle of the night. “It seems you weren’t avoiding me because you didn’t know where I was. You just didn’t want to come see me face-to-face.” It was the dead of night when Arthur finally tracked me down. I was wearing the same pink pajamas I used to wear before I got married. My long, dark hair cascaded loosely down my back. I yawned, stepping aside to let him in. “Mia, you have taken this entirely too far!” Arthur was still wearing his tailored work suit. He stared directly at me, instantly grabbing my wrist, his brow furrowed in absolute, exhausted irritation. “I gave you plenty of time. You were the one who refused to cooperate. Since you refuse to agree to an amicable divorce, my only option is to sue.” I knew exactly how physically strong Arthur was, so I didn’t bother struggling against his grip. I didn’t struggle at all.

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To get back at the fake heiress who stole my life, I became the sugar mommy to her ultimate crush. I tormented him in every way possible, watching him seethe with anger: “Chloe, this kind of cheap trick is all you’re good for.” That only turned me on more. I wrung him dry, time and time again. Until a line of text suddenly floated in the air right before my eyes: [This female supporting character is literally begging for death.] [Liam is the sole heir to the wealthiest family in the country. The day he returns to the Sterling family is the day she dies.] I was so terrified I fell right back onto Liam’s lap. “Hiss.” Hearing his muffled groan of pain, I dumped him without a backward glance. It wasn’t until the day I returned from abroad for my arranged marriage that Liam, his face cold as ice, sneered: “I thought you were so tough?” 1 I tilted my head, looking at the man whose hands I had bound with silk ribbons. I offered a sweet smile, leaning close to his ear: “Tell me, do you think Mia knows that in private, you’re so…” I whispered the very last word incredibly softly. Liam closed his eyes, clearly disdaining to even acknowledge me. My fingertips traced a path from his cheek down to his collarbone, and finally rested on his abs. “It’d be great if she got the chance to see this someday.” Liam’s eyes snapped open: “Do you think everyone is as shameless as you? “Chloe, this kind of cheap trick is all you’re good for.” I let out a soft laugh and bit his collarbone. “Naughty. That’s a punishment.” Liam pressed his lips tightly together, lost in his own thoughts. Having just finished our “workout,” I was feeling a bit tired, but his reaction instantly reignited my interest. Just as I was about to make a move, the space in front of me suddenly distorted. Immediately following, a line of text floated in the air: [I have to admit, they look incredibly good together.] [This female supporting character is literally begging for death.] [Liam is the sole heir to the wealthiest family in the country. The day he returns to the Sterling family is the day she dies.] [If the female supporting character doesn’t act like an idiot begging for death, how else are we supposed to highlight the female lead’s pure and kind nature?] I was terrified by the words floating in front of me, and my butt dropped heavily right onto Liam. “Hiss.” Liam couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan. I clamped my hand over his mouth: “Don’t make a sound.” Liam glared at me with annoyance, his eyes demanding to know what crazy phase I was going through now. [Why did they stop moving? Even though it’s censored with a mosaic blur, just seeing their silhouettes is pretty hot.] [What kind of nasty trick is the female supporting character plotting now?] That confirmed it. Those comments were definitely talking about me and Liam. I scrutinized the man in front of me. Broad shoulders, long legs, exquisite facial features, and skin like jade. I had to admit, even though I only approached him to get back at Mia, Liam was absolutely, 100% my type. But remembering what those floating comments said, I was genuinely scared. My life was definitely more important. Liam was almost suffocating under my hand, so I quickly let go. “Cough, cough! What kind of crazy episode are you having now?!” Watching the man’s naturally pale skin flush with a layer of red, I quickly recited my mantra: Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Before Liam could fully react, I quickly grabbed a silk ribbon and blindfolded him. He was used to my antics and just let me do as I pleased. Once he couldn’t see a thing, I grabbed my clothes and snuck out as fast as I could. 2 The next time I saw Liam was at school the following day. In the hallway, the look he gave me was ice-cold. I didn’t care. Mia was walking right beside him, looking delighted, chatting about something. When she saw me, her smile vanished instantly: “Chloe, Mom and Dad said don’t forget to go try on your dress tonight.” I forced a fake smile: “Always trying to show off, aren’t you?” Mia’s face darkened significantly. Seeing me looking at Liam, she immediately stepped in front of him to block my view. I let out a scoff and brazenly looked Liam up and down. My eyes accidentally caught sight of the bruises on the boy’s wrists. I froze. Crap. I forgot to untie him last night. I shrank my neck back, feeling incredibly guilty. [Liam was tied up by the female supporting character for half the night yesterday. He must hate her guts right now.] [Hahaha, why is the female supporting character’s expression actually kind of cute right now?] [Sis, wake up! She’s a dark, manipulative villainess!] I quickly scurried away, terrified that if I stayed even one second longer, their glares would literally kill me. Back in my seat in the classroom, I mindlessly spun my pen, lost in thought. Thinking about Liam’s identity as mentioned in those comments, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Liam clearly looked and acted like he was struggling financially. Otherwise, he never would have sold himself to me just to pay for his mother’s medical bills. It seems his background is incredibly complicated. Then I remembered all the things I had done to him. Tsk. This is going to be tricky. After thinking it over from every angle, I realized the result was: unresolvable. The way Liam and I met was straight out of a melodramatic soap opera. I am the true heiress of the Vance family, accidentally switched at birth. When I was finally brought back home, I found that Mia had already been keeping my parents company for over a decade. Reality isn’t a novel. Even though Mia wasn’t exactly top-tier in every aspect, after years of having massive resources poured into her, she was at least somewhat proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. And me? I grew up in an obscure, middle-of-nowhere town. I was the textbook definition of a kid who only knew how to take tests. I was someone who, aside from the middle school and high school entrance exams, knew absolutely nothing else. Naturally, I couldn’t compare to her. After I returned to the Vance family, even though my parents wanted to compensate me, their efforts were strictly limited to material compensation. They treated me with an excess of politeness, but a severe lack of familial warmth. Fortunately, I am a selfish person. I threw tantrums when I wanted to, spent their money freely, and felt absolutely zero guilt about it. Although the thrill of having money made my life much smoother, Mia’s existence was a constant reminder of the fact that I wasn’t truly loved. Just to spite Mia, I specifically enrolled in the exact same university as her. And it was here that I met Liam. Liam was Mia’s ultimate, unattainable crush. More than once, I had caught Mia looking at Liam with the unmistakable, joyful longing of a girl in love. So, to get revenge on her, I approached Liam. At the time, Liam’s mother happened to be gravely ill and needed surgery. The financial compensation I offered was simply too tempting to refuse. Left with no other choice, Liam agreed. Looking back on it now, it would be a miracle if this guy didn’t seek revenge against me later. Thinking of Liam, I curled my lip. What a shame. I wasn’t even done sleeping with him yet. 3 When I got home that night, I received a text from Liam: [Where are you?] I had been so engrossed in reading salacious stories online that I completely forgot today was our usual scheduled day. I checked the time. He had already been waiting there for two hours. For a moment, I felt genuinely guilty. Originally, I was just going to tell him to leave. But then I realized that if we were going to break things off, it would be better to do it face-to-face and make things clear. Before heading out, I swapped the sexy slip dress I had originally planned to wear. I changed into a conservative, Chanel-style tweed vest and skirt set. I checked myself in the mirror. Mm, very fully clothed. When I arrived, Liam was looking down, messing with his phone, clearly looking at something. Seeing me, he wore his usual ice-cold expression and frowned slightly: “Ms. Vance, you’re arriving later and later these days. “Make it quick today. I still need to go to the hospital tonight.” Liam was wearing a slightly sheer white dress shirt today. The muscles barely concealed beneath the fabric were faintly visible, exuding an incredible sexual tension. I looked him up and down thoroughly and broke into a smile: “Being so proactive today, are we?” Liam froze for a second, his tone turning sour: “Wasn’t it you who demanded this last time?” Then I remembered. Last time, while touching his abs, I had casually mentioned that he would look amazing in a white dress shirt. I didn’t expect him to actually wear one. At that moment, the floating text appeared in the air again. [Ahhhh! Liam, my husband, is so handsome!] [A lean, muscular physique is a man’s best dowry!] [That awful girl is eating so well! I wish I could body-swap with Chloe for just one day!] Reading the comments, I couldn’t help but recall how incredible Liam’s body felt under his clothes. It truly was spectacular. I shook my head, trying to clear the inappropriate thoughts. I flashed my usual, superficial smile: “Liam, I’m bored of you. “You’re free now.” I pulled a card from my small crossbody bag and handed it to him: “The money on this card is your compensation. It’s more than enough for your mother’s treatment and her subsequent rehabilitation.” Liam stood frozen in place, then spoke, his voice filled with burning anger: “Chloe, do you really have to humiliate me like this?” I didn’t move, genuinely confused: “How am I humiliating you?” This time, I really didn’t understand. I was giving him money and restoring his freedom. Shouldn’t he be happy? Liam’s face was flushed red with anger. He sneered and shoved me away: “Take your damn money.” With that, he grabbed his jacket and left. I was completely bewildered. When I saw that the strawberry cake on the table had already partially melted, I froze entirely. Mia liked chocolate cake. Just to irritate her, I used to always have someone buy the exact same chocolate cake whenever she got one. But the truth was, I didn’t even like chocolate. Very few people knew that my actual favorite was strawberry cake. [Why would Liam buy Chloe a strawberry cake?!] [And he bought it using the money he earned from his part-time jobs!] [He was afraid the rich girl would hate it, so he specifically chose a place that looked expensive. But of course, Chloe still looked down on it, hahaha.] I turned my head to look at the spot where Liam had been standing, but he was long gone. Heh. How surprisingly thoughtful. 4 I carried the partially melted strawberry cake back home. My mom was chatting with Mia about something, and the two of them were laughing together. Seeing me walk in, my mom’s smile faded slightly, and she asked in a gentle tone: “Chloe, where were you so late?” I swung the cake box in my hand: “I went to buy this.” My mom glanced at the cake box and frowned: “Stop eating those cheap desserts. Auntie Zhang just made fresh snowflake crisps and chocolate cake. Have some of that.” They were all things Mia liked. I twitched my lips into a smirk: “No thanks. “Cheap things suit me perfectly, don’t they?” Mia spoke up: “Chloe, how can you speak to Mom like that?” I smiled sweetly: “She’s my biological mother. I can speak to her however I want. It’s none of your business. “It’s only because of a mistake that you even have the opportunity to stand in front of me and act all high and mighty. “As the sole beneficiary of that mistake, what right do you have to bark at me?” Mia was stunned. Although I used to subtly clash with her in the past, I had never brought it out into the open so aggressively. For the first time, my mom looked at me with clear disapproval: “Chloe, how can you speak to Mia like that? Where are your manners?” I sneered: “I didn’t have a home, so how could I have manners? “Naturally, I can’t compare to the daughter you raised and educated with your own two hands.” Before I left the room, I walked up to Mia and leaned close to her ear: “You like Liam, don’t you?” Mia’s face instantly turned bright red: “You…” I cut her off, speaking with pure malice: “He was actually pretty fun to play with. But I’m bored of him now, so you can have him back.” I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mia’s face go from red to stark white. I whistled a happy tune as I walked upstairs. 5 This time, Mia truly, deeply hated me. And her revenge came swiftly. That weekend, our family attended a formal banquet. I wore a pearl-white embroidered dress, looking ethereal and elegant, while Mia dressed incredibly low-key. During the banquet, a man around twenty-five or twenty-six kept staring at me continuously. My dad pulled me over and introduced us: “Chloe, this is the second son of the Zhou family, Jason Zhou.” Jason stared at me with naked, undisguised lust, making my skin crawl. Seeing Mia standing nearby with a look that clearly said she was enjoying the show, I was even more certain that something bad was happening. I gave a polite, reserved nod, made up an excuse, and left the hall. Just as I was heading out the door, I coincidentally saw Liam, dressed in a server’s uniform. His looks were simply too striking. As he moved through the crowd, many eyes lingered on him, sizing him up. When he saw me, he kept his face cold and pretended not to know me. When he wasn’t looking, I reached out and pinched his butt. His face instantly flushed completely red, and he hissed angrily: “Chloe! What are you doing?!” I pulled my hand back sheepishly, scanning the area to make sure no one had noticed before finally relaxing. “Sorry. Force of habit.” Liam shot me a freezing glare and walked away. [Hahaha, Chloe did that way too naturally!] [Why is Liam so incredibly seductive when he blushes?!] [I can’t handle this, hahahaha! I ship them so hard!] [Honestly, Liam probably enjoyed that.] I waited for my parents, bored out of my mind. An unfamiliar server approached me: “Hello, are you Ms. Chloe Vance?” I nodded. “A gentleman named Liam asked me to invite you upstairs for a moment.” I was a bit confused. Hadn’t Liam just looked at me like I was a walking plague a few minutes ago? Why was he calling me upstairs now? I didn’t suspect anything and followed the server. It wasn’t until I reached the door of the suite upstairs that I felt something was wrong. Could it be that Liam wants to have an official break-up ceremony with me? I mean, I wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. I pushed the door open. A pungent, cloying smell filled the room. Through the frosted glass of the shower, I could vaguely see the silhouette of someone washing up. “Liam? Liam.” I was intimately familiar with Liam’s physique. That blurry silhouette clearly wasn’t him. I knew instantly I had been set up. I couldn’t believe such a cliché, melodramatic plot twist was actually happening to me. When Jason Zhou stepped out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel, I was completely done with this bullshit. I turned and bolted for the door, running straight into someone’s chest. Liam frowned and pulled me out of his arms: “Chloe.” Seeing Liam, I finally let out a sigh of relief. But almost immediately, a wave of scorching heat washed over my body. “What’s wrong with you? Why is your face so red?” Liam noticed something was wrong. Throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed Liam and dragged him into the nearest empty suite. By the time I regained clear consciousness, three hours had already passed. Liam was covered in hickeys and bite marks. Some were so deep they almost looked like they were bleeding. I lay sprawled across Liam, staring blankly at the ceiling, feeling like my life was over. [Wow, I have to say, Mia was actually pretty ruthless here. Chloe had it rough.] [Mia is the main character! She’s not some helpless little bunny!] [It’s her own fault for sleeping with Mia’s ultimate crush. Serves her right.] Reading the contents of those comments, I felt a surge of pure anger for the very first time. Just because she’s the “Main Character,” she can just toy with other people’s lives however she wants?! I really overestimated Mia in the past. I looked down at Liam. He was still asleep. I sighed helplessly and started putting my clothes on. I tried to run, I tried to hide, but in the end, I still ended up tangled with him again. Whatever. Debt upon debt, it doesn’t matter anymore. I took advantage of the fact that Liam was still asleep and quietly slipped away. 6 I had over twenty missed calls on my phone. I checked them; they were all from my parents. I sneered and turned off my phone. When I got home, the house was completely dark. I let out a self-deprecating laugh. Just as I was about to head upstairs, my mom heard the noise and came out: “Chloe, where did you go? “We called you so many times, and you didn’t answer.” Soon after, my dad and Mia also came downstairs. Mia crossed her arms and spoke with a sickeningly fake tone: “Chloe, where were you? Mom, Dad, and I were so worried about you. “No matter how much you hate these kinds of events, you can’t just leave by yourself.” My dad’s face was dark: “Staying out all night! Chloe, you have completely disgraced our family!” I laughed out of pure anger, looking at the three of them one by one. What a perfectly harmonious family of three. It’s just that I didn’t like it. I set my bag down and methodically took off my jacket. I walked toward Mia, step by step. Mia looked confused. I suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Mia by the hair with one hand, and started slapping her face repeatedly with the other. Mia’s screams filled the room. My mom rushed over to pull me off, yelling loudly: “Chloe! Have you lost your mind?! Let go!” I ignored her. I viciously attacked Mia’s most vulnerable spots. Still not satisfied, I used my long, sharp nails to claw directly at her face. My sharp nails quickly drew blood, leaving deep scratches across her cheeks. “Rebellion! This is utter rebellion!” My dad clutched his chest in fury. Ignoring everything, I grabbed the pruning shears from the flower arrangement on the table and started frantically hacking off Mia’s long hair. “AHHHH! Let go of me! Chloe, are you crazy?! “Mom, Dad, help me!” I don’t know how much time passed, but I finally felt like I had beaten her enough. I stopped, panting heavily. “Chloe! You’re a maniac! “I’m going to kill you!” Mia shrieked, her eyes bloodshot, staring at her mangled, chopped-up hair. My mom held her back, looking at me with fearful wariness. I elegantly smoothed out my dress and offered my usual, faint smile. “Weren’t you asking where I went? “Your precious, perfect daughter drugged me and tried to have me delivered to Jason Zhou’s bed. “Don’t tell me you two actually tacitly approved of this?” I looked at my parents. My mom’s eyes went wide: “What nonsense are you talking about?! “How could we ever do something like that?!” I continued: “Don’t think I couldn’t tell. Dad, you were intentionally trying to set me up with Jason Zhou tonight. “Do you despise me that much? Packing me up and delivering me straight to some guy’s bed?” Hearing my words, my dad’s frown deepened: “We did have the intention of arranging a marriage with the Zhou family, but we wouldn’t stoop so low as to do something like that.” Mia tried desperately to act calm: “You’re saying I did it. Do you have any proof?” “Of course I do. Money makes the world go round, don’t you know? “That server told me absolutely everything.” Mia immediately denied it: “Impossible! I wasn’t the one who hired him!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “391816”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel