Category: English

I was tangled up with Arthur for seven years, only for him to fall in love with my adopted sister. Exhausted, I finally gave up and decided to be with Liam, the man who had been relentlessly pursuing me. Liam loved me to the bone. He got into fights for me, street raced for me, crawled up the steps of a holy mountain on his knees to pray for my health, and even won the world’s only “Heart of the Ocean” necklace at auction just to give it to me. But, seven days before our wedding, I overheard someone ask him: “Liam, you don’t even love Chloe. Why put on this fake act? Why sacrifice your whole life to marry her?” Liam’s face was hidden in the shadows. He toyed with the ring in his hand, his tone freezing cold: “As long as I’m alive, I will never allow Chloe to hurt Mia.” Mia. The name of my adopted sister. With a trembling hand, I answered the call from my professor and finally agreed to go abroad for further studies. Later, I heard the wedding was a complete disaster. Arthur and Liam got into a vicious brawl, all just to find the whereabouts of the runaway bride. 1 When I stood outside the doors of that bar, it felt like all the air had been sucked from my lungs. If I hadn’t heard Liam say those words with my own two ears… I would never have believed that his love for me was nothing but a massive, elaborate lie. “But Liam, you’ve loved Mia silently for so long. Are you really content just being her secret knight in shining armor?” “My feelings for Mia have nothing to do with her.” “You insisted on getting married on the exact same day as Arthur… is it because you’re afraid Chloe will try to steal her sister’s man?” “Every time I look at Mia, my heart skips a beat. I’m terrified Chloe hasn’t let go of her past with him either. “She and Arthur were tangled up for years. Even though she gave me her first time and gave up her career for me, it’s far from enough. “The only way to truly protect Mia is to keep Chloe tied to my side forever, like a dog.” Not long ago, Liam rented an entire luxury cruise ship just to propose to me. He knelt on the deck, kissed my hand, and cried uncontrollably. He almost passed out from the overwhelming emotion. I thought he loved me so deeply that he was overcome with gratitude that our five-year relationship was finally resulting in marriage. I was wrong. He was celebrating the fact that he had finally locked me in a cage, ensuring I could never hurt Mia ever again. It’s hard to describe exactly how I felt in that moment. After what felt like an eternity, I clutched my agonizingly painful chest and stumbled out into the torrential rain. 2 Liam didn’t get home until midnight. Taking off his coat, he walked over to the bed and found me lying there, completely soaked, burning with a fever. “Baby, when did you go out? Your fever is so high!” I was shivering violently from the cold. My jaw was clamped shut. I couldn’t make a single sound. It was an acute stress reaction triggered by the shock of betrayal and deception. Liam was terrified: “Chloe, stop biting your lip so hard, it’s bleeding.” Without hesitation, he shoved his index finger into my mouth, his face a mask of pure terror and concern. The memory violently dragged me back to that year. My parents, prioritizing Mia, had abandoned me in the mountains. I fell off a cliff and almost lost my life. Liam braved a torrential storm, kneeling and bowing every three steps, crawling all the way up a holy mountain just to pray for my recovery. Seeing his forehead covered in bloody gashes, his knees scraped raw, and his severe limp… I let go of the resentment I held toward my parents and Mia, and agreed to be with him. But tonight, I heard Liam tell his friends: “Back then, I crawled up that mountain step by step to show God my absolute sincerity, begging Him to heal Mia’s heart condition. “Chloe just got lucky and survived her fall.” I used every ounce of strength I possessed to viciously bite down on Liam’s long, slender finger. The thick, metallic taste of blood instantly filled my mouth. Liam didn’t pull away. He acted as if he couldn’t feel the pain, looking at me with frantic anxiety: “Chloe, bite harder. Just please don’t hurt yourself. I’d gladly lose a finger for you.” I still let go. His blood was too filthy. 3 Liam rushed me to the hospital overnight. He held my hand, staying by my bedside for the entire night. How touching! I heard the young nurses whispering to each other: “Mr. Sterling loves his fiancée so much! He hasn’t closed his eyes all night just to take care of her.” In the eyes of the public, the heir to the Sterling empire was aloof, arrogant, and entirely uninterested in women. Only I knew the truth. He was worried. Worried that if I couldn’t attend the wedding as planned, it would introduce a variable into Mia’s perfect happiness. Seeing me wake up, Liam carefully fed me porridge, spoon by spoon. His bitten finger was wrapped in thick layers of gauze. Yet, his only concern was me: “Chloe, I wish I could take this sickness from you. Please, get better quickly, for me. Can you do that?” I swallowed the porridge expressionlessly. Suddenly realizing that this would be our last breakfast together. Countless sorrows fluttered wildly in my subconscious. I wanted to scream, to tear things apart, to demand answers. The old Liam used to stand just one step away, patiently waiting for me to even look at him. He would go out in the middle of the night to buy my favorite spicy crawfish, beat up the thugs who bullied me, and bring me warm brown sugar water when I had my period. Slowly but surely, I had fallen into the trap of his indulgent devotion. Only to discover overnight… That he was merely using the illusion of true love to lock me inside a prison of romance. I finally broke down and cried. Liam frantically pulled me into his embrace, wiping away my tears: “Chloe, does it hurt a lot? I’ll get the doctor.” He pulled out his phone. A message popped up, and his face drastically changed. “Chloe, there’s an emergency at the company. Take your medicine and get some sleep. I’ll be right back to stay with you.” Before I could even speak. He pushed the door open and rushed out. 4 I stared quietly at my phone. Mia had just posted a status: “My heart feels a little uncomfortable.” The background was a stark white hospital room. Thinking of how Liam looked like his soul had left his body when he rushed out, a sharp pain pierced my heart. My phone buzzed with a succession of provocative messages from Mia: [Sister, Arthur managed to snatch your favorite wedding dress for me.] [Mom and Dad managed to secure the church you wanted for your wedding for me instead.] [And that “Heart of the Ocean” necklace up for auction? Guess if my dear brother-in-law will deliver it right into my hands?] A woman’s intuition is a strange thing. When trapped in the maze of love, it seems to completely fail. But the moment she wakes up, all the clues become glaringly obvious. Over these past few years, the businesses of the Vance and Arthur’s families had been completely surpassed by Liam, who had ridden the wave of the AI boom. His progress was astronomical. Yet, whenever something of mine was snatched away, Liam always feigned helplessness: “That Arthur is too cunning. Don’t worry, Chloe, I’ll find you an even more beautiful wedding dress.” “Your parents are too biased. I will definitely convince them to attend our wedding.” With the power he wielded now, it wasn’t that he couldn’t compete. It was clearly that he couldn’t bear to see Mia sad. 5 The sky was a dull, hazy grey. I walked toward the VIP hospital room. When I was nine, I was kidnapped by our nanny and sold into a remote, mountainous region. Three years later, I was rescued and brought home. There wasn’t a single patch of unbruised skin on my entire body. When my mom saw me, she was so heartbroken she wanted to rush forward and hug me. But standing next to her was a new daughter she had adopted. Mia was terrified by my scars, crying even harder than I was. My mom panicked, hugged Mia tightly, and turned to say to me: “Chloe, Mia’s heart isn’t very strong. The doctor said she can’t be subjected to any shock. We’re going to take her home first.” Arthur, who had rushed over to see me, gave me a quick glance and then left with them. Only Mia looked back, giving me a triumphant, victorious smile. 6 I stood at the door of the hospital room. My mom was feeding Mia an apple, saying affectionately: “Mia, Chloe is just spoiled, that’s why she insisted on having her wedding on the same day as yours.” My dad was furious: “Don’t worry. Your mother and I are only preparing a dowry for you, and we will only attend your wedding!” Their tone—so full of disgust for their biological daughter and fierce protectiveness over their adopted one—made my stomach churn. I felt like throwing up. Mia tugged on Liam’s sleeve: “Sister is so willful. It must be so exhausting for you, Liam.” Suddenly, she clutched her chest in pain. Liam’s face instantly went pale: “Mia, is your heart hurting? I’ll find the best specialists abroad for you.” “It’s nothing. I just had a dream last night… I dreamt that if I wore the ‘Heart of the Ocean,’ my illness would be cured.” He didn’t hesitate for a second: “Mia, if you like it, I’ll get it for you immediately.” My parents looked at him with immense gratitude. “It’s our fault for spoiling Chloe too much in the past. She’s always trying to steal Mia’s things.” My heart felt numb beyond measure. When someone doesn’t love you, even your breathing is a sin. What does twisting the truth even matter to them? 7 Mia sent me a photo. She was wearing the blue sapphire “Heart of the Ocean” that Liam had supposedly won at auction for me. I clenched my jaw tight, fighting desperately to stop the burning sting in my eyes from spreading. Liam had told me: “Chloe, there is only one of these necklaces in the entire world. It represents my unwavering, eternal love for you.” His blatant favoritism had once made me so intoxicated I couldn’t extricate myself. Only to wake up one morning and realize it had been a scam from the very beginning. In the adult world, does everything just come down to who’s the better actor? I covered my mouth, swallowing the bitter taste of a broken heart. When I lowered my hand, my face was wet with tears. When my professor called, I almost dropped my phone. I promised him: “In seven days, I will book a flight and leave.” The hospital room door was violently pushed open. A man’s anxious voice rang out: “Chloe, where are you going?” Seeing who it was, the heart that had been in my throat finally relaxed. It wasn’t Liam. I spoke coldly: “Arthur, starting five years ago, you lost the right to ask about anything I do.” 8 Silence consumed Arthur tonight. His mother and my mother were best friends, and they had arranged our marriage when we were babies. Growing up, I loved following behind my “big brother Arthur.” And he always took good care of me. My first lipstick, my first pair of sparkly high heels, my first Chanel bag—they were all gifts from Arthur. Growing up to be his bride became my most cherished dream. But during the three years I was kidnapped. My dad brought Mia home from outside. She looked about thirty percent like me. Arthur’s disappointment, my mom’s grief, my dad’s overwhelming stress… All of it was perfectly filled by this pitiful little orphan. There was no place for me in that house anymore. It took all my strength just to keep myself from drowning in the pain. Arthur had been watching my face closely, and said indignantly: “Liam actually gave the ‘Heart of the Ocean’ to Mia! “Do you have any idea what that means?!” Of course I did. Where the heart longs to be, that is home. Seeing my lack of reaction, Arthur simply couldn’t believe it: “Liam’s heart isn’t with you, and you still want to marry him?!” He was incredibly agitated. I suddenly felt utterly exhausted: “Arthur, Liam isn’t the first person to abandon me for Mia.” First it was my parents, then the fiancé I had loved since childhood. If I had to fight for every single one of them, could I even win? Arthur’s face turned deathly pale. He himself didn’t even know why he had come to tell me this. Perhaps Mia’s ecstatic joy upon receiving the necklace made him uncomfortable. Perhaps the Sterling family’s growing power, which made my father treat Liam with increasing reverence, gave him a sense of crisis. But it was more likely that he had finally tasted what it felt like for me to be neglected. Only then did he realize that the little girl who used to follow him everywhere had probably suffered a great deal. For a moment, Arthur didn’t know what to say. 9 When Liam saw Arthur sitting by my hospital bed, his face drastically changed: “What are you two doing?” Arthur clenched his fists, unwilling to speak. I said flatly: “He came to deliver the news that you gave the ‘Heart of the Ocean’ to Mia.” Arthur looked at me, his expression full of hurt. He couldn’t believe that the little girl who used to fiercely protect him was now stripping away the pride he refused to lower, laying it bare in front of his rival. It made him feel like I truly, completely didn’t care about him anymore. Liam glared viciously at Arthur. Once Arthur left, he hugged me tightly, explaining frantically: “Chloe, it’s not what you think! “Mia is your sister, and your parents are really worried about her health. “Her heart condition acted up, and she begged me to give her the ‘Heart of the Ocean’ as a talisman. “It’s exactly the same as when I crawled up the mountain to get that peace amulet for you.” I remained completely silent. Liam started swearing and making promises: “If you like it, I’ll go to the auction house right now and buy you an even more expensive set of jewelry.” “Forget it. I didn’t really like that kind of stuff anyway.” Sincerity mixed with shards of glass hurts even more. Liam wasn’t having it. He ordered his secretary to keep a close eye on the auction houses, demanding they secure an even more brilliant ruby necklace. He swore to make me the most dazzling presence at our wedding. But, we had no future anymore. What wedding?

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1 For eight years, I, Abby Sullivan, was the top sales executive at Marcus Parker’s company and his secret lover. I overheard him complaining to his friends after a few drinks. “Just thinking about Abby wining and dining, and sleeping with, those investors… it disgusts me.” “Not to mention her family is a bunch of nobodies, and my company is about to go public.” The man who once promised to love me forever. Now, he was passionately kissing a younger woman. I opened my phone camera, saved the video evidence, and then called my father. “Dad, cut off all investments in Parker Group.” “That graduate student you mentioned earlier sounds good. I’d like to meet him.” … It was a rainy summer, and I didn’t wait in the car as usual. Instead, I arrived early at the private room where Marcus was. Before I even pushed the door open, I heard his distinctly slurred voice. “Abby is good at everything.” At that, a faint smile touched my lips, but his next sentence instantly froze it. “It’s just a shame she’s so clueless, thinking I’d marry her after what she did.” His voice carried a hint of disdain, as if discussing something utterly ridiculous. “I don’t have any strange fetishes. You could find someone cleaner on any street corner.” Laughter and echoing agreement filled the air. My hands clenched, nails digging deep into my palms. “So, will you marry me?” A woman’s coquettish voice abruptly cut through the chatter. Peeking through the crack in the door, I saw Marcus curve his lips into a smirk and pull the woman into his embrace. The man who had always been so reserved and proper around me was now publicly kissing another woman, pinning her beneath him. I used to think he wasn’t passionate enough in relationships; he said it was his nature, and I believed him. Turns out, he simply saved all his passion for someone else. His friends, seeing the awkward situation, wisely distanced themselves. A clueless young man piped up, “So, what do we call them both now? We can’t call both of them ‘ma’am,’ can we?” “Don’t be stupid, Marcus never acknowledged Abby’s status.” “Look, it’s a long story, but Marcus would never marry a woman who isn’t clean.” I leaned against the wall, listening to them dissect my past with Marcus. Just then, my phone vibrated with an AirDrop notification. I accepted it. It was a photo. The main subjects were the two inside, locked in a heated embrace, naked and intertwined in sleep. Immediately after, Seraphina Miller smugly flashed her phone at me, sending a message. “Abby, I really pity Marcus. He’s forced to stay with you because of some obligation. But you probably don’t know this, do you? Every time he touches you, he feels sick for a week and comes to me for comfort.” “He says every time he touches you, he just pictures you giving yourself to some old man for an investment. So dirty!” So, that’s why Marcus never acknowledged me? My blood ran cold, a chill seeping through my entire body. Five years ago, the Parker family was on the brink of bankruptcy. Marcus was desperate, pleading with everyone to save the Parker Group. My family was incredibly wealthy, but we had a strict family rule: no one could use the family name for personal gain. To help him, I accompanied him to countless business dinners, dealing with investors more times than I could count. During that period, I’d drink until I vomited, then drink again. A few times, I was even hospitalized for stomach bleeding. I still remember lying in that hospital bed, and Marcus, with reddened eyes, promising he’d never betray me. Then came a crucial investment for Parker Group. To secure the deal, I left the hospital and went straight to a drinking engagement with the investor, almost blacking out by the end. Luckily, my father’s good friend, Mr. Harrison, saw my condition. He intervened, took me away, and booked a hotel room for me to rest. I returned the next day, and Marcus looked at me with a strange expression. Curious, I asked what was wrong. He didn’t speak, just held me tightly, repeatedly saying, “You’ve been through so much.” At the time, I thought he was referring to me drinking myself to the point of throwing up blood. But I never imagined that, from that moment on, he had begun to see me as a woman who would sell her body for money. Seraphina’s messages continued, breaking my train of thought. “Oh, and one more thing. I’m pregnant with Marcus’s child. We’ll be making it official soon. If you’re smart, you’ll leave quietly. Being a mistress isn’t exactly honorable, you know.” My heart felt like it had been pierced by a sharp blade, and I nearly lost my footing. Seraphina saw the pallor of my face, raised an eyebrow triumphantly, and stepped away from Marcus’s embrace. “Be gentle, what if you scare the baby in my belly?” Before Marcus could speak, the clueless young man finally seemed to grasp the situation and quickly tried to curry favor. “Congratulations to Marcus and the future Mrs. Parker, may you have a long and happy life together and many children.” Marcus frowned slightly, his face devoid of much emotion. “Who I marry is not for you to say. Keep your mouth shut. If Abby finds out, I will make you regret it.” “I won’t marry Abby, but she’ll always be the woman I love most. You better show her some respect.” He straightened his clothes, then checked his phone. By habit, I should have contacted him by now. His breath hitched, a flicker of panic in his eyes, as he quickly tapped on his phone. Soon, my phone received his message: “Abby, where are you?” I took a deep breath and replied, “It’s raining today, I can’t pick you up.” He read the message, his brow relaxing slightly, then turned back, kissed Seraphina’s cheek, and whispered: “Be good, I need to go home.” Seraphina grabbed his hand, trying to stop him. He pulled away without hesitation, feigning deep affection. “I have to go back to her. She doesn’t like rainy weather.” I watched the scene with cold eyes, then turned and walked away. I then called my father. “Dad, terminate all investments in Parker Group.” “Pick me up in a few days. I’m coming home.” When Marcus returned home, he transformed back into the familiar man I knew. He held a bouquet of flowers and leaned in affectionately. “I’m sorry, Abby, I’m late.” Aside from the heavy scent of his cologne, there was no other sign of his deception. I instinctively recoiled. His face stiffened, then as if remembering something, he quickly offered an explanation. “I drank too much today, didn’t want to bother you with the smell. Are you hungry? I’ll make you something delicious.” With that, he rolled up his sleeves and hurried into the kitchen. The once pampered young man who never touched a dish, now the CEO of a company. Because I had a sensitive stomach, he learned to cook, and when he was home, he never let anyone else do it. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, anyone would believe he loved me desperately. It was amazing how long he’d kept up the act. During dinner, I said casually: “Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up.” His face fell, and he asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” The usual comforting concern. I shook my head. “Nothing, it’s just time for my annual physical.” He breathed a sigh of relief, smiling and nodding in agreement. But a moment later, Marcus seemed to remember something, his brow furrowing with a look of difficulty: “Abby, I just remembered I have to entertain an important client tomorrow. I can’t reschedule.” I lowered my head, continuing to eat. The air instantly thickened. He glanced at me, then cautiously spoke. “Are you mad?” “I’ll reschedule then. Nothing is more important than your health.” I looked up at him; his gaze was open, devoid of any guilt. “It’s fine, it doesn’t have to be tomorrow.” I chuckled, my nerves numb from the day’s intense emotional rollercoaster. My phone screen glowed beside me, displaying a message Seraphina had sent shortly before: “Tomorrow Marcus is taking me for my prenatal check-up. He’s so excited about this baby.” “By the way, don’t bother Marcus too much lately. I’m pregnant, and if he gets upset, I won’t be able to help him.” After dinner, Marcus affectionately put his arm around me. “Abby, you’re so quiet today, I’m not used to it.” The moment his body heat pressed against me from behind, a powerful surge of nausea rose in my throat, an urge I could no longer suppress. I violently pulled away from his embrace and rushed into the bathroom. Marcus followed anxiously, reaching out to rub my back. I flinched and slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me!” Marcus froze, his eyes filled with hurt. I still couldn’t help but ask what was on my mind: “Five years ago that night, if I told you nothing happened, would you believe me?” Marcus looked startled, then curved his lips, feigning ignorance. “What happened five years ago?” A cold laugh echoed in my heart. I turned my head away, no longer engaging with him. The next day, I arranged for a hospital stay for a full body check-up. Marcus was too dirty; I didn’t want any lingering consequences for my own body. Unexpectedly, I ran straight into Marcus and Seraphina. Marcus had Seraphina tightly in his arms, soothing her in hushed tones: “It’s alright, the doctor said it’s nothing serious, just try not to get too emotional.” As he spoke, Marcus seemed to sense something, suddenly turning his head and meeting my gaze directly. The moment he saw me, his face instantly turned ashen. He immediately released Seraphina and quickly walked towards me. “Abby, don’t misunderstand. She’s my client’s wife. The client had an urgent matter and asked me to bring her to the hospital.” He explained frantically, his excuses full of holes. I didn’t bother to expose him, merely replying with a bland, “You’ve always been so helpful, I know that much about you.” Seraphina stood nearby, watching our act with keen interest, then suddenly let out a gasp. “Oh, my stomach hurts so much.” Marcus looked at me with an almost pleading expression, as if I were the villain breaking up a loving couple. I felt nothing but utter absurdity, and spoke coldly: “What are you waiting for? Don’t delay the child.” He gave me a deep look, and for once, stopped acting, helping Seraphina to leave. In the afternoon, Seraphina came to my hospital room, her tone triumphant. “Marcus had someone check, and I’m carrying a boy.” She paused, then spoke maliciously, “How could you accept such an old man? You really have no shame. No wonder Marcus reacts so strongly every time he touches you.” I glanced at her, “Sounds like Ms. Miller knows a lot about old men.” A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but before I could delve deeper, Seraphina composed herself. “If I were you, I would have left in shame ages ago, instead of clinging to a man you can’t keep, all because of some old debt of gratitude.” I laughed mockingly. “If you were truly so confident, why do you keep coming to provoke me? It’s only because you’re unsure of what Marcus will choose.” Seraphina seemed to have her insecurities exposed, and she immediately became enraged, raising her hand to slap me. I instinctively dodged, and she, having put too much force into her swing, lost her balance and stumbled a few steps. Familiar footsteps sounded outside the door. Seraphina immediately gasped and collapsed to the floor. “Abby, I only came to say hello because I’m close with Marcus. I didn’t mean anything else. How could you do this to me?” At that moment, the hospital room door opened. Marcus, for the first time, lost his composure in front of me. He demanded furiously: “What are you doing! Seraphina is pregnant!” He rushed to help Seraphina up, anxiously checking on her. “If I say it wasn’t me, will you believe it?” Marcus sneered. “Are you trying to say she’s slandering you with her baby? Abby, you disappoint me so much!” I scoffed, then raised my hand and slapped him across the face. “That’s what I should be saying.” “Marcus, you disappoint me deeply.” After my medical examination, back in my room, the nurse brought my meal. As I was about to eat, Mrs. Parker burst through the door, yelling. She rushed at me, trying to slap me. “Abby, how dare you bully my son and my grandchild!” I dodged her, immediately understanding. She couldn’t fight me, so she ran to his parents. Mrs. Parker, seeing me dodge, became even more agitated, her spit almost hitting my face. “My son has been more than generous to you. A dirty thing like you, my son cherished and pampered for so many years. How can you do this to him now?” “You didn’t really think a woman like you could join our family, did you? I’m telling you today, Seraphina is the only daughter-in-law I’ll ever acknowledge!” His mother had always looked down on me. I used to not know why, thinking I simply wasn’t good enough. And Marcus treated me so well that I didn’t want him to be caught in the middle. I tried my hardest to win her over. Whether it was rare jewels or the latest luxury items not yet on the market, I sought them out for her one by one. Only then did she finally show me some rare kindness. Watching her now, fiercely defending Seraphina without reservation. I finally understood. Marcus’s parents’ opinion entirely depended on Marcus. He didn’t truly respect or love me, so his parents naturally treated me horribly. But all those gifts I’d given them in the past, even if I’d fed them to a dog, the dog would have become familiar with me. The thought made me even more annoyed. “Well, that’s perfect then. You truly are a suitable family. One who lives off women, and a mistress who climbed her way up. A match made in heaven, indeed.” Mr. Parker, who had been silent, snorted. “Name your price, don’t get greedy.” I looked up at him. “Oh really? How about the entire Parker Group then? I won’t even complain about how small it is.” “You wish!” Mr. Parker instantly exploded in fury. At this, Mrs. Parker also jumped in, shouting like a fishwife. “When our Parker family was struggling, you, a promiscuous woman, climbed into some old man’s bed to get ahead. My son was blind to stick by you. Now you want our entire Parker Group? Dream on!” The words had barely left her mouth when I glimpsed Marcus, pale-faced, standing at the doorway, holding Seraphina. I raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain? Who was it that drank themselves to stomach bleeding to help you secure investments, giving Parker Group a lifeline, only to be accused of being an opportunist?” Marcus’s face was drained of all color, his eyes darting away. He instinctively stammered: “No, that’s not what I ever said, they just misunderstood, really…” I scoffed. He had countless opportunities to explain for me, yet he never once did. Ultimately, it was because he was afraid of others saying he climbed his way up by relying on a woman. Mrs. Parker couldn’t stand to see Marcus humbling himself before a woman, so she tugged at his sleeve. “What are you hesitating for? Ever since Seraphina came along, our family has been thriving. We not only secured investments, the company didn’t go under, and it’s almost going public. Now Seraphina is even carrying our precious grandchild, don’t be foolish!” Marcus closed his eyes, as if finally making up his mind. “Abby, I truly love you, that’s why I tried for five years.” “But I’ve tried. Every time I touch you, I can only find relief with Seraphina. Let’s just part ways amicably.” I slapped Marcus hard across the face. Marcus was expressionless, but his eyes were red-rimmed. His parents, seeing this, moved to rush forward, but he stopped them with a raised hand. “If this is what she wants, I accept it. It’s what I owe her.” I sneered, “You owe me much more than that!” With that, I drove them all out. As they left, they grumbled, “Using my son’s money to stay in such a nice hospital room, shameless!” Shortly after they left, a video about me suddenly went viral online. In the video, a woman with a back resembling mine was seen leaning against an ugly, fat old man. Someone recognized me as the “rumored girlfriend” of the promising young Marcus Parker and pressed him for comments. Marcus responded immediately. “Ms. Sullivan and I have never had a romantic relationship, and I regret only now seeing her true colors. As a former friend, I hope everyone won’t be too harsh on her.” “On a related note, allow me to introduce my fiancée, Seraphina Miller, who is also the mother of my child, a woman I cherish dearly in my life.” Marcus, with his dashing appearance and this pompous statement, was quickly lauded by netizens as a “top-tier good man.” And I, however, became the “shameless woman” in their comments, with the comment section full of attacks against me. Seeing this, Mrs. Parker, who usually portrayed herself as a sophisticated lady in public, personally entered the fray. “Appearances can be deceiving. My son is kind-hearted and was very tolerant of her when they were friends, but I hope everyone won’t take the unnecessary misunderstandings seriously. Please understand a mother’s feelings.” Her words implied that all past perceptions of my relationship with Marcus were due to my persistent badgering, and she made no secret of her disgust for me. I scrolled through the comments with relish as my assistant handed me a document. “Miss, I’ve collected evidence of their defamation against you, ready to file a lawsuit at any time.” “Wait a little longer.” The boarding announcement sounded, and I was about to put down my phone. Seraphina’s message suddenly popped up. “Abby, with that video out, it’ll be hard for you to get married now, won’t it? If worst comes to worst, I could ask my husband to introduce you to someone?” I replied, “You can keep the man I don’t want. As for the video, do you really think no one can tell who it is?” After sending it, I immediately blocked and deleted her number. Just before boarding, my assistant reported: “Miss, our funds have been 100% withdrawn. Parker Group’s cash flow is about to completely collapse.”

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For five years, my husband Finn and I kept our finances completely separate. We split the mortgage evenly, divided every utility bill, and took turns buying condoms. Friends joked we acted more like roommates, but I’d always defend it: “Financial independence keeps our love pure.” Whenever I said this, my best friend Ivy would vent about her own husband being a lazy freeloader. On Christmas Eve, Finn’s old phone buzzed at home. I checked it and saw a notification: his company’s year-end bonus had arrived — a million dollars. Just as I was about to celebrate, Finn called. “Honey, no bonus this year. Could you cover the utilities for now?” My heart dropped. After hanging up, I rushed to check his bank records. Rows of transactions appeared, all labeled “Ivy.” As if drawn by a ghost, I opened Ivy’s social media. Her latest post was a screenshot of a million-dollar transfer, captioned: “Hubby’s bonus arrived! Starting a baby fund now!” The sender was Finn’s company. Under the post, our mutual friends were commenting. “Jenny,” one wrote, “How did you find such a successful man?” Ivy replied: “Oh, we’re just dating, nothing serious yet! He got promoted to director — it’s a special bonus.” … I remembered Finn being promoted to director last month. The comments section was full of envious remarks, including two that tagged me from our mutual friends. “@Autumn, look at her man! How much did your Finn get this year?” Ivy replied beneath that comment: “Autumn and Finn keep their finances separate, so it’s different.” Another friend commented: “AA to that extent is rare. Autumn, you’re just too independent.” Ivy sent a face-with-hand-over-mouth emoji: “Yes, Autumn likes it that way. She thinks it’s fair.” Someone else replied, “Can’t wait for the baby! When’s the celebration?” Ivy responded to all: “Thank you, everyone! We’ll definitely have a party once things are stable!” My hands trembling, I scrolled through Ivy’s photos of her “ex-boyfriend.” One back-of-head shot bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Finn. There was also a picture of a pregnant belly, with a hand visible that had a scar on it. Finn had the same scar in the same spot, a mark from a lab accident during an experiment. I had traced that scar countless times; there was no mistaking it. The caption beneath that photo read: “The baby’s dad is so happy, he can’t stop holding me.” My phone clattered to the floor. The screen displayed a photo of the three of us together, and for the first time, it felt like a searing burn. A month ago, Ivy had told me she was pregnant, and the father was her “worthless ex-boyfriend.” She said they’d long broken up, and she was preparing to be a single mother. I had even worriedly accompanied her to the hospital for a check-up, spotting her three thousand dollars for medical fees. “Autumn, you’re the best friend a girl could ask for,” she’d said, her eyes red-rimmed. Now, I realized that three thousand dollars was likely just a fraction of what I was contributing to someone else’s child. I turned off my phone, closed my eyes, but countless images flooded my mind. Last year, for Finn’s birthday, I gave him a two-hundred-dollar pen. He immediately reciprocated with an equally priced scarf. At the time, Ivy stood beside us, saying enviously, “You two are so good together; you don’t even have to worry about the cost when exchanging gifts.” Now, I imagine she was secretly laughing at my foolishness. The year before, my mother was hospitalized, needing eight thousand dollars for surgery. I was short on cash and asked Finn if he could lend it to me. He said, “Our principle is separate finances. This money would be a loan from me to you, accruing interest at the bank rate, to be repaid within three months.” I gritted my teeth and agreed. Later, it was Ivy who lent me five thousand dollars, interest-free. I was incredibly grateful, treating her to three dinners, five hundred dollars each, at a fancy Japanese restaurant. But now, I suspect that five thousand was just pocket change from what Finn had given her. I forced myself to walk home and cooked a Christmas Eve dinner, intending to confront him when he returned. Looking at the carefully prepared feast, all his favorite dishes, I felt a sliver of hope. Five years of marriage, Finn and I lived in respectful harmony; to outsiders, we were an enviable couple. I hoped he would tell me it was a coincidence, that he would offer an explanation. The clock chimed twelve times. Finn’s call came through. “Autumn, I have to work late tonight. I won’t be home for dinner.” In the background, I could faintly hear fireworks. “It might end late, so I’ll just stay at a hotel near the office. I have an early meeting tomorrow.” I gripped my phone, my fingers tightening. “The company is heartless, making you work on Christmas Eve. Which hotel are you at? Maybe I can bring you some dumplings.” Finn’s panic was almost palpable. “No!” Realizing his overly strong reaction, his tone instantly softened. “No need. It’s too cold outside; I couldn’t bear to let you go out in the cold.” “Alright, then don’t drink too much.” The moment the call ended, my heart turned utterly cold. Outside, scattered fireworks burst, and the array of dishes on the table lay untouched, now completely cold. I aimlessly scrolled through social media. My mother-in-law had posted a photo of her Christmas Eve dinner—a lavish spread of all my favorite dishes. The caption read: “Christmas Eve dinner for my daughter-in-law.” Someone commented: “What’s the point of making so much for a daughter-in-law? She’s not even family.” My mother-in-law immediately retorted: “Sons are never as thoughtful as daughters-in-law. In our family, we treat our daughter-in-law better than our son.” A warmth spread through my heart. Regardless of Finn, my mother-in-law was always on my side. I remembered the year Finn and I first got married; she held my hand, her eyes red, and said, “Autumn, Finn was a sickly child. I spoiled him, and he grew up stubborn and difficult. If he ever does anything wrong, tell me, and I’ll scold him.” On Christmas morning, I drove to Finn’s old family home. His parents lived in an older complex in the suburbs. Finn had bought the house two years ago, putting it in their names. He said it was for his mother’s retirement, and I even paid half the down payment. Before leaving, I brought a treasured limited-edition bourbon and picked up his father’s favorite Cuban cigars. For five years, his parents had treated me better than their own son. The first Christmas after we married, my mother-in-law quietly pulled me aside and slipped a thick envelope tied with a ribbon into my coat pocket. “Finn is too proud; he insists on keeping everything separate. Don’t take it to heart. Marriage isn’t always about keeping score.” Once, after an argument with Finn, I stubbornly skipped the holiday gathering at his parents’ house. His father called, not asking for explanations, just saying, “Autumn, Dad sent you some of that maple-glazed bacon you love from the old shop.” I cried when the package arrived that day. I carried the gifts upstairs and was about to knock when I heard a familiar voice from inside: “Mom, don’t bother. She’s not picky.” My hand, holding the gifts, paused. He said he was working late yesterday, didn’t he? But I still smiled softly, a little relieved, thinking, As long as he’s not with Ivy. Just as I reached to push the door open, the next sentence froze me to the spot. “Auntie, these cherries are so sweet,” Ivy’s voice cooed, sickly sweet. “Then eat more, dear. You’re expecting; you need to keep up your strength,” my mother-in-law said, her voice filled with loving tenderness. His father squatted by the coffee table, tidying up a pile of baby clothes and tiger-head shoes, beaming with joy. My stomach began to churn. The gifts in my hand clattered to the floor. Everyone in the living room turned simultaneously. Ivy saw me, immediately rose, then cried out in pain and clutched her stomach, sinking back onto the sofa. Finn, with practiced ease, set down his teacup and went to help her. Ivy put her arm around me intimately. “Autumn, I fell on the way here today. Finn just happened to be passing by and picked me up. Otherwise, I don’t know what I would have done.” I evaded Ivy and stared intently at Finn. “Honey, weren’t you supposed to be working late? Why are you here to see your parents?” He paused, then averted his gaze. “It was canceled at the last minute.” My mother-in-law quickly interjected. “Yes, yes, Finn just arrived. The boy is filial; he rushed over early this morning to see me. Little Ivy just fell on the way, and Finn happened to see her, so he brought her here to rest…” I looked at Ivy. She was wearing soft-soled wool slippers; there wasn’t a speck of dust on her legs. I struggled to control my emotions. “Mom and Dad, I just remembered I have something important to do, so I’ll be going.” No one followed me out. I slowly slid down the cold wall, tears streaming down my face. “Mom, don’t worry. With her brain, she’ll never figure out what I’ve done. Her father was smart, but she’s useless. She didn’t inherit any of his intelligence,” Finn said, a hint of triumph in his voice. I leaned against the icy wall, my heart pounding.

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The end of the world had arrived, and once again, I was making a scene, demanding my boyfriend use his precious hydro-kinesis to give me a shower. That’s when the text scrolled across my vision. The Stream. [OMG lady, it’s the apocalypse. Who cares about hygiene right now?!] [This high-maintenance diva is useless. The male lead needs a woman as strong as he is.] [Don’t worry, just wait for the Zombie Tide. Once the male lead sees her selfishness, he’ll dump her.] [Without the male lead’s protection, the canon fodder ex-girlfriend dies at the hands of the Zombie King. Brutally.] A shiver racked my entire body. I shoved Roman away hard. “No. I… I don’t want to wash anymore.” 01 Roman paused, water hovering in the air. He gauged the distance between us, looking baffled by my sudden burst of strength. I felt a pang of guilt. Of course, that guilt might have been overshadowed by the sheer terror of the “Zombie King” mentioned in the floating text. Roman frowned slightly, his brow furrowing. “You really don’t want to?” I nodded frantically, my voice trembling with residual fear. “It’s fine, Roman. Really. You’re the captain. You need to save your energy for the Turned.” Perhaps because it was the first time I’d ever said anything remotely sensible or considerate, Roman didn’t speak immediately. After a long pause, he slowly lowered his hand. “Okay.” Even though I refused the full shower, Roman dampened a towel and gently cupped my face, wiping away the grime with careful, deliberate strokes. I stared at his handsome face, inches from mine. My throat tightened. But before I could lose myself in his eyes, The Stream started scrolling again. [Blair is such a manipulative brat. She’s just lusting after him.] [The male lead is such a stoic engineer type; it’s his first time being chased so aggressively. Of course he fell for the diva’s trap.] [Is no one talking about his ability? Hydro-kinesis. That’s top tier.] [For real. The human body is 70% water. If he wanted to, he could burst your blood vessels or drain you dry in a second.] [No wonder the villainess clings to him. He’s the ultimate safety net.] Me: “…” Seeing the text, my instinct was to snatch the towel and wipe my own face. But the large hand on my waist tightened. Roman’s tone was gentle, but the command beneath it was undeniable. “We’ve been on the road all day. Let me clean you up so you can sleep, okay?” I nodded silently. It wasn’t until Roman left to take the first watch that I opened my eyes again. The words from The Stream were still dancing in my mind. According to them, I was the selfish villainess. The “ex-girlfriend” archetype. Roman was going to dump me. And I was going to die at the hands of something called the Zombie King. I curled into a ball, shivering in the cold night air. 02 Six months ago, Earth was hit by an unknown cosmic event. Global temperatures spiked violently. Ancient glaciers melted, releasing a dormant virus. The dead began to walk. But the virus didn’t just reanimate corpses; it shattered the genetic threshold of humanity. Most turned. But a small percentage didn’t mutate into zombies. Instead, they awakened abilities. Roman was one of them. Ever since he saved me from a horde of the Turned, I had latched onto him like a limpet. Maybe it was the crushing insecurity of the apocalypse. Maybe it was just that Roman was ridiculously attractive, shattering every stereotype I had about stoic engineering types. I fell for him. Hard. I chased him shamelessly for three months until I finally wore him down. Maybe the chase exhausted me, because once we were together, I became insufferable. A true diva. I was a parasite in the squad, contributing nothing but demands. Because Roman was the captain, the others swallowed their complaints, but I knew they hated it. But now. Now I could see The Stream. I knew that all my affectations and tantrums were leading to a karmic reckoning. Even Roman, who currently doted on me, was destined to fall for a heroine who was his equal—someone with power. Fear took root in my chest. Fear of dying in this virus-ridden hellscape. Fear of the unknown Zombie King. I thought about it, but I couldn’t really blame anyone. Who told me to be a powerless, ordinary human in a world of monsters? 03 The next morning. I didn’t wait for Roman to wake me. I was already up, dressed, and packed. Aside from Roman and me, our squad had two others. Coach, a normal human like me, though far more useful. And Jax, a straggler we picked up who possessed electro-kinesis. Seeing me up so early, helping organize supplies, Coach’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. I didn’t need telepathy to know what he was thinking. I ignored his shock and helped him load the gear. My peripheral vision, however, kept drifting to Roman. He was discussing the route with Jax. His profile was cold, sharp. He didn’t look at me. The Stream floated by on cue: [Oh? Is the villainess trying the ‘independent woman’ arc?] [LMAO, does she think this changes the ending?] [In the original book, she starts acting sensible around now, but the male lead is already sick of her.] [Just wait. Once he realizes she’s stopped clinging to him, he’ll be relieved.] I lowered my eyes, my chest aching with a dull throb. Would Roman… be relieved? I didn’t know. But every time I looked at him, the text reminded me of my gruesome fate. So, I avoided him. Throughout the day, I could feel the confusion radiating from Jax and Coach. I smiled bitterly to myself. Can you blame them? Usually, on the road, I’d be demanding snacks, water, complaining that my butt hurt from the car seat. I was a constant source of noise. But today, we drove for hours. I didn’t make a sound. I even offered to drive. Roman rejected the offer. So I sat obediently in the back, shrinking myself down, lowering my presence. If I stop being a burden… maybe I won’t be hated. If I’m quiet, maybe when the danger comes… Maybe they won’t just watch me die. 04 We set up camp at an abandoned gas station. I volunteered to help Coach pitch the tents and start the fire. We worked non-stop. Roman looked at me several times, but I pretended not to see. Once the chores were done, I had a feeling. Roman was going to come for me. I grabbed Coach’s arm. “Hey, can you teach me some self-defense? Just the basics?” Coach was an ordinary human, but he used to be an MMA instructor. He was miles ahead of me in survival skills. I’d thought about it all night. Relying on others is a gamble. Relying on yourself is survival. Coach looked surprised. But, likely out of respect for Roman, he agreed. I trained for three hours until my arms were shaking jelly. After promising Coach I’d continue tomorrow, I headed to my tent. Roman materialized out of the shadows, blocking my path. His tall frame eclipsed the moonlight. His tone was flat. “Blair, what is wrong with you today?” I was a terrible liar. So I kept my head down, avoiding his eyes, my voice airy. “Nothing’s wrong.” “Nothing?” Roman paused, letting the silence stretch. “You haven’t said a single word to me today. And you didn’t…” I bit my lip. I knew what he left unsaid. He wanted to say I didn’t give him his kiss. Usually, no matter how dangerous the situation, I’d sneak a kiss when the others weren’t looking. I knew the pressure he was under as captain. I wanted him to feel a moment of lightness. But today. Forget kissing. I hadn’t even made eye contact. My brain scrambled for an excuse. “You… you were busy.” “…” Roman was silent, seemingly processing this. “Is this because I didn’t wash you yesterday?” My head snapped up, meeting his handsome, expressionless face. “It’s not that. I’m not mad. I just… realized you work so hard. I don’t want to be trouble.” Hearing the word trouble, Roman’s frown deepened. After a moment, he reached out and ruffled my hair. “Don’t be polite with me.” Then, without warning, he yanked me into the tent. Before I could react, he was kissing me—overwhelming, all-consuming. Just as I was gasping for air, a sharp pain nipped at my lip. Roman pulled back slightly, his voice raspy. “Don’t smile at Coach.” He planted two more soothing kisses on my lips, then turned and left to take the night watch. The Stream exploded: [Is it just me, or is the male lead holding back some serious urge?] [Tsk tsk. The beast has awakened.] [Don’t get excited. The male lead’s first time belongs to the heroine.] [Honestly, the villainess is really pretty. Shame she’s just a powerless normie.] [Who said she’s powerless? She’s a metahuman too, okay?] Me: !? I forgot the pain in my lip instantly. What? I’m a metahuman? My eyes widened, staring into the void, praying for the text to explain. [Abilities are just a projection of the inner self. The villainess cares most about her appearance, so she just gets more beautiful. No one realizes it. They think she’s a zero.] Me: Fuck… Never mind the trolls. I wanted to call myself useless. 05 I woke up the next morning in Roman’s arms. He must have switched shifts with Jax in the second half of the night. I stared at his sleeping face, unable to resist tracing his features. My finger had just grazed the tip of his nose when his hand shot up, gripping mine. He opened his eyes slowly and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We picked up a distress signal last night. About two hundred kilometers out. We need to pass through your old university.” I hadn’t even processed the words before The Stream went nuclear. [Holy crap! The Heroine is coming.] [Oh my god, the male lead is three years older than the heroine, right? Age gap supremacy!!] [Finally! She’s a Healer. Now the male lead won’t have to tank all the damage alone.] [Later on, the heroine undergoes a secondary evolution and becomes the first Dual-Class user. I live for this power couple!] [Two alphas! So delicious!!] I lowered my eyelids, hiding the misery in my gaze. Seeing my flat reaction, Roman asked, “You always said you missed your school. Why aren’t you happy?” I forced a smile, pulling myself out of his embrace and dodging his touch. “I am happy. Let’s pack up.” Behind me. In the blind spot I couldn’t see. Roman’s face went rigid, his eyes darkening dangerously. But his tone remained gentle. “Alright.” 06 Two hundred kilometers took most of the day. My alma mater, the Teachers College in City C, sat on the edge of the university district. The once lively campus was now a desolate ruin. I stared out the window at the lecture halls. The Stream was spamming the chat: [Here we go! Heroine countdown!] [Healing ability. The male lead’s fated wife!] [Wait, what was the heroine’s name in the book? Shen… Iris?] [Yes! Iris! Third-year med student. Cool, rational, gorgeous!] I gripped the hem of my shirt. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. I was already trying so hard to suppress my feelings for Roman. Why did seeing the text make it hurt so much more? The car stopped. Cold wind rushed in. Roman glanced back at me, extending a hand. Normally, I would have launched myself at him. But this time, I jumped down myself, pretending I didn’t see his hand. I jogged over to Coach. “Hey Coach, what are we learning today?” Roman’s hand hung in mid-air for two seconds before he casually retracted it. He seemed… fine. I looked away and followed them into the building. 07 We thought the survivor was just Iris. We didn’t expect her to have a boy standing next to her, looking vaguely similar. Her brother, Ezra. An ordinary human, like me. Roman didn’t say much. Jax, on the other hand, practically vibrated when he heard Iris was a Healer. “Holy shit!” Jax’s eyes went wide. “A Healer?!” I stood by the window, looking out at the familiar campus, but my ears were tuned to their conversation. A Healer was a rare treasure. No wonder Roman changed the plan to come here. I looked at him instinctively. But he was looking at Iris. His gaze was focused. I knew that look. He used to look at me like that. Back when my face was covered in blood and I looked like a stray dog. Now, Iris stood there, calm, commanding, full of potential. My chest felt tight, like someone was crushing my lungs. I lowered my head, forcing my voice to remain steady. I walked over to Coach. “Coach, let’s help move the supplies.” Halfway through moving boxes, someone blocked my path. It was the brother, Ezra. “You were staring at the school earlier. Did you go here?” I nodded. “Graduated two years ago.” Ezra nodded thoughtfully. “What’s your name, sister?” “Blair.” He repeated it, complimenting it. We chatted idly while moving boxes. The Stream floated by: [Ooh, is the puppy crushing on her?] [Was this guy in the book?] [Yes! He awakens a Strength ability later! He always had a secret crush on the villainess!] [What?! He liked the villainess? How did I miss that?] [Because she dies so early in the book, idiot. He never got the chance to confess.] Me: “…?” Well, that was new. Ezra seemed the complete opposite of his icy sister. Warm, open. After we finished, he pulled a packet of compressed biscuits from his pocket and shoved it into my hand. “You’re too thin,” he said earnestly. “Eat up.” I stared at the biscuit, at a loss for words. Then, I felt a gaze burning into me. I looked up. Not far away, Roman was staring right at us. His expression was blank. But the water bottle in his hand was crumpling, collapsing in on itself at a visible speed.

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When my brother started dating a wealthy heiress, her older sister ruthlessly tore them apart. The eldest sister, with her nose in the air, called my brother a scheming gold digger. Furious, I created a fake account, determined to give her a taste of what it’s like to want someone you can’t have. We dated online for six months. This supposed “iron lady” was calling me “baby” left and right and begging to meet. With a cold smirk, I blocked her and vanished. I thought our paths would never cross again. But after a series of twists and turns, my brother actually ended up marrying the heiress. At the wedding banquet, hearing that familiar, commanding voice, I didn’t even dare lift my head. Then, I watched my brother and sister-in-law walk over and call that woman… “Auntie.” Auntie?! I was so shocked I dropped my chopsticks. 1 While I bent down to pick up my chopsticks, the tablecloth hid my panicked expression. How could it be the aunt? That voice clearly belonged to the woman I had been online dating for six months—Maya’s older sister, Sarah! Six months ago, my brother and Maya were dating and met the family, but Sarah ruthlessly broke them up. That crazy sister-complex insisted my brother wasn’t good enough for Maya, calling him a scheming gold digger who was only after the family’s money. My brother came home devastated and broke up with Maya. When I found out, I was furious. I couldn’t just let this go. Sarah, you crazy sister-complex. How dare you insult my brother and make him so miserable! Just wait and see how I deal with you. I created a fake account posing as a seller of handcrafted goods, added Sarah’s contact info, and showered her with daily attention and care until she was completely hooked. Sarah seemed like an arrogant, strong-willed businesswoman. At first, she was incredibly hard to approach, but eventually, she fell right into the web I wove, calling me “baby” constantly. Until recently, when she suggested we meet in person. I played the insecurity card, saying I wasn’t good enough for her and didn’t deserve her. Sarah replied that she didn’t care about any of that; she just liked me. What a hypocrite, Sarah! When it comes to yourself, “just liking” someone is enough, but when it’s Maya, you demand a perfect match in social status! If that isn’t a double standard, what is? She was specifically targeting my brother. Infuriated, I mocked her relentlessly, then blocked her and ran. I thought after messing with Sarah and making her suffer, the whole thing would be over. Who knew that after all the drama, Maya and my brother would still end up getting married. I was here at the wedding banquet, sitting at the head table for the groom’s family. Right next to the table for the bride’s family. From the moment I sat down, I didn’t dare lift my head, let alone sneak a glance. I even faked a sore throat from a cold and played mute the whole time. I had sent “Sarah” photos, but they were heavily edited—my face was slimmer, my eyes deeper, my nose bridge higher. As long as I didn’t speak, comparing me to that photoshopped picture my own brother wouldn’t recognize, she definitely wouldn’t figure it out. Trembling with anxiety, I made it to the second half of the reception when the bride and groom came around to toast each table. “Wishing you a hundred years of happiness.” Hearing that familiar, commanding voice, I practically buried my head in my bowl. But my brother and Maya both called her “Auntie”! No, no, no, something must have gone wrong. Maybe I heard it wrong? After she sat down, I sneaked a glance over and only saw her back. She was wearing a custom sapphire-blue tailored suit skirt. Her attire was incredibly luxurious, her posture straight, but a thick aura of low pressure surrounded her. After the newlyweds toasted and left, an older relative at the table teased her. “Your little niece is already married. When do you, as her aunt, plan to tie the knot?” “Don’t bring it up, Second Sister.” A young woman beside her, seemingly a friend, said sympathetically, “Elena had finally opened her heart, but the guy turned out to be a scammer selling crafts. He blocked her and ran. She’s still furious about it…” “Third Lin.” The owner of that voice sounded displeased, seemingly warning her friend to stop. What Elena?! I whipped my head around, cold sweat pouring down my back. This person really wasn’t Sarah. That night was the family dinner with the bride’s family. My brother prepped me by showing me photos of everyone. My internal despair finally reached its peak. I’m screwed. I seduced the wrong person! 2 During our six months of online dating, “Sarah” had sent me countless sexy photos and left countless voice memos. Towards the end, she became incredibly clingy, even wanting to stay on voice calls while we slept. I would recognize that voice even if I turned into a ghost. Seeing the time was right, I had told her I fell for someone else, someone much better than her. I said she was old and probably didn’t understand young people. I said she was fierce, which is why she always had a resting bitch face. I even said her figure obviously looked like it was rigidly built in a gym. And! I even said she had a terrible temper… After feeling thoroughly refreshed from insulting her, I blocked her and ran. The more I thought about it, the paler my face became. I was completely screwed now. Not only did I fail to get revenge, but I also brought massive trouble upon myself and my brother. My brother had told me that the bride’s family, the Sterling family, was a massive, wealthy clan. The patriarch had three children, and his absolute favorite was his youngest daughter, Elena Sterling. She was the current CEO of the Sterling family’s enterprise, “Apex Group,” and held immense power within the entire family. If she found out I was the one who played her, my brother’s life in the Sterling family would definitely become difficult! I paced around anxiously, but I couldn’t tell my brother. I had done this whole thing behind his back. Plus, telling him wouldn’t help anyway; it might even expose the secret. After our parents passed away, my brother and I depended on each other in the orphanage. It wasn’t that there weren’t families who wanted to adopt us separately, but we refused to be parted, so we both stayed. My brother had always been so good to me. Now that he was an engineer and had such a wonderful family, I absolutely couldn’t ruin it for him. I absolutely could not let Elena find out that I was that guy. At the family dinner, I finally saw Elena’s full face. One word: Beautiful. Two words: Stunningly beautiful. I actually played such a beautiful woman, and now I’ve made an enemy out of her. I just hoped she wouldn’t recognize me. I played the role of the quiet, obedient, mute little brother perfectly. Elena’s cold gaze swept over me briefly, then retracted. She didn’t recognize me. I breathed a sigh of relief, sat safely in my seat, and didn’t dare look up again. Since I was the only relative on the groom’s side, Maya’s family was quite attentive to me. Learning that I was still a senior in college, Maya’s mother asked: “Have you found a company for your internship? “How about coming to our Apex Group?” Apex Group? Isn’t that the company where Elena is CEO?! No, no, no! But Maya’s mother was looking at me so brightly, I couldn’t exactly give my brother a warning look. I opened my mouth, almost forgetting my “mute” persona. “That sounds great.” My brother immediately agreed, smiling brightly: “Thank you, Mom.” NO! How is this any different from delivering myself straight to the slaughterhouse?! At the table, Elena, the CEO of Apex, just watched and tacitly agreed. When the dinner ended, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, deciding to avoid the Sterling family as much as possible from now on. Before leaving, my brother pulled me aside, looking serious. “You were acting weird today. What’s going on?” I continued playing mute, waving my hands and typing on my phone that I was just sick and didn’t feel well. My brother looked relieved and told me to go back and rest. I finally managed to bluff my way through and got back to the dorm. The problem was, my brother had secured an internship spot for me at Apex. Apex is an industry leader. Having an internship there would undoubtedly be a massive boost to my resume. If it weren’t for the whole Elena situation, I would have gone without hesitation. But what if Elena recognized me… After agonizing over it for days, I finally made up my mind. It was just a three-month internship. Apex is so huge. How could a lowly intern possibly run into the CEO? I just needed to lay low for three months, then vanish without a trace. 3 Having connections made things easy, and I quickly integrated into the company. At first, I was on edge for a few days. But later, exactly as I expected, as a lowly intern, I only had to complete tasks assigned by my mentor. The highest-ranking boss I usually saw was the department manager. Forget the CEO, I didn’t even see the General Manager. I relaxed. However, surviving in an industry leader company was no walk in the park. In just a few days, the workload was staggering. Proposals were constantly rejected, the department head was reprimanded, and the work atmosphere was incredibly tense. While eating in the cafeteria, my lunch buddy gossiped with me in a low voice. “Do you know why things have been so rough lately?” He was an intern who joined in the same batch as me. “Why?” I was genuinely curious. “Because…” My lunch buddy looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The CEO went through a breakup.” My spoon clattered onto my plate. I offered a dry chuckle: “Really?” “I heard it was an online relationship too, and she got scammed.” I looked down and drank my soup, hiding my expression. “Where did you hear that?” “The CEO had her special assistant investigate an account. Word travels fast; everyone knows.” My lunch buddy looked incredibly puzzled: “With her wealth, she could have any man she wants. I can’t believe she’d actually online date. “And getting scammed on top of that? If the guy knew who she was, he’d probably regret it so much his intestines would turn green.” My intestines are already turning green! I blamed my own carelessness when looking for contact info. I didn’t find Sarah, but ended up bothering this absolute titan instead. I asked cautiously: “Did the special assistant mention what the CEO plans to do if she finds the guy?” “Call the police, obviously. That craft-selling guy must have milked a lot of money out of the CEO. With the cumulative amount, he’s probably looking at serious jail time.” Absolute nonsense! When I first approached Elena, my motives were indeed impure. I put on the persona of someone selling crafts and harassed her every day asking if she wanted to buy some. It just so happened a friend’s family made handcrafted items. Who knew she would actually buy them, and insist on paying ten times the price? Aside from that, I returned all the other money she gave me when we broke up. I told her I had found a new girlfriend who was very possessive and wouldn’t let me spend other women’s money. Even though the Sterling family is rich, I was genuinely terrified that Sarah’s cheapskate tendencies would flare up and she’d sue me to get the money back, causing unnecessary trouble. Anyway, as long as my goal of breaking Sarah’s heart was achieved, that was enough. Good thing I had already deleted that account. Elena shouldn’t be able to trace it. As long as I can just survive these three months… “Leo, go deliver this file to the CEO’s office.” I took the file from the senior colleague in my department, wanting to cry without tears. Why is there another hurdle?! Taking the elevator to the top floor, I secretly hyped myself up. It’s just delivering a file, what’s the big deal? Just keep playing mute. Trembling with fear, I reached the top floor, only to find the main office empty. Elena wasn’t there. A secretary in the CEO’s office asked which department I was from. Since she wasn’t there, I didn’t need to play mute. I answered obediently, the secretary made a note, and that was it. After a few times, I felt completely at ease. Once again, I took a file to the top floor. I had just greeted the staff in the secretary’s office when a familiar voice came from the inner office. “Let him in.” Me: “…” My heart leaped into my throat again. Looking like a man marching to his execution, I walked into the office and handed the file across the desk. Elena reached out a slender hand to take it, then lowered her eyes and began flipping through it, staying silent for a long time. As the minutes ticked by, I calmed down slightly. I emboldened myself to look up, only to lock eyes perfectly with Elena’s raised phoenix eyes. I quickly looked back down. After a suffocating silence, Elena finally spoke: “How are things at the company lately?” I had just spoken to the people in the secretary’s office outside; I couldn’t play mute now! I squeezed my vocal cords and replied in a small voice: “Pretty good.” I glanced up at her and added the proper title: “Ms. Sterling.” “Good?” Elena didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, letting out a cold laugh: “Having you deliver files shows they clearly know the relationship between you and me. You call that good?” What relationship? Don’t talk nonsense! I was so panicked I forgot to squeeze my voice. “What relationship do we have…” Before I could finish, seeing her inexplicable expression, I realized she was talking about her connection to my brother. “Hehe.” I caught on. “I didn’t tell them anything…” I finally managed to be a nepotism hire, yet I felt so guilty about it. I wished no one knew. But it turned out they had me deliver the files because they knew I was a connection hire, using me as a meat shield against her anger. Elena frowned slightly, studied me for a long moment, and said: “Call your manager up here.” I felt like I’d been granted amnesty and fled at top speed. I don’t know what Elena said to the manager, but no one ever asked me to deliver files to the top floor again. Another hurdle passed! 4 On the last shift before the holidays, I was mentally planning where to eat that night while waiting for the elevator. With a ding, the elevator arrived. I looked up and ran straight into Elena, wearing a tailored suit skirt. What the…?? Why isn’t she taking the executive elevator? Why is she taking the employee elevator? Elena, inside the elevator, stared at me intently and asked, “Are you not coming in?” I braced myself and stepped inside. The elevator doors slowly closed and continued downward. The person beside me was tall, making the already cramped space feel even smaller. A pleasant, cool fragrance wafted into my nose. It seemed to be her scent. The risqué photos she had sent me in the past were dragged up from the depths of my memory. At first, it was just hands, arms. Later, it was sexy collarbones and waistlines. And even later… Recalling the scenery I saw then, and her question: “Do you like it?” The more I thought about it, the redder my face got. I felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in this narrow space. Why is this elevator so slow? I looked up at the flashing red numbers. “Leo.” “Huh?” I answered instinctively, turning my head to meet Elena’s probing gaze. She half-narrowed her eyes. “You seem… very afraid of me?” “I…” I tried my best to sound calm: “You are the boss, and my elder… I respect you.” Beside me, Elena said flatly: “Then don’t act like you have a guilty conscience.” “Have we met before?” Hearing this, my back broke out in a sweat, and all my hair practically stood on end. “N-no.” “Oh.” Elena replied faintly, her expression normal, as if it was just a casual question. With a ding, the elevator stopped on a floor, and a crowd of people poured in. Good news: I finally didn’t have to face Elena alone. Bad news: I was pushed into the furthest corner, forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Elena. Heavens above, why must you torture me like this? I once again mentally cursed the person who gave me the wrong contact info a million times. After a grueling, agonizing wait, the elevator finally reached the first floor. “Goodbye, Ms. Sterling.” Once the people in front cleared out, I prepared to slip away. But the moment I took a step, my waist jerked tight—the metal buckle of my belt had somehow hooked onto the decorative chain on the side of her skirt! I was yanked off balance, almost performing a spin move on the spot. “Don’t move.” Elena’s voice rang out. She frowned and bent down to untangle the mess. The distance was so close it made my scalp tingle. The buckle was quickly freed, but because of the sudden jerk earlier, the collar of my shirt was pulled askew, and the top button popped completely off. Right below my collarbone, that red mole was exposed for all the world to see. 5 When I was online dating “Sarah,” aside from using heavily photoshopped pictures, I didn’t try too hard to hide my physical features. First, we often had voice-only or faceless video calls. Second, I figured that since my brother and Maya had broken up, we probably wouldn’t have any interaction in the future, so I was completely reckless. Besides, even if I got caught, I had nothing to fear. The thought of Sarah knowing it was me playing her would be even more satisfying, better revenge for my brother! But I never expected that I played the wrong person, and my brother still married Maya. Heaven really wants me dead! I don’t remember how I walked out of the elevator, nor did I notice what expression Elena had on her face. I only remember that when I snapped back to reality, I had already stumbled my way home in a daze. Elena knew about the red mole near my collarbone. Back then, she even said that when we met, she would kiss that mole until it was even redder. Did she see it? Probably not. If she had seen it, she would have asked right then and there. But what if she really did see it? I lived in fear for several days, only to discover… Absolutely nothing happened! I let out a massive sigh of relief and went back to slacking off at Apex. In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and the weather started getting chilly. After finishing a busy day of work, I received a message from my brother. “Leo, Maya has a hot spring villa and is planning to invite a few friends over for a party. Do you want to come?” A hot spring villa? I eagerly said yes. I thought I was going to have a beautiful weekend, but when I arrived, I saw a figure I never expected. Elena! Like a rabbit seeing a tiger, my hair stood on end. “Um, bro, I actually have something to do, I’m going to head out.” Maya noticed my apprehension towards Elena and comforted me: “Leo, this isn’t the company. My aunt doesn’t eat people. Why are you so scared?” Her voice was quite loud, and I could feel several people looking our way. Maya and my brother had an older woman/younger man relationship. She was an upperclassman at my university. She was always very outgoing, and we were in the same club, so we got along decently. Later, she happened to see my brother coming to campus to drop something off for me, fell in love instantly, and launched a fierce pursuit. As soon as she graduated, she pestered my brother to meet the parents, all the way until they got married. In all the time I’d known her, this was the first time I found Maya so annoying. “Haha.” I let out two awkward laughs and had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down. My brother whispered an explanation, saying Elena decided to come at the last minute, and he had just found out too. I looked at the person in the corner. She was wearing casual clothes, unlike her usual formal attire, but her posture was still perfectly straight. Every movement exuded a mature, calm aura. Staring at her, I couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful. My happy weekend was going to be spent in constant fear and anxiety because of her presence. And also. Did she even know how to play young people’s party games?! 6 The facts proved that Elena knew exactly how to play. Over several rounds of games, she completely dominated, forcing many people to drink penalty shots. The party lasted late into the night until everyone, arms draped over each other, stumbled back to their rooms to sleep. Maya was just about to help her brother-in-law upstairs when her aunt spoke up. “Go get some rest. I’ll take him to his room.” “Okay.” Maya replied with a slurred voice, swaying as she went back to her room. In the spacious living room, only Elena and the boy curled up asleep on the sofa remained. Leo… She rolled the name over on her tongue a few times. She put aside her work and came here to hang out with a bunch of kids, all for him. To verify if she had seen clearly that day, to see if he was really that guy. The guy who had whispered sweet nothings to her when they were deeply in love, only to later claim he loved someone else, curse her out, and block her. Elena stood up and stood silently beside him for a moment. She closed her eyes, feeling contempt for her own actions. After hesitating for a long time, she reached out and gently pulled aside the fabric at Leo’s collarbone. The moment her gaze locked on, she frowned slightly. There was… Absolutely nothing. It wasn’t him. She must have seen wrong that day. It was hard to say if it was disappointment or something else, but Elena stared at his fluffy head in a daze for a while. In the end, she still leaned down, helped him up, and took him to the guest room. … When I woke up the next day, Elena was nowhere to be seen. Maya said her aunt had official business to handle and had left. Everyone present breathed a huge sigh of relief. Yesterday, Elena had practically crushed everyone at the games. If we had to do it all over again today, there wouldn’t be any fun left. I touched my collarbone, my heart finally settling back into my chest. Thank goodness. When I found out Elena was here yesterday, I took emergency evasive action and borrowed my sister-in-law’s concealer to cover up the mole. Even though I was drunk last night, I wasn’t completely out of it. I was just resting with my eyes closed. Who knew Elena actually intended to test me, and I ended up blind-guessing her move correctly. Now I was completely cleared of suspicion. Even if she later realized our voices were similar, if the mole didn’t match, she still couldn’t be sure, right? I was finally completely relaxed.

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Five years after our breakup. Ethan Vance had become a billionaire, complete with a beautiful fiancée. At a reunion, someone brought me up. “Chloe Hastings never shows up to these reunions. What’s her deal?” “Heh, she’s too busy gold-digging on airplanes.” “On airplanes?” “Yeah. She’s a flight attendant for some airline. I saw her once. You should have seen the fawning smile on her face when she served the rich passengers.” “Really? A flight attendant? I guess she’s just as obsessed with money as she was back then.” Ethan, sitting in the center, narrowed his eyes slightly, his hand clenching into a fist. “A flight attendant?” “Yeah. Ethan, it’s been so many years. Have you still not forgotten her?” He took the hand of his fiancée sitting next to him. The massive diamond ring on the girl’s finger instantly blinded everyone. “I forgot her a long time ago. My wedding is next month. Make sure you all come for a drink.” Everyone immediately offered their congratulations. Only I, floating in the air, lowered my head. 1 One year after I died. The class group chat organized a reunion. Hearing that Ethan, whose net worth had skyrocketed, would also be there, the group chat became incredibly lively. Over thirty active avatars. Only my avatar was grayed out, silent at the very bottom. Because I was already dead. I couldn’t use any communication devices anymore. In my lonely room, the furnishings were exactly as I had left them when I was alive. My anti-cancer drugs still sat on the table. The day of the reunion. I floated to the venue. A huge private room in a seven-star hotel. I floated inside, looking left and right. Soon, everyone had arrived. The last person to enter. I held my breath. That tall, broad figure, those long legs—it was none other than Ethan Vance. He was dressed in a niche, custom European brand. Incredibly low-key, yet exuding impeccable taste. I stared, mesmerized. The next second, a beautiful girl appeared in the doorway and hooked her arm through his. “Ethan, are these all your classmates?” My breath instantly hitched. At the reunion, everyone talked loudly, ate, and drank, but without exception, they all tried to cozy up to Ethan. Suddenly, someone glanced around the room. “Is Chloe the only one who didn’t show up?” “Heh. In the five years since graduation, she’s practically vanished. Who knows what she’s doing?” “A successful new-generation tech mogul like Ethan, we at least see him on TV occasionally. She’s the most mysterious one. Probably married some rich guy and became a trophy wife.” Everyone chimed in, one after another. Until the class social chair, who hadn’t spoken, took a sip of red wine. “What trophy wife? Serving rich businessmen and trophy wives is more like it. She’s a flight attendant for some airline, spinning around like a top.” The girl speaking was Lily. She was also very pretty. She had married a moderately wealthy boss. A year ago, I had served her and her husband on a flight. “You’ve seen her?” Everyone was instantly curious. “Heh, a flight attendant? That’s a shortcut to getting close to rich people. She’s got a sharp mind.” “Which airline? How come I’ve never run into her?” Lily spat out two words: “Skyward Airlines.” “That airline is famous for having beautiful stewardesses and handsome stewards.” “If I get the chance, I’ll buy a ticket with them and try it out.” When the topic came up. I silently looked at Ethan in the center. He didn’t say a word, his face solemn. The hand resting on the armrest was clenched so tight the veins popped. The class president next to him glanced at his fist and immediately signaled everyone to stop talking. The class president picked up his wine glass and toasted Ethan. “Ethan, some people aren’t worth it. They aren’t worth thinking about.” Ethan didn’t move. He sat there, tall and imposing, as if frozen for a moment. This was too abnormal. Everyone didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. Next to him, the beautiful girl looked a bit awkward and gently took his hand. A few seconds later, he snapped back to reality. He picked up his wine glass and lightly clinked it against the class president’s. “I forgot her a long time ago.” He took a sip of wine and, backhandedly, gripped the girl’s hand tightly. “I haven’t shared the good news yet. Next month, I’m holding my wedding. You’re all welcome to come for a drink.” 2 That night. I drifted around the streets, wandering aimlessly. It wasn’t until I was truly exhausted that I floated back home. A light was on in the room, which was strange. It was Mia, my best friend when I was alive. She had drawn a basin of water and was cleaning my room. She had also plugged my old phone in to charge. She did everything in silence. My eyes, however, stung sharply. Suddenly, my phone dinged a few times. She put down the mop, walked over, and picked up my phone. It was the class group chat. “Mr. Vance, what date is the wedding banquet exactly? Where is it being held?” Someone also posted a photo from the reunion of Ethan and Ms. Yin sitting together. “Look, everyone. Such a perfect match. A talented man and a beautiful woman.” “Compared to a certain superficial person with zero substance from back then, she’s a thousand, ten thousand times better.” Bang. Mia’s hand trembled, and the phone fell to the floor. She suddenly crouched down, covered her face, and cried. She opened a photo of me, caressing my smiling face on the screen. “You idiot. He’s getting married, do you know that? And to think you were still calling his name right before you died.” Mia turned off the phone and continued cleaning. When she left, this time, she took my old phone with her. I was confused. I followed Mia to her house. Guarding an empty house alone was just too unbearable. Usually, what made me happiest was Mia coming once a month to charge my phone. That way, whenever a notification popped up, I could see it. I thought it was pretty interesting. Even in death, you can still read the news. 3 Mia and I were both poor. She struggled even more than I did. She was an unmarried mother, and her daughter was born with a congenital heart defect. She put the phone down and fell asleep next to her daughter. I couldn’t sleep. I floated around the room a few times, until finally, a phone screen lit up. I floated over. It was my phone. It was a web news notification. When I saw the headline, I was shocked. #CEO of CloudTech Crashes into Guardrail Late at Night# Ethan Vance was the CEO of CloudTech. The location of the accident was on Oak Street. Was he hurt? I couldn’t care about anything else and immediately floated toward Oak Street. When I arrived, a section of the road was indeed cordoned off, and a crowd had gathered. There was also a Maybach with a crushed front end. My heart pounded. I immediately floated into the crowd, searching for Ethan’s figure. I couldn’t find a trace of Ethan in the circle of people. I was frantic. “Mr. Vance, your hand is injured. Let me take you to the hospital.” Hearing the voice, I whipped my head around and saw Ethan sitting on the curb. His arm hung limply, and blood dripped from the back of his hand. My heart ached looking at him. He didn’t say a word and silently got into the car that came to pick him up. 4 At the hospital, the doctor suggested staying for a few days of observation. Ethan refused. After simply getting his hand bandaged, he left the hospital. The driver drove the car. “Mr. Vance, your health is precious. You should at least get a full-body checkup.” He massaged his temples and leaned back against the seat. “Who’s handling the accident scene?” “Assistant Wright.” Ethan didn’t speak again. He seemed utterly exhausted, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed to rest. The car drove all the way into a mansion nestled in the hills. The main gates opened automatically, and the lights of the villa flickered on one by one. Ethan went inside. I surveyed the furnishings inside the house. The boy everyone knew was poor back then had now become the unreachable Mr. Vance. “You can go.” The driver, however, seemed uneasy. “Mr. Vance, you don’t seem right. Did something happen at the reunion?” Those close to Ethan vaguely knew that he had a messy romantic past. The top student of the school had once been dumped by a girl. He had been in agonizing pain, destitute and miserable for a whole year. Ethan shot him a glare. The driver immediately took the hint and left. 5 I stayed in Ethan’s mansion the entire night. He rested, leaning against the sofa. I stayed right beside him, keeping watch over him. It’s a pity he couldn’t feel me. Not only did he not feel me, he didn’t even hear Ms. Yin’s phone calls. Luckily, his mansion was quite warm. Sitting on the sofa all night wouldn’t give him a cold. Dawn broke. He opened his eyes, grabbed his phone to check the time, then put it down and went to wash up. I was puzzled. Didn’t he see Ms. Yin’s missed calls? But a second later, I understood. It was barely dawn; Ms. Yin was probably still asleep right now. After arriving at the company. Ethan buried himself in his work, processing fifty reports in one morning. At noon, he opened his phone. Many classmates had sent messages of concern; they must have all seen yesterday’s news. He picked out the class president’s message and replied. He put the phone down. His secretary walked in. “Mr. Vance, I’ll book the tickets for Europe now.” His pen, which had been signing a document, paused. “Before going to Europe, isn’t there a trip down South?” The secretary nodded. “The day after tomorrow. I’ve already booked the tickets.” He suddenly raised his head. “Which airline?” The secretary froze for a moment, but quickly reported, “It’s Ocean Air.” Ethan suddenly paused. “Change it.” “Mr. Vance, do we need to adjust the timing?” “Change the airline.” The secretary was even more stunned. “Which one would you like to change to?” Ethan pondered for a moment. I looked at him; the fountain pen in his grip seemed to have been squeezed a bit flat. “Skyward Airlines.” The secretary was surprised. But then grabbed a tablet and immediately started changing the flight. “Mr. Vance, it’s booked. First class, seat 1A.” Ethan didn’t say a word. The secretary tactfully retreated. The office returned to silence. I stared at Ethan in astonishment. Skyward Airlines? The airline I flew for when I was alive. Did he want to see me? But then I shook my head violently. Impossible. Even if it was because of me, he probably just wanted to see how pathetic I looked now. Or maybe he wanted to deliver a line like: “Chloe, didn’t you end up with that factory heir? Out here working as a servant?” Ethan had always been a gentleman. He probably wouldn’t say something like that. But back then, right in front of him, I took someone else’s arm and trampled him into the dirt. In broad daylight, his eyes had been full of red, terrifyingly bloodshot. He looked like he wanted to strangle me, this wicked woman. He couldn’t say it to others, but saying it to me, the ex-girlfriend who cruelly abandoned him, wouldn’t be excessive at all. 6 Two days later. Ethan departed for the South, and returned from the South, both times on Skyward Airlines flights. Neither flight had me as a flight attendant. His eyes looked very dark. While in first class, he even got up and took a walk through economy and business class. Among the flight attendants on duty, he didn’t find any trace of me. He was visibly disappointed. Floating in the air watching, I felt regretful too. After we broke up, the reason I chose to become a flight attendant was because I felt it was already impossible for Ethan and me to ever meet again. But I simply couldn’t control my own heart. I always hoped that we could meet again, that I could catch a glimpse of him one more time in the vast sea of humanity. I heard he was very successful now. Successful people mostly fly all over the country, and Ethan shouldn’t be an exception. So I decisively chose a large domestic airline and became a flight attendant. But fate loves to play tricks. During my three years of flying, Ethan never appeared once. Only now did I understand that he held a Platinum card with another major airline. He usually stuck with that rival airline for his travels. Regret, like a dense cloud, clogged my soul, unable to dissipate for a long time. During the flight, the purser proactively asked Ethan several times, pushing service to the absolute pinnacle of perfection, hoping to retain this tycoon so he would choose Skyward next time. 7 I didn’t go back home either. I kept following Ethan; wherever he went, I floated. That day, he finished a meeting and returned to his office. There were several messages in the class group chat. He originally intended to swipe past, but accidentally clicked on them. “I just got off a Skyward flight, didn’t see Chloe.” “I checked my past flights, they were Skyward too, and among the flight attendants, I didn’t see Chloe either.” Someone tagged Lily. “Lily, you didn’t lie to us last time, did you?” Lily: “Lie to you? Do I have too much free time? I’m sure she’s at Skyward. Maybe she just wasn’t on the flights you took.” “That’s possible.” “Maybe she resigned.” “Hmph, good thing she didn’t run into me, otherwise I wouldn’t have given her the time of day.” “In our class, she was the only one with average grades and a bad character.” I bit my lip. Everyone’s prejudice against me had always been deeply rooted. When I loudly and proudly pursued Ethan, no one thought it would last. They thought it was just a rich girl’s game, just playing around. But we seriously dated for three years, and everyone started thinking I was serious and their opinion of me changed a bit. But right then, I coldly and ruthlessly initiated a breakup, shocking everyone. The always aloof, top-student Ethan was almost completely broken by it. I was solidly nailed to the pillar of shame as the “wicked woman.” Amidst the chorus of condemnation. Someone suddenly spoke up. “But did you guys notice? Chloe’s avatar went gray a year ago. Does anyone really know how she’s doing?” “Since we were classmates, let’s keep our words kind. Last time I saw a friend’s avatar stay gray for six months, and when I asked around, I found out they had passed away.” The group chat instantly fell silent. I immediately looked at Ethan. He was gripping his phone, his knuckles white. It was a long while before the class president finally spoke. “Don’t say unlucky things. Even though we haven’t seen her in a long time, she’s definitely still healthy. Don’t go cursing people.” 8 In the afternoon. Ethan kept a tight, stony face. Several department managers got chewed out by him. Walking out of the office, everyone wiped the sweat from their foreheads. “What’s wrong with Mr. Vance?” “Yeah, there were no mistakes in our work.” “Stop talking. Mr. Vance has high standards for us, maybe his expectations are just even higher.” Everyone left, feeling dejected. When work ended. Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. A ray of the setting sun shot through the massive glass, elongating his shadow. Watching him from behind, I felt the profound, intense loneliness radiating from him. For some reason, I felt that Ethan’s feelings for Ms. Yin weren’t strong enough. Ms. Yin was from a prominent family. Perhaps, more than romance, this was an arranged marriage between two great families. The assistant stood behind him, and after a long time, finally spoke cautiously. “Mr. Vance, the bridal center sent over five venue layout plans. You need to choose one.” The man remained silent. The assistant broke into a cold sweat and said tremblingly. “I… I’ll just send them over to Ms. Yin and let her choose.” “A beach wedding. The color scheme will be blue and white, and the primary flower for the venue will be the Iris.” The assistant opened his mouth, finding it hard to believe. “The beach? Does Ms. Yin know?” The tall, dark figure suddenly turned slightly, his aura cold and eerie. The assistant said nothing more and immediately went to carry out the order. Ethan was dressed entirely in black today. When he turned, the areas untouched by the light were terrifyingly cold. With a tangle of emotions, my heart felt heavy, and I couldn’t bear it anymore. I floated away. He was going to hold his wedding on the beach? It must be very romantic.

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1. My year-end bonus was a solid hundred thousand, and my girlfriend, Valerie, insisted I treat her to a grand dinner. The bill, though, came to eight hundred thousand. My jaw dropped. This was daylight robbery! I refused to pay. The restaurant owner, a formidable woman, didn’t bat an eye. Instead, she had her crew seize me, snarling that if I didn’t come up with the cash, they’d make me disappear. I finally got a good look at her, and a surge of anger coursed through me. Wasn’t this Ramona Flowers, one of my mother, Astrid Vance’s, former associates? My mom, for all her ruthless reputation as a crime boss, had always been incredibly tender with me, her only son. When my dad divorced her years ago, I was disgusted by her violent lifestyle and refused to see her. She’d promised me then, tears in her eyes, that she would retire from the underworld for good. I never imagined that all these years later, her crew would still be running their old rackets! And now they’d actually kidnapped me! … “Think you can dine and dash? You seriously don’t know whose turf you’re on, do you?” “Settle the bill, or you’ll lose an arm!” A group of menacing men and women encircled me. One guy even held a cleaver, testing its edge on my shoulder. My heart pounded. Was this some kind of crooked establishment? No wonder four dishes cost eight hundred thousand. They were clearly trying to extort me! I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Where’s Valerie? Where did she go?” I asked. If Valerie hadn’t insisted on coming to this particular place for dinner, I would never have found myself in this godforsaken corner of the city. Sure, the décor was opulent, clearly expensive, but I figured my hundred thousand bonus would cover even a lavish meal. I never expected a bill of eight hundred thousand. This was definitely a setup! They might as well have just robbed me outright, instead of serving me a meal first. When I mentioned Valerie, someone sneered, “Looking for her won’t do you any good. She’s the one who told us to grab you!” “Said you were a fat cat, ripe for the picking. Eight hundred grand? She claimed you could easily cough up eight million! Guess she was wrong. What a pain!” “Worst case, we break his legs and send him to a high-end club to entertain some cougars to earn that eight hundred grand!” I gasped, shouting, “No! This is kidnapping and extortion! It’s illegal! Let me go!” The woman laughed as if I’d told the funniest joke. “Illegal? Honey, I am the law around here!” “Don’t want to go with the cougars? Fine. Pay the bill! Otherwise, I’ve got plenty of ways to make you suffer!” With that, she grabbed my neck with a wicked grip and plunged my head into a water barrel. The intense sensation of suffocation brought me to the brink of death. I thrashed and struggled, finally gasping for air. A wise man knows when to yield. I quickly tried to negotiate. “I’ll pay, but I don’t have that kind of money on me right now. How about you let me make a call? I’ll have someone bring the money over.” I wasn’t lying. Most of the money I earned was with my dad. Only this hundred thousand bonus was in my own account. Even if they drowned me, I couldn’t produce eight hundred thousand. As soon as I finished speaking, a heavily made-up woman slapped me. “Head to toe in designer clothes, and you don’t have eight hundred grand? Who’d believe that!” “Make a call? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning! If you dare call the cops, I’ll tear you apart!” At that moment, a younger woman, a punk-rock type, grew impatient. “Ramona, stop wasting time with him. Just send him to the club already!” “Rich women these days love pretty boys like him. He’ll fetch a good price!” I stared intently at the woman they called Ramona. She looked familiar. It was Ramona Flowers! Ramona, known as “Ramona,” was one of my mother Astrid Vance’s top lieutenants. My mom was a legendary crime boss, decisive and ruthless, yet she reserved all her tenderness and affection for me, her son. 2. My father, Johnny Reed, was a scholarly man. Mom had relentlessly pursued him, and I was born from their union. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and decided to divorce her. The reason I didn’t stay with Astrid back then was precisely because I couldn’t stand her constant violence and underworld dealings. Astrid, with tears in her eyes, had promised me she would clean up her act. All these years passed, and I never imagined her old crew would still be running their rackets – and now they’d kidnapped me! If I hadn’t been studying abroad for so long and my eyesight hadn’t been an issue, I would have recognized her sooner. Shocked and furious, I blurted out, “Ramona Flowers, are you blind? How dare you kidnap me!” The punk-rock girl paused for a second, then slapped me. “You’re asking for it! Do you think you can just call Ramona by her name?” With that, she raised a whip to strike me. Ramona quickly stopped her, looking wary. “How do you know my name?” Thinking she’d recognized me, I shouted, “Because I’m Astrid Vance’s son!” “Let me go right now, or if my mom finds out, she’ll have your head!” The moment I said it, the wariness on Ramona’s face turned into a mocking laugh. “You? You think you can pretend to be Astrid’s son? You’ve got a death wish!” I was speechless. “I am Astrid Vance’s son, Julian Vance!” Ramona grabbed my collar, scoffing. “During dinner, your girlfriend clearly called you John Reed. Do you think we’re deaf?” I quickly explained, “I really am Julian Vance. My dad took my mom’s last name when they got married, so I shared hers. After they divorced, I changed it back to my dad’s!” Ramona had been my mom’s confidante back in the day; she had to know my father’s name. But to my shock, the next second, Ramona slammed a club into my knee. “Astrid and Johnny are deeply in love! They would never divorce!” “If you dare spread rumors again, I’ll rip your mouth out!” I gasped in pain, suddenly remembering that my mom had kept the divorce a secret from outsiders. She was afraid people at school would gossip and affect my studies. It seemed that secrecy was now costing me dearly. Just then, someone handed my phone to Ramona. A flicker of hope ignited within me. If she saw my lock screen, she would surely recognize me. But Ramona held the phone, comparing my face to the picture for a while, then spat at me. “I can’t believe I fell for your tricks again and again!” “You think if you Photoshop a picture with Astrid, I’ll believe you?” “Little Julian was dark-skinned and stocky! A pretty boy like you, trying to impersonate him!” With that, Ramona raised the club again, ready to strike. It was true that I used to be a round, chubby kid. But after high school, I joined a weight loss program, shed fifty pounds, and revamped my hairstyle and wardrobe. My greatest joy used to be hearing people tell me how handsome I’d become. Now, I found myself in a darkly humorous situation. As the club was about to descend, a bespectacled man next to her suddenly stopped Ramona. “Ramona, could this punk be one of Astrid’s kept men?” “If you harm him, what if Astrid comes looking for answers?” Before he could finish, Ramona glared at him fiercely. “Are you trying to get yourself killed too? Astrid and Johnny are known as a model couple! How could she keep a pretty boy?” “Now, even if he pays the bill, he’s not leaving!” “I hate nothing more than home-wreckers like this!” 3. With that, she motioned to some of her henchmen, ordering them to sever my tendons. My hands and feet were bound, making movement impossible. I screamed in desperation, “I am Astrid Vance’s son! If you touch me, she’ll make you pay!” But then, a sharp pain shot through my thigh as I felt a deep gash. “Still running your mouth even when death is at your doorstep? Today, not even the Almighty can save you!” The excruciating pain plunged me into despair. Just then, a knock came at the door, and a voice called out, “Ramona, the Big Boss is here! She wants to pick out a private room for a birthday celebration! She’s looking for you!” Ramona’s face lit up. “Really? The Big Boss hasn’t been here in ages. I need to make a good impression this time!” Then, with a look of disgust, she pointed at me. “Deal with this pretty boy immediately. Don’t let the Big Boss see him; he’ll only bring bad luck!” With that, Ramona and her crew rushed out of the room. The only person Ramona would call “Big Boss” was my mother, Astrid Vance. Could it be her? Hope surged within me. If I wanted to escape, now was my only chance. As I was being led out of the room, my head still covered, I suddenly kicked the man holding me in the groin. He groaned, immediately loosening his grip. I stumbled, desperate to flee. But unfamiliar with the hotel layout and hampered by my injured leg, I tumbled down the stairs. The fall knocked the wind out of me! Before I could even react, the man from behind me rushed forward and slammed something hard into the back of my head. “You little bastard, how dare you kick me? I’ll beat you to death!” My head spun. I thought I saw my mother’s figure at the end of the hallway. Then, I was dragged away, losing consciousness. When I woke up, I was tied in a utility closet, my mouth taped shut. There was no one around. Had everyone rushed off to greet Astrid? That meant my mom was still here. As long as she was, I had a chance! I quickly shuffled to a corner, desperately trying to rub the ropes against the wall. Just then, hushed voices drifted from outside the door. I strained to listen, and to my shock, it was Valerie! “Did you get the money? Give me my cut!” The person on the other side sounded annoyed. “You have the nerve to ask! This pretty boy only had a hundred grand in his account and dared to impersonate the Big Boss’s son. He’s got a death wish! But he does look pretty good.” “You should take this chance to check his car for anything else valuable. My husband’s not here, so I’m going to have some fun inside!” “It’s been ages since I’ve seen such a fresh-faced pretty boy!” Valerie was silent for a moment, then her voice was tinged with disgust. “He used to act so high and mighty around me, I thought he was some untouchable prince. Never thought he’d be licking other women behind my back!” “But he must have money. His car alone is worth over a hundred thousand. How could he not afford eight hundred thousand in ransom?!” My heart sank. I had always believed Valerie was fragile and innocent, incapable of harming me. I thought someone must have forced her. But it was all a façade. This was her true face! I’d been such a fool, buying her gifts and taking her to fancy dinners the moment I got my bonus. I was completely misguided. Just then, the ropes on my arm were almost severed. I was about to celebrate, but the next second, I heard the click of the lock turning. I quickly scanned my surroundings. The window was sealed. Escape was impossible. I gripped the nearly broken rope, quickly retreated to the wall, and pretended I had just woken up. 4. The door opened, and a heavily made-up, plump middle-aged woman leaned in, a lecherous grin on her face. “Well, handsome, I advise you not to try escaping. Not even a fly can get out of this place, let alone a grown man.” “How about this? You can call me your godmother. You’ll live the high life with me, and you won’t have to pay that eight hundred grand. What do you say?” With that, she reached out, leering, to touch my chest. I rolled my eyes, quickly dodging her hand. “Ugh! I wouldn’t even want a crime boss as a godmother, so why would I want some old madam? You don’t want a godson, you want to keep me! You shameless old toad…” Before I could finish, she pressed a stun gun against my chin. “I’m giving you one last chance. Think carefully before you speak!” A wise man knows when to yield. I quickly feigned submission. “Let’s… talk… calmly…” The middle-aged woman finally released me, her grin widening. “So, you’re willing to come with me?” I coughed violently a few times. Just as I was about to speak, I saw a scrawny, bald man walk in. If I wasn’t mistaken, these two were a couple. Seeing that the woman hadn’t noticed him, an idea sparked in my mind. I deliberately spoke with a sarcastic tone. “Your husband treats you so well, do you really have the heart to keep a pretty boy behind his back?” “Aren’t you afraid of what he’ll do if he finds out?” The woman’s voice suddenly rose several decibels. “Don’t even mention that bald loser! He’s useless every time. He makes me sick just thinking about him!” “Handsome, if you just stay with me, I’ll give you everything…” Before she could finish, the bald man slapped her from behind. “Charlene, you bitch! Trying to sneak around with another man right under my nose? I’ll kill you today!” With that, the two began to fight. I quickly stoked the flames. “Lady, if you beat your husband, I’ll be yours!” “A man who hits women is definitely no good. If you don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll just do it again next time!” Charlene, hearing this, immediately sprang into action. Her nearly two hundred pounds of weight pinned her husband to the ground, and she furiously began to pummel him. Seizing the opportunity while they were locked in a chaotic brawl, I ducked low and scurried out the door. But as I reached the entrance, they spotted me. My injured leg prevented me from moving quickly. Just then, from the second-floor railing, I saw Astrid Vance, surrounded by her entourage, about to leave the hotel lobby. I was about to shout, but then someone pursuing me clapped a hand over my mouth. Seeing myself about to be dragged back, I hardened my resolve. I wrapped my arms around the person behind me and leaped from the second floor. The hotel lobby had a high ceiling; the second floor was equivalent to a typical third floor. Falling from that height, even if I didn’t die, I’d be crippled. But I couldn’t care less. If I couldn’t escape now, I was doomed. Splash! I crashed into the giant fish tank in the lobby. The fish tank couldn’t withstand my weight and shattered, sending water and glass everywhere. My face was sliced by the glass, blood staining the floor. Even with the water’s cushion, my legs and arms were broken, making it almost impossible to move. Fortunately, Astrid, hearing the commotion, turned her head just as she was about to exit. She frowned, clearly displeased. “What in the world is going on here?” “Are you back to your old tricks behind my back again?!” For the past twenty years, Astrid had always presented herself as a gentle, easygoing mother to me.

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1 The first time I saw Finn, he was working a shift at my dad’s karaoke bar. I fell for him, hard and fast. After six months of relentlessly pursuing him, he finally said yes. One day, nearing his graduation, he invited me to a cheap motel near his university, just like he always did. After we’d finished, he lit a cigarette and, without preamble, asked, “Girls like you, when you’re done having your fun, you’ll probably just go back home and marry some ‘decent guy,’ right?” I felt a surge of confusion. “What exactly do you mean by ‘decent guy’?” He took another drag, exhaling slowly. “Someone who won’t care about your past, who’s willing to support your younger siblings, and who’s thick-skinned enough to just… take it.” I walked out of that motel and broke up with him on the spot. It was four years before I saw him again. My dad’s old karaoke bar had since been upgraded to the best club in the city. I had just finished a staff training session when Finn walked in, ushering a client through the door. He saw me, raised an eyebrow, and said with a mocking edge to his voice, “Still here? Youth doesn’t last forever in this business, you know. How about you join us tonight, with Mr. Green?” He paused, then added, “Your rate used to be a hundred and fifty a night. Now, at your age, how about I offer you a hundred?” I looked up at the man beside him. Mr. Green, a knowing glint in his eye, drawled, “A million dollars, and you’ll share a drink with me tonight?” … Finn turned to glance at his important client, then looked back at me, a flicker of bewilderment in his eyes. Seeing that I didn’t respond, he quickly ushered Mr. Green into the private room. But the man lingered, giving me a pitiful look until I glared at him, and he slowly retreated inside. I turned to head back to my office, but Finn popped out again. He waved me over. “Do you get a commission for setting up our private room and drinks? The cut here should be better than a karaoke bar, right?” Given he was a paying customer, I answered him honestly. “No, I don’t. If you’re talking sales, then yes, the commission is better than a karaoke bar.” But he still didn’t seem to grasp that I wasn’t in sales. Honestly, four years wasn’t a short time, and Finn had changed immensely. He still had a face that could make you fall in love at first sight, but his once clear, earnest demeanor had become… well, a little sleazy. His expression was now tinged with worldliness and cunning. “The client in there is a very important guest. My entire year’s performance depends on him. He’s loaded, but he loves to put on airs. Don’t take what he just said seriously; you don’t want to give away your services for free.” He finished speaking, then suddenly chuckled as if something just clicked. “You’ve been working in places like this for years. What kind of people haven’t you seen? It’s pretty funny that I’m still worrying about you, isn’t it?” “Alright, go open a few good bottles of wine for us later, and find some pretty girls. Make sure they take good care of Mr. Green.” He emphasized, “Get some young ones. The older ones, like you, just phone it in.” I gave him a tight, humorless smile. “My appearance fee is probably more than you can afford.” He scoffed. “A million for a drink, huh? You really think I’d fall for that.” 2 Watching his retreating back, thinking about what he’d just said, and then remembering so many things from the past, I felt a sense of stark dissociation. I knew, clearly, that all those words came from the same person’s mouth. Whether they were sweet nothings, solemn vows, or those utterly hurtful remarks. After we broke up, I was devastated. The same person who had once brought me so much happiness now plunged me into despair. I cried myself to sleep on countless nights until time, like a cleansing rain, washed it all away. I stared blankly at the door he’d entered for a moment, then called a salesperson to arrange their drinks. “If the guest in that room asks for me, just say I’m not available. Don’t say anything else unnecessary.” It was precisely at that moment, as I turned around, that someone clapped me on the shoulder, beaming. “Hazel! It really is you! You’re still working here?” “This karaoke bar totally transformed into a top-tier club. You must be a manager by now, right? Did you just see Finn? He’s here tonight entertaining a big client. My dad actually helped him get the connection. He might be really taking off.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “You know, if he’d stayed with you, do you think he’d be where he is today? He wouldn’t be entertaining important guests; he’d be… working as a hostess, just like you.” She heavily emphasized the word “hostess,” seemingly trying to convey a suggestive, double meaning through her tone. I never quite understood it. Finn and I both worked part-time at the karaoke bar, coming and going together every day. How was it that his job was considered a commendable example of working his way through college, while mine somehow became a stain on my record? “Alright, I won’t keep you. You shouldn’t go in there tonight. Your perfume smells a little… cheap.” 3 This girl was Finn’s junior, Chloe Vance. I heard her family was quite well-off; her father was a businessman. If I remembered correctly, they owned a contract manufacturing plant that produced pet-related products under various labels. From the moment I started pursuing Finn, I knew she was around. After all, he was the renowned star of the business school; it would have been unusual if he didn’t have a few admirers circling him. But at first, I honestly didn’t pay much attention to her. Back then, we were all still quite immature, operating on the principle that beauty equaled righteousness. And no, Chloe wasn’t particularly pretty; she was very average. The kind of person you could lose in a crowd and struggle to find. I, on the other hand, strongly resembled my mother, who was a minor actress known more for her beauty than any significant roles. She retired after marrying my father. When Finn finally accepted me, the first thing he said was, “You’re truly beautiful. I actually noticed you the first time we met.” He was my first love, so I was completely devoted once we were together. I wanted to be with him every moment, but his time wasn’t entirely his own. He had classes, student council meetings, and various part-time jobs. He was incredibly stubborn; though he never spoke about his family, and never applied for financial aid, his everyday clothes, spending habits, and general demeanor hinted at his poverty. To spend more time with him, I started attending his major classes, accompanied him to student council events, and even got a part-time job at the same place he worked. Perhaps it was this constant, seemingly desperate scramble for work that made him mistakenly believe I was just like him—someone who needed to work part-time to sustain my studies and life. Our hearts grew closer, and it became increasingly difficult for me to open up to him. I gradually missed the best time to be honest. 4 As graduation neared, Finn grew even busier. He was swamped writing his own thesis, and taking on ghostwriting assignments for classmates. He also had to deal with constant harassment from his family. His parents had just had another son, a baby brother for him. This new arrival added immense stress to his life; his mother could no longer work and placed all her hopes on her eldest son, who was about to graduate. I once overheard him on the phone with his family, his mother earnestly telling him, “You are the firstborn son and grandson of the Miller family. The family’s future glory depends on you.” “After you graduate, you need to send five hundred dollars home every month. Don’t just casually date, don’t be a fool buying gifts for everyone, and make sure to be frugal.” She continued, “Your father and I have finally made it this far. Once you marry, our family will truly be set.” After those calls, Finn always became unusually quiet. During that period, his mood was particularly somber. He often spaced out, sometimes staring at me, sometimes at the ground. His contact with Chloe Vance, his junior, also increased, as she helped him secure many ghostwriting gigs. To cheer him up, I bought him numerous gifts. To my surprise, it only made him more upset. He frowned, asking where I got the money. Before I could answer, Chloe interjected, “This clearly looks like a knock-off. Girls who work at karaoke bars love to buy these fake luxury items to make themselves look classy and boost their value, don’t they?” She smirked. “Your little bag has pretty good stitching. Where did you get it? Can you tell me your source?” Finn’s gaze was strange. I could almost imagine that if I told him these were genuine, he would suspect me of some illicit activity. So I simply said, “If you don’t like it, I’ll return it.” 5 The more stressed a person is, the more they need an outlet. During that time, Finn often invited me to the cheap motel. He showed a fervent obsession with my body, which often gave me the illusion that he truly loved me. It was after one such encounter, before I even had time to get dressed, that I heard him say, “Girls like you, when you’re done having your fun, you’ll probably just go back home and marry some ‘decent guy,’ right?” I felt a surge of confusion. “What exactly do you mean by ‘decent guy’?” He took a drag from his cigarette and said, “Someone who won’t care about your past, who’s willing to support your younger siblings, and who’s thick-skinned enough to just… take it.” “And what do you mean by ‘girls like us’?” He scrutinized me from head to toe. “Girls who come from the countryside, who struggle to survive by any means, and who are good at using their bodies as resources.” I looked up, surprised, and asked him, “Have you always thought I was selling my body at the karaoke bar? All this time we’ve been together, is that what you thought of me?” I thought I was sharing countless firsts of my life with him. In his eyes, it had become cheap, insignificant leftovers. Everything felt surreal, and utterly ridiculous. I got dressed and walked out. After sending a breakup text, I never saw him again. Just as I finally snapped out of my memories, an employee rushed in and said, “Ms. Hayes, the guests in Room 512 are fighting!” Room 512 was the one Finn had booked. 6 As I hurried over, I instructed the employee, “We don’t know the full situation yet, so don’t call the police. If things get out of control, I’ll tell you immediately.” The employee looked flustered. “Shouldn’t we call the police first? Or maybe I should tell the big boss? It might not be safe for you to go in alone.” “It’s fine. They’re acquaintances. It shouldn’t be too bad.” I pushed open the door and saw Finn clutching his head, standing in a corner. On the floor lay a shattered glass. Before I could even speak, Blake Green started playing the victim. “I really didn’t mean to cause trouble, but I couldn’t stand their foul language anymore! If I’d known they had such low standards, how could I have come out to discuss business with them?” “This wasn’t even on the schedule. An old partner kept insisting I meet them, and it was hard to refuse. The location was here, so I eagerly came over.” He added, “Let me reiterate, I really didn’t mean to lay a hand on anyone, nor did I intend to cause a scene on your turf. I was just defending myself.” No sooner had he finished speaking than someone else, having clearly reached their limit, spoke up. “Can you stop talking nonsense? Did I even touch you? You call that self-defense?” He sneered, “Everyone comes to places like this to chat and talk business. Why are you acting like some innocent saint?” Chloe Vance also joined the fray. She pointed at me and said, “Here, as the manager here, you need to resolve this conflict. We’re paying for your private room to discuss business, and someone got hit. Shouldn’t you be responsible for this?” Blake suddenly stood up, looking somewhat aggrieved, and turned to me. “Honey, they were spreading nasty rumors about you, and I couldn’t stand it, so I got into a fight. I really didn’t mean to.”

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01 Right after I got to the office, the boss called me into his room. My colleagues winked at me: “Chloe is getting converted to a full-time employee early! You landed that massive contract a couple of days ago; your year-end bonus must be in the six figures, right? I’m so jealous!” I smiled without saying anything, a faint anticipation growing inside me. But I never expected the heavy blow that awaited me. The boss frowned and sighed. “Chloe, you’re a female programmer making $5,000 a month, which is even higher than your supervisor’s salary. When I hired you, fighting off all the objections, it was with the expectation that you would achieve something great and change everyone’s stereotypes about women. It’s a pity you didn’t live up to those expectations!” “Forget it, I won’t hold it against you. You didn’t pass your probation period. You can see yourself out.” Staring at his moving lips, I only felt disgusted. My probation period was five months. I clocked in on time and had perfect attendance every month. I didn’t hide in the bathroom playing games, nor did I have a smoking habit. Our company was a vendor in the gaming industry. We did contract work for game companies, from building the underlying logic to implementing systems and level designs. We worked on many different types of games. The foundational code was like a snowball; as it rolled, it picked up dead grass and rotten leaves, full of redundancies. It looked complex and was difficult to push forward. Every project required a lot of time for patching and fixing. During these five months… I voluntarily worked overtime on weekends, streamlining the mountain of legacy spaghetti code to industry standards. Relying on my accumulated network, I secured three projects with a combined profit of nearly five million dollars. At the beginning of the month, the boss quietly upgraded his car to a Maserati. And he’s telling me I didn’t pass my probation? Does he think I’m an idiot he can easily screw over? I took a deep breath, leaned in, and looked down at him. “Boss, during the probationary period, an employee cannot be arbitrarily dismissed unless they have committed a major offense that causes huge financial losses to the company. If you insist on firing me, according to regulations, you must compensate me with half a month’s salary.” “Furthermore, the contract I signed with the company is for two years, making the statutory probation period three months. The company has violated the rules. Not only will you face fines, but you also have to compensate me with one month’s salary.” “That’s not all. Firing a formal employee requires a one-month advance notice. During this month, not only must you continue to pay my insurance and 401k, but every cent of my deserved bonuses must also be paid.” “Oh, did you study law? Then tell me, which act and which clause are you citing?” The boss sneered disdainfully. “Young people shouldn’t think they can bluff me just because they read some stuff online.” “I saw through you a long time ago. You lack capability and love to slack off. You’re just coasting by! You come to the office on weekends, but who knows who you’re putting on a show for.” He sure knows how to twist the truth. I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. I took out my phone and opened the automated data aggregation page I wrote. It contained a systematized timeline of my clock-ins, code commit version records, and project communication logs. “All work leaves a digital footprint. Which part do you want to see?” “I’ll repeat: you can fire me, but first, write the notification letter, pay my salary, bonuses, and compensation, and I’ll take the money and leave in a month. The evidence is all here. Don’t think you can twist the truth with that pig mouth of yours.” He still tried to lure me into a trap. “Why are you organizing these things instead of working properly? Have you been plotting against the company and me all along?” “The company might be small, but its prospects are good! I provide you with such a great platform, yet you lack ambition, take your salary for nothing, and now you want to extort money. You ungrateful wretch!” It was a clichéd workplace tactic. Using gaslighting and fact-twisting words to enrage the employee. If I cursed back or argued, it would be framed as a severe conflict with the boss. If I slammed the door and left in anger, it would be recorded as absenteeism. After two consecutive days of no-show, I wouldn’t get a single cent of compensation. I didn’t speak. I let him vent, just staring at him. After a few minutes of silence… The boss finally lost his cool. “Do you believe I’ll deactivate your keycard right now and have security throw you out?” “If you do that, then I’ll have to take legal action, and I’ll immediately inform Blue General Games.” “If my memory serves me right, the contract signed with Blue General explicitly states that if the vendor company incurs any legal disputes during the cooperation period, they must compensate five times the project amount, right?” The boss gritted his teeth: “You get out first! I’ll discuss this with HR, and we’ll talk about it another day!” I immediately turned around and went back to my desk. Staying a second longer made me feel sick. Seeing me come out… My colleagues exchanged glances and unanimously looked down at their phones. Sensing something was wrong, I also picked up my phone. The company group chats were all quiet. There were no messages in the casual chat group either. Until I switched to my alt account. I found a new group chat. [Chloe didn’t pass her probation. If any of you have evidence of her slacking off, goofing around, or failing to fix bugs on time, send it to me privately. Every piece of evidence will be rewarded with a hundred dollars.] [After she leaves, everyone’s year-end bonus will be increased by two hundred dollars.] [Don’t worry, she’s on probation, and you are formal employees. The company won’t treat you unfairly.] The avatar of the person sending the messages was a Maserati car key. The nickname I had saved for him was “Son of a Bitch”. 02 I almost burst out laughing. I used this account to send materials to friends on forums. After joining the company, I lent it to a colleague for a while. She returned it to me when she resigned. I was too lazy to change the name or delete the friends. I guess the boss thought it was still my former colleague and added the account to the group. I looked up and observed the room. The colleagues who had been added all looked troubled. For one, if they reported me this time, it might be their turn next. For another, my work was indeed flawless. If they wanted to earn this money, they needed presentable evidence. They didn’t have any, but I did. I used my alt account to private message “Son of a Bitch”. [Boss, do ex-employees like me get paid for reporting Chloe too? Paid immediately? Venmo or Zelle?] The boss replied quickly. [Sarah? I remember you and Chloe were pretty close. You’re reporting her?] [Boss, you know someone in my family is hospitalized, and the daily expenses are huge. No matter how close Chloe and I are, it can’t compare to life-saving money.] The boss took the bait. [You have evidence? Send it to me. If it’s good, I’ll transfer the money to you immediately!] Sure enough, in his eyes, everyone should be driven by profit. I found a photo of myself sitting at my desk, the screen showing a forum. [October 11th, makeup workday, Chloe browsing forums at work.] After sending it, the “typing…” indicator stayed on for three seconds, then nothing. I quickly added more fuel to the fire. [I searched this forum. It’s full of programmers discussing code. Wasn’t Chloe modifying the company’s core code during that time? She turned right around and posted on the internet. The title was even something like ‘Practical Optimization and Architecture Insights’.] [I’m not trying to stir up trouble, but our company’s core competitiveness is this very system. If others take it and use it, wouldn’t they be taking a piece of our pie?] This time, the “typing…” indicator lasted for ten seconds. Still no reply. I thought it was a bust. But then I saw the boss come out of his office and head straight for the surveillance monitors. He stayed there for a full half hour. During that half hour, I slowly drank a cup of water and fixed two bugs. Until my pocket vibrated slightly. The boss, as promised, transferred a hundred dollars. I clicked reject. [Boss, you didn’t add a note. I don’t dare accept it.] The boss floated past me, grinding his teeth. A moment later, the alt account received the transfer again. Note: Company overtime compensation. [Now that you’ve taken the money, you should know what to say and what not to say!] I grinned, showing all my teeth. [Thank you, boss!] After collecting the money, I opened Amazon and ordered a new pair of headphones. My joy was short-lived. The boss stormed over, spit flying all over my screen. “Chloe, come in here for a minute!” 03 Inside the office. The boss slammed his phone down in front of me. He looked at me with a face full of feigned regret. “Chloe, I wanted to let you leave with some dignity. But this is too serious. It’s so serious it crosses the company’s bottom line.” “Posting the company’s underlying code on a public forum constitutes leaking trade secrets. I can call the police and sue you for damages.” “How about this? You resign voluntarily, and I won’t call the police.” I had figured it out earlier. My salary was high. According to his promise, my year-end bonus was to be calculated at eight times my monthly salary, which meant he owed me forty thousand dollars. He didn’t want to pay that money. Moreover, in his view, for the new project, he just needed to find someone barely competent to replace me; there was no need to pay another huge salary. Businessmen prioritize profit above all; there is simply no room for sentiment. But his evidence was provided by me. Who would actually sabotage themselves? I pulled a chair over and sat down firmly. I picked up his phone, zooming in on the date and the post title in the photo. Then I took my own phone from my pocket, opened the forum, found the post history, and placed both phones in front of him. “Who gave you this photo? I encourage you to call the police.” “The date on the photo is October 11th. Based on the title, it should be this post: ‘Practical Sharing on the Underlying Architecture of 2D Side-Scrolling Games’. I did write this post, but it was in 2023.” “The reason I was looking at this that day was to find commonalities in order to modify the company’s underlying architecture.” “If you want to be pedantic, the company should be paying me intellectual property fees.” The boss’s eyes widened. He incredulously picked up the two phones, comparing them repeatedly. His face turned red, then pale. I pressed my advantage. “Boss, are you going to pay up?” “I’m afraid that once I walk out that door, I might not be able to resist mentioning this to the client.” The contract stated that any intellectual property disputes involving materials provided by the vendor would require triple compensation. The boss looked like he was about to shatter his teeth. “Two hundred! That’s enough, right?” “Thank you, boss!” I left satisfied. Actually, I was lying to him. Publicly shared knowledge like this doesn’t meet the conditions for tracing intellectual property rights. But he only cared about money; how would he know that? Back at my desk. My alt account was bombarded with messages. [Sarah! You useless trash! This photo is completely useless!] [I knew you were garbage. Thank God I fired you!] [Transfer the money back to me, or else when I find your current superior, I’ll make sure you’re completely ruined!] Why would I return money that was already in my hands? I started playing the victim. [Boss! You can’t blame me! That bitch Chloe definitely guarded against this! She has more schemes than a sieve has holes!] [Trust me one more time! This time, I got a voice recording! From her own mouth!] [I had to pull a lot of strings to get it, and the hundred you gave me was spent on that… So, could you give me a little more? Fifty is fine!] [I promise! This recording will nail Chloe to the wall!] Between falling for another fifty-dollar trick and losing forty thousand dollars, the boss chose the former. I sent him the specially edited recording. [Chloe secretly contacted a rival company, saying she wants to bring our company down!] This time, the boss sat in the surveillance room for most of the day. If he was attentive enough, he would have definitely seen the fierce expression on my face while holding the phone on the rooftop. He naturally attributed it to my hatred for the company. At midnight, I received a warning from the boss. [Delete the transfer record. You should know the consequences of being a snitch.] I replied fawningly: [Yes, sir! I promise to keep it a secret!] 04 Early the next morning, the boss called a company-wide meeting. His face was dark, his eyes red, looking exactly like a gambler who had lost all his chips. “Some colleagues have engaged in egregious behavior, biting the hand that feeds them!” “Today, I must teach her a harsh lesson!” My colleagues’ gazes unanimously fell on me. I stood up, acting as if nothing was wrong, entered the conference room, chose a corner seat, and logged into my alt account. [Boss, I have a friend who runs a gaming industry news blog. When are you free? I’ll have her come over.] [Give her the recording. Tell her some more dirt, and once the article is published, her reputation will be ruined. She’ll definitely have a hard time finding a job in the future.] The boss stopped in his tracks at the door. He frowned at his phone, then said: “Something came up. The meeting is postponed to 2 PM.” My phone vibrated. He sent a message: [Does she charge? I don’t want anyone who charges! If she doesn’t charge, have her come to the company at 2 PM.] [Got it, boss! Absolutely free!] 05 During the lunch break, my colleagues squeezed into the pantry. “Isn’t the boss going too far? Chloe has made a lot of money for the company.” “The boss is incredibly stingy! Look at the job boards; the salary for the same position is at least five hundred more. If it weren’t for the bad economy, I would have left a long time ago.” “Stingy and short-sighted! Last week, the boss didn’t want to fight for that project because he thought the production cycle was too long. Chloe secured it anyway, and only then did he find out the six-month project fee was over a million dollars. Sticking with a boss like this, who knows when the company might go under? If it weren’t for my car loan, I would have left too!” “Whatever, let’s just coast here. If you do a good job, you still have to leave eventually!” The receptionist hurriedly filled a cup of coffee. “Can’t talk to you guys right now. The boss told me to receive a visitor. Sigh, when will I find a company that allows a normal lunch break?” I shrank back into the corner. Visitor? But I just messaged my journalist friend, and she said she was coming over after lunch. Could there be someone else?

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My boyfriend’s childhood sweetheart used my credit card to sponsor impoverished students, cultivating a persona of a beautiful and kind-hearted heiress. Then, the class funds went missing, only to be found in my locker. My boyfriend, looking heartbroken, said, “Blair, turn yourself in. I’ll wait for you.” I tried to explain, but no one believed me; the whole class accused me of theft. In the end, I was wrongfully imprisoned. My parents died in a car accident while trying to clear my name. My boyfriend seized the opportunity to take over my family’s company, but then announced his marriage to his childhood sweetheart. I died in prison, heartbroken. When I opened my eyes, I was back in time, when my childhood sweetheart was paying tuition for impoverished students. … “The university is organizing an endowment drive for the First-Gen Low-Income Student Support Fund. Who would like to pledge?” The moment the professor’s voice drifted through the lecture hall, a violent jolt ripped through my spine. I stared blankly at the podium, listening to the familiar pitch about financial aid, priority registration, and guaranteed fellowship nominations. My chest heaved. I drew in a ragged, desperate breath. I am alive. I am back. A split second later, Mia shot up from her seat in the front row. “Professor, I’d like to pledge seventy-five thousand dollars. I want it to go directly toward the living stipends of our FGLI students.” The words hung in the air, instantly sucking the oxygen out of the room. A collective gasp echoed off the auditorium walls. “Seventy-five grand? Mia, you can’t be serious.” Mia tilted her chin up just a fraction, the fluorescent lights catching the edge of the Van Cleef necklace resting against her collarbone. “It’s only seventy-five thousand. Why would I joke about something like that?” The room erupted. Cheers and applause washed over her. “Oh my god, Mia, you’re literally an angel,” Harper, our mutual roommate, gushed loudly. “You’re so loaded but you keep it so low-key. And when it actually matters, you’re incredibly generous. Unlike some people who parade around campus with massive, tacky designer bags just to show off.” Harper threw a pointed, venomous glare over her shoulder, her eyes locking onto the oversized leather tote slung across the back of my chair. I looked at the bag. I liked it because it was spacious. Back home, our estate manager used this exact model to haul fresh produce from the farmer’s market. Compared to the bespoke, one-of-a-kind pieces sitting in my walk-in closet, this was the most unremarkable, pedestrian bag I owned. A cold, creeping nausea settled in my stomach as the memories of my past life bled into the present. In that life, I had funded Mia’s entire existence under my father’s corporate philanthropic umbrella. I even gave her a supplementary Black Card to cover her “basic needs.” At first, I didn’t care about the few hundred or even a few thousand dollars she swiped here and there. Even on this exact day, when she grandstanded with my money to pledge seventy-five thousand dollars, I had felt a flicker of annoyance, but I’d kept my mouth shut. After all, my family’s foundation donated tens of millions annually. What was seventy-five grand? But that single moment of silence had been my undoing. It cemented Mia’s reputation as the campus’s golden-hearted heiress, while I was branded a vain, stingy poser. The nightmare had culminated in the ‘stolen class fund’ incident. When Mia led a witch hunt straight to my dorm and “found” the missing money in my closet, my boyfriend, Connor, had stood in front of the entire student body, looking at me with unbearable pity. “Turn yourself in, Blair. I’ll wait for you.” I was spat on. Expelled. Sent to prison. The university stripped me of my Vanguard Fellowship and handed it to Mia. And then, the phone call that shattered my soul: my parents, rushing to the precinct with the evidence to clear my name, had been run off the road. I died in that concrete cell. A slow, agonizing rot of the spirit. And in my final days, I watched on a smuggled phone as Connor—having hostilely taken over my family’s empire—proposed to Mia with a fleet of nine hundred synchronized drones lighting up the night sky. The internet crowned them the ultimate power couple. They had built their fairy tale on the blood of my parents. My nails dug into my palms, biting crescent moons into the skin. The phantom metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. At the front of the room, Mia was blushing, waving her hands in a performance of deep humility. “Oh, stop, you guys are exaggerating. I just want to do what I can to help people.” Then, right on cue, Mia shifted her gaze to me. Her eyes dipped to my bag, laced with manufactured concern. “Blair, that bag looks… really familiar. Listen, I know it’s normal for girls to want nice things, but please don’t let vanity ruin your future. You don’t have to pretend.” I didn’t even blink at her. I looked straight past her carefully contoured face to the professor. “Professor,” I said, my voice eerily calm, cutting through the chatter. “I’ll match it. Put me down for seventy-five thousand.” The professor blinked, adjusting his glasses. He looked at me with open skepticism. “Are you absolutely certain, Blair? If you commit to this ledger and fail to produce the funds, you will be disqualified from all academic honors, and your Vanguard Fellowship nomination will be revoked. Think carefully. Do not make impulsive decisions out of pride.” Mia rushed up the aisle, grabbing my arm with frantic, panicked fingers. “Blair, please! If you’re doing this just to compete with me, then I won’t donate. I’ll pull my pledge right now. I can’t watch you destroy your life just because you’re jealous of me. I would never forgive myself!” The moment she threatened to pull her funding, the FGLI students in the room snapped. Desperation is a volatile fuel, and Mia had just struck the match. They turned on me with absolute venom. “Blair, you selfish bitch! You’re going to cost us our stipends just to feed your massive ego?” “Do you have any idea what it took for us to get into this school? We skip meals! We count every single cent! Finally, someone is willing to help us breathe, and you’re going to ruin it because you want to play rich? You are disgusting.” “Get the hell out, Blair! You don’t belong here!” A guy in the row ahead of me, red-faced and shaking with stress, lunged. He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me hard. I stumbled, my hip slamming into the edge of the desk before I hit the floor. The classroom erupted into chaos. The professor shouted threats of suspension, slamming his hands on the podium until the room finally, reluctantly, fell back into a simmering silence. He looked down at me, his expression tight with disapproval. “Blair, wanting to help is admirable, but you must live within your means. For your own good, I am removing your name from the ledger.” I pushed myself off the floor, dusting off my jeans. The ache in my hip was grounding. It was real. “Professor,” I said, my voice dropping to a glacial chill. “It is not your place to dictate my financial decisions.” Mia gasped, her eyes welling with crocodile tears. “Professor, please don’t be hard on her! It’s fine, I just won’t donate. I don’t want to be the cause of all this.” She made it sound exactly like I was holding a gun to her head. It was a masterful, sickening performance. The guy who had shoved me stepped forward again, his fists clenched. “Are you fucking kidding me, Blair? Drop the act. If you have the money, let’s see it.” “Exactly! We don’t even want your dirty money. We don’t need your fake charity.” “I wouldn’t take a dime from you if I were starving. Professor, we refuse her donation!” The professor scowled at me, treating me like a petulant child throwing a tantrum. “Blair, read the room. Stop being so deeply selfish.” A quiet, hollow laugh slipped past my lips. I looked around the room—at the desperate students, the condescending professor, and Mia, who was hiding a triumphant smirk behind her trembling hands. “Alright,” I said smoothly. “I won’t donate. Let the record show, this was your choice.” The tension snapped. The students instantly swarmed Mia, their eyes wide with relief and sycophantic devotion. “Mia, she backed down! Nobody is forcing you now. You’re still going to do the seventy-five grand, right?” Mia shot me one last look—a fleeting, piercing glance of pure mockery—before turning her angelic smile back to the crowd. “Of course I am.” The professor walked down the steps, his tone softening into reverence. “Mia, if you are certain, please sign the pledge form here. The wire transfer needs to clear the university’s account within three business days.” Without a second of hesitation, Mia took the pen and signed her name with a flourish. An hour later, I was walking back to the dorms with a takeout coffee when I saw them. Connor was standing by the courtyard fountain, laughing as he gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind Mia’s ear. He was looking at her the way you look at something precious, something delicate. The moment his eyes shifted and caught me walking toward them, the warmth drained from his face, replaced by a harsh, suffocating coldness. “Blair. I heard what you did in lecture today,” Connor snapped, closing the distance between us. “Throwing a fit, pretending you could drop seventy-five grand just to show up Mia? When did you become so completely obsessed with status?” He paused, taking in my blank, unreadable expression, and forced his tone to soften. He played the role of the disappointed but caring boyfriend flawlessly. “Look, Blair, I’m just looking out for you. My family is comfortable, but seventy-five grand? That’s life-altering money. Were you really going to drain your parents’ retirement accounts just to stroke your own ego? You’re lucky Mia stepped in and saved you from making the biggest mistake of your life. You owe her a massive apology. Actually, she was looking at a Cartier Love bracelet recently. It’s only about five grand. You should buy it for her as a thank you.” I stared at Connor. I really looked at him. This was the man I had loved. The man I had pulled strings for, secretly securing him a highly coveted internship at my father’s firm. The man who had spun me sob stories about his “poor, struggling childhood friend,” begging me to help her out, which was why I’d given Mia the Black Card in the first place. I had loved him, so I loved the things he cared about. Now, standing in the dappled campus sunlight, I realized he was just painfully, terrifyingly mediocre. I let out a dry, incredulous laugh. “Connor. Do you need me to buy you a mirror? Because the audacity is actually blinding. You want me to buy your little untouchable angel a five-thousand-dollar bracelet? Your ego is bigger than your empty skull.” Connor physically recoiled. He blinked, genuinely stunned. In my past life, I had always capitulated. A few thousand dollars was nothing to me, and keeping the peace was everything. Today, I wouldn’t give him the loose change at the bottom of my purse if he were begging on the street. His face flushed a violent, ugly red. “Blair, what the hell is wrong with you?” I widened my eyes, offering him a look of deadpan innocence. “Do you need me to translate it into smaller words?” Mia immediately shrank behind Connor, her voice trembling. “Blair, I know you hate me. I’ll just stay away from you and Connor from now on. Please don’t fight with him because of me.” Connor threw a protective arm out, shielding her. “Stop acting like a paranoid bitch, Blair. I see Mia like a little sister. You drop thousands on a bag without thinking twice, so what’s the big deal about buying her one piece of jewelry? She’s basically going to be your sister-in-law one day.” I held Mia’s gaze for three long seconds. “Her mouth doesn’t spit gold, Connor. She’s not worth five grand. She’s not worth a dime.” Tears instantly spilled over Mia’s lashes. She looked utterly broken. Connor’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek. “You are completely out of line. Mia saved you from a seventy-five-thousand-dollar mistake. A gift is the absolute bare minimum. If you can’t even be a decent human being about this, then we’re done. We’re breaking up.” A profound, weightless relief washed over me. I smiled. It was the first genuine smile I’d worn all day. “Perfect. We’re done. Have a nice life.” I didn’t wait for his reaction. I turned on my heel and walked briskly toward the dorms, the faint, furious sounds of Connor shouting after me—warning me not to come crying back to him—fading into the background. The second I locked my dorm room door, I pulled out my phone, opened my banking app, and froze the supplementary American Express Centurion card. Let’s see where you pull seventy-five grand from now, Mia. A week passed. The promised wire transfer never hit the university’s account. The FGLI students and the financial aid office began hunting Mia down. When she finally showed her face in our dorm room, she was a frantic, weeping mess. “I lost my card!” she sobbed to our roommates. “I left it right here on my desk, I swear. I just stepped out for a second, and when I came back, it was gone. And… and Blair was the only one in the room. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to accuse her, but I have no other way to pay the endowment! Blair, please. Please just tell me where my card is.” I leaned back in my desk chair, casually flipping a page in my textbook. “No idea. Haven’t seen it.” Mia dropped to her knees right beside my chair, burying her face in her hands. “Blair, I’m begging you. If you need money, I can give you cash! Just give me the card back so I don’t ruin the lives of all those students who are depending on me.” The performance was seamless. She had officially branded me a thief. Right on cue, Professor Aris walked into our dorm room, flanked by campus security. He looked at me with deep, exhausted disappointment. “Given the severity of the financial amount involved, we need to conduct a search of this room. Do I have your consent?” Harper and the other roommates eagerly nodded. The campus police began tearing the room apart. It took exactly four minutes. “Found it,” one of the officers announced. He was pointing at the bottom shelf of my open closet. Every head in the room turned. Resting conspicuously on top of a folded cashmere sweater was a heavy, anodized titanium black card. The silence in the room was thick and suffocating. The judgment radiating from the others felt like physical heat. From the hallway, Connor pushed his way into the room. He must have followed the security detail up. He looked at the card, then looked at me, his eyes swimming with tragic, manufactured heartbreak. “Just turn yourself in, Blair,” he whispered, his voice cracking perfectly. “You made a terrible mistake, but I still love you. I’ll wait for you.” I couldn’t help it. A short, sharp bark of laughter tore from my throat. I stood up, walked over to the closet, and picked up the heavy metal card. “This is my card,” I said plainly. Connor’s face twisted in disgust. “Stop lying, Blair. It’s over. That is an Amex Centurion. You expect us to believe a middle-class girl just happens to have a Black Card?” Harper crossed her arms, sneering. “I know for a fact that’s Mia’s. I’ve seen her use it at the dining hall.” I smiled. The corners of my mouth curled up into a terrifyingly serene arc. “Is that so?” Slowly, deliberately, I reached into the pocket of my jeans. I pulled out my wallet, slipped my fingers into the front slot, and withdrew an identical, heavy titanium Black Card. “You must mean this one, then,” I said, holding them both up to the light. “The problem is… they both belong to me.”

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