Category: English

After senior year finals, guys across the school finally let loose, eagerly handing out love letters to the girls they admired. But the biggest buzz was about Ryder Hayes, the school’s heartthrob, who was finally going to confess to me, Hazel, his childhood sweetheart. I stood by the classroom door, my cheeks flushed, my fingertips just about to touch that powder-blue love letter, when a man in a crisp suit suddenly burst in and tore the letter to shreds. He claimed to be twenty-eight-year-old Ryder, time-traveled from ten years in the future. “Don’t confess to Hazel, she’s not your true love.” He dragged his eighteen-year-old self, pointing to the girl in a faded school uniform in the corner. “See Serena Brooks? Ten years from now, you’ll love her madly, fiercely. Since you’re destined to be with her, why waste these ten years?” Eighteen-year-old Ryder thought it was utterly ridiculous, shaking off his hand. “You’re crazy! I’ll only ever love Hazel!” But that confession, in the end, never happened. Twenty-eight-year-old Ryder seized the opportunity to stay, claiming he was there to help his younger self see his true feelings sooner. Gradually, I noticed Ryder had changed. When Serena Brooks fell, he would immediately rush over, pick her up, and take her to the hospital, completely forgetting that I had waited for him for a full hour at the amusement park. At gatherings, he’d naturally remember Serena didn’t like peanuts, picking them out of the spicy chicken before offering it to me, forgetting that I was allergic to peanuts. On rainy days, his umbrella was always over Serena’s head first, even if I was standing right beside him, getting drenched. Each small shift felt like a slow, agonizing erosion, my heart sinking lower and lower. Until the day we had to choose our universities. “Hazel, I’m sorry,” Ryder’s eyes flickered, unable to meet mine directly. “I can’t go to Northwood University with you anymore. Riverdale University’s new AI program is a better fit for me.” My heart instantly turned to ice. I knew it all too well. Riverdale University was the only school Serena Brooks’ barely-passing grades would get her into. He squeezed my hand, his voice softening into that familiar, persuasive plea: “Come to Riverdale University with me? That way we can still be together. I always listened to you before, just this once, let me have my way, okay? I’ll listen to you forever after this.” His words pierced my heart like a thousand tiny needles. I silently pulled my hand away and nodded. But then, behind his back, I quickly prepared all my documents and applied for an offer from a top university overseas. Ryder, if your love isn’t solely for me anymore, then I don’t want it. … The day my acceptance letter arrived, my heart felt strangely calm. I found the large storage box, filled with everything Ryder had given me over the years. Childish crayon drawings, limited edition sneakers, a necklace engraved with our initials, a thick stack of movie ticket stubs, notes he’d stayed up all night to organize for me… Once, I cherished them like treasures. Now, I carried the box to the dumpster downstairs, without a moment’s hesitation, and threw everything inside. As I turned, I saw two figures arguing in the distance. Twenty-eight-year-old Ryder, in a crisp suit, was gripping eighteen-year-old Ryder’s wrist tightly. The younger Ryder, tall and lean, his white shirt billowing in the wind, his handsome face that made all the girls at school scream, was filled with fury. “Let go!” “Why are you still looking for her?” Older Ryder’s voice was strained. “What you should be doing right now is going to be with Serena! She’s the one you truly love!” “Nonsense!” The younger Ryder violently shook off his hand, his brows furrowed in defiance. “The only person I love is Hazel. Can’t you just disappear, you lunatic?” “Oh really?” Older Ryder sneered, his voice sharp. “Then why are you giving up your future and Northwood University for Serena?!” Younger Ryder’s face stiffened, his voice growing colder. “Who said it was for her!” I didn’t want to watch their absurd argument anymore and turned to leave, but Ryder spotted me instantly. He rushed over, grabbing my wrist, his voice softening in a flash. “Hazel, didn’t you say you wanted to see that new romance movie last time? I’ve bought tickets, let’s go together, okay?” “No.” My voice was devoid of any emotion. Ryder’s smile froze for a second, then he softened his voice again. “Are you still mad about me changing my university choice? You already agreed to go to Riverdale University with me, didn’t you? That program really has great prospects, just this once, please, agree to me, okay?” As he spoke, the corners of his eyes drooped slightly, that vulnerable expression I could never resist. In the past, whenever he looked at me like that, I’d agree to anything. But now, I just felt numb. Before I could answer, Ryder half-forced me into his newly bought sports car. Older Ryder, his face gloomy, followed and sat in the back, still in his sharp suit. The car started, and the cramped space was filled with a heavy atmosphere. Older Ryder glanced around the car and suddenly spoke. “This car is new, isn’t it? You should change Hazel’s favorite starry night air freshener. Serena can’t stand it, she likes fruity scents. Also, switch out the strawberry milk in the glove compartment. Serena is lactose intolerant, keep some plain crackers instead.” Ryder’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. “Are you done yet? I’m telling you one last time, I only love Hazel, I could never, ever like Serena Brooks!” But Older Ryder seemed not to hear his outburst. “Oh really? Because you’re clearly going to love her to your very core, drink yourself to the ER for her, wait outside her house all night, even…” He listed one crazy thing after another that his future self would do for Serena Brooks. I sat in the passenger seat, each word like an ice pick stabbing into my heart, making it almost impossible to breathe. I looked through the car window at the rapidly receding streetlights outside, everything blurring into a painful haze. At the movie theater, Ryder bought a large bucket of popcorn and handed it to me—my favorite caramel flavor. During the movie, he’d instinctively lean over to whisper and complain about the plot to me. The screen light illuminated his handsome profile, his eyelashes unbelievably long. As I watched him, I felt a wave of daze. Memories flooded back uncontrollably. When he was three, he’d wobble into my room, hugging a small pillow, and say in a baby voice, “Mommy says boys should sleep with their wives.” When he was seven, he fought a chubby kid from the next class to get back my hair clip, coming back with a bruised and swollen face, then carefully tucked the broken clip, recovered from the fight, into his pocket like a treasure. When I was twelve, I was hospitalized with a fever. He skipped school, ran to my side, and, with red eyes, leaned over my bed, whispering, “Hazel, don’t scare me.” When we were fifteen, and love first blossomed, he clumsily wrote me a love letter, full of mistakes, but solemnly drew a whole page of hearts. I couldn’t understand how a boy who had carved me into his very life could, as that man said, fall in love with an ordinary Serena Brooks ten years later, and love her with such a tragic, subservient intensity. But everything that had happened recently made it impossible for me to disbelieve it. Just then, Ryder’s phone vibrated wildly. The name flashing on the screen was “Serena Brooks.” He glanced at it and hung up immediately. The phone rang again relentlessly. He hung up again. This repeated countless times. Then, Older Ryder, who had been silent in the back seat, suddenly grabbed his hand and urgently asked, “What’s the date today?” “The tenth, why?” Ryder replied impatiently. “Answer the phone! Hurry!” Older Ryder’s voice was filled with an unprecedented urgency. “It’s today! Serena is going to be harassed by some delinquents. To escape them, she’ll jump from a second-story window, break her leg, and be hospitalized for a month! Go now!” Ryder’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about? Even if something happens, it has nothing to do with me. We’re just classmates at best!” “You’ll regret it if you don’t go! You’ll hate yourself to death!” Older Ryder was practically yelling. Ryder scoffed, his voice resolute. “I’d regret it more if I left Hazel here alone!” After saying that, he muted his phone and flipped it face down on the seat. Older Ryder stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes complex, then finally turned and left. “You won’t go? I will!” With that, he strode out, disappearing through the cinema entrance. The movie continued, but I could clearly feel that Ryder’s mind was completely elsewhere. He grew restless and anxious, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest, his eyes frequently darting towards the flipped phone, its screen lighting up silently again and again. Finally, after the screen lit up one more time, he suddenly stood up, hurriedly lying to me, “Hazel, I… I forgot to buy you a soda. Wait here, I’ll be right back!” He didn’t even dare to look me in the eye as he grabbed his phone and hurried out of the screening room. I watched his almost-running back disappear, my heart sinking little by little, down to the icy seabed. I had a strong premonition that he wouldn’t come back. Sure enough, a few minutes later, my phone vibrated. It was a video from “Twenty-eight-year-old Ryder.”

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For three long years, the girl who was obsessed with my boyfriend, Julian Thorne, was none other than Seraphina Blackwood—the heiress of a powerful, notoriously wealthy family in the city, and the very monster who murdered my brother. Seraphina was relentless in trying to steal Julian from me. She locked me in a bathroom, dumped a bucket of dead vermin over my head, then hired thugs to beat me, breaking six of my ribs. When she saw that Julian and I remained inseparable, she threatened me with covertly taken nude photos, forcing Julian to break up with me. But the day after we broke up, I was involved in a horrific car accident, gravely injured, falling into a vegetative state. I became a coma patient. Julian was utterly devastated, and from that day on, he stayed by my side, never leaving. Over five years, Julian transformed into a titan of industry. Single-handedly, he brought down the Blackwood empire and put out a multi-million dollar bounty for Seraphina’s capture. Privately, he practically lived at the hospital, washing my face, cleaning my body, trimming my nails—he did everything himself, meticulously. Countless women throwing themselves at him were turned away. Just when everyone was pitying him, I, Willow Hayes, woke up after five years of slumber. Tears streaming down his face, he knelt and proposed to me, having spent countless nights drawing up wedding plans and personally designing my engagement ring and wedding gown. Anything I wished for appeared before me in an instant. Everyone said Julian Thorne was the most devoted man in the world. I thought so too. Until, on the eve of our wedding, I received a call from an unknown number. “Julian Thorne’s lips are incredibly handsome. He whispers sweet nothings, and he’s… very agile.” *Smash!* My phone hit the floor. The woman on the other end of the line was Seraphina Blackwood. *** My phone screen was shattered, jagged glass shards digging into my palm. The call had ended, but moments later, a text flashed across the fractured display. It was a villa address, accompanied by a taunting message: “He’s coming tonight. Want to see how agile his lips truly are? How he makes me scream with pleasure?” My eyes were locked onto the screen. My grip on the phone was bone-chilling, my feet rooted to the spot. But after a moment, I started to question the message’s authenticity. First, was the woman on the other end really Seraphina? Even if she was, I’d been in a vegetative state for five years because of her, languishing in a hospital bed, half-dead. Julian, who’d hated Seraphina to his core, wouldn’t know where she was and *not* call the police, would he? Besides, ever since I woke up, Julian hadn’t spent a single night away from home. Just as I thought this, another message buzzed on my phone. “Willow, I bought movie tickets. I’ll pick you up tonight.” It was from Julian. I let out a slow, shaky breath. The knot of dread in my chest abruptly loosened. I copied the number that had called me earlier, just about to paste it into our SnapChat conversation. The next second, Julian’s message came through, faster than mine. “Sorry, there’s an emergency company meeting. It’ll go on late, so I can’t make it to the movie. Don’t wait up for me, just go to sleep!” The smile on my face froze, then slowly faded. My eyes remained fixed on my unsent message, a shiver of pure horror running through me. After a long pause, I deleted all my unsent messages. I hailed a cab and had it drop me outside a luxurious estate. I waited from dusk until the moon rose, my heart soaring with hope, then plummeting with dread, a relentless seesaw of emotions. Until a car’s headlights flashed, pulling into the driveway in front of the villa. I watched Julian step out. I watched him knock on the door. Then I watched the lady of the house appear… It was her! It really was her, Seraphina Blackwood!!! The woman’s hand lashed out, a vicious *SMACK!* across Julian’s face. Julian clenched his fist. The next second, he grabbed Seraphina’s chin fiercely and kissed her lips with brutal force. Seraphina struggled desperately. *SMACK!* Another slap. Julian’s eyes turned bloodshot. He began savagely tearing at her clothes, pinning her against the door, crudely undoing his tie to bind her wrists. My body trembled violently. I snatched my gaze away. “Drive!” “Where to, ma’am?” the driver asked, confused. “I don’t know! Just drive! I told you to drive!!!” I screamed, my voice shaking, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face. He had lied to me! Julian Thorne had been deceiving me all this time! He’d found Seraphina ages ago, yet he kept her trapped in this mansion, his personal canary! Julian didn’t come home that night. I sat on the cold living room floor all night. Memories, like scattered pages caught by the wind, flooded my mind. I remembered being abandoned as a child, and how my brother, Leo, who had autism, found and raised me. Leo’s mind was stuck at ten years old. Everyone mocked him, saying an idiot couldn’t raise a child, bullying him and snatching his empty bottles, scattering them across the road, then laughing as he struggled to pick them up. He never spoke of his own hurt, but whenever anyone bullied me, he would turn into a furious little beast, protecting me with his life. I had no parents. Before I met Julian, Leo was my entire world! But this wonderful person was killed by Seraphina Blackwood! She and her group of privileged trust-fund kids, drunk and high, stumbled upon Leo picking bottles nearby, and got a cruel kick out of it. By the time I arrived, the scene before me stole my breath, making me scream. Leo lay on the ground, covered in blood from head to toe, a jagged green beer bottle forcefully embedded in his forehead. His body was already cold. Clutched tight in his lifeless hand was the cheap watch I’d given him! After the incident, everyone who’d mocked Leo and pelted him with glass bottles that night was arrested. But only one person claimed she hadn’t participated. That person was Seraphina Blackwood. It was only later that I stumbled upon the truth. Seraphina was the one who suggested the game, and the bottle in Leo’s forehead? She put it there! I never imagined that when I saw Seraphina again, she would be pursuing Julian Thorne. To get Julian, she resorted to her vile tactics once more. For three years, strange things started happening, like objects falling from above when I was out. On nights I walked home from work, strangers would follow me. The lock on my apartment door was tampered with, and threatening letters kept arriving, one after another. At its worst, I was locked in a public restroom, and dead vermin and insects were constantly thrown onto me. She hired people to beat me, breaking six of my ribs. A car, seemingly driverless, almost ran me over; thankfully, Julian appeared just in time. I knew, all of it, every single thing, was Seraphina’s doing. I wasn’t afraid. But Julian was terrified, because Seraphina was a complete psychopath! He couldn’t bear the thought of a world without me, so he broke up with me. But I never imagined that even then, Seraphina wouldn’t let me go! I was hit and run, left in a vegetative state, half-dead in a hospital bed for five long years! On the day we broke up, Julian cried as he slipped a ring, already prepared, onto my ring finger. But on the day of the accident, my ring finger was brutally chopped off by the hit-and-run driver, and the ring vanished. After that day, Julian truly went insane! My heart felt like it was being torn to shreds, sliced into a thousand pieces! I couldn’t believe it. Julian would actually betray me! He hid it from me, conned me, and was sleeping in the same bed with the enemy we both hated! My left ring finger had been reattached, but the pain from that original severing seemed to have transferred to my heart. It hurt so much I couldn’t breathe. I just wanted an explanation. But Julian didn’t come home that night. When he finally did, it was through a video sent by Seraphina. In the video, Julian was “comforting” Seraphina. Comforting her until her face was flushed crimson, her whimpers echoing around them! As dawn broke, I numbly picked up my phone and dialed. “You said last time, if I transferred all my shares to you, you’d send me the video of Seraphina hurting my brother. Was that true?” “Of course! But… are you really willing to give them up?” My nails dug into my palms. “I am!” “But I have one condition. Don’t worry, it won’t be difficult for you. I’ll tell you what it is in a few days.” The person on the other end hesitated for only a moment before agreeing. After hanging up, I immediately dialed another number. “Is this Detective Miller? I want to report a crime. I’ve found Seraphina Blackwood!” When I arrived at the police station, I saw Seraphina stepping out of the interrogation room. She casually brushed her hair back, and when she looked at me, her eyes were full of mocking laughter. “Don’t go around arresting people without evidence. Can any random nobody’s words be considered proof?” I clenched my fists, ready to lunge forward. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed me from behind. I turned, meeting Julian’s complicated gaze. He didn’t offer a single word of explanation to me. Instead, he looked at Detective Miller, who stood behind Seraphina. He remembered that Detective Miller had handled Leo’s case back then. “Detective Miller, you’ve finished your investigation, can I take her now?” Detective Miller’s face darkened. He looked at Julian, then at me. “Julian, what exactly is your relationship with her? Do you think this is fair to Willow?” The hand tightly gripping mine suddenly tightened further, as if he was afraid I’d escape. But Julian’s expression remained calm. “Detective Miller, this is my personal business.” His words landed like heavy blows on my heart, threatening to shatter it completely. My fingertips instantly turned ice-cold. I numbly pulled my arm free. “Detective Miller, I need to speak with you.” Detective Miller and I talked in his office for a long time. When I emerged, Julian was still waiting outside the door. Seeing that my eyes held no trace of him, Julian grabbed me firmly. “Willow, that wasn’t Seraphina. Get in the car, I’ll explain everything when we get home.” I yanked myself away from him, my eyes brimming with hatred. Across the street, the woman in the car watched me with a smile, an expression of absolute triumph, as if she’d won the world. She suddenly whistled at me. “Ms. Hayes seems to have misunderstood, mistaking me for someone she utterly despises. Perhaps I should explain it to her myself?” Julian’s face instantly darkened, his eyes warning her. Watching this scene, I suddenly lifted my foot, intending to get into Seraphina’s car. Julian grabbed my wrist again, but the icy coldness in my eyes pierced him. “Didn’t she say she wanted to explain it to me?” I forcefully shook off his hand and turned, getting into Seraphina’s car. Julian had no choice but to follow that car, keeping a close eye on its every move. But Julian forgot, Seraphina Blackwood used to be a race car driver. She accelerated, blasted through several red lights, and quickly left Julian’s car far behind. “Willow Hayes, what do you want to hear? Do you want to hear how Julian ruined my family, forcing my father to jump to his death, yet kept me trapped under his nose? Do you want to hear how he and I slept together countless times while you were still in a vegetative state? Or… do you want to hear how we toyed to death your brother?” She bared her teeth in a triumphant smile. My blood ran cold, my hands clenched tightly. “Heh, let me think. What was your brother’s reaction when that bottle smashed into his head? Tsk… it’s been so long, the details are a bit hazy…” “Seraphina Blackwood, you’ve got a death wish!” Faced with her blatant provocation, I could no longer hold back. I raised my fist, ready to strike her. But the next second, Seraphina sharply turned the steering wheel, and the car slammed into an obstacle in front of us. A violent crash echoed. I, sitting in the passenger seat, was violently thrown back. “Willow!” Before I lost consciousness, I thought I heard Julian calling my name. “Mr. Thorne, both of their legs are trapped. If we rescue one, the other’s legs will sustain varying degrees of injury. There’s no time, you must choose who to save first!” Blood from my forehead covered my face. I struggled to open my eyes, but all I saw was a blur. I couldn’t die! My legs couldn’t be damaged! I had to bring the murderer who hurt my brother and me to justice! “Save… save her first!” “She’s always been so proud. Without her legs, she wouldn’t survive!” Julian’s hand pointed at Seraphina, who was in the driver’s seat. When I opened my eyes again, I winced in pain and instinctively reached for my legs. My movement startled Julian, who was sitting beside me. He immediately stood up and grabbed my hand. “It’s over, Willow, I’m here! The doctor said your lower leg had been compressed for too long and needs a lot of rest.” Hearing his voice, my body stiffened for a moment. In my mind, I heard the words from before I lost consciousness: “Save her first! She’s always been so proud. Without her legs, she wouldn’t survive!” Between Seraphina and me, Julian chose Seraphina. My heart bled. Looking at the man before me, my eyes welled up with tears. “Julian Thorne, do you still remember my brother?” His voice dropped, and it seemed a long time before he answered, “I remember.” How could he forget? Back then, he was just a street punk, cornered and beaten bloody in an alley. It was Leo who shielded him, taking the worst of the blows. It was Leo, in his innocent voice, who told him to study hard and live an honest life. It was Leo and I who celebrated his first birthday with him. Tears brimming, I closed my eyes. “If you remember, then you can’t forget how he died.” I asked him again, “Was that Seraphina Blackwood?” My words resonated loudly in the quiet hospital room. My eyes were fixed on him. Julian lowered his gaze. “She was, but now… she isn’t.” My head exploded with a *boom!* His words echoed repeatedly in my ears. “Willow, Seraphina grew up abroad. Her parents neglected her, never loved her. She just fell in with the wrong crowd there, got a bit rebellious, and then made some bad friends back here. Your brother’s death, it had nothing to do with her.” “Nothing to do with her?!” My whole body trembled as I looked at the man before me, my nails digging into my flesh. I couldn’t believe those words came from his mouth! Julian didn’t answer. Instead, he bent down, slowly leaning over me. Then, he pulled out my phone, which was recording under my pillow. My eyes widened. Just as I reached to grab it back, he’d already pressed ‘delete permanently.’ He returned the phone to me, his large hand caressing my face. His eyes, however, held an unhealthy obsession. “Willow, don’t worry, I love you. But Seraphina gave herself to me a long time ago. You are my woman, and she is my woman too. I can’t eliminate her entirely.” “But my wife, that will only be you!” His large hand cupped the back of my head, slowly pushing my face towards his lips. A soft kiss landed on my forehead, but it felt cold to the bone! I bit down hard on my lower lip, my eyes burning with a raw, agonizing ache. I remembered what Detective Miller had told me: “Seraphina is a foreign national. We’ve conducted all possible tests. The results show she is *not* Seraphina Blackwood.” “Willow, you need solid evidence to make an arrest!” I raised my hand and took off my earring, the tiny diamonds glinting slyly in its crevices. Julian had underestimated me. I no longer trusted him. I would have my revenge, and I’d keep both Julian and Seraphina under my relentless gaze. As I opened my phone to retrieve the audio recording, a news alert popped up about the car accident involving Seraphina and me. The photo showed Julian anxiously carrying Seraphina onto the ambulance, while I, covered in blood, lay slumped in the passenger seat, waiting to be rescued. In the comments, almost everyone mistook Seraphina for me, marveling at Julian’s unwavering devotion. My eyes were filled with mockery. I casually deleted the notification. During my hospitalization, Julian came every day. He’d bring meals he’d cooked himself, carefully arranging them before me. The next second, I’d sweep them all to the floor. The sound of shattering dishes echoed through the room. Julian knew I was angry and rubbed his temples with a sigh. “Willow, no matter how angry you are, you still need to eat, right?” My only response was silence. Every time he brought food, I smashed it. Our commotion was too loud for anyone to ignore. Gradually, gossip reached my ears. “Mr. Thorne’s wife is truly spoiled and demanding!” “Isn’t she? With such a handsome and rich husband, she should be sweet to him, but she keeps pushing him away. I don’t know what she’s thinking!” “I heard when she was in a coma, her husband took care of her all by himself. Many women threw themselves at him, but he turned every single one down. She has a man like that and she’s still not satisfied! She’ll cry when another woman snatches him away!” “A man like Julian Thorne?” I looked at his retreating back with a cynical laugh. Faced with the scattered shards, Julian wasn’t angry at all. He bent down to pick them up, carefully sweeping, afraid of hurting my feet. Then, he forcefully pulled me into his arms. “Willow, you don’t need to worry. My feelings for her are nowhere near as deep as my feelings for you.” I looked at him with a mocking expression. Julian’s empty sweet talk, treating me like an idiot. I pushed him away coldly. “Julian, you made two identical meals. One for me, and one for Seraphina’s room. Every time I drive you away, you act like you don’t care, but it’s because you never planned to stay long anyway. Is *that* what you mean by your feelings for me are deeper than for her?” Julian sighed softly, his hand resting on my pale lips. “Willow, do you know? I miss the naive, less-questioning you.” My heart twisted in agony, and I clutched the blanket tightly. But Julian, do *you* know? How much I hate myself for ever meeting you, for ever falling in love with you! On the day I was scheduled to be discharged, Julian brought Seraphina to my room. My bloodshot eyes glared at them. “What’s the meaning of bringing her here, in front of me?” Seraphina merely glanced at me, then sneered at Julian. “I told you, she wouldn’t welcome my apology.” Julian only gave her a cold look in return. Seraphina scoffed, then tossed her handbag onto Julian and walked over to me. She bowed at a ninety-degree angle. “I’m sorry for sleeping with your man!” “I’m sorry for causing your injuries with my reckless driving, and for you having to stay in the hospital so long because he rescued me first!” “I’m sorry, on the day your brother was laid to rest, I paid someone to swap his ashes—” “Buried beneath the tombstone…” She slowly lifted her head, a sly, wicked smile flickering in her eyes. “…was actually an animal.” The cup in my hand crashed to the floor with a loud clang.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “298553”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic

Ryder was infamous in their circle—a wild-child heir who practically invented trouble. Fast cars, bar brawls, death-defying stunts, he mastered them all. That was until he met Iris. It was like a wild mustang suddenly reined in. She said she hated blood, so he never got into another fight. She said she was afraid something would happen to him, so he never touched a race car again. Everyone in their circle said Ryder was completely head over heels, madly in love with the sweet and innocent Iris. But it had been five years, and he’d never given her a real commitment. Five years into being by Ryder’s side, Iris suddenly got a call from one of his friends. “Iris! Get to the racetrack, fast! Ryder’s gone crazy, he’s about to run the death-defying track!” Iris’s fingers trembled, and her phone clattered to the floor with a thud. The death-defying track. That was where Ryder used to risk his life, a place he hadn’t touched since he got together with her. By the time she arrived, the trackside was already swarming with people. She pushed through the throng, but froze dead in her tracks the moment she saw what was happening. A girl in a white dress was clinging to Ryder’s waist, her eyes red-rimmed. “I don’t want that necklace anymore, please don’t go, okay?” Ryder looked down at her, a familiar, reckless, devil-may-care grin playing on his lips. “Good girl, wait for me at the finish line.” With that, he turned and climbed onto his race car. The engine roared to life, and Iris’s heart plummeted. “Ryder!” She rushed forward, pounding on the window. “Don’t go! That track—” The window slid down. Ryder’s profile was stark and cold. “Move.” Two words. They chilled her to the bone. The race car shot off like an arrow. “He’s crazy! Ryder’s totally lost it!” “That speed… Is he trying to kill himself?” “For a necklace? Is it worth dying for?!” Iris clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white, her eyes fixed on the car as it teetered on the edge of the cliff. She remembered how he had easily given up his beloved speed and thrill just because she’d said she was scared. But now, to earn a smile from another girl, he was willing to throw his life away! At the last death-defying curve, Ryder didn’t slow down. Instead, he slammed on the gas, tires screeching and billowing white smoke. He crossed the finish line first! “He won!” The crowd erupted in cheers. However, the sheer force of the impact made the car completely lose control, smashing violently into the protective barrier! “Ryder!” “Ryder!” Everyone screamed in terror, surging forward like a wave. Iris’s legs felt like jelly, and she stumbled, practically falling as she followed the crowd. Ryder struggled to climb out of the crumpled wreckage, blood streaming down his temple. Yet, he seemed to feel nothing, his hand tightly clutching a small velvet box. He handed it to one of his friends who rushed over. “Give this to Daisy… Quick, get someone to take her home first… She can’t stand the sight of blood…” He didn’t finish his sentence. His body swayed, and he passed out cold. Everyone frantically caught him. Some hurried to escort a similarly terrified Daisy away, while a large group scrambled to lift Ryder and rush him to the hospital. Iris didn’t say a word, following silently into the car. Ryder was taken into the ER, and time stretched on, each second an eternity. Suddenly, the operating room door opened, and a nurse rushed out. “What do we do? The patient is bleeding heavily! He has the rare Rh-negative blood type, and the hospital’s blood bank is dangerously low!” Rh-negative blood?! Ryder’s friends erupted into chaos, pacing frantically and pulling out their phones to make calls. Just then, a quiet, steady voice spoke up. “I’m Rh-negative. Draw my blood.” Everyone turned in surprise, seeing Iris standing in the corner, her face pale as a ghost. The friends exchanged glances, guilt practically radiating from their eyes. “Iris, you…” “Just draw it. Saving a life is what matters most.” Iris cut him off, her voice flat, and followed the nurse directly to the blood collection room. The needle pierced her vein, and Iris didn’t even flinch. “That’s 600cc, we can’t draw any more,” the nurse said, looking worriedly at Iris’s ashen face. “Keep going.” Her voice was soft, yet firm. “Draw as much as he needs.” Bright red blood flowed through the tube, and her vision began to blur. At 1000cc, his blood supply was sufficient. Iris, too, could no longer stand. She completely fainted. When she woke up again, she was lying on a bed in a recovery room. The sky outside had darkened, and she wondered how Ryder was. She forced herself to sit up, leaning against the wall as she slowly made her way towards his room. Just as she reached the door, she heard voices from inside. “Ryder, you used to be pretty into Iris, right? Why did you suddenly risk your life for Daisy? Do you know how much blood Iris donated for you this time? She’s madly in love with you, I didn’t even dare tell her you’d moved on.” Ryder had a bandage wrapped around his head, but it couldn’t conceal his rebellious, untamed vibe. He lazily leaned back against the headboard, lighting a cigarette. “Yeah, I liked Iris fine before, but it just wasn’t quite it. Not until I met Daisy, that’s when it finally felt right.” His casual words were daggers to her soul. “I think that was the first time I really understood what ‘falling in love’ felt like. That feeling? I never had it with Iris.” The friends gasped collectively. “But Iris was with you for five years, man! And you’re just… ditching her?” “Yeah, I’m done with her…” The words had barely left his lips when, outside the door, Iris accidentally brushed against a fire extinguisher, letting out a faint click. “Who’s out there?” “Could it be Iris?” “No way! If it were Iris, she’d be crying and bursting in here after hearing Ryder say that! Probably just a stray cat, don’t worry about it.” Outside the door, Iris slowly lowered the hand that had been covering her mouth. But she didn’t show any of the pain they expected. Instead, her face was utterly blank, not a single tear. She turned silently and walked away, then pulled out her phone and dialed a number she knew by heart. When it connected, a deep, cool male voice answered, “Hello.” “Mr. Julian. Ryder has found a girl he likes more. My ‘love’ can no longer control him. Please release me from my obligations.” Julian, the man on the other end, was silent for a moment. With his connections, he had likely already seen the news about his brother spending a fortune on a pretty face and risking his neck drag racing. After a long pause, he spoke calmly, “Alright. Thank you for your hard work these past five years. Ten million. I’ll have it transferred to your account.” “Thank you, Mr. Julian.” Iris hung up the phone, leaned against the cold wall, and slowly closed her eyes. Five years ago, she had passed countless interviews and became Julian’s secretary at the Blake Group. But on her first day, Julian didn’t give her any work. The man, impeccably dressed in a suit, sat in the CEO’s chair, his slender fingers pushing a photograph across the desk. “Do you know him?” The man in the photo had arrogant, unrestrained eyes, and a reckless smile. Ryder Blake, the second son of the Blake family, Julian’s younger brother. “I want you to get close to him, make him fall in love with you.” Julian’s voice was as cold as ice. “Use your ‘love’ to keep him in line. Stop him from playing those dangerous extreme sports.” Iris remembered being stunned for a long time. The two Blake brothers were legendary in their circle. Julian, the older brother, was aloof and reserved, taking control of the entire Blake Group at a young age. Ryder, the younger brother, was a wild card, with a face that could charm anyone, but a truly untamed spirit. Racing, skydiving, rock climbing—he’d take on anything life-threatening. Just last week, Ryder had been in the ICU because of a car race. “The compensation is ten million.” Julian’s words made her snap her head up. Ten million. For Iris, who had grown up in a tough part of town, constantly fighting to survive, it was an astronomical sum. So, she took the check and the photo, and she took on this ridiculous assignment. Julian told her Ryder liked pure, innocent girls, like a blank canvas. So, she threw away all her brightly colored clothes, wearing only white dresses. She straightened her naturally wavy hair into innocent long, straight dark hair. She wore the lightest makeup, striving to play the demure, innocent type. She appeared at Ryder’s frequent private club, staged a perfectly believable “harassment” scene, and then, feigning panic and tears streaming down her face, she threw herself into the arms of the arrogant, untamed man, clutching his sleeve, her voice trembling as she pleaded for help. He took the bait, just as expected. That very night, she feigned a weak resistance before letting him lead her to his bed. For the next five years, she stayed by his side. She spun a web of tenderness and affection, forbidding him from fighting, from racing… And he seemed to revel in it, spoiling her beyond belief. He would drive across half the city in the middle of the night to buy her favorite late-night takeout just because she said she was hungry. He would gently rub her stomach when her period pains left her sweating cold. He would seek out her face the first thing every morning, then pull her into his embrace and kiss her. Until one night, three months ago, in the heat of the moment, he was on top of her and whispered a stranger’s name: “Daisy…” Afterward, she investigated the girl named “Daisy.” She learned she was a college student working part-time at a local bar, sweet, innocent, and utterly vulnerable. Ryder had rescued her one night when a customer was harassing her. The moment Iris saw Daisy’s photo, she knew it was time for her to make her exit. Daisy was genuinely pure and innocent, while she was merely an imitation. That’s why Ryder had always felt it “just wasn’t quite it.” Now, her mission was over. It was time to live the life she wanted. As for Ryder… She took one last look in the direction of his hospital room, then turned and walked away. He would have his Daisy. And she, finally, could be her true self again. Walking out of the hospital, the first thing she did was head straight to the embassy to apply for a visa. The staff informed her she’d have her visa in half a month. She nodded, then hailed a cab and went to the villa she’d shared with Ryder. She packed all her belongings from the house and moved out. Since Ryder said he was done with her, she might as well be sensible and vacate the place for him in advance, to save them both any awkwardness. She left with her suitcase, renting a fully-furnished short-term rental apartment downtown. As she hung her clothes one by one into the closet, her movements gradually slowed. Her closet was a sea of white. White dresses of various styles—lace, silk, linen… so plain, without a single splash of color. These were all styles Ryder liked. He liked her to be “clean” and “innocent” like a blank canvas, so for these five years, her closet contained only the colors and styles he preferred. But now the play was over, and it was time to change out of her costume. So, the next day, she went straight to the city’s most bustling mall. Iris stood in front of a fitting room mirror, looking at herself in a stunning red dress. She gently twirled the ends of her slightly wavy dark hair, and for a moment, she saw the five-year-old version of herself, that vibrant red rose who used to walk through campus in a red dress, bright and bold, not the “innocent white flower” who had always worn white dresses for the past five years to cater to Ryder’s preferences. “Miss, this dress truly suits you,” the sales assistant praised from the side. Iris smiled faintly, casually swiped her card to pay. After all these years, she was finally… Iris again. Just as she exited the mall, her phone rang. “Ryder” flashed on her screen. “Iris,” Ryder’s deep voice came through the receiver. “Who gave you permission to move out?” Iris paused, surprised. She thought… he’d be happy. “Aren’t you supposed to make room for Daisy?” she asked softly in return. The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds, his breathing clearly audible. “Come to Nightshade now.” His tone was imperious. “We need to talk.” Hanging up, Iris hailed a taxi. The Nightshade Club was a glittering blur of excess and indulgence, as always. She had just reached the door of the VIP room when a slurring, drunken voice called out, “Hold it! This is Ryder’s VIP room. Who the hell are you?” Iris turned, meeting Leo’s stunned gaze. “Holy hell! Iris?” Leo almost dropped his drink, his eyes wide. “You… you’re… ” He looked Iris up and down, stuttering, completely speechless. Iris smiled faintly and pushed the door open. Inside the VIP room, the lighting was dim and suggestive, the music was deafening. Ryder leaned languidly on the sofa, his long fingers casually swirling his drink. Hearing the commotion, he nonchalantly looked up. His glass froze mid-air. His gaze fixed on Iris, sweeping from her slightly wavy hair to the stilettos beneath her red dress, inch by inch, finally settling on her vibrant red lips. Those notorious playboy eyes, usually so carefree, flashed with a flicker of astonishment, then his brow furrowed deeply. “What are you wearing?” His voice was hoarse, tinged with clear displeasure. “What I like to wear.” Iris sat across from him, crossing her legs, the slit of her red dress revealing a flash of pale, long leg. Ryder’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His brow furrowed even deeper. He put down his glass, pulled a checkbook from his inner suit pocket, and pushed a signed blank check across the coffee table. “Since you already know about Daisy and me, you can fill in the amount yourself.” His tone was cold. “You were with me for five years; I won’t shortchange you.” She already had his brother’s money; she certainly wouldn’t take his. So Iris didn’t even look at the check, shaking her head. “I don’t want it.” The VIP room instantly fell silent. Leo quickly tried to smooth things over. “Iris, don’t be like this… Ryder means well…” “Yeah,” another friend chimed in. “Just take the money and move on, it’ll be cleaner for everyone!” Ryder’s long fingers tapped the tabletop, his voice cold. “What I’ve decided won’t change. Iris, don’t cling to me.” Iris was about to explain that wasn’t what she meant when the VIP room door suddenly opened. Daisy stood in the doorway, her eyes red, looking like a startled rabbit. Seeing the scene inside, her voice trembled with a sob. “Ryder… you didn’t let me pick you up from the hospital, and here you are seeing *her*. Did I interrupt something? I’m so sorry, I’ll leave right now.” She turned as if to go. Ryder’s expression changed instantly. He stood up, strode quickly to Daisy, pulled her into his embrace, and his strong, sculpted fingers gently wiped away her tears. His voice was deep and impossibly tender. “What are you talking about? I only asked her to come here to make things clear.” Daisy looked up, tears still clinging to her lashes, and asked timidly, “Make what clear?” Ryder chuckled softly, his voice full of indulgence. “How can I be with you if I don’t break things off completely with her?” Daisy’s face instantly flushed with surprise, but then quickly turned hesitant and insecure. “Ryder, do you really like me? I like you a lot too… but it’s my first relationship, and I’m so scared of getting hurt…” She bit her lip, her voice growing softer and softer. “And, they all say you used to be a playboy, that you never followed rules, and you never made things official with any woman.” Ryder didn’t answer. Instead, he simply leaned down and kissed her! The kiss was powerful and lingering, drawing cheers and whistles from the surrounding group. Even more shocking, Ryder pulled out his phone, snapped a picture of them kissing, and immediately posted it on Ins. “Mine. @Daisy” The simple, blunt caption made the entire VIP room erupt. “Holy hell! Ryder, you’re amazing! Official? This is a first *ever*!” “Sister-in-law!” another friend chimed in. “Ryder never made things official with *anyone* before!” “Sister-in-law! This is a first *ever*!” Ryder thrust his phone screen in front of Daisy, his usually wild eyes softened with an unfamiliar tenderness. “I’ve never made things official with any woman, it’s true. But you’re the first. This time, will you believe me?” Daisy’s face flushed crimson, and she shyly buried herself in his embrace. Iris watched the scene silently, then stood up and gently placed the check back on the coffee table. “I wish you both every happiness.” With that, she turned and walked away, without a single backward glance. Watching her decisive exit, Ryder’s arm around Daisy stiffened slightly. Iris hadn’t walked far from the VIP room when she was stopped by a few drunken trust-fund kids spilling out of the adjacent room. “Well, well! What a beauty! Never seen you around before! Care to have a drink with us, sweetheart?” “Look at that figure… So hot! Come on, don’t run off!” The heavy smell of alcohol washed over her, and several unruly hands reached out to touch her. Iris’s face turned cold. She struggled fiercely. “Let go of me! Get lost!” “Damn it! You won’t cooperate? Fine, then we’ll make you!” One of the rich boys was shoved and exploded in anger, pulling at her even harder. Inside the VIP room, Leo peered through the crack in the door, a worried expression on his face. He hesitated, then said to Ryder, “Ryder, I think Iris is getting harassed by those jerks from the Zhao family… Those bastards are totally hammered and God knows what they’ll do. If we talk to them, it probably won’t do any good, so… maybe you should go check it out?” Ryder, who was toying with his glass, paused. He instinctively started to get up, but Daisy, nestled in his arms, suddenly trembled. “Ryder…” Daisy looked up, her small face pale, her eyes red-rimmed, yet she forced a small smile. “Go help Iris, please… After all, she was with you for five years…” She said these generous words, but her slender fingers were clutching his sleeve so tightly her knuckles were white. Ryder’s gaze instantly softened. He leaned down and kissed Daisy’s forehead, his voice incredibly gentle. “Silly girl, this is my first time being official with someone, so I need to learn how to be a good boyfriend.” He pinched her cheek. “Every other girl gets to feel secure. My Daisy won’t be deprived of that.” Then, he looked up coldly and instructed the person next to him, “What happens to others isn’t my concern. Close the door.” The heavy VIP room door slowly swung shut, completely cutting off the chaos and cries for help from outside. Iris was dragged into the adjacent VIP room by the drunken rich boys, her red dress already torn to shreds. Icy terror swept through her body. In despair, she found an empty wine bottle and, with all her strength, smashed it over the head of one of the rich boys who was trying to pin her down! While he cried out in pain and the others were stunned, she shoved them away, disheveled and stumbling, she burst out of the VIP room. Outside, it had started to rain heavily. She was soaking wet, her hair disheveled, her clothes torn, as she stood in the rain, trying to hail a cab. But passing cars, seeing her state, either sped up and left or turned away in disgust. Not a single one dared to stop and pick her up. Finally, she gave up. Taking off her high heels, she walked barefoot, step by painful step, towards her apartment. The cold rain lashed her face, mixing with tears of humiliation. The rough ground chafed her feet, each step like walking on knives. She didn’t know how long she walked, but she finally made it back to her small apartment. She collapsed onto the floor, looking at her wretched reflection in the mirror, her feet covered in blisters and scratches.

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“Hold on, ma’am, there’s still an outstanding bill of $18,000.” I was just stepping out of the restroom, ready to leave, when the buffet owner blocked my path. $18,000?! I was stunned. This place was supposed to be just $39.99 a head! “What $18,000? Are you serious? I already paid for my meal.” A fake smile stretched across her face. “Our premium restroom has only three minutes of complimentary use. Every minute over costs $1,000. You were inside for 21 minutes, so that’ll be $18,000.” I frowned. “I’ve never heard of such a rule! This is extortion!” “Ma’am, our pricing and operations are perfectly legal. Our restroom features luxurious fixtures and top-of-the-line amenities. It’s entirely normal to charge for such an experience.” Her self-righteous tone almost made me laugh in disbelief. “So, according to you, if you’re broke, you can’t even use the bathroom here? I’m not paying a cent!” Seeing my refusal, she immediately flicked on a megaphone. “Someone used our premium services and is refusing to pay! Everyone, come and be the judge!” As the crowd grew, I quickly sent the restaurant’s name to my secretary, Mia. “Look up the company behind this place. Acquire it. Immediately!” … At Brenda’s words, people swarmed from all directions, encircling me. “Well, well, look at her fancy clothes, but she won’t pay for the high-end restroom?” “Exactly! If you can’t afford it, don’t use their premium services! This place has a super luxury bathroom. No money, no entry!” A few planted voices, and Brenda’s heart swelled with delight. She stood in the center of the crowd, speaking with a condescending tone. “Ms. Avery, I know you’re a regular here, and I’m not heartless.” “How about this: pay the $18,000 today, and I’ll give you our top-tier membership. You’ll get 20% off all your future meals. What do you say?” Her utterly shameless logic almost made me choke with laughter. I, Avery, had lived over two decades, and this was the first time anyone had pointed a finger at me and called me a broke freeloader. I took a deep breath, my voice cutting clearly through the buzzing whispers. “Brenda, I will pay every single cent I owe for the meal.” “But please tell me, which state law dictates that a citizen must pay extra for using a merchant’s provided restroom?” “Law?” Brenda scoffed, a loud, theatrical laugh bursting from her, as if I’d just told the funniest joke in the world. “Listen, everyone! Look how clueless Ms. Avery is! Our luxury restroom package uses top-tier materials, space-grade nano-cleaning technology! Stay here for an hour, and you’ll shave a year off your age!” “Do you even understand high-tech? Do you understand health investment?” Her words instantly set the crowd abuzz. “What? A year younger! Brenda, let me pay and try it out!” “Some people are just cheapskates, blaming others for expensive stuff. They don’t know quality when they see it!” The tide of public opinion turned in an instant. The earlier looks of disdain now morphed into strong hostility toward me. Brenda stood on her moral high ground of “technology and health,” watching me smugly. What the hell kind of cult meeting was this? Brenda was insane, but these customers were even crazier! “Fine!” I laughed, fury boiling inside me. “Brenda, since you’re so sure you’re operating legally, let’s invite the relevant authorities to investigate.” I pulled out my phone and called the police right in front of everyone. “Hello, 911? There’s a suspected case of grand extortion here…” 2 Soon, two officers parted the crowd and walked in. Brenda immediately put on a pained expression and rushed to meet them. “Officers, thank goodness you’re here! This Ms. Avery enjoyed our exclusive services but is refusing to pay.” “We’re a legitimate business, all our services are registered with the consumer protection agency. You have to side with us!” She swiftly spun a web of lies around me. The officers, of course, wouldn’t just believe one side. I concisely recounted the events, emphasizing the absurdly high fee and her supposed anti-aging claims. The leading middle-aged officer frowned. He silently reviewed the approval documents Brenda handed him, pausing for a moment. My heart sank. This couldn’t be right. Was Brenda really that well-connected? “Ms. Avery, we understand the situation. After verification, this restaurant’s luxury restroom service—its pricing standards and relevant qualification documents—are all in order. It falls within the scope of legal business operation.” Meaning, the paperwork was complete. As for the effectiveness of the service, that was commercial advertising and not within their jurisdiction. A louder murmur of discussion immediately erupted from the crowd. “Just pay up, you cheapskate!” “Even the police say it’s fine, and she’s still stubborn as hell. So embarrassing!” Brenda’s triumphant smile was blindingly irritating. Yet, she still feigned a sigh. “Ms. Avery, why make such a scene? I run an honest business, and honesty is paramount…” Honesty, my ass! I clenched my fists tightly, barely suppressing the urge to flip a table. If there wasn’t something seriously shady going on behind the scenes, I’m not Avery! Ignoring them, I quickly unlocked my phone and messaged Mia. 【Find out the company behind this buffet. Prepare for acquisition.】 【I want to see the acquisition contract tomorrow!】 After sending the message, I looked at the smug Brenda again. “Brenda, I’ve paid for my meal. But for these illegal charges, you won’t get a single cent from me!” I couldn’t be bothered to argue with this lunatic any longer and turned to leave. Back home, the hallway light was on. Lucas was actually home at this hour. Usually, he was out networking or working late. I had just kicked off my heels when he stormed out of the living room, waving several papers. “Avery! Look at what you’ve done!” I glanced at the papers fluttering to the floor. It was a legal notice. Brenda Stone’s name was signed at the bottom. Huh, that was fast. “And this!” Lucas shoved his phone screen right in front of my face. On the trending topics, the hashtag 【Buffet Freeloader Avery】 was at number one. Clicking on it, there was a candid video from the scene. The comments were disgusting. “Freeloader and she called the cops? This woman has no shame!” “Girls, dox her! Make her social-death!” My name, my ID—everything was dug up. That crazy woman, Brenda, actually dared to stir up a mob online! Yet, my fiancé showed no concern for my distress, only relentlessly questioned why I’d caused such trouble. “Trouble? Lucas, your fiancée is being falsely accused of extortion, slandered, and cyberbullied, and you’re worried I’m embarrassing *you*?” I pointed to the legal notice on the floor. “That crazy owner, just because I used her restroom and didn’t pay $18,000, caused all this. Do you think that’s reasonable?” Lucas’s brows knitted into a tight knot. “But the police said it was legal. Why didn’t you just pay what you owed? It’s only $18,000!” “Come on, just record an apology video, pay the money, and this whole thing will blow over.” I looked at him, as if at a stranger. “Lucas, are you out of your mind? If you want to be a chump and a spineless idiot, go ahead and fork over your own cash to her, but don’t you dare drag *me* into it!” “Avery!” Lucas’s face turned scarlet. He pointed a finger at me and snapped, “You’re completely unreasonable! Do you know the company will fire you for this?” I watched him coldly, saying nothing. This company *is* mine. If anyone’s getting fired, it’ll be *him*, by *me*! Seeing I still refused to budge, he violently threw his hand up. “Fine, be Ms. High and Mighty! Let’s see how you get out of this mess!” He grabbed his jacket from the sofa, glared at me, and slammed the door as he left. I collapsed onto the small sofa in the living room and checked my SnapChat. Messages from friends kept popping up. And on my Ins feed, Brenda had seemingly posted something deliberately to annoy me. 【Just taught some cheap country bumpkin a lesson today! Couldn’t afford our premium restroom service but still called the cops! I’ve seen it all now!】 The post included an arrogant selfie of her giving the camera the middle finger, with the blurry sign of her rundown restaurant in the background. Such gall! Cyberbullying people and still acting so brazen. My finger unconsciously scrolled down, curious to see if any mutual friends had commented. Then I saw a familiar profile picture in the ‘likes’ section. It was Lucas! 3 My head instantly buzzed and exploded. Luckily, my hand was quicker than my brain, and I immediately took a screenshot. When I refreshed the feed, that red heart ‘like’ was gone. My fingers, clutching the phone, were icy cold. How did Lucas know Brenda? Whenever we went to restaurants, it was always me who ordered and paid. Lucas never got involved, did he? Suddenly, a blurred memory flashed into my mind. Two months ago, it was Lucas who had his arm around my waist, excitedly telling me about this newly opened buffet. After trying it, I was indeed impressed by their premium ingredients. I even considered booking company events there. I stared at the screenshot on my phone, took a deep breath, and called Mia. There were some things I absolutely had to get to the bottom of. The next afternoon, as soon as I arrived at the office, the front desk called me. “Ms. Avery! Someone’s causing a scene at the front desk, specifically asking for you.” Hearing the panicked voice of the receptionist, I probably guessed who it was. Sure enough, as I walked into the office area, I heard Brenda’s shrill, piercing voice. “Where’s Avery? That cheap freeloader who won’t pay needs to get her ass out here! Too scared to face me?” “It’s all because of that jinx! She made me lose a huge client! So unlucky!” The employees were dead silent, their gazes at me a mix of emotions. “Looking for me?” I pushed aside the employees blocking my way and walked towards Brenda, who was surrounded by a small crowd. “Oh, the coward finally dares to show her face?” She swayed her hips, her finger almost poking my nose. “Avery, if you’re smart, pay the $18,000 immediately! Do you know how much money I lost because of you?” “What do I care?” I raised my hand, wiped away the spittle on my face, and disgustedly shook it off. “It’s you! Freeloading then calling the cops, making me touch bad luck!” She suddenly gave a meaningful glance to two men beside her. “Hey, Mike, Sam, grab her! Take her to step over the fire to ward off bad luck! Otherwise, my business will be cursed!” Those two restaurant employees actually started moving towards me. A collective gasp filled the office. In broad daylight, in *my* territory, she dared to order her people to lay hands on me? A fierce rage shot straight to my head. Reason, image—to hell with all of it! I lunged and slapped her hard across the face. “Ah!!!” Brenda clutched her cheek, stunned for a full three seconds. “Avery! You dared to hit me!” “So what if I hit you? I hit you, you foul-mouthed lunatic.” I flexed my tingling palm. “I haven’t even settled the score with you for cyberbullying me, and you dare to come here and provoke me?” “You just wait!” Brenda was trembling with rage. She pulled out her phone and made a call. “Honey, I’ve been hit by an employee at your company! Come and defend me! She’s completely out of control!” Honey? My heart lurched. It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, could it? After hanging up, Brenda’s face changed in an instant. “Hear that? My husband is coming out right now to deal with you!” “I advise you to get down on your knees and apologize right now, otherwise, I’ll have my husband fire you!” I laughed, my anger turning to pure cold amusement. Fire me? I’d like to see who has the guts. The elevator chimed, stopping on my floor. Everyone’s gaze turned towards it. The doors slowly opened. Lucas’s anxious face appeared before everyone. Brenda instantly fluttered over like a butterfly, tightly hugging Lucas’s arm. Every employee present gasped. “Honey, you’re finally here! It’s that cheap woman who freeloaded at my restaurant yesterday, she hit me today! Fire her, make her get out!” Brenda pointed at me, her face alight with undisguised malice and glee. But Lucas’s face froze. He hadn’t expected such a grand scene to greet him. So he didn’t even look at Brenda; his eyes were fixed on me. “Avery? You… why are you at the company today? Couldn’t you have just talked to me?” The triumphant expression on Brenda’s face instantly shattered. She abruptly released Lucas’s arm, stumbling back a step. “You… you called *her* honey?” I ignored their ashen faces and turned to Mia. “Mia, what’s the acquisition progress on the restaurant? Have the investors behind Gourmet Feast bring the contract to me, immediately!” Brenda seemed to snap back from the immense shock, bursting into loud laughter. “Avery, are you insane? A poor cheapskate who can’t even afford $18,000 for a restroom, and you think you can acquire our restaurant? Dream on!” No sooner had she spoken than the elevator chimed again. A middle-aged man in an expensive custom-tailored suit stepped out. Seeing the newcomer, Brenda’s face instantly lit up with the smugness of finding a powerful backer. “Mr. Thompson! You finally came! You have to side with me, this cheap woman, she…” But before she could finish, Mr. Thompson, whom she regarded as her savior, strode quickly towards me with an almost fawning smile. “Ms. Avery, why did you come yourself? I’ve brought the acquisition contract. When would you like to sign?”

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Five years into our marriage, I took a pill bottle to the hospital, complaining that the ‘Vitamin C’ my wife bought tasted unusually bitter. The doctor examined it, then looked up at me. “This isn’t Vitamin C,” she said. “Doctor, could you say that again?” “I could say it a hundred times, it wouldn’t change,” the doctor pointed to the bottle. “It’s Mifepristone. Too much won’t just sterilize you; it’s also incredibly harmful to your health.” My throat felt clogged, choked by something unseen. My hand clenched around the bottle, knuckles white. “That’s impossible. My wife prepared these for me. Her name is Veronica, and she’s a doctor here too.” The doctor looked at me, her expression turning strange, with an unreadable hint of meaning. Finally, she just smiled. “Look, kid, you really should consider a psych evaluation. Dr. Veronica’s husband? We all know him. She just had a baby a couple of months ago. Don’t get caught up in fantasies; there’s nothing there for you.” She then pulled out her phone and showed me a group photo. In the picture, Veronica, wearing a white coat, held a baby in her arms. Beside her stood a man, his eyes crinkling with a smile. It was Liam, the guy she always introduced as her ‘foster brother.’ A buzzing noise filled my head, and my mind went blank. But the doctor said that was Veronica’s husband, and their child. My breath hitched, heavy and ragged. I stumbled into the elevator, desperate to reach the fifteenth floor, to find Veronica and demand answers. Just as the elevator doors closed, two familiar voices drifted in. I must have been well-covered today, with a hat pulled low, because the people ahead didn’t recognize me. They spoke freely, without any caution. “Veronica, aren’t you worried Ashton will find out? Why go through all that trouble to get him back? If you’d just married Liam earlier, you wouldn’t have to hide seeing your own kid like this.” It was Chloe’s voice. Veronica’s voice was cold. “He won’t find out. Chloe, watch your mouth. You know what to say and what not to say around Ashton.” “I really don’t get you,” Chloe scoffed. “Liam came to live with you when he was five. You doted on him so much back then, but when he grew up, Ashton just… swept him away.” “You sent Liam away for Ashton, then went to great lengths to bring him back. Who do you actually love?” Veronica was silent for a long moment before she finally spoke. “I love Ashton, but I can’t let go of Liam either. The thought of him struggling those years he was abroad just tears me apart.” “Ashton has the official title, but the child belongs to Liam, right? At least give him someone to depend on.” Chloe sighed, then pressed on. “What if you and Ashton had a child? Could you truly be fair to both of them? Liam is my cousin, after all.” *Ding*—The elevator chime suddenly rang out. The opening doors coincided with Veronica’s words: “I won’t.” Chloe paused, confused, unsure if Veronica meant she wouldn’t have a child or wouldn’t show favoritism. Bewildered, she followed her out. But I understood. She meant, they wouldn’t have a child. Because she had already prepared sterilization pills for me, removing any potential threat to Liam. The elevator was packed, hot and stuffy, but I felt like I’d plunged into an ice hole, chilling me to the bone. Not until the elevator reached the first floor did I gasp for air like a drowning man, coughing violently. My phone vibrated in my pocket, the screen lighting up—it was a screenshot of an airplane ticket from Veronica: \[*Ashton, see you at the race tomorrow. Remember to wear the good luck charm I got you.*] Seeing that message, the torrent of emotions I’d been holding back burst, and tears streamed down my face. Doctors are busy, but in all our five years of marriage, Veronica had always been there at the finish line for every one of my races, even if it meant a red-eye flight. She’d book the restaurant in advance, buy flowers, and greet my victory. Every single year. I remembered her friends teasing me, saying I was her ultimate prize, the one she’d fought tooth and nail to get back. To bring me back home, she’d battled foreign clubs, often pushing the limits; To keep me, she’d poured fortunes into hiring a top-tier coaching team, even opening a racing club exclusively for me. After we married, her devotion knew no bounds. He once mumbled in his sleep that he missed his mom, and she spent the entire night pulling every string, finding his mother’s lost keepsakes before dawn. But this Veronica, this very same woman, had secretly built another life behind my back. It suddenly clicked. No wonder Liam knew every corner of Veronica’s home better than I did. No wonder a guy who’d lived abroad for years knew all her friends’ nicknames. No wonder a “foster brother” could make her clear her surgery schedule for half a year to go racing with him. There was no ‘foster brother.’ He was a ‘child-husband’—a practice where a child is raised in a family to marry one of their own. Liam had been groomed to be Veronica’s husband since childhood. Just moments ago, I’d been thinking that if Liam dared to interfere, I wouldn’t tolerate it. Now I realized I was the intruder, and it was *my* place to leave. A bone-chilling cold crept up from my feet, numbing my limbs. I always thought people would scream and cry when they broke down. But now, in this moment, I understood that true collapse was silent. Only the unstoppable tears and a heart sunk to the abyss told me I was dying inside. It felt as if a giant hand was squeezing my heart, trying to wring out the last drop of blood. My phone vibrated again. It was a family photo from Liam, with a caption: \[*Ashton, don’t hog a spot that isn’t yours anymore. I thought you’d be smart enough to leave, but I guess you’re shameless. Veronica says the baby looks like her. What do you think?*] I just glanced at it and exited. He wants it? Fine, he can have it. But I knew Veronica too well. Once she set her mind on something, she wouldn’t let go easily, even if she no longer wanted it. My finger hovered over the dial pad for a long time, finally pressing a number I’d almost forgotten. The moment the call connected, I heard my own voice trembling. “Morgan, that old bet… is it still on?”

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I transmigrated into a dark, explicit novel, becoming the girl who sells protection. The original female lead had a tragic fate: one woman, many men, forced into eight abortions. And I was here to save her. I always appeared at just the right moment, offering little packages of life-blockers. “Sir, a box of condoms?” “Sir, how about a box? Passion with you, safety with them. Buy a box, benefit us all.” Until one day, I was cornered by the eight men from the novel in a luxurious mansion, forced to become part of their *play*. “Join us, Juniper.” “Julian, please… no… this isn’t right… I’m begging you, don’t do this.” After being forced into some outdoor intimacy with a man, Lily, the female lead, was crouched by the river, crying helplessly. I slowly approached, pulling out a morning-after pill. “You should call 911.” Lily stopped crying, her eyes red-rimmed as she looked at me, then slapped the morning-after pill right into the river. “I’m not clean anymore. Are you looking down on me too?” Me: “?” My heart ached beyond words. That was all the money I had, gone! But to get back home, I had to endure! I offered a polite smile. “You misunderstood. That’s not what I meant.” “What I meant was, if you were forced, you can call 911. The police will help you punish the bad guys.” Lily cried even harder. “I knew it, you all look down on me! I was forced, I was forced!” Me: “???” Was Lily out of her mind, or just born clueless? I pulled out my phone and dialed 911. The call connected. “Hello, this is 911. How can I help you?” Lily froze, then burst into uncontrollable sobs, slapping my phone right into the river with a loud *smack*. “I have no beef with you, I don’t even know you. Why are you humiliating me like this?” Me: “…” My phone, oh my god, my phone! I swear I wanted to crack her skull open and see what kind of garbage was rattling around in there!

Sighing dramatically heavenward, I swore I’d never stay up late reading smut again. Yes! I had transmigrated into a book. And it was one of those one-woman-many-men, female-torture smut fics. The female lead was forced to have eight abortions, each from a different man. But damn it all, in the end, everyone actually got a “happily ever after” with her. By the time I finished reading, I felt worse than if I’d eaten actual crap. I cursed the author, “Don’t readers’ feelings matter?!” Right after cursing, I transmigrated, becoming a nameless, insignificant extra. I had to make the female lead independent, to help her break free from the cycle of forced abortions through her own efforts, so I could escape this damn book. So when I saw Lily being forced into intimacy with a man in the woods, I quickly emptied my pockets and bought a morning-after pill. I was here to save her, but so far, I wasn’t saving a damn thing. I was boiling with helpless rage, screaming and thrashing on the ground in front of her. “Argh, you’re a piece of trash! Eight abortions? Hell, a hundred wouldn’t be enough for you to learn your lesson!” Lily’s face went ashen. Trembling, she pulled out her own phone and dialed 911 again. “Waaah~ Officer, this person is insulting me!” Me: “…”

Lily sat outside the interrogation room, red-eyed and sniffling, recounting my “crimes.” “She taunted me, looked down on me, and then crawled on all fours in front of me to humiliate me!” Does that sound like something a sane person would say? But the police believed her. “Why did you taunt her?” I shrugged. “I didn’t.” The officer scribbled two lines in his notebook, then asked, “Why were you crawling on all fours to humiliate her?” I was losing it. “I wasn’t! I really wasn’t! She slapped my phone into the river, and I was crawling to find it! Can you guys please listen? What human has four legs?!” The officer just looked down and scribbled some more in his notebook. In the end, they decided to detain me for three days as a warning. Then they offered Lily a whole lot of comfort. I was utterly stunned. This explicit novel’s world truly was messed up beyond belief. I was lonely, desperate, and cold. I missed my mom.

No money, no ID, no phone. The immediate priority wasn’t how to get back, but how to survive. I was afraid I’d starve to death in this book before I could succeed. Was I really going to have to beg? Begging was not an option. I looked at a public health information board about safe sex practices and free condoms, and a brilliant idea struck me. I grabbed two plastic bags from a trash can. I cut eyeholes in a black one and pulled it over my head, keeping a clear one in my hand. Then I promptly cleared out all the free condoms from the display. And so, from that day on, I became the girl who sells protection. For some reason, I always seemed to appear at the precise moment Lily was being forced into intimacy with a man. And wasn’t that a golden business opportunity? I could make money, and indirectly save the world. I couldn’t change that trash fire of a female lead, so I decided to target the men instead. As long as I could survive until the happy ending, and Lily didn’t get pregnant, there would be no abortions, and I could finally escape this book.

It was a pitch-black, rainy night, and I stood at the entrance of a bar, armed with my little bag of protection. Rain lashed wildly against my face. Damn it! I couldn’t stand this life another day. Just as I was cursing the heavens, cursing the earth, and cursing Lily, I heard her sweet, delicate voice again. “N-no~ Julian, please, not here… what if someone sees us?” The man’s shirt was unbuttoned two buttons down. He carried Lily, whose cheeks were flushed and whose tiny triangle of fabric had slipped to her ankles, towards his car. “Lily~ your body tells a different story~” Lily’s tears streamed down her face as she balled her fists and pounded the man’s chest. Damn it! Was Lily even trying? Those weren’t resistance punches; those were ‘turn-him-on’ punches! I silently rolled my eyes. The moment the man tossed Lily into the car and was about to close the door, I quickly extended my hand. “Sir, a box of condoms?” “Sir, how about some protection? Passion with you, safety with them, happiness for all involved.” My gaze was intense as I stared at the man before me. He hadn’t expected to be interrupted by me, and his eyes glared menacingly, finally landing on the condoms in my hand. He snatched them and slammed the car door shut. What the hell! He didn’t pay! The world’s gone to hell, there’s no justice. But I couldn’t risk it; I couldn’t afford to cross any of these powerful men. Julian Blackwood, the most powerful man in the book, with billions in assets, yet completely obsessed with Lily’s innocent facade.

I had to admit, the men in this explicit novel were incredibly potent. Just one box of protection, seven pieces, seven hours of action, no breaks. I listened to the whole thing, every word true. I was huddled by the car door, almost falling asleep, when finally, the car door opened. I heard Lily’s hoarse, tearful voice again. “Julian, how could you do this to me? I’ll never forgive you.” I lifted one eyelid and saw Julian Blackwood gripping Lily’s chin, a smirk playing on his lips. “I’m going to lock you up. Your body will forever belong to me.” I stood up. Lily looked up and saw me, reaching out a tearful hand. “Miss, please, help me, save me.” That’s when the male lead finally noticed I was still there. He turned to me and slowly spat out one word. “Get out!” I lifted my eyelid a bit higher, pointing to the used condom on the car floor mat. My expression was impassive. “Sir, small business here, no credit.” Julian Blackwood and Lily both fell silent for a moment. Lily stared at me in disbelief. “Miss, how can you be so heartless? Why won’t you help me?” Me: “…” Julian Blackwood stared at my face, then let out a scoff. “Gary! Pay her.” A man then got out of the driver’s seat. I gasped! I was shocked! Last night, with the moon obscured and the wind howling, I hadn’t even noticed the driver was there. The driver was there! Were they seriously that open? Did the world of explicit novels have no shame at all? I swear I couldn’t stand this life another day. But as the driver tossed a thick wad of cash at me, I decided I could tolerate it a little longer.

Lily was taken away by Julian Blackwood, and I, clutching ten thousand dollars, grinned like an idiot. I think I’d found a shortcut to getting rich. I spent the money on food, drinks, and shopping, but no matter what, I always carried a bag containing my secret weapon for wealth. After a few days, I mysteriously found myself in a large mansion. Lily was currently pinned on the grass by a blond, blue-eyed man, his hand already reaching a certain spot. Lily pleaded softly on the grass. “Klara, don’t do this, there’s only friendship between us.” This man was Klara Petrov, who had chased Lily from abroad all the way to Julian Blackwood’s grand estate. I wondered if it would be weird to pitch my product right now? But they were about to get to the final step, so I couldn’t just stand by. I darted forward, slid to my knees, and presented the condom to Klara. “Ultra-thin, ultimate pleasure. You deserve the best.” People who read smut fics always have surprisingly good memories. I knew each man’s preferences. The man looked at me in surprise but still took it. This man was more polite; he just scanned five thousand dollars to me with his phone. I pouted, a little annoyed. Julian Blackwood was more generous; he’d shelled out a whole ten grand! But my professional ethics were top-notch. I smiled, bowed, and bid him farewell. “Enjoy yourselves, have a wonderful time.”

The men in this explicit novel were all machines, relentlessly plowing day and night. Lily was even more incredible, a field that could be plowed endlessly without ever wearing out. Every day I was dragged around with Lily from place to place, time to time, feeling like the money I earned was endless, but I never had time to spend it. Since my clients were all so generous, I even upgraded my services. I’d occasionally offer expert tips and emotional support while they were getting intimate with Lily. I was a small-time millionaire now, having opened many automated adult novelty kiosks in the places Lily and the men frequented. Even near their homes. Of course, they never actually went in to get anything themselves; it was mainly so I could restock easily. But I felt like I was almost done with my mission. Tonight, in Julian Blackwood’s estate, was the climax for all the men and Lily, the supposed ending point of this explicit novel. And thanks to my diligent, tireless, indirect efforts, Lily hadn’t had a single “accident.” I just needed to get through tonight safely, and then I could go home. Honestly, becoming a millionaire in this book, I was almost a little reluctant to leave. But I still missed my mom more. Goodbye, Lily. Tonight, I set sail for home.

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My CEO husband, Victor Thorne, loved bringing his buddies home for dinner, claiming it made us feel more like a family. Watching me serve a table piled high with dishes, one of his friends grinned. “You’re always such a gracious hostess, Elara! Truly the queen of this castle.” My expression didn’t change as I asked, half-jokingly, “Oh? Is there some other, less… *generous* lady of the house I should know about?” His friends froze, a flicker of panic in their eyes. Victor chuckled, pulling me into a hug. “Listen to them babbling nonsense. Besides you, who else in this world is worthy of being my wife?” Watching his nonchalant act, I smiled. But the moment I turned away, I dialed a number. “Julian, Victor Thorne is cheating on me. Make sure he rots in prison.” My brother on the other end of the line was silent for three seconds. “Elara, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Victor, he…” I pulled off the wedding ring from my left hand, the diamond digging painfully into my palm. “We’ve been married for ten years. Every single one of his cufflinks, I’ve had custom-made in Italy.” “But today, he’s wearing a cheap, plastic flower pin. Julian, do you really think I’m mistaken?” “You know I won’t tolerate injustice. Expose all the dirty deeds he’s done over the years. And while you’re at it, get me the best lawyer. I want a divorce.” Julian’s anger flared. “Consider it done.” Half an hour later, my phone pinged with an encrypted file. I clicked open the first picture: an innocent-looking girl in a white shirt, beaming as she held a man’s arm. Her wrist, peeking out from her sleeve, bore a wolf-head tattoo identical to Victor’s. Without hesitation, I drove straight to his company. Minutes later, a girl with long, straight black hair and a white dress hurried out. I glanced at her employee ID: Serena Vance. The moment she saw me, her face went white with fright. She instinctively hid her hand behind her back. But I still caught sight of it: a Swiss custom-made watch. Last year, on my birthday, I received a notification of a Swiss purchase. A three-million-dollar watch, a fifty-thousand-dollar necklace. The necklace was carefully kept at home. The watch was on *her* wrist. I scoffed, cutting straight to the chase. “Ms. Vance, your husband seems to have remarkably similar taste to mine. Even his custom-made watch has the exact same design.” Serena trembled at my words, her red lips parting and closing several times before she stammered, “Y-yes… I guess all men have similar aesthetics.” Her fingers, clutching the hem of her dress, were bone-white. “Enough with the act,” I said flatly. “You’re the ‘little lady’ they’ve been calling, aren’t you?” Seeing that I’d directly confronted her, Serena trembled even harder, a panicked mess. “Please don’t misunderstand, it’s just that Mr. Thorne had another low blood sugar faint, and I simply looked after him once.” “Mr. Thorne’s friends thought I was very attentive, and they were just joking around.” “I’m truly sorry if I caused any misunderstanding.” With that, she even dramatically folded over in a ninety-degree bow towards me. She looked like a pathetic, wronged damsel. If I hadn’t seen her tactics for seducing Victor, I might have actually fallen for it. Half a month ago, she posted a video on TikTok. A man was swiping his card at a luxury car dealership, next to a Porsche. Her caption read: *Where a man’s money goes, his love follows.* At that time, I was at home, burning with a fever, almost unconscious. I called Victor, asking him to take me to the hospital. He panicked for a second, but then his voice turned hoarse, like he was suppressing something. “Darling, I’ll have the housekeeper take you. I have something urgent I can’t get away from.” An hour later, I was fighting for my life in the hospital with pneumonia. Meanwhile, she posted a photo lying in a car, a man’s chiseled abs dotted with suggestive red marks. Caption: *New car and you, forever marked as mine.* When Victor finally arrived, his shirt still half-unbuttoned. He threw himself by my bedside, his eyes red-rimmed. Then, I naively thought he was worried about me. But it turns out, it was just guilt from his illicit affair. A wave of nausea washed over me. And *this* is the caliber of woman Victor betrayed me for? Truly pathetic. Too disgusted to watch her pathetic act any longer, I turned and left. But the moment I got into my car, Victor called. The instant I answered, his voice was laced with panic. “Why did you suddenly decide to come to the company?”

“Why?” I started the car, asking coolly, “Just happened to have a contract to discuss. Is there something you’re afraid I’ll find out?” Victor seemed completely thrown by my question. His breathing hitched. After a few seconds of silence, his voice softened, adopting his usual coaxing tone. “Darling, what are you talking about?” “There’s nothing I’m hiding from you. It’s just that my office is a mess; I’d have had someone clean it up if I knew you were coming.” “Besides, how could I ever betray you? Feel free to check anything.” Hearing that, I felt a flicker of confusion. Serena hadn’t told him I’d confronted her. I scrolled through the evidence, listening to his excuses. Three gigabytes of files, every single day connected to Victor. Last Valentine’s Day, he claimed to be on a business trip abroad and couldn’t call. In reality, he was in the Arctic watching the Northern Lights with Serena. My father was gravely ill, I called him over thirty times, and he didn’t answer a single one. Turns out, he was celebrating Serena’s birthday. “I believe you, but what about that watch?” Seeing that I brought it up, Victor seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He leaned closer to the phone, his voice laced with a deliberately cultivated intimacy. “That watch… I fainted suddenly at the office, and Serena happened to be passing by. She helped me to the hospital.” He paused, then continued, “She stayed by my side all night, so I bought her the watch as a thank you. I just forgot to tell you.” Forgot, huh? He must be quite forgetful then. Not only did he forget to tell me about that, but he also conveniently forgot about the three days and three nights they spent in a penthouse suite at a hotel. I sneered inwardly. “She’s incredibly attentive, isn’t she? Even the black shirt you wore when you fainted, she washed, ironed, and returned it to you perfectly the next day.” Victor clearly faltered on the other end, his breath catching for a split second, before he quickly recovered with a laugh. “Isn’t she though? The young lady is so thoughtful.” “See? You’re always so suspicious. You’re the only one in my heart, darling.” His voice was close to the receiver, dripping with forced affection. “Once I’m done with this busy period, I’ll take you to the Maldives for a make-up vacation, just the two of us. How does that sound?” That tender tone used to melt my heart. Now, it just made me sick. “Sounds lovely,” I said, gazing out at the passing city lights, my voice as calm as if I were discussing the weather. “But you focus on your important business first. Don’t let me distract you.” “Nothing is more important than spending time with you, darling.” Victor’s voice was filled with urgent appeasement, but my heart grew colder and colder. It wasn’t just Victor’s betrayal that shocked me, but the realization that they had been playing this charade right under my nose for so long. My grip on the steering wheel tightened. I fought back the urge to confront Victor right then and there. No. I wanted him to confess his relationship with Serena in front of everyone, and then I would utterly ruin both of them. I mumbled a few dismissive words and hung up the phone. Just then, Serena’s social media updated again. The screen showed her in an intricately designed, diamond-encrusted wedding gown, her eyes sparkling with joy. “Another mistress tried to cause trouble today, wanting to take my place, but Mr. Thorne is making it up to me. He’s finally going to marry me!” “I just mentioned wanting a castle wedding, and he bought an entire castle for me!” She curved her lips, the camera casually sweeping over a property deed. “And these wineries? He actually wants me to manage them!” “How could a little dummy like me do that? Good thing Mr. Thorne promised to come with me to assert my authority, so those people won’t dare to bully me because of my age!” Seeing my French name printed on the property deed in the video, a surge of pure rage coursed through me. Those wineries were a coming-of-age gift from my brother. And Victor Thorne was using them to impress his mistress! Fine. They wanted to assert their authority, did they? I’d like to see how they’ll ‘establish their authority’ in front of the *real* owner of the winery!

I bought a plane ticket that night and flew to France. At the winery, Mr. Abernathy, the old butler, looked surprised to see me. “Ms. Sterling, what brings you here? Didn’t you say you were lending the estate to Mr. Thorne for an event today? And that all the family members were to be cleared out?” Hearing that, I felt my anger flare. Just as I was about to reply, Victor’s call came through. “Darling, I’m in a cross-border meeting. I’ll fly back to you as soon as I’m done.” Before I could answer, a syrupy sweet female voice faintly echoed from the other end. “Victor, does this look good on me?” The next second, Victor muffled the phone and walked away. “Can’t talk now, meeting’s starting.” Almost simultaneously, the winery’s ornate gates swung open, and over a dozen luxury cars pulled up in sequence at the fountain plaza. Countless unfamiliar faces were ushered to their seats. I found a secluded spot and sat down. Once everything was set, Serena Vance made her entrance in a fiery red haute couture gown, oozing the smug confidence of someone who’d just risen above her station. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Serena Vance, the new owner of this winery.” “Mr. Thorne said that from now on, all the wine here, the castle, even every grape in the vineyard, is under my management!” “To celebrate, all wines are seventy percent off, consider it a welcome gift!” Seventy percent off? She was certainly generous. The cheapest wines here cost at least a million a bottle. Some were such rare vintage collector’s items that even the British Royal Family would have to think twice before I’d consider selling to them! Mr. Abernathy, who had watched me grow up, was seething with rage. “When did this winery become hers?!” “And how dare Victor Thorne cheat on Ms. Sterling with a mistress?! Does he have a death wish?!” Seeing the butler about to storm out, I quickly shook my head. Now wasn’t the time to expose her. I wanted Victor to personally admit his relationship with Serena, and then I would utterly ruin both of them. Just then, the ornate gates opened again, and Victor Thorne strode in, impeccably dressed in a custom suit. Serena immediately rushed into his arms, giggling as she shook his arm. “Victor, I always said this brand suits you best.” Victor’s eyes visibly stiffened, but he nodded impassively. My internal fury, however, was about to erupt. The founder of that brand is our sworn enemy. My father was driven to his grave, heartbroken and defeated, by their ruthless schemes. Victor knew this. Yet, he was publicly slapping me in the face. Just as I could no longer hold back and was about to storm out, Victor’s friends surrounded him. “Victor, look at your ‘little lady,’ so vibrant and full of life!” “‘Little lady,’ our Victor just bought you a winery worth hundreds of millions! Where else can you find such a great man?!” “From now on, this winery will be called the ‘Vance Estate,’ so how are you going to thank our Victor?” Amidst their boisterous laughter, Serena lowered her head, blushing. Just then, Mr. Dubois, the winery manager, who was bringing over wine, spoke up, confused. “Called the ‘Vance Estate’? Didn’t you just borrow this from our young mistress, Ms. Sterling?” At his words, the guests exchanged bewildered glances, whispering among themselves. “What’s going on?” “I only heard this winery belonged to Mrs. Thorne, but isn’t Mrs. Thorne’s maiden name Sterling?” “Huh? Then if she’s a Vance, could she be some kind of imposter?” The manager’s face was already alight with fury. “Mr. Thorne, how could you do such a thing behind Ms. Sterling’s back?!” As he spoke, he reached for his phone to call me. The next second, Victor’s bodyguards swarmed forward, pressing the manager to his knees. Victor’s gaze swept coldly over the gathered crowd. “Rip his mouth out. Make him pay for running his mouth.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried the ruthless chill of someone accustomed to high power. The banquet hall fell silent instantly. Victor didn’t even lift an eyelid, his fingers casually caressing Serena’s face. “Serena is the true young mistress of the Thorne family! Elara Sterling is merely a housekeeper we employed.” A housekeeper? I was almost laughing from pure indignation. It seemed Victor had truly forgotten who had, step by step, propelled him to his current position of power. If it weren’t for me, he’d still be a nobody on the streets, getting kicked around, barely surviving! I struggled alongside him for ten years, even taking two knives to the chest for him, and had my brother secretly help him. When I was teetering on the edge of life and death, all I thought about was how to pave the way for him. Yet, in the end, he called me a “housekeeper.” No one present dared to cross Victor, and they all quickly chimed in. “So that’s it! Mrs. Thorne is too generous, letting a mere housekeeper use the Thorne family name to swagger around and cheat people.” Some even advised Serena. “Mrs. Thorne, a housekeeper like that might try to seduce Mr. Thorne at any time.” “You need to be careful. I think you should just fire her!” “With such malicious intentions, she should be thrown into the ocean to feed the fish!” The triumphant smile on Serena’s face was impossible to suppress. The manager’s face was ashen, but he struggled desperately before being dragged away. “I want to see Ms. Elara Sterling! She is the true Mrs. Thorne!” The guests’ faces showed disdain. “That housekeeper is truly cunning, even the winery manager has been fooled by her!” “Mr. Thorne, you really can’t keep such an ungrateful snake around.” Victor’s cold gaze swept over the crowd, his thin lips parting slightly. “I’ll say it again: I only have Serena Vance as my wife. From now on, anyone who dares to disrespect her will face my wrath.” The banquet hall fell silent. Only I slowly began to clap, the sound drawing everyone’s attention. I took off my baseball cap, looking at them coldly. “Then tell me, if she’s Mrs. Thorne, who exactly am I?” Victor and Serena’s smiles instantly froze.

The air in the banquet hall seemed to instantly solidify. The guests’ gazes uniformly slammed into me. From initial bewilderment, to seeing my face, they all gasped sharply. Serena’s triumphant smile instantly froze. She instinctively shrank behind Victor, her fingers, gripping his sleeve, trembling uncontrollably, her voice shaking. “You… how are you here?” I ignored her, my eyes fixed on Victor. His pupils abruptly constricted, a flicker of panic in his eyes, but it was quickly masked by his usual ruthlessness. He released Serena’s waist, walked towards me, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible tremor of alarm. “Elara? Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at home?” “Wait for you at home?” I repeated those words, smiling as I looked up at his familiar face, then spoke softly, “Wait for you to give my winery away to someone else, or wait for you to announce to the world that I’m merely your family’s housekeeper?” Victor’s face instantly darkened. After a moment, he seemed to have suppressed his emotions. He lowered his head, his voice deliberately hushed, attempting to plead, “There are too many ears here; this isn’t the place to talk.” “Elara, come home with me first.” “We’ll discuss everything at home; I’ll explain everything slowly later.” He tried to reach for my wrist, his movements as familiar as the countless times he’d placated me over the past decade. But looking at the cheap plastic flower pin on his cuff, smelling the perfume on him that wasn’t mine, I felt my stomach churn. I sharply recoiled, avoiding his touch. “Explain?” I laughed, the sound jarringly loud in the silent banquet hall. “Explain why you’re wearing the brand of our sworn enemy?” “Explain why you gave the winery my brother gifted me as a present to your mistress?” “Or explain how smug you felt when you just called me a housekeeper?” Victor’s face went from green to pale. He likely hadn’t expected me to publicly slap him in the face like this, and the panic in his eyes was undeniable. He gritted his teeth, his voice dropping even lower, almost a whisper against my ear. “Elara Sterling, don’t make a scene!” “Do you really want to humiliate me in front of everyone? Just come with me now, I’m begging you.” “Please?” He tried to soften me with his past intimate tone, but I found it utterly sarcastic. Years ago, when he was being chased and beaten in the streets, I was the one who carried him on my back for three blocks to find a doctor. When he was stabbed by a rival and lay on the operating table, I signed the critical condition notice and waited outside the operating room for three days and three nights. “Victor Thorne,” I looked up at him, my gaze as cold as tempered steel, “Do you really think there’s a ‘later’ for us anymore?” Victor’s face completely lost all color. He probably hadn’t expected me to be so merciless. “Elara, do you really have to be like this?” He practically gritted his teeth as he spoke, “Our ten years together, can’t you give me a chance to explain?” “Years together?” I pulled a stack of documents from my bag and flung them hard at his face. Papers scattered across the floor, the top one a record of his and Serena’s stay in a hotel penthouse suite. “When you were tangled up with her while I was burning with fever and unconscious, why didn’t you think about our ‘years together’?” Victor’s head snapped back from the impact of the files, veins bulging in his neck. The next second, he whirled around fiercely, his eyes filled with a hatred I couldn’t comprehend. “Elara Sterling, then don’t blame me.” Victor abruptly turned, his voice sharp. “Everyone, look closely! This woman is no Mrs. Thorne! She’s just a housekeeper employed by my family!” “Her family was so poor they couldn’t make ends meet back then. I kindly took her in, gave her food and clothes, and let her work as a housekeeper in my home!” He pointed at my nose, the ruthlessness in his eyes almost overflowing. “I never expected her to be such an ungrateful snake, seeing my success and daring to try and worm her way into my bed, even forging an identity to flaunt around and deceive people!” Serena immediately played along, her eyes reddening, sobbing behind him. “Victor, don’t say that… Ms. Sterling was just confused for a moment…” As she spoke, she secretly glanced up to gauge the guests’ reactions, a hint of triumph in her eyes. Several of Victor’s friends immediately stepped forward to back him up. “That’s right! We all know!” “This woman is just a housekeeper, using her long stay in the Thorne household to try and climb the social ladder!” “Victor has been more than benevolent to her, yet she still dares to cause trouble here. Shameless!” The guests’ murmurs grew louder, their gazes at me filled with disdain and disgust. Some pointed fingers at me, and one even muttered, “Turns out she’s a fraud. Looks decent on the outside, but her heart is utterly foul.” Victor watched the scene, a twisted smile on his face. He took a step forward, closing in on me, and threatened in a voice only we could hear, “Elara Sterling, if you know what’s good for you, get out now, or I’ll ruin you here and ensure you have no future left!” I looked at his distorted face, finding it utterly ridiculous. Mr. Abernathy, the old butler, was trembling with rage, shakily pointing at Victor. “You… you ungrateful snake!” “If Ms. Sterling hadn’t begged her father to pull strings and save you, you’d have rotted in prison long ago!” “Ms. Sterling broke ties with her family for you, even taking a knife for you and almost dying! Is this how you repay her?!” Victor’s face went from green to pale, clearly not expecting the old butler to expose his past in public. The ruthlessness in his eyes was almost overflowing. Just then, Serena Vance, who had been hiding behind him and feigning pitifulness, suddenly looked up, a sinister glint in her eyes. She clutched Victor’s sleeve, her voice timid, yet her words were venomous. “Victor… I, I know this might not be good to say… but if Ms. Sterling keeps pestering you like this, won’t it… won’t it jeopardize your plans?” She paused, as if summoning courage, then looked around at the guests, her voice trembling but clear. “I heard the others say before that people with malicious intentions, ungrateful snakes like her… they should be… they should be thrown into the ocean to feed the fish…” At her words, the hall fell into a terrifying silence. Even Victor’s friends were stunned, clearly not expecting this woman, who usually acted so sweet and innocent, to utter such cruel words. Victor’s pupils constricted sharply. He instinctively looked at me, a complex flicker in his eyes.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “298540”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic

I heard Dr. Julian Hayes’s junior was dying. Her only wish was to have a wedding with him. The moment he agreed. I messaged the System, “Help me leave this world.” Julian had rushed me to get a divorce twice. Both times, I couldn’t make it to the divorce court as planned. Not until I, a terminally ill patient, lay on the operating table. He, my lead surgeon, looked at me with horror and despair, “How can it be you?” What shattered him even more was this: According to the System’s setup, I would die by his hand. Leaving him consumed by eternal guilt. Dr. Julian Hayes was a surgeon, the hospital’s renowned “magic hands.” He was incredibly busy. So busy that he only notified me about the divorce on SnapChat. “Find some time to finalize the divorce.” “Scarlett’s emotions are unstable, she can’t wait.” I stared at the table laden with cold food, the frosting on the cream cake melting at the edges. It was like our relationship, a decade-long journey from high school sweethearts to husband and wife, crumbling in an instant. I called him several times; he finally picked up on the fourth try. His voice was flat, “Something wrong? I was busy.” My first instinct was to apologize, assuming he was in surgery. Doctors, after all, are always responsible for their patients. But then, a playful female voice chirped in the background, “Clothes are off, hurry up.” My blood ran cold. “Julian Hayes, we’re still married, you know?” He explained it away with an unsettling nonchalance. “You misunderstood. I was giving Scarlett’s dog a bath.” I closed my eyes, my fingernails digging tightly into my palms. “Julian, if we divorce, I’ll disappear.” That was the System’s original setting. No one could change it. He didn’t reply. I heard movement on his end. He probably moved to another spot to take the call. He lowered his voice. “Audrey Hayes, I’ve explained it countless times. It’s just a ceremony.” “We’ll remarry after I fulfill her wish.” “Why do you always use this ‘disappearing’ as leverage?” Usually, when he called me by my full name, it meant he was angry. Seeing I didn’t answer, Julian’s breathing grew heavy. He had often said he hated it when I stayed silent and didn’t respond. “Audrey Hayes, be rational.” I scoffed, “You’re at Scarlett Reid’s house late at night, telling me to be rational? Don’t you find that laughable?” After all, legally, he was still my husband. There was a long sigh from his end. Then, his indifferent words, one by one, pierced my heart. “Audrey Hayes, Friday morning, let’s get the divorce done.”

I dug a spoonful of cream cake into my mouth, a bitter taste dissolving on my tongue. It was ironic. He remembered bathing Scarlett Reid’s dog but forgot it was my birthday. Perhaps his heart wasn’t in it anymore, and neither was his memory of me. “System, do you sing birthday songs?” “No, I only sing funeral dirges.” I chuckled, “Then no need for now. Save it for when I die.” “Help me leave this world.” If I left this world, I could return to my original one. In my original world, though I didn’t have a healthy body. I had loving family and friends. I missed the classic diner breakfast downstairs, and the hearty chicken noodle soup from the old market. And of course, my mom’s warm, comforting homemade stew. Here, I only ever cooked for Julian. Because he was a doctor. His hands were vital for his patients, and for him. But when I saw Scarlett Reid’s Ins post, I instantly broke down. His perfectly sculpted hands, the ones I’d always protected, were patiently peeling shrimp for her. The caption read, “My magic hands only peel shrimp for me.” It made all my past efforts feel like a cruel joke. “Host, won’t you try a little harder?” “No.” My heart was dead. The moment he decided to divorce, my mission was doomed to fail. It was just a matter of when I’d die. Why not end it sooner? The System sighed softly, “Self-initiated departure will be a bit painful.” “Good news is, you can choose how you die.” I thought about it seriously. And let out a faint laugh. “Julian never believed I’d disappear.” “So, I’ll die by his ‘magic hands’ then.” I guessed his expression would be priceless.

I couldn’t make it to the divorce court on Friday as planned. After the departure program initiated. My body quickly started showing signs of decay, my immunity critically low. I had a fever. My lips were so chapped they felt like sandpaper. I subconsciously called out, “Darling, water.” Before, whenever he was home, I always had water at just the right temperature. I loved, and had grown accustomed to, his pampering me in small ways. But opening my eyes, I remembered he’d moved out long ago. The day he agreed to marry Scarlett Reid. “She’s my mentor’s daughter. Out of respect for my mentor, I have to take care of her.” “She’s dying. It’s just a wedding ceremony. Be a little more understanding.” I stared at him blankly that day. “If it’s just a ceremony, why bother getting a divorce?” He lowered his gaze, his fair, refined face tinged with coldness. “I can’t let her be his mistress, can I?” Right, if we weren’t legally divorced, she’d be the other woman. So he was really committing to the act. I looked at him indifferently. “Julian Hayes, if we divorce, there’s no way I’ll ever remarry you.” He froze for a second, then dropped his suitcase. He grabbed my arm tightly. “What did you say?” “If not with me, then who would you be with?” “You told me you’re an orphan in this world, with no family except me.” Maybe he was gripping me too hard. Tears welled up in my eyes. I clenched my fists and hit him, “Let go, you jerk! You’re the one who gave up on me first!” But he pulled me into a tight embrace. My tears stained the collar of his white shirt. “Don’t cry, Audrey. Your tears hurt me.” “How could I ever give up on you?” He awkwardly wiped my tears away. Kissing me all the way from my forehead to my lips. He said he was an orphan, and his mentor’s wife had looked after him since he was young. He said Scarlett was just like a sister. I believed him. After all, she had a rare, terminal illness and was dying, wasn’t she? The System said if we restored our marital relationship within three months, the mission wouldn’t be a failure. A week later, I went to the hospital to bring him some nourishing soup. Passing by the outdoor parking lot. Scarlett Reid sat in the driver’s seat, all windows down. He stood outside the car, hands in his white lab coat pockets, his figure tall and imposing. The next moment, he bent down and kissed the “sister” he had spoken of. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head. I numbly watched him extend a pale, slender finger and dotingly ruffle her hair. “Be a good girl, go home and rest.” She seemed to playfully say something, then put on her sunglasses and drove off. It was all so familiar. He used to do all that for me. The thought of him wanting to fulfill her wedding wish suddenly filled me with dread. Was it merely sympathy and responsibility? Or had his heart already strayed? Strayed to another girl, but in a way that didn’t technically violate our vows. No wonder he was so eager to divorce me and marry her. That day, I tossed the nourishing soup into the trash. And with it, the heart that had once loved him so completely.

In my feverish haze, the phone rang repeatedly. I struggled to reach for it and answered. Julian’s voice, laced with annoyance, came through the line. “Can you please have some sense of time? I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour.” Oh, I was burning up and had forgotten about the divorce today. I said weakly, “I have a fever. Can we reschedule?” I was so weak, I couldn’t even get up. How was I supposed to go? He chuckled on the other end, “You forgot I’m a doctor? With your strong as an ox physique, how could you possibly have a fever?” “You’re 28, not a little girl like Scarlett. Don’t be so dramatic.” I was genuinely amused. “You might not know, but the ‘little girl’ you’re talking about is only two years younger than me.” He used to call me ‘little girl’ once too. Maybe he just got tired of it. Whatever. I had no expectations left for him.

I missed the second divorce appointment too. On my way out, I had a little accident. At the intersection, a two-year-old boy in a cartoon T-shirt, with his short legs, dashed out to find his mom. A car, speeding around the corner, lost control. I didn’t think twice, pushing him with all my strength into the safety zone. *Bang!* I felt like I was being smashed to pieces. The hit-and-run driver didn’t stop for a second, speeding off with a roar. I turned my head and saw the license plate. It looked familiar. In a flash of insight, I remembered Scarlett Reid’s car in the hospital parking lot. It was her. The boy was scooped up by his panicked family, crying hysterically. “Auntie, Auntie is hurt!” I only felt pain, the kind of pain that felt like my insides were being torn apart. But there was no blood as I had expected. “System, am I dying?” It didn’t go as planned, which was a little regretful. But saving a sweet kid right before I died made it feel worth it. The System paused for a few seconds, then replied nonchalantly. “Congratulations. You temporarily won’t die before your scheduled death date, Host.” “The symptoms of the car accident will only fully manifest on the day you depart.” The System then added a little sheepishly, “This is a perk I fought for you.” I found the System strangely endearing. I smiled, “Good. Then Julian can see what his new wife did to me.” The boy’s parents and grandmother surrounded me. The boy’s mother, with red eyes, said, “You saved our baby, you saved our whole family!” They almost knelt down to me. I repeatedly insisted I was fine, but they still warmly insisted on putting me in their car and taking me to the hospital. “How can you be fine? The car’s bumper is completely dented.” “Is a person harder than a car?” Left with no choice, I called Julian ahead of time. “I was in a car accident. Let’s reschedule again.”

I hadn’t expected them to bring me to Julian’s hospital. “Let me see the report results.” A familiar voice sounded from above me. Julian burst in like a whirlwind, thin sweat beading on his forehead. He looked like he had just rushed back from somewhere. The other doctor patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Dr. Hayes, she’s fine.” Before the System’s programmed death date. No instrument could detect any issues with my body. Julian meticulously reviewed every paper report. When he looked up again, his eyes held a unfamiliar, sharp intensity. “No external or internal injuries. What kind of car accident is this?” “Audrey, what kind of drama are you trying to pull, missing appointments like this, twice?” I clasped my hands together. “A car accident, actually. Oh, and it was your new wife who hit me and then fled the scene.” He immediately frowned and retorted, without thinking. “That’s impossible. Scarlett is very innocent, she wouldn’t do something like that.” “So you’re saying I’m not innocent, and I’m lying?” We both froze then. A flicker of awkwardness crossed his eyes. Because he, too, realized he trusted Scarlett more than he trusted me. In my mind, I asked the System, “Will she be caught?” The System replied unequivocally, “Yes, this is a society with laws.” Oh, good, then I felt relieved. Let her “innocence” be judged by the law. If it weren’t for the System protecting me, that massive impact would have killed me instantly. She was a hit-and-run driver. I raised my hand to check the time. “Julian, let’s go. To the divorce court. Now.” “Otherwise, I’m running out of time.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, his tone flat. “What do you mean, running out of time?” “I’m dying.” Three days from now, at 4 PM. I had once asked the System, “Is there anything special about that time?” “Ten years ago, at 4 PM, was when you two first met.” Ah, a full circle. Julian looked out the window indifferently, his tone a bit impatient. “Audrey, you should really see a therapist.” I laughed in exasperation, “Julian, you’re the one who’s sick, wanting both… you cheat.” I turned to leave, but he gripped my wrist. “Haven’t you been eating well lately? You’ve lost weight.” “None of your business.” “Eat first, Audrey.” I was about to refuse when his phone vibrated. I saw Scarlett Reid’s name on the screen. Julian subconsciously let go of my hand. She was sobbing on the phone, saying she had a nightmare and was scared. Julian softly comforted her for a few moments. He glanced at me, then told her, “Yes, I’ll be back soon.” When he hung up, a flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes. “Audrey, you go eat first…” I sneered inwardly. A nightmare? Or was it fear and guilt because she’d hit someone? Good. Julian, by choosing her again, missed our last meal together. Would he regret it later, when he remembered?

The final countdown of my life. I lay on the cold operating table. Waves of agonizing pain, like my insides were being torn apart, washed over me. It was okay. Just bear with it. Soon, I could go home and have my mom’s homemade stew. Julian’s violent voice message still echoed in my ears. “Audrey Hayes, do you really think I don’t have a temper?” “Scarlett is dying, can you just be understanding, for God’s sake?!” All because I missed our third appointment. But I had told him, hadn’t I? I was running out of time. I was dying. He just didn’t believe me. Ten minutes later, Julian, dressed in surgical scrubs, entered the operating room with a blank expression. This surgery wasn’t originally his. But the System had set it up so that no matter who the surgeon was, it would ultimately be him. “System, what’s my terminal illness?” “A tumor surgery. Julian Hayes’s golden specialty.” The System almost sounded gleeful. The anesthetic had been administered. Julian was ready. His assistant couldn’t help but quietly ask, “Dr. Hayes, are you okay?” The assistant knew about me. They had even secretly admired him. “Dr. Hayes truly has an iron will.” “Only a ruthless person could operate on his own wife.” But Julian himself, for now, had no idea. Lying under the surgical drapes was the wife he had angrily scolded just an hour ago. He took the scalpel handed to him by the assistant. And with practiced ease, made a sixteen-centimeter incision on my abdomen. Compared to the surgeries he usually performed, this tumor operation wasn’t particularly special. Even if it failed, it would be within a reasonable scope. After all, the surgical difficulty was high, and the success rate extremely low. But thanks to his years of professional experience, the surgery was well within his control. However, the word “accident” is the one thing humans can never control. For instance, Julian unexpectedly discovered a faint pink scar on the skin near the incision. His hand immediately froze mid-air. The assistants were all a bit surprised. This had never happened before. Especially with the patient’s flesh already cut open. Dr. Hayes looked dazed. Only I, in the entire room, knew why.

That scar was all too familiar to Julian. How many nights, wrapped in loving intimacy, had he traced it, kissed it? “Audrey, this is your scar, but it’s my lifelong mark.” Because it was a mark from when I shielded him from a knife. When he was doing his residency, I brought him food. A patient, crazed after a failed surgery, was wildly brandishing a knife. He was just a fresh-faced young doctor then, and it had nothing to do with him. But as he was helping another fallen, innocent patient, The knife swung towards his abdomen. “Watch out!” I pushed him away, and in the chaos, the knife plunged into my lower abdomen. Julian immediately covered my wound. Blood seeped between his fingers, covering his hands. His face was ashen as he scooped me up and stumbled towards the emergency room. It wasn’t until my wound was treated that the hollow look in his eyes began to clear. He looked at me with red-rimmed eyes, burying his head in my neck. “Audrey, seeing you bleed… I hurt so much, I’d rather die myself.” I smiled and patted him, “Then will you promise to be good to me from now on?” He kissed my earlobe. “I’d give my life for you.” That day, he held me, carefully avoiding my wound. And said, with utmost seriousness, “Audrey, you’re too kind.” “Please, from now on, think more about yourself, okay?” He was the one who once told me to think more about myself. Now, he was the one calling Scarlett “innocent” and telling me to be “more understanding.” The assistant quietly prompted, “Dr. Hayes, is something wrong?” Julian paid no attention, quickly taking two steps. Suddenly, he pulled back the surgical drape covering my face. His pupils instantly constricted. His face contorted with horror and despair, “How can it be you?” At that moment, I couldn’t respond. I was under anesthesia, my eyes closed in a heavy haze. My face was pale, cold sweat beading on my forehead. It was the final stage of the departure process. It truly hurt. But it would be over soon. Julian’s throat bobbed several times, his voice trembling uncontrollably. “Audrey, you can’t be hurt. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He wanted to touch me, but couldn’t, fearing bacterial infection. The assistants were somewhat surprised. Didn’t Dr. Hayes know that the person under his scalpel was his own wife? But their professional training quickly brought them back to normal. They refocused on the operating table. The System said coolly in my mind, “This is probably Julian Hayes’s most agonizing surgery.” After all, this surgery had only a 5% success rate. Anyone would be nervous, right? He picked up the scalpel again, his fingers trembling slightly. But quickly, he controlled the tremor with astonishing willpower. Years of professional training took over. The surgery continued systematically. “More anesthetic.” “The tumor has spread, partly free-floating. There’s significant bleeding.” “Use embolization to block the blood vessels.” “Continue adhesion dissection, remove the diseased tissue.” Julian Hayes was indeed the hospital’s most renowned, youngest “magic hands.” Everything was as he said; he could control it. The assistant’s voice came through, slightly excited, “Success!” They were quietly cheering. But I wasn’t surprised at all. The surgery was temporarily successful, of course. Because my departure deadline hadn’t arrived yet. Only two hours left.

Post-surgery, according to protocol, I needed to stay in the observation room for an hour. Seeing that all my vital signs were good. Julian’s composed expression returned. The entire space was left with just him and me. Aside from the brief conversation at the hospital clinic after the car accident. We hadn’t been together for more than an hour in a very long time. He whispered in my ear, “I never thought these hands would one day perform surgery on you, Audrey.” My anesthetic wore off quickly. That was thanks to the System’s settings. I opened my eyes and mocked him. “I never thought your hands would one day peel shrimp for someone else.” In this world, I was an orphan, just like him. I earned my tuition bit by bit. I remembered when we first graduated. We were so poor we couldn’t even afford a washing machine. Southern winters were damp and bitingly cold. Every time I washed clothes, my fingers would turn bright red from the cold, but I never let him touch the water. “No need for you here. Your hands are for holding scalpels, for saving more lives and families.” “Audrey, do you have a filter for doctors or something?” “Yes.” In my original world, doctors had saved my life too. “Okay, I promise I won’t let your admiration down, Audrey.” The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Julian seemed to be choked by my words. After a long while, he sighed softly. “Audrey, Scarlett is dying. Can you please, not hold a grudge against her?” I chuckled, “I’m dying too. Why shouldn’t I hold a grudge against her?” Julian’s eyes instantly darkened. “You won’t die. Don’t you trust my skills?” Perhaps realizing I was now also a patient. His voice softened a bit. “When did you get this illness?” “The day you asked for a divorce, and didn’t believe I would disappear.” He was choked up again, so he changed the subject. “I know you care about your looks, so I stitched the incision beautifully. The scar will be very light.” I didn’t respond. The silence in the air became so thick it made him uncomfortable. He wanted to say something else. Chloe, the nurse, came in. “Dr. Hayes, your phone has been ringing off the hook.” “Audrey, I need to take this call.” After a while, Julian returned, his expression somewhat awkward. “Audrey, I have an urgent matter to attend to. I’ll have the nurse take good care of you.” Of course, I knew what he was going to do. His original plan was to divorce me this morning. And then, in the afternoon, have a garden wedding with Scarlett Reid. Dr. Hayes, truly quite the time management expert, he was busy. “Julian Hayes, I have less than two hours left in this world.” “Are you sure you don’t want to say your final goodbyes to me?” Honestly, I didn’t want to spend much more time with him either. But if he stayed. It would be his last small gesture of sincerity towards our years of shared feelings and marriage. Then I, too, would have been more understanding. Easing his guilt just a little. But he didn’t want to. Julian stood up, and even after three hours of intense surgery, he still looked energetic and graceful. The frantic emotion he’d shown when he realized I was his patient had vanished completely. “Audrey, after you recover, I’ll personally schedule you for a therapy session.” That composed, non-negotiable tone. Honestly, I really disliked it. I let out a cold laugh, “Dr. Hayes, I hope you don’t regret this.” Julian’s expression was calm, as if he thought I was just acting out. He glanced at me, a slight smile playing on his lips, “I won’t.” “Audrey, you need to rest now.” With that, he disappeared through the door. Because his phone, in his pocket, had been ringing with urgent calls for him. By now, his wedding should be bustling with guests. Scarlett Reid probably couldn’t wait any longer. I felt a sense of release. Julian Hayes, this was your choice.

After Julian left, the System sighed in my mind. “Alas, he missed his last chance.” I was surprised that the System would feel regret. “Host, you’re a kind-hearted girl. I secretly fought for an opportunity for you to live well in this world.” “If he had chosen you today, the surgery’s success would have become reality.” I chuckled, “System, did you forget? Even if he stayed today, I wouldn’t live.” “Because Scarlett Reid already ran me over and killed me.” The System was silent for a moment. “Yes, I know.” “Host, do you want to know why Scarlett Reid was speeding that day?” “Because she was rushing to the airport to pick up Julian Hayes.” That was right. That day was when Julian returned from his business trip. She was rushing to pick him up. Because Julian needed to rush to divorce me. The causal link was eerily clear. I sighed softly. “Even if I hadn’t been in a car accident, and the surgery was successful, I still wouldn’t want him.” “You don’t love him anymore?” The System had witnessed our decade together. “No.” “Why?” the System pressed. “Aren’t you the System? How could you not know?” “Ahem, the System isn’t all-knowing, there might be occasional oversights.” I smiled, “Scarlett Reid doesn’t have a dog.” Julian himself had told me that long ago. His mentor’s wife and his junior were both allergic to animal fur. “How could someone allergic to animal fur keep a dog?” The System was stunned for a long while. “So that night, they couldn’t have been bathing a dog?” That line on the phone, “Clothes are off, hurry up,” was enough to explain everything. He had strayed, both physically and emotionally. And yet, he had calmly and confidently lied to me. “System, he’s tainted. I can’t want him anymore.” The System, unusually, swore. “Damn it! What a scumbag. Let him drown in guilt!”

“No, the patient is hemorrhaging, tissue infection!” “Dr. Hayes’s surgery has a massive complication!” “Heart stopped! Put her on artificial heart-lung machine! ECMO ready!” “How did the patient’s liver, heart, and lungs rupture?” I had already completed the detachment. My soul floated above, watching my life slowly ebb away. “Why can’t we reach Dr. Hayes?” “Got through to one, but it was hung up.” I asked the System, “Do you know who hung up?” “Oh, this is good. It was Scarlett Reid.” The System sounded like it was enjoying the show. “Come on, Host, the System will take you to a wedding.” The System was getting cuter and cuter. Before leaving, I glanced at my body on the operating table. The car accident injuries had fully manifested. So, it was that serious? My entire body was shattered, my arm and left leg twisted at odd angles. Probably broken. How pitiful. I was glad I pushed that little boy away. He was so adorable, so sweet. I’m glad he was okay.

Watching someone else’s wedding was surprisingly interesting. Flowers piled high, balloons floating in a riot of colors. It was the picture of happiness. Except, it was stolen. “System, that cake on the long table looks delicious.” “Host, you seem… happy?” “Should I remind you, this is your… husband’s wedding?” I crinkled my nose. “Because I’m going home soon, of course I’m happy.” As for Julian, he couldn’t affect my emotions anymore. When I first found out he was straying. I was heartbroken, resentful. I even doubted myself. I cried myself to sleep night after night, losing clumps of hair. Closing my eyes, my mind replayed endless loops: him and her, hands intertwined; them laughing and kissing; even embracing in bed. The world I had once protected collapsed. Later, I realized such behavior was foolish. I couldn’t punish my kind self for a man who had changed his heart. What I needed to do was find opportunities to live in the sunshine again. “Host, look, there’s the scumbag.” Julian, in a black suit, appeared at the end of the lawn. Handsome, elegant, with an exceptional demeanor. The bride, well, she was beautiful too, her makeup impeccable. At least there wasn’t a hint of the panic of someone who had hit and run three days ago. I slowly floated over to Julian. I heard him quietly ask Scarlett, “Where’s my phone?” Scarlett’s eyes darted away for a moment, “In the dressing room. I put it away for you.” A phone stuffed into a perfectly tailored groom’s suit certainly wouldn’t look good. “Did I get any calls?” “I think there was one.” Scarlett paused, “Do you want to go get it? But… the wedding is about to start.” Julian hesitated, “No need.” He gazed calmly ahead. I wondered if he remembered our wedding. We were so poor we could only afford silver rings, but we were so happy. “Audrey, do you regret marrying a poor guy like me?” “No, Dr. Hayes is a rising star.” Indeed, he later had the means to buy me a huge diamond ring. But I no longer had that same joy. “Audrey, my junior is sick, she’s dying. Can I fulfill one of her wishes?” “She’s only 26, so pitiful. Julian, go quickly.” “Audrey, her wish is to marry me.” I froze instantly. “Julian Hayes, that wish is unreasonable.” “But she’s dying.” “Even if she’s dying, she can’t just steal someone else’s husband, someone else’s relationship.” “Darling, that wish is immoral.” That day, he stood on the balcony, smoking for a long time. Finally, he flicked the ash, and said, with profound coldness: “Audrey, you’ve changed. You’re not as kind as you used to be.” He left me with a room full of silence. “Julian Hayes, did you forget, I’m most afraid of being alone?” I sat in the empty living room, turning on every light, one by one, but still felt something was missing. Finally, I buried my face in my arms, curling into a ball. It wasn’t me who changed. Julian Hayes, it was you. When he was with Scarlett Reid, I called him. “My stomach hurts.” “Julian Hayes, my stomach hurts.” That day, he was with Scarlett at the very top of the Ferris wheel. Legend said that kissing there symbolized love and eternity. I didn’t actually have a stomachache. I was standing below the Ferris wheel, watching them sit intimately together. My heart hurt. Julian, of course, knew my body well. His tone on the phone was distant and cold, “Audrey, I’m a surgeon, not a gastroenterologist.” In that moment, I felt like I was going to die from the pain. When someone can’t tolerate your occasional whims. That’s probably when they’ve stopped loving you. Love and indifference are always starkly different.

“System, is it almost time for the ring exchange?” “That diamond ring is so sparkly, must have cost a fortune, huh?” The System was almost exasperated by me. “Host, shouldn’t you be concerned about when the police will arrive?” “What’s the rush?” Let them be “happy” for a little longer. That way, when the truth comes out, it’ll hurt even more. Scarlett Reid gazed shyly at Julian. “Julian, I’ve actually liked you for a long time.” “Today, that wish finally came true.” Julian’s expression was a bit unnatural. He lowered his eyes, slightly distracted. Perhaps he was thinking back to when we got married. He had said those very same words to me. “Audrey, marrying you, that wish finally came true.” The irony was, today he left me at the hospital to fulfill someone else’s wish. He had probably just taken off our wedding ring. There was still a faint imprint of the ring on his ring finger. But I had no such mark. The women’s ring I once cherished. The day he agreed to marry Scarlett Reid, I threw it in the trash, never wanting it again. At this moment, Julian’s elegant fingertips picked up the diamond ring, preparing to place it on Scarlett Reid’s finger. At the entrance arch, several uniformed police officers suddenly entered. The System’s voice was slightly excited. “Oh, the show’s beginning.” “What, need some popcorn?” “Ahem, Host, you forgot, I’m working right now.” I almost burst out laughing at the System. “Scarlett Reid, we have a public complaint alleging hit-and-run.” Scarlett’s lips trembled, like a drowning person, her hand gripping Julian’s arm tightly. “I… I didn’t.” The police were used to people who refuse to admit anything. They spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, “Surveillance footage shows that on the 11th of this month, at 2:10 PM, the car you were driving, license plate number XXX, was speeding on Oceanview Road, hit a person, and then fled the scene.” “The victim was a young woman.” At this, I saw Julian’s fingers twitch. He was so smart, he must have realized that at that time, the person Scarlett was supposed to pick up was him. Julian’s face turned grim as he pulled his arm away, taking two steps back. He glared fiercely at Scarlett. “You drove a different car to pick me up that day because your original car hit someone?” Scarlett was trembling uncontrollably. He couldn’t help but violently grip her neck. “Did you hit Audrey?” Scarlett stammered incoherently. “It hurts, let go! I don’t know, it’s impossible, there were no cameras there!” The police calmly informed her, “There were cameras. They were just installed the day before.” Scarlett’s body swayed forward. “Madam, we also need to inform you that you are suspected of purchasing falsified medical records and need to cooperate with our investigation.” Scarlett’s face instantly turned ashen. She didn’t even have the strength to argue. Finally, she collapsed like a rag doll and was led away by the police. Criminal prosecution awaited her. Among the guests, murmurs of indignation began. “What an embarrassment, getting arrested on your wedding day!” “She always seemed so sweet and innocent, but she hit someone and ran? How heartless can you be?” “She wasn’t even sick? Faking a terminal illness to gain sympathy? That’s really messed up.” “Isn’t the groom a very skilled doctor? Didn’t he notice anything?” Julian couldn’t have missed it. At that moment, he looked as if he’d been slapped hard across the face. “Host, did Julian really not notice?” I smiled, “Perhaps, he just didn’t want to notice.” He wanted to be the dragon-slaying prince saving the princess. But he never realized he was the dragon himself. The System indignantly spat, “Pfft, what a new breed of scumbag.” Julian finally got his phone from the dressing room. Unfortunately, it was dead, the screen black. He then turned and ran quickly towards the parking lot.

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Her Wedding Day, My Last Breath I heard my wife’s junior colleague was dying. His one and only wish was to have a wedding ceremony with my wife, Seraphina. The moment she agreed, I told the System, “Help me leave this world.” Seraphina asked me for a divorce twice. Both times, I couldn’t make it to the courthouse as planned. Not until I was lying on the operating table, a terminally ill patient. She, the lead surgeon, looked at me, horrified and desperate, “How can it be you?” What shattered her even more was this: I would, as per the System’s design, die by her hands. Leaving her with eternal guilt. Seraphina was a surgeon, the hospital’s renowned “golden hand.” She was incredibly busy. So busy that she only notified me of our divorce via SnapChat. “Find some time to finalize the divorce.” “Julian’s emotions are unstable; he can’t wait.” I stared at the table, laden with cold food, the edges of the cream cake melting. Just like our relationship – ten years, from our school days to wedding vows, all crumbling in an instant. I called her several times; she finally picked up on the fourth ring. Her voice was distant. “Something wrong? I was busy.” I instinctively wanted to apologize, thinking she was in surgery. Doctors, after all, always have to be responsible for their patients. But then, I heard a man’s soft chuckle in the background. “Clothes are off, come quickly.” Blood rushed to my head. “Seraphina, we’re still married, aren’t we?” She explained, her tone cool and collected. “You misunderstood. I was bathing Julian’s dog.” I closed my eyes, my nails digging into my palms. “Seraphina, if we divorce, I will disappear.” This was the System’s original setting; no one could change it. She didn’t reply. I heard movement on her end. She must have moved to a different spot to talk. She lowered her voice. “Liam, I’ve explained it many times. It’s just a ceremony.” “After I fulfill his wish, we’ll get back together.” “Why do you always use ‘disappearing’ to pressure me?” When she used my full name, it usually meant she was angry. Seeing that I didn’t answer, Seraphina’s breathing grew heavy. Because she’d once said she hated it when I was silent and unresponsive. “Liam, be rational.” I scoffed. “You’re at Julian’s place late at night, telling me to be rational? Don’t you think that’s funny?” Legally, she was still my wife, after all. There was a long sigh on the other end. Then, her indifferent words pierced my heart, one by one. “Liam, Friday morning. Let’s get the divorce done.”

I scooped a bite of cream into my mouth, a bitter taste spreading on my tongue. It was laughable. She remembered bathing Julian’s dog, but forgot it was my birthday today. Maybe her heart had wandered, and her memories had gone with it. “System, can you sing ‘Happy Birthday’?” “No, I only sing dirges.” I chuckled. “Then don’t bother. Save it for when I die.” “Help me leave this world.” If I left here, I could return to my original world. In that world, though I didn’t have a healthy body, I had a loving family and friends. I missed the rice noodle rolls from downstairs and the beef soup from the old street market. And of course, my dad’s warm, hearty porridge. Here, I only cooked for Seraphina. Because she was a doctor. Her hands were vital to her patients, and to her. But when I saw Julian’s Ins post, I completely broke down. Her slender, well-protected fingers, those hands I cherished, were patiently peeling crawfish for him. The caption read: “My golden hands only peel shrimp for me.” It made all my past efforts seem like a joke. “Host, won’t you try harder?” “No.” My heart was dead. The moment she decided to divorce, the mission was doomed to fail. It was just a matter of when I would die. Why not end it sooner? The System sighed faintly. “Self-termination will be a bit painful.” “Good news is, you get to choose how you die.” I thought about it seriously. A faint smile touched my lips. “Seraphina never believed I would disappear.” “Then I’ll die by her golden hands.” I bet her expression would be priceless then.

I couldn’t make it to the courthouse to finalize the divorce that Friday. After the termination protocol started, my body quickly showed signs of decay, my immune system severely weakened. I had a fever. My lips were dry and cracked. Subconsciously, I called out, “Seraphina, water.” Usually, whenever she was home, I would always have perfectly temperate water. I liked and was used to her accommodating me in small things. But opening my eyes, I remembered she’d moved out long ago. The day she agreed to marry Julian. “He’s my teacher’s son. For my teacher’s sake, I have to take care of him.” “He’s practically dying; it’s just a wedding ceremony. Can’t you be the bigger person?” That day, I stared at her blankly. “If it’s just a ceremony, why bother getting divorced?” She lowered her eyes, her fair, beautiful face tinged with frost. “We can’t have him known as the other man, can we?” Right, legally, we weren’t divorced, so he would be the “other man.” She was really going all out for this act. I looked at her indifferently. “Seraphina, if we divorce, I can’t ever get back together with you.” She froze for a second, dropping her suitcase. She gripped my arm tightly. “What did you say?” “You won’t be with me? Who will you be with?” “You said you were an orphan in this world; you have no family except me.” Perhaps she hurt me physically, and it also stung my heart. I patiently pushed her away. “Let go. You were the one who didn’t want me first.” But she ignored me and threw herself into my arms. Remembering our ten years together, my eyes welled up. “Don’t be sad, Liam. If you’re sad, I’ll be even sadder.” “How could I not want you?” She awkwardly tried to comfort me. Her kisses trailed from my lips down to my Adam’s apple. She said she was an orphan and her teacher had taken care of her so much since she was little. She said Julian was just like a younger brother. I believed her. After all, he had a rare, terminal illness and was dying, wasn’t he? The System said if we restored our marital relationship within three months, the mission wouldn’t be a failure. It wasn’t until a week later, when I went to the hospital to bring her some nutrient soup. Passing by the outdoor parking lot, Julian was in the driver’s seat, car windows fully open. She stood outside the car, hands in the pockets of her white coat, looking stunningly elegant. The next second, she bent down and kissed her “little brother.” It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I watched numbly as she reached out a fair, slender finger and playfully ruffled his hair. “Be good, go home and rest.” He seemed to mumble something, then put on his sunglasses and drove off. All of this felt so familiar. She used to do all that for me. She wanted to fulfill his wish to marry her, and a chilling realization dawned on me. Was it merely sympathy and a sense of responsibility? Perhaps, her heart had already wandered? Wandered to another man, all while trying not to violate the vows of our relationship. No wonder she was so eager to divorce and get married to him. That day, I threw the nutrient soup into the trash. And along with it, the heart I once gave her so completely, so unconditionally.

In a feverish haze, my phone rang repeatedly. I struggled to reach for it and answered. Seraphina’s voice, tinged with annoyance, came through. “Do you have any sense of time? I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour.” Oh, I was burning up and forgot about the divorce today. I said weakly, “I have a fever. Can we reschedule?” I was so weak, I couldn’t even get out of bed. How was I supposed to go? She chuckled on the other end. “You forgot I’m a doctor? With your strong-as-an-ox physique, how could you possibly have a fever?” “You’re 28, not a little boy like Julian. Stop being dramatic.” I actually laughed, angered. “You might not know, but the ‘little boy’ you speak of is only two years younger than me.” She used to call me ‘little boy’ too. Maybe she was just tired of it now. It didn’t matter. I had no expectations of her anymore.

I missed the second divorce appointment too. On my way out, I had a bit of an accident. At a crosswalk, a two-year-old girl in a cheerful, cartoon-print overall dress, with her short legs, rushed out to find her dad. A car turning the corner lost control due to speeding. Without thinking, I pushed her forcefully to a safe zone. *Bang!* I felt like I was being shattered. The hit-and-run driver didn’t stop for a second, speeding away. I turned my head and saw the license plate – it looked familiar. In a flash of lightning, I remembered Julian’s car in the hospital parking lot. It was him. The girl was picked up by her frantic family, crying inconsolably. “Uncle, Uncle is hurt.” All I felt was pain, the kind that made my organs feel crushed. But there was no blood, as I’d expected. “System, am I dying?” It didn’t go as planned, a bit regrettable. But to save a cute little kid before I died, I felt no regrets. The System paused for a few seconds, then replied calmly. “Congratulations, Host. Before your designated death date, you temporarily cannot die.” “All the symptoms of the car accident will only manifest on the day you leave.” The System then sheepishly added, “This is a perk I managed to get for you.” 小·虎bot文件防·盗印，找丶书·机器人选小·虎，稳·定靠谱，不踩·坑！ I found the System unexpectedly endearing. I smiled. “Good. Then Seraphina can see what her new husband did to me.” Lily’s dad and grandmother surrounded me. Lily’s dad said with red eyes, “You saved my baby, you saved our whole family.” They almost knelt down to me. I repeatedly insisted I was fine, but they still enthusiastically urged me into their car and took me to the hospital. “How can you be fine? The car’s bumper was completely caved in.” “You’re telling me a person is tougher than a car?” Left with no choice, I called Seraphina in advance. “I was in a car accident. Can we reschedule?”

I never expected them to take me to Seraphina’s hospital. “Let me see the report.” A familiar voice sounded from above my head. Seraphina burst in like a whirlwind, her forehead glistening with sweat. As if she had just rushed back from somewhere. The other doctor patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Dr. Seraphina, he’s fine.” Before the System-assigned death date, no instrument could detect any issues with my body. Seraphina meticulously read every paper report. When she looked up again, her eyes held an unfamiliar sharpness. “No external or internal injuries. What kind of car accident is this?” “Liam, you’ve stood me up twice now. What’s your game?” I folded my hands. “A car accident, that’s what. Oh, and it was your new husband who hit me. He fled the scene too.” She didn’t even think, frowning as she retorted, “Impossible. Julian is a good guy; he wouldn’t do something like that.” “So you’re saying I’m not a good guy, that I’d lie?” Both of us froze after I said that. A flicker of awkwardness crossed her eyes. Because she, too, realized that she trusted Julian more than me. I asked the System in my mind, “Will he get caught?” The System replied definitively, “Yes. This world is still a society governed by law.” Oh, good, then I felt relieved. Let the law judge her ‘good guy.’ If it weren’t for the System protecting me, that massive impact should have killed me instantly. He was a hit-and-run driver. I raised my hand to check my watch. “Seraphina, let’s go. To the courthouse, now.” “Otherwise, I’m out of time.” Her hands were in her pockets, her tone flat. “What do you mean, ‘out of time’?” “I’m dying.” Three days from now, at 4 PM. I once asked the System, “Is there anything special about that time?” “Ten years ago, at 4 PM, was when you two first met.” Oh, full circle. Seraphina glanced indifferently out the window, her tone impatient. “Liam, you should see a psychologist.” I laughed, angered. “Seraphina, you’re the one who’s sick, wanting to have your cake and eat it too, you manipulative…!” I turned to leave, but she grabbed my wrist. “Haven’t been eating properly lately? You’ve lost weight.” “None of your business.” “Eat something first, Liam.” Just as I was about to refuse, her phone vibrated. I saw Julian’s name on the screen. Seraphina instinctively let go of my hand. He was whining on the phone, saying he had a nightmare and was scared. Seraphina softly soothed him for a few moments. She glanced at me, then replied to him, “Yes, I’ll be back soon.” When she ended the call, a flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes. “Liam, you go eat first—” I scoffed internally. A nightmare? Or was he scared and guilty from hitting someone? Perfect. By choosing him again, Seraphina missed our last meal together. When she thought back on it later, would she regret it? The final countdown of my life. I lay on the cold operating table. Waves of stomach-churning, organ-shattering pain washed over me. It’s okay, just bear with it.

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I was the most privileged heiress of the city’s elite. Caleb Thorne, on the other hand, was the poor student I’d supported for three years. He hated my overbearing nature, my unbearably entitled ways, yet he was powerless to escape. Until later, when he got into a top-tier university in the US for his PhD, stepping onto the highest award platform. I wired him a final, staggering sum, then turned around and announced my engagement. Before the wedding, I saw a news report where a reporter interviewed Caleb. “At this moment, what do you most want to say?” Caleb looked at the camera, his voice calm and cold: “I won’t be returning to this city. And, I wish her a happy marriage.” He truly had never loved me; it was only today that I was forced to admit it. 1 When Caleb pushed open the private lounge door, the man beside me was eagerly offering me a sip of his drink. The moment he appeared, the lounge went silent. The man feeding me wine looked a bit flustered, trying to set down his glass. But I pressed down on his hand. The cool liquid slid down my throat, and I squinted, a little hazy, before finally looking towards the door. Caleb was still in his white shirt and black trousers, a backpack slung over one shoulder, an academic vibe clinging to him. What was different from usual, though, was his expression. His eyes were frigid, carrying a world-weary detachment. His lips were tightly pressed, forming a thin line. “Blaire Harrison.” He called my name softly. No warmth, no emotional rise or fall. Yet, for some reason, I felt a flicker of fear. I had been slumped softly on the couch, but now I unconsciously straightened up a little. And instinctively closed my legs, tugging at my skirt. 2 “Caleb Thorne, congrats! A PhD from a TOP 1 university in the US, you’ve really shot to stardom, haven’t you?” “Yeah, Caleb, remember three years ago when we first met? You were so broke you couldn’t even afford a decent meal.” “After only three years under my wing, people would think you’re some rich heir now, wouldn’t they?” The words were unpleasant, almost grating. This crowd had never dared to speak like this before, because I fiercely protected those close to me. The last guy who dared to trash-talk him when drunk? He hasn’t set foot back in this city since. But tonight was different. Caleb had clearly fallen out of favor. I didn’t want him anymore. Those who’d always looked down on him naturally seized the chance to kick him while he was down. But Caleb seemed not to hear them at all. He walked through the crowd with a blank expression, heading straight for me. I sat there, looking up at him. “We’re celebrating you tonight, why are you so late?” “You owe us three shots then.” I lowered my eyes, signaling for someone to pour the drinks. But Caleb leaned over and directly grabbed my wrist: “Come outside with me.” “Caleb…” “Blaire Harrison, now. Come outside with me.” His tone remained calm, but the grip on my hand tightened. I saw his tense jaw, and the eyes under his fringe, cold as a deep freeze. I suddenly wanted to laugh. See? Three years, and he was still this cold to me. Still hated me this much. 3 “Playing the jealous type?” I deliberately flashed him a malicious smile. “Doesn’t really fit your ‘Big Shot PhD’ persona, does it?” He seemed too bothered to humor me. He simply pulled me up from the couch. I was too tipsy to stand steady, and stumbled awkwardly into his arms. Furious, I kicked him. My sharp high heel hit his hard shin bone. It only hurt me more. My heart felt like it was burning with a fire, threatening to turn me to ashes. But Caleb always just watched, detached. I held my breath, wanting to violently shake him off. But he gripped me tighter, his face grim, dragging me outside. I stumbled along, barely keeping pace with him. Until we were out of the lounge, reaching the end of the deserted corridor. Only then did he stop, drop his backpack, and press me against the wall. “What does this mean, Blaire Harrison?” “What do you mean, ‘what does this mean’?” “Those men, what did they mean?” “Exactly what you saw.” “Blaire Harrison, three years ago, we agreed. I wouldn’t have other women, and you wouldn’t find other men.” “I made the rules. Whether I keep them is up to me.” I lifted my face to him, reached up, grabbed his shirt collar, and pulled him closer. Those words had been swirling in my mind for so long, too proud to ever say them, but now I couldn’t hold back. “You and that junior colleague of yours, you’ve been ambiguous for a while, haven’t you? She followed you to study in the US, wanting to build a life together…” I lightly patted his cheek. “You wouldn’t think I’d cling to a man who’d been soiled, would you?” With that, I pushed him away hard, turning to leave: “Get lost. And stay lost. Don’t come back, don’t let me see you!” “I didn’t.” My steps faltered, but I didn’t turn back. “I never broke my promise to you, Blaire Harrison.” I lifted my chin, forcing back the tears. I used to believe that if I wanted something, I could have anything, even if I had to force it. But later, I understood: things you force to happen… they never truly last. It’s pointless. “It must have been hard for you these past three years.” I turned around, leaning against the wall, smiling at him. “I’m sorry. Sorry that you had to be with someone you didn’t like for so long.” Caleb walked towards me, step by step. “I don’t like owing anyone anything.” He gently took my shoulders, looking down at me intently. “Three years, just like we agreed. Three years.” “Blaire Harrison… if you want to find someone new, fine. After we’re done.” Then, before I could even speak, he lowered his head and kissed me. 4 That was the first time Caleb had ever initiated a kiss with me. If I remembered correctly. It was also the only time in our three years together. The only time we spent an entire night in the same bed. The only time I ever pleaded with him to stop. The only time I fell asleep in his arms. 5 Three-year countdown: Day 7. Caleb left the country to participate in an important international competition. As expected, his team won the gold medal. I watched him stand on the podium, radiant and full of confidence. What I thought was, *Good. Good that he didn’t become self-destructive or succumb to pleasure because of me.* *Good that he remained strong and upward-striving, still shining brightly.* Three-year countdown: Day

I called my assistant, Drew, and had him wire a sum of money to Caleb’s account. The amount was quite astonishing; even Drew was surprised. I changed my clothes and went downstairs. I told my father, who was reading the newspaper in the living room, “I’ve reviewed the candidates you mentioned. I’ll go with Sawyer Hayes.” The eldest grandson of the Hayes family, the legitimate heiress of the Harrison family. A perfect match of status and wealth. My father put down his newspaper. “No more rebellion?” I smiled. “No more rebellion.” Five years ago, my elder brother, Leo, and his wife, Clara, died in a tragic car accident on a trip abroad. They died instantly, leaving only my two-year-old nephew, Arthur, who miraculously survived. My mother couldn’t bear such a blow; she fell ill and couldn’t recover. Only when little Arthur cried by her bedside did she finally pull herself together. Three months ago, Arthur was kidnapped on his way home from school. When he was rescued, he was deeply shaken and withdrawn, almost catatonic. This time, my mother completely collapsed. Her bloodline now consisted only of me and my nephew. Yet my half-siblings were all successful and accomplished adults. My father had built his empire on the foundation of my mother’s family fortune. I couldn’t let this family business fall into their hands. “Then the Hayes family it is,” my father nodded, satisfied. Half a day later, the news of my engagement to Sawyer Hayes spread like wildfire across the city. The wedding date was set for six months later. 6 The day Sawyer accompanied me to try on wedding dresses and jewelry. The news was playing on the TV at home. I happened to look up and saw Caleb.

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