Category: English

After Swapping Bodies with My CEO Husband, I Blew $3 Million to Make My Favorite Actress a Star She bashfully resisted yet yielded, coyly saying, “Mr. Mitchell, let’s talk about this…” At this critical moment, my CEO husband kicked open the door. Wearing my face, he exuded a chilling aura as he said, “You dare to cheat on me?” 0 I made my favorite actress a star. That night, a photo of her gazing lovingly at business tycoon Lucas Mitchell on the awards stage went viral. The media jumped on it, dubbing her the most likely celebrity to marry into wealth this year. What they didn’t know was that Lucas Mitchell was already married. To me – Chloe Quinn, the controversial A-list actress with a less-than-stellar reputation. A week ago, while getting my makeup done, the stylist accidentally knocked over some electrical equipment. I was electrocuted and passed out. When I woke up, I found myself sitting in Lucas Mitchell’s spacious office. His secretary was asking with her head lowered, “Which of these candidates do you want as our brand ambassador?” I immediately spotted my favorite – Zoe Young. Without hesitation, I pointed and said, “It has to be her.” The secretary then asked, “What’s the budget?” “The more the better.” The company executives tacitly agreed and poured $3 million into promoting her. Now, she was famous. And the rumors were flying. I had been hiding out for three days, not daring to go home. At that moment, “Chloe Quinn” popped up on my phone screen. The vibration felt like a knife hanging over my head. I nervously answered the call. My own icy voice came through the speaker: “You have 30 minutes to get back here.” How is it that when Lucas Mitchell uses my body to speak, he can make even a woman’s voice sound so chilling? To be honest, Lucas Mitchell had always been quite cold towards me. My best friend once analyzed the reason: “Lucas Mitchell comes from an elite family with a strict upbringing. Your face, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly scream ‘proper lady’.” “?” She continued, “You look like a seductive vixen who could suck the life out of men.” I admit, at first I didn’t have pure intentions about marrying him either. It was my entertainment company’s CEO who gave me the idea. He said Lucas Mitchell was our company’s arch-nemesis and told me to seduce him. If I succeeded, our company would become the industry leader, and I’d be their top star. But on the day we planned to execute this scheme, something went wrong and I ended up getting drunk. I woke up sprawled on top of Lucas Mitchell in a compromising position, caught red-handed by his mother. So Lucas Mitchell had no choice but to marry me. He probably didn’t like me much either. Bound by his upbringing, he married an embarrassing trophy wife and left me to fend for myself in the entertainment industry. My CEO told me to hang in there, and when the time was right, he’d rescue me. I waited for three years, relying on controversy to become an A-list actress, but still couldn’t escape. Three days ago, Lucas Mitchell and I switched bodies, and our lives were thrown into complete chaos. 0

The quiet suburban neighborhood was silent in the dead of night. I reluctantly returned home. As soon as I turned on the lights, I saw the gorgeous actress “Chloe Quinn” sitting cross-legged on a chair in the living room, directly facing the door, with a condescending look. Those snow-white legs, that long slender swan-like neck, that one-in-a-million face. Damn, I’m really beautiful. The next moment, I caught his murderous gaze and my knees went weak. I fell to the ground with a thud. Lucas Mitchell let out a cold laugh. “Chloe Quinn, did you enjoy spending that $3 million?” I swallowed hard. “I’ll earn it back for you?” “How?” “By stirring up some gossip, of course.” I crawled up from the cold floor, pulled up a small stool, and sat down in front of Lucas Mitchell with an ingratiating smile. “Think about it, now’s the perfect time for you to stir up some rumors with Zoe Young. If we do it a few times, take some endorsements, shoot some magazine covers – the money will come rolling back in, right?” Lucas Mitchell gave me a meaningful look. “Chloe Quinn, I’m married to you.” “Yeah, so what’s the prob-” I suddenly stopped short. Oh right, the Mitchell family had strict rules. This kind of scandalous news was strictly forbidden. We couldn’t do it. “So what do we do?” I was stumped. Lucas Mitchell pulled out my phone and calmly called my agent: “Are there any dating reality shows? I want to participate.” My face turned green. “Are you trying to get me hated to death?” Lucas Mitchell glanced at me sideways. “What do you mean?” I hung my head and fell silent. My agent had repeatedly warned me that with my face, everything I did seemed calculated. I attracted hate easily, and my mouth was faster than my brain, so I should never go on reality shows. Last year I didn’t believe him and went on a reality show. I gained over 100,000 anti-fans. Even now, people still flood my social media calling me brainless. “You have to go too,” he added. I looked up in confusion, seeing the innocent “Lucas Mitchell” through “Chloe Quinn’s” eyes. He smiled, his slender index finger gently lifting my chin. “If I stir up rumors with you, it won’t violate family rules.” Faced with this drastically changed version of myself, I suddenly blushed, my nose growing hot. “Um, I have another question.” “Go ahead.” “When you showered… did you look at my body?” Surely my perfect waist-to-hip ratio and killer curves must have captivated him? “…I didn’t look,” he answered, his voice a bit stiff. I shyly said, “Then I’ll go take a shower too-” Before I could finish, my face started heating up, my gaze unconsciously drifting downward. Lucas Mitchell quickly held my chin, tilting it back up. “No showering. Go to sleep.” “But I’ll stink.” “Then stink.” 0

It’s safe to say this was the most star-studded cast ever assembled for a dating reality show. The red-hot newcomer Zoe Young, the controversial A-lister Chloe Quinn, and several other big-name actresses. For the men, there was even a real business tycoon participating. As soon as Lucas Mitchell’s name was announced, it instantly became the top entertainment headline. “I knew Zoe Young and Lucas Mitchell had something going on!” “Chasing his wife all the way onto a reality show – the ship I’ve been rooting for is becoming real!” “Calling it now, they’ll be married sooner or later.” “Chloe Quinn is the most beautiful!” One of my fans interjected randomly. “What are you butting in for? True fans follow their idol’s lead. Brainless.” Before heading to the set, I gave Lucas Mitchell a million reminders: “Don’t wear heavy makeup, don’t talk too much, be friendly to the other female contestants, and don’t stare at men randomly.” Lucas Mitchell sat in the van with his arms crossed and eyes closed, looking more like he was going to crash a party. I had no idea if he’d heard me or not. There was a big screen in the villa where everyone could see real-time comments from viewers online. As soon as I entered, I saw the screen filled with hearts floating by like flower petals scattered by fairies. “Zoe Young and Lucas Mitchell forever!” “Mr. Mitchell is here to chase his wife!” Just when the atmosphere in the comments was at its most heated, “Chloe Quinn” and Zoe Young entered together. Zoe Young wore a white fringed strapless mini dress, looking sweet and charming as she waved gracefully at the camera. Noticing me staring at her, she suddenly blushed from her face to her ears and hid a bit behind “Chloe Quinn”. The camera followed, immediately revealing a sour face on screen. Clearly, Mr. Mitchell hadn’t gotten over the body-swap nightmare and was equally disgusted with everyone. The comments instantly changed direction: “Get lost, stop blocking my baby’s screen time.” “Where did this corpse face come from? Scared me to death!” “Zoe baby, stay away from her!” Lucas Mitchell took in the audience’s reactions, giving the camera a very cold glance. “What’s with her expression? Looking down on us?” “No way, even Chloe Quinn is looking down on people now!” “Chloe is the best!” “Get out of here, hater.” I sighed inwardly. I was used to it by now. No matter what I did, I only attracted hate. I just hoped Lucas Mitchell could keep a low profile. If he didn’t say anything, I’d be grateful. But the next second, there was a ripping sound as Zoe Young’s dress tore open, the long skirt becoming a short one. The culprit was “Chloe Quinn’s” high heel. An awkward silence fell over the scene. “Damn, Chloe Quinn did that on purpose, right?” “She was pretty manipulative on that show last year too. Causing drama as soon as she arrives.” Zoe Young lowered her head. “It’s okay, I’m sure she didn’t mean to.” Lucas Mitchell looked her over thoughtfully, casually saying “Sorry.” The audience was displeased again. “What kind of attitude is that?” Afraid the situation would escalate and attract more hate, I quickly tried to smooth things over. “Zoe, why don’t you go change clothes?” Zoe Young turned and left, looking pitiful and wronged. Lucas Mitchell stood in place, silently watching me. This gaze made my heart inexplicably skip a beat. I thought about it, but there was nothing to explain. At a Mitchell family banquet last year, his female business partner Victoria Xu bumped into me, spilling red wine on herself. As she wiped it off, she said, “Miss Quinn is new here, it’s understandable if she doesn’t know how things work. I’m fine.” And I, like an idiot, stood there holding an empty wine glass, trying to explain to Lucas Mitchell: “She bumped into me.” Lucas Mitchell seemed not to hear, and just said to me: “If you’re done eating, you should head back soon.” If there was a bit of liking at first, after that night, I never thought about a future with him again. I still remember it was New Year’s Day, and it was snowing heavily. After leaving the Mitchell house, instead of going home, I flew to another province that night to film, and didn’t return for several months. The current situation was surprisingly similar to that day. Lucas Mitchell probably thought of what happened that day too, and tried to explain: “The dress accidentally got caught.” The comments went wild: “Chloe Quinn, have some shame.” I sighed. “I know. Be more careful next time.” 0

Zoe Young quickly changed into a new outfit, and everyone tacitly agreed not to mention the incident again. While making dinner, Zoe Young came over cradling a bowl of rice. “Lucas, let’s make rice together!” When she smiled, there was a small dimple at the corner of her mouth, sweet enough to melt hearts. Back when I used a secret account to vote for her, Zoe Young was still an unknown little actress. Now she had finally made it to the big screen and caught everyone’s attention. I felt gratified. Before I could answer, the number of comments suddenly skyrocketed. “Oh my god, has Chloe Quinn gone crazy? What is she doing?” Seeing the comments, my heart skipped a beat and I turned to look. I saw the curvaceous beauty holding a knife in her right hand and a rack of lamb in her left, raising it high and bringing it down hard. Accompanied by the sound of the cleaver hitting the cutting board, blood and bits splattered everywhere. My ribs ached in sympathy. Viewers: “Run! She’s a real butcher!” Chloe Quinn’s true fans: “Chloe, I genuinely like you, please stop embarrassing yourself.” The show’s crew, never ones to miss drama, pushed the camera in closer, capturing my full face. In those black pupils, the shattered lamb was reflected. Her expression was cold, extremely serious and confident. “She’s pretty efficient at this.” “Putting everything else aside, this girl’s skills are legit. She takes her acting seriously too.” Zoe Young cleared her throat. “Sister Chloe, I remember you were on a show last year where you didn’t know how to cook at all. Lamb is pretty expensive, won’t it go to waste?” With one sentence, she instantly turned the tide of opinion. “Yeah, don’t forget how she used to slack off.” “She’s just putting on an act, don’t take it too seriously.” That was when I got the most hate ever. I went with some seniors to gather firewood in the mountains. The path was slippery from rain, and I sprained my ankle. The firewood I had carried all the way down from the mountain was handed to another senior before the cameras started rolling. Everyone thought I hadn’t done anything. That night when we made dinner, my foot was swollen like a steamed bun. I could only watch everyone busy at work while I couldn’t help at all. Later, for the sake of ratings, the show editors cut things randomly. Plus I was naive then and spoke without filters, so I got labeled as “lazy and useless”. Zoe Young kept stirring the pot. “Lucas, why don’t you talk some sense into her?” I looked at Zoe Young sadly, thinking this daughter I had invested real money in all these years didn’t seem like a good person. What a waste. While Zoe Young turned her head to look for a bowl, I crouched down by the stove, hiding from the cameras as I tugged on his skirt hem, whispering: “Please save me some face…” With a thud, Lucas Mitchell stabbed the cleaver into the cutting board on the other side, smiling coldly at Zoe Young: “If I stop chopping, what will you all eat for dinner? Why don’t you take over?” After a brief moment of silence, the comments suddenly had someone cautiously post: “Why does she seem… kind of cool?” “I know right… this is totally girl boss energy.” My fans popped up again: “Ahhh, Chloe, just keep looking at me with that disgusted expression… I’m screaming, I’m melting…” “Someone call the psych ward, we’ve got a crazy one here.” Lucas Mitchell snorted and lowered his head again, chopping away at the lamb. I opened my phone and watched helplessly as a new trending topic slowly crawled up from the bottom, inching its way into the top 10, before finally reaching the peak. #CholeQuinn #ButcherBeauty# The carefully cultivated image of a refined celebrity actress that I had worked so hard on was ruined in an instant. The delicate female lead role I had fought tooth and nail for was probably going to fall through now too. At dinner, Zoe Young kept pouring me drinks and chatting with me. She talked about how difficult her journey had been all these years. As I listened, my eyes unconsciously welled up with tears. It’s true, as her top fan, of course I knew how much she had suffered. The show’s crew, never ones to miss drama, might as well have shoved the camera in my face. The comments all started egging us on. “Look, real feelings are developing.” “Mr. Mitchell is crying.” Little did they know, sitting across from us, “Chloe Quinn” cutting the lamb had darkened her face, coldly watching me. During the show’s intermission, I staggered out to the yard to get some air, fighting the effects of the alcohol. Lucas Mitchell was wrapped in a blanket, sitting in a wicker chair reading financial reports. The light cast my shadow onto the paper, and Lucas Mitchell paused his reading to look up. “Come here.” I reluctantly stood in front of him. “What?” Lucas Mitchell looked me over for a moment, then asked: “Have they always criticized you like this?” What is this? Sticking up for me? “I’ve heard much worse than this.” Our company was poor and couldn’t afford to hire PR teams. Plus with my unique way of becoming famous, they were extremely tolerant of haters. At first, I would hide under the covers and cry. Later, after being insulted so much, I felt like no one in the world liked me, so I simply stopped reading comments to avoid upsetting myself. As time went on, I grew numb to it. I sat next to him as we enjoyed the breeze. “The Mitchell family can afford good lawyers,” Lucas Mitchell said. Actually, I had looked into it before. When Lucas Mitchell wasn’t around, I was shut down in two or three sentences by his partner Victoria Xu – “Miss Quinn, the Mitchell family and someone from your entertainment background are simply not the same type of people. If Lucas gets involved in your affairs, it will only bring trouble to him and the Mitchell family. Please know your place.” I lowered my head, swinging my legs as I sat in the hanging chair. “There will always be people who find fault from angles you can’t predict. You can’t please everyone, so I just close my eyes and get through it…” After all, I’ve been on my own since I was little, relying only on myself for everything. If I had counted on Lucas Mitchell to stand up for me, I would have been finished long ago. The atmosphere fell into silence. Lucas Mitchell didn’t speak, but turned his head to carefully study me. I was the one who couldn’t stay quiet. “Mr. Mitchell, can I ask you for a favor?” I had never said the word “please” before. But tonight, I really couldn’t hold back anymore. As soon as I opened my mouth, I couldn’t help but start crying. “I don’t want to be the Butcher Beauty. Can you please not chop things tomorrow? I still want to play gentle female lead roles…” On my phone, the “Chloe Quinn Butcher” topic had already reached #1 on the entertainment rankings. “Why are they so fast…” I was a snotty, teary mess. “I’m supposed to be delicate and weak…” Lucas Mitchell pressed his lips together, his voice tight. “Stop crying. I’ll have them take down the trending topic.” He unlocked his phone and skillfully entered the first few digits of a number. The search bar popped up with “Victoria Xu”. “Hello? What is it?” Victoria Xu’s slightly arrogant voice came through the speaker. Lucas Mitchell froze for a moment, looking at me. I had tears streaked across my face, hiccuping as I used my own phone. It was a miracle I could even make the call. Lucas Mitchell frowned. “The #1 trending topic, please have it taken down as soon as possible.” After a brief silence, Victoria Xu’s light laughter suddenly came through the phone. “I’m sorry, Chloe Quinn. Even though you’re married to Mr. Mitchell, you don’t seem to have the authority to ask me to do anything.” With that, she hung up without hesitation. The night breeze blew freely, rustling the plastic vines overhead. The dial tone beeped mockingly. Lucas Mitchell furrowed his brow and asked: “Has she always treated you like this?” I wiped my face, stammering, “Not always. Sometimes I curse at her too.” “What do you call her?” I hung my head guiltily, like I had done something wrong. “Old duck…” “…” “She can’t out-curse me…” Seeing Lucas Mitchell’s inscrutable expression, I hurriedly added, “I’m sorry, I know I was wrong. I won’t curse anymore.” Lucas Mitchell slowly spoke: “It’s not that I’m against you cursing. I hope next time something like this happens, you’ll tell me.” Tell him what? Hello Mr. Mitchell, I’m about to start cursing? I absent-mindedly replied “Oh” and said, “I’m going to bed.” The show had prepared two rooms – one for the men and one for the women. Numbed by the alcohol, I pushed open the pink door without thinking. The scent of shower gel wafted over. “Oh my, Mr. Mitchell, what are you doing in here?” Zoe Young, wearing a bathrobe, bumped right into me, her little face quickly turning red. I came to my senses, my heart instantly leaping into my throat. Comments: “Whoa, what kind of plot twist is this?” “Mr. Mitchell, do you remember there’s a whole country watching on camera?” “Someone call the marriage registration office.” Alarm bells went off in my head. This is bad! “I’m so sorry, I went to the wrong room…” I tried to push Zoe Young away, but my tie suddenly tightened – Zoe Young’s hair clip had gotten caught on my tie clip. She clumsily fell into my arms, coyly resisting yet yielding as she clung to me saying, “Mr. Mitchell, let’s talk about this…” Things started developing in an uncontrollable direction. The show staff were also dumbfounded. The director was about to cut away when suddenly someone kicked open the door behind them. Lucas Mitchell, wearing my face, walked in exuding a chilling aura. “You dare to cheat on me?”

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I was obsessed with Liam for two years after we got married. He hated me. How much did he hate me? I was in a car accident, fractured multiple bones, and ended up staying in their hospital for half a year. He, a prominent orthopedic surgeon, never visited me once. No one liked me. Everyone said I was the one who drove Sierra away, that I was a heartless monster. Right after the accident, when I couldn’t move, everyone around him felt relieved for him. “Liam, you’re finally free for a while.” When it was time for me to be discharged, his friends all breathed a sigh of relief on his behalf. “Chloe’s getting out. She’s going to torment Liam again.” True to their word, the first thing I did after being discharged was find Liam. But it wasn’t to cling to him anymore. Instead, I handed him a document. “Liam, this is what you wanted.” “What?” I smiled softly. “Open it and see for yourself… Liam, I don’t want the house, I don’t want the car. I wish you even greater success in the future. I hope our paths never cross again.” After handing over the divorce papers, I stepped back and melted into the crowd.

“Nurse, what’s going on with the patient in the next bed? No one’s come to see her.” “Hmph, maybe she did too many rotten things. Everyone’s probably staying away from her.” Even while I was in a coma, I could hear conversations from outside. But in that dark world of unconsciousness, I struggled with every fiber of my being to wake up, yet I couldn’t. Finally, after countless attempts, a cup from the next bed clattered to the floor, the sound jolting me awake. “Oh my, dear, you’re awake!” Mrs. Stone gasped. I stared at the ceiling, unable to move a muscle. “Honey, I’m so sorry, did I scare you awake by dropping the cup?” No, I should have thanked her for dropping the cup. It was the shock that finally allowed me to open my eyes. No one knew how terrified, how utterly helpless I felt in that dark, comatose world.

Word of my awakening quickly reached the doctors. They came to examine me, saying it was a good sign that I’d finally woken up. But among all the doctors in their white coats, I didn’t see Liam. I hadn’t heard his voice while I was comatose. And he hadn’t shown up since I woke. “Where’s Liam?” A few doctors exchanged glances. “Dr. Ryan… he’s in surgery right now. He can’t come over.” “Oh.” “How’s my body doing?” “When the accident happened, you landed on the back of your head, resulting in significant bruising in your brain, which was the cause of your coma. You also suffered a fractured right hand, a severe fracture in your left thigh, and several other fractures and soft tissue contusions. In short, your injuries were very serious. As of yesterday, you had been unconscious for forty days. Thankfully, you were brought to the hospital quickly. The blood clots in your brain are slowly reabsorbing, and your fractures have been surgically repaired and casted. They’re healing well.”

Dinner time arrived. Mrs. Stone, from the next bed, fed her husband while turning to ask me, “Little girl, who is this Dr. Ryan you keep talking about? Is he someone very important to you?” He… he’s my husband. What kind of surgery takes eight hours? And he can’t even spare a moment to see his wife after she wakes up? I shook my head. “Just an acquaintance.” “Oh, I see.” “What about your family?” Only one caregiver was looking after me. During my coma, she was the one who bathed me, changed my catheter… she did everything. I doubt anyone in the entire hospital was worse off than me. I concocted a reason. “They’re all in another city, and it’s hard for them to travel.” My parents divorced when I was in middle school because my dad cheated. I was put in my dad’s custody. My mom was devastated and moved overseas. My dad is a businessman, constantly flying between cities. Other than making sure my allowance card was loaded, he never had time to care for me. Oh, right, three years ago, he had a little brother with his new wife.

I was the one who pursued Liam. Or maybe not ‘pursued’ in the sense that he eventually came to love me back. It’s just, even after we married, he was always cold to me. He treated me with less than a third of the tenderness he showed Sierra. Maybe, if Sierra hadn’t left, he would have married her instead. “Oh no, why is the blood flowing backward?” Ms. Davies, the caregiver who brought me my meal, exclaimed. I turned my head and saw that the IV line in the back of my hand was completely filled with blood. The caregiver immediately pressed the call button. The nurse who came in was Megan, my former high school classmate. The impatience was written all over her face. She roughly ripped off the tape on my hand and pulled out the needle. It was true; back then, almost everyone in our class secretly called me a home-wrecker, malicious, and a ruthless climber. She replaced the line and left. Ms. Davies and Mrs. Stone both looked upset. The caregiver picked up my meal, ready to feed me, and said, “Maybe she’s just in a bad mood.” “No, I noticed it. She’s just… really rude to this girl. When our old man needs medicine, she’s perfectly fine.” I didn’t say anything, just told her, “Could you please buy me a small table? I’ll put my food on it and eat by myself.” My right hand was still in a cast, so only my left hand could move. Before, if Megan had treated me like that, I would have torn into her. But now, I just felt too exhausted to argue about anything.

Liam walked in when I was clumsily trying to eat, wrapped up like a mummy. Eating with my left hand felt so awkward. When he entered, my spoon, halfway to my mouth, froze in mid-air. I must have looked utterly pathetic in that moment. He glanced at me, then turned his gaze to Mr. Stone in the next bed. “What’s the situation?” …He was here to see the patient next to me. I lowered my head, mechanically shoveling food into my mouth, my whole body feeling numb. “Doctor, you’re here! My husband suddenly has terrible elbow pain.” Liam gently loosened Mr. Stone’s cast. “Is that better?” “Much better, it doesn’t hurt as much.” Mrs. Stone asked, puzzled, “Did they change doctors? Wasn’t it Dr. Evans before?” “He has a family emergency, so I’m covering for him for two days.” “Oh, I see. You look so young, doctor, and you’re already working at City General. That’s incredible!” “Do you have a girlfriend?” Liam sidestepped Mrs. Stone’s question. “The cast was too tight before, compressing the elbow, which caused the pain. If this happens again, call a doctor immediately.” After he finished tending to Mr. Stone, he seemed to linger. I just kept my head down, mechanically eating. Then, a pair of white shoes appeared by my bed. A nurse rushed over. “Dr. Ryan, ER!” The white shoes that had appeared in my peripheral vision vanished again. I looked out into the darkness and sniffed.

From then on, Liam never visited me again. Dr. Evans returned, so Liam didn’t need to cover for him anymore. Mr. Stone, me, and the other patients on this ward were all Dr. Evans’s patients. I heard there was a multi-car pile-up that night, with many injured. I also heard Liam went to another state for a medical exchange. When he returned, there was a major fire in the city, and the hospital was overflowing. Later, I heard he was dispatched overseas for further study. In short, he was always busy. The bed next to mine saw a constant rotation of patients. Once I could get out of bed, I pushed myself through physical therapy. I was determined to stand up again, to be a normal person. No matter how painful the rehabilitation, I gritted my teeth and persevered in that therapy room, just like the other patients. Of course, during this time, I became the laughingstock of my old social circle. The untouchable ice queen, bedridden after an accident, unable to care for herself, needing everything done for her. Before, we were all medical students from a top university. But during my internship year, I injured my finger and couldn’t be a surgeon. I gave up on that career. Several of my former classmates got jobs at City General. But no one felt sorry for me. They only thought it was my karma. After all, everyone believed I had霸道地逼走了 Sierra, forcing her to go abroad.

“You’re completely back to normal. That’s amazing.” Four months later, when I walked a stretch of road without any aids, my physical therapist clapped. “Thank you for your dedication.” “It’s your incredible willpower. Honestly, your comminuted thigh fracture was extremely severe, but you’re the only person I’ve seen who never uttered a single word of pain throughout the entire long process.” I smiled and said nothing. I was discharged. I completed the paperwork and took a taxi from the hospital. It had been almost half a year since I’d been back. I paused for a moment, my finger touching the fingerprint lock. The door opened to a faint smell of dust. Just as I’d guessed, Liam rarely came back either. I tidied the sofa and opened the comforting chicken and rice soup I’d bought downstairs. I’d only taken two spoonfuls when my phone vibrated again. I looked at the messages in the group chat and fell silent. “Chloe’s discharged.” “Whoa, already out? Wasn’t she badly injured?” “She’s going to come back and cling to Liam again. Liam must have owed her something in a past life to be tormented by her like this.” “Stop it, she’s still in this group. If she sees it, watch out for revenge.” “Shoot, wrong group!” The messages in the chat were quickly deleted. I turned off my phone and continued eating my soup. I slept alone that night; Liam didn’t come home. The next morning, I lifted my stiff hand, rubbing my eyes. After a moment, I got up and dressed. I grabbed the things from the coffee table and headed out. Just before closing the door, I paused for a second, taking one last look at the three-bedroom apartment I had meticulously designed. *Slam.* The door closed as I left. In the orthopedic ward hallway, I saw Liam. They had just finished their morning meeting, and a group of doctors in white coats were coming out of the conference room.

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My daughter held up her drawing book, pointing at the row of cars parked in our garage, asking which one she should draw. That’s when I found out her kindergarten had assigned homework: little ones had to draw their family car. And write a sentence: “My dad’s car is a XX brand, and he drives this car every day to take me to kindergarten.” My brows furrowed at this assignment. Was this just a sneaky way to peek into our financial standing? I knelt down, stroking Daisy’s head. “Draw whichever one you like best, sweetie.” Daisy thought for a long time, then finally said, “I don’t like any of them. I like the little pickup truck the bunny dad drives in the cartoon.” She handed in her homework, expecting praise from her teacher, but instead, she faced constant targeting. I called Mr. Harrison, the principal, to complain, but Ms. Thorne only escalated her behavior. She even started live-streaming, portraying my daughter as a spoiled, bratty kid, leading to her being cyberbullied by thousands online.

When I got home that evening, Daisy didn’t rush over like usual when she heard me unlock the door. I called her name a few times, but there was no answer. The clock hands pointed to eight. Usually, by this time, she’d be on the couch, watching her favorite cartoon. Mrs. Davis hurried down from upstairs. “Ms. Sterling, you’re back.” I handed her my coat, asking, “Where’s Daisy?” “She’s asleep, ma’am.” “So early?” Mrs. Davis explained, “She looked a bit off when she came back from kindergarten. She went straight to her room the moment she got back and didn’t even eat dinner.” My brows knitted with worry, afraid she might be sick. I went upstairs and gently pushed open her door. The person on the bed, hearing the movement, turned over, pulling back the covers to look at me. “Mommy.” I sat by her bed, turned on the night light, and felt her forehead. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you not feeling well?” Daisy shook her head. Feeling her forehead, confirming her temperature was normal, my heart finally eased. My gaze was drawn to the drawing book on her nightstand. “Are you drawing? What did you draw? Can Mommy see?” She hesitated for a moment, then nodded, saying uncertainly, “My drawing isn’t very good.” “Nonsense! Mommy thinks your drawings are the most beautiful in the world, darling.” I flipped through the drawing book, only to find the last few pages filled with all sorts of cars. The drawings grew more agitated, more chaotic with each page. Until the very last page, messy, tangled lines completely buried the picture beneath. I instantly knew something was wrong. Daisy was always so emotionally stable; she’d never expressed herself like this before. I helped her sit upright, asking with concern, “Tell Mommy, why did you draw so many cars?” She bit her lip, her eyes red. “Teacher said my drawing assignment was the worst in the whole class.”

My heart sank. Even if her drawing wasn’t perfect, a teacher shouldn’t tell her that to her face. Especially not Daisy, who’s just a kindergartner. A single comment from a teacher could easily kill a child’s interest in something. But I also knew I couldn’t just take a child’s word for it. Maybe the teacher didn’t say that at all, and Daisy just misunderstood. I pulled out my phone and opened the SnapChat group chat for the class. Just as I was about to private message the class teacher to get the full story, I saw the “excellent student works” she’d posted in the group that afternoon. I clicked in and saw they were all luxury cars: Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and the “worst” were BMWs and Mercedes. And those drawings, far from being “excellent,” some of them had crooked, wobbly lines; you could barely make out the car’s shape. Only the car logos were strikingly clear. I suddenly remembered a few days ago, when Daisy pointed at the cars in the garage and asked me which one to draw. She said it was school homework and needed a caption: “My dad drives this car every day to take me to school.” Daisy had deliberated for a long time and ended up drawing the little pickup truck from a cartoon. It all clicked for me. This teacher’s standard for judging homework wasn’t based on artistic skill, but on the car’s value.

Aurora Kindergarten, where Daisy went, was the best private kindergarten in the city. It wasn’t uncommon for elite families to send their children there, and of course, some ordinary families bit the bullet, scraping together every penny to get their kids in. Getting into this kindergarten meant guaranteed admission to Aurora Group’s affiliated middle and high schools, and studying abroad would also be much simpler later on. I specifically chose it for the opportunities and benefits behind it, which is why I enrolled Daisy. Before this incident, I was quite satisfied with the kindergarten. Not only because of the school’s excellent faculty, but more so because of how well they protected student family privacy. That was until this semester started. Daisy’s original class teacher went on maternity leave, and a young new teacher took her place. Ms. Thorne. The first thing she did was send out a survey form, asking kids to take it home for their parents to fill out. It was all questions about parents’ jobs, annual income, and so on, saying she wanted to “understand the students better.” My husband, Mr. Evans, and I are both well-known entrepreneurs, each with our own ventures. We knew that standing out too much could draw unwanted scrutiny. So, we just filled out that form casually and handed it in. I hadn’t thought much of it, but now with this new incident, I couldn’t help but suspect this teacher had ulterior motives. Daisy was going to elementary school next semester, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, she’d also be attending Aurora. I wanted her to finish her kindergarten years happily, and I was afraid she’d be discriminated against again in the future. So, I called Mr. Harrison, the principal. The phone rang less than twice before he quickly picked up. Mr. Harrison’s overly eager voice came through the receiver. “Ms. Sterling, why are you calling me personally? Is there a problem with the investment?” I stated calmly, “I always believed your school highly values student privacy. Yet, with these survey forms and drawing assignments about family cars, what exactly is your school trying to investigate?” There was a distinct pause on the other end; he stammered for a moment. “Wh-what?” “My daughter was unfairly scolded by her teacher because of this assignment. I do not want this to happen again. Otherwise, I will have to reconsider investing in your school.” Mr. Harrison quickly said, “Your daughter attends our school too? Ms. Sterling, there must be some misunderstanding. I will investigate this thoroughly and give you a satisfactory explanation.” I didn’t want to talk any further and hung up. These past few years, the education sector has been booming, with private schools springing up rapidly. Aurora had also faced quite a bit of impact because of this and had been seeking corporate funding. Because of Daisy, and also because my company specializes in AI, fostering talent is fundamental. So, I decided to invest in Aurora, and one of Aurora’s shareholders was Mr. Harrison, the principal of Aurora Kindergarten. I chose to deal with him regarding the partnership. Adhering to a strict boundary between my professional and personal lives, I had never disclosed my private information. So, he had no idea my daughter was actually attending Aurora.

After putting Daisy to sleep, I had just returned to my room when Mr. Harrison called again. “My apologies, Ms. Sterling. Ms. Thorne is new and perhaps a bit out of line. I’ve reprimanded her severely. I’m currently away on a business trip, but when I return, I’ll personally bring Ms. Thorne to apologize.” Mr. Harrison’s tone was sincere, and I didn’t want to make things difficult for them over this. So, I softened my voice and declined. “It’s fine, as long as this doesn’t happen again.” “Understood. We’ll still need your continued guidance and supervision in the future, Ms. Sterling.” After a few more polite exchanges, I hung up. But lying in bed, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. My company’s new project was in its critical final stages, and my husband had also been away on business. We had indeed neglected Daisy’s development. I hadn’t even met the new teacher in person. After much thought, I decided to personally pick Daisy up from school tomorrow so I could talk to Ms. Thorne face-to-face.

The next day, I made sure to leave work right on time. At the kindergarten gate, lines of students streamed out in orderly rows. I scanned the crowd and finally spotted Daisy in her little floral dress. “Daisy!” I waved to her. She seemed surprised to see me, her face lighting up with joy. She quickly ran into my arms. I immediately noticed her messy hair. I knelt down, untangling her hair as I asked, “What did you play today at kindergarten? Your hair looks like a little scamp’s.” Daisy shook her head. “After nap time, the teacher didn’t comb my hair, so I just tied it up myself.” “What about the other kids? Did they tie their own hair too?” Daisy answered without hesitation, “No, Ms. Thorne braided all of theirs, especially Isabella’s braids, they were really pretty. But when it was my turn, the bell for class rang, and the teacher just left.” My eyes grew cold. Doing children’s hair was part of the teacher’s job. I didn’t expect her to make it look like a masterpiece. But she shouldn’t just walk away the moment the bell rings, right? I took Daisy’s hand and walked into the kindergarten. A few more children from Daisy’s class hadn’t been picked up yet, so the teacher was waiting with them by the door. I looked at the young teacher fanning herself in the shade and politely greeted her, “Hello, Ms. Thorne, I’m Daisy’s mom.” She looked up at me for a few moments, a little hesitant. “That’s not right, I haven’t seen you before.” Ms. Thorne remembered clearly that it was always a plainly dressed middle-aged woman who picked up and dropped off Daisy. But the woman in front of her was elegant and radiant, exuding an invisible aura of authority. I said, “I’m usually busy with work, so I haven’t been able to pick up or drop off my child much. I wonder if you have some time? I’d like to chat with you.” She flat-out refused. “You can SnapChat me if there’s anything important. After work hours are my private time, and I don’t want to deal with work matters.” “Then I’ll be brief.” I could hear the impatience in her voice, so I naturally dropped my polite tone. “Aurora has always valued student privacy. I do not want to see any more incidents of student backgrounds being investigated in various ways.” She scoffed. “Daisy’s mom, I’ve always followed school regulations. If you have a problem, you can always transfer Daisy to another school. After all, our Aurora isn’t just for anyone.” That last sentence immediately shut down any desire I had to continue the conversation. I sneered, “Whether there’s a threshold for admission, I don’t know, but there certainly seems to be no threshold for teachers. I will relay every word you said today to Mr. Harrison.” She casually shrugged. “Our principal is very busy; not everyone can get in touch with him.” I pointed at her. “Whether I can reach him is my business. You just wait to be fired!” “Big words! Even if every teacher in this kindergarten gets fired, I won’t be going anywhere.” I caught the deeper meaning in her words. “What, are you some big shot, indispensable to Aurora?” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, quite pleased with herself. “Naturally. Oh, well… you common folk wouldn’t understand.” I was about to retort when I saw her eyes light up. She grabbed a girl standing nearby and walked towards a woman who had just entered the entrance. “Isabella’s mom, you’re finally here! Isabella was so well-behaved today.” I watched Ms. Thorne’s fawning mannerisms, feeling utterly speechless. Isabella… that name sounded familiar. I seemed to recall that the top scorer on this assignment was Isabella. I pulled out my phone and opened the SnapChat group chat. It was indeed her. Although her drawing was crooked and distorted, the car logo was clearly identifiable as a Rolls-Royce.

Daisy tugged at my sleeve. “Mommy, aren’t we going home yet?” I snapped back to reality, took her hand, and left the school. “Daisy, would you like to switch kindergartens?” She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “But I still want to go to the weekend parent-child activity with you, Mommy.” “Okay.” I stroked her head, deciding to accompany her to this one activity, then proceed with the transfer. And as for the investment in Aurora, I also decided to withdraw it. An educational group that doesn’t prioritize character in its teachers, only background, isn’t worth my money. As soon as we got home, I saw a large bouquet of roses on the table. Just as I picked them up, someone wrapped their arms around my waist from behind, whispering in my ear, “Honey, I missed you so much.” “Daddy!” Daisy cried out excitedly. My husband released me, picked her up, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “My precious girl, did you miss Daddy?” “Yes, I missed you every single day.” Daisy wrapped her arms around his neck. “Daddy, will you come to the school activity with me?” I playfully scolded her, “Just now you said you wanted to go with Mommy. Are you already breaking your promise?” Daisy made a funny face. “Mommy can come too!” My husband pulled me into his embrace. “That’s right, it’s been a while since the three of us were together. It’s perfect timing, my work is done, so I can spend some quality time with you both.” I nodded. “My project is almost finished too. Let’s go on a trip abroad soon.” “Yay!” Daisy clapped her hands excitedly.

Our reunion felt like a second honeymoon, and it wasn’t until late into the night that we quietly lay in bed, chatting. I told my husband about Daisy’s school situation. Regarding the suggestion to transfer schools, while he felt it was a bit inconvenient, he didn’t outright object. After all, it was the last semester, and he just told me to handle it as I saw fit. Weekend arrived in a blink, and as my husband and Daisy were organizing the things they needed to take to kindergarten. I received a call from my company. They said the newly developed robot suddenly malfunctioned. And the new product launch was scheduled for next Monday, so time was extremely tight. My husband was understanding. “The project is important. Daisy has me.” “Okay.” I kissed both their faces. “I’ll try my best to make it back.” I rushed to the company, where the technicians were already inspecting the product. They finally found it was a source code issue. The designer asked me, “Ms. Sterling, does the robot you have at home have this problem?” I paused for a moment, realizing I hadn’t seen that robot at home in a long time. Since it was a new product development, not yet mass-produced, only two units of this series had been made. One was the human-sized humanoid robot. The other was a small robot model that I had taken home for Daisy to play with. It was also a good way to test the robot’s performance and practical use at home, to make adjustments later. But it seemed that at some point, that robot had gone missing. And because I was too busy with work, I had just overlooked it. When I got home, I’d have to ask Daisy and find that little robot. Work wasn’t done until late at night, and the kindergarten activity had long since ended. I opened my phone and saw a dozen missed calls, all from my husband. Fearing something had happened, I quickly called him back. The moment the call connected, I heard my husband’s angry roar from the other end. “She absolutely has to transfer! What kind of damn kindergarten is this? What kind of damn teacher? I can’t trust Daisy there!” My husband was usually a gentle, even-tempered man; he’d never gotten this angry before.

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My Mom’s Secret Sugar Baby An hour before my college entrance exam, I stumbled upon my mom’s secret dating Ins account: “Sending my little boyfriend off for his final exams feels so new~~” “Dropped off my boyfriend, now my son. Being a woman is tough, isn’t it?” “Attached: A handsome photo of my boyfriend.” I watched Mom rush toward me, wearing a stunning dress, and my eyes locked on the half-face of my scholarship student roommate in the Ins photo. In that instant, my entire world shattered. “Don’t be nervous. Just relax once you get into the exam hall. If it doesn’t work out, we can always go study abroad. I’ll even sponsor Jason to go with you, so you two can look out for each other.” If I hadn’t seen Mom’s secret dating account, I would have been so touched by her thoughtful generosity. But now, I felt waves of nausea. Jason wasn’t just anyone; he was my scholarship student roommate – the other main character on my mom’s secret dating account. Seeing my troubled expression, Mom looked at me with concern. “What’s wrong? Still feeling stressed?” Dad stood a short distance away, his face etched with worry too. Dad was always busy with work, rarely taking a day off to provide for our family. It was truly rare for him to take time off just to personally send me to my exams. I almost blurted out everything I’d just seen, ready to confront Mom right there and then. But my mouth opened and closed, and still, no words came out. With the exams so close, exposing everything now and causing a scene would not only disrupt a major life event. All the family’s finances were currently in Mom’s hands. If I ripped off the band-aid, Dad and I might even end up on the streets. I forced out a strained smile. “Nothing, just a bit nervous. I’ll head into the exam hall now.” “Alright, son, go get ’em! I believe in you!” I suppressed the shock and disgust churning inside me, walking into the exam hall without looking back. Facing the stacks of test papers, I fought back the chaotic emotions, forcing myself to calm down and answer carefully. For two days straight, I managed to act as if nothing had happened in front of Mom and Dad. After the exams finished, my parents suggested we go out for a celebratory meal. I had survived the college entrance exams and was moving on to a new stage in life. But what I didn’t expect was for Mom to think of her little boyfriend again at that moment. “It’s just the three of us, that’s too quiet. Caleb, why don’t you invite your roommate along?” “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dad said, a little hesitant. “They probably have their own celebrations. How would it look to invite them?” “Well, what if we just invite Jason then? His family is from a rural area far away and can’t come to be with him. It would be really sad to leave him all alone in the dorm.”

Jason, who was supposedly “all alone in the dorm and quite pitiful,” showed up in the restaurant’s private dining room five minutes after Mom suggested inviting my roommate. It was then I realized they had planned this all along. Watching Dad gleefully order all of Mom’s favorite dishes from the menu, then happily push the menu towards us, my heart ached even more. All these years, he had wronged no one. I still remembered when I was little, he was afraid Mom would be scared alone at home in the dark, so he’d commute for hours every day just to come home and sleep beside her. He was afraid Mom would get too tired looking after me at home, so he’d always take me to his office to watch me, saying Mom deserved to have her own life. For the first eighteen years of my life, I truly believed my parents were the best in the world—a loving couple, a perfect family. But reality slapped me hard across the face. I started wondering, when exactly did Mom and Jason get together? Was it when Mom constantly worried I wasn’t eating well at school and brought me lunch? Or was it that month, a year when our dorm was being renovated, and the fumes were too strong to live in, so I enthusiastically brought Jason home to stay with us? No matter what, it was my fault. I gave Jason the opportunity to destroy my family. I still remembered a conversation we once had in our dorm. Jason’s eyes glowed with an intense heat. “What’s the point of studying in this day and age? Why not just sleep with a rich woman and get everything you want?” At the time, I just thought that his impoverished background made his views overly extreme. But I never imagined that one day, his predatory claws would reach directly into my home. Right in front of my dad, Jason and my mom started exchanging glances and flirting. “Your makeup today is just stunning, Auntie Victoria. If I didn’t know you were Caleb’s mom, I’d think you were his middle school sister!” Mom’s face immediately bloomed into a radiant smile. “Oh, you smooth talker! How old do you think I am? How could I possibly look like a middle schooler?” “I’m telling the truth! Don’t you believe me? Ask Caleb! Caleb, tell us, doesn’t your mom look like a middle schooler?” I chuckled. “Jason, are you just practicing your lines on my mom now?” “Practicing? What are you talking about?” Dad asked curiously. “You guys don’t know, Jason used to tell us his dream was to sweet-talk a bunch of rich women, make them spend money on him, and just live a happy life being a kept man. So, he’s gotta practice those sweet-talk lines, right?”

Mom, who had been smiling so brightly, instantly lost all cheer. Jason’s face turned awkward. “You… what are you talking about? I just said that casually, you’re not taking it seriously, are you?” I looked innocent. “Casually? No way. You said it more than once. You said your life’s goal was to manipulate naive rich women, making them think you truly loved them, when in reality, it was just for their money.” Jason’s face turned pale. He nervously glanced at Mom’s expression. “That’s all nonsense, all nonsense! Don’t take it seriously! Why isn’t the food here yet? I’ll go check on it!” He didn’t return to the private room until Dad looked at me with a complicated expression. “What’s up with your roommate? His values are messed up. Stay away from people like that in the future.” I said, pointedly, “He and I are just roommates. We won’t have much to do with each other after this. It’s those rich women he’s deceiving who are truly pitiful.” Dad scoffed. “I can’t control others, but you’re my son. I can control you. Stay far away from people like that from now on.” I looked up at Mom. “Mom, you’re a real rich woman. Why don’t you offer your opinion?” Mom flinched. “Opinion? Oh, opinion. I don’t have an opinion. Maybe he’s just a kid, talking nonsense.” Dad frowned, about to say something else. But at that moment, Jason pushed the door open and returned to the private room. “There’s a small jewelry vendor outside. Auntie Victoria, do you need anything? I can go with you to take a look.” I sneered, “Why would you go with her? My dad’s right here. Let my dad go.” Jason looked annoyed. “I just thought Uncle David might be bored.” “You don’t feel bored accompanying someone else’s wife, but my dad would be bored accompanying his own wife?” Mom couldn’t listen anymore. “Alright, Caleb, watch your tone! I’m not in the mood for jewelry. Let’s just eat, let’s just eat.”

After dinner, we all walked out of the private room. Dad went to pay the bill. The moment I turned my head, I realized Jason and my mom had disappeared. Dad came directly up to me after paying. “Let’s go first. Your mom said your roommate looked pitiful and wanted to take him to buy some clothes.” I looked at Dad in disbelief. “And you agreed to that?” Dad looked bewildered. “What’s wrong with buying a few clothes? You don’t think your mom and that young classmate of yours would have anything going on, do you? No way. Your mom and I have such a strong bond. She would never betray me.” Seeing Dad’s confident expression, I found it even harder to reveal the cruel truth. I even hoped Mom and Jason would just end things then and there. My parents could go back to living their lives happily at home, and this whole thing could be forgotten. But I was disappointed. Not long after, Mom’s secret dating account updated. “How could life be the same with anyone? It was only when I met you that I felt my heart truly stir. Only when I met you did I know what love was.” The attached picture showed her and Jason sweetly embracing and kissing, each holding a bubble tea. Even though she had blurred herself out, how could I not recognize my own mother? Back home, I paced restlessly in my bedroom. Mom was completely fixated on Jason now. How could I make her choose to return to her own family? A commotion erupted outside my door. I went out to see. Mom was back. And Jason was following right behind her! Seeing my astonished gaze, Jason actually gave me a challenging smirk. “Sorry, Caleb, I told Auntie Vicky the school dorms aren’t allowing residents right now, so she just let me stay at your place.” Seeing my shocked expression, Mom seemed a little nervous. “After all, you’re classmates; you should look out for each other. Maybe you’ll even go abroad together someday.”

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The day I paid cash for our marital home, my boyfriend let his ‘one that got away’ move into our bedroom. He even packed up my things and tossed them outside like trash. “Seraphina needs to smell my scent to fall asleep. She can’t handle stimulation. Can’t you just give in a little?” My boyfriend locked me out, and I dragged my luggage through the streets, drenched in rain. A Maybach pulled up beside me. The window rolled down, revealing deep, captivating eyes behind dark sunglasses, twinkling with a mocking smirk. “Need a hand, gorgeous?” I was reborn. Reborn on the very day I paid cash for the marital home with my boyfriend. This time, I wasn’t stupid enough to put his name on the deed. After the paperwork was done, I tucked the front door key into the most hidden pocket of my bag. Then, I went home. Outside the door, a suitcase sat alongside several large bags of my belongings. I inserted the key, twisted it. Just as I expected, the door was double-locked from the inside.

I pounded on the door, so hard that a neighbor flung open their window and started yelling. Only then did Alex reluctantly crack the door open just a tiny bit. He stammered, blocking my entry. “Alex, has Seraphina moved back in?” I called him out, no point in hiding it. My boyfriend turned his face away, avoiding my gaze that seemed to pierce through everything. “Seraphina’s a bit unstable right now. Yelling like this will only worsen her condition.” So, I’m the one in the wrong for just speaking normally? “Alex, you let a woman you haven’t seen in eight years sleep in *our* bed. Are you out of your mind?!” “She’s your high school regret? Then what about our ten years together? Was I just a fool?” “You said you’d marry me when I could afford to pay cash for our marital home. Would you demand the same from Seraphina?” *SPLAT!* Alex slapped me. My right cheek immediately swelled, the searing pain burning through my shock, sharpening my resolve. “Stella! Why are you still so childish?!” “Seraphina just got out of the hospital. She has no one else besides me. What’s wrong with her staying at our place for a bit?” His face flushed crimson, veins popping in his neck, as if *I* was the one being unreasonable. I pointed at the bags of skincare products and clean clothes, overflowing from trash bags on the concrete floor, and sneered: “Heh… So, I have to leave?” Alex turned his back, his voice strained: “Seraphina needs to smell my scent to fall asleep. She can’t handle stimulation. Can’t you just give in a little?” *Your* scent? Alex, I’d like to see how long she can stand *your stench*!

Before my rebirth. Following my boyfriend’s demands, I used every penny of my hard-earned money, working day and night, to pay cash for our marital home. His name was on the deed. He said a woman’s name wasn’t worthy of being written with his. I argued with him, but he threatened my kitten, Luna, forcing me to give in. On the very first day we moved into the new house, he brought a woman home. It was Seraphina, his unattainable high school crush, the ‘one that got away’. Seraphina had a string of failed relationships, more men than I could count. Until she fell for some mysterious guy and ended up in a mental institution… Alex let this crazy woman, fresh out of the asylum, sleep in *our* bedroom. And he had the audacity to ask me to get along with my rival! He lied, saying Seraphina’s parents had asked him to look after her for a few days. I, like a fool, actually treated Seraphina like a sister. It wasn’t until I returned early from a business trip and heard the intimate sounds from our bedroom. Only then did I realize that my boyfriend had never loved me. Everything I’d worked for all these years was just setting someone else up for their happily ever after! Alex kicked me out. I rented a cheap apartment, drifting aimlessly day after day, living like a stray dog on the street. Ultimately, Seraphina found me and pushed me from the eighteenth floor. Heh. This time, my destiny is in my own hands.

I was about to pick up my luggage and leave when the door opened again. Seraphina aimed at me and threw three large bags of trash. The trash bags weren’t tied, and the soup from instant noodles splattered on my pant leg, along with… Leftover durian. So, Alex still remembered Seraphina’s taste. Back in high school, many boys who pursued her brought her durian. Alex was no exception. But at the time, Miss Seraphina looked down on him, dressed in cheap clothes. And now, Alex finally fulfilled his dream of feeding durian to the girl he liked. I don’t like durian; I like strawberries. But he told me strawberries were too expensive and to eat them less. Hahahaha, love and not love, it’s so obvious. Strawberries and durians, can’t you tell the difference between what’s cheap and what’s valuable? I stared coldly at Seraphina. This woman, looking somewhat haggard, was arrogant and brazen, showing no humility for someone staying as a guest. She trusted him, he doted on her. What place did an outsider like me have? “Stella, Alex loves me. All these years, you were just his emotional outlet. If you want to fight me tooth and nail, I advise you to give up. You can’t win against me.” Before my rebirth, because of my foolish trust, I tacitly allowed Alex to bring a wolf into our home. Alex kept promising he only saw Seraphina as a sister. Because of love, I believed his nonsense. But in the end, I was crushed, utterly destroyed. Seraphina certainly had her methods, wrapping Alex around her finger and treating me like a dog. “You’re right. I’ve always been your stand-in. I knew all along Alex could never truly let you go.” I’d secretly liked Alex since high school. But his eyes were only on the popular Seraphina. In college, we unexpectedly reconnected. He was unusually enthusiastic about seeing me again, completely unlike his previous indifference. I’d already given up on him, but his flirting rekindled my feelings. He waited for me outside my dorm for meals. He took me to the movies on weekends. We FaceTimed constantly. My roommates all said my boyfriend and I were so in love. What they didn’t know was… I paid for all our meals. I planned every single date myself. He was the one who kept nagging me to get him gifts for every holiday. And the only thing he ever gave me that could be called a gift was leftover barbecue, packed up for me.

“Stella, catch!” Seraphina threw another bag at me. It felt like a large piece of meat… The bag was tied with a tight knot, but I could still smell the stench of a decaying body. “What… what is this?” My hands trembled as I gently placed the bag on the floor. “What else could it be? It’s a welcome gift for you, of course!” Opening the black plastic bag, I saw Luna, my little cat, her body mangled beyond recognition. She was soaking wet, drenched in her own blood. Her ears were gone, leaving two ugly scars. My head felt like it had been hit by a sledgehammer, ringing loudly. “My baby, why are you like this?!” Seraphina seemed quite pleased with my reaction. She stood with her hands on her hips, laughing hysterically, gasping for air. “Alex said this was your lifeline! Oh, my god, it’s hilarious! I just wanted to see why you’d cherish an animal so much.” Seraphina, you deserve to die a horrible death! She noticed the murderous intent in my eyes and immediately pulled out a defensive dagger. I recognized that dagger. It was a special anniversary gift I’d given Alex in college. Alex had lied and told me he’d lost it. Turns out, he gave it to Seraphina. Unarmed, I couldn’t fight her directly. Retreat was my best option. I gathered Luna’s tiny body, trembling as I walked downstairs. I felt so weak, like an old woman on her last legs, as if even a falling leaf could crush me. “Luna, Mom failed to protect you. Reborn, I never imagined they wouldn’t even spare you!” As I left the street, the sky opened up, pouring rain. I dragged my luggage, aimlessly wandering the streets, as if the heavy rain could wash away my sins. A Maybach pulled up beside me. The window rolled down, revealing deep, captivating eyes behind dark sunglasses, twinkling with a mocking smirk. “We meet again, gorgeous. Need a hand?”

This playful man was Julian, the son of my company’s CEO. Known throughout the elite circles as a notorious playboy. I’d actually known him for a long time. He was my junior in college. The embarrassing part? He used to pursue me back then… I truly don’t know why I was so blind to fall for a jerk like Alex and reject such a handsome, rich, sweet puppy! Even though Julian was a bit of a playboy, he wasn’t a bad person. He was even kind of cute. At least he wouldn’t do anything as disgusting as Alex. After I started dating Alex, I rarely saw Julian again. I remember the only time we met after I started working was at a bridal shop. I was with my best friend, trying on wedding dresses, when I accidentally spotted Julian with a glamorous socialite, also trying on dresses. Julian wore a tailored suit, his hair impeccably styled, looking every bit the business elite. He and the socialite, who emerged from the fitting room, looked like a perfect match, a truly stunning couple. I awkwardly greeted him. Julian’s face darkened as he asked, “Since when did you start liking women?” I stared blankly at my best friend, who was on the phone nearby, and realized he’d misunderstood. The socialite finished trying on her dress, then hooked her arm through Julian’s, asking him jealously who I was. Julian’s throat bobbed, and he glanced out the window. “Just a senior from college.” What he said wasn’t wrong, but why did my heart feel so heavy? Later, my best friend’s fiancé cheated before their wedding, and my best friend swiftly packed up and left the jerk. Julian fled his own wedding, refusing a business alliance. In seven days, it would be the day he was supposed to run. Before he left, I needed to use him well. “Julian!” Rain streamed down my forehead, streaking across my cheeks. I knew I looked utterly pathetic right now. But I didn’t care. Whether Julian was still interested in me or not, I had to take this shot. “I need your help to get revenge.” “Please, help me.” “Will you?”

I got into Julian’s car, my pant legs smelling of beef instant noodles, and the little cat in my arms emitting the stench of death. It made me feel a bit constrained. “Looks like you haven’t been doing so great these past few years, gorgeous.” “Why the lost puppy look?” “Tsk, tsk, tsk, truly pathetic.” Right, Julian’s sharp tongue was one of the reasons I rejected him back then. He had such a beautifully shaped mouth, but only sarcastic words came out of it. Julian wanted to take me to his private residence, but I refused. “I have my own place, in Willow Creek.” “Oh, really? You bought a place there? Pretty impressive.” Julian lit a cigarette, a playful smirk curving his lips. I turned my face away, suppressing the urge to snap at him. The urge to curse him out. I knew he was teasing me; my little studio apartment was nothing but a speck in the eyes of a rich kid like him. And in his eyes, I was probably the same. Julian drove the car to the underground parking garage and followed me upstairs. After opening the door and seeing the empty condo. He lightly scoffed, “No money for decorating?” I’d just been reborn; where would I find the time for decorating? Without a word, Julian made a call and had the problem solved for me. The decor style was a fresh French aesthetic. The balcony was transformed into a cozy little garden where I could relax. I buried Luna, my beloved cat who had been with me for two years, right there. My phone rang. It was Alex’s mom, Mrs. Davis. I locked myself in the bathroom and answered. “Hello?” “Stella, dear, did you buy an apartment in Willow Creek? Good girl, you really are something else!”

Alex had told me he’d marry me the moment I could afford to pay cash for a million-dollar marital home. This wasn’t just Alex’s idea, but mostly his mom, Mrs. Davis, constantly drumming it into my head. Mrs. Davis always looked down on me because I came from a modest background. Every time I went to my boyfriend’s house for dinner, his mom would find various ways to remind me of my place. Good thing I woke up. I almost became her easily manipulated daughter-in-law. I ignored her rapid-fire rambling on the phone and cut straight to the chase: “Auntie, your son’s first love is back. Did you know?” She paused for a moment, then confessed: “Auntie knows, but in Auntie’s heart, you’re the *only* best daughter-in-law candidate!” “Alex is still young, a moment of impulse is normal. He’s just playing around, don’t take it too seriously.” Young? Don’t take it seriously? Are you dense, or am I? Seeing that I had no interest in continuing the conversation, Mrs. Davis no longer hid her true intentions. “Stella, your neighborhood seems great! Auntie’s windows broke during a recent storm, and none of our rooms are livable. Could you possibly…” “Yes, of course.” Free labor? How could I say no?

took a shower. When I came out of the bathroom, the entire condo was transformed. “This… this fast?” I walked around again, disbelieving, my fingertips tracing the low-key yet luxurious furniture. I couldn’t help but marvel at Julian’s extravagant taste. “Like it, gorgeous? If you’re satisfied, pour me a glass of water.” Julian lounged comfortably on the soft sofa. I poured a glass of water, walked over to him, met his teasing gaze, and then chugged the water down myself. “Pour it yourself if you want water. I don’t serve people.” With that, I splashed the remaining bit of water on his handsome face. Julian lowered his gaze and chuckled, then loosened his tie, looking a little flustered. “Stella.” “You’re the only one who dares to be this bold with me. I really can’t find another.” “What makes you so sure I’ll help you?” He patted his thigh, signaling for me to sit down. My fists slowly clenched. Enduring the humiliation, I plopped down and then told him everything about my rebirth, spilling every detail. “Of course I believe you. Otherwise, you’d still be stupidly making money for that guy to buy a house.” “Julian, I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.” “No need to pretend. I *can* be your boyfriend… or husband, even.” He wrapped his arm around my waist, his gaze intensely possessive. “I’m not joking. Control yourself.” Julian still had that playful, teasing expression. I sighed and said, “You’re still dating Chloe Song, the Song Corporation heiress, right?” His arm tightened, squeezing me until I could barely breathe. “Just for show. She has someone she likes too, just like me.” “Gorgeous, are you perhaps… jealous?”

The next day, my phone rang. Mrs. Davis appeared at the apartment complex entrance, carrying large bags. I gestured to the security guard to let her in. Mrs. Davis called again, asking me to help her carry things upstairs. “Auntie, I’m in a meeting right now.” “Just take the elevator up.” After hanging up, I set my phone to do not disturb. I forgot to tell her: the elevator was under maintenance and couldn’t be used right now. Julian emerged from the bathroom, clad only in a towel. He wrapped his arm around my waist and said he was going to show off his cooking skills. A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen. “I didn’t expect the great young master to know how to cook.” Julian grinned, his spatula dancing like a sword in his hand. Compliment him once, and he gets all cocky like this. I was inexplicably in a good mood… It must have been because I successfully messed with Mrs. Davis! After breakfast, Mrs. Davis, laden with luggage, had finally climbed all seventeen floors. Julian opened the door. He was wearing just a pair of boxers, his eight-pack abs brazenly on display. Mrs. Davis’s eyes lit up at first, then she adopted the demeanor of an elder. She began pointing fingers at this handsome, shameless young man. “Oh, my! What an eyesore!” “Stella! Who is this man?” “You said you were in a meeting, but you were probably messing around with another man!” “How is my Alex supposed to save face?”

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After three years of marriage without getting pregnant, I finally conceived twins through IVF after eight attempts. But just three months into the pregnancy, I was diagnosed with a rare disease that threatened my life. The doctor suggested I terminate the pregnancy to start treatment as soon as possible, but my husband Lucas flatly refused. “Chloe, you’ve been through so much to conceive them. I can’t bear to let all your efforts go to waste. I’ll bring in the top specialist, Dr. Mitchell, to oversee your case. He’ll make sure you and the babies stay safe, and you’ll be able to watch them grow up.” I agreed with his decision, thinking that if I really died, at least the children would be there to keep him company. But when I was six months pregnant, I accidentally overheard a conversation between Lucas and his brothers. “As expected of our bro Lucas, to come up with the idea of having Chloe be a surrogate for Olivia!” Lucas replied casually, “Well, Olivia suddenly returned to the Jiang family. Otherwise, I would have married her. Since Chloe took her place, she might as well do something useful.” “Aren’t you worried she might not survive the surgery, given her condition?” Lucas kissed Olivia beside him and said nonchalantly, “I’ve already invited Dr. Mitchell. Nothing will go wrong. As long as she behaves, considering she’s having children for Olivia, I don’t mind letting her keep the title of Mrs. Lin.” I listened with a chill running down my spine, my whole body trembling. So, the children I was desperately trying to bring into this world weren’t even mine. 0

“If you weren’t so delicate and afraid of pain, we wouldn’t have needed Chloe to carry our babies,” Lucas teased, looking at Olivia, who pouted at him playfully. He chuckled softly and pulled Olivia into his arms, saying with utmost tenderness, “But it’s okay. You were in tears just from freezing your eggs. I couldn’t bear to see you go through childbirth.” The others around them cheered and teased about how loving they were. Olivia frowned, suddenly remembering something. “I’m such a wimp when it comes to pain. Come to think of it, Chloe doesn’t seem to be afraid of pain at all. She went through IVF eight times without shedding a tear!” Lucas scoffed, “How can you compare yourself to her? You were raised like a princess. If it weren’t for Grandpa insisting I marry her, how could I let you stay with me without a proper title?” The others comforted them, “A marriage certificate is just a piece of paper. It doesn’t affect your relationship. But for Chloe, that certificate means something different. Having her as a surrogate is better than using a stranger – at least we know her background. Plus, she’s so eager to marry into the Lin family that she’s more obedient than a dog. The Lin family won’t starve her, so it’s like keeping a pet – no big deal.” In the private room, their contempt and disdain for me were unconcealed. The humiliation and suffocation I felt chilled me to the bone. I caressed my belly, where the life I had once looked forward to the most was growing. But now they’re saying the child I’m risking my life to protect isn’t mine? For this child, I gave up my beloved career, endured morning sickness and hair loss, watched my belly swell like a balloon, and aged beyond recognition. Not to mention the eight rounds of IVF, countless egg retrievals, and mountains of medication I went through, all while facing the fear of possible death. And now they’re saying everything I did was a joke? That the child isn’t even mine? Their noisy chatter continued, but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears. Was it my mistake to become the Jiang family’s daughter? Before meeting my birth parents, I never imagined that the story of switched-at-birth daughters would happen to me. I certainly didn’t expect that after the Jiang parents found me, they would use a vacation as an excuse to avoid the awkwardness and flee abroad. My biological brother publicly declared that Olivia was his only sister. Only old Mr. Lin stubbornly insisted on tradition, believing that the engagement was set with the Jiang family’s only daughter, and forced Lucas to marry me. I thought Lucas was my savior, rescuing me from a cage. But it turns out he only led me into another hell! 0

The truth was so cruel it bordered on absurdity, making me flee home like an escapee, my thoughts in chaos. I received another anonymous video on my phone, showing the continuation of the scene in the private room. One of Lucas’s followers suddenly asked, “Do you think if we tell Chloe the babies aren’t hers right after she gives birth, she’ll be so shocked she ends up in critical condition?” “You know, she seems to genuinely love Lucas. She’s willing to have kids while sick. It’s a shame she can’t read the room. Lucas and Olivia have been childhood sweethearts. Who does she think she is, barging in between them!” Another person chimed in, “It would be quite a show if we really told her. She’d probably have a breakdown.” Lucas slowly exhaled a smoke ring and said leisurely, “If you want to know how she’ll react, we can try it when the time comes. Maybe she’ll find out before giving birth.” The others mocked, “Even if she finds out early, she’ll still have to give birth. They’re Lucas’s children after all. She doesn’t have the guts to anger Lucas.” “True, she’s as pliable as clay and such a bootlicker to Lucas. Back then, she was so eager to secure the marriage that she constantly groveled before Lucas.” Olivia teased from the side, “You guys seem so concerned about Chloe. Why don’t one of you try pursuing her after Lucas divorces her? She’s been starved for affection since childhood, so she’s easy to handle. Plus, she’s about to be a divorced woman with a short life expectancy, so you won’t have to worry about long-term commitment.” “Speaking of which, she’s carrying twins. Her belly looks terrifying. I wonder what she’ll look like after giving birth!” Upon hearing this, the men all expressed disgust and quickly refused. “No thanks, I don’t want that kind of blessing. Just looking at that belly, I’m afraid I’d have nightmares for half a month.” “Don’t joke like that. There are so many pretty girls out there waiting for my attention!” They spoke crudely, but Lucas just smiled faintly, seemingly indifferent. With a “thud,” my phone fell to the ground. I didn’t realize when my back had broken out in a cold sweat. Only then did I discover that I had never truly seen the man who spoke to me so gently and cared for me so attentively by my side. I remember when the IVF was successful, Lucas’s face was full of excitement and concern. He carefully touched my belly and said softly, “Don’t trouble Mommy, okay?” He would also invite a bunch of chefs to prepare various dishes for me when I had morning sickness and swelling. “Chloe, pregnancy is hard on you. For the sake of the babies, think about what you’d like to eat. Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen.” “These two troublemakers, when they’re born, I’ll definitely help you discipline them.” I thought he cared about me, but now I know it was all for the babies. Do they all think I’ll resign myself to giving birth to these children? Well, this time, I refuse. 0

A month ago, news came from Country A that there had been a breakthrough in treating my rare disease. They asked if I would be willing to volunteer for their drug development program. I didn’t agree at first for the sake of the babies, but they said this was a rare opportunity that might offer a chance for successful treatment. Perhaps out of a desire to survive, I inexplicably kept their contact information, not realizing it would come in handy now. I messaged them, and they quickly responded, agreeing to accept me as a volunteer for their research team. Thinking of the babies in my belly, I called my brother Ryan, using pregnancy mood swings as an excuse to say I wanted to travel alone to Dali. As expected, as soon as the call connected, I was met with a rebuke. “You’re already six months along and still can’t settle down? What if something happens to the babies? You’re being ridiculous.” I didn’t care about his reaction. I only told him to prevent them from searching for me too quickly and interfering with my plans if I suddenly disappeared. But I didn’t expect that my brother, who usually couldn’t be bothered with me, would show up at my door. “Chloe, can’t you understand the situation? Do you know how important these babies are?” Seeing his unusual behavior, my heart sank, but I forced myself to ask, “How important?” His eyes flickered, and he continued, “Babies conceived after so many IVF attempts – you know better than I do how important they are.” “Then do you know that I’m sick, and these babies might cost me my life?” He blurted out without thinking, “The Jiang family has access to the best medical teams. Don’t scare yourself. It’s not good for the babies.” Just then, Lucas pushed open the door, reeking of alcohol and carrying a bag of supplements. As soon as he entered, he handed me the bag, saying, “Chloe, I’m back!” “These are from Olivia. She says they’re good for the babies. She’s so eager to be an aunt.” Eager indeed! Olivia, who had always been dissatisfied with me, was now sending supplements, baby clothes, and even imported bird’s nest soup that she used to say I didn’t deserve – all because of these two babies. As the Jiang family’s biological daughter, I could only enjoy what should have been rightfully mine through the babies’ influence. And even that was just scraps from an impostor. How ironic! Lucas noticed Ryan and visibly startled before affectionately patting my hair. “It’s getting late. You should go rest. I’ll sleep in the study tonight to avoid the alcohol smell bothering you.” The lipstick mark on his collar was glaringly obvious, and the alcohol smell was mixed with Olivia’s signature perfume, making me nauseous. I didn’t say anything, just took the bag and hurried back to the bedroom. I heard him say to Ryan, “Ryan, you’ve come at the right time. I have some business to discuss with you about that land in the west of the city.” Seeing the two of them heading straight for the study, I threw the bag on the bed and quietly walked to the study door. The first thing I heard was Ryan’s voice: “Did you slip up about the babies? Why is she suddenly saying she’s in a bad mood and wants to travel alone?” “You know she always puts the babies first. She’s never mentioned anything risky before.” Lucas pondered for a moment: “It’s impossible. Maybe it’s just hormones affecting her. You’re overreacting. These are Olivia’s babies. I’ve been very careful. There’s no way she could have found out…” I couldn’t hear the rest of what he said. My vision blurred. My suspicions were correct. Ryan knew the truth too! Everyone knew. Only I was fooled like an idiot. Whether it’s the babies, Lucas, or my family, I don’t want any of it this time.

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I went to a clinic for breast reduction surgery, only to find the handsome doctor was the same guy I had a blind date with yesterday. Dr. Wyatt’s charming eyes twinkled, his voice deep and calm: “Please take off your top and unhook your bra.” My face burned as I underwent the examination, but then I couldn’t for the life of me hook my bra back up. Dr. Wyatt called for a nurse to help me. My brain completely short-circuited. I quickly refused, flustered: “No, it’s fine! You can just help me yourself!” The next second, Dr. Wyatt’s arms gently wrapped around me… Before I left for my blind date, my mom glared at my oversized, thick hoodie with pure disdain. “Can’t you ever bother to dress up a little? Do you really think he’ll want you looking like that?” She forced me into a slightly tighter top, then snatched my glasses off my face. “What are you doing with those glasses? What if he thinks you’re too bookish, or that you just don’t care about your appearance? What if he thinks you’re not *trying* to look good enough for him?” I habitually hunched my shoulders, mumbling defensively, “I can’t see without them.” My mom snorted. “Don’t try to fool me. That’s a mild prescription; you’re not blind! How could you not see the road?” “Are you deliberately trying to ruin this date?” “Let me tell you, this guy has amazing prospects. So many girls would kill to marry him. Don’t be so ungrateful.” I wanted to say I also had astigmatism and things looked blurry, but I just shut up. My mom’s decisions were set in stone. She only believed what she thought was right. My vision was blurry as I left the house, and because I couldn’t make out the numbers, I missed a bus. By the time I reached the downtown coffee shop, I was 10 minutes late for our appointment. I scurried into the coffee shop, squinting to find a man in a white shirt. By the window, a man in a white shirt looked up at me. It must be him, right? I hurried over, my face full of apologies. “I’m so sorry, I’m a little late.” The man seemed to freeze for a moment. “You are…?” “I’m Chloe.” “Chloe?” A smile appeared on his face, his voice sounding a little strange. “I’m… Wyatt.” His voice was deep and pleasant. Though his features were a bit blurry to me, I could tell he was good-looking. Tall and broad-shouldered. Fair-skinned with thick hair. He also had a pleasant woody cologne scent. I awkwardly lowered my gaze. My mom was right. Such a handsome blind date wouldn’t possibly be interested in just an average girl like me. Sure enough, a few minutes after I sat down, Wyatt took a call. “Excuse me, I have something to take care of. Can you wait for me here? I’ll be right back.” With that, he swiftly strode out of the coffee shop with his long legs. I let out a bitter laugh. His excuse was so lame. He probably just set an alarm to escape, right? And he didn’t even ask for my contact info. Clearly, he wasn’t interested. But I hadn’t really expected anything to come of it anyway. I knew I wasn’t good enough for him. My phone rang. It was my mom. As soon as I picked up, I was hit with a torrent of scolding. “Chloe, where did you go? The young man has been waiting for you for 20 minutes!” I quickly explained. “We just met. He wasn’t interested and he already left.” My mom’s voice grew even shriller. “What nonsense are you talking about? He just told me he’s still waiting for you and hasn’t seen a single sign of you!” My heart dropped. There were two coffee shops side by side here. In my haste, and with my blurry vision, I must have walked into the wrong one. So the guy I just met wasn’t my blind date?

After hanging up, I rushed to the coffee shop next door. There, I met my real blind date. He wore glasses, had a round face, and was a bit balding. He didn’t really look like a “young man.” I was so late, he was clearly annoyed. “We in the government sector are very strict about punctuality.” I quickly apologized. “I’m so sorry.” “It’s fine, I’ll forgive you this time. I’m quite the gentleman, you know.” I didn’t know what to say. This blind date was arranged by my mom. She said she was afraid I’d say the wrong thing and offend the guy. So she added him on SnapChat herself, chatted for a few days, and once she felt he was suitable, she pushed me out to meet him. My date pulled out his phone. “Let’s swap SnapChat info. Your mom told me all about you. I gotta say, I’m pretty happy with your appearance.” He then flashed a sleazy grin, teasing, “Your chest is huge, like a dairy cow’s. Our kids will never go hungry for milk!” As he spoke, he gestured with his hand, drawing a half-circle in the air. My face flushed crimson. “Are you out of your mind?!” Then I stormed out. Back home, I was met with my mom’s explosive fury. “Chloe, he said he was interested in you, and you just turned around and ran off! Are you trying to kill me?!” “You’re a woman over 25, almost 30! Do you even want to get married?!” I mustered my courage to retort, “That guy’s a creep! Who says someone’s chest is huge like a dairy cow’s the first time they meet them?!” I thought she’d understand. When I first started developing, she’d always told me that having a big chest was shameful for a girl and I should hide it. She’d warned me to stay away from boys who stared at my chest. So I’d gotten used to hunching my shoulders, wearing loose clothes, and trying to conceal my prominent chest. But my mom just scoffed. “He was just making a joke, and you’re overreacting! No wonder you don’t have any friends!” “Besides, a woman’s chest is for her husband and children! If you didn’t have that ‘asset,’ why would a decent guy from a stable government job even look at you?!” I was so angry I didn’t want to talk to her, so I just went back to my room. My mom kept yelling outside the door. “Chloe, your mom’s never wrong. Only your mom truly cares about you in this world!” “Women are only young for a few years! Stop being so picky! You’re no supermodel, and this guy is more than good enough for you…” Annoyed, I put on my headphones and started scrolling on my phone. I knew my mom loved me. But when it came to my relationships, she became completely unreasonable and spoke without thinking. She’d try to verbally force me to find a man and get married quickly. She’d strictly guard me in school, not even letting me talk to boys. But just a couple of years after graduation, she was demanding I go on blind dates and have children. Any old loser was a “good man” in her eyes. While I definitely wasn’t a supermodel, didn’t I deserve to marry a *normal* guy? I sighed. I accidentally clicked on an ad. Starlight Aesthetics Clinic. I was about to close it when four words caught my eye. [Breast Reduction Surgery…] I looked down at the two troublesome mounds on my chest. Memories flashed through my mind: classmates’ teasing in school, the blind date’s vulgar comments, and my own figure looking like a barrel in a sweatshirt… I was just an average girl, but these burdens always drew unwanted attention. It made me feel awkward and self-conscious, so much so that I rarely walked with my head held high. I hesitated for a moment, then dialed the consultation number.

The next day, Sunday, I made up an excuse to my mom and left the house. Coincidentally, Starlight Aesthetics Clinic was right across from the coffee shop where I had my blind date yesterday. Sitting in the consultation room, I felt a little nervous. The nurse who led me in poured me a glass of water. “Please wait a moment, ma’am. Dr. Wyatt will be in for your consultation shortly.” Perhaps seeing my tension, she tried to reassure me. “Dr. Wyatt is excellent! He guarantees beautiful results wherever you go!” Well, I don’t need *that*… just make them smaller. After waiting a bit longer, I heard footsteps outside the consultation room. A handsome guy, easily six feet one, walked in wearing a white lab coat. I was stunned. He looked incredibly handsome, making even a lab coat look like a designer trench coat. He paused when he saw me, a slight flicker of surprise in his eyes. I awkwardly stood up, my face heating up. It was the first time such a handsome man had stared at me, though his gaze was a little strange. “Dr. Wyatt, hello. I’m here to consult about… breast reduction surgery.” I said the last four words barely above a whisper. Dr. Wyatt snapped back to attention, a smile gracing his lips as he sat opposite me. I froze for a moment; his smile was truly captivating. If all my blind dates looked like him, that would be amazing. Dr. Wyatt first looked over the personal information the nurse had filled out for me, then asked: “Do you have a boyfriend?” “Huh?” I stared at him in surprise. “Does that have anything to do with the surgery?” Perhaps it was my imagination, but a hint of awkwardness flashed across Dr. Wyatt’s face. “Just casual conversation. Let’s see, your request is to reduce your cup size to an A?” I nodded, my voice a mosquito-like whisper. “No boyfriend. Yes, flat-chested would be best.” I was so envious of girls with smaller chests. Everything they wore looked so chic and sophisticated. Unlike me, I looked plump in too many clothes and trashy in too few. Dr. Wyatt looked thoughtful. “What’s your current cup size?” My face instantly flared crimson. “It might be… an E, I think… I’m not really sure…” My bras were all randomly bought online; the same size could be loose or tight. Dr. Wyatt’s charming eyes twinkled. “Would you mind if I took some measurements?” I felt myself flush from head to toe, unable to believe what I was hearing. “C-can I… have a female doctor instead?” Dr. Wyatt replied gently, “Breast reduction is a complex procedure, with high risks. If not done well, it can cause mammary gland damage. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it to anyone else.” I was startled. I mentally chanted, “It’s professional. It’s for my health,” and nodded in agreement. He stepped outside and called a nurse in. I secretly let out a sigh of relief. So it wasn’t just the two of us for the examination. Dr. Wyatt pulled back a curtain in the consultation room, gesturing for me to go inside. “There’s a camera there, but this area is out of its view.” My legs were trembling with nerves as I shuffled in, taking tiny steps. The nurse stayed outside the curtain and didn’t follow me in. A deep male voice resonated near my ear: “Please take off your top and unhook your bra.”

I closed my eyes and did as I was told. A sudden coolness spread across my chest. Dr. Wyatt held a stiff ruler and a soft measuring tape, moving them across my chest. My heart pounded like thunder, and I felt breathless. When he measured around, his fingers inevitably brushed against my skin. It felt like an electric shock, a current surging from my toes to my head. I awkwardly turned my head away. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I saw that Dr. Wyatt’s gaze was utterly focused and professional. Those few minutes felt like centuries. Finally, Dr. Wyatt spoke. “You can put your clothes back on now.” I fumbled to put my clothes on, but I just couldn’t hook my bra. Dr. Wyatt, turned to the side, tidying up his instruments. He hesitated, then asked, “Do you need the nurse to help you?” I quickly shook my head. “N-no… no, it’s fine. You can just help me yourself.” The moment the words left my lips, I saw Dr. Wyatt’s movements freeze. He looked stunned. I bit my tongue, wishing I could just bang my head against the wall. What a pathetic mess I was. How could I have blurted out the thought that had just flashed through my mind? Oh no. A handsome man like Dr. Wyatt, how could he possibly tolerate me saying something like that? He wouldn’t just kick me out, would he? I was sweating with anxiety, but my bra hook was stubbornly refusing to cooperate. A pleasant woody scent suddenly grew stronger. Dr. Wyatt’s face was right in front of me. He gently wrapped his arms around me, his hand reaching behind my back, and in one swift motion, he fastened my bra hook. His warm breath accidentally brushed against my earlobe. My whole body tingled. I didn’t dare to move. Afraid the man in front of me would hear my heart pounding like thunder. Dr. Wyatt’s expression remained composed. He绅士ly pulled away from me. “Alright, let’s talk at the desk.” Sitting back down, I was so nervous and embarrassed that I didn’t quite catch what Dr. Wyatt was saying. He good-naturedly repeated, “Your actual cup size is a D. It just appears much larger than other D-cup sizes because your breast shape is conical, unlike round or teardrop shapes.” “I don’t think this size should be impacting your daily life. Could you tell me your reason for wanting the surgery?” My gaze dropped, not daring to look at him. “Because they’re too prominent. They always attract attention.” Dr. Wyatt smiled. “You’re so beautiful, why are you afraid of people looking at you?” I looked up in surprise. “What?” Dr. Wyatt didn’t seem to be teasing me; his smile was utterly genuine. He stood up, leaned one hand on the desk, and bent over. His elegant, slender fingers gently removed my glasses. His voice was soft, almost caressing: “I think you look even better without your glasses.” The world suddenly turned blurry, and Dr. Wyatt’s handsome features looked like they were covered in a faint mosaic. I felt like I had seen him somewhere before. I murmured, “Wyatt?” He tilted his head. “Finally remember me?” His tone was as if… we were old friends reunited.

No one in my family had poor eyesight. I deliberately ruined my eyes. Back in school, my mom would always scold me whenever I looked at her. “Why are you staring with those big eyes? Do you think big eyes are pretty? Don’t you know you look so naive and uncultured like that, only attracting street thugs?” I was terrified of her and never dared to argue that I wasn’t staring. I could only read in the dark, writing with my face very close to the paper. Finally, I managed to develop nearsightedness and astigmatism, and I got to wear glasses as I wished. My mom picked out the most old-fashioned black frames with thick lenses for me. She finally seemed satisfied. “Now you look like a diligent, studious child.” But she was always contradictory; she never liked me wearing glasses on blind dates. That’s why it took me until now to realize that Dr. Wyatt was the same person I mistakenly thought was my blind date yesterday! How could it be such a coincidence?! I was so embarrassed I wanted to curl up and disappear. He wouldn’t think I tried to hit on him yesterday and then deliberately came here to harass him today, would he? And also, was Wyatt nearsighted too? Otherwise… otherwise, how could he say I was pretty? Wyatt picked up a large round mirror from the desk and held it in front of me. “My vision is perfect, 20/20. Don’t you ever look in the mirror?” Huh? I said what I was thinking out loud again? Today was truly mortifying. I instinctively looked at the mirror. My mom’s voice automatically echoed in my ears. “Your eyebrows are too thick, like a man’s. Your eyes are big but lifeless. Your nose is too small, your lips too thick. Your face is pale as a ghost, and your chin is too pointed, you look like you have no luck in life…” I’d heard those words for nearly twenty years. Every time I looked in the mirror, I’d think, maybe she was right. I really wasn’t good-looking. That’s why boys always teased me in school, and why so many blind dates after work never worked out. I lowered my head again. “Dr. Wyatt, I apologize for bothering you twice. Please don’t tease me.” Seeing my disbelief, Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “How about we make a bet?” I put my glasses back on, asking dumbly, “Huh? A bet… about what?” Wyatt’s handsome, thin lips opened and closed, glistening. I was mesmerized, instinctively nodding. When I came to my senses, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Wyatt’s slender, defined fingers tapped the desk. “Alright, if you lose… you have to grant me one wish.” “If I lose, I’ll perform your surgery for free.”

That afternoon, Wyatt took me to a high-end department store. A place I always passed but never dared to enter. He picked out two dresses for me, one black, one white, both absolutely gorgeous. I tried them on. The dresses had tight waists, making my chest look even more voluminous. The skirts flared slightly, revealing my legs, which were quite fair since I always wore long pants. Standing in front of the mirror, I barely recognized myself. I quietly said to Wyatt, “Department store mirrors are really something, huh? They have a built-in slimming effect.” Wyatt covered his forehead with a hand. “The mirrors are normal. Trust my aesthetic judgment, I am a plastic surgeon, after all.” “I think both dresses look great on you. Which one do you like?” I hesitated. I was too embarrassed to tell him I had trouble making decisions. Normally, when online shopping, I’d procrastinate until the minute before coupons expired before finally choosing. Maybe I should just pick one randomly? But the black one was more practical… the white one was more special… Which one to choose? Seeing I didn’t answer, Wyatt made the decision for me. “Let’s get both. They’re different styles anyway.” He pulled out his phone to pay, and I quickly stopped him. “I’ll pay myself.” I checked the tag—five digits. Two dresses would wipe out my savings. It hurt a little. Maybe I should just pick one? While I was still stunned, Wyatt had already paid, picked up the bags, and motioned for me to follow. It seemed treating decision-making paralysis just required money. I looked at the reflective floor of the mall, thinking hard, but couldn’t figure it out. What was Wyatt’s angle? I was so plain, so broke, so uninteresting… Was I really worth him spending so much money? Next, Wyatt took me to get my eyes checked and fitted me for daily disposable contact lenses. Silicone hydrogel, apparently, also very expensive… It was my first time wearing these, and I was clumsy. Wyatt gently caressed my cheek with his fingers, helping me put them in. The world was clearer than ever before. Except everything seemed a little bigger. I stared at the man’s Adam’s apple, swallowing hard. Wyatt looked at me with satisfaction. “Your skin is beautiful; you don’t even need makeup. You’re a natural beauty.” My face flushed again, a little thrill going through me. Maybe… I did have some good qualities?

After a busy half-day, we finally got to the main event. Wyatt and I stood at the door of a private karaoke room. He gave me a reassuring smile. “They’re all my friends inside. Don’t be nervous.” He suddenly leaned close, whispering in my ear. “If I win, don’t you dare refuse my… request.” With that, Wyatt pushed open the door to the room. Suddenly, I felt a strange anticipation for myself to lose. What request would he make? As I stepped into the room with Wyatt, under the dim lights, a dozen men and women turned to look at us. It was my first time being the center of attention in such a setting, and I nervously clutched the hem of my dress. The atmosphere froze for a second, then erupted into cheers. “The sun must be rising from the west! Dr. Wyatt actually brought a girl to a party! And she’s a beauty!” Wyatt subtly held up one finger to me. “Old Wyatt, where did you meet such a beautiful girl? You’re so lucky!” Wyatt curved his lips into a smile, holding up two fingers. “Hi, Future Sister-in-Law! You’re so pretty!” I quickly waved my hands. “We’re… just friends.” Wyatt mouthed the words: “Three.” Besides Wyatt and me, there were eight other people in the room. The bet was that if half the people complimented my looks, Wyatt would win. It wasn’t even half. He was going to lose. I knew it. Wyatt must have bad eyesight. Those three who just complimented me must have just been being polite. I lowered my head, feeling self-conscious. I didn’t see Wyatt’s face suddenly darken. A sophisticated-looking woman immediately pulled me to sit next to her. “I love sitting with pretty girls! I’m Stella, what’s your name, sweetie?” “Hi, I’m Chloe.” Wyatt won. He seemed to be in a great mood and picked a song. “Hard to forget the first time I saw you, those captivating eyes, your image in my mind… I can’t shake it…” Did Wyatt have *no* flaws? How could he even sing so beautifully?! He looked deeply into my direction. Was he looking at me?

I sat awkwardly in the corner. Wyatt’s friends were very welcoming and even pulled me into their group chat for planning get-togethers. Someone invited me to play dice. I shook my head. “Sorry, I don’t know how.” Someone asked what song I wanted to sing. I gave an embarrassed laugh. “I’ll just listen to you guys. I’m tone-deaf.” In the end, everyone else was enthusiastically enjoying themselves, while I shrank in the corner, scrolling on my phone. Just like every other friend gathering I’d ever been to. I swiped my phone screen back and forth, pretending to be busy. Someone next to me handed Stella the microphone. “The next song is a must-have for every gathering—your love duet with Wyatt!” “You two have been singing love songs together for years. When are you and Old Wyatt finally going to make it official?” Stella laughed playfully. “No rush. Old Wyatt and I have known each other for years; we understand each other perfectly.” Oh. So Wyatt wasn’t looking at me earlier. For a second, I actually thought he was singing that song to *me*. Of course, I was just deluding myself. Stella seemed like a girl a hundred times better than me. I picked up a drink from the table and gulped it down. My phone vibrated. It was my mom. I jumped in fright. If my mom found out I was at a karaoke bar, I’d be dead. Wyatt finished singing. Stella took the microphone and walked towards him, ready for their duet. I quietly ran out of the room to answer my mom’s call. “Chloe! What time is it?! Aren’t you coming home? Don’t you have work tomorrow morning?!” I timidly replied, “I’m on my way back now.” “You don’t have a boyfriend! A single girl staying out until 10 PM, people will say I raised you poorly…” I quickly hung up. Stepping out, I realized it was raining. And it was coming down pretty hard. The ride-sharing app showed 200 people ahead of me in the queue. I was about to dash into the rain when someone grabbed my arm. I turned around. Wyatt’s face was expressionless. “Was my singing that bad? Did it scare you away?” I stammered, “I-it was… really good. My mom called and told me to come home. Aren’t you supposed to sing a duet with Stella? So I didn’t say goodbye.” Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t want to hear me sing a love song with someone else?” I lowered my head. “No…” What right did I have not to want to hear it? A large hand gently stroked the top of my head. “Why are you always so cautious? Never mind, if you don’t like these kinds of places, I’ll drive you home.”

The car was parked in the open-air lot. Wyatt told me to wait while he drove it over. I felt a little guilty enjoying the ride, so I ran with him to the parking lot. The rain was heavy, and it was windy too. By the time I struggled to reach the car, I was soaked from head to toe. Once inside, Wyatt rummaged for tissues. I couldn’t take my eyes off his drenched T-shirt. “One, two…” Two clean white tissues were offered to me. “What are you counting?” “Abs…” I answered subconsciously, then immediately realized what I’d said. Wyatt didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Instead, he leaned his arm back. His T-shirt clung to his body, clearly revealing a six-pack and two pink n*pples peeking through. A perfectly sculpted body like something out of a comic book, paired with his handsome face. I couldn’t control myself and swallowed hard. A little embarrassing. Wyatt’s lips curved into a smile. “Checking me out before you pay, is that fair?” “What?” Before I could react, Wyatt’s fingers pinched my chin, and he kissed me. At first, it was just a gentle brush, a tentative touch of lips. My hands were on Wyatt’s shoulders. I meant to push him away, but somehow, they ended up circling his neck instead. Wyatt seemed encouraged. His tongue gently parted my lips, stealing all my breath. The temperature inside the car instantly soared. The single sip of alcohol I’d had earlier seemed to spread through my entire body, making my limbs go weak. Wyatt’s kisses grew more aggressive, as if he wanted to devour me whole. I let out a soft moan of discomfort. I was suffocating. I still hadn’t learned to breathe during a kiss. After a long while, Wyatt finally took pity on me and pulled back slightly, but he didn’t get up. He leaned against my cheek, whispering in my ear: “Chloe, you really should see how beautiful you are right now.” His hot breath brushed my earlobe. His muscular chest pressed tightly against my softness. Making my body tremble from head to toe. “Wyatt…” My phone buzzed with continuous SnapChat notifications. The intimate atmosphere in the car was instantly shattered. I didn’t even need to look to know my mom was bombing me with messages and voice notes again. Wyatt pulled away from me, glanced at the screen, and asked, “Is it okay not to reply?” I clutched my phone, embarrassed and furious, and pressed the power button, turning it off. I’d been a good girl for twenty-something years. What if I let loose for one night? The feeling just now was too good. I really wanted it to continue. If Wyatt asked if I wanted him to take me home, how should I answer? Would it be too forward to say I didn’t want to go home? But I really wanted to keep kissing… Unknowingly, I started overthinking again. Wyatt chuckled softly, then leaned in once more. I closed my eyes, only to feel a cool sensation across my chest. Huh? He had pulled out my seatbelt and fastened it for me. “To my place.” It wasn’t a question. Wyatt knew what I wanted at that moment. A spacious penthouse in the city center. With floor-to-ceiling windows and an entire wall dedicated to a wine collection.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297191”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance

The Elder had spoken, his voice echoing a chilling prophecy: a week from now, a devastating apocalypse would descend upon us. Everyone was convinced it would be a zombie apocalypse. Harper, with her formidable combat skills, was instantly elevated to the status of a living savior. As for me, with my water-based power, I was labeled a useless freak. “I believe your power is water, isn’t it? You lame-ass, with that pathetic ability of yours. What, are you planning to go spray the zombies awake?” Harper, my arch-nemesis, sneered. “Tell you what, why don’t you get on your knees, grovel a bit, then sleep with that homeless guy over there, and finally transfer eight hundred thousand to me? Then I’ll consider protecting you, no hard feelings. What do you say?” But soon after, the sun fractured, splitting into three. It turned out to be a scorching heat apocalypse. And there I was, riding my husky, Mochi, like a deity incarnate. “You pathetic losers, kneel before your Queen!” **1** On the day the nine stars aligned, the most revered Oracle in the sanctuary delivered a chilling prophecy: a week from then, a devastating apocalypse would arrive. After uttering his prediction, the Oracle departed from this world. From then on, no one knew what kind of apocalypse it would be. As for me, upon hearing the news, I was so excited I tumbled down the stairs and injured my leg. I was left hobbling around on a crutch, limping out the door. Only… I’d barely taken a few steps outside when Mochi, my husky, came trotting out. The little jerk immediately started mimicking my limp. Right behind him, a Corgi, a Golden Retriever, and a Shiba Inu quickly followed, copying Mochi’s absurd walk. Seriously? What is wrong with you guys? Fuming, I raised my crutch, ready to whack them. Just then, a startled cry came from nearby: “Look at those dogs! Their walk is so weird. What if they’ve caught the zombie virus?” “The Oracle’s apocalypse prediction… it couldn’t be a zombie apocalypse, could it?” My lips twitched. Without a word, I swung my crutch right at Mochi’s butt. He yelped, then bolted, charging toward the chatting group with an even more bizarre limp. Seeing this, the group looked even more terrified, running several blocks with Mochi hot on their heels. The news of a zombie apocalypse spread like wildfire. **2** As soon as the news broke, Harper, possessing the most powerful combat ability, was instantly hailed as the savior, poised to rescue the world. Unfortunately, Harper and I had a bit of history. It was nothing original—just the cliché scenario where her crush confessed his feelings to me. Even though I turned him down, for some reason, she was hell-bent on labeling me a shameless bitch. “Looking to buy instant noodles? Fine, get on your knees and beg me nicely, and I *might* consider selling them to you.” I’d just picked up a pack of instant noodles when an unwelcome guest appeared. Harper, chin haughtily raised, arrogantly kicked me – crutch and all – sending me flying. I gasped, a sharp sting shooting through me. Combat powers were no joke; she really knew how to make it hurt. I scrambled back up, rubbing my bruised arm. “Do these instant noodles have your name on them? Do I need your permission to buy them?” At that, Harper burst into what sounded like the biggest joke ever. “Oh, everyone, listen up! Is this little bitch dreaming? Did she hit her head when she fell? I’m dying laughing. Does she even know what my status is now?” The people around us immediately chimed in: “Yeah, do you even know what kind of apocalypse is coming? A zombie apocalypse! Harper’s power is the strongest for fighting in this sanctuary. She’s a hero who’s going to save the world!” “Let me tell you, Harper’s a huge deal now. Forget a single store; if she wanted the entire bank vault, all she’d have to do is snap her fingers.” “No exaggeration, forget instant noodles. Even if a penny fell from the sky right now, it would belong to Harper. Got it?” “The apocalypse is in a few days. Without her, we’d all be dead. Forget about eating instant noodles.” Listening to their endless sucking up, Harper smiled smugly. “Hear that? Zombie apocalypse. If you want my protection, you’d better behave. Otherwise… oh, I remember your power is water, right? Just that pathetic ability. What, are you planning on giving the zombies a refreshing shower?” Waves of laughter erupted around us. I just smiled slowly, unhurriedly, blinking my eyes. “But I remember the Oracle’s prophecy didn’t specify what kind of apocalypse it would be, did it? Who said it’s definitely a zombie apocalypse? What if it’s a heat apocalypse?” **3** At my words, everyone froze, seemingly pondering what I’d said. Seeing their resolve waver, Harper quickly jumped in: “Heat apocalypse? It’s been raining constantly for months! How could it be a heat apocalypse? I think you’re just jealous that I can save everyone!” “Don’t listen to this little bitch spreading dangerous lies! Everyone saw it that day; that dog clearly mutated! Yesterday it was a dog, tomorrow it could be people! What else could it be but a zombie apocalypse?” I let out a cold laugh. “I’ve heard of people hiding behind a dog’s bark, but never a human *relying* on one.” Especially when it was *my* dog. The nerve! Harper’s eyes blazed with fury, and she raised her hand, ready to slap me. “What did you say? Did you just insult me?” Just then, Mochi, who had gone out for a stroll, came running back. I casually grabbed a hot dog from a shelf and dangled it in front of him. He immediately flopped down, drooling and grinning. I raised an eyebrow. “Besides, mutated? Zombie dog? With this level of stupidity?” The crowd whispered again, “He doesn’t look *that* abnormal…” “What do you mean not abnormal? Look, would a normal dog drool non-stop and get this fat? Isn’t that abnormal?” Before Harper could finish, Mochi snarled and barked furiously at her. Harper jumped, but quickly regained her composure, her expression certain. “See? Barking for no reason! That’s a sign of zombie virus infection! Because the mutation started with Blair’s dog, she’s afraid everyone will blame her, so she’s trying to confuse you all. If you believe her and get infected when the apocalypse hits, don’t come crying to me to save you!” Mochi barked even louder. I rolled my eyes, utterly speechless. Seriously? Someone calls you fat and abnormal, and you don’t even object? And then you blame my dog for barking. You’re literally worse than a dog. I dug in my ear, then whispered to Mochi, “They won’t let me buy you food, and they’re calling you abnormal. Can you really stand for that?” Then, I loosened my grip. Sure enough, the next second, he charged at Harper, boiling with rage. Harper was afraid of dogs. Seeing Mochi charging, she shrieked, forgetting all about her own power, and bolted. But two human legs were no match for four dog legs. Just as Mochi was about to catch Harper, a furious roar came from behind. “Stop it!” **4** I followed the sound and saw Aiden. The man who had confessed to me, and Harper’s crush. Tall, with broad shoulders, a lean build, and a physique that just screamed ‘hot’ in those gray pants. I rubbed my chin. I had to admit, Harper had good taste. Aiden seemed to realize that telling a dog to “stop it” was a bit pointless. He turned to me, furious. “Blair, get your dog to stop right now! I know you can’t accept the news about Harper and me, and jealousy is a natural human emotion, I get that. But do you have any idea how many people you’ll get killed by seeking revenge like this? How can you be so malicious?” When people are truly speechless, they just laugh. Any fleeting good impression I had of him instantly vanished. “Oh, *you’re* not malicious, so why don’t *you* go save her?” I raised an eyebrow. “Or are you scared of being bitten by a dog too?” Aiden’s face flushed red as his secret was exposed. He retorted angrily, “How could I be? I’m being cautious! Do you even know what my power is? Healing! How many people are depending on my power to survive the zombie apocalypse? If something happened to me, could you take responsibility?” As he spoke, he became more and more self-righteous, as if he truly believed himself to be a white knight saving lives. I couldn’t help but chuckle. We hadn’t even figured out what kind of apocalypse it was yet, and he was already this high on himself? What a character. “Oh my God, a healing power! That’s definitely going to be a huge help in a zombie apocalypse! We’re saved!” “Perfectly complements Harper’s combat power. I’m shipping it! I approve this marriage!” “Absolutely! Only a divine figure like Harper deserves to be with Mr. Aiden. How could Blair, with her useless water power, even dream of him?” The surrounding chatter grew louder. I frowned. Before I could say anything, he cleared his throat and continued, “Although you were the one who originally tried to seduce me, wearing that short dress and skirt, I admit, I was fooled and charmed by you for a while. But now it’s the apocalypse, and your water power is simply too useless. I can’t tolerate being with a nobody. So, I’m sorry, we’re not a good match. My heart now belongs only to Harper.”

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The day Eleanor and I got married, the man who had taken my place committed suicide. By our second year of marriage, that event had completely torn us apart. She hated that I, the true heir, had returned and caused Brandon Montgomery’s death. I resented her for still clinging to the man who had usurped my identity for twenty years. For ten years, we attacked each other with the vilest words, cursing each other to hell. Until an earthquake hit. She shielded me with her body, her spine bearing the brunt, creating a path for me to survive. The ceiling beam crashed down, leaving her a bloody mess. As she lay dying, she whispered in my ear, “If I had known he would die, I wish I’d never brought you home.” “If there’s a next life, I only want you as my family.” Ultimately, I died in the aftershocks. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she brought me to meet my birth family. She suddenly pulled back. “Julian, I made a mistake. The Montgomery family’s son, lost twenty years ago, isn’t you.”

Eleanor blocked my path outside the Montgomery family’s mansion, her face a mix of struggle and grim determination. I said nothing, but instantly, a vision flashed before my eyes: steel and concrete crashing down, her bloodied spine, and her words whispered into my ear. “If I had known he would die, I wish I’d never brought you home.” So, this was her choice. In another life, she’d choose to abandon me from the very start. Fine by me. Those ten years of hellish marriage in my previous life—she hated me, I resented her. We tortured each other day and night, finding release only in death. Now, to be able to cut all of it off at the source, I felt a strange sense of relief. I looked at her and calmly nodded. “Okay.” A flicker of surprise crossed Eleanor’s eyes; all her prepared arguments got stuck in her throat. “What did you say?” she almost instinctively blurted out. “I said I understand,” I repeated. “Since it was a mistake, let’s just leave it at that. Thanks for bringing me here; I should head back to school.” With that, I turned to leave. But her hand shot out, grabbing my arm. “Julian!” She sharply called out my name, her voice laced with a hint of panic. “What kind of attitude is that? Didn’t you always want to find your family? Now that I’m saying you’re not, you’re giving up so easily?!” I turned back to her, finding it somewhat amusing. She’d gone to great lengths to lie, precisely because she wanted me to give up, didn’t she? Now that I was doing exactly what she wanted, she wasn’t satisfied. “What else?” I countered. “Eleanor, are you telling me that what you said wasn’t the truth, and I actually *am* the Montgomery family’s real son?” Upon hearing that, the panic in her eyes intensified, and her grip on my arm tightened unconsciously. She lowered her gaze, not letting me see her expression. “Let’s just drop this. Don’t ever bring it up again, and don’t go near the Montgomery family.” “I understand.” I pulled my hand free, rubbing my wrist where her grip had left it red. “I won’t bring it up again, and I won’t go near them. Eleanor, are you satisfied now?” She looked at my empty hand, as if she’d lost something important, her expression momentarily bewildered. She didn’t know I’d been reborn too. In this life, I wouldn’t step through that door again, wouldn’t become a Montgomery, and certainly wouldn’t… become her husband again. She wanted to protect her childhood friend, to complete their world. I’d gladly hand it to her. “I’m leaving.” I didn’t look at her again, turning towards the bus stop. Behind me, Eleanor’s voice chased after me, tinged with irritation. “Stop! I’ll drive you back.” Eleanor didn’t take me back to my school dorm. Instead, she drove straight to a luxury apartment in the city center. I watched the rapidly receding streetlights outside the window, understanding perfectly. In my previous life, after we married, this had been our home. It had held our tenderest moments, and it had also witnessed how we slowly became a resentful couple, eventually consumed by hatred. The car stopped. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face me. In the dim light of the car, her expression was unreadable, but her tone had softened considerably, unlike her harsh voice at the Montgomery mansion gate earlier. “Let’s go inside. We need to talk.”

I followed her into the apartment. The familiar decor, the minimalist design with cool tones – just like her, elegant and aloof. Only this time, I felt not a trace of the fondness I once had. She pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and tossed it to me, then walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and lit a slender cigarette. White smoke curled, forming a hazy mist that seemed to separate us. “Julian, I know you’re upset,” she began, her voice muffled through the smoke. “I didn’t handle the situation with your identity well. But Brandon’s mental state is very unstable right now. He… can’t handle any more stress.” Always Brandon Montgomery. I lowered my eyes, twisted open the cap, and silently took a sip of water. The cold liquid slid down my throat, but it couldn’t quell the bitter surge in my heart. She’d said the same thing in my previous life. She’d said Brandon had a history of self-harm, that he was fragile, and asked me to be more accommodating after I was reunited with my family. I listened. I let him have all of Eleanor’s favoritism. I even chose to back down and stay silent during his countless unreasonable provocations. Yet, he used a suicide attempt to condemn my marriage with Eleanor to a ten-year life sentence. Seeing my silence, Eleanor assumed I was still upset about not being able to join the Montgomery family. She put out her cigarette with a sigh of resignation. She turned, walked over to me, and looked up slightly at me sitting on the couch, a hint of reassurance in her eyes. “Please, don’t be mad at me, okay?” Her voice was soft as she reached out and covered my hand holding the water bottle. “I admit, I messed up today. I gave you false hope.” “Whatever compensation you want, just name it. Anything I can give, I will.” She paused, her voice turning earnest. “But the Montgomery family… let’s just put that out of our minds for now, alright?” Her guard was completely down; the love for me practically poured from her eyes. I saw it clearly: she was truly afraid of my anger, afraid of me leaving her. But this love came at the cost of my identity. I looked up, meeting her gaze, and a sudden urge to laugh overcame me. “I don’t want anything.” I calmly pulled my hand away, a movement that dimmed the light in her eyes for a moment. “Don’t worry. Even if the Montgomery family came begging on their knees, offering their entire fortune, I wouldn’t spare them a glance.” “You don’t need to apologize. You don’t owe me anything. Let’s just end this between us.” Eleanor’s brows furrowed tightly. She suddenly stood up straight, her face instantly turning cold. “End this? Julian, are you playing games with me? Because I didn’t let you go back to the Montgomery family, you’re trying to force my hand like this?” She leaned in close, hands braced on the sofa beside me, trapping me in her presence. “I only told you not to go back to the Montgomery family. I didn’t say I was breaking up with you! We can be like before. No, I’ll be even better to you than before!” I looked at her and suddenly felt incredibly tired. She thought that by stripping me of my “true Montgomery heir” identity, we could return to square one, loving each other safely. But she didn’t know that the root of our tragedy was never about whether I returned to the Montgomery family or not. “Eleanor,” I pushed her away, stood up, and widened the distance between us. “I’m tired. I want to go home.” With that, I walked towards the door, not looking back. This time, she didn’t stop me.

In the days that followed, I threw myself entirely into the final preparations for my overseas application. Soon, I received an acceptance letter from a university abroad, with my departure date set for the following month. The day before I was due to leave, I had just walked out of the library when two men in black suits blocked my path. “Mr. Hayes, Ms. Thorne would like to see you.” I was forced into a car that sped off, eventually stopping at the top floor of a skyscraper overlooking the entire city skyline. “Ms. Thorne is busy. Please wait here.” The bodyguard led me into a glass-walled room, then turned and locked the door. The room had an excellent view, with an entire wall made of huge, floor-to-ceiling glass. And directly opposite the glass was the city’s most exclusive rooftop garden restaurant. At that moment, the restaurant was brightly lit, buzzing with people, and a grand birthday party was underway. The guest of honor was Brandon Montgomery. He was dressed in a lavish suit, surrounded by a crowd. And standing beside him, adjusting his tie, gazing at him tenderly, was Eleanor. I watched as Eleanor took Brandon’s hand and they began the first dance. They spun, drew close, whispered, intimately resembling a perfect couple. The surrounding guests clapped, their faces filled with congratulations. I suddenly wanted to laugh—laugh at my obsession in the previous life. Was it worth sacrificing my entire life for a woman who didn’t love me? I closed my eyes, not wanting to see that dazzling scene anymore. But Eleanor’s bloodied face from the earthquake in the previous life, and her trembling spine as she shielded me, resurfaced in my mind, uncontrollably. She hated me, yet she saved me. This debt felt like a giant net, trapping me, unable to move. I don’t know how much time passed, but the party seemed to be winding down. The door behind me suddenly opened. I turned and saw Brandon Montgomery standing in the doorway. A triumphant smile played on his lips as he walked towards me, step by step. “Julian Hayes,” he stopped in front of me, looking down at me. “How does it feel? Watching the woman you love throw such a grand birthday party for *me*?” It clicked. These bodyguards weren’t sent by Eleanor; they were Brandon’s. He wanted me to give up completely. But he didn’t need to do this; in this life, I had no feelings left for Eleanor. I said nothing, just looked at him coldly. My silence seemed to infuriate him, and the smile on his face twisted. “You think you can pretend to be noble by staying silent? Let me tell you, what’s not yours, you’ll never get!” He leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “Do you know? If you hadn’t suddenly appeared, Eleanor and I would have been engaged by now! You ruined everything for me!” “Are you done?” I asked calmly. “If so, please let me leave.” Brandon Montgomery trembled with rage at my attitude. He suddenly pulled a knife from his suit’s inner pocket, its blade gleaming menacingly in the light. My heart clenched. “What are you going to do?” “What am I going to do?” Brandon sneered, a flicker of madness in his eyes. “I’m going to show Eleanor how you pushed me! I’m going to make her realize that as long as you exist, I’ll never have peace!” Before I could react, he raised the knife and slashed his own wrist. He looked at me, a smile on his face, then shrieked loudly, “Please! I can give you anything! Why do you insist on pushing me to my death?!” Outside, hurried footsteps immediately sounded. Eleanor was the first to rush in, clutching Brandon tightly in her arms, her face grim. Brandon leaned weakly against her, pale, and pointed a trembling finger at me. “Eleanor, he said he’s the real Montgomery son, that I don’t deserve any of this, that I should just die…” Eleanor looked up, her eyes blazing with fury. “Julian Hayes,” she said coldly. “Didn’t I warn you to behave?” “Today is Brandon’s birthday. It was supposed to be the happiest day for him, and you ruined everything!”

I looked at her, my heart sinking deeper and deeper into despair. She’d forgotten that today was actually my birthday too. Brandon and I were born on the same day, same month, same year. Only one was in the clouds, and the other in the mud. She immediately summoned the bodyguards to restrain me and threw a combat knife at my feet. Her words were almost merciless. “However much blood he spilled, you’ll pay back double!” I stared at her in disbelief. “Eleanor, are you insane?!” I began to struggle violently. But she only gave me a glance and ordered the bodyguards to act. Sharp pain instantly shot through my arm, and warm blood immediately welled up. I groaned, cold sweat beaded on my forehead, and I bit down hard, my mouth filled with a metallic taste. The second cut, the third cut… I didn’t know how many times I was cut, only that the pain had turned numb, and everything before my eyes began to blur. I looked at Eleanor’s cold face, at the triumphant smirk on Brandon’s lips as he lay in her arms. My heart truly died. “Enough,” Eleanor finally said, stopping the bodyguards. “After you’re done, take him to the hospital.” With that, she didn’t look at me again, carrying Brandon in her arms as she swept out. I lay in a pool of blood, my consciousness slowly fading. Before I completely lost consciousness, I thought I saw that earthquake again. This time, Eleanor wasn’t shielding me. She simply stood by, coldly watching as I was swallowed by massive rubble, not a ripple in her eyes. Eleanor, this debt for saving my life, I’ve repaid it. When I opened my eyes again, the scent of hospital disinfectant hung in the air. Eleanor sat by my bedside. Seeing me awake, her eyes lit up. “I’m sorry,” she suddenly said. I froze. “Last night, I went too far.” She lowered her eyes, her voice filled with regret. “I was so angry at the time; I couldn’t control my emotions. I…” “So?” I cut her off, asking calmly, “Are you saying you regret it?” She sharply looked up, her lips moved, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, it was just a sigh. “Julian, don’t talk to me like that.” Her voice softened. “I know you hate me, but Brandon really almost died.” “Eleanor,” I looked into her eyes. “You don’t need to apologize. Just consider this me repaying what I owed you.” “Owed me?” She frowned, clearly not understanding what I meant. “Yes.” I managed a bitter smile. “In my previous life, you saved my life during the earthquake. In this life, I’ve repaid you with a life. We’re even now.” As I finished speaking, a crash sounded as the chair was knocked over by her sudden movement. Her lips trembled, and her pupils constricted violently in shock. “You… you were reborn too?”

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I turned away after witnessing my childhood friend, drugged and burning with desire, drag the principal’s daughter into the bathroom. In my past life, I had rushed in to stop his violent act. But that only put me in danger. By the time the police arrived, my school uniform was torn to shreds. Photos of me disheveled in the bathroom went viral online. “So much for being the cold, top student. She’s just a sl*t who can’t control herself.” My reputation was ruined, and I was expelled from school. My childhood friend married me to save his own reputation. But our marriage was my true hell. I fell into severe depression and mental instability, losing eight pregnancies in ten years. People gossiped that I was promiscuous, that my body was worn out from being used by too many men. My parents, trying to make amends to my husband, poured all their efforts into supporting him. But the first thing he did after gaining full control of my family’s company was to frame my father for financial crimes. My father died of a heart attack in prison. My mother, unable to bear such a huge blow, died in a car accident. When I heard the news, I was devastated beyond words. But my husband of ten years appeared before me, arm in arm with a transfer student: “You b*tch, if you hadn’t interfered back then, Lily and I would have been together long ago. She wouldn’t have been forced by her parents to abort our child.” I coughed up blood and died with my eyes wide open in disbelief. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my childhood friend was drugged.

After school, there weren’t many people left in the building. I took deep breaths of fresh air, trying to calm my emotions after being suddenly pulled back from the hatred and fear of my death. Lily was handing Zack a bottle of water. It contained an aphrodisiac that would inflame his desires. In my past life, I had accidentally discovered Lily pouring an unknown white powder into the water. I exposed her on the spot. But Zack didn’t believe me. He insisted on drinking the water anyway. He even asked if I was jealous because Lily was prettier than me, and that’s why I was always targeting her. This time, I didn’t try to stop him. After taking the water, Zack instinctively looked at me. “You’re not going to try to control even my drinking water, are you?” “Do whatever you want,” I said with a wave of my hand. Lily couldn’t miss any opportunity to attack me. She immediately chimed in: “Natalie, your possessiveness over Zack is too much. Doesn’t he even have the freedom to make friends?” With those words, the few classmates who hadn’t gone home yet gave me strange looks. Zack’s face darkened even more. “She’s nothing, just a bookworm,” he muttered. I gripped my pen tightly, hatred surging in my eyes. “Are you two done? I haven’t said anything from start to finish, have I?” I retorted. Zack was taken aback and fell silent, his face stony. Lily continued to stir up trouble. “You might not have said anything, but your face looks very unhappy. I just said a few words to Zack, and you’re already scowling.” Hearing this, Zack shot me an annoyed glare. As if to spite me, he drank the entire bottle of water. In my past life, I had knocked the bottle away, so he only took one sip. But even that one sip was enough to make him lose control. I couldn’t imagine what would happen now that he had drunk the entire bottle. I found myself looking forward to it, in a twisted way. Seeing him finish the water, Lily could barely contain her excitement. She grabbed Zack’s hand. “Zack, walk me home?” Of course, Zack wouldn’t refuse. The two of them left the classroom hand in hand. Ten minutes later, Penny, our class monitor, burst into the classroom, her face flushed red. By then, I was the only one left in the room. Penny stammered, clearly struggling to say something difficult. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Zack and Lily?” I asked proactively. Penny grabbed my hand: “Yes, yes, it’s them… they… they…” “What happened?” I asked, looking directly into Penny’s eyes and pretending I knew nothing. I used to trust Penny implicitly. She wasn’t just our class monitor, but had been my desk mate for all three years of high school. I thought we were best friends who could tell each other anything. But I never imagined she would stomp on me so hard after the incident. She told everyone that I had a crush on Zack and drugged him myself. She even started a livestream to denounce my actions. “I was her desk mate for three years, I always knew she liked Zack. I just never thought she would actually do something like this.” “Natalie is a sex addict. She… she once called ten male escorts in one night.” “I tried to advise her, but she wouldn’t listen. She also had an unclear relationship with the old widower next door…” This livestream pushed the whole incident to its climax. I was completely cast into the abyss, and the school persuaded me to drop out. Later, I ran into her by chance. By then, she had already climbed to a high position. “Thank you. If it weren’t for your incident, I wouldn’t have been able to take your spot for early admission to the top university and end up where I am now.” As the memories flooded back, I stared hard at Penny. In my past life, she and I had discovered Zack dragging Lily into the bathroom together. I rushed in to stop him, while Penny said she would go call for help. But she just hid to the side to watch and record videos… Seeing that I wasn’t in a hurry, Penny became flustered and incoherent. “Zack dragged Lily into the men’s bathroom. Lily kept crying, Zack… Zack is trying to assault Lily.” “But don’t they like each other? How do you know Lily isn’t willing?” I asked. Hearing me say this, Penny was stunned. Everyone in our class knew that Zack and Lily were flirting, just short of making it official. Penny anxiously grabbed my wrist. “But they’re still students, they can’t do this!” “Come on, let’s go take a look. We can’t just ignore this.”

The calculation in Penny’s eyes was about to spill over. She just wanted to ruin me to get the early admission spot to the top university. I didn’t say anything more and followed her downstairs. On the way, I secretly sent pre-written SOS messages to the principal and other school leaders, as well as contacting some influencers who were livestreaming nearby. Lily was the principal’s daughter, after all. In my past life, when persuading me to drop out, the principal had utterly humiliated me, saying I was damaged goods that had been ridden by thousands. This time, I wanted the principal to get a good look at the show her daughter was putting on. As we approached the bathroom, we could hear ambiguous sounds coming from inside. “Zack, baby, more, I want more.” “Zack, you’re so good.” The woman’s moans and the man’s grunts were nonstop. Penny’s eyes darted around: “Natalie, you go in first to stop them. I’ll go find someone to help.” “No, I can’t go in. Let’s just wait here for the teachers,” I said, shrinking my neck and pretending to be scared. Penny glared at me in annoyance. She forced down her temper and lowered her voice: “If you don’t go in now, they’ll go all the way. Do you really want to let Zack go to Lily?” The bathroom’s outer door wasn’t fully closed. Through the crack, I could see Zack pressing Lily against the wall. Lily was half-undressed, exposing herself. Zack was frantically tearing at Lily’s uniform, biting all over her body. Lily pretended to struggle, but wasn’t actually using any strength. Her coy resistance only made Zack more uncontrollable. I pressed my lips together tightly, pretending to be conflicted: “Okay, you’re right. I’ll go in now.” Just as I was about to push the door open, I turned back to Penny and said, “Hurry and find a teacher. I can’t hold out for long.” Penny nodded eagerly. She turned and ran. But after rounding a corner, she came back. She gleefully took out her phone, started recording, and wedged it into the door crack. Inside was chaotic, with lewd sounds coming out unabashedly. After doing this, Penny finally went to find teachers and security guards, feeling very pleased with herself. When a group of people rushed to the teaching building, the couple inside were still going at it vigorously. Penny covered her face and cried, blocking the principal. “Teacher, I… I don’t know why they’re doing this!” The principal’s face was dark with anger. She didn’t know her daughter Lily was inside. Penny hadn’t clarified who exactly was in there. Penny wanted to ruin not just me, but Lily as well. After all, in her eyes, we were both her competitors. Today, education bureau officials happened to be visiting for an inspection. Now, a group of education officials were following the principal to “catch people in the act”. The scene couldn’t be more dramatic. The principal was shaking with rage. With education officials watching, it seemed her chances for promotion were likely ruined. I guessed the principal probably wanted to kill the adulterous couple inside right now. The principal tried to move forward. Penny blocked the principal again, crying and wailing, “Principal, inside is… is is…” She pretended to be reluctant. The principal grabbed her shoulders, “Who is it?” Penny acted like she had been frightened to tears, and said between sobs, “It’s Natalie.” The principal naturally knew who I was. My grades were always top of the year, and I was the most promising candidate for early admission to the top university. The principal’s eyes bulged with rage. “That sl—” She abruptly cut off the insult she was about to hurl. The education officials were still watching, so the principal couldn’t speak too harshly at this moment. The people inside were still lost in their passion, completely unaware of the commotion outside. The lewd sounds coming from inside grew even more unbridled. Penny covered her chest and cried: “Natalie, how could you be so foolish! Why can’t you control yourself? Are you really that desperate for men?” With those words, the education officials’ expressions turned extremely unpleasant. They considered themselves respectable people and didn’t want to barge in at a moment like this. A group of people with varying expressions waited downstairs, looking at each other awkwardly. “Me? What about me?” I finally emerged from my hiding place in the shadows.

“Why are you here?” Penny cried out in shock. The principal eyed me suspiciously, “It’s not you? Then who’s inside?” I shrugged, “I don’t know. I didn’t see clearly who it was.” Since Penny deliberately concealed it, I naturally had no reason to expose it. At this moment, several influencers who had received my message barged in, ignoring the school security guards trying to stop them. “Wow, the students at your school are so open, having sex in broad daylight.” “Yeah, Principal, aren’t you going to take us for a look?” “Principal, what are your thoughts on this? Chat with the viewers in our livestream.” The principal’s face turned ashen. She clenched her jaw and said nothing. Penny stared at me intently, finally losing it. She grabbed my hand: “Didn’t you go in? Then who went in just now?” “I was scared and didn’t dare go in,” I said, trying hard to squeeze out tears and acting like a coward. Penny was so angry she raised her hand to slap me. Just as her palm was about to hit my face, she stopped herself abruptly, glaring at me fiercely. The influencers’ cameras zoomed in. Comments in the livestream were scrolling rapidly. [666, this is so exciting.] [You can tell how intense it is just from the sounds.] [Streamer, hurry up and go in to record. Let us bros feast our eyes.] The influencer chuckled, “I wouldn’t dare. If I went in, my stream would get banned immediately.” I turned away from the camera and flashed a smile at Penny. She stared at me in shock, her eyes wide. “You…” “What’s wrong, class monitor?” I asked innocently. An education bureau official’s face had turned red. He pointed at the bathroom: “Old Lin, go talk some sense into your students!” This incident could no longer be covered up. The principal was so angry her face was twitching. “Good, good, good. These students are really something.” As the principal charged towards the bathroom, I ran over crying and grabbed her. “Teacher, you’d better not go in.” The principal shoved me away forcefully. “Get lost! Why are you all trying to stop me? What are you up to?” Everyone frowned as they looked at me. Penny had finally reacted by now. She hid in the crowd, staring at me unblinkingly. She must have thought of something, because she suddenly ran over. “Natalie, stop interfering with them. I know you like Zack, but he deserves this,” she said. She acted like she was looking out for me as she pulled me away, her voice full of pain: “We’re just students. We shouldn’t get involved in the teachers’ business.” Seeing that I still wanted to block the way, the principal pushed me aside forcefully. I cried my heart out, wailing to the livestream cameras: “But there are so many people here. If this gets out, what will happen to the people inside?” I pretended to be very concerned about the people inside. On camera, of course I had to act like I cared about my classmates. This time, I was the only one occupying the moral high ground. Hearing this, the principal paused. The education officials also looked troubled. On camera, they couldn’t just barge in to “catch people in the act” like this. If it caused the students involved to do something drastic, they couldn’t bear that responsibility. So the group of people hesitated about 30 meters away from the bathroom in the teaching building. We weren’t very close, but we could still clearly hear the sounds from inside. The influencers tried to get closer to film, but were blocked by the security guards. And so, the group waited outside like cats on hot bricks. It took a full two hours before the noises inside finally died down. The bathroom door opened. But to everyone’s surprise, the satiated-looking man who walked out wasn’t a student from our school. The man was burly and strong, with a scar on his face. Seeing so many eyes staring at him, he spat in disgust. “What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out.” Seeing it was some thug, the principal visibly relaxed. As long as it wasn’t students involved, it would be easier to handle. But then someone cried out in shock, “Holy sh*t, inside…”

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