Category: English

I was known as the “airhead eye candy” of the entertainment industry. Because I admitted in an interview that I had never taken the SATs, netizens had been mocking me for years. In contrast, the “genius straight-A student” actress, Chloe, had a much better public image, and her fans constantly used me as a stepping stone to praise her. Until one day, a renowned physics professor at MIT posted on Facebook: [The two best students both went into acting! Not a single one is doing experiments! Angry.] That night, it trended. In an interview the next day, Chloe complained playfully: “Professor, I need my dignity too! My acting won’t delay my experiments!” I pondered this bitterly. I was in the physics department at MIT, and I didn’t think I had ever seen her there. 01 After finishing a day’s shoot, I happily sat in the chauffeured van heading back to the hotel, scrolling through my feed. The very first post was from Professor Davis. [The two best students both went into acting! Not a single one is doing experiments! Angry.] Feeling a bit guilty, I rubbed my nose and replied with an emoji of a little penguin falling over. A moment later, Caleb also saw the post. He replied to me with the exact same penguin emoji. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Caleb and I were both admitted to MIT through the National Physics Olympiad. From the state training camp, we had noticed each other, constantly competing neck-and-neck until the very end. Since we won gold medals in our junior year and secured early admission, we had nothing to do, so Caleb and I participated in quite a few physics events together. Entering MIT, we were under the same professor, so we were decent friends. Later, he discovered a passion for music, and I discovered a passion for acting. We both used our summer breaks to pursue these side hustles. However, our status in the entertainment industry was worlds apart. He was a genius, chart-topping pop star, while I was an infamous, poorly-educated actress known for scandals. Half a year ago, I don’t know what got into him, but he suddenly insisted on breaking into acting, and insisted on co-starring with me. “I don’t care, you’re my junior, you have to guide me!” Caleb argued unreasonably. “I’m your senior!” I was exasperated. Back in the Physics Olympiad, I was clearly the national champion! “Also, with my scandalous reputation and terrible public image, acting with me will get you dragged!” Caleb frowned: “Why didn’t you ever clarify the thing about you not taking the SATs?” I shrugged: “The agency won’t let me. They insisted I’m suited for the ‘beautiful airhead with a scandalous reputation’ route.” “But luckily, my contract is almost up, and I don’t plan on renewing. I feel like the entertainment industry just isn’t for me,” I whispered. “Besides, if I keep delaying my thesis, old Davis is going to lose his mind!!” 02 Early the next morning, still half-asleep in the van on my way to an interview, my young assistant suddenly turned around anxiously: “Aria, look at the trending topics!! We’re doomed, we’re doomed, boo-hoo-hoo!” Filled with question marks, I opened Twitter and found Chloe’s name glaringly occupying the top spots. #MITPhysicsDepartmentChloe #GeniusStraightAGirlFromOlympiad #ChloeRevealsAnotherHiddenIdentity #MITProfessor:TheBestStudentsWentIntoActing[Crying] #ChloeIsAwesome After reading through the gossip, I finally understood what was going on. Last night, someone anonymously took a screenshot of Professor Davis’s Facebook post and uploaded it online. [The two best students both went into acting! Not a single one is doing experiments! Angry.] The person who took the screenshot probably didn’t have me as a friend, so underneath, they could only see Caleb’s comment with the falling penguin emoji. Professor Davis’s humorous tone created a stark contrast with his status as an MIT physics professor. Combined with Caleb’s massive fanbase, it went semi-viral last night and hit the trending topics. Many gossip accounts even made compilation videos. [The sharp-tongued pop star facing others: Roasting heaven, earth, and the air itself.] [The sharp-tongued pop star facing his teacher: Falling penguin emoji.] The comments section was filled with amusement. But many people were also confused. Because in the entertainment industry, the public only knew Caleb as an MIT physics student. But Professor Davis said “two best students,” so who was the other actor? A little while later, perhaps by coincidence, Chloe posted a tweet. “Although Caleb and I are working hard at acting, it always feels like we’re neglecting our true calling and getting caught by the teacher…” The accompanying photo was a pouty selfie of her on set, with a corner of a physics journal visible on the table. The whole internet instantly boiled over. [So it’s Chloe!!] [Oh my god, is this a public admission?!] [My Chloe is so amazing!] [I knew my Chloe was awesome, but I didn’t know she was THIS awesome!] [How can there be a girl who is both beautiful and a STEM genius? Boo-hoo, I’m bowing down to Chloe!] Me: ? First of all, when did I get a new junior? My assistant in the front seat was still wailing: “Boo-hoo-hoo Aria, she’s definitely going to use you as a stepping stone in today’s interview again! Why are our rivals so strong, boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” Chloe was a famous straight-A student in the industry. Because our acting styles were similar, we were always being compared academically. Although my acting and looks were slightly superior, in terms of academics, my fans were incredibly frustrated. Because I had admitted myself that I “didn’t take the SATs,” making me a famous airhead and an uneducated celebrity. “Aria is stupid, but truly beautiful” was the netizens’ evaluation of me. I could only shake my head and sigh deeply. I had been praised as a physics prodigy since childhood. Except for the state training camp where I basically tied with Caleb, I had always been number one. Compared to my brain, my looks were barely worth mentioning. Being evaluated as “stupid but beautiful” was definitely a first. 03 When I arrived at the interview, as someone hired merely to be a foil for Chloe, I naturally wasn’t considered important and was seated in a corner. After the live broadcast started, the host predictably brought up last night’s trending topic first. “Chloe, what do you think about Professor Davis’s Facebook post last night?” the beautiful host asked with a smile. Chloe puffed her cheeks, a look of bashful annoyance on her face. “How did that get so popular? I need my dignity too! “I’ll balance my time between acting and research. They won’t interfere with each other!” The live chat exploded instantly, scrolling by rapidly. [Boo-hoo-hoo, I knew it! Our Chloe is literally the protagonist of a novel, oh my god!] [I knew she was an NPC!] [So the pampered junior of the MIT physics department is Chloe!] Me: ? First, I am the senior. Second, I am the senior. Lastly, although the gender ratio in the physics department is skewed, just looking at Professor Davis’s students, besides me, there are two other girls. It’s not exaggerated to the point where there’s only one girl in the whole department, adored by everyone, right? What kind of ridiculous, pampered-wife trope is this? But some people in the chat noticed my expression was off. [What’s with Aria’s expression? Jealous of our Chloe?] [I think it’s normal. A person who didn’t even take the SATs, seeing Chloe being so amazing, is just green with envy!] [Why did this show even invite Aria? To be Chloe’s foil? I feel like she might be a bit embarrassed.] [So gross, can’t stand seeing others succeed. Her jealousy is too obvious.] [Why doesn’t Aria go be jealous of Caleb? She just can’t stand women being better than her, such a pick-me!] If I could post memes right now, I really wanted to post that one of the speechless foreign kid. Crazy, everyone’s gone crazy. [I heard a goddess from the MIT physics department got in by winning first place in the National Physics Olympiad! Could it be Chloe?!] [First in the nation!! Oh my god, Chloe, you are my god!!] [Chloe, how many more surprises do you have that I don’t know about!] The sharp-eyed host caught this comment: “Chloe, I saw someone in the chat saying you were first in the Physics Olympiad?! Is that true?!” Chloe smiled shyly, her eyes full of indifference: “Past honors aren’t that important to me anymore. Next, I’m going to focus on honing my acting skills.” [Chloe is awesome!] [The light skiff has passed ten thousand mountains!!] At this moment, for some unknown reason, other comments started popping up amidst the overwhelming praise for Chloe. [Does anyone else think Chloe and Caleb are a perfect match? I heard Caleb was second in the Olympiad that year!] [Soft, innocent genius girl x rebellious, sharp-tongued pop star, I’m shipping them so hard!!] [Boo-hoo-hoo, I’m raising the flag for the C-C ship!! C-C is real!] [Could it be Caleb had a crush on our Chloe, and purposefully dropped points so she could be first, boo-hoo-hoo!] [Oh my god! Loving you so much he lets you shine brighter, what kind of novel plot is this!] Chloe also saw this comment. She thought for a moment and said: “It does seem like Caleb has always been a bit better than me… I don’t know why in the end…” She didn’t finish her sentence. The chat went crazy; the shippers were losing their minds. [Caleb, you massive simp!] [Caleb: If wifey is happy, I’m happy!] [You two need to get married immediately, I’ve already thought of the baby names!] [Yes, yes, yes, Chloe just stand there, I’ll bring the courthouse to you!] At the same time, trending topics related to this interview also climbed up. #ChloeFirstInOlympiad #C-CShip #SimpCaleb #CalebDroppingPoints 04 Meanwhile, looking at these disgraceful things, I was utterly exasperated. This world is a giant, absurd romance novel. Everyone is acting crazy. I don’t know if Chloe even participated in the Olympiad. But I earned my first place with my own blood, sweat, and tears. My hard-won achievements were erased by Chloe in a few sentences, turning them into something Caleb “gave” to me. I ground my teeth in anger. Soon enough, the host finally remembered there was someone else sitting nearby and wanted to utilize my role as the foil. So she asked: “Aria, what do you think about people comparing you to Chloe?” I was already furious, and this host was digging a hole for me. So annoying. If you mess with me, you’re asking for trouble. Thinking about the agency’s astronomical breach-of-contract fee, I forced a fake smile: “She’s amazing, I can’t compare to her.” But I wouldn’t make it too troublesome. You picked the wrong soft target. It’s fine. She was talking about herself anyway, not me, right? If others get mad, I won’t. Getting mad only hurts myself, and no one will suffer for me. [Wait, who is this chick shading?] [Ugh, stupid and mean pick-me girl, please get lost!] [Don’t be too harsh on Aria. What, does she have to bow down to show sincerity?] [The host had malicious intentions. What’s wrong with Aria answering like that? I feel like being used as a foil would be very upsetting for her!] Seeing someone finally speaking up for me, I almost cried tears of gratitude. I don’t look for trouble, but I’m also afraid of it. If you bully me, I’ll just swallow my pride and endure it. I can’t afford thirty million dollars in breach of contract. I can still distinguish between a moment’s satisfaction and a lifetime of debt. [Holy crap, look quickly!! Caleb posted a tweet!] [Holy crap! I’m shipping them so hard, boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!] [For you, I’m willing to concede defeat!] [Lost the exam, won the romance!!] I quickly opened Twitter. Caleb had only posted a few words. [Inferior skills, I willingly concede.] And a direct message Caleb sent me. [You’re just going to let her spout nonsense?! I’m crashing that interview program. If you won’t clarify, I will.] My pupils dilated, and I quickly typed: [Wait, wait, wait, don’t come bro, I have to pay a penalty if I break character!!! Bro, I’m begging you!] [Too late, I’m here.] As this message came through, the female host’s voice, trembling with excitement, announced: “Mr. Caleb Vance has crashed our interview!!! Please welcome Mr. Vance!” My face went ashen. When I become homeless later, which bridge should I sleep under? 05 A man wearing a trench coat, taking off his sunglasses, his silver hair striking and vibrant. The live chat experienced a one-second void, then exploded in growth. [Ahhhhh, Caleb, mommy loves you!!] [So handsome, so handsome, boo-hoo-hoo, licking the screen!] [Songwriting, looks, intelligence—he maxed out all his stats! God, I’m never calling you God again! You really treat me like a joke!] [Everyone knows Caleb never does interviews. Is he here for the interview Chloe is on? Right? Right?] [Love makes people dizzy, hahaha!] Caleb naturally sat on the sofa next to me. He gave a slight nod to the host, his hazel eyes sparkling. “May I have a mic?” His clear, lazy voice was like a little hook. Even the host, who had seen it all, couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. “Of course you can!” Her cheeks flushed slightly. Caleb was simply too unfair! I was incredibly annoyed. This guy really couldn’t stop flirting, regardless of the occasion. As if feeling my gaze, Caleb blinked his fox-like eyes at me innocently and shrugged, as if saying: Is it my fault I’m too charming? I was even more annoyed and secretly rolled my eyes at him. I knew this guy was stubborn as a mule; ten horses couldn’t drag him back once he made up his mind. I had given up resisting. Sure enough, taking the mic, he slowly began: “Everyone knows I never do interviews. “I’m here today because of Ms. Chloe.” The C-C shippers went crazy. [Ahhhhh, it’s official, it’s official!] [Boo-hoo-hoo, this is too sweet!] [Wait, did anyone notice Aria and Caleb making eye contact just now…? I feel like things aren’t that simple!] [Vomit, pick-me girl get lost! You can be anything, but you choose to be the other woman!] [C-C is real! Brainless fan of a certain someone, get out of here, you’re not welcome!] [Hilarious. Caleb is from the MIT physics department. Would he ignore the national champion for that uneducated dropout? Stop joking!] I didn’t care about the chat’s evaluation anymore. My debt-ridden future was a much bigger concern. I sat sorrowfully on the sofa, looking at the smiling Caleb, and couldn’t help but shiver. Before he single-handedly drove the arrangers and sound engineers to tears, he had this exact same expression. I silently lit a candle for Chloe. Caleb slowly said: “How did I get a new junior without knowing about it?” 06 Hearing this, the chat instantly went quiet. Everyone was stunned. I secretly tore open a small bun, making a tiny noise. Everyone on set turned to look at me simultaneously. “You guys continue, you guys continue…” I awkwardly put the small bun back on the table. I hadn’t eaten breakfast, and my stomach was aching from hunger. I finally thought everyone’s attention was diverted, but I got caught trying to sneak a bite. I could cry. Caleb looked at my frustrated expression and almost laughed. He fished a row of chocolate out of his pocket and tossed it to me. As I caught his offering, I was almost moved to tears. It was my favorite brand! And such a big row! Good junior, you are forgiven for one second. Happily breaking off a piece to eat, I saw Caleb continue his verbal assault, completely unaffected. “Is spreading rumors fun? Ms. Chloe. You implying to everyone that I gave up first place for you, you’ve got some nerve.” “I’m sorry, the national champion that year was Aria Thorne. Who are you?” Chloe clenched her hands, her face turning green and red with embarrassment. But hearing Caleb’s last sentence, she was so shocked she forgot to move. How could that useless, non-SAT-taking Aria Thorne be the real national champion?! 07 The live chat experienced another brief vacuum, then erupted like a geyser. [Holy crap, did I hear that right?! The national champion is Aria Thorne?! What kind of earth-shattering gossip is this?] [Aria Thorne?!?! How is that possible!] [Just a bystander, just want to ask if Chloe’s face hurts? …] [This Caleb guy is savage. He starts spreading rumors when our Chloe rejects him?!] [I’ve been wanting to say Caleb doesn’t deserve our Chloe…] [Wait, do people actually believe that dropout Aria Thorne took first place?! You guys are too funny!] Caleb didn’t even glance at the large screen, seemingly uncaring about public opinion. He kept his smiling demeanor, continuing to utter shocking words. “On the way here, I specifically looked it up. I was curious where Ms. Chloe got the confidence to spread such rumors. Upon checking, you really are a student of Professor Davis. “Relying on your community college teacher’s connections to get listed under Professor Davis, do you really think you’re a big shot?” The perfect mask on Chloe’s face finally shattered. Her community college teacher was a junior colleague of Professor Davis. She had spent a lot of money to get her name listed under him, just to build a persona and attract fans. She never expected to hit a brick wall. “Senior, did Aria say something to you? She definitely isn’t the national champion. Were you tricked by her…” Chloe’s eyes were slightly red, like a bullied little bunny. Unfortunately, Caleb was entirely unmoved. He smiled and said: “Who is your senior? Get lost.” Then he looked at the large screen: “Regarding whether Aria Thorne is the national champion, let my senior explain it herself.” Caleb’s words mercilessly dragged Chloe’s face through the mud. That “senior” indirectly confirmed a fact everyone was unwilling to believe. I, who had always been considered an uneducated dropout, was the person Caleb willingly called “senior.” [Huh? No? Huh? Aria Thorne? National champion?! Am I crazy or is the world crazy?] [Caleb is awesome. I always thought Chloe was an eyesore, so manipulative!] [Holy crap, so Aria is the real genius…] [Bowing down to the boss. I used to think Aria had nothing going for her besides her looks. Now I realize her looks are her least significant advantage…] [Oh my god, is Aria a ninja? She was just shaded by Chloe, the fake champion, and didn’t say a single word…] [Above commenter, Aria did speak. She said she couldn’t compare to Chloe…] The live chat was in an uproar, while on the surface I was calm, internally I was dumbfounded. I had known Caleb for five years. To get him to call me “senior,” I had tried coaxing and tricking him, but he never said it once. I never expected, never expected, to earn that “senior” so easily today. While I was thinking, Caleb looked at me and whispered: “The penalty fee, I paid it. You, explain.” Hearing those words, I froze instantly. Despite my poker face, internally I was streaming tears. Is this my junior? No, this is my sugar daddy. Fighting the weakness in my legs, I nodded seriously. I looked at Caleb, feeling like I was reading a clickbait headline, like “With One Sentence, He Saved a Fallen Girl’s Rest of Her Life”… I shivered, quickly shaking the bizarre thoughts out of my head, but also realizing an undeniable fact. My breach-of-contract fee was in the eight figures, and Caleb paid it just like that. Tears of jealousy and resentment flowed from the corner of my mouth. 08 Finally calming down, as I took the microphone, all eyes converged on me. I knew why Caleb was here today. He wanted to clear his name, my name, and the reputation of the Physics Olympiad. So I began: “I don’t know how Ms. Chloe got her first place, but my first place was earned by me. “During my junior year, I flew back and forth across the country for exams, countless flights. “The practice papers I did could pile up into a mountain; the pen refills I emptied filled an entire drawer. “I did experiments late into the night countless times, walking home under the dim light of streetlamps.” Speaking of this, I remembered those exhausting but fulfilling days. A good brain is certainly important, but day-after-day perseverance is equally indispensable. Every person sitting in the finals took it as solemnly as a war. Because behind this exam were crossed-out scratch papers, long formulas, late-night desk lamps, and moments woven with tears and smiles. “How could I playfully give away first place after pouring in so much blood, sweat, and tears?” “This is an insult to me, an insult to Caleb, and an insult to thousands of Olympiad students,” I said with resounding force. [Fellow Olympiad student in tears, boo-hoo-hoo!] [Chemistry Olympiad student wants to cry too. Before, I thought Caleb really gave up first place to Chloe on purpose, and I felt a bit sad.] [It feels like a sense of powerlessness when hard work is trampled on. Thank goodness it’s fake.] I ignored the chat’s reaction and continued: “Today, I also want to announce one more thing. “As of today, Aria Thorne is retiring from the entertainment industry.” 09 Twitter had almost never been as lively as today, with plot twists one after another. Bright red “HOT” tags hung next to the top trends on Twitter. #RealVsFakeGenius #AriaThorneNationalChampion #AriaThorneRetires #CalebVanceSlamsChloe Of course, there were some strange things mixed in. For example, the fifth trending topic, “Coconut Tree Ship.” After the interview, I rode in Caleb’s car home. Seeing this bizarre title, I curiously clicked on it. As a result, a familiar gossip account voice was accidentally played out loud by me, echoing in the enclosed car space. “The Coconut Tree Ship is so sweet! Caleb broke his rule and went on an interview show just to help Aria clarify things. He was so worried about her when she got in trouble. They are junior and senior under the same professor…” “Uh…” I was a bit speechless and pulled Caleb over. “These gossip accounts are too good at catching wind and shadows…” “Mhm.” Caleb’s expression was indifferent. As he spoke, he secretly turned off his phone screen. If I had looked closer, I would have noticed the tips of his ears were slightly red. And on the dimmed screen was the message he had sent to his studio: [Buy trending topics for my ship with Aria Thorne.]

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We were stuck on the highway heading home for the holidays, caught in a massive blizzard. My boyfriend said, “When we get married, your family’s dowry car can’t be worth less than fifty thousand dollars. If it’s less than fifty thousand, I’m not driving it.” I asked calmly, “And how much is your family offering for the engagement ring and wedding expenses?” He replied, “In my hometown, it’s tradition to give three thousand. Maybe five thousand at the absolute most.” He told me to be mature and understanding, saying it wasn’t easy for his parents to earn money. I nodded in agreement. “Alright then. We’ll have a courthouse wedding. I won’t ask for a ring or a wedding, and I won’t bring a dowry car.” Furious, he dumped me on the side of the freezing highway, blocked my number, and gave me the silent treatment. After the holidays, he came looking for me. “Have you thought it through? If you apologize, this wedding can still happen.” I laughed out loud and replied, “I’m sorry, Mr. Evans. I’m already married.” 1 The weather this year was brutal. Freezing rain and a massive blizzard grounded all flights and halted the Amtrak trains. I was driving my boyfriend home for the holidays when we got completely stuck on the interstate. The atmosphere in the car was tense. Aaron’s mood was visibly dark. I was just about to crack a joke to lighten the mood when he stared at the bumper of the car in front of us and spoke. “When we get married, your family’s dowry car can’t be worth less than fifty thousand dollars. If it’s less than fifty thousand, I’m not driving it.” I glanced at him in shock. His expression was dead serious. He wasn’t joking. In my mind, Aaron wasn’t the kind of person who would say something like that. He was always polite, modest, and seemed to have a strong moral compass. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have dated him for two years. I maintained my composure and asked, “And how much is your family offering for the engagement ring and wedding expenses?” I sensed a subtle defensiveness instantly wash over him. With a half-smile, he said, “In my hometown, the tradition is three thousand. Maybe five thousand at the absolute most.” I tried to state the facts as calmly as possible. “So, your family is offering five thousand at most, but you expect my family to buy a car worth no less than fifty thousand.” Aaron seemed to know his demand was outrageous, so he tried to justify it. “You need to be more understanding. My parents don’t make money as easily as yours do. You can’t expect me to drain their entire life savings just to get married, can you?!” I nodded directly in agreement. “Alright then. We’ll do a simple courthouse wedding. I won’t ask for a ring or a wedding, and I won’t bring a dowry.” Aaron’s face twisted in an instant. He glared at me furiously. “If you don’t bring a dowry, how are we going to afford the renovations for the house?! Have you even thought about our future?!” The “house” Aaron was referring to was a property he bought before we met. It was legally solely his. His monthly salary was $10,000, and his mortgage was $8,000. That meant not only was I expected to drop over a hundred thousand dollars on a car and renovations for his house, but since his salary barely covered his mortgage, I would be paying for 100% of our living expenses after we got married. Every single step of this marriage was a calculated financial trap. I sat in silence for a moment, studying his face as if I were seeing him for the very first time. Aaron had always seemed so principled, but the moment his core financial interests were involved, his true, greedy nature was exposed. I said, “That house is your pre-marital asset. It has nothing to do with me.” Aaron’s brow furrowed deeply, and he immediately shot back, “How does the house have nothing to do with you? After we get married, you get to live there rent-free! Isn’t that enough?” “Don’t you want to live comfortably? Shouldn’t you contribute money to renovate the place you’re going to live in?!” I didn’t want to start a screaming match while driving, but I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. “Think about it for a second. For this marriage, your family is contributing five thousand dollars maximum. My family is expected to contribute over a hundred thousand. Do you honestly think that’s fair?” Aaron’s face darkened. “Your family has money; my family doesn’t. If contributing a little more means we have a good life after we get married, what’s the big deal?!” “We’ve been together for two years. Do you really have to be this calculating?” I saw right through his hypocrisy. I went completely silent. Only one thought remained in my mind: I cannot marry this man. 2 Our car crept forward about thirty feet in a suffocating, oppressive silence. Tap, tap, tap. Someone knocked on my window. I turned my head, quickly rolled down the window, and was genuinely surprised. “You’re driving home too?!” Liam offered a bitter smile. “Yeah. Who knew the highway would be a parking lot?” He handed a couple of hot canned coffees through the window. I thanked him. Liam looked past me to Aaron and said, “Taking the boyfriend home for the holidays, huh.” He greeted Aaron politely. Aaron kept a stony face, gave a stiff nod, and turned his head away, ignoring him completely. I felt incredibly awkward, but Liam just smiled and didn’t seem to mind. I decided to step out of the car to chat with him properly. Liam was my old neighbor. We had been really close friends up until we graduated high school, but we gradually drifted apart after heading off to different colleges. I pointed to a black Mercedes three cars back. “Is that your car? Taking your girlfriend home for the holidays?” Liam looked surprised. “How did you know?” I smiled but didn’t answer, mostly because the woman sitting in the passenger seat of that Mercedes was glaring daggers at me. Her stare was so intensely hostile that I didn’t want to be oblivious and cause trouble. After chatting for a few minutes, I pretended the cold was getting to me. I stomped my boots and said, “You should head back to your car. Don’t freeze out here.” Liam looked somewhat reluctant. “You go ahead and get back in. I want to get some fresh air for a bit.” I got back into my car and watched through the rearview mirror. Liam stood shivering in the narrow gap between the idling cars, clearly freezing but refusing to go back to his own vehicle. I dug around in the backseat and found an expensive, unopened skincare gift set. I smiled, stepped back out, and walked over to Liam. “I just accepted your coffees, and I happen to have this really nice skincare set. I’d love to give it to your girlfriend. Why don’t you introduce us?” Liam laughed. “We haven’t seen each other in years. Since when did you get so formal?” I followed him to his car. The girl inside was still glaring at me. I leaned down and waved through the window. “Hi, I’m Mia. Thanks so much for the coffee earlier! This is a skincare set a friend gave me. I’d love for you to try it.” Chloe shot me a dirty look and said coldly, “Take it away. I don’t use that brand.” I was stunned and didn’t know how to respond. I looked up and saw Liam’s face flush with embarrassment. He opened his mouth to apologize, but I beat him to it. “No worries. We’re even for the coffee now.” Liam paused, then let out a relaxed, appreciative chuckle. 3 Since she clearly didn’t want it, I wasn’t going to press a hot face against a cold cheek. I carried the gift set back to my car. Aaron glanced at me and sneered, “Back already? Couldn’t give it away?” I thought he was going to comfort me, but instead, he mocked me. “They give you two cheap coffees, and you rush over to hand them a luxury gift set. Why are you so generous with outsiders?” His words ignited my temper. “So what if I gave them a gift? When have I ever been stingy with you?!” Aaron’s eyes flared with anger. “My sister asked you to buy her a single lipstick, and you refused! But with a total stranger, you casually hand over an entire luxury set!” He glared at me with pure venom. “Mia, I see exactly who you are now.” I couldn’t believe it. In his eyes, refusing to buy his sister makeup was a valid reason to attack me. When I first met his sister, she acted incredibly arrogant, acting like I should be groveling for her approval. She specifically added me on social media, never actually talked to me, but every few days she would send me links demanding I buy her things! I darkened my expression and fired back. “Since we started dating, your mom has asked me to buy her clothes. Your parents asked me to buy all their winter groceries. Your dad even told me to buy his expensive liquor and cigars. Why the hell should I have to buy your sister makeup too?!” “I am just your girlfriend! I am not your family’s personal ATM!” 4 Being called out so bluntly made Aaron’s face flush with humiliation. He kept his head down, aggressively typing on his phone with a dark scowl. The atmosphere in the car was suffocatingly tense. We slowly crawled our way to the next rest stop. Suddenly, he yelled, “Pull over!” I pulled the car over to the shoulder and stared at him coldly. Aaron got out, gripped the car door, and said, “Drive yourself back. My family is coming to pick me up.” It took me a second to process. “You’re not coming to my family’s house this year?” Aaron’s face twisted into a mocking sneer. “Why would I?” He looked down at me condescendingly and issued a warning. “You better think long and hard about whether you still want this marriage. You’ve already slept with me. Aside from me, who else is going to want you?!” My eyes widened in absolute shock. I could not believe my ears. “Are you seriously slut-shaming me right now?!” Aaron slammed the car door shut with terrifying force. I never imagined a man with a Ph.D. would be so utterly classless as to slut-shame his own girlfriend. I was so furious I was shaking. I pulled out my phone and fired off a rapid string of texts: [What century are you living in?! You think you can control women by slut-shaming them? You think sleeping with a woman makes her your property? Is your d**k a branding iron? Why don’t you go brand Mother Earth while you’re at it and announce you own the planet?!] [You think you’re so great, but you’re literally just a ten-second disappointment! I’ve spent the last two years paying for everything just to keep a useless, manipulative ten-second toy around! What else are you even good for?] [I am officially dumping you! I’m done!] Before my last barrage of texts even went through, a red exclamation mark popped up. He had blocked me. Heh. 5 Aaron’s hometown was only about twenty miles from the rest stop. My family’s house was over five hundred miles away. He abandoned me alone on the side of a freezing highway and blocked my number. I was so enraged by his slut-shaming that tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, blurring my vision. The thought that I had wasted two years of my life with a man like that made me physically nauseous. I felt so incredibly sorry for myself. Later that evening, his sister sent me a photo. It was Aaron, out to dinner, chatting intimately with another woman. In the photo, he looked polished, gentle, and attentive. The woman was soft and delicate. The way they were looking at each other, the chemistry was undeniable. [Looks like I’m getting a new sister-in-law soon! Hehe.] You see, whether a man loves you or not is painfully obvious. He can completely disregard my safety, not caring for a single second that I was stranded alone on a dangerous, snow-covered highway. And immediately after abandoning me, he could rush off to a romantic date with another woman. Suddenly, a terrifying sequence of massive crashes erupted from the highway behind me. I gasped, my eyes darting to the rearview mirror. A massive multi-car pileup had just occurred. Thank God I had pulled over into the rest stop area. I forced myself to calm down. Compared to dying in a highway pileup, being disgusted by a piece of trash for two years was a minor inconvenience. By 8:00 PM, I finally managed to crawl to the next major rest area. I was mentally exhausted from the hyper-vigilant driving, so I decided to spend the night there. My phone rang. I thought it was Aaron calling to argue, or his sister calling to gloat. But the caller ID showed an unknown number. “Hello? Mia? It’s Liam.” “Could you… possibly give me a ride?” 6 I waited by the main entrance of the rest stop for a long time before I spotted a dark figure slowly trudging through the snow. I ran toward him. As I got closer, I realized he was practically freezing to death! In weather this brutal, a normal person couldn’t stand being outside for ten minutes. How the hell did he walk all the way here from the previous rest stop?! I quickly shoved two hot coffees and a couple of warm steamed buns inside his jacket and asked, “Where’s your car?” His eyes were red-rimmed. “My girlfriend kicked me out.” I grabbed his hand. It was as cold as a block of ice. “Come on. Get in my car.” I blasted the heat to the max and poured the last bit of hot water from my thermos for him. Liam sat there for a long time before he finally caught his breath. Shivering violently, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started sending voice memos to Chloe. Liam: “Please, stop being angry. Pull over somewhere safe. It’s too dangerous for you to drive alone in this snow. Wait for me, and I’ll drive you back.” I sat quietly, watching him. He was incredibly emotionally stable. Even after being abandoned by his girlfriend in a freezing blizzard, his first instinct was to make sure she was safe. Compared to Aaron, it was like night and day. Chloe never replied. Liam called her dozens of times before she finally answered. He said calmly, “We can talk about all of that later. It’s not safe to drive in this snow. Pull over, and I’ll drive you home.” Chloe’s voice was icy. “I don’t need you. I’m already off the highway, heading to my parents’ house.” “You can just freeze out there.” I didn’t know how much damage the phrase “You can just freeze out there” could do to a person, but I watched Liam hold his phone, staring silently out the window for a long, long time. I caught his reflection in the glass. His eyes looked suspiciously bright. I tried to lighten the mood. “Hey, you’re not the most pathetic one here. My boyfriend dumped me on the highway too.” 7 Liam looked shocked. “In this blizzard?! He actually felt okay leaving you to drive alone?!” I put on a brave face. “Yep. Because I refused to drop fifty thousand dollars on a dowry car, he left me behind.” Liam let out a short, bitter laugh. “What a coincidence. I refused to buy her family two more houses, so she kicked me out.” I was stunned. “Isn’t one house enough to live in? Why two? And the housing market is terrible right now anyway.” Liam’s expression turned grim. “She has a younger brother. She demanded I buy them two houses, and the bigger one had to be a luxury villa. For her brother.” Hearing that, I almost applauded the audacity. “What do they call that? When one person strikes it rich, the whole village expects to be carried to the top?” Liam smiled helplessly. “Did you agree?” I asked. Liam gave me a look that said everything. “What do you think?” Even if he agreed, his family would absolutely never allow it.

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After my childhood sweetheart and I plunged into yet another cold war, I didn’t try to coax him out of it like I usually did. My friends tried to advise me. “He’s just awkward. He says things he doesn’t mean.” “A complicated guy like him just needs a patient partner to understand him.” But I was truly exhausted, and I didn’t want to lower my head anymore. The years of cold wars, arguments, and his constant emotional evasion had worn me down to the point where I couldn’t tell anymore—was it just his personality, or did he simply not love me? So, when he threatened me with a breakup once again. I said, “Okay. Let’s break up.” 01 Hearing me say that, Nolan visibly froze. But I kept my head down, my voice steady as I continued. “I’ll pack my things and move out as soon as possible. “We can forget about the furniture we bought together; you can keep it all. “As for the clothes you left at my place, please come get them when you can. Or I can box them up and ship them to you…” In the quiet room, only my voice echoed. The dark cloud on Nolan’s face slowly shifted into a blank, icy mask. He suddenly cut me off. “What about Waffles? How are we splitting him?” Waffles was a stray cat I had found at the entrance of our apartment complex. I took him in and paid for all his food and vet bills. But he never really warmed up to me. Eight times out of ten, he wouldn’t let me hold him, and he had even scratched my wrist a few times. Nolan, on the other hand, was indifferent to the cat and barely looked at him. Yet Waffles would actively rub against his legs, meowing and begging for his attention. “You can keep him, too.” I exhaled a heavy breath. No matter how much you love something, being treated with such blatant favoritism will eventually chill your heart. “Clara.” Nolan’s voice was tight with suppressed anger. “You’re the one who missed Valentine’s Day, and now you’re the one throwing a tantrum?” But wasn’t Nolan the one who brought up breaking up first? Perhaps he forgot. After all, “breaking up” was his favorite phrase. Because he knew the threat worked on me, it became his weapon of choice. “I told you, my flight was delayed. That’s why I got back late.” Nolan just sneered. “Excuses. Why couldn’t you book an earlier flight?” For this business trip, I had worked fourteen-hour days back-to-back to compress my schedule, just so I could make the flight back that very day. But Nolan wouldn’t listen. He would just find a hundred other reasons to blame me. So I fell silent. A deep, overwhelming sense of powerlessness washed over me. Nolan took a few steps toward the door, then turned back, his tone freezing. “Until you realize what you did wrong, I’m not coming back.” I said, “We are already broken up.” But it was as if Nolan didn’t even hear me. He tilted his head and continued on his own track. “I’m giving you one last chance. I’m not just mad that you were late.” This was the first time he had ever said something like that. Usually, he would just slam the door and leave. Though his tone was still rigid and unforgiving. “Think about it. Then come find me and apologize.” 02 I sat on the sofa for a long time. Finally, I dragged my exhausted body up and cleaned the living room. I fished the gift out of the trash can. It was a gift I had spent hours searching for during my trip abroad, carefully handpicked from dozens of stores. But the recipient hadn’t even given it a second glance. He didn’t cherish it. So, just like the mess scattered across the floor, it was worthless. After cleaning the living room, I went to the bedroom to pack. This was Nolan’s apartment. Every corner of the place held traces of my existence. The mugs we picked out together, the throw blankets, the matching dinnerware… I only packed a few pieces of clothing, grabbed my suitcase, and walked out. As I reached the front door, a yellow blur suddenly dashed out. As if trying to stop me, Waffles lay flat right in the middle of the living room, refusing to move. His big, round eyes stared intensely at me. When I first found him, he was dirty, skinny, and malnourished. Now, his fur was fluffy and shiny. He looked incredibly lovable. I crouched down. Uncharacteristically, Waffles didn’t reject my touch. I rubbed his head. “I’m leaving. He’ll take good care of you from now on.” Waffles should be happy with this outcome. After all, he always preferred Nolan. Unlike me, who could never seem to win his affection. I gently pried his claws off my pant leg. Ignoring his distressed meows, I grabbed my suitcase and left. 03 Just as I walked out of the apartment complex, I received a phone call. It was from one of Nolan’s friends, Mason. His tone was accusatory. “Clara, why are you and Nolan fighting again? He’s at my bar drinking himself half to death, and no one can stop him. “Get over here and take him home. He’s going to wreck my place.” I felt a wave of exhaustion. “I don’t even know why he’s mad. He flipped a table the second he walked through the door.” There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by a surprised tone. “You don’t know? He found out you had dinner with another guy, and the guy even drove you back to your hotel. Nolan is jealous.” I explained, “That was a client. We only had dinner for business, and he drove me because it was pouring rain and I couldn’t get an Uber.” So that was why Nolan was actually angry. Nolan had always been like this. If I spoke a few extra words to another man, he would get jealous and throw a fit. I knew it was because he loved me and was possessive of me. But right now, I just felt tired. “I could have explained all of that. What I don’t understand is…” I spoke softly into the phone. “Why would he rather complain to all of you than just ask me?” I had once asked my best friend what she did when she and her boyfriend fought. She thought about it and said, “It depends on who is in the wrong. We wait until we both calm down, and then we talk it out.” But Nolan wouldn’t do that. He kept everything bottled up. I never knew why he was angry. I always had to guess, or go ask his friends. I couldn’t understand why he refused to communicate with me. I also couldn’t understand why he preferred pouring his heart out to his friends rather than just asking me for the truth. Later, I learned a term for it: Emotionally constipated. Nolan was the most emotionally constipated and avoidant person I had ever met. He was sensitive and unpredictable. He only knew how to retreat, hide, and test my boundaries with cold, hurtful words. Everyone says avoidant people aren’t fit for relationships. But I didn’t believe them. I threw myself at him with everything I had. But now, I was lost. If a relationship requires one person to do all the initiating, all the compromising, and all the guessing… Can it really last? 04 I moved into my own apartment. But we still had to see each other at work. We both worked at the same aerospace research facility, just in different departments. During a project handover, I saw a young woman following close behind Nolan. She had a fresh, innocent vibe. She was a new researcher who had joined this year, named Lily. When Nolan saw me, his eyes instantly lit up. But I didn’t look at him. I just calmly went through the handover protocols. Instantly, the warmth vanished from Nolan’s face, replaced by a chilling coldness. He stared straight ahead and brushed past me without a single word. I heard Lily gossiping curiously with a coworker. “Why does Mr. Pierce have such a huge scar on his arm? It scared me the first time I saw it.” Someone answered her. “You’re new, so you don’t know. Mr. Pierce and Clara from the neighboring department are the facility’s golden couple. “He got that scar during an earthquake drill in college when he protected Clara from falling debris. I heard that because of that scar, he failed the physical to become an Air Force pilot. So he changed his major and eventually came to our research facility instead.” Lily’s eyes filled with envy. “That is so moving. They really are a golden couple.” The gossip ignited the romantic imaginations of everyone around. From Nolan giving up his dream for me, to him applying to the research facility just to be with me. Everyone praised Nolan’s deep devotion and expressed their envy toward me. In their eyes, our recent cold war was just a lovers’ spat. “I bet my money Clara will be the first to apologize again.” “Last time she bought us all Starbucks. What will it be this time? I’m craving cupcakes.” “I disagree, that’s cheating! When has Clara not been the first to cave? If you bet that Mr. Pierce apologizes first, then I’ll take that bet.” I stood in the corner, listening to their laughter in silence. But this time, they were all wrong. “Nolan and I have broken up. Please don’t bring this up again.” My announcement killed the conversation instantly. Everyone exchanged awkward glances and quickly dispersed. The truth was, our relationship was nowhere near as perfect as outsiders thought. The endless cold wars and arguments… Had long since covered our relationship in invisible, irreparable cracks. I really wanted to know. When I stopped trying to fix it, when I stopped trying to save us… Nolan, would you even notice? Would you try to win me back? This time, would you be the one to apologize first? 05 For an entire month. Nolan and I treated each other like strangers. It was a battle of wills, and neither of us was willing to bow our heads. Meanwhile, Lily and Nolan were getting closer. They ate lunch together and left work together. Even during the weekend company retreat, Nolan chose her as his hiking partner. Lily, however, seemed hesitant. “Is this okay? What about Clara?” Nolan’s tone was icy. “Didn’t we break up? Why should I care what she does?” He didn’t lower his voice; everyone around could hear him. “Besides, she loves having dinner with other men. I’m sure she can find someone to hike with her.” Instantly, the way people looked at me changed. Whispers broke out. “Nolan is such a great boyfriend and she didn’t cherish him. She was out flirting with other guys? No wonder he dumped her.” The gossiping crowd only dispersed when I walked closer. Halfway up the mountain, Lily twisted her ankle. Without a word, Nolan crouched down and offered her his back, carrying her up the trail. Lily sounded guilty. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Pierce. I’m going to make us finish last.” Nolan comforted her gently. “It’s fine. We’re just here to relax. The ranking doesn’t matter.” I was trailing far behind them. There was an odd number of people on this trip, and everyone had already paired up. I didn’t want to third-wheel, so I hiked alone. I was never very athletic, and by now, I was panting heavily. Ahead of me, the atmosphere between the two of them was harmonious. I even heard someone praising Nolan for being such a dependable gentleman. 06 Nolan was indeed a very dependable man. He was polite and chivalrous to everyone—except me. In college, he was our class president. During that earthquake drill… Everyone rushed out of the building. He was the only one who ran back in, finding me—who had sprained my ankle a few days prior—and carrying me out on his back. The whole school talked about it, and everyone envied my luck. But at the time, Nolan was actually scolding me. “Do you know how much of a burden you are? If your ankle is sprained, why did you even come to class? “Because of you, our class is going to finish dead last in the drill. “Clara, you literally ruin everything you touch.” I actually wanted to tell him that I had already gotten permission from the professor to skip the drill. But listening to his harsh words, I didn’t want to argue and make him angrier. Later, his friends told me Nolan just had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He was worried about my ankle and wanted me to rest at home. Afterward, he even sought out a specialist to get me the best physical therapy patches. “He makes fifty bucks a day at his campus job, but one of those patches costs forty. He didn’t even hesitate and bought you a two-week supply.” My best friend was so jealous. “He’s just awkward, but he truly loves you. That ‘tsundere’ personality is so romantic.” But now, watching Nolan comfort Lily… I realized he wasn’t incapable of being gentle. He just refused to be gentle with me. I could only feel his love through the words and actions relayed by other people. I never felt it directly from his attitude toward me. He was always snapping at me, giving me the cold shoulder. Calling me stupid, calling me careless. Cutting up a scarf someone else gifted me, smashing a Nintendo Switch a coworker lent me. I convinced myself he was just jealous, that he just cared too much. And so, after being pushed away time and time again, after being stonewalled time and time again… I would gaslight myself, then force myself to be enthusiastic, apologizing and compromising tirelessly. But… enthusiasm needs to be reciprocated. In this relationship, I wasn’t bulletproof. I felt wronged and heartbroken, too. The way an avoidant person acts is so painfully similar to someone who just doesn’t love you. I had been hurting for so long that I could no longer tell the difference. Was Nolan truly just emotionally constipated, or did he simply not love me anymore? 07 And so, I stopped walking and withdrew from the retreat. I texted my supervisor, saying I wasn’t feeling well. After going home, I boxed up the rest of the things Nolan had left at my place. I included all the gifts he had given me over the years. I called a courier and shipped them all to his apartment. After everything was done, I sat on the sofa in a daze for a while. Then I picked up my phone and sent Nolan a text. Just three simple words. 【Let’s break up.】 Last time, I was just saying it out of anger, still harboring the fantasy that he would come back and apologize. But this time, it was real. I really, truly wanted to end it. 08 The message didn’t go through. I had forgotten. Nolan had blocked my number again. He always did this. The moment a cold war started, he severed all lines of communication. I pursed my lips and asked his friend to pass on the message. In the past, I used to complain about Nolan using his friends as messengers. I didn’t expect that now, I would need to do the same. While sending the text, I accidentally tapped on his friend’s Instagram profile. The newest post was a group photo taken at the beach. Right in the center of the photo were Nolan and Lily. Lily was smiling brightly, her arm resting on Nolan’s back. Nolan also looked completely relaxed. The post date was from a week ago. Right in the middle of our cold war. I stared at it for a long time, then double-tapped to like it. In the past, Nolan was always busy with his research. He used to say that traveling was an economic lie, a trap of consumerism. “The places you want to go are just the scenery the locals are already sick of looking at.” I accommodated him, so we never really traveled anywhere. But now, I suddenly wanted to go somewhere. Perhaps I had also become the scenery Nolan was sick of looking at. So when a younger, prettier girl appeared… He picked a fight and started a cold war. Some people say love is being cold to everyone else but gentle to you. Nolan was the exact opposite. He gave Lily gentle encouragement, but only gave me cold, harsh words. It was my own fault for being oblivious and not seeing the annoyance in his eyes. 09 I took my paid time off and booked a flight to Sedona, Arizona. The scenery there was beautiful, and the food was amazing. While chatting with an elderly local woman, I asked if she ever got tired of living there her whole life. The old woman chuckled. “This is my home. Seeing my home become more beautiful over the years, I only feel pride. How could I ever get tired of it?” She said she loved Sedona, loved her hometown. I had a sudden realization. People can look at the same scenery forever. As long as there is love, there is no boredom. I didn’t expect to receive a call from Nolan on my third day there. I didn’t know when he had unblocked me. His tone was stiff. “Waffles ran out of food. I don’t know which brand to buy.” I told him the brand, then added: “You can just use Google Image Search on your phone. You don’t need to ask me.” Nolan dodged the suggestion. “I threw the bag away.” He asked again. “Waffles broke his scratching post. What should I do?” “Buy a new one.” “Waffles went out to the patio and rolled in the mud.” “Take him to the groomer for a bath.” … Nolan asked a dozen questions, and I answered them all one by one. Then, we both fell silent. I waited a moment. When he didn’t say anything else, I said: “I’m hanging up. You can Google how to take care of a cat. Don’t ask me anymore.” There was a long silence on the other end. Just before I hung up… Nolan finally spoke. “Waffles misses you. Can you come back and see him?” I didn’t really believe that. Because of our research, Nolan and I often had to travel for work. Every time Nolan came home, Waffles would wait by the door. When he saw Nolan, he would run up, meowing happily. But not for me. I always had to go find him. I missed him when I was away, but Waffles still didn’t care for me. He hid from me. Only with the temptation of cat treats would he reluctantly let me hold him. He never missed me before. Why would he now? I refused. “No. He’s your cat now. It’s not appropriate for me to go see him.” After hanging up, I let out a long breath. I didn’t understand the point of Nolan’s call. Did he really have questions, or did he just find Waffles to be a nuisance? It made sense. He was always so disciplined, calm, and meticulous. Taking care of a living creature was too difficult and messy for him. I tossed and turned until the early hours of the morning. I picked up my phone and typed a text. 【If you think Waffles is too much trouble, you can give him back to me.】 I was afraid Nolan would lose his patience and mistreat Waffles. If he really got annoyed, what if he abandoned him? It was better if I kept him, even if Waffles didn’t like me. I would take responsibility and ensure he had a good life. It was 3 AM, but I didn’t expect an instant reply. 【You want Waffles? Even if it means leaving me, you want to take him?】 Before I could respond, another message came through. 【Then what about me?】 But the very next second, the message was unsent. I wondered if I was seeing things. A moment later, Nolan sent another text. 【Send me your location. I’m bringing Waffles to you.】 10 Inside a local coffee shop in Sedona. Nolan walked in carrying a cat carrier. He looked travel-worn, with faint dark circles under his eyes. I didn’t expect him to arrive so quickly. Calculating the time, he must have booked the earliest flight right after sending that text. As soon as Waffles saw me, he struggled wildly. The moment he was let out, he immediately darted to my feet and crouched down. He rarely treated me the same way he treated Nolan. He meowed at me affectionately, but this time, I only opened the carrier. I didn’t reach out to pick him up. I still had three or four fresh scratch marks on my arm from him. The scars hadn’t faded, and my heartbreak was just as real. After receiving Waffles, I prepared to leave. But Nolan stopped me. He pressed his lips tightly together. “Someone told me. That guy you met on your business trip was just a client. It was my fault for not getting the facts straight and losing my temper at you. “And that Instagram post you liked… my friends took me to the beach to clear my head. We just happened to run into Lily, so we all took a group photo together.” I stopped and listened quietly to what he had to say. He probably thought I broke up with him because I misunderstood his relationship with Lily. But I hadn’t. Even before Lily appeared… Our relationship was already unsustainable. After several attempts, Nolan finally forced the words out. “I’m sorry. The fight last time was my fault.” After he said it, his entire face flushed red. His neck was stiff, and he wouldn’t even meet my eyes. He looked as if he were enduring a massive humiliation. So I asked him, “Nolan, is apologizing to me really that shameful of a thing for you?” Why was it so hard for Nolan to speak, so humiliating? If apologizing felt like a humiliation to him. If yielding meant admitting defeat… Then what about me, the one who always chose to apologize first and yield first? What did that make me? Nolan’s eyes welled with tears. “I thought you knew I was just acting out. Since that day, I’ve been waiting to make up with you. I didn’t want to break up. I just wanted you to coax me.” His fingers trembled as he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. “I got you a gift, too. It’s that necklace you’ve been wanting.” Nolan’s voice choked up. “Why do you get to just say ‘we’re broken up’ and actually mean it, without any hesitation? “Seven years together, and you walk away so easily. But you only want Waffles, not me.” I felt exhausted. I couldn’t explain it to him in a way he would understand. He thought my breakup text was just an angry threat because that’s exactly what he would do. But when you say hurtful things enough times, they become reality. I said, “I’m not breaking up with you because of anyone else. It’s because of your personality. “You constantly refuse to communicate, you’re hopelessly avoidant, and you always run away from our problems.” Nolan clenched his fists. He turned the blame on me. “In the end, those are all just excuses. It’s just because you don’t love me enough. “You want to give up on me. You want to give up on us.” Nolan repeated it, emphasizing every word, his eyes bloodshot. “Clara, you just don’t love me enough.” Seven years of chasing him. Seven years of taking the initiative. And in the end, my reward was the accusation that I “didn’t love him enough.” I asked him, “What about you? Have you ever made a single change because you loved me?” I knew he was avoidant. I knew he was sensitive. I knew he was deeply insecure. So I was always incredibly careful to protect his feelings. I never dared to threaten a breakup in anger. Because I knew that once those words were spoken… With Nolan’s pride, he would never bow his head, and we would be over for good. But he could act as recklessly as he wanted, knowing I would always cave. I always tried so hard to be the patient lover who could never be chased away. But loving someone like this was just too exhausting. I took a hundred steps toward Nolan, but he felt that even turning around to look at me was too humiliating. And so, in the end, my love was ground down to nothing. Bearing the guilt of “not loving him enough,” I simply didn’t want to hold on anymore. We both ended up battered and bruised. The person who loves you the most knows exactly what words will cut you the deepest. So I fired back at Nolan, enunciating every word clearly. “Nolan, no one can tolerate you. “And no one will ever love you like I did. You don’t deserve to be loved by anyone.” 11 After the trip, I applied for a transfer. I moved to our research facility in Austin, Texas. The equipment there was more advanced, providing me with better career opportunities. Before I left, Lily approached me hesitantly. “Clara, I’m so sorry. I really just happened to run into Mr. Pierce at the beach that time. He was in a really bad mood, which is why he went there to clear his head.” I glanced at her, then looked back down at my boxes. “You don’t need to apologize to me. Nolan is the one who owes you an apology.” The girl was young; she hadn’t realized how obvious the adoration in her eyes was. And Nolan getting close to her was definitely intentional. Nolan was a germaphobe, both physically and emotionally. I never doubted his loyalty and faithfulness. I knew he just wanted to make me jealous, to force me to go to him. It was the only tactic he dared to use. During our previous cold wars, I had also tried to make him jealous. I had hoped against hope that it would make him feel a sense of crisis and stop taking his anger out on me. But it didn’t. Nolan threw all my belongings out the door. He completely ignored me and even made his friends block my number. That was when I realized those tactics didn’t work on him. If I took one step back, he would retreat a hundred steps. Our relationship could only survive if one person clung to it desperately, refusing to let go. And that person was always me.

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My boyfriend pointed at the message from a male colleague on my phone. [“Tough luck having to work late this weekend. Your voice sounded like you were coming down with a cold.”] “You’re ending a three-year relationship over a trivial bit of small talk?” he asked, his voice dripping with disbelief. I nodded slowly. “Yes. Exactly over this.” 01 When I brought up the breakup, Bennett Foster remained silent. I couldn’t read a single emotion on his face. He probably thought I was just throwing another one of my “tantrums,” using the word ‘breakup’ as a desperate lever to get him to cuddle me. But none of that mattered anymore. I went back to our bedroom to pack. It didn’t take long. I didn’t have much—just enough to fill two suitcases. As I reached for the door handle, I felt a fleeting spark of hesitation. Would he be like he was during our first year? Would he rush over, his eyes red and swollen, grabbing my hand and stumbling through a desperate explanation before we collapsed into a tearful kiss? Or like the second year, when he’d pull me into his chest, even when he was furious, his silent embrace and the gentle pat on my back telling me he still cared? He didn’t move. He stayed on the sofa, mindlessly scrolling through TikTok. Until the moment I walked out that door, he never once looked up. 02 They say breakups are loud, but this one was hauntingly quiet. I realized then that ending it wasn’t just about clearing out a closet. It was about purging the digital ghosts—the Instagram posts, the shared albums, the birthday tags. I’d already archived every photo of Bennett months ago. I knew he didn’t know. Ever since we stopped being long-distance and moved in together, he stopped following my life. He was in it, so he felt he didn’t need to watch it. After one particularly bad fight, I had waved my phone in his face. “The next time you pull this crap, I’m not just archiving our posts. I’m deleting them. Forever.” He had just ruffled my hair with a gentle, patronizing smile and said nothing. He was so certain I would never leave. Even if his face vanished from my feed, he wouldn’t panic. He saw my threats as a game. I’d joked once, “Bennett, do you even care? You haven’t liked a single post of mine in six months.” He was busy de-shelling prawns for my dinner plate. He frowned slightly. “Harper, I just spent an hour calming you down. I’m exhausted. Can we not do this right now?” I looked at the pile of perfectly cleaned seafood on my plate, a mountain of effort he’d made for me. He hadn’t eaten a bite himself. He was always busy ‘doing’ things. Suddenly, I wanted to cry. I couldn’t even remember why we had been in a cold war for a week. I just remembered that I was the one who broke first, the one who apologized and went back to him. He was like he always was—taking me out to a nice dinner, talking about everything and nothing. In our friend group, I was the “dramatic” one, and Bennett was the saint who put up with me. “Infinite tolerance”—that was the label they gave him. Because no matter how many times I mentioned leaving, I knew that if I turned around, he’d be there. But Bennett would never take that extra step forward. He was perfectly self-contained. He never admitted fault. He was immune to my pouting, my logic, and my tears. If I pushed too hard, the silence just lasted longer. Once, we didn’t speak for an entire week. Every day, I fought a war inside my head. In the end, I was the one who crawled back. I remember the smell of creamy mushroom pasta wafting from the kitchen. Bennett was in his apron, focused on his knife work, making my favorite meal. But there was no apology. Not a single word. I tugged at his sleeve. “Can you tell me when you’re unhappy? Your silence affects my mood. When you don’t speak, I feel like you don’t need me anymore.” Bennett put down the knife. His hair fell over his eyes, obscuring his expression. His voice was gentle, as always. “Harper, am I good to you?” I nodded. “If you’re here because you want to make up, welcome. But if you’re here to prove I was wrong again, maybe you need more time to cool off.” He had his own logic. Why share the bad parts? If you know an emotion is negative, why pass that poison to your partner? At the time, I had looked into his eyes and hugged him tight. “Because that’s what lovers do. They share the weight.” He laughed and pressed my head against his chest, his chin resting on my hair. That day, I posted a quote on my story: “We share the cold fronts, the thunder, the lightning; we share the mist, the rainbows, and the dawn.” But time proved he never intended to share the storm. Every frustration at the office, every stress from the startup—he swallowed it all alone. So when I tried to share my work stress with him, he just frowned. “Harper, we’re adults. We should have the ability to process our own emotions.” In his eyes, my need for emotional support was childish. I thought he was right. I thought I was the immature one. After all, everyone told me how lucky I was. He took his company public in three years. He was handsome, loyal, and had zero vices. He remembered every preference I had. No matter how busy he was, he’d come home and cook a gourmet meal, never letting me lift a finger in the kitchen. 03 The night before the breakup, at 3:00 AM, his phone buzzed. For the first time in three years, I felt a strange impulse. I checked it. “Hey Big Bear, I’m staring at the ceiling. What was the name of that painfully long movie you mentioned? I need something to put me to sleep.” The chat history had been wiped clean. The contact photo was a white kitten. Half of the matching pair was a black cat being tugged by the ear. Classic couple’s avatars. A woman’s intuition is a terrifying thing. I clicked on her profile. It was a diary of her life with her “boyfriend.” [“The best part of travel: He carries both massive suitcases, I just carry the aesthetics.”] [“Ugh, he was worried I’d be cold so he made me wait in the car while he ran out to buy me hot roasted nuts.”] There were no faces. No names. No interactions on their public feeds. I scrolled desperately. Finally, I found a photo of a car. I zoomed in until the pixels blurred. In the corner of the frame, the edge of the window revealed the car’s color. White. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Bennett drove a black SUV. I laughed at myself. I was being paranoid. It was probably a wrong number, or an old friend reaching out on a whim. Bennett never hid his phone. If they had been in contact all this time, how would I have missed it? But as I went to exit the app, a watermark on the photo caught my eye. It was a handle for a private Instagram account. I searched it. The handle was: @Is_The_Big_Bear_Groveling_Yet? It was a private account with exactly one follower. My fingers trembled as I requested to follow, then realized I didn’t need to. Her “Threads” were public. It was a record of their daily trivia. Even when Bennett was drowning in work before the IPO, he would reply to the songs she shared. [“A bit loud, but I guess it’s what girls your age like.”] During the week of our longest cold war, Bennett had told her: [“Not in a great headspace lately. Might go off the grid for a few days.”] [“Cold war again?”] she asked. Bennett didn’t reply. She posted a photo of Bennett napping at a desk. A female finger was poking his nose, squishing it into a “pig snout.” The sleeve in the photo belonged to a volunteer shirt for a local animal shelter. I remembered that weekend. Bennett had declined my movie date, saying he had to do volunteer work. He was actually with her. The latest post was from today. She was complaining about a difficult boss. Bennett had replied with paragraphs of advice, comforting her, even criticizing the boss’s behavior. She replied with a string of “LMAOs.” I remembered the time I lost a massive file at work. My boss had screamed at me for twenty minutes, only to realize later that he had taken the file himself and forgotten. He didn’t apologize. He told me it was a “learning experience” and that I should always have a backup. I had called Bennett from the stairwell, sobbing. He was silent for a long time before saying in his most ‘gentle’ voice: “Harper, objectively speaking, he’s right. Everything in life needs a Plan B. Everything needs a backup.” The tears had blurred my vision then. I realized now that Bennett knew exactly how to comfort someone. He knew how to provide emotional value. He just chose not to provide it to me. I didn’t sleep that night. The next day, I calmly asked for a breakup. He leaned against the doorframe. The spring air was crisp, the snow was melting, but nothing was as cold as the look in his eyes. “Why?” I showed him the text from my colleague. [“Tough luck having to work late this weekend. Your voice sounded like you were coming down with a cold.”] He curled his lip in a mock smile. “You’re leaving me because of a trivial bit of concern from a stranger? “Harper, does three years of my devotion mean nothing compared to a random text?” I nodded. “Yes. Exactly.” Bennett would never understand. He didn’t hear the sickness in my voice that night. A stranger did. 04 We didn’t speak for a whole month. Then, on Valentine’s Day, I got a text from him. [“I found some things you left behind. Come get them if you want them.”] Attached was a photo of a small velvet pouch. Inside was a St. Christopher medal I had bought for him at a cathedral in Europe. Bennett was the man who had everything. Wealthy, successful, elite. I thought the only thing that could move a man like that was pure, unadorned sincerity. I had stood in the rain outside that cathedral, praying for his safety. “If you grant one person your favor, may you spend the rest of your life being generous with them.” The rain had been heavy that day, mirroring the ripples in my heart. When Bennett had walked up with an umbrella, smelling faintly of cherry blossoms, I was sure the universe had heard me. “It’s my birthday and you’re not here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Inside the restaurant, he had tenderly dried my hair. Our friends teased us. “Bennett only blew out the candles so he could wish for you to come back.” He had smiled. “What were you praying for at the church? Health?” I clutched the medal, blushing. “No. I wished for us to be this happy forever.” Bennett’s face had gone cold instantly. “Harper, praying for happiness in a relationship is the beginning of a disaster.” The medal felt like it was burning my palm. I gripped it tight. He was right. Bennett was always logical, always restrained. How could I have been so naive to think a piece of ‘sincerity’ could bind him? Someone asked, “What’s in the bag, Harper? A gift for Bennett?” I forced a laugh. “Nothing. Just a lucky charm I got for myself.” The bitterness was overwhelming. In Bennett’s vast world, love was just a tiny, manageable province. That night, Bennett had been drinking. He pinned me against the wall, kissing away my tears, murmuring into my neck. “Where’s my gift, Harper?” “I forgot to get one.” “Then you’ll have to pay me back another way.” 05 In the present, my friend Chloe was staring at Bennett’s text. “In my professional dating opinion, this is a total ‘come-back-to-me’ text. Getting Bennett Foster to reach out first is like getting blood from a stone.” Someone asked, “So what now?” Chloe was fast. She sent my current location to Bennett before I could stop her. “The enemy has moved. We reveal the location and see his next move. Ten to one, he shows up at the door.” I snatched my phone back and blocked his number. “You’re overthinking it,” I said coldly. “But his profile picture is still that photo of your back! And his header is still the sunset you took! You changed yours, but he hasn’t.” From the corner of the room, a scoff rang out. “He’s just too lazy to change it. What does that prove? “I could put a photo of Harper in my living room, but does that mean anything? You women love to mistake convenience for commitment.” It was Jax Montgomery. We went to college together. Back then, he was the guy everyone had a crush on. He had a ‘thing’ with a girl named Seraphina, but it was always messy. I didn’t expect this loose cannon to show up tonight. Jax and I had always been at odds in college, but today, for once, we were on the same page. Bennett’s little Instagram girlfriend probably had a partner too. They used matching icons, they stayed in touch, they stayed juuuust on the right side of the line. It was an ’emotional affair’ they both enjoyed. The thought made me nauseous. A few rounds of drinks later, someone suggested Truth or Dare. Jax lost. “When was the last time you felt a spark?” someone asked. The bar lights flickered. Jax swirled his bourbon. “Nineteen.” That was freshman year. The year he met Seraphina. According to Bennett, Jax was a classic player—always flirting, never committing. He was the definition of a red flag. I rolled my eyes. Men only realize what they had once it’s gone. A few rounds later, Jax lost again. Chloe smirked. “Is the person who gave you that spark in this room tonight?” Everyone in the room was from our college circle. If he said yes, it was Seraphina. I felt a gaze on me, heavy and fleeting. “Yes,” Jax said. Seraphina walked into the room almost exactly as he said the word. The room erupted in whispers. I felt a headache coming on and stepped out for some air.

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In my past life, my mother was moved by her own self-righteous love. During my SATs, she slipped an “encouraging” note into my pencil case, causing me to be disqualified for cheating. It wasn’t until right before I died that I found out the whole thing was my cousin’s idea. Reborn, I swore to change my destiny and never repeat the same mistakes. They all said my cousin was just “playing a joke” on me. Well, I’m going to return those jokes to them, one by one. What’s wrong? Why aren’t any of you laughing now? 1 When my husband cheated on me and beat me, I begged my mother for support. Instead, she said, “It’s because you’re useless. You can’t even keep your own man.” “So he cheats on me and abuses me, and it’s somehow my fault?” She continued, “Well… you can only blame yourself for being a bad judge of character.” I finally snapped. “You were the one who forced me to marry him!” My mother looked at me in absolute shock. “If you didn’t want to get married, could I have forced you? Everything was your own choice. Don’t blame your failed life on me.” For a moment, I was speechless. She knew better than anyone exactly when my life started to derail. That year, I was a guaranteed lock for the Ivy League. But during the first section of the SATs, I found a piece of paper in my pencil case that didn’t belong to me. I forced myself to stay calm and waited until the exam was over to open it. Inside was a single line written in my mother’s handwriting: “Honey, pay close attention to the details.” She had never cared about my grades before. She didn’t care about my life at school, dedicating all her love and attention to my cousin, Savannah. Yet, she chose the most critical exam of my life to pull a stunt like this. I thought I had dodged a bullet. But after all the subjects were completed, someone reported me. After an investigation, I was ruled guilty of cheating, and all my scores were canceled. I checked the answer keys online afterward. My raw score was high enough to get me into the top-tier university of my dreams. But everything was destroyed because of her self-indulgent “encouragement.” Because of a cheating violation, I lost the chance to retake the exams. I was forced to hustle in the real world with only a high school diploma, hitting a brick wall at every turn. My cheating scandal became their favorite dinnertime gossip. I could never escape it; it defined me in their eyes for years. After my father passed away, my mother guilt-tripped me relentlessly, weaponizing my duty as a daughter until I gave in and married the man she picked out for me: Travis. And yet, she claimed this was all my choice? When Travis hit me, she urged me to keep the peace, telling me not to make a mountain out of a molehill, completely ignoring the bruises on my body. Once, when I fled back to my childhood home, she actually welcomed Travis inside with a massive smile, cooked his favorite meal, and urged us to make up quickly. When I discovered his affairs and demanded a divorce, her only response was to blame me for failing to keep a man happy. My heart completely died. I stopped expecting any support from her. But right before I packed my bags to leave, I overheard her on the phone with Savannah. “Do you think Avery will really hate me?” my mom asked. “Why would she? You caused her SAT scores to be canceled back then, and she forgave you for that, didn’t she? This is exactly the same,” Savannah replied. My mother’s voice trembled slightly. “I caused it? But you were the one who told me to do it! You reported her! And you were the one who introduced Travis to her!” Savannah feigned surprise. “But Auntie, didn’t you ask me how to keep her from moving far away for college? I was just making a joke.” It was only then that I realized my entire life wasn’t destroyed by bad luck or fate. It was orchestrated by them. I drove away in a daze, completely hollowed out, and got into a fatal car crash. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my senior year of high school. Maybe even God couldn’t stand watching my pathetic, laughable life anymore. Reborn, I swore to never repeat the same mistakes. 2 I had forgotten a lot of the minor details, but the events that ruined my life were burned into my memory. You could say the tragedy of my high school years started exactly here. When Hunter blocked my path in the hallway, I secretly thought to myself, Here we go. With an arrogant, rebellious smirk, he pointed at me like he was granting me a royal favor. “Hey. You’re not bad. Wanna go out with me?” My vow to never repeat my mistakes starts right now. Gasps and whispers erupted from the students around us. In the crowd, I locked eyes with Savannah. She was too young back then; she didn’t know how to hide the look in her eyes. A look of pure, gloating schadenfreude. I looked up at Hunter and smiled brightly. “Sure.” He didn’t get the “flattered and overwhelmed” reaction he expected. He was taken aback, but quickly recovered. He laughed exaggeratedly, looking me up and down with utter disdain. “Actually, looking at you again, you’re not that pretty. And your personality is boring. Let’s break up.” The crowd immediately understood. This was all just a “joke.” The envious looks from the girls instantly morphed into mockery, laughing at me for not knowing my place and thinking I actually had a shot with a rich kid like Hunter. But my reaction still didn’t give them the satisfaction they wanted. I kept my bright smile. “Sure.” My tone didn’t even shift. Looking at me, it seemed like I genuinely didn’t care. Savannah walked over, linking her arm through mine, pretending to be worried. “Avery, you don’t have to act like this. I know you’re hurting. After all, you’ve had a crush on him for…” The moment those words left her mouth, everyone was convinced I was just saving face and dying inside. I brushed her hand off and waved at Brody, who was standing in the crowd. “A bet’s a bet. Three thousand bucks, please.” Everyone in the hallway froze, including Savannah. She couldn’t figure out how the humiliation trap she orchestrated had suddenly flipped. Brody came from old money; three grand was nothing to him. “I don’t have cash on me. I’ll Venmo you later.” Then he turned to Hunter. “Did you team up with her to scam me? You just cost me three grand. You’re paying for the pool tables today.” 3 Hunter finally realized what was happening and glared at me furiously. “You played me?” I shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that. Weren’t you using me for a bet too? Consider this a win-win.” Yes, Hunter’s public confession was nothing but a cruel bet. He bet that I wouldn’t reject him. In my past life, my rejection severely bruised his fragile ego. Afterward, he started aggressively and publicly pursuing me. From start to finish, he only cared about his own amusement, completely ignoring how his actions affected me. He brought me endless, suffocating trouble. Not to mention his army of fan-girls, who thought I was playing hard to get and relentlessly bullied me. I had begged my mother for help, but Savannah got to her first. Savannah convinced her that I was being indecent and trying to seduce boys at school. My mother called me shameless and said that instead of going to college, I should just find a man to marry early. But thinking back on it now, what did any of that have to do with me? It was a completely unprovoked disaster. I stepped closer to Hunter and whispered. “I didn’t want to do this, but you came after me first. I was just acting in self-defense. “You’re not going to be a sore loser and send people to mess with me, are you?” I knew that by saying it out loud, regardless of what he originally planned, his pride wouldn’t let him stoop that low now. Enduring his furious, fiery glare, I casually started digging a pit for Savannah. “Just a little secret between us—someone tipped me off today just to watch you make a fool of yourself. Instead of glaring at me, you should probably figure out who suggested you use me for your bet, and who secretly leaked the plan so I could use you as a pawn.” Exactly. If I hadn’t known about the bet, how could I have prepared so perfectly to publicly embarrass him? Seeing the realization dawn on his face, I smiled with deep satisfaction. Savannah. In our past life, you orchestrated this entire nightmare from the shadows and then faded into the background, keeping your hands perfectly clean. When I finally found out the truth and told my mother, she brushed it off with a casual, “It was just a joke.” My suffering, my misery, my ruined life—all dismissed as a “joke.” A joke? Savannah, let’s see if you’re still laughing in this lifetime. 4 When Savannah came looking for me later, I was memorizing SAT vocabulary. In my past life, after my college dreams were destroyed, I threw all these books away. If I had known I’d get a second chance, I would have studied them religiously every single day. She stormed into my room and violently swept everything off my desk, scattering my books across the floor. “Avery! What the hell did you say to Hunter?! Why did he come to me threatening to make my life a living hell?!” My parents rushed into the room right behind her. My mother looked at me, her eyes full of disappointment. “Avery, how could you team up with outsiders to bully your own cousin?” When I suffered, it was just my cousin playing a joke. When she suffers, it’s me teaming up with outsiders to bully her. I looked at the mess on the floor, my heart completely at peace. I had long since accepted the fact that I would never be the favorite. I calmly told them the truth. I just received a tip-off and flipped the script when I was being mocked. “It was just a harmless joke. Did you really need to be so cruel to your own family?” my dad said. A joke. Do I look like I’m laughing? I feigned perfect innocence. “What does this have to do with Savannah? I only told Hunter that I was grateful someone gave me a heads-up so we were even. I didn’t say anything else! “Were your friends just playing a joke on you, Savannah, but you misunderstood?” They were left speechless. Savannah stamped her foot in frustration and stormed out. Before my parents left the room, I asked if they could install a lock on my door. They refused. My room used to have a lock, but they took it off years ago. In this house, I wasn’t even allowed to close my bedroom door all the way. They could barge in whenever they wanted, without knocking, treating my personal space like a public hallway. That was also why I never kept a diary. Rather than treating me like their child, it felt more like I was their property. I didn’t need to have my own thoughts or opinions; I just needed to obey. That was why, when I expressed my desire to go to an out-of-state university in my past life, my mother was willing to destroy my future just to keep me chained to her side. I won’t let them have their way this time. 5 In my past life, I had always suspected Savannah was behind the bullying I endured. Even though I was the innocent victim, those girls treated me like a thorn in their side, targeting me relentlessly. My desk would constantly be covered in ink, chalk dust, and sticky, dried soda. If I handed in an assignment, it would invariably be returned to me defaced with vile, disgusting insults. Or… just like what was happening right now. Written in bold letters across the classroom whiteboard were phrases like: “Avery is a slut,” “Shameless whore,” and “Cheap trash.” When I walked into the classroom, some students looked worried, while others wore expressions of eager anticipation, waiting for the drama. But to everyone’s surprise, I didn’t furiously demand to know who did it, nor did I panic and try to erase the words. I simply walked to my seat, sat down, and calmly opened my textbook to read. As the digital clock above the whiteboard ticked closer to the start of homeroom, some students started shifting uneasily in their seats. They exchanged nervous glances. Finally, one guy stood up and grabbed the eraser. I smiled. “Tyler, you’re not on whiteboard duty today. Why are you erasing that?” He looked flustered. “Leaving these words up here… it’s not good, right?” I kept smiling, but my voice dropped several degrees, loud enough for the entire room to hear. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Leave it up. Or… did you write it?” He hastily denied it. “If you didn’t write it, why are you erasing it? Nobody touches that board! Whoever erases it, I’ll assume is the culprit.” He was stunned into silence and awkwardly shuffled back to his seat. The unspoken rule of high school bullying is that these petty, malicious acts must be done secretly. You can’t let a teacher catch you red-handed. Even if they do catch you, you have to be able to play it off as “just messing around.” But this was clearly crossing a massive line. The homeroom teacher could walk in at any second. Maybe this minute, maybe the next. Finally, someone couldn’t sit still anymore. She marched to the front and wiped the board completely clean. It was Tyler’s crush, Blair. She looked incredibly plain—average looks, average grades, average family background. Savannah looked down on her, but Blair was more than happy to act as Savannah’s loyal lapdog, doing her dirty work. Too bad for her, they wouldn’t even be speaking to each other by the time graduation rolled around. I walked straight up to her. “Blair, did you do this?” Her eyes darted away, but she forced herself to act tough. “So what if I did? You messed with Hunter. Do you really have zero self-awareness?” She was trying to use Hunter’s reputation to scare me into backing down. I smiled, grabbed her by the collar, and dragged her forcefully down the hall, kicking the door to Hunter’s classroom wide open. Savannah was in there too. Naturally, Hunter hadn’t arrived for homeroom yet, but that didn’t matter. Even though the room fell dead silent the moment I kicked the door open, I still slammed my hand onto the teacher’s podium. “Hey, Class 4! Your boy Hunter lost a bet and is too much of a coward to own it, so he sends girls to do his dirty work. Do me a favor and pass a message to him. “If you can’t handle losing, don’t play the game. Pathetic loser.” 6 I went viral. Literally. It got so bad the homeroom teacher hauled me into his office. Both of our parents were called in. Tyler’s mother was a very plain-looking woman, likely a stay-at-home mom, and she looked incredibly nervous. My parents couldn’t make it right away; they said they’d be there later. In front of the teacher and his mother, Tyler’s story did a complete 180. “I was just playing a joke with a classmate. You’re completely overreacting,” he mumbled, looking down like he was the one being victimized. His mother nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mr. Davis. Our boy is usually so well-behaved. This must be a huge misunderstanding.” The teacher looked at me. “Students should be kind to one another. We can’t have this kind of intense hostility. How about you both apologize, write a reflection essay, read it at the assembly next week, and we just put this behind us?” Everyone loves “jokes,” huh? Why is your sense of humor so twisted? I let out a cold, sarcastic chuckle. “Sure. Tyler, why don’t you repeat the exact ‘joke’ you wrote on the board to your mom right now? If you do, I’ll let it go.” He snapped his head up, glaring at me with venomous eyes. My voice was dead calm. “There are some jokes that, if you wouldn’t say them to your own mother, you shouldn’t say them to another girl. Since you think it was just a joke, who’s going to say it now? You, or me?” He stammered, unable to form a single word. He wouldn’t say it, so I did. I repeated the vile words written on the whiteboard, syllable by syllable. His mother finally realized what her “well-behaved” angel had been up to. She was shaking with rage. Right then, I gave him an out. “I know this wasn’t originally your idea. Did someone else tell you to do it? Who was it? Tell me, and I won’t hold you responsible.” Just as he hesitated, about to spit out the name, a knock came at the door. “Reporting.” Hunter called out and walked in without waiting for the teacher to say ‘come in.’ I don’t know how long he’d been listening, but he spoke immediately. “Don’t bother. I know who it is.” He walked up to Tyler, looking down at him. “Savannah, right?” He looked at me, rolling his eyes. “I, Hunter, am not a sore loser. I’ve already told everyone: from now on, absolutely no one is allowed to give you a hard time.” Hunter was arrogant and proud. Dragging him into this mess had actually paid off. At this point, I didn’t care about their petty high school drama, but… Flies aren’t deadly, but they are incredibly disgusting. They knew how to use others’ influence to bully me, and now I knew how to do the same. Sharpening the axe won’t delay the woodcutting. From now on, I wouldn’t have to waste my study time dealing with this garbage. Just as I was thinking this, a man burst into the office and slapped me hard across the face. “You ungrateful wretch! Teaming up with outsiders to spread vicious rumors about your own cousin! How did I raise a daughter like you? Apologize to her right now!” My mother didn’t stop him. She just told the teacher that I was completely out of line and that they would teach me a strict lesson. It seems the news of what Savannah did had been broadcasted by Hunter. My nose burned. A trail of blood ran down my lip, and the metallic taste of copper filled my throat. I sneered internally, feeling a wave of deep sorrow: I really wanted to know, how the hell did I end up as your daughter? 7 Everyone in the room was stunned. The sudden, brutal escalation of violence was completely unexpected. I was the calmest person in the room. I pulled a tissue from my pocket, pinched my bleeding nose, and looked at the teacher. “Can I still apply for campus housing?” I lowered my eyelashes. “Staying at home makes it very difficult for me to study.” As for the reason why, everyone in the room now had a crystal-clear picture. Having a toxic family like this was terrifying. The homeroom teacher stammered. Everything had happened so fast, he hadn’t even had a chance to try and smooth things over. “What do you mean?! Do we starve you? Do we not buy you clothes? You frame your cousin, and now you’re playing the victim?!” He raised his hand to hit me across the back, but shockingly, Hunter stepped in and blocked his arm. I hadn’t even said a word, but Hunter apparently understood everything. “You’re a teenager messing around with sketchy people! Raising a dog is better than raising you; at least a dog wags its tail! You only embarrass me in public! You’re not going to school for the next two days, you’re coming home with me right now!” He reached out to drag me away. The homeroom teacher finally snapped out of it, standing up and blocking his path. Tyler’s mother also quickly pulled me aside. “Mr. Miller, I think you’re misunderstanding the situation. You weren’t called here today because Avery did something wrong. And we don’t tolerate hitting children here.” Hunter wasn’t intimidated by my dad in the slightest. He stepped forward, his tall frame forcing my dad to take a subconscious half-step back. “The other day, I was just playing a joke on your daughter. My bad. “As for Savannah, I’m the one who leaked that information. It has nothing to do with Avery. But it wasn’t a rumor; it’s the truth. If you have a problem with it, take it up with me. Bullying your own kid just proves you’re a coward.” Tyler’s mom instinctively patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me. In her arms, I actually felt a shred of warmth. Meanwhile, my own biological mother was only worried that this arrogant, hot-headed student might actually throw a punch at her husband. Even if I had genuinely been beaten, she would have just stood on the sidelines urging me to quickly admit I was wrong. I had told myself I had accepted not being loved by them. Yet, being held by a total stranger, my heart trembled, and I was on the verge of tears.

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Hailed as a “Genius Bomb Technician,” I accidentally stumbled onto the set of a live-streamed reality show and was mocked by various celebrities for supposedly being desperate for fame. I offered a shy, toothy smile: “Should I leave then?” “Doesn’t matter to me. The bomb will explode anyway.” Heavily armed tactical units rushed in frantically: “Priority one: Protect the nation’s top bomb disposal expert!” 01 I stared deadpan at the man in front of me: “Is it fried?” He furrowed his brow: “It’s fried, it’s fried!” In my earpiece, the desperate, cracking voice of Captain David Miller from the SWAT team rang out: “My dearest princess!” “I am begging you!” “Before a mission, can you please stop eating fried chicken?! It’s bad luck!” The owner of the fried chicken stand right across the street happened to hand me a fresh, piping hot, mouth-watering order. I couldn’t help but take a deep breath: Ah! The smell of happiness! I stuffed my mouth full of steaming fried chicken and seriously rebutted David: “We must fight superstition and believe in science!” “Look at you. Every time you’re on PTO, you get called in for a Level 1 emergency.” “I haven’t even complained about you being bad luck, why are you complaining about the fried chicken?” “Besides, if I die a heroic death out there, at least I’ll have a chicken to keep me company, right?” David said, exasperated: “If you die a heroic death, I’m going down with you.” “Isn’t having me keep you company on the way to hell enough?” Tears of emotion welled up in my eyes: “Thank you~ I choose the chicken.” David: “…” As the nation’s best bomb technician, dubbed the “Genius Girl,” the fact that I have to eat a serving of fried chicken before and after every mission is widely known throughout the precinct. I practically single-handedly kept the fried chicken joint downstairs in business. Everyone says: “There’s no bomb Chloe Quinn can’t defuse, and no fried chicken she can’t finish.” 02 David and I are a “golden duo” of extreme contrasts. I’m always goofing off but consistently save the day at the last second. David is serious and by-the-book, the poster boy for a good cop, but complications constantly arise around him; even bad luck tries to avoid him. As for this time, David was urgently called back from his PTO yet again. An anonymous tip reported a bomb planted at 109 North Temple Street. Upon receiving the message, I vaulted out of my chair and commanded: “David, go get the car!” “Pick me up in front of the fried chicken place downstairs!” Before David could even express his exasperation, I had already expertly vanished from his sight. After all, getting the fried chicken required a quality check. I absolutely could not delay the mission. 03 By the time we arrived at the scene, the evacuation was already complete. I listened to a colleague brief me on the situation while putting on my bomb suit. David reached for a bomb suit to go with me, but I stopped him. I waved the file in my hand: “The explosive payload is over 250 grams of TNT.” “According to protocol, only one person approaches.” David frowned, clearly uneasy. But I had already finished putting on the suit and was walking toward the bomb with my tool kit. The bomb was placed in a dumpster that even stray dogs avoided. A food waste dumpster, to be exact. Before I even got close, I could feel the fried chicken doing flips in my stomach. Suppressing my nausea, I found the bomb beneath a pile of rotten eggs and decaying cabbage leaves. The moment I saw the device, my pupils contracted. David’s anxious voice crackled in the earpiece: “What’s wrong? How long until detonation?” I steadied my nerves and replied: “Half an hour.” Before David could breathe a sigh of relief, my next sentence almost sent him to the afterlife: “But the bomb has a dual-trigger mechanism.” “It can be detonated remotely.” Not only did David gasp, but the expressions of everyone on scene turned grave. A remote detonator meant the bomb-maker could blow me sky-high at any given second. And I had absolutely no chance of survival. 04 David suggested over the earpiece that I pull back first, allowing multiple teams to assess before deciding on a course of action. But I had already started dismantling it. Every minute the bomb existed was a minute of danger. David was furious, but he didn’t dare say anything, afraid of breaking my concentration. I focused entirely on the bomb, making non-stop calculations and judgments. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead, but I had no time to wipe them. Soon, only the last wire remained. I exhaled a breath: “David, do you prefer red or blue?” David tried to maintain his composure through deep breathing, with… limited success: “I pre… I prefer your grandmother’s second uncle!” “Hurry up and cut it!” “The suspect could detonate it any second!” I kept my tone light: “My grandmother’s second uncle just celebrated his 80th birthday this year.” “But age is just a number~” Before David could say anything else, my hand moved like lightning, snip, and I cut the blue wire. David let out a sharp gasp of “Hah,” and then time seemed to freeze for everyone on scene. The countdown timer froze at and stopped ticking down. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, and David wiped his face: “Next time you’re going to cut the last wire, could you give a little warning?!” “My hair almost fell out from the stress!” 05 My job was done, and the follow-up investigation was primarily David’s responsibility. But a lingering doubt hovered in everyone’s minds: Who exactly planted the bomb? If they set up a remote detonator, why did they allow me to defuse it? What was their goal? David arranged for someone to take me back to the precinct, and, following tradition, I went downstairs to buy fried chicken. The owner of the fried chicken stand was running around frantically. Seeing me, he smiled: “Off work?” “Wait a sec, I have it ready for you, frying it right now!” The owner was frying chicken with one hand and answering the phone with the other: “Right away, right away!” “There are no delivery drivers picking up orders in this area, my hands are tied!” “We’ll get your food to you as soon as possible.” I took the fried chicken the owner handed me, raised an eyebrow, and smiled: “Business is good, huh.” The owner sighed helplessly: “Ugh, nowadays there are so many delivery orders, but no one to deliver them. If we’re not careful, we might get a bad review.” I thought for a moment: “Boss, I just got off work. How about I deliver it for you?” The owner was both surprised and delighted: “Oh my! That would be a huge help!” I took the packaged delivery order and checked the address: It wasn’t far. A well-known entertainment and live-streaming company downtown. 06 I reached my destination smoothly. As soon as the elevator doors opened, a shrill female voice rang out: “Fine, so I couldn’t eat!” “But I can’t even get a nap without this noise?!” “What am I paying you people for?!” “You’re all fired!” Another voice chimed in: “Serena, the live stream is about to start.” The legendary Serena strutted past me, smelling like expensive perfume, her face twisted in a sour scowl. I have a sensitive nose, and I couldn’t help but cover my mouth and sneeze, “Achoo!” Serena immediately shot me a look of disgust: “Gross!” Me: ??? At this moment, I also recognized her. She was a recently popular rising starlet, known for her “spoiled, diva princess” persona. Have to say, she was playing the role perfectly. She immediately noticed the delivery bag in my hand: “Oh, so you’re the delivery driver?” “No wonder you’re a loser, delivering food so slowly!” “This is all you’ll ever be good for!” “Assistant, give the restaurant and the driver a one-star review!” After saying that, she sashayed away, with someone beside her carrying a prop case she needed for the live stream. The assistant took the bag from me with a bitter expression and whispered: “Don’t worry, I won’t leave a bad review.” “You should get going.” I was too lazy to say anything, shrugged, and prepared to leave. Just as I turned around, I heard the assistant complaining to someone else: “I don’t know where that alarm clock sound came from, it was so loud.” “It ruined Serena’s nap, and we got yelled at because of it.” My feet stopped instantly, and I turned back to ask: “What kind of alarm clock sound?” The assistant thought for a moment and answered seriously: “It was like a tick, tick, tick sound, very loud.” “It felt like it was coming from Serena’s prop case.” I frowned, a sliver of suspicion forming in my mind. It took me only one second to make a decision. I turned on my heel and walked toward the studio. 07 The live stream had already started in the studio, and the tool case was sitting in a corner. I tried to walk over as quietly as possible to avoid interrupting the broadcast. To my utter surprise, before my hand even touched the case, Serena’s voice rang out abruptly: “Hey! You delivery driver!” “What are you doing? Stealing?!” “Do you have no professional ethics?!” I… When you’re talking, do you even consider that you’re on a live broadcast? Which one of us lacks professional ethics? But the eyes of everyone in the room were already fixed on me, and even the camera swung my way. The live chat started scrolling rapidly: [What’s going on? Who is this?] [Did the producers plant a random person? She’s actually pretty cute!] [Look, Serena looks like she’s about to lose her mind.] Indeed, Serena had a mocking look on her face, ranting aggressively: “She’s just a delivery driver!” “I bet she has ulterior motives!” “She thinks sneaking in here will let her leech off my fame?” “Is she that desperate to be famous?!” Another actress beside her chimed in: “Yeah, little girl, you can’t just get famous just because you have a pretty face.” Seeing someone taking her side, Serena grew even bolder: “I’m famous for a reason, because I’m unique!” I nodded in agreement: “Unique? You are uniquely obnoxious.” The live chat was instantly flooded with a screen full of [LMAOOOOO]: [LMAO this girl is so funny, I’m dying!] [Serena is definitely being a bit too aggressive.] [But it is true that this woman barged into the live stream first, she’s definitely in the wrong here!] Serena had completely lost her mind and started calling for security to throw me out. I ignored the security guard walking toward me and instead quickly opened the tool case. A bomb suddenly appeared right before my eyes. At the same time, the heavy doors to the studio slammed shut and locked, seemingly out of nowhere. Everyone was trapped inside the room. 08 As everyone’s eyes landed on the bomb, the room instantly descended into chaos. Serena screamed hysterically: “Why is there a bomb?!” “Get me out of here!” The security guard pounded frantically on the heavy doors, but it was useless. The cameraman had long abandoned the camera and pulled out his phone to call 911. The live chat was also in an uproar: [A bomb?! Real or fake?] [Doesn’t look fake, look at how crazy everyone is acting.] [Call the police, hurry!] [That girl who stumbled into the stream is so calm?] I raised my voice and shouted: “Everyone, stay where you are!” “Avoid a stampede caused by panic!” The room went instantly quiet, and everyone looked at me. After a long pause, Serena sneered: “Who do you think you are?!” “What gives you the right to order us around?” “Do you really think you’re some kind of savior?” I reached into my pocket, pulled out my badge, flashed it, raised an eyebrow, and smiled: “Well… why wouldn’t I be?” 09 The room was dead silent. The live chat reacted faster than the people on set. [What’s happening? Is the girl a cop?] [Wow! Thank God for her!] [Otherwise, if the bomb went off, they’d be done for!] [Exactly, and Serena is still being relentless.] [Is she openly insulting a public official?!] The veteran director in charge of the set rushed over in a flash, grasping my hand tightly: “Officer! Thank God you’re here! I was terrified!” “What would we do without you?!” The old director had a grip like a vice. I tried to pull my hand away a few times, but failed. I had no choice but to speak up: “I know you’re anxious, but you need to calm down.” “Have everyone move to the other side of the room, and find me a tool kit.” Serena said sarcastically: “Do you even know what you’re doing? Don’t mess with it if you don’t!” “Our lives are worth much more than a lowly cop like you.” “Just a beat cop, stop trying to show off!” “We need an expert for this!” Now, I really didn’t get it. How could anyone be more obnoxious than that jinx, David? I narrowed my eyes, sized her up, then offered a shy, toothy smile: “Should I leave then?” “Doesn’t matter to me. The bomb will explode anyway.” “And did you forget that this is still being live-streamed?” “Watch out, or you’ll ruin your precious image!” Only then did Serena realize that the cameras were still rolling, and her every word and action had been exposed to the audience. Netizens were already furious: [What does she mean, her life is more valuable? Are other people’s lives worthless?] [In her eyes, we’re all just ants!] [Unfollowing immediately!] While we were talking, my colleagues who had received the 911 call arrived. David, the “Jinx Pro Max,” shouted through the heavy doors: “Can anyone inside hear me?” “Can someone give me a brief description of the situation inside?” I walked over to the door and cleared my throat: “The explosive payload is over 500 grams of TNT.” “It’s still a dual-trigger mechanism, timer and remote.” “I have reason to believe this was made by the same person as the previous bomb.” “The countdown has 1 hour left. We have enough time.” “My recommendation is to set up electronic signal jammers first, then breach the door and evacuate the civilians.” The people in the room stared at me dumbfounded, seemingly unable to understand how I knew so much. After a long pause, David’s voice, laced with denial, came from outside: “My ears have been acting up lately.” “Everyone sounds like Chloe.” I was furious: “David, you jinx! Stop talking nonsense!” “Move your ass!” David was stunned: “Chloe?! Explain yourself! Why are you in there?!” I covered my face, feeling powerless: “You might not believe this if I tell you.” “I was delivering food…” David’s ghostly voice echoed: “Is the precinct holding back your salary, or is your expert stipend not enough for you…” At this moment, the tech team arrived, preparing to set up the signal jammers to prevent the suspect from detonating the bomb remotely. However, a sudden change occurred. Just a moment before the signal jammer was activated, the bomb’s countdown suddenly began ticking down at three times its normal speed. In the blink of an eye, only 40 minutes remained. A terrible premonition washed over me: “Quick, tell the tech team to stop the jamming!” David hastily complied. Instantly, the countdown speed returned to normal. I exhaled a breath, my eyes sweeping over the security cameras around the room: “David, the bomber is warning us.” “No signal jamming, no breaching the door.” “Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll just detonate the bomb directly.”

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My sister’s luck defied the heavens, while I was the ultimate magnet for disaster. Later, I found out she was bound to a “Lucky Star System.” She could designate one person to suffer extreme misfortune, and in return, she would absorb all their good luck. And I was the unlucky soul she had designated. But then, I bound to a System of my own. My System only had one function: to rewrite. So, my sister remained lucky, but the people who suffered the misfortune became our dad, our mom, our brother, and her boyfriend… She successfully became a walking curse, equally despised by everyone who once adored her. 1 While I was lying in a coma in a hospital bed, a System found me. It told me it wanted to show me something. That was when I saw my sister’s Lucky Star System. Her System allowed her to select a target. It would siphon that person’s luck and transfer it to her. The chosen target would suffer horrific misfortune. Tragically, I was the unlucky bastard my sister had selected. The reason I was currently in a coma from a car crash was that my sister and I had been competing for the same acting role. The director had narrowed the female lead down to the two of us. Because I got into a car accident and fell into a coma, the role effortlessly fell into my sister’s hands. The System told me that over the past fourteen years, my sister had siphoned over 90,000 luck points from me. My luck was dangerously low, which was why this accident had nearly killed me. My mind reeled. Fourteen years! No wonder. Before we were ten, my sister and I were both perfectly ordinary kids. But after she turned ten, it was like she unlocked a cheat code for life. She would step outside and find cash on the sidewalk, win the lottery, dive into a river and find a solid gold bracelet, or open a random oyster and find a flawless pearl. Meanwhile, my life became a series of disasters. I’d miss a step on the stairs, faint every other day, and even manage to break my leg just walking on a flat surface. I was an honor roll student, yet on the day I was supposed to give a speech on stage, a stray basketball smashed into my face, leaving me covered in blood. In the end, she stepped in as my replacement, delivered my speech, and received a standing ovation. A wealthy benefactor in the audience even offered her a scholarship, landing her on the school’s Wall of Honor. I always thought I was just born unlucky. Turns out, she was doing it to me on purpose! The System spoke: “Host, if you bind with me, I can overwrite your name in the Lucky Star System and replace it with someone else’s. Will you bind with me?” I remained silent. The Lucky Star System had to siphon my luck to make my sister fortunate. It taught me a fundamental truth: energy is conserved. For someone to suddenly become incredibly lucky, someone else must suddenly become incredibly unlucky. If this System wanted to help me, it definitely wanted something in return. I asked calmly, “What do you want from me?” The System replied, “I want the things you no longer need: your familial love, your friendships, your romantic love. To you, these emotions are useless now, aren’t they?” I lowered my eyes. It was true; those things were utterly useless to me now. I bound with the System. The moment it merged with me, the world suddenly felt profoundly different. I could see the System’s interface, and I could clearly sense the Lucky Star System attached to my sister. She had just returned from meeting the director. She looked at me with a face full of fabricated guilt, but she couldn’t hide the triumphant gleam in her eyes. “Chloe, I’m so sorry. Because you couldn’t make it, Director Ford ultimately chose me for the lead role.” “It’s her own fault for being unlucky. It has nothing to do with you. If it wasn’t for you, she wouldn’t even be able to pay her medical bills,” my brother, Liam, said coldly, crossing his arms, his face showing undisguised irritation. Over the years, because of my frequent hospitalizations, my family had grown deeply resentful of me. My parents had complained to my face more than once, calling me a karmic debt they were forced to pay. Even though we were twins, my sister was healthy and vibrant, while I seemed stunted, constantly finding ways to land myself in the hospital. Their initial sympathy for me gradually turned into exhaustion, and finally, into numb disgust, leaving me to fend for myself. I understood all of it. That’s why I was always so incredibly careful. I avoided dangerous places, walked as if I were navigating a minefield, gripped the handrail tightly when going down stairs, looked both ways obsessively before crossing the street, ate on time, and slept on time. Everything I did was just to stay alive. I even declined my senior class trip to Europe. Even though I wanted to go more than anything. Even though I knew it might be my last chance to interact with the boy I had a crush on. I was terrified of having an accident on the road and causing my family more trouble, so I stayed home. And all of it was caused by Mia. Yet now, she was parading around as my savior… She expected me to be eternally grateful to her, completely ignoring the fact that I wouldn’t have suffered any of this—that I could have lived a normal, healthy life—if it weren’t for her. I said coldly, “Mia, you got the lead role today, and I got into a car accident. Last time you won the lottery, I broke my leg. The time before that, when you were exceptionally admitted to Juilliard, I had a severe allergic reaction that landed me in the ER. And the time before that…” Mia interrupted me frantically, her voice turning shrill. “Chloe, what are you trying to say?!” “I’m saying it very clearly, Mia. To me, you are a walking curse. You stole my luck, and that’s why I’m so miserable…” Smack! A heavy slap landed squarely on my face. Liam pulled his hand back, staring down at me with freezing, arrogant eyes. “Apologize to Mia. If it weren’t for her, no one would be paying your medical bills. Do you have any idea how much Mom and Dad have spent on you since we were kids…” His mouth kept moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. My ears were ringing, my face was burning with pain, and all the blood rushed to my head. I ripped the IV needle out of the back of my hand, grabbed the heavy metal IV pole without a second thought, and swung it wildly at Liam. The pole smashed into Liam’s head. Blood immediately started pouring down his face. He stared at me in shock, raising his arms to block the blows in a daze. But I kept hitting him like a maniac. “Do you think I wanted to be unlucky?! Do you think I intentionally drained Mom and Dad’s money?! Do you think I failed my exams on purpose?! What gives you the right to think I’m lying?! What gives you the right to hit me?!” Mia let out a piercing scream. “Ah! Stop hitting him! Somebody help!” I spun around and slapped her across the face, my sharp nails leaving a distinct, bloody scratch across her cheek. Then I swung the pole hard against her arm. “Since I can’t go, none of us are going! No one is stepping over my dead body to get to the top!” Mia let out an earth-shattering shriek, clutching her arm and collapsing to the floor. Liam exploded in rage, lunging forward to wrestle the pole away from me. I was completely unhinged. I grabbed a glass water pitcher and hurled it at his face. Dozens of people rushed into the room. Men shouting and cursing, women screaming and crying, the chaotic sounds of people yelling and pulling at each other filled the air. Eventually, I was pinned to the bed by several nurses, while Liam was dragged out of the room. He glared at me with pure hatred, screaming at the top of his lungs. “Chloe, I will never forgive you for this!” What a coincidence. Neither will I. 2 I was given a sedative and fell into a groggy sleep, only to be violently shaken awake. My mother stared at me, her face contorted with fury. “Are you insane?! You cracked your brother’s head open and broke your sister’s arm! Are you trying to kill us?! Why don’t you just die?!” My heart ached for a split second, but the feeling quickly went numb. My mother wishing I was dead—that was probably her lifelong dream. She had never said it out loud before, but today, in a fit of rage, she finally spat it out. She paused for a second, perhaps regretting how cruel her words sounded, but soon she was crying harder than I ever had, breaking down into loud, hysterical sobs, tears and snot streaming down her face. What was she crying for? Probably cursing her fate. God had given her a healthy, obedient son and daughter. Why did He have to burden her with a sickly, broken child too? Her life was miserable because of me. But what did I do wrong? I laughed. I laughed so hard that tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks. “Mom, I’ll say it again. Mia set me up. She stole my luck. One day, when all of you become just as unlucky as I am, you’ll finally understand what I’ve been through.” “Bullshit! What kind of crazy talk is that?! Luck isn’t something you can just steal! If your mental health is failing, go see a psychiatrist. Stop spewing garbage.” My father glared at me, his eyes wide with anger, his tone absolute. He was dressed in sharp, new clothes, looking like a man of status. After Mia won the lottery, she gave our parents hundreds of thousands of dollars and kept a few million for herself. My father was incredibly proud of her and refused to tolerate anyone speaking ill of her. I scoffed lightly. “Fine, pretend I’m crazy then. Insane people don’t go to jail for murder, right?” My dark, menacing gaze swept past Liam’s pale, livid face and landed on Mia, who was crying softly with her arm in a sling. Mia was terrified. In her mind, she was frantically harassing the Lucky Star System. “What the hell is going on?! Why is she acting like a psycho today?!” The Lucky Star System replied coldly, “I warned you before. You can’t keep shearing the same sheep. Chloe’s luck value has hit rock bottom. It’s completely normal for her to get suspicious. Can’t you switch to another target?” “I won’t switch! She scratched my face and broke my arm! Why should I switch?!” “If you keep going, she might actually die.” “Then what am I supposed to do?! Your target replacement requires a high intimacy value! If I don’t use her, do you expect me to use Mom, Dad, Liam, or my boyfriend?! They treat me so well, how could I bear to use them?” I finally understood. The Lucky Star System was a cruel game. It forced Mia to rank the most important people in her life, and I was dead last on that list. That was why she didn’t feel an ounce of guilt when she sacrificed me. I looked at Mia. “Mia, have I been bad to you? Whenever Mom and Dad punished you, I stood in front to protect you. When you stained Liam’s favorite pencil case, I washed it clean for you. When you were bullied at school, I fought back for you. When you fell into the river, I risked my life to pull you out. How have I ever wronged you? How could you do this to me?!” Mia’s face went chalk white. She stuttered, “You… you did help me a lot, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Enough! Chloe, you’re acting like a rabid dog right now, biting anyone in sight! You’re just jealous of Mia. I honestly wish Mia was my only sister. I wish you had never been born.” Liam’s handsome face twisted with a vicious sneer. He spoke through gritted teeth, clearly despising me to his core. He seemed to realize he had gone too far and glanced at our parents. But though they looked uncomfortable, neither of them contradicted him. He breathed a sigh of relief, staring at me with icy eyes, and said flatly, “Let’s sever ties. From now on, you have absolutely nothing to do with our family.” My gaze swept over each of their faces. They all had different expressions, but by some unspoken agreement, no one voiced an objection. I lowered my eyes to hide the glimmer of tears and said one word, very, very softly. “Fine.” 3 What does it feel like to be completely disowned by your entire family at 22? It’s hard to explain. A mix of disappointment, regret, relief, loneliness, and a profound resignation to the unpredictability of fate. After that, no one ever came to visit or take care of me. The hospital nurses took pity on me and handled my meals. I politely thanked them. One of them hesitated before finally letting out a long sigh. “Family feuds don’t last forever. Don’t overthink it. Just focus on recovering and living a good life.” I smiled and thanked her, but didn’t know what to say. Luck stealing, Systems—these things were too supernatural. Even if I explained, no one would believe me. No wonder Mia spent all day muttering to her System. Because Mia was injured, Director Ford couldn’t wait and needed to start filming immediately. She begged and pleaded with the director, but she couldn’t change the outcome. She was kicked out of the project. Hearing the news, I was absolutely thrilled. Everything she gained by stepping on me, she was going to lose. However, Director Ford was the first major director I had ever been in contact with, and I didn’t want to give up easily. Plus, I truly loved the character. So, I stayed up all night analyzing the original novel, wrote down my character insights, filmed a short makeup transformation video on my phone, and attached a long letter detailing my understanding of the role. I sent it all to the director. The message was sent, but it sank like a stone in the ocean. Although disappointed, I didn’t let it weigh on me. The road of life is full of obstacles; this was just one of them. I cooperated with my treatment, focused on healing, and finally, I was ready to be discharged. On the day I was discharged, I gave the hospital nurses a custom silk banner: To the Angels Who Fed Me, I Will Never Forget Your Kindness. The nurses burst out laughing and took photos with me. They uploaded a short video, and that very night, it went viral. Countless people praised the loving nurses, while the rest flooded the comments asking who I was. [You have three minutes. I need this girl’s contact info.] [It’s over for me. I just got diagnosed with a terminal illness where I only fall for pretty faces. The only cure is for this sister to cuddle me. Please, sister, cure me.] [She’s so beautiful, how could she get sick? Let the sickness torture me instead!] [I’m really good at feeding people, I swear.] [My boss asked me why I was zoning out. I showed him this video. Now my boss is asking which hospital he needs to go to in order to meet a girl this gorgeous.] The internet was buzzing. Riding the wave, I created an account and posted exactly one video: the makeup transformation I had sent to Director Ford. There was nothing else on the profile. Yet, the power of the internet was terrifyingly immense. In a very short time, I amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. That transformation video received endless praise. [Oh my god, who is she cosplaying? Oh wait, it’s her own original look!] [Someone ask my mom how much dowry she needs. I’m going to stop eating and drinking to save up right now.] [Director Nolan Ford, come look! Isn’t this the female lead you’ve been looking for?] [Sister perfectly fulfills my fantasy of the character Gu Qingyin. If only Hollywood’s makeup departments were this creative.] The public had been suffering from Hollywood’s generic styling for too long. No matter the show, it was always the same straight eyebrows, the same semi-permanent makeup. One actor could star in ten different shows and look exactly the same in all of them. So, when a slightly unique makeup transformation that perfectly hit the public’s aesthetic dropped, it rapidly conquered the internet. See? The audience is actually so easy to please! Unfortunately, this was a truth the industry executives just didn’t understand. The next day, I drove out to Sedona, Arizona, to visit a famous spiritual retreat and buy a protective crystal amulet. The System kept nagging in my ear, telling me the amulet was useless. Of course I knew it was useless. It was just a prop. I didn’t want Mia to get suspicious when she realized her Lucky Star System wasn’t working on me anymore. I’d rather she blame a crystal amulet than suspect I had a System of my own. As I drove back from Sedona, the System informed me that Mia couldn’t sit still anymore. Seeing me blow up online with a single video infuriated her. She tried to copy me and posted a video of her own, but it sank like a stone. Aside from a few likes, it was completely ignored. Frustrated, she demanded the Lucky Star System find an opportunity to fast-track her into Hollywood. The System suggested she attend an exclusive industry dinner party, where she could borrow some “good luck” and likely run into a powerful benefactor. Mia agreed. She dressed herself to look pure and beautiful, exuding elegance, and headed to the dinner party. And finally, I was able to see the user interface of the Lucky Star System. Under the “Siphon Target” field, my name was still clearly typed out. Seeing it with my own eyes, I thought I would be heartbroken. But I wasn’t. My heart was surprisingly calm. The System told me I could overwrite my name. “You can replace your name with your parents, your brother, or Mia’s boyfriend. The intimacy value between them and Mia is high enough.” Liam’s cold, arrogant face flashed through my mind. Without hesitation, I erased my name from the “Siphon Target” field and typed in Liam. I really wanted to see if he could still smile at Mia when extreme misfortune rained down on his head. That night, Mia attended the dinner party and “accidentally” crossed paths with the low-profile Golden Boy of Hollywood, Chase Carrington. Chase rarely made public appearances. He was only there because he was passing through on a business trip, and his friends hosted a welcome dinner for him, inviting a few beautiful women to liven things up. None of the women there recognized him. He watched the flock of socialites with a hint of disgust in his eyes. Until Mia walked in. She was as clear as a beam of light, shining straight into Chase’s heart. She sat there quietly and nervously, as obedient as a little rabbit. She looked around with wide, curious eyes, like an innocent elf who had stumbled into the mortal realm. Her out-of-place innocence piqued Chase’s interest and sparked jealousy among the other women. Someone “accidentally” spilled a glass of water on her arm. She let out a delicate, suppressed gasp of pain. That single gasp stole Chase’s soul. He smiled, amused, and personally grabbed a napkin to wipe her arm… Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Liam was out shopping with his girlfriend. His girlfriend linked her arm through his, smiling sweetly. She stood on her tiptoes to pat his head, cooing sympathetically. At that exact moment, a massive commercial billboard above their heads came loose… 4 The falling billboard was accompanied by the howling wind and the screams of onlookers. By the time Liam noticed, it was too late. He violently shoved his girlfriend out of the way, taking the full impact of the billboard on his shoulders. He was crushed to the pavement, coughing up a mouthful of blood… I saw the aftermath on the news. The photo of Liam looked horrific. His head and face were covered in blood, and he lay pinned on the ground, all four limbs trapped. It looked like a tragic scene from a blockbuster movie. I chuckled. I felt a twinge of vindication. The dignity that was slapped out of me by Liam seemed to have been reclaimed just a little. In the comments, countless people praised Liam as an incredible man, sacrificing himself at the critical moment to push his girlfriend to safety. [Cupid, are you listening? Note to self: find me a man like this.] [In my next life, I absolutely must date someone like him.] [Another day of envying someone else’s love story.] [Other people’s romance makes me cry tears of joy; my romance makes me regret my life choices. o(╥﹏╥)o] [Look at her boyfriend, then look at my husband. If disaster struck, he’d probably shove me in front of it to save himself.] [The sugar content here is too high, are you trying to give me diabetes? ┭┮﹏┭┮] [Came here furious about the accident, leaving stuffed with dog food. Praying for the handsome guy’s recovery and wishing the beautiful girl a happy marriage.] Heh! I tossed my phone aside, not wanting to read anymore. I didn’t want to see Liam being praised. To me, he would always be an abuser. Right then, the System notified me. Mia had succeeded. She successfully hooked Chase, the Hollywood Golden Boy. When Chase was wiping her arm, she had “accidentally” let out another soft gasp of pain. That voice was so delicate and naturally pure that it made Chase—a notorious audiophile—pause. Mia then whispered, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t saying you were too rough. I just fractured my arm a while ago, and it barely just healed…” Chase’s interest was piqued. He leaned in to listen. And so, in Mia’s story, I became the psycho, jealous older sister who couldn’t stand seeing her succeed. When I saw she was favored by a famous director, I broke her arm in a fit of rage, causing her to lose the acting opportunity. She claimed the only reason she was at the dinner party today was because she heard she might meet some directors here. Chase rolled his eyes at his friends, though he didn’t make any immediate promises. He exchanged contact info with Mia, offered to drive her home, and they chatted the whole way. After dropping her off, he stood outside the house for a moment, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. Shortly after returning home, Mia rushed back out in a panic. In her frantic state, Mia didn’t notice Chase was still there. She hailed a cab, and Chase followed her, arriving at the hospital one after the other. At the hospital, he watched Mia collapse over Liam’s body, sobbing hysterically. “How could this happen? Liam, how are you doing?!” Chase’s heart finally softened. He texted Mia, telling her he happened to know a director and asked if she had time to go meet him together. Mia didn’t have time to look at the message. She was currently screaming at the System in her head. “System! What the hell is going on?! Why does the ‘Siphon Target’ say my brother’s name?! Wasn’t it supposed to be Chloe?!” The System let out a piercing screech. “Impossible! How could this happen?!” It tinkered frantically for a few moments until the target name finally changed back to Chloe. It breathed a sigh of relief. “Fixed it!” Mia was furious. “What good is fixing it now?! The damage is already done! My brother got crushed! The one hurt is my brother, not that bitch Chloe! Why do you always glitch at the worst possible moments?!” The System was rendered speechless. It let Mia vent her anger before quietly saying one thing: “Does it matter who got unlucky? Either way, you achieved your goal.” Mia froze, suddenly remembering something. She quickly pulled out her phone and saw Chase’s message. She smiled, then started crying again. Her manic switching between sobbing and laughing was terrifying. The System was utterly baffled. Mia cried and scolded it: “No wonder they say AI can never replace humans. You’re just a heartless machine. You’ll never understand human emotions in a million years.” The System was unfazed. “True. Because I don’t understand them, I can collect them. Otherwise, they would be as useless to me as they are to you.” Mia was left speechless, so angry she refused to speak to the System for three days. Perhaps out of guilt, she stayed by Liam’s side constantly, waiting on him hand and foot. Liam’s collarbone was fractured, and he suffered multiple abrasions all over his body. He was wrapped up like a ridiculous mummy, unable to even use the bathroom by himself. Every day was a struggle between his dignity and agonizing pain. The System told me that because Chase Carrington possessed a massive amount of luck and was a crucial benefactor for Mia, the price Liam had to pay was exceptionally severe. I fell silent, an uncontrollable chill spreading through my body. I put on another layer of clothing just to stop shivering. When Mia bound the System, she was young and didn’t have such massive ambitions, so the bad luck I suffered wasn’t lethal. But things were different now. Mia’s ambitions were colossal. The person whose luck was being siphoned would have to pay a catastrophic price. I just didn’t know if my dad, my mom, and my brother would be able to withstand those prices. 5 Three days later, Mia went with Chase to meet the director. Not long after, that director announced the cast list for the highly anticipated fantasy drama, Echoes of the Fae. Mia’s name was prominently displayed. Although she wasn’t the female lead, she played the lead’s best friend—a crucial supporting role. She shared the screen with the protagonist constantly and would ultimately die sacrificing herself to save the lead. It was an incredibly endearing, tear-jerking role. Chase had treated Mia very well. He picked a role for her that wouldn’t saddle her with the stigma of being an “industry plant,” but the character itself was extremely beloved by audiences. Once the show aired, she was guaranteed to gain a massive fanbase. Following the official announcement, Mia’s follower count skyrocketed. She posted a beautifully polished selfie on Instagram, and it quickly sparked heated discussions. [Ah! Does anyone else think she shares a face with that girl who went viral for the hospital video?] [There are subtle differences, but the overall bone structure is so similar!] In the comments, people started connecting the dots, realizing we were sisters. Mia was busy managing her PR, having her team suppress any comments mentioning me. She didn’t want to draw attention to me, but I certainly wanted to draw attention to her. So, I methodically released a short video I had prepared. With the help of my System, I compiled a chronological timeline detailing every major event where Mia experienced sudden extreme luck while I suffered extreme misfortune, dating back to our childhood. [Age 10: She found a hundred-dollar bill; I fell into a mud pit.] [Age 11: She helped our dad buy a winning lottery ticket; I was knocked unconscious by a cyclist.] [Age 12: She replaced me to give the honor student speech; I was smashed in the face with a basketball and covered in blood.] [Age 13: She went swimming and found a solid gold bracelet but got a cramp; I saved her but she nearly choked me to death in the water.] [Age 14…] [Age 24: She was cast as the lead by a famous director; I ended up hospitalized from a car crash.] [Age 24: She was officially announced as a supporting actress by a famous director. So, who’s the unlucky one this time?] [Stay tuned…] At first glance, these events just seemed like a diary of bad luck. But when there are too many coincidences, even Sherlock Holmes would have to say, “The game is afoot.” I knew people’s curiosity would be piqued. Sure enough, the passionate fans who had previously demanded we take a DNA test felt their appetite for gossip ignite the moment they saw this video. [I smell drama.] [Isn’t this literally the plot of a web novel? Two sisters: one with heaven-defying luck, the other a magnet for disaster. In the end, they tear each other apart fighting over a man.] [Got my popcorn ready. Please continue…] [Is this throwing shade at Mia? What’s their relationship? Are they sisters?] There were too many comments to read. I locked my phone, turned around, and headed to the hospital. In the hospital room, Liam was wincing and groaning in pain. I watched quietly for a while, waiting until the nurse finished changing his dressings before walking in. Seeing me, he looked like he was facing a mortal enemy. “What are you doing here?” The corners of my lips curled up. “I just wanted to share the good news. Mia was just officially cast in a highly anticipated drama.” “What are you trying to say?” It took his brain a second to process, and his face quickly turned cold. “You just can’t stand seeing Mia succeed. She earned that role through her own hard work, unlike you. You have no talent, so you just resort to superstition.” She relied on her talent? That was the joke of the year. I couldn’t help but laugh. “The day you got crushed by the billboard was the exact same day Mia won the approval of Hollywood’s Golden Boy, Chase Carrington. She catapulted to the top, clinging to him. Tell me, is that talent? Liam, do you actually believe that?” His eyes darted away. It was clear he also found it unbelievable, but he had no counterargument. He just yelled with a cold face. “Get out. I don’t want to look at you.” “Chloe, who told you to come here?” My mom walked in carrying a lunchbox, followed by Liam’s girlfriend. In front of an outsider, my mom didn’t physically attack me, but the murderous intent in her eyes was unmistakable. She glared at me, gritting her teeth. “Get out. You are not welcome here ever again.” Even though my heart felt like it was bleeding, I managed to keep the smile on my face. I said flatly, “Understood. From now on, when you guys can’t handle things anymore, don’t think of me either. I only came today to watch the freak show.” “Get out!” Liam was getting too agitated, so his girlfriend quickly pulled me outside. Outside the room, she looked at me, her tone turning icy. “I don’t know what happened between you all, but your brother is a good person. You shouldn’t come here and upset him.” “You should break up with my brother as soon as possible,” I replied. “Getting close to him will only bring you misfortune.” “You are truly hopeless!” Frustrated, she stomped away. I scoffed and left the hospital. My stomach growled. I checked my pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. My bank account balance was barely over thirty dollars. The System sighed. “I haven’t seen a human this broke in a long time.” Thanks. I felt so attacked. I opened my phone and checked the various gig groups I was in. I was in countless groups—for background extras, print modeling, commercial gigs, and more. Because of my hospital stay, I had lost too much time. My top priority was finding a quick gig to feed myself.

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I started a TikTok account to vlog my daily life with my boyfriend. Unexpectedly, a few of my videos went completely viral, and I became a well-known “couple goals” influencer across the internet. Later, to fulfill a request from my followers, I decided to do a live stream of me surprising my boyfriend for his birthday. When the apartment door opened, out walked a beautiful woman wrapped only in a towel. Her slender, pale fingers hooked the takeout bag I was holding, without even glancing at my face. “The delivery is here. Why are you still standing there?” 01 In the fraction of a second I stood there stunned, the woman firmly slammed the door shut in my face. The live chat was filled with so many expletives that the auto-mod filtered it down to a wall of asterisks and emojis. “Did my eyes just deceive me?!” “How is there a woman?! I’m ***!” “To be precise, it’s a woman who just got out of the shower. This is absolutely *** insane!” The sheer magnitude of the shock left my brain buzzing. I looked up and double-checked the apartment number. The next second, I raised my fist and smashed the decorative wreath hanging on the door. “Who is it?” A familiar male voice approached the door from the inside. Moments later, the door swung inward, revealing a face I knew all too well. The man’s hair was dripping wet. He was shirtless, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I stared in utter disappointment at Mason, standing inside the doorway. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. When he finally snapped out of it, he lunged to grab the deadbolt. But before he could even make his next move, I had already kicked the door hard. “You really are a toad chasing a swan—ugly as sin but playing the field like a pro. I spent hours making this birthday surprise, and you pull this crap on me?” “Chloe, listen, I can explain.” “Explain what? Do you think I’m blind? If I came a minute later, would I have caught you trying to make the next generation?” My gaze swept past Mason, landing on the gift bag sitting on the entryway table. Inside was the result of my entire morning’s work. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I shoved past him and aggressively ripped open the bag. Mason followed right behind me, still trying to make excuses. I simply picked up the cake and slammed it directly onto his head like a basketball dunk. “I made this cake from scratch! If I’d known, I wouldn’t even feed it to a pig, let alone you!” 02 “Babe, what’s going on?” A soft, breathy female voice drifted from the bedroom. The apartment instantly went dead silent. Mason avoided my eyes, looking completely humiliated. I let out a cold laugh. Holding the remains of the cake, I kicked the bedroom door open. The curvaceous woman from earlier, wearing nothing but a towel, was lying on the bed. A black silk blindfold covered her eyes, making it impossible for her to see who had just walked in. She changed her voice into a sickly-sweet, high-pitched whine: “Come here, babe.” I slammed the rest of the cake right into her face: “Your daddy’s here!” “Ahhh!” She shrieked, but because her hands were tied to the bedposts, she could only writhe helplessly. “Who the hell are you?!” “Guess who?” I said as I pressed the cake board down harder, not wanting to waste a single drop of frosting. “Chloe, you’re dead! Let me go right now! Babe was right, you’re nothing but a psycho bitch. This is a nightmare!” I burst out laughing, my laughter growing louder and more exaggerated by the second. “Trash belongs in the dumpster! You two are playing house now, but you’ll be pushing daisies tomorrow!” “Babe, help me!” the woman whimpered softly. I looked back and glared at Mason standing in the doorway. He was gripping the doorframe so hard his knuckles were white, trembling all over. Hmph. Useless. I pinched the woman’s chin and shoved another glob of frosting into her mouth. “Your ‘babe’ is currently having a seizure at the door. He can’t even save himself, let alone you. Forget it.” The woman continued to sob quietly, twisting her slender waist. “Babe…” “Are you a chicken laying an egg? Cluck, cluck, cluck? You’re still doing that fake baby voice now? You can’t even cry normally!” Mason couldn’t watch anymore. “Stop it, Chloe. Mia is just a fragile girl. She can’t handle you beating and cursing at her like this.” 03 “Let’s get one thing straight. I haven’t laid a hand on her. You know I’m a straight shooter. I don’t use my mouth to talk shit.” I got off the bed, grabbed Mason’s expensive suit jacket hanging nearby, and wiped my hands aggressively on it. He winced, sucking in a breath of air. “Chloe, that jacket cost a fortune…” “Is it worth more than your coffin?” I sneered. I bought this entire closet full of clothes for him, and now he’s acting like he’s the one who paid for it. As I turned to leave, I looked at the woman flopping like a dying fish on the bed and smiled coldly. “Sister, get your facts straight. This guy might look the part, but he’s just a deadbeat loser who lives off women. You won’t get a dime out of him.” “Honestly, I could kick you both out right now, seeing as I pay the rent for this place—but considering you’re a girl and probably embarrassed, I’ll give you some time to pack.” “What do you mean?” Mason chased after me, asking. I grabbed my phone. “It’s 4:00 PM right now. I’m giving you half a day to move out. Otherwise, I’m calling a moving company to come tomorrow morning and literally throw you out on the street.” With that, I slammed the door and left. My TikTok Live was an absolute madhouse. I had casually tossed my phone aside earlier to make it easier to deal with the “trash,” but the audio was still broadcasting loud and clear. The moment I got physical, I knew everyone watching would think I was a violent, crazy bitch. But I couldn’t just swallow that disrespect. Mason was my first love. He chased me for six months before I agreed to date him. I never really believed in love, but for him, I slowly let my guard down and started believing in romance. And this is what he repays me with? Not putting them both in the hospital was me showing restraint out of respect for our shared college history! Besides, I started this TikTok account to vlog our relationship. Now that I don’t have a boyfriend, there’s nothing left to vlog. I picked up my phone, feeling defeated, planning to announce that I was deleting the account. But to my surprise, the vibe in the live chat was completely different from what I expected. 04 “Chloe is a total badass!” “That cheater is disgusting! If Chloe hadn’t lied about going on a business trip, who knows how long it would have taken to catch him!” “How does he still have the nerve to play the ‘devoted boyfriend’ card? Does he have no shame?” “Side note—did anyone else notice that Chloe’s insults flowed like a rap verse?” “Yes, yes, yes! She didn’t even stutter! I was amazed!” “…” The more I read, the quieter I got. Is the internet always this unhinged? They were even treating my comment section like a serialized novel: “You have to post updates! I’m living on your profile for the next few days!” After recovering from the shock, I took a deep breath and steadied my voice. “I apologize for making a scene in front of everyone. There won’t be any updates on this situation.” “I don’t like lingering on toxic people. From now on, I won’t have anything to do with Mason. If you want to unfollow, please feel free.” After saying that, I ended the live stream. I assumed that most of my followers only subscribed for the cute couple content, so I figured they’d be gone by tomorrow. But I didn’t know who recorded the live stream and posted it online. Now, a ton of people were sharing it like crazy, including several major drama channels on YouTube and TikTok. …I went even more viral. …I gained over a hundred thousand new followers. Mason and that woman, Mia, were getting absolutely roasted by the internet. Unable to handle the mental breakdown from the cyberbullying, he bombarded me with texts, called me, and even DMed me on Xbox Live begging for a truce, but I ignored all of it. Finally, clearly desperate, he used someone else’s phone to call me. As soon as the call connected, he roared: “Chloe, fine! Since you don’t care about our history at all, I’m not holding back either!” 05 After dropping that threat, Mason went completely radio silent, like he had dropped off the face of the earth. I didn’t take his threat seriously at all. But that night, several major drama channels simultaneously posted an “exclusive.” They claimed the live-streamed cheating scandal was all my evil scheme. The reason was simple. “Chloe and Mason’s relationship broke down a long time ago. Mason wanted an amicable breakup, but Chloe wanted to keep milking the ‘couple goals’ clout.” “To keep her followers, Chloe orchestrated this whole drama.” “She’s using the internet as a weapon! Don’t let her manipulate you!” Hilarious. I cursed Mason eight hundred times in my head. Classic journalism major—he really knows how to spin a narrative. But he forgot one thing: I, Chloe, am not someone who takes shit lying down. I used my main account to repost the drama channel’s article, slapped a question mark on it, and went straight for the jugular in the comments. “When did our relationship break down? Are you psychic? Do you sleep under my bed?” “And me milking the clout? If you watched the live stream, you wouldn’t be saying that, would you?” “Defending a cheater? Does your sympathy only apply to bottom-feeders?” It didn’t take long for the drama channel to reply with a string of ellipses. The internet bystanders were buzzing again. “I’ve always hated these drama channels! Well said!” “LMAO, I thought the people running these drama accounts were bots. Turns out they actually reply.” “Mason really wasted his money on this PR stunt. It didn’t do shit.” 06 Annoyed by Mason’s pathetic tactics, I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. I felt like, for a long time, dating him had been like carrying around a trash bag with a hole in it. The bag smelled like garbage every now and then, but I got so used to it that I didn’t even notice. Until one day, I accidentally ripped the hole wider, and the stench hit me square in the face. Only then did I realize that a bag holding garbage is just garbage itself. I actually dated a piece of garbage. Thinking about this, a knot formed in my chest. Since I couldn’t sleep anyway, I went ahead and booked a deep-cleaning service for 7:00 AM the next morning. The next day, I met the cleaning crew on time and led them to the apartment. I stuck my key in the lock, turned it twice, but the door wouldn’t open. Seriously? He hasn’t left yet? The twelve-hour deadline was long gone. Is he waiting for me to call the coroner to pack up his body? Since the door wouldn’t open, I led the cleaning crew around to the window outside the master bedroom. Unfortunately for them, the sounds of a “morning workout” were drifting out of the open window. The cleaning crew exchanged awkward glances. “Uh…” I told them to stand back and tried to push the window open. I didn’t expect that idiot Mason to actually leave it unlocked. A woman’s scream erupted from the room: “Ah! Babe, she’s back!” Mason looked over, and upon realizing it was me, immediately yanked the blanket up. “Chloe, are you a psychopath?!” I sneered, picked up the power washer the crew had brought, and started blasting water into the room like a maniac. “Stop sleeping in the bed I bought! Get the hell out!” 07 After kicking out the pathetic, soaking-wet Mason and Mia, I had the cleaning crew scrub the apartment from top to bottom. Then, I contacted the landlord to terminate the lease. Everything happened so fast that I hadn’t even had time to unmatch with Mason on Tinder or block his number. Now was the perfect time to send him the bill. “I signed a 3-month lease for this place. I lived here for less than 10 days, so let’s round that up to half a month. Please reimburse me for two and a half months of rent.” Mason: “?” “Is my request unreasonable?” When I hit send, a red exclamation point appeared next to my message. Mason actually blocked me first. Did he think I was out of options just because he blocked me? Initially, I only wanted two and a half months’ rent. Now, he was going to have to pay me back for utilities too. But before I could contact him again, he actually had the audacity to send me a cease and desist letter. The lawyer who called me sounded very stern: “Ms. Chloe, correct? My client, Mr. Mason, has retained me to recover half of the earnings from your joint social media account.” “Joint account?” “Yes, the account you used to document your daily relationship.” I felt physically sick. “How does he have the nerve to ask for that?” From filming to editing, I ran that account entirely by myself. Every time I needed him to appear on camera, I had to buy him gifts and take him out to dinner. “But your account documents your daily relationship. Could you, Ms. Chloe, have a relationship all by yourself?” “Not only can I have a relationship all by myself, but I can also undergo mitosis and reproduce asexually.” “…” The lawyer fell silent for a moment. “Since you are speaking nonsense, refusing to listen to reason, and insisting on having your way, then wait to receive a summons from the court.” I sneered. Are you trying to scare me with legal jargon? “What’s your last name?” I asked the lawyer. “My last name is Davis.” “Listen to me, Davis—” I briefly summarized the entire situation, then warned him, “Mason doesn’t have a single honest bone in his body. Don’t let him drag you down with him.” Before he could respond, I added, “And from what I know, lawyers only get more cases if they have a high win rate, right?” “Yes, and?” “And so I’m laying it out for you right now. With the evidence I currently have, if this actually goes to trial, you won’t have a single chance of winning.” I said coldly. “A person shouldn’t try to make dirty money. If you dare to defend a cheater, I’ll make sure your reputation is ruined, and you’ll go from a hotshot lawyer to an ambulance chaser.”

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I was doing a live interview alongside the top-tier rapper Jax Wilder. The interviewer playfully asked if we had ever dated a rapper. I smiled and said, “I did. We dated for three days. He wrote three thousand diss tracks about me afterward. Like gum on the bottom of my shoe.” Beside me, Jax looked over with his dark, quiet eyes and stated calmly: “It wasn’t three days. It was two days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes.” 01 Jax Wilder just dropped a new track. In three minutes, it topped the Spotify charts. In ten minutes, it was the number one trending topic on X. The hashtag #JaxWildersEx was hanging high at the top of the trending list, tagged with a massive red “VIRAL” icon. Sitting next to me in the makeup chair, my manager Valerie scrolled through her phone and sighed enviously. “Viral again. Jax could practically buy a mansion in Beverly Hills just with the ad revenue from his trending hashtags.” She scrolled through the comments, clicking her tongue. “Another track dissing his ex. Seriously, how deep is this grudge? How many songs has he written to drag her?” I looked at myself in the mirror—my makeup was flawless, my expression utterly serene. I shook my head and said, “Who knows.” “Which is exactly why you should never date a rapper.” That was Valerie’s final takeaway. It wasn’t until my hair and makeup were completely done that I checked my own phone and realized Vanessa Hale was also trending. She had “liked” Jax’s new song and immediately un-liked it a second later, but eagle-eyed fans had already screenshotted it. Internet sleuths even dug up old photos of them attending the same events. “Look what I found! The ex Jax has been dissing for three years is actually Vanessa!” “I knew the vibe between them was weird! So this is their history!” “The simulation is glitching! But wait, why am I shipping this so hard?!” “Hold up! Aren’t they both attending the Hollywood Music & Film Gala tonight? Waiting for the reunion!” “Praying for the ultimate lovers’ reconciliation!” … I had to admit, the internet’s ability to fabricate drama out of thin air was getting impressive. They spoke with such conviction that even Valerie was eating it up. “Did they actually date?” However, her appetite for gossip vanished a second later. Because I was wearing the exact same gown as Vanessa. A fashion clash at a major gala like this meant one thing: someone was going to get obliterated by the public. I didn’t even need to use my brain to know that Vanessa’s agency was definitely going to buy eight hundred PR articles claiming she “outshined” me, and hire eight thousand bots to tear me to shreds online. Tsk. So annoying. The head of my styling team had red-rimmed eyes and kept apologizing to me. “Serena, I am so sorry. We had no idea Miss Hale would suddenly switch to this gown. I swear, her team’s pre-approved options absolutely did not include this dress.” She looked like she was about to cry. I glanced over at the distance, where Vanessa was shooting me a highly provocative smirk. I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. We just weren’t cautious enough.” 02 I guessed Vanessa was pulling this stunt to get back at me for stealing her dream role as the female lead in an upcoming blockbuster. I couldn’t help it. My acting was just undeniably better than hers. The director wasn’t blind. Vanessa deliberately lingered near the red carpet entrance, waiting for me instead of walking ahead. When I approached, she put on a fake smile and whispered so the media couldn’t hear: “Take a guess. Who do you think the internet is going to call ugly tonight?” “Have you heard the saying?” I waved gracefully to the cameras, replying to her under my breath. “Clashing outfits isn’t scary. Whoever is ugly is the one who should be embarrassed.” I slowly let my gaze trail up and down her body with a meaningful smirk. “What do you think?” She snapped her mouth shut, her face looking like she had just swallowed a lemon. Deep down, she probably knew it too. When it came to pure looks, everyone in this industry had to take a back seat to me. In other words, the reason I had so many haters was entirely because of this face. I had taken on way too many “evil, glamorous villain” roles. The audiences who couldn’t separate the character from the actor flocked to my social media to hurl abuse. Since I had a notoriously bad temper, I frequently picked a few “lucky” haters to curse out in my replies. It was a vicious cycle, and my haters multiplied daily. I didn’t care. Bad publicity was still publicity. As long as the paycheck cleared, I was fine. Vanessa and I walked up the steps side by side. As she looked at the broad back of the man signing the media wall ahead of us, her eyes completely softened. “Serena, you don’t need to struggle tonight. The winner is definitely going to be me.” “Oh?” I followed her gaze to the man ahead. He had already turned around. He wore an unbuttoned white tuxedo jacket, a loose black tie swaying in the breeze, drawing attention to his sharp jawline and the prominent, sexy jut of his Adam’s apple. His gaze collided with mine in mid-air. The smile on my face didn’t falter. Vanessa’s smile, however, completely froze. One look and you could tell they had history. I stared at his expressionless face, my gaze dropping to his left hand. Under the flashing camera lights, a plain silver band on his index finger caught the glare. I pulled my gaze back and asked Vanessa, “Is this your trump card?” Vanessa shot me a side-eye, her tone dripping with pity. “Yes. Too bad your ex isn’t an A-list, chart-topping rapper, right?” Hmm. Interesting. 03 Jax didn’t wait for us. Vanessa gestured for me to walk ahead. As she followed behind, she deliberately stepped heavily onto the trailing hem of my gown. I pitched forward, squeezing my eyes shut, bracing myself for the absolute humiliation of face-planting in front of hundreds of cameras. Instead, I crashed into a rock-hard chest. The faint, crisp scent of cedarwood drifted into my nose. I remembered he used to hate perfumes. Every time I sprayed anything, he would wave his hands to clear the air, wrinkling his nose and complaining, “Smells terrible. Like rotting wood.” Then, he would grab my waist, bite down hard on my neck, and admire the teeth marks he left behind, laughing as he pulled me close. “It’s only fair. I need to leave my mark too.” “Are you a dog?” Even though I said that, I never once pushed him away. The warmth enveloping me suddenly vanished as he stepped back. I opened my eyes to see Jax’s tightly clenched jawline. There wasn’t a trace of a smile on his face. His eyes were freezing cold, lacking even basic polite warmth. So cool. Once I was standing steady, he turned and kept walking without waiting for me, as if catching me had just been a glitch in the matrix. I glanced back and saw Vanessa looking pale and flustered. She truly looked like a deeply devoted woman whose heart had just been shattered by her ex. If she could bring this level of acting to a movie set, the director wouldn’t have replaced her with me. The three of us walked up to the interview stage. During the signing portion, Vanessa deliberately signed her name right next to Jax’s. The cameras immediately zoomed in for a tight shot of their names side by side. I imagined X was probably crashing right now. She got her viral moment for the night. The ultimate tragedy of two ex-lovers meeting at the pinnacle of their careers but refusing to acknowledge each other. Isn’t that exactly the kind of angst the audience loves to eat up? She really understood marketing. The red-carpet host noticed the dynamic too. Always eager for drama to boost ratings, the host made a bit of small talk before surprisingly asking the three of us if we had ever dated a rapper. Vanessa stole a glance at Jax, her eyes instantly turning red. A second later, a tear was ready to fall. She choked up and whispered, “Yes.” “What kind of relationship was it?” Lost in “memory,” Vanessa offered a bitter, nostalgic smile. She looked at Jax and said, “He… didn’t talk much, but he treated me very well. He once told me he was going to write me into his songs. Later…” She paused, flashing a fragile, heartbreaking smile. “He really did it. But between us… we can never go back.” The fans behind the barricades started screaming hysterically. Written into his songs. That was practically a neon sign screaming that she was Jax’s ex. Even the host was stunned. She clearly hadn’t expected Vanessa to be so bold. She wanted to dig for more, but Vanessa refused to say another word, simply staring at Jax with eyes full of sorrowful longing. “What about you, Serena? Have you ever dated a rapper?” Asking me was purely a polite formality. I glanced at the two people beside me. One was an expressionless block of ice; the other was a weeping willow. How boring. I offered a shallow smile. Originally, I wasn’t going to say anything. If Vanessa hadn’t intentionally clashed outfits with me and stepped on my dress, I would have gladly let her keep her fake hype. But since she drew first blood, I was going to scorch the earth. Besides, I had been tolerating her for far too long. “I did. We dated for three days. He wrote three thousand diss tracks about me afterward. Like gum on the bottom of my shoe.” My tone wasn’t sorrowful like Vanessa’s. It was a cold scoff, laced with heavy provocation. After all, the guy in question was standing right next to me. He deserved to be insulted. The host froze. She clearly didn’t expect me to claim I had dated a rapper too. She probably thought I was just desperately trying to steal the spotlight, which explained the slight glint of disdain in her eyes. She opened her mouth to give a polite, dismissive reply. But her words never came out. Jax lifted his microphone. His dark, quiet eyes looked straight at me, and he stated calmly: “It wasn’t three days. It was two days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes.” After one second of absolute, dead silence… The entire venue exploded. 04 Vanessa practically dragged her gown as she fled the stage. I bet her legs had turned to jelly. Understandable. After spending weeks building the hype, believing she held the ultimate trump card, she just realized she had handed the royal flush directly to her enemy. The most awkward part? Our assigned seats inside the gala were right next to each other. She collapsed into her chair, staring at Jax’s back a few rows ahead. Ignoring the fans trying to sneak photos of her, she snapped at me: “Are you happy now, Serena?” I smoothed out the skirt of my gown, dusting off the invisible dirt. She had stepped on my dress earlier, and even though there was no footprint, I still felt it was filthy. “What does this have to do with me?” I played dumb. She turned to glare at me, her eyes bloodshot. “You’re Jax’s real ex-girlfriend! Why didn’t you say anything?! Do you get a sick thrill out of watching me make a fool of myself?!” Yeah, actually. It was hilarious. But I didn’t dare say that out loud. There were cameras everywhere. If a lip-reading fan caught that, I’d be roasted alive. I put on my best innocent face. “You never asked me.” “You…!” “Don’t be mad.” I smiled, patting her hand in mock comfort. I leaned close to her ear, keeping my face angled away from the cameras, and enunciated every word slowly and clearly. “Who told you that your dream guy is my ultimate simp?” Vanessa’s ears turned bright red. She glared at me furiously but didn’t dare push me away in front of the crowd. I grabbed her hand. She was wearing a plain silver band on her left ring finger. It was unbranded and completely clashed with her luxury gown tonight. I knew she wore it specifically to match the silver ring on Jax’s right hand. He had worn that plain silver band for years. He never took it off. “Vanessa, do you know something?” I held her ring finger, playing with the silver band, sliding it halfway off before pushing it back on. I could feel her fingertips trembling. I imagined that right now, in her eyes, I probably looked like a literal demon. I smiled at her—cold, unfeeling—and delivered the brutal truth she desperately didn’t want to hear. “That ring on Jax’s hand? I gave it to him.” That’s why he couldn’t bear to take it off. Idiot. 05 For the rest of the night. Vanessa didn’t say a single word to me. She was shivering the entire time. Maybe the AC was just too high. She didn’t dare open her phone. I understood. Her PR team was probably working overtime doing crisis management, but it was useless. Aside from her most delusional fans, no one was going to believe her anymore. Everyone could see she was just trying to leech off Jax’s fame. Even setting aside the general public, Jax’s rabid fangirls were going to eat her alive. She didn’t dare look at her phone. But I did. Wow. As expected of an A-list superstar. In just a couple of hours, I had gained over 700,000 followers. Every time I refreshed the page, the number jumped. It was still climbing. My DMs were exploding so fast my app was lagging. I had never seen a notification list move with such terrifying speed. I skimmed through a few messages: “OMGGG SIS IS JAX GOOD IN BED?!” “HE IS SO OBSESSED WITH HER! HE IS SO OBSESSED!” “Jax is honestly punching above his weight with this one! She is gorgeous!” “SISTER! Tell us exactly what those three hours were like! Spare no details!” “I KNEW there was a reason he lunged to catch you on the red carpet! Muscle memory!” “Ugly bitch, how did you trick Jax into dating you? Did you save his family from a burning building or something?” “Hahahahaha I’m laughing so hard! No wonder Jax can’t get over her, if I dated a baddie like that I wouldn’t get over her either!” “Omg sis I’m so sorry I used to leave hate comments on your page! I apologize! From now on you are our one and only true Queen!” “Why YOU?! Vanessa is ten thousand times better!” … Surprisingly. Aside from a few delusional fangirls, hardly anyone was sending me hate. Even the people who used to hate on me were being attacked by his fans. “Keyboard warriors who can’t tell the difference between a TV character and a real person need to shut up and stop embarrassing yourselves!” “You act so tough online but you’re a loser in real life. Shut your mouth and stop spewing garbage before we end you.” “We will protect the Queen’s comment section at all costs!” “Where is Jax?! Is he just going to sit there while people insult his wife?!” “Is that all this stupid man is good for? Sis dumping him was the best decision she ever made!” “RT! Jax, channel that energy you had when you were writing diss tracks! At least keep your wife’s comment section clean!” … Of course, there were a few comments saying: “Why her?! She’s so basic! What does Jax even see in her?!” But someone immediately fired back: “Are you blind? Look at the photos!” “We’re all girls here, why are you tearing another woman down just because you’re jealous?” “If he didn’t date her, do you think he’d date you? Who even are you? You listened to his music so much it fried your brain?” That hate comment was deleted by the user a minute later. Wow. For the first time ever, I saw Jax in a new light. As expected of a rapper’s fandom. Their trash-talking skills were even better than mine. Of course, the most lethal one of all was the man himself. Jax won the award for Song of the Year. As he delivered his acceptance speech, I could feel the cameras zooming in on my face. My smile was polite and elegant, and I clapped calmly along with the rest of the crowd. On stage, Jax looked equally unfazed. He stared directly into the audience, right at my section, gripping the trophy tightly. “Finally, I want to thank my ex-girlfriend. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be who I am today.” True. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had the material to write three thousand diss tracks. You’re very welcome. A wave of teasing boos and cheers erupted from the audience. Jax’s expression remained perfectly calm. His voice was smooth as he added one final sentence: “I also just want to ask her—” “When you dumped me all those years ago… do you regret it?” 06 “Not a single bit of regret.” The gala had just ended, and I responded directly on X. The tweet had barely been live for a minute before Valerie called me. “Who told you to post that?! And why didn’t you ever tell me you were Jax Wilder’s ex?!” “Why would I?” I was soaking in a bubble bath, a sheet mask on my face, letting out a satisfied sigh. “It’s ancient history. There was nothing to talk about.” Valerie was silent for three seconds before tentatively asking, “So… when you rejected Mason Cole last month, was that because of Jax?” “What are you talking about?” I opened my eyes, peeled off the sheet mask, and splashed some hot water on my shoulders. “I just genuinely think Mason is ugly.” “Are you insane? He has tens of millions of fans who worship his face, and you’re calling him ugly?!” Valerie panicked, warning me: “You can say that to me, but do NOT say that in public. If anyone hears you say that, your career is over.” “I know, I know.” I wasn’t brave enough to provoke a massive A-list movie star. But even if I didn’t provoke him, he insisted on provoking me. I was a regular cast member on a popular reality TV show. Mason was the special guest for this episode. The director told us Mason had specifically requested to join at the last minute. To balance the teams, they had to invite a second guest star. When the director said that, he shot a wicked, knowing smirk in my direction. My heart skipped a beat. Seriously, director? You’re gossiping too? It turns out everyone in the entertainment industry lives for the drama. When Jax jogged onto the set wearing a sleek black tracksuit, I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes so hard I almost saw my own brain. And of course, the director wanted to maximize the chaos by making us split into teams. Everyone quickly paired up, leaving me and a young pop-star girl staring at each other awkwardly. The director said, “The two guest stars can choose who they want to team up with.” “I choose her.” “Serena.” At the exact same millisecond, both Mason and Jax pointed their fingers directly at me. So dramatic. I looked at the pop-star girl. Her face was flushed with irrepressible excitement. Makes sense—getting a front-row seat to this love triangle without having to buy a ticket? I’d be excited too. The director loved watching the world burn. “Since that’s the case, let’s settle this like men!” Arm wrestling. I gave up hope. Mason was massive and lived in the gym. There was no way Jax could beat him. The director told them to talk some trash before the match. Mason looked at me, then at Jax. “If you lose, she’s on my team today.” I almost broke out in hives. Jax shot me a chilling glance, then said flatly, “Then come and try to take her.” To my absolute shock. Jax won. Mason’s face turned beet red, the veins in his biceps popping, while Jax looked completely effortless. It looked like he barely broke a sweat pinning Mason’s wrist to the table. But I saw it. I saw Jax’s left hand, hidden under the table, clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. He was just pretending it was easy. As expected of a rapper. Image is everything. He didn’t use to be like this. Back then, he was like an obedient, sweet puppy. Only in very specific, private moments did he ever show his teeth. Jax won. He politely said to Mason, “Good match.” Mason rarely lost face like this, and he looked visibly pissed. With his A-list status, he was usually treated like royalty wherever he went. The pop-star girl quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “What does that mean? Are you upset you have to team up with me? I’m gonna complain!” Mason’s expression finally softened a bit. “A bet’s a bet.” The pop-star flashed a bright smile, cheering Mason on. “Don’t be sad, Mason! A true champion doesn’t care about the first few rounds. Just watch us make a massive comeback later!” Jax ignored them and walked straight toward me. I looked at his cold, unbothered face and asked, “Didn’t you use to hate going to the gym?” He didn’t even look at me. He grabbed a towel, wiped the sweat off his face, tossed it aside, and finally turned his head. His dark eyes hid emotions I couldn’t decipher. He spoke only four words: “Someone said they liked it.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “421718”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Three years into our engagement, my fiancé and my younger sister were declared lost at sea after a tragic shipwreck. For six months, I mourned them, only for a rescue team to find them alive on a remote, deserted island. The twist? They both claimed to have total amnesia. Yet, despite forgetting who they were, they had somehow managed to fall deeply in love, completely unaware of their pasts—or so they claimed. When the cameras found them, my sister was heavily pregnant, cradling her baby bump while nestled securely in my fiancé’s arms. In that exact instant, I went from grieving fiancée to the internet’s favorite punchline. The media was instantly obsessed with their “miraculous” tale of survival and love against all odds. Even my own parents, blinded by the spectacle and the impending grandchild, cornered me. They begged me to be the bigger person, to “let them be happy,” and to officially step aside so my sister could have her fairy tale ending. I refused to be a doormat. But my silence was met with a smear campaign. My parents slandered me to the press, and the internet mob descended. I was doxxed, harassed, and disowned. Unable to take the relentless bullying any longer, I ended my own life in isolation. But fate gave me a second chance. Waking up before it all went down, I took control of the narrative. While they were still playing house on that island, I started a social media account. I didn’t use it to attack them; instead, I dedicated it to their memory, playing the role of the tragic, heartbroken, but hopeful woman waiting for her love to return. The entire country fell in love with my loyalty. On the day of their scheduled rescue, I arranged for a special live stream. I wanted the whole world to see the unfiltered reality—the immediate view of my “amnesiac” sister with her massive baby bump, holding the man who was supposed to be mine. That was the moment the real show began. 1 When I opened my eyes again, the gasp that left my throat was raw. I was back. Back in my living room, on the exact day the news broke about the cruise ship disaster. The local news station was on the TV, broadcasting live from the port. The anchor’s voice was grim, reporting on the chaotic search and rescue operations that were just beginning. My parents were sitting across from me, sobbing uncontrollably. My mother was clutching her grandmother’s silver cross, mumbling rosaries through her tears. I forced my hands to stop shaking, pushing down the visceral bile that rose in my throat, and walked over to comfort them. “Mom, Dad, we have to believe they’re okay. Faith and Ben are strong.” My mom looked up at me, and suddenly, her grief twisted into a violent, ugly rage. She lashed out, her voice breaking. “This is your fault! If you hadn’t insisted on this vacation, Faith never would have been on that damn boat!” I flinched, the echo of her words cutting just as deep as they did the first time. The hatred in her eyes was agonizing. In my past life, those words had shattered me, leaving me with a guilt so heavy it eventually crushed me. I had been the one to suggest a week-long cruise to celebrate my engagement to Benjamin Carter. Faith, my younger sister, had begged to come along, turning it into a family trip. But at the last second, my firm handed me a massive project that required me to stay behind. I had to watch from the shore, waving them off with regret. I used to believe it was a cruel twist of fate. Only after I died, as a restless spirit bound to them, did I learn the devastating truth. There was no coincidence. It was a setup. Faith and Ben had been sleeping together for months. The amnesia wasn’t real. It was a story they cooked up when Faith realized she was pregnant and they couldn’t hide it anymore. They invented a “fairy tale” of finding each other in the dark to wash their hands of the betrayal. I watched, unseen, as they paraded their “tragic love” for the cameras. Their story was so popular it was even optioned for a movie. And I, on the night I should have been celebrating my anniversary, drank myself into a stupor and ended it all. Even after I was gone, they couldn’t let me rest. They dragged the cameras to my grave, weeping on cue for the nightly news, all to generate buzz for their movie’s release. Remembering it all, my rage boiled over, but I pushed it down. This time, I had a part to play. I dropped to my knees in front of my mother, sobbing until I couldn’t catch my breath. “You’re right, Mom! It’s all my fault! If only I had been stronger, if only I had told her no, she would be safe… I can’t live with myself…” I let my voice crack and my body go limp, slumping onto the floor as if consumed by grief. I fainted—this time, it was mostly an act, but the exhaustion was real. When I woke up, the family doctor was in the house. He told my parents it was a vasovagal response from extreme emotional shock. My dad, seeing me so broken, couldn’t bring himself to blame me anymore. He started reasoning with my mom. “You can’t blame Alice, Martha. Faith is an adult; she made her own choice to go. Nobody wanted this to happen.” My mom looked at my pale, tear-stained face, and the accusations died on her lips. She settled for a resentful silence. In my last life, I had made the mistake of defending myself in that moment. I had argued that it was supposed to be my pre-honeymoon, that Faith had begged to come, and that Ben had encouraged it. I was immediately shouted down, called cold and selfish. That argument had severed my bond with my parents. They blamed me for every day she was missing. I wouldn’t be so stupid this time. You want to see grief? I’ll show you grief. I will be the most heartbroken woman this country has ever seen. 2 For days, I didn’t eat. I didn’t drink. I barely slept. I became a ghost in my own home, my face red and swollen from crying. Friends and colleagues came by, trying to console me. Even Ben’s family tried to tell me to take care of myself, that I shouldn’t fall apart while there was still hope. The shipwreck was the number one news story in America. Even late-night hosts were making sombre statements. The country was in a moment of collective morning. I took my phone, downloaded X (Twitter), and registered a new account. I used my real name: Alice Thorne. My first post was simple. 【Faith, Ben, please be safe. Please come home to me. I would give anything, half my life, just to know you’re both safe. #Shipwreck #SearchandRescue】 It was simple, and it带 tags. Within an hour, it had hundreds of likes and comments from strangers offering prayers. Every single day, I posted. My grief was raw, public, and utterly captivating. 【Day 7 of waiting. Why is this happening? Why them? I wish I had been on that boat instead of my beautiful sister and the man I love. I can’t eat. I can’t function. I feel like I’m dying. #WaitingforHope #FaithandBen】 【Faith, I remember the first day Dad brought you home. You were so small, like a doll. I was only five, but I felt this massive need to protect you. I watched you grow into such a vibrant woman. Yes, we had our sisterly fights, but I would give anything to have you annoy me right now. If I had just said no, if I had forced you to stay… #Sisterhood #GoneTooSoon】 【Ben, three years with you felt like a lifetime of happiness. You were my rock, my biggest cheerleader. You always gave me courage when I was scared. But now that you’re gone, I don’t know how to be brave. If I had just been selfish and stayed with you, maybe everything would be different. #MyLove #LostAtSea】 That last post went viral. Hundreds of thousands of likes. Tens of thousands of reposts. 【I’m crying. This is so devastating. Alice, you have to be strong.】 【You have to have faith, Alice. They are coming home. Take care of yourself so you can welcome them back.】 The comments were overwhelmingly supportive. But as the story grew, other opinions began to surface. 【I don’t get it. If she couldn’t go, why did her fiancé and her younger sister go without her? On a celebration cruise? That’s weird. #Sus #BoundaryIssues】 I smiled as I saw that comment gaining traction. I quickly typed a reply, making sure it stayed visible at the top. 【The tickets were already bought, and it was hard for everyone to get time off. I didn’t want to ruin it for them just because my schedule changed. They are family. Please don’t create drama where there isn’t any. Thank you for your support.】 By replying, I validated the question. The country was still on my side, but I had subtly planted a seed of doubt. Go on, everyone. Look closely. That way, when the truth comes out, you’ll remember this moment. In my last life, they used public opinion to destroy me. This time, I’m the one pulling the strings. 3 In my previous life, I never used social media. When Ben and Faith were rescued, they gave exclusive interviews to the big networks, telling their gripping tale of survival. A desert island, partial amnesia, fighting for life, and falling in love again in the wilderness—it was a modern-day romance novel. And to top it all off, a new life was beginning. The media adored them. They became “America’s Sweethearts.” I was the inconvenient fiancée who became a joke. My parents forced me into silence, afraid I would “ruin Faith’s happiness.” They bullied me into giving up my engagement. When the cameras found us, Ben, holding my pregnant sister, looked at me with open disgust. “I don’t know who you are. I only remember Faith. She’s my life.” And Faith, with her tears and her baby bump, dropped to her knees. “Alice, please. Please let him go. We’re in love.” When the press eventually found out we were sisters, my parents swore I had leaked the story. “She’s been through enough! How can you be so cruel? Do you want Faith to die from the stress?” They refused to listen to my explanations. They slandered me to the press themselves, claiming I had been cheating on Ben for months. They even produced fake “friends” to verify it. The internet mob was ruthless. I couldn’t leave my house without being spat on or having things thrown at me. So I ended it. Alone. On my anniversary. This time, I had a plan. Every day that passed without a rescue, I kept up the posts. I visited Ben’s parents, the Carters. My performance of grief was perfect. “Even though Ben and I didn’t make it down the aisle, I’ve loved him for years. In my heart, you are my family. I will never marry another. I will wait for him.” His mother sobbed, hugging me. Ben was their only child. Their grief was monumental, and they practically adopted me as their own daughter. I kept the social media account focused solely on Faith and Ben. My followers grew to millions. When brands approached me to monetize the account, I flatly refused. This solidified my “pure” grief image. The country genuinely believed I was a selfless, tragic figure. And then, six months later, it happened. They were found. A passing cargo ship had spotted their SOS signal and rescued them. I immediately posted: 【Ben, Faith, you’re real. This isn’t a dream. You’re coming home to me! I can’t wait to hold you both again! #TheRescue #MiraclesCanHappen】 The country was on high alert. The news cycle was 24/7 “The Castaway Reunion.” I subtly leaked the location of their arrival port to a few “fan accounts.” tabloid journalists and influencers got there long before my family did. I rode with my parents and Ben’s parents. My mother was vibrating with excitement, crying from pure joy. “Mom, don’t cry anymore. We’re going to have a happy family reunion.” She nodded, wiping her eyes. When the car finally pulled up to the dock, we saw the massive crowd. And through the gap, we finally saw the two people we had missed for six months. Six months of living on an island had made them look like survivors. They were sun-baked and disheveled. Faith was leaning heavily against Ben, and her belly was visibly, unmistakably pregnant. The entire universe seemed to stop. My mother’s hand flew to her mouth. 4 “Faith… your belly… what is that?” My mother’s voice was barely a whisper. Her hand was shaking as she pointed. Faith shrank into Ben’s arms, looking terrified. “Who are you people? I don’t know you.” A crew member who had rescued them stepped in. “They have total amnesia, ma’am. They don’t remember anything.” The crowd was massive. I could see dozens of phones pointed at us, streaming live to millions. Perfect. They had no idea they were about to be the biggest story of the year for all the wrong reasons. I put my hands over my mouth, the tears streaming. I pitched my voice high and loud, making sure every single phone caught it. “Ben! Faith! You don’t remember me? How could you… how could you do this?” “You are my sister and my fiancé!” “Aria!” My mother hissed, grabbing my arm and jerking me back. Her face was contorted in fury. “Shut your mouth! There are people watching! This is a family matter. Do you want to destroy Faith’s reputation?” I shoved her off. I didn’t care. I ran forward and grabbed Ben’s arm, sobbing. “Ben, it’s me! Your fiancée! I’ve been waiting for you for six months!” “I don’t know who you are!” He looked panicked. He tried to shake me off, and I let myself be thrown down, collapsing on the pavement. I let my body go limp, my eyes rolling back as I pretended to faint. The cameras caught it all. The flashbulbs were like lightning. The family reunion ended right there, and I was rushed to the nearest hospital. 5 When I woke up, I was alone in a hospital room, facing my mother’s fury. “Have you lost your mind, Alice?! How could you say those things in front of the press? Faith and Ben are survivors! They have amnesia! How could you be so selfish and cruel?!” My mom was shouting, and my dad was just shaking his head in silent judgment. They hadn’t cared when they thought I was a sweet, grieving fiancée, but the second Faith was safe, I was the enemy. “Mom, Faith is pregnant with Ben’s child. How could they do this to me?” “Shut up! Not another word!” The door opened, and Ben walked in, holding Faith’s hand. “I don’t know who you are,” Ben said, his voice cold. “Faith is the only one who was with me. She’s the only one I love.” He was looking at me with total indifference. I wanted to laugh. Smooth, Ben. Real smooth. Faith walked over to me, looking timid and frightened, playing the victim perfectly. “You’re my sister? I’m so sorry, Alice. We truly don’t remember our past. But I’m pregnant, and Ben and I… we’re in love. Please, don’t try to tear us apart. That’s cruel. Sister, I’m begging you. I’ll even get on my knees if I have to. Please, let us be.” She looked like she was about to drop to the floor, but my parents quickly grabbed her and helped her up. They acted like they were protecting her from a monster. “Stop it, Alice!” My mom yelled at me. “Your sister has been through hell! Can’t you just have a little compassion?” “Mom, I haven’t even said anything.” “That’s enough! This is how it is: Ben is Faith’s boyfriend now. You are not to say a single word about this outside of this family. Faith has been through enough trauma, and I won’t have you causing her any more pain.” “So it’s okay for me to be in pain, Mom? Is my happiness completely worthless to you?” “Faith has suffered six months on a deserted island! How much did you suffer, safe in your warm house? Stop being so selfish!” They ignored my tears, leaving me alone in the room. The second they were gone, I stopped the tears. I looked at the window, where I had hidden my phone. It had been recording the entire interaction. Faith, you wanted to be a star? Get ready. 6 Ben and Faith agreed to a exclusive live-streamed interview. I watched from my computer, sipping a cool drink. They were “America’s Sweethearts,” telling their story. “When I was first washed up on the beach, I had hit my head,” Faith said, looking at Ben with pure devotion. “When I woke up, Ben was there. He took care of me. There was so little food, but he always gave me the biggest portion. He practically saved my life…” She was crying, and the interviewer was wiping away tears. What a beautiful story. Suddenly, the production crew rushed in and pulled the interviewer away. “What’s happening, Ben?” Faith asked, looking genuinely scared. Ben frowned, looking at his phone. Tabloids, live streams, video leaks—everything was hitting at once. The chat on the live stream wasn’t filled with hearts and congratulations anymore. It was filled with venom. 【This is disgusting. Her own sister’s fiancé.】 【The amnesia is fake. They just want an excuse for the cheating.】 【I’ve been a follower of Alice since the shipwreck. I’m crying. The betrayal. This is evil.】 【They are trash. Just lock them both up. Alice deserves so much better.】 I saw my sister and my ex-fiancé, the “desert island lovers,” freeze in panic. Faith stood up and tried to explain to the camera, her face white with fear. “It’s not true! We have amnesia! We didn’t do this on purpose!” The chat wasn’t buying it. “Yeah, okay. Both of you just happen to have perfect selective amnesia that only erased your identities but left your motor skills intact. Show me a doctor’s note.” Ben stood up, trying to be the hero. “We haven’t been examined yet, but we are telling the truth. After this interview, we are going to the hospital for a full check-up.” He apologized to me, looking into the camera with standard actor contrition. “I am truly sorry for the pain I caused Faith’s sister. Even though I don’t remember her, I am deeply sorry for violating our engagement. I will do whatever is necessary to make it right.” After the interview, Ben registered a new social media account. He posted a fake “Amnesia Diagnosis” from a hospital his father had bribed. He also posted that he was immediately transferring $8 million to me as a settlement. His PR team worked fast, and the public opinion started to shift again. 【Well, it’s still sad, but at least he’s taking responsibility. Eight million dollars is a lot of money.】 【They do have amnesia. The doctor’s note is right there. It’s just a tragedy.】 【Ben is so protective of Faith. It is kind of like a movie.】 I saw the tide turning. I hit the “Repost” button on Ben’s statement. I added just two words: 【He didn’t.】

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