Category: English

The second the elevator doors closed, I received a text message: [Be careful. There is a murderer in the elevator.] I was staring at the other five people in the elevator, stunned. After a sudden, terrifying plunge. The elevator broke down. 01 The girl standing near the door lost her patience first. She smashed the emergency button a few times. When nothing happened, she started frantically pounding on the elevator doors. The little kid next to her was terrified by her actions and burst into tears, burying his face into the chest of his curly-haired grandmother. To my left was a man in a business suit. He originally wore black-rimmed glasses, but the violent jolt of the elevator’s sudden drop had sent them flying. In the chaos, someone had stepped on them, crushing them to pieces. To my right was a guy who looked like a college student. He wore a black canvas backpack and stood on the left side of the elevator, knees bent and back hunched, cowering in the corner without daring to move an inch. I slowly stood up from the floor. I remembered the digital display showing the 30th floor right before the lights flickered twice. And then we were in a freefall. It was faster than a drop-tower ride at a theme park. No one had time to react. The impact of the sudden stop threw us all to the floor. The main lights in the elevator were dead. Only a tiny emergency light in the back corner cast a pale, weak glow over us. 02 “Do any of you have cell service? Hurry up and call 911.” The college kid was the first to speak up as he gathered his bearings. The others quickly remembered to pull out their phones to call for help. But me? I was staring at the last text message on my phone. Lost in thought. [Be careful. There is a murderer in the elevator.] Just a few simple words, enough to make anyone’s blood run cold. The message came from an unknown number the exact second I stepped into the elevator. But right now, none of us had any signal. I couldn’t reply to ask what it meant. I quietly swiped the message away. I stood in the furthest corner. Silently observing everything. 03 There were six people in the elevator. The trendy, fashionable girl was named Ashley. She was a live-streamer. The little boy was Toby, about four years old. The woman with him was his grandmother, Martha. The guy in the suit lived on the 32nd floor. He was a mid-level manager at a corporate firm, and everyone called him Rick. The guy next to me was a college freshman. He lived on the same floor as Rick. His name was Kevin. And me? I just moved into this apartment building. I lived on the top floor. I had seen them around before. But we weren’t close. Right now. I stared at them, my mind wandering. Is there really a killer in here? But I didn’t have time to dwell on that. We needed to get out first. “I don’t have any service. What about you guys?” The others silently looked at their screens, their expressions unreadable. But I knew. They had received that text message, too. 04 “What the hell is this? A murderer?” Ashley said impatiently, “Is this some kind of hidden-camera prank show? This is so lame.” She started pacing around the small space, looking high and low. “Let me find the hidden cameras.” Rick’s glasses were broken, so he had to hold his phone inches from his face. His squinting eyes suddenly focused. A flash of pure terror crossed his face: “Are one of you a murderer???” The older woman sitting on the floor rolled her eyes at him. “I slaughtered a fish this morning to make stew. I’m a fish murderer, not a people murderer.” The others had similar reactions. They assumed it was a sick prank. No one took it seriously. “Do you guys have a signal?” Kevin asked, turning his phone on and off repeatedly. “I don’t.” “Me neither.” “The emergency button isn’t working either. What the hell is going on?” “I don’t know. The HOA sent an alert in the building app this morning saying the security camera wiring burned out. They said they were fixing the cameras, not the elevators.” “So… the cameras in here are dead too.” Ashley looked up at the camera dome in the ceiling. “Could there really be a killer?” … Everyone started talking over each other, the small space echoing with noise. Kevin, growing impatient, walked over to the elevator doors, trying to pry them open with his bare hands. Just as he managed to pry a tiny crack open, I quickly stopped him. “Stop! Do you know what floor we’re on? You can’t just force the doors open!” “What if we’re between the 9th and 10th floors? You pry that open and you’ll fall straight down the shaft.” Hearing me, he stopped what he was doing. I was right. During the freefall, the digital display flickered and died. We had no idea what floor we were actually stuck on. This apartment building had 35 residential floors above ground and 3 levels of underground parking. Regardless of where we were, forcing the doors open was a death wish. “The safest thing to do right now is stay put,” Rick said, understanding my point. “Let’s just wait. When other residents realize the elevator is broken, they’ll call 911.” Ashley shifted over to the elevator doors. She took off one of her high heels and started banging the pointed heel against the metal door, over and over. The sound of metal clashing travels far. I pressed my ear against the door and listened for a long time. “The speed of sound is 340 meters per second. Listen to the echo—it sounds hollow.” “We’re at least seven or eight floors above the ground.” Kevin clearly didn’t believe me, his face screaming: Are you for real? I ignored him. “Don’t believe me? Try opening the doors and stepping out, then.” He pressed his lips together and went quiet. By this time, the little boy had stopped crying. The elevator had dropped so fast that his lollipop had flown out of his hand and landed on the floor. He wiped his runny nose. He crouched down to pick up the lollipop. But suddenly, he pointed at a dark puddle behind Kevin and giggled. “Hehehe, Grandma, look! Ice cream. The ice cream melted into water.” 05 Everyone followed his finger. Kevin was leaning against the elevator wall. The black backpack on his shoulders… Drop by drop, a dark red liquid was seeping out of it. The dark red liquid slid down the elevator wall and pooled into a red puddle on the floor. At the same time. A metallic, metallic stench silently crept through the enclosed space. The smell mixed with Ashley’s heavy perfume. It made my stomach churn. The atmosphere turned incredibly eerie. Ashley gasped. Everyone stared at the dark red puddle, a collective, terrifying silence falling over us. In that moment, the text message flashed in my mind again: [There is a murderer in the elevator.] Martha quickly pulled Toby close to her. I silently took a step back. Rick held his briefcase up like a shield. “Holy shit, what’s in your bag? Why is there so much blood?” 06 The elevator was dead silent. Everyone was waiting for Kevin’s answer. The red liquid pouring from his bag, combined with the heavy stench of blood… It was hard not to let our imaginations run wild. Kevin frantically waved his hands. “No, no, no! You misunderstand! I bought steak, it’s in my bag. I got trapped in here before I could put it in the fridge. It’s been too long, it thawed, so the blood water leaked out.” Ashley lowered her high heel. “Really?” But Rick was still on high alert. “I don’t believe you. Open it and show us.” Ashley scoffed. “You’re so paranoid. Who hides a body in a backpack? Besides, what could fit in there? A severed head?” As soon as she said it. She seemed to realize how horrifying her own words were. The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. Her voice trailed off completely. She shrank back, standing closer to Rick. “Y-Yeah… I think Rick is right. Open it… let’s see.” “It… it wouldn’t actually be a head, right…?” She took a sharp breath after her last sentence. 07 “Why should I show you?” To our surprise, Kevin flatly refused. “I have personal items in my bag. You’re invading my privacy.” His refusal caught everyone off guard. If it really was just thawed steak. Why wouldn’t he show us? He stood in the corner, hiding the backpack behind him. “I’m not a murderer anyway. This is ridiculous. Do you guys actually believe that text message? It’s obviously a scam. Didn’t you see the web link at the end of it? Phishing texts always do that. You click the link, and they drain your bank account.” Kevin wasn’t wrong. At the end of that short, ten-word message, there was indeed a string of characters that looked like a URL. But no one could click the link right now. Because there was absolutely zero signal in the elevator. Hearing Kevin’s explanation, the group relaxed their guard just a fraction. But my eyes never left his black backpack. I was too curious about what was inside. 08 The elevator had been broken for over two hours. There was zero movement from the outside. It felt like no one had even noticed we were trapped in here. Even though Kevin’s explanation sounded plausible, everyone was still wary of him. Because he stubbornly refused to let us see what was in his bag. Martha squeezed closer to me with Toby in her arms. The burly, broad-shouldered Rick felt like the safest person to be near. Rick swallowed hard, clutching his black briefcase against his chest. I quietly pulled the keys out of my purse. It was the only thing I had to defend myself. The elevator was dead silent. Only the sound of the little kid sucking on his lollipop could be heard. Right then, the emergency light flickered twice. After the third flicker. Pop. The light died completely. The elevator, suspended in mid-air. Plunged into pitch-black, suffocating darkness. 09 In the dark, fear multiplies. An adrenaline spike sent my heart racing, and my body began to tremble slightly. The warning text and the puddle of blood. It pushed everyone’s emotions to the absolute limit. Even the slightest rustle would make us scream. When the only light in the elevator died. Ashley instinctively lunged toward Rick for safety. The sudden darkness made everyone forget they had flashlights on their phones. 10 I don’t know how much time passed until someone finally remembered their phone’s flashlight. A blinding beam cut through the dark. Ashley turned on her light. Rick stood up, following the beam of light. “Damn property management. They collect so much money every year, and the elevator’s been broken for two hours without anyone coming to fix it.” He got on his tiptoes and smacked the emergency light a few times. After a few good thwacks, the light miraculously flickered back to life. “This light probably won’t last long. We need to get out of here fast.” Once my eyes readjusted to the light, I rubbed them. That was when I felt a heavy weight pressing against my leg. I turned my head and saw Toby’s grandmother leaning against me. She was slumped against my leg, sitting on the floor, perfectly still. Toby was in her arms, happily chewing on his lollipop. I shifted my leg slightly, and she collapsed flat onto the floor. Looking closer. There was a massive pool of blood spreading from beneath her. 11 Toby’s grandmother was dead. Right here in the elevator. Her carotid artery had been cleanly sliced open. She died right next to me. It was unimaginable. Just a few minutes ago, she was talking to me. And now, she was dead. She died without making a sound. Her features were twisted, her eyes unfocused, staring wide open in dull, lifeless terror. But she was right next to me the whole time. How could she not have fought back at all? I was paralyzed with shock, my mind going completely blank. Toby clearly didn’t understand what was happening. Once I snapped out of it, I quickly pulled him into my arms. Ashley had collapsed onto the floor in sheer terror. Rick, keeping his cool, took off his jacket and draped it over Martha’s body. Kevin stood frozen in place, trembling violently. When the emergency light had gone out. He was the closest to Toby’s grandmother. He was shaking from head to toe, beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. “It… it… it wasn’t me.” “It… it was her own fault. She tried to grab my bag.” “It wasn’t me, I didn’t mean to. I just pushed her away. It wasn’t me.” He frantically waved his hands, desperately denying it. 12 “You did it on purpose! You killed her! You were right next to her!” Rick roared at him. His eyes were bloodshot, like a rabid beast. “I said it wasn’t me! Don’t you fucking frame me!” Rick, fueled by adrenaline and rage, punched Kevin in the head. Kevin’s lip instantly swelled up. “You’re a fucking psychopath! I saw you arguing with her down in the courtyard this morning. I never thought you’d actually use this chaos to murder her!” “Grab his bag! Quick! The murder weapon is definitely in his bag. We’ll be heroes when we get out of here! We caught a murderer barehanded in an elevator!” Ashley snapped out of her daze and quickly assisted. While Kevin was dazed from the punch, she snatched his black backpack. The scrawny Kevin was no match for the burly Rick. He was quickly pinned to the ground. “Search his bag. The weapon is in there.” “I… I’m too scared to open it.” Ashley kicked the backpack over to me. “You… you open it.” I looked at the blood-soaked backpack. Fighting back my nausea. I slowly unzipped the peeling zipper. The moment it opened, a putrid stench hit my face. Disgusted, I grabbed the bottom of the bag and dumped everything out onto the floor. But when it all spilled out. Everyone froze. The dark, mangled mass wasn’t a steak, and it wasn’t a knife. It was a black cat that had been gutted and mutilated. The dismembered cat had originally been stuffed into a plastic bag. But the turbulence of the falling elevator had caused it to tumble out. The bloody water from the bag had soaked through the entire backpack. This was what Kevin was hiding from us. He had a sick fetish for torturing and killing animals. And he didn’t want anyone to find out.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417809”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The reality show went live, and my inner voice was accidentally broadcast to the entire world. [Holy crap, is it over yet? I want to die. How can they talk so much? I just want to eat!!] [There are so many hot guys here. Their bodies are top-tier.] [How do I ask one of them to grab dinner with me? I’m losing my mind here!!] The A-listers, the chart-toppers, and the heartthrobs—everyone on set turned their heads in unison to stare at me. [Did I commit a crime? Why is everyone looking at me?] The live stream chat exploded. Everyone had a look of pure amusement on their faces. Except for one man. His face was thunderous. 1 I was the “comparison bait” of this reality show. My job was to play the resident “Pick-me girl.” Everyone implicitly agreed: Riley Miller was a tool. Wherever the show needed a target for hate or a point of drama, they threw me in. Unlike other actresses who struggled with being “black-listed” or “the internet’s villain,” I accepted the role with open arms. The reason was simple: I didn’t care about being famous, and the production team paid me a ridiculous amount of money. When others carried heavy water jugs, I would act weak and pretend I couldn’t lift them. When others did manual labor, I’d put on a dainty voice and say I was a princess whose hands shouldn’t touch dirt. When others played volleyball, I said I was afraid of the ball hitting my face and leaving a scar—or worse, getting a tan. Just like that, I successfully gathered a massive army of haters! “Why did the producers hire her? Are they trying to kill the show? She makes my blood boil!” “Everyone else is working. Why is she special? Does she really think she’s royalty? Get her off the screen!” “Last time she ‘accidentally’ fell into Liam Harrison’s arms and said it was a total coincidence. Like, why his arms specifically? God, this fake act is disgusting.” The live comments were like a light tickle to me. They didn’t matter. The more they hated me, the better I was doing the job the producers gave me. The better I did, the bigger my paycheck. Thinking about the money, I started grinning like an idiot. Tiffany Vance, sitting next to me, nudged me with her elbow. “Riley, what are you smiling about? Everyone is having a serious discussion, and you haven’t said a word.” The feeling of being snapped out of a beautiful daydream was annoying. My mood flattened. I wanted to snap at her, but I remembered the cameras and held it in. Before I could start my performance, a strange sensation—like a mild electric current—pulsed through my body. Something felt different. But I didn’t care. I was too busy coming up with my next “Pick-me” script. Ah, I got it! 2 I furrowed my brows and looked at Tiffany. “I don’t really have anything to add. Everyone’s ideas are so progressive and profound. Unlike me, I’m not very smart. I probably shouldn’t have even joined this roundtable discussion…” My inner voice: [Damn it, it’s lunch time. Why is everyone yapping so much? And why cue me? So annoying.] [Hahaha, somebody just slap them all and let’s go!] While no one was looking, I even threw a quick, sharp roll of my eyes. Suddenly, everyone froze. They stared at me, their faces etched with shock. Jessica Sterling, sitting across from me, let out a dry laugh and addressed the group. “Well, let’s end with one last question, then we can go eat. The question is: What is your current dream?” “I’ll go first,” Jessica continued. “My dream is to land three lead roles in major films over the next two years, and at least one of them has to be an Oscar contender!” “By the way, Riley hasn’t participated much. Riley, why don’t you share yours?” Ugh, again? Can they just leave me alone? I rolled my eyes (internally, I thought) and cleared my throat. Then, I put on my highest, most artificial “baby voice.” “My dream is to become a philanthropist. I want to help so many people in need. Even though I’m far from that goal, I’m going to keep working hard for it!” The comments sections went ballistic again: “I’m done. She is so fake!” “Philanthropist? More like a hypocrite. Does she ever speak without a script?” “Kill her with kindness, boys! Let’s burn this girl down!” But the very next second, my inner voice projected: [My dream is to make bank, then eat. Eat the best food. Like, I should be eating right now, but instead, I have to listen to this group of people talk about ‘dreams.’ I am literally having a minor mental breakdown!] [I wonder if I can invite one of the hot guys here to dinner. Honestly, there are quite a few who are worthy of dining with me.] I rested my chin on my hand, staring at the table and daydreaming about where I could go out for a massive meal after filming ended for the night. When I looked up, I realized everyone was staring at me with the weirdest expressions. There was surprise, panic, confusion, amusement, mockery, and even fear! [Why is everyone looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong? Is it a capital crime now?] I reviewed my performance. I had followed my “Pick-me” script perfectly. I was a flawless villain. It had to be them. They were the ones being weird! Instead of doubting myself, I decided to judge them! The expressions on their faces shifted from complex to purely entertained. The live chat was losing its mind: “NO WAY. Why is she so different inside? She’s a legend!” “Did you guys see that? Why are her thoughts appearing above her head? There’s a literal chat bubble floating there!” “Her mental state is so relatable. She wants to destroy the world every second.” “Wait, can everyone on set see that bubble too?” At that moment, only Liam Harrison—the top-tier heartthrob—remained dark-faced, fiddling with a silver ring on his finger. The others were whispering amongst themselves. Liam, acting as our “Town Mayor” for the episode, spoke coldly. “Fine. It is time for lunch. Everyone is dismissed.” Hell yes! 3 The news of “food” was something I caught instantly. I practically bounced out of my seat, ready to bolt. I was so happy I started babbling. “Thank you, Mr. Mayor! You’re a saint! Love you!” People started filtering out of the hall, but I could still feel their eyes glued to my back. Just as I was about to charge out like a bull, Liam blocked my path with his arm. He stood right in front of me, staring into my eyes. “Feeling bold, are we? Already planning dinner with a ‘hot guy’? Hmm?” He was a head taller than me. His voice seemed to vibrate right above my scalp. I didn’t dare look up. I took a sharp breath. Liam was my complicated ex. We had broken up six months ago after a massive blow-up fight. Looking at his face up close, I could see his sharp, handsome features. He was… undeniably a “hot guy.” But he was definitely excluded from my dinner list. Because as the saying goes: A good horse doesn’t turn back to eat old grass! Despite the lingering feelings of the breakup—and the fact that I had cried through two or three boxes of tissues back then—once it’s over, a woman shouldn’t look back. Gearing up for a performance, I met his gaze and started acting. “Oh, no, no! I wouldn’t dare dream of eating with a handsome guy like you. I just want a simple meal here. Some eggs, corn, maybe a salad. I don’t want to waste the town’s limited resources, considering how little food we harvested…” That’s right. In this “Small Town Challenge,” we had to provide for ourselves. All our personal money was confiscated at the start. We had to earn our own way to buy groceries. We had spent all day in the sun harvesting corn, and we only made about eighty dollars for the whole group. Liam narrowed his eyes. “Oh? So you do know our resources are limited?” I nodded vigorously, biting my lip. “I’m very considerate. If I eat less, others can eat more. That’s a kind of happiness too.” Internal Riley: [Rolls eyes violently] [Since I joined this crappy show, I haven’t had a single bite of real meat. Now I’m being interrogated just because I’m hungry!] [Screw that. I hate salads. I want junk food. I want fried chicken, burgers, hot pot, steak, and a massive feast!] [It’s tragic. I’m not even asking for much. Just give me some fries. Living is basically just going to the pier to get some fries. I’d settle for my favorite French fries.] Liam seemed to stare at the top of my head for a long moment. Then, he spoke slowly. “Let’s go.” He pulled his hand back. His sudden change in attitude left me dazed. He turned and walked out, gesturing for me to follow. I hurried after him like a broken record. “Where? Where are we going? Where?” His eyes crinkled slightly, his tone laced with a hint of helplessness. “To get you some fries.” 4 One second: A good horse doesn’t eat old grass. The next second: Damn, this grass is delicious! Previously, everyone had paired up to cook and eat together, but I was always the odd one out. No one ever invited me. I knew why. My “Pick-me” persona was too annoying. I had offended everyone who could be offended. Honestly, they were being very polite. If I saw someone like me fluttering around every day, I’d want to slap her too. I had spent my days like a pathetic puppy, trying to scavenge food from the different groups. “Jessica, what is that? It looks so red and yummy!” “Tiffany, I haven’t eaten all day. Can I just have one bite? Just a tiny one!” “Austin, do you need help with anything? I can prep the veggies or wash the dishes. I just can’t cook… you know, last time I made something, even the stray dogs wouldn’t touch it. If you could just give me a taste…” “It’s dinner time again! Is there any kind soul who will give me a scrap of food? Hunger! Food! Now!” Seeing this, the internet trolls had written a poem for me: Riley Miller, the Queen of Fakes. A cockroach that hunger never breaks. Title: Just one bite, for God’s sake. So, when Liam said he’d make me fries, my internal excitement was beyond words! Liam went to a clean prep station, pulled out some fresh potatoes, and tied on an apron. I watched him pull a massive sack of potatoes from a lower cabinet. I was stunned. “So many?! Where did you get those?” Liam didn’t look at me. He began methodically taking the potatoes out. “These weren’t part of the communal stash. I helped the old man next door with some farm work after dark last night. He gave me these as payment. I thought you… I mean, you all liked them.” His eyes were downcast, his long lashes fluttering slightly. His movements were steady. I knew Liam could cook. He was top-tier in the kitchen. His kindness made me feel a little guilty. I walked over quietly, intending to help peel the potatoes. The “Pick-me” lines were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t get them out. Just as I reached for a potato, he stopped me. “Just sit down. You’ll cut your hand, and it’ll hurt.” I froze. My heart skipped a beat. A cameraman was filming us, so I leaned into my script. “Well… yeah. Cutting my hand would be bad. My hands are meant for hand-modeling. I can’t risk a scar. You’re rugged and tough, you should definitely do the peeling!” 5 After saying that, I even put my hands on my hips for effect. Liam’s fans exploded like a landmine, trashing me in the chat: “What a spoiled brat! Liam is cooking for her, and she’s complaining? She can’t even peel a potato?” “Liam is ‘rugged’? LOL. He grew up in a wealthy family with a dozen maids. Since when does he do manual labor?” “Only one question: Why is Liam cooking for her? Usually, she’s the one begging for scraps. Is the sun rising from the west today?” “What is their deal? They aren’t even friends, right? Is something going on? Guards! Bring me my private investigators!” Tiffany Vance walked by and heard me. She couldn’t help but chime in. “…Liam, you really have a heart of gold.” I felt a little guilty after saying those words. But Liam didn’t seem surprised or angry. “She’s right. Riley has the most beautiful hands.” Tiffany: “?” Me: “?” My inner self was having a breakdown: [Liam is being so nice, making me fries, and I’m still being a total bitch. I am literally a villain. I am the worst.] [He actually accepted my fake attitude and agreed with me… I’m going to want to slap myself in the middle of the night for this.] [Liam, after this show is over, I promise I’ll be a better person! I’m tearing up!] My inner monologue was a non-stop drama, scolding myself from every angle. Liam glanced at me, the corner of his mouth curling upward. “Let’s hope so.” I was confused. Why was everyone looking at the top of my head today? Was there something wrong with my hair? I pulled a small mirror from my pocket and checked my reflection, specifically looking for anything weird on top. The cameraman wiped sweat from his brow and zoomed in on me. I let out a soft cry, ruffling my hair, and said with exaggerated vanity: “After careful inspection, I am indeed still stunningly beautiful!” But in reality, I had noticed something wrong with the top of my head. My hair… it was thinning a bit. [This is the first time I’ve seen my bald spot so clearly. It’s hideous. I have instant looks-anxiety. Someone help me! What if they notice? My hair has been falling out so much lately. I only have like five strands left.] [I need to wear a hat next time before anyone else discovers the secret of my thinning hair.] The live stream chat was dying: “I didn’t know about the bald spot, but now the whole internet knows! Hahaha!” “Why does she always say the opposite of what she thinks? She’s so insecure inside, but she acts so narcissistic.” “I’m crying. Does she really not know we can see her thoughts?” “Wait, I actually find her kind of cute now? Someone wake me up! I was her #1 hater yesterday!” “Stay strong, Hater Army! If she gets redeemed, who are we going to troll?” Tiffany leaned in and whispered, “Do you… really not know we can see your heart voice?” 6 I was completely confused. What did she mean, “see my heart voice”? Was this some new reality show gimmick? I activated my “improv” skills and replied naturally, “Of course I know! It’s the new theme of the show!” Whatever game the producers were playing, I was going to play along! Tiffany pursed her lips and walked away without another word. Liam’s fries were fresh out of the oil. The sizzling sound filled the kitchen, and the aroma reached every corner of the room. He didn’t just fry my favorite fries; he also made braised potatoes, spicy potatoes, garlic potatoes, and cheesy potatoes. It was a potato feast. I sat down immediately. Looking at the table full of food, I felt like this was the highlight of my entire miserable reality TV life! I wanted to grab my fork, but then I realized Liam hadn’t sat down yet. I put the fork back and sat up straight. “Mr. Harrison, don’t worry about the rest. Please, sit and eat. I’ll do the dishes later.” [It smells so good. I’m literally ascending. Sit down so we can eat! I’m starving! I love potatoes so much!] Liam took off his apron and sat down, gesturing for me to start. I took a bite of a fry. The crunch was so satisfying it felt like a direct hit to my soul! I looked up and caught Liam’s eye. His gaze was full of raw expectation. “Is it good?” I paused. In that moment, I forgot my “Pick-me” script and replied with a hint of feigned indifference, “It’s okay. Edible.” [It’s so good! It’s amazing! It tastes just like it used to. Liam makes the best fries—so crispy. The potatoes are so fresh. It would be perfect if there was some ketchup!] Liam suddenly got up, went to a cabinet, and placed a bottle of ketchup on the table. “Here, make do with this.” My eyes lit up. At this moment, Liam was basically a god in my eyes. The live chat was losing it: “‘Just like it used to’? Did Liam cook for her before? Something is fishy here. What did I miss?” “Liam, be careful. You’re showing too much love. Anyone can see how much he favors Riley.” “They are actually kind of cute together. If Riley acts normal, I can ship this.” “Hehe, two tsunderes. I am living for this!” The moment of bliss didn’t last long. Others followed the scent and naturally brought their own bowls over. Jessica joked, “I’ve never seen you cook before, Liam. Turns out your secret talent was only for her. Can I… have a taste too?” 7 Tiffany chimed in with a smirk, “Liam made this specifically for her. I saw them earlier. Well, technically, Liam did all the work while Riley just watched… but then again, Riley is the ‘princess’ of this show. She doesn’t have to lift a finger.” She giggled behind her hand. I put down my fork, my mouth twitching. “I was actually going to call everyone to eat, but you guys got here so fast! Join us!” Inner Riley: [Get lost. What do you mean I’m the ‘princess’? Last time we were harvesting corn, you all complained about being tired after ten minutes. I’m worried about your health. You have the bodies of 60-year-olds and the emotional maturity of toddlers.] [If I hadn’t worked on a farm as a kid, we wouldn’t even have this much corn. I worked my ass off while you all did nothing.] [God, I hate that face. I hate people who are passive-aggressive. If I ruled the world, I’d lock these people up and force-feed them their least favorite foods every day! Garbage people!] Just thinking about it made me feel a bit better. The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Tiffany’s face turned several shades of red and purple. Jessica couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I never knew Riley was so… funny and cute?” Liam noticed Tiffany’s changing expression and added another blow. “You didn’t know? I did.” “Wait, what?” Why was their conversation so confusing? Tiffany’s breathing became ragged. She frowned and said, “Fine, I won’t talk. Can I at least have a fry?!” Before her fork could reach the plate, Liam pushed the entire dish of fries toward me. “You can eat anything else. The fries stay here. She likes them.” Tiffany was fuming. I could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. I said generously, “It’s okay, Tiffany. Do you want some? I can share. It’s a lot; I probably can’t finish them all anyway.” [Actually, I could finish them all. If you guys didn’t show up, they’d be gone by now! Acting with you is so exhausting. One more word and I’ll dump this plate on your face.] Tiffany turned on her heels and stormed off in her designer heels without another word. Jessica gave me a big thumbs-up, smiling broadly. The audience felt like their justice had been served: “Yes! Keep roasting her! I’ve hated Tiffany for so long. Riley is my spirit animal!” “Polite on the outside, insane on the inside. I think I love her. Her mental state is iconic!” “Can we disband the Hater Army? I can’t even troll her anymore. She’s the most honest person in Hollywood. I’m a fan now.” Liam was looking down, smiling. His tone was almost fond. “Little liar. Not a single honest word out of your mouth.” 8 After lunch, we had the most dreaded part of the day: the group challenge. We were split into teams to sell the corn on the street. Whatever money we made belonged to the team, and the team that sold the most would get an extra two hundred dollar bonus from the producers. When I saw the random teams, I nearly lost it. I was teamed with Austin Brooks and Tiffany Vance. The worst luck ever. Tiffany sat on a wooden bench outside, slowly touching up her makeup. The other teams had already left. We were the last ones. I nudged her. “We should go. Otherwise, we’re definitely going to sell the least, and we won’t have enough money for dinner.” Tiffany reluctantly followed me. There was one basket of corn that required two people to carry, which wasn’t an easy task given we had to walk over a mile to the town square. After carrying it with Austin for twenty minutes, Austin complained his hands were sore. Tiffany immediately took over. “I’ll help!” I looked around. Of course—the camera was directly on her. Under the blazing sun, everyone was sweating. Tiffany was wearing leather gloves, sun-sleeves, and holding a small portable fan. Less than five minutes later, Tiffany slammed the basket onto the ground. “It’s too heavy! I’m done!” I looked at Austin. He waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t want to carry it either. It’s too heavy. I need a break.” I stood there, alone in the wind. Are you serious? A wave of rage washed over me. I suddenly remembered all those group projects in college where teammates would just “go MIA” and leave me with all the work. They take the easiest tasks and do the least work. And because we were “colleagues,” I couldn’t just curse them out. I used to just vent on my private social media. But now, I was in the industry, on a reality show, and I had to deal with this again. Fine. The audience was confused. Why was I the only one willing to carry the basket? “This team is going to fail. They won’t even reach the square before dark.” “This is why teammates are important. If you have dead weight, you’re screwed.” “Why is Riley so calm? Is she giving up too? I thought she wanted to eat?” “I feel like she’s planning something big…” I took a deep breath, squeezed out a few fake tears, and started sobbing. “I just… I just want to make some money. I want to buy good food. Why is it so hard? I’m so pathetic. I don’t have enough money for a decent meal, I’m getting so skinny, and my blood sugar is low. I’m so dizzy…” I used my “Pick-me” skills to fight fire with fire. But my inner voice was screaming: [I’m actually dizzy from rage! I will destroy anything that stands between me and my dinner! If you two try to slack off one more time, watch me explode. I’ve held it in for too long. Do you think I’m a monk? I’m actually very strong. I could knock you both out with one punch!] Tiffany and Austin looked at each other, then at me. “Riley… fine. We’ll carry it. You just follow us and rest.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417810”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My boss, a wealthy businessman originally from the East Coast, hired me as the company’s “lucky charm.” My daily responsibilities consisted of eating, drinking, playing video games, and occasionally showing my face at major events to cut a ribbon or pull a raffle ticket. But the new CEO’s mistress—who was air-dropped into the company—thought I was useless trash and actually fired me. Heh. You clearly have no idea how destructive a lucky charm can be. Before leaving, I even watered the money tree to death. Without me around, this company is probably going to go bankrupt real soon~ 01 After the New Year holidays, I went to the CEO’s office as usual to collect my red envelope bonus. A woman I had never seen before pointed her finger at me and demanded, “Are you Chloe Vance? That useless piece of trash?” I immediately flared up. “And who the hell are you?” Mia Evans also flew into a rage. “You dare talk back to me? I’m the new executive assistant to the CEO! I’m telling you right now, you’re fired today!” “Hmph, by whose authority? Yours? You’re not qualified. Tell Richard to come out and talk to me!” Richard Sterling was the CEO of our company, though I usually just called him Richard. “Mr. Sterling is on a business trip and hasn’t returned yet. While he’s away, I am in full charge of company affairs. Considering you’ve ‘contributed’ to this company for three years, go to the finance department and collect this month’s salary.” Mia tried to dismiss me with a few light words. Picking up her water cup, she said arrogantly, “Get out.” I wasn’t going to humor her. Relying on her status as the CEO’s little mistress, she was throwing her weight around the office, making life difficult for colleagues who didn’t suck up to her, and scolding people left and right. I had been on a business trip recently, followed immediately by my annual leave. I had just gotten back and hadn’t met her face-to-face yet, but I’d heard plenty of complaints about her from my coworkers. In the past, because Richard treated me exceptionally well—even preparing three times the holiday gifts for me compared to other colleagues—she showed me some respect to my face. But behind my back, she bitterly cursed me out, calling me a homewrecker who stole the affection Richard was supposed to have for her. Hilarious. Who exactly was the homewrecker here? Talk about a thief crying “Stop thief!” Richard treated me well because I was the “lucky charm” personally appointed by the big boss (the founder), protecting the entire company’s financial fortune. And her? She barely graduated from some eighteenth-tier college abroad, lived off her parents for three years, and finally managed to latch onto Richard’s leg. Richard’s legal wife was living abroad with their kids, which gave Mia an opening. But to be honest, Richard was a pot-bellied, balding, greasy middle-aged man. I don’t know how she could even bring herself to kiss him. “Kicking me out? Firing me without cause means you have to pay me a hefty severance package.” I wasn’t short on money, but my main goal was to disgust Mia. After all, for a selfish, mean-spirited, and unreasonable person like her, giving an employee even a single extra cent of salary was equivalent to killing her. “Money? You still have the nerve to ask for money? Tell me, what exactly have you contributed to this company?” At the mention of money, Mia’s face indeed changed. Did she really think she owned the company? “I’ve seen your file. In the three years you’ve been at the company, if you aren’t shopping, eating, or drinking, you’re in the breakroom chatting and playing games. You haven’t participated in a single project or done a single piece of actual work.” “I don’t know what kind of potion you fed the big boss, but you do absolutely nothing and still get paid tens of thousands a month—after taxes! And he even occasionally buys you cars, houses, and gifts.” She looked me up and down disdainfully. “Who knows what filthy methods you used.” “That’s rich. People with dirty minds see dirt everywhere.” I understood instantly. She was jealous of me. She probably originally wanted to hook the big boss but failed, so she settled for Richard. Mia flew into a rage, screaming at the top of her lungs, “Get out! Get the hell out of here!” You tell me to get out, and I just get out? How much face would I lose? “I was hired by the big boss. If you want to fire me, have the big boss tell me himself.” I was certain that firing me was entirely her own wicked idea. After saying that, I pretended to accidentally knock over Mia’s water cup. Water spilled all over the documents on the desk; it would take her quite a while to clean up. “Oops, my bad, knocked it over. Assistant Evans, please clean it up yourself. I won’t be keeping you company.” Mia’s face turned black. “You did that on purpose! I’m going to dock your pay!” I sneered, “Go ahead and dock it.” Every cent deducted from the lucky charm’s salary would be paid out from the entire company’s financial fortune. 02 I was born with the astrological destiny of the God of Wealth. However, my constitution was weak. My body couldn’t handle it, and I was often sick. A renowned master once said that with such a prosperous destiny, living in a peaceful and prosperous era, it was best for me to act as a “lucky charm” for others to disperse the wealth. Otherwise, I wouldn’t live past 25. Even though I had money, I valued my life. I immediately connected with the big boss of this company and was hired with a high salary to be their lucky charm. Every day, I dutifully watered the company’s money tree. Now that it was growing lush and green, it had ironically become proof of my “uselessness.” I immediately called Richard, speaking calmly: “Richard, I heard you want to fire me?” Richard hemmed and hawed on the other end of the line, speaking vaguely. It seemed Mia had whispered plenty of sweet nothings into his ear. “The main issue is that the current economic situation isn’t great. The company is under a lot of pressure. Or maybe we could just reduce your salary?” Hilarious. He must think I’m blind and foolish. The company had just signed several contracts worth over a hundred million dollars a few weeks ago and even held a massive celebration banquet. Even if the industry wasn’t booming, our company was definitely highly profitable. Both Richard and Mia were from out of state. Even though the big boss had repeatedly instructed them to treat the lucky charm with the utmost respect, seeing me get paid so much for just doing easy, face-showing tasks definitely unbalanced them. They were probably insanely jealous. He didn’t know that a lucky charm’s salary couldn’t be deducted. I bore the weight of the company’s fortune, which naturally offset my own excessive fortune. But the big boss had lived overseas for years and had limited involvement in domestic affairs. I’d heard from colleagues earlier that Richard had recently sought out a master, seemingly looking for someone with a matching destiny. My guess was that they had colluded to kick me out and profit from it. After all, the big boss listened to me unconditionally and gave me whatever I asked for. “Heh, are you sure? You know who I am.” Richard sounded dismissive. “It’s just being a lucky charm. That’s just superstitious nonsense. The company’s ability to operate steadily and land big contracts is all thanks to my sleepless nights building relationships with clients.” “Hahahahahaha…” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He was so incredibly confident. If mere petty profits were enough to land massive contracts and fool clients, there wouldn’t be so many bankrupt companies. A company’s fortune depends on its foundation in the short term, but in the long term, it depends on destiny. If a company is destined to lack fortune, it will go under sooner or later. And me? Because of my innate God of Wealth destiny, I bring prosperity wherever I go. Even a pig bathed in my fortune would fly into the sky. Seeing I didn’t believe him, Richard used his trump card. “It’s just a lucky charm. Without you, there are plenty of others. I already had a master perform a ritual to find someone, and I’ve found a suitable candidate.” “As for the big boss, I’ll give him an explanation. He’s currently recuperating from an illness and can’t manage things anyway, right?” So that’s how it is. I was wondering why the big boss hadn’t reined them in. It turned out they were taking advantage of his vulnerability. It looked like they were going to burn the bridge after crossing it. I stared intently at the company’s money tree and shook my head secretly. For a company of this size, you could say it had strength, but it wouldn’t have signed those massive contracts so easily. The only reason I was still guarding this place was out of years of loyalty; otherwise, it would have gone under long ago. Did they really think I was just a freeloader? “Fine. Once the severance pay is in my account, I’ll leave.” I had been here for three years. Adding unpaid bonuses and other things, it amounted to over two million dollars. This was money I was supposed to take to disperse my fortune. “There’s no money. The company’s accounts are tight right now! Considering you’re a veteran employee, I’ll make an exception and give you a thousand bucks for travel expenses. If you don’t want it, you get nothing.” Richard’s tone suddenly turned vicious, rejecting me outright. These two lunatics were competing to see who was the bigger idiot. “Do you think you’re dismissing a beggar?” I wasn’t someone to be messed with. “If the money isn’t in my account, I won’t leave.” “If you don’t leave, you can guard the company’s door for free, then.” I narrowed my eyes. “Guess whether you’ll even qualify for the new bidding conference?” Richard fell silent for a moment. “Chloe Vance, are you threatening me?” I said lightly, “I’m just stating a fact.” Turning around, I put on the jade pendant that suppressed my fortune. Without me, the company was about to face some serious bad luck. 03 In the spring month of March, the annual bidding conference was approaching. It determined the industry’s direction for the entire year. In previous years, the big boss would just have me stroll through when I had nothing better to do. Because my fortune was too strong, I’d easily sweep the board and bring back a grand slam. But this year, I heard the attendees were changed to Richard and Mia, and they even brought a small team to make an appearance. They called it: “This is the company’s grand event at the beginning of the year. Naturally, we must do our absolute best. We can’t just let idle personnel like Chloe Vance show her face. We have to show respect to the organizers.” As for me, I swaggered out the front door right on time every day, drove my Rolls-Royce to a high-end custom beauty salon, threw my black card at the receptionist, and said, “Give me the most expensive treatments you have here. All of them.” Just as I was applying a facial mask worth thousands of dollars, Mia called. I marked it as a “spam call” and hung up, feeling refreshed. The phone rang again. I set it to ‘Do Not Disturb’ and continued my spa treatment. Only after I emerged beautifully from the salon did I have the leisure to check my phone. Oh my, over a hundred missed calls already? Such strong perseverance. If they had put this much patience and resilience into the company, working diligently, the company might have made it to the Global Fortune 500 without needing a lucky charm like me! Ring ring ring. This time, Richard called. He said furiously: “Chloe Vance! What are you doing during working hours?! Why aren’t you answering your phone?!” I stretched lazily and yawned. “What? I didn’t get enough sleep. Can’t I catch up on it?” It sounded noisy on the other end, like the site of a bidding conference. Checking the date, that was indeed today. As if remembering something, Richard’s attitude took a hard, unnatural 180-degree turn. He asked flatteringly, “Chloe, dear, have you slept enough then?” “No.” “Then come over to the bidding conference. I’ll book a king-size room for you so you can sleep as much as you want.” How did he even have the nerve to say that? In previous years when I attended the bidding conference, I always stayed in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel because I’m a germaphobe and refuse to settle. I unleashed a barrage of sarcasm. “Not going. An idle person like me doesn’t deserve to appear at a bidding conference.” “Ahem, that’s not how you should put it. The company wants to train its employees too. This is a great opportunity for you to show what you can do! Opportunity knocks but once.” I lost interest in playing games with them and pierced right through the facade. “I’ll have opportunities at other companies. Our company has always emphasized fair competition. It’s better to properly demonstrate your own strength and not rely too heavily on the lucky charm.” A sudden silence fell over the phone. I took the opportunity to quickly skim through the work group chat. It turned out that on the first day of bidding, they hadn’t won a single bid! Other companies had secured at least two or three, but our company came up completely empty-handed. No wonder they wanted to call in their reinforcements—me. Sorry, I don’t accept moral kidnapping, and I’m not a reinforcement who saves people in emergencies. “Chloe, let’s talk this over nicely. The big boss also gave instructions for you to rush to the site and participate in the bidding ASAP. Why don’t you pack up quickly? I’ll book you the earliest flight. Oh dear, only economy class is left. Just make do for now. After it’s done, the company will have a dinner party.” Begging for help yet being so dismissive. My eyes were truly opened. Who cares about your fifty-dollar-per-head company dinner? It’s laughable. My pet dog casually eats meals worth five figures. Didn’t he say the big boss was recuperating from an illness? Now that the fire was burning their eyebrows, they knew to bring the big boss out. “I never fly economy. Besides, my besties are taking a helicopter to a private island and invited me to join them. I’m not going.” I hung up the phone directly. The next afternoon, just as I was scuba diving off the private island, Mia’s direct messages exploded into my phone: “Chloe Vance! You really don’t know how to appreciate a favor!” “Do you think the company can’t function without you?! You’re way too confident!” “Just a charlatan pretending to be ghosts and gods. Who do you think you are? Even without you, we still won the bid!” Oh my, my, look at that little mouth going off. I was actually quite curious. When I opened the work group chat with amusement, I found out they had indeed won a bid. But compared to my grand slams in previous years, it could only be described as a fingernail-sized bid. Only a brainless amateur like Mia would be ecstatic over it. Without major clients stepping in, I’m afraid this year will be tough. And she can still smile. I typed a message and sent it over: “I remember the deadlines for the final payments on those multi-hundred-million-dollar contracts from last year are approaching, right? Assistant Evans better hurry up and collect them, otherwise be careful they don’t turn into bad debts~” In an instant, the group chat went dead silent. Everyone knew that if the final payments on those contracts weren’t collected, the capital chain would break, and the company wouldn’t be far from failing to pay salaries and going bankrupt. 04 Ten seconds later, a group notification popped up: You have been removed from the group chat by the administrator. Mia angrily unleashed a barrage of texts on my WeChat: “Chloe Vance, you really are vicious. Knowing we won a bid, you got jealous and actually cursed our projects.” “You’re full of malice. Our clients are major corporations with excellent industry reputations. Why would they default on final payments?” “Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come to the company anymore! Our company doesn’t need someone with such crooked intentions.” I wanted to curse back, but Mia was fast at deleting people. When I hit send, it had already turned into a red exclamation mark. It didn’t matter; it saved me from waking up early. I went back to the company once to grab my things. Passing by the reception desk, I glanced at the money tree. Without the blessing of my fortune, its leaves were already showing signs of turning yellow. “Tree, oh tree, it’s not that I don’t care about you. It’s just that the weather is getting cold, and the company is about to go bankrupt.” Mia had long since cleared out my desk and thrown my things into a corner. My empty seat was immediately given to a newly recruited employee. That new employee’s clear and foolish eyes conveyed one message: “This company is so grand!” She didn’t know that this company, which still had some prestige in the industry from the outside, was already rotting from the inside out and couldn’t be saved. Child, you better start preparing your resume and applying for your next job soon. I gathered the discarded lucky ornaments from the corner and packed them into a box. Back then, I had genuinely wanted to help the company achieve good results. This was something I had spent a lot of money to have consecrated by a master, precisely so it could protect the company’s continuous fortune even when I was on business trips. Richard hypocritically came over to offer fake condolences: “Chloe, it’s not that the company doesn’t want to keep you. It’s just that the company’s finances are tight, and we can only optimize the workforce. You won’t blame us, right?” I couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. “Wait for arbitration.” Finding no satisfaction, Richard’s face instantly darkened. Mia rushed out of her office, looking like she was enjoying a good show. With her arms crossed, she mocked me heavily: “Arbitration? A toad dreaming of swan meat. Keep dreaming. Our company’s legal department isn’t full of freeloaders like you.” “Back then, I politely asked you to leave, and you refused. Now look at you. No monthly salary, no thousand-dollar severance pay. They say it’s easy to go from rags to riches, but hard to go from riches to rags. What are you going to do in the future?” Mia hinted pointedly. It was truly crocodile tears. I rolled my eyes at her. “Legal illiterate. Just wait and see.” “Chloe Vance, you’re really refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Let me tell you, once you step out of the company doors, your future in the design industry is completely ruined. No HR will dare hire you.” “Who do you think you are? You say ‘blacklisted’ and I’m blacklisted? You’re just a half-baked amateur who couldn’t even figure out your own graduation project, howling like a ghost here. Do you think you’re the Queen of England?!” I had asked someone to look into Mia. Her graduation project was utter garbage. Plagiarism aside, she hadn’t even grasped basic industry terminology. “Those who know, know you climbed up as a mistress. Those who don’t might think you’re just ugly but play dirty.” I looked at Richard with disgust. “He really must be starving to eat anything.” Richard tugged at his tie, instinctively retorting: “Chloe Vance, you can’t spew vicious words just because you were optimized out. Assistant Evans and I are completely innocent. Besides, I was very handsome when I was young and had many fangirls. You can’t resort to personal attacks. Who doesn’t get old?” Mia added: “Exactly, you can’t just open your mouth and spread rumors. I’ll sue you for defamation.” “Whether it’s true or false, people know clearly in their hearts. Also, Richard, your wife is about to come back from abroad, and you still don’t know, do you?” Richard’s pupils quaked. “She’s coming back? Why don’t I know?” I turned back to Mia. “Wouldn’t it be better to just rely on yourself to earn a living? Why rely on a man who built his fortune by living off a woman? If his heart isn’t with her, wouldn’t she know? She’s definitely going to divorce you sooner or later. Mia, what do you rely on to sit in the executive assistant position? Seduction? Where is your strength, your talent?” Hearing this made Richard unhappy. “If you don’t want to help, then don’t help. You don’t have to be so heartless.” “I’m just stating facts. Facts are never pleasant to hear.” Mia gritted her teeth. “Richard, we won’t beg her. We’ll fight for it ourselves.” Richard’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out. “How are we going to fight for it? The big boss said he wants us to pay ten million dollars in compensation. How can we afford that?” “Could you really not put in a few good words for us with the big boss? Even just talking to the clients to get them to release the payments would be good.” I knew those few clients. They looked like established brands, but if you actually studied their financial reports, you’d know there was infighting, and their good days were numbered. Last time I calculated, I kindly warned them, but they were narrow-minded and couldn’t tolerate people, kicking me right out of the company. Otherwise, if I were still there, I could still have sustained them enough to pay the final installments. “Now they are already bankrupt, and there is nothing I can do.” “Fine, we’ll figure out a way ourselves. We won’t beg you. I don’t believe that without you, we can’t accomplish anything!” Beep beep beep. The phone hung up. I shook my head and continued doing my own things. But feeling a bit guilty towards the big boss, I still sent him a lush, thriving money tree. He expressed his deep apologies. He had been sick recently and hadn’t had time to manage the company, which led to me being wronged. “You don’t need to take the company’s bankruptcy to heart. It was my poor judgment of character. I didn’t protect you well. I have many other companies under my name. If you ever find it interesting, you’re welcome to come play.” “Okay, but now we’re competitors.” The big boss smiled amiably. “The younger generation is truly formidable.” 07 The next time I saw Richard and Mia was several years later at an overseas bidding conference. They had begged everyone they could to scrape enough money together to open a tiny studio and hired a few freshly graduated, inexperienced designers. At this moment, they were full of ambition, hoping someone with a discerning eye would be willing to collaborate with them. When they saw me at the venue, Richard was clearly stunned. Mia, however, refused to be outdone: “Chloe Vance, what are you doing here?! You can’t get into a bidding conference of this caliber. Leave quickly, before someone else comes to kick you out. If word gets out, I’d be ashamed to say you were my former colleague.” The conditions for this bidding conference were very strict. You could almost say that if you weren’t a leader in the industry, you couldn’t get in. Richard and Mia obviously used connections to sneak their way in. I ignored her and walked straight inside. Mia frowned tightly and simply blocked my path: “You are not allowed to go in. You going in will only ruin our business.” Her eyes, however, darted unnaturally to the side. Only then did I notice that she had a timid-looking young girl next to her. The girl had faint runic markings on her. It looked like they had invited a master to help boost their luck. I smiled and greeted the little girl. “Oh, a colleague.” The little girl was their newly hired lucky charm. Back then, Richard and Mia had claimed that lucky charms were just superstitious nonsense. Now, they seemed quite obsessed with this sort of thing. Mia bit her lower lip, standing defensively in front of the little girl as if facing a formidable enemy. “This is my distant cousin. She specifically came to help us kick-start our business. The master said her zodiac sign is a perfect match with mine and Richard’s. She can greatly boost our fortune.” Richard also reached out to stop me. “No matter what, you cannot go in today.” I found it amusing. “What if I insist on going in?” Seeing I was alone, Richard grew bold from his malicious intent. “Then I have no choice but to offend you.” He stepped forward and forcefully grabbed my wrist. The disparity in strength between a man and a woman meant I was instantly immobilized. I said coldly, “Let go, or I’m calling for help.” “I’ll let go when you leave.” A staff member who recognized me saw this and hurried over, shouting, “What are you doing? Why are you being so rude to the organizer?” “Organizer?” Richard’s grip loosened, and I immediately broke free. The two of them stared dumbfounded at the staff member, then looked at me rubbing my wrist. He pointed. “She’s with the organizers? Buddy, you wouldn’t be lying to us, would you?” The staff member frowned. “How do you not even know President Vance?! Have you been working in the deep mountains and ancient forests? The design industry requires keeping up with the times. President Vance is a superstar in our design industry.” “She is the famous Designer K. You haven’t heard of her, right? She’s won several major design awards and was specially invited by the organizers as a guest this time. More than half of the sponsorship for this bidding conference is provided by President Vance’s company.” I was young and willing to learn. In my free time, I read, studied, and traveled around the world to visit places, improving my aesthetic capabilities. After submitting to several world-class competitions, I became completely famous. To avoid unnecessary trouble in my life, I used the pseudonym “K”. It’s safe to say there wasn’t a single person in the design industry who didn’t know the resounding name of “K”. But Richard and Mia would get angry whenever they saw my name in their daily lives, deliberately avoiding any occasion where they might encounter me. Fundamentally, they didn’t believe I was capable of producing excellent designs, so why would they actively collect information related to me? So it was perfectly normal that they didn’t know I was K. The staff member made a “please” gesture. “President Vance, please come this way. The organizers are already waiting for your speech.” I nodded and walked in confidently and calmly. Mia was still in shock, muttering to herself: “How is it possible? How could it be her? She was, at best, a slightly lucky vase. How could she be K?” I looked back into her eyes. “Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417811”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I transmigrated into a novel, taking on the role of the vicious female supporting character, Harper. Harper was originally a wealthy heiress, engaged to the male lead’s best friend and secondary love interest, Carter. Because Harper’s and Carter’s parents were old friends, the Carter family didn’t immediately call off the engagement when Harper’s family suddenly went bankrupt. But Harper was blindly in love with the male lead. She constantly sabotaged the female lead, made a string of terrible mistakes, and was eventually despised by everyone, meeting a miserable end. I transmigrated right at the moment Harper’s family declared bankruptcy and her parents fled back to their hometown in the Midwest. I just wanted to live a normal, peaceful life, but I was suddenly bound to a “System.” The System demanded I maintain Harper’s original persona, or I would face severe punishments. Me: [What persona?] System: [The spoiled, high-maintenance heiress persona.] I looked around the tiny, dilapidated apartment in a walk-up building with no elevator. It was bare to the walls, and the total square footage was smaller than my previous life’s bathroom. I was utterly speechless. The System kindly offered a suggestion: [Actually, there is another way.] Me: [What is it?] It said: [You can choose to seek refuge with your fiancé, Carter.] Carter. The cold, ruthless, billionaire CEO. In the original book, although Carter and Harper were engaged, they absolutely loathed each other. He found Harper spoiled, temperamental, and annoying. Harper found him to be an unfeeling iceberg. Even though I was 100% sure Carter would throw me out on the street, it was my only option. With no other choice, I dragged my suitcase and rang the doorbell of Carter’s mega-mansion in Beverly Hills. When Carter opened the door, that devastatingly handsome face stared at me expressionlessly for a few seconds. Just as he reached back to slam the door in my face, I quickly wedged half my body inside and greeted him with overwhelming enthusiasm: “Hello! Good evening! The moon is so round today! Long time no see, you’re still as dashing, suave, and universally loved as ever…” “Shut up,” Carter interrupted. “Speak English.” I instantly put on my most pitiful face, looking at him with tear-filled eyes: “Carter, can you please take me in for a little while?” 02 Carter’s eyes looked like they were shooting ice beams, ready to freeze me into a statue. Then, he let out a cold scoff: “In your dreams.” Seeing that he was about to physically push me out the door, I squeezed my eyes shut, steeled my heart, and clung to his leg like my life depended on it, throwing away all dignity: “I’m begging you! If you don’t, I’ll go beg your parents! Your mom and dad would definitely say yes! “My parents were always so good to you, weren’t they?! They bought you gifts every Thanksgiving and Christmas when we were kids! Aren’t you going to take care of their precious daughter?” Hearing me bring up our parents, Carter wavered slightly, but he still ground his teeth: “Let go!” “Promise me, and I’ll let go!” My life was on the line; my pride was worthless now. “Please! I’m very low-maintenance, I won’t bother you at all! Please, please, please!” We were right at the front door, and a neighbor happened to be walking their dog. They stared dumbfounded as I cried and clung to Carter’s leg. Their face practically screamed: “Kids these days are into some weird roleplay.” Carter’s face turned red, then purple. Probably sweating under the neighbor’s judgmental gaze, he quickly dragged me inside the courtyard and slammed the gate shut. He took a deep breath: “If you don’t let go right now, get out.” Catching the underlying meaning in his words, I quickly let go, beaming brightly: “Thank you! You’re a saint! You’re going to live a long, prosperous life!” Carter completely ignored me and walked straight into the house. I followed right behind him. Carter went up to the second floor, pointed to a guest room, and said: “You’re staying here.” I was just about to thank him when, suddenly, the System spoke: [No good.] Me: [What’s no good?] System: [The bedding isn’t pure silk.] I didn’t process it at first: [Huh?] The System explained: [It violates the persona.] Me: […] Even though I was completely exasperated, I had to force myself to speak: “Carter…” “Stop whining,” Carter frowned. “What now?” I pointed at the 100% Egyptian cotton bedding: “This isn’t silk. I can’t sleep on this.” If looks could kill, I would have been sliced into a thousand pieces by Carter. He threw down a “Then don’t sleep” and walked away, completely ignoring me. I was out of options. I figured I’d just try sleeping on it; maybe nothing would happen. Before bed, following the System’s requirements, I went looking for warm milk. Carter was in the living room. I approached him cautiously: “Um, do you happen to have any warm milk?” The more I spoke, the guiltier I felt, and my voice grew quieter. “I need a glass of warm milk before I can sleep.” “No.” Carter was ice-cold. “I don’t drink milk.” “What about almond milk? Soy milk? Oat milk might work too.” “No.” I let out a very disappointed “Ah”: “Why don’t you have anything in this huge house?” Carter had reached the end of his patience: “Who was the one who just said they were low-maintenance?!” 03 Ultimately, Carter had someone from a luxury delivery service bring over fresh, organic milk. I heated it in the microwave and got the warm milk the System required. As I drank the milk, I buttered Carter up: “Carter, you’re the best. You’re like a modern-day superhero! If they don’t nominate you for Time’s Person of the Year, the system is rigged!” Carter replied with just three words: “Save it.” After finishing the milk and taking a shower, I lay happily in bed, ready to sleep. However, barely ten minutes later, my entire body started to itch and sting. I turned on the light and looked. Everywhere my skin was exposed, there was a dense, terrifying rash. I asked the System: [Is this the punishment?] System: [Yes, dear.] I wanted to cry but had no tears left. With no other choice, I knocked on Carter’s bedroom door. Carter opened the door, looking furious. Before he could start yelling, I struck first, holding out my arm for him to see: “Look! I wasn’t lying to you, was I?” Carter looked at the horrifying red rash and frowned. Seeing a glimmer of hope, I pressed my advantage, pulling my collar down slightly to reveal the large, angry red patch on my neck: “And here too! Look! It’s all red! Don’t you feel sorry for me?” Carter’s gaze swept over my neck, then quickly darted away. He coughed unnaturally: “Do you think you’re the Princess and the Pea?” He walked to the living room, found a tube of ointment from the first-aid kit, and handed it to me: “Apply it yourself.” I took the ointment with overwhelming gratitude, then looked at him with a face full of expectation: “The sheets…” “It’s the middle of the night. Where am I supposed to find you a pure silk bedding set?!” “Um…” My eyes kept darting toward his bedroom. “The sheets in your room… they look like pure silk.” “Impossible.” Carter cut me off decisively. “Absolutely not.” Half an hour later. I was lying comfortably in Carter’s massive king-sized bed. The touch of pure silk against my skin was cool and soft. Carter, what a guy! A truly great guy! 04 When I woke up, Carter had already left for work. There was breakfast prepared by the housekeeper on the dining table. After eating, I got ready to leave for work too. However, just as I reached the entrance of the subway station, my feet suddenly felt like they were magnetized, glued firmly to the pavement. I couldn’t move an inch. I called out to the System in panic: [System! What’s happening to me?!] The System replied very calmly: [Dear, the original Harper would never take the subway to commute.] Me: [?] Confused, I turned around and tentatively took a step away from the station. It worked. I tried again. As long as I didn’t walk toward the subway station, any other direction was fine. I didn’t give up. I tried to take the bus. The bus just wouldn’t arrive. I tried to rent a City Bike. Either the app glitched, or the bike was broken. Every attempt was met with failure. Seeing that I was about to be late, I opened my Uber app: [Then I’ll just call a car, okay?!] System: [That is acceptable.] Three seconds later, the System glanced at my screen and spoke again: [Dear, UberX Share is also not allowed.] With tears in my eyes, I deselected the [UberX Share] option. Rush hour commute. Uber Black. It cost me 80 bucks. When Carter got home from work, I was hugging four bottles of Evian water, staring blankly at the double-digit balance in my bank account. Haha, I was laughing at my own poverty. Seeing him return, my eyes lit up, and I rushed over: “You’re back? “Did you have a hard day? Are you tired? Thirsty? “Want some water?” I opened a bottle and eagerly handed it to him. “It’s five dollars a bottle.” Carter was about to take the water, but pulled his hand back: “Where did you get this?” I remembered the look the Uber Black driver gave me when I got out—a look that said, ‘You must be really thirsty.’ “I snagged them from the car.” Carter: “?” “That’s not the point.” I maintained my eager posture. “The point is, could you maybe give me a ride to and from work from now on?” The System said that according to my character setting, I had to be chauffeured to and from work. However, my bank balance wasn’t even enough for one more Uber ride. After thinking about it, hitching a ride with Carter was my only option. The corner of Carter’s mouth twitched: “No.” I immediately said: “A real man never says no.” Carter: “…” 05 After exhausting all my efforts, I finally secured a VIP seat in the back of his Porsche Panamera. To thank Carter, I wanted to buy him a gift. On payday, I enthusiastically invited Carter to go to the mall with me. “Why the mall?” “To buy you a gift!” I was very sincere. “You’ve been so good to me, I have to repay you! So I’m picking out a gift for you!” Carter squinted at me, then gave a meaningful smile: “Alright.” I was fully prepared to be rejected. I didn’t expect him to agree so readily. It wasn’t until we arrived at the high-end mall in Beverly Hills that I understood the reason behind that smile. Because this was an unmissable, perfect opportunity to thoroughly mock me. He took me to a luxury boutique, sat on the plush sofa, and said casually: “This store is fine. Pick whatever you want. I’ll take it.” I looked at the cheapest pair of cufflinks in the store—priced in the four digits—and despairingly closed my eyes. What a coincidence. My entire paycheck was also in the four digits. When I first got my paycheck, I thought it was a refund for something I had bought. The sales associate looked at me expectantly. I furiously turned my head to glare at Carter. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you!” Grief overcame me. “Did you really think I couldn’t afford this?!” He looked at me with absolute certainty. So, fueled by anger, I got angry for a second. “How are you so smart?! “I really can’t afford it.” Carter let out a light chuckle and stood up from the sofa: “Alright, let’s go. Nothing caught my eye today anyway.” I felt a massive wave of relief: “If you’re not buying, then I’m not buying either.” “You don’t need to get me a gift.” After walking out, Carter led me to another store. “If you really want to thank me, help me pick out a bag for my mom. She didn’t like any of the ones I gave her before; she said I have terrible taste.” That was easy! I quickly picked out a classic, elegant handbag. It was simple and generous; Carter’s mom would definitely like it. After picking it out, I browsed the store casually and accidentally caught sight of a pink crocodile skin Birkin. I couldn’t walk anymore. Not because my heart couldn’t take it, but because my physical body literally couldn’t take it. My legs were completely immobilized! I asked the System: [You’ve got to be kidding me…] The System replied happily with an [Mhm]: [As a distinguished, wealthy heiress, how could you not own a crocodile skin handbag?!] Perhaps noticing that I was staring at the bag without moving, Carter walked over next to me: “You want it?” He understood me so well! I nodded vigorously. Carter smiled, his eyes crinkling: “Then keep wanting.” Me: “…” 06 Carter was about to walk away, but I immediately grabbed him. “Please.” I wanted to cry but had no tears. “I will be your loyal servant for the rest of my life, I will definitely repay you!” The sales associate approached very enthusiastically: “Ma’am, you have excellent taste! This is a limited edition. We only had three in the entire city, and this is the very last one!” So it was a limited edition. No wonder it cost almost seven figures. “Let’s go.” Carter ignored me, took the bag the associate had packaged, and walked out the door. Leaving me alone, standing like a statue in front of that pink crocodile skin bag. The associate was overflowing with enthusiasm: “How about it, ma’am? If you like it, you should take it!” I pretended to be nonchalant: “It’s fine, don’t worry about me. I’m just browsing.” After standing in “time-out” for ten minutes, the associate came over again: “Are you still considering it, ma’am? Is there something on your mind?” Nothing much. My biggest concern was just that I was broke. During the twentieth minute of my time-out, someone else walked up beside me. I thought it was the associate again: “Miss, could you please let me look at this masterpiece for just a little longer?” To my surprise, Carter’s voice sounded: “You’ve been staring at it for 20 minutes. Haven’t you seen enough?” Not only had I seen enough, I was completely over it. I felt like my legs were turning to wood, but I couldn’t move. I could only stare pitifully at Carter. The next moment, Carter pulled a sleek black Amex from his pocket and handed it to the associate: “Please wrap this one up for me as well.” The moment his words landed, my legs returned to normal. Holding the packaged bag, I followed behind him: “Carter, you’re the best. How can you be so amazing?” “Stop sucking up,” he didn’t even turn his head. “Just consider it a return favor for the birthday gifts your parents gave me when we were kids.” He was tall and had long legs, walking very fast. I tried hard to keep up, but because I had been standing for so long, my legs weren’t listening. I couldn’t take more than a few steps before I had to sit down on a bench in the mall corridor. Carter walked a short distance, noticed I wasn’t following, and gave me a look that said, “What kind of drama are you pulling now?” I smiled awkwardly: “I can’t walk anymore.” “How many steps did you even take?” Carter laughed in exasperation. “I’ll wait for you in the parking garage. If you’re not there in 10 minutes, find your own way home.” The thought of a massive Uber bill gave me a sudden burst of energy. However, it didn’t last three seconds. I was frozen in place again at the entrance of a boutique. All because I took one extra glance at a new designer gown displayed in the window. 07 In the end, I didn’t dare look left or right. Carrying the bags for the purse and the dress, I walked with my head down, staring at the floor like a thief, and finally made it home smoothly. Carter looked at me, exasperated, with an expression that said he wished he didn’t know me: “How many years in prison do you get for looking up while walking where you’re from?” Me: “…” I sentence you to life without a wife! I have to say, this System was really inconvenient. I couldn’t drive. If the chauffeur wasn’t available, I couldn’t leave the house. Even when I did leave, I couldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t go to high-end malls; if I did, I turned into a statue in front of luxury boutiques and would probably be carried away by security guards thinking I was a mannequin thief. I couldn’t go to flea markets either; it said it violated my character setting. On a Saturday night, Carter had a dinner engagement. I was so bored at home I was growing mold, so I decided to take a casual stroll around the gated community. I hadn’t walked far when a torrential downpour suddenly started. I didn’t bring an umbrella, so I quickly ran to the nearest gazebo to wait out the rain. However, amidst the deafening roar of thunder and rain, I thought I heard the faint meow of a cat. The sound was weak and feeble, sounding incredibly pitiful. I looked around and noticed a tiny figure huddled under a bush not far away. I braved the heavy rain and rushed over. It really was a kitten. It looked like a stray, skin and bones, with a bloody wound on its leg. Without thinking twice, I immediately picked it up, wanting to take it to the nearby veterinary clinic. The System tried to stop me: [The spoiled, high-maintenance Harper would never get herself this drenched and messy for a stray cat.] It was true. I was soaked to the bone, my clothes covered in mud, completely violating the character setting. But I couldn’t care less. Even though my feet felt glued to the ground, a surge of limitless energy seemed to well up inside me. I forced my legs to move, struggling toward the main gate. I finally made it to the entrance of the community and pulled out my phone to call an Uber, but in this weather, getting a ride was impossible. Occasionally, a passing taxi would see how muddy and wet the kitten and I were and refuse to take us. Just as I was panicking, unsure of what to do, a familiar Porsche Panamera pulled up in front of us. The rear window rolled down, slowly revealing Carter’s face. “Harper?” Seeing me in this state, his expression tightened. “What happened?” He quickly opened the car door. I got in, showed him the kitten, and spoke urgently: “Can we go to a nearby vet clinic first? The kitten looks like it’s not going to make it.” Carter didn’t hesitate. He told the driver: “To the vet clinic first.” I knew Carter was a neat freak, so I didn’t dare sit too close to him. But he didn’t seem to mind, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to me. “Wipe yourself off.” Carter took the kitten from my hands, freeing me up to dry my clothes. He draped his suit jacket over my shoulders and instructed the driver, “Turn the heat up.” I don’t know if it was because of the cold, but the kitten kept shivering. I wanted to take off Carter’s jacket to wrap the kitten’s body. As soon as I moved, as if he knew what I was about to do, he stopped my hand: “Keep it on.” Then, he pulled a dress shirt out of a shopping bag at his feet. It looked newly bought, the tags still attached, showing a five-figure price tag. Carter ripped off the tags and gently wrapped the kitten in the oversized, luxurious shirt several times. He patted my shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. We’re almost there.” Soon, we arrived at the vet clinic. My anxious heart only settled slightly after the doctor rushed the kitten in for emergency treatment. However, just as I let my guard down, a wave of dizziness hit me, and I stumbled, almost falling over. Carter caught me with quick reflexes. His large, warm hand pressed against my forehead: “Why are you burning up?” Through the dizzy haze, I thought: I’m done for. The punishment for violating the character setting had arrived. 08 The high fever lasted all night, and it wasn’t until the next day that it finally broke a little. Carter had the housekeeper make some chicken noodle soup, but I had no appetite and didn’t eat. He came home briefly in the afternoon and saw me still in bed: “Feeling better?” “A bit.” I coughed twice, then asked, “How’s the kitten doing?” He unlocked his phone and showed me a video of the kitten obediently drinking milk: “It’s fine. Still at the vet.” I breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s great. Sob.” I wanted to watch it a few more times, but Carter locked the screen: “Stop looking at the screen. Get more rest.” He probably noticed the untouched food and asked, “You didn’t eat?” I shook my head: “Didn’t have an appetite earlier.” “You haven’t eaten all day?” Carter frowned. “Do you have an appetite now?” Feeling a bit better, I nodded: “Yes.” Carter benevolently brought the soup over and placed it on the nightstand. Carter: “Eat.” Me: “Okay.” Then we stared at each other in silence for three minutes. Carter: “?” I wanted to eat. But the System told me that Harper, the spoiled, wealthy heiress, required someone to feed her during such a fragile moment of illness. I didn’t want to suffer any more punishments, so I bit the bullet and said: “My hands are too weak.” “…” A look of blank disbelief flashed across Carter’s face. “You don’t mean what I think you mean, do you?” I nodded: “I probably mean exactly what you think I mean.” Carter was speechless for a moment. A fierce internal struggle seemed to be taking place in his mind. But soon, as if accepting his fate, he let out a long sigh, picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and brought it to my lips. My stomach was rumbling with hunger, but my mouth refused to open even a fraction of an inch. Carter saw that I wasn’t moving: “What now, Princess?” I deadpanned the absurd reasoning the System fed me in my head: “There are green onions.” “What?” “Green onions.” I didn’t dare look at Carter’s face, afraid he would shoot laser beams from his eyes and vaporize me in the next second. “I don’t eat green onions.” Carter went silent. After a few seconds, I sneaked a peek at him. I thought he was secretly slipping laxatives into the soup. Instead, Carter had his head bowed, meticulously picking out the tiny pieces of green onion. Looking at his quiet profile as he picked out the onions, my heart inexplicably skipped a beat. It’s true what they say: a domesticated man is the best eye candy. “Hehe.” I forced myself to shift my attention, shamelessly flattering him. “You’re so good. You’re the most handsome guy in the whole wide world.” Carter didn’t even look up, continuing to pick out onions: “Besides that line, what else do you know how to say?” I immediately unleashed the barrage of compliments I had memorized earlier: “You’re not just handsome, you’re the epitome of aesthetic perfection! “You’re so handsome! It’s a miracle of the golden ratio, like the statue of David come to life! I want to scream and cry, burst out of a mountain, run across all the national parks, climb Mount Everest, and drop to my knees in a spiral! I weep for your beauty, my tears forming the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and the Pacific Ocean, nourishing the entire world!” Carter finished picking out the onions, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and shoved it into my mouth: “Stop talking nonsense and eat.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417812”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The unforgettable “first love” who went to study abroad is finally coming back. Bad news: I came back too late. The elite social circle had already been completely won over by the so-called “Cinderella protagonist.” Everyone was on high alert, preparing to tear me—the impending “first love”—to shreds. Even worse news: rumor had it that I was a beautiful but brainless, self-sacrificing fool who only cared about a man. So, when the “Cinderella” put on her pitiful, teary-eyed act in front of me, I just smiled: “You don’t need to try so hard. I know exactly what you’re doing. I used to be a fake-innocent manipulator, too.” 01 When I paused outside the VIP lounge of the country club, the mocking voices inside drifted clearly into my ears. “Serena Sterling is coming back today. Want to make a bet?” “Let’s bet on when she’ll come crawling back, begging for Carter’s attention.” “Hahaha, I can’t wait. If she finds out Carter is getting engaged to Mia, she’ll probably turn green with envy.” The waiter standing next to me gave me a cautious look. He was about to speak up, but I waved my hand, gesturing for him to stay quiet. The next second, a timid voice came from inside: “Does Serena… still love Carter?” “Mia, don’t worry. Serena is just a brainless Barbie doll with nothing but a pretty face. We will always support you.” “You’re so sweet and kind. She’s not even a tenth of the woman you are.” Listening to this, the smirk on my lips grew wider. “Put everything they ordered in that room on my tab.” The waiter froze. “Miss…” “If they ask, tell them the ‘brainless Barbie doll’ paid for it.” I carelessly brushed my hair over my shoulder. The Sterling family was at the absolute top of the social food chain in Manhattan. The trust-fund kids sitting in that lounge all belonged to families that relied heavily on our business connections. If they found out I caught them talking trash about me red-handed… Let me guess, how stiffly would they bow their heads when they came to apologize? 02 I, Serena Sterling, had left for Paris five years ago. Back then, I was heartbroken and depressed after a massive fight with my ex, Carter Hayes. But on my private jet heading overseas, I had a very long dream. In the dream, I realized I was just a cannon-fodder “first love” in a cliché romance novel. I was nothing but a plot device used to stimulate the relationship between the male lead, Carter, and the female lead, Mia Jenkins. When I woke up and realized this, I finally understood how stupid my desperate clinging to Carter had been over the past few years, all dictated by some invisible plot. What a joke! The Sterling family was a top-tier billionaire dynasty. Carter was just the illegitimate son of a secondary branch in his family. Why would I ever lower myself for him? Not to mention, this so-called “female lead” was simply the daughter of our family’s housekeeper. Thinking about this, I frowned in annoyance. I unlocked my phone, sat back in the driver’s seat of my newly delivered Bugatti, and snapped a selfie. In the photo, my hair fell casually over my shoulders. I stared coldly into the camera, my features striking and flawless. I tapped the screen a few times and posted it to my Instagram story. It was time to let them know. Forget being a tragic “first love”—I was a villainess who was going to tear them all to shreds. 03 When I returned to my familiar Upper East Side penthouse, my parents had already prepared a massive welcome-home feast for me. I greeted them warmly and said I needed to go upstairs to unpack first. I’ve always hated people invading my personal space, and my family knew it. Aside from the professional cleaning staff, no one was allowed in my suite. So, with just a quick glance, I immediately noticed— My jewelry vanity had been touched. I have countless designer bags and jewels filling several walk-in closets. Whoever took it probably thought I wouldn’t remember. But I knew exactly which diamond necklace was missing. I lowered my eyes and let out a cold laugh. My Instagram story already had tons of likes and comments, but the usual loudmouths from the lounge were dead silent. I knew the waiter had successfully delivered my message. As I scrolled casually, my eyes suddenly stopped. They had all posted group photos of Mia and Carter. In the picture, Mia was wearing a pure white dress, smiling sweetly in front of a cake. Carter stood next to her, arms crossed, a faint smile on his lips. At first glance, they really did look like a perfect couple. Their captions were incredibly pointed: [I’ve never met a girl as pure and kind as Mia. She pulled Carter out of a toxic past.] [I used to say a lot of fake things to flatter a certain someone, but now, I truly hope Mia and Carter are happy.] My gaze fell on the necklace resting against the girl’s collarbone in the photo. Did these idiots really think flaunting my ex’s new romance would make me stomp my feet in anger? Or was it because, lacking the looks and family background to challenge me directly, they had to parade a man I discarded around like some kind of grand prize? I locked my phone, slowly walked downstairs, and approached my parents, instantly putting on a teary-eyed, deeply wronged expression. “Daddy… they’re all bullying me…” Like I said, I understand the game perfectly. I used to be the ultimate manipulator. 04 After coming back, it was only natural for me to return to the most elite private university in the city. This university was co-founded by the top families in our circle. Unlike regular colleges, it operated on a fixed-cohort system for the elite. When I got the class roster, I unsurprisingly saw a few familiar names. I pushed my gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of my nose. I hadn’t seen Mia around for the past few days. I wondered if it was because my father had thrown a massive fit over my “bullying,” making her feel too guilty to show her face. But it didn’t matter. I stared at the bold name Mia Jenkins on the roster. Though I was highly confused as to when our housekeeper’s salary became high enough to afford this tuition, I was still looking forward to campus life. After all… my necklace was still with Miss Jenkins. 05 When I walked into the classroom, no one seemed surprised. It made sense. Their parents had practically tripped over themselves rushing to my house with expensive gifts to apologize. When those kids went home, their parents definitely read them the riot act, warning them to take good care of me at school. During the break, I was lazily leaning back in my chair, spinning a pen and scrolling through my phone. Suddenly, a shadow fell over me. I looked up to see a highly anxious Mia. Mia’s features weren’t breathtaking, but put together, they gave off an aura of innocent vulnerability. She looked soft and obedient. “Hi, Serena…” She bit her lip, looking incredibly conflicted. “About what happened a few days ago, I’m so sorry… Are you still mad at us?” I tilted my head. “Mad? Why would I be mad?” She froze, her eyes instantly turning red. “You don’t have to pretend. I know everything… It’s all my fault. If you’re angry, take it out on me, but please don’t blame Blair and the others…” Blair Kensington. Before I left the country, she used to follow me around everywhere, sweetly calling my name. I lifted my chin slightly. “Oh? What did I do?” “It’s just that you lost control of your emotions when you saw your parents, and it caused a huge misunderstanding…” I blinked, a harmless smile spreading across my lips. Blair couldn’t sit still anymore. “Serena Sterling, stop acting! If it wasn’t because you were jealous of Carter and Mia and went crying to your daddy, why would…” Perhaps realizing that her parents having to apologize was too humiliating, her voice cut off abruptly. My smile widened. “Why would… what?” “Are you talking about your parents coming to my house with gifts to apologize?” I crossed my arms. “And what does that have to do with Mia? It’s just normal networking between high-society families. Have I been out of the country so long that a new ‘Jenkins Dynasty’ suddenly popped up?” Mia was visibly shaken by the malicious humiliation in my words. She instinctively took a step back, tears welling in her eyes. “How could you be so mean?!” “Right.” As if suddenly remembering something, I placed my phone softly on the desk and slowly stood up. “There is one thing… you actually do need to apologize to me for.” 06 The moment I spoke, Blair angrily interjected: “Mia is a wonderful person! It makes perfect sense for Carter to like her. They love each other! Why should she apologize to you?!” “Do you think Carter is obligated to only like you for the rest of his life? When he was with you, it was just a dark mistake in his life!” I didn’t get mad. I just narrowed my eyes and smiled. “Blair, didn’t you use to say that Carter was madly in love with me? That I was beautiful and kind, and we were a match made in heaven?” Seeing her choke on her words, I shifted gears, feigning confusion. “And why do you guys assume Mia owes me an apology because of some romantic drama?” I took a step closer to Mia, my smile never wavering, but my hand shot out and violently grabbed the necklace around her neck. She lost her balance and almost crashed to the floor, her eyes wide with shock. “Miss Jenkins. Why is my necklace around your neck?” Mia’s eyes darted around in a panic, but she kept up the lie. “Don’t falsely accuse me! This is my necklace! My mom gave it to me for my birthday!” At that, my smile finally cooled into something mocking. I didn’t loosen my grip. “My necklace sits in your house for a few days, and suddenly it belongs to you?” I pulled harder, and large teardrops began spilling from her eyes. The entire classroom fell dead silent. After a long moment, someone tried to step forward, but I stopped them dead in their tracks with an icy glare. “My family is cleaning up a thieving servant. Does this involve any of you?” My tone was freezing. I turned my attention back to the sobbing girl in front of me. “Miss Jenkins, are you going to take it off yourself, or do you need my help?” 07 Mia cried until her face was flushed red. I didn’t lessen my grip. My dark eyes stared right through her. “Serena, is this really necessary?! Even if Mia accidentally took it, you have so much jewelry! Do you really care about one necklace?!” Blair didn’t dare step closer, but she couldn’t resist running her mouth. “What a joke. She dirties my belongings, and I’m supposed to be the bigger person? Where is the logic in that?” I scoffed disdainfully, looking lazily at Mia. “Do I need to pull the security footage from my estate?” Looking as if she had suffered the ultimate humiliation, Mia clenched her fists. Her snow-white neck bore a red mark from where I had pulled the chain. “I’ll take it off! But Miss Sterling, humiliating me like this is going too far!” I released my grip. She yanked the necklace off and shoved it toward me. Hiding deep resentment and indignation beneath her teary eyes, she wiped her face and quickly ran back to Blair’s side. Blair patted her back, comforting her in a low voice. “It’s okay, we all believe you. When Carter gets back, he’ll definitely help you.” They thought they were whispering, but they deliberately made sure I heard. I let out a light snort. “Great. I can’t wait to see how he helps.” Did she really think I wouldn’t crush him? With that, I casually tossed the necklace to my quiet deskmate, who was watching me with starry eyes. “It’s yours. It’s a bit dirty, so throw it away if you don’t want it.” Then, under the gaze of the entire class, I turned and walked out of that toxic room. 08 A few days later, I finally realized something. My little deskmate wasn’t a stranger either. Audrey Collins. Carter’s first love. I clicked my tongue. Wow, this class really collected Carter’s first love, his ex, and his current girlfriend. While I was still brainwashed by the plot, I had known Audrey’s name. Combining that with the memories of the novel, I knew a fair bit about her. She used to be Blair’s friend. Coming from an ordinary background, she was only admitted to this elite school because of her top-tier grades. She had secretly harbored a crush on Carter for a long time. When Carter happened to want a distraction, he dated her. But after they got together, Carter acted aloof and emotionally abusive, literally driving an innocent girl to the brink of insanity. When Carter finally dumped her, she begged him for a long time, becoming a laughingstock for Blair and the others. As for her current situation in the class… well, I didn’t even need to guess. When Carter was with me, Blair used to whisper poison in my ear, saying Audrey was just a gold digger who wouldn’t stop harassing Carter. She always made sure to add: Serena, Carter truly loves you so much! When he was with Audrey, he barely even looked at her. Thinking about it now… I laughed out of sheer anger. I slammed my pen onto the desk, startling Audrey, who was quietly doing practice problems. “What a piece of trash.” If you don’t like someone, why date them? And then bite them back at the end. I frowned, deeply questioning the plot. How did a classless man like that end up being the male lead? 09 The class was in chaos, but the source of the drama, Carter Hayes, was conveniently absent, attending a National Rowing Championship out of state. This annoyed me immensely. When he returned, Blair couldn’t wait to run to him and tattle. Hearing this, Carter raised an eyebrow, and the corner of his mouth even twitched upward in a subtle smirk. Knowing the original plot, I knew exactly what he was thinking at a single glance. Carter getting together with Mia was just a ploy to stimulate my return. To him, my hostility toward Mia was just a jealous tactic to win back his affection. It actually inflated his ego. Fine. Let him be arrogant for a minute. I couldn’t wait to show him how I was going to ruin him. Ex. Boyfriend. 10 To encourage well-rounded development, the university regularly held talent showcases. In the original plot, this was a minor turning point. According to the story, I would choose to perform my strongest skill: the piano. Coincidentally, Mia also chose the piano. But since I was trained by world-class maestros from a young age, she naturally couldn’t compare. During rehearsals, Mia would run away crying after hearing me play. After being chased down by Carter and the others, she would tearfully confess her insecurities. At that time, Carter hadn’t realized his feelings for Mia yet, but he felt an uncomfortable pang in his chest. So, he set out to hire my former maestro to teach her. In the end, Mia would stun the audience with her drastically improved skills. She would lose to me by a narrow margin, but win the hearts and support of everyone else. Blair would even throw shade publicly: “A strong, resilient girl like Mia deserves everyone’s love. She is sincere and brave. Some people win the competition but lose their integrity, while Mia did the exact opposite.” Recalling this, I signed my name on the registration form without hesitation. A narrow margin? What a joke. 11 Everything proceeded exactly as the plot predicted. Except when Carter tried to hire my maestro for Mia, he was flat-out rejected. The reason the maestro gave was: “I said it years ago. Serena will be my very last student.” In the original plot, the maestro rejected him the same way, but was somehow moved by Mia’s determination later. But naturally, that wouldn’t happen this time… The reason? Before all of this, I paid a visit to my beloved mentor. During our casual conversation, I intentionally dropped a few facts. Just the detail about Mia stealing my necklace was enough for the maestro to blacklist her completely. But… I didn’t expect this: Carter actually had the audacity to come confront me about it.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417813”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Tristan Reed had just won the championship at the international violin competition, and I rushed over to his celebration party. But outside the private room, I heard someone ask him: “Who is ‘Porsche Doormat 3.23’ in your contacts?” Tristan sounded completely nonchalant: “Exactly what it says.” My hand, reaching for the door handle, froze. I drove a red Porsche. My birthday was March 23rd. 01 Before I even had a chance to flee in humiliation, another voice echoed from the room: “I heard you had a childhood sweetheart. Isn’t her birthday in March?” Tristan was silent for a long moment before letting out a dismissive scoff. “Ugh!” “Her grades are incredibly average.” “She’s completely tone-deaf. She can’t even read sheet music.” “How could I possibly like her?” “It’s entirely one-sided. But she enjoys playing the pathetic groupie, so let her.” I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. Tristan and I had been childhood friends for twenty-four years. And in the end, all I amounted to was a “pathetic groupie.” To be fair, Tristan had always been the golden boy of our school. He never paid attention in class, never studied after school, yet somehow aced every single exam. In his free time, he would lean against the bleacher railings, playing a violin solo from above, drawing the absolute adoration and screams of countless girls. The year of our college admissions, Tristan caused an absolute sensation. He had the grades to get into any Ivy League school he wanted, but he stubbornly chose Juilliard instead. He had smiled so arrogantly: “Wherever a genius stands, that is the stage.” And he truly had the talent and capital to be that arrogant. In just a few short years, he had won the gold medal at the Apollo International Music Competition. The media hailed him as a “High-IQ Violin Virtuoso.” Compared to him, I was incredibly dull. My grades were average, and I had absolutely zero musical talent. The only thing I really had going for me was my looks and my outgoing personality. I was popular on campus and had been voted Student Body President. So, after getting my bachelor’s, I didn’t go to grad school. I dove straight into the corporate world. Tristan, unsurprisingly, was offered a full ride for his Master’s at Juilliard. When he moved into his new dorm, I took time off work and drove him to help carry his luggage. When we arrived outside his building, Tristan stopped me from going up. “I can carry it up myself. You can head back.” I froze. It took me a moment to ask: “Do you feel like having me as your girlfriend is embarrassing in front of your elite circle of musicians?” Tristan scratched the bridge of my nose, feigning helplessness. “What are you talking about? I’m hiding my beautiful girlfriend away so those guys don’t try to steal you from me.” Several times after that, I asked to meet his classmates. Tristan always found an excuse to reject the idea. Until this time. Tristan assumed I was still stuck in a business conference in Manhattan, so he casually posted the location of his celebration party on his Instagram Story. Inside the room, the topic had shifted. They were now discussing Fritz Kreisler and Yehudi Menuhin. It was a world I could never blend into. Just as I prepared to turn and run, the heavy doors to the private room were abruptly pulled open. A girl in a flowing white dress looked me up and down with a hint of haughtiness: “Huh? Who are you?” “Did you walk into the wrong room?” 02 The room fell dead silent for a moment. Tristan’s eyes landed on me. A flicker of panic crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure. “When did you get here? Weren’t you at your conference in Manhattan?” I hesitated for exactly 0.1 seconds before acting completely nonchalant. “Just got here. I was just looking for the right room.” Even I couldn’t explain why I acted that way. Maybe it was the instinct of a Corporate Business Director—always leave yourself an out, never show your bottom line too easily. Or maybe I just wanted to lie to myself one last time. As long as I didn’t expose the truth, there was still room to salvage this. Tristan smiled and introduced me to the room: “This is Cadence Sterling.” “She’s… my friend.” Friend. I chewed on the word in my mind. A bitter taste spread across the back of my tongue. The atmosphere in the room was incredibly delicate. Everyone’s eyes dropped to the Porsche keys in my hand, their expressions practically screaming, Oh, so that’s her. But the girl in the white dress quickly broke the tension. “Haha, Cadence. That’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?” “What a waste of a musical name on someone who’s completely tone-deaf.” Me: “?” Before I could even react, Tristan had subtly stepped between us. “Chloe, you’re always running that mouth of yours.” “Always yapping away.” “Just go eat your food.” On the surface, it sounded like a reprimand, but his tone was dripping with affection and protectiveness. Chloe Mercer stuck her tongue out at Tristan in an annoyingly cute way and skipped over to the fruit platter. Chloe Mercer. That name wasn’t unfamiliar to me. For the past six months, Tristan had brought her up constantly. He said a “returning piano prodigy” named Chloe had joined his program. Whether it was her musical sense or pure talent, she was entirely his equal. She was the new darling of all the professors. He would complain, half-joking, “I feel like I’m losing my favorite child status.” It was a complaint, but I could always hear a deep sense of appreciation in his voice—the kind you only have for an equal. One of Tristan’s classmates waved for me to sit, casually joking: “Tristan, man, if you have such a gorgeous ‘good friend,’ why haven’t you introduced us?” “If you don’t want her, let her hit the open market.” Tristan’s face instantly went black. He spat out a heavy, furious: “Piss off.” He successfully pushed the room’s awkwardness to its absolute peak. Tristan casually grabbed the scarf I had draped over my chair and tossed it over my legs. “You’re dressed like you’re attending a gala.” “You’re trying way too hard.” “Besides, it’s not safe to wear something like this at night. I’ll drive you home later.” I smiled, just about to explain, when Chloe suddenly let out a sharp gasp! Tristan whipped his head around. Chloe was holding a fruit knife in one hand. Her other hand had a tiny, superficial scratch, barely oozing a drop of blood. Tristan panicked instantly. “I told you your hands are meant for the piano!” “Don’t I always peel the fruit for you?!” 03 Chloe looked incredibly wronged. “Why are you yelling at me?” “I was just worried Cadence would be mad!” As she spoke, Chloe’s eyes rimmed red. She pulled off a perfect soap-opera performance: I want to cry, but I’m bravely holding back my tears. Tristan’s head snapped toward me, his eyes full of unconcealed accusation. But I literally hadn’t done a single thing. Why was it that the second she uttered two sentences, you immediately assumed I was the villain? Favoritism can be blatant, but how could he be so blindly irrational? In that moment, Tristan had already scooped a terrified-looking Chloe into his arms. “I’m taking you to the ER!” As he rushed past me, Chloe’s leg—which had been hanging limply—suddenly swung out, her foot nearly kicking me right in the face. I instinctively dodged backward. What I didn’t realize was that an askew chair was right behind me. Caught completely off guard, I crashed to the floor, letting out a low gasp of pain. Tristan paused. He looked like he was about to check on me. But Chloe softly whimpered: “I’m so sorry, Cadence. I didn’t mean to.” “It’s just that my hand hurts so badly… sob… I’m so scared I won’t be able to play the piano anymore.” Tristan’s brows knitted together tightly. He comforted her gently: “Don’t be scared. I’m taking you to the hospital right now.” “It’s not your fault she fell. It’s her own vanity. She didn’t need to wear those ridiculous heels.” With that, he walked out without looking back. The silence in the private room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. After a long moment, one of Tristan’s classmates said awkwardly: “Ah, well… Tristan isn’t usually…” He trailed off, clearly realizing there was no defending that. He helplessly asked if he could drive me to the hospital. I shook my head and declined, limping my way down to the underground parking garage. Vanity. I couldn’t deny it. I was definitely vain. I worked my fingers to the bone in the corporate world. Within three years, I had clawed my way up to Business Director. I fought to be the best in everything. I wanted to be a cut above the rest. I bought a luxury condo, drove a nice car, wore Chanel suits, and insisted my diamond rings had to be at least three carats. I loved new things and discarded the old. I loved the expensive and despised the cheap. It seemed the only “old” thing I had ever held onto in my entire life was Tristan. When I was little, my parents divorced. They both started new families. Neither of them wanted me. I was kicked back and forth between them like a burden. If I wanted living expenses, I had to endure their cold mockery and eye rolls. My only comfort back then was Tristan. Whenever I hid downstairs to cry, he would gently play his violin for me. He would share his breakfast buns and milk with me. When kids at school called me an unwanted stray, he would stand firmly in front of me and protect me. I grew up starved for affection, and he was my only source of warmth. That was why, for all these years, I couldn’t bear to let him go. A sharp, sleazy whistle snapped me out of my memories. Without realizing it, I had limped my way into a completely deserted section of the parking garage. A group of aggressively dressed, sketchy-looking guys were eyeing me up and down. “Hey beautiful, all alone?” “Ooh, driving a Porsche, too.” “Think she’s some rich guy’s sugar baby?” “If she’s keeping one guy company, why not keep us boys company too?” 04 They started walking toward me. I instinctively took a step back, frantically digging in my purse for my car keys. In my panic, the keys slipped and clattered to the concrete floor. Just as I bent down to grab them, a hand with long, distinct knuckles appeared out of nowhere and snatched the keys first. An arm draped casually over my shoulders. “I told you to wait for me. Why did you come down by yourself again?” I looked up. It was a face I had never seen before. He looked to be in his late twenties, dressed simply in a white T-shirt and jeans. But on his wrist sat a limited-edition Vacheron Constantin watch—the kind of piece you couldn’t buy just by having money. Other than that, he wore no accessories. The thugs beside us muttered a few curses and backed off. The man naturally opened my car door. “Get in. It’s cold out.” He smoothly slid into the driver’s seat, pulled out his phone, and tapped out a quick message before starting the engine. It wasn’t until the car merged onto the brightly lit main avenue that he finally spoke. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. My apologies for overstepping.” “Don’t worry, I’m not a creep.” “Shall I drive you home?” I forced a weak smile. “I know. The watch on your wrist is worth more than my entire car.” “Thank you for back there.” Following my directions, the man merged onto the highway. He thoughtfully stayed quiet, letting me close my eyes and rest. We arrived at my condo building quickly. I felt a bit awkward. “How are you getting home? Should I call you an Uber?” The man chuckled. “No need. My assistant came to pick me up.” “His car has been following us the whole time.” I looked up. A sleek black Bentley was parked right next to us. A man who looked like an executive assistant handed him a pharmacy bag. “Mr. Cole, the items you requested.” The man took it and handed it to me. “Your knee was bleeding. I had him buy some antiseptic and bandages.” “But if it’s serious, you should really go to a doctor.” It was only then that I realized the delayed, throbbing pain. I had scraped my knee badly when I fell in the restaurant. The man turned and opened his door. “Go inside. Girls should be careful at night.” “Or better yet, have your boyfriend pick you up.” I couldn’t help but let out an incredibly ugly, bitter smile. “My boyfriend is… very busy.” Watching the man get into the Bentley, I hurriedly thanked him again. “Thank you again for tonight.” The man looked up at me, a sly smile playing on his lips. “You’re very welcome, Director Sterling.” With that, the Bentley sped off into the night. Leaving me standing there, stunned: How did he know my last name? 05 Based on my extensive experience, whenever Tristan and I fought, we usually had a cold war for a few days. When I finally couldn’t take it anymore and crawled back to apologize, he would hit me with his three trademark, arrogant questions: “Do you know what you did wrong?” “Where exactly did you mess up?” “Will you do it again?” But for some reason, this argument felt different. I wasn’t scratching at the walls, checking my phone every five minutes like I usually did. I had zero desire to reach out to him. What I didn’t expect was that this time, Tristan would be the one to break first. It all started because a video went viral. During a break at my Manhattan conference, I had specifically visited the famous Kolstein’s string shop. I wanted to pick out a high-end violin to give to Tristan as a gift. As luck would have it, while I was browsing, a popular music influencer was live-streaming a tour of the shop. She enthusiastically interviewed me: “Miss, you’re buying such an expensive violin! You must be an incredible player!” “Could you play a piece for us?” I had smiled honestly. “I’m completely tone-deaf.” “This violin is a gift for my boyfriend.” “He’s incredibly talented.” After the video blew up, netizens flooded the comments: [I’m so jealous of her boyfriend! A $340,000 violin, and she bought it without blinking!] [She’s so gorgeous! Did you see how her eyes literally sparkled when she talked about her boyfriend?!] [Hey, when you’re ready for a new boyfriend, hit me up! I’m first in line!] Putting the pieces together, Tristan finally realized the truth. I had finished my conference in Manhattan and raced against the clock to buy him a violin. Then I flew back without stopping to rest, didn’t even adjust to the jet lag, and didn’t even have time to change my clothes. I had rushed to see him, only to be turned into a total laughingstock. Tristan finally couldn’t take the silence. He texted me: [You around? Let’s grab dinner tonight.] Even when bowing his head, the aloof god of music still made it sound like an arrogant act of charity. But my pathetic, hopelessly attached self replied: [Okay.] 06 I thought it was going to be a romantic, candlelit dinner for two. Instead, it was a massive group party. Tristan brought me to a loud, upscale bar. Chloe spotted us immediately and waved wildly at Tristan. “Over here!” Tristan grabbed my hand and pulled me over, smiling, completely ignoring the fact that my expression had already turned thunderous. A few drinks in, Tristan got up to use the restroom. Right on cue, someone brought up the viral video, giving me a thumbs-up. “Badass! $340,000! That’s the most expensive violin on campus right now!” Before I could even say a word, Chloe let out a loud scoff. “What’s so great about being willing to spend money on a man?” “A man being willing to spend money on you—that’s true love.” As she spoke, she casually, oh-so-deliberately, brushed her hand against her collarbone. A diamond necklace was resting there, showing off. Chloe lowered her voice, dripping with provocation: “Tristan gave it to me.” “What has he ever given you? Tsk tsk, he can’t even remember your birthday unless he puts it in your contact name. I doubt he’s ever bought you a gift, right?” “In a relationship of three, the one who isn’t loved is the real third wheel.” I smiled, casually running my finger around the rim of my glass. “H-color. One carat.” “Barely acceptable. Must have been on clearance, right?” Knowing Tristan’s financial situation, I knew he didn’t have much disposable income. Where did he get the money to buy Chloe diamonds? Chloe looked visibly enraged. “Tristan and I are a perfect match! We’re meant to be!” “The first time I saw him, I knew he was mine.” I saw Tristan walking back from the restroom in the distance. An expensive tailored suit, a high-end dress shirt, and meticulously manicured skin and hands. He looked as elegant as a prince. A prince that this “idiot Cinderella” had worked herself to the bone to package and fund. It definitely gave him a massive, magnetic appeal on a college campus. I swirled my drink. “Little girl, you don’t like Tristan.” “You like the flawless persona I bought and paid for.” Unfortunately, she didn’t grasp my genuine advice. Instead, a flash of pure malice crossed her eyes. She violently grabbed my hand—the one holding my glass—and shoved the liquor down her own throat. She immediately started choking and coughing violently. With tears streaming down her face, she cried to Tristan, who was rushing over: “I told her I didn’t know how to drink, but Cadence forced me!” “When I refused, she practically poured it down my throat!” Her acting was unbelievably clumsy. It was like watching a cheap circus act. But some people were more than willing to be the audience. Without a second thought, Tristan reached out and shoved me hard. “Are you insane, Cadence?!” “Chloe actually suggested I bring you here to relax tonight!” “Are you comparing yourself to her? She’s just a young girl, how could you force her to drink Bourbon?!” I violently grabbed the hand he used to push me. Staring at his suddenly bare wrist, I asked him, word by word: “Where is the couple’s watch I gave you?” 07 Tristan instantly froze. He pulled his hand back with an expression of deep displeasure, clearly trying to mask his guilt with anger. “You gave it to me, so it’s mine to do what I want with.” “Why do you care so much?” As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily darted toward the diamond necklace resting on Chloe’s chest. I almost laughed out loud. “You sold the watch I gave you so you could buy diamonds to coax this little pick-me girl?” “It’s a waste that you use those hands to play the violin. You should be an accountant with how well you calculate!” I didn’t keep my voice down. Everyone nearby turned to look. A few of Tristan’s classmates let their jaws drop, staring at him in shock. They seemed unable to believe that their elegant, aloof “Prince” was actually a calculating opportunist. Honestly, I didn’t care about the money. But that watch meant everything to me. When Tristan and I got together, I was the one who confessed first. From start to finish, he always maintained an attitude of “whatever.” He was fine being together. He’d be fine breaking up. He’d be fine if I was replaced by someone else. Until one year on my birthday. It coincided with Tristan being out of town for a performance. I was sulking, buying my own cake, blowing out my own candles. Just as the clock struck midnight, the melodious sound of a violin drifted through my window. I leaned out, unable to believe my eyes. Tristan was standing downstairs, still wearing his slightly wrinkled performance tuxedo. He looked up at me, his eyes shining with a boyish, ‘Bet I surprised you, didn’t I?’ pride. Tristan was always so cold and aloof. That was one of the few times he ever showed such youthful, genuine emotion. It struck me right in the heart. Later, we split the entire cake between us. He nuzzled into my neck, sounding a bit aggrieved. “The second my performance ended, I rushed back.” “I even had to hitchhike in the back of a farmer’s truck for a few miles! Just so I could make it back for your birthday.” Tristan told me that the piece he played that night was an original composition. He titled it “Splendor.” After Tristan left, I twirled around my room in pure joy. I thought, maybe, just maybe, Tristan actually did love me. The next day, I took my entire project bonus and bought us a set of luxury couple’s watches. When Tristan took his, he looked surprised. “It’s not a holiday. Why the sudden expensive gift?” I happily grabbed his hand. The two watches sparkled on our wrists, perfectly complimenting each other. “You wouldn’t understand.” The memories from that time were crystal clear, but we could never go back. Seeing the increasingly weird, borderline disdainful looks his classmates were giving him, Tristan finally snapped. “Enough! I’ll pay you back in cash!” “We’re breaking up!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417814”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

During finals week, the campus queen bee was caught cheating. Crying, she claimed I forced her to do it. She even pulled out medical records, falsely accusing me of driving her to depression. “Why won’t you just admit it? Are you trying to force me to die?” With those words, she took another step toward the edge of the roof. My boyfriend didn’t even ask for my side of the story before demanding I take the blame: “Riley, that’s a human life! How can you be so cold-blooded?” Everyone around me urged me to remember that a life was more important than anything else. I gave a sinister smile. “Isn’t it just dying? Come on, let’s die together.” I lunged forward, grabbing the terrified queen bee, and we tumbled off the roof together. Of course, I wouldn’t die. Because down below, I had already prepared an inflatable rescue cushion. Sorry, but I’ve been reborn. 1 I was shaken awake by the proctor. Staring at the unfamiliar yet familiar exam hall, I was dazed for a moment. Wasn’t I dead? Mia’s carefully orchestrated cyberbullying campaign not only stole my guaranteed grad school admission but also doxxed all my personal information online. In an instant, I went from a straight-A student favored by professors to public enemy number one. I was pushed to the center of the storm by self-righteous internet vigilantes. I lost my education, couldn’t find a job, and eventually died under the wheels of a car driven by one of Mia’s extreme admirers. How could I be sitting in an exam room for finals? Before I could figure it out, I saw a small piece of paper drop to the floor diagonally in front of me. That was Mia’s seat. Looking closely, Mia seemed a bit younger than I remembered. She didn’t have the heavy makeup or the head-to-toe designer brands from my past life. Looking at the scene before me, I felt a sense of unreality. I never thought I’d actually experience the reincarnation trope you only see in novels. I was reborn. Back to my college days, on the day of finals. The very day that marked the turning point of my destiny. In my past life, in this exact same scenario. I discovered Mia cheating. When she bent down to pick up her cheat sheet, she met my gaze. She turned pale with fright. In a panic, she put her hands together in a pleading gesture, begging me to stay quiet. Living by the principle of minding my own business, I didn’t do anything. I just lowered my head and continued my exam. It was just a regular final exam; passing was enough. It wasn’t some life-altering test. College exams… they were what they were. But to my surprise, she was so focused on copying that she was caught red-handed by the proctor. This particular professor was notoriously strict in our department. He exposed her right there in the dead-silent exam hall. Mia had always maintained the persona of a beautiful, brilliant scholar. Being caught cheating on the spot—if it were any other student, they might have just laughed it off and taken the makeup exam. But to her, it was a matter of life and death. Her persona collapsed instantly. “I can’t believe the campus queen’s ‘genius’ persona is fake!” “Who knows if she cheated on all her previous exams too. No wonder she didn’t get the grad school recommendation this time.” “So fake. She doesn’t look like that kind of person. She looks so innocent… do you think she smokes and drinks in private too?” In my past life, on the day the university issued the disciplinary notice, I had just received my offer for a master’s program at an Ivy League university. I was immersed in the joy of my admission, completely missing the venom in her eyes. I never expected she would go to such lengths just to destroy me. In my past life, I couldn’t figure it out. Just because I saw her cheating, she had to ruin me? Was it just because I was an orphan with no backing? Only after I died, when I hovered around her as a ghost, did I find out. She did it because I had discovered her secret. —I had once seen her getting into a black Mercedes that had a bottle of water placed on the roof. At the time, I hadn’t realized what she was doing. “You can’t blame me, you can only blame yourself. Who told you to see something you shouldn’t have seen?” She had muttered to herself, her face showing not a shred of guilt. A person with a dark heart sees darkness in everything. The memory of being crushed under those wheels, the agonizing pain of my body shattering, was still fresh in my mind. Right now, the campus queen was playing the victim, hands clasped together, begging me not to report her. I smiled at her. What are you thinking? If I lived this second life like a coward again, I’d want to slap myself. I glanced over and saw the proctor walking toward us. Under her terrified gaze, I raised my hand, feigning confusion. “Professor, there seems to be something on the floor.” “It looks like it belongs to Mia… but maybe I’m mistaken.” I pretended to be unsure, my tone hesitant, but I practically threw the culprit right under the bus. And I added a layer of uncertainty to the situation. In my past life, this was exactly how the campus queen had cleared her own name. I was just a fast learner. The proctor also happened to be our major’s professor. She picked up the paper from the floor, opened it, and then her gaze shifted to Mia. She escorted her out of the classroom. This time, the disciplinary notice came much faster than in my past life. When I returned to the dorm, Mia was lying on her bed sobbing, while our roommate Chloe was comforting her. Seeing me, Chloe immediately started pointing fingers: “Riley, what is wrong with you? So many people cheat, why did you have to target Mia?” Chloe came from a wealthy family, but despite her princess temper, she was easily manipulated by Mia. She was her loyal pawn. In the same scenario in my past life, because I didn’t expose Mia, Chloe still blamed me: “Riley, your grades are so good, why didn’t you clear Mia’s name?” Back then, I actually internalized it, doubting if I had truly done something wrong. Now I understood that no matter what I did, it would always be “my fault” in their eyes. They didn’t care about my perspective. So, instead of reflecting on myself, it was better to blame others. If they wanted to drive me crazy, then no one was going to have a good time. I put down my textbook, pointed to the recording app on my phone, and opened the university’s online forum. I sneered darkly: “So you mean to say she cheated, and I should take the blame? Am I her mother or her father that I have to be so considerate of her?” “I’ve posted what you just said on the forum. Let’s see what everyone else thinks.” Probably not expecting me to be this unhinged, both Chloe and Mia looked up at me simultaneously. Mia panicked and lunged to grab my phone. I shoved her away, looking down at her from above. “If you want to act like a spoiled princess, go work at a hostess bar. Don’t mess with me.” After speaking, I looked at the two girls who were too scared to respond. I smiled slightly and added, “By the way, I do have a mental illness, so stay out of my way. You wouldn’t want my condition to worsen and make me start talking nonsense, would you? Like that day I saw…” I trailed off, but I knew Mia had a guilty conscience and would definitely overthink it. That was enough for now. In my past life, I suffered so much. I was going to pay it all back, item by item. I wouldn’t expose everything right away. A game of cat and mouse. It’s only fun if you play it slowly. 2 While I was sitting in the library recalling key events from my past life, Liam suddenly appeared in front of me. I almost forgot—at this point in time, he hadn’t hooked up with Mia yet. The library’s heating was cranked up, so I was only wearing a thin sweater. Without a word, he grabbed my hand and dragged me outside. It wasn’t until he pulled me onto the roof that I truly felt the reality of my rebirth. It was still winter. The wind on the roof bit into my face, sharp and painful. Mia stood at the edge of the roof, screaming hysterically. At the entrance of the roof stood our academic advisor and the dean, acting as mediators. “Why won’t anyone believe me?!” “I didn’t cheat! She framed me! She threw her cheat sheet onto my desk, and I just opened it out of curiosity! I really didn’t copy!” She looked like a fragile, broken doll. Her hair blew in the wind, giving her an aura of tragic beauty. Every man present wore an identical look of pity on their faces. She seemed acutely aware of her own beauty. She took a step back, her hands gripping the railing tightly. When she looked at me, the despair in her eyes deepened. Her lips trembled, and tears fell like broken pearls. “You already got the grad school recommendation, why won’t you let me go?!” “What did I do wrong?!” “Will you only be satisfied if I die?” I noticed the probing gazes of the people around me, just like in my past life. My boyfriend, Liam, pushed me forward, shoving me into the spotlight. His tone was frantic. If I didn’t know about his dirty little secrets, it would be hard to tell that his anxiety was directed at her. “Riley, say something!” I looked at him coldly. “I didn’t do anything. What am I supposed to admit?” Liam looked at me with deep disappointment, as if condemning me. In my past life, I never understood why my boyfriend sided with Mia. I only found out later that the person he initially confessed to was Mia. After being rejected, he settled for me. He thought being close to me would give him a better chance with her. His heart and eyes were completely occupied by his unattainable campus queen. Hearing my words, Mia acted as if she had suffered a massive blow, shaking her head and frantically repeating that it wasn’t her. The dean, hearing my response, grew anxious: “Riley! A human life is at stake here!!” Then, the dean turned and looked at Mia gently. “Mia, don’t worry. I promise I will give you a proper explanation and clear your name. Don’t do anything impulsive.” Even the students watching started whispering, accusing me of being cold-blooded and heartless. “I knew Mia wouldn’t cheat. Someone definitely framed her.” “Yeah, she wouldn’t joke around with her life over one final exam.” In my past life, I was morally kidnapped by these people, roasted over an open fire. I was forced to confess to a crime I didn’t commit. Later, the university actually turned the fake confession into reality, pinning the cheating scandal entirely on me. The incident blew up online. I was cyberbullied. The entire internet claimed I was a bully who drove my roommate to jump off a building. I lost my grad school offer. I lost my boyfriend. I lost everything. As for Mia? By using the threat of death to prove her innocence, she was praised by netizens as a principled, brilliant student. She started livestreaming and gained massive traffic. She harvested a huge fanbase and made a fortune. I was cyberbullied, spat on, couldn’t find a job, and died tragically under the wheels of a car. Even after my death, she capitalized on my tragedy. She pinned the label of “suicide out of guilt” on me. She turned it around, saying I was mentally fragile, and questioned why I framed her in the first place if I couldn’t handle the consequences. Why would someone who genuinely wants to die give others the chance to save them? She never intended to die. She just wanted to blow things out of proportion, pretend to risk her life to prove her innocence, and win sympathy. In reality, a rescue cushion had already been set up downstairs. Even if she really jumped, she wouldn’t have been hurt. Mia’s theatrical, hysterical screaming continued. It was a shame she wasn’t an acting major. The accusations and noise around me intertwined with the phantom pain of my body being crushed by tires in my past life. The blood vessels in my temples throbbed erratically, a roaring sound filling my ears. I rubbed my temples and let out a low, sinister laugh. I snapped. I didn’t care if she was faking it or not; new hatred and old grudges surged into my mind. The string of my sanity broke. Ignoring everyone, I sprinted toward Mia. Amidst her struggles and screams, I grabbed her tightly and dragged her off the roof. “You cheated, you got caught, so why pretend?! I already got my offer, why would I bother framing you? Who the hell do you think you are? Are your brains bound up like old foot bindings? “You want to die? Come on, let’s die together! You want to jump? Don’t know how? Come on, I’ll teach you!!” 3 The feeling of weightlessness lasted for a few seconds before our bodies landed on the pre-prepared rescue cushion. Under the massive momentum, our bodies bounced a few times before coming to a stop. Mia sat dazed on the cushion, her lips pale. “You… you lunatic.” Everyone from the roof rushed downstairs. Liam was the first to arrive, pulling Mia off the cushion. She looked so pitiful and helpless. He was thoroughly enchanted by her fragile facade. “Riley, are you crazy?! That was the 4th floor! “Apologize to Mia right now!” I looked at this man, who even needed my connections in the department to find an advisor for his senior thesis. A wave of disgust hit me. I dry-heaved, successfully making the faces of the people in front of me turn even uglier. “First of all, you’re not my boyfriend. “Secondly, how does someone who cheated have the audacity to ask for an apology? I’m not the one who got caught cheating.” Hearing my words, Mia’s face grew even paler. Ah, youth is great. You don’t even need foundation. Liam’s neck stiffened, his face flushed with anger. “Apologize to Mia, and I’ll take you off my block list.” I just remembered—before the cheating incident, Liam and I had been fighting. The reason was that during our relationship, he constantly tried to fish for information about the campus queen. I couldn’t tolerate it anymore and started an argument with him. Two things stacked together, my disgust meter was maxed out. I raised my hand and slapped Liam across the face: “What are you barking about? Are you that excited to see this piece of trash you call a queen?” He didn’t anticipate my action and was completely stunned. Supported by a classmate, I stood steady, glaring at the scumbag and the bitch in front of me, letting out a cold snort. “You’re a piece of trash, and you belong perfectly in the dumpster. “We’re breaking up! Who do you think you are, trying to cheat on me?!” The jumping incident caused a massive uproar at the university. Because I didn’t take the fall, Mia was pointed at and gossiped about wherever she went. Before this, she always had a horde of simps following her around. She was idolized everywhere she went. She reaped all the benefits of her pretty privilege. People naturally gravitate toward beautiful things, but they also subconsciously distance themselves from them—it’s a psychological manifestation of underlying insecurity. Previously, the persona Mia established at the university, besides being beautiful, was being intellectual, generous, and having great grades. Professors naturally favored her. I heard Mia also applied for the grad school recommendation this time. If my daily GPA hadn’t been so high, it really would have been a toss-up as to who got the offer. Mia’s previous goddess image was deeply rooted, raising people’s expectations of her accordingly. The slightest mistake would cause her image to collapse. But this was only the first step of the plan. I was going to systematically destroy the things Mia cared about most. Whether in the present or the future. 4 Chloe came to find me a few times, constantly questioning why I was harming Mia. I looked at this naive rich girl who saw the world in strictly black and white. I remembered how in my past life, Mia climbed the social ladder using my tragedy. She didn’t even spare her best friend. I don’t know how she hooked up with Chloe’s childhood sweetheart and fiancé, giving Chloe a green hat right under her nose. The funny thing was, Chloe had absolutely no idea her best friend had already hooked up with her fiancé. When Mia chose to enter the entertainment industry, Chloe even went out of her way to protect and support her career. In the end, she not only lost her fiancé but also dragged down her entire family’s business. Her pitiful state was no less than mine. Me harming Mia? Looking at the naive rich girl in front of me, I smiled faintly and said nothing. Chloe, with her princess temper, blocked my way and demanded, “What are you laughing at? How can you laugh when you’ve made someone so miserable?” I raised an eyebrow: “I’m laughing at someone who is so blind they can’t even tell if the person next to them is a wolf or a tiger, and in the end, they’ll lose everything.” Seeing Chloe still looked confused, I sighed. “If I were you, I wouldn’t let Mia get close to anyone around me.” Chloe was about to ask something else, but I turned and walked away. Sometimes, what I said wasn’t important; what was important was planting the seed of doubt. Let it take root and sprout. From what I knew, on the current timeline, Mia had already hooked up with Chloe’s fiancé, Julian. The car she got into last time was the one Julian often used to pick up Chloe from campus. And Chloe… She wasn’t very smart, and she was hopelessly in love. If I told her the truth directly, she would just think I was lying to sow discord. It was better to let her discover it herself. She would become my sword, thrust right at Mia. But just as I finished laying out this plan. I realized I was being cyberbullied. First, I mysteriously received a lot of extra packages at the mailroom. Opening them revealed the corpses of small animals. Then, strangers started calling me and sending abusive messages. A sudden realization hit me. I opened the short video app I rarely used, and countless direct messages flooded in. Following the netizens’ directions, I landed on a specific video. The person leading the cyberbullying against me was none other than Mia. 5 A series of “clarification” videos were posted on her account’s homepage. In the videos, she looked incredibly wronged. Dressed in a long white dress with delicate, light makeup, the room’s decor suggested she was in a high-end hotel. “I really didn’t cheat. Here are my college grades; everyone can see I’ve always scored very well. Why would I cheat? My family sent me to college so I could study hard and find a good job. “Riley forced me to do this. She was jealous of my grades and afraid I would steal her grad school recommendation. “What do I have to do for you all to believe me?” At the end, her tears fell like broken pearls. Her pitiful appearance was enough to move even me. Let alone the netizens watching the video. The comments under the video were mostly abusing me and comforting her. Soon, I was completely cyberbullied, and even my university was dragged into the trending searches and cursed at. The netizens believed Mia’s one-sided story. They left comments and DMs on my long-abandoned accounts. She took the opportunity to play the victim and win fans’ sympathy. Plus, she was already pretty, and with beauty filters, she quickly amassed 100,000 followers. I saw that she had already opened an e-commerce showcase on her homepage, linking to products. She also opened a secondary account. I tuned into her livestream and saw people constantly sending virtual gifts. The corners of her mouth curled up, a smile she couldn’t hide. “I’ve received everyone’s kindness! Thank you so much for your support! “I will donate all my livestream earnings to schools in remote areas, so more children can receive a fair education.” Her facade of kindness successfully harvested another wave of goodwill, and the gifts in the chat never stopped. In contrast. My situation was quite miserable. Under the pressure of the cyberbullying, the university had the academic advisor talk to me several times. The underlying message was that they hoped I would take all the blame. The advisor tried to persuade me gently: “If you take the blame, the university will protect your grad school recommendation. Otherwise, with your current reputation, the Ivy League school will rescind your offer anyway.” I looked at the advisor’s hypocritical face, my expression blank: “So even though I didn’t do it, I still have to take the fall? If I also jumped off a building and cried on the internet, would the university take my side?” I had always been humble and polite, never this aggressive. The advisor’s face instantly displayed a spectrum of colors. The university just wanted me to take the fall and then burn the bridge. Leave me to be cyberbullied. Help Mia push me to a dead end. I sneered. First, I went to the hospital’s psychiatric department and got a diagnosis for depression. In my past life, my mental state had completely collapsed, so the doctor easily confirmed the diagnosis. Then, I downloaded all of Mia’s “clarification” videos from her homepage and saved them on my phone. The view counts were already well over ten thousand. Mia clearly had no legal knowledge. —Using the internet to defame someone. If the defamatory information is clicked or viewed more than 5,000 times, or forwarded more than 500 times, and the victim—me—suffers a mental breakdown. I wanted to see how she would explain her way out of this. Stupid people need to taste the bitterness of their own stupidity. Those who try to manipulate public opinion will eventually be devoured by it. 6 I took the evidence and reported it to the police. The reason I gave was that Mia had a crush on my boyfriend, used underhanded methods to steal him, and now wanted to destroy me. At the police station, I [cried and sobbed], explaining the whole situation in absolute agony. The jumping incident had already caused a massive uproar online, so the police had heard about it too. After seeing my evidence and hearing my story, the female police officer comforted me with a look of deep sympathy. Mia was brought into the police station looking completely bewildered. The moment she saw me, she adjusted her facial expression. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Riley, what exactly do you want? Will you only be happy if I die? “If this is about Liam, I can just give him to you.” But before she could finish her sentence, the police had already collected evidence from the university. They pulled up the surveillance footage from the exam. And, of course, they saw the entire process of Mia cheating during the exam. Watching the video, the color drained from Mia’s face. Playing the victim, right? Playing the weak one? I could do that too. With a pale face, I looked up at Mia: “What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this? Not only did you threaten to kill yourself on the roof, but you’re also cyberbullying me online. “Will you only be happy if I die?” Then my body swayed, and I “collapsed” into the arms of the female police officer beside me. She took me to the resting room. Mia was left on the side to be interrogated. Not long after, while resting, I suddenly heard a commotion. A familiar voice reached my ears, and I slowly curled my lips into a smile. Before coming to the police station, I had sent anonymous texts to Liam and Chloe, urging them to come to the police station immediately to rescue their girlfriend (or best friend). If my guess was right. Mia would definitely call her rich lover to resolve this matter. When these three clashed. I couldn’t wait to see what a beautiful scene it would be. In her past life, she got away with everything. In this life, it was time she was trampled into the dirt. 7 When I walked into the mediation room, the slap mark on Mia’s face was clearly visible. She stood pitifully with her head bowed behind a strange man. Chloe’s face was livid, her shoulders held down by the strange man. As for Liam, he stood next to Mia, his face looking equally terrible. Of course it looked terrible. The goddess he obsessed over had played him for a fool. His masculine pride was trampled on the ground; how could he feel good? “I treated you like my best friend, and you hook up with my fiancé?! How can you be such a slut? Was Liam not enough to satisfy you?” Mia trembled and shrank further behind the man. Chloe charged forward like an angry little beast, only to be firmly held back by the man in front of her. This man must be her legendary childhood sweetheart fiancé. The man frowned, looking displeased: “Speaking so vulgarly, you have no manners. Is this how Uncle Miller raised you?” At that sentence, I almost burst out laughing. Chloe’s fiancé was also quite the blind fool. Chloe’s expression froze, staring at the man in disbelief. “I’m sorry, Chloe, but I just couldn’t control myself. I truly love him. I’d die if I had to leave him.” Her words successfully made Liam’s face turn another shade uglier. In a corner where no one was paying attention, my heart bloomed with joy. What a glorious disaster. What a dramatic “I’ll die without him.” What a classic soap opera of stealing your best friend’s boyfriend. The female police officer cast a look of utter disgust at Mia and sternly maintained order. Even though the others were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to sit down obediently. I sat to the side, and an unfriendly gaze landed on me. I looked up and realized it was Chloe’s fiancé looking at me. Having navigated the business world for a long time, he could surely see through the underlying schemes. He definitely knew I was the instigator. So what? If you’ve done something wrong, you shouldn’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door. Reborn into this life, I never planned to suffer in silence. With Mia, it was a fight to the death. I looked at Mia with a half-smile: “Threatening to die over cheating on an exam, threatening to die over stealing my boyfriend, and now threatening to die over stealing your best friend’s fiancé. “Your life really isn’t worth much, threatening to end it so casually.” Mia’s face stiffened. Karma isn’t absent; it’s just waiting for the right time.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417815”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Before Mom remarried, she gave my sister and me a house each. My sister chose the sprawling estate in the Hollywood Hills. I was forced to accept the rundown, cramped apartment in Downtown LA. Later, my sister set her sights on the ascetic, untouchable old-money heir living next door to the estate. After failing to seduce him multiple times, she lost her mind and tried to steal his company’s highly classified trade secrets to sell them. She was caught by the feds and spent the rest of her life in federal prison. Meanwhile, I hit the jackpot. The downtown apartment was bought out by a mega-developer. I used the buyout money to invest, multiplied my assets dozens of times over, and caught the eye of the ruthless Crown Prince of Wall Street. He proposed to me in a highly publicized event, and our lavish wedding was dubbed the “Romance of the Century” by the media. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment we were choosing the houses. My sister lunged for the deed to the rundown downtown apartment, her face twisted with malice: “This lifetime, it’s your turn to rot in prison! The Romance of the Century is mine!” I almost laughed out loud. Compared to being the disposable fall guy for a billionaire’s true love, doesn’t lying in a massive mansion counting cash sound infinitely better? 1 Mom leaned against the chest of a man ten years her junior, holding two property deeds. “One is an estate in the Hollywood Hills, the other is a tiny walk-up in Downtown LA. You two choose. “Consider this my final compensation to you sisters. Your dad died young, and I’ve raised you both to adulthood. I’ve done my duty as a mother, right?” Looking at this incredibly familiar scene, my mind went blank. Wait. Wasn’t I just locked in a penthouse by Tristan Astor, being forced to sign my life away to take the fall for his true love’s massive financial fraud? Before I could speak, my sister, Sienna, snatched the deed to the downtown apartment right out of Mom’s hands, her eyes gleaming with greed. “I want the small one! You can leave the big mansion for my sister.” That was what she said, but the sheer avarice leaking from her eyes betrayed her true thoughts. Seeing this, I finally understood. I had been reborn, and so had Sienna. In our past life, she had eagerly snatched the three-story Hollywood Hills estate, leaving me alone in that cramped, 600-square-foot walk-up. After Mom left with her new boyfriend, Sienna had smugly flaunted her choice in my face. “Ugh, so what if you’re downtown? Look at this place, it’s a complete dump. “My new neighborhood is strictly for the ultra-elite! Sister, the gap between us is officially permanently wide. Enjoy rotting in your little shack!” She moved into her mansion, and whenever we rarely met, it was just to listen to her brag about her wealth. Later, she set her sights on Silas Montgomery, the old-money heir next door who lived like an ascetic monk. She desperately wanted to marry into his billionaire dynasty. But after he rejected her advances time and time again, she grew furious and vindictive. She tried to infiltrate his home to steal his family’s corporate secrets. The FBI caught her red-handed, and she spent the rest of her life behind bars. I, on the other hand, received a massive eminent domain buyout two months later. Using that money, I invested heavily, caught the attention of Tristan Astor, and had my “Romance of the Century.” Since we were reborn, Sienna was obviously trying to steal the downtown apartment to steal my timeline. I smiled without a word and obediently took the deed to the Hollywood Hills estate. “Be good, you two. From now on, you’re entirely on your own. Don’t come bothering me,” Mom said, walking away with her boy-toy without looking back. With no one else around, Sienna dropped her act. She looked at everything in the rundown apartment, her face twisting with spite. “This lifetime, you’re the one going to prison! The Romance of the Century is mine!” I almost died laughing. She really thought catching Tristan’s eye was a blessing? 2 After packing a few of my clothes, I called an Uber and headed straight to my new mansion. Thankfully, even though Mom had abandoned us to chase her own happiness with a younger man, she hadn’t exactly mistreated us growing up. She came from old real estate money. She was loaded. I had saved up all my allowance since I was a kid, which amounted to around thirty thousand dollars. That was more than enough to support me lying flat in a mansion for a good while. But as far as I knew, Sienna had zero saving habits. In our past life, she survived purely by pawning off the antique vases and art pieces left in the mansion. The downtown apartment might be in a prime location, but the developer buyout was still two months away. Penniless and unable to cook, she was going to have a very hard time surviving. Sure enough, less than three days later, I got a desperate call from Sienna. “Lend me some money.” I was currently lounging on an enormous, plush sofa, wearing a sheet mask and watching TV. “Lend me some money, did you hear me?!” I casually blew on my freshly manicured nails. “No.” The person on the other end was going crazy, but likely due to severe hunger, even her yelling sounded weak. “Then what am I supposed to do?! Are you just going to watch me starve to death?” What else was I supposed to do? She was reborn and deliberately stole my path, fully intending for me to go to prison. Did she expect me to make things easy for her? “If you have a problem, call Mom.” With that, I hung up. Our dad died when we were ten. Mom was heartbroken for a few years, but when we turned fifteen, she suddenly became a different person. She started traveling constantly, only leaving behind stacks of cash for us. It was as if she was just waiting for the day we became legal adults so she could wash her hands of us entirely. In my past life, I once fell deliriously ill with a high fever in that rundown apartment and called Mom for help. She was vacationing in the Maldives with her boyfriend. She told me that if I harassed her one more time, she would take the apartment back and leave me homeless. So… How on earth would she ever help Sienna? 3 I lived in the mansion for a week. But the more I looked around, the colder, bigger, and emptier it felt. So, I bought some flower seedlings to plant in the yard. The next day, as I was digging in the soil and fertilizing it, a tall shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight. I looked up. Silas Montgomery—the man Sienna had obsessed over for two years in our past life—was standing in front of me, his brows knitted together. My heart skipped a beat. Even though I lived here now, I had zero intention of bothering him. After a moment of awkward silence, I broke the ice. “Hi, I’m Blair, your new neighbor.” I extended a friendly hand, but Silas slightly leaned back, keeping his distance. “What are you doing?” I glanced down at my masterpiece. Wasn’t it obvious? “Planting flowers. Fertilizing.” Under the blazing California sun, I swore I saw Silas’s eyelid twitch. “I mean, what kind of fertilizer!” Uh… I embarrassingly kicked at the dirt near the flowers. “Organic fertilizer…” Silas’s frown deepened. Realizing he was misunderstanding, I quickly explained: “It’s my dog’s poop! I read online that it makes great fertilizer!” Afraid he thought I was a menace, I added, “I didn’t let him do it near your gates! I strictly made him go in my own yard.” Two days ago, out of boredom, I bought a Labrador. I just didn’t expect him to produce quite so much material. Silas’s expression softened slightly, but he still kept a wide distance from me. Before leaving, he pointed at the flowers I had just planted. “Those plants hate direct sunlight. They’ll die if you leave them there.” With that, Silas turned and walked back to his own sprawling estate without looking back. I stared blankly after him, noticing that the second he stepped inside, he firmly shut all his windows. So… He just thought it smelled terrible? 4 I listened to Silas and moved the flowers to the shade. Half a month later, they were thriving. But having been cooped up in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks, I was bored out of my mind. I decided to head downtown. I wanted to see how Sienna—who stole my timeline and was determined to strike it rich—was doing. But I didn’t have a car, so I had to walk down the winding hill roads first. Three miles in, after thirty minutes of walking, I still couldn’t see the bottom. Just as I was nearing despair, a sleek white Bentley pulled over beside me. The window rolled down, revealing Silas’s flawless profile. “Where to? I can give you a ride.” I was thrilled. After thanking him profusely, I reached for the rear door handle. But his car was too high-end. I had never been in one, and I couldn’t figure out how to open the door… Amidst the awkwardness, Silas popped open the passenger door from the inside. He lowered his sunglasses and looked at me. “Sit in the front.” I sheepishly slid in, said thank you, and obediently closed my eyes to rest. A few minutes later, the man beside me let out a soft chuckle. “Blair, do you really think I’m your chauffeur?” “No!” I immediately opened my eyes and waved my hands in defense. “I know you live an ascetic lifestyle and keep your distance from women. You’re just helping me out of the goodness of your heart. I just didn’t want to disturb your peace!” I had heard all about Sienna’s aggressive pursuit of him in the past life. He was practically a modern-day monk. I knew my place. I wasn’t going to repeat Sienna’s disastrous mistakes. Silas glanced at me, his long fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel. When the light turned green, the car accelerated smoothly. Silas spoke again: “I practice mindfulness and keep to myself. I haven’t taken a vow of celibacy.” Not a monk? So in the past life, he kept rejecting Sienna simply because he couldn’t stand her? Once we got out of the hills, I planned to call an Uber, but Silas insisted on taking me all the way. He dropped me right outside the downtown apartment. I had intended to secretly spy on Sienna. Afraid of being too flashy, I got out at the corner of the block. But to my surprise, Sienna stormed out of a greasy burger joint right across the street. “Blair?! “Silas Montgomery?! “Why are you two together??” 5 Riiip. Sienna tore the greasy rag in her hands completely in half. She stared at Silas and me, her face contorted with rage. “You’ve only been living there for a few days and you’re already seducing men! Mom gave you a mansion, you’re an adult, why don’t you figure out how to make your own money instead of relying on a man?!” She was yelling so loudly that all the neighbors and pedestrians turned to look. Sienna and I grew up here. Most of the people around us were familiar faces. Hearing her scream that, everyone looked at me with deep frowns. “Blair, I know you girls had it rough, but you can’t live like that.” “Exactly. Why don’t you get an honest job like your sister? At least you’d be feeding yourself with dignity.” I let out a scoff. Was Sienna insulting herself? Looking at the unbridled jealousy radiating from her face, I just shook my head with a smile. Makes sense. After all, Silas was the high branch she spent her entire past life trying—and failing—to climb. Silas remained silent, but his gaze was fixed steadily on me. He looked like he was waiting to see how I would handle this. “Sister, why are you smiling? Do you look down on this little diner? “I may just be a waitress here, but at least I earn my living with my own two hands! Not like you! Leeching off men!” I raised an eyebrow and walked straight up to Silas. In those few steps, a hundred different solutions flashed through my mind. Should I pretend to be his girlfriend to slap Sienna’s face? But if Silas refused to play along, I’d be the one humiliated. Silas looked down at me. The next second, I pulled out my phone for everyone to see and looked up at him. “I’m so sorry, my sister misunderstood. How much was the ride? I’ll Venmo you.” As soon as those words left my mouth, not just Sienna, but even Silas raised a surprised eyebrow. He stared at me for a moment, then, looking like he found the absurdity of it all highly amusing, he pulled up his Venmo QR code. “It’s fine. A dirty mind sees dirt everywhere. “$100.” Damn, what a ripoff… After I paid him, Silas drove off. The neighbors who had just been lecturing me awkwardly turned to Sienna. “Sienna, really… why do you always spout such nonsense? We almost misunderstood Blair.” Sienna stood frozen in place. I walked up to her with a smile and loudly read the four big words printed on her greasy apron: “Big Mike’s Burgers.” “Good job, sister. Come help me put in an order.” Sienna gritted her teeth so hard her jaw trembled, her eyes wide with fury. “Blair, don’t push it!” I gave her a look of pure innocence. “I just came to see how your ‘Romance of the Century’ is going. How is that pushing it?” With that, I happily took a seat inside. Because Sienna stood there fuming instead of working, she got chewed out by the manager. Watching her hustle back and forth, occasionally getting harassed by drunk customers, I sipped my soda and clicked my tongue. She was probably still fantasizing about her sweet billionaire romance. Little did she know, this was going to be the easiest part of her life. At least right now, her life was still in her own hands. 6 After returning home, I found Silas’s contact info in the neighborhood HOA group chat and added him. [I’m really sorry about today, and thank you.] [I only said that because I had no choice. I sincerely apologize again.] I stared at my phone for a long time, but there was no reply. Was he actually mad? He was the untouchable elite of the old-money circle. Countless socialites and heiresses had been rejected by him. This was probably the first time he’d ever been treated like an Uber driver. Since we were neighbors, we were bound to run into each other. I bit the bullet and typed: [How about I cook some of my signature dishes and bring them over as an apology?] An hour later, my phone finally pinged. Silas: [Okay.] I picked some fresh, organic vegetables I had grown in my yard to show off my culinary skills. When I brought the food over, I had a standard, polite smile plastered on my face. But I didn’t expect Silas to invite me to stay and eat with him. I smiled and tried to decline, because looking at a table full of nothing but leafy greens, I really had no appetite. But before I could come up with an excuse, several high-end takeout bags arrived at his door. Truffle shrimp, Wagyu beef, and a massive glazed sea bass. Silas gave me a cool glance. “If you’re not going to eat, take your vegetables and go home.” “I’m eating!” How could I reject such generous hospitality? We ate the meal in total silence, but I was incredibly satisfied. After interacting with him a few times, I realized Silas wasn’t the cold, unfeeling robot the rumors made him out to be. Makes sense. How bad could a guy who practices mindfulness and eats organic greens really be? 7 Another month passed, and the news of the downtown eminent domain buyout finally hit. That very day, I received a call from Sienna. “Hahahahaha! Bet you didn’t see this coming, did you?! The tables have turned! “Let me tell you, my apartment is getting bought out! I’m getting ten million in cash and two new luxury condos! “Blair, let’s see how you compete with me now!” A cold smirk played on my lips as I looked in the mirror, faking an exaggerated, hysterical tone: “What?! “No! Sienna, a piece of that buyout money belongs to me!! You have to give me my share! If I hadn’t let you have the apartment, that money would be mine right now!” There was dead silence on the other end of the line. I held back my laughter. Sienna was probably stunned by my sheer audacity. Two minutes later, Sienna roared into the phone: “You shameless bitch, in your dreams!” “You just sit in that empty mansion and watch me become the ultimate elite!!” With that, she violently hung up. I chuckled and tossed my phone aside. Did she really think getting a buyout made her untouchable? To a Wall Street Crown Prince who grew up with unimaginable wealth, ten million was just pocket change for a weekend in Vegas. In my past life, the moment I got the money, I immediately threw it into high-yield investments. It took six months of multiplying my assets before Tristan Astor finally noticed and aggressively pursued me. With Sienna’s absolute lack of business sense, that path was a dead end. I stared thoughtfully into the mirror, sinking into deep thought. In the past life, Tristan appeared to love me to death. But in reality, he just needed my pristine financial record and assets. His true love, Daphne, was caught in a massive corporate embezzlement scandal. After Tristan met me, he took me to his corporate lawyers, and shortly after, launched his aggressive romantic pursuit. The second week after I agreed to date him, I was forced into a sham marriage. When the feds came knocking, I was the one legally bound as the CEO of the shell companies, taking the absolute fall for Daphne’s crimes. In other words, Tristan just wanted a clean, naive scapegoat to legally bleed dry to protect his true love. As long as the person had clean assets and no powerful backing, he would pursue them. The problem now was that I was still a perfect target. For my own safety, I needed to build my wealth and power fast, so Tristan wouldn’t dare mess with me. 8 Using my memories from my past life, I began investing again. But my current capital was way too small. Even if I pawned all the antique vases in the mansion, it wouldn’t be nearly enough. After some agonizing thought, I called a luxury real estate agent the next day. I was selling the mansion. This lifetime, if I was going to play, I was going to play big. As I was walking the agent out, I bumped into Silas returning home. He parked his car in front of my gates and looked over. “You’re moving?” I smiled and nodded. “I need cash urgently. I’m selling the house and downsizing.” Silas didn’t say a word, but his eyes darkened. “Where’s the new house?” I threw my hands up. I hadn’t even sold this one yet, how could I buy a new one?! “Haven’t found one yet. Maybe we’ll be neighbors again someday.” With that, I went back inside to pack my things. I planned to pack slowly, but that very night, the agent called to say there was a buyer. They didn’t even negotiate the price! “Did we find a sucker?” The agent chuckled awkwardly. “Rich people don’t care about a few million here or there…” “So when do they want to view the house?” The agent paused for a second. “The buyer doesn’t plan on viewing it. We can just sign the contract.” Was this a scam? I verified everything three times before finally signing my name. That night, my account balance skyrocketed by thirty million dollars. I kept a million to buy a luxury condo, and immediately sank a large chunk of the rest into a tech startup I knew was about to go public. The rest went into producing a few streaming shows that I knew were going to be massive hits. Six months later, my liquid capital had fully recovered and multiplied, making me even richer than I was in my past life. As for Sienna… I heard she was spending her days desperately trying to sneak into the exclusive VIP clubs that Tristan Astor frequented. Her fantasy “Romance of the Century” had made zero progress, and she was burning through her buyout money fast. Seeing her struggle so much, I decided to give her a helping hand. 9 Just like in my past life, my rapid rise in the business world quickly caught Tristan’s attention. When I received the exact same gala invitation as I did in my past life, my breathing hitched. It was at this very gala that Tristan pretended to fall in love with me at first sight. In my past life, I was forced to sign piles of fraudulent documents, watched my assets get seized, and was locked in a penthouse while the legal noose tightened. Tristan had imprisoned me, cutting off all my contact with the outside world. Even though I had some money, my foundation was weak. I had no family to back me up and no loyal allies. The one assistant who tried to look for me eventually gave up. I was bled dry financially, left completely defenseless against Tristan’s cruelty. Remembering all of that, my heart raced, and my blood boiled. After calming myself down, I took a picture of the gala invitation and texted it to Sienna. Her reaction was explosive: [Where the hell did you steal that ticket?!] [Someone like you doesn’t belong at an event like that!!] [Tell me! Tell me right now!!] [Blair, why don’t you just die?! You already seduced Tristan in the past life! Can’t you just let me have him this time?! You’re so toxic, you should just die!!] Reading her increasingly venomous messages, whatever shred of pity I had left evaporated. I replied: [What if I said I wanted to bring you along as my plus-one so you could experience it?] There was a long silence. Two minutes later, Sienna replied: [Hmph, getting cold feet? Even you know you can’t hold your own in a room full of real elites, right?] I scoffed and tossed my phone onto the bed. We had the same mother, but I truly had no idea how Sienna’s brain was wired. 10 The next day, I brought Sienna into the gala. Compared to my elegant, understated gown, she had clearly blown a massive amount of cash on an extravagant styling team. The moment we walked in, I spotted Tristan surrounded by a crowd of sycophants. My gaze lingered on him for barely a second, but Sienna violently yanked the fabric of my strapless gown. She glared at me, hissing a threat: “Blair, I’m warning you. Tristan is MINE!” “If you dare try to seduce him, I will strip you naked right here and make you the laughingstock of New York high society. Try me!” Honestly, I was tense. Ripping my dress to expose me in public was absolutely something she was crazy enough to do. The second her grip tightened, I grabbed her hand to stop her. “Don’t move! “Fine, fine, I promise!” Sienna let out a cold snort, released my dress, picked up her heavy skirts, and began marching toward Tristan. But while I promised I wouldn’t seek Tristan out, I never promised he wouldn’t come looking for me. Sienna had barely taken a step when Tristan broke away from the crowd and started walking in our direction. Sienna paused, looking back at me with a smug, provocative smile. I raised an eyebrow, watching calmly as her dream man walked right past her, brushing her shoulder, and stopped directly in front of me. “Miss Blair.” I swallowed my burning hatred and offered a polite smile. Sienna ground her teeth, glaring daggers at me. Then, she quickly hitched up her dress and scurried back to my side. These two were birds of a feather. I was more than happy to play matchmaker. I exchanged a few brief pleasantries with Tristan, then smoothly introduced Sienna to him. “This is…” Feeling Sienna’s hostile glare burning into the side of my head, I said, “This is my relative, Sienna.” With how aggressive and proactive Sienna was, Tristan didn’t even have a chance to decline. I successfully extracted myself from the situation. I stood by the sidelines, sipping champagne, watching the two of them draw closer and closer. Just as I was about to take another sip, a large, elegant hand smoothly plucked the champagne flute from my fingers. I turned my slightly dizzy head. It was Silas. He was in a sharp tuxedo, and he clicked his tongue in disapproval. “You’re drunk.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417816”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Her prophecies brought endless wealth to our family. The moment she opened her mouth, the Powerball ticket my uncle casually bought would win thirty million dollars, and his real estate properties would double in value. My cousin, who usually had rock-bottom grades, suddenly received an acceptance letter from an Ivy League university, making my aunt brag everywhere. Our family’s fast-food chain expanded to hundreds of locations within two years, and we all moved into the most luxurious estate in Seattle. During our Thanksgiving family dinner, everyone gathered together. Grandma sat at the head of the table, smiling as she asked us what we wanted for our New Year’s gifts. My uncle wanted more overseas investments; my aunt and my parents desired fame and fortune. I was the only one who pointed to a dusty, ignored old greeting card on the corner of the table and said, “Grandma, I just want this.” My relatives laughed at me, calling me an idiot, but I didn’t care at all. Because I knew that for Grandma’s prophecies to come true, there was a price—one paid with the lifespans of others. And all of this was Grandma’s long-planned revenge. 01 “An elder in the house is like a treasure in the house.” In our family, this wasn’t just a proverb; it was an ironclad rule. “Mom, move into my place in a few days! I specifically custom-ordered a top-tier therapeutic mattress from Germany for you. I guarantee it’ll be great for your spine!” my uncle Bruce said, his face covered in a wide smile. “Give it a rest. Mom just stayed at your place last month. It’s my turn this month. What’s a therapeutic mattress? I installed a whole-house climate control system for Mom!” my aunt Sarah retorted, not wanting to be outdone. “Oh, you two just want to show off your filial piety, right? Give me a chance as the son too! Mom, you have to dote on your youngest son!” my dad, Albert, joined the battle. Today was our bi-weekly family gathering. As usual, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Sarah, and my parents were arguing intensely over who got to host Grandma. Grandpa passed away early. Grandma raised her three kids all by herself on this land by sewing clothes for factories. Back then, the family was so poor they could barely afford food, and the three kids were crying to be fed. Grandma worked day and night, ruining her eyes in the process. Now, she was nearly completely blind. Even though she couldn’t see, her authority as the matriarch remained. Grandma sat at the head of the table, leaning on a black ebony cane carved with runes. She tapped it lightly against the floor, and everyone instantly fell silent. “I have my own plans about whose house I’m going to this month.” Her tone was flat, but no one dared to talk back. In American families, disobeying elders might be common, but in our family—which made its fortune relying on Grandma’s “guidance”—she was an absolute god. At the dining table, everyone scrambled to suck up to her. My cousin Silas and my other cousin Clara kept calling out “Dearest Grandma” in sickeningly sweet voices. Grandma curled her lips, seemingly enjoying this family bliss. I was the only one who kept my head down, silently eating the mashed potatoes on my plate, refusing to join the commotion. My mom, Mary, secretly pinched my arm, signaling with her eyes for me to hand Grandma a napkin. “Oh, Albert, look at your Evelyn, always acting so heartless. Is your filial piety just an act?” My aunt Brenda was sharp-eyed and sneered at the top of her lungs. The eyes of the entire room converged on me, including the vicious glare from my dad. I was the outcast of the family. I always maintained a polite but distant courtesy toward Grandma. In the eyes of the elders, this was absolute “unfilial” behavior. Because of this, my parents took a lot of heat. Grandma rarely stayed at our house for more than a few days a year. My dad often cursed me as a “jinx” who blocked his path to wealth. “Evelyn, get your ass over here and apologize to Grandma!” My dad’s face was grim, his voice echoing in the dining room. According to family rules, making Grandma unhappy meant you had to kneel and apologize. This time, my dad pressed down on my shoulders, and my knees slammed heavily against the hardwood floor, leaving a massive bruise. “Oh my, she’s still a child. Albert, you’re going too far.” Grandma benevolently reached out and patted my head. Strangely enough, her fingertips were ice-cold, and the moment she touched me, my head and knees stopped hurting entirely. My parents hastily apologized profusely. “I heard Albert moved into a new house. I’ll go stay there for a while and try out that therapeutic mattress,” Grandma said softly. My parents were instantly ecstatic. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Sarah’s families looked at each other, extremely bitter. Especially Aunt Brenda—she hadn’t expected her attempt to sow discord would actually play right into our hands. 02 As soon as we got home, my mom hired a housekeeping company to completely renovate the master bedroom. It was the room with the best view in the estate. Facing south, with excellent natural light. The carpet alone cost three times as much as the ones in the other bedrooms. Even though Grandma rarely visited, my dad insisted on using the best eco-friendly materials. “Order a few more boxes of premium caviar and supplements!” My dad kept making phone calls. In no time, the living room was piled high with expensive ingredients. Everything was ready, just waiting for the old lady to arrive. To prevent her from being intercepted by Uncle Bruce halfway, my parents split up. My mom stayed to decorate, and my dad drove personally to pick her up. “Evelyn, put a smile on your face! Sweeten up your words!” “Look at Silas. He succeeded in his startup this year and became a young prominent talent in the city. Look at Clara, she got an early admission to Stanford.” “Those are all gifts from your Grandma! Returns for their sweet talk!” In contrast, from childhood to adulthood, I only ever asked Grandma for ordinary, small envelopes of cash. I asked for nothing regarding grades, future prospects, or wealth. “You blockhead, you can’t hold onto your fortune!” my dad scoffed at me. I was the fool of the family, Grandma’s least favored granddaughter. But I still remembered. When I was little, Grandma secretly slipped me a lollipop behind everyone’s back, giving me a loving smile. She said, “Evelyn, Grandma will give you the best of everything.” Later on, Grandma was no longer willing to smile much. There were too many children and grandchildren demanding her affection; she wasn’t missing mine. I also actively distanced myself from her. Because I discovered her secret. 03 Five years ago, Grandma wasn’t the family’s treasure. She was a burden that the three households avoided like the plague. Back then, my parents ran a struggling small diner, working until midnight every day. Uncle Bruce was just an ordinary blue-collar worker. Aunt Sarah had just squeezed every last penny of Grandma’s retirement fund to buy a house. No one was financially comfortable, and no one wanted to care for a blind, elderly mother. Even though this mother had once given everything she had to put them through school. The three families frequently got into physical fights in the old apartment over alimony. “I have a ton of things going on at home, who has the energy to take care of a blind woman? You scammed Mom’s money to buy a house, why don’t you take her?” “I’m the daughter, you guys are the sons! Bruce, you serve your mother-in-law so well, isn’t it just for her inheritance after she dies? Now that Mom has nothing, you change your tune?” “We’re starving ourselves, there’s no share for her!” “Spit, why won’t this old hag just die already!” Grandma’s eyes were bad, but her ears were incredibly sharp. She heard every curse her children threw at her loud and clear. She often hid alone in the dim kitchen, wiping away tears, but she would still pull a crumpled piece of candy from her pocket for me. Among the grandchildren, I was the only one close to her. Silas and Clara complained that she smelled weird, covering their noses whenever they walked by. Grandma was like a stray dog, taking turns boarding at the different houses, and getting kicked out like a ball the moment her time was up. It was a blessing she couldn’t see—she couldn’t see the expressions on her children’s faces, wishing she would just disappear. Later, they conspired and came up with a plan. They deliberately starved her, giving her one meal a day, sometimes none at all. Aunt Brenda and my mom verbally abused her even worse, while my dad and Uncle Bruce pretended to be deaf. I was often beaten by my mom with a coat hanger until I was bruised all over, just for sneaking sandwiches to Grandma. A year later, their plan succeeded. Grandma volunteered to move back to an old abandoned cabin in the remote mountains of Kentucky. A frail, nearly blind old woman returning to an abandoned cabin was essentially a death sentence. They parked the car at the foot of the mountain. They didn’t even prepare a clean blanket for her, just dumped her there and ran. Uncle Bruce said, “Within three months, we’ll be able to come back and collect her corpse. Then we’ll finally be free.” Three months later, Uncle Bruce received a phone call from the old hometown. It was Grandma. She was still alive. “Bruce, go buy a lottery ticket with these numbers.” Her voice was loud and powerful, sounding even healthier than before. Uncle Bruce bought it, as if possessed by a ghost. As a result, he won thirty million dollars. Over the next few months, my dad and Aunt Sarah also received phone calls. All the investment advice came true perfectly. Promotions, sudden wealth, overnight success—all dependent on a single sentence from Grandma. That day, the driveway of the long-silent mountain cabin was packed with luxury cars. Those “filial” children knelt on the ground, crying and wailing, begging Grandma to come to the city to enjoy a good life. It caused quite a stir locally, with everyone praising Bruce’s family for producing three incredibly filial children. Looking at Grandma, whose face was flushed and covered in smiles, I only felt she was a stranger. Right then, a voice seemed to echo in my ear: “Do not ask Grandma for anything, otherwise, it will cost you your life.” “There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Every wish they ask for will be deducted from their lifespans.” Right in front of me, Uncle Bruce was still greedily asking for the next wave of stock market trends. Clara threw herself into Grandma’s arms, acting cute and asking for a full-ride scholarship. 04 Grandma was settled into our house. Before leaving, Uncle Bruce quietly reminded Grandma not to forget Silas’s “marriage prospects.” Silas was currently pursuing the only daughter of a real estate tycoon, Isabella. If they could secure this marriage, Uncle Bruce’s business would truly take off. However, Isabella had always ignored Silas. “Mom, you’re his biological grandmother, you have to help him.” Ever since the whole family achieved financial freedom, Grandma’s “golden words” were hard to come by. Sometimes my dad and the others tried everything but couldn’t even get a single prophecy. They asked for too much, and Grandma seemed overwhelmed. “I’ll think about it…” Seeing Grandma wouldn’t relent, Uncle Bruce gave a signal, and Silas immediately fell to his knees in front of her with a thud. “Grandma! I’ll die without her!” “Bruce’s family sure has a lot of tricks up their sleeves, no wonder they’re the richest,” my mom muttered disdainfully from the side. Over the past few years, as long as Uncle Bruce’s family asked, Grandma would eventually agree. This caused dissatisfaction from my mom and Aunt Sarah. Because they remembered very clearly that five years ago, Uncle Bruce was the cruelest one to Grandma. He had even suggested locking Grandma outside during a blizzard. “Are you sure?” Faced with her grandson’s pleas, Grandma finally relented. Silas nodded firmly. “Three days from now, that girl will get lost hiking in the North Mountain forest. You go and be the one to save her.” Silas pulled out his phone, and sure enough, Isabella had just posted an update three hours ago about going on a hike. “Grandma, you really are my guardian angel!” The family immediately returned to a harmonious, joyful scene. I was the only one who saw it. The illusionary number floating above Silas’s head decreased by another 10. Remaining: 40. He was 28 years old this year. And the balances of the other family members: Uncle Bruce: 55 (he is 53 this year). My dad, Albert: 65 (he is 48 this year). Aunt Sarah: 70 (she is 45 this year). Cousin Clara: 65 (she is 22 this year). Only blood relatives sharing Grandma’s bloodline could make wishes and exchange their lifespans. “You’re graduating soon, hurry up and beg your Grandma to find you a high-paying job!” my mom reminded me once again. I looked at Grandma, surrounded by smiling faces. Her lips carried a bizarre curve, her cloudy eyes narrowed into slits. Intimate, yet it sent shivers down my spine. 05 In the blink of an eye, it was Grandma’s 75th birthday. Previous years had been family dinners, but this year the scale was massive. Uncle Bruce, flaunting his wealth, booked the ballroom at the most luxurious Hilton hotel in the city. He invited all the business elites, claiming it was to pray for the birthday girl. Inside the hotel, Aunt Sarah pulled my dad into a corner to whisper. “It’s Bruce stealing the spotlight again. Why does he always get to be the boss? Back when Mom was useless, he was the first one to say he wouldn’t take care of her!” “Hmph, Mom’s old shirt had a dozen holes patched up. I was the one who spent fifty bucks to buy her a cheap shirt from a street stall!” That shirt was the only thing Aunt Sarah had ever bought for Grandma in her entire life. Yet it became the “evidence” she frequently used to claim credit over the past few years. “As long as the old lady is happy, everything is fine. Make sure to toast her a few more times later, maybe if Mom’s happy today, she’ll give us another sweet deal!” my dad advised Aunt Sarah, and the two quickly put on smiling faces and surrounded Grandma. The number above Aunt Sarah’s head flickered. I knew she was going to get what she wanted today. Over the years, relying on the “filial piety of one shirt,” she went from a regular clerk to a branch executive. Right now, Silas was pulling Isabella over to introduce her to Grandma. “Grandma, look how beautiful your granddaughter-in-law is.” That day, Isabella did indeed get lost. Silas descended from the heavens, carried her on his back for a three-hour hike out of the mountains, and finally won her heart. Today’s birthday banquet was actually hosted by Uncle Bruce to entertain his future in-law, the real estate tycoon. Grandma was just an excuse. 06 To “accumulate good karma” for Grandma, Uncle Bruce prepared a massive amount of free food to distribute to the homeless on the streets. Distributing the food had to be done by Grandma’s direct descendants. And this terrible chore naturally fell on me. “Evelyn is the dumbest, and Grandma doesn’t like you either. You’re the most suitable to go show your filial piety to Grandma,” “Idiots should do more work. Your sister can only help you this much,” Silas and Clara sneered at me from the door. I didn’t care. I didn’t want to watch their hypocritical acting anyway. The distribution boxes contained expensive organic pastries. The packaging had Grandma’s birthdate printed on it, with “Longevity and Centenarian” written on top. How ironic. They used to wish she would die early, and now they were praying to the heavens for her immortality. In this neighborhood where the homeless gathered, I handed them out one by one with a bodyguard. Handing out the last box, I met a strange old man. He wore tattered monk robes, a sandalwood rosary around his neck, and emitted a faint, cold incense scent. “Child, who is the person on this box?” He suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, startling me. “My grandmother. Today is her 75th birthday, and our family is accumulating good karma for her.” The old man took the box, sniffed it hard, and furrowed his brows. He looked at me, his eyes full of confusion: “No, no. A person with this fate is destined for a life full of disasters and extreme misfortune from their children. Where would this kind of blessing come from?” “Hey! Old man, what nonsense are you spouting!” The bodyguard grew furious and tried to snatch the box back. I stopped him. “Old sir, what else did you see?” I asked in a low voice. “You said she’s 75 this year? Judging from her birthdate, she only lived to be 70. Five years ago, she should have been in the ground.” The old man’s words made me feel like I was plunging into an ice cave under the spring sun. Five years ago. That was the day Grandma was dumped back in the hometown to fend for herself. According to the old man, she had already died back then. Thinking back, after Grandma returned from the hometown, not only had her personality changed, but her body was overly healthy. Even my mom said the hometown’s environment was nourishing; after Grandma stayed in the cabin for three months, her complexion had improved a lot. 07 Returning to the hotel, the banquet had just begun. Under the massive crystal chandelier was an 18-tier cake. Grandma, her face glowing, was helped by the MC to distribute the cake to her descendants. “Cake and blessings! Thank you, Birthday Girl, for loving the younger generation!” The MC was arranged by Uncle Bruce; every word was meant to induce Grandma to speak. The descendants knelt on the floor, their eyes shining, anticipating the prophecies that could change their destinies. This time, Grandma was very generous. She wished Uncle Bruce immense wealth, Aunt Sarah steady promotions, and our family booming business. She wished Silas a century of happy marriage, and Clara a boundless future. Until it came to me. Grandma’s smile vanished. She slowly placed the piece of cake in her hand into mine, narrowed her eyes, and smiled at me lovingly. In that moment, I saw a sliver of clarity in her eyes. “This piece of cake is the best. “Grandma wishes Evelyn… a long, long life.” The guests whispered among themselves. “Looks like the old lady really dislikes this youngest granddaughter.” “Everyone else gets fame and fortune, and she just gets an empty wish for a long life.” Uncle Bruce and Aunt Sarah looked on with schadenfreude, my parents felt utterly humiliated. I looked at the smile in Grandma’s eyes, and that familiar feeling surged in my heart. The candy she gave me when I was little tasted exactly like this. Watching the numbers above my family members’ heads plummet like broken timers. I suddenly understood. The old man said those pastries were cursed with resentment, and anyone who demanded things from her would be cursed. But I was clean, completely untainted. Grandma hadn’t changed; she was still the elder who treated me best. She distanced herself from me, giving me no wealth or prophecies, in order to… protect me. Tears welling in my eyes, I bowed deeply to her. “Thank you, Grandma.” A long life was your deepest, most profound love for me. 08 After staying at the estate for half a month, Grandma suddenly mentioned wanting to go back to the old cabin in Kentucky. My parents and Uncle Bruce had just made another windfall after the birthday banquet, so how could they dare disobey? They agreed immediately. They even hired a professional engineering team to go up the mountain overnight to renovate the cabin, lay down carpets, and install heating. The house was fixed, but a problem arose. Who would accompany Grandma back? “The bidding for those plots of land is happening soon, I can’t get away,” Uncle Bruce was the first to refuse. “You can’t get away? You’re just afraid you can’t get away from your mistress outside!” Aunt Brenda pointed at his nose and cursed. Aunt Sarah also made excuses: “I just got promoted, I have a ton of work. Sigh, I’ll let you guys take this chance to show your filial piety, don’t fight me for it next time!” Everyone knew she had actually rewarded herself with a trip to Europe. My mom heard the underlying meaning and sneered, “You all talk a big game normally, but when it’s time to actually put in the effort, you run faster than anyone. Are we supposed to just be the suckers?” Approaching the holidays, our chain restaurants were booming. My parents were counting money until their hands went numb every day; they didn’t want to go either. “I’ll go.” I stood up. Three words ended this ugly argument. 09 On the way back to the hometown, several trucks were fully loaded with gifts Uncle Bruce was sending to the entire village. The mountain roads were rugged. Suddenly, a maid in the van covered her nose and mouth. “Oh my god, what is that smell? It stinks!” Everyone hurriedly put on masks. Grandma rested with her eyes closed, paying no mind. I sat next to her, and I smelled it clearly. That rotting, putrid stench was radiating from Grandma. With every cough, the smell grew stronger. It was like the smell of rotting meat pouring endlessly from her lungs. In a daze, the old man’s words popped into my mind. “A walking corpse for five years, the internal organs have long rotted away, reeking of decay. “It must rely on evil spirits to sustain its life.” Looking at the calm Grandma and the people gagging non-stop. I seemed to have guessed the true purpose of this return trip to the hometown.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417817”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My husband was the most saintly doctor in the hospital—valued by his superiors, beloved by his subordinates, and deeply respected by his patients. In everyone’s eyes, his only flaw was me: his unreasonable, unaccommodating wife. So, when the eight-year-old girl clutched her heart again and demanded that my husband marry her mother before she would agree to surgery, I smiled. I gladly agreed. 1 “I want Uncle Liam to be my daddy!” The little girl’s subtle crying echoed faintly in my ears. My vision was still blurry, and the sharp pain in my back from crashing against the wall was so clear that I instinctively grabbed the wall for support. Until another sorrowful woman’s voice rang out: “Chloe, be a good girl. Don’t cry.” “No, Mommy! Chloe is scared.” The little girl held her chest with one hand and tightly grabbed the doctor beside her with the other. She was very pretty, her eyes brimming with tears. “Uncle Liam, if I die, Mommy will be all alone. Will you marry Mommy? Help Chloe take care of Mommy.” My husband, Liam Carter, gently stroked the little girl’s hair. “Uncle Liam will be with you throughout the whole surgery. You’ll be fine, Chloe.” “Why did you come out here?” He looked at me with exasperation, then turned to the people around us to explain. “My wife didn’t mean it. She just overthinks things. I’ll talk to her and explain everything later.” Hearing this, Chloe broke free from her mother’s embrace and threw herself into Liam’s arms. “I don’t want to! If Uncle Liam won’t be my daddy, I won’t do the surgery!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her shrill, childish voice practically piercing through the entire hospital floor. Her face instantly turned beet red. Liam quickly tried to soothe her. “Okay, okay, Uncle Liam promises. Don’t panic, Chloe, it’s bad for your health.” Mia, Chloe’s mother, seemed to finally notice me. With tears falling down her face, she went to pull Chloe back. “I am so sorry, Mrs. Carter. It’s just that Dr. Carter has been too good to Chloe. She grew up without a father and is too attached to him. I’ve always heard how wonderful you are. Just let her get through this surgery…” I looked at the familiar scene unfolding in front of me with absolute disbelief. I had actually been reborn. In my past life, when Chloe said those exact words, I had harshly scolded her. The little girl fainted from fright, and my husband immediately scooped her up and rushed to the emergency room. A crowd of people followed them, leaving me alone to be pointed at and whispered about, called petty and narrow-minded for arguing with a sick child. It was the same right now. The commotion caused by the three of them had blocked the hospital hallway. Several people were already moved to tears by Chloe’s desperate plea for her mother. They whispered among themselves. “That little girl is so sweet. She’s so sick, yet she’s still worrying about her mom.” “What kind of person is she? The kid is just terrified. Would it kill her to just play along to build some good karma?” “Dr. Carter is still as kind as ever.” Amidst the chorus of accusations, I snapped back to reality. Supporting myself against the wall, I slowly stood up straight, enunciating every word: “Okay.” The surrounding area instantly fell dead silent. “Liam, I agree too.” “Let’s get a divorce.” 2 Naturally, Liam took my words as an angry bluff. But I continued, “If you don’t divorce me, how are you going to be this child’s father?” “Or are you just lying to a sick kid?” Liam instinctively looked at Chloe, then looked up at me, a flash of surprise in his eyes. “What are you talking about?” Chloe, however, was thrilled. “Auntie, did you agree?!” The hatred burning in my chest hadn’t fully dissipated. I looked straight at Liam. “Of course. As long as your Uncle Liam agrees.” Liam rubbed Chloe’s head, looking exactly like a good doctor who had collapsed from exhaustion while running around for a critically ill patient. His voice was full of fatigue. “Honey, please don’t add fuel to the fire.” The woman also looked at me warily. She even stood protectively in front of the two of them, as if I were some kind of monster and she was the brave hero protecting them. I didn’t want to waste any more breath on these people. “Little girl, look at your Uncle Liam. He doesn’t look very willing. You’ll have to try harder.” I don’t know if Chloe was just overly excited, but she actually fainted again, just like in my previous life. Liam quickly picked her up and looked at me with deep disappointment. “Why are you holding a grudge against a child?!” In my past life, I disagreed, and they said I was petty. In this life, I agreed, and they still said I was petty. Whatever happened, in their mouths, it always became my fault. True, my reputation in this hospital was bad enough already. Why waste my breath on them? I pushed past the crowd still watching the spectacle and, sure enough, saw my thin, small daughter in the corner. Overwhelmed with emotion, I rushed over and hugged her tight. “Baby, how long have you been here?” Lily whispered, “…Mommy, I just got here.” But the wrinkles on the hem of her shirt, clenched tightly in her fists, gave away her lie. 3 In my previous life, at this exact moment, I still naively believed that Liam was just an overly compassionate doctor. I hadn’t wanted to say anything harsh to a sick child, which was why I was so quick to argue back. It was exactly because I saw my daughter in the corner. I was terrified that Lily would believe Liam was going to be someone else’s dad. That’s why I rushed to shut Chloe down, terrified that Lily would be heartbroken if she heard. In this life, during the time I spent arguing with them, Lily must have heard everything. It’s good that she heard, I thought, stroking my daughter’s soft, yellowish hair, my eyes full of sorrow. Lily was the child Liam and I had two years into our marriage. She had been sickly since she was a baby, ending up in the hospital every few days. Her father was a doctor at the hospital, often so busy he couldn’t come home. His daughter couldn’t see him at home, and when she ended up in the hospital, Liam was always the most righteous and outstanding doctor—his time had to be spent helping other patients. He didn’t even have time to look after his own daughter. But aren’t all doctors like that? At most, Liam was just exceptionally negligent of his family. Because of this, even though I often fought with Liam about it in my past life, I suppressed the thought of divorce. No matter how negligent he was of our family, he was a beloved doctor at the hospital. Even if our daughter was hospitalized, she was surrounded by “aunts” and “uncles” who knew her, so she would get better care. Holding onto that thought, I accepted a dispatch from my boss to work out of state. My daughter’s medical bills required a lot of money, so I couldn’t relax. I worked crazy overtime, and my daughter’s health gradually improved. Every time I came home for the holidays, she was a little healthier. My sweet daughter timidly asked me if I could stay with her. I made a promise to her: Next February, Mommy will come back to work near Lily. I still remembered Lily’s excited little face, hugging me and refusing to let go. Yet, three months before that promise, I received the phone call notifying me of my daughter’s death. Outside the operating room, Liam was still in disbelief, muttering, “How could this happen… it was just a bone marrow donation… it’s a minor procedure… how did she just…” I sprinted back to the hospital. My daughter’s body hadn’t even been sent to the morgue yet. I numbly listened to the nurse. She said Lily was unlucky; the bone marrow donation triggered complications, and she died right there on the operating table. “Unlucky?” “Bone marrow donation?” I actually laughed. How could these words be attached to Lily? She was already so fragile. I asked numbly, “Who told Lily to donate bone marrow?” The nurse’s eyes darted to Liam. The family receiving the bone marrow donation held their child lovingly, but looked at me with extreme defensiveness. Even they knew that donating bone marrow was harmful to my daughter. They were afraid that I, as a mother, would go crazy. Liam was still mumbling, “How could this happen? Lily looked so healthy.” “Theoretically, nothing should have gone wrong.” I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I lunged at him and slapped Liam hard across the face multiple times. “Lily was only fourteen!” A group of people rushed to hold me back. I couldn’t get close to Liam again. Under the force of those slaps, Liam slowly snapped back to reality. He looked at me with resentment. “All you care about is making money! Didn’t you know a daughter needs her mother’s care?” “If you had been by her side, her health wouldn’t have been so poor! No one else gets these complications!” The more he spoke, the more he felt he was in the right. His voice grew louder, ignoring the shocked stares of his colleagues around him, loudly passing judgment on me. “Love is the most important thing!” “Fuck your love!” I practically flipped over the people holding me back. They stumbled and yelled for Liam to leave first. I watched helplessly as Liam walked away, pretending to be utterly devastated. A large crowd surrounded me, trying to calm me down. My fists were clenched tight. After the crowd dispersed, the head nurse came over. She pulled out a bank card and couldn’t help but tell me that 80% of the money I had transferred into my daughter’s account over the years had been transferred out by Liam to help other patients. The remaining money was forcibly withheld by the head nurse, who took pity on my daughter. I could barely process her words before the head nurse continued. “Dr. Carter is kind-hearted. Those patients were in critical condition, and Lily could still hold on. It’s just that these illnesses are easier to treat when they’re young. Trying to make up for it later… the results aren’t as good. But Lily was obedient, took her medicine, and exercised, so she still looked quite healthy…” I remembered when my daughter suddenly fell critically ill at nine years old. It was an unprecedented emergency. Under wave after wave of eye-rolls and cold shoulders from Liam, I borrowed tens of thousands from relatives, only for Liam to forcefully make me return it. I asked him numbly back then, “What about our daughter?” Liam’s attitude was gentle, but the words he spat out were ice-cold. “Think of another way.” “Taking alternative medications will also work.” “Those medications have side effects!” “The side effects are just written there to scare people. The actual probability of them happening is less than ten percent.” I couldn’t believe those words came out of a father’s mouth. “If that ten percent falls on a person, it’s one hundred percent for them!” He said impatiently, “Then what do you want me to do!” “Liam, Lily is your biological daughter!” “Precisely because she is my daughter, she will definitely be as kind-hearted as I am and be willing to give up this chance.” He accepted the silk banners of gratitude from bystanders, saying carelessly, “I’ve seen Lily’s chart. Taking those meds is fine. You’re a doctor’s family member too, don’t be so unreasonable.” That time, Lily slowly recovered on her own, but her constitution became even weaker than before. To others, Liam said, “I’m her father. I can take care of her no matter what. Do those other patients have these conditions? I honestly couldn’t bear to watch them suffer.” Was this the care he promised? The head nurse genuinely liked Lily. She kept rambling about how sensible Lily was. The implication was that Lily secretly agreed to this bone marrow donation behind my back because she was considerate of her father and afraid I would worry. My throat tasted of thick, metallic blood. Liam always said he knew his limits. Whenever I asked more, he would say that professionals do professional work and tell me not to delay him from saving lives. I didn’t understand. I just got married, but it ended up costing my daughter’s life, dragged to death by his ‘kindness’. When the head nurse saw me calm down, she turned and brought Liam over, trying to mediate between us. I watched Liam look at the head nurse with profound sadness. He slowly approached me and the first thing he said was, “Do you know what you did wrong?” “Reflect on yourself carefully. Is accompanying your daughter more important, or is your filthy money more important?” I said in a low voice, “…Now, you’re still saying this…” Liam coughed and bent down to help me up, as if he suddenly felt bad for me. “Lily’s death isn’t entirely your fault. Maybe it was just her bad luck. She was born sickly. Getting her to fourteen means we’ve done our absolute best as parents.” His familiar rhetoric sent a sharp, agonizing pain through my heart. In the past, he would always say these “nice” things, and then turn around and ask me to give up everything I had. Liam tilted his head to look at the head nurse. His face was covered in tears. “There are always patients in the hospital waiting for transplant matches. Since Lily has already passed away, we might as well donate all her organs. It’ll build good karma for her next life, and her organs can continue to shine and generate heat in other people’s bodies.” “Organ donation requires both parents to sign the consent form. Come with me.” I slowly raised my head. Liam’s face, backlit by the light, began to look twisted. “…Donate organs?” I stood up and plunged a knife straight into Liam’s chest. Seeing his look of absolute disbelief, I felt an intense thrill of satisfaction. “Why did you trick Lily into donating bone marrow?!” Lily didn’t understand the dangers of donating bone marrow at all. She was just a simple child who wanted her father to be happy. She was waiting for me to come home! I screamed, “Go to hell and atone for our daughter!” The head nurse’s panicked screams rang out. I pulled the knife out and quickly stabbed him again. More than a dozen continuous stabs, each one sinking deep. Every stab left Liam dripping with blood. Blood poured relentlessly from his mouth, his body convulsing. When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn back in the hospital. 4 “Mommy… are you going to divorce Daddy?” Before I could answer, Lily squeezed my hand and said firmly, “Mommy, I support you.” My daughter was only eight, the same age as Chloe, but she looked a whole size smaller. My tears fell instantly. Lily frantically wiped my face. “Daddy is bad to Mommy. I saw everything.” “I’ll be a good daughter to Daddy from now on.” She bit her lip. “I won’t let the aunts and uncles in the hospital say bad things about Mommy anymore.” I wiped my tears and kissed her little cheek. “Let them say what they want, Lily. Mommy is teaching you today: other people’s opinions are complete bullshit.” To outsiders, Liam was definitely a top-tier husband. He was tall, clean-cut, his parents both had pensions, and he was the youngest attending physician in the hospital with a limitless future. He was kind to others, always ready to help, and possessed noble moral character. What a glowing review. I met him on a blind date. He didn’t smoke or drink. His superiors valued him, and he was wholly dedicated to his patients, practically living in the hospital all year round without a day off, dedicating his life to his work. Except I didn’t know back then that this selfless dedication required draining his entire family’s blood and flesh, using his daughter’s life as stepping stones to build Liam’s legacy. 5 After returning home, I quickly found a divorce lawyer to draft an agreement. The house we currently lived in had surged in value over the years, but it was in Liam’s name. The monthly mortgage could be half-covered by his housing fund. To divorce Liam as quickly as possible, I didn’t plan on fighting for it. With that settled, the remaining assets could be written out in a few words. Even I found it ridiculous. A marriage of over ten years had long become a pile of rubble, yet I had been blind to it, desperately trying to maintain it, ultimately costing Lily her life. When Liam came home that night, I was sitting on the sofa. He looked at the empty dining table, no longer maintaining the righteous facade he wore at the hospital, looking very dissatisfied. “Did you not make dinner?” I sneered. “I’m about to divorce you. Are you still expecting me to cook for you?” Liam frowned. “Are you still hung up on that? Chloe is just a child. She was joking.” He looked at me with the scrutinizing gaze of someone examining a criminal. “Chloe had to be resuscitated several times today because you provoked her. Her surgery, which was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, now has to be postponed.” “You should be glad Mia is kind and isn’t holding you accountable.” He instructed, “Do this: go apologize to Mia tomorrow. It’ll help smooth things over.” I actually laughed out of anger. “Apologize to her? Does she think she’s the Queen of England? Do you think you’re the King?” “The divorce papers are right here. Sign them, and you can focus on taking care of your precious Chloe in peace.” Liam didn’t even look at them, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I have surgery tomorrow. I don’t want to fight with you.” “My emotional state will affect my performance in tomorrow’s surgery. You should know that.” I stood up, looking at him acting like the most important person in the world. The shadow of Lily’s death in my past life seemed to wash over me again. I picked up the agreement and threw it in his face. “Liam, believe me, an uncontested divorce is the last shred of dignity I’m giving you.” Those few thin sheets of paper carried no weight, but they made Liam unable to contain his anger any longer. “Chloe, marriage is not a game! You bring up divorce so casually. Do you have any sense of responsibility as a mother? Have you ever thought about our child?!” I sneered. “Child? Sorry, the way you were holding Chloe today was seen perfectly clearly by Lily.” “Does holding someone else’s child give you a great sense of accomplishment? May I ask, you highly responsible father, how many times have you held Lily?” Liam froze, looking toward Lily’s bedroom. The child stood there, motionless. He instantly switched back to his gentle expression. “Lily, come here.” He gently pulled Lily into a half-embrace. “Lily, you’re the most sensible one. Chloe has a bad heart. If she gets too agitated, she could be in life-threatening danger at any moment.” “But Daddy, my health is bad too. Mommy cries secretly all the time.” Lily held Liam’s hand. “Daddy, I’ll be strong. So can you love Mommy too, please?” Liam smiled. “Of course Daddy loves Mommy. But Mommy isn’t as sensible as you. She doesn’t understand Daddy’s position at all. Today, she even caused a little friend to faint. Tomorrow, let’s go with Mommy to apologize, okay?” He expected Lily to echo his logic. Instead, Lily pulled her hand back, slowly retreating to lean against my leg. “Mommy is the best! She’s not being insensible!” Lily looked at me, her voice trembling with tears. “Mommy shouldn’t go apologize. Mommy didn’t do anything wrong!” I pulled Lily into my arms, taking advantage of Liam being off guard to kick him over. Son of a bitch, trying to emotionally blackmail our daughter already. Liam fell hard on his ass, taking a long time to react. After a while, he cursed, “Look at how you’ve raised Lily!” 6 Speaking of which, Lily’s illness mainly required careful management, and her mood was the absolute priority. After yelling a few times in the living room last night, Liam went to sleep as if nothing had happened. That made sense. To him, anything I said was always the least important thing. At home, Lily clearly relaxed a lot. She woke up after a good sleep. “Lily, are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Tell Mommy.” Lily clearly hesitated for a moment, but still looked hopeful. “I want KFC.” I felt happy. At this time, my daughter hadn’t completely closed herself off like in my past life, walking on eggshells even to make a simple request. I readily agreed. While waiting for the delivery, I gave my daughter a good bath. Touching her frail, bony body, my heart ached. “Mommy promises, I will always protect Lily from now on.” My daughter nodded happily. While we were eating our takeout, the electronic lock on the front door beeped. My daughter’s back stiffened. I looked over. It was Liam’s mother, my mother-in-law, Martha. She was a retired elementary school teacher. She didn’t live with us, and in the past, she treated me decently. However, after I had Lily and didn’t plan on having any more children, her attitude turned cold after several unsuccessful attempts to change my mind. Seeing the fried chicken on the table, she immediately used that annoying, high-pitched voice. “Didn’t they say this is all junk food? Why are you letting Lily eat this?” She walked over and picked up a chicken wing, starting to gnaw on it. Lily obediently called out, “Grandma. Mommy says you have to wash your hands before eating.” Martha rolled her eyes at me. “You just spoil her.” “A little dirt never hurt anyone!” Saying that, Martha used her greasy hand to pick up a chicken wing to feed Lily. I picked my daughter up and moved her aside. “She’s had enough for today.” Martha wasn’t stupid. She knew what I meant. She immediately stood up and scolded me. “What do you mean by that? Do you think my hands are dirty, or do you think I have a disease?” My daughter nervously grabbed the hem of my shirt. I stroked her little head and looked calmly at Martha. “Both.” Martha pointed at me in shock. “You, you, you…” She stuttered for a long time, unable to form a single word. I finished her thought: “—You should probably go to the hospital for a check-up if you have nothing better to do!” Since I had already decided to divorce Liam, why should I keep tolerating his horrible mother? 7 Martha was a firm believer in the parenting methods of decades past. Lily was prone to allergies, especially to mangoes. Yet, she repeatedly tried to feed them to my daughter, arguing self-righteously that once her body got used to mangoes, her constitution would be ‘fixed.’ She would gloat, “Liam used to refuse to eat cucumbers too, but I corrected that.” Later, I couldn’t take it anymore. After she secretly fed my daughter mangoes again, I held Lily, who was covered in itchy hives, and laid down the law: “How you raised your son is your business! But my daughter will be spoiled! If she’s allergic to something, she won’t eat it!” My daughter’s high fever had scared her. At the time, she stayed silent. But in front of Liam, she continued to complain: “Chloe is just looking down on me. She thinks I can’t teach her right. Does she think I’d actually harm the child? Feed her a few more times, and her constitution will change.” “Now look, all that effort wasted.” I asked Liam. He was a doctor; it was impossible for him not to know how ignorant those old beliefs were. I thought I couldn’t persuade his mother, so I asked him to step in. I never expected Liam to actually say: “That actually makes some sense. It can boost her immune system.” He pointed to himself. “I’m a living example.” I cursed him out right then and there. “Are you blind? Did you not see our daughter get a high fever several times because of this?!” Every time, Martha would feed her random food and then slip away. I was the only one left to deal with the subsequent allergic reactions Lily suffered. Martha had her own pension. After that ugly argument, she rarely came looking for me. We didn’t live together. Her coming over now… I knew exactly what she was here for. With a monthly pension of $2,000, she was addicted to playing mahjong. She was definitely short on cash. In the past, whenever she needed money, she would come to me. This time, I pissed her off in just a few sentences, and she even forgot to ask for money. Perfect. I wasn’t going to spend another dime on Liam’s family. But thinking of her reminded me of my nanny.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “417818”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel