Category: English

The moment I sat in the passenger seat of my husband’s car, I knew he was cheating on me. The seat was reclined to an angle that clearly indicated a pregnant woman had been sitting there. Just as I was about to confront him, I suddenly saw a barrage of comments floating across my vision. [Will the female lead’s baby really be okay locked in the trunk by the male lead?] [It should be fine for a little while. He just needs to find a chance to get rid of the yellow-faced wife later.] I froze. Trunk? Baby? Yellow-faced wife? So, my husband’s mistress is currently locked in the trunk? Heh, things just got interesting. My mom’s Husky has been having diarrhea lately. Why don’t we take him for a nice, long ride on the highway and stir things up a bit? 1 “Why are you here? Didn’t you say you were getting your nails done today?” My husband, Arthur, tapped the steering wheel impatiently. But my mind was entirely focused on the comments I had just seen. And those comments were currently attacking my sanity, which was on the verge of snapping. [What a bitch, insisting on clinging to our male lead.] [The two of them finally got some alone time, and she had to come and ruin it.] I forcefully yanked the seatbelt out. I turned my head and stared directly into Arthur’s eyes. “Why is this passenger seat reclined to this angle?” Arthur’s pupils shrank suddenly. Before he had time to come up with a good lie, he blurted out some nonsense. “Oh, this? The car wash guy adjusted it.” I laughed: “When did you go? Don’t you usually make me take the car to be washed?” Arthur turned his head to look out the window, his hands continuing to tap rhythmically on the steering wheel. The sound was incredibly annoying. I wanted nothing more than to grab his fingers and break them one by one. [Why is this supporting female character so annoying? What’s there to question?] [Exactly. No wonder the male lead doesn’t like her; she gives him zero space.] I leaned forward: “Cat got your tongue? There’s dust and dirt everywhere. You call this a car wash?” Arthur’s body visibly stiffened. [This part is a bit funny. The male lead doesn’t seem very smart.] [Right? Locking our precious female lead in the trunk… what kind of smart person does that?] [Our female lead is probably rolling her eyes in the trunk right now.] What? She has the nerve to roll her eyes? I’ll let her roll them all she wants today! Arthur pulled his hands back from the steering wheel and turned to hold mine. “Hey, the car wash guy was just getting ready to wash it when I suddenly remembered it’s your dad’s birthday today.” I raised an eyebrow: “And?” “And so I rushed out to buy a gift for your dad!” I followed the direction of his finger and looked towards the back seat. Sure enough, there was a gift bag sitting there. 2 [I’ll give this round to the male lead.] [But he bought that for the female lead’s baby’s dad! It’s not fair!] [It’s fine, it’s fine. He’s spending the supporting female’s money anyway. He can buy another one next time.] I grabbed the gift bag from the back seat and looked inside. Wow, he really went all out. Two cartons of premium cigarettes, two bottles of expensive liquor. This must have cost at least a thousand dollars, right? I twitched the corner of my mouth: “Alright then, just take me straight to my parents’ house.” Arthur’s fake smile froze on his face, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. I reached out and pinched his neck: “What’s wrong with you? Having a seizure? Do we need to go to the hospital?” Arthur coughed repeatedly from my pinch. He irritably pushed my hand away: “Cough, cough! I still have some things to take care of. You get out first, and I’ll come pick you up later.” I smiled: “What things? I’ll go with you.” Arthur’s eyebrows were furrowed so tightly they could crush a mosquito: “Just some stuff with my buddies. Be a good girl, get out, and I’ll be back soon.” [Hurry up and get lost, old lady.] [Yeah, I’m dying of anxiety. If you don’t leave, our precious female lead won’t be able to hold on.] I sat up straight, looking forward. “Since you’re in a hurry, you get out and take a cab. I’ll drive over and give the gifts to my dad.” Arthur panicked and slammed his hand on the dashboard: “Chloe, why are you being so unreasonable! Making a grown man take a cab to run errands, where’s my dignity?” I looked at him expressionlessly: “This is my car. You’re a grown man who didn’t even have a car to drive before we got married. Why didn’t you care about your dignity then?” Hearing me say this, he choked, his Adam’s apple bobbing anxiously. A few seconds later, he replaced his expression with a gentle one. He coaxed me softly: “Okay, okay, you’re right. It’s my fault. Be a good girl, and I’ll come pick you up as soon as I’m done.” I pushed his hand away: “No, I want to drive to my parents’ house. Besides, I need to use the car too. “You’ve been hogging the car for months, making me take cabs and the subway every time. It’s my turn to use it.” Only then did I realize why he hadn’t let me touch the car for the past few months. It turns out he was taking his mistress to her prenatal appointments. Heh, pretty good treatment she’s getting. 3 [This supporting female is really annoying me. Her car, her car. She doesn’t save any face for her own man.] [Exactly. Can you blame the male lead for not wanting her? Is he really a playboy?] [That’s right, the male lead cheating is purely this supporting female’s fault.] [If she had shown even a little bit of gentleness and love to the male lead, things wouldn’t have come to this.] I sat up straight, refusing to get out of the car. “Either you drive me to my parents’ house, or you get out, and I’ll drive myself.” Arthur let out a long breath. He probably realized I was determined to dig my heels in. Left with no choice, he reluctantly agreed. “Fine, I’ll drive you to your parents’ house, but you have to let me go once we get there. Don’t delay my buddies’ business.” I didn’t say anything. Let you go? You wish. [What is this supporting female doing? Why is she so clingy.] [The female lead’s baby is already suffocating in the trunk.] [Is she experiencing chest tightness again? That happens when you’re five months pregnant, especially in stuffy air.] [Yes, yes, yes, the female lead’s baby’s face is flushed red.] [Good thing her belly isn’t too big yet, otherwise I really wouldn’t dare imagine how she’d survive in such a small space.] I sneered inwardly. If she really dies in there, it won’t be my fault. I didn’t know she was having an affair in my car. And I wasn’t the one who dragged her pregnant belly into the trunk. Just like that, Arthur drove toward my parents’ house, restless and irritable the whole way. I sent a message to my mom in advance: [Feed Max some laxatives. I’m coming over right now to take him to the vet. The vet said he needs to take laxatives first to make it easier to get a sample.] My mom replied quickly: [That’s great! Max has been having diarrhea and vomiting for days. Hurry up and take him.] I glanced at Arthur; he kept checking the time, probably calculating how much longer the cargo in the trunk could last. I happily leaned back: “Oh, the weather is so nice today. I really want to go for a drive in the suburbs.” Arthur’s face instantly went pale. “Ancestor, please don’t mess around. I really have things to do today.” [Can the male lead slap her a few times? Watching this is making me furious.] Go slap your own mother! 4 As soon as we parked below my parents’ apartment, we saw my mom standing there holding Max. The moment she saw us, she stamped her feet anxiously. “Oh my, you’re finally here. Any longer and I was afraid Max wouldn’t be able to hold it.” Arthur refused to get out of the car. He impatiently urged me to hurry up and take the gifts upstairs. My mom looked at him in surprise: “Are you that busy on a weekend? You don’t even have time to get out and say hi?” I turned and glared at Arthur. “You’re really exaggerating. You live in a house my mom bought, drive a car my mom bought, and you disrespect her like this.” Arthur couldn’t hold it in anymore; he roared at me. “Are you fucking done? I told you my buddies have an emergency, and you still fucking drag this out!” [Beautiful! Well done, male lead!] [Finally grew a spine and taught this damn supporting female a lesson.] [Satisfying! He should have done this to her ages ago.] Arthur angrily gripped the steering wheel tight: “Hurry up and take the gifts up to your dad. I don’t have time to waste with you; I have important things to do!” My mom looked at me in shock: “Chloe, did you two have a fight?” I squeezed my mom’s arm and took Max from her. “No, don’t worry.” I opened the back door and shoved Max inside. Arthur glared at me: “What are you doing putting this dead dog in the car? Didn’t I tell you to grab your things and leave?” The more anxious he got, the happier I felt: “Max is sick. My parents are going out for a gathering later, so I have to take him to the vet.” Hearing this, he excitedly pounded the steering wheel. “I’ve told you a million times I’m in a hurry! What will it take for you to stop pestering me?” [Look at how he’s forcing our male lead. Is this something a normal person would do?] I slammed the back door shut, marched straight to the driver’s side, and yanked the door open. “If you’re in a hurry, grab a cab and get the hell out! How many times do I have to tell you? This is MY car!” Arthur visibly panicked. He was so nervous he didn’t know what to do, his eyes constantly darting toward the digital clock. “Fine, fine! Let’s hurry up! I’ll navigate to the nearest vet right now. “But let’s be clear this time. Once I drop you and this dead dog off, you have to let me go immediately.” 5 [Oh my god, our female lead is doing really badly.] [Boohoo, the baby is so pitiful. Her face is pale, and she’s having trouble breathing.] [Our baby won’t die, right? I’m begging this supporting female to do something human.] I opened my phone and located a vet twenty kilometers away. “No, we have to go to this one. Only the vet here understands Max. If we go anywhere else, I won’t get out of the car.” Arthur gritted his teeth so hard I thought they might break. The look he gave me was practically setting me on fire! But he had no choice. He could only floor the gas and head that way. Good, this is exactly the feeling I wanted. He was driving so erratically it made me sick. And Max in the back was even more miserable than I was. So the one in the trunk must be the most miserable of us all. [The car is too fast. Is the female lead’s baby getting carsick?] [Hold it in, whatever you do, don’t throw up, otherwise you’ll be discovered.] I smiled in satisfaction. At that moment, Max seemed to have caught the scent of the stranger in the trunk. He kept sniffing the back of the seat. Arthur looked in the rearview mirror, muttering angrily. “Dead dog, what are you sniffing at? I bet he’s not even sick, just faking it. “Your whole family loves to fake it. Your dad fakes being important, and your mom fakes being deaf and dumb.” I waved my hand dismissively: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, and the husband I married loves to fake being a big shot.” Arthur was so angry he slammed on the gas, and my body was thrown forward involuntarily. The seatbelt jerked me back hard, and for a moment, my stomach churned. Just then, a foul stench drifted over from the back seat. I quickly covered my nose and mouth and looked back. Fantastic. I don’t know when, but Max had thrown up a massive puddle. He was so nauseous from Arthur’s erratic driving that he was currently squatting in the back seat, having explosive diarrhea. That watery liquid was seeping through the cracks in the back seat and flowing into the trunk. [Holy shit! It’s flowing all over our female lead’s baby.] [So disgusting! The female lead’s baby can’t hold it in anymore; she’s going to throw up.] [Oh no, oh no! Is the supporting female going to discover the female lead? Help!] At that moment, Arthur glanced back, and that one glance made him panic completely! In his desperation, he slammed on the brakes. “Fucking dead dog! I’m going to kill you!” Heh, funny. You’d better think about the consequences of braking suddenly on the highway for no reason first! 6 Arthur had been in such a hurry that he finally managed to squeeze onto the expressway. Braking suddenly at 75 mph, even if the car behind was maintaining a safe distance… It still slammed right into us. The driver behind us got out of his car, cursing. Meanwhile, Arthur was opening the back door, trying to drag Max out. “Fucking dead dog! Today I’m going to throw you right here, and you can just die here!” I anxiously stepped forward to stop him, but Arthur’s eyes were already red with rage. “Get down from there, or I’ll beat you to death right here!” Saying that, he pulled a hammer out from somewhere in the back seat. He was about to smash Max’s head in. I snatched the hammer from his hand. “Don’t you dare, Arthur! If you harm a single hair on Max’s head today, I’ll fight you to the death!” The driver of the car behind us stood by our car, arms crossed, roaring at us. “Are you two fucking crazy? Braking suddenly on the expressway? There’s no car in front of you! Get ready to pay up!” Arthur finally calmed down a bit. [The supporting female is such a troublemaker. I really want to reach in and slap her twice.] [Hurry up and throw her and that dead dog on the highway, and take our female lead to the hospital.] [Yeah, the female lead’s baby can’t hold it in anymore. Look, what’s that seeping through her fingers?] [She threw up! Our female lead’s baby threw up, so pitiful.] Not enough, this is still not enough. The comments haven’t given me the answer I’m looking for yet. Arthur immediately plastered on a fake smile, approaching the man like a lapdog to apologize. The guy was huge; one punch could probably knock both Arthur and me flat. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, big bro. It’s all my fault, all my fault. Just name your price, and I’ll transfer the money right now.” How could that be? That would mean he’d get away in ten minutes! I would absolutely not allow that to happen. I suddenly raised the hammer I had just snatched and smashed it hard onto the trunk lid. Thud! A loud noise startled everyone, making them look at me. “I did nothing wrong! Why are you saying it’s our fault? If you had maintained a safe distance, would you still have hit us?” The big guy’s expression had just softened, but my provocation instantly made it turn red again. He rolled up his sleeves and was ready to come over and beat me: “What did you say? You’re not leaving today! Call the police! I’m calling the police right now!” 7 Arthur was so anxious he was about to cry. He turned around and gave me a hard shove, making me stumble. “What is wrong with you? It was originally our fault. Just pay up and let’s go.” I simply sat my butt right on the trunk lid, conveniently deepening the dent I had just made. [Move your big butt! Damn supporting female.] [That hit just now already knocked our female lead’s baby unconscious.] [It’s over, it’s over, the female lead has lost consciousness. She’s not going to die, is she?] [Boohoo! So pitiful. She finally had a chance to escape her family of origin and be saved by the male lead, only to end up here.] [Yeah, I was still waiting for the male lead to get his hands on the supporting female’s family fortune and marry our female lead’s baby into the family.] [And then the female lead’s baby would return to the university campus, get her master’s and Ph.D., and reach the pinnacle of life.] [Damn supporting female, relying on her good family background to bully our female lead.] I tightened my grip on the hammer, a faint smile playing on my lips. Escaping her family of origin, wanting to return to campus. Heh, I finally know who you are. I raised the hammer in my hand and frantically began smashing the trunk lid, clang, clang, clang. “Call the police then! Do you think I’m scared of you? See this? It’s my car, and I can smash it if I want to! “You fat pig, don’t even dream about scamming money out of me!” “I don’t even want this car anymore. When the police come, I’ll tell them you caused all the damage.” [It’s over! The female lead’s baby has completely lost consciousness.] [She’s starting to foam at the mouth.] [What do we do? The male lead needs to think of something fast. The female lead is bleeding down there, she might lose the baby!] The big guy was so angry his face turned red and pale by turns. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to come over and beat me up. “Come on! Hit me! If you dare touch a single finger of mine, I’ll completely destroy my car today! “I’ll call a tow truck and have it hauled straight to the scrapyard, crushed into a flat piece of scrap metal.” “I’ll blame it all on you, tell them you hit it. Let’s see what you can do to me!” “Nyah nyah nyah, you fat pig, you fat pig covered in rolls of fat.” That completely enraged the big guy. He roared and charged forward, swinging his fists to smash into my body. I nimbly spun around. His two massive fists smashed straight into the trunk. Thud! Arthur’s legs gave way, and he fell straight to his knees.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394686”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My sister cried. It wasn’t a happy cry. When I showed her the positive pregnancy test, she froze for three whole seconds. Then, the tears started falling. “Sis?” She didn’t speak. She grabbed a tissue, wiped her eyes, and turned away. I thought she was happy for me. Arthur and I had been married for eight years without a child. Now, we finally had one. But the way she cried was wrong. Her hands were shaking. When she left, she stood at the door for a long time, her lips moving, but no words came out. The next day, she came back. Holding a manila envelope. Inside the envelope was a divorce agreement. Blank. “Chloe,” she looked at me, her eyes red, “think very carefully before you decide to keep this child.” 1 I thought my sister had lost her mind. “Sis, what do you mean?” I pushed the envelope back. A divorce agreement. Blank. What was she trying to say by bringing this to my house? “You and Arthur are doing fine, right?” she asked instead of answering. “Of course we are.” “Has he been working a lot of overtime lately?” “Yes. He just got promoted to Project Director. It’s normal to be busy.” “How late does he stay?” “Eleven or twelve, sometimes later.” “When he’s working overtime, does he pick up when you call?” I paused for a second. “Sometimes he doesn’t. Bad reception. He says there’s no signal in the company’s underground parking garage.” My sister put down her cup. Her hands were still shaking. “Chloe, have you… ever checked his phone?” “Check his phone?” I found it funny. “Sis, I’m not that kind of person. A husband and wife need to trust—” “Check it.” She cut me off. Her voice was soft, but very firm. “Just check it once. Tonight, after he falls asleep, check it once.” I looked at her face. She didn’t look like she was joking. She had dark circles under her eyes and cracked lips, like she hadn’t slept in days. “Sis, what is going on? Can’t you just tell me directly?” She opened her mouth. Then closed it. “I can’t tell you directly,” she said. “Because you won’t believe me. You’ll just think I’m trying to drive a wedge between you two.” “You’re my sister—” “I’m your sister, which is exactly why you won’t believe me.” She stood up. “You’ll think I’m jealous that you married well, that I can’t stand seeing you happy because I’m divorced.” That stung. My sister got divorced three years ago. Her ex-husband cheated. She left the marriage with nothing, raising her daughter alone. “Sis, I’ve never thought that—” “I know.” She picked up her bag. “That’s why I’m not telling you. Go see for yourself.” She walked to the door and stopped. “Chloe.” “Yeah?” “No matter what you see, remember one thing—you are not alone.” The door closed. I stood in the living room, still clutching that manila envelope. It was very light. But I suddenly felt it weighed a ton. Arthur came home very late that night. Eleven forty. He brought a gust of cold air in with him. Seeing me still sitting on the sofa, he smiled. “Not asleep yet?” “Waiting for you.” “Silly, you’re pregnant. Get some rest.” He placed his phone on the shoe cabinet in the entryway—it was a habit of his, put the phone down first, then change shoes. I used to think this was his self-discipline—not looking at his phone when he got home, focusing on me. Today, staring at that phone, I suddenly felt it looked like a locked box. He went to take a shower. The sound of running water started. I sat on the sofa, looking at the phone on the shoe cabinet. My sister’s words echoed in my ears: Check it. Just check it once. I didn’t move. The water stopped. He came out, drying his hair, and saw me still sitting there. “What’s wrong? Spacing out?” “Nothing.” “Go to sleep early, I’ll take you to your prenatal checkup tomorrow.” “Okay.” I followed him into the bedroom. Lay down. Turned off the light. His breathing soon became even. I lay there with my eyes open, staring at the ceiling in the dark. The phone was in the entryway. His breathing was heavy. I didn’t move. Not because I didn’t dare. Because I didn’t want to. If there was nothing in that box, I would have suspected him for nothing. If there was— I closed my eyes. But I couldn’t fall asleep. At 2 AM, I got up to use the bathroom. As I passed the entryway, I stopped. The phone was on the shoe cabinet, screen down. I picked it up. The passcode was my birthday. He had never changed it. Thinking this, I entered the six digits. It unlocked. WhatsApp. Three pinned chats. The first one was me. Nickname “Wife”. The second was his mom. Nickname “Mom”. The third— The nickname was a house emoji. 🏠 No name. Just a house. I tapped it. The newest message was from tonight at 9:17 PM. A photo. In the photo was a little boy, wearing dinosaur pajamas, lying on a bed laughing. Below it was a line of text: “Your son won’t sleep, waiting for you to come back.” 2 I put the phone back on the shoe cabinet. Screen down, exactly as it was. I went back to the bedroom and lay down. Arthur rolled over, his arm draping across my waist. “Mmm… cold?” “No.” His hand was very warm. I stared at the ceiling in the dark, completely still. The little boy in the dinosaur pajamas looked about two years old. He had big eyes and monolids. Arthur has monolids. I didn’t sleep all night. The next morning, Arthur got up and made breakfast. Tomato and egg noodles. He was busy in the kitchen wearing an apron. He turned around and smiled at me: “Want a fried egg? You need the nutrition now that you’re pregnant.” “Okay.” I sat at the dining table, looking at his back. I had looked at this back for eight years. Eight years ago, he made four thousand a month, and I made six thousand. The apartment we rented was on the fifth floor, no elevator. Every day when he came home from work, he would first carry the groceries I bought upstairs, then go back down to park his electric scooter. Five trips back and forth. Later, when we bought a house, we didn’t have enough for the down payment. I borrowed eighty thousand from my mom, fifty thousand from a classmate, and withdrew all my 401k. He said, “Wife, when I make money, I’ll definitely pay you back double.” Later, he changed jobs and his salary went up. He changed jobs again, and it went up even more. From making four thousand a month, to eight thousand, to fifteen thousand, to an annual salary of two hundred thousand, to four hundred thousand. When his salary went up, he said, “Don’t worry about the money anymore, I’ll manage it.” I thought he was just being considerate. He took over the household finances. He transferred five thousand to me every month for living expenses, and said he saved the rest. “When we save enough, we’ll buy a bigger house.” I believed him. For these eight years, I managed the household expenses, paid the mortgage, and sent his mother two thousand every month. He said the rest was invested, saved. I never asked for specific numbers. Because I believed him. I thought of what happened last winter. November. Our wedding anniversary. I took a half-day off and went to the market at 3 PM. I bought his favorites: sweet and sour spare ribs and braised fish. I also bought a bouquet of flowers. I rarely buy flowers. Too expensive. But that day I thought, we’ve been married seven years, let’s be a little romantic. By 6 PM, dinner was ready. Four dishes and a soup on the table. The flowers were in a water glass; I didn’t have a vase. At 7 PM, he wasn’t back. At 8 PM, I called. Phone turned off. At 9 PM, a text: “In a meeting, be back late.” I took the flowers out of the glass. I still needed to use the glass. At 11 PM, he came home. “Did you eat?” “Yeah, company ordered takeout.” The four dishes on the table were stone cold. A layer of white fat had solidified on top of the sweet and sour spare ribs. “It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll just heat it up.” He didn’t notice the flowers. Nor did he remember what day it was. I heated up the spare ribs and ate them myself. Thinking about it now—when he didn’t answer his phone at 9 PM that night, where was he? Who was he with? Was that child in the dinosaur pajamas calling him “Daddy”? Breakfast was served. Tomato and egg noodles, with a fried egg. “Eat while it’s hot.” He sat across from me, smiling. I looked down and ate the noodles. The noodles were very hot. I ate very slowly. “Arthur.” “Yeah?” “What time did you get back last night?” “A little past eleven. Didn’t I tell you? We’re rushing a project.” “Mhm.” I continued eating. He got up to clean the kitchen. I heard the sound of the faucet. After finishing the noodles, I washed my bowl. He was putting on his coat, getting ready to leave. “Might be late again today. You go to sleep first.” “Okay.” The door closed. I sat back on the sofa. I took out my phone and sent my sister a message: “Sis, you were right.” She replied in three seconds. Like she had been waiting. “What did you see?” I didn’t reply. Because I didn’t know how to say it. I sat for a long time. Then I stood up and put the dirty clothes he wore last night into the washing machine. A receipt fell out of his coat pocket. A mall, basement level. Children’s clothing store. Amount: $85. Item purchased: Children’s puffer jacket, blue, size 3T. Size 3T. That’s the size a two-year-old child wears. 3 My sister came over. This time she didn’t beat around the bush. She brought a binder. Clear, filled with documents. “This is what I’ve collected over the past six months.” She placed the binder on the coffee table. I didn’t touch it. “Six months?” “Yes. Six months ago, I saw his car in the mall parking lot. A woman was sitting in the passenger seat. There was a child’s car seat in the back.” I looked at her. “You saw it, and you didn’t tell me?” “I wasn’t sure at the time—” “You weren’t sure, so you investigated for six months and still didn’t tell me?” She didn’t speak. “Lily,” I called her name. “Six months. You hid this from me for six months.” Her tears started falling. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it. You had just been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, you hadn’t even had the surgery yet—” “So you made the decision for me?” “No—” “How are you any different from him?” I said. That was harsh. I knew. She was different. She wasn’t Arthur. But at that moment, I couldn’t control myself. Six months. Half a year. I slept in the same bed with that man every day, cooked for him, washed his clothes, got pregnant with his child—and my sister knew he was lying to me, watched me being deceived, and said nothing. My sister cried with her head down. I sat across from her. I didn’t cry. “Give me the binder.” She pushed it over. I opened it. First page: a photo. A screenshot from parking lot security footage. Arthur’s car, a woman with long hair in the passenger seat, and indeed a car seat in the back. Second page: an address. East side, Emerald Gardens, Building 3, Apartment 1402. “I followed him,” my sister said. “Twice. Both times to this address. Once he stayed the whole night, once on a weekend afternoon, he stayed for four hours.” Third page: property records for Emerald Gardens. Owner of 1402: Sarah Jenkins. Purchase date: Two years and three months ago. “Your husband paid for this apartment,” my sister said. “Put it in her name.” I flipped to the next page. A screenshot of a Venmo transfer. Arthur → Sarah Jenkins. The 8th of every month, $2,000. Note: For this month. Six consecutive months. Six screenshots. $2,000 times 6 is $12,000. And that’s just the six months my sister followed him. What if we calculate from two years ago? $2,000 times 24— $48,000. I calculated my monthly household budget. Arthur transferred $700 to me every month. $300 to his mom. I paid the mortgage, $900 a month. My monthly salary was $1,700. After deducting the mortgage and household expenses, my monthly balance was negative $200. Negative. I was losing $200 every month, making up for it with my year-end bonus and overtime pay. And he gave that woman $2,000 every month. I closed the binder. “Sis.” “Yeah.” “Thank you for collecting this.” “Chloe—” “But I don’t want to talk about you hiding this from me for six months right now.” She opened her mouth. “Wait until I’m done dealing with Arthur, then we’ll talk about that.” I picked up the binder and stood up. “You should go, Sis. He gets back at seven.” When my sister left, she stood at the door for a moment. “If you need anything, call me.” “Okay.” The door closed. I sat alone in the living room. There were two glasses of water on the coffee table; she had barely touched hers. It was getting dark outside. There was still some leftover rice in the kitchen from lunch. I went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out two eggs. I made a plate of egg fried rice. Ate it alone. Washed the dishes. Wiped the table. Then I sat on the sofa, waiting for Arthur to come back. At 7:20 PM, the door clicked. “Wife, I’m home! Early today.” He smiled as he changed his shoes. “Hey, you cooked? What smells so good?” “Egg fried rice. Your portion is in the pan, serve yourself.” “Great.” He went into the kitchen. I watched his back. I had looked at this back for eight years. Today, for the first time, I felt it was the back of a stranger. 4 For the next three days, I did nothing. Went to work as usual. Came home as usual. Cooked as usual. Spoke to Arthur as usual. But I started paying attention to his phone. Details I hadn’t cared about before now each felt like a needle. He always went to the balcony to make phone calls. His screen auto-lock time changed from thirty seconds to ten seconds. He took his phone into the bathroom when he showered—he never used to do that. On the third night, he worked overtime again. Didn’t get home until eleven. I smelled laundry detergent on him. Not our brand. We used Tide. He smelled of Downy. “Worked so late at the company?” “Yeah, rushing a proposal.” “You worked hard.” “As long as my wife cares about me.” He smiled and kissed my forehead. The smell of Downy pressed close. I didn’t pull away. And I didn’t say anything. On the fourth day, I took a day off. I went to Emerald Gardens. East side, a forty-minute drive. It was a small, well-landscaped complex, the kind of small apartment popular with young people. Building 3, Apartment 1402. I stood downstairs and watched for a while. The windows on the fourteenth floor had pink curtains. Clothes were hanging on the balcony—a man’s white shirt, a woman’s dress, and some very small children’s clothes. It looked like a home. Another home. I sat in a bakery at the entrance of the complex for two hours. At 10:30 AM, a woman pushing a stroller came out. Long hair, wearing a beige coat and sunglasses. A little boy was sitting in the stroller. Wearing a hat with a dinosaur pattern. The child from the photo. She pushed the stroller to the park next to the complex. Sat on a bench. The child got out of the stroller, walking unsteadily. He tripped and burst into tears. She bent down, picked him up, and coaxed him. The child stopped crying and hugged her neck. She took out her phone and snapped a picture. I knew exactly who she was sending that photo to. At noon, I went back to my car. Sat there for a long time. Then I opened Arthur’s banking app—the password was his mom’s birthday. He had asked me to remember it for him when he registered. He didn’t know I actually remembered it. Credit card statements. I scrolled down line by line. A jewelry store: $11,500. Dated three months ago. I hadn’t received any jewelry. A postpartum care center: $4,500. Dated May of two years ago. May of two years ago. I was on a business trip that month. Away for half a month in Chicago. Arthur had texted: “Take care of yourself, wife. Miss you.” That month, he was accompanying another woman during her postpartum recovery. An early childhood education center: Annual fee $2,400. Payer: Arthur Sterling. A children’s photography studio: $500. A children’s clothing store: Multiple transactions, ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars. I exited the app. My hands rested on the steering wheel. I realized my fingers were shaking. I took a deep breath. Took out my phone. Flipped to the photos of my sister’s binder— The transfer records my sister took photos of were only for six months. But the banking app records went back three years. Three years. A fixed monthly transfer of $2,000 to Sarah Jenkins. That’s $72,000 in three years. Add in the jewelry, postpartum center, early education, children’s clothes, and daily expenses— I did a rough calculation. Over $110,000. And my savings over these three years— I opened my own banking app. Balance: $4,888.21. My entire life savings from an eight-year marriage. I bought a cup of coffee at the bakery. Held it in my hand. Didn’t drink it. Sat there until the coffee went cold. Then I threw it away and drove home. On the way home, I made a phone call. “Sis.” “Chloe? What’s wrong?” “Page three, that apartment in Emerald Gardens. Did you find the property records?” “I did. 650 square feet, registered in March 2022, bought in cash, total price $125,000. Owner is Sarah Jenkins. I couldn’t trace the source of funds—” “I found it.” The other end of the line went quiet. “$125,000. He bought her an apartment.” “Chloe—” “Adding the monthly transfers and other expenses, in three years, it’s at least $210,000.” My sister remained silent. “I’ve been married for eight years, and my savings are $4,800.” “Chloe, listen to me—” “Sis, do you have that woman’s background info in your binder?” “Yes. Sarah Jenkins, born in 1994, went to the same college as Arthur.” College alumni. Arthur had told me he never dated in college. “And their child’s birth date?” “January 2023.” January 2023. I counted backward. That means she got pregnant around April 2022. April 2022— That was the month Arthur and I were trying for a baby. I was taking folic acid. He told me: “Don’t stress, let nature take its course.” Let nature take its course. I tried for two years and couldn’t get pregnant. She got pregnant. “Sis.” “I’m here.” “There’s something I don’t understand.” “What?” “I tried to get pregnant for two years and couldn’t. I went to the hospital, they said I was fine. The doctor said he was fine too. But I just couldn’t get pregnant.” There was a long silence on the other end of the line. “When you get home,” she said, her voice very low, “go check around your water dispenser. See if there’s anything there that shouldn’t be.” 5 I didn’t go check the water dispenser immediately. Because my sister’s words carried too much weight. I needed to confirm it myself. That night, Arthur worked overtime until eleven as usual. I opened the drawer in his study. The bottom drawer. He said it was for old documents and warranties. I searched for five minutes. Tucked deep inside an envelope full of receipts, I found a blister pack of pills. White, in aluminum foil packaging. The print was very small. I held it up to the light. Ethinylestradiol and Cyproterone Acetate Tablets. Birth control pills. More than half the pack was gone. Seventeen pills were missing. These were not my pills. I had never taken birth control pills. This pack of pills was in his study. And the water I drank every day—he always poured it. Every morning, he got up earlier than me, boiled the water, poured it into my cup, and placed it on my nightstand. “Wife, have some water before you get up.” He’d been saying this for over two years. I thought he was considerate. I sat in the chair in the study, holding that blister pack. I stared at it for a long time. I didn’t cry. I just felt cold. Cold seeping out from my bones. I took out my phone and snapped a picture. Then I put the pills back exactly where they were. Put the envelope back. Closed the drawer. I walked to the bathroom. Turned on the faucet. The water ran for a long time. I splashed water on my face. Looked up at myself in the mirror. I was thirty-one. There were fine lines around my eyes. He said: “You work so hard, wife.” He said: “Go to sleep early, wife.” He said: “When we save enough money, we’ll buy a bigger house.” While saying all these things, he was crushing a birth control pill into my water cup every single day. Making sure I couldn’t get pregnant for two years. Because the woman over there was already pregnant with his child. He didn’t need two. I turned off the faucet. Dried my face. Walked out of the bathroom. I sat in the living room. And opened my laptop. I opened Excel. Eight years of accounts. I calculated every single penny. Mortgage: $900 a month. Eight years is $86,400. I paid the first three years entirely by myself—his salary was low then. Later, he got a raise and said, “I’ll take over the mortgage.” But the bank account for deductions was never changed. It was always my card being charged. Down payment: The money I borrowed and my 401k withdrawal, totaling $30,000. Household expenses: He transferred $700 to me monthly, but actual expenses were $1,000-$1,100. I covered the difference. Eight years, I subsidized at least $30,000. Allowance for his parents: $300 a month. Eight years is $28,800. He said, “I transfer it to my mom.” But for three years, I transferred it directly—because he “forgot.” My year-end bonuses: For eight years, all went toward paying back favors, covering household deficits, and buying gifts for his family during the holidays. Total— I calculated it three times. $212,000. Over these eight years, I had poured $212,000 into this home. While he had spent at least $210,000 on that woman in just three years. My eight years. Her three years. I opened my sister’s binder and flipped to the property page. Emerald Gardens, $125,000 paid in full. Our own house, I paid the $30,000 down payment, and we still owed $88,000 on the mortgage. He bought his mistress a house in cash. He gave me a mortgage. I closed the laptop. Picked up my phone. “Sis.” “I’m here.” “Help me find a divorce lawyer. The best one.” “Already found him. Attorney Davis. Tomorrow at 3 PM.” She had prepared everything six months ago. “Thank you.” “Chloe, are you still mad at me?” “Yes.” “…” “But I’m going to deal with Arthur first.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394670”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Because I couldn’t be bothered to talk, I made everyone think I was mute. The school’s bad boy thought I was incapable of speech. Every day, he’d tell me about the pain his family caused him. I listened to him babble on, annoyed beyond belief. So one day, I beat the crap out of all the debt collectors looking for him, leaving them half dead. Then I turned around and grabbed him by the throat. “You little mute, you…” “Shut up.” I kissed his lips. Ignoring the emotions in his eyes. A stray dog without an owner. I’m taking him home. 1 The first time I met Arthur was in the school counselor’s office. I was sleeping on a bed behind a curtain. He had just driven the counselor away in a fit of rage, then started flipping through his own file. “Arthur, eighteen years old, violent tendencies, lacks empathy, absent family upbringing…” Arthur read the description of himself from the file while yawning. “What is this nonsense?” He laughed at his own file, then said: “I’m a very kind-hearted good guy.” I kept my eyes closed, remembering what the counselor had just said: he instigated a group fight and then ran away himself. What a “good guy.” I don’t know if anyone ever taught Arthur that disturbing someone’s sleep without permission is very rude. Anyway, when he pulled open the curtain next to me, I didn’t open my eyes. Five seconds later— “Stop faking it. Why pretend to sleep when you’re clearly awake?” I opened my eyes, and Arthur’s distinct, handsome, yet infuriating eyes looked straight at me. I didn’t say anything. “What? Faking sleep isn’t enough, now you’re faking being mute?” I pinched my thumb and index finger together and moved them from one side of my mouth to the other. It meant: Zip it. Arthur froze for a second: “Sign language? You really are mute?” I reached out and tapped the file he was holding. My information was in there too. “Chloe, eighteen years old, speech impairment, introverted, antisocial personality, low desire to communicate.” Arthur put down the file and looked back at me: “So you really are a pitiful little thing.” Let him think whatever he wants. I closed my eyes again. I pretend to be mute precisely to avoid interacting with idiots like this. “Hey, why did you close your eyes again? You haven’t told me what that sign language meant.” I rolled over, turning my back to him. Even without sign language, that action clearly conveyed my meaning. Piss off. … 2 If I had known from the start how annoying Arthur was. I might have actually graced him with an explanation on the very first day we met. The next day, out of habit, I pulled open the curtain in the counselor’s office. And froze when I saw the person lying on the bed. Arthur acted as if he had been waiting for me for a long time. He propped his head up, lying on his side, and waved when he saw me: “Oh, little mute, we meet again.” I ruthlessly yanked the curtain shut again. The third day. The fourth day. The fifth day… By the seventh time I saw Arthur smiling and waving at me, I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed him by the collar, raw anger in my eyes. He twisted my arm and pinned my hand down, still smiling: “Don’t be mad. If you tell me what that sign meant the other day, I won’t fight you for the bed anymore.” After two years, I pulled out my phone again to explain the meaning of a sign to another human being. Arthur looked at the two words I typed out, “Zip it,” and fell deep into thought. “The little mute has a pretty fiery temper, huh? Just like this…” He pulled out a picture of a Jalapeño pepper from Plants vs. Zombies to show me. … For the next two days, Arthur didn’t steal my spot again. Just as I was thinking my days could finally return to normal, Arthur was called into the counselor’s office once more. “Arthur, I hope you can hold some goodwill towards this world instead of blindly using violence to solve problems. Violence is never the most effective solution.” Arthur’s lazy voice sounded: “Doctor, you’re overthinking it. It was just self-defense.” “Self-defense?” The counselor’s tone was laced with obvious disbelief. “Arthur, I’ve seen too many students like you. In reality, most people use self-defense as an excuse to minimize their actions. But ask yourself honestly, weren’t you the one who actually provoked the incident?” Arthur laughed softly: “It’s really strange. How did someone like you, who thinks so highly of himself, become a psychological counselor? Is the school really that desperate?” 3 The counselor slammed the door and left. Arthur pulled open the curtain next to me: “Little mute, you heard all that, right?” I plugged my ears. Arthur crouched down and pulled one of my hands away from my ear: “Alright, stop faking. Make some room for me?” I opened my eyes. It was only then that I noticed the cut on the corner of his mouth. Arthur stood up and got onto the bed, but how could that poor, tiny bed fit two well-developed teenagers? The bedboards creaked loudly. Just as I was contemplating how to kick him off. The door to the counselor’s office opened. The counselor, holding a thermos, froze in place when he saw the position we were in. And just like that, both Arthur and I were banned from entering the counselor’s office again. I walked up to the roof, and Arthur followed right behind me. Until I turned around and gave him the sign for “get lost.” “That means… you want me to leave?” I looked at him and sneered internally. Reality is far crueler than you imagine, idiot. Seeing I didn’t say anything, his intuition told him he guessed right, so he said: “Little mute, I was misunderstood. I need comforting.” Looking at his smiling face, I always felt he wasn’t asking for comfort. He was asking for a slap. I wouldn’t give him what he wanted. So, I patted him on the head like I was petting a dog. Arthur’s facial expression went blank for a second. But very quickly, he resumed his smile. “Do you come to the roof often?” I didn’t answer, raising my hand to open the roof door. It was locked. I frowned, and before I could react. Arthur pressed up behind me. He leaned against my back, reaching forward with a key in his hand. With a click, the door unlocked. Arthur’s smiling voice sounded from behind me: “After you, little mute.” 4 Arthur gave the key to me. “It’s my fault you can’t sleep in the counselor’s office anymore. You can hang out here from now on.” I typed on my phone and showed him: 【Will you come?】 “Do you want to see me?” He leaned down to look at me. I typed: 【Forget it if you’re coming.】 … Arthur broke his promise to come less often. Out of seven days, he came five times. He even brought his test papers and candy with him every time. Probably because we knew each other now, I started running into him frequently. Sometimes I’d see him staring blankly out the window, sometimes feeding stray cats, sometimes getting confessed to. Arthur was popular with both guys and girls, but his answer was always the same: “Wake up, we’re at the age where we should be studying.” A guy who looked like a total slacker loved advising others to study. What a fake. “Little mute, want some candy?” I was leaning back against the wall, my hands behind my head, eyes closed. I didn’t say anything, just opened my mouth slightly. The next second, an orange-flavored candy was popped into my mouth. But following it were fingertips. I opened my eyes and looked sharply at Arthur. He had already pulled his hand back, looking as if he hadn’t expected me to lick his fingers. I had gotten used to Arthur feeding me candy, mostly because rejecting him was too much trouble, but it had always been lollipops. So this was the first time this happened. His Adam’s apple bobbed: “That…” I looked at the fresh scratches on his face, took a deep breath, and looked away. I’ll spare your life. Because I looked away again, I missed seeing Arthur staring blankly at the finger I had just licked. 5 The more time we spent together, the more Arthur talked. The day he talked the most was the day he got beaten the worst. The sky was nearing dusk, and other students had gradually left after school. I took off my headphones and just opened my eyes. The roof door opened. His usually clean school uniform was covered in mud and dirt, his hair was a mess, and his face was covered in large and small cuts. Great, a face that could easily have been the school’s heartthrob was now barely fit for a host club. He walked up to me holding a bag of medicine, smiling a very ugly smile: “Little mute, help me put some medicine on?” When I saw the shocking wounds on his back, I furrowed my brow. Arthur seemed to feel he should explain, so he said: “This is from fighting for the position of mafia boss…” I pressed the cotton swab hard into his wound. “Hiss…” He drew a sharp breath of cold air and quickly changed his tune: “It was from debt collectors.” I switched to a new cotton swab, dipped it in iodine, and applied it to his wound. “But they aren’t my debts. I’m an upstanding young citizen.” Still joking around even when talking about serious things. I couldn’t be bothered to respond. “It’s debt my dad owes.” Arthur seemed to find the situation a bit awkward. He felt his pockets; no more candy. Then he checked another pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He stared at it for a while, then put it back. Then he pulled it out again. I snatched the cigarettes from him and tossed them into the trash can. He froze for a moment, then suddenly started laughing. Listening to his laughter, I thought he had been beaten crazy. “My mom was trafficked. After I was born, she ran away. When I was 13, my dad racked up a bunch of gambling debts and ran away too.” The setting sun cast a glow on half his face. The blood had long dried. I listened quietly, my hands never stopping the application of medicine. “But I’m lucky. My grandma came looking for me. She gave me a sum of money. It wasn’t enough to pay the debts, but it’s enough for me to finish college.” I’ve never seen someone live like this and still say they were “lucky.” But I wasn’t interested in what he was saying. I just thought it was incredibly rare that someone like him hadn’t turned into a scumbag out for revenge against society. After all, living like this, there was no hope to be seen. 6 After bandaging the wounds on his back, he turned his face toward me. I wiped the dried blood off his face, then applied ointment. As I rubbed the ointment in circles around the corner of his mouth, he stared at me, completely motionless. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I pressed a clean finger against his lips, then slipped it inside. Arthur opened his mouth, looking like he was about to suck my finger in. But I pulled it out. Looking at his thoroughly red ears, I remained expressionless, but my stomach was doing flip-flops. I knew I shouldn’t hang out with idiots all the time. Now look what happened. I’ve become an idiot too. Since that day, the dynamic between Arthur and me became subtle. Simply put, Arthur started initiating physical contact with me frequently. Feeding me candy involved touching my lips, leaving together meant he’d grab my wrist, and sometimes when he was half-asleep doing test papers, he’d rest his head on my shoulder. Of course, I knew he wasn’t actually sleeping. Purely faking it. I had threatened him, but it was also true that he didn’t listen at all. And because he was badly injured that day, rumors flew around the school the next day. Even someone like me, who slept on their desk during class, heard the students in front of me discussing him when I woke up. “He definitely got into a fight again. After all, right after school started, he fought a dozen thugs and beat them all down.” “Oh my god, so that was true! I always thought it was just a rumor…” “How could it be a rumor? If it were, would everyone in school be so afraid of him? They even crowned him the school boss.” It made sense. I nodded, then kicked the chair of the student in front of me. The two of them turned around, and I gave them the sign for “quiet.” This was the sign I used most frequently with them. So, after turning back around, they consciously kept quiet. I looked out the window, a question surfacing in my mind. Are debt collectors really that good at fighting?

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394687”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The day my uncle reported me, he sent a red envelope in the family group chat. It was for a hundred dollars, with the message: “Good things are coming.” Twenty-three people grabbed a piece of the red envelope, and eight replied “Congratulations.” No one asked what they were congratulating. Because the day before, my uncle had said in the group: “Someone’s going to audit Ethan’s company.” I looked at my phone screen and smiled. Let them audit. I had been waiting for this day for three months. 1. My uncle’s name is George Williams, my dad’s older brother. My dad’s name was Arthur Williams. He passed away from stomach cancer six years ago. When he passed, my uncle came over. Not to pay his final respects. But to take the bankbook. “How much money did your dad save up in his life?” That was the first thing he said when he walked through the door. My mom was crying on the bed, and I stood in the doorway. “Uncle George, my dad hasn’t even been buried yet.” “I know,” he said, sitting down. “But bank matters can’t wait. If your dad had savings, we need to sort it out first. The Williams family’s money can’t just go to outsiders.” Outsiders. He glanced at my mom. My mom had been married into the Williams family for twenty-six years, and in his mouth, she was an outsider. I didn’t argue with him that day. My dad had $110,000 in his account. My uncle took $60,000, calling it “his share of the brotherhood over the years.” My mom stopped me, saying: “Don’t fight with your Uncle George. Your dad just left us, and he’s the only elder left in the Williams family.” I didn’t fight. I was twenty-four that year, two years out of college. My salary was $4,500 a month. $60,000 was more than a year of my salary. I remembered that. Later, I started a company. It wasn’t some legendary tale. I just started by selling things at a flea market, then moved into wholesale snacks, and slowly built it up bit by bit. By the third year, my annual revenue surpassed five million. By the fifth year, it surpassed twenty million. My uncle came to see me. “Ethan, your cousin Kevin is working odd jobs, very unstable. Isn’t your company short on people? Let him come help you.” I looked at him. “Uncle George, the company has a hiring process—” “What process?” My uncle slammed his hand on the table. “He’s your own cousin! If your dad were still alive, would I even have to beg you?” My mom tugged at my shirt from the side. “Ethan, just let Kevin come. We’re all family.” So, Kevin joined the company. I put him in the purchasing department. A base salary of $8,000, plus commissions—he could make $12,000 to $15,000 a month. Double what he was making before. My uncle was very satisfied. He was satisfied for three months. Then he came back. “Give Kevin the Purchasing Manager position.” “Uncle George, he’s only been here for three months. He has no experience—” “What do you mean, no experience? If you can be the boss, your cousin, who is even more outstanding than you, can certainly be a purchasing manager!” I looked at him. “Uncle George, this is my company.” “Your company?” My uncle laughed. “If your dad were still alive, would this company even be yours?” That sentence was like a thorn, piercing right into me. I didn’t say anything. The next day, I promoted Kevin to Deputy Purchasing Manager. Not because of my uncle’s words. But because my mom cried all night again. 2. After Kevin became Deputy Manager, the demands from my uncle’s family started to escalate. First, my aunt, Mary, called: “Ethan, your cousin is getting married, and he’s a little short on the down payment for the house. Loan him $300,000.” “Loan?” “Yes, loan. It’s not like he won’t pay you back.” $300,000. I did have money in the company accounts at the time, but it was all tied up in cash flow. Pulling out $300,000 wasn’t easy. My mom said: “Just loan it to him. It’s family.” So I loaned it to him. Transferred straight to Kevin’s account. Didn’t even get an IOU. Then my uncle came again: “Your grandmother isn’t doing well. You pay her hospital bills. You make a lot of money.” I paid it. $80,000. Then my aunt came again: “Kevin’s getting married, and we don’t have enough for the banquet. Pitch in $50,000.” I pitched in. Then Kevin came: “Bro, I’m a little short on buying a car. Loan me $100,000.” I loaned it to him. I keep a notebook. Every single transaction is recorded in it. It’s not that I’m petty. It’s that I discovered something— My uncle was telling people outside: “My nephew’s company, to be honest, relies on the Williams family. Could he be where he is today if I hadn’t pulled him up back then? Giving us a little money is nothing.” A classmate of mine told me this. She heard it at the grocery store. My uncle was chatting with someone while buying groceries. “Ethan makes so much, what’s it to him to give us a little? If it weren’t for the Williams family name, who would do business with him?” $1.46 million. Eight years. That’s the total amount I had spent on my uncle’s family. His exact words were, “giving us a little money is nothing.” Kevin worked at the company for three years. He was relatively honest the first year. Starting the second year, purchasing costs kept getting higher and higher. I asked him: “Why is this batch of raw materials 15% more expensive than last quarter?” He said: “The market price went up. You know that.” I checked the purchasing prices of our competitors. They hadn’t gone up. I then looked into the suppliers Kevin was dealing with. And I discovered something. Of the three suppliers Kevin recommended, two had legal representatives who were his college classmates. The suppliers quoted high prices, and Kevin signed off on the inventory. Where did the price difference go? I had finance audit all the purchase orders Kevin was responsible for. Three years. Total price difference: $870,000. $870,000. I gave him $300,000 for his house down payment. $100,000 for his car. Plus his salary, commissions, and holiday bonuses. His way of repaying me was stealing $870,000 from my company. Sitting in my office that night, looking at that report, my hands were shaking. Not out of fear. But out of anger. 3. I didn’t expose Kevin immediately. I did something else. I hired a professional accounting firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of the company’s accounts for the past three years. The public explanation was, “The company is seeking financing and needs to standardize its financials.” Kevin didn’t take it seriously. He even told my uncle: “Ethan’s looking for financing. Make sure he makes me a Vice President when it happens.” The day the audit results came out, I locked my office door and spent the entire afternoon reading it. Besides Kevin’s issues, the audit revealed something else— Because of the fake accounts Kevin had created, several company expenses were misclassified. As a result, the company had overpaid nearly $500,000 in taxes over the past three years. $500,000. I could apply for a tax refund for this amount. But I didn’t apply for it immediately. Because I suddenly thought of something. If someone reported me for tax evasion and the IRS came to audit my books— What would they find? They would find that I hadn’t evaded taxes. They would find that I had overpaid taxes. And they would also find that Kevin had been cooking the books for three years. I closed the audit report. Then, I fired Kevin. The reason given was “company restructuring and downsizing.” I gave him severance pay. Sent him off with dignity. Kevin even shook my hand when he left: “Bro, thanks for taking care of me these past few years.” I looked at his face. Smiled. “You’re welcome.” My uncle exploded. He stormed into my house that very night. “What is the meaning of this?!” “The company is restructuring. It has nothing to do with Kevin personally.” “Bullshit! He was doing a great job. What right do you have to fire him?” “Uncle George, it was a company decision.” “A company decision? Your company? If it weren’t—” He was about to say that sentence again. I cut him off. “Yes, my company. My name is on the business license.” My uncle glared at me. “Ethan, don’t forget your last name is Williams.” “I haven’t forgotten.” I looked right into his eyes. “But the name Williams was given to me by my dad. Not you.” My uncle slammed the door when he left. The noise was so loud the whole building could hear it. My mom was pale with fear. “Ethan, how could you speak to your uncle like that…” “Mom, he stole $870,000 from my company.” My mom froze. “What?” “Kevin took kickbacks at the company. For three years. $870,000.” My mom sat on the sofa, speechless for a long time. After a while, she finally said something. “Well… just let it go. We’re all family…” I looked at my mom. “$1.46 million.” “Huh?” “In these eight years, I’ve spent $1.46 million on Uncle George’s family. Add the $870,000 Kevin stole. That’s a total of $2.33 million.” I enunciated every word. “Mom, you tell me, which relatives are worth $2.33 million?” My mom stopped talking. 4. A month after Kevin was fired, I noticed something. The company’s financial system login records showed that after Kevin left, someone tried to log in using his old account. The login failed because I had already changed the password. But the IP address of the login attempt was from my uncle’s house. I had the IT department check it. It wasn’t just once. Over the past month, there were seventeen login attempts. All from my uncle’s IP. They were trying to get into the company’s financial system. Why? To find “evidence” of my tax evasion. I looked through the backups of Kevin’s computer from when he was still employed. I found that before he left, he had copied a massive amount of files. Purchase orders, expense reports, tax return forms. Some were real. Some he had altered. He had modified the traces of his fake accounts, making those numbers look like I was evading taxes. I sat in front of my computer, staring at the screen. They weren’t reporting me on impulse. They had been preparing for at least half a year. They started collecting materials and modifying data while Kevin was still at the company. The firing was just the catalyst. They had been planning to take me down for a long time. That day, I called Director Martinez at the accounting firm. “Director Martinez, regarding that audit report, please generate a detailed version for me.” “Mr. Williams, how detailed?” “Detailed down to the original vouchers, cash flow, and final destination of every single fraudulent transaction.” “Understood.” “Also,” I added, “hold off on the tax refund for now. Wait for my notice.” Director Martinez paused. “Mr. Williams, are you waiting for someone?” I didn’t answer. I hung up. I was waiting for my uncle. My uncle moved faster than I expected. Forty-seven days after firing Kevin, I received a call from the IRS. “Mr. Williams, we’ve received a report against your company and need to conduct a tax audit. Please cooperate.” “Understood. When would be a convenient time?” “The day after tomorrow, at 9:00 AM.” “No problem.” I hung up. Opened the family group chat. Sure enough, my uncle had already sent a message. “Good things are coming.” Below it was a red envelope. For a hundred dollars. Twenty-three people grabbed a piece. Eight replied “Congratulations.” My aunt sent a voice message: “Let’s see how stubborn he is this time!” Kevin sent a sinister smiling emoji. My third uncle asked: “What good thing?” My uncle replied: “You’ll know when the time comes.” I put down my phone. Picked up the receiver and called Director Martinez. “You can start preparing the tax refund documents.” 5. The day the IRS arrived, I got to the company an hour earlier than usual. I organized all the ledgers, vouchers, and reports, and placed them in the conference room. The audit report remained locked in my drawer. At exactly 9:00 AM, three IRS agents arrived. The team leader, whose last name was Davis, was in his forties and very stern. “Mr. Williams, we received a report alleging that your company is engaging in tax evasion. According to procedure, we need to conduct a comprehensive audit of your company’s accounts for the past three years.” “Agent Davis, cooperation is expected. All the materials are in the conference room. You can review them anytime.” I opened the door to the conference room. Agent Davis glanced at me. Most business owners being audited didn’t look this relaxed when they walked in. I was too calm. He didn’t say anything and led his team into the conference room. At 10:00 AM. A minivan arrived at the company entrance. My uncle was here. And not just my uncle. My uncle, my aunt, Kevin, my third uncle, my third aunt, my oldest aunt, her husband, my second aunt, and seven or eight distant relatives whose names I couldn’t even remember. Over twenty people. A massive contingent. “Uncle George, what are you all doing here?” Sarah, the receptionist, tried to stop them. “Just taking a look!” my uncle said loudly. “Taking a look at Ethan’s company!” He looked around, a look of triumph in his eyes. “Seeing how many more days this company can stay open!” I looked down from the window of my office. Over twenty people were crammed into the company entrance. A few passersby had already started gathering to watch the spectacle. I called the front desk. “Let them up.” “Mr. Williams?” Sarah’s voice sounded a bit panicked. “Let them up,” I repeated. “Open the main conference room. Serve them tea.” When my uncle led the group upstairs, his face practically screamed, “I’ve finally waited for this day.” He looked even more triumphant when he saw the IRS agents in the conference room. “Oh, you’re here?” He pulled up a chair and sat down. “Audit away, audit thoroughly.” Agent Davis frowned. “And you are?” “I’m his uncle.” He pointed at me. “To be honest, the Williams family owns a piece of this company too.” Agent Davis looked at me. I nodded. “He’s my uncle. Let him watch.” My uncle looked even more pleased with himself. He waved at the relatives behind him. “Sit down, everyone, sit down! Let’s all see what kind of ‘good deeds’ Ethan has been up to today!” The relatives filed in, filling the main conference room. My aunt sat in the front row, legs crossed. Kevin stood in the corner, hands in his pockets, expressionless. After sitting down, my third uncle whispered to his wife: “George said the IRS found a massive problem. He might be fined millions.” My third aunt gasped: “Then isn’t he finished?” The voices weren’t loud. But I heard them. Over twenty pairs of eyes stared at me. Not a single look held any concern. Some were gloating. Some were just waiting for the show. Some looked indifferent. And then there was one—my uncle. His eyes held naked expectation. Waiting for my downfall. Waiting to see me cry. Waiting for me to beg him. I sat in my seat and took a sip of tea. Fine. If it’s a show you want, it’s a show you’ll get. I wanted to see who would be crying in the end. 6. The IRS audited for two days. During those two days, my uncle came every single day. The first day, he could sit still. By the second day, he was getting restless. “Why aren’t they done auditing yet?” He paced back and forth in the hallway, chain-smoking. “Is it almost done?” He asked everyone who came out of the conference room. No one answered him. At 4:00 PM on the second day, Agent Davis asked to speak with me. “Mr. Williams, the preliminary audit results are ready.” “Okay.” “Regarding the materials provided by the whistleblower, I need to verify a few things with you.” “Go ahead.” Agent Davis opened a stack of files. “The whistleblower provided copies of some purchase orders and tax returns from 2021 to 2023, claiming your company evaded taxes by artificially inflating costs.” He looked at me. “But we found in the actual accounts that the materials provided by the whistleblower and the actual data entered into the company’s books—don’t match.” “They don’t match?” “The numbers on the purchase orders provided by the whistleblower are higher than the actual numbers entered into the books.” I remained silent. “In other words,” Agent Davis paused, “the materials provided by the whistleblower have been altered.” I nodded. “I know.” Agent Davis looked at me. “You know?” “These purchase orders were handled by my former Deputy Purchasing Manager, Kevin Williams. During his employment, he artificially inflated purchasing costs and transferred the difference into his personal account. These altered materials are copies he made before he left.” I pulled the audit report out of my drawer. “This is a comprehensive audit I commissioned from an accounting firm half a year ago. It contains the complete chain of evidence of Kevin’s fraudulent accounting.” I handed the report to Agent Davis. “Including the original vouchers for every fraudulent transaction, the corresponding bank statements, and the private accounts where the funds ultimately ended up.” Agent Davis flipped through a few pages. His expression changed. “Mr. Williams… why didn’t you report this to the police earlier?” I smiled. “Because I was waiting for someone.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394671”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I’ve liked Liam for three years. Then, I accidentally overheard him talking to my brother. “Your brother’s twenty-two, right? I’ve never seen him date anyone.” My brother: “Yeah, now that you mention it, I’ve never seen him get close to any girl.” “You really don’t care enough about your brother. Find some time to set him up. He’s like a kid; he needs someone more mature.” My heart sank to the bottom of a lake. There was no way he didn’t know I liked him. But I guess I need to have some dignity. If he’s saying that, it means he doesn’t like me. I immediately pulled out my phone and called in reinforcements. I got my friend from the drama club, Chloe, to pretend to be my girlfriend. I thought I had this in the bag. But when Chloe showed up, both Liam and my brother turned green. 1 When I led Chloe into the private room, my heart was beating a chaotic rhythm. Today was my brother’s birthday, and he had invited some of his closest buddies. Among them, naturally, was our childhood friend, Liam. Coincidentally, my feelings for Liam changed three years ago, turning him from a good buddy into the object of my secret affection. Even more coincidentally, when I was taking care of a drunk Liam a few days ago, I accidentally let slip that I liked him. I originally thought he was too drunk to remember anything, but looking at it today, he must have heard everything. Including that restrained kiss. I didn’t even dare to kiss his face; I just kissed his ring finger. Thinking about it now, I was really shameless. Having a secret crush is one thing, why did I have to… See? He was bringing in outside help to set me straight. So, when I heard him say he was going to set me up, I instinctively called for backup. Instead of waiting for him to introduce someone to me, I might as well find a fake one myself. I’m already like this, why look for a real girlfriend? That would just be ruining someone else’s life! There were over a dozen people in the private room. They all froze for a second when they saw me walk in with Chloe. “No way, I was just wondering why a plus-one brought a plus-one. Tell me, bro, are you showing off to me?!” The one speaking was my brother’s former college roommate. He used to come over to our house a lot, so we were pretty close. I smiled and replied, “I wouldn’t dare show off to you. She was just in the neighborhood, so I brought her over to say hi. I’ll take her back in a bit.” Chloe smiled sweetly, raising her hand to wave, “Hi, everyone. I’m Alex’s girlfriend.” “Oh, okay, okay.” “Hello, hello.” “Yeah, nice to meet you.” … I pointed to my brother and said to Chloe, “This is my biological brother.” Chloe smiled and looked over, “Nice to meet you… brother?” What’s with that tone? I looked at my brother in confusion, only to find his face had turned green, without a hint of a smile. What’s going on? And Liam, sitting next to him, looked even greener. What’s the meaning of this? Anyway, the situation wasn’t right, so running away was the best option. “I just brought her to say hi. I’ll take her back first, I’ll be back in a bit.” With that, I grabbed Chloe’s hand and left the private room amidst a chorus of “Goodbye, sister-in-law.” On the way, I asked Chloe what was going on. Chloe looked troubled and said, “Your brother, he’s been hitting on me lately.” I gasped, “You’re actually my future sister-in-law.” Chloe was furious, “How do you know I have to choose him?!” I pointed at her face, “Your face is burning red, the same color as a boiled lobster.” Chloe hurriedly covered her face. I called a cab to take her back to school. Just before she got out, she suddenly said to me, “I think the guy sitting next to your brother likes you.” Me: … The guy next to my brother was Liam. “Stop joking. He’s the one who wanted to set me up with a girlfriend.” Chloe was shocked, “No way, bro. I’ve been swimming in the shipping fandom for years, my radar is spot on.” I smiled bitterly, “There’s a lot of baggage here. I’ll tell you about it when I have time.” 2 After dropping Chloe off at her dorm, I went back to the restaurant. Thinking about the spicy garlic shrimp and roasted lamb chops on the table, I decided to go wash my hands first. Before, Liam would always peel my shrimp for me. But with the current situation, are we considered to have fallen out? I really didn’t have the face to accept his shrimp-peeling service anymore. I was sadly washing my hands when someone grabbed me from behind by the waist and dragged me into the bathroom stall. Holy crap, what’s going on? Kidnapping? Just as I was about to yell, a hand covered my mouth. Liam’s voice sounded in my ear, “It’s me.” My body instantly relaxed, but because I was so scared just now, the sudden release made my legs go weak. As I slumped down, Liam caught me in a full embrace. He pressed me against the wall, forcing me to stand up straight. “What’s wrong? Why are your legs weak?” My face flushed red. Never mind the weak legs, why is he talking to me from so close! He was speaking right into my ear. I didn’t even dare to turn my head; if I did, I’d definitely kiss him on the mouth. I didn’t say anything. Liam chuckled twice, then continued to ask close to my ear, “How come you never told me you had a girlfriend? Why so distant?” I pushed him, but my hands met rock-hard pecs. Heh, show-off. I pushed a few times but couldn’t move him. So I just stiffened my neck and answered, “It’s not a big deal, so I didn’t think to tell you guys.” “Then why tell us today?” “I thought the timing was right, and she was in the neighborhood.” “How long have you been together?” I kept pushing him. Seriously, why does he have to build so much muscle? A weakling like me can’t move him at all. “Do you have to talk to me like this? Let me go first.” “Alright.” He finally let me go, and the surrounding air rushed back in. Being pinned in the corner by him just now really made me feel like I was trapped by an iron wall, unable to breathe. “Speak.” My eyes darted around, then I clutched my stomach, “Bro~ I’m so hungry, my stomach hurts. Can I eat something first? Let’s talk after I eat.” “Stomach?” I moved my hand covering my belly upwards a bit. Liam looked at me and nodded, “Fine, let’s eat first. After we’re done, you’re coming home with me.” “What?” I was shocked, “I’m not going home with you.” “Then let’s make things clear right now.” Me: … “I’ll give you two choices. Say it now, or think it through now, get your thoughts in order, make up a lie, and tell me when we go home tonight.” Me: … “Looks like you want to say it now.” I sighed, “I’ll go home with you tonight.” “Let’s go.” Back in the private room, they were talking about some new project they were working on. I didn’t understand a word; I just wanted to eat. But looking at the table, there was basically nothing left. Just as I was falling into despair, Liam pulled out two food storage containers from the cabinet behind him. “I didn’t know when you’d be back, so I got some food set aside for you. I also ordered a bowl of bamboo noodles from the waiter just now, you should eat some carbs too.” I watched him open the lids of the containers and place them in front of me. My favorite lamb chops, present. My favorite shrimp, also present. The broccoli and carrots I hate, also present. … I secretly pushed the container with broccoli and carrots to the side. But it was pushed right back. “Don’t be a picky eater.” Despair. But the lamb chops and shrimp were really good. While I was gnawing on the lamb chop, Liam was peeling shrimp for me on the side. He shouldn’t be this good to me; it makes it hard for me not to like him even more. 3 It was already past ten when we finished eating. When everyone was leaving, my brother told me to go home with him. Me: … Liam reached out and put his arm around me, “He’s coming home with me. I need to interrogate him about his girlfriend.” I didn’t dare to look up, so I just peeked at my brother from the corner of my eye. His face was green. His hair, which he had dyed blue before, had faded, and now it looked kind of yellowish-green too. Right now, I didn’t dare face my brother. As it stands, I kind of cuckolded him. Ahhh, his glare is so scary. I want to go home with Liam. Liam tightened his arm, spinning me around in a half-circle, “We’re leaving first.” Then, with his arm around my waist, he dragged me away. I was too submissive to make a sound, like a little lamb entering the tiger’s den. The designated driver drove the car, and Liam and I sat in the backseat. There was clearly a lot of space, but he insisted on squeezing me right against the door, his arm resting behind my head, draped over the headrest… It was clearly a three-person backseat, but the two of us were only taking up the space of one and a half people. I was practically plastered against the door. “Bro, can you move over a bit?” He grunted and moved slightly, but not by much. The driver left after pulling the car into the garage. I got out of the car but stood there, refusing to move. Liam looked at me and sneered, “What, are you waiting for me to carry you in, or sling you over my shoulder?” I shivered. Those actions were way too intimate. I was afraid my heart would skip a beat. “I’ll walk.” With that, I dragged my weak legs to the front door, extended my index finger, and the fingerprint lock opened instantly. Once inside, I shrank into a corner, not daring to move. Liam walked past me, took out my designated slippers, and placed them at my feet. The look in his eyes was a bit scary; I didn’t really want to go in. “Bro, it’s getting late. How about you hurry up, wash up, and go to sleep?” He leaned against the shoe cabinet and smiled, “Not a good idea.” He checked his watch, “I’ll give you ten minutes. Change your shoes, go up to the second floor, to my room, change your clothes, wash up, and then sit nicely and wait for me.” Me: … He really had my whole schedule planned out. I wanted to cry but had no tears, so I had to follow his instructions. I timed it; it took me twelve minutes. I casually grabbed a set of clothes from his closet, put them on, and then sat obediently on the bed waiting for him. When Liam came in, he had also changed his clothes. He must have washed up in the guest bathroom. He walked to the edge of the bed and ruffled my hair. I looked up and gave him a toothy grin. “Good boy.” With that, he picked up the remote from the bedside table and lowered the projector screen. I was confused, “It’s so late, are we still watching a movie?” He stood in front of me, reached out, and pinched my chin, “Come on, let’s settle the score.” “Huh? What score, bro? I didn’t do anything.” “When did you and your girlfriend start dating?” I blurted out, “Two months ago.” “Oh, two months~” “Yeah, two months.” I nodded, confirming my own lie. “Break up with her.” He leaned closer and closer to me. “Ah?” I scrambled backward until I was in the middle of the bed. “Don’t come any closer. Just stand there and say whatever you want to say.” “You being with her, is it a moral failing on your part, or a moral failing on hers? Which one of you do you think is the problem?” What kind of nonsense is this? It sounds like a tongue twister. I thought about it for five seconds and couldn’t figure it out, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.” “Your brother started pursuing her half a year ago, and currently, the two of them are in an ambiguous stage. If she’s dating both of you at the same time, it means her character is flawed. I don’t mind letting the whole school know.” I pointed a finger at him, “Don’t mess around, there’s nothing wrong with her.” He instantly grabbed my hand and pulled. I fell straight into his chest. “If she doesn’t have a problem, then you’re the one with the problem.” I was dragged into his embrace and held tight, unable to break free. I struggled while arguing back, “What problem do I have? I don’t have a problem.” He chuckled twice, “You don’t have a problem? You like someone else, yet you’re dating a girl. And during your relationship, you kissed someone else. Do you still think you don’t have a problem?” I completely froze. What does he mean? How does he know I like someone? How does he know I kissed someone else? Then does he know who I like? I sat there dumbfounded, but he simply picked up the remote and pressed play. 4 When the video started playing, I was completely stupefied. He was playing a piece of security footage. In the footage, I was carrying a drunk Liam into the bedroom. I tried to snatch the remote from his hand. He casually tossed the remote into the corner of the sofa. “Liam, pause it.” He pinched my cheeks, the anger in his eyes practically overflowing. “You’re not even calling me ‘bro’ anymore. You know what happens next in this footage, right? I’ve watched it no less than twenty times. It’s no use refusing to watch it now. You’re going to watch the whole thing.” I was held firmly in his embrace, completely immobilized. He forced me to watch the video. In the video, I helped him drink water, wiped his body, covered him with a blanket, and babbled on about how much I liked him. Finally, I wanted to kiss him on the cheek, but after thinking about it for a few minutes, I took his hand and kissed his ring finger. I closed my eyes. It’s over. It’s all over. Everything is ruined. Liam actually knew. “Liking a guy but dating a girl, do you think you have any morals?” Hearing his questioning tone, my tears just started flowing. I felt so wronged. It’s bad enough that I like him and can’t say it, but now he’s scolding my character. “I don’t like guys, I just…” He turned me around, stared into my eyes, and asked, “You just what?” Things had reached a point of no return. I took a deep breath and said, “I don’t like guys, I just… like you, that’s all.” Now it was Liam’s turn to freeze. “I admit, I am immoral. I like you, I’m too immoral. But how could I say something like that out loud? With what happened today, we won’t even be friends anymore.” The more I cried, the sadder I got, eventually breaking into a loud wail. “How can you have security cameras? When did you install them? Even if you have them, why did you have to check them? And if you checked them, why did you have to watch? And if you watched, why did you have to make me watch? Do you know how awful I feel? Waaaaah~~~~~~” I wailed while rolling around on the bed. Liam watched in utter shock. Liam tried to pull me up, but I swatted him away with a slap. When I finally cried enough and vented my emotions, I quietly curled up in a corner of the bed, sobbing to myself. Liam: … Liam reached out to grab me, and I brushed him off. He tried to speak, and I covered my ears and howled. “Okay, okay, okay. Stop crying. You’re not going to listen to anything I say right now anyway, are you? Let’s just go to sleep, it’s too late. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.” With that, he lay down beside me. Maybe I was just tired from howling. Carrying a heart full of sorrow, I actually fell asleep within a few minutes. Early the next morning, when I woke up, I didn’t dare to move an inch. Because I was being held by Liam. This is getting ambiguous, bro. I slowly slid out of his embrace, changed into my own clothes, and basically executed a grand escape. Given the situation last night, he clearly wanted to warn me not to harbor any more feelings for him or whatever. Pfft. Whatever, the damage is already done. From now on, Liam and I will go our separate ways. He takes the high road, and I’ll take the low road. I’m never thinking about him again. There are so many guys out there. I refuse to hang myself on his lush, flourishing, giant tree of a self. 5 After getting back to school, I quickly found Chloe. She came out right after washing her face, looking exhausted. “What happened to you? Why are you so tired? What were you doing?” Chloe slumped on the table, “Your brother called me, sent WeChat messages, asking what was going on. He kept me up for an hour.” “Did you tell my brother?” Chloe rolled her eyes at me, “I didn’t even know how you were going to handle things on your end, so I didn’t tell him the truth. I kept changing the subject, but he just kept asking and asking, and I…” I asked nervously, “What did you do?” “I blocked your brother.” Me: … “Let’s put your brother aside for now. Why did you look for me so early?” I stammered out the events of last night to her. Chloe looked shocked, her mouth hanging open as she listened to my story. “Bro, I wouldn’t even dare write a script like this. If it’s really like that, aren’t you guys done? This is a bad ending.” I slumped on the table, “If it’s a bad ending, then it’s a bad ending. There are so many guys out there, there’s bound to be someone who likes me.” Hearing this, Chloe leaned forward, “Upperclassman, I know a few guys. Should I introduce you? They’re all from the acting department, super handsome. There was originally one who was adorably handsome, but unfortunately, you’re too late, he already has a husband.” “But!” She spread her hands in front of me, “I have several good guys on hand, top-tier quality, and their character is also great. The main thing is that their orientation aligns with yours. Want to consider?” I remained silent. Seeing I wasn’t speaking, she continued, “A so-called breakup is just a transitional period. The guys I’m introducing to you are really, really good. You can try interacting with them. Who knows, fate might just arrive! Just treat it as me introducing you to a new friend.” That actually makes some sense. “Alright then!” Chloe chuckled a few times and took out her phone. “I’ll send you their WeChat contacts. I’ll introduce you to the first one, named Noah. He’s the highest quality one, and now that I think about it, he actually looks a bit like the guy you like. If you guys don’t work out, I’ll introduce you to the others. But let’s be clear upfront, no treating him as a stand-in. Noah is a really good guy.” I lay paralyzed on the table, unmoving, just raising an arm to flash her an ‘OK’ sign. 6 I didn’t expect to meet Noah so soon. While I was walking Chloe back to her dorm, we bumped right into Noah halfway there. Chloe clapped her hands, “What is this? This is destiny.” Handsome, truly handsome. He was only slightly less handsome than Liam. Liam too, why does he have to be so good-looking? A sucker for good looks like me… Sigh, don’t think about it, don’t think about it. “Hello~” Noah said with a smile. “Hello~” I replied with a smile. Chloe stood aside, smiling at the two of us. “I’m heading to our family’s restaurant for a tasting. If you guys aren’t busy, want to come with?” Chloe glanced at me, “Sure, let’s go together then. Alex, his family runs a seafood buffet. If you’re free, let’s all go.” Hmm, sounds good. I haven’t even had breakfast anyway, and I’m a bit hungry. But, a seafood buffet must be really expensive, right? I’ll just transfer the money to him after we eat. Seeming to notice my hesitation, Noah spoke up, “Don’t overthink it. Mainly, we have new dishes now and need people to taste them. Having two more people to taste and offer suggestions helps them improve. It’s not really a formal meal.” Chloe chimed in, “Noah always invites us to tastings. Sometimes, if we give good suggestions, his dad even rewards us with dining vouchers.” Oh, is that so? Then I won’t hold back.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394688”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I had a crush on my childhood best friend for years, but I never dared to confess because he was homophobic. At the New Year’s Eve dinner, I unexpectedly heard him say he already liked someone. I, who usually never touched a drop of alcohol, got completely wasted that night. But… drinking ruins things. When I woke up the next morning and saw my best friend on the pillow next to me. I knew I was screwed. Before I even had time to run away, the door was pushed open by a group of people. My best friend’s parents, and my own parents, just stood there dumbfounded at the door, staring at us. “Mom, Dad! Mr. and Mrs. Vance! It’s not what you…” Before I could finish, my best friend, who had just woken up and was covered in ambiguous marks, put his arm around my shoulder from behind. “It is exactly what you see. We are together.” 1 I looked at the person leaning next to me in disbelief. What is he saying? Either I drank too much last night and my brain wasn’t clear yet. Or Arthur’s brain was broken. “No, we…” The words I was about to say got stuck in my throat because of Arthur’s actions. He pulled the blanket and wrapped me up completely. When he spoke again, his voice was a bit hoarse, with a hint of a reckless tone. “How about… you give us some time to get ourselves cleaned up first, and then we’ll come out to accept your interrogation?” As soon as Arthur spoke, the expressions of everyone present changed. “Ahem, okay, you guys clean up properly. No rush, no rush. We’ll wait for you outside.” Just go, just go. If you don’t go soon, I’m going to spontaneously combust. My brain hadn’t processed it just now. As soon as Arthur spoke, I realized I wasn’t wearing anything. Judging from the commotion we made last night. I probably wasn’t very clean right now either. The door closed, and I reacted like there was a spring attached to my butt. I immediately jumped away. 2 But that one move left Arthur completely exposed to the air. He didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Noticing me looking at him. He even lay back down comfortably. Letting me look. “Pervert!” Arthur’s tone was laughing. “Chloe, get it straight. Right now, it’s because you wrapped yourself in the entire blanket that I’m like this.” Fine. I lay back down wearily. I wasn’t feeling as embarrassed anymore. Just worried about what to do about the current situation. “What should we tell them?” “Just tell them whatever.” Arthur was fiddling with something next to me, his arm brushing against me every now and then. The intimate contact couldn’t help but make me think of last night. The mood that had just calmed down suddenly flared up with anger again. “Arthur! Why didn’t you stop me last night?!” I was drunk last night. But Arthur wasn’t. He accidentally got injured at work a while ago. He was currently in the dietary restriction phase. So he didn’t have a single drop of alcohol last night. He was sober from start to finish. “Chloe, how can you turn the tables on me? Did I not try to stop you? I tried, but it was useless.” He suddenly sat up from the bed. Not caring at all about his appearance, he dug his clothes out of the closet and threw them on casually. “Did you forget? I’m injured. I’m a patient. How could I possibly stop a normal, drunk adult male like you?” I suspected he was tricking me, but I had no proof. “Put your clothes on. Let’s deal with your parents and my parents first, then we’ll deal with things between us.” 3 Just like that, wearing Arthur’s clothes. Arthur and I sat in a row in front of our four elders. Listening to Arthur accept their judgment. “So the person you said you liked last night was Chloe?” “Yes.” “So you guys have been together for a long time?” “To be accurate, we only got together last night.” “Are you two serious?” My thoughts had flown who knows where. I suddenly felt my hand being grabbed by the person next to me. “Yes.” Arthur smiled very gently. As if everything he just said was true. But I didn’t feel a single trace of emotion. Because I knew Arthur didn’t like me. He was homophobic. And I was the one who had secretly loved him for many years but didn’t dare to confess. Our family and the Vance family had known each other for many years. Arthur and I had known each other since birth. We went to elementary school, middle school, and high school together, only separating in college. Later, after graduating from college, we both returned to this city to develop our careers. It could be said that in my life, apart from my parents. The person who occupied the most memories was Arthur. I don’t know when my feelings for him changed. From always being good friends and good buddies, to wanting to be his partner and stay by his side for a lifetime. But I didn’t dare to confess. Just because he didn’t like men. But Arthur had never been in a relationship all these years. I thought I might still have a faint chance. But I didn’t expect… Last night, at the two families’ New Year’s Eve dinner. Faced with Mrs. Vance’s pressure to get married, Arthur said he already liked someone. If it were anyone else, I might have thought he was just brushing her off. But if it was Arthur. 4 Then it was true. Because he wouldn’t bother lying about such things. Or brush it off. Listening beside him, my heart went cold. It seemed I completely had no chance. So, as someone whose secret crush had come to nothing, I drank cup after cup until I was drunk. My last memory was Mrs. Vance telling Arthur to take me back to my room to rest. The Vance family had a room specifically for me. My family also had a room specifically for Arthur. But… why did I wake up in Arthur’s room today? I had no idea. “Since you two are serious, we aren’t traditional-minded people, but I want to tell you something. “Given the relationship between our two families, if you really decide to be together now, and in the future you can’t make it work, we will absolutely not distance ourselves because of your little issues. No matter how unhappy you are, you’ll have to endure it when the time comes.” My heart skipped a beat. This was the worst-case scenario I had imagined. Now it was suddenly spoken out loud. I felt terrible. “Mrs. Vance, actually Arthur and I…” “Mom, can’t you hope for the best for us? Don’t worry, I will never break up with him in this lifetime, unless… he doesn’t want me anymore.” A trial, raised high and put down gently. My parents were strangely calm. They hardly said a few words from start to finish. Instead, I was the one who felt very uneasy from beginning to end. “Chloe, let’s go home.” I walked numbly towards the door. But after taking two steps, I realized my hand was still tightly held by Arthur. He smiled and leaned close to me. “Don’t close your window tonight.” I knew what he meant. I hesitated to speak, and finally just nodded. I followed my parents home. Fifteen hours after the incident, I heard the sound of my window being gently pushed open. I got up and met the eyes of Arthur, who had flipped in from outside. “Want to talk?” 5 Arthur didn’t like me. “Since things have already happened, it’s not good to say everything was a misunderstanding. If I really said that today, my parents would definitely kick me out of the house on the first day of the New Year.” Right. “And last night… you were the one who got taken advantage of. If I had just laid everything out, wouldn’t that be selling you out?” Arthur sat with his legs spread on the chair. Even though he had been working for a few years. In front of people close to him, he still had that reckless vibe. Like a kid. “You haven’t come out to your parents, have you?” “I have.” “Ah? You came out to your parents a long time ago?!” Arthur seemed like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on; his aura suddenly became stronger. He wasn’t satisfied just sitting on the chair anymore. In two steps, he crossed over to my bed, planting his hands on my shoulders. “Chloe, how many years have we known each other?” Facing Arthur’s handsome face so close, I still couldn’t help but swallow. “Twenty-seven years.” “Right! Twenty-seven years, and you coming out, such a huge thing, I didn’t even know! What do you take me for?!” I looked at Arthur with confusion. Wasn’t it because he was homophobic that I didn’t dare tell him? Could it be that just because we’re good friends and good buddies, he could magically not be homophobic? I brushed Arthur’s hands away. “Aren’t we talking about last night? If you don’t have anything else to say, I want to rest.” I was tossed around all night last night. And spent all day today worrying about this. 6 I didn’t sleep at all. I finally felt sleepy at night, and Arthur popped up again. “Oh, right, let’s talk about last night.” He seemed to finally grasp the main point. And retreated back to the chair. “Anyway, let’s just pretend to be a couple for now.” After waiting for a long time, I thought he was going to come up with some brilliant idea. And this was it? I pursed my lips. I wanted to ask him, aren’t you homophobic? Then why are you willing to pretend to be a couple with me? But I quickly suppressed that thought. Just pretending. It’s not real anyway. Of course he doesn’t care. It’s me who’s suffering. The person I like is right in front of me, and I don’t dare do anything. The more I thought about it, the more depressed I got. So I asked him to leave again. But Arthur didn’t leave immediately. Instead, his hands were hidden in his pockets, who knows what he was hiding. He didn’t make a move for a long time. I yawned and looked at him with a cold face. “If you’re fine, can you go back first? Or if you have something, let’s talk about it in a couple of days.” Arthur finally moved. But he moved towards me. He lunged onto my bed. His ears red, he pulled out the hidden object. “Let me take a look.” “Look at what?” “Well… last night, I think I might have used a bit too much force. You kept crying. I was thinking you might be hurt, so let me check. If you are, I’ll put some medicine on it.” I instantly realized what Arthur was talking about. What do you mean I kept crying? That wasn’t… it wasn’t from pain. And even if I was really hurt, would I need him to help me? Seeing I wasn’t moving, Arthur thought I was being shy. “Don’t be shy. It’s your own body, and I saw everything last night anyway.” Saying that, he was about to make a move. I quickly grabbed my waistband and kicked Arthur off the bed. “Get lost!” 7 “If you have any other discomfort, remember to tell me. If it’s really bad, we’ll go to the hospital.” I lay on the bed. Feeling no desire to live. In the end, I still let Arthur have his way. Who told him to look at me with those sparkling eyes every time; I could never refuse him. This time was no exception. “I know, you can get lost now.” I heard rustling sounds in the room, presumably him packing his things. When the room quieted down. I was just about to see if he had already left. “Chloe.” “Hmm?” Arthur hadn’t left; he was sitting on the windowsill. Propping his head up, looking at me. “Do you have someone you like?” My heart sank. Did he figure it out? Recalling everything from morning until now, it shouldn’t be. I didn’t think I exposed myself anywhere. “Why do you ask?” “Otherwise, why would you be so resistant to us pretending to be a couple?” Arthur’s words instantly made me relax. So that’s what he thought. That’s fine then. “Of course I do. You have someone you want to develop a relationship with, aren’t I allowed to have one too?” I don’t know if it was my illusion. But I felt Arthur’s expression turn weird. As if he were angry. “Sure, why not? But before we end this fake relationship, you’d better not have any developments with your crush, understand?” “You’d better do the same.” Arthur left. Before leaving, he even closed the window for me. But my heart couldn’t calm down. 8 What was this? A brief fulfillment of a dream? Although I didn’t know how things would develop later, I knew that my secret crush on Arthur couldn’t let him find out. Otherwise, even this brief pretense of being a couple couldn’t continue. “What?! You two… you guys? Are together?” Liam almost spat out the water in his mouth. I leaned away slightly. “We’re pretending to be together.” He wiped the corner of his mouth and leaned close to me. His eyes twitching like he had a cramp. “You two did this and that, did everything you’re supposed to do, and now you’re telling me it’s fake?” Thinking about it gave me a headache too. “It was all an accident. I drank too much that day.” Liam pouted, “I think he probably has feelings for you too. You drank too much, but he didn’t. How could he not push you away?” I sighed faintly, “Did you forget? He’s injured, and you know what I’m like when I drink too much.” Liam seemed to recall what I looked like when I was drunk. After a long moment, he finally accepted this fact. “I forgot, when you’re drunk, you’re harder to hold down than a cow. And meeting the object of your long-term crush, it’s indeed easy to do some irrational things.” Even though. I didn’t really like this description. “Then aren’t you going to take this opportunity to seize the chance?” “He won’t like me. And with things like this now, it’s even harder to say I like him. I always feel like, that night, I did it on purpose.” Liam thought about it. In the end, he still nodded. “But I feel like there’s still a lot of…” “Feel like what?” Just as Liam was getting into it, a familiar voice dropped from above our heads. 9 The next second, Arthur sat down next to me. I turned to look at him, a bit dazed. “Why are you here?” “Why can’t I be here? I just sent you a message and you didn’t reply. Turns out you were meeting with him.” Arthur leaned slightly closer to me, looking at Liam somewhat provocatively. Liam, who had almost exposed my secret crush, felt very guilty at this moment. I picked up the phone on the table and looked at it. Arthur had indeed sent me a message, but we were so engrossed in our chat just now. I didn’t notice. “Mom and Dad asked us to go home, they have something to tell us. I dropped by to pick you up.” “Ah, okay.” I looked at Liam. “You should go, you should go. I can just go back myself.” I don’t know what Liam said that displeased Arthur. The guy who looked to be in a good mood just a moment ago suddenly had a long face. I couldn’t care less. I grabbed Arthur and left. I thought my parents just wanted to chat simply about me and Arthur. I didn’t expect… “Live together?!” “Yeah! Your relationship is developing so well, living together is only a matter of time. You’re both busy, so moving in together is just right.” My mom really knew how to drop a bombshell quietly. When they caught us red-handed that day, I thought my mom was very indifferent. Turns out, she was waiting for me here. I turned and gave Arthur a look. “Sure, actually I had the same idea. After all, you only truly know if you’re compatible when you live together. Right, Arthur?” What a load of crap. Right now, I really couldn’t see through Arthur. Doesn’t he have someone he likes? Isn’t he homophobic? 10 Why was he still rushing to live with me? Outnumbered, my mom made the final decision. She had Arthur move in with me. The next day, his suitcase was already sitting in my house. “What’s the meaning of this?” Arthur was currently unpacking. Hearing my question, he looked at me with a very innocent expression. “What meaning could I have? Didn’t Auntie ask me to move in?” “Couldn’t you just refuse?” “I could have refused, but if I did, they would definitely suspect something. Do you think they could accept the truth of our situation?” Arthur really understood me well. And my parents too. After all, when I came out back then, it took my mom a very long time to accept it. If they knew that Arthur and I had accidentally slept together. That would indeed be very hard to accept. “Fine, then you sleep in the guest room.” “How about… you go check the guest room first?” Confused, I turned and went to the guest room, looking at the completely empty space. My head instantly started pounding. “Where’s the bed?!” “Probably they still sensed something. After all, during this time, you haven’t met me much. How did we look like a passionately in love couple?” During this time, Arthur had indeed asked me out. But I had never dared to meet him. After that day, the memories I lost due to being drunk gradually surfaced in my mind. From hazy memories at first to clear ones later. Every minute, every second of that night, finally appeared clearly in my dreams. This made me even more afraid to face Arthur. So, facing his invitations, I rejected them all under the guise of being too busy with work. Thinking about it now, I was indeed the one who didn’t do well enough. 11 “Fine, but we agree, we can sleep together, but no crossing the line.” Arthur leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Looking at me with an ambiguous expression. I used to think I understood Arthur very well, after all, we grew up together. You could say I was the person who understood him best. But now. Or rather, since that night, I couldn’t understand what Arthur was thinking at all. Does he hate me? Or is he simply afraid of trouble, wants to take responsibility, and that’s why he got close to me. “Fine, but did you forget about your habit of being restless in your sleep?” Under Arthur’s teasing. I blushed. I do indeed have that habit. Sleeping is like fighting. Since I was little, I could only sleep alone. Otherwise, the other person would definitely get kicked by me a few times during the night. But facing Arthur, I only wanted to say. I can lose the battle, but not the attitude. “I’ve already changed! I sleep very peacefully now. That was when I was a kid. You haven’t slept with me recently, how do you know what I’m like when I sleep now?” “Oh~ Fine, then I guess I was judging a gentleman with a petty heart.” Although I won the verbal argument. But really having to share a bed with Arthur. I was nervous to death inside. Lying on the bed, listening to the sound of water coming from inside. For a moment, I even wanted to just go sleep on the sofa outside. We aren’t a real couple. Why do we have to sleep together? The more I thought about it, the more I felt I was right. So I hurriedly climbed out of bed, ready to grab a blanket and sleep on the sofa outside. But as soon as I turned around, I bumped into a warm embrace. “Where are you going?” Arthur’s slightly hoarse voice sounded above my head. I violently stepped back. Almost bumping into the wardrobe door. Only then did I see clearly what he looked like now. 12 Arthur was wearing the same pajamas as me. It was when he came to my house before, saw them, and insisted I give him the link to buy the same ones. Now, in this ambiguous atmosphere, it felt even more weird. His hair wasn’t even dry yet. And he hurried out. “No, nowhere. I just suddenly felt you were right, I don’t sleep well. It’s better if I don’t sleep with you, so I don’t disturb you.” Saying that, I was about to walk out. But Arthur reached out and stopped me. “It’s fine, I don’t mind. Plus, I have a solution.” Have a solution? What solution could he have? He couldn’t possibly tie me up before sleeping, could he? “Or, are you scared?” People really can’t resist reverse psychology. As soon as someone provokes them, they fall for it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in the situation I am now. I could feel the rise and fall of the breathing of the person next to me. Even though the sound wasn’t loud. But it could easily affect my breathing rhythm, as well as my heartbeat. Sharing a bed like this. To be honest, Arthur and I had experienced it quite a few times. But those were just childhood memories. As adults, or rather, after I realized my feelings for him, this was only the second time. My mind was full of the scenes from that night. My whole body felt like it was going to catch fire. Forget it. If I lose face, I lose face. I can’t just stare blankly for a whole night tonight. “Arthur, I think I still…” I had just lifted a corner of the blanket when the person next to me suddenly rolled over. An arm pressed on my waist, pushing down my movement to get up. Then Arthur leaned his whole body over. He intimately pulled me into his arms. Just when my whole body was stiff and I didn’t know what to do. He suddenly nuzzled my cheek. “Chloe, are you…” “Yes!” “Do you hate me a lot?” 13 I didn’t expect Arthur to ask such a question. Even less did I expect that when I wanted to directly admit my feelings for him, he would ask such a question. Both of us froze at the same time. I could feel Arthur’s hand on my waist suddenly tighten, as if stimulated by my words. “You hate me?” In the eerily quiet bedroom, Arthur spoke first. His tone carried a deep sense of disbelief. As if he didn’t expect me to say those words. “No, that’s not what I meant. I thought you were going to ask…” Arthur suddenly reached out and closed the distance between us. Almost without me anticipating it, I bumped straight into his body. When this guy usually wears clothes, he doesn’t look like he has much muscle, but in reality, his muscles are very well-defined. Bumping into him so suddenly. I felt like my whole body was not well. My body hurt. And Arthur, like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. Buried his head next to my neck. His tone was full of grievance and unreasonableness. “How could you hate me! We grew up together, aren’t I your best friend? I haven’t done anything to let you down, why do you hate me? Is it just because of what happened that night? But you weren’t unhappy that night either!” Hearing Arthur’s words. My head started pounding. My subconscious told me that if I didn’t stop what he was going to say next, it was very likely he would say some earth-shattering things. So I reached out, trying to push Arthur’s head away. 14 Who knew this guy was harder to hold down than a pig before the New Year. He stubbornly wouldn’t let me touch him. His head was buried dead tight next to my neck. “Am I wrong? You haven’t forgotten about that night either. If you were going to be angry, why didn’t you tell me you were angry back then? Now that so much time has passed, you’re telling me you hate me. Chloe, this is unfair to me!” “It has nothing to do with that. Can you get up first? Don’t you know how heavy you are?” If he pressed any further. I felt I wasn’t far from death either. Sure enough, Arthur heard me say that. He silently loosened the arm wrapped around my waist a bit, and his body lifted slightly off me. But not much. The distance between us was like that night. If I just raised my head slightly, I could kiss Arthur’s lips in the dark. Realizing what I was thinking, I quickly turned my head away, trying not to face him. But Arthur noticed my movement. He suddenly reached out and grabbed my chin, forcefully turning my head back. “You’re feeling guilty. I was right.” “I am not.” “If you’re not, why are you hiding from me? Chloe, do you know how sad I am? No matter how much we fought before, you never said you hated me. And now you hate me over this one thing?” Actually, I really wanted to say. This isn’t the same as our childhood play-fights. What happened recently touched the bottom line. Arthur’s breath hit my face. For a moment, I didn’t know if it was our current distance or his overly hot breath that was making my whole body start to heat up. Especially my face.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394672”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My sugar daddy’s father called to pressure him into marriage and urge him to have a child quickly. Liam remained unmoved and instead threatened his father: “If you dare try any tricks to produce a child for me, I’ll strangle it to death and bury you both together.” I listened from the side, trembling with fear. Seeing my reaction, Liam gently pulled me into his arms and coaxed, “Be good. I won’t get married, and I won’t have children.” I nodded timidly. I didn’t dare tell him that he actually already had a child. I gave birth to him. 1 Liam felt my palms going cold. He thought I was frightened. Afraid that he would abandon me after getting married. He frowned, his expression growing even colder. He told the person on the other end of the phone directly: “I’ll go get a vasectomy tomorrow. I guarantee I’ll end our family line.” Liam’s dad was so furious he could only stutter “You, you, you” for a long time. But Liam? He still had the presence of mind to comfort me. “Don’t be afraid. I do what I say. I hate kids the most. It’s best if I don’t have an heir.” A gentle kiss landed on my forehead. His tone was resolute. It seemed he was determined to end his bloodline. I forced a smile in return. In reality, my palms were sweating cold sweat. Liam didn’t want children. What if he found out about Noah’s existence? What if he really tried to strangle him? Liam’s warm chest leaned in, and he kissed my cheek again. “Are you not coming back again tomorrow?” Although Liam and I were in a sugar daddy/baby relationship, I always spent two or three days a week away from his house. Because I needed to go back and spend time with my child. But I told Liam I was going home to keep my parents company. I answered him nervously. “Yeah, my mom isn’t feeling well. I need to go back to do laundry and clean the house.” “I can hire a nanny for your mom.” I strongly declined: “No need, no need. My mom isn’t used to that.” If Liam really hired a nanny, wouldn’t the fact that there was a child at home be exposed? Liam remained silent for a long time. Although he was very unhappy about it, he still held it in. But he had to get some sweetness out of me in return. “Then let’s do it one more time.” “…” 2 I am intersex. Four years ago, I was betrayed by a friend. While escaping, I hid in a room with a slightly open door. And ran into Liam, who had also been drugged. I can’t even remember clearly how we started kissing. In the dim room. His hand stopped at a certain place. He paused for a good while. “What is this?” Liam looked down at me, his eyes revealing a silent question. My face flushed red, and I bit his hand. “I can do either. Both are fine.” His eyes darkened slightly, as if he understood something. We were like dry wood and a raging fire. We didn’t stop until two or three in the morning. When I woke up the next day, an arm was still draped across my waist. The man beside me had his eyes closed. His eyelashes were long, his brow bone prominent, and his profile exceptional. It was a good-looking face that seemed both passionate and heartless. Thinking of his low panting in my ear last night, my face grew hot again. I didn’t have time for regrets. I put on my clothes and hurriedly sneaked away. I thought that would be the end of it. But two weeks later, feeling unwell, I went to the hospital for a check-up. Only to discover I was pregnant. 3 My body is different from normal people’s. I had originally planned to live my whole life alone. But this sudden little life disrupted my plans. He is my precious baby. The doctor said my body needed proper rest to keep the baby. So I quit my job and went back to my hometown. I didn’t return until Noah was almost old enough for kindergarten. I found a job as a waiter at a club as a transition. One day, I was intentionally given a hard time by a group of people, and Liam saved me. “What are you spacing out for?” The man stood tall, his features cold and stern. An oppressive aura naturally emanated from him. We hadn’t seen each other in three years. Yet I recognized him at a glance. But he seemed not to recognize me anymore. I suppressed the turmoil in my heart and awkwardly thanked him. “Thank you, sir.” Liam stared at my face, seemingly noticing the shift in my emotions from expectation to disappointment. He asked, “Do I know you?” I froze, lowered my head, and said, “No.” He looked down at me and didn’t say anything more. He seemed to tacitly accept my answer. 4 Liam was a good person. He even arranged a very good new job for me. To thank him, I often brought him coffee or lunch and snacks I made myself. He accepted them all one by one. Without any disdain. I said Mr. Sterling was a good person, helped me out of a tight spot, and gave me a job. When my colleagues heard this, they looked as if they had seen a ghost. “Are we talking about the same Mr. Sterling?” After delivering things so many times. Liam and I became more and more familiar. I could even go on business trips with him. Once, I accompanied him to a banquet. He got drunk and asked me if I wanted to be with him. I looked at him blankly. “What?” Seeing me staring at him blankly, Liam chuckled softly. His tone was casual, yet revealing a hint of helplessness. “You blockhead. I’ve waited for you for so long, and I still have to be the one to ask?” I didn’t understand his meaning, nor did I dare refute him. He looked at me, the emotion in his eyes slowly deepening, and he said slowly: “Be with me, and I can give you whatever you want.” I finally understood. Liam wanted to keep me as his sugar baby. He hugged me, his burning breath sweeping across my neck. “Why do you smell like milk?” I froze. Noah was still at the age where he drank formula, so it was normal for me to smell a bit like milk. Liam’s words suddenly threw me into a panic. TV shows always say wealthy families never let their bloodline live outside. I was afraid that if Liam knew Noah was his child, he would take him away. Fortunately, Liam didn’t probe further. A low chuckle came from his throat, his voice slightly hoarse. “The cookies you made also tasted like this. Same smell as you. I even thought…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but I understood his meaning from his actions and his eyes. My face instantly flushed red: “No! I don’t, don’t…” No wonder every time I brought him cookies, he looked at me with such a meaningful expression. He probably thought I liked him and was intentionally seducing him. When he found out I was different from normal people, he didn’t show a shocked or disgusted expression. Instead, it was an out-of-control excitement. A fierce possessiveness and desire surged in his eyes. “If you get pregnant, will you produce milk?” “?” I was teased until I tried to escape, only to be dragged back by him. It wasn’t until Liam found out I couldn’t have children that he finally calmed down a bit. 5 After getting together with Liam, he treated me even better. He was never stingy with food, clothing, or expenses, and remembered all my preferences. If I casually mentioned something was delicious, I would be eating it the next day. Sometimes I even hallucinated that we weren’t in a sugar daddy relationship, but were actually dating. But he never brought it up. And I didn’t dare to ask. Afraid of bursting this illusion of warmth. Until that phone call urging him to marry. Liam became very strange. It was like he switched from a meat diet to a vegetarian one. He only used his hands to give me pleasure. It was the first time I had seen so many different toys. Each one was a different experience. Liam would ask in my ear: “Does it feel good, baby? Do you like it?” I bit my lip, enduring it. When I looked at him, my eyes were misty, hazy, and pitiful. Liam stared at me unblinkingly. He held back so hard the veins on his neck popped out. Even though he was incredibly jealous of the toys in his hands. His expression showing how much he hated them. He still didn’t actually do it. This had never happened before. His possessiveness towards me had always been very strong. He would absolutely never let toys replace him. During the process, he would still ask how I felt. If I said I didn’t like it or it was uncomfortable, he would get mad. “Don’t like it? That means your hubby isn’t working hard enough and hasn’t satisfied you. Let’s switch to a better one.” If I said I liked it, he would get even madder. “You like this, what about me? Is this thing better than me?” Anyway, whatever I said was wrong. So I just stopped talking. When he saw me turn my face away and cry silently, he would lean over, pull me into his arms, and wipe my tears. He’d say resentfully: “You just know I can’t bear to see you cry.” I had no idea what he was struggling with. 6 After we finished, Liam went to the bathroom to take a cold shower again. I rested for a while before taking out my phone to reply to messages. In the contact saved as 【Mom】, there were several new voice messages. All of them were from Noah. As soon as I clicked play, I heard his soft, childish voice. “Daddy, I fell down at kindergarten today, but I didn’t cwy. The teacher pwaised me.” The next few voice messages were all him talking about what he did all day. My heart melted completely listening to him. After a lot of build-up, he finally couldn’t help but ask in the last message: “Daddy, when are you coming home? I miss you.” He was still small, right at the age where he clung to people. Not seeing me for a day and he already started missing me. I was just about to reply. When Liam’s voice suddenly came from behind me. “Who is that? Why did I hear a child’s voice?” My body stiffened. I immediately exited the chat interface and locked the screen. I turned around and saw Liam getting into bed after his shower. My heart was pounding, but I didn’t dare show a hint of nervousness. “You misheard, I was just scrolling through videos.” Liam raised an eyebrow and didn’t overthink it. “Is that so.” We fell asleep in each other’s arms as usual that night. Thinking of Noah’s words, I tentatively asked Liam. “Can I… go back tomorrow?” Liam’s closed eyes opened again. He frowned, somewhat displeased. “It’s not time yet, and you want to go back again?” He bit my ear in frustration, his words ambiguous. “Do you have a wife and kid to keep company when you go back?” My breath hitched, and I immediately retorted, “How is that possible?” Liam chuckled darkly, “When you act like this, it really makes me wonder if you have a second home besides this one.” Hearing this, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. I quickly leaned over and kissed him. “I don’t. Someone in my family fell, I need to go back and check.” Liam lost his temper completely after I kissed him. Ultimately, he agreed. “You really don’t have a second home?” I lowered my head, looking at my nose, centering my focus. “I don’t.” “If you do, you’re dead meat.” “…” 7 Liam’s father despises me. In his eyes, two men being together is abnormal. So he continued to introduce different women to Liam. Liam ignored them all. He would tell me everything he went to do. Like right now. 【Be good, baby. I’ll bring you something delicious when I get back.】 He went to headquarters for a meeting today. He had just left for a little while and already sent me dozens of messages. I felt a bit helpless. 【Okay.】 After sitting for too long, I closed my phone and prepared to go to the pantry to get some hot water. As soon as I walked in, I heard colleagues gossiping about Liam. “It’s true, Mr. Sterling’s childhood sweetheart came back from abroad. He went on a date with her right after his meeting.” “No wonder Mr. Sterling never had any women around him. Turns out his heart was already taken.” “I have photo proof, look.” I stood frozen in front of the water dispenser, even forgetting what I came to do. “Hey, Julian, aren’t you on good terms with Mr. Sterling? Look and see if you recognize this woman.” I was pulled over and saw the photo on my colleague’s phone. I didn’t recognize the woman, but the man next to her was indeed Liam. A handsome man and a beautiful woman, they really looked like a perfect match. I gave an awkward smile and said, “Sorry, I don’t recognize her.” “Oh well.” I walked out of the pantry like a soulless body. I pulled out my phone and messaged Liam. 【What are you doing?】 He replied quickly: 【In a meeting, what’s wrong?】 But the meeting was already over. He was lying to me. My entire body went ice cold. Liam’s abnormal behavior lately seemed to have an explanation. The person he liked had returned. So he didn’t need me anymore. We only had a transactional relationship. Who he liked, who he was with. I had no right to ask. He lied to me, but haven’t I kept things from him too? I could only reply: 【Nothing.】 But my heart felt like a boulder was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe. 8 Liam wasn’t at the company today. So I took the day off to pick up Noah from school. Originally, I thought that after Liam and I were no longer just a transaction. After we officially got together, I would tell him. But then I learned he hated children. So I kept it an even tighter secret. But maybe I won’t have to hide it anymore in the future. Little Noah was very happy to see me when he came out. Because usually, his grandmother picked him up. “Daddy!” He ran over. His soft, fair little face turned rosy. My heart melted completely, and I picked him up. “Are you happy?” “Happy!” He looked incredibly cute when he smiled, his eyes curving. He looked a lot like me, but you could also see traces of Liam in him. Just seeing him made me feel content. If Liam likes someone else, then let him. Having my precious son is enough for me. I took Noah to the mall to buy toys, and also went to a bakery to buy cake. This bakery was very expensive and very famous. “Daddy, can I have two pieces of cake today?” “You can, but don’t tell Grandma.” As we walked out after buying the cake, we bumped into two unexpected people. “Julian?” A familiar voice sounded from ahead. I froze in place instantly. Looking up, I saw Liam and the woman from the photo. I heard she was the daughter of Liam’s professor, from an academic family. The two grew up together. She was looking at me, but I didn’t dare look at her. An indescribable soreness surged from the bottom of my heart, rushing violently to my throat. It stung unbearably, like something was blocking it. I was afraid to see them. Liam and she were childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven. I was the shameful lover kept in the dark. The fake pearl occupying the magpie’s nest. Liam’s eyes flickered when he saw me, seemingly wanting to say something. Then he saw the little boy I was holding. He frowned and asked, “Who is he?” Noah’s eyes looked exactly like his, just much more innocent and tender. Two similar pairs of eyes stared at each other, harboring the same confusion. I wanted to lie: “He is…” But children can’t lie. Noah tugged at my hand. He looked up and asked me: “Daddy, who is he?” Liam froze. Then his expression changed drastically, becoming dark and terrifying. His voice was slow, carrying a strong sense of oppression. “What did he call you?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394674”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I accidentally injured my older brother’s face, leaving a scar. From then on, he hated me. Even his secret social media account was full of him badmouthing me: 【My face and my life were both ruined by my sister. Well, she has to take responsibility for me. The kind that lasts a lifetime.】 【Speechless. Every time my sister makes a mistake, she just acts cute. If acting cute worked, what would we need the police for? Even if she stares at me adorably, it’s useless.】 【The food my sister makes is so awful, it’s hard to swallow. When I said a few words, she got unhappy and started throwing chopsticks and bowls around. Being a brother is so hard.】 It wasn’t until I discovered the adoption papers. That I finally learned. My brother and I are not blood-related. I pinched the hem of my shirt and whispered: “Getting rid of a pesky sister like me has been your wish all along, right? “Congratulations.” But he slowly curved his lips into a smile. Staring straight at me, he murmured faintly like a malevolent spirit: “Yes… “The feeling of a dream coming true is indeed pretty good.” 1 Hearing the sound of the door opening. I hurried to the entryway, putting on a sweet smile for the person arriving: “Welcome home, brother! “I’ve been waiting for you for so long~” The tall young man glanced down at me. He just gave a faint “hmm.” Then he walked straight past me, into the house. The hand I extended to help Arthur carry his bag. Just hung awkwardly in the air. I didn’t lose heart. I grabbed the coffee I had prepared from the fridge. Holding it out to Arthur like I was presenting a treasure: “Brother, are you thirsty from coming home from the station? “Ta-da— “Look what I got for you! “I know you love the iced Americano from this coffee shop the most!” I blinked at him. Arthur didn’t even look up. He took it and set it aside. Saying indifferently: “Oh, thanks.” But we’re siblings. Why do we need to say thank you for something like this? It’s so distant… I lowered my head. Sure enough. Brother still hates me. He doesn’t even want to drink the coffee I got him. While we were eating at the dining table. Mom smiled and put food in Arthur’s bowl: “Our family’s grad student is finally home. Eat up.” She then asked gossipy: “Why are you home so late for the holidays this time? “Are you hiding something from us, secretly dating someone at school?” Arthur answered coldly: “It’s just that my advisor gave me a task at the last minute.” He paused, then said expressionlessly: “I have a scar on my face, it’s ugly. “No girl would like me. “Don’t say things like that anymore.” The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became awkward and silent. My heart suddenly ached. I put down my chopsticks and avoided the situation: “I’m full, I’m going back to my room.” 2 I lay in bed. Staring blankly at the ceiling. Silently refuting what Arthur had just said in my heart— I like Brother, I’ve never thought Brother is ugly. My brother is the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. But unfortunately, there’s a scar right under his eye. Ruining his originally perfect face. And the culprit was me. 3 When I was little, Mom and Dad were busy building their careers. The person who spent the most time with me was Arthur. He tolerated all my capriciousness. And I developed a spoiled and arrogant personality. I always had trouble waking up early for school. He would hold me in his arms, help me wash up, and feed me breakfast. As long as I acted clingy and cute with him, He would get that flustered, blushing look of being struck by cuteness, and sigh softly: “How is my sister so cute…” Then he would give me all the gifts I wanted. Princess dresses, Skittles, building block castles. My favorite person was Brother. And Brother loved me the most. But ever since Arthur started boarding at school in high school. Everything changed. I rarely got to see him. And I knew very little about his life. On a rainy Sunday. Like usual, I went to Arthur’s room to find him. Faint sounds of water came from the bathroom. I consciously curled up in a corner of his bed. Hugging my teddy bear, I fell asleep in my familiar, exclusive territory. In my hazy consciousness. A warm presence pressed against my back. It touched me and immediately pulled away. Arthur, looking disheveled, hurriedly put on his clothes. “…Chloe, why are you in my bed?” Rubbing my eyes, I asked, confused: “Huh? “Brother, hasn’t it always been like this? “When it rains and thunders, I always sleep with you.” Arthur hesitated to speak. He looked away, and after a long while, sighed: “You’ve grown up. “Chloe, we can’t do this anymore, you know? “You have to learn to be independent.” I didn’t understand his sudden change. I instinctively opened my arms, acting cute: “But Brother said you would always be with me. “I want a hug.” The look I was so familiar with appeared on Arthur’s face. The obvious “struck by cuteness” expression. But this time. He looked away with utmost seriousness and firmness. “No.” “What about a kiss?” “Absolutely not.” I had already compromised. He wouldn’t even kiss my forehead. This was the first time Arthur had rejected me. To me, it was like the sky was falling. Only one thought remained in my mind— It’s over, Brother doesn’t want me anymore. I had long been spoiled rotten by him. So, tears of anger and disappointment welled up. I forcefully threw my teddy bear at his face. “I hate you, I never want to talk to you again!” I thought we would make up. Later, on Arthur’s 18th birthday. When I was decorating his room with ribbons and balloons for him. I saw a love letter tucked at the very bottom of his drawer. The girl’s name was also “Chloe.” Stunned for a long time, I quietly put it back. I waited for Arthur all night. But in the end, all I got were a few casual words from him: “Chloe, you didn’t have to do this. “I need to have my own privacy and freedom. “I already celebrated my birthday with my friends, you should get some rest too.” I thought of that love letter again, and suddenly realized— Brother’s world didn’t just have me in it anymore. The love he gave me would be shared. My “young miss” temper flared up. Tears uncontrollably poured out. The gift I was going to give him. In the end, I threw it at his face. I didn’t expect the glass to shatter. A shard left a cut right under Arthur’s eye. Leaving a scar. From then on, I became his most hated person. 4 There was a knock on my door. I snapped out of my daze and quickly ran to open it. Arthur was holding a slip nightgown and a teddy bear. The burgundy nightgown hung from his knobby hand. Swaying gently, it looked especially small. My face felt hot. Arthur tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose: “You went to sleep in my room again, and didn’t even take your things with you. “How many times is this, Chloe Song?” I remembered his previous warnings and tried to bluff my way through. I tugged at his sleeve and softened my voice: “I’m sorry, Brother. “When you’re not home, I miss you so much… “Your bed smells like you, it helps me sleep better.” Seeing him unmoved. I pressed my palms together and stared at him eagerly: “Please, please, forgive me this one time, okay?” Arthur’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. His eyelashes fluttered, and he said in a low voice: “Don’t let it happen again.” Ah! This is the first time today Arthur has given me a good look! I’m so happy. Taking advantage of Arthur not paying attention. I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled into his chest. “You’re the best, Brother! “Can you wash my nightgown for me too? Thank you!” Arthur froze for a moment. Before he could react. I shrank back into my room like a cat that had successfully stolen a fish. Yes, the plan worked! Just a little trick. And I got the goodnight hug that had been cut off for a long time (ˉ︶ˉ). I secretly made a resolution in my heart. This holiday, I must try my best to please Brother. Make up for the mistakes I made before. And restore our relationship to how it used to be. 5 Dinner yesterday wasn’t very pleasant. So, I wanted to cook a meal for Arthur myself. But I had never cooked before. I clumsily followed a tutorial. Stupid kitchen knife, completely disobedient! How did I cut my finger T^T! Oil even splattered out of the pan, so hot… After failing three times. I finally managed to produce a passable plate of green pepper stir-fried pork. Arthur happened to come out of his room. He looked at the messy kitchen. Then looked at disheveled me. He asked in surprise: “…You made this?” I nodded repeatedly: “Yeah, yeah, Brother, I made it specially for you.” I handed him chopsticks with anticipation: “Hurry, taste it and see how my cooking skills are.” After Arthur took a bite. His expression was complex. He seemed to swallow it down using an immense amount of willpower. He drank several mouthfuls of water and sighed: “I like my meat a bit more tender, you cooked this too dry. “It’s not very good. “Don’t cook anymore, I’ll do it.” What the heck, just denying my efforts like that… He didn’t even want to give me a fake compliment! My enthusiasm was completely extinguished. Replaced by anger, massive anger! My spoiled, bad temper flared up again. I snatched the chopsticks back from Arthur’s hand. And slammed them heavily onto the bowl. “I forbid you from eating it! You’re so mean!” I turned around to untie my apron. But suddenly saw in the reflection of the glass. Arthur was staring blankly at my back, revealing a very faint smile. He even secretly took out his phone and took a picture of the green pepper stir-fried pork. Eh? I pretended I hadn’t noticed anything. And walked casually past him. I saw Arthur’s lit-up screen. And froze instantly. It was a page on a social media platform. His account name was: “Having a Sister is Really Annoying”. 6 I curled up in my room. Trying hard to suppress my frustrating and terrible mood. I searched for the account on my phone and started browsing. Arthur had pinned a post: 【My face and my life were both ruined by my sister. Well, she has to take responsibility for me. The kind that lasts a lifetime.】 Someone commented below: 【You hate your sister that much and you still want to spend a lifetime with her? Isn’t that torture?】 Arthur replied: 【What else? I even think a lifetime is too short.】 Netizen’s sharp review: 【A love-hate relationship.】 My head dropped even lower. It will take so long for him to forgive me… It seems Brother really hates me now. He also posted an update last night: 【Speechless. Every time my sister makes a mistake, she just acts cute. If acting cute worked, what would we need the police for? Even if she stares at me adorably, it’s useless.】 I checked the time. And couldn’t help but feel very defeated. So when I hugged him last night. It made him that unhappy? There was also a recently updated post. Accompanied by a heavily filtered photo of the green pepper stir-fried pork: 【The food my sister makes is so awful, it’s hard to swallow. When I said a few words, she got unhappy and started throwing chopsticks and bowls around. Being a brother is so hard.】 A netizen commented: 【Looks awful.】 Arthur replied: 【Did I ask you to eat it? You even have the nerve to review it.】 The dish I worked so hard to make looked terrible. Even netizens thought it looked bad from the photo. So Arthur’s review was actually quite objective, right? The content on this burner account was all about me. Filled with my “crimes.” It seemed like everything I did was wrong. I let out a heavy sigh. My plan to please Brother had just started. And I already wanted to give up. It’s just too hard… Forget it, I need a break. I need to relax and improve my mood! I sent a message to the person saved as “Meal Ticket.” Bossing him around: 【I want to go out and play, come pick me up, hurry up.】 7 Many people were pursuing me. Actually, I had no interest in dating. Because I felt no man in the world could be better than my brother. But Julian was the most special one among them. He looked a lot like Arthur. And he was completely obedient to me. Indulging my spoiled personality. I treated him as a meal ticket. It was like spending time with the old Arthur. We played until it got dark. Julian walked me home. As we walked down the street, he looked at my red, frozen nose and sighed helplessly: “You wore too little, you’re going to catch a cold.” I talked back impatiently: “Why do you care? “Looking pretty is enough.” Julian stopped walking and smiled gently at me: “You don’t need clothes to make you look good. “You’re already very pretty.” He took off his scarf. And wrapped it around my neck, circle by circle. “This will be a little warmer, right?” I let out a soft hum, noncommittal. I pulled the scarf up, covering half my face, only leaving my eyes exposed. Under the moonlight, Julian watched me with a smile. The corners of his lips curved up slightly: “Baby, you’re so cute.” In my mind. However, I suddenly recalled Arthur’s exclamation from a long time ago: “How is my sister so cute…” A cold snort suddenly came from above my head. I thought I was hearing things. But I saw Arthur resting his chin on his hand, half-leaning against the balcony railing. He was staring darkly at Julian and me. Clearly, he had also noticed Julian’s face, which looked extremely similar to his own. Except one had a scar under his eye. And the other didn’t. Arthur had a half-smile on his face. He asked coldly and sarcastically: “Sister, is this the new brother you found?” 8 I guiltily shrank my neck. But didn’t know how to answer. Julian was surprised for a moment, but quickly figured it out. He whispered to me: “You never mentioned it before, so you have a brother.” Arthur’s face grew even darker. Julian very politely raised his hand to greet Arthur. But Arthur kept a straight face. And turned around without a word, slamming the balcony door shut. I thought that was the end of it. I didn’t expect. Arthur came downstairs and stood in front of Julian and me. He was clearly asking me, but his dark gaze was fixed on Julian. “Are you dating?” Julian shyly pursed his lips: “I like her, I’m still pursuing her.” Arthur stayed silent for a moment. His tone suddenly became gentle: “Oh—so you also think my sister is very pretty and cute, right?” “Of course.” Arthur spoke even more gently. But with a chilling, ghostly aura: “Then have you truly understood her? “You only realize it after spending time with her, that people are different from their surface appearances. “Beneath her cute face is an arrogant, domineering, and spoiled personality. “She doesn’t need a boyfriend, she just wants a loyal dog.” Arthur firmly concluded: “I am her brother. “Besides me, no one can tolerate her bad temper, do you understand?” Julian was so shocked by these words that he couldn’t recover for a moment. His thin lips parted slightly, but he hesitated to speak. Arthur grabbed my wrist and said flatly: “Let’s go, we’re going home.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394675”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

When I woke up in the hospital, I was facing a handsome stranger. He babbled a whole bunch of things at me. I didn’t react at all. When he mentioned that we couldn’t get our marriage license for the time being, my brain finally started working again. “What marriage license?” I blurted out instinctively. “Our marriage license, Chloe. Did you hit your head and go stupid?” He reached out to touch my forehead, his movements incredibly natural. Is this a joke? I’m a beautiful young girl who just finished her high school finals. I’m not even of legal age to get married yet! Where did this scammer come from? 1 “Doctor!” I shoved the guy away and stretched my neck, yelling, “Doctor, come quick! There’s a bad guy here!” The doctor arrived quickly, followed by two nurses. They gave me a huge sense of security. I hid behind the kind-looking older doctor and loudly tattled. “I don’t know this guy! He’s trying to trick me into marrying him! He’s a human trafficker!” The handsome young man looked exasperated. “I know you’re mad. Getting the license is just delayed, not canceled. Mia didn’t mean to hurt you either. Don’t blame her—” “Where’s my phone?” I cut him off, looking at the doctor. “I need to call my parents.” “Your parents?” The guy frowned. “Your injury isn’t serious. There’s no need to alarm them. Seattle is far; it’s not easy for them to make the trip.” I was dumbfounded: “We’re not in Seattle?” The handsome guy was also dumbfounded. The doctor cleared his throat. “I was just about to tell you. The fall wasn’t too serious physically, but she hit her head. There’s some bleeding causing a hematoma that’s affecting her memory.” “Affecting my memory?” I muttered. “You mean, I have amnesia?” The doctor nodded: “Yes. But don’t worry, as the hematoma slowly dissipates, your memory will gradually return.” The handsome guy spoke up: “How long will that take?” “It’s hard to say. Could be a few months, could be a year or two.” I noticed the handsome guy visibly relaxed. After the doctor left, he picked up a women’s purse from the chair next to the bed, pulled out a phone, and handed it to me. “Since you have amnesia, there’s no rush for the license. But I really am your boyfriend. If you don’t believe me, look at the photos on your phone.” Lighting up the screen, the first thing I saw was the time and date in the center. 2025! But my memory was still stuck in the excitement of checking my scores after the finals. Six years had passed! 2 My attention shifted to the lock screen photo. It was a close-up selfie of two people cheek-to-cheek. The two people in the photo were me and the handsome guy standing in front of me. I unlocked the phone and opened the gallery. There were many photos of him. Judging from the angles, most were taken secretly. There were shots of him playing basketball, his profile while drinking water, and him sleeping with his head on a desk… “You actually took this many secret photos of me?” The guy leaned closer, his tone smug. “Now do you believe we’re a couple?” I pushed him away expressionlessly: “But I have absolutely no memory of you in my head. Stay away from me!” “Oh, then let me introduce myself.” His phone chimed. He picked it up and glanced at it, unable to hide the joy in his eyes. He typed a reply, his attention entirely on his phone, his tone casual. “I’m Ethan Vance. The boyfriend you stalked and shamelessly chased for a whole year before finally getting…” With a few simple sentences, he summarized my experiences over the past few years. As soon as I started college, I set my sights on Ethan, a rich kid, and became his ultimate lapdog. I followed him around constantly, impossible to shake off. I obeyed his every word. My behavior was high-profile and bold. Everyone at the university knew me. After more than a year of relentless pursuit, I actually succeeded. Ethan, the playboy, after a few brief flings and dumping several girlfriends, finally agreed to my pursuit. The whole school was taking bets on how long it would take for him to dump me. But surprisingly, a month passed, years passed, we graduated college, and we still hadn’t broken up. Recently, after I finished my master’s degree, Ethan even agreed to my proposal. He, who never posted on social media, made a high-profile announcement that we were getting our marriage license. Yesterday, we went to the courthouse together. At the entrance, he was called out. It was his childhood friend, Mia, who had been abroad for years. She bit her lip, grabbed his arm, and asked: “Can you not get married?” Angry, I got into an argument with her. In the scuffle, she tripped me. My head hit the steps, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was the amnesiac me of today. Ethan was still looking down, replying to messages, the corner of his mouth slightly raised. “Mia didn’t do it on purpose, and you just have amnesia, no serious physical harm. Don’t be unreasonable.” “She’s coming to visit you later. Be magnanimous and treat her nicely.” “She and I are just childhood friends who grew up together. Stop being jealous over nothing.” I took a deep breath and reminded him: “Did you forget? I have amnesia.” “To me right now, you are a complete stranger. Why would I be jealous?” Ethan put his phone in his pocket and leaned over me. His eyes were full of certainty. “Back then, it was love at first sight for you. You said my face was perfectly sculpted to your aesthetic.” “So don’t worry, you’ll fall in love with me all over again.” 3 I looked at the face mere inches from mine. Almond eyes, high nose bridge, thin lips, a sharp jawline. There was a hint of rebelliousness in his features. He gave off the vibe of an untamed boy from a comic book. He was indeed very handsome. But to say he was “perfectly sculpted to my aesthetic” was an exaggeration. I could only say he fit my aesthetic. He was a handsome guy. But my taste in handsome guys wasn’t limited to one type. I like almond eyes, but I also like fox eyes. Thick eyebrows and big eyes are nice, but there are plenty of handsome guys with monolids too. Pale, sweet “golden retriever” boys are lovable, but rugged guys with a bronze tan have their own charm. So, how could I have become his lapdog just because of his looks? I was absolutely certain his physical appearance didn’t hold that much attraction for me. While I was lost in thought looking at his face, a coquettish female voice came from the doorway. “What are you guys doing?” Snapping back to reality, I saw Ethan immediately straighten up, take two steps back, and eagerly put distance between us. He looked toward the door: “Mia, you’re here!” Saying that, he took the fruit basket from her hands and placed it on the small table next to the hospital bed. “Look, Mia even specially bought fruit for you. Stop being so petty!” The girl named Mia was wearing a floral dress, tall and slender. Her wavy long hair fell to her waist, her makeup was flawless, and she wore rimless glasses. She had an elegant, intellectual beauty. “Chloe, I’m sorry. Everything yesterday was my fault for causing you to get hurt.” Wearing stiletto heels, she walked to my bedside in three quick steps. Without giving me a chance to speak, she continued on her own. “I really didn’t mean it, I was just a little anxious.” “I didn’t want to ruin your wedding either, but Auntie specifically told me I had to stop you.” “You have to be understanding of her. After all, the Vance family has a massive business empire, and there are too many people approaching with ulterior motives. It’s only natural for Auntie to be afraid that you’re only after Ethan for his money.” “I don’t want you guys to get married right now either, but my reasons are different from Auntie’s.” “In my opinion, marriage is a serious matter. At the very least, both sets of parents should meet, right?” “You bypassing both families to get the license, isn’t that too childish?” “Also Chloe, even though Auntie refuses to see you, for Ethan’s sake, you should work hard to get her approval.” “Lowering your stance for love and pleasing your future mother-in-law isn’t shameful.” “How could you not even be willing to try, and just instigate Ethan to get the license directly?” “One more thing, I need to make my stance clear. Although Auntie has tried to set me and Ethan up more than once, I only see him as a younger brother and have absolutely no other thoughts.” I swallowed hard. Holy crap. That’s a lot of information to process. I need a moment to digest this. 4 My brain went into overdrive, quickly extracting useful information from Mia’s words. First, Ethan isn’t just an average rich kid; his family is extremely wealthy. Wealthy enough to create a massive class divide between him and me, who comes from a middle-class family. Second, our relationship did not have the support of our parents. Especially his mother, who suspected I was after Ethan for his money. She refused my requests to meet. Lastly, Mia subtly flaunted her extraordinary relationship with the Vance family. She and Ethan are childhood friends, so their family backgrounds should be similar. Most importantly, Ethan’s mother is her godmother. They have a close relationship. Ethan’s mother always wanted Mia to be her daughter-in-law. In just a few short sentences, she managed to provoke me and show off. This Mia is not simple. “Don’t worry, Mia. She has amnesia now and doesn’t even remember me. We won’t be getting the license anytime soon.” Ethan stared fixedly at the person in front of him, his gaze greedy, as if he couldn’t get enough of looking at her. Mia glared at him: “How many times do I have to tell you? Call me ‘sister’. I’m older than you!” “What do those few months matter?” Ethan grinned, “I’m going to call you Mia, what are you going to do about it?” It was like watching a puppy demanding affection from its owner. As someone who usually loves shipping couples, I felt slightly nauseated. Right now, I just wanted these two to get out of my sight as quickly as possible. “I want to rest. You guys should leave!” I started issuing eviction orders. Mia pursed her lips, sounding aggrieved: “Chloe, do you dislike me? I’ll leave right now.” Ethan grabbed her as she turned around. “You’re overthinking it. She’s probably just tired. We won’t bother her sleep anymore!” Without bothering to say goodbye to me, his supposed girlfriend, he pulled his childhood friend and left directly. He didn’t even consider that, having just woken up from being unconscious for over ten hours, how could I possibly sleep? However, their departure was exactly what I wanted. I picked up my phone and started investigating my situation. Because I didn’t believe a single word Ethan said. I had just quickly glanced through the photos on the phone. Most of them were secret photos I took of him, but there were also some photos of us together. In every single photo together, including the lock screen where our faces were pressed together, I had a slight smile. That’s the problem. I never just smile slightly for photos; I always show my teeth in a big grin. The person who knows me best is myself. Looking at those photos, I could tell those smiles weren’t genuine. I was forcing a smile. Or rather, I was putting on a performance of being happy for someone else to see. 5 There was one more crucial thing. I had someone I liked. Ethan had his older childhood friend. I also had my childhood sweetheart. Liam Hughes. The boy I grew up with. My companion, my older brother figure, my best friend. Throughout my life, his presence was everywhere. He was a genius scholar, the “perfect child” in every parent’s eyes. A dazzling existence like a star wherever he went. The most handsome guy you’d spot instantly in a crowd. The patient childhood friend who tutored me all the way to my good high school finals score. He was the one I had liked since my first flutter of teenage romance. We liked each other. We had already agreed to go to the same university. And start dating freely as soon as we got to college. With someone who amazed my entire youth right there, how could I possibly fall in love with anyone else? I picked up my phone and started dialing the familiar number from my memory. “The number you have dialed is not in service,” the automated voice reminded me. Impossible! Like a crazy person, I dialed the number over and over again. Over and over again, I listened to the mechanical voice from the receiver. How could this be? How could the number I had dialed countless times, the one I knew by heart, be out of service? I opened the phone gallery again and looked through it from beginning to end. It was entirely filled with that stranger, Ethan! Notes, memos, university intranet, various chat apps, I checked them all. Starting from my freshman year six years ago, my life was entirely consumed by Ethan. There was no trace of Liam. Did my amazing, prominent childhood sweetheart just vanish into thin air? Oh right, Mom and Dad. I called my mom. “Chloe? Did you finish all your graduation paperwork? When are you coming home?” Thank goodness, it was the voice I knew. Before I could speak, my mom started chattering away. “If you haven’t decided on a job yet, don’t rush. Come home and relax for a bit, then look slowly.” “And that boyfriend of yours, you’ve been dating for a few years now, right? Bring him home for us to meet when you have time.” “I’ve mentioned it a few times before, and you always found excuses to refuse. What, is he unwilling to come back with you?” So, I had been dating Ethan for years and hadn’t met either set of parents. His parents looked down on my status and refused to meet me. As for my side, was it that Ethan didn’t want to come meet my parents, or was it that I myself didn’t want to bring him? On the phone, my mom was still asking about my health, asking if I had lost weight again recently, and telling me to stop dieting. “Mom, where did Liam go?” I suddenly asked. The voice on the other end came to an abrupt halt. 6 It took a while for my mom to seem to find the name in her memory. “Liam? Why are you suddenly asking about him? Didn’t their whole family move abroad?” “Old Mr. and Mrs. Hughes too, it’s like they evaporated after moving abroad. They haven’t been back to our hometown once in all these years.” “We lost contact years ago.” “Speaking of which, you and Liam used to be stuck together like glue when you were little. We all thought you two would end up dating.” “Who knew that as soon as you started college, you fell for someone else, and Liam’s family just moved abroad.” “It’s a pity for you two childhood sweethearts. I really liked Liam. If he had been my son-in-law, I would have been a hundred percent satisfied!” It seemed my mom didn’t know what happened between me and him either. I chatted absentmindedly for a few more minutes and then hung up. Lying in the hospital bed, I briefly organized my experiences from the past few years. After the college entrance exams, the day the scores came out, I excitedly went looking for Liam. I wanted to tell him that I could go to the same university as him. My memory stopped on the road running towards his house. Waking up again, it was today, six years later. I had already graduated with my master’s. As soon as I started college, I fell for a guy named Ethan, went crazy for him, lost my mind over him. Shamelessly chased him for a year before finally getting him. Judging from Ethan’s condescending tone, I was clearly the subordinate in this relationship. I don’t understand. Even if I had moved on to someone else, my IQ should still be intact. Why would I do something so brainless? What happened six years ago that turned me into this? Could it be that someone transmigrated into my body? No, I had seen several photos of handwritten course notes I took in the phone gallery. The handwriting was exactly the same as mine. Using different colored highlighters for different key points was also my personal habit. It was evident that I took my master’s courses seriously and didn’t slack off on my studies. In my chat history with my advisor, he mostly praised me. I didn’t let my “love brain” delay my studies. This discovery made me breathe a sigh of relief. However, if even an absurd hypothesis like transmigration was ruled out, how could I explain my madness over these past few years? While I was thinking, I felt the need to use the restroom. I got up and went to the bathroom. Pushing the door open, facing me was a mirror hanging on the wall. Seeing myself in the mirror, I froze. It was still my face, but why had I lost so much weight? No wonder on the phone, my mom asked if I had lost weight again. She used to always remind me to eat less, saying I wouldn’t look pretty if I gained more weight. The old me couldn’t be called fat, but I was definitely not skinny. My face used to be round, with a bit of baby fat. Fair skin, good complexion. Liam always said my cheeks were like peeled eggs, supple and bouncy. And now? My cheeks were actually sunken in slightly from being so thin. My arms were as thin as bamboo sticks. Could it be that Ethan likes slim girls, so I dieted for him? What kind of willpower would that take?! I’ve always had a good appetite since I was little. I loved snacks, BBQ, cakes, desserts, and boba tea. I gave all of that up for Ethan? Too crazy, I couldn’t believe I was capable of doing that. I walked to the toilet and pulled down my pajama pants. Looking at my thighs, I froze again. It seemed it wasn’t just a simple matter of dieting. My thighs were crisscrossed with multiple scars. I had self-harming tendencies! 7 “Miss Smith, you can’t leave the hospital yet! You still need an IV drip this afternoon!” the little nurse yelled while chasing after me. “I have something to do! I’ll come back this afternoon!” I waved at her as I ran. The shopping app on my phone had my delivery address. It turned out I had rented a place on the university campus. Even though I had graduated, yesterday’s purchase history showed items were still being delivered there, meaning I hadn’t moved out yet. I called a cab and headed straight to the apartment on campus. I had the keys in my bag. Walking into the apartment, I confirmed at a glance that this was my place. The decorations, the potted plants, the plushies, the snacks in the fridge—they were all things I liked. The clothes in the closet were all styles I favored. Once again proving that for the past six years, that person was indeed me. No transmigration involved. Following my past organizing habits, I started searching the desk area. Finally, in a document folder in the drawer, I found a stack of medical records. Over the past few years, I had seen a psychiatrist, and more than once. According to the medical records, I had moderate depression and self-harming tendencies. The doctor’s conclusion was that, because the patient refused to cooperate and confide, they had not yet found the cause of the illness. In other words, I was depressed and self-harming, I felt something was wrong with me, so I went to see a psychiatrist. But facing the doctor, I refused to speak what was on my mind, preventing the doctor from making an accurate diagnosis and therefore unable to provide an effective treatment plan. This was very contradictory. Since I went to see a psychiatrist, I obviously wanted to save myself. Why didn’t I confess everything to the doctor? Could it be that someone stopped me from confiding in the doctor? I had to find out what happened over these past few years. I called my mom and asked her to take photos of every page of my high school yearbook and send them to me. Back at the hospital, sitting on the bed, I started calling my former high school classmates one by one. Asking them if anyone could contact Liam. I even asked our old homeroom teacher and subject teachers. Unfortunately, no one knew where he was. In the evening, Ethan called and said he was having his family’s housekeeper deliver food to me. He was busy and wouldn’t be coming over. For the next two days, he didn’t show up again. But every meal was delivered on time. Even when I was discharged, I didn’t see a shadow of him. Back at the university, I spent a whole day walking around the campus. This was once the shared goal of Liam and me. We agreed to apply here together, and then officially start dating. The result was, only I came. Why didn’t he come here as promised? If he didn’t come to this university, why did he go abroad? Why did he vanish? And what had happened to him? 8 That night, I turned on my laptop and started searching my online footprint over the past few years. Ethan called. “I heard from the housekeeper yesterday that you were discharged when she brought you lunch. How is it? Your body’s fine now, right?” “It’s fine!” I stared at the computer screen, brushing him off. “Since you’re fine, run an errand for me! Go to the wine cabinet in my house and grab a bottle of wine. I’ll send you a picture of it in a bit.” A very natural tone. He must have ordered me around like this a lot in the past. “Not going.” I hung up immediately. A few minutes later, he called again. I didn’t answer, and the phone kept ringing. I picked it up, annoyed: “What do you want? I told you I’m busy!” “Chloe, you’ve got some nerve, talking to me like that?” “Just a reminder, I have amnesia. To me, you’re a stranger. Why do you think I’d listen to you?” I asked. “Oh, I remember now, you have amnesia. I was wondering why you, who used to be so obedient, suddenly grew a spine.” He chuckled lightly. “So, stop bothering me, OK?” I hung up. The next second, I received a message from him on WeChat. “Are you sure you’re not coming?” Followed by a photo of a little bear keychain. “This is yours, right?” “Do you still want it?” I stared at the little bear in the photo, stunned. This was a gift Liam gave me in our senior year of high school. This little bear keychain was originally one of the prizes he won for placing first in the grade. He put the prize box in front of me and told me to pick what I liked. Inside were a fountain pen, a notebook, an electronic English dictionary, and more. I instantly fell in love with this little bear. A month after I attached this little bear to my backpack, I made it into the top ten of the grade for the first time in a mock exam. I even joked with Liam that it was my lucky star protecting my grades. I said I would keep it on my bag forever. How did it end up with Ethan? Ethan offered an explanation: “When you fainted that day, it fell at the entrance of the courthouse. Mia picked it up.” “If you want it, be a good girl and go get my wine.” I went to Ethan’s house, used the passcode he gave me to open the door, grabbed the wine he wanted, and then rushed to the private club he was at. When I pushed the door open, the noisy chatter stopped instantly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. Including Ethan and Mia sitting in the center of the sofa. A slacker-looking guy spoke up: “Yo, didn’t they say Chloe had amnesia? How come she’s still at your beck and call?” Another chimed in: “Maybe submission to Ethan is already encoded in her DNA. Even with amnesia, she can’t forget her instincts.” “Sigh, Ethan’s charm is just too powerful!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394658”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I loved wearing short white skirts, my wardrobe was perpetually a soft mix of pink and white, and everyone always said I was sweet and obedient. He dyed his hair red, was rebellious, and had a terrible temper. He was my older brother’s best friend. Every time we met, I would hide behind my brother to greet him. Distant and reserved. No one knew I liked him. 1 During the summer break of my sophomore year in college, my parents went traveling, so I had no choice but to stay at my brother’s apartment. At this hour, my brother was at work, but I knew his apartment passcode. Rolling my suitcase, I opened the door, only to hear someone inside speaking with a cold sneer. “Why don’t you let your unborn sibling play instead?” “What I mean is, you might as well go back into the oven and be remade.” A familiar voice. I stopped in my tracks. I recognized it. It was him. Arthur was my brother’s best friend. They had hung out since middle school, and I knew they had always been close. But I didn’t expect him to be living in my brother’s apartment. Arthur started playing esports in high school, and after retiring, he became a gaming streamer. That voice just now—he was definitely cursing out his teammates on stream. I understood immediately because I watched his streams every day. I was his top donator. No one knew. I softened my movements and went to the room my brother had prepared for me. It was still a cozy room in pink and white hues, filled with plushies. I didn’t plan to go over and bother him, but before I could finish unpacking, someone knocked on the door. Turning around, I saw Arthur leaning lazily against the open doorway, his narrow eyes glancing my way. “Didn’t you say you were arriving tonight?” Obviously, my brother had given him a heads-up but hadn’t told me. I didn’t know why, but facing him always made me feel a bit guilty. Maybe it was because I liked him. “My roommates all left early, so I changed my ticket.” I have mild social anxiety, but I also like being around people. Arthur pulled out his phone and glanced at it. Three o’clock. He raised an eyebrow. “Hungry?” He had always treated me like a younger sister, taking care of me just like my actual brother did. I nodded. “I’ll order takeout in a bit.” He let out a scoff. “Your Brother Arthur is standing right here, and you’re going to order takeout?” “You actually know how to cook?” I looked at him with bright eyes, a bit pleasantly surprised. I always thought he was lazy and had no interests other than gaming. Arthur lifted his chin. “Wait here.” 2 To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for Arthur’s culinary skills until I saw a fragrant bowl of scallion oil noodles on the dining table. “You actually cooked.” I sat down reservedly, feeling a bit embarrassed yet surprised. He gave a short laugh. “Eat up. I’m going to go rank up.” I ate the noodles he cooked, watching him take long strides and cross the room in two or three steps. For the past six months, while I was at school, I could only watch him in his stream. Other female fans could brazenly call him “Hubby.” But even typing those two words made my face turn red. I felt like a hopeless case. He was streaming upstairs, and I was downstairs, eating noodles while secretly opening his stream. He had just restarted his broadcast, and fans in the chat were asking where he went. Unlike his usual cold and arrogant demeanor, he raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. “I was afraid the silly cat at my friend’s house would starve to death.” He deliberately lowered his voice, so I hadn’t heard it at all downstairs. The chat was curious about how cute the kitten must be for him to be in such a good mood after feeding it. He lowered his eyes, clicked to start a game, and gave an ambiguous smile. “It’s pretty cute.” His voice came through the phone, making my heart pound wildly. Where was there a cat? It was just me. 3 My brother came back that evening, looking exhausted and apologetic as he said to me, “I have to fly to the US tomorrow for a business trip. I’ll hang out with you when I get back.” Then he turned to Arthur, telling him to take good care of me. I saw him casually say “Hmm,” his back to us as he continued cooking. My brother was still telling me to stay up late less, but I couldn’t hear a word of it. The thought of being alone with him for half a month made me lower my head, feeling a mix of anticipation and nervousness. “Arthur, take good care of my sister, or I’ll kick you out when I get back.” “I’ll starve her,” he retorted to my brother in a mean voice. My brother laughed out of exasperation, walked over, and pretended to hit him. The two of them bantered for a bit. I sat at the dining table, watching them laugh. I felt a bit envious of my brother. I didn’t think I could act so naturally around him. When I woke up the next day, my brother had already left. Looking at the worried messages he left on my phone, I washed up and went downstairs to make some instant noodles. Halfway through eating, Arthur came downstairs. My brother had mentioned before that he had terrible morning sickness. Seeing him looking full of hostility and annoyance, I swallowed my greeting and silently buried my head in my noodles, not daring to make a sound. “Little Chloe, you’re not very polite.” I blanked for a moment, looking up under his dissatisfied gaze with an embarrassed smile. “Morning.” He leaned in, gave it a look of disgust. “No nutrition. Wake me up tomorrow to cook.” It was as if he specifically came down just to say that to me, and as soon as he finished, he went back upstairs. I looked at his tall, lean back in confusion. Did he specifically come down just to snap at me? But Arthur always had a bad temper, so I didn’t think much of it. At noon, Arthur came downstairs with messy hair to cook. Hearing the noise in the living room, I spoke up apologetically, “Sorry, Arthur, for troubling you.” He scoffed, not even turning his head as he snorted coldly, “Not even calling me Brother. Watch out, I might starve you.” I chuckled quietly from behind. Arthur was fierce, but his bark was worse than his bite. “You wouldn’t.” His back seemed to stiffen for a moment. Then he brought the dishes over and said in a fierce tone, “Get your ass over here and eat.” 4 He was fierce, but his cooking was delicious. Coming down to eat on time every day was the only interaction I had with him these past few days. Even though I hadn’t said many words to him, I was incredibly happy. I got to see him every day. When he cooked wearing an apron, I would prop my chin up and watch from behind, secretly raising my phone to take a picture of his back. I didn’t have any photos with him, only some large group photos from my brother’s gatherings. I kept all of them, along with the occasional sneaky photos from over the years. My finger tapped lightly, the screen flashed, paused, and the flash went off. I was terrified, frantically turning my phone around as he looked back. “What are you doing?” He held a spatula in his hand, his handsome face looking very grumpy. I stammered, raising my phone slightly. “S-selfie.” I didn’t know if he believed it, but he frowned at me for a good while before turning back to continue cooking. I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned off the flash on my phone. Damn it, when did I turn the flash on? I was still feeling frustrated and guilty, not daring to look up. So I also didn’t see him send a message to my brother. “Is your sister complaining about me?” A reply came instantly. “Chloe is very well-behaved; she wouldn’t complain.” He snorted and retorted, “Not well-behaved at all.” She sweetly called everyone else “Brother,” except for him. The other side seemed exasperated, pausing for a moment before replying. “Is it really true what they say, that you hate Chloe?” “Everyone likes her and says she’s sweet. You’re the only one who thinks she isn’t.” The food was ready. He plated it and placed it on the table. The girl, looking very soft in her pink and white pajamas, obediently served herself rice under his gaze, then blinked at him. As if asking if she could start eating. He chuckled and spat out one word. “Eat.” I smiled at him, picked up a piece of cola chicken wings, and praised him enthusiastically. “Arthur, the cola chicken wings you make are really delicious.” I deliberately softened my voice, which somehow sounded a bit like acting cute. A bit embarrassing. We weren’t close enough for me to act cute with him. The corners of his lips seemed to tilt up, but his tone was still fierce: “If it’s delicious, then hurry up and eat. Why all the nonsense.” Like a cat with its fur standing on end. I was surprised to find that Arthur actually really liked being praised. 5 Just when I thought Arthur and I were getting along a bit better because of my compliments, I saw him coming downstairs impatiently in the evening. Seeing me actually downstairs, the hostility between his eyebrows seemed to dissipate a bit. “Going out for a bit. I’ll bring you dinner back tonight.” He twirled the car keys in his hand and explained to me. His hands were long and handsome. My gaze lingered for a second, and I nodded obediently. Arthur glanced at me, seemingly very satisfied with my obedience, his steps even becoming a bit lighter. When he came back that night, he brought me a rice bowl dish. He hurriedly went upstairs to stream, his expression still looking a bit poor. I was a bit curious, but didn’t dare ask, so I opened his stream. I heard him turn on his camera with a dark face. He stayed silent for a moment before telling the chat, “Company request. Playing duos today.” He was very skilled and always streamed solo, carrying the team single-handedly. Occasionally, he would play duos with former teammates or male streamers he was close with. Before the fans and I could react, an account with a cute pink avatar suddenly invited him to team up. He accepted without batting an eye, but his expression was still very poor. The female streamer on the other end turned on her mic, her voice sweet and sugary. Fans in the chat explained that she was also a streamer in the gaming section. I didn’t watch other gaming streamers besides him, so it was normal that I didn’t know her. But he was playing duos with another girl. Even knowing it was his job, I was still a bit unhappy. The game started, and I listened to them talk while eating. Actually, it was just the female streamer talking the whole time; he completely ignored her. The female streamer had quite a few fans. Seeing his terrible attitude, they started cursing him in the chat. “Our Frosty is so sweet. Why is this straight guy giving her attitude?” “Feeling bad for Frosty.” “Taking my Frosty away, stay away, you grumpy guy.” The chat was a complete mess. The female streamer didn’t seem affected. She was still acting cute, asking him to let her have the blue buff, and her character had even run over to him. But he took the blue buff without a change in expression and went to the side lane to help gank without looking back. The chat rolled even faster. He glanced at the screen and said sparingly: “You having the blue buff is useless.” His own fans were all laughing, typing “hahaha” and calling him a straight guy, while the female streamer’s fans were going crazy with anger. Many of Arthur’s old fans knew that he had a sharp tongue and did whatever he pleased, so they weren’t surprised that he didn’t give up the blue buff. It was exactly the kind of thing he would do. The chat was cursing so viciously. I couldn’t stand it and threw a bunch of special effect gifts. The chat started saying things like “Long time no see, top donator sister.” He glanced at it twice and said coldly, “Thanks for the gifts.” I kept my head down, eating the food he brought back, and smiled, my eyes curving, when I heard his “thanks.” One game ended quickly. I don’t know if the female streamer noticed his overly cold attitude, but she made an excuse and said she was done playing. His expression slowly softened after the female streamer left. Anyone with eyes could see how much he disliked her. The chat was full of “hahaha,” asking if he didn’t like soft girls. Arthur usually wouldn’t respond to these, but today he looked at the chat and paused for a second. “I like them.” The chat paused for a moment, then started scrolling even more vigorously. “Like what!” “So you do like soft girls?!” “Then why were you so mean to Frosty.” He scoffed. “Does that even count as a soft girl?” He thought of the girl downstairs. She ate slowly, much like the videos of rabbits or hamsters eating that he scrolled past online. Very well-behaved. None of them ate as well as he did. It was just that she was occasionally disobedient, afraid of him, and wouldn’t call him “Brother.” So he likes soft girls. My mind was a mess, thinking of countless possibilities that made the corners of my lips curl up. But if he liked me, how could he be so indifferent? A couple of days ago, my brother even sent me a message, worried that our relationship wasn’t good, telling me to hang around him less. I sighed and threw the empty takeout box into the trash can. 6 A couple of days later, he made breakfast and was about to go out again. He said the same thing, that he would bring lunch back for me. I wanted to say that I could actually just order takeout, but he didn’t even give me a chance to speak. He just left after saying that. I had some snacks for lunch. Later, feeling a bit bored while waiting, I wanted to play a game for a while. As soon as I logged on, I received many team invitations. I accepted my roommate’s. I didn’t expect that after I joined, she pulled a senior from our club in as well. The senior was a nice guy and took good care of us, but I could tell he was interested in me. I usually avoided him, rejecting him both explicitly and implicitly. I didn’t expect to run into him again today. “I haven’t played a game with Chloe yet.” The senior smiled and turned his mic on first, and my roommate immediately clicked start. The senior’s gaming skills were good. After he got a triple kill, my roommate and I smiled and praised him. “Triple kill! You’re awesome, Senior.” The apartment door clicked open. Just as I finished speaking, I locked eyes with Arthur, who was walking in carrying takeout boxes. From the phone, the senior was still modestly saying it was nothing special, and then a clear voice came through: “Chloe, come get the blue buff.” I saw Arthur’s face visibly darken. He raised an eyebrow and placed the takeout boxes in front of me. I said “No need” into the mic and quickly turned it off. “You’re back.” He gave a cold laugh. “Obviously.” I smiled awkwardly. He suddenly leaned in and asked, “Little Chloe, are you dating someone?” It was out of nowhere, but I felt his words were dangerous. I hastily shook my head, not wanting him to misunderstand. “I’m playing with my roommate and a senior. We’re all friends.” He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, reached out and messed up my hair, warning me fiercely: “Better not be. If you are, watch out, I’ll tell your brother.” My heart was beating very fast. After he went upstairs, the senior and my roommate asked me on my phone why I stopped talking. I inexplicably looked down and smiled, turned on the mic, and told them I wasn’t playing anymore. I felt like he cared about me a little bit. 7 That evening, after dinner, Arthur suddenly asked me if I wanted to play a game together. I was stunned. Besides the times when my brother was around and dragged us both to play, I hadn’t played alone with him before. Plus, he usually streamed after dinner. “Aren’t you streaming?” He leisurely poured a glass of water. “I am. Do you mind?” Didn’t his fans all say he had no taste, that he didn’t even like soft girls like Frosty? He was going to show them who really had no taste. I was very nervous, but the opportunity was rare. “I don’t mind.” He went upstairs, and I followed him with my phone. My heart was thumping. It was my first time in his room. Clean and tidy. He set up his equipment in a moment, then told me he started the stream. I hid in a spot the camera couldn’t see and softly said “Hmm.” I felt an inexplicable sense of shyness. Like we were dating behind the fans’ backs. Even though we weren’t yet. His mic picked up sound very well. The fans must have heard and asked if there was someone else with him. “Yeah, carrying my friend’s sister today.” I didn’t know what the chat was saying, but I heard him chuckle. I really wanted to click into his stream and take a peek, but I didn’t dare. The game started. His rank was very high. Afraid of being cursed at by my teammates, I picked a support hero. This entire game, I experienced both tension and a magical feeling. Listening to his clear voice talking to me for the whole game. “Follow me.” “Take the blue buff.” “I’ll come pick you up.” “Don’t be afraid, wait for me.” Was it because I was sitting next to him? I actually felt that the person who was usually cold in the stream was exceptionally gentle. When the game ended, he took a moment to look at the chat, seemingly in a very good mood. The sister is way sweeter than that female streamer! “You guys are right.” Is it really a friend’s sister? It’s not a girlfriend? “Yeah, friend’s sister.” Friend’s sister. I gripped my phone tightly, and the little bit of secret joy I couldn’t hold back just now instantly vanished. 8 Before heading back to my room after playing, I composed myself and told him he didn’t need to get up specially to make breakfast for me tomorrow morning. Arthur had just turned off his equipment. He looked back and gave me a deep look. “Why?” I didn’t dare look at him. I grabbed my phone and ran out. “No reason, just felt it was too much trouble for you.” Everything was fine while we were playing the game just now. Arthur watched the girl’s retreating figure and frowned imperceptibly. When I went downstairs the next day, as expected, I didn’t see anyone. That tiny bit of hope in my heart instantly plummeted to the core. He had always been rebellious. I had never seen Arthur be so obedient. I lowered my eyes, feeling a bit disappointed. “What are you dawdling for? Eat.” Just as I was slowly walking to the kitchen door, he pushed the door open, his bony, handsome hands steadily holding a bowl of noodles. I couldn’t help but show some joy. “Why did you…” Before I could finish, he reached out and pressed me down into a seat at the dining table. “How much do you hate me, Chloe?” His tone was very bad, as if he was suppressing anger. I turned to look at him. “I don’t.” How could I possibly hate him. He fiercely messed up my hair and placed the bowl of noodles in front of me with a thud. The sound wasn’t loud, but the action was scary. He did it on purpose. “Do you know how expensive my hands are? Cooking for you every day and you’re still complaining.” He was acting fierce. I softened my voice, feeling wronged: “I wasn’t complaining…” “If you weren’t complaining, why did you say that last night?” They had finally gotten a little bit closer, and she was knocking him back to square one again. Arthur was not one to admit defeat. When playing games, making a comeback against the wind was what excited him the most. The same went for her. He had always preferred to finish things quickly. But with her, he was slow and cautious, terrified that if he showed even a little bit, she would run away. “You’re tired from streaming, and you have to get up to cook for me instead of catching up on sleep.” “It’s exhausting, Arthur.” Besides a bit of pique last night, I really did feel it was hard on him, and there was no need for him to get up so early just to cook for me. Hearing this, he let out a scoff, leaned down, and pinched my cheek fiercely. “I want to.” He was always like this, looking fierce but actually not using any force at all. I covered my face and dodged, pursing my lips with a bit of distaste. “Learning bad habits instead of good ones.” My brother had loved pinching my cheeks since we were kids, making me cry several times but never tiring of it. He got better as we grew up, but occasionally he would still pinch my cheeks to tease me. He had always just watched the two of us siblings mess around from the side. I didn’t expect him to pick this up too. Arthur smiled and went upstairs. “See you at noon, Chloe.” I hummed an acknowledgment and buried my head in the noodles. I also hid the corners of my lips that were curving up. I liked him even more.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394660”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel