Category: English

When the female lead appeared, I was already pregnant with Ethan’s child. Unable to fight fate, he had once desperately broken off his engagement with the female lead for me, but that only made her hate me to the bone, detesting the very sight of me. Eventually, I grew tired. I threw away our tangled feelings, and even gave up the child. Until a late afternoon, six years later. A tender-faced child knocked on my door. He kept a straight face, acting like a little adult: “My dad doesn’t want me anymore, can I come live with you?” 1 I froze for a moment, speechless. Leo pursed his lips unhappily, tilting his pretty little face up, and said earnestly: “My teacher said that parents have the responsibility and obligation to raise their children…” The half-open door cut off the rest of his sentence. I stepped aside slightly and said calmly: “Come in.” The dim, yellow light inside illuminated his slightly widened eyes. His eyes flickered inexplicably. He lifted his chin, let out a “hmph,” and obediently walked in. Closing the door, I turned around to see Leo curiously looking around. Seeing me look over, he immediately retracted his gaze, nervously gripping his backpack straps, his little face tense: “My name is Leo Vance.” It sounded like a self-introduction, yet also a reminder of his identity—the child Ethan and I had together. I knew. From the first glance, I confirmed who he was. Because his features were almost an exact replica of Ethan’s. Seemingly disappointed by my calm reaction, he unhappily turned his head away, refusing to look at me. I placed his small, bright yellow backpack by the entryway and led him to wash his hands. “Let’s eat first.” Leo obediently said “oh,” and by the time I brought the food out, he had already climbed onto a chair by himself. I asked him why he came looking for me so suddenly. Leo kept his head down, poking at the small greens in his bowl. His little round, black head drooping, his voice muffled: “I had a fight with him. He threw things and told me to get out, saying I should never come back.” So it was just a temper tantrum and running away from home. Then Ethan should be coming to pick him up very soon. Makes sense. After all, the Vance family fought ruthlessly with me for Leo’s custody six years ago. Now, it was even more impossible that they didn’t want him. My chopsticks paused, unable to define the feeling in my heart at this moment. I didn’t know Leo was coming tonight, so I only had a simple meal of two dishes and one soup. He was a picky eater, avoiding onions and carrots, until eventually, he had no vegetables left to eat. Leo glared bitterly at the mashed vegetable leaves, stole a glance at me, and guiltily swallowed them. When we first met, he had a touch of arrogance and haughtiness. Now, being a picky eater who didn’t like greens, it was clear he was pampered and spoiled at the Vance house. He shouldn’t have suffered any real grievances. I relaxed a bit. After washing the dishes, I waited for Ethan to send someone to pick him up. I waited until nine-thirty. Six-year-olds get sleepy early. He pulled his pajamas out of his backpack, looking around with his eyes, and pouted: “There’s only one room.” “Are we squeezing into one bed tonight?” I glanced at the clock on the wall. For some reason, the Vance family still hadn’t sent anyone. I had to compromise. “Yeah, you’ll sleep with me tonight.” I originally thought Leo would throw a tantrum. After all, a modest one-bedroom apartment was naturally nowhere near as comfortable as the Vance family’s luxurious mansion. But Leo just pursed his lips, his eyes flickering. After wiping his face, he grunted as he changed into his pajamas, kicking his legs to climb onto the bed by himself. Just like how, despite looking disgusted during dinner, he silently finished the greens I put in his bowl. He wriggled under the covers, making a little mound, pulled out a fairy tale book from who-knows-where, and peeked out to look at me, urging: “Aren’t you going to coax me to sleep?” He looked quite happy. 2 After coaxing Leo to sleep, I pulled up Ethan’s number. I hesitated for a long time, but still didn’t dial. Ethan and I had been apart for six years. At first, we both thought we could fight fate. Back then, my family suddenly went bankrupt. The Vance family broke off our engagement and, hiding it from Ethan, engaged him to Mia. For me, he broke off the engagement with Mia regardless of the consequences. He even gave up his position as the heir, taking a beating from Grandpa Vance according to family law that left him bedridden for half a month. Seeing me cry, he endured the pain, a lazy smile on his lips as he coaxed me in a low voice. I thought everything would be fine. The bankruptcy would be fine, Ethan would be fine, the future would be fine. But it wasn’t. Ethan and I secretly got married, hiding it from everyone. Perhaps because of Ethan’s unwavering commitment to me from beginning to end, after getting pregnant, I never once thought about not wanting the baby. Until the eve of giving birth. I endured the pain and called him for a long time, but Ethan never answered. My neighbors rushed me to the hospital. When I woke up, I saw a cold and indifferent Ethan. I didn’t know why someone could change so drastically overnight. So much so that his eyes were filled with unfamiliarity and disgust when he looked at me. Mia came to see me once. From her, I learned the truth about this world. Due to a system error in timing, when the late female lead appeared, the male lead had already developed feelings for someone else. As the price of correction, the male lead’s erroneous feelings began to invert. However much he loved me before, that’s how much he hated me now. Mia looked at me with pity and sorrow. Before leaving, she asked in a low voice, have you thought about what will happen to your child’s future? I was suddenly stunned, feeling a bit lost. I didn’t know who to hate anymore. Should I hate Ethan? But he didn’t even understand his own feelings. Should I hate fate? But what’s the use of hating? I couldn’t change anything. At that time, my parents were in a car accident on their way to the hospital to see me. They were in a coma and might be vegetables for the rest of their lives. I was on the verge of breaking down. My mind kept replaying everything Mia had said. I just felt that this bastard world was so, so exhausting. When I pushed open the window and looked down, the baby by the hospital bed suddenly started wailing loudly. I thought in a daze, what would happen to him if I died? Would this world tolerate his existence? Would he be abused by Mia? Or would he be like me, despised by Ethan, enduring countless grievances alone, and finally dying silently while everyone hoped for it? I started trembling all over. I went back to the bedside, my hands shaking as they reached for his neck. I wanted to take him with me. But then he stopped crying. His red, teary eyes stared at me eagerly, as if no matter where we went, he just wanted to be with his mother. It wasn’t until the nurses and bodyguards noticed something was wrong, rushed in, and pushed me away hard. I looked down at my trembling hands, only then realizing what absurd thing I had almost done under Mia’s suggestion. The news quickly reached the Vance family. Grandpa Vance specifically asked to see me, starting a fight for custody of the child. I didn’t ask for anything. I threw away the Ethan who despised me, gave up custody, and straightforwardly signed the divorce papers. I only asked for two million dollars. Youth doesn’t know the taste of sorrow. The Miss Hastings who once casually threw around millions would now find herself at a dead end for a few thousand dollars in hospital bills. From beginning to end, Ethan never appeared. His disgust for me reached the point where he didn’t even want to look at me. So, I accepted my fate. I threw away our tangled feelings, and even gave up the child. I let him go, and I let myself go. I didn’t snap out of my reverie until a soft little bundle buried its head into my arms. Leo closed his eyes, let out a soft grunt, and curled up sweetly in my arms. As if finally finding a comfortable position, he fell fast asleep. He uneasily gripped the hem of my shirt tightly, as if afraid I would disappear the moment he opened his eyes. I looked at that innocent, tender face and couldn’t help but sigh softly. If he knew his mother had wanted to strangle him right after he was born, would he still have come looking for me? He would probably run as far away from me as possible. 3 By morning, Ethan still hadn’t appeared. I didn’t know what he was trying to do. Back then, the Vance family fought so ruthlessly for custody, and now they were acting like they could just throw him away. I woke Leo up early and called a cab to take him to school. The kindergarten he attended wasn’t in the same city as where I lived, but luckily, it was only an hour’s drive away. Before getting out of the car, he made me promise repeatedly that I would pick him up after school, whining and clinging to me, refusing to let go. Until he saw a car parked in front of the kindergarten. His eyes lit up. He hurriedly pulled me out of the car, but as we got closer, he deliberately slowed down, pretending to casually block the path of a chubby little boy who had just gotten out of a car. As if doing it on purpose for him to see, Leo waved our linked hands in front of him. Then, very loudly, so everyone could hear, he asked me: “Mom, you’re picking me up after school, right?” This was the first time Leo called me “Mom.” Perhaps because of my six-year absence, he had never proactively called me “Mom” even when he knocked on my door. The chubby boy stared at me intently, saying in disbelief: “If you have a mom, why didn’t she drop you off before?” Leo scoffed, his gaze disdainful: “My mom is busy with work. Today she specifically took time off to drop me off.” He emphasized the word “specifically.” He held my hand, walking up to the main gate of the kindergarten in front of everyone, as if showing off, wanting everyone to see. Before parting, he awkwardly asked one more time: “…You’ll come pick me up, right?” Seeing me stay silent, he glared at me, then said very frantically and quietly: “You promised me in the car. Adults aren’t allowed to lie!” I helplessly squatted down, flattened his turned-up collar, and ruffled his hair. His hair was dark and soft, feeling great to the touch. “Okay, I’ll pick you up.” He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile, then tried hard to keep a straight face, acting mature, lifting his chin and saying reservedly: “Hmm, I’ll remember to wait for you.” I only retracted my gaze after his figure completely disappeared from my sight. I found his teacher and asked about Leo’s situation in kindergarten. The teacher hesitated, finally sighing and complaining with a frown: “I know the Vance family is powerful, and my words might not hold much weight.” “But Leo’s Mom, no matter how busy you are, you can’t just completely ignore your child, right?” “Since he enrolled, no one has ever come to a parent-teacher meeting!” “Now all the kids in the kindergarten are saying he doesn’t have a mom. If this continues, it will be very bad for his physical and mental development.” No one has ever come to a parent-teacher meeting? Even if Ethan is busy and dislikes this child, is he too lazy to even have an assistant handle it? I frowned, feeling for the first time that I might have made the wrong decision. …Maybe I shouldn’t have given up custody back then. But I was penniless then, my parents were in a coma in the hospital, and I couldn’t even support myself. How could I talk about raising a fragile child? I pulled up Ethan’s number, hesitated for a moment, but still dialed it. I decided to have a good talk with him. If Ethan really didn’t want to raise him anymore, I would take him back with me. Although the current me couldn’t provide him with the excellent conditions of the Vance family, it was still enough to raise a child. Just as the call went through, a ringtone sounded behind me. As if realizing something, my fingertips trembled, and I turned around. I saw Ethan stepping out of a black Bentley. Six years had passed. He seemed to have changed, yet also seemed the same. He half-lowered his eyelashes, looking at the lit screen, his wrist bones clearly visible, his cold, sharp face hidden in the shadows. Unrushed, he slightly raised an eyebrow and suddenly looked up. “You’ve been hiding from me for so many years.” “Want to talk?” Unlike my disheveled state over the years, Ethan remained composed and steady. His features were exactly as I remembered, but the look in his eyes as he gazed at me was inexplicably deep. Even the dappled light filtering through the tree branches seemed to favor him. I heard he had already taken over the Vance family’s entire estate from Grandpa Vance. I heard the brand he founded was popular worldwide. I heard he had secretly married years ago and kept a low profile. The decades of memories I had deliberately ignored surged forward like a collapsing dam, a fine, dense pain spreading across my chest. It wasn’t until the moment I saw him that I suddenly realized. I thought I had moved on. It turns out I hadn’t. In our youth, he wove grass ring rings for me and kicked the person who bullied me into the pool. No one could have imagined that we would end up in such an awkward situation today. Actually, he hadn’t changed; he just didn’t love me anymore, that was all. It really has been a long, long time, Ethan. 4 We walked in silence and found a nearby cafe. Before the coffee even arrived, I got straight to the point, as if to cover something up: “Do you still want the child?” For the past six years, I had fantasized about reuniting with Ethan to the point of near torture. So much so that now I could pretend to be indifferent. Ethan raised his eyes, glanced at me, without hesitation: “Of course I do.” I pursed my lips, staring at the street sign outside the floor-to-ceiling window, let out a low “hmm,” and stood up. “Then remember to pick him up after school. If you don’t have time for parent-teacher meetings, you can notify me. I won’t disturb you and—” I still couldn’t say Mia’s name calmly. I couldn’t help but dig my nails into my palms, the sharp pain keeping me lucid, forcing myself to say: “…Won’t disturb your life.” I glanced at the time and was about to leave. As we brushed past each other, I only heard Ethan ask out of the blue: “So you only want to talk to me about Leo now?” My steps faltered, not quite understanding. Things between us were settled clearly six years ago. He found another love, and I took the two million and walked away cleanly. It was that simple. Besides Leo, what else was there for us to talk about? Ethan let out a soft breath, his pitch-black pupils fixed on me, and spoke again: “Alright then, I don’t want Leo anymore.” He sounded so self-righteous, as if he wasn’t the one changing his mind at the last minute. I furrowed my brows, unable to help but ask him: “What do you mean?” Ethan’s jaw lifted slightly, tapping the seat opposite him, motioning for me to sit back down. “Exactly what it sounds like.” “You want to raise the child, fine. The child is yours.” “Considering the child’s physical and mental health, every Friday night I will go to your current residence to fulfill necessary shared parenting duties with Leo, and drive back to the company Monday morning.” Watching him calmly spout nonsense, I only felt it was absurd. Driven beyond patience, I reminded him: “We are already divorced.” “Are we?” Ethan let out an ambiguous scoff. “I didn’t sign.” I belatedly understood the meaning of that sentence. When Grandpa Vance had me sign the divorce agreement, I thought Ethan despised me so much he didn’t even want to see me one last time, so he never appeared from start to finish. He said he didn’t sign. But why come looking for me only after six years? I wouldn’t flatter myself into thinking he still had any feelings for me. Maybe that agreement was lost, or there was some loophole that required a supplementary agreement; anything was possible. I pursed my lips, cooperating nicely: “Then we’ll sign a new one.” Ethan didn’t even look up: “Not signing.” I spoke to him in an even tone: “Signing it makes us even, isn’t that good?” “No, it’s not.” “Do you have any concerns? I don’t want shares or money, consider it me leaving with nothing.” “Don’t want it.” Those three ‘no’s made me angry yet dazed. Perhaps Ethan himself didn’t even remember, but this is exactly how he was in his youth. That day was his birthday party. Someone cornered me, their gaze frivolous and disrespectful, spouting nonsense. Ethan kicked the guy into the pool with one strike. It caused a huge scene. The guests were all prominent figures in Capitol City, and the elders from several families looked displeased. When asked for the reason, Ethan never offered an explanation. To avoid rumors and protect my reputation, Ethan didn’t even mention me from start to finish. He refused to admit fault and stubbornly took a beating from Grandpa Vance. I suppose no one could have imagined that this future business mogul spent his eighteenth birthday in a confinement room. The door was completely locked, not even medicine could be delivered. I curled up outside the door, saying very softly and guiltily: “I’m sorry.” Through the door panel, he paused for a moment, making some rustling sounds. It seemed he sat down by the door too. His voice was a bit muffled. He let out a soft “oh,” then said: “Not listening.” I buried my forehead against my knees, saying sullenly: “Actually, you didn’t have to kick him. Just waiting for him to finish would have been fine, he didn’t dare to actually do anything to me.” “Wasn’t going to wait.” I didn’t speak again. Maybe my voice was too muffled earlier and he misunderstood something. After a moment, he said again: “No crying.” He knocked on the door panel, clicking his tongue lightly: “I did it willingly, it has nothing to do with you, no crying.” I snapped back to reality, trying my best to hide the sourness in my eyes, but I seemed to hear his “no crying” from many years ago again. Ethan sat under the light, smiling faintly. The fine dust caught the scattered light, drifting down. His old silhouette had long silently sharpened over the years. He looked up and raised an eyebrow at me. As if answering what I had said earlier. “Chloe, we can never be even.” 5 I don’t quite remember how it ended. I only remember that I was so angry I left without even saying goodbye. Because I parted on bad terms with Ethan, I wasn’t sure if he was just saying that or if he really intended to do it. I hesitated for a moment but still didn’t take a cab back. Perhaps the round-trip fare was almost equal to a day’s wages for me, and taking time off seemed better than going back to work. Or perhaps it was the maternal love absent for six years acting up; I didn’t want to break my promise to Leo. I waited until four-thirty in the afternoon when kindergarten let out. Most of the children in this kindergarten came from prominent families. Among the coming and going luxury cars, I saw that Bentley stop in front of Leo. So I didn’t step forward. I turned around, slowly walking in the direction I came from, suddenly feeling my previous worries were ridiculous. What was I thinking? How could the Vance family really let the child leave with me? That Bentley quickly drove away, kicking up thick dust as we brushed past each other. I inexplicably thought of that tender little face. We probably won’t see each other again. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, I turned my head for one last look. After the black car left, the previously obscured road on the other side was revealed. Leo stood all alone at the kindergarten gate. His wide, round eyes met my gaze. His eyes lit up, and he was about to rush toward me, but was stopped by a teacher beside him. He scrunched up his little face, seemingly saying something to the teacher in frustration. Afraid he’d run blindly across the street, by the time I snapped out of it, I had already unconsciously taken several steps toward him. The teacher saw me, and only then did she let Leo come over. He ran over, panting, his dark, round eyes sparkling. He only slowed down when he got close, deliberately putting on an air of indifference, acting coy but happy: “…You, you really came to pick me up?” His soft little hand tentatively held my fingertips. Seeing I didn’t pull away, he pursed his lips, sneaked a glance at me, and gripped tighter. I gave a soft “hmm,” asking him a bit uncertainly: “Aren’t you going with him?” Mentioning Ethan, Leo’s face puffed up like a little gas tank ready to explode: “I don’t want him! Plus, he’s not here to pick me up!” “He said you work hard dropping me off and picking me up, that my constant clinging would annoy you, and told me not to bother you at work.” Looking very opinionated and seemingly quite disdainful of Ethan, he spoke solemnly and proudly: “I’m not as stupid as him!” “I talked to the teacher about transferring schools today, so you won’t have to spend so much time dropping me off anymore!” He tilted his little face up, his gaze expectant, seemingly waiting for me to praise him. I couldn’t help but rub his round, little black head. There was a lot of traffic on the way home. After buying groceries at the market, the sky grew dark as I led Leo home. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he muttered casually: “Oh right, Uncle Driver is picking me up after school tomorrow. Dad said I have to go home tomorrow to get my change of clothes.” “But I’m still coming back here to sleep! You’re not allowed to forget me!” Tomorrow was Friday. I unconsciously tightened my grip on the plastic bag holding the ingredients for braised pork, paused for a moment, and said gently: “Okay.” Children have short memories. Perhaps after one weekend, he would be coaxed by his family and then, forget me. Every time we met, I treated it as the last time. Because only by doing so would I not feel disappointed during the long waits. 6 By ten-thirty Friday night, Leo still hadn’t returned. I calmly put away the pajamas he had left on the edge of the bed that morning and stuffed the extra dishes I had made into the fridge. I turned off the lights, spaced out in the dark for a while, and closed my eyes. When I woke up again, I heard the sound of rain pattering outside the window. The sky was just getting light. I had nightmares all night and woke up with a splitting headache, throbbing in waves. There were a few unread messages on my phone. Before leaving yesterday, Leo hugged my leg, pestering me for my phone number. The earliest voice message was sent at midnight. It carried a hint of guilt, sounding a bit defensive, yet like an explanation. [I didn’t mean to be late!] [I had my clothes ready by six! But Dad got sick again and doesn’t seem to have the energy to drop me off.] [He’s so useless!] The second message came half an hour later. Cautious, with a hint of crying. [Mom, are you angry?] [Do you not want me again?] [I don’t want to stay here either, but, but I don’t have a choice. I don’t have Uncle Driver’s phone number—] … The last one was from ten minutes ago. He took a picture of the instructions for a fever reducer, asking me what it said and if kids could take this medicine. I quickly called his number back. The phone was answered in a second, and the sound of sniffling came from the other side. “Mom.” My phone automatically went on Do Not Disturb at night. I couldn’t even imagine how frightened and anxious Leo must have been all night. Afraid of scaring the child, I took a deep breath, tried to keep my voice steady, gripped the phone tightly, and asked gently: “Do you have a fever? Can you tell Mom where it hurts?” There was a sneeze on the other end of the line. He didn’t answer the question, but asked cautiously with a nasal voice: “Mom, can you come pick me up?” I knew it. I couldn’t refuse. 7 Following the location Leo sent, I found a villa complex in Capitol City. It seemed they had been informed in advance, as the guards didn’t give me much trouble and easily let me in. Standing in front of the door, I inexplicably felt this villa looked very much like my old home. Just as I was about to ring the bell, a hand blocked me first. I saw Mia’s reflection on the doorbell screen. My pupils shrank. My mind buzzed. Mia frowned, seemingly unable to understand: “Why are you here?” Almost like a conditioned reflex, I threw off her hand. Under her astonished gaze, I pursed my lips: “I came to pick up Leo.” Mia froze, seemed to think of something, and said pointedly: “Actually, you really shouldn’t have given up custody back then.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a trace of pity: “You know, Ethan doesn’t like this child.” “He’s stubborn and difficult, not lovable at all. He still refuses to call me ‘Mom’.” “Oh right, haven’t you experienced it before? Those who go against the protagonist never have a good ending.” She smiled faintly. A light sentence, yet it sent me right back to that cold winter six years ago. But this time, I didn’t step back. “He has a mother; he doesn’t need a second one.” “As for the ‘no good ending’ you mentioned—” I took a step towards her, staring into her eyes, retorting sarcastically: “Since you know exactly what happened back then, you should also know very well that I have nothing left to lose now.” “You can go ahead and try what you just said.” I smiled and said: “Anyway, I have nothing but a worthless life. When that day really comes, I’ll make sure to take you with me before I go.” Mia instinctively took a step back, seemingly not expecting the person who had broken down in despair six years ago to now know how to fight back. She bit her lip and didn’t speak. Ignoring her, I rang the doorbell directly. Not long after, the door was pushed open from the inside. The door revealed a sickly, listless face. Ethan seemed not to expect me to appear here, instinctively asking: “Why are you—” The next instant, his eyes grew cold, and he said almost indifferently: “Get out.” Was everything that happened six years ago going to repeat itself because of Mia’s appearance? I tugged my lips in a near-mocking smile: “Don’t worry, I’ll leave as soon as I pick up Leo.” But as if unable to bear it anymore, he grabbed my wrist. Then, without a word, he pulled me inside the house, using half his body to block me, and slammed the door shut with a cold face. Before the door closed, I clearly saw the smile Mia had just put on turn rigid. I looked up at Ethan blankly. …Ah. Did he grab the wrong person? 8 The temperature of the hand gripping my wrist was scalding. The burning sensation told me it wasn’t an illusion. Ethan explained to me in a low voice: “I wasn’t talking about you.” I belatedly realized I seemed to have misunderstood something and uncomfortably pulled my hand back. He just looked down at his empty hand, couldn’t help but curl his fingers, and then dialed the guard’s number. His expression was aloof and cold. “Didn’t I tell you not to let her in?” A flurry of panicked apologies came from the receiver, and something else seemed to be said. Not long after Ethan hung up, a surveillance video was sent over. He handed the phone to me. I looked blank and confused, so he explained: “I never let Mia in. She snuck in right behind you.” Seeing I didn’t take it, he seriously stuffed the phone into my hand and carefully closed my fingers over it one by one. “Evidence, hold onto it.” But I caught a faint scent of alcohol. Is Ethan a lightweight? I belatedly realized that Ethan right now did indeed seem quite different from usual. My vision went dark. Besides me, probably no one else knows just how difficult a drunk Ethan can be. Under Ethan’s pressure, I forced myself to finish watching the surveillance video under his supervision. He stood by me the whole time, and even used his gaze to urge me to speak after the video ended, seemingly waiting for my “post-viewing thoughts.” I laughed a bit nervously, forcibly changing the subject, and kindly reminded him: “You seem to have a fever.” He reached out to touch my forehead, seemed to think about it seriously for a moment, and said solemnly: “Oh, it seems so.” …He’s silly, there’s no saving him. I couldn’t help but turn my head and sigh, only to see Leo dragging a suitcase out of his room, panting heavily. He froze when he saw me by the entryway. He dropped the suitcase that was as tall as his shoulder, his eyes red, and was about to throw himself at me. “Mom!” Ethan unhappily swatted away Leo’s hands hugging my legs, his expression very fierce: “Don’t call out randomly, this is my wife.” Leo was pushed until he stumbled, so angry he was about to cry. His little face was flushed from the fever, and he scrunched up his face, glaring at him hatefully: “Are you a bandit? Mom clearly came looking for me!” My ears hurt so much. Chirping away, like I was raising two sparrows. Before I could speak, Ethan had already pulled me into the bedroom with a cold face. Leo indignantly kicked his little legs, trying to follow, but was stopped by Ethan pressing an index finger to his forehead, pushing him out expressionlessly. The door closed with a smack. The world was quiet.

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For the three years I was with Liam, I was known in his circle as the absolute perfect, obedient girlfriend. I never checked his phone, never cared how many other women he flirted with, and never fought with him no matter how late he stayed out. Liam was always very smug about it, bragging to his friends about how much I loved him. Until one day, by chance, he saw an old social media account documenting my relationship with my first love. The me in those videos was petty, jealous, and completely lacked the “emotional stability” I had now. In the video, my first love smiled helplessly and asked me: “Why is your temper so bad?” I answered self-righteously: “I only get mad because I love you. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t care at all.” Liam was stunned. 1 When I bumped into Liam at the bar, there was a beautiful girl in a spaghetti-strap top and hot pants sitting on his lap. Her slender, pale arms were wrapped around his neck, and the lips smiling down at him were coated in glittering lip gloss. The few friends in the booth who were married or had serious girlfriends had already stood up, laughing apologetically at Liam. “Sorry about this, Liam. The wife runs a tight ship, she’s called a few times already to rush me. If I don’t go back now, I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.” Liam let the girl take the cigarette from his mouth and place it between her own lips, scoffing: “You’re all useless. Letting a woman control you like that.” The other single guys started cheering: “We should all learn from Liam! No matter what time he goes back, his girl never dares to check up on him. Tell us your secrets, bro. Teach us how you trained her!” The girl sitting in his lap giggled, leaning her upper body against Liam. “Yeah, Liam, if you act like this with me, aren’t you afraid your girlfriend will see and get mad?” Liam played with his lighter, a look of boastful pride rising on his face: “She loves me to death. She does whatever I tell her to do. In the three years we’ve been together, she’s never fought with me once.” “Damn! Liam is the man!” The guys next to him all laughed, looking envious. “All these years Liam’s been playing around, and his girl hasn’t dared to say a single word. That’s a real man right there—” His words cut off abruptly as he saw me standing nearby, completely expressionless. Liam saw me too. There wasn’t a trace of panic on his face. He simply pushed the girl off his lap, raised an eyebrow, and waved me over. “What are you doing here?” I paused for a second, then walked over, saying calmly: “I came with some friends.” The girl who had been pushed away looked annoyed. She looked me up and down, forcing a strained smile. “Hey, Sarah.” Only when I got closer did I recognize her. She was the new junior secretary at Liam’s company. I think her name was Chloe. She went to a mediocre state college, but Liam had personally approved her hiring after seeing her resume photo. I didn’t expect him to hook up with her so quickly. I ignored her. Liam looked like he had drank quite a bit. His beautiful, expressive eyes were misty, looking devastatingly handsome in the blurred lighting. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. “You came out to play and didn’t even tell me. Give me a kiss.” He leaned toward the corner of my mouth. I instinctively dodged him. I didn’t know if he had just kissed Chloe or not. I thought it was dirty. Liam’s expression changed, the smile slowly fading from his lips. Even though he was the one sitting, the way he looked at me felt like he was looking down from a great height. “Sarah, what’s that supposed to mean?” I turned my head and said softly: “You’re drunk.” “You think I’m dirty?” Probably because I embarrassed him in front of his friends, Liam’s eyes turned icy. He suddenly grabbed Chloe, who was standing nearby, pulled her onto his lap, and held the back of her head. Chloe looked thrilled and submissively accepted his kiss. The two of them exchanged a wet, deep kiss right in front of me. When Chloe pulled away panting ten seconds later, a silver thread of saliva still connected their lips. She glanced at me, a smug smile playing on her lips. Liam looked at me provocatively. His other friends all fell silent, their eyes fixing on me. No woman could tolerate her boyfriend kissing another woman right in front of her. They probably thought I was finally going to snap. I just met Liam’s gaze and said flatly, “You’re drunk. I’m leaving.” As I walked away, I heard the stunned murmurs of Liam’s friends. “Damn, her emotional stability is insane! She’s not even mad!” “Liam really has her under control. She doesn’t dare get mad at him, probably afraid of getting dumped.” “She loves him too much. I heard she chased Liam for a whole year. She obeys his every command, she’s in way too deep!” Liam let out a laugh, laced with contempt. “She can’t live without me. She doesn’t dare get mad at me.” The deep winter weather felt like knives. I didn’t know when it started, but it was snowing outside. The flurries drifted down, illuminated red by passing taillights one moment, then turning a murky yellow under the streetlamps the next. I pulled my scarf tighter, leaned against the wall, and lit a cigarette. The mint-flavored smoke mixed with the freezing air, stinging my lungs as I inhaled. This was my first love’s favorite cigarette. When we were together, I used to constantly pester him to let me smoke one, and he would scold me every time: “Sarah, what’s wrong with you? If I catch you smoking, I’ll break your legs!” On the day we broke up, I bought a pack myself, coughing as I smoked it. After that, there was no one to manage me, so I just kept smoking. I rarely smoke these days. But sometimes, when my emotions flare up, I still can’t control it. Watching Liam kiss someone else, I really wasn’t angry. Because I simply didn’t love him. 2 I was the one who pursued Liam. The first time I saw him was at a newly opened bar. He was there as an investor. The table in front of his booth was covered in expensive liquor, and the beautiful women around him were giggling at his jokes. That face attracted the gaze of every girl in the room. I remember a lot of people went up to ask for his number that night. I did too. Many people liked Liam, but I was the one who persisted the longest. For a year, I was at his beck and call. Just one word from him, and no matter how far away I was, I would appear in front of him. Liam’s playboy lifestyle was famous in our circle. There was never a shortage of women around him. Even if he had just finished fooling around with some girl, I would go pick him up with just one phone call. I wouldn’t ask anything, wouldn’t say anything, I’d just make him a pot of hangover soup. Everyone thought I was madly in love with him. They all said the Davis family was a disgrace. It was bad enough that my family went bankrupt, but for the only daughter to be so infatuated with the young Mr. Sterling that she insisted on acting like his lapdog? The catalyst for us getting together was a night we both drank too much and ended up rolling into the same bed in a hazy stupor. I only remember Liam being particularly rough that night. I cried a lot, holding onto him and crying the whole time. When we woke up in the morning, Liam looked at the marks all over my body and my swollen, teary eyes. Maybe he felt a rare moment of softness. He lit a cigarette and asked me very casually: “Do you want to be with me?” “Let’s get one thing straight,” he lit his cigarette, biting the filter. “From now on, don’t try to manage me. I hate women who try to manage me.” I stared at the blanket covering my chest, zoning out for a moment, then said: “Okay.” Liam always thought my tears that day were tears of joy. He didn’t know that that day was my first love’s birthday. His side profile looked very much like my first love’s. At that banquet, I spotted him in the crowd with a single glance. Under the dim lighting that night, for just a fleeting moment, I felt like that person had returned to my side. … I was with Julian from the time I was seventeen until I was twenty-five. Almost ten years. He was the only student on financial aid at our elite private school, specially recruited for his top grades. I heard his family used to be very wealthy, but later his father was betrayed by a business partner. Unable to handle the blow of bankruptcy, his father committed suicide. His mother was already in poor health and passed away from grief shortly after. Overnight, he went from a pampered young master to a penniless orphan. But Julian recovered quickly. He was never subservient or arrogant. Even in a private school full of rich kids, he maintained the number one spot in academics and was even elected student body president. Who wouldn’t like someone like that? I confessed to him many times and was rejected every time. But I never gave up; I just kept liking him. Many girls liked him, but slowly gave up after his repeated rejections. Only I was relentlessly persistent. Finally, right before graduation, when I confessed for the sixth time, he asked me helplessly: “What exactly do you like about me?” My face was flushed, tears welling in my eyes as I looked at him stubbornly. I didn’t know if I was angry or sad. I just knew I liked Julian. There’s no reason. Liking something is inherently unreasonable sometimes. “I just like you. I like everything about you!” Julian’s expression was complex. After a long time, he said softly: “But I have nothing. I can’t give you anything. A guy like me… do you still like me?” I said loudly: “Yes! Julian, even though I like you, I have a bottom line too! If you don’t agree this time, I’m never going to ask you again!” Julian looked at me for a long time, then let out a long breath. It looked like exasperation, but also like surrender. After a long time, he gently hugged me. “You really are an idiot.” My eyes widened. My heart skipped a beat, then started pounding violently. That was the first time I understood the feeling of my heart bursting with joy. It turns out when people are happy, fireworks really do go off in their hearts. After that, Julian and I were together. He had great grades; mine weren’t as good. To be with me, he intentionally skipped two major questions on the college entrance exams so he could apply to the same university as me. When I found out, I cried my eyes out. He just held me and laughed. “Idiot, why are you crying? All universities are pretty much the same. Don’t worry, from now on, I won’t let you suffer.” He didn’t make promises lightly. Starting his sophomore year, Julian began his own startup. He and a group of friends launched a company and made their first pot of gold. By the year we graduated, he had already bought a luxury penthouse in the city center. He renovated it in my favorite style, planning to use it as our marital home. Everything was going smoothly. In our plans for the future, there was only each other. Neither of us ever doubted we would make it to the end. Until after graduation, when I brought him home to meet my parents. And then I saw my dad’s face drastically change. Julian’s body swayed, the color draining from his face inch by inch. Later, I found out my dad was the business partner who betrayed Julian’s father, destroying his family. The world is absurd like that. Because my dad was constantly traveling for business, Liam had never seen him before. None of us could have predicted this possibility. That day, my dad asked my mom and me to leave so he could talk to Julian alone. Not long after, Julian left without saying goodbye and went abroad. He didn’t leave me a single word. He said nothing to me. The man who, because of one sentence from me saying I missed him, would cross half the campus to keep me company; the man who promised to love me forever; the man who knelt on one knee with red eyes asking me to marry him, saying that with me he finally had a home… just abandoned me like that. And I couldn’t even hate him. Because it was my dad who ruined him. Who wouldn’t harbor hatred? If it were me, I would hate him too. I don’t know if it was karma, but after that, my dad’s investments failed, he committed suicide, and my family went bankrupt. Julian, on the other hand, thrived abroad. He had a great eye for investments, caught the right market trends, and in just a few years, his company went public on NASDAQ. He became a famous tech billionaire. The tables had turned. Our paths never crossed again. And it was impossible for them to ever cross again. So when I saw Liam, I felt my long-dead heart seemingly start beating again for the first time in a long while. To me, what difference did it make who I was with? The fact that Liam looked so much like Julian was already a blessing from above. For the sake of his face, I had been utterly obedient and at his beck and call these past few years. Whenever he needed me, I was always there. No matter how late he stayed out playing, one phone call and I would get out of bed to go pick him up from another woman’s hands. My birthday, our anniversary—he remembered none of them. On my birthday, he didn’t even come home; he was out having a blast with a girl he just met. Liam had always been a notorious playboy in our circle. He loved to play and knew how to play. The women around him changed faster than his clothes. Before my family went bankrupt, I had heard of his reputation. After getting together with me, he didn’t dial it back at all. Several times, women even came directly to confront me. I could tell several times that he wanted to break up with me, trying to use those incidents as an excuse to start a fight. But I never got jealous, and I never fought with him. Over time, he slowly got used to my presence. He and his friends all thought I loved him to my very core, loved him so much I was pathetic. But the truth is, I genuinely didn’t care. I just wanted to be able to look at that face occasionally in the dead of night. To fantasize that Julian was still by my side. Relying on that, I could keep going. 3 It was a friend of Liam’s birthday. They invited people from our circle to dinner, and everyone brought their plus-ones. Liam brought me along too. But I didn’t expect Chloe to be there as well, naturally taking the seat right next to Liam. She even asked me: “Sarah, you don’t mind if I sit here, do you?” Liam glanced at me. I didn’t say anything. His smile gradually faded, and with a cold scoff, he put his arm around Chloe. Chloe seemed genuinely infatuated with Liam. Throughout the meal, she constantly toasted him, even pressing close to him whispering who-knows-what, occasionally laughing uncontrollably and leaning against him when he teased her. I wasn’t angry in the slightest, sitting quietly to the side eating my food. Liam’s friends clicked their tongues in envy, saying to their own girlfriends: “Look how magnanimous she is. Not like you, getting jealous over every little thing. Learn from her!” His girlfriend had had a bit too much to drink, and scoffed dismissively: “She only cares if she likes you. If she doesn’t like you, she won’t care at all!” I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but after she said that, the entire room went quiet. Liam clearly heard it too. The smile remained on his face, but the hand gripping his glass tightened until the veins popped. His friend froze, immediately trying to smooth things over with an apologetic smile: “Sorry, Liam, my girl had too much to drink. She didn’t mean it.” His girlfriend also started apologizing. Liam didn’t say anything, but his gaze fell on me. I turned my head, avoiding his eyes. He suddenly asked me: “You really aren’t angry at all?” “What is there to be angry about?” I was confused. “Isn’t this the freedom you wanted?” I got to look at that face every day. And he got the freedom he wanted. We both got what we wanted. What was wrong with that? After all, when Liam first agreed to be with me, he warned me not to manage him. These past few years, his side flings never stopped. I thought this was the arrangement he liked. But Liam seemed unhappy. He got even closer to Chloe. Chloe was practically sitting on his lap, and the two of them exchanged a wet kiss right in front of me. Completely ignoring me, his girlfriend. The others were used to it, though a few looked at me with sympathetic expressions. I was scrolling through my phone’s photo album to kill time, waiting for the dinner to end so I could go home. After a few more rounds of drinks, Chloe started feeling buzzed. Perhaps she finally couldn’t hold back her ambition to usurp my position, she eyed me a few times and started picking a fight: “What year is it, and you’re still using an iPhone 12? Pretty retro, huh.” I ignored her, but she got even more aggressive. “I’ve forgotten what an iPhone 12 even looks like. It’s an antique by now. I’m actually a bit curious. Sis, why don’t you let me see your phone?” “No,” I tightened my grip on my phone. “Liam~ tell Sarah to let me see it. It’s just a phone, what’s there to hide?” Seeing I wasn’t speaking, Liam frowned: “She wants to see it, just let her see it.” “No.” I refused again. “Liam~” Chloe grabbed his arm, whining. Probably feeling embarrassed that I rejected him, Liam’s face turned cold as he held his hand out to me: “Phone.” I remained silent. “What’s in the phone anyway?” Chloe added fuel to the fire. “It couldn’t be something inappropriate, could it?” Liam’s eyes darkened, and he reached over to snatch my phone. “What are you doing?!” I was startled. The phone slipped during the struggle. I instinctively shoved Liam away to catch it. His lower back hit the corner of the table, and he let out a muffled groan of pain, cursing at me: “Are you psycho, Sarah?! It’s just a stupid phone! If it breaks, I’ll buy you a new one—” The next second, looking at the video playing on the lit screen, all his words stopped abruptly. The video I had just been watching on my phone started playing again. It was from when I was still with Julian. I was on his back. Not knowing he was recording me, I was pouting and lecturing him. “Why were you talking to that girl for so long today?!” Julian sounded helpless: “She’s the vice president of the student council. We were talking about official business. Look at you, how can you be so jealous every day? Are you the reincarnation of a vinegar jar?” I got even angrier: “I’m jealous because I like you! If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t care if you dropped dead!” Julian just laughed, hiking me higher up on his back. “Okay, okay, okay, you like me, I get it. So I should be happy then?” I poked him in the back: “From now on, you’re not allowed to talk to other girls, you’re not allowed to add their contacts, and you’re not allowed to like anyone else!” “Okay, whatever you say. Where did you get such a bad temper…” The video continued playing. I picked up the phone and turned it off. Liam maintained his posture from a moment ago, completely motionless. No one expected things to develop this way. They fell silent, their eyes fixed on us. The next second, Liam suddenly snatched the phone from my hand and smashed it violently onto the floor! Instinctively, I slapped Liam across the face, then bent down in a panic to pick up the phone. This was the last memento Julian had left me. The phone was smashed beyond recognition, the screen completely black. I grabbed the phone, finally realizing what I had done, and turned to look at Liam. That slap wasn’t that hard. But Liam was stunned. He didn’t even cover his face. He just stood there blankly, looking at me. He seemed somewhat lost, as if he didn’t recognize me anymore. Everyone was shocked. Not a single person dared to make a sound. You could hear a pin drop in the room. I regretted it a little, but somehow, inexplicably, I also felt a sense of relief. I didn’t actually want to hit Liam; it was just a reflex. But since things had come to this, I knew it was over between Liam and me. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and left. As I walked out the door, I sent Liam one last message. “Let’s break up.” 4 I walked aimlessly down the street, but suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette at the corner! In that instant, the sounds of the traffic all vanished. All I could hear was my heart skipping a beat before roaring back to life! That silhouette looked exactly like Julian. But by the time I rushed over, he had already disappeared into the sea of people, impossible to find again. I stood there in a daze, completely devastated, until the cars behind me honked to rush me. Only then did I turn away blankly. It seemed to snow especially heavily this winter. After sitting in a park for a while, I felt a slight chill on my eyelashes. Only then did I belatedly realize everything around me had turned completely white. I slowly curled up, not wanting to leave. I didn’t know where to go. After my dad died, my mom quickly remarried and moved abroad. I didn’t have a home anymore. Julian once gave me a home, but then he left me all alone. With Liam? That was even less of a home. I had places to stay, but I didn’t have a home to return to. Tears slid down my cheeks. I wiped them away gently and was about to stand up when a shadow suddenly fell over me. I thought it was Liam coming out to find me, but when I looked up, my breathing instantly stopped. That face that had appeared in my dreams countless times had crossed the boundary between fantasy and reality, appearing right in front of my eyes. And I couldn’t tell dream from reality. My fingers began to tremble, but I didn’t dare touch him. Snow clung to Julian’s eyelashes, slowly melting. For a moment, I thought the man from my memories who loved me had returned. He said gently: “I’m back.” … I forgot how I ended up back at Julian’s apartment with him. I only remember crying non-stop, clinging to him tightly, refusing to let go, until he helplessly held me as we lay on the bed, patting my back. “Stop crying, I’m not going anywhere. If you keep crying, you’ll get a headache.” I couldn’t even speak properly, lifting my head and sobbing brokenly: “When did you come back?” “A few months ago.” I paused for a second, then cried even louder: “Then why did it take you so long to come find me?!” Julian looked down, his eyes filled with complex emotions I couldn’t read. “I heard you were dating someone. I didn’t know if I should bother you.” “Then why did you come now?” “I couldn’t help it.” He seemed to finally admit defeat: “I couldn’t forget you, Sarah. I couldn’t let you go.” “I missed you so much it was killing me. I admit defeat. I have no other choice.” My hand paused. I sat up. Julian leaned down. On that freezing winter night, with heavy snow falling, this kiss that was delayed for far too long was scorching hot. Neither of us said another word. We had been together for so long, our mutual understanding was too profound. Neither of us needed to say anything more. We didn’t even have a brief moment of unfamiliarity; we knew each other’s bodies far too well. It wasn’t just about lust; it was about longing and possession. When my brow furrowed, I held onto him with an almost fearful grip, terrified this was just a dream. Then I realized, he was holding me even tighter. In a trembling embrace bordering on pain, we finally re-confirmed each other’s existence. When I woke up, it was broad daylight. The snow outside was still falling, the dark clouds pressing down heavily, casting a hazy gloom over everything. The bed beside me was empty. I panicked. Clutching my chest, I stumbled out of bed, about to run out the door, but crashed straight into Julian, who had just returned. The light in the room was dim. Shadows fell across his sharp features. Probably because of our intense activities, his M-shaped lips were flushed a deep red. He looked devastatingly handsome. I let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his forearm. “I thought…” I thought I was dreaming. During the years we were apart, I had too many dreams about him. But the happier the dreams were, the more devastated I felt when I woke up. After leaning against his chest for a long time, I finally mustered the courage: “Are you leaving again this time? About my dad…” Julian rested his chin on my head. After a long silence, he finally spoke: “At the time, I just couldn’t accept it. I didn’t know what to do. I truly hated him, and I couldn’t help but hate you too. All these years abroad, I was hating you while loving you at the same time. It was driving me insane. I saw a therapist, but I couldn’t help it.” “I kept dreaming about you,” he held my hand, his voice very soft. “I dreamt of you crying, asking me, ‘Julian, why don’t you want me anymore?’ My heart hurt so much. I’d wake up and smoke all night. I didn’t know what to do. Sarah, what did you expect me to do?” “Later, I slowly figured it out. Your dad is your dad, and you are you. What your dad did has nothing to do with you. And now your dad isn’t here anymore either. I’m willing to let it go. We can start over.” He slowly hugged me tighter: “I’m not leaving. I’m never leaving again. That apartment wasn’t good anyway. I bought a new house. We can decorate it from scratch together, okay?” My eyes stung and slowly blurred. I hugged his arm tight. “Okay.” The sunlight broke through the clouds. I didn’t know when, but the snow had stopped. My sky had finally cleared up, too.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394479”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

At noon, my online boyfriend sent me a photo of his lunch, fishing for compliments. It was a steaming bowl of braised chicken and rice. [Baby, I’m eating my lunch properly, I’m being a very good boy, hurry up and praise me~] I was just about to reply, “Good boy,” when… I noticed four big red letters printed on the tray in the photo: Lanjing Technology. My heart instantly skipped a beat. Because… the company I work for is also called “Lanjing Technology.” I froze on the spot. Come on, bro, are you kidding me? The guy I’ve been dating online for over a year actually works at the same company as me? 1 It was lunchtime, and I was sitting in the company cafeteria, happily eating my favorite braised chicken. I remembered my online boyfriend telling me that he’s too busy at work and often forgets to eat lunch. So I sent him a kind reminder: [No matter how busy work gets, don’t forget to eat lunch. Be an obedient little puppy.] Ten minutes later, my phone lit up with a message from him: [Baby, I’m eating my lunch properly, I’m being a very good boy, hurry up and praise me~] [Image] I opened the image. It was a steaming bowl of braised chicken and rice. I was just about to praise him. But then I realized there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity about this photo. After looking closely, I knew exactly where that damn familiarity came from: The four big red letters on the tray: [Lanjing Technology] And this is exactly where I work. I looked at the braised chicken in front of me, then at the photo my online boyfriend sent. Suddenly, the meat in my mouth didn’t taste so good anymore. The company cafeteria is for employees only. My online boyfriend actually works at the same company as me? I was speechless! 2 [Baby, why aren’t you praising me? (Puppy pouting face)] [I really listened to you and ate my food properly. (Puppy crying)] [Are you mad? What did I do wrong? (Puppy hiding in a corner crying silently)] My online boyfriend’s messages came one after another. I still hadn’t recovered. Although I knew we were in the same city. I never expected we would be in the same company. This damn fate! “Puppy, what company do you work for?” “Puppy, are you at Lanjing Tech?” I typed and deleted the words repeatedly. I didn’t know what to say. If I asked, he would definitely ask me where I work. He might even find out I’m also at Lanjing Tech. And then he would look for me. What should I do then? The thought of someone in the company calling me “baby” all day long made me want to die of embarrassment. Before I could even digest this fact. My online boyfriend sent another message: [Baby, you’re not ignoring me because you’re eating with someone else, are you!!!] [Baby, what’s wrong? I’m getting nervous…] To keep him from noticing anything unusual, I replied: [I was eating just now and didn’t see the messages. Good boy.] Only then did he stop bombarding me with messages. [Baby, I’ve finished eating, going back to work now~] 3 I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the cafeteria. There were hardly any people left. Most of them were women, and there was one white-haired older man. It couldn’t possibly be him. I forced my brain to calm down and organize my thoughts. Right now, I needed to figure out a few things: First, who is my online boyfriend? Second, what kind of person is he really? Third, if I find him, should I come clean, continue dating online, or break up? (After all, it really would be awkward.) Thinking back to when we first started talking. We had kept our privacy very well. For example, we never sent selfies, and we never shared our real names or addresses. He would only send me a few pictures of his abs when I specifically asked for them. Based on this alone, it would be really hard to find out who he is. I couldn’t just go around lifting guys’ shirts to compare their abs with the pictures, right? 4 After returning to the office, I looked at my male colleagues at their desks. I shuddered. We battle it out every day like sworn enemies. If my online boyfriend turned out to be one of them, I would literally die on the spot. I scrolled through my chat history with him, looking for clues. And I actually found something. Last month, he was struggling to choose a water bottle. [Baby, I’m shopping at Global Plaza with a friend and I want to buy a water bottle.] [Help me decide, which one looks better? I’ll buy one for you too.] He sent several pictures, and I helped him choose a titanium travel mug with traditional lacquer art. To ensure my privacy wouldn’t be compromised, I politely declined his offer to buy me one. [Whatever you choose is the best, baby.] He bought that water bottle right then and there, so I just needed to see who in the company was using it. I walked around the office several times, but I couldn’t find anyone using it. I messaged him: [Are you using the water bottle you bought?] He replied very quickly: [Baby, I’m using it right now!] [Image.] The water bottle was standing right on his desk. That’s weird. Why didn’t I see it? While I was still pondering this, a message from my boss, Mr. Shen, popped up on the software: [Lin Xu, there are still some issues with the proposal. Come to my office for a minute!] When I walked into his office, Mr. Shen was on the phone: “Baby, I miss you too. Come see me at the office tomorrow.” “Oh right, Arthur is coming tomorrow too, you can catch a ride with him.” “Aw, I’m just worried about you driving by yourself, it’s not safe~” “Okay, whatever you say. Come over whenever you’re ready, drive safe.” “I have to get back to work, hanging up now, mua~” I awkwardly turned my face away. I couldn’t bear to look, I really couldn’t. Our Mr. Shen actually had such a gentle side. He hung up the phone, coughed, and smiled at me. “Lin Xu, the investors looked at the proposal this morning. They’re generally very satisfied, but they brought up a few points. I’ve highlighted the details, so please revise it according to their suggestions.” “Okay, Mr. Shen.” Just as I was about to leave, I caught a glimpse of a water bottle sitting on the corner of his desk. It was the exact same titanium travel mug with traditional lacquer art! The exact same one I picked out for my online boyfriend! For a moment, I stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning! Seeing that I hadn’t left, Mr. Shen asked: “Hmm? Something else?” His voice pulled me out of my shock. I took a deep breath, pretending nothing was wrong. I pointed at the water bottle: “Mr. Shen, that’s a nice water bottle, where did you buy it?” He slowly uttered two words: “Global Plaza.” Me: “…” Mr. Shen smiled slightly, his eyes curving into crescents. “Why, do you like it?” I quickly composed my facial expression and waved my hands. “Ah, it’s nothing, just asking casually.” Then, I fled in a panic. An absurd thought popped into my head: Mr. Shen is my online boyfriend! But if I’m his girlfriend, who was he calling “baby” just now? Is Mr. Shen cheating on me? Holy shit! 5 I was completely out of it for the whole day. I didn’t even reply promptly to the messages my online boyfriend sent me. After suppressing my emotions and finishing the proposal revisions. I went home in a daze. My phone was full of messages from him. [Baby, what are you doing?] [Baby? Where are you?] [Baby, why aren’t you replying?] [Baby, why are you acting so weird today? Did I do something wrong? Tell me if you’re unhappy, I’ll definitely fix it!] [Baby, don’t scare me!] … With trembling hands, I typed a few words. [Puppy, are you hiding something from me?] He replied instantly: [No, baby. I always answer whatever you ask truthfully.] [Baby, is there a misunderstanding between us?] [No.] I tried to calm my chaotic mind. Now that I knew he was highly likely Mr. Shen, my next step was to figure out if Mr. Shen was really cheating. And who the “baby” he was talking to actually was. What if I was misunderstanding him? My online boyfriend sent another message: [Oh right, baby, brand V just released their latest clothes. Help me pick one out? I want to wear it tomorrow!] [Image.] I specifically picked out a solid black sweater with a logo on the left chest, so it would be easy for me to identify. I still held out a sliver of hope. If Mr. Shen didn’t wear this sweater tomorrow, it would prove he wasn’t my online boyfriend. Then I wouldn’t have to agonize over whether my online boyfriend was cheating or not. 6 The next day, I walked into Mr. Shen’s office with the proposal. He was sitting on the sofa drinking tea, and he was wearing the exact same black brand V sweater I picked out yesterday. Blindingly black. “Mr. Shen, the proposal has been revised.” He gave me a warm smile. “Good work, Lin Xu.” “The investors are coming this afternoon, please prepare.” “Okay.” I stared at Mr. Shen’s sweater, pretending to ask casually: “Mr. Shen, I’ve never seen you wear this sweater before, it looks nice.” He smiled: “Bought it yesterday.” This made me even more certain that Mr. Shen was my online boyfriend. Sitting at my desk, I absentmindedly stared at his office. He said yesterday that his “baby” was coming to the office today. I really wanted to know who this “baby” was. If it really was what I thought, then this relationship had to end. 7 An hour later, a woman with exquisite features walked straight into Mr. Shen’s office. I pretended to go get water. As I passed his office, I heard talking and laughing from inside. “Baby, I missed you so much. This sweater looks really good on you, I just realized black suits you.” Mr. Shen’s voice was gentle: “Baby, as long as you like it. I picked it out specifically. Aren’t we meeting your parents tonight? I was afraid they wouldn’t be satisfied with me.” “How could they? My parents will naturally like the person I like.” Hearing this, it felt like my heart had been dealt a heavy blow. So he asked me to pick out clothes for him so he could meet his beloved girlfriend’s parents. Then what am I? A secret mistress? The next second, I took out my phone and with great difficulty, typed a few words to my online boyfriend: “You are rotten to the core, let’s break up!” Then, I swiftly blocked and deleted him. 8 Mr. Shen walked out holding his girlfriend’s hand, watching her leave. Completely without any sorrow. I felt more and more like a clown. Thinking back to all the moments we shared, I felt a wave of bitterness in my heart. The only thing worth celebrating was that I used a secondary account for online dating. Otherwise, I would have been so embarrassed. I consoled myself: since love is gone, I should just focus on work. After all, I’m a rational woman, I can’t possibly quit my job over this. 9 In the afternoon, Mr. Shen sent me a message. [Lin Xu, the investor has read your proposal and thinks it’s feasible. Come in and give a presentation.] I gathered my emotions, held my head high, and walked in. “Lin Xu, this is the investor, and also my good buddy, Arthur Gu. Don’t be nervous, just explain your ideas to Mr. Gu.” I ignored Mr. Shen and looked at the person sitting on the sofa. And my eyes met Arthur’s. Unlike Mr. Shen’s gentleness, the man in front of me exuded a noble and unapproachable aura. He was wearing a black V-neck suit, the neckline perfectly revealing a black, slim-fit turtleneck sweater underneath. The sweater outlined his pecs, which were ready to burst out but perfectly concealed by the jacket. It left much to the imagination. His long, fair fingers picked up a water glass, and he took a small sip. I was completely intimidated by this man’s aura and nervously swallowed. Urged by Mr. Shen, I explained my ideas to Arthur. Once in work mode, I was confident and poised. When I finished, Mr. Shen clapped. “Lin Xu, very well said. Arthur, what do you think?” Mr. Shen and I looked at Arthur simultaneously, but Arthur’s gaze was fixed on my neck. He suddenly said: “Miss Lin, that’s a very nice necklace.” I looked down. The neckline of my outfit today was a bit low, and my crystal necklace was perfectly exposed. I panicked a little, because when I bought this crystal necklace, I had sent a picture to my online boyfriend. [Puppy, look at my new necklace, isn’t it pretty?] [Image] The image was a close-up of my neck wearing the necklace. He replied: [Baby looks good in everything.] Now that the necklace was exposed, Mr. Shen wouldn’t recognize me, would he? I glanced at Mr. Shen. Thankfully, he didn’t react much. He was still eagerly waiting for Arthur’s reply. Of course, he had a girlfriend, and he was just playing with me. Why would he remember these details? Only I remembered every little thing about our online romance. I hurriedly pulled my hand back and said: “Just bought it casually, for fun.”

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In the spring of the fifth year after our divorce. Arthur and I unexpectedly crossed paths at a tattoo studio. He was there to touch up the color of his beloved’s name tattooed on his chest. I was there to cover up the old scars on my wrist. After five years of separation, we looked at each other in silence. After a moment of silence, Arthur was just about to speak when a pair of small hands grabbed the hem of his shirt. “Daddy.” The little boy looked at me curiously: “Who is she?” 1 The island breeze rustled the wind chimes hanging from the porch, breaking the long silence. “I’m a customer,” I said. “Just like your daddy, I’m here to get a tattoo.” The little boy tilted his head: “Do you know my daddy?” “Leo.” Arthur’s tone held a hint of sternness. The little boy pouted and stopped talking. “I don’t know him,” I answered anyway. “A stranger.” Arthur’s face darkened. The shop owner tapped the counter, his gaze shifting between me and him: “Who’s first?” Arthur, who had been leaning against the counter, stood up straight, his eyes fixed on me: “She is.” The man was wearing a white linen shirt paired with silver-gray dress pants. The collar was unbuttoned casually, revealing a good portion of his toned chest. On his left chest, there was an English tattoo, half-hidden so it wasn’t very clear, but I knew whose name it was. Even when we divorced, that name had never appeared on Arthur’s chest. “First come, first served,” I said with polite formality. “Please go ahead, sir.” Before Arthur could reply, his phone vibrated. By chance, I saw “Wife” displayed on the screen. He pressed the screen off and immediately looked at me. I turned and walked toward the lounge booth. From behind, I heard the little boy ask excitedly: “Is Mom calling?” 2 Arthur’s voice was naturally cold, and when he coaxed people, he tended to lower his voice. His voice was warm and husky, matching the cello music playing in the shop perfectly. I lowered my eyes and gently stirred my coffee, suddenly hearing a childish “Auntie” by my ear. Turning my head, the little boy from earlier was leaning on the armrest looking at me. He was exquisitely handsome, with a refined, scholarly look; he was truly adorable. So adorable that even knowing whose child he was, I couldn’t feel any resistance. “I’ll tell you a secret, you look so much like my mom,” the little boy said, as if sharing a secret. “She’s a super pretty big star.” “Then you must look a lot like her.” The little boy’s eyes instantly lit up, and he seemed about to lean closer to me when a large hand pressed down on his head. Arthur patted the boy’s head: “Go back to the car with Uncle Chen first.” I raised an eyebrow and turned to see a middle-aged man who had followed Arthur for many years standing behind him. Our eyes met, and he was shocked, trying to hide a hint of faint awkwardness: “… Miss Chloe.” I nodded calmly, my tone carrying a bit of feigned sigh at our reunion: “Secretary Chen.” As Arthur scooped the boy into his arm, a flash of silver on his wrist caught my eye. It was the dial of his watch, a Patek Philippe, a style he would absolutely never have chosen in the past. On his long ring finger, there was a plain ring, low-key yet luxurious. During our two years of marriage, Arthur never wore a wedding ring. True love is true love, I thought as I took a sip of coffee. Married for so many years, and she still hasn’t become just a ‘mosquito blood smear’ on the wall. (Translator’s note: The ‘mosquito blood smear’ refers to a famous quote by Eileen Chang, suggesting that over time, even a passionate love can fade into something annoying or insignificant.) 3 The boy was taken away by Secretary Chen, but Arthur remained standing in front of the booth. “Chloe,” the man spoke. “How have you been these past few years?” Halfway through my coffee, I set down the cup: “Not bad, thanks for asking.” After a moment of silence, the shadow above my head disappeared as Arthur followed the owner up to the second floor. The cello music faded into a slow, calm piano piece, mirroring my current state of mind. The studio owner was an internationally renowned tattoo artist; his custom designs were highly sought after, and he only took two clients a day. It just so happened to be this coincidental today. My eyes slid over the designs on the wall, suddenly stopping on the centerpiece. It depicted a red lip tattoo on the inner thigh of a man. The man sat on the floor with one leg bent, wearing black briefs under a bathrobe, with a light pink lip print ambiguously placed. The lip shape was beautiful, the lines clean, creating a dark, surging tension against the bronze skin. This was the mark a woman left between a man’s legs. “Miss Chloe,” the owner’s voice behind me pulled me back. “This way, please.” I turned and saw Arthur coming down from the spiral staircase, his shirt collar buttoned up tight. I asked: “Done so quickly?” “He lost his nerve and decided not to touch it up,” the owner, who was very familiar with Arthur, said. “Go on up to the second floor.” Arthur stopped at the foot of the stairs, unmoving, one hand tucked into his suit pocket, expressionless. He looked down at me from his elevated position, his eyes dark and heavy. We stared at each other in silence, but what came to my mind was our very last intimate encounter. After kissing and getting into bed, I saw the red lip tattoo on his inner thigh. 4 The clock on the wall struck the hour, and I grabbed my bag and headed for the stairs. As I brushed past Arthur, he grabbed my wrist, gripping it so hard the watch dug into my skin, causing a sharp pain. “Chloe,” Arthur’s voice was hoarse. “Must you pretend to be strangers?” I didn’t struggle, looking into his eyes without a ripple of emotion: “Pretending to be strangers is the only courtesy I can extend to you.” He paused, released my hand, rubbed his thumb, and his emotions eased: “I know you still hate me.” Arthur just had this ability to hold onto control at all times, to never be embarrassed in any situation. Just like when photos of him and Mia kissing went viral, he faced me with this exact same demeanor. Only back then, I was hysterical, acting like a madwoman who had lost her reason in the face of her husband’s calm attitude. “You’re overthinking it,” I walked up a few steps, my tone distant. “With our current relationship, there is no hate to speak of.” Arthur seemed to want to say something more, but I didn’t care and turned to walk upstairs. The studio’s decor was very personalized, post-modern style, spacious, and quiet. The owner confirmed my tattoo design on the computer, and the assistant prepped my skin. I took off the watch on my right wrist. The leather strap had a unique design, wrapping around three times. Once removed, the pink, jagged scars on my wrist were exposed. “The wrist is a very painful area,” the owner said, unfazed. “Be mentally prepared.” I smiled: “It probably won’t hurt as much as when I cut my wrist back then.” 5 Two scars, one deeper than the other. After the numbing cream took effect, before transferring the stencil, the owner confirmed the tattoo design with me one last time. A blue butterfly, wings spread, clean and sharp. “This is a tricky spot, and you’ll need touch-ups later,” the owner put on his mask. “I guarantee the scars will be perfectly covered.” “Do all tattoos need touch-ups?” “No, Arthur’s is because of his skin type,” the owner didn’t hide that he knew Arthur. “So tattooing him is really bad for my reputation.” I didn’t say anything. Having been married to Arthur for two years, of course, I knew about his special skin type. Back then, Arthur didn’t really like me leaving marks on him when we were intimate. But now, even though it meant the hassle of frequent touch-ups, he still tattooed Mia’s name on his chest. And even had Mia’s lip print tattooed on his inner thigh. As the first needle touched my wrist, I inevitably frowned at the sharp pain. The owner suddenly said: “Tell me the story behind your scars.” I was slightly taken aback, then laughed: “What, do tattoo artists have this hobby too?” In current public opinion, Arthur was considered a winner in life. His career was expanding rapidly, riding the wind of success; in love, he was mutually devoted to a popular actress, with a perfect family. “When I met Arthur, he was already married to Mia,” the owner said. “And Mia looks very much like you.” I smiled, pulled a pack of cigarettes from my bag: “Do you mind?” The owner shook his head. I blew out a smoke ring, thought for a moment, and said slowly: “I’m Arthur’s ex-wife.” 6 I met Arthur in college. As a senior in the same major, he recruited me when he started his own business. Today, Aegis Tech is practically an industry leader, but when it first started, there were only two people. Arthur’s standards were incredibly high. He was a prominent figure on campus, and countless people submitted resumes during recruitment. “But I was the only one who stayed.” Amidst the swirling smoke, I narrowed my eyes: “The Arthur back then was extremely arrogant, looking down on everyone. I was the last interviewee.” No one held any hope. I thought he was too aloof; he interviewed all day and thought everyone was an idiot, including me. “But we talked for a whole night. By dawn, he reached out his hand to me and said, ‘Happy working together’.” “Our philosophies aligned, our goals were the same. Arthur’s ambitions were huge.” I flicked the ash off my cigarette. “Coincidentally, my ambitions weren’t small either.” During the first two years of starting Aegis Tech, Arthur and I rented a place off-campus together; we ran business together, and secured investments together. Arthur was my mentor. He unreservedly taught me everything about networking and professional knowledge. On my twenty-second birthday, after pulling an all-nighter writing code with Arthur, as the sky began to lighten, he leaned against the window and lit a cigarette. “He asked me,” I took a drag of my cigarette, “if I wanted a smoke?” Curious, I leaned over, only to choke until tears streamed down my face. Arthur started laughing, pulled me into his chest, and leaned down to kiss me. When the kiss ended, he asked if I wanted to marry him. The vibration on my wrist stopped for a moment. The owner said: “Asking like that, shouldn’t he have asked if you wanted to be his girlfriend?” I laughed too, as if telling someone else’s story, with the calm detachment of an observer watching a fire from across the river. “I said yes. That was also the day we got our first round of funding.” “Riding the wave of AI, Aegis Tech soared, making a name for itself in the industry in just one year.” “The day the core team of Aegis Tech was established, I took the position of CEO, and Arthur took me home.” “Only then did I know that his ‘Vance’ was the Vance family, the shipping tycoons of Ocean City.” 7 The Vance family built their fortune in shipping, accumulating profound heritage over three generations, making them a top-tier wealthy family in Ocean City. This marriage was naturally met with obstruction, but since Arthur had the courage to break away from the family and start his own business, his marriage couldn’t be easily controlled. “Arthur fought it for two years, stubbornly enduring until Old Mr. Vance put him in the hospital, not compromising despite the pressure from countless elders.” The ash fell silently. I watched it for a long while before saying softly: “During Aegis Tech’s first round of financing, I married him.” “We had a simple wedding on a small island, which Arthur later bought in my name and called ‘Zephyr Isle’.” The owner stopped his outlining entirely. I nodded: “It’s the island we are on right now.” “Before we married, Arthur signed an agreement. Besides my original founder shares in Aegis Tech, he transferred all his available cash flow and set up a trust for me.” “He said he hoped Aegis Tech would become my strongest backing.” “Back then, everyone sighed in admiration, saying Arthur loved me deeply, binding our interests so deeply, leaving no room for divorce.” “I used to think so too.” The cigarette was half-burnt, and I crushed it out in the ashtray. “Until the first year after we married, he personally chose Mia as the spokesperson for Aegis products.” I once asked Arthur why he chose an unknown actress. “Don’t you think,” Arthur pointed at the massive billboard of Mia at the time, “she looks very much like you did in college?” “She captures eighty percent of your charm,” before I could answer, Arthur chuckled first, “but she’s empty-headed, just a pretty face.” “Mia rose to fame very quickly.” The owner’s words pulled me out of my memories. “If I remember correctly, she became famous when she was nineteen.” “Yes.” I remembered something, “Less than a year after becoming the spokesperson, she was famous all over the country.” “The day she won the Best Newcomer Award was Arthur’s twenty-fifth birthday. We had agreed to have dinner together.” “But I waited two hours and he still hadn’t come back. I couldn’t reach him on the phone, nor could I reach Secretary Chen.” “Until eight o’clock that night, a trending topic suddenly dropped from the sky: Mia passionately kissing a mysterious man.” “I clicked on it.” I looked up at the owner and smiled, “The mysterious man was my husband.” 8 They kissed so passionately, pressing Mia against the front of the car, even the car shook. The usually calm and arrogant Arthur, upon discovering the cameras, his first reaction was to press the slender Mia into his arms. The video paused at the moment Arthur glared fiercely at the camera. I masochistically watched it again and again, my tears dropping onto the screen, landing right on Mia’s profile as she buried herself in Arthur’s chest. She looked almost exactly like I did in college. I found out the whole truth. Mia was being given a hard time at a dinner party, and it was Arthur who bailed her out. From then on, Mia’s career skyrocketed, with countless top-tier resources handed to her on a silver platter. When I slammed the evidence in front of Arthur, he offered no explanation and showed no panic. He lit a cigarette and asked: “What do you want to do?” “Shares or new projects?” Arthur said. “Everything is negotiable, just don’t drag Mia into this. It wasn’t easy for her to get to where she is today.” Arthur’s calm attitude turned me into a madwoman. I grew up missing a father figure, and to me, Arthur filled the role of an older mentor. He was my teacher first, before becoming my husband. During the years Aegis Tech was developing, I was strapped for cash and lacked experience; it was Arthur who guided me step by step behind the scenes. To ensure I had security when I married him, he built a solid, high wall for me using the most tangible benefits. I never thought this wall would come crashing down, and in such a disgraceful way. “So you used all the connections at your disposal to have Mia blacklisted,” the owner said. “But it failed.” “Failed spectacularly, at that.” I laughed self-deprecatingly: “Deep down, I still harbored a sliver of hope back then.” “Thinking Arthur was just playing around, or made a mistake in a moment of weakness.” “Don’t look at me like that.” I looked at the owner. “I was too young back then.” But Arthur’s counterattack was a slap in the face. He forcefully suppressed the trending topics and saved Mia’s career. A week later, the blacklisted Mia triumphantly became the lead actress in a major director’s movie. 9 The first pink, fleshy scar became the lower wing line of the butterfly, so blue. The stinging in my wrist grew numb. I stared at it for a long while: “That’s how the first scar came about.” “Mia found me, using a face exactly like mine in college, and begged me to let her and Arthur be together.” “You see, being loved can make a person stupid.” I sighed. “She actually had the nerve to say that the unloved one is the mistress.” So I launched a second round of retaliation against Mia, buying off numerous marketing accounts to expose her true face as a homewrecker. The atmosphere grew quiet, only the vibration of the tattoo gun could be heard. It had been five years, and no matter how much love and hate there was, it had been worn away by the river of time, except for this one thing— “Arthur used Aegis Tech to threaten me.” My tone became heavy: “He used the lifeblood we built together to control me.” Founding Aegis was due to Arthur’s inherent pride; he didn’t want to rely on his family’s shadow for everything. Aegis was built from nothing. Only he and I truly knew the hardships involved. I controlled the core product and tech team, yet Arthur was willing to let Aegis Tech fall apart for Mia. “You only have Aegis, but I still have the Vance family.” Even when things were at their ugliest, Arthur remained calm: “Chloe, everything you have today, I gave you, including Aegis.” “I was really too young back then.” I sighed for the umpteenth time. “When the news of Arthur and Mia getting a hotel room broke, it was exactly our one-year anniversary.” “I saw that red lip tattoo on Arthur’s inner thigh, and that’s when the first scar on my wrist appeared.” When I woke up in the hospital, Arthur was by my side. With red eyes, he pulled me into his arms. For the first time, I chose to compromise. Because I was pregnant, three months along.

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My roommate and I split the cost of a lottery ticket and won seven million dollars. That night, she transferred me six dollars and said, “Bestie, buying the lottery ticket was my idea. I’ve paid you back the money you chipped in, so this lottery ticket has nothing to do with you anymore.” I laughed out of sheer anger. Just as I was about to argue with her, I noticed that the small statue of the Virgin Mary I kept on my desk had suddenly lost an arm. A broken arm on a holy statue is an omen of extreme misfortune; it seeks to save a life. My face instantly drained of color, and I told my roommate, “I don’t want the lottery ticket! I don’t want it anymore!” 1 As soon as I found out the winning numbers, I sprinted back to the dorm in high spirits. “Fiona! That lottery ticket we bought together a few days ago won!” Bursting through the dorm door, I ran over and gave her a huge hug, unable to suppress the smile on my face. You have to understand, this ticket hit the jackpot—a full seven million dollars! Even after taxes, splitting the remaining money fifty-fifty with her would be enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life! My family is just an ordinary one. My parents make about four to five thousand a month. We aren’t poor, but we’re definitely not well-off. And I’m just a broke college student living on a tight budget, always busy hunting for coupons just to order takeout. But now, this seven million dollar prize was enough to completely turn my family’s situation around and give me financial freedom. “Fiona! Seven million! Seven million! I’ve never seen so much money in my life. Let’s get packed, we’ll go claim the prize tomorrow!” I thought Fiona would be as happy as I was, but I noticed her smile wasn’t very natural—it was even a bit stiff. Then, she gently pushed me back, creating some distance. Fiona sat in her chair, tapped on her phone a few times, and said, “Bestie, I was just about to talk to you about this.” The next second, I received a transfer notification on my phone. I opened my banking app. Fiona had transferred me six dollars. While I was completely bewildered, Fiona spoke up. “It’s like this, remember? When we were shopping, it was my sudden idea to buy a lottery ticket, and I picked the store. Even though you picked the numbers, if it weren’t for my suggestion, we definitely wouldn’t have bought this specific ticket that day, right?” I nodded, covering my mouth to hide a smile, still not fully processing what was happening. “Of course! We owe this all to your suggestion!” “So, logically and emotionally, this lottery ticket should belong to me. However, keeping in mind that you chipped in for the cost of the ticket at the time, I’ve transferred those six dollars back to you!” I finally realized something was wrong. My other roommates, who had been quietly envying us, also caught on. My face turned ugly. I was almost laughing from anger. Crossing my arms, I asked her: “Fiona, are you saying you want to buy out a seven-million-dollar lottery ticket from me for six dollars?!” Fiona, who had been calm and composed, instantly changed her tune. She raised her voice and yelled: “What do you mean? If it weren’t for my suggestion, do you think you would have ever come across this ticket? Besides, didn’t I transfer the six dollars back to you? Why are you making it sound like I’m taking advantage of you?” The atmosphere instantly became explosive, completely tense. The other roommates exchanged glances, afraid of getting caught in our crossfire. My face turned red, and my neck veins bulged as I retorted, “Am I that desperate for your six dollars? If it weren’t for my six dollars back then, you couldn’t have bought this ticket either! What the hell are you barking about?” She put her hands on her hips, completely tearing off her usually gentle mask. “Chloe, I never realized you were so selfish before. Anyway, I said this ticket is mine, and it’s mine. Take the six dollars or leave it! If you don’t want it, fine!” One of our roommates couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up for me. “Fiona, I feel like… this ticket should be split fifty-fifty. After all, Chloe did put in money too…” “Shut up! Does anyone care what you think?” Fiona rolled her eyes and snapped at her. Just as I was about to continue arguing, I heard a crisp crack. I couldn’t help but look at my desk. The small statue of the Virgin Mary I kept there had lost an arm. The arm lay broken on the desk, the small statue still with its eyes closed in a serene expression. I was instantly terrified, my face turning deathly pale. My body trembling, I stumbled backward several steps. “I don’t want the lottery ticket! I don’t want the lottery ticket anymore!” 2 Seeing me finally back down, Fiona felt incredibly smug, but her words were still unforgiving. “What do you mean you don’t want it? It was originally mine anyway. Don’t act like you’re giving me charity, OK?” I put on a serious face. “Fiona, for the sake of us being roommates, I’m warning you—you better not want this ticket either. Hurry up and burn it!” As soon as I said this, not only Fiona, but the other roommates also looked at me strangely. “Get lost. What right do you have to order me around? This is my ticket, I’ll use it however I want!” I yelled loudly, “This is blood money! You’ll have the money but not the life to spend it—you’ll die!” The other roommates started chiming in. “Yeah, Chloe, this is seven million we’re talking about. How can you just say you don’t want it? Even if you don’t want it, you shouldn’t say things like that.” Another roommate, Sarah, who usually didn’t get along with me, sneered: “Stop acting, Chloe. Aren’t you just jealous that Fiona has the ticket? Blood money? I bet that statue on your desk is just cheap junk from a flea market, it broke because it’s poor quality.” “I think you know you can’t get the ticket, so you made up a lie to curse Fiona to die. I never realized you were so vicious.” Seeing people speaking up for her, Fiona’s arrogance grew even stronger. She grabbed Sarah and left, leaving one last sentence behind. “Dare to curse me? Chloe, you’re destined to be poor your whole life!” Instead of getting angry, I turned around to clean up the porcelain shards on the table first. The small statue of the Virgin Mary was smooth and rounded, its eyes slightly closed, a gentle smile on its lips, as if looking kindly upon the world. But the arm that had been extended in front of its chest was shattered into pieces, making it look twisted and strange. Back in my hometown, we have a custom. Every child who comes of age holds a ceremony at the local church, taking a specific saint as their patron. The blessed statue must be kept close, and one must maintain a heart of reverence toward it at all times. The saints are compassionate and can foretell great disasters. If something abnormal happens to the statue, it’s a warning. But if the statue’s arm breaks, it means a terrible misfortune has been encountered, and it seeks to save a life. It means the saint cannot block this great disaster, and can only break its arm to save a life, leaving alone, no longer accompanying the faithful. This means the presence of the “saint” is no longer inside the statue; it becomes an empty shell. If you want another, you can only go back to your hometown and pray for a new one. Since leaving my hometown with the statue, I had never experienced any abnormality with it. But this time, the very first abnormality was a broken arm, and it terrified me completely. I quickly called my parents and told them. They were also terrified, their voices trembling, telling me I must be careful lately. Hearing what Fiona did to me, they were furious, cursing Fiona for being ungrateful and bringing ruin upon herself. I didn’t care about the strange looks from my other roommates and complained about it with my parents. After hanging up, I warned the other roommates. “Whatever you do, do not take Fiona’s money! If you take it, you’ll die!” They looked at each other and nodded in agreement. That night, Fiona and Sarah didn’t return to the dorm, but went to stay in a hotel. I shook my head, carefully put the statue away, and waited for the next time I went home to pray for a new one. 3 Fiona was originally a somewhat famous internet influencer. That very night, she started a livestream from her hotel, showing off her seven-million-dollar lottery win to her viewers. The netizens in the livestream were incredibly envious, flooding the screen with gifts. Sarah also rode her coattails—having defended her in the dorm, she suddenly became her little assistant. For a moment, the two of them were living the high life. Fiona even twisted the story of me fighting for the lottery ticket, using it as content to complain about in her livestream. Our original agreement to split the cost of the ticket turned into me simply accompanying her to buy it. Fiona rested her chin on one hand, a look of disdain on her face, and said, “Family, who gets it? My roommate is so bizarre. She literally just went shopping with me, and when the ticket I bought won, she demanded I split it with her. Sorry, but I have no obligation to humor a giant baby roommate, OK~” “Hmph, when the time comes, I’ll definitely donate to help stray animals, but I won’t give her a cent, hehe.” The comments cheered her on. [I think she’s just jealous of you, the streamer has no obligation to help the poor.] [Supporting the streamer! Beautiful inside and out! Thanking the streamer on behalf of all the stray cats and dogs!] [I’m so sick of roommates like this, can they learn some boundaries? Not everyone has to humor her, OK?] The comments insulting me came one after another. The incident also blew up on the university forum, and someone quickly doxxed me as the person fighting Fiona for the ticket. When I woke up the next morning, I found myself completely exposed online. Harassing phone calls rang non-stop, text messages and direct messages on short-video platforms bombarded me. In just one night, my entire family, including me, was ripped to shreds online. A quick search online, and I understood the whole situation. I was instantly furious, but then I calmed down. I had to stay steady. Suppressing my anger, I called Fiona. She didn’t pick up; Sarah did. As soon as the call connected, Sarah started mocking me, “What’s up? Are you going to accompany her to claim the prize today?” “Sarah, if you guys want to die, I won’t stop you. But please don’t drag me down with you. Because of you, I’m getting cyberbullied, do you know that?” “Whoever is cyberbullying you, go find them, why are you coming to me? I didn’t insult you. Every wrong has its perpetrator, why are you venting your anger on me here?” Fine, there’s no reasoning with this type of creature. I swallowed my temper and said calmly, “I’m warning you one last time: burn the lottery ticket, and do not spend the money from it. Otherwise, you’ll regret it for the rest of your lives. You’ve provoked something you can’t afford to provoke!” “What is this ‘thing’? Tell me! Say it! Why did you stop talking? What happens if I spend the money? Will a ghost come knocking on my door, hahaha?” I lowered my voice: “Something more terrifying than a ghost.” Perhaps because my voice didn’t sound like I was joking, Sarah stopped laughing on the other end, her tone becoming a bit cautious. “Who would believe you? Besides, there are no such things as ghosts in this world!” I sharply caught the slight panic hidden beneath her words and repeated what I just said, “Something more terrifying than a ghost. It’s something you can’t afford to provoke.” She cursed me out as a psycho a few times and hastily hung up. As soon as the call ended, Maya rolled over in her bed, making it creak. I didn’t know if she heard my phone conversation just now. After a good while, there was no sound. Suddenly, Maya curiously peeked out from her bed curtains. “Chloe, is there really something more terrifying than a ghost?” 4 I didn’t answer her question directly. “The world is huge, and full of wonders. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. There are still many undiscovered things in this world, and all we need to do is maintain a heart of reverence toward them.” “Knowing too much isn’t good for you. You just need to remember, damn it, don’t take a single cent of the money from that lottery ticket.” Maya is a very gentle and kind girl. When I was confronting Fiona, she was the only one who dared to speak up for me, even though she was immediately shut down. My eyes took on a strange look as I slowly began, “Do you know why the statue’s arm broke?” She was confused. “Your statue? I really don’t know.” “The Holy Mother is always serene and dignified. People often call her ‘Holy Mother Mary’. Actually, she is a protector, looking after the world. She listens in all directions, hearing all cries for help. From praying for children to praying for rain, she can do anything.” “Our Lady of Lourdes brings healing, Our Lady of Guadalupe brings miracles… There are many titles for her, corresponding to the different people she saves.” “But the statues from our hometown aren’t meant for all those things. Praying to them for other things won’t work. They only do one thing, and that is to provide warnings. In fact, many people’s statues will never give a warning in their entire lives. Even a matter of grave danger wouldn’t necessarily cause it to break an arm to save a life.” I looked at Maya with a half-smile. “Guess what kind of thing could be so terrifying that a divine protector, revered for centuries, would be scared enough to break an arm to save a life, and hide away before it even arrived?” Maya thought for a moment, and an inexplicable sense of creeping dread washed over her. She quickly covered her ears and shook her head. “No, no, no, I don’t want to hear it, don’t tell me! I’m really terrified of that kind of stuff!” Fiona didn’t listen to the warning. Instead, she publicized the fact that I had warned her out of good intentions, calling me a weirdo who worshipped a statue in the dorm. She was very good at playing the internet game and manipulating netizens’ emotions. “Since someone said whoever claims this lottery prize will die, I’ll livestream the whole process on the day I claim it. Everyone is welcome to come and see if I die or not, hehe~” The gossip-hungry netizens immediately attacked me en masse, spouting all kinds of rumors and smears. Some people were genuinely curious and booked the livestream early. I really couldn’t stand her continuous slander and demanded a face-to-face confrontation with Fiona, but she deliberately avoided me, staying in the hotel every day. Now the whole internet knew she was the lucky one who won seven million. Fiona struck while the iron was hot, starting the livestream at 7 AM on the day of claiming the prize. Once the livestream started, it hit the platform’s trending page within minutes, with over ten million concurrent viewers. All sorts of gift effects flooded the screen. Fiona put on exquisite makeup, wore a Chanel-style dress, and rushed to the lottery center looking like a celebrity. Sarah had clearly forgotten the warning I gave them. Her face was flushed with excitement. She hyped Fiona up enthusiastically in the livestream, praising her as a girl blessed by luck. I stayed in the dorm watching the livestream, shaking my head. “It’s hard to persuade a damned ghost with good words. What ‘girl blessed by luck’? ‘Girl cursed by misfortune’ is more like it.” I suspect Fiona had no idea just how terrifying the things that even the divine protectors feared truly were. 5 “Congratulations to Ms. Fiona for winning the seven million dollar jackpot! Let’s give her our warmest applause! Our city’s first millionaire jackpot winner of 2026!” As soon as the voice fell, Sarah was the first to applaud, followed by thunderous applause that washed over the scene like a tidal wave. Fiona’s face was glowing with health. She confidently announced to all the citizens present and the tens of millions of viewers in the livestream: “I, Fiona, will donate three hundred thousand to our city’s stray animal protection organization! And seven hundred thousand to the child protection organization!” The applause grew even louder. Fiona posed with a V-sign for Sarah’s phone camera, her eyes crinkling in a bright smile. “Chloe, I know you’re definitely watching this livestream. I’ve claimed the seven million, and then what? And then what? You said I would die because of the lottery ticket, but aren’t I standing right here, perfectly fine?” Sarah took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: “I think someone is just jealous, right?” The netizens in the livestream were also riled up by Fiona and her friend, and started mocking me together. I just sat in the dorm, calmly watching the screen full of mocking comments. Maya was a bit worried about me. She came over and hugged me. “I believe you. You definitely wouldn’t say things like that without a reason. Don’t mind what they say.” “Thank you. But you don’t have to worry about me now,” my eyes darkened. “Fiona can’t escape. They’re here.” “Who?” I didn’t say anything, turning around to get water to wash up. Night fell. A sudden cold front hit the usually warm March weather, and the temperature plummeted. Fiona paid the taxes, pocketed the remaining millions, and the livestream of claiming the lottery prize had not yet ended. In just a few days, her account had gained nearly three million followers, transforming her into the hottest streamer of the moment. No one believed my words. Even the other two girls in our dorm gradually started having issues with me. Smack— My washbasin was roughly kicked into the farthest corner, cracking slightly. I frowned: “What’s that supposed to mean?” The roommate rolled her eyes and arranged her own washbasin, “Nothing, just thanking you.” Before I could understand, she added sourly, “You said Fiona would be unlucky because of that ticket, and told us not to take her money. But look at her now, she’s doing great hosting her livestreams, she’s got the prize money, and she’s got fame…” From her sour tone, I seemed to understand something. “Did she say she’d give you a share of the money before?” “Hmph, what else?” The roommate rolled her eyes as she walked past me. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have to miserably use delivery coupons every day.” The others remained silent, seeming to agree with her. I didn’t reply. The next second, that roommate’s phone rang. It was Fiona inviting her to a party. Fiona had already completed the withdrawal procedures from the university, and even Sarah had done the same. “Fiona! Okay, okay! I’ll be right there!” The roommate excitedly hung up the phone and scanned the dorm. “Fiona is being generous and isn’t holding a grudge about us rejecting her earlier. She’s throwing a party right now. Anyone who wants to go, just go. Oh, right, Chloe, don’t go, she didn’t invite you.” Half an hour later, only Maya and I were left in the dorm. The next morning, I received a summons from the police. Because Fiona had died last night. 6 The big influencer who had just claimed a seven million dollar jackpot during the day died bizarrely that night. This news swept the entire internet overnight. All netizens were sighing over the short life of this young millionaire, who died before she even had a chance to enjoy her seven million. I, who had once predicted she would meet with misfortune, was naturally listed as the prime suspect. But very soon, I was released. First, because I had a solid alibi. Second, because Fiona’s cause of death was too… bizarre. An ordinary college student like me simply couldn’t have pulled it off. Fiona was literally scared to death. The party was held at the hotel where she was staying. During the party, Fiona only went to the bathroom once, and never returned. When her friends found her, her body was rigid, her pupils bulging, her mouth wide open in an expression of extreme terror, collapsed on the floor. After coming out of the police station, I kept my head down in deep thought. Based on the police’s questioning and the fragments of information circulating online, I could roughly deduce the cause of Fiona’s death. It hadn’t even had time to act; Fiona was scared to death just by seeing its appearance. “Chloe!” It was Sarah, crying with tear-filled eyes, who pushed open the dorm door. As soon as she entered, she immediately fell to her knees and kowtowed to me frantically, all traces of her former arrogance gone. “I’m sorry! You can punish me however you want, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to end up like Fiona…” “Please save me! However much money you need to save me, I’ll give it to you. Even if it means being your beast of burden for the rest of my life, I’m willing, please! I don’t want to die, my parents worked so hard to put me through college, I haven’t even had the chance to work and provide for them!” Sarah thought I would be soft-hearted. After all, I was known in the dorm for having a good temper. But when she looked up, she met my utterly cold gaze. I shook my head. “I can’t save you. I told you, anyone who spends the money earned from that lottery ticket will die.” Maya’s heart softened: “Chloe, why don’t you just help her? We’re all roommates after all.” I still shook my head without speaking. Sarah broke down crying, coughing violently as she almost choked on her own breath. I sighed, sat down on a chair, and told her, “I can’t save you. But I can tell you this: if you encounter it, do not panic. Pretend you didn’t see it, and you might just escape the first encounter.” I didn’t do this out of the goodness of my heart, but because I was also curious to know what exactly that thing was. Sarah rushed up to me, her voice filled with fear. “Who is it? Is it very scary?” “I don’t know either.” I shook my head, then looked at her meaningfully. “Scary enough to kill.” I could only tell her that much, because I wasn’t entirely sure myself. But Sarah had her own ideas. She thought that places with more people had stronger ‘Yang’ energy, so instead of staying home, she ran to the town square and started a livestream. She said there were many people around, and many people online, so that kind of thing wouldn’t dare come looking for her. The person she was co-streaming with was me. As soon as the livestream started, tens of thousands of netizens flooded in. [Waiting, do you guys think the streamer will survive tonight?] [Don’t know, but who’s that co-streaming with her?] [I went and checked, it seems to be the person who originally said whoever won the lottery would die.] [Damn, this is getting crazy. Is this lottery ticket really cursed?] [Maybe it really is?!] 7 Sarah held up her phone tripod, aiming the camera firmly at herself. Many people in the square recognized her, taking photos and whispering. But Sarah had no time for that. She sat on a bench in the square drinking soda, her eyes darting around wildly, scanning her surroundings. I asked: “Nothing unusual, right?” Sarah had just nodded when she immediately lowered her head and stayed silent. I noticed in the livestream that her body suddenly sat up rigidly, as if she had suddenly become very tense. I sharply caught onto this point. “Sarah, what’s wrong!” Without lifting her head, she said something that made the hair of every netizen in the livestream stand on end. “It’s sitting across from me.” But the netizens saw nothing; the chair across from her was clearly empty. Maya immediately burst into tears in the dorm: “It… it… it’s here! What do we do?!” I rubbed my temples: “Don’t look at it, continue what you were doing.” “Sarah, I’m asking you, what does it look like?” Hearing my words, Sarah, with a trembling hand, picked up a cup of juice from the table and drank it, but ended up choking violently. “Cough, cough, cough!” “It… it has so many hands, it’s very tall and big, its body is densely packed with hands and feet. But… but it… it looks so familiar…” I quickly pressed: “Familiar how?” Sarah looked up, facing the camera, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying. “Chloe, its face looks exactly like your statue!” The next second, Sarah’s head separated from her body, bouncing towards the edge of a flowerbed like a rubber ball. Then her arms and legs snapped off out of thin air, and Sarah turned into a bloody, mangled pile of meat. That head ignited screams across the entire square, and the livestream comments were a blur of “Holy shit.” The next second, the livestream was banned for extreme graphic violence. But I just stared blankly at my phone screen. Sarah said its face looked exactly like my statue. In an instant, all sorts of speculations flooded my mind. I couldn’t help clutching my chest, panting, my heart pounding wildly in terror. Sarah died. The police cordoned off the square, and the city’s residents were in a state of panic. Fiona’s death could perhaps be called an accident, but now that Sarah had died a bizarre, violent death in front of countless netizens, everyone who attended the party was instantly fearing for their lives. This included the other two roommates who had previously complained about me not letting them take the money. Because they had all spent money obtained from that lottery ticket. By the time the roommates brought others to look for me at the dorm, I had already taken a leave of absence and left. Right now, I was kneeling and praying in the church back in my hometown. Afraid of being in danger myself, I had rushed home overnight to devoutly kneel and complete the ceremony, obtaining a new patron statue. My parents secretly rejoiced, because these statues aren’t something you can just get if you want to; you must complete a drawing lots ceremony. If you don’t draw it, it means the saint isn’t willing to go with you, and you can only come back a year later. After getting the statue, I stayed at the church. The new small statue looked exactly like my previous one, elegant in posture, eyes closed, smiling. I placed her in the most prominent spot at the head of my bed and knelt in prayer every day. Fortunately, she indeed didn’t show any abnormalities, and I finally felt I could relax. But in the middle of the night, I suddenly heard the sound of the statue shattering. I immediately turned on the light and looked at the nightstand, only to discover that the statue I had just prayed for that morning had also lost an arm! 8 I immediately sought out the head priest of the church. Since I was born, this priest had been the head of the church. He only took one look at the broken-armed statue and immediately closed his eyes. “You must not leave the church these next few days. No matter who calls you, you absolutely must not go out. Going out means certain disaster.” I grew anxious: “Priest, I clearly didn’t spend the money from that lottery ticket. Why did my statue break an arm again?” He patted my shoulder gently, his eyes dim. “When that lottery ticket was bought, you paid half the money. Although you didn’t spend it, you are still entangled in its karma.” “It’s fine. Listen to me and stay in the church, and nothing will happen to you.” The priest’s words were a reassuring pill for me, and I slowly calmed myself down. For those few days, I ate and lived in the church, but I could still contact the outside world with my phone. Through the internet, I learned that my two roommates and the others had been desperately searching for my whereabouts. But to no avail. I had never revealed my home address to them, and my counselor naturally wouldn’t disclose it easily either. Before they could find me, disaster struck. A few days later, the first roommate died at home. Her entire body was twisted like a pretzel and hung from the ceiling fan, her liver and blood constantly dripping down from the fan. Her parents fainted from terror the moment they opened the door, and were still in the hospital undergoing emergency treatment. The second roommate vanished into thin air at home. After her sister called the police, the police searched for a long time but didn’t know where she went. It wasn’t until the family cat spent all day scratching at the rug in the roommate’s room that her sister noticed something was wrong and forcefully pulled up the rug. She discovered there was another rug underneath. Only it was bloody and mangled. A long, sticky thread of blood stretched between the floor and the rug, with several teeth stuck to it. Half a month later, everyone who attended the party was dead. The state of their deaths was gruesome, the killer unknown, and the methods extremely cruel. Meanwhile, I knelt in the church, praying devoutly every day, offering incense to the saint daily. Just as I was offering incense, I heard a very familiar voice. “Chloe, so your home is here.” My back stiffened, and I slowly turned my head to look back. It was Maya. The moment I saw her, I instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Having lived in the church for so long, I only remembered the voice belonged to a roommate, but I had forgotten which one. Seeing the massive statue in the church, Maya also offered incense following my example. “Chloe, I haven’t dared to sleep in the dorm these past few days. It’s too terrifying to be alone in the dorm, so I thought I’d come find you.” “You know about what happened to them, right?” I nodded. “I know.” After offering incense, I brought her to my quarters in the church and poured her a cup of tea. She looked around curiously. “Chloe, your village is really strange, actually having its own dedicated church.” I also drank some tea and nodded. “Because our village has worshipped only these saints since ancient times, and no other gods or buddhas. You know the custom, everyone carries a small patron statue on them. This might be because our villagers have prayed devoutly since ancient times, so the saints trust us and are willing to go with us.” Maya was still very curious and asked me: “Is that so? But I didn’t see your statue in this room. I remember you always used to put it in the most prominent place.” “Didn’t you pray for a new one when you came back?” “Can outsiders pray for a statue?” “Is it really true that the statues can only give warnings and can’t block disasters?” I froze, suddenly feeling that the Maya in front of me was making my hair stand on end.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394497”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

After I confessed my love to Arthur, a family friend I had grown up calling “Uncle,” he brought a girl in a wheelchair to meet me. Her name was Evelyn, and she was his future partner. Arthur said Evelyn lost her legs and her dreams to save him, and he had to take responsibility for her. I didn’t understand. Does someone saving your life mean you have to dedicate your life to them in return? He didn’t answer my question. In my past life, I refused to believe Arthur didn’t love me, constantly testing his bottom line. Until the day he watched his rivals snap my ten fingers one by one, listening to my agonizing screams, without so much as furrowing a brow. My heart died that day. Later, because the damage to my hands was too severe, I could never stand at an operating table again. Ultimately, consumed by depression, I slit my wrists and killed myself. When I woke up again. Without a moment’s hesitation, I submitted my application to Doctors Without Borders. I stepped back into my place as a mere “niece.” 01 When my application was approved, I finally let out a sigh of relief. My fingertips wouldn’t stop trembling, and my eyes grew red without me even realizing it. No one knew I had been reborn. I was twenty-one again. A split second before I was about to confess my love to Arthur. That day, I was wearing a custom-made gown he had spent a fortune on, and I had rented out the most luxurious hotel in New York. I invited many friends to witness the beginning of our love story. Arthur had been by my side since I could remember. My parents were Doctors Without Borders, constantly traveling. I rarely saw them throughout the year. Almost the entire first half of my life was spent with Arthur. The happy moments, the sad moments. Everyone in our circle assumed I was basically raised to be his wife. In my past life, a few close friends who knew I was going to confess gave me a lot of ideas, making me blush furiously. I secretly looked forward to it in my heart. But no one expected Arthur to reject me. Just like he did in my past life. Arthur seemed to have guessed what I was going to do. His brow furrowed slightly, he rubbed two fingers together, clearly formulating his rejection. His eyes were unreadable. At the time, I thought Arthur was just worried I was too young to distinguish between familial affection and romantic love. So I smiled and said, “Arthur, I like you. It means my heart beats faster involuntarily when I see you.” “It means I miss you crazily when I can’t see you, an emotion I can’t suppress no matter what.” “I’m very sure what I feel for you is love.” The bystanders cheered, but it ultimately ended in a messy anti-climax. And today, I was still smiling, but the smile didn’t reach my eyes. Just as he was about to speak, I beat him to it: “Arthur, I successfully concluded a year-long research project last week.” “I’m so happy, so I wanted to celebrate.” Arthur stood frozen in shock. My friends exchanged glances, about to speak up. I cast a faint glance over them. They gave awkward smiles and silently hid the “Say Yes, Say Yes” banner they were holding behind their backs. A confession ended before it began. After the party dispersed, Arthur and his friends were smoking in the hallway. He leaned against the wall, his long, elegant fingers playing with a gold-embossed lighter. The flame flickered. His friend teased with a laugh, “With that setup today, I thought Chloe was going to confess to you.” “Didn’t expect it to be a fake-out.” Arthur closed his eyes slightly, a faint smile on his lips. “She’s just a little girl, don’t overthink her intentions.” “I don’t have any other feelings for Chloe. I only take care of her because of my ties with her family.” His friend didn’t buy it. “You’re just blind to what’s right in front of you. Look at the way your girl looks at you. You think we’re stupid?” “If you’re really so innocent, why did you go warn off that boy who confessed to her back then?” “Acting exactly like a boyfriend.” Arthur fell silent. I didn’t listen any further, retreating into the darkness. In my past life, Arthur was exactly like this. His kindness towards me had long crossed the line, yet he stubbornly refused to admit it. After returning home. I submitted my application to Doctors Without Borders. After my parents died one after another in war zones, I wanted to inherit their legacy. But in my past life, before it could even begin, it was already over. Fortunately. God took pity on me and gave me a chance to start over. 02 I looked at the report date, then glanced at the calendar next to it. I took a pen and silently marked the date. Coincidentally, that day was Arthur’s birthday. Suddenly, there was a knock on my bedroom door. It was Arthur. He had a habit of knocking twice before entering, but this time, there was a girl following behind him. The girl sat in a wheelchair, wearing a white dress. There wasn’t a trace of color on her face, and her eyes carried a faint melancholy. She looked incredibly frail. “Chloe, come here,” he said to me. I didn’t move, just glanced at the girl. She was Evelyn. I had assumed that without my confession, Arthur wouldn’t bring her in front of me. I didn’t expect that what was meant to happen would happen anyway. “Chloe.” Arthur frowned, calling my name again. Seeing my detached expression, Evelyn lowered her eyes and said softly, “Arthur, it’s okay. It’s perfectly normal for Ms. Davis to not like me upon our first meeting.” “If she minds my presence, I can just go back to the suburban villa. I don’t have legs, I can’t go anywhere anyway. Anywhere is fine.” “I don’t have to stay here.” As she spoke, tears welled in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. She looked exactly like a delicate little flower, pretending to be strong. Arthur’s frown deepened, and his gaze towards me carried a hint of disappointment. “Chloe—” “Arthur, you can arrange for whoever you want to live in the villa. There’s really no need to tell me.” “You’re the master of this house.” My voice was flat, revealing absolutely nothing. But falling on Arthur’s ears, it was full of thorns. He thought I was throwing a tantrum. “Chloe, there’s no need to use that tone with me.” “I brought Evelyn to meet you today so you could meet your future aunt.” “Three years ago, she lost her legs to save me in an earthquake. I need to take responsibility for her. If you want to continue living properly in this house…” “…Put away your spoiled princess temper, and don’t make trouble for Evelyn.” He swept a warning glare over me. I wanted to speak, but ultimately remained silent. Actually, I couldn’t blame him. I used to be extremely possessive of Arthur. Growing up, I wanted his eyes only on me, and for me to be his only female companion. Because of that, he hadn’t had a single romantic scandal over the years. Even if a woman dared to try and get close to him, I would deal with her. All his favoritism and exceptions were for me. So in my past life, when he decided to marry Evelyn, I broke down. Does saving a life mean you have to dedicate your life in return? I thought about it for a very, very long time. It cost me my life. I still couldn’t figure it out. But now I did. Some things just don’t make sense. 03 Evelyn was going to stay. In the room next to Arthur’s, which used to be mine. Back when Arthur moved me in, he secretly sought advice from his friends, then personally drew up the blueprints to completely renovate the room. He turned it into a beautiful pink princess room. He even bought many limited-edition dolls and placed them by my bed. He raised me like a princess. Since childhood. He always said, “As long as it’s something Chloe likes, something that makes Chloe happy, I will do it.” “I hope our Chloe grows up healthy and becomes a happy little princess.” Back then, his eyes were full of tender, lingering affection. Making me fall for him. Yet from the very beginning to the end, he kept himself detached. In the room, Arthur leaned against the doorframe. After shooting me a cold glance, he said: “I had Martha prepare the guest room on the first floor. You’ll stay there for the time being.” I didn’t say anything, just folded all my clothes into my suitcase. As I stood up and instinctively reached for the dolls by the bed… My hand paused. Arthur’s gaze had followed mine to the dolls. Seeing I hadn’t moved for a long time, he said: “I’ll bring the dolls down for you later.” I took a deep breath, looked away, and forced a smile: “No need, give them to her.” I didn’t even want Arthur anymore. What did a few dolls matter? In the past, it was genuine. Now, it meant nothing. “Chloe, are you still mad at me?” Arthur asked coldly. “Why would I be mad at you?” I retorted. “You have your own life too. Now you have someone you like, someone you want to protect. I should be happy for you, shouldn’t I?” Arthur’s eyes darkened. His thin lips moved, but he didn’t make a sound for a long time. When I left with my suitcase. Evelyn was not far outside the door. Her gaze towards me carried a hint of mockery. Just like in my past life, no matter how much of an innocent white lotus she pretended to be on the surface, in reality, she targeted me at every turn, crying at the slightest disagreement. The tears of the weak easily garner sympathy. “Ms. Davis, I’m sorry to put you out.” “If it wasn’t inconvenient for me, Arthur wouldn’t have done this.” My grip on the suitcase handle tightened. Just as I was about to walk past her, she suddenly grabbed my wrist. My reflexes kicked in, and I threw her hand off. “Ah—!!” Evelyn’s wheelchair rolled uncontrollably towards the stairs. A scream echoed, and the maids in the villa rushed over. “Arthur, save me, save me—” Hearing this, Arthur ran out of his room in a panic, shoving me out of the way. He lunged and grabbed the handrail, stopping the wheelchair from rolling further down. I stood frozen in place, my throat tightening: “It wasn’t me.” The wheelchair was stuck on the stairs, and a few maids blocked the way. Arthur hurriedly scooped Evelyn up into his arms and walked over to me. The maids coordinated to move the wheelchair over. “Arthur, it scared me to death.” “I thought I was going to die…” Her eyes were completely red, and the terror in her eyes couldn’t be faked. After soothing Evelyn, Arthur looked at me furiously. “Chloe, are you crazy?!” “If something had really happened to Evelyn, you would be investigated for murder, do you know that?!” 04 I bit my lower lip, my stomach full of grievances, my nose stinging: “I didn’t.” “It wasn’t me, she suddenly grabbed my hand, I just shook it off.” Hearing this, Evelyn said with a tearful voice: “It’s my fault, Arthur, you shouldn’t blame Ms. Davis.” “It’s my fault for not locking the wheelchair earlier, that’s why this happened.” “Evelyn, you don’t need to speak up for Chloe anymore.” Arthur said coldly: “I know exactly what her temper is like.” “Over the years, any woman who got close to me was driven away by her petty tricks.” I couldn’t help but laugh, tears in the corners of my eyes: “So Arthur, you don’t believe me?” “Do you deserve to be believed?” he retorted. “Right, I don’t deserve it.” “Only Evelyn deserves it. Whatever she says, you believe.” As my words fell, I pulled my suitcase to leave. But Arthur had the maids block me. He said: “Apologize.” I turned back to look at him in disbelief. He repeated: “Evelyn suffered for no reason. You should apologize.” “And if I don’t?” I asked, tears in my eyes. I thought facing this scenario again, I would be able to handle it with breezy indifference. But I overestimated myself. When all the past favoritism turned into a sharp sword pointed at me… It really hurt. “You know my methods.” Arthur said coldly. He looked at the maids behind me. The maids exchanged glances, just as they were about to step forward and press down on my shoulders. I let out a self-deprecating scoff. Releasing my grip on the suitcase, I bowed to Evelyn and apologized: “I was wrong about what happened today. I shouldn’t have shaken you off when you grabbed my hand.” “I’m sorry I almost caused you to fall.” Evelyn was stunned for two seconds, and Arthur’s expression also grew heavy. I stood up and looked at Arthur: “Is that okay?” “If not, I can kneel.” I said. Arthur’s eyes were filled with complex emotions, but ultimately he said nothing. I pulled my suitcase downstairs. Just as I reached the first floor, Martha said: “Mr. Sterling is probably just in a bad mood today.” “Miss, you shouldn’t hold this against him. Over the years, everyone can see how much he cares for you.” While speaking up for him, she tried to take my suitcase. I just smiled. In the past, whenever I fought with Arthur, Martha would always act as the peacemaker. After all these years, Martha was the same as always. But Arthur and I could never go back to the way things were. “Miss, aren’t you going to the guest room?” she asked in surprise. I shook my head: “No.” “But Mr. Sterling…” “Please tell Arthur for me, thank you for taking care of me all this time, and I won’t bother him ever again.” In this life, ending it here is enough. I don’t want to endure the pain of my past life again. 05 After settling Evelyn in, Arthur called Martha in and pulled up the security footage from the hallway. When Martha came over, she hesitated to speak. Actually, he believed Chloe. Over the years, although she would use petty tricks to keep other women away from him, they were all harmless. She knew where the line was. So when the footage showed Evelyn provoking Chloe first, he didn’t react much. He owed Evelyn a life. As long as Evelyn didn’t go overboard, he would let her do whatever she wanted. “I knew it, how could Miss hurt anyone?” Martha said indignantly. Arthur rubbed his temples: “Make something Chloe likes to eat tonight.” “But Miss has already left.” Arthur froze instantly: “What?” “Miss asked me to tell you, thank you for taking care of her all this time, and she won’t bother you ever again.” Martha’s tone was a bit passive-aggressive. Arthur didn’t blame her, just let out an exhausted sigh. “Chloe just has that temper, she can’t stand being wronged even a little bit.” After he told Martha to leave and prepare dinner, he called Chloe. But she didn’t answer any of his calls. The more he called, the more irritable he became. He finally threw his phone on the desk. Actually, starting half a month ago, from the day he thought Chloe was going to confess to him. He started feeling an inexplicable irritability. Especially when facing Chloe’s eyes, and hearing her flat tone. He constantly felt like something was slipping out of his control. And now. It seemed all the answers were about to surface. 06 That Arthur could find me didn’t surprise me. With 7 days left before I had to report, I had returned to my own home after leaving the villa. Arthur stood outside the courtyard, the cherry of a cigarette flickering between his fingers, his brow tightly furrowed. I saw him just as I returned from the hospital. “Off work.” I nodded, not saying much. The surroundings suddenly fell into dead silence. He was waiting for me to continue speaking, but I honestly had nothing left to say. Until his phone rang. It was a call from Evelyn. Arthur didn’t avoid me, swiping to answer it right there. Her weak sobs carried over from the other end: “Arthur, I had a nightmare.” “I dreamt of the earthquake, I dreamt I couldn’t save you, could you… come back and keep me company?” She pleaded carefully. Arthur subconsciously looked at me. It was already dark. I lowered my eyes to look at the elongated shadows on the ground, my expression flat. After a long while, I heard him say: “I’ll be right back.” The call disconnected. Arthur naturally reached to hold my hand, but I frowned and avoided it. His movement halted. When he looked at me, there was a bit more confusion in his eyes. He probably forgot. Our previous intimacy was because I treated him as the one I loved. “Arthur, you have a partner now.” “We shouldn’t cross the line anymore.” My tone was flat. Arthur let out a scoff, retracted his hand, and deliberately casually put it in his pocket. “I know you can’t accept me and Evelyn right away.” “But it’s okay, I can wait until you can accept it before I get engaged to her.” “For now, just think of it as you two getting familiar and adapting to each other.” I didn’t say anything, just remained silent. In my past life, ever since Evelyn appeared, Arthur and I never had a single day where we spoke properly. We fought every time we met. He scolded me for being shameless, for liking my own “Uncle.” He also said I couldn’t distinguish between familial love and romantic love. He pushed me away step by step, yet I pushed forward relentlessly, like an iron wall. Even when I was covered in bruises from all the vicious words. My friends. His friends. All advised me: “Arthur doesn’t like you, why won’t you believe it?” “The one he likes is Evelyn.” Every time, I would cry and say, “No, Arthur loves me.” On the day I turned eighteen, he thought I was asleep and secretly kissed me. He said he would marry me after I turned twenty-two. I firmly believed Arthur only wanted to marry Evelyn out of gratitude. Until that day. The rival family tried to take me away from a bar. I had no contact with them, and I didn’t understand why they wanted to grab me. Until their second son said their patriarch had suffered a brain infarction. It suddenly dawned on me. Arthur once said people from that family had looked for me. He said their hands were dirty and told me to keep my distance from them. But I never knew they were looking for me because of their patriarch. They sincerely wanted to ask me to perform the surgery. I cried and refused to go, my white knuckles gripping Arthur’s coat tightly. But he coldly said: “Let go.” He stood by coldly, watching me being dragged away, watching them violently snap my fingers one by one while I was wide awake. Listening to my agonizing screams. Without so much as furrowing a brow. At that moment, I finally confirmed it: Arthur didn’t love me. 07 “What are you thinking about?” Arthur’s voice sounded, pulling my thoughts back. “You’ve thrown enough of a tantrum these past few days. Let’s just consider the last incident over.” “Chloe, you’re not a child anymore.” As his words fell, he opened the passenger side door and looked at me. I stood rooted to the spot, forcing an ugly smile onto my face. I suddenly really wanted to ask the Arthur from my past life. How could he be so cruel, watching me be tortured, watching me fall into depression, and die a slow death. Even if he didn’t love me, I was still the “niece” he had raised since childhood. “Arthur, you were right that day.” “Over the years, any woman who appeared by your side was driven away by my petty tricks.” “So for Evelyn’s safety, I won’t go back.” Arthur frowned. “Chloe—” “Arthur, you know I liked you, right?” I calmly interrupted Arthur. His pupils suddenly contracted. Over the years, I never hid my affection. Anyone who wasn’t blind would know. I believe Arthur knew too. “Chloe.” He looked at me with difficulty. “Don’t worry, Arthur, I won’t anymore.” “I was ignorant before, mistaking familial love for romantic love, and made a lot of embarrassing mistakes.” “Now I guess I’m cutting my losses in time.” “I hope you’ll forgive me.” After speaking, I smiled again. But Arthur looked as if his soul had been sucked out, standing blankly in place. As if those few sentences I just said were incredibly difficult to understand. He opened his lips, about to speak. The phone in his pocket rang again. It was exceptionally jarring in the quiet night, ringing continuously. He still seemed unable to recover his senses. But I had already taken two steps back, turned, and walked away.

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Because my breasts were too small, my mom suspected I was malnourished and dragged me to see a doctor. The doctor was my ex-boyfriend, whom I had just broken up with. His expression was cold, his tone distant: “Lift your shirt to your collarbone and undo your bra.” Then he deliberately teased me: “They are quite small.” I gritted my teeth and shifted the blame: “My breasts are small because my ex didn’t work hard enough.” The next second, I was pressed against the examination table, his voice dangerously low: “The examination wasn’t thorough enough. “Looks like I need to keep working hard.” 01 “Number 52, Chloe, please proceed to consultation room 2.” The moment the automated voice at the nurse’s station called my name, I stared at the large characters on the door plaque: [Thoracic Surgery – Dr. Arthur Vance]. I almost ground my teeth to dust. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of that lean figure through the glass door. The waistline barely visible beneath the white coat reminded me of some very NSFW scenes. Just a month ago, that waist was pressing down on me, panting “one last time.” Now, he looked like a refined gentleman, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. “What are you standing there for?” My mom slapped me on the back: “Dr. Vance is a specialist who just returned from abroad. It’s a bloodbath trying to get an appointment with him! I only managed to get this slot because his mother and I are best friends.” Before I could even ask how my mom knew his mom, I heard a cold, clear voice: “Next.” When the consultation room door opened. The man I hadn’t seen in a month was wearing a blue surgical mask, the sleeves of his white coat slightly rolled up. His eyes were indifferent, his long eyebrows slightly raised: “Follow-up?” “Consultation.” I kept my neck stiff. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his Adam’s apple bob once. “Where are you feeling unwell?” Before I could answer, my mom darted in with a quick step: “Arthur, it’s Auntie Susan. Could you take a look at my daughter? Her breasts are so small, is she malnourished?” My mom’s loud voice echoed in the consultation room. My toes had automatically curled hard enough to dig a three-story mansion into the floor. “Auntie.” Arthur adjusted his glasses: “Breast size is related to genetics, nutrition…” “Exactly!” My mom nodded repeatedly: “Do you think she might have drank the wrong formula when she was a baby?” As Arthur wrote [Patient’s family suspects formula caused breast underdevelopment] in the medical chart, My toes had already finished digging the second phase of the mansion. If I’m guilty, let the law punish me. Instead, because my breasts are too small, my own mother suspected I was malnourished and forced me to see a doctor. And the doctor was my ex-boyfriend, who I broke up with just a month ago. “I need to perform a physical examination.” Arthur stood up, giving my mom a professional smile. “Family members, please wait outside.” I clutched my registration slip, a fake smile plastered on my face. “Can I see a different doctor?” He didn’t even look up, his tone distant and cold: “Go out the door, turn right, and queue up again to register.” “Oh, no need, the queue will take forever.” My mom immediately pressed me onto the examination table: “What’s wrong with a male doctor? Why are you young people so conservative? In a doctor’s eyes, there is no gender.” I felt dead inside. In a doctor’s eyes, there is no gender, but what about in an ex-boyfriend’s eyes? Besides, he’s a thoracic surgery specialist. Does he even handle underdevelopment??? 02 Arthur reached out and pulled the privacy curtain, adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and signaled to me: “Lift your shirt up and undo your bra.” I gripped the hem of my shirt tightly, glaring at him in dissatisfaction. “You… you’re using your public office to settle private grudges!” He kept his hands in his white coat pockets, looking perfectly composed, and coldly reminded me: “Miss Chloe, first of all, you are the one who booked an appointment with me. “Secondly, I am a doctor. Treating patients and saving lives is my duty. “Lastly, is there any part of you I haven’t seen?” Me: … Fine, you win… I gritted my teeth, took a deep breath, and undid the clasp of my bra. Bracing myself, I closed my eyes tightly and lifted my shirt. His hands were slightly cold, and I couldn’t help but shiver when they touched my skin. “Don’t be nervous.” “Who… who’s nervous…” “Your heart rate is too high.” A barely noticeable smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He lowered his head, examining me very seriously. “Do you feel anything?” I turned my head to the side and huffed: “No!” “No?” He frowned, looking a bit confused. “No feeling means no feeling. Dr. Vance’s skills are too poor. We’ve already broken up, do I still have to act for you?” Unable to gain the upper hand physically, I chose to dominate verbally. “Oh? My skills are poor?” He slightly lowered his eyes, meeting my gaze through his lenses, his voice cold and deep. “Chloe, you can touch your conscience and speak.” I cursed inwardly. Isn’t my conscience being touched by you right now?! The pressure from his hands increased slightly. “How about this time?” Me: “I feel like you’re pinching me…” He looked up, stared straight at me, and sighed. “Any pain?” “No!” “Swelling or tenderness?” “No!” “Does it normally itch?” “Oh, the itchy spot isn’t there.” Me: !!! “Arthur, have you touched enough!” My face flushed red, and I pushed myself up so abruptly I almost bumped his chin: “Do you think you don’t know if I’m sick or not?” “From what I can see, there’s indeed no problem, but…” His hands finally released me, and his low chuckle suddenly echoed in the air: “They are quite small.” I gritted my teeth, refuting him defiantly: “My breasts are small because my ex didn’t work hard enough!” My waist was suddenly grabbed, and my momentum carried me right into his arms. The faint, woody scent of his cologne wafted from beneath his white coat into my nose. His breathing was a bit heavy, his voice carrying a hint of danger: “What, want me to keep working hard? So you’re trying your old tricks again?” His face bore undisguised mockery. 03 That’s right, we ended up together purely because of my relentless pestering, and he finally gave in because he couldn’t get rid of me. At that time, I was accompanying my best friend for a checkup, and I fell for Arthur’s unearthly good looks at first sight. White coat, gold-rimmed glasses, broad shoulders, and long legs—he maxed out the “forbidden desire” vibe. Plus, I have a thing for hands. Especially when he looked down, typing out a medical chart on his keyboard, those long, slender hands with prominent knuckles made my heart beat like a drum with every movement. I clung to the doorframe, gulping frantically, my heart rate soaring. I finally understood the “suspension bridge effect.” Someone build a bridge to my heart right now! My best friend, who had an irregular heartbeat from looking at male models, was forced by me to stay in the hospital for a month. From then on, I became an unofficial member of the thoracic surgery department. When I brought him bubble tea in the morning, he said the sugar content was too high. When I brought him a bento for lunch, he criticized it for being nutritionally unbalanced. When I stalked him at night for a “chance encounter,” he lectured me about my irregular sleep schedule. After I faked low blood sugar and swooned into his arms for thirty days straight, Arthur finally cornered me in the stairwell: “Chloe, what exactly do you want?” “You.” I gritted my teeth, standing on my tiptoes to pull his tie: “Yes or no? “Dr. Vance, whenever people see you, their heart rate spikes. What are we going to do about that?” Later, when I was pinned against the wall and kissed by him… I finally learned that even the most aloof flower will bite when pushed. But soon I discovered that this man was like a monk. We dated for three months before he let me hold his hand, and it took half a year to unlock kissing. Every time I wanted to communicate on a deeper level, he would use those bewitching eyes to firmly reject me: “This is too fast.” I engaged in a tug-of-war for half a year before successfully pushing him down using my feminine wiles. However, the aloof flower was anything but aloof in bed; he wore me out completely every time. Dating is supposed to be sweet, but his job was demanding. He practically lived in the operating room every day. Leaving home past seven in the morning and returning at eight or nine at night was the norm. When we got home, I just wanted to get down to business, but he still had to review medical charts, write papers, and take exams. Even a donkey on a farm would call him “boss” out of respect. At an age full of youthful vigor, I craved him! I couldn’t stand this feast-or-famine lifestyle. On my birthday, I had been fasting for half a month. I swore to take him down that day. But just as we entered the movie theater, one phone call sent him running back to the hospital. I watched the movie alone, ate hot pot alone, bursting with loneliness and grievance. I sent him WeChat messages, but he didn’t reply. When I brought him food at the hospital, he was sitting intimately with a female doctor, engrossed in discussing a medical condition. The two of them showed undisguised admiration for each other on their faces. They looked incredibly compatible. In an instant, the drive in my heart suddenly deflated. A guy like Arthur is good for a fling. But for marriage, it wasn’t a good fit. He was an outstanding doctor at a top-tier hospital, and I was just a broke writer and a sucker for a pretty face. It really was a mismatch. And at that moment, I suddenly didn’t want to sleep with him anymore. So, I brought up breaking up. When he asked why, I gave him a devastating reason: “Your skills are too poor.” Then I backhanded blocked him on all contact platforms. After we broke up, he never looked for me either. In short, I considered myself the one who dumped him. Now, accidentally booking his appointment made it look like I regretted it and was chasing him again. 04 I hurriedly reached behind my back to clasp my bra. “Dr. Vance, you’re overthinking it. My mom booked this appointment for me. “Also, I don’t play with the same man twice.” I retorted defiantly. But I couldn’t get the clasp fastened. His figure loomed in front of me, and he suddenly raised his arms to encircle my waist. He reached out and expertly fastened my bra clasp. I was caught off guard by this sudden movement. He spoke before I could, his voice cold and clear: “No need to thank me. “Practice makes perfect, that’s all.” In the past, I used to joke that he had a pair of nimble hands; not only could he wield a scalpel, but he could also unhook a bra with one hand. I gritted my teeth, deliberately acting passive-aggressive: “Dr. Vance is so considerate, even fastening a female patient’s bra.” He smiled faintly, remaining composed: “You’re welcome. “It’s also my first time encountering a female patient who came to me because her breasts were too small.” Me: … After a moment of silence, I was still trying to figure out how to retaliate. My mom knocked on the door and came in first. Seeing my complexion didn’t look good, she quickly asked Arthur: “Dr. Vance, does my daughter have some sort of condition?” Arthur retreated to a safe distance: “Auntie, don’t worry, there’s no problem.” My mom let out a long sigh of relief: “That’s good, that’s good…” Then she asked in distress: “But her sister and I are both D-cups, why is she only an A?” I silently buried my face in my hands. “It’s possible—” He held back a smile, adjusting his glasses: “She takes after her father.” The air went dead silent. My mom still hadn’t given up: “Is there really no hope for my daughter’s chest?” “I recommend eating more papaya.” Arthur’s gaze swept over me seemingly by accident, hooking a distinct smile: “Of course, auxiliary massage is also effective. “For some women, during lactation, they might experience a second growth spurt.” My mom slapped her thigh, sudden realization dawning on her: “I get it, I just need to find her a man.” Her eyes lit up as she looked at him: “Arthur, your mom told me you just went through a breakup. What do you think of my daughter?” My head buzzed. I hurriedly stopped my mom, whispering: “Mom, don’t play matchmaker randomly…” My mom stomped her foot anxiously: “I saw Dr. Vance’s profile outside. PhD, Deputy Chief Physician, successful at a young age. Most importantly, he’s handsome! What a great fit for our family’s genes! If your mom were 20 years younger, I would have snatched him up myself. “He just broke up, the rebound period is when people need comfort the most. You need to swoop right in! “Um, Dr. Vance, do you mind adding each other on WeChat? If Chloe feels unwell in the future, can she consult you online?” Arthur looked up at me. I blinked frantically, signaling him. Because he was still sitting in my blocklist right now. “Sure.” But he pulled out his phone, shoving the QR code page right in my face: “Miss Chloe, please scan it yourself.” I braced myself, took out my phone, and scanned the code. Beep. Arthur’s profile picture popped up on the screen, and under the WeChat chat page, a line of small text was glaringly displayed: The message has been rejected. You have been blocked by the recipient. “I haven’t received the friend request yet,” He reminded me. I gritted my teeth and sneakily took him off the blocklist: “Done.” He smiled and nodded: “Good. I’ll send the medical advice to Miss Chloe.” I silently rolled my eyes. Bullshit. What kind of medical advice is there for small breasts? A few minutes later, Arthur sent a WeChat message: [Comprehensive Guide to Breast Massage Techniques.PDF] [Appropriate massage can promote development and prevent breast hyperplasia.] I gritted my teeth and smiled: “Dr. Vance truly possesses a healer’s compassionate heart.” Dr. Vance: “I can provide free medical guidance.” 05 “Daughter, listen to your mother, bag this Dr. Vance!” On the way home, my mom gripped my wrist like a female demon who had caught a monk on a pilgrimage. “His dad is a university professor, and his mom is the center of my square dancing team.” “Mom, we’re not a good fit…” I clung to the car door, struggling in vain. “You haven’t even tried, how do you know you’re not a good fit?” My mom seemed to have been poisoned by Arthur. She wished she could personally catch him and throw him on my bed. The next day, while I was binge-watching shows and stuffing my face with snacks, she suddenly teleported in: “Go change your clothes. Your Auntie Xu will be here soon.” I grabbed my snacks and prepared to escape: “Then I’ll hide in my room and watch.” She pinned me down: “You kid, we have guests over, how rude would it be for you to hide!” I kept munching on my potato chips: “That’s your friend, I don’t even know her.” She grabbed me: “You know her son—” Just as she was speaking, the doorbell rang. My mom dashed over in one swift stride. The two besties started chirping the moment they saw each other: “Oh my, coming over is enough, why bring so many things?” “Well, didn’t I hear Chloe came home? I just brought some food.” “Oh, you really did. These are all Chloe’s favorites.” “Yes, yes, Arthur picked them all out. Isn’t this fate?” Until I heard a certain familiar voice: “Hello Auntie, we meet again.” My hand shook, and I instinctively looked up. Half a potato chip was still dangling from my mouth. I saw Arthur standing by the entryway, wearing a smoky gray high-waisted suit, standing behind his mom, his tie meticulously knotted. He was carrying bags large and small in his hands. He looked exactly like he was coming to propose marriage. “Oh my, this must be Chloe? So pretty!” I awkwardly greeted her: “Hello Auntie.” My mom poked me: “Go pour tea for our guests.” The two moms quickly occupied the center of the sofa. Arthur and I stood off to the side, smiling silently. “Oh my, my Chloe just loves to play every day. She’s nothing like Arthur. So young and already a Deputy Chief Physician. I heard he even skipped grades in school. Tall and handsome, Susan, you’re so lucky.” “Oh, my luck isn’t that good. I have such a sweet, considerate daughter. This one of mine is just like his dad, a real quiet type, only knows how to work every day.” The two moms started a mutual praise session. Arthur and I were quiet as mice. Seeing this, the two women said: “Oh, you young people have so much to talk about, go interact more.” “My Arthur is just too formal, doesn’t even know how to chase girls.” “Don’t be shy, you’ll get familiar slowly.” We weren’t unfamiliar at all. We’ve kissed each other’s lips raw… I silently played the quail. Arthur quietly peeled an apple. I watched his long fingers holding the fruit knife, peeling the apple like a work of art. 06 The two moms were chatting animatedly, and somehow the topic turned to us: “I heard Chloe is still single?” “Yes, she dated a guy before, didn’t even get to meet him before they broke up.” “Mine is the same, too quiet. Got dumped and still acts like nothing happened.” “That scumbag who broke up with Chloe was even worse. I heard he was flirting with female colleagues at the hospital.” I discreetly tugged at my mom’s sleeve. Mom, please say less… But she couldn’t be stopped. “I heard he’s also a doctor, right? Which hospital? Maybe Arthur even knows him?” I lowered my head and chugged water. The hand Arthur was using to hold the knife paused, and the apple peel snapped with a crack. He suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through his glasses with a questioning look: “Is that so?” My mom complained indignantly: “Yes, and Chloe told me that scumbag’s body isn’t doing so well, right?” I almost choked to death on my water. I clutched my chest and coughed violently. Arthur raised his hand to pat my back. “Oh my, Arthur is so sweet.” “Look at these two kids, they look more and more compatible the more you look at them.” My mom grabbed Auntie Xu and bolted: “Right, isn’t it time to go dancing downstairs?” “Right, right, let’s go quickly.” 07 The two women slipped downstairs swiftly. I got up and walked toward my bedroom, with Arthur following behind me. “Dr. Vance, going into someone else’s bedroom in broad daylight, where’s your medical ethics?” I forcefully tried to shut the door. He propped his elbow against the doorframe and reminded me: “Your bedroom still has a certain someone’s Lotso Huggin’ Bear bedsheets.” “Then change them!” I glared at him: “Change them to your favorite blue sterile drapes!” A foot suddenly jammed into the crack of the door. The man used his long legs to force his way in: “Chloe, when did I flirt with female colleagues?” “My mom wasn’t talking about you anyway, don’t take it personally, Dr. Vance.” “Then why did we break up?” I kept my neck stiff and my mouth stubborn: “Poor skills, I got bored.” He suddenly leaned in, his nose almost touching my forehead: “Poor skills? Why did you have to change the sheets every time?” Me: !!! I was furious! He squeezed past me. I lifted my foot to kick him. But my calf suddenly cramped with a pop. “Ahhh!!!” I wailed and fell into his arms. God knows, a cramp really hurts enough to almost meet my great-grandmother. He caught me with quick reflexes: “What’s wrong?” “My… my leg cramped… “I’m going to die from the pain…” My arrogant attitude instantly withered. “Don’t move, relax.” He scooped me up horizontally and placed me on the bed. “Where does it hurt?” “Hiss… my… my thigh.” He kneaded the muscles above my knee with his thumbs: “Here?” I whined in pain: “Higher… higher.” His fingers moved up: “Here?” I grabbed the pillow, gritting my teeth: “Arthur, don’t take advantage…” He curled the corner of his lip imperceptibly: “It’s probably a passive muscle spasm caused by a sudden stretching of the leg. “Relax your leg.” His hands gently kneaded. Gradually, that tight, aching pain actually disappeared. I have to admit. His hands really are useful. His fingertips traced over the little strawberry pattern on my pajama pants: “Feel better?” I tried moving my leg: “Yeah, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” The cramp was on my inner thigh. Right now, the position was getting a bit ambiguous. I kicked him with my toes: “You don’t need to squeeze anymore.” But he took the opportunity to grab my ankle. His warm palm completely covered it. “It was wrong of me to leave you on your birthday, but the patient had a penetrating heart wound…” “Who wants to hear a work report!” I kicked him in the chest: “Anyway, you doctors only have eyes for your patients!” He completely didn’t understand why I was angry. Treating patients and saving lives is a doctor’s duty. In the face of human life, everything must yield. But anyone who gets stood up by their boyfriend on their birthday. And then turns around to see him smiling with another woman would be pissed off. And he didn’t even try to coax me! I turned my head away, ignoring him. “Chloe.” He suddenly looked up: “On the 21st day after you blocked me, there was a car accident patient with the same name as you. “That day, I was scared to death.” I froze. “That day I searched for you like crazy for four hours. “Finally, I found you clubbing with friends.” He lowered his eyes, carrying a bit of grievance. Like a wounded large dog. “Then I… I…” I suddenly didn’t know what to say. Things were perfectly fine. He suddenly threw me off balance. The air temperature rose sharply. He looked up and tugged at his tie. Then he unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt. Looking up slightly, the first thing that caught my eye was the half-open collar. And his faintly visible collarbones. He leaned forward, the corner of his lips almost brushing the tip of my ear: “Baby, don’t be mad anymore, okay?” His breath was scorching. The roots of my ears were hot and tingling. Looking at that face. I uselessly forgave him again. He leaned closer again, his voice trailing: “Baby, want a kiss?” This dog of a man is seducing me again. His fatal attraction is truly deadly. After abstaining for so long. I couldn’t wait to push him down right now. It’d be a waste not to kiss him! The faint sound of the square dancing song “Drunken Butterfly” drifted up from downstairs. It felt like we were having an affair. Mixed with the intimate sounds of kissing. It was incredibly stimulating. We kissed until the world spun. “The medical advice I sent you, have you put it into practice?” “Not yet…” His fingers roamed restlessly: “As your attending physician, I’ll guide you personally.” I suddenly remembered Arthur’s mom saying he was “too formal.” I cursed internally: What kind of formal person gropes someone while kissing? A beast in a suit!!! 08 Just as we were kissing passionately. My phone suddenly vibrated. On the other end, my mom was frantic: “Chloe, your grandma suddenly fainted downstairs!” I couldn’t care about anything else. Arthur and I hurriedly rushed downstairs. I saw my mom running around in circles with fast-acting heart pills. Arthur immediately switched to his professional doctor mode. “Did you call 911?” “Yes, yes, they’ll be here right away.” He placed his fingertips on my grandma’s wrist: “Acute myocardial infarction. “Don’t move her. Let the patient lie flat and wait for the ambulance.” With his other hand, he expertly loosened my grandma’s collar. And started CPR right there. The ambulance arrived very quickly. Our whole family followed to the hospital. We waited for a long time. Until the door to the emergency room was pushed open. “Fortunately, Dr. Vance’s emergency treatment was timely. She is out of danger. “After a few days of recovery, she’ll need a heart bypass. Dr. Vance will be the lead surgeon.” Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did a doctor look at Arthur and tease: “Oh, Dr. Vance, your look today is quite something.” At this, everyone finally focused their attention on us. The collar of Arthur’s shirt was halfway open. There was a distinct hickey right on his Adam’s apple. My clothes were also disheveled. In our rush out the door, we were both wearing mismatched slippers. And both of us were sporting red, swollen lips. My mom realized what happened: “You two! Were you hiding in the room kissing?” The air fell silent. Arthur awkwardly buttoned up his shirt. I coughed lightly and lied: “We… well, it’s because the spicy strips we ate were too spicy…” Everyone looked doubtful. Just then, Arthur pointed at the hospital bed: “Grandma is awake.” Only then did the group shift their focus away from us. He stepped forward: “How are you feeling now? Does your chest feel tight?” The moment my grandma opened her eyes, she met that face of his. She suddenly exclaimed: “Oh my heavens, I really must be dead, I’m actually seeing a male Bodhisattva.” My mom, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, reminded her: “Mom, this is young Dr. Vance. You had a heart attack, and he saved you. “In a couple of days, he’ll also be doing your heart bypass surgery.” My grandma realized what happened and hurriedly said: “Thank you so much, young doctor. Are you married yet?” Arthur replied politely: “Not yet…” My grandma’s eyes suddenly lit up: “You’re giving me a bypass, let me give you a bridge too. “I can’t repay your life-saving grace, but I have a granddaughter. Let her pledge herself to you.” Me, standing nearby: ??? Sigh, our whole family are huge perverts. My grandma pointed at me: “Look, what do you think of my granddaughter?” He secretly glanced at me, a smile on his lips: “Very nice.” My grandma took my hand, a look of melancholy on her face: “Chloe, I just saw your great-grandmother. She said I won’t survive this year, unless you get married to bring good luck.” Me ??? Are you for real ??? Hearing this, the two moms immediately started looking for an auspicious date on the spot: “Let them get married!!!” My grandma chimed in repeatedly: “Is the bride price enough? If not, sell the Phoebe zhennan wood your grandpa left behind.” My head was buzzing. My grandma also seemed to have been poisoned by Arthur. Lying in the hospital bed, she constantly talked about her good-luck grandson-in-law. As soon as I walked in the door, she waved the cake in her hand, showing off to me: “Chloe, look, the little cake young Dr. Vance bought for me, it’s so delicious.” I pretended to be dissatisfied: “Didn’t I buy you some too? Why aren’t you praising me?” “The ones you bought grew hair.” “That’s pork floss cake…” As we were talking, Arthur walked in holding two cups of milk tea, a gentle smile on his face: “Grandma, the milk tea you wanted.” I looked shocked: “No, old lady, you just got out of the emergency room and you’re eating cake and drinking milk tea?” She slurped her milk tea: “So what?” Me: … Arthur held back a smile and handed the other cup of milk tea to me: “Roasted brown sugar boba milk, no sugar.” Hmph, at least he has some tact. I also slurped my milk tea. Seeing the situation, my grandma grabbed my hand and started nagging again: “Chloe, I just dreamed of your great-grandmother again. She said if you get married this year and have a baby next year, I can live to be a hundred.” Me: ??? “Yesterday you said you dreamed of great-grandmother saving a seat at the mahjong table for you down there!” “They don’t conflict,” The old lady righteously pulled up her oxygen mask: “You two standing here is delaying my longevity. Hurry up and get down to business, I’m waiting to hold a baby!”

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Dad said he was taking me to see the tigers, but he kicked me out of the car right inside the tiger enclosure. My stepmom in the car pretended to scream, but she held her phone up the whole time, recording. The tigers yawned and slowly walked toward me. “Roar—These two humans are terrible actors!” “Throwing a cub outside while hiding in a metal shell, are they trying to frame us for eating a human?” “This kid looks like she doesn’t even have a pound of meat on her, not even enough to get stuck between my teeth.” I stood in the freezing wind, listening to the tigers talk, tears and snot running down my face. Just then, the biggest tiger walked over and nudged me so hard with its massive head that I fell on my butt. “Roar—Kid, do you want a new dad?” “The new zookeeper is a rich kid experiencing life. Come with me, I’ll let you be a wealthy heiress.” 1 The first snow of winter. The wind blew against my face, stinging like a knife. Dad said he was taking me to the zoo to see the tigers. But as soon as we entered the tiger enclosure, he stopped the car, turned his head, stared at me, and urged me urgently: “Chloe, Dad’s car is broken. Get out and give it a push. Just a little push and Dad will let you back in.” I was an obedient child. I thought, as long as I pushed the car like a good girl, Dad wouldn’t lock me in the pitch-black basement like he did at home. But the moment I stepped out of the car, the door locked with a click. The car clearly wasn’t broken. Dad slammed on the gas, and the car instantly slid away dozens of feet, leaving me far behind. I panicked, chasing after it on my freezing, stiff little legs. “Dad! Dad, wait for Chloe!” “Chloe is cold! Chloe is scared!” The car stopped. But not to pick me up. In the back seat, my mom—my stepmom—was holding her phone, pointing it at me. Through the glass, I saw her exaggeratedly covering her mouth, as if she were screaming, but her eyes were clearly smiling. This was the free-roaming area of the tiger enclosure. Several enormous Siberian tigers were stepping through the snow, slowly walking toward me. Terrified, I slumped into the snow, trembling all over. I thought I was going to die. But right then, I heard the lead tiger sigh. It shook the snow off its body, its whiskers twitching. “Roar—These two humans are terrible actors!” “Throwing a cub outside while hiding in a metal shell, are they trying to frame us for eating a human?” “This kid looks like she doesn’t even have a pound of meat on her, not even enough to get stuck between my teeth.” The tigress next to him agreed, casting a disgusted look at the SUV. “Roar—What is that woman waving that shiny thing around for? It’s blinding.” “Probably wants to record the cub being eaten by us. Humans are disgusting.” I was stunned. The cold wind blew down my collar, but I forgot to cry. They… weren’t going to eat me? Seeing me standing there dumbfounded, the lead tiger even rolled its eyes. It took a few steps and stood right in front of me. A giant shadow cast over me. I smelled a faint, musky scent from it, along with an indescribable warmth. It lowered its head and nudged my shoulder with its massive head. It was a bit strong. I immediately plopped down onto the ground, landing on my butt. “Roar—Kid, do you want a new dad?” Its huge face was extremely close, its golden pupils reflecting my disheveled figure. “The new zookeeper is a rich kid experiencing life. He’s dumb, rich, and has a good heart. Come with me, I’ll let you be a wealthy heiress?” 2 I stared at it blankly. A new dad? “I have a dad…” I mumbled softly, instinctively looking toward that black SUV in the distance. That was my dad. Even though he didn’t let me eat at the table, even though he always whipped my calves with a cane, even though he only let me wear a thin, old school uniform in the winter. He was still my dad. The big tiger snorted a breath of hot air, blowing a cloud of white mist into my face. “Roar—That piece of trash who threw you into a tiger’s mouth to scam insurance money?” “Don’t be silly, cub, that’s murder.” “I was walking by the car earlier and heard them. The man said he bought a million-dollar accident insurance policy on you.” A million dollars? I knew that was a lot, a lot of money. It could buy countless steaming hot meat buns, it could buy Dad a new car, it could make my stepmom stop calling me a money-losing burden. So, I was worth that much money. But I had to die for that money to become real. Tears immediately welled up, scalding hot, falling onto the snow and melting little pits. The big tiger got anxious. It stuck out its rough tongue, wanting to lick my face, but afraid the barbs would scratch me, it only used its paw to gently bat at my cotton jacket. “Roar—Don’t cry! Tigers hate it most when cubs cry!” “Come on, come on, let’s go find that sucker zookeeper. He just finished cutting our beef and is probably bored out of his mind right now.” In the distance, Dad’s car window rolled down a crack again. He seemed very dissatisfied that the tigers were only circling me and hadn’t lunged to tear me apart. He honked the horn twice. The sharp honking was exceptionally grating in the empty, snowy field; he was trying to anger the tigers. The big tiger’s ears flattened, a low growl rumbling in its throat. “Roar—You got a death wish, don’t you?” It turned around, faced the SUV, and let out an earth-shattering roar. “ROAR—!!!” The sound shook the snow off the tree branches, sending it rustling down. The two people in the car were clearly terrified. The car jerked violently, then, as if running for its life, the driver slammed on the gas and it shot forward, disappearing around the bend. They really left. Leaving me all alone with a group of fierce beasts. I had completely become a child without a father. The big tiger turned back, its tail gently sweeping across the back of my hand. “Roar—Alright, the trash has been taken out. Get on, Tiger Lord will carry you to the good life.” It lowered its massive body, gesturing for me to climb onto its back. I sniffled, my freezing fingers grabbing onto its thick fur. So warm. Warmer than my bed at home. 3 The big tiger carried me on its back, familiarly navigating around a rockery and squeezing through a hidden iron gate. Walking down a long corridor, a glass room with heating appeared ahead. It was the zookeeper’s break room. A young man was lying back in a rocking chair with his legs crossed, holding a game controller, fighting intensely on the TV screen. The room was very warm and smelled of braised beef noodles. The big tiger pushed the door open with its head. The man didn’t even turn his head, his voice lazy. “Rex, didn’t I just feed you? Here to mooch some heat again? How many times have I told you, no turning into a mythical spirit after the park closes. Opening doors yourself, what’s that about?” The big tiger ignored him, walking straight to the rocking chair and tilting its body. I slid off its back and fell onto an expensive-looking rug. The man was right at a critical moment in his game when he caught a glimpse of a dirty shadow out of the corner of his eye. His hand shook, and a massive “GAME OVER” appeared on the screen. “Holy shit!” He sprang up from the rocking chair, staring wide-eyed at me, then looked at the big tiger, who put on a completely innocent face. “Rex, you… turning into a mythical spirit is one thing, but how the hell did you start child trafficking?” He crouched down, his line of sight level with mine. This older brother was really handsome; his eyes were like peach blossoms, bright and clear. But he looked a bit fierce, his brow furrowed tightly. “Kid, who are you? How did you get in here?” I shrank my neck, wanting to hide behind the big tiger. But the big tiger used its tail to block my retreat, pushing me toward the man. “Roar—Lucas, catch! This is the daughter I found for you!” “Roar—This kid has had a hard life, her own dad tried to feed her to us tigers. Isn’t your family rich? Raising a cub won’t be any trouble for you.” Of course, the man couldn’t understand tiger talk. He only saw this tiger, usually aloof to the point of death, now acting like a salesman, shoving a child as dirty as a little mud monkey into his arms. I kept my head down, looking at my canvas shoes with holes in them, my voice as quiet as a mosquito. “Hello, Uncle… My name is Chloe.” “My dad… left me behind.” Lucas’s frown deepened. He reached out and pinched my chin, forcing me to look up. His fingers were long and warm, smelling nicely of soap. “Left you behind?” He glanced at my face, purple from the freezing cold, and the faint blue and purple bruises on my neck. His eyes instantly darkened. “Left you in the tiger enclosure?” I nodded, the tears unable to stop falling again. “Dad said the car broke down, told me to push it… and then he left.” Lucas took a deep breath, swearing under his breath. But he quickly reined in his hostility. He turned, grabbed the braised beef noodles from the table, thought for a second, and put them back down. He rummaged through the cabinets, found an expensive box of imported milk and a bag of chocolate cookies, and shoved them into my hands. “Eat something first.” “I fucking hate animals like that the most.” He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, his tone becoming incredibly cold. “Hey, old man, stop rushing me to come home.” “I’ve run into a situation. Someone just tried to murder a child right under my nose.” “Pull the park’s security footage for me, and also, contact the Chief of Police. I need to report a crime.” 4 Lucas was no ordinary zookeeper. Rex told me that. Rex was lying on the rug, licking his paws while “gossiping” with me. “Roar—This kid’s name is Lucas Hayes, he’s just here because he’s bored out of his mind. The corporation his family owns could probably buy ten zoos like this.” “Last time the zoo director saw him, he was bowing and scraping.” “Stick with him, and you’ll be eating the finest food from now on, meat buns every day.” I hugged the warm milk, taking small sips. My stomach felt warm, and my body felt warm too. Lucas took off his expensive-looking down jacket and wrapped me up like a burrito. He was sitting in front of the monitors, replaying the footage over and over. On the screen, Dad’s car sped away, my tiny figure fell into the snow, surrounded by tigers slowly closing in. Even knowing the tigers hadn’t planned to eat me, watching it on the monitor was still heart-stopping. Lucas’s fists cracked as he clenched them. “Is this something a fucking human does?” He looked back at me, his eyes carrying a bit more pity, no longer as fierce as before. “Kid, don’t be afraid.” “Since Rex brought you back, I’m taking charge of this.” Just then, a commotion came from the door. There were the sounds of a man and a woman crying hysterically, mixed with police sirens. “Officers! Please save my daughter!” “My daughter is still in there! If she gets eaten by tigers, I won’t want to live anymore!” It was my stepmom’s voice. She cried so loudly, it sounded like she was truly heartbroken. My dad’s voice chimed in too, full of anxiety and remorse. “It’s all my fault! The car suddenly lost control! How could I just leave Chloe all alone!” “My Chloe!” Hearing their voices, my body instinctively trembled. That was fear carved into my bones. Rex immediately stood up, a threatening low growl rumbling in his throat. Lucas put a hand on Rex’s head, a cold sneer curving his lips. “Quite the performance.” He stood up, scooped me off the floor in one fluid motion, and settled me in his arms. His embrace was broad and tall. I had never been held like this before. “Let’s go watch a show.” Carrying me, he strode out of the break room. Rex followed closely behind us like a majestic bodyguard. A crowd had gathered at the entrance to the tiger enclosure. My dad and stepmom were kneeling on the ground, crying their eyes out to several police officers, surrounded by tourists holding up their phones to record. When they saw Lucas come out carrying me, with a massive, unchained tiger walking beside him. The crowd instantly fell silent, erupting in gasps of terror. My dad and stepmom’s crying abruptly stopped. They stared wide-eyed at me, like they were looking at a ghost. My stepmom’s expression froze for a second, then immediately morphed into an exaggerated look of tears of joy as she lunged toward me. “Chloe! Oh my god! You’re still alive!” “You scared Mom to death! Come let Mom hug you!” She reached out her hands—hands with bright red nail polish that had pinched my arms countless times in the past. I instinctively shrank back into Lucas’s arms. Lucas turned his body slightly, dodging my stepmom’s hands. He looked down at the two of them from his towering height, his eyes looking at them like two piles of garbage. “Lady, save the acting. The Oscars owe you a golden statue.” My stepmom’s hands froze mid-air, her face turning red and white. My dad stood up, pointing angrily at Lucas. “Who are you? Give me back my daughter!” “I need to take her to the hospital for a checkup! She must have been terrified! I’m suing your zoo for compensation!” Lucas let out a light laugh, dripping with utter contempt. “Compensation?” “We definitely need to settle the score.” He looked down at me in his arms, his voice suddenly turning gentle. “Chloe, tell the police officers, what just happened?” “Don’t be afraid. With me and this big cat here, no one dares to touch you.” All eyes were focused on me. My dad’s eyes were full of warning and threats, hinting that if I spoke out of turn, I’d pay for it when we got home. My stepmom’s hand secretly reached into her bag, as if trying to grab something. Just then, the usually silent Rex suddenly took a step forward and let out a low roar toward my stepmom’s bag. “Roar—The stun baton is in that bad woman’s bag!” I jerked my head up, looking at my stepmom’s bag. Only I could understand Rex’s words, but to everyone else, it looked like a tiger getting angry. Terrified, my stepmom’s hand shook, and the bag dropped to the ground. Clatter. A black anti-wolf stun baton rolled out of the bag, still sparking with a faint electric current. The crowd erupted in an uproar. Lucas’s eyes instantly turned as sharp as a knife. Holding me, he took a step toward my dad and stepmom. “Carrying a stun baton to a zoo?” “Or is it… something you use specifically to terrorize a child?” “Want to take the child back? Sure.” Lucas pulled a black, gold-embossed business card from his pocket and threw it at my dad’s face. “I am Lucas Hayes of the Hayes Group, and I am protecting this child.” “If you want to take her, ask my legal team first, and then ask…” He patted the head of Rex beside him. “If he agrees.” Rex cooperatively opened his massive jaws, revealing a mouthful of fangs. “Roar—Dare to try and snatch the daughter I’ve chosen? I’ll bite you to death!” My dad’s face instantly went deathly pale, not because of the tiger, but because of the words “Hayes Group.” Around here, the Hayes Group was a force that could cover the sky with one hand. My destiny changed from that very moment. 5 The police quickly brought the situation under control. But my dad was clearly a seasoned operator. He quickly adjusted his expression, looking aggrieved. “Mr. Hayes, right? Even if you’re rich, you have to be reasonable.” “The stun baton is for my wife’s self-defense.” “As for leaving the child behind, that was a pure accident! The car malfunctioned and suddenly accelerated, we couldn’t control it!” “We love our child! I am her biological father, would I harm her?” He wept tearfully, even pulling out his phone to show the lock screen, a picture of our “happy” family. That picture was taken under duress; my smile in the photo was incredibly stiff. The onlookers wavered a bit. After all, the concept that “there are no bad parents in the world” is deeply rooted in many people’s minds. “Right, maybe it really was a misunderstanding?” “The child isn’t hurt, and the parents look so anxious.” Lucas watched coldly, not saying a word, only tightening his grip on me. He seemed to be waiting for something. Just then, Rex suddenly paced anxiously in a circle, his tail whipping the ground. He nudged my leg with his head, a rapid rumbling coming from his throat. “Roar—Cub! There’s something else in that car!” “Before that guy got out of the car earlier, he pulled the memory card from the dashcam and stuffed it into the crack under the passenger seat!” “That card has the evidence of them discussing murdering you for the insurance payout!” My heart jolted violently. I grabbed Lucas’s collar, summoned all my courage, and whispered into his ear: “Uncle Lucas…” “Dad hid the dashcam memory card under the passenger seat.” Lucas’s eyes lit up fiercely. He didn’t need to ask how I knew; he chose to trust me unconditionally. “Officers!” Lucas shouted loudly. “Since this father claims the car malfunctioned, it just so happens I know a thing or two about cars.” “To prove your innocence and find the cause of the malfunction, would it be too much to ask you to open the car door and let us inspect the dashcam?” My dad’s face instantly went pale, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. “That… that’s not necessary…” “Why isn’t it necessary?” Lucas pressed closer. “Or is it because you have a guilty conscience?” The police also sensed something was wrong. “Sir, please cooperate with the investigation.” Under the firm demands of the police, the car door was opened. My dad was still making a last-ditch effort, “The dashcam broke earlier, it didn’t record anything…” But Lucas headed straight for the passenger side, reached his long arm down, and precisely pulled out a black memory card from the seat crevice. He held the card up, waving it at my dad, whose face had turned ash-gray. “Broken? Then what is this tightly hidden card?” “How about we play it right now so everyone can hear?” My dad’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground. My stepmom screamed, trying to lunge forward and snatch it, but was firmly pinned down by the police. Lucas didn’t immediately hand the card over to the police; instead, he looked at me first. His gaze was gentle yet firm, as if injecting me with strength. “Chloe, do you want to listen? Listen to what they actually said.” I looked at my dad slumped on the ground; right now, he looked like a beaten dog. I shook my head. I knew what was on it. Nothing more than “how much money we can get if this kid dies,” or “why hasn’t she been eaten yet,” things like that. I didn’t need to confirm it anymore. “I don’t want to hear it.” I looked at Lucas and offered a faint smile. “Uncle, I don’t want him to be my dad anymore.” “I want to go with you.” Lucas smiled. That smile was warmer than the winter sun. “Okay.” “From today on, you are my, Lucas Hayes’s, daughter.” “If anyone dares to touch a hair on your head, I’ll make them regret ever being born.” Rex snorted loudly in satisfaction beside us. “Roar—That’s right! Finding a good dad saves you twenty years of hardship!” “From now on, just say you’re my goddaughter! The monkeys, bears, and lions in this park will all be your underlings!” Resting on Lucas’s shoulder, I watched the police load my dad and stepmom into the police car. The wind and snow seemed to have stopped. This winter didn’t seem so cold anymore. 6 Lucas brought me to a villa near the zoo. The villa was massive, like a small castle, but it was empty inside, with only a few simple pieces of furniture. “This is a place I stay occasionally; it’s relatively quiet.” He placed me on a soft sofa and cranked the heat up to maximum. “Rest here for a bit while I go get you something to eat.” He turned into the kitchen, and soon, a cacophony of clattering sounds emerged from within. I sat on the sofa, hugging my knees, feeling a bit lost. It was so big here, so quiet, and… so unfamiliar. Rex couldn’t follow us out, and I didn’t have a single soul to talk to. I wondered if this handsome uncle would also suddenly change his face, just like my dad. After a while, Lucas came out holding a bowl of… something black and mushy. He looked a bit embarrassed. “Um… I’m not very good at cooking. How about we order takeout?” He pulled out his phone, expertly opened a delivery app, and handed the phone to me. “Order whatever you want to eat.” The screen was filled with dazzling pictures of food: burgers, fried chicken, pizza, strawberry cake… These were all things I had only seen on TV. I swallowed hard but didn’t dare reach out to tap. Dad used to say these were junk foods, and only disobedient children ate them. Besides, they must be very expensive. I shook my head and pushed the phone back. “I’m not hungry.” Lucas looked at me, his frown returning. He didn’t impatiently call me “picky” like Dad did. Instead, he sighed and put the phone away. He sat next to me, his voice very soft. “Chloe, listen to me.” “From now on, this is your home. You can eat what you want, play with what you want, do what you want.” “You don’t need to walk on eggshells around anyone, including me.” “You are my daughter, and providing for you is my natural duty.” He ruffled my hair; his movements were clumsy but very warm. “So, tell me now, what do you want to eat? Uncle… no, Dad will buy it for you.” The word “Dad,” coming from his mouth, felt entirely different from when my biological father said it. My nose stung, and my tears fell again. I pointed at the prettiest picture on the screen and whispered. “I want to eat… that cake with strawberries.” “Okay.” Lucas placed the order immediately, ordering three different flavors all at once. That night, I had sweet buttercream cake for the first time. Lucas sat across from me, watching me eat, not taking a single bite himself. He seemed even happier than I was. At night, he took me to a bedroom on the second floor. The room was pink, with a giant princess bed piled high with all sorts of stuffed animals. “This will be your room from now on.” “Just make do for tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to buy the things you like.” I lay on the bed, which was so soft I sank into it, covered with a quilt that smelled like sunshine. Lucas didn’t leave immediately. He moved a chair to the side of the bed and told me a story. He told me the story of “The Little Mermaid.” His voice was very nice, very gentle. Listening to him, I fell asleep. It was the most peaceful sleep I’ve had since I could remember. 7 The next day, Lucas really did take me shopping at the mall. It was my first time in such a beautiful place. There were sparkling lights everywhere, and it smelled wonderful. Holding my hand, Lucas walked straight into a children’s clothing store. The clothes in the store were as pretty as princess dresses. The sales associate was very enthusiastic and brought me several dresses to try on. I put on a pink tulle dress and stood in front of the mirror, scarcely believing it was me. The little girl in the mirror was still thin and small, but she looked clean and pretty, no longer that dusty little mud monkey. Lucas leaned against the doorway, looking at me, his eyes filled with a smile. “Beautiful.” He took out that black card and said to the sales associate. “This entire row, plus the ones she just tried on, wrap them all up.” The sales associate’s eyes lit up, looking at Lucas with admiration. I was startled and quickly grabbed the hem of Lucas’s jacket. “Dad… that’s too much… it’ll be very expensive…” At home, my stepmom always called me a money-losing burden. I was afraid Lucas would also resent me for spending money. Lucas crouched down, bringing his eye level to mine. He looked seriously into my eyes and said, word by word. “Chloe, remember, you are my daughter, not a money-losing burden.” “You deserve the best things in the world; no amount of money is too much.” “From now on, you are not allowed to say the word ‘expensive’ again, do you hear me?” His expression was very serious, but I wasn’t scared at all. My heart felt warm, as if it had been filled with something. That day, Lucas truly bought me a mountain of things. Beautiful dresses, cute shoes, all sorts of toys and snacks, filling up the trunk. Back at the villa, he piled everything in the living room and let me open the presents myself. I sat among the pile of gifts, opening box after box, feeling like I was in a dream. Lucas sat nearby, watching me and smiling. His phone buzzed. He picked it up, glanced at it, and his face suddenly darkened. “You play for a bit, Dad has to step outside to take a call.” He walked into the yard, and I could see him through the floor-to-ceiling windows. His expression was very cold, completely different from his usual self. I felt a little scared and quietly walked over to the window. In the yard, a sparrow was perched on a branch, preening its feathers. I heard it complaining in its chirpy voice. “Chirp! That man looks so scary!” “Chirp, chirp! He just said on the phone, ‘No one touches my people’, so fierce!” “Chirp! Looks like his grandmother is coming? Sounds like a very formidable old lady!” Old lady? My heart leaped into my throat. Is it Lucas’s grandmother? Is she… going to dislike me?

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I went to the hospital for my stomach issues, but the doctor held my B-ultrasound report with trembling hands: “Sir, you are pregnant.” I slammed my hand on the desk. “Bullshit! I’m a Beta! How the hell could I be pregnant?!” The doctor swallowed hard. “It’s highly likely… the father of the child is a top-tier Enigma, who forced your reproductive cavity to undergo a secondary development.” My vision went completely dark. The only Enigma in the entire city… Other than that bastard I took advantage of and slept with after he was drugged, who else could it be?! 1 The boldest thing I had ever done in my entire life was sleeping with Arthur Sterling. Afterward, I threw a fifty-dollar bill at his face and threw out a parting remark: “Mediocre technique. Take this money, buy some supplements, and try to last a bit longer next time.” That was Arthur Sterling. The untouchable heir to the city’s elite. A man whose influence reached the heavens and whose methods were notoriously ruthless. I figured if I was going to die, it was a worthy way to go. If you asked me now whether I regretted it, I could only tell you that my guts were green with regret. Especially right now. I pinched the lab report, hiding in a stall in the hospital bathroom, not even daring to breathe too loudly. And the report in my hand clearly stated two glaring words: [Early Pregnancy]. Below that was a line of small print: [Gestational age: 5 weeks. Fetus: Visible.] Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m a Beta! Sure, I might be a little bit more delicate-looking and have a slightly slighter build than average, but I am a bona fide Beta! I don’t even have pheromones! How the hell did I get pregnant? Asexual reproduction?! I tried to lie to myself and say it was a misdiagnosis. But my body’s recent reactions were far too honest. Lethargy, nausea, and the inability to stand even the slightest smell of greasy food. And the most fatal symptom of all: I had started craving the scent of Arthur Sterling like a madman. 2 Five weeks ago. It was a dark and windy night. My trouble-making, illegitimate half-brother, Oliver Vance, decided to drug Arthur in a desperate attempt to climb the social ladder. But the idiot lost his nerve and didn’t dare deliver himself to Arthur’s door. Terrified Arthur would kill him, he cried and begged me to go “save the day.” I was the unfavored, marginalized son of the Vance family, and I usually served as the designated scapegoat. I figured I’d just go drag the idiot out and bring him home. That would be it. Who knew that when I walked in, Arthur would already be on the verge of a total rampage? As a Beta, I logically shouldn’t have felt anything. But for some reason that night, my legs went weak the second I stepped inside. Arthur’s eyes were bloodshot. He looked at me like a starving wolf looking at a piece of meat. He called my name with a hoarse voice: “Silas?” At the time, I foolishly mocked him, oblivious to the danger. “Wow, Mr. Sterling, you sure know how to play hard. Need me to dial 911 for you?” The very next second. I was pinned to the carpet. I had practiced MMA for a few years, but in the face of absolute power, I was like a helpless little chick. “Let go of me! Arthur, are you crazy?! I’m a Beta! I don’t even have the right equipment for this!” I struggled desperately, kicking and punching. Arthur couldn’t hear a word. He bit down hard on the back of my neck—right on the flesh where a gland wasn’t even supposed to exist. It hurt so much I wanted to curse his mother. And then… Then came an entire night of nightmares. I couldn’t even remember how I managed to escape in the end. I only remembered that right before I left, to maintain my last shred of dignity, I pulled a fifty-dollar bill from my pocket with a shaking hand and tossed it onto his nightstand. Looking back now… That fifty bucks might just end up being the price I paid for my own life. 3 Footsteps echoed outside the bathroom. “Is the young Mr. Vance still inside?” It was Arthur. I held my breath, clamping a hand tightly over my mouth. Why the hell was this bastard here? Did he know I was pregnant with his… whatever this was? Impossible. I registered at the hospital under a fake name. The voice of a bodyguard came from outside. “Mr. Sterling, we saw Mr. Silas go into this room just now.” “Take the door down.” Me: “???” Hey, buddy, this is a hospital bathroom! Seeing that they were actually about to break it down, I braced myself, hit the flush button, and casually opened the stall door, pretending nothing was wrong. “What’s going on? What’s going on?” I bluffed while adjusting my belt. “What kind of fetish is this, Mr. Sterling? You like watching people in the bathroom?” Arthur stood in front of the sinks. He was dressed in a sleek black suit. Broad shoulders, narrow waist. That face of his was infuriatingly handsome, but so cold it made people shiver. He was absentmindedly playing with a lighter in his hand. When he saw me come out, he didn’t even blink. “Silas, what are you hiding from?” I felt guilty, but I forced myself to act tough. “Who’s hiding? Can’t a guy have a weak bladder?” Arthur’s gaze swept over my flat stomach. “A weak bladder?” He gave a half-smile. “In the gastroenterology department?” I froze. How did this guy even know which department I was in? “Uh… I ate something bad. Puking and the runs.” I let out an awkward laugh, just wanting to slip away. “Well, you look busy, Mr. Sterling. I’ll be going now.” I had barely taken a step. A large hand shot out in front of me. He slammed me directly against the tiled wall. Arthur leaned in. That familiar scent of cedar washed over me like a tidal wave. Damn it. My legs went weak again. I even felt a shameful urge to… rub myself against him. Was this the instinct of pregnancy?! This was way too humiliating! “Haven’t seen you in a month.” Arthur looked down at me, his tone deliberate. “Avoiding me on purpose?” My entire body tensed instantly. “Of course not! Hilarious. Why would I purposely avoid you?!” After we finished that night, I had run away immediately. Later, Oliver had gone into the room to take my place. So there was no way Arthur could know it was me. “Silas.” He asked suddenly, “Were you actually at that hotel that night too?” Was he trying to trick me? I shoved him away, reacting like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Are you sick, Arthur?! We’re sworn enemies! Why the hell would I go to a hotel you were at? Am I some kind of pervert stalking you?” Arthur lowered his eyes, hiding the flash of disappointment in them. “I see…” His gaze landed on the crumpled lab report clutched in my fist. “What’s in your hand?” My reflexes kicked in, and I hid my hand behind my back. “Toilet paper to wipe my ass!” Arthur: “…” He frowned in disgust and finally took a half-step back. “You’d better be on time for the Vance family banquet tonight.” “Your brother Oliver caused trouble. If you don’t show up, I don’t mind going directly to the Vance family for answers.” With that, he turned and walked away. At the door, he stopped. “Also,” he glanced back at me, “eat less cold food. It’s bad for your stomach.” “Get lost!” I leaned against the wall and let out a long breath. My legs were still shaking. I couldn’t live like this. 4 The cab pulled up to the entrance of the narrow alley in the inner-city slums. The meter read twenty-five dollars. Wincing at the cost, I scanned the QR code to pay and pushed the door open. The cold wind, carrying the stench of years-old garbage from the alleyway, hit me in the face. My stomach instantly turned upside down. I leaned against a telephone pole and dry-heaved twice, but nothing came up. To save money for that damn specialist consultation, I hadn’t even drank a sip of water since morning. I climbed six flights of stairs, pulled out my keys, and opened my door. Once inside, I collapsed onto the bed. Honestly, after that night, I was terrified too. Terrified that Arthur would actually trace it back to me. After all, before Oliver went into the room, I had leveraged my status as the Vance family’s young master to mess with Arthur quite a few times. So, I had played along with the narrative. When Richard, my father, pointed at my nose and called me “shameless” and accused me of “instructing my brother,” not only did I refuse to kneel and admit fault, but I also laughed out loud. In front of the whole family, I smashed everything in sight. I even pointed at Richard’s trophy wife and said, “Keep your son on a tighter leash. Next time you use those dirty drugs, remember to save some for yourself. Who knows, if you manage to get knocked up, you might sell for a good price!” It was highly effective. I didn’t even have to pack a bag. I was thrown out the front door by the bodyguards that very night. Richard threatened to disown me and froze all my cards. It was exactly what I wanted. As long as I left that circle, I was just an ordinary, poor Beta. No one would care if a stray dog got a little fatter, or… if it got pregnant. This was the freedom I wanted. Even if the price was living in poverty. But despite all my calculations, I never factored in Arthur Sterling as a variable. Who would have thought? I’m a freaking Beta. Not only did I get screwed. I actually got knocked up. 5 My phone suddenly buzzed. It yanked my thoughts back from my memories. A transfer notification popped up on the screen, followed by a text from an unknown number. 【A thousand dollars. Go buy a decent suit. 7 PM, my car will be waiting at the end of your alley.】 It was that same deadpan tone. Like typing an extra word would kill him. I stared at the thousand dollars, a whirlwind of emotions in my chest. Do I go? Or do I stay? If I don’t go, that maniac Arthur might actually expose what Oliver did. Then Richard, to save his own skin, would definitely throw me under the bus to take the fall. But if I go, my stomach… I looked down at my still-flat abdomen. It had only been five weeks. It shouldn’t be visible. As long as I don’t throw up, as long as I don’t faint, as long as I stay far away from that Enigma and his damn intoxicating scent… It should be fine. I gritted my teeth and accepted the money. Since I couldn’t hide, I might as well go. I also wanted to see exactly what Arthur was planning. Why did he insist on dragging me into this? I struggled out of bed, rummaged through my closet, and found the old suit I was wearing the day I was kicked out. It was a bit wrinkled. While ironing it, I declared war on my reflection in the mirror: “Hold the line, Silas. You are a Beta. You don’t have pheromones. You just have a bad stomach.” “As long as you deny it to the grave, what’s Arthur going to do? Cut you open?” At 7 PM sharp. The black Maybach parked punctually at the entrance of the grimy alley. The window rolled down a crack, revealing Arthur’s cold, sharp profile. “Get in.” 6 The car stopped smoothly at the gates of the Vance estate. The moment the doors unlocked, I heard the sound of hurried footsteps. A figure in a pristine white suit came practically flying out. It was Oliver. You had to hand it to Arthur’s prestige. The car hadn’t even fully parked before the main character rushed out to welcome him. Oliver wore a practiced, shy, yet thrilled smile, making a beeline for the rear door: “Arthur, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you for so long…” The door swung open. But the person who stepped out was me. I gripped the car door, fighting the urge to gag, and forced a smile at his frozen face: “Good evening, little brother.” Oliver looked like he had swallowed a fly. One second he was a delicate, blooming white flower, and the next, his features practically contorted out of place. His eyes widened, his shrill voice spiking instantly: “Silas?! Why is it you? Why are you in Arthur’s car?!” “Didn’t Dad kick you out? You have the nerve to come back?” Before I could answer, the door on the other side opened. Arthur stepped out with his long legs. The temperature in the air instantly dropped a few degrees. Oliver’s face-changing skills activated once again. He immediately reeled in his vitriol, shifting into the image of a startled, innocent deer. With red-rimmed eyes, he leaned closer: “Arthur… I thought you were coming alone. My brother was kicked out of the house, after all. He’s dressed like this to a banquet… I was just worried he’d embarrass you…” As he spoke, he released a subtle, almost imperceptible trace of pheromones. It was a sickeningly sweet gardenia scent. Gag. The acid in my stomach instantly surged to my throat. In the past, I just thought his scent was tacky. But now that I was pregnant, this smell was a literal biological weapon. I covered my mouth, my face turning deathly pale as I stumbled two steps back, leaning against the car and gasping for air. It was too strong. Arthur cast a cold glance at Oliver, ignoring his fawning entirely, and turned to look at me: “Feeling sick again?” I waved my hand, unable to speak, terrified that if I opened my mouth, I’d throw up. Seeing Arthur looking at me, Oliver’s face twisted with jealousy. He said sarcastically: “Arthur, ignore him. He’s just faking it. He used to pretend to be sick at home to get sympathy all the time. His body is actually stronger than a bull’s. He’s just a thick-skinned Beta…” “Shut up.” Arthur cut him off coldly. Oliver choked, stunned. He bit his lower lip pitifully. “Arthur, why are you being so mean to me… That morning, you clearly…” That morning? My eyelid twitched as I caught the keyword. Oliver really did go into the room? Arthur narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping over Oliver, his tone heavy with implication: “We definitely need to settle the score for what happened that night.” Oliver’s face paled. His eyes darted around nervously, but he stubbornly stood his ground: “Arthur, I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have taken advantage of you while you were drunk… but I just liked you too much…” I listened, completely dumbfounded. Wow. This guy really had the guts to claim it. He didn’t even have a single bite mark on his body, and he dared to take the credit? “Liked me?” Arthur let out a soft laugh, though his eyes held zero amusement. “Liked me enough to drug me?” Oliver’s legs gave out, and he almost dropped to his knees. “No… I didn’t… it was…” His panicked gaze suddenly snapped to me, and he pointed a finger in my direction, screaming: “It was him! It was Silas! He gave me the drugs! He said as long as the deed was done, I could marry into the Sterling family! Arthur, you have to believe me, I was tricked by him too!” I laughed out of sheer anger. I was just standing by the car, and the blame literally fell from the sky. My anger actually pushed my nausea back down. I stood up straight and spoke slowly: “Oliver, a brain is a wonderful thing. It’s a shame you don’t have one.” “If I actually had drugs, why wouldn’t I just use them on myself? What benefit do I get from throwing you into Arthur’s bed? Did I think my life in this crappy house was too comfortable and I just wanted some excitement?” Oliver was speechless, his face flushing bright red: “You… you’re just jealous that I’m an Omega! You’re a useless Beta, nobody wants…” “Enough.” Arthur impatiently interrupted the farce. He walked up to me, looking down with a probing gaze: “You just said, if it were you, you would have used them on yourself?” My heart skipped a beat. Crap. I talked too fast. I braced myself and forcefully spun the narrative back: “It was a hypothetical! Do you know what a hypothetical is?! I’m not a masochist, why would I want to be with a human pile-driver like…” Before I could finish, Arthur’s face visibly darkened. Oliver, listening from the sidelines, was completely lost, but he caught the gist and shrieked: “Silas, what do you mean? Are you calling Arthur a…” “Let’s go inside.” Arthur didn’t give me another chance to speak. He grabbed my wrist. “Since we’re here, let’s not make a fool of ourselves at the door.” He dragged me toward the entrance. Left standing there, Oliver was unwilling to give up. He jogged after us, trying to hook his arm around Arthur’s other arm: “Arthur, wait for me…” “Get lost.” The low growl carried the terrifying pressure unique to an Enigma. Oliver froze instantly, his face deathly pale. It was as if an invisible hand was choking him. Even his gardenia pheromones shrank back in terror. I also felt my legs go weak from the pressure. The little cub in my belly seemed to sense something, twitching excitedly. It actually moved. I clearly felt a spasm in my lower abdomen. Fuck. What kind of monster was this? It could move at five weeks?! Dragged by Arthur, I stumbled into the banquet hall. The heating in the grand hall was turned up high, mingling with various perfumes and the cloying scent of sweet pastries. The moment I stepped inside, the churning in my stomach that had just settled down roared back to life. “Ugh…” I couldn’t help it. I let out a muffled groan and bent double. Arthur paused and looked back at me. I didn’t care about his expression anymore. I shook off his hand, covered my mouth, and bolted for the restrooms in the corner. “Silas!” Arthur’s voice echoed behind me. I ignored him completely. Right now, even if the King of Heaven himself came down, he couldn’t stop me from puking. 7 Charging into a stall, I hugged the toilet, feeling like I was about to throw up my own bile. Is this what pregnancy is? Fuck pregnancy. This was a literal trial by fire. I puked until tears and snot streamed down my face. Cold sweat drenched my body, and my legs felt like wet noodles. I couldn’t even stand, forced to kneel pathetically on the tiles. I finally managed to catch my breath. I flushed, pushed the door open, and stumbled to the sinks. The person in the mirror looked like a ghoul. My face was as white as paper, my lips lacked any color, yet the corners of my eyes were shockingly red from the violent vomiting. I splashed a handful of cold water on my face. It was bone-chilling. I finally felt a bit more alive. Just as I reached for a paper towel, I heard the sound of leather shoes clicking against the floor behind me. There was an arrogant swagger to the steps. “Silas, how much longer are you going to keep up this act?” I looked through the mirror. Oliver was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, covering his nose with a look of utter disgust. Even though it was just the two of us in the bathroom, he still carried himself with the haughty air of a wealthy aristocrat. “Act?” I shook the water off my hands, leaned against the counter, and gave a weak, mocking smile. “What am I acting about? Acting like I’m throwing up for your entertainment? You’ve got some weird tastes.” Oliver sneered and took two steps closer: “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. Showing weakness in front of Arthur, acting pathetic to gain his sympathy?” “Silas, you should take a good look in the mirror. You’re a Beta that no one wants. Do you really think a top-tier Enigma like Arthur would ever look twice at you?” There was that sickeningly sweet gardenia scent again. As he stepped closer, it grew thicker. My brows furrowed tightly. The nausea I had just suppressed began to stir again. “Stay away from me.” I turned my head and held my breath. “Your scent is giving me a migraine.” Oliver’s face changed, acting like his tail had been stepped on: “You’re disgusted by me? This is the pheromone of a top-tier Omega! It’s something a defective Beta like you could never possess in your entire life!” As if trying to prove a point, he deliberately released an even thicker cloud of pheromones. I was going to lose my mind. This wasn’t a pheromone; this was an emetic. I still couldn’t understand how a Beta like me had become so sensitive to pheromones. “Ugh—” I couldn’t hold it in. I turned toward the sink and started dry-heaving again. “You!” Oliver was furious. “Silas, you are truly disgusting! How dare you throw up at my pheromones…” Before he could finish his sentence. His voice suddenly cut off. Followed closely by a suppressed, agonizing sound squeezed out from his throat: “Ugh—” I froze. I even forgot to wipe my mouth, turning my head stiffly. The arrogant Oliver from a moment ago was now covering his mouth tightly, his whole body curled over like a shrimp. His face was flushed red, the veins on his neck bulging, his other hand gripping the edge of the sink in a death grip. “Ugh…” Another sound. He couldn’t hold it back this time. He shoved me aside, commandeered the sink next to mine, and puked his guts out. It was even louder than my episode. I was dumbfounded. My brain went blank, like I had been struck by lightning. I threw up because I was carrying Arthur’s seed in my belly. Why the hell was he throwing up? Did he eat something bad too? Or… A highly absurd thought popped into my head, making my scalp tingle. I stared at Oliver’s stomach, which, although flat, he was instinctively guarding with his hand. “Are you…” My voice trembled. “Are you pregnant?” 8 Oliver threw up until tears welled in his eyes. Hearing my words, his body violently stiffened. That reaction. There’s a ghost. There is absolutely a ghost here. He stood up in a panic, turned on the faucet, and haphazardly splashed his face. His eyes darted everywhere, refusing to look at me. “What nonsense are you talking about! I… I was just grossed out by your vomit!” “Who’s as filthy as you, having those kinds of thoughts in your head!” Stubborn. I narrowed my eyes, my brain working in overdrive. Five weeks ago, that night, it was just me and Arthur in the room. I was entirely certain Arthur only touched me. If Oliver was actually pregnant… Then there were only two possibilities. Either he cuckolded Arthur, and this baby wasn’t Arthur’s at all. Or, he was faking it. To solidify the lie that he was the person from that night, and to secure his place in the Sterling family, he was faking morning sickness! Regardless of which it was. This was a fatal piece of leverage against him. Suddenly, I wasn’t panicked anymore. I actually wanted to laugh. “Is that so?” “Just grossed out?” “Perfect. How about I take you for a blood test? An ultrasound?” “Or… should I call Arthur in here, and let him see how his ‘lover’ is throwing up just as enthusiastically as a useless Beta like me?” Oliver’s face went deathly pale. “Don’t you dare!” He growled, trying to sound tough but failing miserably. “Silas, if you dare say a single word in front of Arthur, I’ll have Dad break your legs!” “Tsk.” I chuckled softly. “Why so nervous? Good brother.” “I’m just concerned about your health. After all…” I leaned close to his ear and whispered so only the two of us could hear: “If this baby is born and doesn’t look like Arthur, that would be so awkward. Wouldn’t you agree?” Oliver reacted like I had poked his fatal weak spot. He violently swatted my hand away, his emotions spiraling out of control: “Shut up! Shut up! This is Arthur’s baby! I was the one there that night! Only me!” He broke. My eyes turned cold. I knew it. This idiot wasn’t just trying to steal my identity; he was actually trying to pass off a bastard child as Arthur’s. Or… he really was experiencing a hysterical pregnancy. Regardless of the truth, the waters were muddy beyond recognition now. I glanced down at my own flat stomach. I was speechless. What kind of situation was this? The actual pregnant person was terrified to admit it, while the fake one was puking his guts out, desperate to claim it. If Arthur knew the truth, he’d probably drown both of us in the river. Creak— The bathroom door was suddenly pushed open. The sound of steady footsteps echoed inside. Oliver and I turned our heads at the same time. Arthur stood in the doorway, a freshly lit cigarette pinched between his fingers. Through the swirling smoke, his deep eyes swept over the two of us. Finally, his gaze locked onto Oliver’s pale face. “Why have you been gone so long?” His voice was deep, devoid of any discernable emotion. “You’re both in here throwing up?”

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After my best friend finally got together with her crush, she introduced me to her crush’s young uncle. I had been single my entire life, accustomed to living alone, and originally wanted to refuse. But when I saw this usually bright, moon-like man sitting by the pool, dead drunk and vulnerable, my heart softened. I walked over, held out my hand, and said, “I’m just short of graduation credits. Want to go get a marriage certificate?” The man was stunned for a moment, but eventually placed his hand in mine. On an impulse, we got our marriage certificate and became husband and wife. For seven years, we treated each other with respect, to the envy of everyone. But only I knew. I never managed to touch the heart of this older man. So much so that after he died, he left his entire fortune to my best friend. And I, the one who should have been the rightful heir, got absolutely nothing. So, given a second chance at life, I no longer want to be the star trying to save the moon. I’m letting Arthur go, and I’m letting myself go. 1 “I’m sorry, but I already have someone I like.” As soon as the words left my mouth, a momentary dead silence fell over the dining table. Arthur paused in cutting Olivia’s steak, and Olivia herself looked up at me in shock. “Chloe, since when do you have someone you like? How come I didn’t know?” I set down my knife and fork, curling my lips into a smile: “I don’t really like talking about things that aren’t certain yet.” “I don’t believe you. You’re definitely just making up an excuse to get out of this.” Olivia immediately drew a conclusion. “Chloe, I’m not trying to put you down, but look, you’re twenty this year and still a virgin. Even though you are quite average-looking, once the lights are off and you’re in bed, everyone is the same.” “But you still don’t have a boyfriend. Do you know why?” She spoke softly, as if she were genuinely trying to analyze my situation. In my past life, I was too stupid to hear that while some words seemed well-intentioned, they were actually meant to belittle and mock me. But I still played along and asked, “Why?” “Because your standards are too high, of course!” “Look at my young uncle. He graduated from a top university and is now the CEO of the Vance Group. Who wouldn’t want to be his wife?” “If you weren’t my best friend, why would I ever set you up with my young uncle?” Her expression was triumphant. Arthur, sitting next to her, also smiled, a trace of helpless indulgence flashing in his eyes. “Are you that eager to find me an aunt?” Olivia huffed, “Don’t think I don’t know that the uncles and aunts want you to enter an arranged marriage. So I thought, rather than having a stranger be my young aunt, I’d rather it be my best friend.” “Why give the advantage to an outsider?” She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Arthur raised an eyebrow, seemingly acquiescing to Olivia’s behavior. And finally, he deigned to shift his gaze to me. To be honest, Arthur was the man I’ve seen wear a black sweater with the most ascetic restraint. The long sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, a Submariner watch on his wrist. I remembered it. It was a gift Olivia had bought for her boyfriend. When her boyfriend didn’t want it, she gave it to Arthur. Something someone else discarded, yet he held onto it longingly until the moment he died. Sometimes, I even marveled at his deep affection. “Chloe, what do you think?” he asked me. I took the last sip of my red wine and said softly: “I believe I said, I already have someone I like.” Arthur remained noncommittal. His long fingers picked up the knife and fork again, cut a piece of steak, and naturally fed it to Olivia. Only then did he continue leisurely: “But I don’t think I lack any competitive edge.” “As Olivia said, there are many who want to be Mrs. Vance. And if you choose me, there are only benefits for you, no drawbacks.” “As for this ‘liking’ you speak of—” He paused, “Chloe, how much do you think ‘liking’ someone is worth?” Courtesy before force. Arthur’s usual tactic in the business world. Unfortunately, I was no longer the Chloe from my past life, the one who took the initiative to walk towards him. After a moment, I raised the corners of my lips and smiled: “You’re right, ‘liking’ isn’t worth much.” “But there is one more thing. I’m sorry, Mr. Vance, but you are not my type.” 2 I didn’t stay to see Arthur’s final expression. After setting down my wine glass, I stood up and left. On my phone, Olivia’s messages kept pouring in. [Chloe, why were you acting crazy just now?] [You should be burning incense in gratitude that my uncle is willing to marry you. Have you looked in the mirror lately?] [I treated you as my best friend, and you? Is this how you repay me?!] I didn’t reply; I just blocked her. But surprisingly, this time Arthur took the initiative to add me. [I’m willing to marry you only because of Olivia. It doesn’t mean I actually have feelings for you.] [After we get married, I won’t interfere with your private life.] Staring at those words. A mocking curve appeared on my lips. Arthur really would compromise in any way possible for his little niece. But I had already served as their fig leaf for a lifetime, so this time, they could play by themselves. I shoved the phone back into my pocket. I hailed a cab back to the university. … In the office, my counselor handed me the application form for an internship at the border, his expression complex: “Chloe, are you really sure?” “The border isn’t like Capitol City. You should know how dangerous it is there. Your parents…” His voice trailed off. I took the application form and nodded: “I know, but I’ve already made my decision and won’t change it.” In my past life, my life was altered because of Arthur. God favored me and gave me a chance to choose again. Of course, I had to correct my mistakes. And walk the path I was meant to walk. The counselor looked at me, finally let out a soft sigh, and patted my shoulder: “In that case, I won’t say any more.” “Chloe, you are just like your parents, very outstanding.” I smiled back. My parents passed away five years ago. At that time, there was a sudden earthquake at the border. My parents were the most famous doctors in Capitol City. Upon receiving the call for support, they immediately rushed to the border. I saw them off at the door as usual, waiting for them to return. But in the end, I only waited for two urns of ashes. I was fifteen that year. My parents died in the aftershocks, becoming heroes, and I became an orphan. Actually, no one knows that I met Arthur before I met Olivia. When I was eighteen, I worked odd jobs to earn living expenses, occasionally delivering takeout for the small shop downstairs. The day I met Arthur, the first heavy rain fell in Capitol City. The road was misty, and I accidentally rear-ended a luxury car. I was thrown from my bike, my arms scraped, suffering multiple fractures. The pain made me unable to get up from the ground. More and more onlookers gathered on the road. No one was willing to help me up, and the driver of the luxury car didn’t get out either. Only Arthur reached out his hand to me and asked, “Does it hurt?” In that moment, my eyes instantly reddened. I cried uncontrollably. Because since I was fifteen, it had been a long time since anyone cared if I was hurting or tired. Arthur was the first, and also the last in my previous life. So, do I hate Arthur? I should. But I’m too tired to even love him anymore. 3 Back in my dorm, I started packing for my trip to the border in three days. Another intern traveling with me was named Liam Thorne. A friend request popped up. I sighed silently. Whether in Capitol City or later at the border, I always seemed unable to escape people related to Olivia. Olivia’s current boyfriend, her future fiancé, was Liam’s older brother, Julian Thorne. Julian was a notorious playboy. When he accepted Olivia’s confession and married her, many people in their circle didn’t believe it. A playboy settling down? Impossible. The countless speculations later on were all because Olivia had a good background. The Thorne and Vance families had been family friends for a century. Even just out of respect for Arthur, Julian would give Olivia some face. Not to mention, to pave the way for Olivia, Arthur’s dowry for her was exorbitant—shares, real estate, and luxury goods worth a billion dollars. Yet Julian still cheated. But the marriage was already a done deal. Olivia didn’t want a divorce, so she ran to Arthur every day crying. Arthur lost his temper once and put Julian in the hospital, but in return, Olivia gave him the cold shoulder for three days. The funny thing was, in the end, Arthur came to beg me. He asked me to put in a good word for him with Olivia. He loved Olivia so much, how lowly did he become? So lowly that one day he actually said: “Chloe, if you can get Olivia to forgive me, I can sleep with you and give you a child.” At that time, I really wanted to say, I don’t need a child. But I couldn’t say a word. That was the third year of our marriage, but in the end, we still didn’t sleep together. Because Olivia came over again. As soon as the doorbell rang, the usually composed Arthur ran to open the door in a panic. Olivia threw herself directly into his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck, crying until her shoulders shook: “Uncle, Julian said he wants to divorce me.” “He’s a bastard!” Arthur’s eyes were red with heartache. Back then, I actually thought about asking Olivia, did you know Arthur likes you? But I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Afraid of ruining our best friend bond. Because I guessed she knew, but was just playing dumb. Including having me marry Arthur, she knew exactly what she was doing. I had an ordinary background, much easier to manipulate than those socialites. Otherwise, how else could she commit all sorts of ambiguous acts under the guise of being a little niece? She drifted between Julian and Arthur. One she liked, and one who liked her. A true winner in life. And I was just the fig leaf. And a willing one at that. Back then, when I first met Liam, that’s what he said. His tone was cutting and merciless. I accepted Liam’s friend request. He sent me the itinerary for three days later, and added one last instruction: “Three days from now, 10 AM, at the school gate. I won’t wait if you’re late.” I replied: “OK.” He didn’t send any more messages. 4 The next day, I didn’t expect Arthur to actually come looking for me. A Rolls-Royce was parked at the school gate. He stood by the car in a black trench coat, his face cold, his deep eyes showing no emotion, exuding an aura of detachment. Passing schoolmates couldn’t help but look at him. I initially pretended not to see him, but as I was about to walk past him, Arthur spoke up. “I don’t understand why you are so stubborn, why you resist marrying me so much.” “But Chloe, you’re an adult now.” “You should be able to distinguish what is most beneficial for you.” I sneered, stopped walking, and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “And I don’t understand why it has to be me.” “Just because Olivia wants it?” So he disregarded others’ wishes and tried every means to achieve it. But why? “Arthur, I don’t want to be involved in whatever is going on between you and Olivia at all.” “I just want you two to stay far away from me.” With that, I lifted my foot to leave. Arthur raised his hand and blocked me again, then pulled a check from his pocket: “A business deal that falls through just means the chips aren’t high enough.” “Chloe, agree to marry me, and these three hundred million are yours.” I lowered my eyes and smiled silently. Three hundred million. In my past life, Arthur only spent eighty thousand to marry me. Why eighty thousand? Because Olivia said: “Uncle, Chloe is my best friend, just a token amount is enough.” “Anyway, she’ll be living and eating on your dime in the future. Having too much money on her isn’t safe.” My material desires were low, and I was used to earning my own living. If I hadn’t met Arthur, that eighty thousand would probably have been enough for a normal person’s bride price. So I didn’t think much of it. But now, I only felt mocked. Things obtained too easily are never cherished. Only when they are unattainable do people rack their brains. Just like Arthur with Olivia. He gave everything he had, gave away all his wealth. His dying wish when he passed away from late-stage stomach cancer was to see Olivia one last time. But where was Olivia then? She was busy trying to please Julian. By unconditionally revealing all of the Vance Group’s projects to Julian. “Mr. Vance is generous.” “Unfortunately, I don’t want to make a deal with you.” … After Chloe left, Arthur didn’t move. He stood rooted to the spot, his chest inexplicably feeling a bit tight. He put the check back into his pocket. He hadn’t expected Chloe to refuse. After all, it was three hundred million. If this person were smart, she could even achieve a leap in social class instantly. But Chloe’s actions puzzled him. Marrying him, was it really such an unacceptable thing? At first, when Olivia wanted to introduce him to Chloe, he refused. But when he saw her photo. For some reason, he felt like he had seen her somewhere before. Today was his second time meeting Chloe. Chloe was too rational, too clear-headed. When she looked at him, there were no ripples in her eyes. He thought to himself that it should be like this. But what should it be like? He couldn’t figure it out, only his chest felt more and more uncomfortable. A thought urged him to go grab Chloe, whether for Olivia, or for himself. After a long while, Olivia sent a message: [Uncle, why don’t you just sleep with Chloe and make it a done deal.] [I can even secretly record a video and then threaten her! She’ll definitely agree then!] Seeing these two sentences, Arthur frowned slightly. He felt even more uncomfortable. 5 The night before my departure, I was double-checking my documents to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. Bang, the dorm door was kicked open. I looked up in shock, meeting Arthur’s dark, gloomy eyes. He strode forward and grabbed my wrist. Before I had time to say a word. He dragged me out, opened the car door, and shoved me inside. “Are you crazy?!” Arthur didn’t answer me, but slammed the car door shut with a bang. He started the car and sped away. Soon, Arthur brought me to a nightclub. “Get out,” he said coldly. I instinctively shrank back: “What exactly do you want to do?!” “Don’t you know what I want to do?” Arthur shot back, his anger undiminished. I frowned. The next second, Arthur dragged me out of the car again. He was rough. As I got out, I twisted my left leg, a piercing, bone-deep pain. I couldn’t help but gasp. Arthur frowned, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, but it was ultimately covered by his anger. “Stop acting, you’re overdoing it.” I fell silent. It wasn’t until Arthur pushed open the VIP private room that I understood what he meant. The crystal chandelier in the private room cast ambiguous halos, neon lights swirling in the hazy smoke. In the center of the sofa sat a noble-looking man, casually biting a cigarette, while Olivia sat on one side, clothes disheveled, crying with red eyes. Besides them, three men were kneeling on the floor. Begging for mercy non-stop, their heads bruised and bleeding. I didn’t need to guess to know what roughly happened. But what did this have to do with me? I looked at Olivia. Olivia guiltily glanced at me, then sniffled and choked out: “Chloe, I know you don’t like me interfering in your love life, but you…” “After years of being best friends, you didn’t have to find someone to humiliate me, right?” Hearing this, my pupils shrank slightly in disbelief. “You’re saying I found someone to humiliate you?” “Didn’t you send me a message asking me to come here?!” Olivia stood up excitedly, then tossed her phone onto the glass table. On it was clearly a message sent from my number. At this moment, Arthur’s gaze also fell on me. Only I suddenly became calm. Because my WeChat account had been logged into Olivia’s phone before. So it was entirely possible she sent the message to herself. And on my end, there were no messages at all. Try to prove my innocence? Arthur would only think I deleted the message. But actually, whether there was evidence or not didn’t matter. Arthur would only choose to believe what he wanted to believe. “I privately hoped it wasn’t you, but Chloe, you’ve disappointed me greatly.” After a long while, Arthur spoke. I just smiled mockingly. Then I saw him walk over to Olivia, bend down and pick her up, then say to the man who had been silent for a long time: “Julian, I’ll leave this to you. I’m taking Olivia away first.” The man called Julian raised an eyebrow in agreement. As Arthur walked past me, a look of disgust appeared on his face, and he finally spat out four words: “Reap what you sow.” He left without looking back. The moment the door closed, the three men kneeling on the floor all looked up at me simultaneously. Greedy, malicious, emitting a foul stench. “Miss Chloe, sorry about this.” 6 Julian’s voice was still careless. I raised my eyes calmly, took out my phone, and placed it on the table. Julian lifted his eyelids. Seeing the “911” dialed on the screen, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes: “Underestimated you.” I walked out of the nightclub. It was already midnight. The night wind was slightly cool. Julian followed behind me: “Miss Chloe, today’s setup actually wasn’t very clever.” “When Olivia came asking for my help, I only took a spectator’s attitude and didn’t want to intervene.” “Just now, I only wanted to test you, to see how far you would go.” The corners of my lips curled into a mocking smile, and I didn’t answer him. I hailed a cab, and just as I was getting in. Julian said lazily again: “Liam asked me to remind you not to be late tomorrow.” “Have a safe trip, both of you.” I was stunned for a moment. When I looked back, I only saw Julian’s back. I didn’t know much about him. Only that he was a playboy who loved women. As for his relationship with Liam, I didn’t know. But it seemed they were on good terms. But that didn’t matter to me anymore. From now on, I would have no further contact with anything related to Olivia or Arthur. … Arthur sat by the bed and coaxed Olivia all night. It wasn’t until daylight broke that he quietly walked out of her room. Then he went downstairs and instructed the butler to make something Olivia liked to eat. Then he finally let out a sigh of relief. He returned to his own room. He pulled off his tie, threw it casually onto the bed, and his long fingers were unbuttoning his shirt. Suddenly, certain images flashed through his mind. “Chloe, come here, help me unbutton this.” “Chloe, I have a headache, pour me a glass of honey water.” “Chloe…” The tone was relaxed, familiar. Arthur’s movements visibly froze. The scene in his mind was too clear. Chloe’s figure moved skillfully around the room. Their relationship seemed intimate yet unfamiliar. Chloe always responded to his greetings quietly and gently. But why would he be thinking of Chloe? These memories… where did they come from? He wearily pinched his brow, reaching out to grab his phone. Suddenly, he remembered leaving Chloe with Julian last night, and panic gripped his heart for a moment. Yesterday he was just too angry. He didn’t really want anyone to ruin Chloe. But Julian, that guy… He immediately called Julian, and the other party quickly answered. “Yo, Uncle, calling to ask for the results?” “I was just about to—” “What did you do to Chloe?” Arthur asked coldly. The other side went completely silent. After two minutes, he mocked: “Arthur, do you have amnesia?” “Yesterday you were the one who asked me to clean up someone for you. Why is it that as soon as you wake up today, it’s me who wants to do something to someone?” Julian’s words were merciless. He acted erratically and didn’t care what Arthur would do to him. Arthur didn’t dare, and he wouldn’t. What lay between the Thorne and Vance families wasn’t just Olivia, but also family interests. “Where is she? Send me the address.” Arthur spoke directly and then hung up the phone. Listening to Julian’s words. What was supposed to happen probably already did. Holding anyone accountable was useless, and this was originally Chloe’s own doing. He only hoped that after being punished, she would learn her lesson. With the Vance family’s power, protecting one Chloe was more than enough. As long as she was obedient, the position of Mrs. Vance might still be hers. Anyway, it was impossible for him to be with Olivia. So whoever it was didn’t matter. 7 Julian’s message still hadn’t arrived. Arthur grew a bit impatient. Just as he was about to dial Julian’s number again, Olivia woke up. She walked down the stairs, her face carrying the haziness of having just woken up. As soon as she reached the living room, she threw herself directly into Arthur’s arms. “Uncle, you’re up so early?” “I didn’t see you just now, I thought you left.” Her voice was whiny. Arthur chuckled helplessly. He reached out, about to stroke Olivia’s head. Another image flashed through his mind. Chloe stood by the sofa, envy in her eyes, but when he looked up, she hid that emotion away. “What’s wrong, Uncle?” Olivia looked up in confusion, saw his hand stopped in mid-air, and habitually tried to nuzzle it. But this time, Arthur pulled his hand back. Olivia was stunned for a moment, looking at him blankly. “Uncle…” And he didn’t understand it himself either. Finally, Arthur sighed softly: “It’s nothing, probably just didn’t sleep well last night.” “Then I’ll accompany you to sleep a bit more!” Olivia smiled brightly, reaching to take Arthur’s arm and pull him up. Arthur refused again. This was the second time. Olivia had never been refused by him, and she immediately got angry. “Uncle! What is wrong with you?” “You’ve never refused me anything before, but today you’ve refused me twice!” She stood up, looking down at Arthur in displeasure. Arthur sat in the sofa. Normally, he would have rushed to coax Olivia, but today he suddenly felt very annoyed. His temples were throbbing. Chloe’s figure kept appearing in his mind from time to time, as if he was hallucinating. “Olivia, can you be a bit more sensible?” “I’m already annoyed enough.” Olivia had long been spoiled. Hearing him say this, she got even angrier, immediately grabbed a nearby throw pillow, and threw it at him: “What are you annoyed about? What do you have to be annoyed about? You’re just annoyed by me!” “Arthur, if you find me annoying, I’ll just leave, okay?!” “I’ll go find Julian, I’ll go find someone else. I will absolutely never take the initiative to look for you again!” Throwing down those words, she stormed off. But actually, she only walked as far as the entryway. Arthur knew what she was waiting for: waiting for him to proactively coax her, to give her a way out. However, right now he had absolutely no desire to do so. He even thought. Why couldn’t Olivia be as sensible as Chloe? As soon as this thought emerged, he was completely stunned. It felt as if he knew Chloe so well, but in reality, they had only met three times in total. Olivia ultimately left. The door was slammed shut with a bang. The butler hurried over: “Mr. Vance, the young miss she—” “Let her throw her tantrum, leave her be.” Arthur waved his hand. The next second, Julian’s message finally arrived: [No need to look for her anymore, she already left.] [Oh right, one more thing, those guys yesterday were actors hired by your little niece.] [Chloe is the victim here.] Arthur froze.

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