Category: English

Ben Harding, my childhood sweetheart, had gone missing on a hiking trip. This time, I called the rescue team instead of venturing into the mountains myself. In my past life, to save him, I fell off a cliff and shattered both my legs, becoming a cripple in a wheelchair. The Harding family, out of gratitude, made him marry me. I thought my secret crush had finally blossomed into true love, but what I got was twenty years of cold indifference. It wasn’t until the day of the mall fire that I used my broken body to brace against the collapsing debris, saving him and his daughter. Yet, I heard my own child sneer, “Serves you right! Who told you to break up Daddy and Chloe? You cripple should have died long ago!” Even more despairing was Ben, holding Chloe Adams tightly, exclaiming, “Thank heavens, we can finally be together!” Watching them embrace, I died filled with hatred. Reborn to this day, I smirked – if you want to be together, I’ll make it happen this time. 1 “Ellie, you just won the hiking championship; you know these mountains like the back of your hand. Only you can find Ben!” Mike Sullivan, Ben’s best friend, gripped my wrist tightly, his anxious eyes holding a calculating glint that I could now clearly see. In my previous life, he used the exact same tactic, telling me the “rescue team was too slow” to rush me into the mountains. Back then, I was frantic, heedless of the slippery mountain paths, and plunged into the pouring rain with only a thin rope. When I found Ben trapped on a broken cliff, I lost my footing while trying to save him, suffering comminuted fractures that left my legs permanently disabled. That memory cut like a knife. With a blank expression, I yanked my hand from Mike’s grasp. “The rescue team has professional equipment and experience. They’re a hundred times more capable than I am alone.” He frowned, his tone suddenly chilling. “The rescue team will take at least half an hour to get here. Ben can’t wait that long.” Seeing I remained indifferent, he raised his voice an octave. “Your childhood sweetheart is missing and possibly dying, and you’re just going to let him be? Ellie Vance, have you no conscience?” How laughable. In my previous life, I risked my life to save him, and what did I get in return? Twenty years of coldness. The undisguised disgust in his eyes when he looked at me. The cruel words, “Just seeing you makes me sick.” The first time I caught him kissing Chloe, I suggested divorce. But he refused, citing that he “didn’t want to worry his parents.” From then on, he grew even colder towards me, his daily disdain eroding my self-worth to the core. I always thought it was my disability that made him and his daughter despise me. It wasn’t until I heard the truth right before I died that I realized how ridiculous all my efforts for him had been. This time, I would absolutely not repeat the same mistakes. “If you truly want to save him, contact the rescue team immediately.” I said calmly, no longer looking at Mike’s shocked expression, and turned to leave. He grabbed me. “Ellie Vance, how can you be so cold-blooded? If you walk away today, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!” The icy rain beat on my wrist, and for a fleeting moment, I felt the bone-chilling cold of falling from the cliff in my previous life. I yanked my hand away fiercely. “Notify the rescue team. Don’t waste any more time.” I left without looking back, ignoring the furious shouts behind me. Life had taught me a harsh lesson. This time, I chose to protect myself. 2 When Ben Harding was found by the rescue team, his right arm was severely fractured. The news exploded on social media, with my former “friends” unanimously condemning me as cold-blooded and evil. “That woman used to fawn over Ben like a lost puppy, but when something actually happened, she ran faster than anyone. With that cowardice, she actually thought she could be Mrs. Harding?” “I heard Ellie Vance could have saved Ben but deliberately didn’t, hoping something bad would happen to him. What a wicked woman.” “Well, now he definitely won’t want her.” Looking at these venomous comments, my heart remained as calm as still water. In my previous life, I risked everything to save Ben, nearly losing my life, only to be met with his cold indifference as I lay dying. Even my own daughter, just because Chloe Adams took her to an amusement park a few times, treated that woman as her mother. How many times did I endure illness, pushing my wheelchair, to take my child to the amusement park? But he never remembered; he only found it embarrassing to have a mother like me. I owed neither of them anything. Reminding his friend to call the rescue team was already more than enough. Because of the incident, Ben specifically requested to see me after he woke up in the hospital. His right arm, encased in a cast, hung stiffly by his side, but his uninjured left hand was wrapped tightly around Chloe’s slender waist. “Ellie Vance, thank you for not saving me.” He smirked, his eyes glinting with triumph. “I came to tell you that my parents have agreed to my marriage with Chloe. The wedding is set for next month.” I smiled indifferently. “Congratulations.” In my past life, my marriage to Ben had two reasons: first, because I saved his life; second, because the Harding parents had discovered Chloe had been involved with several wealthy benefactors for money and didn’t want such a morally questionable woman in their family. But Ben believed I was exploiting his gratitude, forcing his parents to make him marry me, and tormented me for twenty years because of it. In this life, because I didn’t play the savior, the Harding family finally agreed to their marriage. “Ben, you finally got what you wanted,” I said flatly. He seemed surprised by my calm demeanor, and the anger in his eyes intensified. “Ellie Vance, I hope you’ll continue to be this sensible. Don’t bother me again.” With that, he pulled Chloe into a passionate kiss right in front of me, as if deliberately trying to hurt me. “Ben, you’re so naughty. Ellie, darling, will get jealous~” Chloe said, her voice cloyingly sweet, her eyes betraying a hidden triumph. My stomach churned. I had no patience for these two hypocrites and turned to leave. At that moment, my heart felt surprisingly calm, as if a twenty-year burden had been lifted. 3 I thought I’d never have anything to do with Ben again, but then I received an invitation to Grandpa Harding’s eightieth birthday gala. My parents happened to be traveling abroad and couldn’t decline, so I had to attend. Halfway through the party, I avoided the commotion and headed towards the balcony. As I turned, I accidentally bumped into someone. With a sharp crash, a priceless, ancient Roman bust tumbled from beside me, shattering into a thousand pieces on the marble floor. I looked up, meeting Ben Harding’s furious gaze. His arm was still in a cast. Chloe immediately gasped, covering her mouth. “Ellie, darling, how could you be so clumsy! That was Ben’s gift to Grandpa Harding, a genuine, rare ancient Roman bust! There are fewer than ten known pieces in the world!” As soon as she finished speaking, gasps rippled through the surrounding guests. “Oh my goodness, that’s a priceless antique. Miss Vance is too reckless!” “I heard Mr. Harding had been preparing this birthday gift for half a year. To have it ruined like this is such a tragedy.” Mike Sullivan pushed aside the onlookers and pointed at me, yelling, “Ellie Vance, last time Ben was in danger, you refused to help, and now you dare to ruin Grandpa Harding’s birthday gift? You truly have a wicked heart!” The surroundings immediately erupted in chatter: “Miss Vance and Mr. Harding were childhood sweethearts. How could she do such a thing?” “If you ask me, she should be kicked out. She’s an embarrassment to everyone.” Ben scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt. “Ellie Vance, how many more tricks do you plan to pull? Do you think this will make me notice you more? What a pipe dream.” The next second, he grabbed my neck with his left hand, gritting his teeth. “Three hundred and seventy million, I want you to pay ten times that amount, three point seven billion. Otherwise, I won’t let you off the hook.” I struggled desperately, but his grip tightened. Chloe chose that moment to rush over, pretending to stop Ben, but in reality, speaking with thinly veiled malice: “Ben, honey, don’t be angry. Ellie, darling, surely didn’t mean to do it. She probably just wanted to get your attention so badly, she lost her head for a moment…” Before she could finish, Ben brutally flung me away. I staggered back a few steps, nearly falling. “Ellie Vance, I warned you, don’t cling to me anymore!” His eyes were ice cold, looking at me as if I were something disgusting. Chloe feigned kindness and walked towards me. “Ellie, darling, get up now. You’re a proper lady; don’t do such embarrassing things again…”

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“Oh God, this is… just incredible…” In the girls’ dorm room, a naked girl let out a cry that was almost a sob, her slender body arching forward, hands clutching the sheets, her whole frame stiff. I held her tight until she melted into a boneless puddle on the bed. My name’s Josh, and I’m a freshman in college. Yesterday, the pre-semester bootcamp ended, and my girlfriend, Ashley, who’d been pent up for half a month, wasted no time calling me into her dorm. Under the cover of her and her roommates, I managed to sneak past Dorm Supervisor Ms. Jenkins’s inspection and stay the night. “You wild thing, I want you…” As soon as the lights went out, Ashley grabbed my hand, pulling it under her nightgown, and kissed me. I playfully squeezed her butt. “They’re not asleep yet.” “Don’t think I don’t know…” Ashley wriggled her body against me, a beautiful leg wrapping around my waist. “Every time you make me feel like I’m dying… isn’t it on purpose, so they can hear you… doing me?” She whispered the last two words into my ear. “You naughty girl! Are you that eager?” Feeling Ashley’s wet tongue, I grew increasingly aroused. I pulled off her nightgown, hooked one arm around her wrists above her head, and pressed her down beneath me. “Yes… I’m a tease… don’t you like me a little wild?” Ashley rocked her hips, continuing to provoke me. “Am I wild enough tonight? Hmm?” “Wild? You’re absolutely ravenous!”

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To test if their new custom alloy arrowheads could pierce a human skull. My wife’s old flame’s daughter, Hailey, used the pretense of getting my wife, Evelyn, to come home and reconcile with me. She lured my special needs daughter, Lily, to an abandoned construction site on the edge of town. She made her balance an apple on her head, a living target. When I followed Lily’s GPS tracker watch and found her, The alloy arrow shaft had already pierced her scalp. Part of it was embedded deep in her skull. I frantically rushed Lily to the general hospital our family owns. I begged Evelyn, a leading neurosurgeon, to save our daughter. Over the phone. Evelyn’s voice was cold: “Hailey was an archery champion at five.” “Did you think all children are as slow as that… that thing you fathered?” “If you want to scam me for sympathy money, at least work on your Photoshop skills.” “Why bother saving her when she’s like that! She’s a lost cause!” After hanging up. Evelyn had me and Lily thrown out of the hospital without another word. She even told all her colleagues in the city not to treat us. To prevent “scammers” like us from wasting medical resources. Later. Evelyn would brutally sever one of her own fingers. But she never managed to win me back. 1. After being turned away by the last specialty hospital in the city. I sat with Lily on a small flowerbed planter by the hospital entrance. Light snow drifted from the sky. The alloy arrow shaft had already pierced her scalp. Part of it was embedded deep in her skull. Snowflakes landed sparsely on Lily’s face; the chill made her weak eyelids flutter. She opened her eyes and managed a difficult smile at me. “Daddy, is Mommy home?” I fumbled to wipe away my tears and nodded quickly. “She’s home, she’s home, Mommy’s already home!” “Really? That’s great, Daddy. You won’t have to work so hard all alone anymore…” Hearing this. The child in my arms smiled, her eyes crinkling with joy. But as she smiled, the twenty-five-inch alloy-fletched arrow lodged in her head wobbled. It made her already pale face look even more broken under the warm yellow lamplight. “Really, of course, it’s real, my Lily is the best girl!” I said. “Sweetheart, rest against Daddy for a little longer. Mommy will be here soon, and when she comes, we’ll take Lily to the amusement park.” I wrapped my scarf tighter around her. My numb fingers kept swiping across the screen of my old phone. Dialing the number saved as “Wife” over and over. The call connected, then was disconnected, again and again. The child in my arms probably sensed something. She fought to keep her eyes open. Just staring at the streetlight glow, muttering to herself. “Daddy, I was so brave today, I didn’t dodge even once…” “It hurt a little, but Hailey said if I didn’t dodge, she’d make Mommy come home to us…” “Daddy, when Mommy comes back, can we go to the amusement park together?” “I don’t want anything, I’ll be good and listen…” Besides the arrow in her head. Lily’s whole body was covered in wounds. Without exception, all were from arrows piercing her and then being forcibly pulled out. I couldn’t even imagine. This child, who was afraid of pain, afraid of the cold, afraid of the dark. How did she endure being pierced by arrows time after time, and still stand back up through the pain? Because of Evelyn’s orders. Every specialty hospital in the city had turned me and my child away. I could only swallow my pride and beg a nearby pharmacy for a few band-aids and two rolls of gauze to try and stop the bleeding. This superficial treatment. Still allowed blood to seep through her down jacket onto me. I could clearly feel it. My child’s life was ebbing away with the unstoppable flow of blood. I wanted to coax her to sleep for a while. But that cold arrow shaft prevented her from lying on her side or her back. Even the slightest movement sent agony coursing through her nerves, a heart-wrenching pain. Countless times, I held my child and wanted to rush into the hospital. To beg them to save her. But every time. I was stopped by the unyielding security guards at the entrance. “Director Hayes already called, Mr. Miller. You really shouldn’t be pulling these childish stunts!” “Don’t you know how strained medical resources are right now?” “People like you, trying to use connections to jump the queue for a minor injury, only tarnish the entire medical system!” 2. “Daddy, I’m so cold.” My daughter’s sudden murmur from my arms broke my thoughts. “Daddy, isn’t Mommy here yet? I think I might have to sleep soon…” I looked down at her. Her lips moved faintly, her voice growing weaker. “Daddy, please ask Mommy not to be mad at me, okay? When she comes, I’ll definitely wake up…” I wanted to comfort her. But the words caught in my throat, choked by sobs. I fought back the agony, finally managing to squeeze out some words. “Lily, be good, don’t sleep yet! Mommy’s coming right now! Right now!” Under my relentless barrage of calls. Evelyn finally answered. I hurriedly put the phone on speaker. And turned up the volume, holding it to Lily’s ear. Wanting her, in her final moments. To hear the voice of the mother she longed for. But the next second after the call connected. Evelyn’s voice, a torrent of abuse, blasted through the speaker. “Ethan Miller! You’re really getting into this act, aren’t you! Calling and texting over and over!” “That idiot you fathered—I wouldn’t care if she really died!” “Since you love playing the victim so much! Then today, I’ll let you know what real misery is!” Before Evelyn could spell out my punishment. I heard the clear, bright voice of Mark Evans, her old flame. “Evelyn, come quick! Hailey’s competition broadcast is starting! We’re just waiting for you to watch!” “Yeah! Auntie Evelyn! I promise Lily is fine! I was playing with her earlier today!” Hailey chirped. “You said you wouldn’t take any calls today and only spend time with Hailey!” “Okay, okay, only with Hailey. Auntie Evelyn is all yours today!” Evelyn cooed. 3. Click. Evelyn’s gentle voice cut off abruptly. The line went dead, filled with a long, persistent dial tone. Beeep, beeep, beeep… The hand with which Lily had been tightly gripping my shirt fell limp at the same moment. “Lily…” I whispered her name. The child in my arms showed no reaction. My hand trembled as I reached out to check her breathing. The tears I’d held back for so long finally burst forth. In that moment. I hated myself so much. Why did I have to make that call? My child. Even at the moment of her death, she received no concern from her mother. What she heard. Was her mother’s abuse towards her father, her disgust for her, and her affection for another child. For so many years. Lily had desperately craved her mother’s love. But Evelyn, a highly educated professional, had always despised her existence. Yet she seemed to forget. My Lily was originally a very bright child. If it weren’t for that year when I had to handle the funerals of my parents, who died in the line of duty. And left our two-year-old solely in Evelyn’s care. By the time I returned. My Lily had suffered brain damage from a high fever. Her intellect forever frozen at the age of two. Evelyn said it was because I hadn’t fulfilled my duties as a father. It was much later that I found out. That time, right after I left. Evelyn, to pick up her old flame returning from abroad. Left our feverish daughter home alone for a day and a night. But back then. I had lost my parents, lost my support. With a disabled child, I couldn’t find work. I didn’t even have the standing to question Evelyn. Now. My child was gone. Everything was over. 4. I opened my phone. Wanting to inform Evelyn of our child’s death. Only to find I had been completely blocked. All supplementary credit cards were deactivated. Bank card PINs all changed. Even our fingerprints were deleted from the house’s smart lock. So, this was the punishment Evelyn mentioned on the phone? To leave me and my child penniless and stranded on the streets in the dead of winter. My heart was already too numb to feel. I even felt a strange urge to laugh. I calmly carried my child’s body back to the hospital entrance. The security guard, not yet off his shift, still spoke with disdain: “Mr. Miller, still haven’t given up after all this time?” “I told you, the emergency room here won’t be open to you.” “No…” I shook my head. “I’m here to get a death certificate for my child.” The guard looked at the completely still child in my arms. The disdain in his eyes turned to panic. “Mr., Mr. Miller, please come in with me. I’ll notify Director Hayes for you right away!” The guard hurried. Leading me through all the procedures as quickly as possible. Receiving the death certificate. The doctor who handled the paperwork looked at me with an apologetic expression. “Mr. Miller, please accept my condolences.” “I’m truly sorry, I don’t know why, but none of us could reach Director Hayes today…” I nodded, my face remaining frighteningly calm. With the help of the hospital staff. I used up the last bit of cash I had on me. To arrange for Lily’s final affairs. The child who, just the night before last, was snuggled in my arms, begging me to tell her a story. This morning, had become a light handful of ashes. Evelyn’s phone was still unreachable. Probably to ensure no one disturbed her time with Hailey Evans. So, she had blocked everyone, including me. But it didn’t matter. What came next would be the same, with or without her. 5. After interring Lily’s ashes. I found myself inexplicably drawn back to the abandoned construction site where I had found her injured the day before. Like a zombie, I operated Lily’s bloodstained, cracked smartwatch. In Lily’s voice, I sent a few messages to the main culprit, Hailey Evans. Asking her to meet here again to play. After that, I picked up a discarded piece of rebar from the site. Then, I pressed it against a drab concrete wall, scraping it again and again. As if trying to sharpen its edges. Until my hands were raw and bleeding, the pain finally bringing a sliver of sanity back to me. Coming to my senses. I was surprised to find myself there, scraping rebar like a madman. But what surprised me even more. Was that just ten minutes ago, Hailey had cheerfully replied to my message. Saying she’d be there soon. As if nothing from yesterday had ever happened. Hailey wasn’t lying. Just a few minutes after I regained my composure. She appeared before me, alone, with her little backpack. The first moment our eyes met. There was no guilt, no nervousness, only a deep, unsettling amusement. That look, a mixture of innocence and knowing playfulness. Sent a chill down my spine. It was hard to believe that look belonged to a pampered thirteen-year-old girl. Before I could even ask. Hailey spoke. “Hey, loser. I know why you asked me here.” “You want to know how that retard you fathered died, right?” “Here, I filmed it all yesterday. See for yourself!” With that. The smartwatch in my hand buzzed. A video, nearly an hour long, was transmitted. My fingers trembled as I tapped play. On the screen. Four or five girls, around Hailey’s age, surrounded Lily. Lily was first led around on all fours like a dog, then ridden like a horse. Then they started pulling out bows and arrows. Chasing Lily like she was prey in a hunt. One girl suggested tying Lily up. So they could shoot more accurately. But Hailey shook her head, pulled the terrified Lily close, and whispered in a seductive tone. “You want your mommy to come home? If you do, then stand right here and don’t move!” “As long as we hit the apple on your head, I’ll make your mommy come home to you!” Lily nodded, dazed. And she really stood there, not moving even when she wet herself in fear. One arrow, two arrows, three arrows. Lily was hit and fell. Then shakily stood up again. Letting those girls rip the arrows, flesh and all, from her body. Finally, Hailey aimed her arrow at the apple on Lily’s head. The arrow didn’t hit the apple. Instead, it pierced Lily’s scalp and lodged in her skull. At that moment. Lily was still alive. The girls scrambled to take photos with Lily. Ignoring Lily, who was coughing up mouthfuls of blood in pain, they used her longing for her “good mommy Evelyn” as leverage. Forcing her to smile for the camera. Having watched the whole thing. My heart felt like it had been torn apart and crushed. I looked up. And forced three words through gritted teeth at Hailey: “Why?” Hailey clapped her hands. “Why? What other reason? Because it was fun, of course!” “Besides, what’s so precious about that retard you fathered? She’s dumber than a dog! If she’s dead, she’s dead!” “If she dies, Auntie Evelyn will divorce you! She dies! Auntie Evelyn will be mine and Daddy’s!” “You little bitch!!! Go to hell!!!” My barely recovered sanity shattered again. I grabbed the rebar I’d been sharpening and lunged at Hailey, aiming for her head. Completely oblivious to the blaring sirens approaching rapidly. “Help! Help! Mr. Miller’s trying to kill me!” “Help! Daddy, Auntie Evelyn, save me!” Hailey screamed, not forgetting to snatch the smartwatch from my hand and smash it violently on the ground. In an instant. A bullet tore through my arm. I collapsed. Evelyn rushed towards me, kicking me repeatedly in the stomach. “Ethan Miller, I never knew you were this vile! How dare you kidnap Hailey and bring her here! If it weren’t for Hailey’s phone having GPS!” Having not eaten for a day and a night, I was kicked until I was half-dead. Vomiting mouthfuls of stomach acid. Without even a chance to offer a single word of defense. Only able to listen as that natural-born evil, Hailey, sobbed theatrically in Mark Evans’ arms. “Daddy, Mr. Miller’s gone crazy. He killed Lily, and now he wants to kill me… Daddy, save me…” Mark Evans, hearing this, couldn’t help but sigh, “Evelyn, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” “It was me and my daughter who took up too much of your time, that’s why Ethan got so angry! You’re his woman, not mine. I overstepped…” “Ethan, I know you hate me! I hope you can vent your hatred on me, just spare my child!” “No! Evelyn! It’s not your fault! It’s this madman’s fault! His fault!” “He harmed my daughter, and now he wants to harm Hailey. I must make him pay the price!” Evelyn said, then nodded to the accompanying police officers and stated gravely, “Officers, please take him away and interrogate him thoroughly! Preferably, ensure he can never endanger public safety again!” The gunshot wound and the beating left my limbs weak. As the police lifted me from the ground, I clearly saw. The smartwatch, its screen already smashed black, flickered back to life. And automatically forwarded the video Hailey had previously sent me to my wife’s phone.

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My girlfriend was one of the top mercenaries in the world. Three years ago, she took on an S-class emergency mission. Before she left, she told me: “The day I return safely is the day I marry you.” I believed her with all my heart. And so, I waited for over a thousand days and nights. Until a month ago, when she finally returned. I thought my three long years of waiting had finally paid off. But just last night, I overheard her conversation with her second-in-command outside the study. “Ma’am, are you really planning to marry Mr. Cole? What about Marcus and Finn? Finn’s already over two, and he’s your own flesh and blood. You can’t hide this forever.” “Back then, you were pregnant with Marcus’s child, so you made up the story about a three-year mission to go have the baby. If Mr. Cole finds out now…” My girlfriend shot her second a sharp glance. “He must never know! He’s the only one I’ll marry! Tell Marcus Vance to keep himself and the kid in line!” Finn? Two years old? Her own flesh and blood? So, while I was eagerly waiting for her to come back and marry me for three years, she already had someone else, and even a child over two years old. My legs felt like jelly as I stumbled back to the bedroom and dialed my grandpa’s number. “Grandpa, is the Hayes family’s ‘simple’ eldest daughter still… available? I’m willing to go through with the marriage alliance with the Hayes family.” 1 “What’s wrong, Ethan? Weren’t you set on marrying only her, waiting for three years? What happened?” “Sophia Hayes has never made public appearances because of her… condition. If you don’t want to, Grandpa will fight tooth and nail to protect you, you…” I desperately wanted to confide in Grandpa, but the moment I tried to speak, tears streamed down my face. It was true. Everyone in Seacrest City knew I, Ethan Cole, had fallen in love with my mercenary bodyguard, Raven Blackwood. From eighteen to twenty-three, I had loved her for five whole years. Until three years ago, when she took an S-class emergency mission and promised me before leaving: “When I return, I’ll marry you.” Just that one sentence. I believed it and waited bitterly for three years. During these three years, rumors were rampant. Everyone speculated that Raven must have died on the mission, or had long since fled and wouldn’t be coming back. I turned a deaf ear to these rumors, just counting the days, hoping she would complete her mission soon and return to marry me. Now, everyone in Seacrest City knew that Ethan Cole, the young heir of the Cole family, was decisive and ever-victorious in the business world. His only weakness was my bodyguard, Raven Blackwood. I understood Grandpa’s confusion. Even I hadn’t expected Raven’s three-year mission to be such a colossal lie. Although I said nothing, Grandpa on the other end of the line seemed to sense my mood. After a long silence, he said softly, “If you’ve really thought it through, Grandpa supports you. The Hayes family is incredibly powerful; you won’t be wronged in the future.” “The day after tomorrow, I’ll send a car to pick you up. Get your affairs in order first.” After hanging up, I remained frozen, still holding the phone. The conversation between Raven and her second replayed endlessly in my mind. My heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand needles, the pain instantly shooting through my whole body, making it almost impossible to breathe. Raven had betrayed me three years ago. She fabricated the lie of a three-year mission just to be with another man and their child. At this thought, I could no longer hold myself up. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor. For these three years, because of her special profession and her being on a mission, I couldn’t contact her freely. I could only passively wait for news from her – sometimes for days, sometimes for tens of days. On days without news from her, I often couldn’t sleep at night, both afraid of hearing news about her and afraid of not hearing anything at all. Countless sleepless nights, I relied on the memories of our five-year relationship to get through, until she finally completed her mission and returned to my side. Just as I was lost in despair, Raven walked into the bedroom and saw me sitting on the floor. “Ethan, the floor’s cold. Why are you sitting here? Are you not feeling well?” 2 Raven’s face was full of concern, her beautiful eyes reflecting my image, just like any other day. Whether it was the five years we spent together before she left, or this past month since she returned, Raven had always been good to me. I truly didn’t want to believe this reality. I quietly locked my phone and forced a smile. “Maybe a bit of low blood sugar, I just lost my footing. I’m fine.” Raven breathed a sigh of relief and carefully helped me up. “Let’s go to Hawaii tomorrow. I’ll have my second book the tickets. Don’t you always love the ocean? How about we take our wedding photos by the sea?” Raven was still as considerate as ever, but after what I’d just learned, hearing these words now only made me feel sick to my stomach. “No.” Raven paused for a moment, then gently took my hand. “What’s wrong, Ethan? Why are you unhappy? Didn’t we agree not to hide anything from each other, no matter what?” Hearing her say this, I finally couldn’t hold back any longer. I looked straight into her eyes. “Raven, are you really not hiding anything from me?” Raven flinched, then smiled faintly and spoke softly. “What could I possibly hide from you?” I fought back the stinging in my eyes and nodded lightly. “That’s good then. Let’s go to sleep, Raven. I’m a bit tired.” Early the next morning, Raven and I were awakened by a knock on the door. Raven opened it to find a man with bloodshot eyes standing outside, holding a little boy of about two or three in his arms. “Raven, the kid’s been crying for his mom all night, won’t sleep. You told me not to come find you, but I’m at my wit’s end…” A flash of panic crossed Raven’s face. She instinctively turned to gauge my reaction. “Ethan, don’t misunderstand. This is Marcus Vance, our team medic. His wife was my teammate, and my good friend. She was accidentally injured and died on a mission. I just felt sorry for him and his son, so I…” Before I could reply, Marcus spoke, his voice choked with emotion. “Mr. Cole, I know you two are getting married, and I don’t want to trouble Raven, but the child is still so young, he keeps crying for his mom, I really…” I cut Marcus off, my gaze fixed on Raven. “The boy needs his mother. Raven, are you his mother?” Raven shot Marcus a glare before turning to me to explain. “Of course not, Ethan. This child is over two years old; how could I possibly have a child this big? It’s just that Finn’s mother died saving me. I’ve been looking after him and his father, so he thinks of me as his mother. It’s all a misunderstanding.” I carefully studied the child’s features. Though young, his face bore a striking resemblance to Raven. Grandpa was coming to pick me up tomorrow night. I didn’t want any more complications. I forced down the sharp pain in my heart and nodded. “I believe you. Go ahead and get them settled. I’m going upstairs to sleep a bit more.” I turned and went upstairs, Raven following closely behind me. “Ethan, are you angry? Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let them affect us…” But before Raven could finish, Marcus spoke again, his voice choked and pitiful. “Raven, the month you were gone, the child hasn’t been eating or sleeping well, and he’s developed some health problems. I want to take him to the hospital for a thorough check-up. I don’t know anyone here. Can you take us to the hospital?” “You know, I have nothing left. I only have Finn. If anything happens to him, I really can’t go on living.” I turned to look at Raven. She didn’t answer immediately, but her eyes betrayed her thoughts. She was worried, worried about that child. I nodded slightly. “He’s just a little kid; being sick is a big deal. You should go with them to the hospital. After all, his mother died saving you.” Raven’s face visibly brightened, and even her tone became a bit more cheerful. “Then I’ll go with them to the hospital for the check-up and come right back. Ethan, thank you. Thank you for understanding.” After saying this, Raven turned and walked towards the door, taking the child from Marcus with a practiced ease that was almost too natural. Raven was in such a hurry that she didn’t even change out of her pajamas. I watched the child nestle dependently on Raven’s shoulder, and then watched the three of them, like a family, recede into the distance. My heart felt as if it had been thrown into a bottomless abyss, sinking deeper and deeper, until there was no sound left. 3 It was completely dark by the time Raven and Marcus returned home with the child. I had spent the entire day curled up in bed, not moving an inch. When Raven entered the room, her face was etched with guilt. My heart clenched violently, a bad premonition washing over me. Raven spoke in a heavy voice. “Ethan, the child’s condition isn’t good. The doctor said he needs long-term care, and they don’t know anyone else here.” “Look, this house is so big, could they… stay here?” I closed my eyes tightly, trying hard to suppress the bitterness welling up in my chest. Just this morning, before she left, she had clearly promised that she would never let them affect our lives. But now, she wanted to bring Marcus and his son to live here. When I opened my eyes again, my gaze was clear. I was about to speak when I realized Marcus was already standing at my bedroom door, holding the child’s hand. “Mr. Cole, please don’t blame Raven. She’s just worried about the child’s health. His mother passed away right after he was born. Raven has taken on my wife’s responsibilities since then. It’s normal for the child to be attached to her.” “He’s still young. I can’t explain to him that Raven isn’t his mother. But if you’re really unhappy, I’ll just take the child and leave…” Marcus continued his manipulative sob story, but my attention was caught by the necklace around the child’s neck. My breathing instantly became ragged. My hands gripped the blanket tightly, and tears began to fall uncontrollably. I looked up at Raven, my voice so hoarse it scared even me. “What is that… around the child’s neck?” When I was sixteen, Grandpa hired Raven at a high price to be my personal bodyguard. I wasn’t in any particular danger, but when I was eighteen, Raven was hunted by enemies from her past. At a critical moment, they both fired a shot at each other. In that split second, my body reacted faster than my brain. I lunged forward and took the fatal bullet for Raven. Raven’s enemy died on the spot. Raven survived. And that bullet had missed my heart by only half an inch. When I woke up in the hospital bed, Raven was crying by my side, her eyes swollen and red, her voice choked beyond recognition. “From this day on, my life, Raven Blackwood’s life, belongs to you, Ethan Cole.” “In this lifetime, Raven Blackwood will never betray Ethan Cole.” She had the bullet extracted from my chest made into a necklace. Holding my hand, she kissed the bullet reverently. “From this second on, I will always remember, at every moment, that my life belongs to you.” “This necklace is my good luck charm. As long as I live, this necklace will always be with me.” I don’t know if it was the sincerity in Raven’s tear-filled eyes that day, or the depth of emotion in her kiss on the necklace. All I knew was that on that day, my heart melted into an ocean of tenderness. But now, that very necklace, which Raven claimed would never leave her side unless she was dead, was hanging quietly around the child’s neck. Raven’s lips trembled for a long time, as if she didn’t know how to explain it to me. In the end, she didn’t say a word. But a flicker of triumph flashed in Marcus’s eyes. “Oh, this necklace? The kid was premature when he was born, and the doctor said Finn was in danger. Raven was worried about him, so she gave him this necklace. He’s worn it ever since he was born.” “But you know, this necklace really works. This kid, from childhood to now…” Before Marcus could finish, Raven cut him off, her voice cold. “Enough! Shut up!” 4 Raven grabbed Marcus’s arm and dragged him out. The child, frightened, started wailing. But I no longer had the strength to care, my mind consumed by Marcus’s words. Raven didn’t come back for a long time. I don’t know how much time passed before some suggestive sounds reached my ears. I threw off the covers, got out of bed, and followed the noise out of my room. The sounds were coming from Marcus’s room. A woman’s voice, so seductively soft it could melt your bones. “Don’t be like this, Ethan’s still home. It wouldn’t be good if he heard.” A man’s voice, hoarse with barely restrained desire. “He won’t. I’ve closed the door properly. He won’t hear anything. Come on, Raven, it’s been so long. Don’t you miss me?” What followed was inevitable. Just as the erotic atmosphere in the air reached its peak, Marcus, on top of Raven, turned his head, and his eyes met mine. Looking at Marcus’s slightly provocative gaze, what else was there not to understand? Marcus had done it on purpose. He said he’d closed the door, but it was clearly open. He did it deliberately, deliberately letting me see all this, deliberately letting me discover their relationship. I lowered my eyes and thoughtfully closed the door for them. Early the next morning, when I went downstairs, only Finn was at the dining table. He was dutifully holding a small bowl, spooning food into his mouth. Seeing me come down, he grinned, his eyes crinkling. “Uncle Ethan, you’re awake? Want some porridge? It’s seafood chowder, super yummy…” But before he could finish, he seemed to choke. His little face turned bright red, and clutching his mouth, he fell heavily from his chair. I was stunned by this sudden turn of events and rushed forward to check on him. After all, whatever issues the adults had, the child was innocent. I couldn’t just watch him suffer in front of me. But then, Marcus’s furious roar exploded. “Ethan Cole! What are you doing!” He lunged forward, yanked me away, and frantically called Finn’s name for a while. When Finn didn’t respond, he got up, checked what Finn had just eaten, and then, with bloodshot eyes, roared at me. “Mr. Cole! If you’re unhappy with us being here, we can just leave! Why would you be so cruel to a child? He’s only three! You’ll kill him doing this!” “Finn’s been allergic to seafood since he was little! I never dare give him anything like this! You have such a cruel heart, to actually feed him seafood chowder!” I was stunned by this barrage of accusations, only able to instinctively deny it. “I didn’t, I didn’t feed him…” But Marcus gave me no chance to explain, cutting me off sharply. “You didn’t? Are you going to say Finn ordered this seafood chowder takeout himself? He’s only three! What does he know!” Raven didn’t even glance at me. She strode forward, scooped up the struggling Finn, and headed for the door. “Stop talking. Let’s get the kid to the hospital first.” Raven hadn’t said a word to me, but after five years together, I could clearly feel she was blaming me. As she passed by, I looked at Raven’s profile, grabbed her wrist, and said, word by word. “Raven, it wasn’t me.” Raven paused, a flicker of impatience in her eyes. “Let go. I need to get Finn to the hospital.” As soon as Raven finished speaking, Marcus roughly shoved me aside and walked out the door with her. Marcus’s shove was sudden. Caught off guard, I fell hard, my lower back slamming into the corner of the coffee table. A sudden, sharp pain shot through my entire body, and I couldn’t help but cry out in pain. But Raven, who used to fret if I so much as frowned, now turned a deaf ear to my cries of pain, her eyes and heart solely focused on the child in her arms. As the three of them gradually disappeared from my sight, my phone rang. It was a message from Grandpa. “The car is almost here. Pack up and come out.” I wiped away my tears fiercely, gritted my teeth against the sharp pain in my lower back, and climbed up from the floor, heading into the bedroom. I took nothing but my ID and bank cards and walked out. After getting into the car Grandpa sent, I sent Raven a message. “Let’s break up, Raven.”

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The day my brother, Dominic, arrived at the orphanage to claim me, my boyfriend, Ethan, coldly spat a warning: “If you acknowledge them, we’re over!” I knew his pride ran deep, his inability to accept class disparities profound. For him, I bravely abandoned the family reunion just within reach. For decades thereafter, I toiled relentlessly, saving every penny to propel him to success. Before I reached fifty, I lay dying in a hospital bed, ravaged by years of overwork. On the television, Ethan, freshly crowned with the highest research award, tearfully thanked another woman: “For years, I felt unworthy, as if I could never measure up to Ms. Felicity Sterling. Today, with this award, I can finally begin to articulate a love decades overdue.” The Ms. Felicity Sterling he spoke of was the fake heiress, swapped with me at birth. The camera zoomed out, showing a perfectly preserved Felicity Sterling blushingly accepting the trophy. “Though I’ve waited decades for you, matters of marriage still need my brother’s blessing, of course~” Dominic, now the head of the Sterling family, watched her, his eyes brimming with a doting affection mixed with a hidden current of emotion. “Handing me over to our uncle’s family was always to protect Felicity. My life’s mission is to ensure the Sterling family’s sole princess remains happy.” It was then, on my deathbed, that a horrifying truth slammed into me: my seemingly selfless choice, the one I thought I’d never regret, had been a calculated trap, orchestrated by two men to protect Felicity. Consumed by rage and despair, I died, my eyes wide open. When I next awoke, I was back. Back to the day Dominic came to claim me. I swept past the two men frowning at me, their gazes a mixture of disdain and impatience, and resolutely slid into the car. “Take me home.” In this life, I swore, I would force every single person who stood in the wrong place to crawl back to the rotten mire where they belonged! … 1 “Elara, I’m telling you! If you let your vanity get the best of you and go back to being a rich girl, we’re done!” “Save me from everyone saying I’m after your money, Miss Heiress! I, Ethan, may be poor, but I have my dignity!” Just like in my previous life, Ethan, whose arm I had desperately clung to for advice, violently shook me off. The dull thud as my elbow hit the wall sent a jolt of pain, making me realize—I was reborn! Reborn on the day Dominic came to claim me! Dominic, with his aristocratic bearing, frowned at his watch, his face a mask of indifference and impatience. “If you’re not accepting, don’t waste my time. It’s been so many years, anyway. My parents aren’t really that bothered…” He was clearly rushing through this formality, eager to return to Felicity. In my past life, he had deliberately used that haughty, dismissive tone, leaving me, a twenty-two-year-old orphan, feeling not an ounce of familial warmth, only apprehension. Coupled with Ethan’s threat to break up, I had rejected my birth family without even meeting my true parents. Now, listening to Ethan’s impatient complaints beside me: “Elara, can you make up your own mind for once?! Don’t ask me about everything!” I spoke, my voice firm and clear: “I accept!” Two words, short and powerful, left both men stunned. Dominic frowned, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “You… what did you say?” This twenty-two-year-old body now housed a fifty-year-old soul, hardened by life’s trials. In my eyes, they were merely callow youths. I met Dominic’s gaze. “Didn’t the family send you to pick me up? Let’s go. Don’t keep my parents waiting.” It was only on my deathbed in my previous life that I learned Dominic wasn’t my biological brother. He was merely an adopted son, brought in by my parents from a distant relative’s family to accompany and protect their “only daughter,” Felicity. Yet, he, an adopted son, had put on such airs in front of me, their true daughter. As I moved to get into the car, Dominic, still far from the cunning old fox he would become, instinctively glanced at Ethan, his eyes filled with silent reproach for Ethan’s “failure”—they had indeed known each other all along. These two seemingly unrelated men had conspired to ruin my entire life for the sake of a fake heiress! The next second, Ethan violently grabbed my arm. “Elara, are you crazy?! Stepping your muddy shoes into a million-dollar luxury car? If you scratch it, can you afford to pay?! Don’t let your emotions get the best of you and cause trouble. I won’t be cleaning up your mess!” I was adopted by my Nana from Maplewood and named Elara. My family and Ethan’s were both struggling in our small town, but he always acted superior—just because my affection had granted him that privilege. I loved Ethan, following him like a shadow since childhood. He excelled academically, came from poverty but refused to be humbled, and never once called me “the stray.” After Nana passed, he became my sole anchor in the world. Despite both of us getting into high school, I dropped out to work and fund his tuition. When he said city kids found famous tutors, I risked my life climbing thirty miles of treacherous mountain roads to gather rare medicinal herbs from cliff edges, borrowing money to pay for his classes. It wasn’t until I lay in that hospital bed in my previous life, watching Ethan, then nearing sixty, blush as he reminisced about meeting Felicity at a tutoring class: “I was insecure and poor then, but she never looked down on me. I’d never seen such a wonderful girl. In that moment, I decided I would spend my entire life trying to catch up to her.” The back I broke, desperately struggling on the cliff’s edge, had become their stepping stone, a bridge to their affair. He could trample my love, but he had no right to use it to destroy my life! Seeing Ethan’s young face again, all that remained in my heart was disgust. “The car is here specifically for me. If I don’t get in, who else will snatch my place?” 2 Ethan hadn’t anticipated my sharp retort. His eyes widened, his throat bobbed. His face flushed as he strained to conjure a few sarcastic remarks. “Elara, are you really that greedy for money?! They abandoned you for all these years and didn’t care!” “Now, they just casually remember to ask, and you’re already fawning over them!” “So spineless! So shameless?!” In my past life, he habitually used such accusations, such crushing words. If Ethan had questioned me like that before, I would have been consumed by shame, convinced I had indeed done something wrong. But I had already endured a lifetime of hardship. On dreary, rainy days, every aching, twisted joint screamed at me, Why did you give up a golden opportunity within reach, just to suffer pointlessly for a man who didn’t deserve it? I coldly shook off his hand. “Ethan, whether I’m fawning or not, the Sterling family is my home.” “And my family matters are none of your business, outsider.” With that, I didn’t spare him another glance and got straight into the car. From Dominic’s disapproving gaze, Ethan, unwilling to accept defeat, shouted from outside the car: “Elara! I’m giving you one last chance! Get out right now!” “Otherwise, we’re over!” “And look at yourself! No class! No education! How can you be a Sterling heiress?!” “When you get kicked out, don’t come crawling back to me for another chance!” I simply closed the window, blocking out his curses, and calmly instructed the driver without any hint of subservience. “Please take me home. To my parents.” Despite knowing the Sterlings were wealthy, seeing the sprawling villa and luxury cars before me still left me stunned. Dominic sneered, dismissing my “uncouth” reaction. “This villa was a gift from the family to Felicity when she turned eighteen.” Felicity’s eighteenth birthday gift was an entire villa, while on my eighteenth birthday, my hands were raw from washing dishes in murky restaurant sinks, earning money to support Dominic through his crucial final year of high school. “Felicity always said she was a little princess, so the entire design mimics a European castle.” Dominic’s lips curved into a smile as he recalled the memory, but the moment he caught sight of me, his face returned to cold indifference. “Ms. Vance, since you’ve chosen to come back, as the future heir of Sterling Enterprises, I still have a few words for you.” Felicity had shown no aptitude for academics or business since childhood. Dominic, however, had entered the company early. Though no one had ever officially promised him the position, he clearly already considered himself the “Crown Prince.” “While you do share a bloodline with our family, perhaps, as your boyfriend said, Mom and Dad only remembered you on a whim.” “But Felicity is different. She grew up in this house since she was a baby. She has always been our family’s little princess. Felicity was also swapped at birth. She wouldn’t know anything about it. She is innocent. She owes you nothing!” Each arrogant word pierced my ears. I looked up at him. “Thank you.” Dominic’s eyebrow twitched, clearly confused. But I was already striding forward. Thank you for telling me all this. Now I know everything that should have been mine! In my past life, after rejecting my birth family, I had actually wanted to secretly visit the Sterlings, not for wealth or glory, but just to know where I came from. But Dominic had stopped me at the gate. “Ms. Vance, you decided to reject your family for a man. Your parents are utterly disappointed in you.” “Coming back to bother us now is simply pathetic and undignified!” “You’ve missed your chance. Please leave immediately!” “After all, our entire family doesn’t wish for Felicity to be disturbed. She’s about to have her birthday, and she doesn’t know you exist. Ms. Vance, I ask you to be a kind person and not hurt my sister.” That day, Dominic’s bodyguards had shoved me aside like a stray dog. Through the crack in the gate, I saw Felicity, delicate as a flower, surrounded by my parents in the garden. At the time, I didn’t know Dominic was adopted, and I believed he spoke for the entire Sterling family. But during my near-death experience, I learned that in my previous life, my parents had indeed wanted to meet me, but Dominic had ruthlessly blocked them. He painted me as an unhinged, irresponsible girl, claiming: “She said she wouldn’t contact the Sterling family unless they all died off, so she could inherit everything.” “Otherwise, she wouldn’t even deign to look at any of us Sterlings.” Humans are, after all, creatures of emotion. My parents, who had no pre-existing affection for me, listened to his words, then looked at the innocent and charming Felicity. In the end, they were left with nothing but a sigh. In my past life, I only knew how to accept my fate. I didn’t understand that if you weren’t born with a silver spoon, you had to fight for what you wanted—be it money or love. So, when I knelt before my parents, crying uncontrollably, confessing my “longing,” they embraced me, tears in their eyes. “Our precious girl has suffered!” “Mom and Dad will make it up to you a hundredfold!” Leaning on my parents’ shoulders, through tear-filled eyes, I saw young Felicity. 3 Even though she didn’t speak immediately, I quickly caught the flash of resentment in her eyes. Felicity looked like an innocent little rabbit, her eyes red, her lips trembling, holding back tears. “Mom, Dad, who is this sister?” “Why is she calling you Mom and Dad too?” Just as my parents realized they had neglected Felicity and were about to comfort her, I quickly grasped Felicity’s hand. “This must be the sister who honored our parents in my stead.” “Just as my brother said, she’s a million times better than me!” “Even though sister’s birth mother swapped us and then abandoned me in Maplewood to fend for myself, I know my sister knew nothing of her eighteen years of privilege in the Sterling family. My sister is innocent!” “And my brother has already warned me that my sister is the little princess cherished by the whole family, unlike me, who never even met my birth parents…” I took a pendant from my neck. “I don’t have anything presentable for our first meeting. This is the only memento my Nana, who raised me, left me. I hope it protects my sister and keeps her safe always.” Without waiting for Felicity to refuse, I pressed the pendant into her hand. The sharp corner of the pendant pricked Felicity’s delicate palm. With a high-pitched shriek from her, I preemptively recoiled two steps, falling backward onto the floor. The pendant dropped and shattered into fragments. Under my parents’ astonished gaze, I immediately knelt, cupping the shards in my hands. My hands were soon covered in blood, and tears streamed down my face as I apologized incessantly. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think this through!” “Even if this is my most precious possession, it doesn’t compare to my sister, a Sterling heiress…” My parents, their hearts aching, pulled me up. Their voices choked with emotion. “Elara, what are you doing? You’re Mom and Dad’s biological daughter!” When our eyes met again, Felicity’s eyes held an unconcealed resentment. Felicity truly wasn’t a clean flower protected by the mud. This was perfect. It saved me from any useless guilt! From the moment I was reborn, I had decided that whether Felicity was innocent or not, I would take back everything that was mine. Even if she truly knew nothing, I would still claim it. Because these things were rightfully mine. Felicity and I were swapped. Felicity’s birth mother, pregnant out of wedlock, coincidentally gave birth on the same day as my mother. Seeing my mother’s expensive attire and lavish lifestyle, the woman, unwilling to let her child suffer, stealthily swapped us when no one was looking. She didn’t even intend to raise me; she simply abandoned me in Maplewood. If Nana hadn’t found me, I would probably have been nothing but bones. Compared to Felicity’s privileged, mistaken life, I was the truly innocent one. As for the jade pendant, of course, it wasn’t an heirloom. It was just a cheap trinket Ethan won from a street raffle years ago, the only gift he ever gave me. A piece of worthless glass that I had treasured for years. Now, it was perfectly suited to pave my way. My father frantically took the glass shards, calling for someone to mend them, while my mother, heartbroken, had the family doctor tend to my bleeding hands. “Felicity! How could you drop your sister’s gift and push your sister?!” “Is that what we’ve taught you all these years?!” Unlike my daily humiliation and gaslighting by Ethan, this was probably the first time Felicity had ever been reprimanded in her life. Her face flushed with indignation, her neck stiff, but she had no idea how to defend herself. Dominic, who had been protecting her from the start, finally spoke. “Mom, Dad, you’re misunderstanding Felicity.” “I was standing right there. I clearly saw Elara intentionally fall and shatter the pendant herself.” “While I don’t know why Elara would try to frame Felicity right after coming home, I believe the house’s surveillance cameras would have captured it.” “After all, Elara is the kind of person who, to return to the Sterling family, would heartlessly dump a boyfriend she’d been with for years, her childhood sweetheart.” With that, Dominic pulled out his phone. On the screen, the footage clearly showed my conversation with Ethan—the bits where I’d said “snatch my place” and “none of your business, outsider,” edited cleverly to look damning. Sure enough, my parents’ brows furrowed. Dominic seized the opportunity to lean close to me and whisper, “You don’t know about high-tech surveillance, do you?” In this era, surveillance was indeed still a novelty; most ordinary families had no idea what it even was. Dominic’s lips curled into a smug smile. “I warned you that Felicity is innocent. I told you not to touch her!” “But since you insist on using dirty tricks, you only have yourself to blame for your wicked intentions!”

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The day Nova’s company teetered on the brink of collapse, she finally agreed to be my girlfriend. For five years, I secretly leveraged my family’s resources, helping her company climb step by painful step. On the eve of its IPO, Nova at last promised to marry me, swearing I would be the happiest man alive. But then, I stumbled upon a chat log on her computer, a conversation with her best friend— “My marriage to Finn is just to spite Julian.” “I know Julian won’t just stand by and watch me marry someone else.” “The moment he comes back from abroad for me, I’ll dump Finn, my backup.” Reading those words, I immediately ordered my family to withdraw all investments. Fine, let them be a star-crossed couple, sharing hardship. “Dad, pull out all investments from Nova’s company in a few days.” With the company on the verge of going public, withdrawing funds would be a death blow to her. My father, who had seen my capabilities firsthand over the years in Nova’s company, was furious. “That woman dared to cheat on you? I’m going to confront her!” “Dad, I’ll handle this myself,” I replied, my voice hoarse. My father, knowing my deeply loyal nature, sighed and told me to proceed as I saw fit before hanging up. My gaze, however, remained fixed on the screen, those chat logs piercing me like needles. Nova was my junior in college. At freshman orientation, I saw her in the crowd, and my heart skipped a beat. Later, she was harassed by some thugs, and I fought them, getting a bloody nose, just to protect her, finally bridging the distance between us. But she always had a long-distance boyfriend in college, and no matter how hard I pursued her, she remained cold. Now, looking back, I realize I was foolish—it was precisely her aloofness that made me want to conquer her even more, my possessiveness swelling with each passing day. Then, the year she graduated, Julian suddenly sought me out for drinks. She drank heavily, sobbing as she drank, saying her boyfriend had betrayed her and moved abroad. By the lake, she cursed every man on earth. Finally, she cried against my shoulder for a long time. It was from that day on that I wanted to prove, through my actions, that there was a man in this world who truly loved her. After graduation, she started a cosmetics company, but it went bankrupt after just a year, leaving her millions in debt. In her darkest days, I stayed by her side, and slowly, she emerged from the shadows, finally agreeing to be my girlfriend. I convinced my father to use our family resources, silently helping her company get back on track. Five full years, and the company was finally going public. On the day the IPO was approved, I proposed to her while she was still elated. She considered it for a day, and then actually said yes. I was so excited I stayed up all night, believing we would finally achieve our happy ending, only to find out it was all just a scheme to spite her ‘ghost of the past’—the very man who had once abandoned her! And I? I was nothing but a pawn. Nova hurried out that afternoon, leaving in such a rush that she forgot to log out of her computer’s messaging app. Even though the chat logs suffocated me with pain, I clicked on her social media profile—I had never looked before, and she seemed to never post anything, not even sweet moments from our travels. But now I realized she did post; she had just always blocked me. Soon, I found a photo of a man on her profile. Though only his arm was visible, the expensive IWC watch on his wrist glared conspicuously—I had seen that watch in her bag recently. I had thought it was a surprise for me. It turned out she had already given it to someone else. She wasn’t incapable of romance; she just refused to waste it on me. Just then, my phone rang. “Finn, hurry! Nova’s arguing with someone, I’m worried she’ll get hurt!” Her angry shouts faintly echoed through the phone: “You have to apologize to my boyfriend!” My heart plummeted—I wasn’t there, so the “boyfriend” she spoke of clearly wasn’t me. I wanted to understand what was happening. I put on my jacket and walked to the shoe rack, where I saw the pearl necklace I had given her lying on the floor, several pearls cracked, one even crushed by a high heel. That necklace… I had dived into the river repeatedly to retrieve freshwater mussels, picking out each pearl one by one. The day I finished, I was utterly exhausted, yet she had shown no care for it. I bent down, picked up the pearl necklace, and expressionlessly tossed it into the trash can. Then, I hailed a taxi and went to the bar where Nova was arguing. But as soon as I arrived, I saw a man tightly embracing her. On his wrist, was that expensive IWC watch. “Those guys accidentally spilled a drink on Nova’s friend, so Nova got into an argument with them.” “Nova drank a lot today, I’m worried she’ll cause trouble.” Nova’s friend quickly rushed to my side, explaining. Learning the reason, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. I remembered accompanying her to a client dinner once. The deal wasn’t going well, and the client deliberately spilled wine on my face. She hadn’t gotten angry like this then. Instead, she blamed me for not knowing table etiquette, claiming I had ruined the partnership. Seeing Nova about to confront the other party again, her friend quickly rushed up and stopped them. “Nova! Okay, okay! You’re getting married soon, don’t cause any trouble!” Unexpectedly, Nova shoved her friend away. “Who says I’m getting married?!” “This jerk spilled a drink on my boyfriend! Do you think this can just be brushed aside?!” “No apology, no one leaves!” Nova’s eyes were hazy from drink, her steps unsteady. Her words caused some of her friends present, who knew me, to look awkward. Their gazes involuntarily shifted to me. I gave a cold smile, then stepped forward, swung my arm, and slapped the man confronting Nova across the face. My slap silenced the entire bar. “You bastard! You dare hit me!” After a moment of stunned silence, the man exploded in fury, lunging at me. And I? I just wanted to see Nova’s reaction. She was so enraged for her so-called boyfriend, but what about me, her fiancé? Instead, Nova violently pushed me in the chest, roaring, “What are you doing here?! Aren’t I causing enough trouble already today?!” “You’re useless! You only make things worse!” Nova’s words chilled me to the core. She even looked at the other man with a defiant righteousness. “Now we’re even! Get lost!” The other man, surprisingly, remained rational. Especially seeing my grim expression, he didn’t dare to continue the argument. He eventually left, muttering curses under his breath. After he left, Nova collapsed onto the sofa. Nova’s friend awkwardly explained to me, “Finn, don’t overthink it. Nova drank too much and spoke without thinking. This is Julian, Nova’s high school classmate. He just got back from abroad today.” I casually glanced at Julian, noticing a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips. His gaze, when it met mine, was filled with disdain and triumph. “Julian, this is Nova’s fiancé, Finn…” Before her friend could finish the introduction, Nova suddenly sat up from the sofa. “Colleague! What fiancé?!” This sudden verbal blow made my body tremble. The atmosphere instantly became incredibly awkward. After a long silence, Nova’s friend quickly tried to smooth things over, offering me a drink. “Brother, I’ll toast you.” Unexpectedly, Nova, who had just slumped down, sat up again, glaring furiously at her friend, snapping, “Don’t you know your ‘brother’ is allergic to alcohol?!” Indeed, I was allergic to alcohol. She knew that. But what I hadn’t expected was Julian’s reaction. “Nova, you’re drunk. Sarah is toasting Finn, not me.” Only then did Nova ease up. “Oh. Well, he can drink! He can drink a lot!” “In the entire company, he’s the one who can drink the most!” Hearing her words, I felt something in my chest shatter. My heart fragmented, bleeding profusely. I remembered an event a few years ago. Before going, I told her I was allergic to alcohol. But when we arrived, she immediately told me to toast the clients, one by one. She said that at a social gathering, it was uncouth for a man not to drink. That day, I ended up in the hospital. She even blamed me for being useless, collapsing after just a little alcohol. Yet, even with such a profound lesson, she still didn’t remember my alcohol allergy. I could only conclude that she truly had never cared for me. Coming here, I had held onto a last sliver of hope. But now, it was utterly crushed. Just then, Julian stood up and said to me, “Since you’re here, you can take Nova home. I just got back from overseas, and I can’t look after her tonight.” “Oh, and tomorrow, when she wakes up, remember to make her a ginger honey tea. She loves it. And if she doesn’t drink it, she’ll have a headache all day.” “Don’t forget to cover her with a blanket at night. She has a terrible sleeping posture when she’s had too much to drink.” Julian’s words, every single one, told me that he knew Nova better than I did. Today, he was simply dumping this mess onto me. I stared at Julian’s smug eyes for a long time, truly wanting to punch him. But in the end, I held back. I wanted to see how long this play of theirs would go on. On the way back, my eyes felt terribly sore. But as a man, I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to appear so vulnerable. Five years of dating, if you count the four years I pursued her. I had loved this woman for nine years. But all I got in return was this. This also brought back the chat logs I had seen earlier. If Julian was willing to return from abroad for her, she would dump me, her backup, and marry Julian. So, I had always been just a backup. Today, her goal had been achieved. No wonder she rushed out so frantically this afternoon. She must have been going to the airport to pick up Julian. Just then, Nova’s phone vibrated. I opened it and saw a message from Julian. But my gaze immediately focused on Julian’s profile picture. The two of them had changed to matching couple avatars, probably at that party earlier. I remembered last year, I found a famous cartoonist and had them draw exquisite avatars for Nova and me. I excitedly told Nova to switch to the new avatar. But she immediately snapped at me, calling me childish and telling me to focus on my work. Yet now, she had changed to an even more childish one with Julian. Just then, I felt a small box in Nova’s bag. I carefully took it out. And when I saw the “DR” logo, my breathing suddenly became uncontrollably rapid. My hands trembled violently. The rapid breathing made me lightheaded, and my vision began to spin. Finally, I mustered the courage to open the box. Inside was indeed a DR diamond ring. Engraved on the back were the letters “JX,” Julian’s initials. I had pleaded with her countless times to choose a DR ring for our wedding. After all, each man can only customize one in his lifetime. But she never agreed, saying it was just a gimmick. Instead, she had been waiting for Julian all along, intending to engrave Julian’s name on this most important ring. I tried to breathe deeply, to calm myself. Then, while Nova was sound asleep, I used her fingerprint to unlock her phone and open Julian’s message. “Sweetheart, don’t forget tomorrow, we’re going wedding dress shopping. I’ll pick you up.” Boom! Seeing that message, my head buzzed. The wedding dress. I had brought it up to her so many times. She just told me to pick one out for her. “Whatever you like, darling,” she’d said. She even claimed that with her figure, she could pull off any wedding dress. In truth, she simply didn’t care what I bought. And she never intended to appear at my wedding, wearing the most beautiful gown. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to furiously punch the car window! But seeing the driver still in front, I could only clench my fists, forcing myself to hold back. Men don’t cry! My fingernails dug deep into my flesh. I could only let the physical pain replace the agony in my heart. Struggling to let go of this love I had clung to for nine long years. The next morning, I still made her ginger honey tea, just as Julian had instructed. But she took one sip, then spit it out. “What is this concoction? Why did you add ginger?!” “Don’t you know I hate the smell of ginger?!” But I distinctly remembered Julian saying she loved the taste of ginger honey tea. Quickly, I understood. She didn’t like the taste of ginger honey tea; she liked Julian’s taste. She liked the taste of her ‘ghost of the past.’ Even if that ‘ghost of the past’ had once abandoned her and moved abroad. However, I hadn’t slept all night and had thought a lot about this relationship. Looking at her now, surprisingly, I felt no anger. Instead, I poured the entire bowl of ginger honey tea into the trash. Nova, after putting on her shoes, said coldly, “The company’s going public soon. I have a lot on my plate. Don’t cause me any more trouble.” With that, she turned, slammed the door, and left. I knew she was meeting Julian to go wedding dress shopping. I quickly sent someone to find out which store Nova was going to. It wasn’t hard to guess. Without any surprise, Nova chose the most expensive and exclusive wedding dress shop in the city. The same shop I had visited four or five times already. Three days ago, I had ordered the most expensive wedding dress in the country there, intending to surprise her. Today, it was supposed to arrive. Instead, when I reached the wedding dress shop entrance, I saw Nova trying on that very dress, twirling in front of Julian. Julian was talking to the store manager about something. “Julian, I really love this dress. I just have to have this one,” Nova cooed, clinging to Julian’s arm, acting utterly spoiled. She had never been like that with me! It was as if she had transformed into a different person! Then, Nova diligently began negotiating with the manager. “Call that other customer. Tell them I’m willing to pay an extra hundred thousand dollars, plus another hundred thousand in compensation, if they’ll let me have this dress.” Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. So, for her ‘ghost of the past,’ she was truly willing to give him anything. The money for this wedding dress was her own, just to be with this ‘ghost of the past.’ But did she ever consider how she earned that money? The manager, seemingly swayed by the price Nova offered, turned and went into the back room, saying she’d call me. I slowly walked up behind Nova. Julian was the first to see me. His face immediately fell, then he took Nova’s hand in front of me, subtly signaling with his eyes that I was behind her. Only then did Nova turn around, and seeing me, she instinctively frowned. “The company has so much going on. Why aren’t you there? What are you doing here?!” Instead of any embarrassment, she immediately launched into a barrage of accusations. I quietly watched her, not wanting to argue. Last night, my heart had died to her. Grieving for her now was utterly pointless. Seeing my silence, Nova ran a hand through her hair, then finally spoke again. “Finn, you’ve seen it. The person I truly love is Julian.” “Don’t make a scene. I’ll give you a sum of money. I hope you can leave with dignity.” My gaze remained fixed on her eyes. Coming here, I only wanted to ask her one last question. “Nova, I just want to know, all these years, did you ever truly love me?” Nova, upon hearing this, allowed a sneer to curl her lips. “Finn, I know you love me to death.” “But today, in front of Julian, I have to tell you honestly: I never loved you.” “I just felt sorry for you, pursuing me for so many years, so I agreed to be with you.” “My heart has always been with Julian.” Though it was the answer I expected, Nova’s words were even more heartless than I had imagined. Good. Since she could be so cruel, why couldn’t I? Just then, the manager emerged from the back room. “Miss Reed, I’m so sorry…” But before she could finish, she saw me, looking surprised. “Oh, Mr. Evans, you’re here! This lady, she…” Before she could continue, I interrupted. “It’s fine. Give her the wedding dress.” “I hope they can be happy.” With that, I turned and left the wedding dress shop, dialing my father’s number. “Dad, the withdrawal of investment. Announce it on Nova’s wedding day.”

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During the fan sing-along segment of the concert, the roving camera suddenly stopped on me. I quickly got up, waving my hands. “Excuse me, I don’t really know your songs. I’m just here with a friend.” The fans in the crowd immediately booed. “Not even an Asher fan and sitting front row?! What a waste of good seats!” He, however, just stared at me blankly, his eyes visibly reddening on the close-up shot. “There’s one song, I’m sure you’ll know.” That night, the hashtag “Pop Ballad King Asher Vance’s First Love” trended on social media… 1 Just moments before, my best friend, Riley, had been sobbing hysterically over not getting front-row tickets to Pop Ballad King Asher Vance’s concert. The next minute, someone in a fan group added her on a messaging app and offered two tickets for free. She leaped up, hugging me, laughing and crying as she invited me along. Hearing that familiar name, I stiffened slightly. “No thanks, Riley, I’m not really into pop stars.” She pulled my hand, her face beaming. “Trust me, Skylar! You just need to see one show, you’ll fall in love with him, I swear!” Now, I sat less than five yards from the stage, hiding behind Riley’s enormous fan light stick, covertly watching the guy on stage, strumming his guitar and singing ballads. His eyes held a gentle smile, seemingly gazing off into the distance, yet his focus felt as intense as if he were looking only at me. Lost in thought, Riley suddenly grabbed my shoulder, shaking me wildly. “Ah!! Skylar, what are you spacing out for?! You got picked to sing on stage! Go, go!” Only then did I realize the camera had somehow landed on me. The girl on the giant screen snapped back to reality, staring blankly, waving her hands. “Sorry, I don’t really know your songs. I’m just here with a friend.” The surrounding fans immediately erupted. “Seriously, sis! If you’re not an Ash fan, why are you in the front row? What a waste of a spot!” “Don’t waste our time! Pick another fan!” Then, rabid fans like Riley shrieked, “Ah!! I’m her friend! Can I go up instead?!” Amidst the fan commotion, they didn’t notice the man on stage drop his guitar, only staring blankly at me, his eyes visibly reddening on the close-up shot. “You’re fine, miss. Don’t worry, there’s one song you’ll definitely know.” Riley pushed me onto the stage, my legs moving towards him before my mind caught up. The camera zoomed in on us. I stood there, stiff, nervously twisting the hem of my dress, but his smile was as warm as a spring breeze. “May I ask your name?” I took a deep breath, calming my hammering heart. “Skylar Hayes.” “Can you play the piano?” “Yes.” He led me to the piano and sat down. “For the next song, I’d like to play my breakthrough hit, ‘That Summer.’ ” Then he leaned in, his voice low. “Just follow my melody with simple chords.” The stage lights dimmed suddenly, leaving only a single spotlight on us. Silence enveloped the arena. It felt like the entire world had faded away, leaving only the two of us. The faint, elusive scent of lavender from Asher clung to the air, and my scattered thoughts slowly calmed. The opening notes began, and the chords, etched deep in my memory, flowed naturally from my fingertips. Every harmony, every duet, his voice rich and deep, mine clear and bright—we were so in sync, it was as if we’d sung it a thousand times before. Until the last lyric faded, and the song’s lingering notes died down. The quiet crowd erupted in cheers. “That song! It’s the title track from Asher’s first album! They say it’s about his high school sweetheart, but he’s never sung it at a concert before! Talk about a throwback!” “The male-female duet version is so beautiful! Good thing I recorded it! Love it, love it!” “A total stranger can sing that well?! My ears have ascended! I swear you guys were lip-syncing, boo hoo!” Before I stepped off the stage, he suddenly hugged me, whispering in a voice only I could hear: “Skylar, long time no see.” The embrace was fleeting. He smoothly slipped a signed poster into my arms. “Thanks for your amazing performance, Skylar.” I stumbled off the stage, still a bit dazed. Riley threw her arms around me, practically rubbing herself on me. “You hugged my idol, and I hugged you. By extension, I hugged my idol!” Then she eyed me suspiciously. “That song’s from his early album. It’s not very well-known, only old fans would know it. Skylar, you’ve got hidden depths! And you said you weren’t an Asher fan.” I didn’t explain—I wasn’t Asher Vance’s fan. I knew that song because we wrote it together in high school. 2 Back home, the faint, familiar scent of lavender still clung to me. I abandoned the idea of a shower, collapsing onto the couch instead. With practiced ease, I opened my social media search history and clicked on Asher Vance’s profile. It had been my nightly ritual for years. The irony wasn’t lost on me: I didn’t even have the courage to follow him. Ten minutes earlier, he’d posted an update: “She came to my concert.” The caption was accompanied by a photo. In the picture, a girl in an Evergreen High uniform—a simple white uniform, neatly pressed—stood with a high ponytail falling to her shoulders. Though her face wasn’t visible, her silhouette alone hinted at a graceful, blossoming figure. A pang shot through me. She? Was he talking about me? Just then, my phone rang. “My heart is shattered, Skylar! My Ash just went public! I’m dying!” Riley’s wails poured from the phone. “Huh? Where did you see him ‘go public’?” I was confused, but a flush crept onto my cheeks. That post, while a little suggestive, wasn’t that clear, was it? Riley abruptly hung up, leaving a hurried, “Check the trending topics!” Only then did I see it: a female singer named Cassidy Bell had retweeted Asher’s post. “From junior to fellow artist, finally waited for this day.” I clicked on her attached photos. One showed her holding a bouquet of flowers, standing beside Asher on a stage, both smiling brightly. Coincidentally, she was wearing an Evergreen High uniform, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, perfectly matching the silhouette in Asher’s post. The other was a selfie taken from the audience at today’s concert, where she wore a baseball cap, skillfully angled to look like she was kissing Asher’s cheek. The fans exploded. “What a perfect couple! I just went to a concert, and ended up with a mouthful of dog food!” “The golden couple of the music industry, they’re made for each other!” “Raising the ‘AshCid’ banner high! My ship has finally sailed!” A slow, sickening realization dawned on me. She in Asher’s post, was Cassidy Bell. The red heart emoji after her text seemed to burn into my eyes. I rubbed my aching eyes and drifted off to sleep, fully dressed. In my dream, I was back in high school. I encouraged Asher to join the school singing competition with me. But on the day of the finals, I lost my voice due to a cold and cough, forced to withdraw. It was his first time winning. As I took pictures to commemorate the moment, the girl who took second place, her face flushed, handed him a bouquet. “Hello, senior. I’m Cassidy Bell from freshman class 3. Your singing is beautiful. Can I take a picture with you?” When I woke, my eyes were damp. So, Cassidy Bell was that freshman girl who used to constantly trail after us in school. That photo of her holding flowers on her social media? I was the one who took it. But what right did I have to be upset? I once thought I was a golden girl, destined for greatness, and that Asher and I were inseparable. Even though Asher, after my “makeover,” was always surrounded by girls, I still believed our feelings for each other simply remained unspoken. Turns out, I was the clown all along. I hadn’t slept well, and by the time I dragged my luggage onto the school bus, swaying all the way to Willow Creek Elementary in the rural county, I thought I was hallucinating. I saw Asher Vance. I rubbed my eyes three times, finally confirming I wasn’t mistaken. Despite the surge of wild joy, my face remained calm as still water. “What are you doing here?” He offered a cautious, placating smile. “I was afraid you might misunderstand what’s trending, so I came specifically to explain.” 3 My face remained cold, unyielding. He followed me docilely, trailing behind as I taught the children, ate meals with them. In the evening, we lay side-by-side on the hillside, watching the sunset. He told a few exaggerated jokes, making the children burst into peals of laughter. Finally, I let out a soft chuckle too. “Alright, kids, head back to school. I have something to discuss with your Ms. Hayes.” Whether it was the glow of the sunset or something else, his face was a little flushed. The children giggled, scampering down the hill, leaving me alone on the grass. Sigh. These innocent kids, bought over by this seemingly harmless, handsome guy in just one day. We lay shoulder to shoulder, neither of us speaking. The silence stretched, a little awkward. I broke it first. “You’ve changed a lot. You used to be so brooding and quiet. In all the years I’ve known you, this is the first time I’ve heard you tell jokes. It’s good.” But he wouldn’t let me change the subject. “Skylar, the person I was referring to on my social media was you. I don’t know why Cassidy would post something so misleading, but I don’t want you to misunderstand my relationship with her.” “If you didn’t give her the wrong idea, why would she be so desperate to go public with you?” I was a firm believer that it takes two to tango. Remembering the fans’ unearthed “sweet interactions” between them from yesterday, my heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, a sharp, insistent ache. “Skylar, do you know how much effort I put into finding you? You just vanished for so many years without a word. If I hadn’t secretly followed your car home right after the concert last night and sat outside your apartment building all night, then followed you to this charity school early this morning, I don’t know how long you would have kept hiding from me. All these years, do you have any idea what I’ve been through?!” I looked at his bloodshot eyes, and my heart, despite everything, ached for him. I raised my hand, intending to gently caress his cheek, but his phone rang at an inconvenient moment. Seeing “Cassidy” on the screen, my hand froze, then slid down his shoulder as I pretended to brush off some grass. “Go on, answer it. If you’re not guilty, why won’t you?” The incessant ringing was grating on my nerves. He patted my head reassuringly and answered. “Asher, please don’t be mad, okay? I was wrong last night. I shouldn’t have posted that without your permission. But… that was my dad’s idea too!” “You posted such a suggestive message without the company’s approval, not only violating your contract, but did you even consider how your fans would react?!” The voice through the earpiece was tearful, but soft and pleading, almost like a whine. After hanging up, he rubbed his temples, explaining helplessly. “Cassidy and I are both artists under Starbound Entertainment. Starbound Entertainment’s boss is her father. Skylar, please give me some time to sort all this out. One month, I just need one month…” “No need, Asher. We’re not that kind of relationship anyway. You don’t owe me an explanation.” I cut him off, my words cold and detached. “The wind’s picking up. Let’s go.” Asher left. He was a busy man; it was already a miracle he’d spent this day with me. Listening to the rumble of his car engine fading away, I hid in my room, biting my pillow to muffle my sobs. The once confident Skylar, who never truly saw other girls as a threat, had finally been worn down by years of successive upheavals, consumed by anxiety and fear of loss. Perhaps it was because I’d cried for Asher for so long, that his figure filled my dreams. 4 Freshman year, I was obsessed with music, spending every spare moment in the school’s piano room. There was always someone hiding outside the door, secretly listening to me play. One day, I played a recording on my phone, then quietly opened the door and caught the lurking figure red-handed. He wore a pair of comically oversized, nerdy glasses. His washed-out uniform looked ancient, and his sneakers were even coming unglued. I eyed him curiously, watching his face redden until he was bright scarlet, before I finally chuckled. “Hey, if you like piano, why don’t you join me every day? Don’t just listen from outside.” “I… I really like listening to you play, but I’ve never learned piano…” he stammered in explanation. That was my first meeting with Asher Vance. He was in my grade but a different class, even a different building, because I was in the Honors Program, and he was in the lowest-ranked regular class. But at my earnest invitation, he started coming to the piano room with me every day. I also learned from him that his parents sold vegetables at the farmers’ market near the school; he was one of the few low-income students. “I love music so much. I want to study performing arts and audition for college, but my family can’t afford it,” he confessed once we grew closer. He was sixteen, just like me, should have been carefree, but instead he was meek and quiet due to his insecurity. “That’s easy! I’ll find you a music teacher right now!” I slapped his shoulder, declaring grandly. I led him to the office. “Mr. Hayes, I found an incredibly talented student for you. Would you give him some free lessons?” That’s when he realized my father was the school’s music teacher. My dad, true to his word, began giving Asher free vocal lessons and teaching him guitar. He progressed rapidly. Even my dad, who rarely praised anyone, raved about Asher’s talent and diligence. In sophomore year, Asher won the school singing competition. I excitedly grabbed my dad’s hand, jumping up and down. “I told you he’d be your best student!” My dad just gave me a knowing, teasing glance that instantly made my face flush. I tutored him in academics, my dad taught him music. Three years later, he successfully auditioned and got into the best music conservatory in the country… After a night filled with dreams, I woke up with two massive dark circles under my eyes. As I shuffled to the bathroom to brush my teeth, Asher Vance stood in front of me, dragging a suitcase. “Skylar, I went back yesterday and sorted out my work. I plan to stay by your side from today onwards.” He grinned at me. After that, no matter how cold I was, he clung to me, refusing to leave. With his sunny, energetic personality, he quickly replaced me as the children’s favorite teacher. We seemed to have returned to our high school days. Though we hadn’t seen each other for years, our interactions were so familiar, it felt as if we’d been living together for a lifetime. When I uploaded the demo I’d spent half a year perfecting, I immediately received countless messages from fans: “Echo is finally back! A once-in-a-millennium event!” Even famous singers reached out: “What about that song you promised? This one should be mine, right?” Below, fans immediately jumped in to tease: “Don’t even think about it! Echo never writes a song that isn’t tailor-made for Pop King Asher! I strongly suspect she’s his ultimate fangirl!” Then, a sharp-eared fan asked, “Could Echo be in love? The entire track has such a joyful vibe, pink bubbles practically overflowing from the screen. This isn’t the usual Echo style!” When I saw that comment, I choked on a mouthful of water, coughing uncontrollably. Was it that obvious? Though I had to admit, ever since Asher started staying by my side, that tight string in my mind, stretched for years, had finally relaxed. 5 One morning, the youngest child in our class, who should have been at school, didn’t show up. A frantic panic seized me. The child was a day student, leaving home before dawn every morning, crossing a mountain to get to school. I was terrified she might have met with some danger on her way. I immediately asked the principal to watch the other children, then ran out of the school gates to look for her. Asher followed close behind me. We walked, calling her name. Finally, halfway up the mountain, we heard a faint cry. The girl had fallen into a ravine, soaked through, having been there for an unknown amount of time. My eyes welled up, and I started to rush down, but Asher pulled me back. “There’s no stable footing here, it’s too easy to slip. I’ll go. You wait for me on the slope.” Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he ran down. He carefully checked the girl’s oddly twisted foot, then wrapped her in his jacket and carried her on his back. He climbed back up, drenched in sweat. “The ambulance can’t get here. Her leg is broken. We need to drive her to the hospital now.” We rushed the girl to the nearest hospital. Thankfully, the treatment was prompt. Aside from a broken right leg, the girl was otherwise fine. After the surgery, the doctor immediately recognized Asher, his face lighting up with excitement. “Asher, hi! I’m a huge fan! Can I get your autograph?” I instinctively tried to pull away, afraid the fans would misunderstand our relationship. But he grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. “Of course!” The girl’s parents were migrant workers in the city, so she lived with her elderly grandmother. To spare the grandmother worry, we hired a nurse for the girl, then drove back to the village and found her home. As I watched Asher, kneeling on the ground, gently holding the trembling old woman’s hand, reassuring her: “It’s alright, ma’am, the child is doing very well. You don’t need to worry about the surgery or hospital fees; I’ve already taken care of it…” A sudden warmth spread through my heart. I thought, this, just being together every day like this, feels really good. Walking back to the school dormitory, side-by-side, I took a deep breath, took his hand, and said, “Asher, how about we…” “Senior, long time no see.” A cold voice cut off my confession.

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1 I got accepted into Juilliard, the world’s number one music conservatory. But my father burned my acceptance letter to ashes. My eyes wide with disbelief, I asked him in a trembling voice why he’d done it. He clamped his hands around my throat, veins bulging on his forehead. “You damned wretch don’t deserve to go to such a good school!” Mom rushed over, not to help me, but to bind me with a thick rope. Tears streamed down my face as I looked at her. “Mom, didn’t you always dream of me getting into a good school?” Mom didn’t respond. She took a pair of scissors and stabbed me repeatedly. Blood painted my pants crimson. I was in agony beyond measure. When I was barely clinging to life, Dad dragged me to the edge of a septic tank. He threw me in, discarding me like refuse. The blackness consumed me, stealing my last breath. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I received my acceptance letter. … Dad’s gaze was fixed on the letter in my hand. “Hand over that acceptance letter, now!” he demanded. “What if you go abroad and never come back? What about your mother and me, if we miss you?” His urgent voice pulled me back to reality. I glanced at the calendar on my phone, confirming it: I had truly been reborn. And it was the very day I’d received that acceptance letter. In my previous life, from the moment I’d set my mind on getting into Juilliard, Dad had begun to dote on me, meticulously taking care of my every need. From dawn till dusk, he’d prepare four nutritious meals for me. No matter how busy he was at work, he’d personally drive me to and from school. For Dad, my acceptance into Juilliard was more important than his own life. But after I was accepted, Dad’s demeanor abruptly shifted. He snatched my acceptance letter, holding a lighter to it until it turned to ash. My eyes, wide with disbelief, locked onto his. My voice trembled uncontrollably. “Why?!” “This is a top-tier institution with an acceptance rate of only 6.0%!” Dad’s hands clamped around my throat, veins bulging on his forehead. He roared, his voice laced with fury. “You damned wretch don’t deserve to go to such a good school!” “The biggest regret of my life is spending money on your music lessons!” I gasped for air, my face growing paler and paler. Just then, Mom returned from buying groceries. I cast a desperate glance her way, pleading silently, “Mom…” To my horror, she didn’t help. Instead, she retrieved a thick rope from the cabinet. Mom bound me tightly, leaving me unable to move. Tears of despair fell, one by one. I couldn’t help but ask her, “Mom, didn’t you always hope I’d get into a good school?” “Now that I’ve been accepted, why would you…” Before I could finish, Mom plunged a pair of scissors towards my private parts. I screamed in agony. Mom only pressed harder, continuing until a crimson tide stained my entire pants. Only then did she stop. By now, I was barely clinging to life. Mom turned to Dad, her voice chillingly calm. “Throw her in the septic tank!” “That way, the police won’t be able to trace it back to us!” My body went numb with terror. Mom knew about my claustrophobia, how I’d been locked in an elevator as a child and was terrified of the dark. Yet, she chose to use the very thing I feared most to end my life. I mustered every ounce of strength, clutching at the hem of Mom’s clothes. “I’m the child you carried for nine months!” Mom flung my hand away, her face contorted in a grotesque, triumphant smile. Dad dragged me to a septic tank on the outskirts of town. It was a secluded spot, far from any prying eyes. Indeed, a perfect place for someone to vanish without a trace. Dad’s eyes held a chilling, sinister gleam. “After you’re gone, I’ll visit your grave and offer prayers.” With that, he lifted me with both hands and threw me into the septic tank. I thrashed desperately in the suffocating darkness. Soon, my breath gave out. To my dying moment, I couldn’t comprehend why my parents, who had always urged me to study hard, would want me dead after I got into the most prestigious music conservatory. The suffocating sensation from my previous life swept over me again. I clenched my fists, my gaze resolute. This time, I had to uncover the full truth! 2 Seeing me hesitate, unwilling to hand over the acceptance letter, Dad’s tone softened. “Nora, if you go to school so far away, Mom and I will miss you too much!” he said, trying to sound genuinely concerned. “I was thoughtless before, pushing you to pursue music. I overlooked the fact that even if you’re good, you might not become a star.” “Everyone online says only the children of the rich and powerful become celebrities. We ordinary folks shouldn’t dream of such things!” “You should be more practical. Just find a community college nearby, learn a trade. You won’t have trouble finding a job after graduation!” I nearly scoffed. While our family wasn’t incredibly wealthy, we certainly had enough money to send me to school abroad. Dad was an executive at a publicly traded company, earning hundreds of thousands a year. Mom ran a bustling café, with hundreds of customers daily. Besides, Dad had repeatedly told me that I should just pursue my dreams and not worry about anything else. Why was he now so earnestly pushing me to attend a community college? His sudden change was utterly wrong. I clutched the acceptance letter tightly, glaring at Dad with simmering resentment. “Fine. You can have it.” The gloom on Dad’s face instantly transformed into excitement, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Just as he let his guard down, I grabbed the vase beside me and smashed it over his head. Blood flowed freely as Dad screamed in agony. I turned and ran. I ran towards Ashley’s apartment, planning to ask her for help. In my previous life, after I died, my soul lingered, unwilling to leave the mortal realm due to the overwhelming resentment in my heart. My spirit watched as Mom and Dad went about their daily lives, their faces calm, devoid of any sadness. Only Ashley cried for me every night, holding my photo, and even put up missing person posters all over the city. Just as I was about to reach the entrance to Ashley’s building, a slender hand grabbed me. “You ungrateful wretch! How dare you hit your father!” It was Mom. Her eyes blazed with hatred, her breathing ragged. “Come with me to the hospital, now, to see your dad!” I forcefully pulled my hand away. “No! I can’t go with you!” “Because you’ll try to kill me!” Mom slapped me across the face. “We are your parents, who gave birth to you and raised you! How could we possibly try to kill you?” “You made your father’s head bleed, and you show no remorse. Instead, you slander us!” “Even a wild animal isn’t as malicious as you are!” If she wanted a scene, I’d give her a spectacle. I plopped down on the ground, wailing uncontrollably. “Waaah, I’m so miserable!” “I got into the best music conservatory in the world, but my parents don’t want me to go there!” “They even destroyed my acceptance letter, waaah!” Instantly, passersby gathered, taking my side. “Are they crazy? Their child worked so hard to get into a top school, and they won’t let her go!” “My daughter got into community college, and I threw her a celebration party! This girl got into such a good school, and her mother looks utterly miserable!” “Her mother’s diamond ring is worth tens of thousands, yet she won’t spend money to send her daughter to school. How cheap!” Mom was a businesswoman, always meticulous about her public image. Seeing everyone criticize her, she didn’t dare retort. But she shot me a chilling smile, then quickly sent a message to Ashley. Soon, Ashley arrived. She embraced me, her face beaming. “My little Nora, you haven’t come to see me in ages!” I leaned in and whispered everything Mom and Dad had done to me. Ashley turned to Mom, her face alight with anger. “Nora getting into a prestigious university isn’t a good thing? How could you and Dad—” “But she got into Juilliard!” Ashley’s face instantly went ashen. She moved to snatch the acceptance letter from my hand. “Give it to me!” My eyes wide with shock, I quickly hid the letter behind my back. Ashley slapped me hard across the face, her eyes bulging with rage. “Tear up that letter!” “Otherwise, our sisterly bond is over!” 3 In my previous life, Ashley didn’t know I got into Juilliard. Mom and Dad told her I had run off with some random guy. They even forged a letter from me for her to read. In the letter, I said I would never come back. Ashley wept uncontrollably, vowing to find me. That’s why she put up missing person posters all over the city. This time, Ashley knew I got into Juilliard. And just like Mom and Dad, she hated me to the bone. My eyes filled with despair, I looked at Ashley. “Sis, you used to love hearing me sing!” “You even said that if I worked hard on my vocals, I’d be the next Taylor Swift!” Ashley’s face contorted into a grimace. “Wake up! You’re not even fit to tie Taylor Swift’s shoelaces!” “I never liked hearing you sing. Your singing was awful!” Mom grabbed my hand, urging Ashley. “Stop wasting time with her!” “Let’s drag her back home and teach her a lesson!” Ashley immediately grabbed my other hand. Both Mom and Ashley used all their strength, pulling me towards our house. “Don’t you dare take her!” The voice belonged to a tall, burly middle-aged man. He stopped Mom and Ashley with one hand. “It’s a rare and wonderful thing for a young woman to bravely pursue her dreams! Yet you two want to destroy her dreams!” Mom looked at him with disdain. “I’m handling my own child, what business is it of yours?!” “Get out of my way, now!” “Otherwise, I’ll call my people to come and deal with you!” Mom wasn’t just bluffing. Because she ran a hair salon, she had connections in the shadier parts of town, with all sorts of dubious characters. Indeed, she had friends in the underworld. The middle-aged man, however, wasn’t afraid of Mom’s threats. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “You scum don’t deserve to be a mother!” “If you dare take this young woman today, I’ll call the police!” Others also began to criticize Mom. “You’re not short on money, and you’re not suffering from a serious illness. Supporting your daughter’s music education should be no problem at all!” “If a family is so poor they can’t afford food, I could understand not letting their daughter go to an art school! But you’re draped in gold and silver, all your clothes are designer brands, clearly a middle-class family!” “Your older daughter lives in a mansion and drives a sports car worth millions. Even if you can’t afford to send your daughter to music school, you could ask your older daughter to help out!” Mom was speechless again. Ashley, however, looked even more furious. She glared at the crowd with simmering hatred. “You’re just jealous of what we have!” “Our money doesn’t grow on trees! Why should this brat waste it away overseas?” The middle-aged man retorted angrily, “My nephew tried to get into Juilliard three times and failed! That shows how incredibly difficult that school is to get into!” “But your sister got in on her first try, which proves how dedicated she is to her vocal training!” “Such a disciplined child, I don’t believe she would recklessly squander her tuition money!” Many people nodded in agreement with the man. Faced with the surrounding crowd, Mom and Ashley were momentarily at a loss. But just as I thought they wouldn’t be able to take me, Dad arrived. “You brute! Get home, now!” Dad’s eyes burned with fury, his expression one of wanting to tear me apart. Behind him stood Mom’s shady contacts. They wielded machetes, their presence menacing. 4 Ashley flashed Dad a smirk. “Good thing Mom’s so sharp; she messaged you right away.” So, Mom had called Dad to bring these men. Mom walked up to a burly man, her face full of feigned grievance. “Big Tony, he was blocking my way just now.” Mom pointed at the middle-aged man who had helped me. Big Tony swung his machete at the man’s throat. “Dare to mess with Boss Lana! You got a death wish?!” My entire body went limp with fear. But I still rushed forward, blocking Big Tony. “Don’t touch him!” “I’ll go back with my parents!” The crowd dared not utter a sound. They could only watch as my family led me away. But we hadn’t walked more than a few steps when several police officers arrived. “In broad daylight, you dare to commit assault? All of you want to do time, huh?!” Big Tony immediately released the middle-aged man. Underworld figures feared the police most of all. In less than a second, they all vanished. Mom and Dad instantly became docile, standing motionless. Ashley, however, wouldn’t give up. She quickly explained, “Officer, my sister here is stubborn; she insists on going to school abroad!” “We were at our wits’ end, that’s why we resorted to finding people to help!” I immediately countered, “Officer, I got into Juilliard, the world’s number one music conservatory! It’s a dream school for anyone who loves music!” “But my parents and my sister not only won’t let me go, they want to destroy my acceptance letter!” The crowd also chimed in, supporting me. “She’s right! Her family is acting as if they’re possessed, forcing her to tear up the letter!” “They even wanted to drag the young woman back home and torture her severely!” “Her mother and sister both hit her, and they were quite violent!” “There’s a surveillance camera right here on the street, Officer. You can check the video to see how ugly their family’s true faces are!” The police immediately retrieved the surveillance footage. After watching the video, the officer sternly said to Dad, “You, as the head of the household, how could you lead such a reckless act?” “By any sane person’s logic, if their own daughter gets into a good school, they’d happily throw a celebration!” “But your family is desperately trying to ruin your child’s future. This is completely abnormal!” Dad remained silent. His eyes, however, were fixed on the acceptance letter in my hand, filled with resentment. “If you don’t explain the situation, I won’t let you take the young woman away.” Faced with the officer’s renewed interrogation, Dad frowned deeply and let out a long sigh. He pulled out his phone and searched online for a photo. Dad handed the photo to the officer. I secretly glanced at the picture, and a sharp intake of breath escaped me. I finally understood why they wouldn’t let me go to Juilliard!

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During the final exams, while proctoring, I suddenly went blind. I was rushed to the hospital, but doctors couldn’t find any cause. Losing my sight cost me my teaching job, forcing me to learn blind massage. Until one day, a conversation between two clients pierced my ears— “That female teacher went blind at just the right time! I managed to copy a multiple-choice answer while she couldn’t see, barely getting two extra points to pass the top university threshold. It’s been over twenty years, wonder how she’s doing… High School A, Exam Room 28 in 2025—that was my youth.” The man beside him spoke, his voice hoarse: “I know the truth behind her blindness. The culprit was right there in that exam room that year.” I held my breath, listening intently. A few minutes later, an ice-cold dagger pressed against my neck. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that very exam room, twenty years in the past. Looking around, I seemed to have already pinpointed the killer… 1 I stared at the exam room in disbelief—my vision astonishingly clear. Recalling the man’s words before my death, I repeated silently to myself: Who is the killer? And who killed me before I went blind? Before I could figure it out, the familiar exam bell rang. The sharp click of the other proctor’s heels echoed like drumbeats, making my heart pound—ten more minutes. In my past life, that was the exact moment I went blind! No, I absolutely couldn’t let history repeat itself! But if I feigned illness and left, what if the other teachers suffered the same fate? Ignoring the consequences of disrupting order, I suddenly shouted, “Don’t proctor in this exam room! Any teacher proctoring here might be harmed into blindness by a student!” The words had barely left my lips when I was escorted away by the police for disturbing the exam. As I sat in the police car, I actually felt a sense of relief: Let fate decide. At the temporary school review point, a police officer slammed his hand on the table, demanding, “We’ve searched every student; we found no suspicious items! What kind of malicious intent do you have to accuse students like this?” I responded calmly, “Before entering the exam room, I heard a student say, ‘I wish the teacher would go blind.’ It’s not worth going blind because of a student.” “You believe that kind of joke? You’re a teacher!” The police officer clearly didn’t believe me. “Consider yourself lucky the exam hasn’t started. If you had caused trouble after it began, you’d be looking at jail time!” Ultimately, I was put on the proctor blacklist, and my job was in jeopardy, but this was far better than going blind. As I was escorted out of the school gates, I couldn’t help but insist, “Officer, what if what they said is true? How serious would it be if a teacher went blind? You must investigate thoroughly!” “Say another word, and I’ll arrest you for disturbing the peace!” I headed straight to the eye clinic, only to receive the same diagnosis as in my previous life: “Your retinal health is perfect. You don’t even have nearsightedness or astigmatism. Sudden blindness is absolutely impossible.” Sitting in the bustling hospital, watching blind people with canes, I remembered how I lost my stable job after going blind, how my fiancé abandoned me, how I was forced to make a living through blind massage, and even endured lecherous clients… Thank goodness I was reborn, and I can still see this world clearly! But the next second, a cry from the eye clinic entrance caught my attention—the female teacher from the same exam room was being helped in, her voice trembling as she told the doctor, “I was proctoring perfectly fine, and then I suddenly couldn’t see anything. My eyes have never had problems before…” 2 After the doctor examined her, he sighed, “Your corneas and retina are all normal. We can’t find any reason.” I froze, my hands trembling uncontrollably—the teacher from the same exam room had also gone blind! I had warned them; how did the culprit still dare to strike? The doctor suddenly looked at me. “That’s strange. Just now, another lady came asking if she could suddenly go blind even if her eyes were fine… And you are?” The blind teacher recognized me, questioning me agitatedly, “You’re the teacher from the same exam room, aren’t you? Are you here to check if you’ve also gone blind? You warned me in the exam room earlier. Did you know who was going to harm me?” What could I say? That I was reborn? She certainly wouldn’t believe it. I used the same excuse I’d used to deal with the police: “Before the exam started, I think I heard a student at the door saying they wished the teacher would go blind. But there were too many students at the door, and I only knew they all entered this exam room, not which specific one it was.” “I’m a bit timid, so I believed it. But now, looking at this…” The blind female teacher was highly agitated. “Investigate! We must investigate! Who on earth used such underhanded methods on me?!” I breathed a sigh of relief. If this made enough noise, there would be a chance for a thorough investigation. Unfortunately, in my previous life, I never even got the chance to investigate. When I demanded an investigation, the parents collectively opposed me: “You’re ruining our children’s reputation! If you investigate this, how will our kids get into college?” “Besides, you yourself can’t find a reason. Who knows if it’s a physical defect of your own? It’s too dirty to push it onto the children.” But in this life, with me and this teacher protesting together, it would definitely draw the attention of the police. Most importantly, I remembered the person’s voice. As long as he spoke in front of me, I could find the culprit. I accompanied the female teacher to the police station to explain the situation. But the police’s re-examination already had the students very dissatisfied, and again, no abnormalities were found. “Let’s wait until the exams officially end in three days before investigating further. We can’t disrupt the exams now.” But because the investigative team suddenly launched a thorough search of students, rumors flew everywhere. “Why are they only checking students from our exam room? Who exactly is suspected of cheating?” “What cheating? It has something to do with that blind female teacher. They’re probably suspecting one of us poisoned the teacher.” I had feigned illness and withdrawn from proctoring this exam. For the next three days, my eyes remained perfectly normal. Unfortunately, I learned that the other teacher was close to collapse due to her blindness. She was an art teacher, but now, forget painting, she could barely manage her own life. Just like me in my previous life, she underwent various examinations for three days, but visiting major hospitals only yielded the same response: “No reason found.” Thankfully, the exams finally ended. As the students gradually dispersed, I nervously opened the door to a room. Thirty students were gathered inside. The police and the blind female teacher were already waiting for me. “So, you said you heard a student say something like, ‘I wish the teacher would go blind,’ that day, right?” I nodded. “I remember his voice; it was a boy.” All the boys in the room stirred with commotion. “All boys, line up. Take this printed paper and read it aloud to this teacher.” “Don’t be nervous, everyone, and don’t try to change your voice.” As the students lined up, one by one, read, and left, I held my breath, trying to pinpoint the voice that had haunted me in the final moments before my death. But as the last boy finished reading the last word on the paper, my heart sank. I hadn’t heard the voices of those two men from my previous life at all. Even after twenty years, even if their voices changed, their intonation and speaking style would have similarities. Having been blind for so many years, I had long developed the ability to recognize people by their voices. As I closed my eyes and listened for a second round, I indeed found a flaw. One boy deliberately altered his voice – it was the boy who copied the multiple-choice answer. Following that lead, I could also find the other boy. “I remember you seemed to be talking to that boy at the time.” Hearing me say this, the blind female teacher grew agitated. “Good! How exactly did you cause my blindness? You must tell the police clearly!” But after questioning him, the conclusion was that this child didn’t know anyone else in the exam room. “Teacher, I really didn’t do anything. I didn’t talk to anyone. I just copied a multiple-choice answer when that teacher went blind.” As he explained, he was immediately taken away by the investigative team. According to what he said in my previous life, he really wasn’t the killer. It’s also possible that he and the other person didn’t know each other yet. The most critical thing right now was, where was that person? 3 “Who is this person? Why would they make me blind? We have no grudges, no animosity. Even if I went blind, a new teacher would replace me, and they still wouldn’t be able to cheat.” On the other end, the blind teacher was on the verge of another breakdown. She actually knelt down. “I beg you, tell me how you made me blind! As long as you tell me the reason and cure me, I won’t hold you responsible at all. I have a child; please, let me live!” I could feel this emotion deeply. Suddenly, I remembered, when I was massaging that person, I had felt a small fleshy lump on the back of his neck. Next, ignoring everyone’s gazes, I quickly patted every boy, checking everyone’s neck. And with a jolt in my chest, I closed my eyes, carefully stroking the fleshy lump exposed to my touch. It was indeed identical to the one I felt in my previous life. Facing the police, I immediately snapped, “It’s this boy! You were the one speaking at the time, weren’t you?” “Tell me, what did you do? How did you poison the teacher?” I questioned loudly, my hand gripping his shoulder trembling, my face flushed, eyes brimming with tears. No one understood why I was reacting so strongly at this moment. But just as the police were about to interrogate him, he gave me an evil smile and mouthed, “You’ll never know who the killer is.” Then, ignoring everyone’s shocked gazes, he rushed out of the room, through the door, and then leapt out of the fifth-floor window with all his might. With a thud, he landed headfirst, dying instantly. A student’s suicide caused an uproar. The police began a thorough investigation. But visiting the deceased’s home, his parents were humble farmers, honest and straightforward. Most crucially, apart from studying, Ben Carter had no friends, his social life was clean. There was no motive for harming anyone, no clues whatsoever. To consider Ben Carter the perpetrator who harmed the female teacher, they couldn’t even write down a motive. But due to Ben Carter’s abnormal behavior, the police still listed him as the primary suspect. Losing their only son, Ben Carter’s parents cried and wailed, demanding that I give them an explanation. “Ben studied so hard for so many years, finally waiting for the final exams. Our whole family was waiting for him to get into a good university. And because of one sentence from you, you drove my son to his death.” “Tell us, how did my son poison her? In the exam room surveillance, my son had no abnormal behavior from start to finish. What exactly did he do to get in your way?” The parents stormed my house, but I remembered the name Ben Carter – he was the top scorer in the previous life’s final exams. What was a top scorer hiding that he would jump to his death? But if he wasn’t the killer, then who was it that killed me in that room? I suddenly thought of something. I couldn’t rely on what I heard to determine the truth. What if the child who said he only copied a multiple-choice answer was lying? At this point, the police contacted me. The review of the other student, Jayden Chen, was concluded. “The investigation these past few days showed that apart from him briefly glancing at someone else’s paper, there were no other rule-breaking behaviors in the exam room. That subject’s score has been voided.” “But if Ben Carter was indeed the culprit who blinded the teacher, we’re still baffled. There was no conflict between them, they hadn’t even met. Why would a student who studied so hard for years, finally seeing success, do such a thing?” I tried my best to prevent the tragedy, but it still came to this. My heart was uncontrollably heavy. I once again went to the blind female teacher’s residence. Her husband opened the door. As soon as I entered the house, she was sitting on the sofa, her hair disheveled. She was clearly completely broken by her blindness. Hearing my voice, she initially became emotional. “Why did he have to harm me? What did I do? I can’t see anything now; what’s the difference between me and a useless person?” Her child tried to comfort his mother but was pushed away. “Get out.” The child cried uncontrollably, frightened. My heart ached uncontrollably. This feeling had haunted me like a shadow. If I hadn’t been reborn, I would still be living in that agony now. Once again, I hated the killer. Why would someone do this? After comforting Sarah White for a while, I prepared to go home. But as I reached the building entrance, I thought I saw a familiar figure. After blinking, it was gone. Not thinking much of it, once I got home, I unpacked all the piled-up deliveries, throwing the cardboard boxes directly into the hallway trash bin. The weather was a bit warm, and the sun was strong outside. As I unpacked the deliveries and washed my hands, I also washed my face. But after grabbing a tissue to dry my face, when I opened my eyes again, everything was dark.

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1 For three years of marriage, we’d longed for a child. After a year of grueling IVF treatments, my wife and I finally succeeded, expecting quadruplets. Her pregnancy had been a brutal journey, months of relentless morning sickness, her belly swelling round as a pumpkin. Doctors had suggested a reduction surgery, but she’d refused, her voice firm. “Caleb,” she’d said, her eyes pleading, “these are all our babies. I couldn’t bear to lose a single one.” Seeing her gaunt face, my heart had ached, and I’d silently sworn to protect her and our children for the rest of my life. Six months into her pregnancy, Sarah had started a betting pool with her friends, wagering on the babies’ genders. The final tally had been three boys and one girl, and she’d won the bet, raking in ten million dollars. It was shortly after, by pure accident, that I overheard Sarah Bellwether talking to her friends. “Sarah, your plan was brilliant, truly. Getting Caleb to raise four babies for four different men, all at once.” Sarah’s voice had been cool, dismissive. “Since I couldn’t give them the Bellwether name, I could at least give them a child. Caleb took his place, so this is simply what he owes.” My entire body had gone rigid, every hair on my arms standing on end. It hit me then—not a single one of the four babies in my wife’s womb was mine. “Sarah, you’re just incredible. You dealt with the problem of four children in one go.” Liz chimed in, her voice dripping with admiration. “Isn’t that the truth? And every single one of those fathers is handsome as hell. Their kids are bound to be stunning.” She sighed. “It’s a real shame about Jack. He was the school’s heartthrob back then, who’d have thought he’d get that awful disease and die so young? Good thing Sarah’s got such a kind heart, she saved a piece of him. Just waiting for the baby to be born now.” “Mark’s been obsessed with Sarah for almost twenty years, totally devoted, and never got what he wanted. He just wanted a baby with her, no matter what.” Another voice cut in. “Too bad Sarah’s heart only beats for Ryan. That’s why she came up with this IVF plan. That way, it’s not really cheating on Ryan, and everyone gets a kid.” “Wonder how Caleb will react when he finds out? All four babies in Sarah’s belly aren’t his. He’s probably going to lose it, right?” Sarah’s voice was cool, distant. “What can he do if he finds out? He has no one to blame but himself for taking a place he didn’t deserve.” Their laughter, sharp and ugly, filled the air, laced with undisguised malice and mockery. I stood frozen behind the door, a cold dread seeping from my feet and crawling straight up to the crown of my head. What… what did it all mean? The babies in my wife’s womb… they weren’t mine? For months, she’d struggled through this pregnancy. Every night, I’d pressed my ear to her belly, whispering to our children. Her legs had swollen, making it hard to walk, so I’d spent an hour massaging them daily. Her morning sickness had been relentless, her appetite gone, so I’d cooked and stewed, trying endless recipes just to get her to eat. My heart had ached for her hardship, and I’d cared for her day and night, even quitting my job. And now, I was being told that the children she carried had no blood ties to me? The voices from the living room continued their cruel discussion, but I couldn’t hear a thing past the roaring in my ears. Jack, they’d mentioned… I remembered him. He’d been in the same high school, Sarah’s first love, I think. I’d even felt a pang of sadness recently when I heard he’d died from a terrible illness. 2 I never imagined. He was gone, dead, and yet my wife carried his child in her womb. It was an absurdity beyond belief, a nameless horror that made my entire back prickle with dread. It took every ounce of my strength to hold myself back, to keep from bursting out of that door. From the living room, the betting pool continued, their voices rising and falling. Sarah’s laugh, every now and then, sent shivers through me. Four years of marriage, and I hadn’t known the woman sleeping beside me at all. I looked at my wife’s impossibly swollen belly, stretched taut, as if it might burst at any moment. Inside, four babies. One was Jack’s. One was Mark’s. Who were the other two? Mark, I knew too. He and Sarah were childhood friends, he’d adored her for years, a desperate, unrequited love. So, Sarah was truly “kind”—if she couldn’t give her heart, she’d give a child as compensation. A laugh tore from my throat, a sound more ragged than a sob. If Sarah wanted to give them children, why did she have to make me the “father”? What was even more grotesque was that not a single one of those four children was mine. How could she be so cruel? My fists clenched, my teeth digging into my lip until I tasted blood. I had believed Sarah’s willingness to endure the hardships of pregnancy was a testament to her love for me. Now I knew. It was all a lie. All a brutal, empty lie. Outside, the raucous chatter continued, a vibrant cacophony of voices. “I’m betting two boys, two girls.” “I’m putting my money on all four being boys.” Then, a clear, resonant male voice cut through the noise. “Why does everyone prefer boys? I think girls are wonderful. I’ll bet on three girls and one boy.” He turned, asking, “Sarah, do you prefer boys or girls?” The voice was familiar, Sarah’s personal assistant, I realized. Sarah’s tone was indifferent. “Boys or girls, I like them both. Boys are a bit better, though. Girls are just too delicate.” Liz pressed her. “So, Sarah, what’s your bet?” “Since Ryan likes girls, I’ll bet on three boys and one girl.” Ryan? It was him. A bitter, broken laugh escaped me. They had been carrying on, right under my nose, and I hadn’t even known. I didn’t know if they were simply brilliant actors, or if I had been utterly, tragically blind. Ryan’s voice floated back. “Girls should be raised delicately, it’s true.” Sarah chuckled, taking his hand. “You’re more delicate than a girl, Ryan. You burn your hand cooking, and you tear up.” “But… it really hurt, you know?” Ryan replied, then paused, a thought striking him. “Oh, right, Caleb never seems to cry. Last time, when he fell down the stairs protecting you, he broke his leg and didn’t even shed a tear. Has he really never cried, not once?” Sarah’s tone was casual, dismissive. “Caleb’s tough as nails, of course he doesn’t feel pain. He’s never cried, it’s true. Not like you, you scrape your knee and start tearing up.” Liz chimed in, sucking up. “That’s because Ryan has Sarah to comfort him. You can be vulnerable when someone cares. If no one cares, you just have to tough it out, like Caleb.” “Yeah, isn’t that why Sarah felt so bad for Ryan, dealing with the stress of raising a baby and losing sleep, that she cooked up this whole plan to make Caleb think they were his kids, so he’d be the unsuspecting dad?” “Caleb looks like he’s aged ten years already. Geez, when Sarah finally pops out those quadruplets, who knows what he’ll look like then.” 3 “She wouldn’t even look at him if he was naked and lying in bed, but now…” Their words grew crude, accompanied by vulgar laughter that made my stomach churn. I staggered back two steps, my face ashen. I was human too. How could I not feel pain? But I’d believed Sarah was carrying my children, that her pregnancy was a difficult journey for our sake. So even when she hit me, when she lashed out, I’d held it all in, never uttering a sound, no matter how much it hurt. All that endurance, all that silent suffering, only earned me a dismissive jab about being “tough as nails.” I could still recall the day the IVF was successful, the worry etched on my face as I gripped her hand. “You’ve suffered so much for our children, Sarah.” I would spoon-feed her, bite by painstaking bite, when morning sickness left her unable to eat. “Behave, little ones. Don’t torment your mother.” Turns out, all my worry, all my care, had been for the wrong people. I was nothing but a tool to raise these children. “I heard that during pregnancy, the desire gets even stronger, like a beast unleashed, more so than when not pregnant. Sarah, is that true?” Ryan turned to Sarah, a shy grin on his face. “It’s true. Sarah’s practically drained me dry.” “Well, that’s just because Sarah likes you, Ryan. See, even when she’s so uncomfortable, she still won’t touch Caleb, will she?” “Hahaha, exactly. You don’t know how good you have it.” I clamped my jaw, forcing down the surge of nausea. I closed my eyes, wiping away the tears that streamed down my face. Sarah Bellwether, this time, I’m the one who’s done with you. And the babies in your belly? I won’t raise them either. By the time I stepped out, Liz and the others were gone. Only Sarah and Ryan remained in the living room. I deliberately made noise, giving them time to compose themselves. It wasn’t time to confront them yet. Ryan’s face still held a faint, dazed flush, but he pretended to be professionally briefing Sarah on work matters. “Ms. Bellwether, there’s an urgent meeting tonight that requires your personal attendance. The car’s already waiting outside.” He turned to me, his expression perfectly amiable. “Mr. Thompson.” His gaze then dropped to my wife’s belly, a knowing, deeply significant smile playing on his lips. “Ms. Bellwether’s belly looks even bigger, Mr. Thompson. You’re truly blessed, for Ms. Bellwether to be carrying quadruplets.” Looking at his hypocritical face, I couldn’t muster the energy to respond. Ryan, seeing my unresponsiveness, suggested he leave. But before stepping out the door, he turned back, casting another glance at Sarah. It was a secret signal, I realized, a silent, knowing look. Sarah saw me emerge from the downstairs guest room and frowned slightly, her tone laced with a subtle probe. “When did you get back? Why didn’t you say anything?” I looked at the residual moisture on her lips, and my eyes stung with a sudden, sharp pain. It was so obvious, yet I had been blind, utterly blind, all this time. I gave a self-deprecating curl of my lips, lowering my gaze. “I was exhausted when I got back, so I just crashed in the guest room. Just woke up.” Sarah seemed to relax, her face returning to normal. “Today’s prenatal checkup went smoothly. I was supposed to take you with me, but something came up at the office.” “The doctor said all the babies are healthy.” Sarah recounted the details carefully, because in the past, I’d always wanted to know everything. 4 Fearing her suspicion, I walked over, reaching out to gently touch her belly, and spoke a few tender words to the babies inside. In the past, this would have been my happiest moment. Now, all I felt was my heart bleeding, drop by agonizing drop. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms, just to maintain my composure. Yet, I couldn’t control the burning sting at the corners of my eyes. Sarah didn’t notice my distress; she didn’t care enough to. “There’s an urgent meeting tonight. I might be back late.” I forced a tight smile. “Okay.” Sarah left. I slowly, carefully, climbed the stairs to the second floor. After she reached five months of pregnancy, I had moved to the guest room on the first floor, afraid of hurting the babies. I hadn’t been in our second-floor bedroom in ages. Pushing the door open, I saw the undeniable, intimate traces left on the bed. And on the wall behind it, our wedding photo still hung. The irony… a sharp, twisting pain in my chest, and tears streamed down my face. But I forced my emotions down, wiped away the tears, and pulled out all my important documents. Before heading downstairs, I found myself, by some morbid impulse, walking to the window. I looked down. The car parked at the curb hadn’t left. It was shaking rhythmically, unmistakably. I watched, a perverse form of self-torture, my stomach churning, wanting to vomit, tears running down my face. In the dead of night, Sarah returned. The scent of Ryan still clung to her. She reached out, placing my hand on her belly. I could even feel the lingering stickiness on her skin. But a moment later, she slowly began to move my hand upwards. The realization of what she intended sent a chilling wave through me, the echoes of her words echoing in my mind. A sudden, intense wave of disgust surged, and I abruptly sat up. She had just been with Ryan. His scent, his touch, was all over her. And now, she… Didn’t she find me repulsive? Didn’t she prefer to endure rather than be with me? I closed my eyes, feigning concern for her health, and Sarah withdrew her hand. I turned onto my side, my mind replaying countless memories, my chest aching. All night, I couldn’t make sense of it. But it didn’t matter anymore. First thing the next morning, I went to the hospital. When I returned home with the reports, I was utterly drained. I had made my decision. I would leave in three days. And in those three days, I would prepare everything. I would also deliver Sarah Bellwether a magnificent gift. When Sarah returned home, I was in the nursery I’d prepared on the first floor. Everything in it, I had chosen myself. Four tiny cribs, four different colored baby bottles, rows of little shoes, socks, and baby clothes… The room was decorated so warmly, every detail a testament to my effort and overflowing expectation. I had once yearned for the arrival of the babies in her belly, believing them to be the culmination of Sarah’s and my love. But now, looking at it all, I felt as though a knife were carving bloody wounds into my heart. After a long moment, I stood, letting go of these children who were never truly mine. “Caleb? Why are you crying?” Sarah entered, her brow furrowing as she saw my tear-streaked face. I wiped my face. “It’s nothing. Just… suddenly thinking about how I’ll see them in three months. I’m happy.” 5 Sarah didn’t doubt me. “I’m really looking forward to our babies being born too.” A moment later, she casually mentioned, “Liz says she’s throwing a yacht party the day after tomorrow. Do you want to go?” “How many days will you be gone?” “Three days.” I looked at her, knowing she didn’t actually want me there. Perfect. I had my own plans. I forced a smile. “I won’t go. You’re pregnant, it’ll be too much. Just take care of yourself, and have fun with them.” The next evening, Sarah and Liz, along with the others, boarded the yacht. Before she left, Sarah suddenly turned back, casting a look at me, as if sensing something. I stood rooted to the spot, my gaze calm as I watched her walk away. Many people went on the trip. I saw photos and updates shared in their group chats and on social media. That night, someone posted a video in the chat. They had started another betting pool. This time, they were betting on whose baby would be born first. “I’m betting ten million. I bet Jack’s baby comes first. He was the school heartthrob, after all.” “Then I’ll bet ten million on Mark’s.” “I’m betting fifty million. It’s my baby.” The speaker then turned to someone beside him. “Sis, I’m not letting you win this time. Your and Ryan’s baby can be younger siblings to mine.” The lighting in the video was dim, figures indistinct, but I recognized him instantly. I stared at him, a metallic taste of rust filling my mouth. Sam. Sarah Bellwether’s cousin. The fourth child was his. After we married, Sam had given me no end of trouble. We barely tolerated each other. And now, Sarah was carrying his child too? Sarah Bellwether, how could you be so utterly ruthless… In the video, Sarah let out a soft laugh. “I’m betting a hundred million. It’ll definitely be Ryan’s and my baby born first.” “I’ll put fifty million with Sarah.” “And I’ll put fifty million…” The shouts of bets rose and fell, a cacophony of voices. They all knew the truth. Only I had been kept in the dark. “I really want to see Caleb’s face when he finds out you spent nine months pregnant, carrying my and Natalie’s baby. It’ll be priceless.” Sam’s voice cut through the noisy background. Though I couldn’t see him clearly, I could almost picture his smug expression. He must have been so proud of himself. My eyes, bloodshot and burning, slowly curved into a smile. Then I’ll bet too. I bet every single one of you will lose this time. Because the babies in Sarah Bellwether’s womb were already stillborn. I picked up my phone and made a call. “Is everything ready?” A day later, the yacht docked. Sarah, Ryan, Sam, and a large group of people disembarked. Many were laughing, still basking in the glow of the spectacular yacht party. Amidst the crowd, someone casually mentioned, “I just saw on social media, someone was in a car accident today. Looked a bit like Caleb Thompson.” At that, Sarah’s brow immediately furrowed, and she shot an irritated glance at the speaker. Sam laughed. “Sis, why are you getting upset? It can’t possibly be Caleb.” Just then, a delivery driver approached. “Ms. Bellwether? This is a package for you. Signature required, please.” “Also for Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, and a Mr. Bellwether.”

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