I’d been online dating my boyfriend for six months, but he absolutely refused to meet in person. I had no choice but to ask a food delivery rider to do some reconnaissance for me. After seeing him, the rider advised me: “Honestly, girl, forget it. The guy isn’t tall, isn’t handsome, and the kicker? He looks like he’s pushing sixty!” Hearing this, I instantly crumbled and cursed into the phone: “You old geezer! We’re breaking up!” The next day, forced myself to go to work, only to hear colleagues gossiping: “What kind of trauma did CEO Zhou suffer?” “Why is he asking everyone for links to anti-aging face masks?” 1 When I got that call from the delivery driver, I genuinely felt like the sky was falling. On the other end of the line, the driver was describing in vivid detail: “I’m really not making this up, miss. I was stunned when the door opened. The guy isn’t tall, isn’t handsome, and the main thing is, he looks like he’s nearly sixty! He was even holding a cane!” “You’re in the prime of your youth, don’t waste it on an old man, okay? Otherwise, when you actually meet, people will suspect you have a thing for geriatrics!” I responded in a daze, not even knowing how I hung up the phone. By the time I snapped back to reality, tears were already streaming down my face. No wonder he kept refusing to meet me. Turns out he’s elderly and has mobility issues! And all those red packets and bank transfers he sent me before—were those his retirement pension?! Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but cry again, clicking open my phone through the tears, ready to send the money back. Just as I opened the chat page, my phone vibrated. My online boyfriend sent a message: [Thanks for the afternoon tea, babe~] [Did you finish getting your nails done, babe? Want me to buy you bubble tea?] I almost gagged. Thinking about how I’d been calling this old geezer “babe” for six months, I couldn’t stop feeling nauseous. On the other side, totally oblivious to my mood, he kept sending messages: [Nails not done yet? Message me back when you’re free later, okay?] [I’ll reimburse you.] Followed closely by several large red packets. Financially, he’d never been stingy. Spending someone else’s money really is painless! Thinking of this, I was both angry and hateful. I directly returned the red packets and typed furiously: [No need.] [I never thought you were this kind of old geezer.] [Saying break up makes me sick. Don’t harass me again!] 2 After sending the message, I blocked and deleted him instantly, then started packing up my stuff. Clothes and bags the old geezer sent—throw! Shopping mall gift cards the old geezer loaded—sell! Specialty sausages the old geezer made himself… I hesitated for a second. The old geezer’s culinary skills were actually quite good; these sausages tasted way better than store-bought ones. But, I’m looking for a partner, not a chef! What’s the use of delicious sausages! So, I packed the sausages along with everything else and threw them downstairs to feed the stray dogs. I didn’t leave the house all weekend, curled up at home crying and being emo, until Monday when I finally tidied myself up and went to work. As soon as I entered the company, I felt something was off. There was a feeling of an approaching storm. “Luna!” A colleague waved at me: “Quick, come punch in!” I hurried over to sign in and wondered aloud, “What happened? Everyone looks so panicked.” My colleague sighed: “CEO Zhou is back from the branch office. And he’s in a terrible mood today! Several colleagues who went to report were scolded terribly by him!” I was stunned. Zhou Ting’an is back? This CEO who’d been inspecting for nearly half an year finally decided to return to headquarters? Speaking of which, I only joined the company in the last six months and hadn’t dealt with CEO Zhou yet. I heard from old colleagues that although he had a cold personality, he wasn’t difficult to get along with. But looking at it now… it seems that’s not the case at all. “He wouldn’t lose his temper for no reason, right?” I was puzzled. “Who provoked him?” My colleague looked around to make sure no one was nearby before whispering the gossip: “Heard CEO Zhou’s girlfriend dumped him!” “And it was an abrupt, out-of-the-blue breakup!” 3 It really is breakup season… Thinking of my own situation, I couldn’t help but sigh, then asked curiously: “They wouldn’t break up just like that, right? There must be a reason?” My colleague squeezed a few words out of her throat: “Seems like she disliked CEO Zhou for being old…” I gasped: “Zhou Ting’an is old???” Isn’t he not even thirty yet?! And with that handsome face looking like a male model, to still be disliked… what kind of goddess must his girlfriend be! Before I finished speaking, the elevator door beside us rang. The door opened, and I made direct eye contact with the person inside. It was Zhou Ting’an. Don’t know if he heard me talking or not, anyway, his eyes were chilly, staring at my back until it felt cold. “CEO Zhou.” My colleague quickly greeted him, and the noisy corridor instantly went quiet. I subconsciously took two steps back to the side and also called out: “CEO Zhou.” Zhou Ting’an responded coldly/indifferently, stepping out. Just as it looked like he would pass me by, his footsteps suddenly stopped. The next second, he turned his head to look over, his gaze landing on my face: “Which department are you from?” 4 I was stunned for a moment. The team leader nearby quickly said: “This is Luna, new to the Planning Department.” Zhou Ting’an stared at me for a few more seconds, then instructed: “Have her come to find me to report later. I want to see the caliber of the new hires you’re recruiting.” The team leader agreed hastily, but I was completely bewildered. How did a small fry like me get picked to report? “Don’t be nervous.” After Zhou Ting’an walked away, the team leader comforted me: “Anyway, you’ve been following this project all along. Showing your face more in front of the boss is good for you taking on big projects in the future.” Since it came to this, I could only pack up the materials and go to the CEO’s office. Zhou Ting’an’s office was on the 17th floor, with excellent lighting, just frighteningly quiet. I did mental preparation at the door for quite a while before knocking on the CEO office door. “Come in.” A voice came from inside. I let out a breath and pushed the door open: “CEO Zhou, I’m here to report on work.” Zhou Ting’an sat behind the desk, expressionless: “Go ahead.” I had indeed been following the project; I was clear on the framework and details. I spoke for about ten minutes before stopping: “That’s roughly it, CEO Zhou.” Zhou Ting’an didn’t speak immediately, just flipping through the document file I brought. After a moment, he looked up, his cool, handsome face revealing no emotion: “Are you very nervous?” I nodded honestly: “A little.” Zhou Ting’an didn’t react much to this, just lowered his eyes again, finishing the last data set, and tossed the file folder onto the desk: “Go to HR to handle the handover.” I was dumbfounded: “CEO Zhou?” Zhou Ting’an looked at me, face waveless: “You are not suitable for the Planning Department.” My heart skipped a beat. Is he going to fire me?? 5 Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but gasp and quickly expressed my loyalty: “CEO Zhou, I know my report still has deficiencies, but I will work hard to learn from seniors in the department. Please give me another chance!” Zhou Ting’an ignored me, operating the computer on his own, looking like he was about to send an email to HR. Watching his actions, I knew there was no room for turning this around, and a wave of sadness rose in my heart. Don’t they say unlucky in love, lucky at cards (work)? How come I lost both the fish and the bear’s paw?! The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. I held back my emotions and asked: “CEO Zhou, can I ask where I didn’t do well? Just consider it a lesson learned, so I won’t make the same mistake when I go to another company in the future.” Words fell, Zhou Ting’an finally looked over. His gaze paused for a moment on my red-rimmed eyes, and when he spoke, he seemed a bit helpless: “What are you going to another company for? To be a corporate spy?” I twitched my lips: “Aren’t you going to fire me?” Zhou Ting’an seemed to laugh: “When did I say I was going to fire you?” As he spoke, he pointed to the file folder on the desk, tone flat: “Just for this bit of stuff, you talked for so long. It’s a waste of talent in the Planning Department. Come over to my side.” I blinked, a bit confused. Zhou Ting’an had to turn the computer around to show me. Only then did I see that what he edited wasn’t a termination notice, but a transfer notice. Zhou Ting’an transferred me to the CEO’s office! “Go handle the handover this morning, come here to report in the afternoon.” Zhou Ting’an looked at me: “Any problems?” At this moment, my heart didn’t hurt anymore, my eyes weren’t red anymore, I nodded repeatedly: “No problem!” Zhou Ting’an gave a noise of assent and pushed the file folder over: “Go back and pack up.” I answered yes and stepped forward to take the document. My fingers touched the folder, but couldn’t pull it. I was stunned, looked up, and saw Zhou Ting’an reach out and press on the document, fingertips slightly tense. “This manicure of yours…” He stared at my fingertips, brows furrowing slightly: “Looks a bit familiar to me.” 6 I subconsciously looked down at my fingers. Because it was my zodiac year, I specially got a red manicure. It was even the style I chose together with that online dating old geezer. Seeing this touch of red now, I felt a sense of “seeing the nails is like seeing the geezer,” and inexplicably felt a bit annoyed. “Yes, this style is very popular this year, many people have gotten it done.” I gave a dry laugh and decided to remove the nail polish as soon as I got back. Zhou Ting’an looked at the nails, then looked at me. In the end, he said nothing and waved his hand to let me leave. The whole morning was chaotic. It was already noon by the time the handover was finished. I took a breather and went to the cafeteria for lunch. My appetite wasn’t good these past two days, so I just ordered plain noodles. After sitting down, I habitually pulled out my phone to take a picture and send it to my pinned contact: [Babe, lunch check-in~] After sending it, I put down my phone to eat. Just after slurping two mouthfuls of noodles, I suddenly felt something was wrong. Didn’t I already delete that online dating old geezer? Then who was I reporting to just now?? Thinking of this, my heart gave a jolt. I hurriedly turned on my phone. Once I saw the screen clearly, my vision suddenly went black— My current pinned contact was… Zhou Ting’an! Half an hour ago, I just got the CEO’s WeChat from the executive assistant and kept it pinned as requested. Who would have thought I’d cause trouble right after turning around! “Bad habits kill people…” I wailed, scrambling to retract it, but it was already over two minutes and couldn’t be operated. Even more frightening was that the next second, my phone vibrated. Zhou Ting’an actually replied to the message: [Who are you calling babe, Luna.] 7 Seeing this, I was incredibly embarrassed and hurriedly explained: [Sorry boss, sent to the wrong person…] Zhou Ting’an didn’t seem to mind either, just asked: [Eating so little?] I told the truth: [Not much appetite these past two days.] It went quiet on Zhou Ting’an’s end; he didn’t reply again. I figured he was just being polite casually, so I put away my phone and ate with peace of mind. Because of the handover work, I came down late. Plus, my habit of eating slowly meant that by the time colleagues in the cafeteria finished and left in twos and threes, I was only halfway through this bowl of noodles. There was still more than half an hour left until the end of the lunch break. Just as I was debating whether to continue eating or go upstairs to sleep, a shadow suddenly fell in front of me. Looking up, it was actually the executive assistant beside Zhou Ting’an. “Still eating?” The assistant sister smiled and handed over a lunch box, “Extra food.” I was stunned for a moment, reached out to take it, opened it, and a fragrant smell hit my nose. It was several small stir-fry dishes, perfect in color, aroma, and taste. “Wow, thank you!” I felt my appetite instantly improve. While feasting, I casually glanced at the lunch box logo and was shocked: “Sister, this restaurant is so expensive!” The assistant waved her hand: “CEO Zhou’s treat, eat up.” I clicked my tongue: “Gotta say, working in the CEO’s office is pretty good, can sponge meals off the boss.” The assistant laughed: “How could that be? CEO Zhou doesn’t order takeout much; he often eats in the cafeteria. Guess he wanted a change of taste today.” I blinked, thinking to myself that I was quite lucky to mooch a meal on my very first day. I didn’t have much work in the afternoon either, just following the executive assistant to learn, and got off work early in the evening. Back home after dinner, I slumped on the sofa ready to start a game. Just logged into the account and the screen flashed wildly, message notifications 99+, phone vibrating so hard I couldn’t hold it. It took a full minute for the phone to quiet down. Only then did I see the culprit, sure enough, it was the online dating old geezer. Only blocked his WeChat, forgot to delete the game friend. Looking at the couple icon flashing above our heads, I felt a wave of disgust and scrambled to unbind, but a message jumped out first: [Babe you’re finally online!] [Babe why break up with me QAQ] I looked at the message with a chill. Such a grown man still using emojis, disgusting! I was too lazy to even reply, clicked to delete friend, but just as I was about to tap delete, another message popped up: [I’m not even thirty yet. Although older than you, I can’t be called an old geezer, right? Babe is there some misunderstanding between us!!]

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After finding out I was the fake heiress, I stopped following my brother around everywhere. I stopped clinging to him, stopped policing his friends. At first, my brother loved it. “Not bad, sis. Why are you so well-behaved lately?” Until three months later, when the real heiress returned home. I didn’t cry or scream. I calmly suggested returning to my biological parents’ home. My brother’s face turned pale instantly. That night, his buddy tried to comfort him: “Since you can’t bear to let your sister go, just marry her.” My brother roared, “I’m not an animal!” His buddy asked again: “Then are you willing to spend your life with her, care for her, tolerate her, through poverty and wealth, sickness and health, until death do you part?” The next second, my brother said without hesitation: “That’s what I planned to do anyway.” Me: ? 1 Since I was little, I loved clinging to my brother. Especially after I was kidnapped as a child, and my brother risked his life to save me. My dependence on him peaked. If I didn’t see him for more than five hours, I’d throw a tantrum. Even as adults, Lucas Vance rarely went on business trips. Until a few days ago, an emergency arose at an overseas branch. My brother had no choice but to leave first and tell me later. Five days later, he finally returned. Right now, Lucas was locked out of my room, coaxing helplessly: “I shouldn’t have hidden the trip from you, but it was urgent.” “I bought your favorite bag. Open the door for your big brother, okay?” I sat on the sofa covering my ears, ignoring him. Lucas knocked for a while. Realizing I wasn’t going to open up, he said gloomily: “Fine. Don’t open it.” Then, he seemed to make a call. A minute later, the sound of lock-picking came from outside. I shot up from the sofa and yelled at the door: “If you pick the lock, I won’t talk to you for three days!” The noise stopped instantly. Lucas hissed, “We were only apart for five days, is it that serious?” Hearing this made me even angrier. I grabbed a throw pillow and threw it at the door with a muffled thud. Just as I was about to say something harsh. A row of bullet comments suddenly floated before my eyes: [LMAO, the supporting female character still doesn’t know she’s the fake heiress.] [Keep throwing tantrums, girl. Wait until the real heiress returns and your brother loses patience. You’ll learn to behave then.] I froze, staring blankly at the text. Me? Fake heiress? Impossible! But the comments continued: [If she took a DNA test now, she wouldn’t look like such a clown.] [Thinking she has her parents’ backing, who knew she wasn’t even their biological child.] Outside, Lucas sent the locksmith away and knocked again, voice lazy: “You can’t be this clingy forever. You should give me some space.” “Besides, I handled everything as fast as possible. Is it worth getting this angry?” As soon as he finished, I opened the door expressionless. Lucas raised an eyebrow in surprise, leaning down slightly: “Yo, forgave me so fast this time?” He handed me the cake, bag, and necklace. Thinking about the bullet comments, I took them distractedly. Then I focused on his hair. Seeing my bare feet, Lucas frowned and picked me up. I was startled and instinctively cursed: “Lucas Vance, are you crazy?” My brother didn’t let go, asking back: “You were staring at me. Isn’t that asking to be held?” Me: “?” Still angry, I tried to struggle free but saw his hair right in front of me. After hesitating, I leaned in and yanked a strand. Lucas patted my back warningly. “Your new revenge is pulling my hair?” I didn’t speak. Staring at the bullet comments, I clutched the strand of hair tight. If I really am a fake heiress. Then I’m truly screwed. Because I’ve been terrorizing my brother for years. The thing he said most to me was: “Luna Vance, if you weren’t my biological sister, who could stand your rotten temper?” 2 When I was little, my parents were busy with work and rarely took care of me. So they guiltily satisfied all my demands. Even my excessive dependence and possessiveness towards Lucas. They just told Lucas: “Let your sister have her way.” So since I can remember, Lucas had a little tail. I followed him everywhere. Until I was stopped by a bar bouncer: “No minors allowed.” I clutched my brother’s shirt tight, shaking my head. “No, I want to be with my brother.” Lucas was only 18 then, the age for fun. He impatiently shook off my hand and called the butler to take me home. At 11 PM, he finished partying and checked his phone. Seeing countless missed calls from the butler, he realized. I was lost. My brother called a bunch of people and searched for me frantically. Finally, he found me curled up asleep in an inconspicuous bush near the bar entrance. He asked me with a dark face why I ran off. Waking up, I rubbed against his cheek dazedly and said: “…wanted to see Big Brother sooner.” From then on, Lucas rarely went to bars. Relying on my parents’ favor, I started bossing him around. While serving me, Lucas would grit his teeth and threaten: “Luna Vance, if you weren’t my sister, I’d throw you out immediately.” I didn’t care then and continued to order him around. But now, holding the DNA test report. I realized. I’m really not his biological sister. 3 Done. It’s all over. I returned home trembling. My parents were often away on business, so usually, it was just Lucas and me. When I got back, Lucas wasn’t home. After dinner, the butler saved a late-night snack for Lucas. But by 10 PM, the food was cold, and he still hadn’t returned. Seeing the butler waiting, I called Lucas. He picked up quickly. Before I spoke, I heard voices on the other end: “Luke, who’s calling? Picking up so fast.” “Must be his sister rushing him home. Sigh, I wish I had a sister like that.” Lucas said helplessly, “Can’t help it, she’s clingy.” He put the phone to his ear and chuckled: “It’s only 10. Rushing me home again?” I heard his friends sighing in the background. Afraid Lucas was getting impatient, I quickly said: “No, no. You can stay out as long as you want.” Lucas’s breath hitched. “What do you mean?” I looked at the cold snack and asked carefully: “If you’re not coming back, I’ll tell the butler to dispose of the food and get off work.” Lucas fell silent. After a long while, he realized: “Using the butler as an excuse this time?” “Fine, I’m coming back.” He hung up. Me: “??” Normally, if Lucas dared to stay out this late. I would have locked the main door and gone to sleep. But now I didn’t dare. I wanted to ease our relationship. So I waited on the sofa, planning to heat up his food myself. But I fell asleep waiting. I don’t know how long passed, but I felt someone pick me up gently. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and opened my eyes. I saw my brother’s angry eyes: “Luna Vance, to force me home, you don’t even care about your health?” “It’s 11 PM. Why are you staying up instead of sleeping?” I didn’t understand why he was mad. I hadn’t thrown a tantrum or locked him out. But remembering the food, I struggled to get down. Lucas held me tighter: “Okay, stop being mad.” “I promise to be home by 9:30 from now on. Happy?” I explained seriously: “It’s okay if you come back later.” Lucas frowned: “Talking nonsense again?” Me: “…” In the end, he didn’t eat. Instead, he helped me wash up and tucked me in. After doing all this, he stood by my bed, waiting. Seeing I didn’t move. He leaned in close. Startled, I pushed his chest: “What are you doing?” Lucas tsked, grabbing my wrist: “Didn’t you say? Goodnight kiss before sleep.” I clarified quickly: “No need anymore! Never again!” Lucas’s face darkened. “Is this your way of punishing me? Childish.” He scoffed and stood up coldly: “Fine. You think I care?” 4 Over the next few days. I proved with my actions that I really wasn’t angry. I stopped clinging to him, policing his friends. I even served him food at the table. Lucas raised an eyebrow, enjoying it: “Not bad, sis. Why so well-behaved lately?” I stated my attitude immediately: “Sorry, Brother. I controlled you too much before. I won’t do it again.” Lucas froze for a second. Then laughed: “Should have been like this long ago. No sister clings to her brother forever.” So, for the next few days. My brother started going to bars with his friends again. But he consciously came home by 9:30. Until one day, he came home right at 9:30. And found I wasn’t home. He called me immediately. I was at a club gathering at school and couldn’t answer. So I hung up and texted: [At a gathering. Might be late. Don’t wait for me.] He replied a minute later, surprisingly open-minded: [It’s fine. You have freedom. We should give each other space.] [You are an independent individual. Of course I won’t restrict you.] [Have fun, sis.] I put down my phone relieved. The gathering ended at 11:30 PM. I drank a little, so I couldn’t drive. It was too late to call the family driver. Hesitating, a senior club member offered kindly: “Luna, I’m driving. I can drop you off.” Afraid I’d be uncomfortable, he added: “Another senior is in the car too. I’ll drop you first.” I was a bit tipsy and nodded mechanically. Seeing my state, he politely supported my arm: “If you’re dizzy, lean on me.” I was indeed unsteady, so I leaned on his shoulder as he led me to the car. Outside, the wind sobered me up a bit. The senior still held my arm. I felt something staring at me. Looking around suspiciously, I saw nothing. Just as I was about to get in, the senior said “Huh”: “Luna, who is that guy? Why is he staring at you?” I followed his gaze. Under the dim streetlamp, my brother was hidden in the shadows. Leaning against his car, dark eyes staring unblinkingly at me. Simultaneously. My phone dinged. My brother messaged: [Dare to get in his car, and I’ll die for you to see.] 5 Before I could react, Lucas strode over. He snatched me from the senior, pulled me into his arms, and looked up: “My sister is young and defenseless. Doesn’t know how to refuse strangers.” “I’ll take her home. Don’t worry about it.” Hearing the hostility, I couldn’t help but defend: “You misunderstood. He’s not a stranger; we’ve known each other for a long time!” My brother asked immediately: “How long? How did you meet? Why didn’t you report to me?” My drunk brain was completely confused. The senior looked between us, frowning: “Even if you’re her boyfriend, you can’t be this controlling.” “Her family hasn’t even said anything.” My brother straightened his collar and smiled fake-ly: “Sorry, I am her family.” “Her biological brother.” Then he dragged me away. By the time I reacted, I was stuffed into his car. Lucas pinched my face: “Rather sit in a stranger’s car than call your brother?” I swatted his hand away: “None of your business!” Lucas sneered: “Of course it’s my business. Answer me. When did you meet him?” “Besides him, what other ‘seniors’ do you know? Is anyone chasing you?” Annoyed, I retorted: “I don’t control your bar trips anymore. Why control me?” Lucas froze for two seconds. Then laughed in realization. “Oh—so this is revenge for me going to bars?” He sounded both annoyed and relieved: “Still love controlling me, huh.” “Fine, Luna. I promise not to go to bars anymore.” “And you’re not allowed to interact with that guy again.” Me: “?” 6 Didn’t expect all my efforts to fail. My brother still thinks I’m controlling him. This won’t do! If this goes on, he’ll hate me like the bullet comments said. I thought hard. Decided to change tactics— Directly fawning over him. So for the next few days, I obediently delivered food to his company. Asked about his health after work. Surprised at first, Lucas quickly adapted, sighing: “So diligent. Say it, what jewelry do you want?” I choked, explaining quickly: “Not about jewelry.” “Want a car?” “No!” “Limited edition bag?” I tried hard to prove myself: “None! I don’t want to spend your money!” I wanted to salvage my image. Unexpectedly, Lucas pursed his lips, face darkening. He scoffed: “Don’t spend it then. Hilarious. You think I want to buy for you?” “When Mom and Dad’s allowance runs out, don’t come crying to me.”

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My mom is the deeply devoted second female lead in a romance novel. Even after being forced into a political marriage with my dad, she still chases after the male lead every day. The male lead and his punk younger brother mock her: “A big simp gave birth to a little simp.” My mom gets alert: “What do you mean?” The punk smirks: “Your daughter, trying to chase me, saved the fifty thousand dollars allowance you gave her to recharge my game account. She was so hungry at noon she only ate a hot dog bun.” “She also said she wants to be like you—even if she’s forced to marry someone else, she’ll never forget me! She’ll even steal her husband’s secret stash to support me!” My mom: “!” Chasing men is paused; beating up the punk is now in session. Even the male lead got slapped twice when he tried to intervene. Later, my mom stopped chasing the male lead, afraid she’d lead me astray. But she couldn’t help calling him every night at 2 or 3 AM: “Are you asleep yet?” “Why isn’t that punk brother of yours dead yet?” “I can’t sleep until he’s dead.” Male Lead: “?” 1 Since I was born, the number of times I’ve seen my mom can be counted on one hand. Because she is the deeply devoted second female lead in a book. Destined to spend her life chasing after the male lead. So. Right after giving birth to me, as soon as she could walk, she took a taxi overnight to find the male lead. Driving my dad crazy. A perfectly good CEO of a listed company, waking up early and staying up late every day to feed me and change my diapers. He even carried me on his back during meetings. Halfway through a meeting. I wailed. Dad stopped helplessly, skillfully took out a bottle to feed me. Stunning his subordinates. Are stay-at-home dads this competitive now? Not wanting to be outdone, they all carried their babies to work the next day. For a while, the conference room was filled with crying and feeding sounds. Dad knew his subordinates misunderstood. But he was too embarrassed to explain. Explain what? Say his wife is busy chasing another man and has no time to take care of the kid? How humiliating. But soon, this juicy gossip from a wealthy family spread like wildfire. Everyone started pitying this man with dark circles under his eyes, eighty alarms set on his phone, and a desk piled with parenting books. Wife doesn’t love him, kid loves to cry. Tsk tsk tsk. Pitiful. But Dad had no time for self-pity. Reviewing documents while coaxing me to sleep, busy as a bee. 2 When I started kindergarten. Dad finally relaxed a bit. At least he could focus on work during the day. But I gradually revealed the simp genes inherited from my mom. Coming home from school every day crying to Dad: “Why does Timmy like the class beauty and not me?” “I even did a backflip for him.” “I did his homework, got him water, bought him snacks, almost went to the bathroom for him! He still doesn’t like me! He only knows how to chase the class beauty!” “Dad, can you arrange an arranged marriage for us?” “Forget it, I’m afraid like you, even after having a kid, he won’t look at me once.” “Boohoo, what if the person I like doesn’t like me? I’m so pitiful, I’m like a clown.” Dad: “…” Even someone looking for trouble couldn’t say such things. Although it poked Dad’s sore spot. He still patiently explained to me: “Liking someone is everyone’s right.” “You can’t force love.” “Learn to respect others’ choices.” “Loving yourself is the most important thing.” I pretended to understand, nodding obediently. The next day, I switched to simping for someone else. I feel terrible if I don’t simp for a day. And I see Dad educating me so logically. Actually, he is a huge simp too. On the surface, he pretends not to care that Mom doesn’t love him. In reality, he hides under the covers every night and cries secretly. Headphones looping “She Doesn’t Love Me.” Phone and computer albums full of Mom’s photos. The safe is full of love letters he dare not send. From kindergarten to now, over 3000 letters. Mom got tired of chasing the male lead and finally came home once. Dad skipped work. Sped home at 110 mph to cook for Mom. Usually, he sends WeChat messages to greet her: “Today’s temperature dropped 1 degree compared to yesterday, remember to wear an extra layer.” “Coming home for dinner today, wifey?” “Tired of chasing Jason, right? Why not invite him home for dinner together.” “…” “Actually, I can sleep in the guest room, you two can share a bed.” So humble. Mom never replied to a single message. Dad takes it in stride: “I checked, your mom’s zodiac sign just hates replying to messages.” Me: “…” When it comes to simping. Dad is still superior. 3 You ask how I was born. Of course, it was an accident within an accident. Mom had a breakdown chasing the guy, couldn’t take it anymore, and planned to drug the male lead, Jason. But she is an honest woman, never done anything so rebellious. When Jason was about to drink. Her conscience kicked in, she snatched it back and gulped it down herself. After drinking, she pushed Jason out, locked the door, and sent Dad the address. In the end, Dad benefited. Dad didn’t know Mom took drugs, thought her initiative was because heaven rewards the faithful. His silent love was finally seen by her. She finally changed her mind and was willing to accept him. Result? Early the next morning. Mom pulled up her skirt and denied everything, leaving Dad curled in the corner crying. After crying, continued WeChatting Mom: “Coming home for dinner, wifey?” Later, when he learned Mom was pregnant. Dad cried again. Of course, tears of joy. He thought his suffering was over. After all, a child is the bond of a couple. Even if she doesn’t love him, with a child, would Mom still have the heart to run out every day? Facts proved Mom is a ruthless woman. Eight months pregnant, still chasing the male lead with a brisk stride. Scared Dad into assigning ten bodyguards to her. Carrying her every day to see Jason. Jason, afraid the female lead would misunderstand, shut Mom out. Mom is also stubborn. Squatting at his door, refusing to leave. Even when it rained. Said Jason was soft-hearted. Don’t know if Jason was soft-hearted. But it broke Dad’s heart. Secretly called Jason, saying Mom was pregnant and couldn’t be in the rain and wind, asking if he could let her sit inside. Jason refused: “What does your wife’s pregnancy have to do with me?” Dad gritted his teeth: “I’ll give you ten percentage points on the next project.” Jason: “Deal!” So Mom, with her big belly, followed by ten bodyguards carrying a pile of clothes, shoes, and food bought for Jason, marched into the male lead’s house. The female lead is also generous. Seeing Mom pitiful like this, poured her hot water. Mom sniffled: “Actually, I’m not here to break you up, I’m here to join you.” “Can you not chase me away? I can cook for you two.” “You sleep on the bed, I can sleep under the bed.” “Just let me see Jason every day…” Then she looked at Jason tearfully: “Luckily the person not being loved is me. If it were you, so painful, how much my heart would ache.” This earth-shattering simp speech shocked even the female lead: “If I dared say this, my best friend would have a UFC fight with me.” 4 And I, inherited all the genetic dregs of my parents. Famous for simping at school. Teachers called Dad every few days: “Your child bought everything in the school store today, said it was for the school hunk.” “Can you discuss with her, leave me a cup of instant noodles? I haven’t eaten all day.” Dad was worried. Couldn’t scold, couldn’t beat. Didn’t dare tell his wife, could only reduce my allowance. With no money, I secretly called Mom. She actually didn’t completely ignore me. Sent me living expenses every day, messaged about my well-being: “How tall have you grown?” “What did you get on this exam?” “Send me the report card.” “Wow, first in class, awesome! Worthy of my daughter.” But never mentioned what she was doing. Asked her, she said working. But actually, I knew all about her heroic simp deeds. I didn’t say anything either. She simps hers, I simp mine. Mother and daughter on the same path, will eventually simp our way to our own love. Result? Simping collapsed midway. That night. I was sending a voice message to the school bully in a husky voice, asking what he was doing, if he wanted to come to my house, I’d do a backflip for him. The door was kicked open. Mom, whom I hadn’t seen for three months, appeared in front of me, holding a half-dead punk with yellow hair, eyes burning with rage: “Ava! Lane!” Scared, I jumped up, skillfully tucking the phone into my waistband: “Mom, Mom, listen to my explanation, the homeroom teacher always targets me, it’s not my fault.” “There are so many sleeping in class, dating early, even cooking in the back row, and she doesn’t catch them? She insists on catching me to arrange a ghost marriage for the principal? This is bullying…” Mom: “…” “What are you doing for the principal?! Ah forget it, marry if you want, but marry someone better! But not this one! Look who this is!” She threw the yellow-haired punk on the ground. The punk was caught off guard and fell flat on his face. Looking up, our eyes met. In the awkwardness, he suddenly flipped over smoothly like a loach, did ten push-ups with his hands on the ground “heave-ho heave-ho.” Stopped panting, thinking he saved face, lay on his side on the ground, looking up at us smugly. Mom: “…” Me, starry-eyed: “Wow!” Mom’s fist hardened, raising her foot to kick him. I was shocked, rushing to stop her: “Mom, how can you treat my crush like this!” Mom gritted her teeth: “Ava Lane! Are you blind? Where is this dead Yellow Hair worthy of being a crush?” The boy reacted instantly to “Yellow Hair,” jumping up: “I’m not Yellow Hair! I wanted to dye it green! That damn black shop used expired cheap dye, and it faded to yellow after two washes! Now I can’t wash it out! How can you blame me! Why call me dead Yellow Hair!” Mom: “…What’s the difference!” The boy stiffened his neck: “Of course there’s a difference! Green is so vibrant and good-looking! So unique!” “I didn’t want to be yellow hair either, like weeds…” Talking and talking, it seemed to poke his sore spot, reminding him of sad past events, voice choking: “Blame that black shop, making me laughed at by classmates for days boohoo…” I don’t care about yellow hair or green hair. I am a superficial face-judger. If you are good-looking, my heart moves, I can simp. Yellow Hair Caleb is the most handsome guy I picked from the whole school. High nose bridge, long eyelashes, deep eye sockets, eyes drooping like a puppy. Although he has some small flaws, like a bad temper, doing nothing all day, talking back to teachers in class, bossing people around during breaks. Enjoying all offerings from me, the simp, yet still ignoring me. But so what. Seeing his beautiful face, I can forgive everything. Not to mention crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain now. Even more directly handsome. Beautiful to tears, heartbreaking for me. I squatted down, couldn’t help wanting to touch his face. Caleb’s dog-like temper started acting up again. He glared at me: “Don’t touch me!” Mom’s temper exploded: “Hey, not letting people touch now? The money my daughter spent on you could book a dozen male models at a club, and you won’t even let her touch?” “Touch him, touch him! Daughter, touch him hard! Rub him bald!” But my heart skipped a beat. Looks like my simping for Caleb at school is completely exposed. Look, it drove Mom crazy. I comforted her: “It’s okay Mom, I did it voluntarily…” Mom glared at me: “Shut up!” Then quickly turned her head: “Today, either return the money, or let my daughter touch enough!” Caleb refused: “Why should…” But seeing Mom’s fierce eyes, wanting to kill him for protecting her calf. Caleb instantly chickened out. But almost all the money I gave him went into games, and his own allowance was strictly controlled by his brother because he caused trouble at school every day, leaving him only twenty bucks for cafeteria food. He was sure if he took out these twenty bucks, Ava Lane’s mom might kick his head like a ball. So he weighed it for a long time, finally gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and lowered his head to me: “Touch!” I was flattered. Actually, I wanted to touch his fluffy dog-like hair for a long time. But hair is Caleb’s life. Even his closest brothers would get beaten up if they touched it. Didn’t expect to get it so easily as a simp. Looks like simps have spring too. Tears in my eyes, I raised my hand and gently placed it on his head. Just touched his hair, the boy frowned and “tsked.” Mom, waiting on the side: “Hmm? Dare to bare teeth!” Then quickly reached out and slapped his face precisely. Slap. Smoothed Caleb’s dog hair completely. Didn’t dare make a sound again. Let me rub and rub. I was touching happily here. Mom watching on the side felt worse and worse. Fifty thousand given to this brat without heartache, yet touching him once is a luxury, let alone his usual attitude towards Ava. Treating her directly as an ATM on call. And Ava herself acted like she had no pursuit or self-esteem, just touching his head, happy like this. Won’t she be manipulated and bullied at will in the future? No. Can’t go on like this. It must be because I usually focused almost entirely on Jason, neglecting my daughter’s education. Spending too little time with my daughter caused this situation. Not too late now, can still change. As for Dad, that useless guy. CEO my ass, can’t even educate a child well. Mom sneered, still have to do it myself.

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The System assigned me to redeem the villain. But when I time-traveled, I became a sixty-year-old woman. Looking at my gray hair and aged body, the System fell into deep thought. “Host, how about… we use points to exchange for a young, beautiful body first?” I said confidently, “Think bigger. Redemption doesn’t always mean romance.” Later, I opened a small eatery by the roadside. In the snowstorm, I called out to the battered boy and gave him a bowl of hot soup. Ten years later, he became the Prime Minister, personally requesting a title of nobility for me from the Emperor. 1 “Beat him to death!” A thin boy in ragged clothes suddenly fell in front of my shop. A group of people surrounded him, kicking and punching. The boy’s face was pressed into the ice shards, his expression twisted in pain. “What are you doing!” I walked out with a rolling pin and scolded, “If you want to fight, go somewhere else! Don’t do it in front of my shop!” The man who started it said, “This kid stole my buns! I’m going to beat him to death today!” I was speechless. “He stole a bun, not your wife. Is it worth beating him to death?” “Hey—you old hag—” “Alright, alright.” I waved my hand. “How much is it? I’ll pay for him. Don’t let him die at my door; it’s bad luck.” The men looked at each other and thought for a moment. “Two coppers.” I took two coins from my purse and threw them over. “Catch.” After the crowd dispersed, I looked at the boy lying in the snow like a dead dog. “Can you get up?” He struggled hard a few times but eventually collapsed weakly, his voice faint: “I… I’ll pay you back.” I looked helpless and stuck the rolling pin back into my waist. “Forget it. Let me help you up first.” The fifteen-year-old boy looked only twelve, thin as a chicken. I lifted him up and dragged him into the house. The hot aroma of bone broth drifted from the large pot, isolating us from the biting wind and snow outside. I asked him, “Are you a thief?” He didn’t speak. I continued asking, “A beggar? An orphan?” “I’m not! I have a family!” He pursed his lips stubbornly, his eyes full of anger and grievance. “Alright.” I smiled. “Then why do you look like this, without even a decent jacket?” He glared at me for a long time but ultimately didn’t curse the old hag. The System inside me was anxious: “Host, why are you provoking him? Give him food and clothes quickly!” I said slowly, “What’s the rush? I’m not related to him. Suddenly being nice to him, does that make sense?” The boy propped himself up and limped away. I shouted from behind, “Drink some soup before you go.” His ears twitched, but he didn’t look back. 2 In the original world, the villain Caleb remembered the female lead Elena for half a lifetime because of a bowl of rice. After becoming the third-place scholar, Caleb rose step by step to become the Prime Minister, holding immense power. Elena was the white moonlight he loved but couldn’t have. Caleb persecuted loyal officials and drove the Grand Tutor to death. Just to get rid of the Crown Prince and snatch the female lead from him. So I opened an eatery, offering food and drink. I counted the days in the shop. It had been two days since I last saw Caleb. I deliberately opened the shop near his home to monitor him. But I hadn’t even seen Caleb’s shadow. Thinking of Caleb’s gray face, bony body, and scarred skin. I couldn’t help but pace back and forth. He wouldn’t really be dead, right? Bang— The door was violently crashed open. Caleb stumbled in. He was hurt even worse this time, blood on his nose and mouth. “Granny,” he murmured. “Does the offer for soup still count?” As soon as he finished speaking, he fell heavily and fainted. “What a sin.” I sighed softly. Caleb’s tragic youth was now vividly displayed before my eyes. I suddenly understood his obsession with Elena’s bowl of rice. That wasn’t just a bowl of rice; it was the only light and redemption in the boy’s darkness. I tore open his inner clothes to check. New wounds layered over old ones, not a single patch of good skin. I patiently applied medicine for him and poured soup into his mouth. Caleb choked and coughed with his eyes closed. He seemed to be dreaming. After a moment, he cried out, “Mom.” I watched him quietly, suddenly feeling a bit sour. Even if he would hold monstrous power in the future, unspeakably noble. Right now, he was just a pitiful little cub. When Caleb woke up and met my gaze, he instantly avoided it like a frightened animal. Feeling the warm bedding and touching the ointment on his collarbone. The whole person was very uneasy. He lowered his head, even stuttering a bit: “Th… thank you, Granny.” Then he immediately promised: “I will definitely pay you back for the medicine and soup.” I couldn’t help but want to laugh, asking him back: “Am I a bank to you?” Caleb’s face turned scarlet instantly. “Sorry, but I really don’t have money.” He was very ashamed. “I’ll go to the docks to carry cargo right now and earn money to pay you back.” Saying this, he actually propped himself up, wanting to get out of bed. I pushed him back down: “Forget it. With your body, you’ll die before you earn any money. Who will I ask for the debt then?” Caleb had no choice, looking at me with red eyes filled with tears. What a pity-inducing beauty. I didn’t expect the big villain to have such a delicate side when he was young. I hooked my lips: “My shop is short of a helper. You stay and work to pay off the debt.” Light suddenly ignited in his eyes. 3 A moment later, the light in his eyes went out again. Caleb shook his head and promised me: “Three days. I’ll pay you back in three days.” After saying that, the boy scrambled up, not even bothering to say goodbye, and fled in panic. Looking at his desolate back, I fell into deep thought. “System, what is the situation with Caleb’s family now?” “I don’t know.” The System said honestly, “The original book glossed over his tragic youth.” I looked up at the sky speechlessly: “What use are you!” Helpless, I had to ask around myself. When neighbors mentioned Caleb, everyone had something different to say. “He was originally a good kid, but unfortunately dragged down by his crazy mother.” “That brat, I kindly took him in to work before, but he ran away after working for less than two hours. What a piece of trash!” “That’s nothing. He stole my chicken the other day. I’ll drag him to the magistrate sooner or later.” “…” I keenly grasped a key point. Maybe this was why Caleb was unwilling to stay and help. Something was dragging him down, preventing him from focusing on work. A fifteen-year-old boy with sound limbs forced into this state. I didn’t rashly go to Caleb’s house but waited quietly for the third day. I believed that the future Prime Minister who could cover the sky with one hand would not disappoint me. Sure enough, Caleb arrived as promised. The boy had changed into a clean shirt. Although patched, it was much neater. He put a small piece of silver into my palm and bowed solemnly. “Paid back in full.” I asked him: “Did you really go to the docks to carry bags?” He didn’t look like it. Caleb seemed to have been spoken to about an embarrassing secret. His lips moved slightly, but he didn’t respond for a long time. I gave the silver back to him: “I don’t want money from improper sources.” “No!” Afraid I would misunderstand, he immediately retorted loudly: “This is what I got from copying books for the squire’s son.” “Why didn’t you do such a good job before?” My eyes glanced at his slender fingers. Although rough and chapped, I could vaguely see thick calluses on the pads of his index fingers. He had been secretly studying. Without paper and pen, he carved on the ground with stones. I suddenly probed: “It seems you are quite talented. How about I send you to study? If you pass the exams in the future, just provide for me in my old age.” “Are you willing to make this deal?” Caleb looked up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief. But he quickly shook his head again. “No, I don’t like studying at all.” 4 If I hadn’t known the original plot, I would have really believed his nonsense. I was still planning how to go to Caleb’s house to investigate. Who knew something would happen that night. Not long after Caleb returned from my place, his mother held a knife, wanting to die with him. The woman’s shrill screams echoed in the late night, drawing everyone out with lanterns. I hurried over too and saw the emaciated woman holding a rusty kitchen knife in the ice and snow. Her hair was disheveled, eyes sunken, but burning with terrifying madness. She slapped Caleb hard while cursing heartbreakingly. “You went to copy books for others again! I said no, don’t you understand!” “Righteousness is often found in dog butchers; scholars are the most heartless!” “If you want to be like your heartless father, why don’t you die with me right now!” The boy knelt straight in the snow, neither blocking nor dodging, letting her slaps fall on him. As if even if that knife fell, he would willingly accept it. I always thought he was physically weak and couldn’t fight back, so he submitted. Now I finally knew, it wasn’t that he couldn’t, but that he wouldn’t. I could see that this woman was terminally ill. She wouldn’t live long. After she died, Caleb would still take the path of the imperial examination. But he was not as heartless as his biological father. Instead, his infatuation with the female lead was frightening. Perhaps his paranoia was also due to his mother. I suddenly took a deep breath of cold air, pushed through the crowd, and stepped forward. Under everyone’s astonished gaze, I raised my hand and gave this crazy woman a solid slap. “That’s enough. If you want to die, die yourself. Don’t drag your son.” “The grace of birth is not as great as the grace of raising. Caleb didn’t beg you to give birth to him, and you have no right to control his life and death.” Caleb’s mother was even frailer than Caleb. I slapped her, and she staggered two steps. The kitchen knife in her hand also fell with a clang. It was Caleb who seemed to be struck by lightning, instantly coming to his senses. He lunged forward to hug his mother, looking up at me pleadingly, his eyes full of tears. “Granny, don’t hit my mom.” “She’s not a bad person. She’s just sick; her mind isn’t clear.” “It’s all my fault. I made her angry, that’s why she’s like this.” I looked calmly at the mother and son in the snow, and my previous doubts were answered. I suddenly let out an untimely laugh. “Caleb, oh Caleb, there should be a place for you in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.” He didn’t understand what I meant, looking blank, just hugging his mother tightly. Small, pitiful, and helpless. Neighbors pointed at them, with pity and ridicule. I picked up the mother and son, one in each hand. Surprisingly light, as if lifting two shells hollowed out by suffering. “Let’s talk inside. No need to let others see the joke.” Then I said to the crowd: “Everyone go back. I’ll watch over these two tonight. I guarantee no one will die, and we won’t disturb you.” 5 Caleb’s house leaked wind from all sides, with only a broken bed and a rotten thin mattress. There wasn’t even a place to sit. I took both of them directly back to the shop. Caleb’s mother seemed to regain her sanity at this moment, her eyes becoming clear. Looking closely at her, she was actually extremely beautiful. Even though she was sallow and emaciated, looking like a madwoman. But quiet now, one could vaguely see the peerless elegance of the past. I don’t know who Caleb’s father was to drive a great beauty and a prodigy to this state. I stood up, planning to stir-fry two dishes for them. Who knew Caleb’s mother would plop down and kneel in front of me. I was startled instantly. Heavens. Then I rejoiced that I was currently in an old woman’s body. I could accept this bow. “I am Susan. Thank you, Auntie, for helping us today.” Such a formal bow was definitely not just a simple thank you. I watched her quietly, waiting for her to continue. “I know my time is limited. Seeing that you are kind and reliable, and treat Caleb sincerely, I want to entrust him to you.” “Although Caleb has no possessions, the boy will be older in two years. Chopping wood, carrying water, waiting tables, and guarding the door for you won’t be a problem.” After speaking, she looked at me expectantly. It seemed she wanted to do one last thing for Caleb in this short and precious moment of clarity. But I sneered and rejected her directly. “You wish.” Susan was a bit surprised, lips slightly parted, seeming unbelievable. Caleb, having interacted with me a few times, was used to my virtue. Wooden-faced, he met my gaze indifferently. I reached out and pulled him in front of Susan. She was puzzled, but the next second, I ruthlessly tore open Caleb’s shirt. Scars and bruises densely packed, bloodily thrust into Susan’s face. All this was because of her! “Look at what you’ve done.” I pointed at Susan mercilessly. “You got sick, and Caleb had to take care of you day and night, unable to leave, causing him to be unable to find even a decent job. He could only steal, rob, and beg.” “Let me ask you, you didn’t let him study and learn etiquette, cutting off his path, because you were afraid he would become like his scumbag father who abandoned his wife and son.” “But did you prevent these things? Instead, because of you, he has truly become a lowly creature that everyone shouts to beat, willing to risk his life for a bite of food!” “Is this what you wanted? If so, there’s no need to pretend. Better to cut off the mother-son relationship here and now. From now on, you two have nothing to do with each other!” Caleb was manipulated by me like a rag, always keeping his eyes lowered and submitting. Only when I said “lowly creature” did his body tremble slightly, and a flash of hard-to-detect embarrassment passed through his eyes. How could someone who read the classics not know shame? He could disregard his own life. But to buy food and medicine for his mother, he had no choice. Stimulated by me, Susan covered her head in pain, seeming about to lose it again. But I grabbed her collar, staring straight at her, voice loud as a bell. “Susan! The bad debts in this world can’t be muddled through by going crazy. You hide in madness, leaving the sober pain to Caleb. Is this fair?” “Don’t think about leaving the mess to me. If you’ve gone crazy enough, get up. Avoiding won’t solve the problem. If you have guts, face it uprightly.” Caleb stared at me blankly, the dead silence on his face gradually cracking. A different light flickered in his eyes, like a bright lamp suddenly lit in the long dark night. I don’t know if Susan understood this sentence. But I knew Caleb did.

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The brother I picked up turned out to be a real-life young master from a wealthy family. After returning to his billionaire family and becoming the despised outcast, he wanted to commit suicide out of despair. I grinned: “Bro, hurry up and die.” “I have my eye on this punk. Only if you die can I hold your funeral photo and morally blackmail him into dating me.” “Oh, also, I borrowed 3 million dollars from the village in your name.” “If he doesn’t agree, I’ll use this money to hire someone to lock him up and force him to love me.” “Best if I get pregnant with his kid and bind him to me for life.” Pfft— He sprayed out 20 sleeping pills. Then he got up and rinsed his mouth eight hundred times. 1 When I was four, I wanted a brother. The girl next door, Jenny, had a brother who wove grasshoppers for her and carried her across the river. I was green with envy. So I asked my mom if she could give me a brother. My mom, who had been playing “golf” (farming) in the fields all day, laughed angrily. “I can’t birth one. Go find someone who can.” I was obedient from a young age. So I kowtowed to Big Yellow, the dog who could birth 10 puppies in a litter: “Big Yellow, I accept you as my mom. Can you give me a brother? Please.” Early the next morning, I was woken by Big Yellow’s unusual low barking. In the faint morning light, Big Yellow was gently nudging a shadow curled up by the haystack with his nose. It was a little boy. His clothes were torn, his face too dirty to see clearly, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. He hugged his arms, shivering slightly. I cheered: “Good job, Big Yellow! You really gave me a brother!” I am very loyal. I turned and shouted to my mom who came out hearing the noise: “Auntie! I have a brother!” Then I rushed to hug Big Yellow’s neck and called him Mom. “Lily! Evans!” My mom roared, holding a spatula. I didn’t know why she was angry, but her beating was very graceful. 2 After beating me, she boiled hot water and let the boy take a bath. When he came out clean and sat at our dining table, I finally saw his face clearly. Who would have thought, Big Yellow, a country dog, gave birth to such a stylish person! His features looked like they were painted; extremely good-looking. Compared to him, Jenny’s brother looked like a scribble. He didn’t look at me, staring unblinkingly at the bowl of rice on the table— Rice mixed with meat broth, topped with several pieces of soft stewed ribs. So I pushed the bowl generously in front of him: “Brother, eat! Don’t be shy!” As if he finally couldn’t hold back, he picked up the bowl, eating in small bites at first. Then he started wolfing it down, gasping from the heat but not stopping. Just then, my mom came out of the kitchen with two bowls of rib noodles. Seeing this scene, her face turned black as the bottom of a pot. 3 She rushed over and grabbed my ear: “That’s dog food! Big Yellow’s dog food! Who told you to give guests dog food?!” “Ouch ouch ouch, it hurts!” My ear was twisted numb, I jumped and shouted, “You said it was Big Yellow’s dog food, and Big Yellow didn’t say anything!” “Besides, Big Yellow’s food is delicious, I’ve eaten it too.” These words completely ignited my mom’s anger. She raised her hand to smack my butt: “So you not eating well every day is because you steal Big Yellow’s food?” Just then, a very thin hand suddenly reached out and gently pulled my mom’s shirt. The little brother had stood up at some point. He looked up slightly, his eyes full of caution: “A-Auntie… it’s okay, that rice is very fragrant…” “Can I… eat a few more bites?” “I haven’t eaten for two days… so hungry…” 4 My mom’s hand froze in mid-air, looking down at the boy who only reached her chest. He was too thin. His exposed wrist was so slender it looked like it would snap with a little force. At this moment, he was swallowing nervously, his eyes glancing uncontrollably at the bowl of dog food on the table. “What a sin…” She grabbed the little brother and put the noodles covered in ribs in front of him. “Child, eat! Eat as much as you want! There’s plenty!” Then she turned and rushed back to the kitchen, pots and pans clanging. In a while, she brought out a large plate of golden fried eggs. “Eat, child, eat slowly.” My mom kept putting eggs in his bowl, her eyes red. When he was full, holding the bowl and sipping the noodle soup. My mom asked carefully. “Child.” “Tell Auntie, how… did you get so hungry?” 5 The little brother’s fingers holding the bowl tightened, knuckles turning white. He lowered his eyes, staring at the chopped green onions floating in the soup, silent for a long time. Just when I thought he wouldn’t answer, he suddenly spoke: “They… are not my biological parents.” “They beat me and didn’t give me food. So I ran away.” My mom’s tears fell instantly. She turned sideways and wiped her face hard with her sleeve. 6 After eating, I tugged at my mom’s sleeve: “Mom! Can we let the little brother stay and be my brother?” My mom glared at me: “Why ask me? He has to be willing to be your brother!” I didn’t know how to make him willing. So I went to ask the sister next door. She was the first college student in the village, very cultured! Although villagers said she couldn’t even spell “monkey,” a useless scholar. I ran to the sister’s house. She was sitting on a small stool in the yard. —Hair clipped up messily, floral cotton pants paired with a tight down jacket. Me: ??? Didn’t Mom always say city people are the most fashionable? Why did sister dress like my grandma after two years of college? 7 “Sister, I…” I suddenly felt a bit shy, “I have a friend who wants a boy she just met to be her brother. What should she do?” “Yo yo yo~ Just a brother~? Only a kid like you believes that~” The sister, who was playing with her phone, suddenly got interested and revealed an evil smile. “But this is easy! Let your friend—take her best friend and kneel to beg him!” “Must… must kneel?” I felt my knees starting to hurt. “Of course!” The sister said decisively, “That shows sincerity!” I gritted my teeth: “Fine, but who is the best friend?” “The very best friend.” 8 My best friend is Big Yellow. So when the little brother finished using the toilet, he saw a person and a dog kneeling at the outhouse entrance. His pale face cracked instantly. From initial confusion, to shock after seeing our posture, then to helpless panic. He subconsciously took half a step back, almost stepping into the cesspit behind him. “You… you guys…” “Please stay and be my brother!” I shouted with full energy, “Big Yellow and I beg you together!” Just then, my mom came out to pour a basin of dirty water. 9 “Lily! Evans!” Her roar shook the sky, “What are you doing kneeling at the outhouse with Big Yellow! Get up!” Just when my mom was about to put down the basin and twist my ear. The little brother suddenly took a small step forward and bent down slightly. Using those hands so thin you could see the bones, he gently held my arm. “Get up.” His voice was very soft, “I… haven’t been a brother…” “But… I will try my best.” 10 From that day on, I, Lily Evans, had a brother. Mom renamed him—Ethan. Ethan was the best brother in the world. I secretly wore Mom’s precious high heels at home to be pretty, but accidentally broke the heel. Scared, I cried while writing a suicide note on the table. He heard the noise and came in, looked at the crooked “suicide note” on the table. Looked at my tear-stained face, and said nothing. When Mom came back and threw a fit, he took the blame for me like a martyr: “Mom, sorry, it was me… I accidentally broke your high heels.” My mom was shocked, taking out her broken lipstick and soiled dress: “These… you did these too?” Ethan glared at me fiercely, then closed his eyes in despair: “Yes. I thought they looked nice, so I tried them on.” My mom was silent for a long time, wanting to speak but stopping, finally squeezing out a sentence: “…Son, your hobbies are quite broad.” 11 Ethan was also the worst brother in the world. When I super accidentally forgot my homework at school. And cried at home for a whole day: “Doomed, can’t do homework today, can only watch cartoons hehe oh no boohoo~~” My brother, who was running a fever, sat up from his deathbed. Walked a mile to get my homework back. He slapped the homework in front of me with a pap. Corner of his mouth harder to suppress than an AK: “Write.” Me: ??? 12 Days passed like flowing water. In middle school. I was crowned the “Golden Microphone” by teachers for talking too much. Ethan, two years older, scored 748 raw points in the high school entrance exam, becoming the city’s top scholar. 13-year-old Big Yellow became a grandma. We all had a bright future. In high school. Ethan won first prize in the National High School Math League. My autistic deskmate was “talk-therapied” by me into a Silver Microphone. Big Yellow’s son, Little Yellow, was neutered by my mom for being too flirtatious. The Yellow family line ended! We… cling to my brother’s thigh!! Bro! Don’t forget us when you’re rich! 13 However, Big Yellow and I never expected. My brother would get rich so fast! Just won the first prize in the National Math League. Immediately after, because he was too handsome among a group of nerds, he went viral overnight. A photo of him receiving the award got over a million likes on TikTok, and the comments section exploded— “The third brother on the right is killing it! No lighting, no makeup, pure hard handsome!” “Just asking, is this the National Handsome Guy First Prize?” “Am I the only one who thinks… he looks like a certain billionaire Mr. Vance from the capital???” This comment was upvoted to the top. Then, another video was dug up— A silhouette of Arthur Vance flashing past in financial news. Two faces placed side by side, simply like looking in a mirror. So overnight again. My brother became a real billionaire heir. Bro, I know your future is bright, but isn’t this too bright? 14 When a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs ascend to heaven. My mom’s entertainment changed from golfing in the fields to playing mahjong at the village entrance. Big Yellow’s afternoon tea changed from leftovers to imported dog food. I also transferred from the rotten high school in town to a noble school in the capital. My brother is benevolent!! However, since returning to the wealthy family to be a young master, he became very busy. We rarely met. So sad, missed him so much, so I often messaged him. Me: Bro, miss you, are you doing well there? Is the allowance enough? If enough, share some. Cat reaching out.jpg. Brother (ATM Version): How much? Before I replied. He transferred ten thousand. Brother (ATM Version): Afraid you’re not used to living at school, rented you a house at the school gate. Brother (ATM Version): If anyone bullies you at the new school, tell me. No dating! No dating! Understand? Me: Cat nodding.gif. Don’t know why, my brother always seemed afraid city people would bully me. He said this many times. Making me a bit scared too. Do city people look down on us country folks? 15 So on the day of reporting to the new school, I brought Little Yellow (Big Yellow’s son) for protection. Just sat down, a few rich second-generation kids staggered around me. The leading boy looked me up and down, a playful smile on his lips: “Hey, new here? Heard… you’re the one transferred from some village, from the same place as Ethan Vance (formerly Ethan)?” My heart skipped a beat, clutching my bag strap, nodding silently. A girl with exquisite makeup beside him looked at me with a light smile, from my canvas shoes to my ponytail. My heart was in my throat, my brother’s warnings flashing in my mind, And those bullying transfer student scenes in TV dramas. Doomed, doomed… Unexpectedly, the girl’s eyes lit up: “Great! She’s really from the countryside!” Me: “???” 16 The boy beside her was incredibly excited. “You guys from the countryside must study very hard. Math must be super awesome like Ethan Vance, right?” “Not gonna lie, you look like a mathematician!” Me: ??? Mathematician?? Who??? Me with 30 points??? But before I could speak. He took out a stack of test papers, slapped them on my desk. “God, help a brother out.” He put his hands together in a pleading gesture, “These, due this afternoon. Name your price!” I tentatively extended a hand. “Five…” Before I could say “bucks”. “Five thousand?” He froze. 17 Then the group of people around him sighed in relief, showing expressions of “what a bargain”. “No problem!” “Last time I offered Ethan Vance fifty thousand a sheet, he told me to get lost. You are truly benevolent!” Afraid I would regret, he immediately finalized it. “There are ten papers here, fifty thousand, I’ll transfer it now!” I looked at the payment notification on my phone. Head buzzing, five… fifty thousand just like that? Who said city people are bad? City people are too good! I started writing papers diligently. Although I couldn’t understand the questions, I wrote extremely seriously. Neat handwriting, clean paper, every page filled. But it was all gibberish. He only asked me to finish, didn’t ask me to be right! So I finished before noon. When I handed it to them, they were shocked by my speed as heavenly. Saying everywhere I was the reincarnation of Euler.

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I woke up from amnesia, and the doctor asked me: “Which one is your current boyfriend?” I tentatively pointed to the one on the left. The doctor’s face darkened: “Current. Boyfriend.” I pointed to the one on the right. The doctor gritted his teeth: “Current. Boy. Friend.” I hesitated, then finally pointed shakily to the one in the middle. The doctor took off his mask and smiled eerily: “Great job. “Babe, turns out besides me, you were dating three others.” I planned to jump out the window and run. But a bullet comment flashed before my eyes: [The vicious female lead is finally going offline. Jump quickly so you can be caught by the fourth yandere male lead, locked in a dark room, and tortured to death.] Oh no. But I already jumped… 1 I was obsessed with watching that cute “steamed carrot Mickey Mouse tissue box cat” online. Didn’t watch where I was going. Accidentally missed a step and tumbled down the stairs. Good news: No major injuries. Bad news: Amnesia. Forgot who my boyfriend was. When the nurse told me to call family to pick me up. I opened my contacts. Only four people. One was saved as a wrench emoji. I guessed it was a repairman. Pass. The other three were more impressive. Saved as: Hubby 1, Hubby 2, Hubby 3. Checked the area codes. Weird. Did my boyfriends have phone numbers from three different states? Whatever. Just pick one and try. I called Hubby 1. Picked up instantly. Tone very cold. “What is it?” What’s with this attitude? Is this an ex-boyfriend I forgot to rename? No wonder I have a Hubby 2. Hung up! Calling Hubby 2! Don’t know what Hubby 2 was doing. Didn’t pick up instantly. Waited thirty seconds. Just as I was about to hang up and call Hubby 3. He picked up. Voice similar to Hubby 1, both deep. But his tone was more sarcastic: “Finally answering the phone? “Speak. Who was that man who answered your phone? “Didn’t you say you cut ties with them? Only me left?” How do I answer that? What man? I don’t know. Hung up quickly. Next one. Called Hubby 3, didn’t pick up. But he sent a text: [Awake? I’m coming right now.] [Hungry?] I breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like Hubby 3 is my real hubby! The others. Are just bad romances to be discarded. Blocking them all later! From now on, I will be a devoted, pure girl! [Kiss kiss Hubby, can you bring me an ice cream black tea changed to green tea base with two extra scoops of ice cream and no sugar later?] Instant reply: [Yes.] 2 Thinking about getting the bubble tea I craved soon. I was in a great mood. Sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed playing with my phone. This was a single room with great lighting. 2 PM. Winter sun poured in, covering half the bed, making me feel lazy and warm. Stretched. Suddenly realized. I seemed to have forgotten what my boyfriend looked like. What if he’s ugly? After all, girls in love wear rose-colored glasses. While I’m still in this “sober” phase. Better check the photo album. If he’s really ugly, I’m running away. … However. I scrolled through the album for nearly half an hour. Not a single photo of a man. Over 10,000 photos. 5,000 selfies. 2,000 random cats and dogs on the street. The remaining 3,000. All different food photos. Holy sh*t. Self-obsessed much? Narcissism is a bit extreme. Forget it. I guess with my taste. I wouldn’t date an ugly guy anyway. “Tanya.” “Eh, who’s calling me?” I stretched my neck to look at the door. A tall, thin male doctor walked in. He wore a mask, revealing only clean, handsome eyes. He asked some basic questions. Headache? Any discomfort? He continued: “How is your memory recovery? “If the situation is still not ideal, we may need to consider other treatment plans.” Instantly. Images from countless movies flashed uncontrollably through my mind. Electroshock, forced hypnosis, even craniotomy… Various terrifying treatments played in a loop. Scared, I waved my hands frantically, speaking faster: “Recovered, recovered, Doctor. “Really! “I remember everything. Feel great!” “Really? What’s my name?” I glanced at his name tag: “Dr. Zhou, what about it?” The doctor’s gaze paused on my face, expression serious. I stared back. Heart tightened. Does my body have some major issue? Is he afraid I can’t take it? I clutched my chest, heartbroken: “It’s okay, Doctor. “Just say it. My mental fortitude is strong, I can take it.” After a long while. He pursed his lips and finally spoke: “We’ll do a checkup later. If no issues, you can leave.” Tch. Just that small thing. Why act so scary! Bad man! 3 The doctor left. About an hour later. He returned, followed by two men. The man on the left wore a dark suit. Tall figure, cold face. Rimless glasses perched on a high nose bridge. Eyes behind the lenses sharp and distant. Thin lips pursed tight. Radiating a “strangers keep away” low pressure. The other one. Looked like a race car driver. Red and black racing suit, zipper casually open to the chest, revealing a black tight T-shirt underneath. Hair messy and wild. Under the bangs, a pair of narrow, upward-slanting eyes stared at me dead on. Jawline tight, looking like he could bite me to death any second. I froze, looking at the doctor in confusion. What’s this for? The doctor’s face didn’t change, tone flat as he asked me: “Which one is your current boyfriend?” Hate this. I hated multiple-choice questions since I was a kid. How would I know? I tentatively pointed to the one on the left. But the doctor repeated: “Current boyfriend.” Huh?? Not right? I thought he looked husband material. Then it’s the one on the right. “Current boyfriend.” The doctor’s face darkened, repeating again: “Current boyfriend.” Ah? Could it be the one just now? He was just asking again to test if I really recovered my memory. Damn. What a cunning man. I pointed to the left one again. The doctor’s face looked even worse: “Current boyfriend.” Ah? Still not right? I get it. My current boyfriend isn’t in here at all! I’ll point at the air. The doctor laughed in anger. Voice gritted through teeth. “Current. Boy. Friend.” Not good. Looking at his expression. My current boyfriend should be in this room. So who is it? I scanned the three of them from left to right. Could it be… Could it be… I hesitated, then finally pointed shakily to him in the middle. The doctor took off his mask. Smiled eerily: “Great job. “Babe, turns out besides me, there are three others.” 4 My blood froze. Couldn’t believe my ears. There are only three men here. Where’s the other one? Waiting somewhere? Whatever. Run first. Feels like if these three team up, they’ll kill me. Didn’t have time to put on shoes. Climbed the window to run. This is the second floor. Jumping down shouldn’t kill me. I moved super fast. While the three were stunned. Half my butt was already out the window. A convertible was parked downstairs. Owner unknown. Keys still in the ignition. This is a getaway artifact. Heaven helps me! I jump! Just then. A bullet comment flashed before my eyes: [The vicious female lead is finally going offline. Jump quickly so you can be caught by the fourth yandere male lead, locked in a dark room, and tortured to death.] [Sigh, really want to see the day the vicious female lead gets revenge from four male leads. Who told her to do so much evil! If not for her, our sister would be living a happy life as the group favorite.] Wait. Why didn’t you say so earlier? I f*cking jumped already. 5 Wind whistled in my ears. I watched helplessly as I fell towards the convertible mid-air. Good news: Landed safely in the seat. Bad news: Caught. Wrist grabbed by a cold, strong hand. I turned back, meeting a man’s face that appeared out of nowhere. The man’s complexion was an unnatural pale. Right now, he was looking up at me with a fake smile. I wanted to open the door and flee, but his arms clamped me tight. “Caught you.” I looked up in despair. At the window upstairs, three faces appeared side by side. Dr. Zhou ran downstairs frantically. Suit guy frowned, eyes behind glasses cold. Racer guy cursed “f*ck.” Propped on the window frame, ready to jump. And the man holding me, Leo. Seemed not to see the chaos upstairs. He gently placed me in the passenger seat, leaning over to buckle my seatbelt. In the gap of leaning over. He mischievously bit my collarbone lightly. I shuddered in fear. “Let’s go home.” He started the engine. The convertible top closed slowly. Completely isolating the three gazes from upstairs that could almost burn through the roof. 6 I was taken to a bedroom carpeted with soft rugs, warm tones everywhere. “You liked it here best before.” Leo stood at the door, backlit, silhouette blurred. “Rest well, I’ll call you for dinner.” The door closed gently. Not locked. I tried the handle, it opened. Yo, guarding me so loosely? Then I can run. Holding my breath, tiptoeing downstairs. The main door was right there. Just the last step. I rushed forward excitedly. But crashed unprepared into a hard chest. Leo’s voice was nice. But the tone was eerily gentle. “No more running, Sister. “You said you’d stay with me until my sickness was cured.” I was confused: “What sickness? “I don’t know, bro, I have amnesia. “Let bygones be bygones, pretend nothing happened.” [I have a mouth, let me say it! Vicious female lead, to prevent Leo and the heroine from sparking, you pretended to be a psychologist, claiming you could cure Leo’s skin hunger.] [Afraid Leo would see through it, you spent months sleeplessly studying psychology and got a practicing license.] Holy crap. Self. With this dedication, what couldn’t you achieve? Did you have to focus on stealing men? Unexpectedly, Leo’s eyes reddened instantly. His tears fell like pearls. Help. Can’t stand men crying. What should I do now? “Don’t cry, cry again and we’re done.” My mouth was fast. Just thought of this scumbag line. Said it the next second. Resulting in Leo crying harder. He bit his lip hard. Red eyes glaring at me. Looking so wronged. I decided to take advantage of his breakdown. Open the door and slip. But he reacted faster. World spinning. I was swept up in a princess carry, firmly on his shoulder. I pounded his back: “What are you doing! Put me down!” Struggling: “What do you want! Let me go!” “No.” His voice muffled: “I’m having an episode, treat me.” Only then did I notice. For some reason, his whole body was trembling slightly. I took the chance to make demands: “Will you let me go after treatment?” He laughed self-deprecatingly. Eyelashes wet again with tears. Pitifully broken: “I knew it, you must like someone else. “Fine… I promise you.”

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I was listening to an audiobook while on the treadmill when I suddenly received a text from a friend: “Somebody help me! I’m trapped in the stairwell!” I replied immediately: “What do you mean? Where are you?” “I was climbing the stairs at the Riverview Apartments for exercise. I got tired and wanted to take the elevator down, but I found the door to the floor wouldn’t open. The windows outside are pitch black. I went down several floors, and it’s the same everywhere!” I stopped running and looked out the window. Pitch black. “I’m climbing this building too…” 1 I met up with Chloe on the 24th floor. “What happened? Why are you wearing a mask?” Chloe shook her head. “Nothing. Let’s go down to the first floor and check the situation.” When we reached the first floor, a property manager was trying to pry open the door, while the rest of the people looked terrified. They said they were all forced to take the stairs due to an elevator malfunction and got trapped here. All the floor doors and windows wouldn’t open, and the property manager’s keys were useless. No internet, and calls wouldn’t go through. But there seemed to be a signal within the stairwell itself; we could call and text each other. A delivery guy looked fierce: “My next order is going to be late! Are you guys filming some TikTok skit? I don’t have time to play with you, open the door!” Chloe said, “If you don’t believe us, go up to the 2nd floor and look.” The delivery guy was impatient. “Why should I go upstairs!” “You’ll know when you get there.” Cursing, the guy went up the stairs. The moment he disappeared around the corner, my heart went cold. His figure reappeared on the landing leading down to the basement level. He had climbed up from downstairs. I looked at Chloe, and she nodded tremblingly. No wonder when I was on the 24th floor earlier, Chloe told me not to move and that she would come down to find me. —In this stairwell, you can’t go up, only down. Looking at the stairs leading to Basement Level 1, everyone’s faces turned pale. Chloe murmured: “Have you guys heard of the urban legend about the stairwell?” 2 There’s a saying where I’m from—man-made structures are things that violate nature. Spirits should have the sky as their blanket and the earth as their carpet. Only things living underground would hide in places untouched by the sun and moon to survive. This is why many old houses in the countryside are fine as long as people live in them, no matter how many years pass. But once the owner leaves, they collapse within a year or two. Because without human vitality (“Qi”) supporting it from within, heaven and earth destroy this unnatural enclosed space to prevent underground things from thinking it’s their territory and crawling out to cause trouble. Later, many skyscrapers were built in cities, using elevators to go up and down. But for safety, they were also equipped with stairwells. This created a problem. People use elevators; stairwells are almost unused, becoming a space without human vitality. But the stairwell relies on the skyscraper, and the skyscraper has human vitality, so it holds up. So, stairwells in high-rise buildings are easily… unclean. Someone mistakenly entered such a stairwell. Once trapped, there was no other way out but to go down. 3 “And then? What’s down there?” Chloe swallowed hard. “I don’t know. Urban legends are like that, no beginning or end.” Everyone fell silent for a moment. After a long while, a man in a suit asked, “Does the legend mention how to get out of here?” Chloe shook her head. “No, but…” “But, there must be a way out,” I murmured. “The fact that we are trapped here proves the urban legend is true, which also proves someone experienced the same thing before, escaped, and spread the story.” We can definitely get out! 4 There were eight trapped people in total. Besides those who spoke just now, there was a middle-aged couple and a guy in a tank top. “B1 to B3 are parking garages. The doors there are usually unlocked,” the property manager said. “Right, I have a car. If I have a car, I can leave!” the Suit Guy comforted himself. After some discussion, everyone decided to go downstairs. Basement 1. Because it was underground, the windows disappeared. The floor door wouldn’t open. Basement 2. The floor door still wouldn’t open. Basement 3. Wouldn’t open. “No, it shouldn’t be like this, this building only goes down to B3…” Even though she had heard the legend, the property manager’s voice was tearful. No one comforted her. Everyone stared at the same place. To the left of the stairs we came down should have been the utility room. Now the utility room was gone, replaced by something that shouldn’t exist—stairs leading to Basement 4, waiting quietly for us. Chloe took a deep breath. “No other way. Let’s go.” 5 On the first day trapped, we reached Basement 25. When we decided to proceed to B4, everyone was afraid terrifying things would appear ahead, so we rested for a long time at each floor. But unexpectedly, there were no anomalies. The stairwell was eternally clean, smelling of concrete and a hint of dampness. Cold white lights illuminated every corner, leaving no darkness. We tried every floor door; none opened. At night, we huddled together for warmth to sleep. The only problem was, food and water were running low. Day 3, reached Basement 42. To save battery, I turned off my phone, only turning it on to check the time. Food and water ran out. The middle-aged couple suddenly had low blood sugar, slowing us down. Most people were becoming anxious. Thinking about being over forty floors underground, far from human society, few could not be afraid. Day 5, reached Basement 58. Without food for two or three days, we were one step from death. There was absolutely no hope of escape. The stairwell repeated endlessly without any change. At 9 PM, the middle-aged man breathed his last. Starved to death, or died of dehydration, I wasn’t sure. Before dying, he held his wife’s hand, muttering about “karma.” I leaned weakly against Chloe: “Will we end up like this too…” Dying so meaninglessly. Why am I always so unlucky? Accidentally conceived when I already had an older brother, so I was sent to relatives to be raised after birth. Good grades in high school entrance exams, went home to get tuition only to learn my brother drowned, father cheated and left home taking all the money, mother critically ill. I could only drop out and work. Lasted four years, prepared for independent college admission, mother diagnosed with late-stage cirrhosis. Long-term stress and high-carb diet made me gain weight, ineligible for liver transplant donation. I worked two jobs a day and still had to find time to lose weight. Only half a month left until the surgery deadline, yet I was going to die inexplicably in a stairwell. Chloe’s eyes darted around. She wasn’t affected by my emotions, instead looking a bit nervous: “No, we will survive.” “Why?” The next second, I knew the answer. Suit Guy and Tank Top Guy got up and walked toward the middle-aged man’s corpse. I heard them swallowing saliva. 6 The crowd fell into chaos. The middle-aged woman hugged her husband’s body tightly while Tank Top Guy kicked her head. The delivery guy fought with Suit Guy. I wanted to help, but Chloe held me down and shook her head. I suddenly felt she was a stranger. Poor and unattractive since childhood, I had few friends. I met Chloe by chance in a local weight loss group. I had never met such a compatible friend, practically another me. We agreed to meet after successful weight loss for motivation. Who knew we would meet here by accident? Even more unexpected was seeing this side of her here. The delivery guy wrestled with Suit Guy to the edge of the stairs and rolled down. I broke free from Chloe and pushed Tank Top Guy, making him stumble. Cursing, he lunged to hit me. I took two punches, tried to fight back, but had no strength. Tank Top Guy suddenly let go. Chloe grabbed his hair, slammed him against the wall, and kicked his neck. Chloe actually wasn’t fat. Her muscle lines were distinct, like a fitness influencer. With just one kick, Tank Top Guy gasped for air clutching his neck like he was drowning, unable to move. Suddenly, cursing came from downstairs: “Don’t f*cking hog it all! Leave some for them!” Chloe helped me up. We looked downstairs and saw a bizarre scene— Suit Guy sat on the floor chewing voraciously, torn chip bags and spilled cola everywhere. By the wall stood a vending machine, filled with snacks and drinks. 7 This was Basement 59. Except for that vending machine, everything was the same as the floors above. Everyone ate and drank like crazy, quickly emptying the vending machine. We left the middle-aged man’s body upstairs and dragged the woman downstairs. She forced herself to eat a few bites, then sat in a daze. I didn’t know how to comfort her. Just one floor difference. The middle-aged man died one floor above where food was found. For the woman right now, perhaps without this vending machine, she would feel a bit better. “I know what you’re thinking.” She suddenly spoke. “I figured it out. Maybe this is really karma. “Over twenty years ago, when I was dating him, the economy wasn’t good, and there were often beggars on the street. “That winter, we met a child, just over ten years old, legs gone, wrapped in a tattered quilt, begging from us. “At that time, we had just seen news about ‘harvesting’—crippling minors and forcing them to beg for money. “He used to give a few bucks, but that day he hesitated, and we were in a hurry for a movie, so he didn’t give anything. “The child said one sentence: ‘If you don’t have money, give some food. Hungry.’ “He paused. We didn’t have food on hand. He wanted to give money but was running late for the movie, so we left. “Halfway through the movie, he dragged me out to find the child, but we couldn’t find him. “The news next day reported the child died in an alley. Starved to death. “He remembered this all his life. He always said he should have given. Regardless of ‘harvesting’ or not, if he gave, the child wouldn’t have starved. “Now, he starved to death. Consider it paying back that child’s life. “You saved his body; I should repay you. Starting tomorrow, I’ll go down first. You guys stay away from me.” She turned her head away and slept. Chloe and I looked at each other. The next day, by tacit agreement, no one mentioned the fight, and we continued downward. Soon, anomalies appeared. Every 5 floors, a vending machine would appear. We no longer had to worry about food and water. This should have been a good thing, but Chloe looked worried, and I felt something was wrong too. We went down to find a way out. If the stairwell gave us enough food and drink, wanting us to keep going down… Then is our action of going downstairs really correct? A scream interrupted my thoughts. I had never heard such a mournful wail. Subconsciously wanted to look back, then remembered the middle-aged woman was still below. Chloe and I peered downstairs. Couldn’t see anything. These days, the lights in the stairwell had always been on. But Floor 71 was dark. The wailing continued. Trembling, I turned on my phone light. The moment the light hit, the wailing stopped. There were no monsters on B71 as I imagined, only the middle-aged woman herself. She stood in front of the stairwell door, her face blood-red, result of congestion after extreme fright. The corners of her mouth were torn, mouth opened wide to an unbelievable angle, almost splitting her head horizontally in half. Eyeballs protruding from sockets, motionless. My legs went soft. Chloe, however, slowly walked to the woman and laid her on the ground. “She’s dead.” Chloe’s voice trembled. “Jade, call everyone down. I need to explain what I’ve discovered about the truth of this stairwell.” 8 “Let’s talk about the two deceased first. “The middle-aged man once caused a child to starve to death, and he starved to death here. “The woman who just died, probably figured something out yesterday. She slipped me a note writing about this event: “When she was little, she prided herself on being brave and liked to scare playmates at night. “She had a younger sister with congenital heart disease. “On the night of the second day of Lunar New Year, she and her sister went to buy snacks. At the corner on the way home, she scared her sister. “Her sister died. “Now she is dead too. “I don’t know what she saw before she died, but judging from the way she died, she saw something beyond human endurance and was scared to death. “This couple, both died of karma. “Not only that, every time something happens, the stairwell changes a bit. “After the man died, a vending machine appeared every five floors. “The woman died, and there will be corresponding changes too. For example, the lights on this floor are broken now. “The floors below might not have lights anymore. “We will advance in darkness, slowly meeting each person’s karma, until we all die—this is the truth of the stairwell. “But Jade said before, since the legend of the stairwell spread to the outside world, it means someone entered here and escaped successfully. “There should be a way for us to survive. “I haven’t guessed the specific method yet, but I suggest from now on, everyone confesses their crimes to facilitate preparation. “For example, if we knew the man caused a child to starve, we should have prioritized food for him; if we knew the woman scared her sister to death at a corner, we shouldn’t have let her lead the way down. “I’ll go first. “A long, long time ago, under forced circumstances, I tried to kill someone. The other party resisted, so my face became like this.” 9 Chloe took off her mask. Everyone couldn’t help but step back. The lower half of her face was covered with burn scars, like a tattered rag. There was also a terrifying knife scar running diagonally across. I had never seen her face. Her posts on social media were all photos below the neck or from the back showing her figure. I thought she just didn’t like showing her face. Trapped for days, she kept wearing the mask. Someone asked, she said she had pneumonia and feared infecting everyone. Didn’t expect the truth to be this. Chloe looked at me apologetically: “Didn’t mean to deceive you intentionally. I always felt inferior because of this face, that’s why I worked hard on my figure. Delayed meeting you because I was afraid of scaring you.” I nodded, heart sinking. What other secrets does she have that I don’t know?

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The second year after I died. My ex-husband became a tech mogul and married a wealthy socialite. Even my fellow ghosts lamented my poor fate, dying before I could enjoy the good life. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I flew back to my ex-husband’s bedside that very night to settle the score. “You used the code I wrote to start your big company. When are you going to burn some copyright fees for me?” “Damn cheater, your new house is so much bigger than my urn.” “Is your new wife reliable? Will she beat our daughter every day?” “Caleb Vance, if you still have a conscience, find me a handsome, six-foot-five guy with lean muscle for a ghost marriage!” My ex-husband’s eyes were closed, sleeping soundly. I cursed him out, knowing he couldn’t hear me. Completely unaware of the tear track at the corner of his eye. 1 The bedroom was even quieter now. So quiet you could almost hear the snow falling outside. I cursed passionately, spit flying, even letting out a few dry howls when I got excited. Caleb Vance suddenly turned over. Half his face buried in the quilt, revealing a muscular, bare arm. His body was even better than before. Seriously, I didn’t even get a hot meal before I died. Thinking of this, my face twisted, hands reaching for Caleb Vance’s neck— But a large hand with distinct joints moved the quilt first. Cold black eyes met mine without warning. He rubbed the center of his brows wearily. “Where did this female pervert ghost come from, lying on my chest muscle, crying and groping at the same time?” “So annoying.” 2 “I didn’t grope.” After blurting it out, I quickly realized a more serious problem. Caleb Vance could actually see me. Fortunately, I was prepared. This time I came back using my neighbor’s “Worldly Experience Card.” Which means, right now, I appear to Caleb Vance with the appearance of my neighbor. He can only see that I am a ghost. But he doesn’t know I am his short-lived ex-wife. Caleb Vance simply lifted the quilt, exposing his entire body to me. Don’t know when he developed the habit of sleeping naked. Only wearing boxer briefs. Besides the chest muscles just now, below were defined abs, and further down… Anyway, it was bulging here, and bulging there. I looked away with difficulty. Caleb Vance stared at me faintly, adjusted his posture, arms pillowed behind his head. “I don’t know you, and I have no grudge against you, but with you pestering me like this, I can’t sleep well.” “Do whatever you want.” “Hurry up with your movements, I have to take my daughter to school soon.” Seeing me silent, he put his hand on his waist. “What, do you want me to take it off myself?” 3 Caleb Vance really didn’t discover who I was. But I was still in the embarrassment of being caught by him, retorting: “There are many male ghosts in the underworld with better bodies than you. Who, who wants to do that kind of thing with you.” Caleb Vance gave an “Oh,” tone undistinguishable. “Then what are you here for?” —The time limit for the Worldly Experience Card is seven days. Because the anchor point for my transmission is Caleb Vance, I must stay by his side for the remaining time before I can return to the underworld. I didn’t tell Caleb Vance the truth. Lied to him with a bad heart: “Actually, I am a ghost reaper from the underworld. I found in the Book of Life and Death that your lifespan is coming to an end. I am here to take you away.” The taste of waiting for death to come with open eyes is not good. I guess he must be anxious. As expected, Caleb Vance’s thick eyebrows knitted tighter and tighter, his tone faintly uneasy. “So you mean, I will die in seven days? How is this possible?” Why is it impossible. When you’re out and about, you give yourself your identity, it’s all made up by me. I glanced at him sideways. “Believe it or not, I’ll make you have a car accident tomorrow.” “…Don’t,” Caleb Vance’s smile stiffened on his face, “I believe you, okay.” Finally, as if accepting fate, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. I felt dark pleasure in my heart, a trace of revenge thrill surging. “Also, in these seven days, you must worship me with all your heart. Otherwise, I will definitely choose the most painful way for you to die.” 4 I guess Caleb Vance being able to see and touch me should be a side effect of the Worldly Experience Card. Then tomorrow… will Lily be able to see me too? I suddenly looked forward to it, and was also a little apprehensive. Luckily, the neighbor died suddenly of a heart attack in her sleep. My ghost form shouldn’t look too hideous. Shouldn’t scare Lily. But I still couldn’t help looking in the mirror and straightening my clothes several times. A golden line finally outlined the horizon. The door creaked, and a furry round head burrowed in. She stared curiously in my direction. It’s Lily! I was too nervous, too excited. Stood there dumbly. Until Lily passed through my body. My heart contracted violently, like a sore cut was sliced open. I comforted myself— Don’t force it. Even if Lily can see me, I’m now using someone else’s appearance, she won’t recognize me. “Daddy, school.” The tender childish voice was stumbling, with a special slowness. Lily had long been dressed in school clothes, even carrying her own schoolbag. Children of this age usually have parents help get everything ready. My Lily actually got ready on her own. Her sensibility almost broke my heart. At this moment, I hated my powerlessness. Dared not think how perfunctory Caleb Vance usually was when taking care of her. Hatred for Caleb Vance deepened a few points. The piglet keychain on the schoolbag swung back and forth. Lily ran to Caleb Vance’s bed and patted him gently. “Daddy, get up. Lily, school.” Caleb Vance didn’t move a muscle, not like sleeping, like dead. I couldn’t bear it anymore. Yanked Caleb Vance’s ear fiercely: “Stop sleeping Caleb Vance! You’re an adult, yet you need your daughter to wake you up, do you have any shame!” Caleb Vance ejected from the bed, mouth shouting “Pain pain pain let go quickly.” Lily looked at him with worry. —If this scumbag really dies after seven days, that would be great. I thought hatefully. 5 After dropping off Lily. The driver turned back. Caleb Vance, who almost had his dog head twisted off, sat in the passenger seat, holding an ice pack to his ear, face gloomy. And I sat in the back seat. One person, one ghost, confronting front and back, sparks flying where gazes met. As if one more word could detonate this car. The driver couldn’t see me. Just looked at Caleb Vance in horror, not daring to make a sound, letting him get angry. “Big Sister, what madness did you just have? I don’t seem to have provoked you, right? If you want to kill me in advance, just say it!” I retorted bluntly. “Lily is only five years old. It’s fine if you don’t get up early to help her get ready, but she didn’t even get breakfast. Is this how you be a father?” Thinking of the small figure kneeling in the blurry morning light earlier, my heart twinged with pain. “If Lily’s mother knew, how sad she would be.” Caleb Vance took a deep breath. Hands shaking with anger from me. “My daughter attends a noble kindergarten costing a million a year. There are nearly sixty kinds of breakfast, all paired by nutritionists.” “As for her cleaning herself up… Why should I explain to you item by item?” I was rendered speechless by Caleb Vance’s rebuttal. A sudden brake, the car stopped where it was. Waiting for the red light, cars streamed endlessly outside, but the frames inside the car seemed to stagnate. Caleb Vance turned around. Narrowing his black eyes slightly, as if trying to see through my secrets. “No.” “This ghost reaper lady with number XH044, how do you know my daughter’s name and age?” 6 Done for. How did I let it slip! I really hate my habit of mouth faster than brain. At this critical moment, absolutely cannot reveal any flaws. My palms are full of sweat. But I pretended to be calm, leaning back against the chair, putting on a profound pose— “What do you think?” I threw the problem back to Caleb Vance. Whoever raises it, solves it. He hesitated immediately. “Could it be, you…” I tried hard to adjust my breathing, only felt my heart almost stopped. Caleb Vance suddenly turned his face away, snorted coldly. “Do you have a census in the underworld?” Me: “…Yes, you are so smart.” Managed to round back my own question. When almost home. Caleb Vance turned his face away, silent, quiet. The driver hesitated whether to wake him up, but he suddenly opened his eyes: “Ghost reaper lady, I ask you again, does the underworld have a ghost population census?” Don’t know if he’s playing some bad meme or keeping people in suspense. I didn’t give him a good face: “If you have a fart, let it out.” The flowing scenery outside the window dimmed. Making the snowflakes look a bit like falling regrets. “Do you know Jane?”

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According to the transmigrator, I am the vicious male supporting character who pesters the male lead endlessly. The male lead is my childhood friend, the favored son of heaven. After failing to conquer the male lead, the transmigrator exposed my secret crush in front of him. Facing the male lead’s careful questioning, I did not deny it. After my confession failed, I retracted all special treatment. No more indulging his closeness, no more accepting excessive physical contact, no more watching him. Upon learning I made a new best friend, the male lead exploded with separation anxiety and severe codependency. His condition was so serious that even my new friend couldn’t help but say: “You’re driving him crazy.” I didn’t think I was that important, until he truly lost his mind in front of me. 1 The day I learned my life was just a supporting role, I accepted the fact calmly. After all, if you were attacked by a mutant as a child, lost your spiritual power, were abandoned by your family early on, and failed to awaken as a Sentinel or Guide upon reaching adulthood while everyone around you excelled, it’s hard to believe you are the protagonist of the world. The match in the arena continued. sitting in the stands, my attention couldn’t help but be drawn to the golden bullet comments scrolling endlessly above the head of a strange Guide in front of me. From their fragments, I pieced together a truth. This world is a power fantasy novel. The protagonist is my childhood friend, Caleb. He is a very compelling “villainous protagonist,” starting with max-level stats: 3S-level spiritual power, direct imperial lineage, top-tier looks and wealth, and the support of heirs from various powerful families. Unlike other male leads who grow through setbacks or hide their strength, Caleb never hides his power. He kills without a word, slashing his way from beginning to end. However, at the end of the story, after killing the strongest mutant, when everyone thought he would ascend the throne surrounded by the masses, he suddenly turned dark and destroyed the world. To save the world, the System bound the strange Guide in front of me, who had transmigrated into the book, tasking him with conquering Caleb and preventing his corruption. Perhaps I stared at him for too long. The strange Guide turned his head. He froze for a moment, then looked at me with disgust and contempt. The comments above his head instantly flashed a wave of malicious remarks about me. The most repeated words were [Cannon Fodder], [Shameless], [Bitch], [Still Alive]… In the mouths of these comments, I am the vicious cannon fodder who knows Caleb doesn’t like me but relies on our childhood friendship to pester him. Caleb, out of consideration for old times, is unwilling to speak harshly to me, but actually hates me very much. The bell signaling the end of the match rang. I was still dazed by the words in the comments. People around me stood up excitedly, cheering and surging towards the arena in the center. I was a moment late getting up to follow the crowd. I had just taken a few steps towards the arena when a figure quickly pushed through the crowd, rushed from the ring, and hugged me. A scorching aura wrapped me from head to toe. The hard chest armor pressed painfully against my cheek. I could almost hear the blood boiling in his veins. Caleb lifted me up by the waist, lowered his head to rub intentionally against my neck, then loosened his grip, revealing a flamboyant and slightly silly smile: “I won!” This was an overly intimate gesture, but the people around were used to it. “Mmh.” I patted his head, praising him skillfully: “Very impressive.” “Caleb!” A crisp voice suddenly interjected. I patted Caleb’s arm. After he reluctantly let go, I turned to look in the direction of the voice. The strange Guide from before squeezed out of the crowd, looked up at Caleb, blinked, and asked crisply: “Who is he?” Caleb put his arm around my shoulder, as if just remembering, and introduced to me: “This is the new S-class Guide joining our squad, Lucas.” Then he turned to Lucas and said: “This is my best, best friend, Julian.” He emphasized the word “best” and said it twice, his tone certain and proud. I extended my hand to Lucas: “Hello.” “Hello, hello.” Lucas shook my hand, asking curiously, “Are you a Sentinel or a Guide?” I smiled and replied calmly: “I am an ordinary person.” “Ah.” Lucas seemed shocked, saying innocently yet flusteredly, “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t expect Caleb’s friend to be a… person without spiritual power.” He was apologizing, but his expression when looking at me seemed to say “a useless person without spiritual power.” He was sure only I could see his expression from this angle, but a terrifying spiritual pressure descended on the entire venue the second his words came out. A spiritual entity in the form of a Qiongqi (a mythical winged tiger), shrunk to the size of a palm, jumped onto my shoulder, panic-stricken, trying to cover my ears. Caleb indeed hadn’t seen his expression, but mentioning my spiritual power was Caleb’s taboo. I patted the back of Caleb’s hand. Caleb looked at me and withdrew the spiritual pressure that was on the verge of losing control. Only then did Lucas retreat a step, face pale. He looked up at me in fear, tears welling in his eyes: “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong? I, I didn’t mean to… will you forgive me?” The comments above his head started spamming again: [Ahhh, how can Caleb treat our Lu-bao like this!] [Life sentence without wife! I sentence him to life without a wife!] [So angry. Wait until the conquest succeeds, see how he begs for forgiveness in the crematorium!] [Is the vicious male supporting character cheap or what? Is it worth holding onto this little thing? Knowing an ordinary person like him isn’t worthy, why doesn’t he leave? Does he have to insert himself between our couple?] I lowered my eyes. The “it’s okay” I wanted to say was stuck in my throat. Caleb noticed the subtle change in my emotions immediately. The shrunken Qiongqi on my shoulder jumped anxiously. He also reached out to grab my hand. I avoided his movement, took the Qiongqi from my shoulder into my palm, squeezed it gently, then turned to Lucas and smiled: “It’s okay, you didn’t say anything wrong.” 2 [Big news! Will the new S-class Guide stay in Caleb’s squad?] [What happened? Yesterday we were discussing if the new Guide could conquer Caleb, how come today it’s a question if he can even stay?] [He mentioned Julian’s spiritual power.] [And he mentioned it in front of Julian and Caleb.] [That’s it then.] [No way—I just bought stocks in the new Guide. Heard his compatibility with Caleb is 90%.] [Does no one think Julian is excessive? The new Guide didn’t know he lacked spiritual power. What’s wrong with asking? And he apologized. Is it necessary to be so dramatic?] [??? You dare say it, I dare not listen.] [Those who mocked Julian to his face for losing spiritual power have been mining coal in District 10 for two years.] [Before Caleb reaches the battlefield, Julian’s research fans will blow up your account.] [Can participants in account bombing get priority to buy Julian’s new weapons? If so, count me in.] [+1, our squad has been queuing for three months.] [Should we go kneel in front of Julian and beg him to research how to expand production?] [Can I kneel too?] [Yes.] [If not, take all our savings.] [Can I give too?] [Yes.] Lucas angrily exited the Star Net forum. Walking in the mall with two other Sentinels from Caleb’s squad, he sighed after closing his terminal, looking very worried: “Sigh, is Julian unwilling to forgive me?” “No, don’t overthink it. Julian is a very nice person.” The Sentinel didn’t hear the undertone of Lucas silently applying eye drops (sowing discord) and comforted him, “Yesterday, Caleb wanted to submit your application to leave the team, and it was Julian who stopped him.” Lucas choked. He took a deep breath and continued: “Isn’t there a joint exercise in three days? I want to buy him a gift to apologize. Can you tell me what he likes or hates?” “Julian? He doesn’t seem to have any special preferences.” Another Sentinel scratched his head in confusion, “If you ask us, you might as well ask Caleb. He understands Julian better.” The first Sentinel nodded. Seeing Lucas reaching for a leaf-shaped necklace, he seemed to remember something and said: “But you’d better not give him a necklace.” Seeing Lucas look over in confusion, he explained: “Julian has a necklace he really likes. Since we’ve known him, we’ve never seen him change it. If you give a necklace, he probably won’t wear it.” Lucas’s hand paused, shifting from the necklace to a brooch, but his eyes flickered imperceptibly. The joint exercise took place in the Northern Pollution Zone. When Lucas found me, I was sitting on a large gray rock not far from the temporary camp, verifying the optimization model of a weapon based on the data just recorded. Caleb sat beside me, playing with my left hand out of boredom. He stepped on the accumulated snow. Before he got close, Caleb raised his eyes alertly, his gaze sharp and cold. Lucas froze instantly, as if doused with ice water from head to toe. Comments scrolled before his eyes. [Damn it, when will the male lead know the true face of the vicious male supporting character?] [Lu-bao don’t be afraid. Today you are ignored, tomorrow you are out of his league.] [So angry. Vicious male supporting character relies on the male lead not knowing his feelings to be so close. When the male lead remembers later, he’ll be disgusted.] [Ahhh torture me to death. Clearly Lu-bao is here to save the world and him, the male lead knows nothing and glares at our Lu-bao.] [Just wait. The male lead is guaranteed to regret it later.] I put down the pen, withdrew my hand held by Caleb, looked up at Lucas standing in the snow daring not to speak for a while, and smiled gently: “Do you have something to say to me?” Lucas walked a bit closer, took out a beautifully wrapped gift box, looked up pitifully: “I’m here to apologize for last time. Can you accept my apology?” I stood up. Caleb walked in front of me with me. Lucas was saying sorry to me, but his eyes were constantly on Caleb. I sighed, signaled Caleb to leave first with my eyes. After Caleb walked away reluctantly, I looked at him again, tone flat: “I’m not angry.” “Really? Then can you accept my gift?” Lucas opened the gift box happily, revealing a blue gem brooch inside. Before I could react, he picked up the brooch and pinned it on my collar. I was stunned for a moment by his sudden offensive action. In that instant, Lucas’s finger hooked the cord of the necklace around my neck. Don’t know what he did, but the necklace with the pendant broke in the middle and fell to the ground with a bang. “Ah.” Lucas cried out in panic, hurriedly reaching to pick it up. The pendant that looked like jade didn’t break. Lucas gritted his teeth, pretended to lose his balance, and threw the necklace in his hand out again. I looked at him coldly. After he accidentally threw the necklace out for the third time, I called his name softly: “Lucas.” The next moment, a cold gun muzzle was aimed at his head. I smiled, still gentle: “You’d better not make me angry.” Lucas’s body stiffened after seeing what I was holding. Physiological fear made his face pale instantly. He looked at me almost in terror. I said: “Pick it up. The pendant casing is made of special alloy; it won’t break.” Lucas picked up the necklace tremblingly and held it in front of me. I took the necklace and sighed again: “I sent the books, celebrities, and battles Caleb likes to your terminal. If you want to pursue Caleb, you can take a look at these.” “If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me. But you’d better have your own ideas.” Lucas was completely stunned. “Why?” He looked at me stiffly, almost losing his voice. “No need to treat me as an enemy.” The coldness in my brows dissipated, revealing my usual gentleness, “Of course I hope he can be happy.” [???] [???????] [????????????] The comments above Lucas’s head were almost screened by question marks. [He’s actually kinda nice?] [Done for, I’m about to fall in love with him.] [Thinking carefully, the vicious male supporting character doesn’t seem to have done anything bad, always quite gentle.] 3 Meanwhile on the Star Net forum, a post was rapidly building high. [Shocking, I’m at the joint exercise site, guess what I just saw] [Image] [Image] [Image] [WTF, why is Julian pointing a gun at Lucas? What did Lucas do to him?] [Haven’t seen Julian’s cold face for a long time, so nostalgic.] [I’ll call him Master first out of respect.] [So what is the reason? Where is the OP? Don’t tease and run.] [Seems like Lucas broke Julian’s necklace.] [Video] [Video] [Is it that necklace Julian never takes off? Then he’s done for.] [Speaking of which, why does Julian care so much about this necklace? Is it a relic or something?] [Or the first gift Caleb gave him?] [No, I remember Caleb asked who gave him this necklace. Julian didn’t tell him after being asked for a long time.] [Ahhh I really want to know. Scratching my heart and liver anxiously.] [Star Net’s tenth unsolved mystery: Why does Julian treasure his necklace so much?] … I reconnected the necklace and put it back on, walking back to the camp with Lucas. Around the bonfire, small tents were set up in the snow. I led Lucas to the tent shared by me and Caleb, and started packing my things. Caleb, who just returned from a surprise inspection, saw the scene of me and Lucas moving things out. He froze for a moment, unable to react. I had already skillfully blocked his mouth before he could speak. “I need to think quietly about the research plan tonight. Lucas happens to be alone. I discussed with him to swap tents tonight.” Caleb stared at me with a long face for a while, then muffled an “Oh.” I wasn’t completely lying to him about studying the plan tonight. Under the dim light, the tip of my pen crossed one formula after another, but the terminal on my wrist suddenly vibrated. I stopped writing and clicked open the message from Lucas. [What was the key to victory in the Battle of Xuanyan?] I entered the answer and forwarded a summary of the Battle of Xuanyan. Not long after, Lucas’s message popped up again: [Does Caleb like General Mo? Should I praise him or scold him?] I typed silently. [He asked me which commander in history I think is the strongest. What should I say?] I was speechless for a while, replying: [You can have your own ideas.] Quietly created a few more opportunities for them to be alone. Two months later, Lucas felt the time was ripe. [Really confess now?] The comments raised a question. “Of course.” Lucas said confidently, “I confess to him first. In the future, when he thinks of me, he will think of the fact that I like him, and slowly he will fall.” “Besides, last time on the mission, Caleb came to save me immediately. Maybe he already likes me unconsciously.” [I’m still a bit worried. Maybe tell Julian first?] Impatience appeared between Lucas’s brows. He pursed his lips and said: “Caleb won’t like Julian anyway. What use is his opinion. I am the chosen one. Whose side are you on anyway!” The comments shut up. So in the evening, Lucas stopped Caleb coming out of the training room. “I like you.” Under the setting sun, the handsome boy looked up to confess. It should have been a dreamy and beautiful scene, but it was shattered by the ruthless words of the person opposite. “I will submit your transfer application tomorrow.” “Why?” Lucas panicked instantly, “No, you can’t do this. Our compatibility is 90%. I am the most suitable person to be by your side. You can’t do this, the higher-ups won’t agree…” “Of course I can. Do you want to test my power?” Caleb said expressionlessly, “Leave. I won’t keep people with impure thoughts around me.” Lucas broke down. He hissed: “If you can’t accept me continuing to stay by your side, what about Julian?! He likes you too. Can you tolerate him?” Full screen of question marks scrolled through the comments: [????] [??????????] [Can’t do it. This time I really can’t stand with you. Julian helped you so much, and in the end you backstab him like this.] [Some people being disliked has a reason.] [Ahhh previously I whitewashed those behaviors with saving the world or destined soulmates. This time I really can’t whitewash.] [Don’t! If Caleb alienates Julian because of this, I’ll feel it’s my fault.] [Done for, done for. Julian is coming this way.] “What did you say?” Caleb’s expression finally changed. He frowned at Lucas. Lucas simply smashed the pot (went for broke): “I said Julian likes you. Not the friend kind of like. Are you going to drive him away too?” Don’t know which word poked Caleb’s lung tube (hit a nerve), Caleb’s anger was instantly ignited: “What nonsense are you talking about!” The tall Qiongqi spiritual entity rushed out, pouncing on Lucas without any buffer. Sharp claws and teeth were about to attack his neck. Lucas fell to the ground in embarrassment. Fear bubbled up uncontrollably. Golden comments flew past his eyes. He grabbed the most frequent word on them: “Julian!” A familiar profile appeared in his peripheral vision. Lucas shouted in panic: “Julian, save me!” 4 “Are you still angry?” Under the dim evening light, Caleb hung his head, following behind me ready to be scolded. His spiritual entity’s tail and ears drooped, trailing listlessly beside him. My pace was neither fast nor slow, tone without fluctuation: “Why should I be angry?” “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” Caleb tugged at the corner of my shirt, saying indignantly and somewhat unconvinced, “He talked nonsense first.” I stopped, finally turning my head to look at him: “What did he say?” Caleb’s expression stiffened. He hemmed and hawed, pulling east and west for a long time, telling the whole story of Lucas coming to confess to him, before carefully saying lightly in a joking tone: “So funny, he actually said you like me. I wouldn’t…” “It’s true,” I said. Caleb froze. He stared at me blankly. I nodded and affirmed again: “It’s true.” “W-What do you mean?” Caleb stammered, voice getting smaller. I looked at him, saying calmly: “It means exactly what you think. I like you.” “Huh? You… uh, I…” Caleb’s eyes went straight, as if experiencing a worldview reconstruction. The whole person seemed silly. He stumbled, “I, I never thought… we… but…” “I know.” I pulled back the sleeve corner he was holding, saying softly, “I accept your rejection.” “Wait!” Caleb subconsciously grabbed my wrist. “Don’t go yet.” All past persistence was thrown to the back of his mind. Inexplicable panic made him eager to get an answer from me, “We are still friends, right! Right?!” “…” I looked at him quietly for a while, said: “Mmh.” Caleb’s intuition was not wrong. If he didn’t ask me to stay, I would completely withdraw from his life. Of course, didn’t mean that because he asked me to stay, I wouldn’t leave. When Caleb rushed down from the arena victorious to hug me again, I didn’t refuse. But after a few seconds, when this hug was about to exceed the meaning of a friend’s congratulation, I pushed him away. Caleb stared blankly at his empty arms, only coming back to his senses when a teammate patted his arm. Then he looked up and saw me talking and laughing with another teammate of his as if nothing had happened. Caleb couldn’t say what was wrong, but an overflowing sourness blocked his chest dully. Hands reaching out to pull people were cleverly avoided, heads leaning over were pushed away, smiling eyes no longer stayed on him. Caleb lowered his eyes, expression heavy. Half a month later, Star Net Forum: [What’s wrong with Caleb lately? All the Sentinels in the training ground aren’t enough for him to beat up.] [Just like this after not sniffing Julian for two days.] [Is he watching Julian too closely recently? Only two days. Wasn’t like this before.] [Clingy index went up? Used to take a week of not seeing him to start getting anxious.] [Don’t know. They are weird lately. Quarreled?] [Last time participating in a 3-day 2-night mission, Julian didn’t sleep with Caleb at night.] [I was there too. Wasn’t that because another researcher was there, and Julian wanted to discuss ideas with him?] [Anyway Caleb’s face stunk to death the whole time after.] [Feel something is wrong but can’t say what.] [I have even more explosive news, do you want to hear?] [What what?] [Ears perked.] [Isn’t Julian going to the Southern Pollution Zone frontline battlefield in two days? This time the escort squad he designated is not Caleb’s team, but Arthur’s.] [!!!!!!!!!] [No way—how are my two wives together?]

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My childhood sweetheart kept getting set up on blind dates when he came home for the holidays. My mom glanced at me and sighed with regret: “It’s just that you aren’t excellent enough to climb that high.” “I really wanted him to be our son-in-law.” I cracked sunflower seeds and replied smoothly: “Yeah, I’m a toad lusting after swan meat.” But my mom was dreaming. I had been in a secret relationship with him for three years. The day I threatened him with a breakup to force him to go public. He smiled and agreed effortlessly: “I do have better options than you.” “But can you find someone better than me?” 1 Hearing my self-deprecating answer. My mom glared at me fiercely. Her eyes were full of “wishing iron could turn into steel.” Just as she was about to nag me, Auntie Linda called to invite us to dinner. My mom insisted on dragging me along. So I inevitably ran into Caleb Sterling. At the dinner table, Caleb sat next to me. He quietly pushed the Kung Pao Chicken I liked in front of me. But my chopsticks bypassed the Kung Pao Chicken. And picked up a piece of string bean, which I hated. He raised an eyebrow slightly and silently twitched the corner of his mouth. On the side, my mom and Auntie Linda seized the opportunity to chat enthusiastically. This afternoon, Auntie Linda brought a friend and her niece over for a visit. It was called a visit, but it was really taking advantage of Caleb’s time at home. Bringing her niece over for a blind date. Caleb had only been back for half a month for the holidays. His doorstep was almost worn flat by various relatives and neighbors. In previous years, Caleb hated dealing with these things the most. He would always find an excuse to dodge them. But this year, he rarely cooperated. 2 My mom started probing about the blind date girl’s conditions. Auntie Linda counted on her fingers: “Master’s degree from UCLA, working as a lawyer in San Francisco, parents are both university professors.” My mom took Auntie Linda’s phone to examine the photo. “This girl is quite pretty! Good education, good job, good family background, what’s there to pick?” Auntie Linda covered her mouth and laughed: “Every girl introduced to him has good conditions; I’m dazzled.” My mom pushed her jealously: “You’re so lucky! Caleb is so excellent, naturally, the ones introduced to him won’t be bad!” My mom turned to gossip and asked Caleb: “Caleb, what do you think of the girl today?” I lowered my head and focused on shoveling rice into my mouth. Silent throughout. “Sienna.” Caleb suddenly called me. I looked up at him. He asked me with a half-smile: “What do you think?” 3 Hearing this, Auntie Linda quickly handed the phone to me. “Right right right, Sienna, you know Caleb best, help him advise.” I took the phone stiffly. In the photo, the girl had long hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a graduation gown from a prestigious foreign university. Holding a bouquet of flowers, smiling brilliantly at the camera. The confidence and elegance soaked in that privileged life. Are things I can hardly reach in this lifetime. I looked up and met Caleb’s playful gaze. The scene of the breakup that day floated in my mind again. At that time, he rubbed his brows, faintly impatient: “Is going public really that important?” “Is dating for show?” I also couldn’t control my emotions anymore: “I am your girlfriend, not your mistress!” “Can you stop being unreasonable? Besides you, have I had anyone else?” Together for three years, he wouldn’t use matching avatars with me. Introductions to outsiders only placed me as a neighbor. I used to think he was considerate of the familiarity between the two families and wanted to wait until the relationship stabilized. But year after year, I could no longer deceive myself. He never intended for me to be seen in the light from the start. Arguing to the extreme, I was exhausted. The word “breakup” just blurted out. He froze, then smiled carelessly: “Fine, let’s break up.” The next instant, his sharp and blunt words drilled into my ears without concealment: “I do have better options than you.” “But can you find someone better than me?” At that time, I was stunned, crying and talking tough to him: “Fine, go find one! Go find someone better than me!” Emotions were high then; there were things I didn’t want to face. Now that I’ve recovered, I have to admit. He wasn’t wrong. He, a top scorer in the college entrance exam, a PhD from MIT. Starting salary over a million upon graduation. While I, from a generic state college, am a tenured teacher. My annual salary doesn’t even exceed his monthly salary. We were worlds apart to begin with. I couldn’t even reach the threshold to be his blind date. Looking at him, my heart was surprisingly calm like never before. I even forced myself to squeeze out a smile: “Pretty good, a good match for you.” “It’s time for you to date.” His eyes slowly turned cold. “Okay, I’ll add her on WeChat later.” 4 After the meal, I went to the restroom. When I came out and passed the hallway. I found Caleb leaning against his door, waiting for me leisurely. “Come in and chat.” I ignored him, not stopping my steps outward. But my hand was suddenly grabbed by him, and in a flash, I was pulled into his bedroom. As soon as the door closed, I was caught off guard and pinned against the door by him. He lowered his head and pursed my earlobe, causing a shiver. Three years together, he knew every inch of me. When flirting, he could easily make me surrender. He held a smile, voice slightly husky: “Really let me add her WeChat? Can you bear it?” I raised my hand to push his chest: “Add if you want, what does it have to do with me, a neighbor?” He smiled without speaking, easily catching my wrist. Undeniably holding the phone in front of my eyes, forcing me to see the screen clearly. On it was the friend request from that girl just now. He pinched my index finger and placed it on the phone screen, probing condescendingly: “Reject or approve, the choice is yours.” This was the olive branch he handed me. He was waiting for me to take the initiative to signal a request for reconciliation. Just like countless tantrums before. His patience was always meager. After coaxing once or twice, if I still refused to step down. He wouldn’t coax anymore. Caleb was always so at ease. In this relationship, he always sat firmly on the high platform. I frowned, finger touching the cold screen. Didn’t think for a moment. I directly pressed the “Approve” button. Caleb’s face turned black in an instant. 5 Caleb and I were schoolmates from elementary to high school. In junior high, I developed feelings for him. I buried them in my heart, afraid to be known. I watched him become more handsome day by day. Watched his report card become more and more beautiful. Watched the endless stream of girls who liked him. Inferiority became a compulsory course in my adolescence. But for ten years, he waited downstairs at my house every day to go to school together. I deliberately procrastinated and sat on the back seat of his bike late. Taking the exclusive breakfast he brought me. I tugged at the hem of his shirt, letting him carry me forward against the wind. The teenager occasionally looked back halfway to scare me: “Next time you’re this slow, I won’t wait for you.” But next time he would still wait for me. He didn’t know I dawdled. Just because I wanted to sit on his bike. I knew he wouldn’t carry me forever. My teenager was in his prime. Someday, there would be another girl on the back seat of his bike. At that time, I didn’t dare hope he would like me. But later, we stumbled into a relationship by mistake. 6 The summer of his second year of grad school. We were watching a movie in his living room. Clearly a suspense film. But suddenly a passionate kissing scene appeared. I awkwardly turned it off with the remote. He turned his eyes to look at me, deliberately teasing: “Your mom doesn’t let you watch R-rated stuff?” I dodged his frank eyes: “Can watch… but watching with you…” He raised an eyebrow: “Then who do you want to watch with?” “With my future boyfriend…” He paused for two seconds, suddenly leaned over. A warmth covered my lips. All words were sealed by his sudden kiss. I opened my eyes, ignorantly kissed by him for a while. He pulled away, cleared his throat, and turned the movie back on. “In the future, you can only watch with me.” I still remember that sentence. That was the beginning for him and me. Since then, we entangled for three years. Sweetness and pain intertwined. But the pain had long exceeded the sweetness. I once thought that having obtained it, there would be no regrets. But trying my best to embrace, I only embraced a chest full of loneliness. Did I ever truly possess it?

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