A wealthy couple was at the orphanage, torn between adopting me and another girl, Lily. Suddenly, floating comments drifted across my vision: [They’re here to take Baby Lily home! Finally, the torture of the villainess begins!] [The comment above is right. I bet the villainess will try to act pitiful to steal the adoption chance from Lily.] [With her wild attitude, who would like her anyway?] I frowned in confusion. What the heck were these people talking about? Was I the “evil villainess” they were referring to? Before I could figure it out, a warm, hearty voice reached my ears. “Well, butter my biscuit! This little one is cute as a button!” I looked up to see a tall couple with thick Texan accents beaming down at me. “Hey there, sugar. Have you eaten? Auntie made some brisket noodles today, real tasty. Wanna come home with us and grab a bite?” 1 A couple decked out in Balenciaga was pacing back and forth between me and Lily. We were the top candidates, but we both had flaws. I wasn’t “kind” enough, and Lily wasn’t “smart” enough. After agonizing for ages, they still couldn’t decide. The comments floated by again: [What are they hesitating for? Just take Lily home already!] [This villainess is really good at pretending to be quiet. She’s usually snatching stuff from Lily left and right.] [Don’t worry guys, even if they pick the villainess, she’ll get sent back once her true colors show.] So, this world was just a giant melodramatic romance novel. Lily was the fragile, pure-hearted heroine with a tragic backstory, and I was the vicious villainess willing to do anything to climb the social ladder. I rolled my eyes. Since when was being spirited and clever considered “vicious”? Suddenly. Two tall shadows loomed over me. A couple the comments hadn’t mentioned at all stood before me. Their eyes were full of joy. “Well, I’ll be! Look at this little angel, ain’t she precious?” “Honey, look how skinny you are. What’d you have for lunch? Want to come home with Uncle and Auntie? We made brisket noodles.” Noodles?! According to the Director, my birth parents were from Texas. Mentioning brisket noodles… My DNA activated. Before the Balenciaga couple could even walk over. I spoke up first: “Texas born, Texas bred, when I die, I’ll be Texas dead! Howdy, y’all!” 2 For as long as I could remember, Lily and I were mortal enemies. Resources in the orphanage were scarce. To get enough to eat, I constantly sucked up to the Director. Even though the meals were barely enough to keep me full, I still got more than the other kids. Lily hated this behavior and naturally opposed me. I never went easy on her; if she wanted something, I snatched it. No wonder I was the “villain.” Turns out I was just her foil. According to the plot, my selfishness and evil were necessary to highlight her selflessness and kindness. And as the evil villainess, I was destined to be punished by the main couple and fall into an abyss while the audience cheered. Excuse me? Why? Sitting around waiting to die wasn’t my style. I had to twist the plot to save myself. I hopped into the Texan couple’s Ford pickup truck. Lily finally relaxed when she saw the determined look in my eyes. The comments started gloating: [Haha, the villainess is so unsophisticated. Bought off by a bowl of noodles.] [A leopard can’t change its spots. She snatched everything as a kid; no wonder she lights up at the sight of food now.] [I bet she won’t last a month with this couple before getting sent back.] I’d heard way worse in the orphanage. Seeing the scrolling comments, I just wagged my index finger. “Not a bowl. A bucket.” “Sugar, what did you say?” Through the rearview mirror, I met Auntie’s gaze. “Auntie, I said I missed your noodles so much I could eat a whole bucket.” Changing my voice to sound cute was exhausting. The comments said I’d be sent back? Heh. What if I fake being nice for a lifetime? Auntie was beaming because of my flattery. “Hahaha! Auntie will make you whatever you want. I promise you’ll eat till you drop.” “We’re family now, don’t be shy at the dinner table.” Uncle laughed heartily too. “Don’t worry about food in this house. You know ‘Old Zhao’s BBQ’ near the high school? That’s ours.” “By the way, I’m Zhao Jian, and your Auntie is Zhao Yanqiu. What’s your name, sugar?” My name is Stella Xu. Stella means star. I named myself. People always have a soft spot for things they name themselves. My eyes reddened slightly, wiping away a non-existent tear. “I don’t have a real name. They said my parents’ last name was Xu, so they just call me Little Xu.” 3 The moment I stepped into Uncle and Auntie’s house. The smell of slow-cooked brisket mixed with savory broth filled the air. In the orphanage, the Director cut corners on food, so we rarely saw meat. Even with all my tricks, the food I got was just enough to stop the hunger pangs. Brisket noodles, roast chicken, braised pork trotters… A table full of dazzling dishes. I instinctively reached out to grab some. My hand touched the chopsticks, and my brain snapped back to reality. “Girls must be quiet and elegant so your parents won’t hate you, and your future husband will want you.” That was what the Director drilled into us. I put down the chopsticks, crossed my hands on the table, and waited for Uncle and Auntie’s instructions. The next moment. Bang! Auntie slammed her chopsticks on the table. She looked at Uncle Zhao with feigned anger. “Zhao Jianqiang! What kind of food did you make? Look, our baby doesn’t even want to eat it!” “I told you to buy some fried chicken or pizza that young people like, but no, you had to be so confident in your cooking!” “Didn’t you say fried chicken was unhealthy…” Seeing Auntie misunderstand, I waved my hands frantically. “No, no, Uncle’s food smells amazing.” “I just thought the rules here were the same as the orphanage, where we have to say grace before eating.” “Is your Director a priest or something? Do you have to say ‘Amen’ before you dig in?” I burst out laughing at Uncle’s joke. “Alright, alright, stop teasing our girl. Let’s eat.” Afraid they’d misunderstand again, I quickly picked up a bowl as big as my face and buried my head in it, slurping loudly. I have to say, my fellow Texans really know how to cook. It was heavenly. Uncle and Auntie piled my plate high with brisket and chicken legs until it looked like a small mountain. My favorite was brisket. Every New Year, to get a few bites of brisket, I would wag my tail and beg the Director. I’d hypocritically praise his management and listen to his speeches with a look of adoration. The result was getting the brisket I craved and the disgust of everyone else. But so what? I got what I wanted, and other people’s stares couldn’t hurt me. Except for faking pity, I was never one to cry easily over external things. But when I bit into that piece of brisket Auntie made herself… Even though I tried my hardest to hold it back, tears streamed down my face like broken pearls. This happiness didn’t feel real. It turned out there were things in this world you didn’t have to fight for. 4 After lunch, they took me shopping at the mall. They bought me a pile of new clothes. Auntie said, “Our girl is so pretty, she needs to dress nicely so she won’t get bullied. Kids these days are mean.” Hearing Auntie use words like “pretty” and “nice,” I tightened my grip on the shopping bags. If Auntie knew the real me, would she still like me? Why overthink it? I already decided, worst case scenario, I’d fake it for a lifetime. I pushed down the anxiety in my heart. Forcing a smile, I spent the most wonderful and terrifying afternoon of my life. It was night when we got home. I curled up in the corner of the large, soft Simmons mattress. It was a habit from the orphanage. We slept on a large communal platform. Ten kids squeezed onto one bed. Curling up was the only way not to get squished. No privacy, let alone dignity. The new pajamas felt incredibly soft. The AC was set to the perfect temperature. The happy life almost made me forget I was the vicious villainess destined for hell. Until I heard Uncle and Auntie whispering. “Jianqiang, do you think the floating text I saw today was a hallucination?” “I saw it too. If we both saw it, it probably wasn’t a hallucination.” “Damn, see? I was right to buy our girl clothes. Look at how she was bullied in the orphanage wearing those rags.” “My daughter fought a war of words and stood against a hundred in the orphanage. She has the air of a general! Not bad, not bad, just like me.” Auntie pushed Uncle. “Stop joking around. Anyway, no one is allowed to bully our girl from now on. Anyone touches her, I’ll fight them.” With that, Auntie gently moved me to the middle of the bed and tucked me in. As their footsteps faded away. I silently glanced at the scrolling comments. [Can you guys come at me if you have a problem? Leave my parents alone.] [Do you not have parents? Have some empathy.] The retorts from the comments were weak. Totally harmless. I buried my face in the blanket, ignoring the boring chatter. Uncle and Auntie’s actions lingered in my mind. I never expected them to react like that to the comments. Did this prove they could accept the real me? Love is addictive and spoiling; once you have it, you don’t want to lose it. I was daydreaming again. Gentle and quiet were the kind of girls adults liked. The Director taught me that. He made me memorize it. 5 The comments said I’d be sent back in a month, tops. But a month flew by. Uncle and Auntie’s noodles were still delicious, and they still smiled at me just the same. They read the comments and worried someone was bullying me again. Auntie insisted Uncle teach me his secret martial art—Judo. I had always been domineering in the orphanage. Thanks to the comments, Uncle and Auntie thought someone dared to bully me. Uncle looked like a refined gentleman. Who knew he had moves? He executed a set of throws cleanly and winked at Auntie. “Back in the day, I beat everyone to win the beauty’s heart!” Uncle loved teasing Auntie until she blushed or scolded him. He wouldn’t stop grinning until she punched him. I reasonably suspected he was a masochist. But it was okay for boys to learn martial arts. For girls… wasn’t it weird? “Uncle, Auntie, don’t you think it’s unladylike for a girl to fight?” I asked timidly. Uncle frowned, looking serious. “Can elegance put food on the table? Can elegance make money? I only know that if a robber comes, staying elegant gets you robbed.” Auntie sighed with heartache. She squatted down and stroked my face. “Baby, who poisoned your mind with that nonsense?” “Boy or girl, you can be gentle and considerate, or lively and active. We love you because you are our child, nothing else.” For the first time, I felt enveloped by a thick, unconditional love. I used to think selfless love was a myth from heaven. Turns out, it’s just parental love. During the day, they went to work. I practiced the judo moves Uncle assigned me at home. At night when Auntie came back, I learned life lessons and English from her. The scheming Stella Xu from the orphanage seemed to disappear. Time flowed peacefully and happily. Soon, it was time for me to start middle school. Auntie stuffed a new set of stationery into my backpack. Then she asked, “Baby, Uncle and Auntie are too dumb to think of a good name even after all this time. Why don’t you pick one yourself?” Uncle chimed in. “Yeah! Your Auntie said the names I picked like ‘Rocky’ and ‘Sprout’ were too countrified.” “Zhao Jianqiang, naming is a big deal, stop messing around, okay?” “Daughter, any ideas?” “Let’s go with Stella Xu! I want to shine like the stars in the sky.” Even if I’m insignificant, I want to shine with all my might. “Good! Great name! Stella it is. We’ll do the paperwork tomorrow.” Auntie pulled me into a bear hug. Beside us were the sounds of Uncle clapping and laughing heartily.

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The day the real heiress came back, I was kicked to the curb. My adoptive parents insisted I experience the “hardships” their biological daughter had suffered for twenty years. Honestly? What hardships? To a true hustler like me, this isn’t suffering—it’s just a consumption downgrade. And let me tell you, I am the queen of playing a losing hand. 1. Midnight. New York City. A torrential downpour. I stood outside the Sterling family’s massive wrought-iron gates in the Hamptons. I had nothing but the clothes on my back and the phone practically glued to my hand. The real heiress had been home for less than two hours before I was tossed out like yesterday’s trash. Lana Sterling said she’d eaten bitterness for twenty-two years in my place, so now it was my turn to taste poverty. The heavy gates slammed shut. The cold, icy rain slapped my face indiscriminately. 2. As a corporate slave who had transmigrated into the body of this cannon fodder fake heiress, I’d enjoyed the luxury lifestyle for less than twenty-four hours before being destitute again. I walked around the perimeter of the estate and found a dry spot under a first-floor balcony. Directly above me was my “brother,” Luke’s room. “Don’t worry,” Lana’s voice drifted down from the drainpipe. “Her pockets are cleaner than her face right now. Once she tastes a bit of hardship, she’ll realize the benefits of wealth. She’ll be crawling back to warm your bed in no time.” Tsk. For a multi-million dollar mansion, the soundproofing was garbage. I knew it. Luke, who had been getting handsy with me all afternoon, looked like he wanted to keep things “in the family.” That’s why he looked so moody at dinner. He wanted to keep me as a caged canary. Joke’s on him. To a rich kid like Luke, owning only one penthouse is considered “poverty.” But to a true grinder like me? As long as I have two hundred bucks in my digital wallet, I can survive for two weeks. Plus, I still had about twelve grand left from this month’s allowance in my account. To the Sterlings, that’s ice cream money. To normal people? That’s survival money for a year if you’re smart. They thought they were knocking me into the dirt. To me? I was just switching to budget mode. 3. Twenty minutes later, my Uber arrived. I’d called a premium ride—might as well enjoy the last perks of the high life. The driver held an umbrella for me and opened the door. It was worth the 20% surge pricing. I never understood why heroines in dramas always insist on walking in the rain until they get a high fever after getting kicked out. Is it a kink? I didn’t have money for medical bills. Life is hard enough without self-inflicted torture. 4. The driver dropped me off at a budget motel. Fifty bucks a night. I took a hot shower, changed into the hotel robe, and sent my couture clothes to the front desk for dry cleaning. Before bed, I downed two packets of Emergen-C just to be safe. When you’re out on your own, your health is your only capital. If no one loves you, you have to love yourself. 5. I woke up feeling refreshed. I put on my freshly dry-cleaned clothes and headed to a nearby discount outlet. I dove into the clearance bins, haggled like a demon, and spent a hundred bucks on four t-shirts, three pairs of shorts, and a pair of canvas sneakers. As I left, the shop owner grumbled while bagging my stuff. “Girl, you’re dressed in designer gear but you haggle over pennies? Fine, take it at cost. I’ll even throw in a nice shopping bag.” Exactly what I needed. How else was I going to sell this Louis Vuitton outfit for a good price without a decent bag? It was a shame about the lambskin shoes I was wearing. Rich people stuff is fragile; one day of walking on pavement and the soles were scuffed. No resale value there. But my phone case? That was encrusted with Swarovski crystals. An $800 phone inside a $3,000 case. If I hadn’t checked the “shopping history” of the original owner, I wouldn’t have believed money could be burned like that. And yet, the original owner of this body thought she couldn’t survive and was planning to go work at a bar? Brain damage, clearly. 6. I spun around like a top all morning and finally liquidated every valuable item on my person. Now, nothing on my body cost more than $20. I looked like a walking ad for Amazon Basics. Comfortable. This was the lifestyle I was used to. I walked with a spring in my step, carrying a balance of nearly $10,000. I was rich! I needed to treat myself. I found a hole-in-the-wall noodle joint in Chinatown. Not much meat, but the sauce was savory, the cucumber crisp, and the noodles hand-pulled. Fifteen bucks for a huge bowl, and free refills on noodles. I hadn’t eaten properly since the night before. I slurped it down, cleaning the bowl until even the last bit of minced meat was gone. I let out a loud, satisfied burp. Before I sold the clothes, I hadn’t dared to eat—didn’t want to risk a stain lowering the resale value. Wearing gold and silver makes me nervous. Budget living makes me free. I guess I’m just not built for fine dining. 7. That afternoon, I bought a cheap prepaid SIM card and swapped my iPhone for a $200 Android. The familiar operating system felt like home. Ah, sturdy. If I dropped this, I wouldn’t even cry. I checked my chat history. The last two days were filled with mockery and sneers, plus a few “offers” from rich second-generation jerks asking if I needed a sugar daddy. Get lost. Money really rots the brain. The original girl had terrible taste in friends; not a single ride-or-die among them. The most disgusting text came from Luke. He asked me if I had “learned my lesson yet.” Lesson? It’s a free country. Did he think he could hang me from the city walls? I typed “F— off,” hit send, and blocked him. Learn my lesson? Eat dirt. 8. After liquidating everything, I checked out of the motel carrying a large black trash bag. Inside was my entire life: my cheap clothes, plus the disposable toothbrush and slippers from the hotel. Manhattan hotels were too pricey. I decided to move out to Queens or maybe Jersey. The only reason I hadn’t left the city yet was that I needed to pick up my college diploma. Before I transmigrated here, I had dropped out after middle school to work in a factory. I was a fish that slipped through the net of compulsory education. Now, I was about to be a college graduate with a degree. Just thinking about it made me excited. Modern novels have zero logic when torturing cannon fodder. Why would a girl with a bachelor’s degree go work at a shady bar just to get humiliated by the male lead? Does she have a degradation kink? 9. I went back to school the day after graduation. I did it on purpose. Seeing Lana’s triumphant, gloating face once was enough. I didn’t need a sequel. We were technically roommates, though I had only slept in the dorms maybe twice. During school, I lived in a luxury apartment the Sterlings bought near campus, complete with a maid. It drove Lana, who was working part-time jobs, crazy with jealousy. Classic “compare and despair” plot device. It was one of the reasons she hated me. But it wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t even my biological parents’ fault. They were migrant workers who just happened to give birth in the hospital room next to the VIP suite on the same day a business rival of the Sterlings decided to swap the babies. My bio-parents were poor, but they did their best. They raised Lana well enough to get into the same top-tier university as me before they both passed away from illness. I didn’t understand why the Sterling family felt the need to humiliate those two dead old people. What was their crime? Is being poor a sin? 10. I went to the academic advisor’s office alone to collect my degree. I wasn’t going to let Lana lead a mob to humiliate me at the ceremony. Graduation is just a ritual. The principal moving my tassel from right to left wouldn’t add a single zero to my bank account. Why humiliate myself for people I’d never see again? My advisor looked at me with concern. “Lexi, if you need anything, let me know.” “I’m fine. Thank you.” Aside from the insane Sterling family, the rest of the world was pretty normal. I really was fine. Compared to the heiress inheriting a billion-dollar empire, sure, I had fallen from heaven to hell. But compared to 90% of fresh graduates drowning in student loans with no job lined up? I had cash in my pocket. “Save your help for someone who needs it. I got this!”

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On the day my Uncle Julian confessed to having an affair, my mom dropped a digital “red packet” worth exactly one dollar into the family group chat. “Okay, listen up,” she typed. “Whoever grabs the biggest amount has to fund Uncle Julian’s new romance, no questions asked.” “And whoever gets the second biggest amount gets to raise his illegitimate child.” “The girls go first. Jason, you go last.” I grabbed my little sister, Bella, who looked confused, and spoke earnestly: “Jason is a boy, he should go first. Or Mom, why don’t you demonstrate for us?” In my past life, I was sucked dry by this family until I committed suicide in despair. Only then did I learn that my mom had rigged the red packet app. The earlier you clicked, the more money you got. She wanted Bella and me to carry the burden of Uncle Julian’s life. But what my mom didn’t know was that Uncle Julian’s affair partner was none other than my dad—who was intersex. And my dad and Uncle Julian already had an illegitimate child together. That child was my mom’s precious favorite, Jason. Chapter 1 Reborn, I watched my dad and Uncle Julian acting way too close again, and I had to look away. My mom was the ultimate “brother-helper.” Two-thirds of our family’s income went to Uncle Julian, and she even helped him support his mistress. In my past life, I always marveled at my dad’s “generosity.” Later, when I was bled dry and on the verge of collapse, I begged my dad for help. It wasn’t until they drove me to my death that I learned the truth: my dad was the mistress. He was medically diagnosed as intersex, a secret he kept from my mom for over thirty years. And he had birthed a son for Uncle Julian, whom we were raising as my little brother. Seeing me hesitate, my mom poked my forehead impatiently. “Hurry up! Don’t tell me you don’t want to support your uncle.” “Women are born to take care of the men in the family! You help your uncle now, and later you’ll support your brother. It’s destiny! Don’t give me that ‘it’s unfair’ look.” My dad cleared his throat and joined the lecture: “How many times do I have to tell you? Your uncle is your elder. You should respect him just as you respect us!” I glanced at Uncle Julian’s hand, subtly squeezing my dad’s backside, and the satisfied look on his face. I felt sick. Bella, naive as ever, reached for the phone to tap the red packet. I slapped her hand away. “Don’t be rude. Why should you go first? Let your brother Jason have the first pick.” Bella looked at me, confused, but withdrew her hand obediently. Jason, standing nearby, perked up immediately. “Exactly. You’re just a girl; you don’t know the pecking order.” He tapped the screen without hesitation. My mom didn’t even have time to stop him. I craned my neck to look. Just as I suspected, he got the exact amount I had drawn in my past life! Eighty cents! Jason, clueless that the total pot was only one dollar, was smug. “See? I’m born lucky. Getting leeched off isn’t in my destiny!” My mom looked like she was about to faint. She reached out to cover Jason’s mouth, panic in her eyes. I seized the moment and tapped the packet on her phone. “Mom, look! You got ten cents.” “What?!” I signaled Bella with my eyes. We both tapped and got a few cents each. My mom stared at her phone in disbelief, then blurted out, “This round doesn’t count!” “Why not, Mom? You just said whoever got the biggest amount has to support Uncle Julian unconditionally. Mom… don’t tell me you don’t want to help him?” My dad and Uncle Julian frowned instantly. “Sis, my baby is pregnant. You can’t just bail on us now! That’s not right!” “Do you want the Chen family line to end?” That sentence had controlled my mom her entire life. Sure enough, hearing it, she waved her hands frantically. “No, no, of course not! I support you, I support you!” She immediately pulled out twenty thousand dollars in cash and handed it to Uncle Julian. She coughed lightly and turned to my dad. “Julian’s girlfriend is pregnant. As his sister, it’s only right I help out, don’t you think?” My dad didn’t object. In fact, if you looked closely, he was rubbing his belly with a loving expression. “You’re right. I have no objections.” I suppressed the urge to gag. I always thought my dad had a beer belly. Turns out, it was a baby bump. Chapter 2 Uncle Julian took the twenty grand and left, with my dad following close behind like a puppy. As soon as they were gone, my mom turned her glare on me. “You two useless girls! Usually, you fight over food like starving dogs, but now you want to be polite?” “Listen to me! You need to come up with a hundred thousand dollars for your uncle’s baby formula!” I sneered internally. It was the same in my past life. Uncle Julian was married but cheating, and instead of scolding him, my mom supported him. But she did it with my money. Five years after graduation, I worked myself to the bone to earn a salary of three thousand a month. My mom took twenty-five hundred of it! At first, she said it was for Jason. Later, it was for Uncle Julian. When I refused, she went to my office with a megaphone and screamed: “Everyone look! Sarah Liu is an ungrateful wretch! She makes so much money but won’t help her family!” “Why do you keep an employee like this? You should fire her!” My boss and colleagues, knowing the truth, called security to kick her out. So she laid down on the floor and claimed they broke her leg. Terrified of the drama, my boss forced me to settle it. To keep my job, and to wait for Bella to finish high school in six months, I agreed to my mom’s demands. But in just six months, they sucked me dry. This time, I had the upper hand. I wasn’t compromising. I wanted to see how she planned to support her brother and her husband! I ignored her order and changed the subject casually: “Mom, Uncle Julian is cheating on Auntie May. What if she finds out?” My mom rolled her eyes at me. “Watch your mouth! What cheating?” “A man finding someone outside to have a baby just proves he has charm!” “So what if your aunt finds out? Let them divorce! You just give more money, and I’ll welcome your uncle’s new wife with a parade.” Watching her arrogant face, I couldn’t help but laugh. Her brother and her husband were sleeping together, they had Jason for her to raise, and she was funding it all. Her “generosity” was truly a lesson for the ages. Chapter 3 Afraid that toxic house would ruin Bella’s mental health, I rented a small apartment for her. “Bella, don’t go home until after your SATs. Just study here.” Bella spun around the room in delight, stopping at the bedroom door with glowing eyes. “Sis, do I… do I get my own room?” Her words stung my heart. Since birth, Bella had shared a bed with me. She was almost eighteen and never had a bed of her own. Neither did I. I nodded. “Yes. Your own bedroom, your own bathroom, your own closet.” “Stay here and focus on your exams.” Bella’s eyes sparkled, but then she hesitated. “But Sis, rent is expensive. Mom already took so much of your money… I can’t be a burden.” “Just stay. The exams are what matters.” As for the money… I had a way to get it back. I took Bella shopping for supplies, then stopped by a pharmacy before heading home. I bought some… enhancements. Sure enough, when I got home, my mom was yelling for me to cook. “Where have you been all day? Can’t you help around the house?!” I didn’t argue. I went straight to the kitchen. I made two dishes that my dad and Uncle Julian loved, and crushed a whole pack of the “enhancement” pills into them. Watching them devour every bite, my mood soared. Tonight was going to be a show. Chapter 4 I was too excited to sleep. At 1:00 AM, strange noises started coming from Uncle Julian’s room—the guest room. My mom never put her phone on silent, so I texted her a few times saying I thought I heard a burglar. Soon, I heard footsteps. My mom was checking the house. She ran into my room. “No one broke in, but I can’t find your dad. Where is he?” I sat up, feigning curiosity. “Dad’s not home? No way. Where would he go this late?” My mom frowned, hesitating for a moment before walking to the guest room door. She knocked. “Julian? Is your brother-in-law in there? He’s gone.” “Are you asleep? I’m coming in.” She pushed the door open. A foul stench hit us instantly. My eyes watered. Inside, my dad had his pajamas on backward. Uncle Julian was huddled under the covers. But the real horror was on the wall—a large smear of yellow substance, radiating a terrible smell. Even my mom pinched her nose. “What the hell are you two doing?! What is that on the wall?!” My dad stood frozen, his big belly protruding. “We…” Before he could finish, Uncle Julian’s face tightened. He jumped out of bed in his underwear and sprinted for the bathroom. “Julian, what’s wrong?” Uncle Julian didn’t answer. Only a series of loud pffft noises responded. My mom stood anxiously by the bathroom door, glaring at my dad. “What were you doing? Why does Julian have diarrhea?” My dad stammered, unable to explain, but the worry on his face was real. He clutched his belly and walked to the bathroom door. “Julian, are you okay?” Between the uncontrollable noises, Uncle Julian’s weak voice floated out: “Bro… Brother-in-law, call an ambulance.”

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I was bound to a “Rumor System.” As long as I successfully spread rumors about every single one of my classmates before graduation, I could prevent my entire family from meeting a gruesome end. So, I pointed at the school bully and lied through my teeth: “Heh, he acts like a total delinquent, but behind the scenes? He helps old ladies cross the street and takes stray cats to get neutered!” I also spun tales about the busty girl who was always the target of crude jokes: “She’s protected by the Great Spirit of the Weasel. Anyone who disrespects her will have their private parts rot off!” Even the impoverished straight-A student, who was constantly bullied, didn’t escape my clutches: “You think he’s actually poor? Please. He’s a billionaire heir experiencing life as a commoner. Anyone who messes with him… just wait for your family business to go bankrupt!” Later on, the bully became a national role model for morality. The busty girl founded a top fashion brand. And the poor genius’s kid became the real billionaire heir. And me? I became that heir’s mom. 1 I had a nightmare. In it, my entire family died in a horrific accident. When I woke up, a strange voice echoed in my head. [Hello, Host. I am System 006 from the Villain System Alliance. My name is the Rumor System.] [As long as you achieve the achievement “Slander the Entire Class” before graduation, you can change the fate you saw in your dream.] [Instructions: The Host can draw power from rumors. The stronger the spread and impact of the rumor, the greater the chance of changing your fate.] Seeing my confusion, it enthusiastically offered examples. [You can spread rumors that the valedictorian cheats, the good girl sleeps around, the honest guy steals…] I stared blankly. “Are all you systems this shameless?” The system’s voice was flat. [You can choose not to cooperate. If you can accept your entire family dying violently, that is.] …I absolutely could not accept that. After a moment, I gritted my teeth. “Deal.” 2 Soon, the system issued the first mission. [Please create a rumor for the designated target within 24 hours.] The class roster appeared on the system panel. One name was glowing. Jax Carter. I let out a silent scream. Why did it have to be the school bully who no one dared to mess with?! 3 As the class president for over a year, Jax had caused me endless trouble. Skipping class, fighting, talking back to teachers… He had violated practically every rule in the student handbook! But whenever you criticized him, he would just prop his legs up on the desk with an attitude that said he feared nothing in heaven or on earth. Even when teachers threatened to call his parents, he didn’t care. “My parents divorced ages ago. I don’t even remember what they look like. If you can find them, I’ll change my last name to yours!” The teachers were always furious but helpless. How was I supposed to spread rumors about someone this untouchable? I fell into deep thought. … After school, I quietly snuck back into the classroom. With the dedication of a five-star hotel maid, I cleaned the room inside and out. I replaced the broken trash can. I watered the drooping plants. I scrubbed until the room was spotless. Finally, looking at the gleaming classroom, I smiled like a villain whose plan had succeeded. Jax Carter, just you wait. 2 The next day, as soon as I arrived at the classroom, panicked classmates grabbed me. “Prez! Something crazy happened! We have a cleaning fairy!” A group of them looked like they had seen a ghost, dragging me to see the classroom that had transformed overnight. I stroked my chin, putting on a mysterious expression. “It wasn’t a fairy. I know who did it.” Curious classmates crowded around. “Who?” I looked secretive. “Sorry, I promised them I wouldn’t reveal their name.” My bestie, the Academic Rep, whined and tugged my arm. “Come on, bestie, just tell me.” “We promise not to tell anyone.” Others chimed in, promising secrecy. I nodded, then finally spoke: “There is only one truth!” “It was him—” Imitating Detective Conan, I pointed dramatically at Jax’s empty desk. Everyone shook their heads. “No way!” “He kicked a soccer ball and muddied the wall just two days ago, and you two had a huge fight about it. Forgot?” “Yeah, Prez, did you see it wrong?” I shook my head solemnly and began to lie with a straight face: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” “Let me tell you, it wasn’t just this once.” “I also saw him helping an old lady cross the street!” “Taking stray cats to get neutered!” “Covering a sleeping puppy’s belly button so it wouldn’t catch a cold!” “Secretly erasing homework the teacher left on the board!” The students looked at each other, disbelief written on their faces. But with the Rumor System’s boost, my lies were accepted unconditionally. The system’s voice rang in my head. [Host rumor successful. First mission complete.] You got this, Quinn! I cheered for myself. 3 When Jax stepped into the classroom right as the bell rang, everyone stared at him. “Wh-what!” He froze, suspiciously checking his outfit. Sure, his clothes and shoes were a bit old and dirty, but not enough to cause this kind of attention. He looked up, confused. Classmates who usually gave him the cold shoulder were staring at him. Their eyes were filled with… warmth and admiration? He walked to his seat, trembling. Just then, the Academic Rep came to collect homework. He habitually tossed his head. “Didn’t do it!” Usually, the Rep would scold him, but today she was uncharacteristically gentle. “It’s okay, I understand.” “After all, you’re so busy after school…” She quickly covered her mouth. “I mean, it’s fine. If you have questions about the homework in the future, just ask me. We’re classmates, don’t be shy!” Jax had question marks floating above his head. You don’t hit a smiling person, so he mumbled a vague thanks. All day, no matter where he went, people looked at him with mysterious, knowing eyes. It made him too embarrassed to cause trouble. Even during gym exercises, he did the moves seriously. During break, classmates came up to thank him one by one. “Jax, you changed the water cooler bottle, right? Thank you so much! Here, have a candy~” “Jax, did you fix the broken curtain rod? I bumped my head on it last time. I didn’t expect you to notice. Thanks a lot!” “Jax, let me explain that math problem you couldn’t solve last time, okay?” … Surrounded by kindness, Jax was bewildered. He tried to act tough: “I told you it wasn’t me!” But no matter how he explained, everyone was convinced he was doing good deeds anonymously. A classmate timidly asked for help. “I’ve been extorted twice this week by thugs from the high school next door. I don’t even have lunch money. Jax, can you help me…” Jax slammed the table. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Damn it, I’ll skin them alive!” Those eyes, usually gloomy, lit up for the first time. 4 At 9 PM, the system began its evaluation. It mocked me: “Although the mission is complete, rumors of this level have minimal effec— Holy crap, how is this possible?” The interface showed my rumor had a significant impact. I finally relaxed. The system checked the backend in disbelief and finally found the answer. It said Jax was originally destined to become a small-time thug and die in a gang fight during a rainstorm. Ending a life no one cared about. But now, it detected a deviation in his destined path. Bound by the rules, the system reluctantly gave me bonus points. [Cunning human, cheating the system like this. You won’t be so lucky next time.] I ignored its tantrum. My gaze fell on my philosophy textbook. A sentence I had highlighted in red: Development arises from internal contradictions within things. When contradictions accumulate to a certain point, change is inevitable. Exciting, isn’t it? 5 During this month’s class meeting, Jax was anonymously voted “Star of Contribution.” When the results were announced, he was stunned. He fidgeted, looking like he might fall over. He clearly remembered a secret vote once where he was named “Most Unwelcome Person.” He pretended not to care, but he was humiliated. Since his parents divorced, the lonely boy always tried to get attention in clumsy ways, only to push people away. But now… Amidst the applause that wouldn’t stop, he wiped his eyes hard and stood on the podium. “I did a lot of wrong things before. I want to apologize to everyone I hurt.” “I, Jax Carter, promise to change.” “I will work hard to contribute to the class, to everyone!” 6 That night, the system gave me a new mission. [Please select a female student and spread scandalous rumors about her.] I nearly snapped the pen in my hand. The system gloated, [Let’s see how you wriggle out of this one.] After a long silence, I accepted the mission. 7 My target was Mia Rowling, a shy and timid girl. Her recent nickname was “Cow.” Some punks from another class had targeted her because of her figure and started using the nickname. Like rats in a sewer, someone fueled the flames, and the nickname spread tacitly. During gym and extracurriculars, boys would “accidentally” bump into her chest and laugh. Even in the cafeteria line, people would pull at her collar and straps. “So slutty. Wonder how many guys have touched her?” “Stop pretending. Covering up so much, bet she wants people to look.” … Mia couldn’t defend herself. She started wearing even baggier clothes to hide her body. The boys in our class didn’t join in, but they were too embarrassed to stand up for her. The girls spoke up every time, but we couldn’t protect her 24/7. Even though we tried to tell Mia her body wasn’t a shackle and she should be proud, she grew thinner and more haggard. Mia’s deskmate said she heard somewhere that losing weight reduces breast size, so she started dieting frantically. Recently, she developed anorexia and took a month off school. Next week was her return. I had to hurry.

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Julian Thorne and I were both kids when we were kidnapped by the same trafficking ring. Years later, his wealthy biological parents found him. As they tried to take him away, Julian clamped his hand around my wrist, his grip bruising. He looked his parents dead in the eye. “I want her to be my sister. I want to protect her for the rest of my life.” Later, I realized I didn’t want to be his sister anymore. I had fallen in love with him. But Julian shut me down. “That can’t happen, June.” Unable to bear the growing love that felt like a secret sin, I left him in pain. Five years later, we met again. My boss shoved me into the empty seat next to Julian Thorne at a gala. “You look exactly like the ‘one that got away’ on Mr. Thorne’s lock screen,” my boss whispered frantically. “He’s going crazy looking for her.” “Seize the opportunity! You can pull off the ‘long-lost love’ act. I know you can.” I shook my head so hard I nearly gave myself whiplash, wishing I could vanish into the floorboards. “Absolutely not. Boss, trust me, he is not into my type.” Chapter 1 I never dreamed I’d run into Julian Thorne like this. I was accompanying my boss, Mr. Henderson, to a high-stakes investment dinner. Henderson told me there was a billionaire investor worth hundreds of billions who was notoriously difficult. He said I was the only one who could handle it. He promised me a promotion and a raise if I closed the deal. I thought he valued my negotiation skills. Turns out, he was hoping I’d use my face to run a seduction game. The moment we walked into the VIP room, Henderson pointed at the man’s back and winked at me frantically. “That’s him. Whether we land this whale depends entirely on you tonight.” “I did my research. You look exactly like the woman on Mr. Thorne’s lock screen. Use that. Work the ‘replacement lover’ angle. You got this.” Just from his back, I recognized him. The youngest heir to the Thorne Empire, and my brother in name only—Julian Thorne. I shook my head violently, looking for an exit. “Absolutely not. Boss, this is a bad idea. He doesn’t like my type.” “I suddenly have a stomach ache. I need to go. Don’t stop me.” But Henderson grabbed my wrist faster than I could bolt. He dragged me toward Julian, whispering aggressively in my ear. “Where are you going? How do you know if you don’t try?” “I asked around. Julian is known in the circle as the ‘Ice King.’ Dozens of women throw themselves at him, and he doesn’t even blink.” “His best friend, Carter, got drunk once and spilled the beans. He said, ‘You idiots, you don’t know how to give gifts. You want to please him? Find him the girl on his phone. Julian is going crazy looking for her. He calls her name in his sleep.’” “If you didn’t look like his ‘white moonlight,’ this opportunity wouldn’t have fallen into your lap. The future of this company is on you.” Henderson might look like he runs on kale smoothies, but his grip was iron. He shoved me into the empty chair to Julian’s left. Then, pressing down on my shoulder, he put on his best salesman smile—looking entirely like a pimp. “Mr. Thorne, this is our company’s secret weapon, Sarah Lane. Our top manager.” “Don’t let her age fool you. Her skills are impeccable. She handled all my toughest projects.” My heart was in my throat. I regretted leaving the house today without checking my horoscope. Out of the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but steal a glance at the man I had spent five years trying to forget. His face was still devastatingly authoritative. One look, and I was drowning again. He was wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking like the ultimate ‘Old Money’ CEO—forbidden, restrained, with a hint of quiet madness underneath. My mind went blank. I was debating whether to say hello to my long-lost… brother? Ex-crush? But before I could speak, the assistant on his right stood up and snapped at us. “Mr. Henderson, what is the meaning of this?” “Don’t you know Mr. Thorne’s rules?” “No women sit next to him. Especially not cheap knock-offs with plastic surgery trying to copy that face.” “You think playing the doppëlganger card will work? Get out!” Chapter 2 I didn’t just get plastic surgery; I changed my name and my entire identity. I used to be June Thorne. After leaving the Thorne family, I found my biological parents. Now, I am Sarah Lane. No wonder Julian didn’t react when he heard my name. He sat there like an immovable statue, letting his assistant drive away the unwanted pests. He didn’t even spare me a glance. His assistant, Chase, stared at my face like he was appraising a counterfeit handbag. “Miss Lane, you’ve had work done, haven’t you?” “I studied medicine. I can tell at a glance where the knife went in.” “Unfortunately, you’ve miscalculated. The girl in Mr. Thorne’s heart cannot be replaced by a look-alike.” “If she could be replaced, she wouldn’t be ‘the one that got away,’ would she?” “Mr. Thorne doesn’t do rebound romances. He finds them repulsive. You walked right into the firing line. Now get out.” I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. Why did everyone keep saying I was Julian’s “one that got away”? If only I really was his type. In his eyes, I was clearly destined to just be a sister. Forever. We weren’t related by blood. We were both abducted as children. We spent three years in the hands of traffickers, depending on each other for survival. When I was beaten, he would hug me tight, taking the whip for me. Letting those agonizing strikes land on his small back. When he had a fever, I stayed up all night, changing wet towels on his forehead over and over. When we were starving and managed to snatch a packet of instant noodles, he made me eat the noodles while he drank the soup. We lived in a place worse than a pigsty. One night, a snake bit me. Without hesitation, Julian bent down and sucked the venom from my ankle. I cried, “Julian, am I going to die?” He hugged me and said, “I won’t let you die.” Later, his wealthy biological parents found him. I huddled in the corner, thinking we were finally going to be separated. But Julian clamped his hand around my wrist, looking at his parents with a fierce stubbornness. “I want her to be my sister. I want to protect her forever.” His parents weren’t thrilled. So Julian said: “Then I’m not going back either. Where she is, I am.” “No one separates us.” I was shocked and overjoyed. That’s how I became the adopted daughter of the Thorne family. Julian’s most cherished sister. He really spoiled me. Even though he was just a kid himself, he taught me to read and write. Whatever elite lessons the family arranged for him, he dragged me along. He bought me the prettiest dresses, the rarest toys. He even learned to braid my hair. He raised me from a dirty, scared little girl into a polished, educated eighteen-year-old debutante. Everyone in our circle knew I was the apple of Julian’s eye. Privately, they whispered, “That’s not an adopted daughter; that’s a child bride Julian is raising for himself.” Back then, my heart fluttered. I was secretly happy. I didn’t mind the gossip at all. Because I loved him. I wanted to grow up and marry him. So we could be together forever. But when I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings… Julian said: “No, June. That can’t happen. You will always be my sister.” His words were a bucket of ice water, chilling me to the bone. But I couldn’t suppress the love that grew daily. You can’t control how you feel. I didn’t want to watch him marry someone else. I couldn’t accept another woman spending her life with him. Unrequited love would eventually make me ugly and jealous. So, I chose to leave. I thought maybe if we were apart, I could curb this almost obsessive need for him. I never expected that five years later, we would meet like this. Being called a shameless “knock-off” by his assistant. Chapter 3 I didn’t dare say a word. I was terrified that if I opened my mouth, he’d recognize my voice. Honestly, this was for the best. He was exactly as the rumors said—high above the masses, uninterested in romance. Dismissive of any woman trying to get close. He had loyal dogs to bark and set the rules for him. I took a deep breath, swallowed the heartache, and bolted faster than a rabbit. When I left five years ago, I decided I would never appear in front of Julian again. Because every time I saw him, my heart relapsed. I couldn’t forget him. I couldn’t stop loving him. Unrequited love is a lonely war, and I was tired of fighting it. Better to stay apart and be safe. I found a bar nearby and started drinking alone. Glass after glass, trying to drown the fire in my chest. I often dreamed of kissing Julian in the dead of night. Things I didn’t dare do in reality, I was a beast about in my dreams. Dream-Julian never rejected me. He would gently pat my head and let me pin him down anywhere. Like against that grand piano in the northeast corner of the living room. After we were taken to the Thorne mansion, he loved pulling me to the piano, teaching me hand over hand. Those were beautiful times. In my dreams, I loved pushing him onto the keys. Taking off his gold-rimmed glasses, unbuttoning his shirt. He always had that faint, lazy smile on his lips. He’d whisper in my ear, “You want to kiss me? How much?” I’d cry and say, “So much.” Julian would use a low, bewitching voice: “Then kiss me, okay?” Dreams blurred reality and gave me liquid courage. I’d pull off his tie, blindfold him, bold and reckless. I’d say, “Okay, don’t move.” But every time, right before my lips touched his… I woke up. It made me so angry I’d throw my pillow across the room. Then I’d close my eyes, trying to replay the scene, trying to fall back asleep and finish what I started. It never worked. Not once. I was drunk now. My hands got itchy. I logged into my old social media account. I hadn’t logged in for years. It was full of my teenage angst, thoughts about Julian I shouldn’t have had. I tried to seal it away, but seeing him tonight churned everything up. I couldn’t help but post one new status: [Everyone says I’m the irreplaceable love of his life.] [If only that were true.] [But only I know, I can never be anything more than his sister.] I didn’t know that one small post would cause a tsunami. Chapter 4 Suddenly, Henderson called me. “Sarah! Where are you? Go to a bar called ‘Serendipity’ right now!” “Mr. Thorne is rushing to Serendipity. This is your last chance!” “He didn’t see your face earlier. As long as he sees your face, you still have a shot!” I lay on the bar counter, slurring my words. “Boss, please, let me off the hook. His assistant already warned me. The doppelgänger trick won’t work.” Henderson wasn’t listening. He was frantic. “You don’t get it! Hard-to-get works! There is no such thing as a bad substitute, only a lazy one!” “He might resist once or twice, but seven or eight times? He’s a man!” “Trust me, I know men. When you can’t have the real thing, a painting of a plum still quenches the thirst.” “I’ll let you in on a secret. Just now, Julian Thorne stood up so fast he shattered his wine glass.” “His assistant asked what happened.” “Thorne’s voice was shaking. He said: She’s online. She’s nearby.” “Turns out, his ‘long-lost love’ logged into an old account and posted something.” “Thorne didn’t even eat. He tracked the IP address personally. It pinged at a bar near the restaurant.” “He looked like he wanted to fly there. He’s on his way now.” “I bet the girl doesn’t want to see him. Otherwise, why stay away for years?” “When he gets there and realizes she won’t go back with him… that is your moment to strike!” I sobered up instantly. Julian was coming here? Who gave Henderson this confidence? Why was he so delusional? Wait. Julian found my burner account? That meant all my girlish pining, my darker possessive thoughts… they were all laid bare before him? My head was splitting. I wanted to delete everything and bury the phone. I stood up, stumbling toward the exit. I needed to flee the scene. But before I reached the door, I heard Julian’s voice. Cold. Controlled. Terrifying. “Lock down the bar. Not even a fly gets out.” His assistant, Chase, followed, promising, “Don’t worry, Mr. Thorne. I have bodyguards at the front and back.” “We will find Miss June this time.” Then Chase saw me. “Hey! Miss Lane! Why are you here?” “Do you not understand English? Still haven’t given up?” “Get out!” A bodyguard hesitated. “Chase, Mr. Thorne said no one leaves…” Chase pointed at me, sneering. “She’s the exception. This Miss Lane wants to play copycat.” “The person Mr. Thorne wants to see least right now is her.” Julian didn’t look at me. Hearing “Miss Lane,” he deliberately averted his gaze, his body language screaming disinterest in any substitutes. He walked straight to the bartender, holding up his phone screen. “Have you seen the girl in this photo?” I kept my head down and fled. I walked out unimpeded. I stumbled out the door, thinking I was safe, only to crash right into Henderson, who had followed the drama. He blocked me. “My dear Sarah! Why are you running out?” “Get back in there! This is a godsend!” He grabbed my arm and tried to drag me back in. I was genuinely drunk now. My brain was foggy, and I was getting agitated. “Mr. Henderson, let go! I’m drunk!” “You know what happens when I lose control!” “If I do something to Mr. Thorne and offend him, don’t blame me!”

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On the very first day of lectures, a notification popped up on my phone. It was a text from Mom. [Class is 45 minutes long. You’ve been scrolling TikTok for 31 minutes and 56 seconds! Is this how you repay me for sending you to college?] A split second later, my professor’s phone rang. She put it on speaker, and the whole lecture hall heard my mother’s banshee shriek. “My daughter is playing on her phone instead of studying! Professor, confiscate it immediately!” My professor, looking exhausted, replied, “Ma’am, Chloe is a college student. Parents really shouldn’t be micromanaging at this level.” My classmates snickered, whispering about the pathetic girl who couldn’t cut the umbilical cord. But I was frozen, staring at the new message flashing on my screen. [You are forbidden from eating that spicy takeout for lunch. Or else.] Mom was a thousand miles away. How did she know my exact screen time? And how the hell did she know I had just ordered spicy noodles? 1 [That spicy trash is full of chemicals. I’m giving you three minutes to cancel the order.] Another text. I jerked my head up, scanning the room frantically. The snickering had stopped; everyone was back on their own devices. The professor was droning on about syllabus policies. No sign of Mom. No suspicious figures watching me. My brain was short-circuiting. I couldn’t figure out how she knew my every move. My fingers trembled as I typed back. [Mom, how do you know what I’m doing?] Her reply was instant. [I can know whatever I want.] [Chloe, don’t make Mommy unhappy.] [You have 2 minutes and 12 seconds left.] [2 minutes, 7 seconds.] Buzz. Buzz. My phone vibrated relentlessly, counting down like a bomb. The numbers dropped too fast. It felt like a giant hand was wrapping around my throat, squeezing the air out of me. In my panic, I hallucinated Mom standing there with a stopwatch, her eyes dark and heavy. “You didn’t brush your teeth for the full three minutes. Do it again!” “School is two miles away. It took you twenty minutes. Did you stop to play on the way home?” “You took 12 minutes on this worksheet. That’s 18 seconds slower than last time. No sleep tonight. Do it again!” Ever since the divorce when I was twelve, Mom poured her entire existence into me. She was determined to raise the perfect daughter, to prove she didn’t need Dad. When I slept, what I ate, when I woke up—everything followed her script. I tried to rebel once. I locked my bedroom door on a Saturday to sleep in. Mom hacked the door down with a meat cleaver. “Why are you locking the door?! Are you doing something dirty inside?!” “Time is life! Get up and study!” We went through a dozen locks. eventually, I stopped locking the door. I stopped struggling. I let her pilot my life. No password on my phone. No lock on my diary. My clothes, my sheets, even my phone case—everything had to be pink. “Girls use pink. You like black? Black represents evil! It means your mind is twisted!” She threw away my black hoodies and forced me to keep my hair long, demanding I “look like a lady.” She denied my taste, my choices, my autonomy. Every time I pushed back, she would give me that heartbroken look. “You’re too young, you don’t understand. Mommy is doing this for your own good.” “With a personality like yours, you’d never survive without me.” “I do all of this because I love you!” Middle school through high school—six years of living in her shadow. I thought getting accepted into a university across the country was my escape ticket. But… [Time remaining: 1 minute, 11 seconds.] Her messages were flooding in. I quickly checked her Facebook. She posted selfies from her Zumba class every day. She had posted one fifteen minutes ago. She was definitely back home, not here in the city. I played the part of the good daughter. [Okay, Mom. I canceled the order.] The countdown stopped instantly. Maybe she just guessed I’d order the spicy noodles? It was my favorite, after all. But the screen time… I couldn’t explain that. Just to be safe, I turned off every privacy permission for my video apps. Then I checked my food delivery app. She wasn’t here. I was an adult. She wasn’t going to control my lunch. 2 Mom didn’t text again. I grabbed my spicy beef noodle soup from the delivery rack and snuck it back to the dorm. I put on a trendy idol drama to watch while I ate. Just as I was grinning at a romantic scene, a notification banner dropped down. [Stop watching that brain-rot TV show. Use your downtime to study.] I froze. A chill crawled up my spine. I scanned the dorm room. It was just me and two roommates. Did she install a micro-camera when she helped me move in? I tore the room apart looking for a lens but found nothing. Suddenly, a woman’s voice shouted from the hallway. “Who is Chloe Jiang? Phone ending in 2215!” “Chloe Jiang!” I rushed out. “That’s me. What’s wrong?” A woman wearing an apron with the spicy noodle shop’s logo looked at me with relief. She shoved a wad of cash into my hand. “Finally. Here. $23.50. That’s your refund.” “Where are the noodles? Give them back. Now.” “Your mother called my shop over a hundred times! She said my food is poison and she’d keep calling until I took it back.” “I can’t take it anymore! I’m not doing your business!” I stood there, paralyzed. The woman spotted the takeout container on my desk. She rushed in, grabbed it, and snapped a photo. She pulled out her phone. I saw the chat window. It was my mother’s profile picture. “Ma’am, I took the food back. Your daughter only ate three bites.” She sent the voice note, then looked at me with a mix of pity and annoyance. “Kid, if your mom doesn’t let you eat spicy food, don’t order it. You’re making me run back and forth for nothing.” Her words felt like a slap in the face. Students were gathering in the hallway, watching the drama. I slammed the door and dialed Mom, my hands shaking. “It was just soup! It wasn’t poison! Why did you harass the shop owner?!” Mom’s voice was calm, righteous. “This is the price of lying.” “If you had listened and canceled the order, or eaten something healthy, Mommy wouldn’t have had to do that.” She twisted it back on me. My anger exploded. “I am eighteen! Can you stop controlling me?! Can’t I have a shred of freedom?!” “How do you know everything I’m doing?! Tell me!” Silence on the other end. Then, a heavy sigh. “Chloe, I don’t like it when you yell.” My throat clicked shut. Conditioned reflex. Since I was a toddler, I knew the rule: My emotions didn’t matter. Only hers did. I couldn’t cry, couldn’t be annoyed, couldn’t get mad. Because if I did, her reaction would be ten times worse. Sure enough, she started sobbing. “I feed you, I clothe you, I suffered so much to raise you, and this is how you treat me?” “If it weren’t for you, I would have divorced your father years earlier. I endured him for you!” “Your father has no conscience, he cheated on me, and now you won’t even empathize with me? I should just die.” The familiar, suffocating guilt washed over me. I hung my head. “I’m sorry, Mom. I was wrong…” Hearing my apology, she sniffled, satisfied. She nagged me a bit more, then hung up. I buried my face in my hands and screamed silently. I was a thousand miles away, and I was still in her cage. My roommate, Sarah, patted my back. “Don’t cry, Chloe.” “Your mom is… intense. Hey, maybe you should apply for the study abroad program?” “I asked Professor Hayes. Freshmen can apply.” “Your mom might be powerful, but she can’t micromanage you from London or Tokyo.” “But…” Sarah paused, looking confused. “There are no cameras here. She doesn’t know us. How did she know which restaurant you ordered from?” Right. And she knew what show I was watching. I forced myself to calm down. When Sarah mentioned studying abroad, Mom didn’t text to stop me. She didn’t hear that. TikTok, delivery apps, streaming apps… it was all on my phone. A terrifying thought crossed my mind. I opened a delivery app and ordered a bubble tea. The second the payment went through, a text arrived. [Bubble tea is bad for your body. Cancel it!] I frantically hit ‘Cancel’. Instant reply: [That’s Mommy’s good girl.] I threw the phone across the room like it was a venomous snake. My eyes widened in horror. 3 I paid a computer science major to check my device. He confirmed it. There was a hidden monitoring app rooted deep in the system. The admin could see my screen in real-time. No wonder she let me travel so far. She bought my train ticket. Before I left, she “checked the schedule” on my phone several times. She had been installing spyware. I couldn’t uninstall it. I couldn’t block it. If the signal went dark, she’d be on the next plane. But… this was leverage. As long as I didn’t use the phone, I could do whatever I wanted. My heart started racing. It was the thrill of freedom. I explained the situation to my roommates. They were sympathetic. “I’ll buy all the dorm supplies,” I told them. “You guys just transfer me the cash.” I couldn’t buy in bulk, or Mom would get suspicious. Toilet paper, wipes, body wash—I bought them on my phone, following her strict brand requirements. Every time I ordered, her approval texts came in. [Don’t buy that cheap brand. Buy the one I told you.] [Don’t be stingy. Buy quality.] [Send me a photo when it arrives.] I played the obedient soldier. I kept the cash my roommates paid me. It became my secret fund. Using Sarah’s laptop, I submitted the application for the exchange program. In two weeks, I had saved nearly a thousand dollars in cash. I used cash to buy spicy noodles. I bought black clothes. I drank bubble tea. No one stopped me. I started smiling more. When Sarah suggested a music festival on the weekend, I actually said yes. I waited until 10:00 PM—Mom’s mandatory bedtime. I turned off my phone. Then I put on a black dress and snuck out. First time drinking alcohol. First time dancing under stage lights, bass thumping in my chest. I laughed loud and hard. This was what being young was supposed to feel like. We walked back to campus at dawn, buzzing with adrenaline. But as we reached the dorm entrance, my smile froze. My mother was standing there. 4 Mom audited my shopping orders every week. Yesterday, she noticed I bought an extra pack of pads. She suspected a health issue and called. But it was after 10 PM. My phone was off. She called the dorm warden to wake me up, only to find out I wasn’t in my bed. She flew to the city overnight. She looked at me with pure disgust. “Chloe Jiang, your wings have really hardened, haven’t they? Staying out all night!” “What are you wearing? That skirt doesn’t even cover your knees! Did you go out to find men?” Her rage boiled over. She pulled a pair of scissors out of her purse. She grabbed a handful of my long hair and hacked it off. “I told you not to be a slut!” “Liar! I know everything! You’ve been eating junk food! Buying things for others to get cash! Is this how you repay me?” “You are rotten to the bone!” She screamed curses, hitting and kicking me right there on the sidewalk. I had been through this a thousand times. I curled into a ball, protecting my head, staring at the concrete. I didn’t dare look up. I was terrified of meeting the eyes of the students walking by. My roommates tried to intervene. “Ma’am, calm down! Chloe was with us all night…” “Get lost, you tramps!” Mom shoved Sarah to the ground. “It’s you lowlifes who corrupted my daughter!” “She was perfect before she came here!” No… You forced me to be perfect. Suddenly, Mom grabbed my wrist. She yanked my head up. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair wild. “You’re coming home! You’re dropping out!” “You’re only safe when you’re with Mommy!” That sentence broke me. The dam holding back eighteen years of suppression burst. I lunged and snatched the scissors from her hand. I pressed the sharp tip against my own throat. “I am not going with you! I am not going back to that cage!” “Get out of here! Leave me alone or I’ll die right now!” I was done. Done with the pink room. Done with the suffocation. Done with being her pet dog. “Chloe, don’t be stupid!” Panic flashed in her eyes. I pressed harder. A drop of blood trickled down my neck. She froze. Then, she dropped to her knees. She started wailing. “What did I do wrong?! Why are you breaking my heart like this?!” “If you die, I’ll die too!” She started listing her sacrifices again, trying to weaponize her pain to make me bow my head. But it just destroyed my last shred of sanity. Shut up! I wanted to die. She wanted to die. Fine! Let’s all just die!

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I wrapped up a six-month business trip just before Valentine’s Day, rushing to a luxury watch boutique to order a custom timepiece for my husband. The sales associate smiled, a knowing glint in her eye. “Mrs. Hayes, you and Mr. Thorne really are on the same wavelength. He was just here yesterday and bought a matching couple’s set for Valentine’s Day.” I froze. Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind. His personal assistant had posted a photo of that exact watch on her Instagram story last night. The caption was bold, almost mocking: He says my time belongs to him now~ My blood ran cold. I immediately dialed my husband’s number. But the voice that answered wasn’t his. It was a woman’s. “Hello? Who is this? Why are you calling in the middle of the night? The boss just finished… up… and is in the shower. Call back tomorrow.” I let out a cold laugh. “Who am I? I’m your boss’s boss.” “Tell him you’re both fired. Don’t bother coming in tomorrow.” Chapter 1 I hung up before she could respond. Without missing a beat, I turned to my secretary standing behind me. “Notify the front desk. Starting tomorrow, Mark Thorne and Chloe Mills are banned from the building.” “And freeze all assets under Mark’s name. Tell the lawyers to draft the divorce papers.” After my assistant left to execute the orders, I dragged my exhausted body back to the master bedroom. But the thought that Chloe Mills had been in this room made my skin crawl. I turned around and slept in the guest room. … The next day, I slept until the afternoon. When my phone screen finally lit up, it froze for a solid thirty seconds before flooding with notifications. Dozens of missed calls from Mark. Ninety-nine plus text messages. I deleted them all with a single tap—everything from last night’s tentative probing to this morning’s desperate, angry rants. After replying to a few work emails, I washed up and went downstairs for lunch. Before I could even sit down, the housekeeper hurried over with her phone. “Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Thorne is on the line. He insists on speaking with you.” Since the food wasn’t ready yet, I took the phone. Before I could say a word, Mark’s roar exploded in my ear. “Vivian! What the hell is the meaning of this? Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me at the office today?!” His hysterical shouting instantly killed the good mood I’d managed to salvage from a rare full night of sleep. The rage I’d suppressed last night flared up. I scoffed. “Mark, get your priorities straight. The issue isn’t whether you’re embarrassed.” “If you ever use that tone with me again, I promise you’ll lose a lot more than just face.” I hung up on him. Five minutes later, the phone rang again. This time, Mark’s voice was still angry, but he was clearly trying to rein it in. “Viv, I went to the office this morning, and security blocked me. They said I was fired. What is going on?” I stirred the soup in my bowl, my voice flat. “Exactly what they told you. I let you run CloudTech because I was out of the country on business. Now I’m back. It’s only natural you step down.” “But what about Chloe? That girl beat out so many candidates to get that job. You’re firing her just because she didn’t use an honorific when she answered your call?” His voice rose, thick with righteous indignation. My tone dropped to zero Kelvin. “Her? I don’t recall hiring an assistant who wears matching couple watches with her boss and sleeps in his bed.” Mark choked. Silence hung heavy on the line for a long moment before he stammered. “You… you know?” “That watch was a company reward! And she stayed at our place because there was a thunderstorm. She’s terrified of thunder and didn’t want to be alone in the guest room. But I didn’t sleep with her! I slept on the couch!” I cut him off, my voice devoid of emotion. “And last night?” Mark immediately countered. “Last night was nothing! We had separate rooms after a client dinner. Her shower was broken, so she just used mine.” “Look, Viv, are you serious right now? Just because the girl asked who you were last night, you cussed her out and threatened to fire her? I’m a married man. I really didn’t…” “Ha.” I leaned back in my chair, impatience dripping from my voice. “Mark, do I look like a toddler to you?” “Scared of thunder? Put in earplugs. Shower broken? Call the front desk for a new room.” “Do you really think just because I was abroad for six months, I was blind?” Recalling the dossier my PI had sent over, my eyes narrowed. “The month I left, you bought her a condo downtown worth half a million.” “Three months ago, you bought her a Porsche.” “Last month, you used a ‘business trip’ as cover to take her on a private jet to the Caribbean.” “Mark, do you think I’m an idiot?” My anger spiked with every sentence. Finally, I delivered the ultimatum. “Tell her to return the car and the condo immediately.” “Or she goes to prison, and you get kicked off the family registry.” Mark tried to argue. “I didn’t give them to her! I just… lent them to her.” “Besides, Mom is waiting for us to have a baby so she can show off to her friends. If we divorce…” I interrupted him coldly. “What did you think was going to happen?” “If you hadn’t crossed the line, we’d already be signing papers at the courthouse right now.” I hung up before he could spew another excuse. Chapter 2 After lunch, I didn’t go to the office. instead, I grabbed my best friends and went on a shopping spree. Retail therapy works wonders. Or so I thought. The next morning, riding the high of my purchases, I pushed open my office door—only to be greeted by a sight that made my blood boil. My husband was on the office sofa, pinned beneath his assistant. Seeing me enter, Mark scrambled to push her off. “Honey! Let me explain!” Chloe hit the floor hard, her elbow cracking against the coffee table. She yelped in pain. But Mark didn’t have time to coddle her. He was desperate to prove his innocence. “Vivian, really, nothing happened! She just tripped and fell on me…” “Shut up!” I dodged his hand reaching for my bag, my voice icy. “Who let you in? Didn’t I make it clear you were both fired?” My secretary hurried in, dragging a terrified receptionist behind her. The receptionist was pale. “Ms. Hayes, I… I didn’t dare stop them. Mr. Thorne and Ms. Mills wouldn’t leave the lobby. When the partners from the merger arrived, Mr. Thorne pretended to be with them and walked right in. I really couldn’t stop them!” I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I waved them away. “Get back to work. It’s not your fault.” Once the bystanders left, I ignored Mark’s pleading eyes and scanned my office. The diffuser by the bookshelf reeked of lily—a scent I detest. The framed photo of Mark and me was gone, replaced by a Hello Kitty plushie. Even in the lounge closet, a dress that wasn’t mine hung boldly on the rack. Suddenly, Chloe burst into tears, wailing as if she were the victim of a great injustice. “Ms. Hayes, please don’t misunderstand! There’s nothing going on between Mr. Thorne and me. That dress is just there because I forgot to take it home last time I changed!” Mark immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her. “Vivian, that’s enough. She’s just a kid. Why are you scaring her?” “Her clothes got wet on the way to work, so I ordered her a new dress. I brought her here today just to let her pack her things. You can’t fire someone and not let them take their stuff… Hey! What are you doing?!” Slap! The sound echoed crisply through the office. I shoved Mark aside and delivered a backhand across Chloe’s face that cut off his sentence. “Vivian! Why did you hit Chloe?!” Mark roared, furious. I turned and slapped him too, looking at him with pure disgust. “Why hit her? You think you’re getting off easy?” “If her dirty mouth dares to twist the facts to make me jealous, she better be ready to get hit.” Chapter 3 We had important partners arriving for a meeting in the conference room upstairs. Chloe was sobbing and clutching her face. Mark had a handprint blooming on his cheek. It was a circus. I glared at Mark. “Do you want to keep humiliating yourself here, or come home with me?” Mark’s face was livid, but he gritted his teeth and followed me. In the parking garage, Mark took the keys and got into the driver’s seat. Chloe actually tried to open the passenger door. “Get out!” I barked. “My car doesn’t carry trash.” “Vivian! That’s too harsh!” Mark frowned at me. I scoffed. “Harsh?” “She has the nerve to seduce a married man, but she can’t handle being called out?” Chloe immediately lowered her head, looking pitiful. “I just wanted to come along to help clear up the misunderstanding… I never wanted to break you two up.” I didn’t even look at her. I stared daggers at Mark. Finally, under pressure, Mark got out and pulled Chloe away from the car. “Take a cab home. I’ll reimburse you.” Only then did she leave, reluctant and pouty. I didn’t want the staff at home to witness a scene, so I dragged Mark straight upstairs. He thought we were going to the bedroom until I walked past it toward the study. He rushed to block the door, looking guilty. “Maybe we should go somewhere else? You haven’t been back in so long, it’s probably dusty in there.” I ignored him, shoved him aside, and threw open the door. My scalp tingled with rage at the sight before me. My father’s portrait—his memorial photo—was on the floor. Smeared across the glass was a dark, unidentifiable solid. The desk, the floor, and scattered documents were stained with dried yellow puddles. The room reeked of ammonia and musk. I gagged, my voice trembling with fury. “Who did this?!” Mark scratched his head, looking mortified. “Well… Chloe might have been careless that day. She let her cat in…” “Careless?!” I grabbed Mark’s hand and dragged him to the doorway. “The study has a biometric lock. Only your fingerprint and mine can open it. You call this careless?!” “Honey, calm down.” Mark tried to explain. “Chloe’s cat is usually very well-behaved. She brought some files over for me to sign, and then she felt sick… we must have forgotten the cat when we left…” I pointed at the blank wall where the portrait used to hang. “There was nothing else on that wall. No shelves, nothing to climb. Tell me, how does a cat jump that high to knock a frame down?!” “And those documents.” I pointed at the ruined papers on the desk. “I locked those in the safe before I left. Why are they out here?!” Mark opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound. Suddenly, Chloe appeared. She fell to her knees and started slapping her own face. “Ms. Hayes, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! I’ll pay for the damages! Please don’t blame Mr. Thorne!” “Who let you in?” My voice was low, signaling the calm before the storm. Chloe flinched but couldn’t hide a flicker of triumph in her eyes. “B-before, it was inconvenient to ask the butler to open the gate every time I brought contracts. So Mr. Thorne added my fingerprint to the security system.” I let out a cold laugh and activated the smart home system. “Alexa, call 911.” “Okay Vivian, dialing 911 now.” “Stop! Alexa, cancel command!” Mark panicked the moment he heard ‘911’. He yelled at me. “Vivian, haven’t you made enough of a scene?!” “Chloe said she’d pay for the damages. Do you have to be so relentless?” “I know you’re just jealous because she was with me while you were gone. You’re taking it out on her.” “But I’m telling you one last time, Chloe and I are innocent. And I won’t let you use her as a punching bag!” Mark stood taller with every word. I grabbed a glass from the table and smashed it against the wall behind them. “Compensation? If I let an animal shit on your father’s memorial photo, would you take cash for it?” “Can she afford it? Do I look like I need her money?” Mark shielded a screaming Chloe, speechless. He rubbed his temples, annoyed. “Fine. You’re irrational right now. I can’t talk to you.” “Have someone list the damages. I let her in, so if she can’t pay, I will.” I sneered. “You’ll pay?” “Great. We’re heading to the courthouse to divorce right now. Let’s see how much of your own money you actually have to pay me!” Hearing the word divorce, Mark reacted like a cat whose tail was stepped on. “Why are you bringing that up again?” He sighed, sounding like he was doing me a favor. “Look, I get it. You just don’t like Chloe.” “I’ll take her away so you don’t have to see her. She’ll figure out how to pay you back. Okay?” “Just stop saying the D-word. Even I have limits to how much I can take.” With that, Mark didn’t wait for my response. He turned and led Chloe away, leaving me standing there alone. Chapter 4 Personal drama aside, I had a mountain of work waiting for me. When I arrived at the CloudTech building the next day, my access card wouldn’t open the elevator. “What is going on?” I asked the front desk, my face dark. Before the receptionist could answer, Chloe stepped out of the elevator. Seeing me, she covered her mouth in mock surprise. “Oh my, Ms. Hayes. You were kicked off the board. Why are you still here?” “Oh, right. Your secretary was fired for incompetence too. She probably didn’t have time to tell you.” I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Excuse me? Kicked off the board?” Just then, Mark hurried over with a group of shareholders, fresh out of a meeting. Thinking I was harassing Chloe again, he shielded her and spoke coldly. “It means exactly what you heard.” “Vivian, you’ve been removed.” “Aside from you, every shareholder just voted. It was unanimous.” “So, Vivian, you don’t need to come in anymore. Just stay home and wait for your dividends.” I scoffed. “Removed? I built this company. I hold the majority shares. What right do you have to remove me without notice?!” The shareholders behind him looked down, avoiding my eyes. Mark looked impatient. “You have 40%, sure. But don’t forget, the other shareholders and I hold 60%.” “Four against six. The math is simple. Even if you were there, you couldn’t have changed the outcome.” I scanned the crowd of faces. I finally realized I was surrounded by wolves. When I was running things, these shareholders couldn’t embezzle a dime. But with me gone for six months and Mark’s lax management, they’d had a feast. They knew the good times would end the moment I returned. So when the chance to oust me appeared, they jumped on it. “Mark. Impressive.” “I accept it.” I started laughing. Laughing at myself for working myself into an ulcer for this company. Laughing at my naivety for sleeping next to a snake. Mark frowned. “Vivian, you just can’t vote on major decisions. Your dividends won’t change. Don’t act like we’re bullying you.” Then, his tone softened. “Besides, Mom wants a grandson. Now that you’re free, you can focus on preparing for pregnancy. I want to have a child with you.” I stared at Mark for a long time. “No thanks. Let’s divorce.” I turned and walked out of the building. I dialed the internal line for the legal department of Hayes Holdings—my family’s conglomerate. “Order from the top: Withdraw all Hayes Holdings investments in CloudTech immediately. Give them three days to return the capital with interest!” Then, I called CloudTech’s biggest competitor. “Mr. Sterling? It’s Vivian Hayes.” “Interested in joining forces to crush CloudTech?”

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I had been sponsoring a student for three years. When she finally got into college, she suddenly turned into a he. When I confronted him, this boy—who had stolen someone else’s spot—stood there with red-rimmed eyes and asked me: “Just because I’m a boy, don’t I have the right to be helped?” I scoffed. “If you want money that bad, go be a gigolo. You can earn from both ends that way.” Chapter 1 The boy stood before me in a crisp white shirt and jeans, looking down. His eyelashes fluttered nervously, and his fingers anxiously gripped the hem of his shirt. He looked like a delicate flower trembling in the cold wind. If he hadn’t been standing in the line of female students I was sponsoring, I might have appreciated the aesthetic. But right now, I just felt a surge of rage shooting straight to the top of my head. I tried to keep my tone even, though my pen tapped impatiently against the desk. “I remember sponsoring a girl named Lily Miller from Miller’s Creek. Are you Lily? Or…” The boy’s eyelashes trembled even harder. He spoke softly. “I… I’m Lucas Miller. Lily’s younger brother. My sister felt the academic pressure was too much, so she dropped out in her sophomore year to get married.” “Our family discussed it, and we didn’t want to disappoint you. So… so I took my sister’s place to continue her education. We didn’t want your expectations to go to waste.” I actually laughed out loud. “So, should I be thanking you?” Before selecting candidates, I had conducted a meticulous review to ensure every scholarship dollar went to a girl who genuinely needed it. I never imagined that under all those layers of scrutiny, a boy could impersonate his own sister to collect the funds. And he managed to hide it for two years, only getting caught when they came to thank me after high school graduation. My temples throbbed with anger. I didn’t even want to think about the corruption involved. How many deserving girls didn’t get this money? How many people who didn’t need help stole opportunities that weren’t theirs? Seeing my anger, Lucas rushed to explain. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Vance. It was my sister. She thought studying was too hard, but she was too embarrassed to say it, so she came up with this idea.” I looked at his brand-new clothes and pristine white sneakers. Then I looked at the girls next to him, wearing clothes that were clean but washed until they were faded and thin. “I’m truly sorry, Ms. Vance. Our whole family feels guilty about this. No matter how you scold me or treat me, I won’t complain.” Lucas’s eyes turned red, tears hanging precariously on his lashes. My expression remained flat. “I want you to pay back the money. And compensate me for emotional distress.” I waved my hand, signaling my secretary to take them away. Chapter 2 After getting everyone settled, my secretary, Sarah, came back to report. “The girls are all back at the hotel. The local specialties they brought are in your car.” “Only that Lucas Miller… he was lingering downstairs, refusing to leave. I had security escort him out.” “Did he think he was staying for dinner?” Sarah smiled, then pursed her lips seriously. “Is Lily the little girl who hugged your leg crying two years ago during our site visit, saying she wanted to go to school?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s her.” I, Evelyn Vance, clawed my way up from the bottom to get where I am today. I dropped out of school because I couldn’t afford tuition. I saved every penny for living expenses and tuition before returning to school, getting into college, and climbing the ladder step by step. I know what poor girls go through. So after I made my fortune, I discussed it with my partners and established a foundation dedicated solely to sponsoring girls. To avoid situations like today, I even took time out of my busy schedule to visit many of the families myself. And Lily… she walked ten miles of mountain road alone just to meet me when she heard the inspection team was in town. I still remember her clearly. She wore oversized, patched clothes. She was in junior high but looked as small and frail as an elementary schooler. She looked dusty and gray, except for her eyes. They shone. When I was about to get in the car to leave, she hugged my leg. Before she could even speak, tears started streaming down her face. I followed Lily to her home. Her mother had passed away early, and her father had broken his leg at a construction site. Her elderly grandmother was responsible for the whole family’s livelihood. The only breadwinner had fallen. Lily had to drop out, waiting for the family’s situation to improve before she could return to school. I asked her why she wanted to study. At the time, she looked lost and whispered her answer. “I don’t know. Our teacher said if we don’t study, we’ll be stuck in this village forever. I don’t want that. I want to see the world written in the books.” As long as she wanted to read, I would support her. Chapter 3 Lucas’s case was definitely not isolated. Being played for a fool felt terrible. I took Sarah and traveled overnight to Lily’s hometown. With a fire burning in my chest, I wanted to ask Lily face-to-face. Plane to train, train to bus, bus to a rickety three-wheeler. It took fifteen hours to reach Lily’s home. It took me fifteen hours to get here from the most prosperous city. But for a girl like Lily, it might take a lifetime to get out. I didn’t believe the girl who hugged my leg and begged for an education would choose marriage because she “couldn’t handle the hardship.” And I absolutely refused to let the money that countless women and I worked so hard for fall into the wrong hands. I followed the village chief and the local coordinator through the muddy path, trudging through the sludge. The chief knew me but didn’t know why we were here. Once he knew we were looking for Lily, he wouldn’t shut up about the Miller family’s situation. “Ever since you sponsored the Millers, Ms. Vance, their life has improved so much.” “It’s just a shame Lily is so disappointing. She didn’t want to study anymore in her sophomore year.” “Luckily, her brother has a brain. He’s made for studying. Always top of his class, and his SAT scores were great.” “If you ask me, boys are just better. Girls can’t hack it.” He rambled on, praising Lucas non-stop. The coordinator beside him chimed in too. “Lucas really did us proud.” “We have quite a few capable boys like Lucas in our county.” “Does Ms. Vance want to meet them this time?” These two chatterboxes reminded me of when I first started the foundation. My company had just taken off, and the liaison sent to work with me was a man. When he learned I only provided opportunities for girls, he tried to “educate” me earnestly. “Girls only do well in elementary school. Once boys hit their stride, they easily surpass girls.” “There are plenty of boys in the world who can’t afford to eat or pay tuition either.” “Ms. Vance, you’re a person of vision. Surely you won’t be swayed by that divisive gender rhetoric online.” “The country needs excellent men. You should sponsor more boys, Ms. Vance. Contribute to building the nation.” I have to say, men have a natural ability to advocate for their own kind. Even facing a superior with more money and status, they dare to fight for strangers of the same sex. And they spare no effort to suppress and exclude anyone who isn’t like them, cutting off their upward mobility and demeaning their character. I deeply admired that. It’s something I need to learn more about. So I kicked him out of my company. After communicating with his company’s higher-ups, a female executive who had climbed out of poverty just like me promised to give me an explanation. Soon after, I heard he was fired and saddled with a huge penalty for breach of contract. He spent every day working odd jobs to pay off his debt. We arrived at the Miller’s gate. Last time I was here, it was a mud hut. Now it was a red brick house with a tiled roof. My heart sank. The moment I entered the yard, I recognized the girl washing clothes in the center. Chapter 4 She was as thin and frail as ever. Hearing the noise, she turned to look. Those eyes that once shone were now dull, as if covered by a veil. When she recognized me, she lowered her head nervously, wiping her hands over and over on her tattered clothes. Lily’s voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz. “Ms. Vance…” I walked closer to her. Lily kept her head down, afraid to look me in the eye. The commotion in the yard disturbed her father inside. He dragged his leg, limping out. I scrutinized him. He looked energetic. Even with the bad leg, he didn’t look like the deathly ill man lying in bed a few years ago. In contrast, Lily, a teenager, wore clothes washed white with age. Her back was deeply bent. She didn’t look young at all. Seeing me, Mr. Miller froze, then greeted me awkwardly. “Ms. Vance… you’re here.” The village chief shooed away the onlookers and ushered us inside. Lily stood by the door. Mr. Miller sat aside, puffing on a cigarette. The room was filled with smoke, making me nauseous. Checking my phone to confirm the police were on their way, I didn’t bother beating around the bush. I slammed a stack of documents onto the table. “Explain this. How did the student I sponsored turn from a girl in freshman year to a boy in sophomore year overnight?” Mr. Miller glanced at the contract and stammered. “Ms. Vance, I’m sorry. Our family is just too poor. Lily’s grades were bad, and we were afraid she wouldn’t get into college. That’s why we came up with the idea of letting Lucas take the scholarship.” “We’ll pay you back! Just give us some time. Once Lucas graduates and gets a job, we’ll pay you back.” “If that doesn’t work, I’ll sell the house and land to pay you back.” I ignored his plea for pity, my voice flat. “Mr. Miller, do you take me for a fool?” “The agreement was to sponsor Lily. Even if she didn’t get into college and the money went down the drain, I wouldn’t care.” “If you wanted Lucas to have a scholarship, you could have found a foundation for boys.” “You deceived me for two years. If Lucas hadn’t run to me, were you planning to keep hiding it?” The village chief stepped forward, grinning to reveal yellow teeth. “Look at this mess. You just wanted to sponsor a student out of the goodness of your heart, right? Does it matter if it’s a boy or a girl? They’re both students.” “Lily didn’t want to study anymore. She was the one who brought it up.” “She said she couldn’t do it, that the family needed a scholar, and she was willing to support her brother. Old Miller beat her and scolded her, but the kid just wouldn’t go back to school. We couldn’t do anything.” “She’s saved up quite a bit working these past two years. The money she owes you will be paid off soon.” With that, he shoved Lily forward, forcing her to explain. Lily’s voice was hoarse. “Yes, my grades were slipping too fast. I couldn’t keep up with my classmates, so I dropped out voluntarily.” I had seen Lily’s records. She had always been top of her class growing up. Even in high school, she was consistently above average. How could she plummet in sophomore year? I didn’t believe a girl who believed she had a gift for reading and wanted to change her destiny through books would quit for no reason. Looking at this exhausted child, I asked softly. “Were you bullied at school? Or did something happen?” The village chief stepped forward, trying to pull Lily back. “What could happen to a kid? She’s just dumb. Not smart enough.” Lily opened her mouth to speak but was shut down by the chief. Seeing that the chief was intentionally silencing her, my face darkened. “I’m asking Lily. Do you think you can answer for her?” The chief looked embarrassed and reluctantly let go.

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After high school graduation, I finally received my acceptance letter to the United States Military Academy at West Point. It was a dream come true. But just a few days into the semester, I was reported. By my best friend. He claimed my father was a drug addict and a dealer. I was pulled out of training by the administration for an investigation. The result? Not only was I cleared, but I was also guaranteed a spot in grad school. My best friend was stunned. Yes, my father was involved with drugs. But he was an undercover cop who died a hero. Chapter 1 When the acceptance letter arrived, my mom and I hugged and cried in front of the blank tombstone at the local veterans’ cemetery. We thought it was the beginning of a new chapter. I never imagined the nightmare that would start just days after I arrived on campus. The school received a formal complaint. It claimed my father was a junkie and a trafficker, and that I had no right to wear the uniform. The complaint demanded my expulsion and a public statement denouncing me. Simultaneously, a video detailing these accusations was posted online, sparking a firestorm on social media. I was at the shooting range when it all went down. I had no idea what was happening online. Suddenly, several administrative officers surrounded me. Under the gaze of the entire battalion, I was escorted away, utterly confused. In a massive conference room, the dean, several officers, and my tactical officer sat in a row, their faces grim. Their eyes scanned me like I was already guilty. I sat opposite them, barely daring to breathe. “Cadet Liang, the academy received a formal complaint regarding your background. are you aware of this?” I froze. My blood ran cold. “What? A complaint? Against me? For what?” Questions tumbled out of my mouth. I had been a model student my entire life. Being reported was foreign to me. The dean’s eyes bore into mine. “It claims your father was a drug addict and involved in trafficking. Is this true?” I was stunned. My father was a narcotics officer. His identity remained classified even after his death. It made sense they wouldn’t know. But before I could explain, I was cut off. “Don’t bother with excuses yet. We’ve notified your family. We’ll discuss this when everyone is present.” “Also, to the admissions department: How did this slip through? West Point only accepts candidates with impeccable backgrounds. If this is true and the media gets hold of it, who takes the fall?” The admissions officer looked baffled. “Sir, Cadet Liang’s file was vetted by the state board and verified by his local precinct. Procedurally, everything is clean.” My tactical officer frowned, his tone accusatory. “Son, how many people did you bribe to get in here? Do you understand the consequences if this proves true?” I knew the gravity of the situation, but my file was clean! “Sir, I didn’t hide anything! It’s complicated, I…” He raised a hand, silencing me. “Enough. Save it. We’ll know the truth when your family and the police arrive.” Sweat beaded on my forehead. I couldn’t just blurt out that my dad was an unsung hero. When he died, I wasn’t even allowed to attend his funeral for fear of cartel retaliation. Only after every member of that syndicate was behind bars could I finally kowtow at his grave. Chapter 2 Time ticked by agonizingly slowly. The conference room was dead silent. Finally, the door opened. Five men in police uniforms walked in. The one leading them had stars on his shoulders—a high-ranking official. Behind them came my mom. She was dressed in black, holding a framed photo of my father covered in a white cloth. I stood up instinctively, fists clenched, lips pressed into a thin line. I took a few deep breaths before calling out, “Mom—” She looked up. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts. My heart broke. I rushed over and hugged her and Dad’s photo. “Mom, why did you bring Dad?” She didn’t answer. She just stroked my hair gently and nodded. Then, in a steady voice, she announced, “I am Liam Liang’s mother. I brought his father today too. If you have questions, ask.” A young officer stepped forward. “This is Chief Marshall from the State Police.” The school leadership immediately handed the complaint letter to Chief Marshall. The dean started to speak, but my mom cut him off. “Wait. Since this complaint has caused such a public uproar, clearing my son’s name must be done publicly too.” Silence from the police and officials. Taking that as consent, the school’s official social media account started a livestream as per my mom’s request. By the time everything was set up, students had gathered outside the door, and over a hundred thousand viewers had flooded the stream. Then, two more people entered. A young officer, followed by… Evan Xu. Evan grew up in my house. He was an orphan, same age as me. My mom took him in out of pity. We ate together, slept in the same room. What I had, he had. I often felt he had it worse since he had no parents at all, while I at least had Mom. So I always gave him the best of everything. Getting into West Point was our shared dream. But he choked during the SATs and missed the cut. I thought he was brought in as family for the investigation. But the young officer’s words froze me in my tracks. “Chief, the whistleblower, Evan Xu, is here.” Chapter 3 My mom and I stared in shock. “Evan… how? Why? You know about Dad…” He kept a straight face, refusing to meet our eyes. He stood before the camera, his voice trembling with a strange excitement. “Because I know too much, I can’t let you continue this charade! West Point is sacred. I won’t let a criminal’s son tarnish it!” “If I let a drug dealer’s son slip through, how could I face the heroes who sacrifice everything for us?” Murmurs erupted outside the door. “Holy crap, how big is his backing to bypass the background check?” “You can’t hide forever. See? Caught in days.” “Liam Liang really screwed himself this time. And his mom bringing the drug dealer dad’s photo? Insane.” Rage boiled inside me. I pointed a trembling finger at Evan. “Evan Xu, you ungrateful wolf! My mom raised you for years! Did she feed a dog instead of a human?” Evan didn’t flinch. He stood taller, chin up. “Don’t try to guilt-trip me. I’ll pay back every cent I cost you once I start working. But! You can’t deny your dad was a dealer! You don’t deserve to be here!” My mom looked at the boy she had loved like a son, now stabbing us in the back. She gasped for air. “Evan,” she said, voice shaking. “I know you’re hurting because you didn’t get in. But you still have me! We support you retaking the exams. We saved money for your prep courses.” “You shouldn’t ruin Liam’s future just to vent your anger!” Evan scoffed, immediately distancing himself. “First, you aren’t my mom. You aren’t even my legal guardian. Since I found out your husband was a dealer, I cut ties with your family!” “Also, did you even file the adoption papers? Officer, I seriously suspect I was trafficked!” That accusation hit my mom like a physical blow. She swayed, nearly collapsing. She couldn’t understand how Evan had become a stranger overnight. Before this, we were brothers. He swore he’d treat my mom like his own. The livestream comments were exploding. “Righteous dude! Exposing his own family! This is exactly the kind of integrity West Point needs!” “If the school covers for Liam Liang, they’re failing every other student! Punish this fraud!” “Don’t worry, kid! If the Liang family cuts you off, the internet will crowdfund your tuition!” My mom clutched her chest, gasping. I helped her into a chair. Students outside were filming with their phones. “Look, she’s faking a faint. Guilty conscience.” “Imagine sitting in class next to a drug dealer’s son. Terrifying.” “Worse, imagine him graduating and infiltrating the military. A literal cancer in the system!” The malice was suffocating. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Shut up!” I roared. Silence fell for a second, then erupted louder than before. “A dealer’s son acting tough?” “Just wait! They should lock up your whole family!” I covered my mom’s ears and screamed back at them. “This is just Evan’s word! The police haven’t charged me! Who gave you the right to judge? This is cyberbullying!” “West Point doesn’t need students who jump to conclusions without facts!” They finally quieted down. Seeing the tide turn, Evan panicked. “Stop stalling! Do you dare tell everyone I’m lying? Do you dare say your dad was clean?” Seeing his smug, vicious face, my mom couldn’t hold back. She rushed forward and slapped him. Slap! “Evan Xu, from this day on, you are nothing to us!” Evan clutched his chest, feigning heartbreak. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I was going to cut ties anyway.” Chapter 4 The situation was spiraling. Chief Marshall cleared his throat loudly. He stepped forward and whipped the white cloth off my father’s photo. Gasps filled the room. The school officials stood up reflexively. Chief Marshall looked at the photo with deep respect for a few seconds, then called Evan forward. “Evan Xu, look closely. Is this man in the photo the person you reported? Liam’s father, Daniel Liang?” Evan glanced at it and nodded vigorously. “Yes, that’s him! Daniel Liang, the drug dealer.” He was so focused on the face, he ignored the uniform my father wore in the photo. And the badge on his chest. Chief Marshall stared at Evan sternly, then spoke with authority. “Evan Xu is correct! Daniel Liang was indeed involved in drug use, trafficking, and smuggling.” The students outside, who couldn’t see the photo, erupted. The livestream chat went nuclear. “BUT—!!!” I looked at Mom. She was caressing Dad’s face in the photo, eyes red. My heart felt like it was being stabbed. Chief Marshall raised a hand for silence. “This information was classified. But a martyr’s family should not be wrongly accused!” “Officer Daniel Liang was an undercover agent.” “His true identity was a highly decorated narcotics officer. Over a decade ago, during a major operation, he was tortured and killed by the cartel!” “To infiltrate the syndicate, Officer Liang risked everything. He provided critical intelligence that led to their takedown. Tragically…” Marshall choked up. He turned away to wipe his eyes. Dead silence. For ten full minutes, not a sound. Only my mother’s sobbing echoed in the room. “Danny… oh, Danny…” I turned away, clenching my fists until my nails dug into my palms. We were a widow and an orphan, bullied by the world without cause! If my father were alive, seeing us attacked like this would break his heart. He would never have let this happen! “Impossible! Daniel Liang was a junkie! How could he be an undercover cop?” Evan shook his head, refusing to believe it. “Did they pay you off? Yes, they must have bribed you!” “No! You’re just their protection racket!” Chief Marshall’s gaze sharpened, terrifying Evan into silence. “Son, watch your mouth. As the State Police Chief, I have lived a clean life. You want to report me? Go ahead. I welcome the investigation!” “But! Daniel Liang died for this country. I will not allow you to slander him for your own selfish gain!” Marshall walked over to my mom and saluted the photo. “Ma’am, I’m sorry you and your son had to suffer this. We failed to protect a hero’s family.” I rubbed Mom’s shoulder. She wiped her tears. “The country has taken good care of us. We are grateful. If my son hadn’t been slandered, if Danny hadn’t been insulted, I wouldn’t have troubled you to come here.” Marshall waved his hand dismissively, then took off his hat and covered his face, weeping. “Don’t say that. We were so focused on protecting his identity that we left you open to attacks like this. I am ashamed.” “From now on, if you need anything, come to me. Daniel Liang gave everything. His family will not be bullied!” “We cannot let our heroes bleed and their families cry!” The students outside, hearing this, turned beet red and hung their heads. The livestream comments flipped instantly. “Guys, not to be that person, but I knew Liam and his mom looked too decent. Evan looks like a weasel.” “Where are the people who were cursing Liam? Apologize now!” “Apologize! I live near the border. We are safe because of cops like Daniel Liang! I won’t stand for his kids being bullied!” Students started whispering and pointing at Evan. His face was gray. He screamed, jumping like a cornered rat. “You hypocrites! Why didn’t you say that earlier? Just because he says he’s a martyr means he is? I lived in that house for ten years! I know the truth!” Marshall barked a reprimand, then spoke gravely. “Narcotics officers are a special category of martyr. To protect their families from retaliation, they often have unmarked graves! You lived there for ten years—did you never notice that Liam and his mother never visited a grave on Memorial Day?” “Young man, you keep doubling down on your lies. What is your true motive?” Evan’s legs gave out. “Dean, ladies and gentlemen, Officer Liang’s file is at headquarters. If anyone has doubts, get a warrant and come check. But I will not tolerate slander against his family!” My mom and I teared up. It was an honor we couldn’t speak of. We endured years of side-eyes and gossip from neighbors. Mom composed herself and addressed the dean loudly. “Dean, my son’s identity is proven. I demand the school issue a statement restoring his reputation!” The dean looked ashamed. “I am unworthy to face Officer Liang. Please rest assured, I will handle this properly. Liam will be cleared. And we promise him a guaranteed spot in our graduate program. Is that acceptable?” Mom and I exchanged a smile. “Thank you, Dean. The school was just doing its due diligence. You didn’t know.” Suddenly, a voice shouted from the crowd. “Don’t let Evan Xu get away!” Everyone’s eyes locked onto Evan. He swayed, turning red from his neck to his ears. He looked around, seeing only hatred in everyone’s eyes. He stumbled back into a corner, swallowing hard. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know.” “I just heard some neighborhood aunties gossiping. I must have misheard.” I gritted my teeth. After all this, he claimed he misheard? I looked at Marshall. “Chief, do I have the right to sue him? Not just for the damage to me, but for desecrating my father’s memory.” Marshall nodded. “Absolutely! That is your right as a citizen!” Hearing “sue,” Evan broke out in a cold sweat. His face changed instantly. “Liam, please don’t sue me. I really didn’t mean it. Forgive me, I won’t do it again. I have to take the SATs again next year. If you sue me, my life is over.” I stared at him coldly. “You say you were impulsive? I say it was premeditated!” “You’re a selfish coward. You were jealous I got in and you didn’t. The law won’t protect you.” At this point, my heart was completely cold toward my former best friend. He lived with us for over a decade. He knew our character better than anyone. He waited until school started to report me, to maximize the damage. If he succeeded, I’d lose my spot and be attacked by the internet. I might have even ended my life. The young officer patted my shoulder. “Mr. Liang, if you wish to press charges, we can detain him right now.” Evan screamed. Seeing I wouldn’t budge, he turned to my mom. “Mom! Mom! Save me! Don’t let Liam sue me.” “I don’t want to go to jail. You raised me! You know I’m not bad! I’m just young and naive. Mom, say something!” My mom looked at him with dead eyes. “Evan, did you forget what you said? I’m not your mom. I’m not even your guardian. You cut ties with us.” Evan shook his head frantically, clinging to her arm. “No, no! I was angry! It wasn’t real! You’re the adult, don’t hold a grudge against a kid. I can’t have a criminal record! I won’t be able to get into West Point!” Murmurs of disgust rippled through the crowd. “He still wants to get in here? Shameless.” “With a mind like that, he’ll never get in.” Mom peeled his fingers off her arm, one by one. “It’s too late. Consider the last ten years the price of my own stupidity. You plotted to destroy my son. If I forgive you, I’m failing him.” Evan grabbed her leg as soon as she pushed him away. Mom finally snapped. “LET GO!” Her scream startled everyone, including me. My mom was known for her gentle nature. For her to shout like that meant Evan had truly broken her heart. Evan realized no one would speak for him. He collapsed on the floor, eyes vacant. Two officers hauled him up and dragged him out in front of everyone.

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Chapter 1 I’m a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon. To facilitate my emergency surgeries across the state, the government issued me a specialized vehicle with the license plate “1111.” It’s authorized for my use only. Whenever this car hits the road, the traffic control system clears the way, giving me green lights and a police escort from start to finish. Since receiving the car, I’ve kept it at my fiancé, Julian York’s, garage for maintenance. Until today. I received an urgent call: a high-ranking official with top-secret clearance needed an emergency heart transplant. I rushed to the York estate to pick up the car. Just as I was about to leave, a strange woman yanked open the back door and slid inside. “First, drop me off at the mall for my manicure,” she demanded, not even looking at me. “Then pick up the gelato Julian ordered for me. If it melts even a little, I’ll kill you!” “This is my car,” I said, assuming she had made a mistake, keeping my voice calm. “I have an emergency and need to get to the airport. Please get out immediately.” She scoffed. “Pfft! A designated driver trying to act like an owner? Open your dog eyes and look at the license plate!” “You’re in the wrong here,” the housekeeper chimed in, eyeing me with disdain. “Everyone in the city knows Mr. Julian loves taking Miss Sienna out in this car. No one dares to mess with it.” I froze. My fiancé dared to use this car to take her joyriding? This was… catastrophic. … Using this car without my permission was tantamount to misappropriating government property. That’s a minimum three-year sentence. Not to mention using it behind my back to chauffeur another woman. That just added insult to injury. If the York family had any sense, they’d make Julian apologize profusely. For the sake of our engagement, maybe I could pull some strings and get him a lenient sentence. However… I looked at the woman lounging in the backseat like royalty. This Miss Sienna, whoever she was, was beyond saving. She refused to budge, and I didn’t have the patience to argue. I looked away, started the engine, and prepared to head to the airport. Saving a life was the priority. I’d make Julian explain this mess to my face after the surgery. The engine roared to life. I gripped the steering wheel, ready to go. “Are you insane?!” She screamed, lunging from the back seat to grab the wheel. “You dare drive without my permission?!” The car swerved violently toward the wall! At the last second, I slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel back. We careened off the path and crashed into a flowerbed, the engine stalling. “Are you crazy??” I shouted, my heart pounding. “Who told you to touch anything!” She rolled her eyes. “Do it again, and I’ll chop your hands off! Bitch!” Ignoring her, I jumped out to inspect the dented hood. Thankfully, the engine seemed fine. A miracle in the chaos. Just as I was about to get back in, the York family bodyguards swarmed me, shoving me aside. Under the woman’s triumphant gaze, they hopped into the driver’s seat. “Offend Miss Sienna and think you can run?” they sneered. “We’ll skin you alive today!” I never expected the York family’s staff to obey her like trained dogs. “Who is she?” I asked the housekeeper, who was watching the drama unfold with a smirk. “You don’t know Miss Sienna?” She looked at me like I was a joke. “She’s the intern assistant the Young Master dotes on most! She’s only been at the company a month, and he’s already bringing her home every night. He even ordered everyone to call her the Mistress of the house. We don’t dare cross her. Who do you think you are?” Mistress of the house? I thought I misheard. Before I even married in, the York family already had a mistress? “Don’t you know Julian has a fiancée?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Pfft!” The housekeeper mocked. “The Young Master said ages ago that once that stupid woman marries in, she can get lost. He only recognizes Miss Sienna as the true mistress!” Sienna relaxed, looking at me smugly, deliberately flashing the diamond ring on her finger. I laughed in disbelief. The York family was truly shameless. If I had known Julian was this dirty, I wouldn’t have touched him with a ten-foot pole. I checked the time. Thirty minutes until the plane took off. If I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t make it. “I’ll remind you one last time,” I said seriously. “You cannot afford the consequences of delaying my work. If you get out of the car now, I might put in a good word for you later.” Sienna’s eyes widened. “A little driver whose yearly salary can’t even buy one of my shoes!” she mocked. “Even if I beat you to death, I can afford to pay for your cheap life!” I didn’t have time to argue. Since she wouldn’t give up the car, I decided to leave and hail a taxi. I’d coordinate everything else on the way, hoping to make it to the airport in thirty minutes. Just as I reached the gate, a brutal kick landed in my stomach. My phone flew out of my hand. Caught off guard, I was knocked to the ground. My insides felt like they were being crushed. A metallic taste rose in my throat, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sienna sashayed over and planted her stiletto heel on my face. “Trying to leave without apologizing?” Chapter 2 Pain paralyzed my body. Sienna aimed her sharp heel directly at my eye. If she pressed down, my eyeball would burst instantly. Julian’s bodyguards stood around her, baseball bats in hand, looking at me with malicious intent. I was no match for this many people. “I… I’m sorry, Miss Sienna…” I gasped, swallowing my pride to save my life. A life was at stake; I had to compromise. “I really have a patient to save, please let me go…” A flicker of surprise crossed Sienna’s face. She smirked, suddenly bending down to grab my hair and slamming my head against the pavement. “Still lying when you’re about to die?!” She shrieked, “Think it’s fun impersonating a doctor? Even if you were a real doctor, let alone a driver, I could kill you as easily as stepping on an ant!” I struggled to protect my head with my hands. Sienna stomped viciously on my fingers. I screamed in agony, trembling as I repeated, “I’m sorry.” As a surgeon, my hands are my life. If they were damaged, I might never perform delicate surgery again! “Scared now?” Sienna sneered. “Too late!” She pointed at my car. “You wanted to drive, didn’t you? I thought of something even more fun.” With a glance from Sienna, the bodyguards swarmed me, tying me up and tethering me to the rear bumper of the car. Realizing what she intended to do, I shook uncontrollably. “I’ll die!” The fear of death made me hyperventilate. “You can’t—” Slap! A stinging slap across my face. Then, a stack of crisp hundred-dollar bills was thrown at me. “Twenty grand to buy your life,” they laughed. “Miss Sienna once drove this car without a license and killed someone. She only paid ten grand. You should be grateful!” Before I could process their words, the engine roared. Lying on the scorching pavement, I was suddenly jerked forward. Sienna, behind the wheel, deliberately accelerated and swerved, cackling with glee as I was flung into a thorny rose bush. My exposed skin was shredded by thorns, blood instantly welling up in long streaks. I was only wearing thin casual clothes. If this continued, I would surely die! Suddenly, the car stopped. Sienna hopped out of the driver’s seat. “Tsk, tsk. I thought you’d pee your pants,” she said dramatically. “I’ve used this trick on five people. You’re the most boring!” I couldn’t retort. The bodyguards had already taped my mouth shut. Satisfied with my silence, Sienna hopped back in and gunned the engine. She deliberately drove onto a gravel path. Tiny rocks tore through my skin, embedding themselves deep into my flesh. My elbows and ankles were ground down to the bone. The excruciating pain blurred my consciousness. I wished my heart would just stop, so the torture would end. Just as I was about to black out from shock, Sienna slammed on the brakes. Chapter 3 “Julian! You—” She squealed excitedly, rushing forward. I struggled to lift my eyelids, wanting to demand an explanation from my fiancé. But the man stepping out of Julian’s car wasn’t him. It was his secretary, Vincent. Sienna immediately pouted. “I was so upset today I didn’t even get my nails done, and he sends you to placate me? I don’t care, he has to come soothe me himself!” “The boss has to stay with the Old Master for his surgery,” Vincent explained. “So what! The doctor I hired is a foreign expert, nothing will go wrong!” Sienna stomped her foot. “He won’t even come to keep me company…” Vincent frowned. When his eyes met mine, his body stiffened. He rushed to my side, shock filling his eyes as he took in my bloodied, battered state. “The boss ordered me to take her to the hospital immediately.” He reached out to untie the ropes. Dying, I only felt the irony. Most likely, something went wrong with the Old Master’s heart surgery, and Julian wanted me back. That surgery was extremely risky. No one but me could pull it off. “Her?” Sienna stared at me in disbelief, eyes burning with jealousy. “No wonder you dared to enter the York house! You used being a designated driver as an excuse to provoke me!” She screamed, “Speak! You dared to seduce Julian behind my back! You slut!” She slapped Vincent’s hand away from the ropes. “Think you can climb the ladder?” She mocked, “I’ve seen plenty of women like you! Julian just plays around. Once he’s bored, he hands them over to me to deal with.” “Even if I torture you to death, he’ll only praise me for a job well done!” Consumed by jealousy, Sienna ran back to the driver’s seat like a madwoman. The engine roared to life. She floored the gas pedal! Vincent, who had been trying to save me, was left in the dust. In an instant, I felt the skin on my back being ripped off along with my clothes. My wrists were ground raw, bone visible. “AHHH!!!!!” Sienna suddenly screamed. Crash! The car stopped. Vincent had rammed his car into hers to force her to stop. “Enough!” His chest heaved. “Mr. York said to bring her!” “Doesn’t he love me anymore?” Sienna wailed. “He’d rather be seduced by this trashy mistress than comfort me…” While she threw a tantrum, I seized the chance. Summoning the last of my strength, I broke free from the frayed ropes. I lunged at Vincent and snatched his phone. My hands were ground to a pulp. I would never hold a scalpel again. The mission to save the official was impossible now. Bleeding out, I held on to my last breath. Enduring agonizing pain, I used fingers with exposed bone to type a text to the leadership in D.C.: “Student incompetent. Failed the country’s trust. Only death can atone.” Chapter 4 “What garbage are you sending? Delete it!” Sienna’s shrill voice pierced my ears. I had lost too much blood. Darkness swallowed me, and I collapsed. I didn’t know how much time passed before I hazily opened my eyes. I tried to breathe, but only coughed up blood. “Where is Hazel?” The blurry figure in front of me sharpened. I finally recognized him. Julian. He frowned, radiating hostility, looking like he came to settle a score. “Asking for her as soon as you get here? What’s so good about her?” Sienna whined, putting on a baby voice. “If you like her so much, go live with her! I promise I’ll leave quietly.” “Don’t be silly,” Julian’s voice softened, full of indulgence. Favored, Sienna smiled even wider. She took Julian’s hand and led him to me. Seeing me, the man’s eyes widened. His gaze locked onto my face, confirming it was indeed Hazel. His breathing grew rapid, chest heaving. But in the end, he said nothing. He couldn’t even bring himself to scold Sienna. “She bullied me on purpose today! She scared me to death!” Sienna showed zero remorse. “I just gave her a little lesson. You’re not mad, are you?” “You did all this?” Julian frowned, disbelief in his eyes. “Yeah.” Sienna nodded innocently, eyes clear as a child with a new toy. “When I removed the uteruses of those blind women who pestered you before, you didn’t say anything. She just has a few scratches, and now you’re distressed?” “You care about a little driver? I’m jealous!” Hearing Sienna casually admit to forced hysterectomies, even though I was prepared, shock still hit me. She and Julian had hurt so many innocent people during their time together. All because the York family enabled her. And the irony? The York family’s power came entirely from me. If that was the case, I didn’t want this marriage. Julian bent down, suddenly grabbing my mangled shoulder. I screamed involuntarily. “There’s a problem with Grandpa’s surgery!” He gritted his teeth. “Come back with me immediately!” If I had the strength, I would have laughed. But I didn’t even have the energy to smile. I could only twitch the corner of my mouth. “I… am a liar…” “I promised you… I wouldn’t touch the Old Master…” Old Master York’s heart transplant seemed simple, but the risks were infinite. Only I had the ability to handle it. But my hands had been destroyed by Sienna. Julian’s eyes were bloodshot, looking like he wanted to kill me right there. “I’m warning you, if you still want to marry me, you have to save Grandpa! You owe me this!” “Me?” I lifted my arms, displaying my hands before his eyes. The abraded wrist bones shone starkly in the sunlight. Not one of my ten fingers was intact. Even a slight movement sent drilling pain through my body. “What makes you think…” I gritted my teeth, “these hands… can perform a heart transplant?” Julian’s face went pale instantly. He finally noticed my hands were mutilated beyond recognition. Old Master York’s last hope had been destroyed by the girl he doted on! “Impossible—” He took a deep breath, eyes red. “You must have a way!” Suddenly, an urgent ringtone interrupted him. The voice on the other end was crystal clear: “The Old Master… he’s gone!”

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