In my previous life, I was envied by my infertile neighbor because I was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. She poisoned me with pesticide in the braised pork, killing me and my unborn children. As I lay dying, I saw her viciously kicking my pregnant belly, laughing maniacally: “Ha! I’ll show you what happens when you brag all day long!” “You think you’re so great because you’re pregnant with twins? I’ll make sure you never give birth!” When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I was first diagnosed as pregnant. In the elevator, my husband Mike was carefully supporting me: “You need to be extra careful now in your condition.” As I turned around, I saw Sarah standing behind me, opening a delivery box containing a bottle of pesticide. At that moment, she was looking at me with a sinister gaze. 0 My heart raced, and I quickly grabbed my husband Mike’s arm, sobbing: “Honey, we’ve been married for five years and still don’t have a child. Will you leave me?” Mike looked at me in confusion and quickly responded: “What are you talking about? How could I ever leave you? Besides, aren’t we…” I hurriedly covered his mouth, pretending to be embarrassed: “Enough, let’s not air our dirty laundry in public. We’ll talk about this at home!” Sarah’s mother-in-law, who was standing nearby, suddenly sneered: “Another hen that can’t lay eggs!” “Who knows what sins you’ve committed to be cursed with no children!” She then shot a contemptuous glance at Sarah, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust. Sarah shifted her gaze from me, lowering her eyes as if holding back something. I noticed that the delivery box in her hand was almost crushed from her grip. My husband Mike struggled to defend me: “How dare you speak like that! My wife is not… mmph…” Afraid that Mike would let something slip, I covered his mouth tightly again, desperately trying to signal him with my eyes. But he couldn’t understand what I meant. At this moment, Sarah’s gaze returned to us, and I broke out in a cold sweat. Just then, the elevator door opened: “17th floor!” I let out a long sigh of relief and pulled Mike, fleeing back to our apartment as fast as we could. As soon as the door closed, Mike started scolding me: “Why did you say such things about yourself? The doctor clearly said you’re pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. Why did you tell everyone you can’t have children?” He grew angrier as he continued: “And that old woman was bullying you. Why didn’t you let me talk back? I can’t swallow this!” I smiled and handed him a glass of water, hoping to calm him down. He quickly stood up to take it, his tone becoming proud: “From now on, you don’t need to do any housework. Why are you bringing me water? Can’t I get it myself?” I lay down on the sofa, snuggling into his arms and pouting: “Honey, do you know the saying ‘Loose lips sink ships’? We can’t tell anyone about this pregnancy until it’s stable, not even our parents. What if the news scares our little babies away?” Mike dismissed my concerns: “Nonsense! I thought it was something serious. You’re just being superstitious! If you won’t let me tell anyone, I’ll burst! I even bought a lot of candy to share with the neighbors!” Hearing this, I immediately shouted: “No way!” I remembered that in my previous life, as soon as I was diagnosed as pregnant, Mike had thrown a big celebration and invited the whole building for candy. He couldn’t wait to announce to the world that I was pregnant with twins, and he immediately invited his parents to come and take care of me. It was from that time on that Sarah started staring at my belly all the time. But back then, I was too happy to notice Sarah’s envious looks and the occasional bruises that appeared on her body. I still remember one time when she saw Mike kneeling down to tie my shoelaces outside. She came over and said with a sinister tone: “Your husband is so good to you? Well, of course, since you can bear children!” At the time, I felt uncomfortable hearing this but didn’t take it to heart. Little did I know that from that moment on, Sarah began to resent me. She hated our harmonious marriage and the fact that I could have children. The candy we kindly gave to their family and my gradually swelling belly all became mockery in her eyes. But what ultimately drove her to murder was another incident. At that time, I had just started showing, and someone in the community had posted big-character posters everywhere. They specifically named Sarah as a “hen that can’t lay eggs.” Although the property management sent people to clean it up the next day, the news had already spread throughout the community. Out of kindness, I made a box of cupcakes and brought them to Sarah to comfort her. Who knew that when I opened the door, I would see Sarah covered in blood, her husband and mother-in-law were beating her. I shouted: “You can’t hit her! If you continue, I’ll call the police!” But Sarah coldly pushed me out with a blank face: “Mind your own business!” She slammed the door shut. At the time, I only thought this person was ungrateful. I was trying to help her, and she treated me like this. I decided never to meddle in others’ affairs again. Who knew that in the afternoon, she would bring over a plate of braised pork, saying it was to thank me. Actually, I didn’t want to eat such greasy food while pregnant, but Sarah stared at me intently. Out of politeness, I ate a piece, and soon I felt a burning sensation in my mouth and throat, and I had difficulty breathing… It wasn’t until I was dying that I realized my kindness had become showing off and gloating in her eyes. She actually thought I deliberately went to see her being humiliated and killed me in a fit of rage. Thinking of this, I looked at Mike seriously: “Let’s sell this apartment!” 0

Hearing my words, Mike immediately jumped up from the sofa: “The housing market has dropped 30% in the past two years, and you want to sell now?” “If we sell now, we’ll even lose money on the interest!” I covered my face and remained silent for a while before saying tearfully: “Whether you believe it or not, I had a dream that if we continue living here, something will happen to me and the baby. I’m on edge every day and can’t even sleep well.” “Besides, I suggested selling the apartment at a higher price two years ago, saying it would definitely drop in value. You didn’t believe me, and now look, it’s really dropped by 300,000. If we sell now and buy back in two years, we might even make some profit!” Hearing my words, Mike fell silent, lost in thought. I lowered my gaze and tugged at his shirt: “I’m pregnant with twins. This apartment is only about 750 square feet, which isn’t enough for four people. Since everything has dropped in price, why don’t we sell now, keep the money, and buy a bigger place in two years? Isn’t that good?” Mike, who had been adamantly against it before, softened when he saw me like this: “If you really want to move, that’s fine, but it’s not easy to sell a house right now. Even if we want to sell, it won’t happen overnight.” He stroked my head and sighed deeply: “You’re just pregnant and prone to overthinking. But you’re right, since heaven has blessed us with two children, I, as a father, should work hard to get you all a bigger house!” “I’ll list the apartment with a real estate agency tomorrow.” That night, Mike held me as he fell into a deep sleep, but I lay awake all night. The past played out before me like a movie, scene by scene, as I pondered how to break this deadlock. After all, I was in the light and she was in the dark. I didn’t know when she would strike to harm me. Moreover, houses weren’t selling well now, so even if I wanted to sell, we couldn’t move out immediately. I still had to be her neighbor for a while. If we were to rent, it would increase our monthly expenses by at least two or three thousand. Adding that to the mortgage, car loan, property management, and utilities, it would come to over ten thousand a month, leaving Mike and me with almost nothing left. We would need a large sum of money for the birth of the children in the future. It was already beyond my expectations that Mike agreed to sell the house. It would be even harder to convince him that we should rent a place when we already own a home, spending thousands more each month. If I told him the truth about my rebirth, he would certainly worry and send me to see a doctor. He never believed in supernatural things. I sighed deeply. Now, the only option was to find a way to sell the house at a discount before I started showing, without arousing Sarah’s suspicion. Or to find the real culprit who framed Sarah. Suddenly, I remembered the Buddha statue I had seen in Sarah’s home in my previous life. As I thought about it, a rough plan began to form in my mind. The next day, I took a day off and invited a Taoist priest from the city to perform a ritual at our home. To attract Sarah’s attention, I deliberately led the priest around the community, pretending to be checking the feng shui. Sure enough, we ran into Sarah. She looked at me in surprise, her voice tinged with mockery when she spoke: “I thought you college graduates didn’t believe in these things. What’s on your mind, getting a Taoist priest to perform rituals?” Then she looked at me eagerly: “Is there some trouble at home?” She looked as if she couldn’t wait for me to have some misfortune. Seeing that she had taken the bait, I pretended to be sad and let a tear fall: “I have no choice. My mother-in-law said if I don’t get pregnant this year, she’ll make Mike divorce me.” “Yesterday at the hospital, the doctor said my uterus is small and it’s difficult for me to conceive. They didn’t even prescribe any medication. I can only try other methods now.” Hearing this, her expression became kinder, and she pulled me aside, not letting me leave. “I saw your husband being so nice to you the other day. Doesn’t he stand up for you when your mother-in-law treats you like this?” I scoffed, pretending to be disheartened: “That’s all just for show in front of others. He’s a mama’s boy, always listening to his mother.” I rolled up my sleeve, revealing the bruise from the pregnancy check-up: “To be honest, I’ve had so many injections and tests over the years trying to get pregnant. I’ve had enough!” “Once, I even had a fight with my husband. I said why doesn’t he get checked, maybe he has a problem too. He got so angry he hit me!” Hearing this, Sarah’s eyes widened: “Your husband hits you too?” I lowered my voice: “Don’t tell anyone else, it’s embarrassing!” “I need to go back home with the priest to perform the ritual now. We’ll chat another time!” I turned to leave, a smile playing on my lips. The best way to make someone not envy you is to show weakness, to make them think you’re no better off than they are, or even worse. It’s best if they think they have a little secret about you; that way, they’ll feel you’re safe. 0

After sending the Taoist priest away, I deliberately brought a plate of cupcakes to Sarah. At this time, her husband hadn’t come home from work yet, so I hopefully wouldn’t run into a domestic violence situation like last time. She opened the door and looked at me with delight, while her mother-in-law rolled her eyes at me: “How unlucky, another hen that can’t lay eggs.” “You really can only make friends with this kind of trash!” Sarah laughed awkwardly, but I keenly noticed the hatred in her eyes. I quickly handed the cupcakes to Sarah: “I came to tell you that we might be moving out soon. The Taoist master I invited today said our apartment isn’t good for having children, and told us to move somewhere else.” “We’ve already listed the house. In the next few days, people will be coming to view it. I hope we won’t disturb you too much.” Hearing this, Sarah’s mother-in-law rolled her eyes at me again, throwing some melon seed shells at me: “What nonsense! You can’t have children, so you blame the sky, the earth, and now even the house. How ridiculous!” “If you were my daughter-in-law, I would have told my son to divorce you long ago!” Hearing this, I seemed to remember something. Right! In my previous life, even though Sarah’s mother-in-law despised her for not being able to have children and her husband often beat her, I never heard anything about divorce. When a woman is infertile, but the man doesn’t want a divorce, there’s only one reason: the source of infertility is with the man. I tentatively asked: “Why don’t you try my method? The Taoist master also said my husband needs to go to the hospital for a check-up. From his birth chart, his children’s palace isn’t good, naturally he’ll have few offspring…” Before I could finish, Sarah’s mother-in-law used a broom to sweep me out the door, slamming it shut: “This is absolutely ridiculous! How dare you, a mere woman, speak ill of a grown man!” Seeing her reaction, I had a guess in my mind. It must be Sarah’s husband who is infertile. The mother and son knew this but didn’t want to bear the reputation, so they said it was Sarah’s problem and naturally abused her. As for the big-character posters in the community, were they posted by someone else or was it a self-directed show by the mother and son? Thinking of this, I immediately ordered some mini cameras and waited for nightfall to install them discreetly on the door plate when no one was paying attention. They were very inconspicuous, almost impossible to notice. The cameras were positioned to clearly view the movements at Sarah’s door. The next day, I went to work as usual. When I returned home, I found a talisman pasted on my door. The talisman was covered in red blood spots, looking very ominous. I was terrified and quickly called Mike. When Mike saw it, he was furious and was about to tear it off. Remembering the online rumors about talismans, I quickly stopped him, afraid it might bring bad luck. I took a photo and sent it to the Taoist master. The master’s reply made my blood run cold: “This is an exorcism talisman. Someone is treating you as an evil spirit and trying to suppress you! Light three incense sticks, explain the situation clearly, and then tear it off. That should be fine.” Exorcism? My mind immediately flashed to the image of Sarah’s mother-in-law chasing me away with a broom. Checking the video recorded by the camera, to my surprise, it was Sarah who had pasted the talisman on our door. I had already tried so hard to hide myself and even tried to be nice to her. Why would she do this to me? An idea popped into my head. Could it be that she thought her infertility was caused by the feng shui of our house? My heart sank. If she believed I was the source of her misfortune, she might try to harm me again. 0

Just then, a disgusting scene appeared on the screen. Not long after Sarah left, her husband came out of their apartment. A woman, whose appearance clearly suggested an illegal profession, was tugging at the belt of his beer belly as they headed towards the emergency exit. Indescribable sounds could be heard. Ten minutes later, the woman’s phone rang with a PayPal notification of $50 received. Mike saw this and quickly covered my eyes: “Why are you watching such filthy things? It’ll dirty your eyes. That’s not good!” I looked at these scenes thoughtfully, stopping Mike: “Don’t tear off the talisman behind. If we have a clear conscience, we shouldn’t fear these things. Don’t worry about this, I know how to deal with her.” The next day, I invited the Taoist priest to our home again to perform a ritual. I deliberately left our door open, hoping to attract Sarah’s attention. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before I saw a figure lingering in the corridor, sneaking around. I pretended not to see her and kept kowtowing with the Taoist priest. At this moment, she couldn’t resist coming in: “Hey, what are you doing?” I made a mysterious “shh” sound: “The Taoist master said an evil spirit entered our house yesterday, but thankfully, a kind person gave us a talisman that suppressed it. Today, he’s going to exorcise the spirit. It will make selling our house much smoother.” Hearing my words, her eyes, which had been lowered due to guilt, suddenly lit up. “Really? I was going to warn you yesterday. I didn’t expect the person who pasted the talisman was doing a good deed?” I nodded vigorously, and she seemed to completely relax. Just then, the Taoist priest turned and saw her, his face changing dramatically: “Young lady, you… you…” She saw the priest’s expression and was startled: “What’s wrong with me?” The priest composed himself: “I see that your fortune is deep. It’s no harm to reveal a bit. Your children’s palace has been invaded. There might be evil spirits or demons harming your offspring. You need to bathe in moonlight every day after midnight to enhance your children’s fortune. Remember, you must not let anyone see you when you go out!” Sarah’s face turned pale: “You mean I don’t have children because of evil spirits? And bathing in moonlight can help? I don’t need to ask you to perform a ritual?” The priest waved his peach wood sword: “Don’t worry! For mere small ghosts, the method I taught you is enough. Why spend money? This old Taoist doesn’t work for money, I believe in the great Dao of our ancestors!” Hearing this, Sarah’s eyes brightened, and she kept bowing and thanking him. I curved my lips slightly. I had observed for several days that Sarah’s husband would find a prostitute at 11:50 PM on odd-numbered days, and today was an odd-numbered day. I was waiting to see a good show. After Sarah left, I gave the Taoist priest an extra hundred dollars as a reward for his performance. That night at midnight, I forced myself to stay awake despite feeling sleepy. Sure enough, I witnessed a good show. Sarah’s husband had just taken that prostitute to the emergency exit. Less than ten minutes later, Sarah also came out, and the two groups ran into each other. Sarah rushed over and started pulling the prostitute’s hair violently. The prostitute didn’t back down either, grabbing Sarah’s waist and headbutting her, cursing all the while: “You yellow-faced hag can’t take care of your own man, why are you hitting me?” “Your man said you’re like a dead fish in bed. If he wasn’t shooting blanks, he wouldn’t want you! If I were you, I’d have divorced him eight hundred times already. Being a whore is better than being you!” Hearing this, Sarah was stunned: “You bitch, who says Jack can’t have children? How dare you say that about my man? I’ll tear your mouth apart!” The fox-like woman sneered: “Your man is a eunuch, and you’ve been sleeping with him for so long without knowing? Why else would he pay me? He’s so short, soft, and has no volume. Only you don’t mind!” Sarah was dumbfounded. She burst into tears and started throwing her shoes at Jack.

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For years, our relationship was a secret. Finn Foster was a dazzling superstar, while I was his invisible little assistant. I accompanied him from obscurity to nationwide fame, and now he was embarking on a global tour. I arrived in the foreign country a day early to arrange everything for him. But upon landing, he received news of an earthquake. Fearing I might take the last available seat, Finn left without a word. He stole the car I had reserved and successfully rebooked a flight to escape, all without saying a single word. As the earthquake approached, I desperately messaged Finn, demanding to know why he had cut off my escape route. But my messages sank like stones in the sea. Taken advantage of by traffickers in the chaos, they stuffed me into a dumpster where I suffocated to death, harvesting all my useful organs. Just before I died, the screen of a nearby phone lit up with the latest message. “I’m home safe. Hope you’re okay.” 0 I died. On Finn Foster’s 27th birthday. A long, agonizing pain enveloped me, every minute and second before death was torture. An unfamiliar street corner in a foreign land. A dark, cramped dumpster. Rotting, foul-smelling garbage. And my corpse. My body had been hollowed out. Hollowed out in the physical sense. They had dug out my kidneys, liver, corneas… Yet left behind a gray heart. I thought, if a heart could truly stop beating from heartbreak, My time of death would have been two and a half hours earlier. The moment Finn abandoned me alone at the epicenter and left by himself. He really did keep that promise. “Zoe Lin, after I turn 27.” “I won’t care whether you live or die.” I withdrew my thoughts and floated towards the sky. After the earthquake, the world looked devastated. People came and went, not noticing this stinking dumpster. They would even cover their noses and walk away with frowns. This was fine too, no one would see me. That sight would scare them. Not far away were some friendly Asian faces, I floated towards them. Several girls huddled together in a corner, holding handfuls of photo cards. The white lightsticks in their hands emitted a dim glow, like scattered stars. They were Finn’s fans. At this moment, the girls’ faces were streaked with tears, their beautiful makeup ruined. I saw a wandering soul floating above them, a woman in her 40s. She hovered anxiously around their heads. She looked at one of the girls, muttering incessantly. “Sweetie, why didn’t you listen to mommy?” My heart ached a little. “Finn, you’ve let everyone down.” 0

At 3 AM, my body was discovered. The finder was a middle-aged foreign woman. She seemed too hungry and couldn’t help but come to the dumpster to find food. I’m really sorry, there’s no food here, and I scared her. She collapsed on the filthy ground and screamed. The dumpster lid was opened, the phone screen still lit. The screen was frozen on the chat with Finn. “You stole the car I reserved?” “Why?” “You knew about the earthquake beforehand, didn’t you?” “Finn, if you do this, I’ll die.” There was a two-hour blank in between, the timeline of my dried tears. In the last second before my heart stopped, I saw his reply. “I’m home safe. Hope you’re okay.” Seeing that cold message again still hurts. Oh, that’s right. I don’t have a heart anymore. The middle-aged woman shakily got up and took my phone. Then, she disappeared into the alley. I felt a bit sad, but comforted myself. If my phone could help her, that’s not bad. Only, Finn would never be able to contact me again. I think, if he knew, I wonder how happy he’d be. I stared blankly at my own corpse in the dumpster. If Finn doesn’t come, no one will claim me. 0

I floated towards home. In the suburban villa, Finn was writing a song on the couch. His expression was indifferent. Just like the photo on the TV cabinet. That was our only photo together. He wrote songs, washed up, and went to bed as usual. Until the next day, he still had no intention of contacting me. Seeing no breakfast in the kitchen. He frowned. I always used to get up early to make porridge for him. He irritably ruffled his hair, opened a food delivery app, glanced at it for a few seconds, then casually tossed his phone aside. There was a noise at the entrance, it was Sophia Baker, a popular young actress. She was also Finn’s dream girl. “Finn, I made you some porridge.” Sophia wore a pure white dress, her smile innocent and lovely. Finn finally showed a rare smile. “Isn’t Zoe here?” “Is she throwing another tantrum and not coming back?” Hearing this, Finn’s expression darkened. “Why mention her?” “It’d be better if she died out there.” My nose stung. Even though I was dead. Hearing these words, I still wanted to cry. “Finn, your wish came true.” “I really did die out there.”

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After her ex-boyfriend passed away, my wife became obsessed with training an AI. She even spent all of our daughter’s treatment money to buy a 30-year subscription to ChatGPT. She typed tearfully into the chat box: “Now I need you to play the role of my deceased love, Ryan Miller.” “You’re cold to others, but clingy like a puppy to me.” “You love to call me ‘Lily’ in a gentle voice, while being jealous of my husband Jack Thompson, trying to steal me away from him.” I watched the endless stream of payment notifications popping up, begging her to turn back from this dangerous obsession. But she was utterly disappointed in me. “Jack Thompson, can’t you understand? Ryan is dead, why are you still competing with him!” “Instead of wasting time, why don’t you go deliver more food to save your daughter?” But she didn’t know that not only was our daughter dying, but so was I. 0 Emma curled up on the hospital bed, crying in pain. “Daddy, it hurts so much. Emma is afraid she won’t make it until Mommy comes…” The six-year-old child, tortured by illness, had become so thin and weak that you could see her ribs moving as she breathed. My heart ached as I held her burning little hand to comfort her. “Sweetie, how could that be? The doctor said you’ll recover very soon.” “Mommy’s on her way, she said she’ll be here in a bit.” Just as I was about to call my wife to hurry her up, a familiar sobbing voice came from outside the door. Filled with intense sorrow. “Ryan, it’s been 380 days since I last saw you.” “Without you, I’m so miserable…” “If you were still alive, you wouldn’t let me suffer like this, would you?” Through the glass of the hospital room, I could see Lily leaning against the corridor bench, her face pale in the blue light of her phone screen. Her fingers were flying across the screen. Sometimes she cried in sorrow, sometimes she smiled like a girl in love. “Ryan, since you left, I’ve been wearing the citrus perfume you loved so much.” She mumbled into the voice input, her eyes filled with a long-lost coquettishness. “Jack always says this scent is too strong. He just doesn’t understand what class is…” My heart sank. I rushed out and snatched her phone away in an instant. In the chat interface, covered with pink heart bubbles, an AI named Ryan Miller was sending flirtatious messages. [Lily baby, your breath is my special blend perfume.] [Promise me you won’t let Jack Thompson get close to you, okay? Otherwise, I’ll have to kiss you in front of him!] Scrolling up, I found dense records of her training the AI, dating back more than a year! [You are my beloved Ryan Miller.] [We are soulmates, promised to grow old together.] [If you can’t be with me, my life will be meaningless.] … The more I scrolled, the paler my face became, my heart aching uncontrollably. Ryan Miller was her first love who passed away a year ago. Since then, Lily had been absent-minded, staring at her phone all day. I knew she had loved him for many years and only married me because she was of age and obeying her parents. But I never expected her to go so far as to use AI to reminisce about a dead man! I was deeply hurt: “Lily, what are you doing? Ryan has been dead for over a year.” Seeing me appear, her face showed a moment of unease. “You don’t understand, Ryan and I are soulmates.” “This is a special way to commemorate him.” Ryan Miller was an artist, and my wife always praised him for his taste and high EQ in front of me. Unlike me, an ordinary engineer with a good personality but awkward with words. Even after years of marriage, I still couldn’t come up with a romantic line. She said they were soulmates. And I was just her partner, a compromise to reality. Hearts are made of flesh; knowing this reality, how could I not be heartbroken? I swallowed my bitterness and said in an almost pleading tone. “Honey, Emma’s fever has reached 104°F, and she’s waiting for you in the hospital room.” “Please go see her.” Her expression tightened: “She was fine yesterday, how did it get so high today?” I was about to explain that her condition had worsened, but her eyes turned strange. She immediately started berating me. “Jack Thompson, can’t you understand? Ryan is dead, why are you still competing with him?” “You even drag our daughter into this, making up such a low-class excuse to get me to see you.” “If anything happens to Emma, it’s because you cursed her!” After saying this, she ignored me and snatched her phone back. “Give Ryan back to me quick!” “I haven’t replied to his message yet, I can’t keep him waiting.” 0

Our daughter was critically ill, her life hanging by a thread, yet all she cared about was her dear Ryan. In that moment, I clenched my fists, tears welling up in my eyes. “Lily, your daughter’s fever has reached 104°F, she’s been hoping you’d come see her, yet you’re sitting here playing with your phone?” To my surprise, she looked completely indifferent. “It’s just a fever, take some medicine and she’ll be fine! Why make such a fuss?” “I don’t see you making such a big deal when I have a fever.” Making a fuss? Last month when she had a fever of 102°F, I came home late from work and spent hours making porridge for her. But she complained it was too bland and wouldn’t eat it, saying the porcelain bowl was too tacky, unlike the exquisite ones Ryan had given her. In contrast, when Ryan was alive. He once gave her free seaweed soup from the cafeteria, and she was deeply touched, saying it tasted like a three-Michelin-star dish. A wave of bitterness washed over me. “Lily, Emma has leukemia, and now her white blood cell count has dropped dramatically.” “You should know that even a small illness could be fatal for her!” Red-eyed, I showed her the payment slip on my phone. “I only have $15,000, and we still need another $5,000.” “If we can do this surgery, Emma’s chances of survival will greatly increase.” But Lily kept typing on her phone, not even looking at me. “What leukemia? It’s just a small cold.” “Hospitals are all scams, why would she need surgery? Be careful not to get ripped off.” “Rather than wasting so much money on them, why not spend it on something meaningful?” She looked up, a gentle smile appearing on her face. “Honey, to accumulate good karma for you and Emma, I just subscribed to ChatGPT for Ryan.” “This is like extending his life.” “Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, heaven will bless you in the future!” I was stunned, not yet reacting when I felt my phone vibrating frantically in my pocket. It was a new bank card transaction message. “Your ChatGPT membership subscription has been credited, successfully unlocking 30 years.” “Bank card ending in 8863 deducted $150,000, balance $0.82.” In an instant, shock mixed with anger burst through my skull. “You used Emma’s life-saving money?” I felt cold all over, looking at her in disbelief: “Lily! You’ve gone mad! $150,000!” “The medical fees I worked so hard to save! You spent it all on AI?” “How could you spend it all? What about Emma?” Faced with my questioning, she frowned, her beautiful face full of displeasure. “You have the nerve to blame me?” She raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. “Jack Thompson, who told you to be so useless.” “You only saved $15,000 in a year, and you’re breaking down over me spending a little money?” “Instead of wasting time, why don’t you go deliver more food to save your daughter.” I suddenly felt utterly disappointed. In seven years of marriage, Lily had never looked for a job. Daily living expenses, mortgage, and car payments were all my responsibility, leaving basically no savings from my monthly salary. Besides my main job, I would deliver food after work to supplement our household income. All the burdens of life were on my shoulders, yet in Lily’s words, I had become a useless man. Suddenly, I felt that all these years of effort, and the so-called wife and daughter who kept me going through wind and rain, were just a joke. Looking at her, my lips moved. But in the end, I said nothing. Lily, loving you has truly exhausted me. 0

As we stood there in a stalemate, her phone dinged. ChatGPT was sending a new message. “Dear Lily, why aren’t you responding? Did you go find that bastard Jack Thompson?” “Shall we try some roleplay tonight~” “You on top, me on bottom~” I watched as a smile spread across her face, and she typed back: [Don’t be naughty, Jack is still next to me…] I clenched my fists, unable to describe the anger in my heart. But now, the most important thing was Emma’s surgery. Her rapidly deteriorating condition didn’t allow me to waste time arguing with Lily. I said nothing more, turning to contact friends to raise money. Fortunately, I had good relationships, and when they heard I was in trouble, everyone dug into their own pockets to help. This moved me deeply, but also felt ridiculous. In a critical moment, it was my friends who helped me. While my wife, my life partner, turned a deaf ear to it all. Tears blurred my vision. I raised money while running food deliveries day and night in wind and rain. Even at three or four in the morning, I wouldn’t rest. Sometimes when I had too many orders and didn’t notice a restaurant’s mistake, customers would curse at me, pointing at my name. “Are you blind? This isn’t my order.” “You delivery guys are so stupid.” After a few days, I finally raised $20,000. “Emma, Daddy will come to the hospital to see you soon.” That evening, I sat outside a takeout restaurant, taking advantage of a quiet moment to video call my daughter. On the screen, Emma’s small face looked extremely weak, like a withering flower. She was only six years old, at the most innocent age. Yet she didn’t cry or make a fuss, understanding things in a way that broke my heart. “Daddy, I miss you so much.” She forced a smile at the camera. Choking up, I said: “Emma, we can do the surgery soon.” “After the surgery, when you’re better, Daddy will take you to the beach to collect seashells.” But Emma shook her head, solemnly telling me. “Daddy, I only have one wish.” “I want you to take me home, I miss Mommy so much.” Seeing her so understanding, I finally couldn’t hold back my tears. Gently stroking my daughter’s face on the screen. “Okay, Daddy promises you.”

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As my wife’s due date approached, my mother-in-law, Linda, came to stay with us to help during the postpartum recovery period. In less than a week, our newly bought toiletries were almost gone. Two lunch boxes disappeared, and twelve packs of tissues vanished. Even the new underwear I bought for my wife went missing! Watching our home gradually being emptied, I felt exhausted. “Honey, did you know your mom had this habit?” I asked my wife, Sophia. “Honey, where did you put the toothbrushes that were in the organizer? I can’t find them anywhere,” I asked, puzzled. This morning, I noticed my toothbrush was frayed and decided to replace it. However, I couldn’t find any new ones no matter where I looked. Sophia and I usually keep extra household items at home. I remember buying five toothbrushes at the supermarket just two weeks ago for future use. Sophia had used one recently, and Linda took one when she arrived. There should have been three left. Sophia walked over with a bun in her hand, peering into the organizer. “I put the toothbrushes right here. Can’t you see them?” I shook my head. “Are you sure you didn’t misplace them?” Sophia shot me an annoyed look. “I’m not that old to be forgetful!” She turned to ask her mother, “Mom, have you seen them?” Linda continued ladling porridge without pausing. “No, I haven’t seen any toothbrushes.” I had to rush to work, but I gave Linda a suspicious glance before quickly finishing breakfast and heading out. Ever since my mother-in-law arrived, I spent most of my time either searching for things or on my way to search for things. That afternoon, after a meeting, I received a message from Sophia: [Pick me up after work. We need to go grocery shopping. We’re out of tissues, laundry detergent, and body wash. Also, let’s buy two more cases of milk. I feel off if I don’t have milk every day (mischievous emoji)] I thought for a moment and asked her, [Honey, don’t you think a lot of things have gone missing from our house lately?] Last week, when I wanted to bring lunch to work, I discovered that the lunch boxes we bought less than two months ago had vanished. There were many similar incidents. One day, we had a cabinet full of tissues, and two days later, only six packs remained. On the day Linda arrived, we still had over two-thirds of our toiletries left. In just three days, they were almost gone. Usually, these supplies would last Sophia and me for at least a month. Unless she was drinking the body wash! The most ridiculous thing was that the underwear I carefully selected for Sophia on Amazon disappeared after being washed and hung on the balcony… When I asked Linda about it, she looked bewildered: “I didn’t see anything. The wind has been strong these past couple of days. Maybe they blew away?” I believe Sophia had noticed these strange occurrences in our home too, but she didn’t want to think about it too much. [It’s normal for things to be used up faster with an extra person in the house.] With less than a month until the due date, I didn’t want to cause any unpleasantness with my wife over this issue. So I simply replied: [Maybe you’re right.] Little did I know, this was just the beginning.

I stared at Linda with a grim expression. “I clearly remember the lucky charm was on the table yesterday. How come it’s gone today?” Our company evaluates employees’ performance annually, with one promotion opportunity. The previous supervisor had been promoted to department manager, and I was now the leader of the first team, competing with the leaders of the second and third teams for the supervisor position. In previous evaluations, my performance and abilities stood out compared to the other two. Colleagues were quietly saying the supervisor position was practically mine. However, nothing was certain until the very end. The boss called me into his office for a chat, hinting that the higher-ups favored me. If I could secure this cooperation deal, the supervisor position would be mine. Currently, I earn about $3,000 a month including bonuses. As a supervisor, my salary would increase by $500. Not only would the work be easier, but our quality of life would also improve. Recently, I’ve been running around non-stop trying to complete the task assigned by the boss. The potential partner was a tough nut to crack. I camped outside their office for ten whole days before finally meeting the project manager. I prepared a stack of documents, explaining the project’s construction process, our company’s advantages, and past case studies. After listening, the manager only said, “We’ll consider it.” Anyone who’s worked in an office knows that this official response usually means “you’re out of luck.” Having been in the workforce for so many years, I relied on my tenacity as an “unkillable cockroach.” After spending time and money, I finally found out that the manager’s child was sick. His wife was superstitious and went to the temple every day at dawn to pray for their child’s successful surgery and good health. So I took an overnight high-speed train to a famous temple in a nearby city to get a lucky charm. I originally planned to give this as a gift to the manager, but when I woke up today, the lucky charm I had placed on the table was gone! Linda defended herself: “I didn’t see any lucky charm. I just came in to clean the room and left.” Sophia knew how important this was and tried to persuade her mother: “Mom, if you took it, please return it now. This lucky charm is crucial for James’s work.” Even though we had made it so clear, Linda still insisted she hadn’t taken it. “Why would I take your lucky charm? It’s not like it’s worth much. If I wanted one, couldn’t I just go to a temple myself? I’m here taking care of you, and you treat me like a thief. I must have owed you in a past life!” Sophia seemed to believe her mother a bit and hesitantly said, “James, let’s look around some more. My mom really has no use for this thing.” Frustrated, I went back to the bedroom and lay on the bed to book another high-speed train ticket. As I was scrolling through my social media feed, I saw a new post from Emily, my sister-in-law. [Thanks for Mom’s love. Hope everyone stays safe.] The triangular object in her palm looked increasingly familiar… Wait, wasn’t that the lucky charm I got? Sophia was still sitting on the floor helping me search for the charm. I called her over, handed her my phone, and said: “Take a look at this. What is it?” Sophia recognized it immediately and confronted her mother with a stern face: “Mom, didn’t you say you didn’t take the lucky charm? Then why is it in my sister’s hands?” Linda’s eyes darted around. “I just thought your sister is studying alone away from home. Giving her a lucky charm would put my mind at ease.” Sophia exploded in anger, shouting, “I already told you how important this charm was! Are you deaf?” Linda’s tears fell on cue: “You ungrateful child! I serve you hand and foot all day, not even having time to visit a temple. What’s wrong with taking one lucky charm? Your sister is my child too!” Seeing Sophia getting increasingly agitated, I stepped in to calm her down. “Let it go. Don’t get worked up. Let’s just get the charm back.” Sophia nodded and immediately called her sister, explaining the whole situation. Emily exclaimed, “I had no idea! I’m so sorry, sis. Tell James to come pick it up at my school gate right now. I’ll wait for him there.” I quickly changed clothes and rushed out. After all, opportunity waits for no one. Before leaving, I advised Sophia: “Have a good talk with your mom. If she really wants something, she can ask us. But she shouldn’t take things without our permission.” It was exhausting enough coming home after working like a horse all day, without having to play detective on top of it.

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At the family reunion dinner, my father pointed at his mistress decked out in designer brands and told me to call her “Mom.” My real mother rushed in, just like in my previous life, only able to wipe away her tears. She had put on her most presentable outfit, yet still looked poor, haggard, and timid. She didn’t even dare to speak up and say she was my birth mother. My heart ached, but I restrained myself from offering her a tissue. I couldn’t choose her again, or we would both die horribly. So when Mandy, the mistress who clearly wanted me gone, fake-affectionately hugged me and said, “Emily, we’ve kept your room just as it was,” I saw my chance. I made sure the cameras were on me as I threw myself into her arms. “Mom, I’ll move in tonight!” My father was stunned, a flicker of embarrassment in his eyes. I knew he wasn’t truly looking for me – he was just using the guise of a family reunion to craft a public image and make money. When I was three, he slapped me for playing with toys that disturbed his nap. My mom quickly took me out to play, afraid I’d keep crying and get hit again. In that brief moment while she bought me candy, I was kidnapped. My always fashionable mom became disheveled after that. She handed out flyers everywhere, kneeling before strangers to beg for help. Soon my father grew to resent her. “Searching for a child is a bottomless pit – even two companies and six houses can’t fund your wasteful spending!” “Besides, you lost the child – why should I suffer for it?” My father constantly blamed my mom. When she suggested selling a house to fund the search, he finally exploded: “Let’s divorce. You leave with nothing and go search on your own!” Out of guilt, my mom really did divorce him and leave empty-handed. Not only that, she naively believed my father’s words were just spoken in anger. She thought if she found me, we could be a family again. But my father didn’t wait for us at all. He immediately married his mistress. Unexpectedly, the mistress was even more extravagant. She wore designer clothes, bought limited edition bags, and only drank $200 imported French water. In just three years, she nearly bankrupted my father. It was then that a parent went viral online while searching for their child, accidentally becoming rich and famous. My father was tempted. He jumped on that trending topic, gaining both fame and fortune. Money was so easy to make this way, my father definitely wanted to keep searching for me. To keep searching, but never actually find me. Unfortunately, I was a DNA match in the database. He had no choice but to host this grand reunion dinner. To maintain his image, he came up with this farce of passing off the mistress as my birth mother. But the mistress had her own agenda. She felt my father was already worth over $100 million – why bother making more money from netizens? Besides, she had given my father a son. She didn’t want anyone else coming to split the inheritance. “That woman in the shabby dress is your real mother…” Mandy whispered in my ear, avoiding my father’s gaze. Of course I knew the haggard woman standing in the corner, crying and smiling as she looked at me, was my birth mother. I also knew that to raise money to find me, she delivered food and collected recyclables, suffering in a basement apartment. So what? I didn’t want to live a life of poverty. My eyes stung. I pretended not to hear, hugging Mandy tightly as I cried, “Mom, I’m willing. I’m willing to officially register as part of the family.”

“What nonsense are you saying! I didn’t even ask…” Mandy was startled, her nails digging into my flesh. My father looked confused, but forced a smile and nodded in agreement for the cameras. Seeing my father nod, Mandy grew anxious. While my father was chatting with other parents searching for lost children, she secretly encouraged my mom to claim me. “Sister, you’ve suffered so much looking for your child. You should let her know.” My mom was oblivious to the manipulation, thinking this was my father’s intention. Her eyes lit up. “Emily, I… I am…” Perhaps daughters are more easily moved by their mothers. In my past life, I chose her without hesitation. And in doing so, I hurt her again. The year of the reunion dinner, I was a high school junior. To pay for my education and move us out of the basement, she worked three jobs a day. In the end, she collapsed and died while delivering food. Her funeral was hastily arranged. No one sympathized with her. My father said, “Your mom just had to prove herself. First she insisted on finding you, then she insisted on fighting for you. Look at her – no skills at all, yet she dared to defy me.” Relatives said: “Your mom brought this on herself. She gave up a life of luxury to suffer like this.” The mistress also said… She covered her mouth and whispered in my ear: “We should thank you both. If you hadn’t stupidly gotten kidnapped, if your mom hadn’t stupidly insisted on finding you, I wouldn’t be living this life of luxury now. Haha, I’m so grateful to you two idiots.” Mandy, my father’s mistress, smugly jangled her diamond bracelet. I didn’t understand – why did a mother so devoted to finding her child not have a happy ending? And I didn’t have a happy ending either. Working part-time through college, I finally graduated and landed a job at a Fortune 500 company. But Mandy was afraid I’d come back for the inheritance since I studied law. She hired some thugs to gang rape me to death. Not only did she turn it around and say I was promiscuous, she spread photos everywhere. And so I died at my most humiliating moment – filthy, degraded, without even getting revenge for my mom. My heart clenched. I couldn’t repeat those mistakes. I couldn’t bear to look my mom in the eye. I tugged on my father’s sleeve. He hadn’t noticed Mandy’s scheming, and instead scolded my mom for being inconsiderate. “Stop crying. You’re just here to see her once, don’t push your luck.” Afraid of being exposed if we stayed too long, he quietly threatened my mom. “Leave quickly. You don’t want to affect her college entrance exams, do you?” My poor mom still harbored illusions about my father even now. She kept looking back as she left, hoping my father would call her back out of concern. But of course, my father couldn’t see how thin she had become. He rushed back to the table, focused only on serving food to Mandy. When the meal was almost over, someone asked if my father had prepared a gift for me. Only then did he pretend to be generous and ask what I wanted. I couldn’t ask for too much at first. I acted shy and mumbled, “I’d like a laptop for studying.” I knew my father couldn’t refuse me in public. But to my surprise, he only bought me a $400 off-brand laptop. Who would believe this was the tycoon who had offered a $3 million reward to find his daughter online? I realized this way of getting money was too slow. I took a photo of the laptop and posted it online with the caption: “My first ever laptop. Thanks, Dad.” My father knew how to play the internet game, but so did I. As expected, netizens didn’t disappoint me. Not only did they curse my father for being stingy and hypocritical, they also dug up Mandy’s identity as the mistress…

My father was furious, blaming me for posting the photo online. I cried silently, “The buyers weren’t nice to me. I just wanted to show off some fatherly love I never had before.” Blood is thicker than water after all. My father hesitated, then couldn’t bring himself to blame me further. He thought staying silent would cover up the truth, and ordered me to delete the photo. But as soon as I deleted it, netizens had more to say. “The old scammer won’t clarify anything, just forces his daughter to delete the photo! That woman at the reunion dinner was definitely the mistress!” My father not only lost a million followers, but his company’s stock price also fell. Because netizens not only found my mom, but also dug up her impoverished living conditions. Now the deceived netizens were truly angry! They rained fire on my father and Mandy. “You heartless bastard! How dare you make your daughter call the mistress ‘Mom’! Have you no conscience?” “Homewrecker! You stole someone’s husband 14 years ago, now you’re stealing their daughter! Have you no shame?” “Damn, they even have a son!” The all-knowing netizens uncovered 5-year-old Tyler. Unexpectedly, this gave Mandy an opportunity. She seized on it to try and take the money and run. “What should we do? They know about our son now. Will they harm Tyler?” “I don’t care, I want to emigrate. I want to live abroad.” When it came to his son, my father hesitated. But he was reluctant to let years of hard work go to waste. He decided to send me to find my mom and put out the fire. My mom was surprised to see me. Her eyes held a glimmer of hidden hope. She nervously wrung her hands, hesitantly asking, “Emily, why are you here? Did your father…” Even at a time like this, she was still fantasizing that my father would take her back and we’d be a family again. I had to be cruel and tell her the truth. “Mom, my father and Mandy have a son. They’re preparing to leave the country.” “Can you help me fight for some of the inheritance?” I knew it would be hard to change my mom’s mind quickly. So I had to use harsh medicine to make her give up hope. In my past life, she washed dishes during the day, delivered food at night, and collected recyclables in her spare time. No matter how difficult or tiring it was, she never asked my father for child support. Because she didn’t know he had a son. She firmly believed my father would feel sorry for her, feel sorry for his daughter. If she had asked for money before that, it would have cheapened her in his eyes. Only then did I learn that my father had lied to my mom. He had promised her he wouldn’t have more children, that all his assets would be left to me… My mom finally woke up. She took out a loan to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit. That lawyer was incredibly skilled and knew how to use public opinion to our advantage. My father was clearly in the wrong. After consulting many lawyers, he had no choice but to curse and grumble as he gave my mom three houses and $750,000 in cash. To my father’s current net worth, this was a drop in the bucket. But it was enough for my mom to start over. After getting the money, my mom eagerly asked me, “Emily, now that Mom has money, are you willing to live with me?” Her eyes were full of longing. She wanted nothing more than to make up for all the years of lost motherly love. But Mom, you already repaid everything in your past life. This life you should live for yourself. Using the excuse of preparing for college entrance exams and it being more convenient to stay at my father’s, I gently refused her. “When I can earn money, I’ll live with you, Mom. But before then, you need to take good care of yourself. Stay healthy and beautiful.” My mom seemed to understand my meaning. She hugged me and cried for a while, then lightly nodded. At this critical moment, my father didn’t dare stop me from going back. But when I walked in, his expression wasn’t good. Seeing my father’s cold attitude towards me, Mandy couldn’t hide her glee as she taunted me. “Oh Emily, are you really on your father’s side?” “Your father trusted you to find your mom and film a video to clear things up. What did you do instead?” “You helped your mom take your father’s assets!” I definitely wasn’t on my father’s side, just like how his search for me across the country was really just traveling around with Mandy. He wasn’t on my side either. Recalling the details uncovered by netizens, I took out the video I recorded with my mom. “Dad, my mom only found a lawyer after seeing netizens’ comments. I really didn’t know…” My father was still riled up by Mandy’s words and ignored me. With no other choice, I had to take a step back. “Dad, people online are saying you didn’t really want to find me. Is that true?” Of course my father couldn’t admit his hypocrisy. He stubbornly replied, “That’s nonsense!” I seized the opportunity to advise him: “If you officially register me as part of the family, transfer me to a new school, and film a video of Mom agreeing to an amicable split, wouldn’t that disprove the rumors?” “Well…” My father felt my words made some sense. Seeing my father waver, Mandy finally dropped all pretense. She pointed at me and sneered. “It’s either her or me in this house!”

“What kind of talk is that!” Ever since returning from the reunion dinner, my father had been singing Mandy’s praises to me, saying how hard she worked to help search for me. Now that the lies were exposed, my father glanced at me awkwardly before hurriedly pulling Mandy into another room. I don’t know what they said, but when they came out, Mandy was like a different person. She enthusiastically hugged me, “Emily, welcome home.” Much later I finally learned that my father had promised her then, “All the assets will go to Tyler. We’ll just use Emily to make money.” But it didn’t matter anymore. I had finally moved into my father’s mansion and met my 5-year-old half-brother Tyler, who was cared for by two nannies. The household registration transfer smoothed over some of the online criticism. My father was pleased and bought Mandy a Hermès bag. Placated by the bag, Mandy became two-faced. She no longer gave me trouble in front of my father, but secretly schemed against me. She arranged for different thugs to wait outside my school and whistle at me. “Emily, be my girlfriend.” Memories of my horrific death in my past life surfaced. I covered my mouth and retched. I called my father: “I’m being harassed.” He just coldly replied: “A fly won’t bite a seamless egg.” That response was too ridiculous. I carefully selected a male model online and sent him photos of Mandy with her wall of luxury goods. “Want to make big money?” He instantly replied: “Thanks sis.” That weekend, Mandy dressed up beautifully to go out. The nanny happened to have a family emergency and needed time off. I thought Mandy would cancel her date, but she just dumped the kid on me. “Don’t just focus on studying. Take good care of your brother. If he gets even a tiny scratch, your father won’t let you off!” My brother was the apple of my father’s eye. I nodded obediently. In a rush to her date, Mandy warned me sternly before leaving satisfied. Although Tyler was only 5, his destructive power was shocking. He was hostile towards me, muttering “bad sister” while constantly throwing toys at me. I didn’t bother with him. I took out some homework and did my assignments while keeping an eye on him. Seeing me ignore him, he started crying and throwing blocks around with loud crashes. The noise finally woke my napping father. He came downstairs yelling: “Are you all deaf? Can’t you hear Tyler crying?” He was still as hot-tempered as ever. Remembering the slap I got at age 3, I carefully explained: “The nanny had to leave and Mandy went out.” Luckily my father saw I was studying and didn’t take his anger out on me. He tried to pick up Tyler but tripped over some toys after just three steps. This made my father even angrier. He blamed Mandy for going out. His angry appearance was too scary. Tyler cried even louder. “There, there, don’t cry…” My father clumsily comforted Tyler. Sprawled on the couch catching his breath, he finally asked me: “Emily, how… how has your mom been lately?”

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Everyone knows that Liam White, the heartthrob of A University, is hopelessly romantic. On the first day he met me, he confessed his love and gave me a card with five million dollars. When I was sick, he skipped classes to take care of me and personally prepared nutritious meals. He said, “Wil, I’ll always be by your side when you’re sick. I’ll take care of you forever.” To celebrate my birthday, he scoured the entire city to buy enough roses to fill an entire room. In the night sky, dazzling drones proclaimed his love for me to the world. [Wil, I love you forever] We embraced sweetly under the fireworks. Even in his room, it was full of my photos. Every day, he would post on social media about his love for me. But just now, I found a photo on his computer. The person in the photo looked almost identical to me. But she was wearing clothes I had never worn before. My hand froze on the mouse as I pondered the origin of this photo. But I was certain I had never taken this picture. Looking closely, the person in the photo seemed more fragile, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. The look she gave was somewhat reproachful, an expression I would never make. I suddenly remembered that my best friend Tanya had mentioned to me a while ago that Liam seemed to have had a crush on someone in high school. My heart suddenly felt a bit uneasy. Liam loved taking photos, and he loved taking photos of me too. But every time, he would make me pose in specific ways, never letting me pose freely. Whenever I wanted to pose on my own, his face would suddenly darken. I always thought it was just his unique photography quirk. So I would always comply with his wishes, and after taking the photos, he would always hug me and say: “Wil, you look best like this. I want to capture your most beautiful moments.” Afterwards, he would take me to various popular spots for couples and buy me all sorts of nice things. I always thought I was overthinking things before, but what if there really was something more to it? Considering the possible outcome, my body started to feel cold. My hand gripping the mouse tightened, involuntarily shaking a bit. Suddenly, I discovered a folder, but it was password-protected and I couldn’t open it. “Wil, have you finished checking the materials?” The moment I heard Liam’s voice, I instinctively exited the folder and returned to the initial page. My heart was racing violently, accompanied by a slight tightening that was somewhat painful. I turned to look at him, my face somewhat pale. “Wil, what’s wrong? Are you tired from writing your paper? I told you not to apply for your professor’s graduate program. You’re already so exhausted now, they’ll definitely squeeze you even more in the future.” “Besides, your boyfriend is so rich. After you graduate, I can just support you!” Liam hugged me worriedly, comforting me attentively. I buried my face in his chest and took a deep breath, still smelling that faint citrus scent, then wiped away the tears that had inexplicably fallen from the corners of my eyes. I looked up at the person in front of me, Liam’s eyes full of concern. In our four years together, he had always been very attentive to my emotions. Even though my body was very healthy and I had some natural athletic ability, he always thought I wasn’t good at sports. Every time I finished a sports competition, he would wait at the finish line looking at me with worry. My classmates all said he really loved me, and I thought he was very good to me too, just a bit too careful. “Liam, don’t be like this. I just ran 800 meters, you don’t need to be so nervous.” I wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His face was even paler than mine after I had just finished running. He just carefully hugged me and said, “Wil, don’t participate next time. I’m worried about you, after all, your health isn’t good.” The last half of his sentence was too quiet, and I just thought he was too concerned about me. But thinking about it now, maybe there really was someone with poor health, just that person wasn’t me? Just thinking about this possibility made my heart ache. “Liam, this photo, I don’t think I’ve ever taken it?” I saw a flash of panic cross his face, but he quickly regained his composure. “Wil, where did you see this photo?” “On the desktop.” Without thinking, Liam blurted out, “I wanted to buy you new clothes, so I used AI to see how they would look on you. The result was very nice, so I bought that white dress set you haven’t worn yet.”

I looked straight into Liam’s eyes. There wasn’t a trace of lying in his eyes, just full of affection for me. His voice was steady, and the whole explanation was very reasonable, but it came so quickly that it gave me a strange feeling. It seemed as if he had prepared this reason long ago. I remained silent, but Liam panicked. His eyes reddened slightly as he took my hand. “Wil, don’t you believe me? Who else could it be if not you?” “You know, since being with you, except for business, I hardly ever spend time alone with other girls. I only love you.” His eyes were already glistening with tears as he explained, pleading with me with his gaze. My doubt seemed to make him extremely upset. “Wil, I love you. If I ever fall in love with someone else, may I die without a burial place!” With that, he hugged me tightly. I felt my shoulder becoming a bit hot. Liam’s words were too resolute, so resolute that I couldn’t doubt him anymore. Perhaps I was really overthinking things. I hugged him back. “I’m sorry, Liam. I’ve been too tired lately.” “I believe you love me. You wouldn’t lie to me.” Liam happily hugged me and spun me around upon hearing this. Not long after, he led me to the living room where the coffee table was filled with various fruits. Then he went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. In our four years together, Liam had gradually taken over my three meals a day. He said outside food wasn’t healthy. No matter how busy he was, he would always make time to prepare light meals for me with the freshest ingredients. When I was too busy to come home to eat, he would even deliver to my lab. My lab mates would say, “Why don’t you just hire a housekeeper? Isn’t it a waste of time to cook every day?” How did Liam always respond? He would say, “Wil loves my cooking the most.” But I had only told him I loved his cooking at the very beginning. As time went on, being someone who loves spicy food, I would often complain to him that the dishes were too bland. But he would just smile and say to me, “Eating light is good for your health.” He never mentioned making the food more to my taste. I kept staring at the kitchen. Perhaps Liam noticed my gaze, he turned back to look at me and then smiled gently. Not long after, he brought out three light dishes and a soup. The portion wasn’t large, just enough for two people. But I had accidentally been to the kitchen before and saw the ingredients Liam bought. There was definitely more than just this amount. At that time, I thought he was a novice and there was some waste, but the taste of his cooking was definitely not that of a novice. Thinking about it now, there seemed to be many loopholes. It’s just that I never doubted before, so I directly ignored them. After dinner, he sat beside me as I wrote my thesis. Suddenly, a clap of thunder outside, and Liam’s phone rang instantly. For a moment, I felt like my ears were going deaf. This ringtone, I had never heard before. Liam’s expression immediately became panicked, his movements became agitated. When I was busy before, he would never disturb me like this. I turned to look at him with some annoyance, but saw his face full of panic, anxiously saying: “Call the doctor quickly.” Then he left immediately without even considering me, followed by the sound of a car starting in the yard. Without Liam’s company, the thunder in the deep night became terribly frightening. I remember telling Liam that I was afraid of thunder. And at that time, besides sympathy, there seemed to be a bit of delight in his eyes. He said, “In the future, when there’s thunder, you’ll have me. I can protect you.” But Liam, you’ve broken your promise. When I need you now, you’ve abandoned me. I closed my computer and opened the location tracker installed on Liam’s phone. This was something he installed himself to prove his love for me. A strong urge told me to go to where the red dot was. I didn’t hesitate, put on my clothes and left. But I never expected to see such a scene.

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Just a week after my husband’s death, my father-in-law was forcing me to have an abortion. “My son had azoospermia. Get rid of that bastard in your belly and get out!” he shouted. “You’re the one at fault here. You have no right to inherit my son’s estate!” I looked at my mother-in-law standing beside him, constantly retching. I clutched the medical report I had just received tightly in my hand. It was clear who actually had azoospermia. So where did my husband’s and mother-in-law’s fetuses come from? “Tell me, where did that bastard in your belly come from?” my father-in-law demanded. “How shameless! How could our family end up with such a promiscuous woman!” As soon as I opened the door, my father-in-law rushed in and slapped me hard across the face twice. “Bring out your lover right now. I’ll kill him today!” My father-in-law’s eyes were bloodshot as he violently shook my shoulders, interrogating me. I was stunned by the slaps and took a while to react. “Dad, what’s wrong with you?” I finally managed to ask. My father-in-law let go of me and started rummaging through the house: “My son had azoospermia. How could you possibly be pregnant with his child?” “Oh, my poor son! His body isn’t even cold yet, and he’s already wearing such a big green hat!” My vision went dark for a moment before I opened my mouth to explain: “That’s impossible. Jack was perfectly healthy. He definitely didn’t have azoospermia!” My father-in-law was so angry he was panting heavily: “You… you’re talking nonsense!” “It’s written in black and white. I’m not blind!” I clutched the medical report in my hand tightly, unsure of how to begin explaining.

My father-in-law was still seething with anger. “Emily, you committed adultery during your marriage. The evidence is conclusive. As the party at fault, you have absolutely no right to inherit my son’s estate!” My heart filled with bitterness, and tears began to flow. Could it be that he was deliberately slandering me for money? When my husband was alive, we were known as a model family in the neighborhood, admired by everyone. My husband loved and doted on me, and my in-laws treated me like their own daughter. My husband did leave behind a considerable inheritance, but in my heart, the relationship with my in-laws was priceless. He must be unable to bear the pain of burying his son, which is why he’s acting so out of character. Yes, that must be it! Thinking this, I forced a smile: “Dad, what are you saying? You know how much Jack and I loved each other!” “The baby in my belly is absolutely your flesh and blood grandchild! He’s already seven months along. How heartbroken he would be if he heard his own grandfather doubting him like this!” Hearing this, my father-in-law became even angrier. He grabbed my arm: “Shut up, you shameless woman!” “Our family won’t acknowledge such a bastard! Come with me to the hospital right now and get rid of it!” Being in late pregnancy, I almost fell when he pulled me. “Dad, please calm down! The doctor must have mixed up the reports!” As soon as I finished speaking, my mother-in-law, who had been standing silently in the corner, suddenly reacted. One hand lightly stroking her chest to calm herself, the other covering her mouth as she dry heaved, looking extremely uncomfortable. My heart sank. Ignoring my own predicament, I asked with concern: “Mom, are you alright?” My father-in-law let go of me and hurriedly helped my mother-in-law sit down. “Honey, you’re not taking care of yourself. Why were you just standing there?” “You need to be extra careful now. Sit down and rest!” I looked up at the window in surprise. Had the sun risen from the west today? How did my chauvinistic father-in-law suddenly turn into such a doting husband? Perhaps my husband’s sudden death had made my father-in-law realize the true meaning of life? My mother-in-law gently pushed away my father-in-law’s arm that was holding her. “I’m fine. Let’s focus on the matter at hand!” My father-in-law obeyed immediately, turning his head to glare at me fiercely: “We definitely won’t acknowledge that bastard in your belly. You must abort it today, there’s no room for discussion!” “Don’t even think about getting the house, car, or money. Otherwise, I’ll let the whole country know what a promiscuous woman you are!”

I ignored him and brought a cup of hot water to my mother-in-law. “Mom, are you feeling better? Is it your old stomach problem? Should I take you to the hospital?” My mother-in-law lowered her head without responding, but I could see her ears turning slightly red. Huh? My mother-in-law was acting a bit strange today! Everyone gets sick sometimes. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about seeing a doctor when you’re ill. Seeing me lost in thought, my father-in-law snatched the cup from my hand and smiled smugly: “Stomach problem? You wishful thinking bitch!” “I’m going to be a father again! I guess Jack couldn’t bear to leave us old folks alone, so he came back!” This was too much information to process at once. My mouth moved faster than my brain: “Jack has only been gone for seven days. Even if it were an early pregnancy, it wouldn’t show up on a test yet!” My mother-in-law’s thin shoulders began to tremble, and a wet patch quickly spread on her black pants… “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” “What did you mean then? Are you hoping our family line will end so that bastard in your belly can benefit?” my father-in-law snapped. My mother-in-law looked even more uncomfortable, her back hunched over as she covered her face with both hands. I rushed over anxiously: “Dad, look how upset Mom is. Stop talking nonsense and take her to the hospital!” My father-in-law smugly waved a piece of paper in my face: “We’ve already been to the hospital. The doctor praised me for being so virile at my age!” “Don’t think you’re the only one who can get pregnant, you shameless woman!” I looked at the hCG levels on the report, which were as high as several hundred thousand, and rubbed my eyes in confusion. So my mother-in-law really was pregnant??? But before my husband passed away, I had taken the whole family for a full-body check-up at the most authoritative hospital in the city. I had been busy with my husband’s funeral arrangements and only got the reports back today. Before they came in, I had been wondering. How could my father-in-law have azoospermia? Where did my husband come from then? The deceased is gone, so we’ll set aside the question of my husband’s origins for now. But this second child of my mother-in-law’s definitely couldn’t be my father-in-law’s! Seeing that I wasn’t saying anything, my father-in-law stood up and looked around the room I had prepared for the baby: “You shameless woman, you certainly don’t hold back when spending my son’s money!” “After we get rid of that little bastard in your belly, this room will be perfect for my son Guangyong.” It felt like two little people were fighting in my head. Should I say something or not?

If I don’t say anything, my father-in-law will be convinced that I’ve been unfaithful. But if I do speak up, it’s better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage. What if it affects the relationship my in-laws have built over many years? How could I face my husband in the afterlife? After a long while, I finally thought of a solution that could satisfy both sides: “Dad, I understand and sympathize with how you’re feeling.” “If you’re really worried, I can go to the hospital for an amniocentesis and paternity test.” “I’ve kept all of Jack’s belongings, so it would be easy to get a biological sample.” My father-in-law looked like a bundle of firecrackers about to explode: “Do you think I’m stupid? You probably bring your lover home every day. Who knows whose sample you’d use!” I frowned. Had my father-in-law gone mad with grief? Why was he being so unreasonable? If only he had raised these doubts before my husband was cremated. What could we do now… Seeing that my father-in-law was about to lose his temper again, I gritted my teeth and made a decision. At this point, I could only take a gamble. What if my father-in-law’s azoospermia was a recent condition? “How about we do the test with you? That can’t be faked!” I suggested quickly before he could explode. “As long as we can prove there’s a genetic relationship with you, it will prove my innocence!” My father-in-law was about to speak when my mother-in-law burst into tears. “We’re all family. We should settle this at home!” she cried. “There’s no need for any tests that will cause a scandal. Emily is still young. How will she face people if something goes wrong?” A strange feeling crept over me. What??? Was my mother-in-law trying to help me? Why did it sound so odd! Thinking about how good she had been to me in the past, I forced a smile: “Mom, it’s okay. The truth will come out!” “No one knows better than a mother whose child she’s carrying!” “Dad is getting on in years. There’s no need to trouble him over such a small matter. We can just do the test. The hospital will protect patient privacy!” My father-in-law reached out his hand to make a pact with me: “If that bastard in your belly has nothing to do with me, you must get rid of it immediately and get out of the Zhang family!” “Otherwise, your entire family will suffer the consequences!”

I looked at the bottles of expensive wine on the coffee table, feeling very upset. My father-in-law loved to drink, and these were wines my dad had painstakingly brought back all the way from France. If he knew that his usually friendly in-law was cursing his family behind his back, how heartbroken would my dad be! Before I could open my mouth to argue, my mother-in-law started crying even louder. “What are you trying to do? Do you want to drive me to my death?” “My poor son’s body isn’t even cold yet. Can’t we resolve this peacefully instead of tearing the family apart?” My heart tightened. It seemed like my mother-in-law had something else to say! I needed to think this through carefully. Generally speaking, cheating is a habitual behavior. So, could this not be my mother-in-law’s first time? What if my husband really wasn’t my father-in-law’s child? Then the baby would definitely have no genetic relationship with my father-in-law. If that were the case, with my husband gone, there would be no way to prove it. My father-in-law would direct all his anger at me. There would be no way for me to clear my name! What should I do? When my husband was dying, he held my hand tightly and wouldn’t let go. He only closed his eyes peacefully after I promised to take care of his parents as if they were my own. With that promise still ringing in my ears, how could I go back on my word? Suddenly, an idea struck me. I had thought of a solution that could satisfy everyone. I turned to look at my mother-in-law: “Mom, since you’ll need to have regular prenatal check-ups anyway, why don’t you do a paternity test with the baby?” I couldn’t help but applaud myself internally! Even if my father-in-law might not be my husband’s biological father, my mother-in-law must be his birth mother, right? This way, everyone’s face would be saved, and my father-in-law could let go of his suspicions about me! My mother-in-law was about to speak when my father-in-law interrupted her impatiently: “What paternity test? Why should we waste thousands of dollars for the sake of that bastard in your belly!” I choked up, almost crying out loud. Hand on heart, I had never shown the slightest disrespect to my in-laws. My husband’s body wasn’t even cold yet. How could they bear to humiliate his widow and unborn child like this? Tears kept falling, gradually blurring my vision.

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At 35, I was forced to leave my high-paying job at a big tech company. With a decade’s worth of savings, I returned to my small hometown. Tired of the cutthroat corporate world, I just wanted a simple job that wouldn’t fry my brain in this small town. I remembered my biggest dream from sixth grade and decided to fulfill it. I ordered a small food cart and made up my mind to sell french fries outside the elementary school. With my current bank balance, it didn’t matter if I made a loss. It was just for fun anyway. What I didn’t expect was that even in this small town, there were plenty of big fish in a small pond, self-proclaimed bosses everywhere. On my first day selling fries, one of the original vendors pointed at my nose and barked, “Get lost! You’re blocking my spot!” On the second day, a kid threw a tantrum in front of my cart. “Pay up! Your fries made me sick!” On the third day, an even more formidable character showed up… Faced with all this hostility, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Was I supposed to just take this crap everywhere I went? I decided then and there – I was going to keep this fries stand running no matter what! Turning around, I bought all the storefronts along the street in front of the school. And I put up a big sign in front of each – “Private Property, No Vendors Allowed!”

At 6:30 AM, before dawn had fully broken, I had just finished setting up my cart when a pot-bellied middle-aged man approached me. He fished out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and offered it to me with a seemingly friendly smile. “Hey buddy, want one?” I hesitated. Was this the famous small-town hospitality I’d heard about? The casual conversation felt oddly comforting. But I don’t smoke, so I politely declined. The man withdrew his hand and leaned against my cart, his tone turning probing. “So, which school staff are you friends with? It’d be good to know!” Friends with school staff? What kind of question was that? I was momentarily confused. I responded politely, “I’m just here to sell some food. Don’t know anyone at the school.” “I see…” The man fell silent for a moment, looking down at the items on my cart. When he looked up again, his friendly smile had been replaced by an unexpected ferocity. “Listen, kid. If you don’t know anyone, why are you trying to steal this spot? Get the hell out of here!” Hearing this, I frowned deeply. Sure, my spot was in a prime location, but this wasn’t some market with assigned stalls. It was first come, first served. Looking at the man’s sudden change in attitude, I coldly replied, “I got here first. Why should I leave?” The middle-aged man laughed as if he’d heard a joke. He banged his fist on my cart, his face menacing. That earlier friendly smile seemed like a figment of my imagination. “This has always been my spot,” he growled. “And I run things around here.” Before I could respond, a crowd suddenly gathered around us. “Everyone thinks they can just waltz in here without knowing their place,” someone sneered. “How dare you try to take this spot without any connections?” another voice chimed in. “Didn’t you hear Marcus tell you to move?” a third person threatened. The crowd pressed closer, looking ready to get physical. Now I understood the man’s earlier question. So they were ganging up on me because I had no connections? I had thought I’d escaped the office politics, but it seemed small towns had their own brand of bullying. Understanding their intentions, I was annoyed but didn’t want to stoop to their level. “So where am I supposed to go?” I asked, trying to keep my cool. Marcus snorted and mockingly pointed behind me. “Over there.” I looked where he was pointing – a secluded corner, blocked from view by other vendors, right next to a public restroom. The anger I had just suppressed bubbled up again. I was about to argue when a wrinkled hand gripped my wrist. It was Old Joe, the elderly vendor next to me. He gave me a knowing look. “Better to swallow your pride than get hurt, son.” I had come here just to experience a simpler life. Not wanting to cause trouble, I tried to calm myself and followed Old Joe to the corner. His stall was nearby too. I asked him, “Does no one stop them from doing this?” Old Joe shook his head and sighed deeply. “Who’s going to stop them? The people in charge are the ones protecting Marcus and his gang.” “If you don’t have power or money, you’d better just stay put in this corner.” “Don’t try to fight them head-on, or you’ll be the one getting hurt.” I looked around and saw a few other small carts scattered in less crowded corners. Seems they had been pushed aside by Marcus’s group too. “Why don’t you all go somewhere else?” I asked, puzzled. Old Joe waved his hand dismissively. “Where isn’t it like this?” With that, he started frying up some donuts. Indeed, where wasn’t it like this? A strange sadness welled up in me as I lowered my head to set up my own cart. But as I looked down, I jumped back two meters in shock. There were several dead cockroaches floating in my frying oil!

The cockroaches had already been fried to a crispy golden brown in the clear hot oil. This was definitely not something I had brought with me. I had checked my cart several times before setting up. There was no way I could have such a hygiene issue. Was it because we were so close to the restroom? Or was there another possibility… I looked up and stared directly at Marcus, who was busy with a crowd of students. As if sensing my gaze, Marcus suddenly turned his head. He raised his eyebrows at me triumphantly. So it was them who did this! Just as I confirmed my suspicion, I saw a vendor to my left seemingly receive a signal from Marcus. The man wiped his hands on his pants and walked straight towards me. Before he even got close, he started shouting. “Oh my god! Your oil is full of cockroaches!” The man’s exclamation immediately drew the attention of parents dropping off their kids. For the first time, this secluded corner became the center of attention. “Holy crap! It’s true, look at those cockroach legs still twitching!” The man pinched his nose and changed his tone. “What kind of person serves such filthy food to children? Who knows what other disgusting things are going on behind the scenes. Maybe he’s even using gutter oil!” “Quick! Take a picture of him! We can’t let this scammer get away with it!” Someone shouted, and suddenly a barrage of camera flashes went off in my face. I quickly shielded my eyes and lifted up my oil container. “This is branded oil, I guarantee I’m not using any gutter oil!” I protested. “The cockroaches in my fryer were put there by someone else on purpose!” My explanation barely managed to quiet the crowd when the man who started the commotion spoke up again. “How do we know you didn’t just put gutter oil in that container? And who would put cockroaches in your fryer? Are you trying to frame someone?” I met the man’s challenging gaze, knowing I had no evidence even though I knew they were behind this. At this moment, Old Joe came over and tried to reason with the instigator. “Come on, Sam, why are you doing this? The young man is just trying to make an honest living.” With a long sigh, Old Joe turned to address the crowd. “Everyone, I can vouch that this young man is not what you think. I’ve been selling here for over a decade. If you trust me, I’ll keep an eye on him for you all…” Old Joe’s words sent a wave of warmth through me. We had only just met as strangers. But before he could finish, Sam cut him off. “Old man, are you looking to quit this job? Or maybe you’re in cahoots with him!” Faced with Sam’s blatant threat, Old Joe’s weathered face turned bright red. I gently pushed Old Joe aside, not wanting the old man to get further involved in this mess. After a brief silence, the observing parents erupted again. “Old Joe, don’t let this guy fool you! I’ve never seen this vendor before when dropping off my kid. He must be some scammer from out of town!” “Young and already so crooked! Kids have delicate stomachs, how could they handle this kind of food?” “My cousin’s child got severe food poisoning from eating at a street stall like this. They couldn’t save him in the end.” “Come on everyone, let’s drive him out of here!” Seeing the crowd pushing towards me and the contaminated oil in my fryer, I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue business on my first day. Under the triumphant gazes of Marcus and his cronies, I pushed away my carefully prepared cart in defeat. Well, well. The same old story. Two weeks ago, I was framed at my company in a similar fashion. A coworker, jealous of my $500,000 annual salary, deliberately sabotaged one of my projects. Luckily I managed to fix it in time before it became a major issue. But by then, I was already tired of office politics, so I didn’t pursue the matter further and let them off the hook. But I’m not one to always turn the other cheek. I can’t keep swallowing my pride everywhere I go. That night, I made a phone call. “Hello, I’d like to buy all the shops on that street.”

Early the next morning, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, I once again pushed my cart to the old spot. In front of my cart, I set up a small blackboard. [Crispy French Fries, Free Today!] There was another reason why Marcus and his gang had bullied me so much yesterday. His cart also sold fries. He wanted to drive me away simply because he was afraid I’d steal his business. If that’s the case, I’ll do exactly that. As I expected, most of the students were drawn by the smell. Soon, my cart was surrounded by people, while Marcus’s prime spot was empty despite its good location. I happened to look up and met his venomous glare. Only Old Joe tugged at my sleeve, his face full of worry. “You’ve really offended them now. Besides, aren’t you losing money like this?” I smiled at Old Joe, assuring him it was fine. What did this bit of money matter? The ones who should be worried might not be me… Just then, Marcus came over, shouting loudly. “Don’t be fooled by his free sign, folks! His food is dirty. You’ll get sick if you eat it!” Marcus’s shout drew more attention. But before he could gloat, he was immediately contradicted by several students. “Mister, don’t lie!” “We know whether these free fries are clean or not!” “Yeah, that’s right!” Several students chimed in agreement. Just as Marcus was at a loss for words, a parent-like figure emerged from the crowd. “Kids, don’t be fooled by bad people!” “Yesterday, I saw with my own eyes, he pulled out a bunch of cockroaches from his fryer!” Seeing yesterday’s “witness”, Marcus regained his confidence. “That’s right, lots of people saw the cockroaches in his fryer yesterday.” “Kids, if you want fries, go buy from the stall up front. It’s guaranteed clean and safe!” At this moment, my untimely chuckle rang out. “If anyone’s worried, you can check the video on my phone. I’ve recorded everything from peeling the potatoes to putting them in cold oil.” “So there’s no need to worry about any hygiene issues.” Hearing this, the students’ faces lit up with bright smiles. Only Marcus still wore a gloomy expression, though a cold smile quickly curved his lips. “Ouch!” A student in the crowd suddenly cried out and fell to the ground. Marcus rushed over to help as if he’d seen his own son fall, asking with concern, “What’s wrong, kid?” The boy clutched his stomach, crying out in pain. “I ate his fries and now my stomach hurts!” The boy pointed at me while still holding his stomach. The crowd was shocked by the boy’s condition and started accusing me. “See? I told you his food wasn’t clean!” “Heartless beast! Shame on you!” “The kid’s stomach is ruined. Let’s see how you handle this.” While the crowd was in an uproar, I remained calm. From my angle, I could see the boy’s performance was quite amateur. I smiled and walked towards the boy, noticing a flash of panic cross his face. “As it happens, I used to study medicine. Let me take a look.” Without letting the boy struggle free, I quickly pinched the pressure point between his thumb and index finger. Feeling the sudden pain, the boy let out a yelp and sprang to his feet. “What’s this? Not hurting anymore?” I asked coldly, my gaze fixed on Marcus’s increasingly dark expression. “You hurt the young master. You’re gonna pay for this, kid,” Marcus growled. “If I let you keep your stall running, I’ll change my name! Let’s see how long you can keep giving out free food!” After throwing out these threats, Marcus left with the boy. As the crowd dispersed, Old Joe spoke to me earnestly. “Young man, you’d better find a different spot tomorrow.” I guessed and asked, “Is this ‘young master’ Marcus mentioned the child of some big shot at the school?” Old Joe sighed deeply and nodded at me. But no matter how big a shot they were, so what? I looked around at the row of storefronts near the school entrance. It really was quite a prime location…

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At the age of 18, I rushed into a burning building to save Jack from a raging fire. As a result, I became disabled from the waist down. In a dilapidated rented apartment, he proposed to me with a plastic ring from a soda can. “Emily, I only want to marry you in this life.” After we got married, he became known as the “internet’s most romantic artist” for sketching a portrait of his “disabled wife”. His fame skyrocketed, and his artwork sold for thousands of dollars. But ten years into our marriage, I discovered a portrait of his first love in his study. He looked at me coldly as I broke down: “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be living such a good life.” “Besides, you have no self-respect. You let yourself be tricked by a plastic ring. You’re so worthless, how can you compare to Sophia?” Later, I fulfilled his wish and let him be with Sophia. But Jack broke down, clutching my wheelchair and sobbing: “Emily, don’t leave me. Didn’t we promise to be together forever?” 0 Last night, my husband got drunk and fell asleep in his study. When I went in to clean up this morning, I found a stack of sketches. It was a thick pile, some old and some new. The one on top even had tear stains on it. I recognized the woman in the photo. It was Sophia, his unattainable princess from years ago. I held back my tears, trying hard to tell myself not to overthink and to trust Jack. But the small line of text beneath the portrait shattered my last delusion. “My wife, Sophia.” There had been signs all along. In recent years, Jack had been coming home later and later, often smelling of unfamiliar perfume. Except for Jack’s fans who believed he “doted on his wife”, everyone around us knew the truth. Jack had long lost any feelings for me. In his heart, there was only room for his unattainable first love. I stared at those words, tears silently falling. Where did that leave me? What was I to him? It was late at night when Jack finally came home. As soon as he walked in, he pointed his camera at me sitting in my wheelchair, looking disheveled. “Hey everyone, want to know what it’s like to spoil a disabled wife?” He pulled out a bouquet of roses from behind his back and said in a gentle tone: “Honey, today marks 3,666 days since we met. I bought these roses for you.” I had been crying all afternoon and looked a mess. I wasn’t even wearing a bra. I tried desperately to avoid his camera lens, feeling embarrassed. “Jack, please stop filming… I’m begging you…” He frowned slightly, a flash of displeasure crossing his eyes, before turning the camera away. “Sorry everyone, my wife is a bit upset today. But you know, mood swings are understandable for someone with a disability.” He picked up some sketches from the table and explained to the camera: “These are my new works. As always, my love for my wife inspired them. Starting bid is $9,999, grab them while you can!” He saw my tears but turned away without a care. All the questions I wanted to ask got stuck in my throat. “The secret to success is ‘loving your wife’! Those who love their wives will prosper! Even though my wife is disabled, I’ve never looked down on her!” His words struck my heart like hammers, the pain unbearable. Looking at his back, I felt like the person before me was a complete stranger. 0

The next day, the video Jack filmed last night was trending again. The title read: “What’s it like to spoil a disabled wife?” The thumbnail showed me in my pajamas, hair disheveled, slumped in my wheelchair. My face was pale and sickly, with sunken eyes that looked almost deranged. Looking at my haggard appearance, I felt like what little self-esteem I had left was completely trampled. Now the whole world knew I was a disabled person dependent on others. Since becoming disabled, I had always tried to live like a normal person, not wanting to burden Jack in any way. But never had I been more acutely aware than at this moment. I was a helpless cripple. That image of myself disgusted even me. “Oh my god, Jack is so loving! This is true love – he can even kiss a face like that!” “What blessing did this woman cultivate in her past life to marry such a good husband!” “Ahhhh I want to buy 100 of his paintings! Don’t fight me for them! Since I can’t marry a quality man like Jack, I can only console myself by buying his art!” “I’ll take them all! Those who love their wives prosper, Jack deserves to make money for being so devoted to his wife!” “Am I the only one who thinks this woman is ungrateful? She’s already disabled, yet still gives attitude when Jack is so good to her. Why burden others if you don’t know how to appreciate them…” Seeing this top comment, my hand gripping the phone suddenly clenched tight. It’s not like that! It’s not like that at all! I wanted to scream, to argue back, but no one would believe me or care. Yes, I was alone and paralyzed, drifting through this world like a floating weed. Jack was so good to me, yet I was still unsatisfied. But who knew that my paralysis was because I rushed into a fire to save him when I was 18? No one knew. No one cared. 0

At noon, I brought a thermos of food to Jack’s company. But when I got to the entrance, I was stopped by the receptionist. “Miss, you can’t enter the company without an appointment.” I saw the contempt hidden in her eyes, my heart aching. How ironic that the receptionist at Jack’s company, who was famous online for “doting on his wife”, didn’t even recognize me. With no choice, I could only call Jack. It took a full half hour before the call went through. The receptionist gave me a disdainful look and said: “You can go in now.” Before I could get far, they started gossiping without trying to hide it: “So that’s Jack’s crippled wife? She looks like that? Jack has such poor taste.” “I know, right? She can’t compare at all to the lady upstairs. I don’t know how a great guy like Jack ended up marrying her.” “You don’t know? Jack doesn’t even want to answer her calls…” Sitting by the elevator, their discussion came clearly to my ears. The overwhelming shame and humiliation nearly drowned me. I knew the receptionist actually did recognize me. She just didn’t want me to disturb Jack and that “her” upstairs. But I still came up anyway. After all, Jack’s “devoted husband” persona not only affected my life, but also deceived many others. I didn’t want to continue this charade anymore. In Jack’s office. A beautiful, refined woman and a tall, handsome man were dancing the waltz intimately. The music played softly as their figures intertwined, the room filled with an ambiguous atmosphere. Until I knocked on the door. Seeing me, the woman’s beautiful brows furrowed in displeasure: “Jack, I didn’t realize you were so henpecked. Your wife even chased you all the way here.” The man smiled helplessly, his tone indulgent: “Sophia, you know all that stuff online is fake.” “There are no real feelings between me and her.” He was no longer trying to hide it. Sophia was satisfied, but still sneered: “Some people don’t know when they’re not wanted. They just have to shamelessly push themselves where they’re not welcome.” As she spoke, she “accidentally” stomped her sharp stiletto heel onto my foot. The pain was excruciating. My right hand suddenly lost its grip, and the thermos fell to the ground. “Bang!” The scalding, greasy chicken soup spilled all over me. My thighs were instantly burned red. I bit my lip hard, tears rolling down my face. But Jack didn’t even glance at me. He was crouched by Sophia’s feet, wiping the oil stains off her high heels. “Oh no, how annoying. You got my new heels all dirty.” “I don’t care, Jack, you have to buy me another pair.” She pouted unhappily, acting coy with the man. At the same time, she swept a haughty, disdainful look at me in the wheelchair. My whole body trembled, though I didn’t know if it was from the intense pain or from grief. I only knew that in this moment, the young man who had lived in my heart for so long seemed to have died.

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Jack’s Pampered Girlfriend Threatens to Break Up for the 99th Time He handed me the divorce papers. “Emma, just sign them. It’s only to pacify the little one. Once she calms down, we’ll remarry.” My heart turned cold as I decisively signed the divorce agreement. The onlookers marveled: “Jack, you’re really something! You’ve got your wife completely under control!” “Share your secrets for taming a wife with us, bro!” Jack smugly stubbed out his cigarette. “She loves me to death. For me, she’d willingly be my dog!” Laughter erupted behind me like fireworks, illuminating the disgrace of my ten-year marriage. That night, he brought the young girl home. The girl’s pleading voice, like a little rabbit’s, echoed throughout the night. I picked up my pre-packed luggage and turned to leave. The housekeeper tried to stop me, but Jack looked at me with contempt. “Let her go. She’s nothing without me!” “Does she still think she’s that triple crown winner from back then?” He kissed the young girl’s face spitefully, his eyes fixed on me. The next day, the whole city was betting on which day Jack’s disobedient ex-wife would come begging back. But what they didn’t know was that my best friend Sophie, a famous director, was already waiting for me in a stretch limo outside, ready to take me to Cannes. This time, I was really leaving. 0

Seeing that I wasn’t jealous, Jack hurried after me. I waited silently for him to speak, but he just grabbed my suitcase. “Emma, the little girl’s dream is to become an award-winning actress. She wants to see the trophies. Bring them out for her to play with!” I glanced down at my fingers, which couldn’t bend due to injuries from filming. The price of becoming a triple crown winner was the pain throughout my body. He knew how important those trophies were to me. He also knew I would definitely take the trophies when I left, yet he deliberately tried to stop me. Seeing my silence, he frowned impatiently. “Aren’t you tired of looking so miserable all the time? It’s bad luck!” “Just tell me, how much? Is $100 million enough?” Money? If we’re really talking about money, how much would the prime ten years of an award-winning actress be worth? I smiled bitterly, looking at Lily’s face, which bore a 60% resemblance to my younger self. They say a man’s loyalty is always to an 18-year-old girl. I wonder how long this girl, who debuted under the name “Little Emma”, could accompany Jack. I handed her the trophy, sincerely wishing: “I heard you’re from the same drama school? I hope your dreams come true soon!” Seeing my obedient demeanor, he nodded with satisfaction and took the initiative to be nice to me. “As long as you take good care of the little girl, I might consider letting you be her supporting actress.” I smiled bitterly: “Me, her supporting actress? Does she dare to accept that?” Back then, because of Jack’s words: “I worry about you. Why don’t you stop filming and just be Mrs. Lawrence?” I announced my retirement at the award ceremony where I won Best Actress. The ten years I spent in the Lawrence family were my most precious years from 25 to 35, but what he gave me in return was one affair after another! And now he wants me to be a supporting actress for his little girl? I picked up my luggage and turned to leave. At that moment, Jack viciously threw the trophy at me. 0

Crystal shards flew everywhere, cutting my leg and leaving wounds of various sizes. Crimson blood flowed from my leg. He looked at me with cruel eyes, without a trace of pity: “Emma, I’m letting you be Lily’s supporting actress, and you dare to act proud?” “Without me, you’re nothing. I made one triple crown winner, I can make another!” “You want to leave? Fine, take off all your clothes!” “Everything you eat and use, which of it wasn’t given to you by the Lawrence family!” Lily hid in Jack’s arms, trembling and crying with red eyes. “Jack, don’t fight with Emma because of me. It’s all my fault for being delusional, wanting Emma’s lead role. I don’t want it anymore, okay?” A year ago, my former friend in the industry encouraged me to make a comeback as the lead in his new movie, playing a mute female painter. I spent a year learning painting and sign language for this role. But just before filming started, I was notified that I had been replaced by Lily, the young girl Jack was pampering outside. Afterwards, he personally wrote an article praising the girl’s acting talent and her young, delicate face. I became the laughingstock of the industry overnight. Everyone said that the once-glorious triple crown winner would soon become the Lawrence family’s discarded wife. Jack pulled the girl close and kissed her heavily, his eyes fixed on me. “My leading lady role is only for obedient women!” “Someone, strip her clothes off!” I looked at Jack with red-rimmed eyes. After ten years of marriage, how could he be so heartless towards me? The housekeeper tried to reason with him: “Mr. Lawrence, don’t you remember that your wife just had a miscarriage last week, you…” But he became even more irritated: “Who asked for your opinion? Strip her!” The servants around us looked at me and Jack, hesitating to act. I took off the suit jacket over my silk dress and the red-soled high heels on my feet. The shoes fell to the ground with a dull thud. “Is this enough?” I turned to leave, but he tore my dress. “You have to leave this dress too, including your underwear!” I looked at Jack in disbelief: “I bought these clothes myself. They have nothing to do with you!” He sneered: “You bought them? You’ve been a housewife for ten years. Where did you get the money? Strip her naked!” The servants swarmed over and stripped off my remaining dress. I struggled desperately, but they kicked my stomach hard. Blood flowed from my body. I hugged myself to cover up, biting my lip tightly as tears fell uncontrollably. He held Lily and looked down at me: “See? This is what happens when you don’t obey!” Lily wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck and kissed him. “Lily is the most obedient. I’ll never make Jack angry, unlike some people who don’t know what’s good for them!” Jack’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes full of desire. He picked up Lily, and the girl’s surprised cries came from inside the room. The housekeeper looked at me with sympathy and took off her coat to cover me: “Miss, this is really too much!” I buried my face in the coat and finally broke down crying. I never thought that in this home where I had devoted ten years of my life, the only one who would give me a shred of dignity would be a housekeeper I had known for less than three months. 0

Wearing the housekeeper’s uniform, I walked barefoot out of the Lawrence mansion. Not far from the door was a parked stretch limo, my ticket to a new life. I hurried my steps towards it, but was forcibly dragged back to the Lawrence house by a group of people. It turned out that Jack and Lily had been playing too roughly. A fallen red candle had ignited the bedsheets, burning the girl’s arm. Lily looked at Jack with tears in her eyes, pitiful and delicate. “Jack, my arm is burned. How can I be the leading lady now? You have to think of something!” I stared at the dense red marks on Lily’s body and the scattered dog leash, whip, and red candles on the floor. So this was what the usually calm and controlled Jack liked in private. I smiled bitterly, my heart aching. Lily noticed my gaze and, whether intentionally or not, twisted her body. A rabbit tail fell from the bed. She covered her mouth apologetically: “I’m sorry, Jack really likes little rabbits!” “Sister, you don’t mind, do you? After all, you’re older now and can’t play like this anymore, right?” I looked at the girl’s face, so young it could drip water, and her smug expression. Unfortunately, she didn’t understand that no one can stay young forever. I found this farce utterly boring and checked my watch: “Jack, did you drag me back just to watch this show?” “I have urgent matters to attend to. I don’t have time to play house with you!” Jack angrily grabbed my hand, his face arrogant. “Who said you could leave? You really think I can’t let you go?” “You’re thinking too highly of yourself!” “I brought you back to borrow your skin for Lily to use!” I stared at Jack in disbelief: “Do you know what you’re saying? What right do you have to harm my body!” Jack bent down, his eyes full of cruelty. “You’re just a dog I raised. How dare you talk about rights!” “Lily’s body is delicate and can’t be marked. We can only use your skin.” “Dr. Yang, proceed!” A group of people rushed over to hold down my hands. I struggled desperately: “No!” But the needle mercilessly pierced my skin, and I gradually lost consciousness. 0

When I opened my eyes again, everything was white. The smell of disinfectant stung my nose. Excruciating pain came from my arm, and fresh blood seeped through the white bandage. I let out a hiss of pain. Hearing my movement, Jack looked up from behind his laptop. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses: “You’re awake. Feeling better?” “I hired the best plastic surgeon to do the skin graft for you two. Rest well for a few days, and you’ll be able to leave the hospital soon.” I struggled to pick up the water glass on the table and threw it at him. “Who gave you permission to touch my body?” But he didn’t get angry. Instead, he held my hand and gently coaxed me. “Alright, alright, I went too far this time. But I invested $100 million in her movie and signed a $1 billion performance bond. I couldn’t let her face be ruined, or I’d lose big!” “If you’re upset, how about we remarry next month?” Just then, a nurse rushed in: “Miss Lin has woken up and is causing a scene in her room. Mr. Lawrence, she’s asking for you.” Jack impatiently replied: “There are so many doctors here. What use is it to find me!” He sent the nurse away and continued to comfort me softly: “We only signed divorce papers. We haven’t gotten the official certificate, so it doesn’t count.” “We’ve been husband and wife for so long. Why play this running away game? Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?” “If you don’t like living with Lily, I’ll arrange another house for you. How about that?” How ridiculous. Since when did the mistress move in, and the original wife had to hide outside? I coldly withdrew my hand: “No need!” No need. We will never have anything to do with each other again in this life. Just then, the nurse rushed in again: “It’s bad! Miss Lin has gone to the rooftop!” Jack anxiously wanted to run to the rooftop but was also worried about me, so he insisted on pushing me along. The young girl stood on the edge of the rooftop. As the wind blew, her body swayed precariously. She cried, her tears falling like petals: “I heard everything. You didn’t really want a divorce. You were lying to me!” “But I’m already pregnant. How could you do this to me?” “I can’t let my child be born out of wedlock. If you won’t get a divorce certificate and marry me, I’ll jump right now!” I had never seen Jack so flustered and dismayed. He approached the girl with red eyes, step by step: “Lily, come down. You and our child are my treasures. I’ll give you anything you want!” “If I’m lying, may I die a terrible death!” Jack swore with his hand raised, his words sincere, putting on quite a show of deep affection. I glanced at the sunlight in the sky, which made my tears flow. So love doesn’t disappear, it just transfers. The girl who had been threatening suicide moments ago heard these words and leaped into Jack’s arms with open arms. He held Lily tightly, as if embracing the moon of his heart. “We’ll divorce immediately. We’ll go get the certificate tomorrow. I’ll give you anything as long as you’re happy!” Watching this scene, my eyes reddened slightly. Her child was a treasure, so what was my child? A week ago, I had just been diagnosed as pregnant. Jack was in a hurry to leave for the young girl’s birthday. I tried to stop him, but he pushed me down the stairs. When I woke up, the baby was gone. He showed no remorse: “So weak and fragile, how could it be worthy of being my child!” “It’s gone, so what? It was just a cell. We can have another one!” But now he treasured Lily’s child so dearly. I wiped away my tears and silently left. 0

Jack spent the night in the neighboring hospital room with Lily. The passing nurses pointed at their closed door, blushing and exchanging knowing looks. I watched all this coldly, silently retrieving my confiscated phone from Jack’s abandoned bag. There were multiple missed calls, all from my best friend and confidante, Sophie. Back then, we had left the dance troupe together to venture into the entertainment industry. She became a small-time director, while I became a small-time actress. Unlike me, who stopped at being a triple crown winner at 25, she remained unmarried and childless, dedicating herself to filmmaking and becoming the head judge at Cannes. She had heard about Jack’s outrageous behavior and enthusiastically invited me to Cannes to film her new movie. She said: “An experienced, mature actress like you is wasted on domestic trivialities.” “You should shine on the international stage. I have a new film here, want to come?” The word “come” turned over in my mind for a long time before I finally made up my mind and typed it out: “I’m coming!” We had agreed to meet yesterday, but unfortunately, I was delayed by Jack. I called her back: “I ran into some trouble and was delayed. Tomorrow afternoon, wait for me outside the civil affairs bureau. Congratulate me on being single again!” Sophie’s excited voice came from the other end of the phone: “Really? You’re finally willing to divorce? That’s fantastic!” The next day, to please the young girl, Jack took Lily and me to get our divorce certificate. As soon as the red divorce certificate was in my hand, he rushed off with Lily to get their marriage certificate. The staff members all looked at me with sympathy. But I happily handed out candy to them. The young girl who stamped my divorce papers looked at me with wide eyes, and soon she gave me a big smile. “Sister, congratulations on your divorce!” I accepted her blessing and walked out of the civil affairs bureau building in high spirits. Sophie, wearing sunglasses, was leaning against a stretch limo. As soon as she saw me, she gave me a big hug. “My leading lady, I’ve finally got you!” “Come on, let’s go catch some stars!” 0

Looking at her passionate face, I remembered our days in the dance troupe. We were only 17 or 18 then. She danced male roles, I danced female roles. Until the dance troupe was bought by a coal baron who wanted us to dance vulgar shows. On that starry night, the wind blew her hair. “Do you believe me? If we get out of this hellhole, I’ll definitely make something of myself!” “Come on, I’ll take you to catch stars!” Back then, we young people were full of dreams for the future. We quit our stable jobs at the dance troupe. We ventured into the entertainment industry. She confidently said she was tired of being manipulated by others. She didn’t want to be an actress anymore. She said she wanted to be a female director, a famous director. I applauded her, and then we each went our separate ways. I once thought I was luckier, meeting Jack right after my debut. He shielded me from countless covetous gazes. He let me focus solely on acting, but I didn’t know that the gifts bestowed by fate had already been priced in secret. The preferential treatment I was so proud of in my youth became the chains that trapped me for the latter half of my life. Fortunately, I had the courage to break those chains. I was about to board the plane with Sophie. Meanwhile, Jack was holding a press conference for his new movie with Lily. At the conference, a reporter asked: “Mr. Lawrence, there are rumors that your relationship with your wife has changed. Miss Emma has already gone to Cannes with Director Sophie to film a new movie. Is this related to your marital problems?” Hearing this, Jack angrily swatted away the reporter’s microphone. “Which media are you from? I don’t answer questions about my private life. Please focus on the new movie produced by Lawrence Entertainment.” After the press conference, Jack couldn’t help but dial that familiar phone number. But it kept showing: “The number you have dialed is busy!” Jack clenched his fist, wanting to smash his phone. A gossip account posted photos of me smiling and whispering with Sophie before boarding the plane. Jack looked at the woman in the photo again and again, wondering in his heart: was Emma always so fond of smiling? Then why did she always have a bitter expression when she was with me? Just then, sirens sounded outside the banquet hall.

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