I offered to exchange my life for Gabriel Foster’s mother with the kidnappers. But they went back on their word and killed her on the spot. My own sister, Chloe Collins, reported me as the mastermind behind it all. As a result, I was sentenced to five years in prison. My parents, both politicians, felt I had disgraced the family name by going to jail and disowned me. Gabriel Foster, however, treated me the same as always, telling me with deep emotion: “Aria, I believe in you.” Until I overheard his conversation with his friends outside a private room. “Gabe, when are you planning to avenge your mom? Isn’t it time that bitch Aria gets what she deserves?” “In seven days, I’ll release the video of her moaning beneath me to the public. I want everyone in the city to see just how slutty Aria Collins really is! I’ll make sure she’s run out of town for good!” My blood ran cold. Seven days later was supposed to be our wedding day. Those intimate videos taken in moments of passion would become his final blade to stab me with. Gabriel Foster, I won’t give you the chance. Before then, I’ll get those videos back and disappear from your world forever!

I returned home with a heavy heart, only to find my front door plastered with pornographic cards. The woman in the cards was me, with my face swapped using AI. I trembled in fear, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. Then, I frantically tore down those cards with all my might. But I didn’t know that those maliciously face-swapped pornographic images had already spread far and wide. My sister Chloe, who had righteously turned me in before, called. “Sis, how do you like those little cards? Gabriel specifically told me to find a sexy model, one that matches your reputation.” “Don’t you think so? You mastermind!” I should have guessed long ago who was really behind all this. So, in seven days, those videos secretly recorded by Gabriel were going to be spread to the world in this way? Gabriel Foster, I didn’t realize you hated me this much. Too heartbroken to grieve, I frantically searched for Gabriel’s laptop. Those videos must be stored there. Unfortunately, the computer was password-protected. I tried all his usual passwords but couldn’t unlock it. I finally gave up. I opened my phone and booked a flight to Melbourne for seven days later. A few minutes later, customer service called. “Hello Miss Collins, the flight seven days from now at noon may be delayed due to heavy fog. Would you like to change your flight?” “Yes, please change it to an earlier flight.” Gabriel Foster, who had just walked in, happened to hear this and anxiously asked: “We’re getting married in seven days. Where are you going?” “I’m just booking a flight for a friend. Where else would I go?” “That’s good. Aria, I’ve been busy preparing for our wedding these past few days and may have neglected you. After we’re married, I’ll make it up to you in every way.” Looking into those seemingly sincere eyes, I couldn’t tell how much of Gabriel’s words were true and how much were false. Composing myself, I nodded casually. Then Gabriel slipped his hand inside my shirt, his lips teasing my ear. He knew exactly where my sensitive spots were. But the desire he aroused in me only made me feel more ashamed. Trying to suppress my emotions, I pushed him away forcefully. “Gabriel, I’m not feeling well today. Another time.” Gabriel froze for half a second, then gently let me go.

Early the next morning, Gabriel and I went to the bridal shop we had booked long ago to try on wedding dresses. As soon as we walked in, I saw the mocking looks from the staff. Someone whispered: “That woman looks just like the one on those cards outside the neighborhood yesterday.” “I heard the man next to her is Gabriel Foster, that famous businessman in the city.” “This Mr. Foster must be so blind to be fooled by such a gold digger. Looks like he has no idea.” I stood there speechless. The next second, Gabriel waved over his assistant. “Fire all those gossiping women. Also, look into what’s going on with those cards, who did it, and chop off their hands!” I looked at Gabriel in confusion. For a moment, I even thought this might not have been his doing after all. After quickly trying on the wedding dress, Gabriel said he had some business to take care of and let me go back first. In the car, I realized I had forgotten my keys at the bridal shop. Hurrying back, I saw Chloe standing next to Gabriel. She was wearing the wedding dress I had just ordered. She smiled innocently. “Gabriel, do you think this dress looks better on me or Aria?” “Of course on you. That mastermind bitch isn’t even fit to be your maid!” Chloe’s smile deepened. “Were you satisfied with those cards yesterday? Gabriel, now we just have to wait for our wedding in seven days. Once you release all those videos at the ceremony, Aria will truly be ruined for good.” So, in seven days it would be their wedding? And I was just a condiment in all of this? This was all Gabriel Foster’s idea. He wanted to utterly destroy me. How could a person be so patient, nurturing love for three years, all for an elaborate scheme to frame me. My heart felt like it had been ripped out, the pain unbearable. Whenever I was sad, I would always go to the little courtyard my grandmother left me to clear my head. This time, I went there without hesitation. But as I approached, I saw the yard full of construction workers and the house being torn down. My tears finally fell uncontrollably. I cried and asked them: “Who are you? Why are you tearing down my grandmother’s house?” They didn’t answer, continuing to chop down the cherry tree my grandmother had planted especially for me. I couldn’t help but hug the cherry tree. “Don’t cut it down! Who are you people?” “Miss, don’t obstruct our work. The owner hired us to demolish this place, said he’s building a new house for his wife. That cherry tree you’re hugging is going to be made into furniture for the lady.” “Who told you to come?” “We don’t know the details, just that the surname is Foster.” Foster? Was it Gabriel Foster again? A few years ago, my dad had given him this courtyard as a birthday gift. Gabriel knew this was the only thing my grandmother left behind. He had promised me he would protect this house with his life. But he broke his promise after all. He personally destroyed everything, truly going all out to please Chloe. When Gabriel came looking for me, I was curled up in a corner crying. He stroked my head tenderly. “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you. This old house is too run-down and no longer meets city standards for old buildings. It has to be demolished and rebuilt.” I knew these were all his excuses. Years ago, Chloe had wanted to tear down the house and rebuild it. Back then, I fought tooth and nail to stop her from getting her way. I never expected Gabriel would secretly make the decision for her. But it doesn’t matter. I’m leaving soon anyway. With the house gone, my last attachment is severed. From now on, there will be nothing left here to tie me down.

Perhaps out of guilt, Gabriel suddenly became much more attentive after that day. He came home on time every day to make soup for me and bought me limited edition handbags. If it weren’t for the secret hidden in that laptop, I would have almost believed he had truly fallen for me. Seeing me staring blankly at the laptop, Gabriel waved his hand in front of my eyes. “What’s wrong? Do you have something on your mind?” “No, I’m just a bit tired.” I shook my head, making up a random excuse. “Are you nervous about getting married soon? I’ll take you out tomorrow to relax.” The next day, when we arrived at our destination, I realized Chloe had come too. I glanced at Gabriel. His eyes darted away, then he quickly gripped my hand tightly. “I didn’t know she was coming. James must have brought her.” James came over smiling to greet us. “I brought Chloe. Surely you won’t mind, sis? After all, you’re sisters. It’s only right for a sister to attend her sister’s bachelorette party.” Chloe nodded with a smile. “That’s right, sis. We’ll always be sisters. As your little sister, I truly wish you happiness.” I didn’t know what game they were playing today, but my instincts told me things weren’t as simple as they seemed. After the party started, those guys pulled Gabriel outside. I saw them discussing something, with Gabriel looking very reluctant. But in the end, he seemed to nod. Then they all left the room. Only Chloe and I were left in the room. With everyone gone, Chloe finally showed her true colors. She looked at me mockingly, her smile becoming grotesque. “Aria, Gabriel has prepared a big surprise for you later. I hope you enjoy it.” With that, she left too. The empty private room held only me. A sense of foreboding suddenly arose in my heart. Soon after, several drunk men barged into the room. The bearded drunk in the lead said: “That bitch wasn’t lying. The lady in here really is a beauty. Come on boys, let’s show her a good time.” Seeing these drunks, I finally understood. Gabriel’s reluctant expression earlier was because of this. He may have hesitated. But he still nodded. He agreed to their proposal. Watching the drunk men lunge at me, I trembled in fear, crying out for help. “Help! Someone help me!” But the people outside had all been sent away by them. No one responded to my cries. I watched as they tore my clothes to shreds, my pale purple bra exposed. Just as that man was about to grab my chest, I steeled myself, ready to bite my tongue and end it all. But the next second, the door was kicked open. It was Gabriel who had returned. He stood across from me, like a deity descending from heaven. I looked at his bloodthirsty eyes, unable to understand the meaning behind his loss of control. In a flash, he flew at the drunk man in front of me and kicked him to the ground, then knocked down the other two drunks with his fists. He seemed to use great force. His knuckles were bleeding, impossible to tell if it was his blood or the drunks’. Then he took off his jacket and draped it over me. He gently kissed my hair. “I’m sorry I was late.” Then he glared fiercely at the drunks on the ground. “Chop off all their hands and feed them to the dogs!”

Everyone present was stunned. This was all his idea, so why was he now acting so devoted? Who was he putting on this show for? I was too exhausted to think about it. I wearily leaned against his chest, letting him carry me home. Back home, he carefully bathed me and changed my clothes. I just lay on the table, not saying a word. Gabriel worriedly stroked my head. “It’s okay now, Aria. Everything’s fine.” With red eyes, I asked him: “Gabriel, can you promise me one thing?” “Of course. Not just one, I’ll promise you ten things.” “Alright. I want to use your laptop later. I want to check if what happened earlier has been leaked online.” “It won’t be. Anyone who dares leak it, I’ll chop their hands off myself.” I lay on the table silently again. Gabriel finally told me his laptop password. I never expected the password to be the anniversary of when we started dating. That night, after he fell asleep, I secretly opened his computer. He must have forgotten to log out of WeChat. All the messages from his group chat with his buddies popped up. “Gabe, what do you mean? Didn’t we agree to let those drunks have their way with Aria? We had the cameras all set up, just one step away.” “Gabe, don’t go soft now. Our plan only has two days left. Don’t tell me you’re going to chicken out of releasing the videos.” “Yeah, Chloe’s waiting backstage. If you don’t release these videos, are you really going to abandon Chloe and marry Aria?” Below was Gabriel’s reply an hour later: “The original plan continues. I won’t back out.” Even though I was prepared, when I saw that “I won’t back out”, I felt like I had fallen into an icy abyss. Seeing the folder named “Aria’s Secrets”, I opened it with trembling hands. Sure enough, all the videos Gabriel had carefully recorded over the years were in there. Without hesitation, I right-clicked and pressed delete. Then I went to the recycle bin and permanently deleted the files I had just trashed. Watching the videos disappear, my heart finally calmed. Gabriel Foster, you no longer have anything to hold over me. The next morning, Gabriel specially made my favorite breakfast wraps. He gently kissed my forehead, as if I was his most precious treasure. “Aria, we can’t see each other the night before the wedding. I’ll be waiting for you at the ceremony tomorrow.” I smiled and nodded. After Gabriel left, I threw out everything in the house related to me. The wedding photos on the wall, the clay dolls we made together, all the gifts I had given Gabriel. I opened the trash can and tossed them all in without hesitation. On the wedding day, I took my suitcase and headed to the airport without looking back. Before boarding, I posted one last update on social media: “From now on, we go our separate ways. Gabriel Foster, farewell forever!” Then I took out the SIM card from my phone and casually tossed it in the trash… Meanwhile, Gabriel had been waiting at the wedding venue for a long time. Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295959”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

My best friend Olivia and I were both adopted as fake heiresses. After an accidental fall into water, we both gained a new set of memories. We learned that the real heiress, once found, would seek revenge on us for stealing her life for over a decade. So Olivia and I decided to seek protection. She chose the cold and aloof older brother, while I seduced the dark and unpredictable younger brother. But when the real heiress returned, things started to turn against us. Olivia and I pooled our secret savings and decided to make a graceful exit. Two years later, we were caught at the airport. The unpredictable younger brother, Ethan, imprisoned me and smiled coldly, “Lily, you’ve been such a naughty girl, leaving me for so long. How should I punish you, hmm?” As Olivia was slapped to the ground, I was trembling under the bed. “I told you, I didn’t do anything! Why won’t you believe me?” Olivia sobbed, tears falling from her reddened eyes. As she cried, she glanced at me, tucking the hem of my dress that was peeking out from under the bed. “Emma wouldn’t lie to me,” Nathan looked down at Olivia coldly, his eyes like glaciers. “Besides, if it wasn’t you, who else could it be? Did Emma throw herself down the stairs?!” Olivia cried heartbrokenly, “We’ve known each other for ten years. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? If she wouldn’t lie to you, do you think I’m capable of doing such a thing?!” Her voice, choked with sobs, made even my heart ache. But Nathan’s voice remained ice-cold, “She’s back now, which means you’re about to lose everything you once had. People will do anything for money, won’t they?” “Nathan! Is your heart made of stone? I’ve followed you for so many years, is this what you think of me?” Olivia struggled to her knees, clutching Nathan’s clothes, begging through tears, “Please, believe me, okay? I really didn’t touch her. She fell by herself. Please believe me…” Another resounding slap followed. Olivia was knocked to the ground again. Then came Nathan’s warning voice, “You’d better pray Emma is alright. If anything happens to her, I’ll have your life!” With that, Nathan turned to leave. Olivia cried and chased after him, “Don’t go, Nathan, please, don’t go…” But the door was slammed shut mercilessly. Only when I heard the sound of a car engine starting downstairs did I slowly crawl out from under the bed. Olivia was taking selfies with her phone, pouting. “You know, my teary-eyed, pitiful look is quite photogenic.” I was speechless. Walking over, I examined both sides of her face. “Your guy is quite considerate, slapping both cheeks evenly.” “It hurts like hell,” she grumbled, taking out a first-aid kit from the bedside table and applying ointment to her face. “This isn’t working. If things keep going this way, we’re definitely going to lose to Emma.” “What should we do?” I asked, “That Emma has a thousand tricks up her sleeve. In less than half a year since she’s been back, look at how much we’ve suffered!” Olivia’s expression turned serious, “We can’t rely on men anymore. Let’s plan our escape.”

Olivia and I grew up together in an orphanage. When we were ten, because one of us had similar eyes and the other had a similar mouth, Mr. and Mrs. Lin adopted us from the orphanage to comfort their longing for their lost daughter. We enjoyed eight years of life as young heiresses. At eighteen, Olivia and I both fell into water. When we woke up, we had gained a new set of memories. In these memories, the real heiress would be found when we turned twenty-one. She would seek revenge on us for stealing her life of luxury for over a decade, launching a series of vicious attacks. In the end, after her repeated framing and slander, Olivia and I would be tortured to death by the two brothers. After this revelation, we decided to seek protection. She chose the cold and aloof older brother, while I seduced the dark and unpredictable younger brother. Though these two men had vastly different personalities, they did have something in common. They were both incredibly handsome and unbelievably rich. Filthy rich. Either one of them alone could dominate the entire city of New York. For three years, Olivia and I used every trick in the book to develop somewhat improper relationships with them. We played the roles of hopelessly devoted lovers while using unlimited black cards to splurge everywhere. Until the real heiress, Emma, returned. At first, we were able to cleverly dodge her little schemes. But Olivia and I together couldn’t make up one complete brain, and gradually we became overwhelmed, starting to stumble repeatedly. Especially this time. Emma directly framed Olivia for pushing her down the stairs, cleverly using the camera angles to create the illusion that Olivia had pushed her. In an instant, Olivia became the target of everyone’s anger. And our big brother Nathan, Olivia’s chosen protector, still chose to blindly believe Emma. If this continues, we’ll probably still end up being tortured to death. “Plan A seems to have failed,” Olivia started rummaging through drawers and cabinets. “We can start preparing Plan B now.” “Right now it’s me who’s stumbled, Nathan will at most torture me mentally. When that real heiress targets you, with your guy’s methods, you’ll probably die even more miserably.” Thinking of Ethan’s face, I immediately nodded in agreement. “Right, let’s run, quick!” Ethan and Nathan were half-brothers with different mothers. Nathan took his father’s surname, while Ethan took his mother’s. Unlike Nathan, everything Ethan owned was earned through his own abilities, carved out of a sea of blood. I once saw him stab a knife into the eye of someone who tried to harm me, then calmly wipe the blood off his face, take my hand, and casually end that person’s life with a single word. This scene haunted my nightmares for a long time after. I heard that when Ethan was young, he was very close to his biological sister. If Emma were to frame me, that knife would probably end up in my eye. Olivia finally took out a stack of documents from a drawer with three locks, dumping them all on the bed. Looking at the pile of bank books and new identity documents, my eyes lit up. “You’re still the best, preparing everything so thoroughly.” Olivia gave me an exasperated look, “What else? Rely on you? If we relied on you, we’d both starve to death in the future.” From the day we decided to change our fate three years ago, Olivia and I had been planning two strategies simultaneously, just in case. For three years, we saved every penny we could, entrusting it all to Olivia, who studied finance, to manage. Now it had become a considerable sum. “How are we going to escape?” I asked her. Olivia took out two pieces of paper, writing “kidnapping” and “suicide” on them respectively, crumpling them into balls, and letting me choose. “If you pick suicide, you die first. If kidnapping, you die later.” I rubbed my hands together, mentally pointing back and forth between the two options. Everyone would want to choose suicide, to die first and be done with it. The person who gets kidnapped not only has to act out one last play but also face various unexpected situations, which is thankless work. After praying to my ancestors for eighteen generations to bless me, I still ended up choosing kidnapping. I let out a wail. Olivia made a sympathetic sound, “No choice, it’s fate. Sorry about that~”

Plan B officially launched, and our escape countdown began. Olivia prepared to act out a few more scenes of heartbreak, pretending to have depression and visiting a psychiatrist a few times to get some reports for show. I came back to wait obediently for instructions, while also figuring out how to get some more pocket money from Ethan. After all, who doesn’t like having more money? Not long after I got home, Ethan returned, looking travel-worn. I sat obediently in the living room, smiling as I waited for him. He threw off his coat and pulled me into his arms, his cool fingertips brushing across my lips. I thought he was going to kiss me, so I gently closed my eyes. But after a while, his lips didn’t touch mine. I opened my eyes to find his obsidian-like eyes studying me coldly. My heart skipped a beat. “Your location system was turned off this afternoon. Where did you go?” “I went shopping. My phone died, and I only charged it when I got home.” To prove myself, I handed him my phone that had just been charged. “Mm, good girl.” He patted my head like he was petting a puppy, then produced a strawberry cake as if by magic. “I bought this for you.” My eyes lit up, and I snuggled into his arms, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Unlike Nathan, Ethan had an almost obsessive possessiveness. What he wanted was a detailed response and equally passionate love for everything. Ethan was an illegitimate child, and his mother had passed away when he was very young. At eight years old, he was brought back to the Lin family. But the Lin family wasn’t kind to him. Throughout his childhood, only Emma, who was like an angel, showed him any affection. I also knew that in his heart, I was far less important than the real Emma. But when Ethan was with me, he was very good to me. To others, he was violent and fierce, but in front of me, he always tried his best to be gentle. I feared the bloody smell that often clung to him, so he would always shower before coming to see me. He learned that I liked sweets, so he would bring me various desserts almost every time he came back. Emotionally, he gave me a sense of security. Materially, I never lacked for anything. He even bought an entire island for me, decorating it exactly the way I liked. On the balcony of the villa, we kissed passionately in the sea breeze. He left deep and shallow bite marks on my neck, “If I ever lose sight of you again, I’ll lock you up, on this island.” “Only I can see you, touch you, like this…” His hands explored deeper, and I, red-eyed, gradually surrendered to his dominance. For a moment, I even entertained the thought of staying by Ethan’s side for a lifetime. But I knew I couldn’t. More than love, I hoped to live freely in the future. “Ethan…” In the heat of passion, I chanted his name over and over. And he, bit by bit, pressed me deeper. In the dead of night, Ethan woke up but didn’t see me. He searched the entire villa before finally finding me facing the sea. I wore only a coat, my thin figure swaying in the sea breeze. “I told you, you’re not allowed to leave my sight, ever.” Ethan embraced me from behind, his domineering lips kissing from my neck to my ear. When he saw my tear-stained face, he froze. “Why are you crying?” “Will you marry me?” I asked him, my tear-filled eyes full of uncertainty and pain. I had approached Ethan with a purpose, and to please him, I played the role of an obedient girl as best I could. In every aspect, we were perfectly compatible. This was the first time, in front of him, that I asked for a formal commitment. He frowned but didn’t say a word. My tears fell harder, “It’s been three years, and no one knows I exist in your life. I can’t see any future.” “Ethan, tell me you’ll marry me, okay? Even if… even if it’s a lie, please?” He let go of me. I anxiously grabbed him, the light in my eyes shattering bit by bit, “What am I to you? You won’t even lie to me?” The phone rang at that moment. He answered it. It was from the hospital, and I clearly heard the doctor’s voice on the other end. Emma had woken up from her coma. After hanging up, Ethan turned to leave. I cried and threw myself at him, begging in a humble tone, “Don’t go, stay, stay with me, please?” He shook me off, his expression cold, his tone full of undisguised irritation. “Lily, I don’t like women who don’t know their place.”

I stood by the sea, watching his yacht cut across the water. The entire island was left with just me. I threw the eye drops I had used to fake tears into the trash can, then ran up and down the villa several times, digging out all the private money I had hidden in various corners. Three cards, and some valuable but inconspicuous trinkets. After packing up my belongings, I called Olivia. She had everything prepared on her end too. The next day, before leaving the island, I sent messages to Ethan every few minutes as usual. The content was all crazy talk I found online. Things like “If you don’t pay attention to me, I’ll die” and such. Sure enough, when I tried to send another message, it showed a red exclamation mark. Ethan had blocked me. A woman who wasn’t obedient enough, he wouldn’t even bother to comfort. This was good too. I had achieved my goal and could finally send Olivia off properly.

Emma had woken up, but the doctor said that the fall had caused permanent nerve damage in one of her legs, and she might never be able to stand again. “This Olivia is too much!” Nathan was furious. He held Emma’s hand tightly, “I will definitely give you justice for this, sister.” Emma’s eyes reddened, and large tears fell uncontrollably. She kept shaking her head. “It’s the two sisters who have been with you day and night for over a decade, not me.” “I suddenly came back and took everything that should have belonged to them. It’s understandable that they hate me.” “It’s okay, brother. It’s just one leg. Don’t cause trouble for Olivia because of me.” “As long as you brothers are happy and our family can be together, I don’t mind what happens to me.” Compared to Olivia’s willfulness and selfishness, Emma’s self-sacrifice made Nathan feel even more guilty. Originally, he still held out hope, thinking this might all be an accident. But hearing Emma’s words, even if he didn’t want to admit it, he had to believe. His woman had actually crippled his own sister. Nathan took out his phone, his face cold, and dialed a number. The line was busy. He tried several more times, but then it went straight to voicemail. Just as he was about to try again, he received a call from me. “What do you want?!” Nathan’s angry shout almost made me forget the script I had prepared. After a while, I finally remembered my task and anxiously recited my lines. “It’s terrible, Nathan. I just got a call from Olivia. She was crying non-stop, saying she was in so much pain, that she couldn’t go on living. It was like she was leaving her last words.” “Now I can’t reach her no matter how I call. Did Olivia do something stupid? I can’t get away right now, you need to go check on her immediately!” Nathan just laughed coldly, his tone full of sarcasm. “Enough, Lily. Are you trying to deceive me along with Olivia now? Tell her, I’m tired of these little tricks!” “This time she crippled Emma, and she thinks she can escape responsibility with this method?” “Impossible! She’d better have committed suicide, otherwise, I’ll make her pay for her evil deeds!” With that, he hung up without giving me a chance to speak.

After hanging up, Nathan stared at the several unanswered calls he had made, lost in thought. Amid his anger, his heart felt inexplicably empty. As if something had disappeared. “Brother, I just heard. Is Olivia really going to commit suicide?” Emma’s face showed anxious concern. “Then you should hurry back to check on her. I’ll be fine here. Olivia is more important.” Nathan frowned, “Emma, you’re still too kind. You don’t understand how wicked people can be.” “She’s used this trick more than once. It’s just to escape responsibility. Don’t worry about it.” He walked over and tucked Emma’s blanket in. “Don’t worry, I will give you justice. I won’t let you suffer in vain.” Emma lowered her eyes, biting her lower lip lightly. A tear hung at the corner of her eye before finally falling. She whimpered, burying herself in Nathan’s arms pitifully. “Brother… I just wanted our family to accept me. Why did it turn out like this…” Nathan, who had planned to go home and check, saw Emma’s fragile and pitiful state and ultimately softened, deciding to stay with her. As night fell, Nathan looked at the sleeping Emma behind him, opened his phone, and stared at the empty chat window with Olivia. He tried calling her again. It was still the cold robotic voice of the switched-off prompt. He sat on a bench, looking at the bright moon in the sky, and rubbed his somewhat empty-feeling heart. He carefully recalled the events of the past few days. It seemed that since Emma’s return, he had been neglecting Olivia. During this time, she had mostly been crying, breaking down in tears, hysterical due to his distrust. Even at the end, when he was leaving, he saw her kneeling on the ground, begging him so pitifully. But at that time, he seemed to not even look at her, and even said harsh words to her. Thinking of this, Nathan suddenly stood up, pacing anxiously on the balcony for several rounds, before finally calling me again. “Did you find Olivia? Tell her to stop throwing a tantrum and call me back immediately.” “Yes, I found Olivia,” my voice sounded hoarse, as if I had just been crying. “But unfortunately, she can’t call you anymore.” “She’s dead. Suicide. She took sleeping pills and set herself on fire.” “She didn’t even want to leave you a complete corpse. Are you satisfied now?” The other end of the line suddenly went quiet. Nathan was silent for a long time. If it weren’t for his increasingly rapid breathing, I would have thought the call had been disconnected. “Lily, this joke isn’t funny.” “Now, immediately, let Olivia contact me. I can overlook her pushing Emma. Just let her…” “If you don’t believe me, you can come back anytime,” I interrupted him, my voice breaking into sobs again. “We just found her body.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295958”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

On the tenth anniversary of my marriage to Ryan Thompson, I discovered he was cheating. I had no photos, no evidence. My only reason for suspicion was that he said “Good morning” to me when he woke up. After ten years of saying “Morning,” he suddenly switched to “Good morning.” When the private investigator sent the photos, I was sitting in my usual cafe at my usual time, drinking my usual cappuccino. The steam from the coffee blurred the images on my phone screen, but the content was crystal clear. Ryan had indeed been unfaithful. The other woman was barely twenty, twelve years younger than me. Seeing him gazing lovingly at her, I set down my coffee cup. Today’s coffee tasted bitter. I first suspected his infidelity two days ago. That morning, he woke up looking cheerful, wearing a hoodie instead of his usual dark suit. Then he said, “Good morning” to me. They say a woman’s intuition is accurate. It certainly was. That morning, without photos, evidence, or any woman causing a scene, I knew my husband of ten years had strayed. After he left that day, I called a private investigator. Today’s results merely confirmed what I already knew. I felt oddly calm, so calm that I wondered if I had already lost all feelings for Ryan. I saved the photos, paid the investigator’s final fee, settled my coffee bill, and took a taxi to Ryan’s office. The receptionist tried to announce me, but I stopped her. I took the elevator to Ryan’s office on the ninth floor. When I opened the door, he was grinning at his phone. Seeing me, he quickly changed his expression to his usual gentle, caring demeanor: “Olivia, what brings you here?” I stared at him silently, watching the nervous sweat form on his brow, seeing the guilt he couldn’t quite hide in his eyes. After making him squirm, I finally spoke: “Nothing much. I just remembered today is our tenth wedding anniversary. I booked a restaurant and thought we could have dinner after work.” Ryan’s face paled for a moment. I knew he had completely forgotten. I also knew he had promised to take that young girl to the amusement park to ride the Ferris wheel tonight. The investigator was thorough – he even sent me the girl’s social media account. I browsed through it out of boredom. They first met ten months ago. The girl’s name had “Zhi” in it, and she was a pastry chef at a cake shop. That explained why desserts from a brand called “Azhi Handmade” kept appearing at home. Several times, Ryan had even brought home desserts with mango – the fruit I’m allergic to. The girl also had a white cat, which explained the cat hair on Ryan. He’s actually allergic to cats, which is why we never got one despite how much I love them. Ryan was really sacrificing for love. Twenty-year-old girls are easy to read and can’t hide things well. Her account was full of lovey-dovey content. She called Ryan “Uncle.” For nine months, she had been documenting their sweet story: [Uncle came to buy my cake again today. I drew a special heart on it just for him.] [Uncle confessed to me! It feels like a dream. I’m the happiest girl in the world now.] Photo: roses.jpg That night, Ryan didn’t come home. I remember it clearly because I had a stomachache and called him several times, but he didn’t answer. The next day, he came home looking disheveled, hugged me and apologized, saying there was an emergency at work and he had to pull an all-nighter.

I kept scrolling through her posts – birthdays, trips, dates. They did look happy. Until the most recent update: [Uncle finally agreed to ride the Ferris wheel with me tonight! We’ll kiss at the highest point, so we’ll never be apart!] Ryan didn’t go with her to the Ferris wheel after all. He chose me. Ten years of companionship still outweighed ten months, it seemed. The familiar revolving restaurant, the familiar table – from here, we had the best view of the entire city. Ten years is a long time. Long enough for us to go from sharing a bowl of noodles to sitting at the highest point of the city, ordering two steaks that had been flown in from Holland that morning. I pushed the gift I had prepared towards Ryan. He had to feign gratitude. It was a pair of cufflinks worth six figures, but Ryan wasn’t wearing a suit today. He wasn’t even wearing his wedding ring. “I’m touched, thank you, Olivia.” “I really should apologize too. I’ve been so busy that I forgot our anniversary, so I didn’t have time to get you a gift. Can you forgive me?” Ryan held my hand, apologizing with seeming sincerity. I smiled: “It’s alright, I forgive you.” The double meaning was clear. I hoped he would understand. After that, we fell silent. We clinked glasses silently, cut our steaks silently. The knives and forks made harsh sounds against the plates. Ryan seemed uncomfortable, constantly checking the time. “Do you remember when we were poorest? I found a great part-time job as a waiter at a five-star hotel. One table ordered over ten thousand dollars worth of food. While serving, I dropped a pastry. The customer got angry. That pastry cost $1,345 – half a month’s salary for me. It was so expensive.” “Olivia, why are you suddenly bringing this up?” Ryan’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. I ignored him and continued: “The manager scolded me harshly. I had to stand there for two hours as punishment. After the customers left, I secretly packed up that pastry and took it home. We squeezed into our tiny, powerless rental apartment and shared it, bite by bite. I thought it was the most delicious pastry in the world then, but today…” I looked up, and Ryan avoided my gaze guiltily: “I suddenly can’t remember what that pastry tasted like anymore.” “Olivia, do you want some dessert? I can order some right away,” Ryan said eagerly. “Forget it, let’s just eat,” I said, lowering my eyes. But Ryan suddenly stood up: “Olivia, there’s an emergency at work. I need to go back. I’ll make it up to you for our anniversary another time.” He left in such a hurry he almost tripped, not even looking back. All because that girl had just posted an update: [Uncle is a big liar. I don’t want to talk to him anymore. crying] The photo showed her burned hand and a half-finished anniversary cake. I looked out at the glittering city night view. I put down my knife and fork, finally remembering what that pastry from years ago tasted like. It was bitter. In the reflection of the glass, I saw my tear-streaked face. Ryan had forgotten. That night, squeezed onto our tiny single bed, he held me tight and said: “Olivia, I promise I’ll make something of myself. I’ll let you sit at the highest point of the city and eat the most expensive meal.” Now I was eating that meal, but the person was gone. It turns out ten months really can be longer than ten years.

After that day, Ryan didn’t come home for three days. Love is always impulsive and passionate. Before midnight that night, they rode the Ferris wheel, kissed at the highest point, and promised to never be apart. “Here’s your cake.” “Thank you.” I politely closed the photo on my phone screen of the two of them kissing on the Ferris wheel. I carefully examined the girl before me. We were finally meeting. Emily Davis, Ryan’s mistress. She smiled warmly, showing her cute little fangs. “This is our shop’s signature cake. It’s super delicious!” Young girls really are different – so full of energy and sunshine. I tried a bite of her cake. It tasted good, just too sweet. Sickeningly sweet. “It’s very good.” “Can I get another one to go? I want to bring it to my husband.” She smiled: “Of course, beautiful sister. You and your husband must have a great relationship.” I didn’t respond, just watched her carefully tie a bow on the bag. As I was leaving, she said sweetly: “Come back again soon! I hope your husband likes my cake too.” “He will. He’ll love it.” I gave her one last long look, then turned and left. I sat on the sofa waiting for Ryan to come home. Because he hadn’t been home for several days, he had an ingratiating smile when he saw me. “Olivia dear, I’ve been so busy these past few days. I brought you a gift. Please don’t be mad at me, okay?” He came up behind me, put his arms around my shoulders and buried his face in my neck. But I could still smell that sickly sweet scent on him. I shrugged out of his embrace without a word. I handed him the boxed cake. Sure enough, when he saw the packaging, the color drained from his face. “Why did you suddenly buy cake?” He was testing me. I kept my face expressionless. Ryan was still trying to keep up appearances. He pulled a velvet box from his pocket containing a jeweled bracelet. “Olivia, are you still mad at me? I swear, it won’t happen again. Really.” “Don’t be angry, okay Olivia?” I used to find Ryan’s wheedling childish but endearing. No matter how decisive and ruthless he was outside, at home he was always my Huaizhi. But now, this special treatment had become his way of lying to me. I forced a smile: “I was passing by and remembered you like it, so I bought some.” Ryan let out a sigh of relief. He leaned in again and fastened the bracelet around my wrist. “I knew my Olivia couldn’t stay mad at me.” I felt dazed. I used to think Ryan had never changed. In my heart, he was always that 20-year-old boy. Now, I could clearly see the fine lines around his eyes, his sagging cheeks, the gray hairs mixed in with the black. “How many years have we known each other?” “Fifteen years. Five years dating, ten years married.” Ryan answered quickly, as if afraid of making another mistake I might notice. “Fifteen years… that really is a long time.” “Only fifteen years, Olivia. We still have many more fifteens ahead of us.” Ryan was eager to prove his loyalty. But fifteen years really was too long. So long I thought it would be a lifetime. Long enough for someone to grow tired of it.

After that day, out of guilt, Ryan stayed home obediently for a week. Then he started not coming home again. I went back to Azhi Handmade. Sat in the same spot as before. Scrolling through Emily’s page. Turns out they went skiing last week. The same cake was placed in front of me. Emily still had that same smile. “Nice to see you again, beautiful sister.” I nodded but didn’t touch the cake. “What’s wrong? Not going to try it today?” “I’m tired of it.” I said simply. Emily’s expression froze for a moment before she recovered her smile. “That’s okay, we have other flavors in the shop. They’re all delicious!” “You can try a different one.” Try a different one. Indeed, I could try something different. I took out my phone and snapped a photo of the shop, posting it with the caption: [Delicious.] Within minutes, Ryan called. I ignored it, hanging up and putting my phone on silent. Emily was making a cake. I stood up and slowly walked over. She looked up and smiled at me. “Want to give it a try, beautiful sister?” “It’s different when you make it yourself.” I nodded. So she brought me into her workspace. She guided me hands-on in making a cake. As we worked, she chattered away: “Beautiful sister, let me tell you, I met my boyfriend while making cakes. The first time he made one, it was all crooked and ugly.” “You two must be very close.” Emily smiled shyly, her eyes sparkling: “Yes, I love him so much.” “We need to trim the cake first.” She handed me the knife. I looked at her young, radiant face and raised the knife. Suddenly I heard a shout: “No!” Then I saw Ryan rush in, roughly push me aside and shield Emily, looking at me in panic. “Olivia, I know I was wrong, but don’t hurt her.” My shoulder slammed hard into the wall, a sharp pain shooting through me. The knife slipped and cut across the back of my hand, drawing blood. I stared at Ryan as I put down the knife and straightened up. Emily was still confused. She clung to Ryan, gripping his clothes tightly. “What’s wrong, Uncle?” I took off my ring and held it up in front of her. It matched the one on Ryan’s left hand as he shielded her. She finally realized – I was the original wife he had no feelings for, who made him lose his passion. Those were her words on her blog: [I feel so bad for Uncle, trapped in a loveless marriage. But it’s okay, I don’t need anything. I just want his love.] She had known all along that Ryan was married. I watched her face turn pale with shock, then suddenly gather her courage and step forward. She bowed to me, her voice shaking: “I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong, but I have to say it. Uncle and I truly love each other. I don’t want anything else, I just want him.” Ryan looked at her with eyes full of emotion. How pure, I thought. But he had forgotten that I said those exact words ten years ago. Kneeling in front of my father, my face set stubbornly. [I don’t need anything. I just want him.] Back then, Ryan had grabbed my hand and told me he would never let me down. But now. “Olivia, I’m sorry, but I love her.” Ryan looked the picture of undying love as they embraced. I had become the evil supporting character getting in the way of the leads’ romance. Slap! I raised my hand and struck Ryan hard across the face, so hard my palm stung. The wedding ring traced a beautiful arc through the air, fell to the ground, and rolled out of sight. Ryan held his face, not daring to look at me. The young girl was heartbroken for him. She wanted to say something to me, but Ryan held her back. I didn’t say a word. I just straightened my back, walked out of the workspace, smoothed my hair, and picked up my bag. Then I turned back to Ryan and said the only thing I had to say since he arrived: “I’ve sent the divorce papers to your email. Sign them quickly.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295957”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

On my wedding day in my previous life, the man I had waited over 20 years for held his secretary’s hand and forced me to accept them: “It’s just a wedding ceremony, what’s wrong with three people doing it together? Emily has no objections, so who are you to refuse?” I was so angry I felt dizzy. Thankfully, my parents were there to support me. But when they arrived, they rushed over to the secretary instead: “We’re so sorry you suffered all these years because of the hospital mix-up. Don’t worry, we’ll give you everything a daughter could want!” “Olivia! Hurry up and bow to your sister! Know your place!” The shock of their betrayal caused my weak heart to give out, and I died right in front of them. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to my wedding day. The fear of death suddenly overwhelmed me like a tidal wave. My agonized screams from my final moments seemed to still be echoing overhead. The three people I had trusted most in my life were shielding the one who had caused my death. They frowned at me: “Can you stop making a scene? Do you think pretending to be sick will make us feel sorry for you? If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you really die?” A sharp pain struck my chest. I could only watch helplessly as my body collapsed. “No!!!” I jolted awake with a gasp, breathing heavily. Strangely, that awful scene from my past life didn’t play out. I was lying in my own bedroom, looking at the familiar decorations around me. My mind raced as an unbelievable thought struck me. I had been reborn! Had the heavens taken pity on my tragic fate and given me another chance? Suddenly, a glass came flying at my head. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, it would have smashed into my skull. I turned back angrily to see Ryan looking at me coldly: “What are you standing around for? The guests will be arriving soon. Hurry up and go greet them!” I looked at his face looming so close and suddenly smiled: “You’re right, I should go greet the guests. You should rest up too.” In the past, my love for him had been blind and absolute. I would have done anything he asked, even dying for him without hesitation. I couldn’t even bring myself to say a harsh word to him. He was used to me being so submissive: “Sigh, I’m doing all this for our family. If you were as understanding as Emily and could help me with work, I wouldn’t be so exhausted every day.” I was astounded at how low a person’s morals could sink. In my past life, I had trusted him so completely that even when intimate photos of him and Emily were sent to my phone multiple times, I still firmly believed they were just boss and employee. It wasn’t until they confronted me at the wedding ceremony, admitting they had been secretly sleeping together and demanding a three-way marriage in front of all the guests. I adamantly refused, originally hoping my parents who had doted on me since childhood would stand up for me. But who could have guessed that when the two of them rushed over, not only did they not support me, they took Emily’s hand and announced to everyone that she was their real daughter. And I was just a baby that had been switched at birth. In an instant, the betrayal of both my love and my family caused my already weak heart to give out. Actually, if they had just sent me to the hospital promptly, I still would have had a chance at survival. But they didn’t care if I lived or died, and kept pressuring me to agree to this absurd wedding. My life ebbed away bit by bit as I lay writhing in agony on the ground. But they surrounded me, berating me for being selfish. In the end, I was literally dragged to my death on what should have been my wedding day. I died at the hands of my cruel loved ones. Thinking of their frenzied expressions, I couldn’t help but shudder in fear. I was clearly the biggest victim, but not a single one of them felt sorry for my tragic fate. After my death, Emily smoothly moved into my home, spending my parents’ money and sleeping with my husband. Meanwhile, I was left to rot, not even given a proper burial. Wasn’t it all so unfair?! In this new life, I would never allow that to happen again.

I knew Emily was waiting for Ryan downstairs. His excuse about needing to work was just a cover to go have sex with her. How ridiculous – the wedding ceremony was starting in just a few hours. He abandoned his bride to sleep with another woman. He truly didn’t see me as a human being at all. Instead of arguing like I used to, I patted his hand sweetly: “I saw your assistant waiting for you downstairs for a while. You should go check if there’s some urgent matter.” He was taken aback by how understanding I was being. In the past, I would fly into a jealous rage at any mention of Emily and force him to choose between us. But now I was suddenly so mature? He wasn’t stupid. He eyed me suspiciously: “You’re okay with me going to see her? You’re not planning some new way to bully her, are you?” I lowered my head, unconsciously touching my beating heart. This new life was precious. I couldn’t make the same mistakes again. With that in mind, I forced an understanding smile: “Don’t be silly. I trust you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.” “Besides, Emily has worked for you for so long. If there was something between you two, it would have happened already.” Ryan had been anxious to go to Emily. Seeing me give him an out, he grew even more excited: “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things there and be right back. It won’t delay the wedding.” After confirming I wasn’t angry, he finally rushed downstairs to drive off and meet Emily. Once I had finally persuaded him to leave, I collapsed weakly into a chair. Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Everything could still be salvaged. In my past life, my trust in them had sent me straight to hell with my own hands. Now I no longer hoped for love from him or my parents. I just wanted to live this life safely and peacefully. My parents weren’t here either. I guessed they had gone to get the DNA test results with Emily. Thinking of the home I had lived in for over 20 years, no matter how reluctant I was to leave, I knew I had to go. After all, this place was no longer my sanctuary. But I didn’t expect Ryan to return so quickly. And with him were my parents. Seeing their tearful eyes fixed on Emily, I knew. They had already acknowledged her as their daughter. When they saw me, they actually looked a bit uncomfortable. Emily boldly stepped forward: “Olivia, you know Ryan and I truly love each other. If I can’t marry him, my life would be meaningless. You understand that feeling, right?” I really couldn’t understand. The world of mistresses was too bizarre. To so brazenly provoke me. But I didn’t get angry. I just calmly looked at Ryan: “What does she want?” Ryan frowned, speaking carelessly: “Emily graduated and started dating me right away. I have to take responsibility for her.” “You just wanted a wedding ceremony anyway. The three of us can hold the ceremony together today. Emily is even willing to let you enter the family. You should be grateful!” My parents nodded along: “Olivia, in terms of looks, figure, and knowledge, you can’t compare to Emily. It’s already a blessing beyond your wildest dreams that Ryan still wants you. Hurry up and…” “I agree.” Before they could finish, I had already agreed to their proposal.

Under everyone’s incredulous stares, I spoke calmly: “Since you two are truly in love, and I truly love Ryan, I can only agree…” My grace and understanding stood in stark contrast to the three of them’s unreasonable demands. They probably hadn’t expected me to love him so much that I would tolerate such a humiliating arrangement. Ryan fell silent for a moment. He looked at Emily, his lips moving, but ultimately said nothing. Emily panicked when she saw his expression change: “If you hadn’t stolen my identity and husband, why would I have to resort to this? You’re the real third wheel between us!” The hall instantly erupted in an uproar. I was clearly Ryan’s original fiancée – what nonsense was she spouting? Emily’s face went pale under everyone’s strange looks, but she still refused to back down: “None of you understand! Ryan’s heart truly belongs to me. If it weren’t for worrying about all you relatives gossiping, we would have gotten married long ago!” How stupid. If Ryan really loved her, why didn’t he break up with me earlier and give her proper status? In the end, he just couldn’t let go of my parents’ substantial financial backing. Now that she had been acknowledged as the real daughter, of course Ryan would immediately abandon me for her. This man didn’t truly love anyone but himself. I put on a sad expression: “I understand. Let me use the restroom first, then we can hold the ceremony for the three of us when I get back, okay?” Ryan couldn’t wait for me to agree. He impatiently waved me off: “Hurry back! Don’t delay the auspicious day!” I’ll be back my ass. As soon as I left the bathroom, I saw Ryan gazing lovingly at Emily on stage. Professing his devotion to her. At such a romantic moment, it would be a shame not to add to the atmosphere. Five seconds later, the balloons tied to the stage curtains suddenly burst. A foul stench filled the entire banquet hall. The guests turned green, covering their noses as they fled outside: “Who the hell farted in here? It’s disgusting!” “Who else could it be? Heaven itself couldn’t stand by and watch anymore. I told you being a homewrecker never ends well!” Emily was in the middle of her heartfelt vows on stage when she was suddenly assaulted by the stench. She nearly fainted from the shock: “It must be that bitch Olivia’s doing! I knew she wasn’t really okay with this!” My best friend, who had been looking for me, happened to overhear: “Who are you calling a bitch?!” She ran on stage and grabbed Emily’s hair, the two of them descending into a catfight. The calm surface finally erupted into turbulent waves. I may have been able to tolerate the insults, but my best friend couldn’t. I angrily rushed forward and slapped Emily hard across the face: “You never fucking know when to quit, do you?!” As I was “breaking up the fight”, I managed to land several solid punches on Emily, leaving her face swollen like a pig’s head. When Ryan saw his beloved being beaten, he panicked and roughly shoved me away. There were various wedding implements behind me. My body slammed into their sharp edges. Suddenly the world was spinning. The guests pointed at me and screamed: “Blood! There’s so much blood!” Blood was gushing from between my legs. The fear of death from my past life enveloped me once again. Ryan was terrified: “I just pushed you lightly! Stop pretending! He moved to help me up. I shoved him away without mercy. I didn’t want to say a single word to this man now. My friend was shocked, her face streaked with tears: “Olivia, what’s wrong?! Let’s go to the hospital! Quickly!” I wanted to say I was fine, but my head was spinning badly. I could only lean against her. This farce finally ended in this bizarre way.

The hospital hallway was in an uproar. Mr. Parker was shouting outside the door: “You can’t blame my daughter for everything! If they hadn’t run their mouths off recklessly, how could things have turned out like this?!” Ryan hadn’t expected things to go this way. He stammered out an explanation: “That’s…that’s right! Who knew she’d be so vicious as to deliberately sabotage my wedding day? Of course I had to teach her a lesson!” Go to hell. Shameless bastard. The doctor saw that I was awake and hurried to support me: “Miss, don’t move around. Sigh! Try not to be too upset. You can still have children in the future. You’re still young…” Children… What children? Seeing my blank expression, the doctor looked at me even more sympathetically: “You didn’t know? You were pregnant…” In my past life, I had already died by this point. Of course I never had the chance to know I was pregnant. I instinctively touched my belly, thinking of that unborn child. My heart was a jumble of emotions. Never mind. We weren’t meant to be. It’s better that it wasn’t carried to term. If it had actually been born, it would have been a complication for all of us. Ryan hurriedly chimed in: “Olivia, we can still have children in the future…” Just hearing him speak made me nauseous: “Shut up!” This was the first time I had ever yelled at him. He was stunned. I ignored him, slowly turning to look at my foster father: “Uncle, have you forgotten that it was your daughter who destroyed my family on my wedding day, not me? Do you think I haven’t compromised enough?” “My child is gone now. Who do you think is more pitiful?” Hearing me call him “uncle”, Mr. Parker’s expression flickered: “How can you call me uncle…” He was helping outsiders bully me, yet still expected me to call him dad? My friend couldn’t stand it anymore. She laughed coldly: “What a bunch of shameless scum.” Ryan stepped forward, trying to soothe me: “Don’t be angry. I really didn’t expect things to turn out like this. It was just an accident. If you hadn’t tried to ruin the wedding, how could you have gotten hurt?” I laughed bitterly: “You’ve got some nerve. You were the ones who ambushed me with your demands without my knowledge. What’s wrong with me retaliating?” Ryan coughed awkwardly, wanting to come check on my injuries. But Emily collapsed to her knees first, clutching her chest: “Ryan, I think my asthma is acting up again. I’m sorry…I’m so useless…” Seeing Emily looking so weak in his arms, Ryan’s veins bulged in panic: “What are you all standing around for?! Quick, find a doctor! If anything happens to Emily, I won’t be able to go on living!” His wife had just lost a child and he couldn’t even be bothered to pretend to care. But his dear mistress has an asthma attack and he’s running around like a chicken with its head cut off. My heart filled with desolation. In his heart, Emily had always been number one. I only regretted not realizing it sooner in my past life. The doctor came in for his usual rounds. But Ryan grabbed him first: “Doctor, please look at Emily first. She suddenly fainted for no reason!” The doctor’s face darkened: “Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not an internal medicine specialist. Move aside, the patient needs her dressing changed urgently. Any delay could cause complications!” But Ryan wouldn’t listen: “How is that possible?! You’re a doctor, surely you can handle anything! She just lost a baby, but Emily actually fainted! Obviously Emily’s condition is more serious!” The pain in my abdomen was getting worse. My back was drenched in cold sweat. I struggled to my feet: “No…take care of me first!” Emily had been perfectly fine a second ago, now she suddenly faints? Who would believe that? But Ryan refused to listen. He dragged the doctor towards the door: “If you won’t treat Emily, I won’t let you treat Olivia either!” He was treating a matter of life and death like child’s play. I was truly disheartened! I looked at Ryan, but he avoided meeting my eyes: “Olivia, I’m doing this for your own good. If anything happens to Emily, you’ll be implicated too. You understand, right? Stop being difficult. It’s just a lost baby, you’ll get over it soon enough.” How could this be tolerated? Just as they were about to disappear out the hospital door, as I was about to pass out from the pain, I fell into a warm, strong embrace: “Olivia Parker! Open your eyes and look at me!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295956”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

Four years after my death, my blind ex-girlfriend returned from overseas. She brought back the luxury car worth millions and the multi-million dollar dowry I had once demanded. But she said she no longer loved me. She just wanted to see the regretful face of a heartless man like me. What she didn’t know was that I had already passed away from liver cancer four years ago. The corneas she received as a donation were the only remnants I left in this world. I saw Lily Chen again in the fourth year after my death. Her black Maybach stopped in front of my family’s run-down house. Dressed in luxurious attire, she gracefully stepped out of the car. Her eyes were cold as she looked disdainfully at my aging mother. “Where’s Jack Thompson? Tell him to come out and see me.” As she mentioned my name, a clear hatred spilled from Lily’s eyes. My mom’s body stiffened, and her originally nervous expression turned sorrowful. “Lily, Jack has passed away…” I thought Lily would be grief-stricken upon hearing of my death, or at least shocked. Unexpectedly, Lily just let out a cold laugh. “This heartless man, is he regretting abandoning me and now faking his death to deceive me?” After saying this, Lily clapped her hands. A group of men in black suits swarmed into our cramped yard. The men in black were each carrying briefcases. They opened them in unison, revealing stacks of crisp cash totaling several million dollars. Neighbors gathered at our door to watch the scene, letting out sighs of astonishment. “Back then, Jack Thompson despised me for being blind and complained I couldn’t provide a dowry. Today I’m just here to show him that I, Lily Chen, can definitely afford it!” Lily crossed her arms and looked down at my mother haughtily, continuing: “Tell Jack Thompson to come beg me on his knees. I might forgive his past actions. Otherwise…” Lily’s threatening tone was obvious. She then turned to address the neighbors. “Everyone, please bear witness. Jack Thompson wasted my youth, bullied and insulted me. Isn’t it understandable for me to seek revenge on such a scumbag?” The neighbors began whispering among themselves. “He always seemed like such a polite young man. How could he do something like this?” “Come to think of it, we haven’t seen that boy in about four years. Did he really strike it rich with some wealthy woman?” “Their family always seemed so honest. I can’t believe they’d do something so despicable.” The unbearable voices reached my ears. I saw my mother’s sunken eye sockets darken. When I died, my family was left penniless from my medical bills, so we couldn’t even hold a funeral. Most people didn’t know about my passing. But what pained me most was that Lily hated me so much. Still, I could understand. I’d rather the girl I loved hated me than grieve for a lifetime! Clearly, Lily enjoyed seeing me under the pressure of public opinion. After hearing those comments, she seemed satisfied and left without further action. The commotion quickly died down. I was also relieved… If Lily had walked in further, she would have seen the framed photo of me my mother kept. My mom was still shaking from the shocking scene. After everyone left, she collapsed weakly to the ground, murmuring: “My son, was a woman like that really worth it?”

My thoughts drifted back to when Lily and I were together. Lily wasn’t born blind. She lost her sight in an accident as a child. Her family favored boys over girls, so they never bothered to treat her eyes. My first encounter with Lily wasn’t particularly romantic. She ran a small flower shop. I went to buy flowers for my mom on Mother’s Day. You could call it love at first sight. Amidst the sea of flowers, the girl’s pure face was hidden among the petals. Though her gaze was empty, they were the most spirited eyes I’d ever seen. I remember thinking then what a pity it was for such a beautiful girl to be unable to see the world. I didn’t put much effort into pursuing Lily. I guess she was starved for affection since childhood, so she easily surrendered to my advances. But I didn’t take her for granted just because I won her over easily. On the contrary, we were saving each other. I found a sense of home in Lily, while Lily experienced unprecedented love from me. The unexpected happened four years ago when I was suddenly diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. Afraid Lily couldn’t accept it, I made up an excuse to break up with her. I still remember the day we broke up. It was snowing heavily. Lily stood across from me. When I said, “I’m sorry, but I need to find a woman who can help advance my career,” Lily bit her lower lip hard. Snow had piled up thickly on her head. Her nose was red, and her shoulders were shaking. “So you’re abandoning me too?” Those words were like a knife, carving out a piece of my heart as the icy wind rushed in. I gritted my teeth, clutching my test results tightly. I tried to keep my voice normal, but it still trembled. “You can’t even provide a few thousand dollars for a dowry. What use are you to me?” I couldn’t bear to look at Lily’s face any longer. I was afraid I’d lose control and hug her tightly the next second, so I turned and left coldly. But I was still worried about Lily, so I secretly followed her. That day, on a path that should have only taken 10 minutes, Lily fell several times and took a full hour to walk back. Each time Lily fell, it tugged at my heartstrings. I hated that I couldn’t tell Lily the truth, but I also couldn’t selfishly let her suffer through the rest of her life. Now seeing Lily return successful and famous, my heart was filled with mixed emotions – joy tinged with sorrow. My spirit followed behind Lily. Fortunately, I could see after death. To my surprise, the second place Lily went after returning was her old flower shop. The door chimed as it hit the wind chimes. A young girl turned and greeted Lily warmly. It felt like a lifetime ago. That girl looked just like Lily used to – pure and innocent. The flower shop hadn’t changed at all either. A wave of nostalgia washed over me. Most of the time Lily and I spent together was here. This flower shop held all my beautiful memories. It meant so much to me. Lily carefully surveyed her surroundings. Maybe I was imagining things, but I saw Lily’s eyes redden. “Can I help you with anything, miss?” the girl approached and asked. Lily collected herself and casually bought a bouquet of lilies before leaving. But as she reached the door, Lily’s expression turned cold. She turned back to her assistant and said, “Buy this place no matter the cost, then tear it down.” Her tone was so calm, yet it sent chills through me. “But this place seems to be doing good business…” the assistant said, puzzled. Annoyance flashed across Lily’s face. “This place is my shame!” My heart clenched. So Lily despised me to this extent. In just a week, Lily bought the flower shop. She came in person to watch as bulldozers razed it to the ground bit by bit. I stood at the shop entrance, arms outstretched trying to block them, screaming myself hoarse.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295955”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

I never doubted Gabriel’s love for me. On our fifth wedding anniversary, to celebrate this special day, Gabriel bought all the fireworks and roses in the city. As fireworks lit up the night sky and roses covered our estate, he gently kissed the corner of my lips and said with deep affection, “Lily, I love you, till death do us part!” However, the next day, I saw Isabella, the scholarship student Gabriel was sponsoring, carrying a limited edition handbag identical to mine on Instagram. Out of curiosity, I commented: “Isabella, are you sure you weren’t scammed?” Soon after, Gabriel called me, berating me harshly: “Why are you scaring Isabella for no reason? The poor girl has been crying for hours because of you!” Isabella grabbed the phone and apologized tearfully: “I’m sorry, Lily. I won’t carry the same bag as you anymore.” I could hear Gabriel’s continuous words of comfort on the other end of the line. I knew then that this man’s heart had changed. When Gabriel stepped through the front door, I had just returned from the luxury authentication service. This day was the day after our fifth wedding anniversary. It should have been a time of lingering sweetness, but I had encountered news that struck me like a bolt from the blue. It turned out that the limited edition handbag Gabriel had given me on our anniversary was a high-quality fake. And the man who had sworn his undying love to me just yesterday had given the authentic one to his scholarship student. If it weren’t for that unexpected phone call, I would never have imagined that Gabriel, who claimed he was going to work, would be by his scholarship student’s side. “Honey, what are you thinking about? What do you want to eat today? I’ll cook for you!” He still spoke to me in that doting tone, as if everything was normal, ready to comply with my every request. A high-powered CEO coming home to cook for his wife should have been a heartwarming scene, but I felt a mix of emotions. After a moment’s hesitation, I finally declined Gabriel’s offer. “Never mind, I don’t have much of an appetite.” Hearing this, Gabriel immediately crouched down in front of me, his face showing a hint of apology. “Honey, is it because of what happened with Isabella today? I’m sorry for my bad attitude earlier. I only spoke harshly because I saw Isabella crying so hard. Can you forgive me just this once?” He had gotten so angry at me for the sake of a scholarship student. In the past, I might have forgiven him. But now I realized that whenever Isabella was mentioned, Gabriel became talkative and interested. “Isabella did really well in her exams this time and even won a national scholarship, so I rewarded her with a bag.” At this point, Gabriel glanced at me cautiously, afraid I might notice something amiss. “But don’t worry, honey. Her bag is fake. The real one is with you.” I kept a straight face, but my heart felt heavy. He assumed I wouldn’t authenticate the bag, so he lied to me without hesitation. I wonder how many times he’s deceived me over the years. Seeing no reaction from me, Gabriel went to the kitchen and busied himself preparing a table full of delicious dishes. Unfortunately, every dish was sprinkled with a layer of green onions, making it difficult for me to eat. Gabriel placed a piece of spare rib in my bowl and said softly, “Honey, why aren’t you eating? Have some spare ribs. Eat some green onions, they’ll make you smarter.” I sighed deeply in my heart. This phrase was something Isabella had said. In the first year we sponsored her, to celebrate her admission to college, Gabriel and I took her out for dinner. Because I’m allergic to green onions, I never touch them. Isabella had playfully said, “Eat more green onions to become smarter.” Gabriel had strongly agreed with this statement. And over the years we’ve been together, green onions hadn’t appeared in our home for a very long time.

If Gabriel hadn’t mentioned it today, I would have almost forgotten about this incident. It seems he must have had many meals with Isabella over the years. To the point where he had forgotten about my allergy to green onions. “Gabriel, you forgot I’m allergic to green onions.” His face suddenly showed panic. As if he had just remembered something and snapped back to reality. Looking at the table full of dishes sprinkled with green onions, his face couldn’t hide the fluster. “Honey, look at my memory. I was so busy with work today that I completely forgot about this. I’m such an idiot!” He slapped himself on the face several times without holding back. “I’ll make you a new batch right away.” In the end, I wearily stopped him. “Forget it, I’m not hungry anyway. Let’s just leave it.” He kept saying he was too busy with work. But Gabriel seemed to have forgotten that he hadn’t even gone to the office today. After he made that phone call to me, I asked Gabriel’s assistant. The fact I got was that Gabriel hadn’t gone to the office all day, but had spent the entire day with Isabella. Yesterday was our wedding anniversary, and today he went on a date with his scholarship student. He must have been really worried that Isabella would get jealous and angry. I returned to the bedroom somewhat absentmindedly and just lay down on the bed to rest. Gabriel followed me closely. He carefully massaged my neck. His technique was practiced, and it felt very comfortable. I have severe cervical spondylosis. Every time it flares up, my whole body aches and feels uncomfortable. Gabriel, concerned for me, had specially learned this massage technique from many traditional doctors to alleviate my cervical spondylosis attacks. “Honey, are you angry?” he asked. For a moment, I didn’t know how to voice my thoughts. After all, these were just my suspicions, without any concrete evidence. “No, I’m just not feeling well,” I replied. Gabriel looked at me with furrowed brows for a long while, his hands continuing their motions. Suddenly, he slipped his hand under the hem of my dress, slowly exploring upwards, a pleased chuckle escaping his throat. “I learned some new tricks last time. Shall we give them a try today?” Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the mood for such honeyed games. I grabbed his increasingly invasive hand. “Another time. I really don’t feel well today. I want to rest early.” Gabriel’s brow finally relaxed a bit. He didn’t seem to mind my rejection. “Then let me help you take a bath and give you a good massage before you rest.” After the massage and bath, as I lay drowsily in the bathtub, Gabriel gently carried me to bed, then quietly went to the bathroom himself. Before leaving, he took his phone with him. I wasn’t sleeping deeply and could hear his low laughter. Even with the sound of the shower, it couldn’t completely mask his joyful groans. That kind of sound was something Gabriel only made when we were intimate. I instinctively moved closer to the bathroom, pressing my ear against the door. “Isabella, you’re so tender.” “What’s the use of being tender if there’s nowhere to use it?” “Gabriel, I’ve prepared a surprise for you. Are you sure you’re not coming over?” I could almost see Gabriel swallowing hungrily. My hands and feet turned ice cold, and I suddenly stumbled, scraping a layer of skin off my knee as I fell to the floor. Gabriel was startled by the sound. I hurriedly ran back, pretending to have fallen out of bed in my sleep. That man, his face still flushed from his recent pleasure, rushed over and picked me up from the floor, looking somewhat worried. “Honey, how can you be so careless? You’re a grown woman, how can you fall out of bed?” Despite my efforts to hide it, Gabriel still noticed my knee, which was red and bleeding. He anxiously went to get the first aid kit. I wanted to tell him not to bother, but just then, his phone rang. Gabriel instinctively turned away from me. But even so, I could still see his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Okay, I’ll be right over.” Gabriel put the first aid kit by my feet. “Honey, there’s something at the company I need to handle. You wait at home, and when I’m done, I’ll take you to the hospital to check your wound.” He finally couldn’t resist anymore. He found an excuse and left. His heart was no longer with me. Gabriel was very clever. In our five years of marriage, he had deceived me countless times, but I had never once deceived him. But this time, even such an obvious and clumsy lie from me could fool him. I waited all night, but Gabriel never came back. After thinking for a while, I took out my phone and called my best friend. “Help me draft a divorce agreement.” When she heard the news of Gabriel’s infidelity, my friend was shocked. “Lily, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Gabriel, of all people, cheating?” I was also very unwilling to believe this fact. But it was all true. Except for me, Gabriel had always kept his distance from other women. Once, when a receptionist at the company tried to seduce him, she was transferred to Africa the very next day. My friends had often envied me, saying I had found a good husband. But now it seems he had just hidden it very, very deep. “Lily, I think you should consider this carefully. After all, divorce is not a small matter. We should have evidence.” The evidence of infidelity, of course, would be catching them in the act. I knew where Isabella’s dorm was. I also knew that Gabriel had rented an apartment near her school to make it easier for Isabella to study. At the time, I had argued with Gabriel about this. “She’s just your scholarship student. Don’t you think you’re treating her too well?” Gabriel accused me of having no sympathy, saying I was cold-hearted. “Honey, you’re too unfeeling. Isabella has already suffered so much. Since we have the ability, we should help her more. She even has to work part-time on weekends. What if she comes back to school late and the dorm is closed? At least this way she has a place to stay!” I often felt guilty, thinking my awareness wasn’t high enough. Now I see, it was just to give them a good place to meet. I drove to Isabella’s school. But after circling around several times, I couldn’t find any trace of them. I couldn’t even see Gabriel’s car. Until the wound on my knee started hurting more and more, I had to go back home. In the underground parking lot, I found that Gabriel’s car had already returned. But when he came home and didn’t find me, he didn’t even call me? Just as I was about to press the elevator button to go upstairs. Faint sounds came from the nearby stairwell. The sound was somewhat familiar, and I instinctively walked in. In the dim light, there were two figures intertwined. “You little vixen, you’re ambushing me now? Wasn’t three times last night enough for you?” “How could three times be enough? I want to drain you dry, so you can’t even keep that old hag company when you go home.”

The shadows on the ground clearly showed Gabriel spanking Isabella’s bottom hard. I stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning. Gabriel’s voice suddenly turned very cold. “I’ve warned you not to let my wife find out about all this!” Isabella didn’t take it to heart at all, quickly wrapping herself around Gabriel’s neck. “Don’t worry, Gabriel. I saw Lily’s car isn’t here, she must not be home.” Gabriel quickly got back into the mood. “You’d better behave. Apart from the position of Mrs. Gu, I can give you everything else. Otherwise, I won’t let you off easy!” “How will you not let me off? Unable to get out of bed for three days? Or seven times?” “You little vixen, you dare to provoke me!” Soon, the shadows began to produce rhythmic collision sounds. After that, I couldn’t bear to listen anymore. I went home in a daze, sitting blankly on the sofa. Suddenly my phone flashed. It was a message from an unknown number. [Lily, you saw everything just now, didn’t you? Why do you think Gabriel loves me so much? He can’t even leave me. If I were you, I’d divorce him as soon as possible. You can still save some face. Otherwise, when you’re kicked out in the end, you won’t even have any dignity left!] I gripped my phone tightly, my face cold and expressionless. [Isabella, you homewrecker! You’re really shameless!] [The unloved one is the mistress. Lily, do you think you can compete with me for a man with that old face of yours? I’m better than you in knowledge, looks, and figure. The only thing you’re better at is having old bones. How can someone like you be worthy of being Gabriel’s wife?] [Moreover, I’m already pregnant with Gabriel’s child!] My mind suddenly went blank. Isabella was pregnant? So she has more right to marry Gabriel than me? If we’re talking about status and position, I indeed don’t have the qualifications to marry Gabriel. I only gave him a hand when Gabriel was at his lowest point. I lent him a sum of money to tide him over. But he also put half of the company’s shares in my name. I originally didn’t want this half of the shares. It was him who, countless nights and days, held me and whispered sweet nothings. “Lily, what’s mine is yours. You must accept this half of the shares.” I didn’t think much of it, and never imagined I would come to this day with Gabriel. When Gabriel came back, he saw me sitting on the sofa in a daze and quickly panicked. He hurriedly hugged me, asking over and over again. “Honey, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” Smelling the pungent female perfume emanating from Gabriel’s body, I could no longer hold back the nausea rising in my stomach and ran to the bathroom, vomiting until I was dizzy. Until I threw up bile, I finally felt a bit better. Looking up, my pale face appeared in Gabriel’s eyes. He was terrified and, without saying a word, prepared to carry me to the hospital. But at this moment, his phone suddenly rang. The face that was just terrified immediately broke into a smile. He hurriedly sent a message. Gabriel put me on the sofa and prepared to leave in a hurry. “Honey, something urgent came up at the company. Wait for me, I’ll be right back.” He didn’t even wait for my response before leaving. Even now, he’s still lying to me! I had clearly seen that the person messaging him was Isabella. [Gabriel, I think I’m pregnant!] [Really? I’m going to be a father? Isabella, wait for me, I’m coming right over!] I slowly looked around, my face gradually turning cold. So many years of love, ultimately wasted. The facts were right in front of me. I no longer held any hope. This position of Mrs. Gu, whoever wants it can take it. I had my friend send over the divorce agreement. “That bastard Gabriel dares to cheat, he should be left with nothing in the divorce.” The clause about leaving him with nothing was eventually changed. I only wanted what was rightfully mine, not wanting to have any more entanglements with Gabriel. After packing all my belongings, I sat quietly on the sofa waiting for Gabriel to come back so we could have it out. But I waited for a long time, and there was no news from Gabriel. During this time, I called him many times, but none of the calls went through. Later, Isabella sent me a photo. Gabriel was accompanying Isabella for a prenatal check-up, unable to hide the smile on his face. [Lily, stop struggling. Do you still think you can turn things around now? Let me tell you, whoever has the child is the winner of this battle! Gabriel can only be mine! You’re destined to be my stepping stone!] I ignored Isabella and headed straight to the hospital. Since Gabriel wouldn’t come home, I’d go find him! Perhaps it was just a coincidence. I had barely entered the hospital lobby when I saw Gabriel and Isabella. Isabella was clinging to Gabriel’s arm like a little wife. Seeing me, Gabriel hurriedly distanced himself from Isabella. He was so flustered that he didn’t even notice when the pregnancy ultrasound report fell from his hand. I picked up the report, curiosity briefly flashing across my face before settling back into calmness. “Congratulations, Gabriel. You finally have a child.” In that second, I saw a mixture of shock and fear in Gabriel’s eyes. These emotions quickly turned to anger. He hadn’t expected me to suddenly appear at the hospital. “Lily, you don’t trust me, so you followed me?” he accused. I hadn’t expected Gabriel to be so skilled at turning the tables. Although I had come specifically for him, I didn’t say it directly. “Let’s not talk about whether I followed you or not. Even if I did, so what? You cheated and had a child behind my back, and you still dare to talk about me trusting you?” Gabriel’s face turned ashen, but he couldn’t say a word. “Moreover, if I had been following you, I wouldn’t have only appeared now. But it seems the timing is just right to witness Mr. Gu’s passionate love affair with this mistress and celebrate Mr. Gu’s joy at having a son.” “By the way, it seems Mr. Gu has never spoken a word of truth to me. It seems even if I don’t trust you, it’s justified.” After my sarcastic words, I threw the divorce papers I had prepared at Gabriel. His face gradually showed despair, with an undercurrent of madness. “Honey, what… what are you doing?” he stuttered, fear evident in his voice. “Mr. Gu, surely you’re not illiterate. These are divorce papers, prepared especially for you. I’ve already signed my part, the rest is up to you.” Before I could finish speaking, Gabriel, his face contorted, declared it impossible. “Honey, I won’t divorce you! Don’t even think about it! The position of my wife will always be yours!” I suddenly laughed mirthlessly. He still had the nerve to say such things. It was mine, but I no longer wanted it. “Mr. Gu, you’d better save those words for your mistress standing next to you. She’s carrying your child, scheming to take the position of Mrs. Gu. You’d better not let her lose heart and abort the child!” I glanced at Isabella standing to the side. Judging by Gabriel’s stance, without Isabella’s help, it would be difficult for me to break free. “That way, you’ll never have a child!” With that, I walked to the registration counter and stood in line. Gabriel’s body shook, and he quickly looked at me, about to run over, but Isabella held him back. “Oh, Gabriel, my stomach hurts so much! Don’t leave me!” He was flustered now, unable to pay attention to me anymore, and hurriedly supported Isabella. His heart was split in two. Even so, he still managed to ask me a question. “Honey, what’s wrong? Why are you registering? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? I know some specialists at the hospital, I’ll contact them right away.” I looked at him as if he were an idiot, also stopping him from contacting the doctor. “Mr. Gu, surely you haven’t forgotten that my knee is injured too. I came to the hospital this time to check on the wound.” “If you have the energy, you’d better pay more attention to your mistress who’s carrying your child.” Gabriel’s face turned pale. He had been so preoccupied with Isabella these past few days. Only now did he remember that it had been two days since I injured my knee. He regretfully slapped himself, apologizing to me. “Honey, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, I—” “Enough!” I finally couldn’t contain my anger anymore. “Gabriel, stop calling me ‘honey’ over and over. I’ve given you the divorce papers. If you know what’s good for you, get a divorce immediately. Don’t make me lose face and sue you for adultery in court, leaving you with nothing!” A crowd quickly gathered in the hospital lobby. Everyone was discussing in hushed tones. Gabriel’s thin lips were pressed into a straight line as he pleaded with me. “Hon— Lily, listen to my explanation. Let’s go home and talk slowly. I can explain everything clearly.” I forcefully suppressed the anger in my heart. “If you want to explain, explain here. Let everyone judge whether there’s any justification for cheating.” This time, Gabriel shut his mouth.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295954”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

Sophia and I grew up together. Her family owned a large company, and she was set to inherit it one day. “Let’s get married after you graduate,” she once told me. “I can’t wait to be your wife.” I believed her without question. That is, until the day a man burst into our bedroom, and I realized Sophia already had a fiancé. I was thrown out of the house and left to fend for myself in a strange city. Five years later, they came begging for me to return. “Jack, there’s a letter for you in your mail,” my roommate called out. A letter? Who even sends those anymore? My roommate shrugged and went back to his video game. I picked up the unmarked envelope, feeling oddly apprehensive. As soon as I read the first line, I knew who it was from. “Jack, Grandpa is very ill. The doctors say he doesn’t have much time left. He wants to see you one last time.” Grandpa? I thought he had disowned me years ago. I took a deep breath and tossed the letter in the trash. I had worked so hard to move on from my past. Why did they have to show up now and drag me back? That night, I woke up from a nightmare, my throat parched and raw. How long had it been since I’d had dreams like this? In the dream, Sophia and I were together again. She was kissing me, whispering sweet nothings in my ear. “Let’s get married after you graduate,” she said. “I can’t wait to be your wife.” I believed her. Then the bedroom door burst open. A strange man stood there, his hand covering his mouth in shock. Behind him was Sophia’s grandfather – the man I had called Grandpa for so many years. It wasn’t until later that I learned the truth. The man was Sophia’s fiancé. They had gotten secretly engaged while I was away on a trip to England. I wiped the sweat from my brow and lay back down, but sleep eluded me. So Grandpa was sick? I remembered how energetic he used to be, always walking faster than me. On our daily walks, he would speed ahead on purpose, making me jog to keep up. When I was out of breath, he would stop and laugh heartily at me. He used to say I was the most handsome young man in the world. He said he would watch me grow up, see me get married, even help take care of my children someday. I pulled the covers over my head, trying to block out the memories. The next day at work, Sophia was waiting outside my office building.

Sophia had always been exceptional, both in looks and academics. Even now, she stood out in the bustling crowd. I spotted her immediately. She saw me too and waved with a smile. “Jack!” It wasn’t until she walked up to me that I realized this was real, not another dream. “Jack,” she said again. I nodded numbly. “I called your boss. He said you can take a few days off.” I checked my phone and saw a missed call from my manager. “Time off?” Sophia’s face fell. “Grandpa is sick. He hopes to… to see you.” She reached out to pat my head like she used to, but I dodged her touch. She awkwardly lowered her hand. “Grandpa has missed you so much these past few years.” Missed me? Was he missing me when I was struggling to survive abroad? “Will you come home with me? Please?” I nodded. My mother’s death anniversary was coming up anyway. Sophia visibly relaxed when we boarded the plane to Ashton. “Do you hate me?” she asked quietly. My heart clenched painfully, but I kept my face neutral as I shook my head. “I didn’t know how else to repay your family for taking me in. I guess this was my way of doing that.” Sophia took a sharp breath, about to speak, but I had already closed my eyes to rest. My head was pounding from lack of sleep the night before. I thought Sophia’s presence would keep me awake, but I slept through the entire flight. Adam, the family’s butler, was waiting to pick us up at the airport. He had aged quite a bit. I remembered how he used to dislike me, always interrupting when Sophia and I were alone together. Now he was surprisingly polite and respectful. I felt the credit card in my wallet – the one Adam had secretly given me years ago. He must have known the family intended to abandon me abroad. That card had saved my life. After returning to the country, I had added more money to the card. Now was my chance to return it to Adam. The family estate hadn’t changed much, though there were fewer staff around now. Grandpa was lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard – the same one where he used to hold me and read me stories. “Jack,” he called out eagerly before I even reached him.

Grandpa looked small and frail now. His hair had turned completely white, his face lined with wrinkles. But his sunken eyes still shone with affection. I stared at his bony fingers. Those same hands had once slapped me across the face, calling me shameless just like my mother. “You’re home, my boy,” he said softly. I gave a slight bow. “Mr. Parker.” Sophia shot me a reproachful look, then went to Grandpa’s side to rub his chest. “Are you still angry with me?” he asked. I shook my head. “Not anymore. I’m grateful you gave me a home after my parents passed away.” “I mainly came back to visit my mother’s grave. Her death anniversary is coming up.” He started coughing violently. “I know you resent me,” he wheezed. He gestured for me to sit beside him, but I didn’t move. Grandpa closed his eyes in pain. A tear slid down his cheek. “How could I have been so cruel?” I instinctively touched my ribcage, where two bones had been broken. He had done that with his own cane. “I should have at least let you heal before sending you away,” Grandpa choked out. He seemed to be talking to himself as much as to me. Adam stood nearby, looking at me with a hint of sympathy in his eyes. He was the one who had taken me from the hospital to the airport just three days after my surgery, against the doctor’s furious objections. I smiled at Adam, but he quickly lowered his gaze. “It’s all in the past,” I said. “Please don’t worry about it. I’m doing well now.” Grandpa looked at me. “I tore you and Sophia apart. I know you both hate me for it.” I turned to Sophia, meeting her eyes for the first time that day. I had always loved Sophia’s eyes. They were like the clearest lake. So many times, she had come to comfort me in the dark: “Don’t be afraid. It’s just thunder. I’m here.” It was on a rainy night that I saw my mother jump from the roof. Lightning illuminated the sky for an instant, searing the image of her broken body into my memory forever. Sophia knew about this. Everyone in the family did. But she was the only one who truly comforted me and cared. Even now, her eyes held that same tenderness. But I was no longer afraid of thunderstorms. Grandpa looked at me pleadingly. “Jack, could you call me Grandpa one more time? It’s been so long since I heard you say it.” I stood in silence for a long moment before slowly replying, “I’m sorry. I can’t do that.” His hand fell limply to his side. “I drove my own grandson away.” I smiled sadly. “I’m not your grandson. Sophia is your only grandchild, your flesh and blood.” “You only have one granddaughter. You never had a grandson.” As Sophia walked me out, Grandpa kept trying to make me stay. He brought up happy memories from the past, insisting on his love for me. He wanted me to call him Grandpa again, to sit by his side and keep him company in his final days. But I couldn’t do it. I agreed with what he had once said – family without blood ties is just a tool to ease loneliness. In his heart, that’s all I had been. Someone to chat with in his free time, to give him a taste of family life. But as soon as trouble came, I was the first one thrown to the wolves. Grandpa had done it. So had Sophia. “I’m sorry,” Sophia said quietly as she dropped me off at the hotel. I could handle her apology, but I didn’t want to accept it. She gripped my wrist tightly. “Can we start over?”

The day after I visited my mother’s grave, I received news of Grandpa’s death. Adam told me over lunch. I had invited him out as a thank you. “The family business isn’t what it used to be,” he sighed. I kept my head down, eating silently. Adam continued, “After you left, Miss Sophia married Mr. Nathan. But his family’s company went bankrupt soon after. The investment from the Parker Group was lost overnight.” “Miss Sophia… she divorced him the very next day.” “She wanted to find you, but got caught up trying to save the company. If she hadn’t worked herself to the bone these past years, I’m afraid Parker Group would have collapsed too.” My throat tightened, but no tears came. “How have you been all this time?” Adam asked gently. I looked up to see him watching me with concern. I took off my watch, revealing an ugly scar on my wrist. “This… this is…” Adam stammered. I put the watch back on and smiled. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Adam’s eyes grew moist. He had watched me grow up after all. There was some affection there. That evening, I saw Sophia’s car parked outside my hotel. I knew Adam would tell her everything. I suppose they deserved to know a little about my pain.

I packed my bags and went downstairs first thing in the morning. Sophia was still there. As soon as she saw me, she ran over. The first words out of her mouth were “I’m sorry.” “I… back then…” Her hands trembled, wanting to touch me but not daring to. She looked so pitiful like this. “Didn’t you already apologize?” I said. She hung her head in defeat. “No amount of apologies can make up for what I did.” At least she understood that much. “Jack, stay with me. Let me take care of you, let me make it up to you.” I gave a soft laugh. “Miss Parker, do you really think I would dare stay by your side again?” I sighed and looked into the distance. “You don’t need to make anything up to me. This was all my own fault. It’s punishment for being so stupid back then.” That was truly how I felt. If I hadn’t been so foolish, how could I have believed so easily when she said she would marry me? How could I have thought she was just putting on an act when she accused me of seducing her in front of everyone? “Sophia, if you had shown up earlier, I really would have forgiven you. If you had come to find me in America back then, I would have returned with you without hesitation.” “If it was then, maybe we could have started over.” Sophia bit her lip, holding back tears. “Do you still love me?” I thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.” Tears streamed down her face. She wiped them away and smiled brightly. “As long as you still love me. As long as you still love me.” Is that so? I wanted to laugh. I had never seen Sophia so humble before. She started to say something else, but my phone rang. I glanced at the number and stepped away to answer. “Why did you go back to the Parkers?” a sweet voice demanded.

Emma’s voice came through clearly. Suddenly I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. “You’re scolding me,” I pouted. She gave a low laugh. “Trying to change the subject, huh?” “No, you really did scold me just now.” She finally gave in and apologized, then asked again: “So why did you go back to the Parkers?” “Just had some business to take care of.” “Jack. Lin.” I cringed and quickly said I’d explain everything when I got back, then hung up. I turned to find Sophia watching me with a hurt expression. “Who was that?” I shrugged. “A friend.” “A woman?” Seeing my frown, she didn’t press further. Over the next few days, she took me to our old school and places we used to go on dates. She probably thought it would bring back happy memories. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that all those good memories inevitably led back to that one terrible night. That was the true end of our happy times together – betrayal, insults, being thrown out like garbage. As Sophia cheerfully pointed out which buildings had been torn down and which restaurants had closed, I understood that she could never truly comprehend my pain from back then. “Are you not happy?” she asked cautiously. I shook my head. “I’m remembering that night.” She lowered her head guiltily, fidgeting with her fingers. “You still remember?” “You don’t?” I sneered. “I guess you’ve never had nightmares about it all these years. That’s the difference between us.” “Because I was the one who was betrayed. I was the one thrown out on the streets. I was the one who nearly died. So you’ll always think of it as just the past. You keep telling me to move on, but no matter how fast I run, those nightmares still catch up to me.” Tears fell onto the back of my hand. “I can’t help it. I think I’m sick, Sophia. I’m sick.” Sophia threw her arms around me, holding me tight as she let out a pained whimper. “I’ll make you better,” she vowed. She was still so confident. Of course I could get better. But she wasn’t the one who could heal me. I left for Brighton without saying goodbye to Sophia. As soon as I walked in the door of my apartment, I saw my roommate sitting ramrod straight on the couch like a statue. “What’s wrong?” I asked. He pointed to my bedroom. That’s when I noticed the suitcase in the living room. I quickly set down my things and rushed to the bedroom. Emma was curled up on my small bed.

I tiptoed over, not wanting to wake her. She looked so docile asleep, without her usual ferocity. I gently brushed a stray hair from her face. To my surprise, her eyes suddenly flew open. She yanked me onto the bed and kissed me fiercely. Her kisses grew more and more forceful, like a punishment. “So. You. Finally. Came. Back?” she said between kisses. I blinked in response. “Why did you hang up on me that day?” I caught my breath before answering. “What do you think? You were so fierce, who wouldn’t be scared?” She leaned down and kissed me hard. “Liar. Why were you in Ashton?” She glared at me accusingly. “Were you trying to get back with…” I quickly covered her mouth. “I went to visit my mom’s grave,” I said soothingly. “And to see Mr. Parker one last time.” Emma clearly didn’t believe me. “Of course, I also wanted to make them feel a little guilty. They’ve been living too comfortably all these years.” She looked at me suspiciously. “Really?” I held up my hand solemnly. “Really. I swear.” She smiled slightly and buried her face in my chest. “I can’t leave you alone for even a second. I have to keep an eye on you at all times.” Emma had always been very possessive. I had gotten used to it over the years. If it wasn’t for her, I might still be living miserably in America. She and Sophia had grown up together. When I first came to live with the Parkers, Emma bullied me constantly. Whenever I saw her, I would clutch Sophia’s clothes in fear and beg her to take me away. Later in high school, even though Emma had already graduated, her reputation as the school’s toughest girl still lived on. When I heard about it, I became even more terrified of her. But the Parker and Stern families were close, so I still saw her from time to time. Two months after I arrived in America, I was robbed of all my money and my phone. I had already lost all hope for my life and was contemplating suicide when an elderly Chinese couple found me and took me to the hospital. When I woke up again, Emma was sitting by my bedside, looking haggard. After learning I had been sent away by the Parkers, she had been searching for me. If I hadn’t been hospitalized, it might have taken her much longer to find me. She brought me back home and has kept me hidden from the Parkers all these years. Emma gave me a second chance at life. I hugged her arm a little tighter. She sensed it immediately. “What’s wrong? Another nightmare?” I looked at her helplessly. “I’m not even asleep yet.” She patted my waist awkwardly. “So what’s the matter?” Emma rarely showed her softer side, especially around me. I grinned at her. “I just really, really like you.” The tips of Emma’s ears turned red at lightning speed. She rolled her eyes at me. “As you should.” That night, the three of us went out for dinner. My roommate was still a bit afraid of Emma, mainly because of her fierce expression. But as soon as we stepped out of the building, we saw Sophia waiting there.

Sophia’s eyes were filled with anger when she saw Emma and me come out together. Her lips parted, but no words came out as she stared at our clasped hands. Emma pulled me slightly behind her, positioning herself in front. She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. Seeing this, the fury in Sophia’s eyes intensified. She strode up to me and demanded loudly: “Jack, explain yourself.” I smiled faintly. “What explanation do I owe you?” Sophia was taken aback. “I don’t think you understand your position here. What right do you have to come questioning me?” Sophia’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. She glared viciously at Emma. “Some friend you are. So this is where you’ve been hiding all these years?” Emma’s face was taut as she stared coldly back at Sophia, not saying a word. Sophia grew even more enraged at her silence. She raised her hand to slap Emma. Emma didn’t flinch at all. She simply pushed me further away as Sophia’s blow sent her stumbling to the ground. “Emma!” I cried out in alarm. Sophia wasn’t done. She raised her hand to strike again. I rushed over and shoved her away, then slapped her hard across the face. “What gives you the right to hit people?” Sophia stared at me in shock, a flicker of pain in her eyes. “Jack, you hit me? For her?” My chest heaved as I took deep breaths. I should have slapped her years ago. Emma got to her feet and came to stand beside me, a smile playing on her lips. I looked at her worriedly. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” Especially her head – what if she got a concussion? Emma had already done so much for me. I would feel terribly guilty if she was injured because of me. The thought made me even more anxious. I asked loudly, “Does anything hurt?” She gently took my hand. “I’m fine.” Emma’s smile deepened, her eyes softening as she gazed at me. But when she turned back to Sophia, her eyes were as cold as ice. “Consider that slap payment for how I’ve wronged you. We’re even now.” She linked her arm through mine. “From now on, you and Jack have nothing to do with each other. Don’t come looking for him again, or I won’t let you off so easily.” Sophia let out a short laugh. “You won’t let me off? How do you plan to do that? With your pathetic little company?” She turned to me. “Jack, do you really think she can protect you? Her company is on the verge of bankruptcy.” “If it wasn’t for the Stern family propping her up, she’d be nothing but a brainless thug. She can’t keep you safe.” She flashed me an arrogant smile. “You can come back to me anytime. As long as you’re willing to return, I’ll forgive everything.” Forgive everything? I almost thought I had misheard, or that Sophia had used the phrase incorrectly. The smug look on her face made me feel sick. But she didn’t linger. She turned and walked away confidently, as if she had already foreseen Emma’s defeat. I couldn’t help but worry. “You didn’t win the bid this time either?” Emma glanced at me, then quickly lowered her head. “No.” I was shocked. “It went to Parker Group again?” She shook her head. “The final decision hasn’t been made yet, but Parker Group is in the running.” A suspicion formed in my mind. “Did Sophia know about us for a long time?” No wonder she hadn’t seemed surprised at all to see Emma and me together. The last few bids had all gone to Parker Group. I had seen their proposal – it couldn’t compare to Emma’s. And yet, Emma’s company still lost.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295953”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

Mom decided to remarry, and I followed her to our new family. My brother Ethan chose to stay with Grandma, eagerly waiting to inherit the massive family fortune. But Grandma only treated him like a delicate flower, never mentioning a word about the inheritance. On the other hand, under Mom’s guidance, I became a popular young actor, and my fiancée was even a well-known rich heiress. Later, Ethan was bullied and oppressed by our father’s illegitimate son, becoming paralyzed. He couldn’t accept his paralysis and was driven mad with jealousy towards me, blaming everything on me. So, he opened the gas valve, dragging me along to death. After the explosion, we both somehow returned to the day Mom was about to leave home. This time, he chose to leave with Mom, while I stared at the mansion, lost in thought: “Finally, it’s my turn to inherit this massive fortune!” Mom was a faded TV star. After Dad passed away, she decided to remarry. Grandma had made it clear early on: “You can remarry, but the children must stay.” Years ago, to marry into the wealthy family, Mom had signed a prenuptial agreement with Dad. Even after Dad’s death, she couldn’t get a penny, but Ethan and I had inheritance rights to the family fortune. For the sake of the huge fortune, Mom made a huge fuss, forcing Grandma to agree that if anyone was willing to go with her, she could take one child. She looked at Ethan and me, completely unsure who to choose. Ethan obediently walked up to her, hugging her and crying pitifully, trying hard to express his desire to go with her. “Mom, I can’t bear to be without you. I’m willing to endure any hardship as long as I’m with you!” “Please, don’t leave me behind, okay?” Mom looked at me with an overly apologetic expression, and I thought to myself: “No need for that.” In the end, Ethan held Mom’s hand as they walked out of the mansion, while I obediently stood beside Grandma. Ethan flashed me a bright smile: “Brother, living with our stepfather would mean being a guest in someone else’s home. You’d better stay with Grandma and continue being the young master of a wealthy family!” I also smiled cheerfully: “Sure thing.” Seeing me smile so happily, Ethan frowned and said: “Lucas, you won’t be smiling for long!” I smiled even more brightly. That remained to be seen! In my previous life, Ethan refused to go with Mom. I was moved by Mom’s tears and left with her. Grandma was furious and immediately kicked me out of the list of heirs. At that time, Ethan naively thought this meant he would get all the family assets. Just when Ethan was happily waiting to inherit the family fortune, Dad’s illegitimate son showed up. The paternity test results came out quickly. The illegitimate son was acknowledged by the family, started working in the company, climbed the corporate ladder step by step, and became the sole heir. Grandma passed away soon after, and the illegitimate son smoothly inherited all the family assets, while Ethan was left with nothing. To curry favor with a billionaire, the illegitimate son actively introduced Ethan to his daughter as her lover. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. The billionaire’s son-in-law showed up with his men. In the scuffle, Ethan was beaten and left disabled by the billionaire’s son-in-law. The illegitimate son, however, magnanimously stated that Ethan was at fault to begin with, and being beaten into disability was what he deserved. To please the billionaire’s family, the illegitimate son even held a press conference, forcing Ethan to apologize to the billionaire’s son-in-law. The incident quickly trended on social media. I only learned how miserable Ethan’s life had become when I saw the news. Thinking about our blood ties, I rushed to his side overnight to support him. With my efforts, I successfully fought for a considerable compensation for him, enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. I was able to do this because at that time, I was a popular young actor, and my fiancée was a well-known rich heiress. However, Ethan felt no gratitude towards me. Looking at his paralyzed legs, he couldn’t accept the reality of his disability. He believed that I had stolen his original destiny, and out of jealousy, he blamed everything on me. That night, he opened the gas valve, taking me along to death. Unexpectedly, we both came back to life, returning to the day when the wheels of fate began to turn. I watched his departing figure, laughing heartily. Ethan must have thought fate had given him a chance to start over. What he didn’t realize was that this was actually my opportunity for revenge.

I turned to Grandma, feigning innocence, and asked: “Grandma, why does Mom insist on taking Ethan? Doesn’t raising a child cost a lot of money? But Mom doesn’t even have a job, where will the money come from?” Hearing my words, Grandma stared at me deeply for a long time. She didn’t answer my question, but muttered to herself: “I didn’t expect the one who stayed would be the one who uses his brain.” After Mom took Ethan away, Grandma immediately contacted the lawyer. Ethan’s name was completely erased from the list of family estate heirs. In my previous life, Mom remarried an unknown director named Steve after taking me with her. After their marriage, I was quickly packaged as a celebrity and debuted. Although I was only seventeen, I was marketed as a sexy male star. Combined with my status as the heir of the He family, I attracted a lot of attention as soon as I debuted. With my innocent puppy face and toned body, plus excellent singing, dancing, and acting skills, I quickly grew into a popular young actor in just a few years. I had endless acting offers and so many product endorsements that I couldn’t keep up. I became the cash cow for Mom and Steve. Besides filming and attending events, I also had to participate in various dinner parties and social gatherings. There were always some creepy rich women at these parties who would say all sorts of vulgar things to me, and some would even get handsy. After the news of Ethan apologizing to the billionaire’s son-in-law at the press conference went viral, their behavior became even more outrageous. They would say things like: “Why did your grandma kick you out of the family? What shameful thing did you do to the rich family?” “Your brother could be a rich man’s boy toy, what’s stopping you? Too bad I haven’t played with rich brothers before.” “It’s just a bit more expensive than regular male celebrities. Name your price, how much to sleep with me for a night?” It was through their mouths that I learned about Ethan’s recent situation. I originally went to help him out of brotherly love, but I didn’t expect to be dragged down the path of death by him in return. As I was dying, I cursed the heavens for being blind, for my good intentions had not been rewarded. Now that I’ve come back to life, I want to apologize to the heavens for my words. Who says good intentions aren’t rewarded? Who says the heavens are blind? The heavens have excellent vision indeed! After Mom took Ethan away, just like in my previous life, he was quickly packaged as a celebrity and debuted. Perhaps because Ethan was too young, Mom arranged for him to go with a pure and innocent boy image. At his debut press conference, with his young face and wearing revealing clothes that showed off his chest muscles, his every move exuded a flirtatious aura. He said: “Although I come from a wealthy family, I really love the entertainment industry.” “I hope that through my own efforts, I can encourage boys to confidently show off their bodies.” “Grandma also supports my choice. I hope everyone will support and pay attention to me in the future!” Hmm, exactly the same lines they had prepared for me in my previous life. Thinking carefully, whether it’s a bad boy image or an inspirational boy image, these lines could work for either. It’s really a case of changing faces but keeping the same script. “He family young master debuts” and “Breaking clothing shame” quickly became trending topics. Ethan’s debut press conference received extremely high attention. I smirked while holding my phone, then turned and walked towards Grandma’s room. Grandma was old and had little contact with the online world, so she naturally wouldn’t know what kind of farce Ethan had staged. The people below her wouldn’t dare to tell her about this kind of news either. In my previous life, when Grandma found out that I had become a male star with a sexy image, she was furious. But by that time, I had already made a name for myself in the entertainment industry and had considerable commercial value. I also had a very professional PR team around me. With their help, even when Grandma issued a statement claiming to sever ties with me, I was able to counter it effortlessly. Grandma was portrayed as an unreasonable and old-fashioned rich old lady, while I became the brave grandson who refused to bow down for the sake of his dreams. Plus, when Mom jumped out to say how many rules Grandma had and how difficult she was to get along with, how she kicked us out and stripped me of my inheritance rights, so I had to work hard to earn money to support the family, etc., deliberately creating a disadvantaged position to gain sympathy from netizens. Under the guidance of the PR team, I became the epitome of the “poor little rich boy”, and my popularity soared even higher, making my image even more relatable. But now, Ethan had just debuted and absolutely couldn’t withstand Grandma’s heavy blow.

However, Grandma calmly watched Ethan’s debut press conference without even furrowing her brow. I waited for a long time but didn’t see any reaction from Grandma. I could only bite the bullet and cautiously opened my mouth: “Grandma, Ethan is still a grandson of our He family after all. We can’t just watch him ruin himself like this, can we?” But Grandma replied tepidly: “That’s his own business. He chose his own path, so he has to walk it. It’s none of your concern.” Seeing that I couldn’t provoke Grandma’s anger, I could only change direction to express my concern: “But Ethan said you support him, and your support means the He Group supports him. Some netizens have already posted saying our company has poor values.” “They even said that companies like this should be boycotted. Nowadays, netizens are really powerful. A little wind and grass movement can make a century-old enterprise collapse in an instant.” I even gave Grandma several examples, all typical cases of “success and failure by the same token”. Grandma glanced at me and casually instructed me to handle this matter. In her eyes, I seemed to see a hint of approval. I quickly issued a personal statement from the chairman in the company’s name, first stating my opposition to Ethan’s debut. It pointed out that at his young age, he should focus on studying well, and shouldn’t lie about the family elders supporting his activities in the entertainment industry. Then it hinted that Ethan was brainwashed by Mom to go down the sexy route. He was too young and lacked the ability to discern, hoping he would return to the He family soon and focus on his studies. Finally, it stated that if he really liked the performing arts, the family would support him to pursue an artistic path, apply to art schools, and would also be willing to provide opportunities during winter and summer vacations. This statement quickly gained support from netizens, mainly because Ethan’s image was problematic. Ethan was only fifteen years old, going for a pure and seductive boy image – there must be something wrong with his head! It wasn’t difficult to find several provocative and suggestive photos among the ones he released. Even if it was tied to the name of breaking clothing shame, those few photos taken out separately still gave people a very inappropriate feeling. The reborn Ethan, hindered by his miserable ending in the previous life, naturally wouldn’t return to the He family because of a statement. After failing to call Ethan back, Grandma (I) was extremely disappointed and angrily denounced Mom online for taking Ethan away with ulterior motives. And what these motives were, everyone could guess without saying – naturally Ethan’s inheritance rights. So, to force Mom to let go, and also to get Ethan back to school, with Grandma’s consent, I continued to use her name to reluctantly announce the revocation of Ethan’s inheritance rights. Everything fell into place naturally. How could any netizen not say Grandma had good intentions? As high as Ethan’s popularity was when he debuted, now there were just as many netizens who thought he was digging his own grave. Just like that, he became a problematic youth in the eyes of netizens. When people mentioned Ethan, they would only say: “Oh, that ungrateful rich young master.” Ethan’s image instantly changed from a brave and thoughtful rich young master to a rebellious youth with a not-so-clear mind. Debuting with such big controversy, many people who originally wanted to cooperate with him stepped back, deciding to wait and see. The saying goes, “the first push is vigorous, the second is weak, and the third fails.” This applies in any field. His debut’s first fire burned in a mess under my interference, but that was far from enough. I used the company’s PR department to send the topic “Can underage male stars go the sexy route” to the trending list, creating public opinion and attracting the attention of relevant departments. Two days later, Ethan was directly banned by the authorities, with the reason being promoting incorrect values and bringing bad influence to society. Mom and Steve’s plans hadn’t even sprouted before I nipped them in the bud. Grandma didn’t intervene throughout, just observing. I was a bit nervous, not knowing if she would blame me for not considering brotherly affection. Grandma didn’t express any opinion, but instructed me to intern in the company’s PR department. She said: “Work hard, if there’s anything you don’t understand, come back and ask me.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295952”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

After taking paternity leave when my wife gave birth, I returned to the company to find my desk occupied by my apprentice, Lily. My sales champion trophy had been destroyed, and my personal poster on the publicity board was torn down. She clung tightly to the resources and connections I had given her, and mocked me in front of the whole company: “Which would you choose – sales performance or family? Rather than being laid off, why don’t you just quit on your own?” She didn’t know that with just one word from me, even the CEO would give up his seat for me! “Employee information not detected. Please scan again.” Just as I was about to enter, my access card wouldn’t work no matter how I tried to swipe it. I had always kept this access card in good condition. How could it suddenly stop working for no reason? As I was puzzling over this, Jenny, my former work buddy, happened to pass by. Seeing me, her eyes lit up with surprise: “Jack! What brings you back to the office today? How’s your wife recovering after giving birth?” “Everything’s good. I just couldn’t stop worrying about work, so I thought I’d come back and check things out.” After exchanging a few pleasantries with her, I prepared to return to my familiar desk. But she stopped me, stammering: “Um, your desk… Lily’s taken it over.” Just then, a shout came from the nearby meeting room: “I’ve told you, do everything exactly as I say! Jack’s old methods are outdated!” Jenny was startled, her expression turning unnatural. She told me that since I went on leave, Lily had become the company’s second top salesperson. She had even taken over my former desk, saying I didn’t deserve the position. Vice President Harris saw her outstanding performance and had her mentor the new hires to help them quickly adapt to the work environment. Relying on her newly elevated status, she berated and even hit the new employees, calling it “pressure training” and “failure education”. How else would they learn to handle customers if they weren’t toughened up first? After hearing this, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “What a case of nurturing a tiger that will turn on you! She’s even trying to ride roughshod over me now!”

Lily was a new hire I had originally brought in. At the time, I saw she was struggling to make it on her own in the big city. My heart softened, and I decided to mentor her hands-on. When I was pursuing sales leads, she would observe and learn from the side. Afterwards, she would review with me the little tricks for winning over clients. She learned quickly and acted very obedient in front of others. She was the most promising new hire I had ever seen. Before I went on paternity leave, I wanted to try handing over my resources to her temporarily, giving her space to work independently. She could always return them to me later. But when I came back, she was no longer willing. She even tried to turn the tables on me. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but clench my fists. Just then, the half-closed meeting room door suddenly opened. Lily walked out holding an iced Americano, followed by a group of ashen-faced new hires. I took a good look – she was completely unrecognizable from before. Where had that fresh-faced young girl gone? Now she wore bright red lipstick, earrings bigger than her cheeks, with an oily sheen on her face. It was more nauseating than eating greasy pork knuckles for days on end. Seeing me, her jaw nearly dropped to the floor: “Jack! When did you get here? I’ve missed you so much!” Before I could speak, she pounced on me in a bear hug, clinging so tightly I could barely breathe. I peeled her off and smiled back: “Well Lily, you’ve certainly grown into your role in just a few days!” “You’ve even taken over my desk now. Talk about making yourself at home.” Hearing my words, a flash of embarrassment crossed her face, quickly replaced by fawning: “Oh Jack, I just wanted to bask in your aura a bit. Besides, a desk is just a desk, right?” She led me to a rather secluded corner where there was a workstation. I reached out to wipe it, and my fingers were covered in a visible layer of dust. The desk was also cluttered with random junk, making my mood just as messy. “You mean for me to sit here?” I asked. She blinked her big innocent eyes at me and said: “Yes, Jack. Is there a problem? It’s nice and quiet here.” I laughed bitterly to myself. Not only was it isolated, the air conditioning didn’t even reach this spot. This was clearly an attempt to sideline me. Suppressing the anger about to erupt, I said to her sternly: “Lily dear, I only took a short leave. No need to be so… accommodating. Those big client accounts I handed over to you – I’ll be taking those back to follow up on myself.” But she suddenly shrieked: “What’s wrong with you? Are you insane?”

I was stunned by her words, momentarily at a loss. Seeing my reaction, her voice suddenly took on a tearful tone: “Jack, you never said that before! You want to have your cake and eat it too! What’s wrong with letting me take on all your resources to gain experience?” “Jack, I know you’re not what you used to be. Don’t worry, you don’t need to fear me taking your position.” I was dumbfounded by this blatant twisting of the facts. I hadn’t expected her to be capable of such shameless behavior. Before I could respond, she ran downstairs crying, losing a shoe in the process. The words died on my lips. I couldn’t find a way to voice them. I could only start tidying up the desk, taking out a cloth to wipe down the drawers inside and out. But when I opened the bottom drawer, my gaze froze. Inside lay my sales champion trophy. But now the trophy was just an empty base, The trophy shape on top no longer intact. My heart felt like it was blocked by a huge stone, the ripples of emotion dissipating as they hit it. Just then I heard snippets of gossip from somewhere nearby: “I can’t believe Jack is that kind of person. No wonder he’s always been the top salesman – turns out he’s been monopolizing all the resources!” “Coming back to the office so soon, and already fighting with his star pupil! He must be worried about losing his position since he can’t devote as much energy to work now!” I said nothing. People’s preconceptions are like a mountain – once they come crashing down on you, there’s no moving them. Afterwards, I went downstairs for a bit. When I came back, I was carrying several large bags of bubble tea. I had ordered them on my phone earlier, thinking of treating my former colleagues to a cool drink. I didn’t disturb anyone, just quietly delivered the drinks to each person’s desk with a nod and smile before leaving. When I got to the gossipers, they finally shut their big mouths when they saw me, pretending to work while sneaking glances. I paused for a moment, then placed a few bubble teas in front of them. At first they pretended not to notice, but when they couldn’t keep up the act any longer, they turned to me and said: “Oh Jack! Sorry, I was so focused on work! Thanks!” I smiled and gave them each a firm pat on the shoulder. They cried out in pain, drawing stares and a few snickers from everyone. I walked away without looking back, feeling quite pleased with myself. At some point, Lily had returned to her desk and was touching up her makeup in a small mirror. Seeing an opportunity, I quietly walked up beside her. When she finally noticed, she nearly jumped out of her chair. I waved a bubble tea in front of her face: “Lily dear, I was inconsiderate earlier. Let me make it up to you!” Her eyes lit up, clearly not expecting this gesture from me. I quickly pulled out the drink, twirled it around, and said in a puzzled tone: “Oh no, I accidentally ordered you a full sugar black sugar milk tea! I forgot you’re watching your figure. We salespeople need to maintain our image after all!” Seeing this, she quickly waved her hands for me to take it away. But I moved in closer, suddenly jamming the straw into her mouth: “Come on, it’s the thought that counts! Do me a favor!” This made her choke, her hands instinctively grasping the cup as her face turned red. But somehow, I “accidentally” let go, and the tea spilled all over her designer outfit. She immediately flew into a rage, screaming: “What the hell is wrong with you? What are you trying to do?” I firmly pushed her back down as she tried to stand, leaning in to whisper in her ear: “Sit tight! Don’t let a little bubble tea inflate you like a balloon. You might float away and fall to your death!” With that, I strode off, heading to the restroom to wash my hands. Her shouts of anger followed me. Hmm, with that high pitch she’d be wasted not trying out for a singing competition. But before long, Jenny informed me that Vice President Harris was calling a meeting in 5 minutes and told me to prepare. After gathering my materials, I entered the meeting room first. This home court advantage would be mine again sooner or later! But just then, the phone I’d left at my desk suddenly lit up with a message from a contact labeled: (Flashy Bro) CEO.

By the time the meeting room was almost full, Lily finally rushed in. She had clearly found another outfit to change into somewhere. But there were still traces of milk tea in her hair, making a few new hires snicker at the comical sight. She glared at them, and the room fell silent again. Vice President Harris glanced at her before clearing his throat and addressing us: “As you can see, after Lily, we’ve brought in another batch of new hires. Now that Jack is back, why don’t we have the two of them each lead a team, dividing up the work to tackle the tasks from above.” “If there are no objections, I’ll announce the team assignments…” Before he could finish, a new hire stood up and said quietly: “Mr. Harris, could I request to be on Jack’s team instead?” Harris looked displeased, just staring at her without speaking. But soon after, more people started requesting to join my team. Seeing this, Lily immediately blew up: “What’s the meaning of this? Is working under me a death sentence or something? The market changes in the blink of an eye – are you sure Jack understands the current situation better than me?” She turned to glare at me, her face twisted with anger. Perhaps intimidated by her intensity, a few of the women were struck speechless. Seeing they had something to say, I gestured for them to come whisper in my ear. From what they told me, I realized Lily was a complete fraud. She claimed to be mentoring her team, but in reality she just used them as errand runners – fetching tea, delivering packages, doing all sorts of menial tasks. When she finally deigned to share some so-called “experience”, it was all theoretical knowledge she had never actually put into practice. Whether any of it was actually useful, no one knew. The young women had no choice but to forge ahead with her methods. They managed to close a few small deals with great difficulty, only to have Lily snatch the credit for herself. In the end, all their efforts were for nothing. By this point, the women’s faces were filled with barely concealed resentment. Lily acted like she was drunk, pointing at them and yelling: “I’m going to steal all of you away to my team no matter what! How dare you rebel like this!” I turned to look at Harris. He just sat there with his legs crossed, watching the drama unfold with great interest. I said to him coldly: “Mr. Harris, Lily is my apprentice after all. Her poor people skills can’t be blamed on me! If you have any insights, I’m all ears.” Seeing this, Lily suddenly walked up to Harris. She clung to his arm, a hint of something unsavory flashing in her eyes: “Jack! Surely you don’t think Mr. Harris would just stand by and do nothing? Given my relationship with him, leaving you to struggle alone wouldn’t be a problem!” As she spoke, she clung even tighter. Her gaze flickered to me, clearly eager to see my reaction. Suddenly, Harris’ phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and immediately sat up straighter. After stepping out for a few minutes, he returned to the meeting room looking frazzled and rubbing his eyes: “Why did the CEO have to choose today of all days for a surprise inspection? Talk about bad timing.” Hearing his words, my eyebrows involuntarily raised. I had to admit, the timing was impeccable.

Once the room quieted down again, Harris opened his laptop to share his screen. A large face suddenly appeared before us. It was CEO Leo. At that moment, he was overseas developing new business. He was dressed in a loud, colorful outfit. Seeing us, he opened with: “What’s up, bros?” Us: “…” Seeing we didn’t react, he wisely shut his mouth and said sternly: “Ahem… I happened to have some free time today. I heard from Harris that you’re launching a new product and assigning tasks, so I thought I’d check in.” With that, he gestured for Harris to continue, though his gaze seemed to drift towards me. Harris’ face darkened, but he had no choice but to start his introduction from the beginning. However, when he got to the team assignments, he suddenly paused. He said to CEO Leo: “Sir, Jack is our company’s top salesman. So his team only needs one or two people. As for Lily’s team…” Leo listened silently for a moment after Harris finished. After confirming the situation with Harris, he ordered all the new hires to join Lily’s team, then picked out a few “star players” from the roster to assign to my team. Lily immediately objected: “CEO, isn’t this rather unfair? My team is all newbies while Jack’s team is full of experienced salespeople. No matter how you look at it…” The CEO spoke up: “Lily dear, wasn’t Jack so good to you before precisely to give you a chance to prove yourself? Now if you can outperform Jack while leading a team of newbies, wouldn’t that be the perfect demonstration of your abilities?” “But Jack, he…” The CEO’s patience was clearly wearing thin. He slammed his hand on the desk and barked: “Are you trying to tell me how to do my job? Follow orders! If you can handle it, great. If not, get out!” With that, he turned off his camera and left the online meeting, leaving a sweating Harris behind. Lily hurriedly chased after Harris as he rushed out the door, grabbing his arm to ask: “Mr. Harris, how can you bear to see me like this? You know that Jack is so…” But Harris shook her off violently, his eyes bulging as he yelled at her: “The CEO has spoken. What else can I do? Even if I had incredible powers, do you think I’d risk my neck for you?” The meeting room door slammed shut with a “bang”. Lily was left kneeling on the floor alone, rubbing her reddened foot from the fall as tears streamed down her face. The sight was truly pitiful. But I only wanted to rip off her mask and expose her true face for all to see. As I stepped out of the meeting room, she let out a shrill cry with reddened eyes: “Jack, you think you’re so clever? I’ll make you regret this!” I paused for a moment, then turned to say: “Okay, noted.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295951”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School

Frank despised Mia for being a stay-at-home mom who only knew how to ask him for money. To prevent me from becoming like her, he decided to train 6-year-old me to earn money and support the family. When the neighbor’s kid became a child model, I tried too. Despite being dressed up like a prince, I was politely told I wasn’t cute or clever enough. When a friend’s child won an essay contest, I entered too. After chewing through three pencils, all I got was a certificate saying “Keep trying!” Frank beat Mia viciously. “The child you gave birth to is just like you – ugly and stupid.” I stood in front of Mom, feeling guilty and heartbroken. It was all my fault for making her suffer. I dropped out of school early to become the cheapest labor. I handed over all my wages, but by age 25, I had secretly saved up $10,000. I could finally take Mom away. My hands trembled as I tried to give Mom the bank card, when Frank suddenly burst in, his face twisted with rage. I tried to pull Mom away to escape, but she shoved me down instead. She proudly presented my wages to Frank. “Honey, beat this ungrateful brat to death. He not only hid money but dared to persuade me to divorce you.” I was beaten to death. Frank got off with a light sentence for manslaughter plus a letter of forgiveness. He was out in less than a year. I found myself back in time to when I first dropped out of school. Frank was viciously beating Mia again, berating her for giving birth to an ugly, stupid child just like her. Frank was a fitness trainer and former boxer. Mia was very supportive of his work and often sparred with him. At that moment, Mia lay sprawled on the floor, her neck craned stubbornly. Frank’s fist connected with a sickening crunch. Her piercing screams filled the air. Jason lounged on the sofa, munching chips and watching with interest. He occasionally offered commentary. “Not hard enough.” “Not fast enough.” I staggered to my feet, having just been thrown across the room for trying to shield Mom. My head was still ringing. As the scene before me came into focus, I suddenly realized I had been reborn. Mom’s increasingly agonized screams snapped me out of my daze. Frank was 6 feet tall and 250 pounds of solid muscle. His hammer-like fists rained down on Mom with increasing speed and force. She was soon covered in blood. I couldn’t help but laugh coldly inside. It seemed Frank was getting carried away with his performance, hurling insults at Mom and me non-stop. In my past life, whenever Frank raised his hand to hit Mom, I would immediately give in to any demand. It worked better than if he beat me. But the one time it involved my education, I refused to back down. So Mom volunteered to take the beating for me. In the end, I still gave in. But in this life, apart from hatred, I no longer harbored any illusions about family. I just wanted to live for myself. I could never forget how in my past life, after the violence ended, Mom would always wipe away my tears with her bruised face. She would say tenderly: “Lucas, don’t worry. This is just how your father shows his love for me.” I always thought Mom was just trying to comfort me. It wasn’t until my final moments that I realized she truly meant it. Mom loved it. The more he beat her, the more she loved him. As a filial child, I naturally couldn’t interfere with their love. I remained motionless. Frank’s blows grew increasingly vicious as he incorporated his boxing techniques. Mom soon coughed up a mouthful of blood. Jason giggled with glee, calling it spectacular. “Lucas, save Mommy! I’m doing this all for you.” But even three of me combined weren’t as thick as Frank’s arm. I cowered in the corner, looking utterly terrified. Blood pooled on the floor but she still didn’t get what she wanted. Mom finally started begging for mercy, but Frank was too worked up to stop. He grew more and more excited. “Mom, should I call the police?” Frank suddenly snapped out of it. Mom no longer looked on the verge of death. She wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve. “Your father was just playing around with me.” Under three scrutinizing gazes, I walked straight to the bedroom. I paused at the door. There was one point in Frank’s frenzied rant that I disagreed with. “Dad, don’t you know – like father, like son?” All the insults he had hurled at me instantly reflected back onto Frank. The bedroom door slammed shut with a bang, leaving the three of them staring at each other in bewilderment. I lay down on the bed. Within seconds, I heard the doorknob being frantically twisted and curses flying. I rolled over, ignoring it. My lack of security had long ago made me develop the habit of locking the door. Everything finally quieted down, but I was far from calm. In a moment of impulse, I had provoked Frank. All that awaited me now were even more severe consequences. Suddenly, the sound of keys jingling came from outside the door. ***This is the breakpoint***

Frank still couldn’t open the door. There were too many keys, and he had never been a patient man. He preferred the simplest, most brutal methods. A thunderous pounding on the door began, accompanied by a stream of vile curses. “You little bastard, think you’re so smart after a few years of school? Mocking your old man for being uneducated? You wouldn’t even exist if I hadn’t given you life and provided for you…” Is that so? In my past life, after Grandma died and I was brought back home, I learned they had adopted an older brother two years my senior. Frank gave Mia $200 a week for living expenses. His only requirement was that each meal have a mix of meat and vegetables, with different types of meat each time. She could spend any leftover money as she pleased. But Mia often ran out of money before the week was up and had to ask Frank for more. This angered him greatly. To punish her, he would often withhold the allowance even after a week had passed, making her kneel at the front door before throwing money in her face. A month later at the dinner table, Frank finally noticed me – but only because I reached for the meat dish in front of Jason. “Eat, eat, eat. All you two do is ask for money as soon as you open your eyes. Like mother, like son.” Mia felt wronged and vented her anger by scolding me, echoing Frank’s words. She didn’t expect this would earn her Frank’s approval for the first time. I could sense Mom’s excitement even with my head bowed. Her voice trembled slightly with disbelief. Greatly encouraged, she berated me using words I had never heard before, completely disregarding my reddening eyes. It’s okay. There’s no rule that mothers have to love their children. It’s enough that I love her. My embarrassment delighted Jason. Jason laughed, and Frank laughed along with him. That was the first time Frank praised Mia, the first time he acknowledged her. Mia had finally found her place in this family. To prevent me from becoming as useless as Mia in the future, Frank decided to start training 6-year-old me to earn money and support the family. When the neighbor’s kid became a child model, I tried too. Despite being dressed up like a prince, I was politely told I wasn’t cute or clever enough. When a friend’s child won an essay contest, I entered too. After chewing through three pencils, all I got was a certificate saying “Keep trying!” Frank beat Mia viciously. “The child you gave birth to is just like you – ugly and stupid.” In the end, I could only collect bottles and trash, spending my days begging on the streets with homeless people. I would return home filthy, digging crumpled dollar bills out of my shoes to proudly place in the collection box. I had to pay for my meals – the family didn’t support freeloaders, except for Jason. Jason threw a tantrum at the dinner table. “It’s so embarrassing! My classmates all make fun of me.” Because I had run into him on the street and tried to give him his favorite candy… “Bring me the axe,” came Frank’s enraged voice from outside. He was going to chop down the door. And after the door, who would be next?

Frank raised the axe. I opened the door voluntarily, but he didn’t stop. “How dare you disrespect your father. You might as well die.” Frank wasn’t well-educated. He had boxed since childhood. In his world, fists were everything. Moreover, in this household he was the law, with absolute control. So this life he had given, he could take back whenever he pleased. The axe blade stopped just an inch from the top of my head. At the critical moment, Mia threw herself at me and we dodged. But because we were so close, it grazed her scalp. The axe was razor-sharp. Even that light touch left Mia with a bald patch and a trickle of blood. She held me, sobbing dramatically. Hit them and then offer a sweet. I knew this routine well. She feared that if I died, there would be no one to share her burden. She would once again become the sole target. Frank moved to strike me again. The normally stubborn Mia crumpled with a light shove. Her face contorted with anguish as she wept uncontrollably. “Lucas, Mommy is so sorry. I can’t protect you. Just endure it, don’t fight back. It’ll be over soon.” I watched the scene before me with cold eyes. I knew very well that if I didn’t give them what they wanted, I might not make it out of here alive today. I knelt down and hugged Frank’s leg, my voice choked with emotion. “Dad, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to let go of such an amazing father. Everyone here knows you’re my dad. They’re all afraid of you, so no one dares bully me.” “That’s why I want to be as strong as you.” I had always been obedient. Frank was taken aback, but soon couldn’t hide his pleased smile. “So that’s how it is. Dad was wrong to doubt you.” Mia’s expression was strange. Everyone knew Frank loved being flattered, but this was the first time she had seen him admit he was wrong. I silently observed everything from the corner. Mia still didn’t understand. The more someone lacks something, the more they crave it. Frank claimed education was useless, yet he forced Jason to study. What he cared about most was people saying he was all brawn and no brains. He was terrified of misunderstanding others, often checking the dictionary multiple times for a single phrase. In my past life, as soon as Mia was beaten, I immediately dropped out of school. I didn’t even finish middle school. Now, taking advantage of Frank’s good mood, I asked to finish middle school. It was only a few months difference. Frank agreed without hesitation. Those few months passed quickly. After graduation, I chose to work out of state, saying there were more opportunities. Frank was very supportive. On my first day there, a message came in the family group chat. Frank: When do you get paid? Frank: Never mind, just hand it all over at the end of the year. Me: Okay. The conversation ended there. I sent Frank a photo of a factory, then turned and walked in the opposite direction. Outside First High School, the grade director and homeroom teacher of Class 1 were eagerly waiting, wringing their hands in anticipation of the arrival of Lucas Li, the top scorer in the high school entrance exam.

I officially began my high school life. Right after the qualifying exam, I had contacted First High School. It was far from home and one of the top schools in the country. They offered excellent conditions – not only was tuition and board free, there were additional scholarships and stipends. People say they’d rather be a corporate slave than a high school student. Everyone claims high school is miserable, but I found it to be the most relaxing time of my life. My classmates were kind, my teachers attentive. My life was happy and fulfilling. By saving every penny and working part-time jobs, I managed to save up a decent sum after six months. It would be enough to hand over. To avoid suspicion, I bought gifts and local specialties for everyone in the family when I returned for the New Year. I also finally owned my first well-fitting piece of clothing that I actually liked. To save money, I took a 48-hour hard seat train ride home. When I finally arrived, I was greeted with a slap. “You little bastard, how dare you waste money on yourself? Don’t you have work uniforms?” Mia was overjoyed to see me. After Frank finished slapping me, she pulled me into her arms. “Lucas, you’re finally back. Mommy missed you so much.” I saw the bruises covering her body. Frank must have shown her a lot of “love” while I was gone. Now that I was back, the family had a new target. No wonder she was so excited. Mia quickly frowned as she looked at my jacket, her tone lecturing: “But Mommy still has to criticize you. Isn’t this a bit wasteful?” But apart from the jacket I was wearing, my entire suitcase was full of things for them. Yet they couldn’t see that, fixating only on what I had on. How ridiculous. In my past life, when I didn’t buy anything or new clothes, what did they say? “You went away and didn’t even think to bring back some local specialties for the family? So selfish, just enjoying yourself out there while your parents have never even left the state.” “You’re working now but can’t even buy yourself decent clothes? Always looking so shabby, it’s embarrassing.” Their hostile gazes only softened when I handed over the money. The next year, I bought a plane ticket without hesitation, deliberately scheduling it for two days later. This time I still brought back lots of gifts, but nothing for myself. As soon as I got home, they started inspecting my luggage and scrutinizing me. “Did you take the train back?” I nodded, even producing last year’s train ticket. This time they were finally satisfied. Seeing how obedient I was, they made the unprecedented move of inviting me to join them for the New Year’s Eve dinner. At the table, they wore brand new clothes. Jason sat in the middle, the picture of a happy family. I sat across from them in my wrinkled clothes, picking at the few vegetables on my plate. Next door came the sounds of a heated argument and crying. Mrs. Lee was yelling at her son again. “Go to college my ass! Pack your bags and go find a job to make money.” Mia happily placed a plate of meat dishes in front of me. Mrs. Lee and Mom had always been rivals. Their confrontations usually ended with Mrs. Lee having the upper hand. But the situation had reversed since I started working last year. Especially after Mom went to borrow soy sauce from her wearing new clothes that afternoon. It sparked the most intense argument ever in their household. After eating, they lounged on the sofa watching the New Year’s Gala, laughing non-stop. They didn’t notice me clearing the table, my expression dark as I held the half-full bottle of soy sauce. At the family gathering during the Lunar New Year. Mom hadn’t attended in nearly a decade, not since being mocked for dressing worse than my grandmother. But this year she got up early, excitedly dolling herself up in the trendiest outfit I had brought b

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295950”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #惊悚Thriller #校园School