I found myself a tall, rich, and handsome boyfriend. After dating for three years, I decided to bring him home for the holidays to meet my parents. But as soon as I sent our photo to the family group chat, it exploded! "Sis, no matter how desperate you are for a man, you can't just date any monster, right?" "Are you just trying to avoid blind dates by picking up some random guy to piss off Mom?" I looked at my boyfriend beside me in astonishment. Six-foot-two, eight-pack abs, dressed in a custom Armani suit, looking like a young Keanu Reeves. The next second, Dad sent a photo back to me with a message: "Yara, are you blind? You found such a short, ugly, poor boyfriend?" I looked at the man in the photo: old, balding, with a beer belly, looking not even five-foot-three. He wore tattered clothes and hugged me with a lecherous expression. But this photo hadn't been AI-processed or Photoshopped. I looked up at my boyfriend; he was clearly still a god among men. I kept asking people around me for confirmation, but everyone saw my boyfriend as short, ugly, and poor. Unable to bear the blow, I became paranoid and gradually lost my mind. Eventually, I was sent to a mental hospital and accidentally beaten to death by another patient. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn back to the moment I was preparing to announce my boyfriend. 1 My parents have always favored my younger sister. I suspected they wanted me to give up my boyfriend to her. This time, I didn't send a photo of us together to the family group chat. Instead, I sent a solo photo of my boyfriend and lied. "This is the boyfriend my best friend just started dating. What do you guys think?" But their reply was exactly the same as before. "Why would Claire date such a short, ugly, poor guy? Is she going through something recently?" "Yara, as her best friend, you should advise her not to just pick anyone." "Sis, hurry up and tell Claire to break up with him. That's clearly a toad trying to eat swan meat!" I was dumbfounded. If in the last life they fooled me because they knew Gideon was my boyfriend... In this life, they had no reason to fool my best friend. Just as I was dazing, Mom sent a message. "Didn't you say you found a boyfriend? It's almost the holidays; shouldn't you bring him home for Mom to see?" Dad chimed in too: "That's right! A family of four should become a family of five. You're not getting any younger." "Sis, when are you bringing my brother-in-law home? Don't be like Claire!" My hand holding the phone broke out in a cold sweat. Thinking about the expressions on their faces if I brought my boyfriend home... Gideon's tall figure hugged me from behind, burying his head in the crook of my neck, acting spoiled. "Yara, what did your family say? You'll take me to see your parents for the holidays, right?" I looked at his handsome profile. Sunlight shone on him like a descending god. How could he be the short, ugly, poor guy my family described? This height difference... this sculpted face... the quality of these clothes... Everything reminded me that Gideon was the epitome of tall, rich, and handsome. This time, I was cautious and didn't agree immediately: "Of... of course I'll take you to see my parents. But before that, do me a small favor." He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "Don't say small favor; I'd go through fire and water for you." I hatched a plan. "Gideon, can you go to the park later and take a few photos with my best friend?" Gideon's face fell instantly, looking hurt. "Yara Zhou, are you planning to push your man away?" I quickly denied it, lying that I lost a game of Truth or Dare and it was just a request from my best friend. "Just take three photos together in the park and you can leave. No physical contact needed." Seeing my pleading expression, Gideon finally softened. "Just this once." I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to call my best friend. "Claire, are you free? I just wanted to ask you to take three photos with my boyfriend in the park." Unexpectedly, my best friend refused vehemently. "No way? Let me take a photo with that short, ugly, poor boyfriend of yours? You might as well kill me!" It was one thing for my family to fool me, but why did my best friend say the same thing? She had met my boyfriend a long time ago. Why did she only say he was short, ugly, and poor now? "Yara, I wanted to advise you to break up three years ago. Seeing how deeply you loved him, I was afraid you'd do something stupid, so I never said anything." "You're just love-brained. How can you treat that kind of trash like a treasure? I want to vomit just smelling the old-man smell on him. How have you endured it for three years?" I was startled. Could beauty really be in the eye of the beholder? Even the old-man smell on him felt like a fresh fragrance to me, smelling so good... 2 I still didn't believe it. I took a deep breath and decided to bribe my best friend. "If you agree this time, I'll give you the newly released LV bag." "Deal. Don't let there be a next time." After my best friend hung up, the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. Even if I used beauty filters, the difference wouldn't be this huge. However, the photos Claire sent three days later shattered my fantasy. The man in the photo was actually the same one my dad sent me in my past life. I looked at the photo on my phone. Still purely natural, no traces of editing. Just then, Gideon came home. I rushed up to him. "Gideon, did you keep the photos from today?" "I did, otherwise wouldn't I be nagged by you?" He handed me his phone. In the photo, he stood with my best friend, still looking like a god. How could this be... where did it go wrong? I took his phone to the balcony and compared the two photos repeatedly. Same park, same time, same pose, only the person was different. Checking the remaining two one by one, it was the same. Gideon came to the balcony, hugged me, and said aggrievedly: "Babe, I did what you said. Why do you still look unhappy?" The scent on him was still so fresh, intoxicating like orange soda. But thinking that the man holding me now might be that person, I got goosebumps all over. "How could I? I... was just jealous, that's why I'm unhappy." Hearing this, Gideon wasn't aggrieved anymore. "Then since I completed your task, you have to give me a kiss." I looked at the angelic face in front of me and wanted to kiss him, but remembering the person in the photo, I instantly lost my appetite. Gently pushing him away, I smiled guiltily. "What's a kiss? I'll cook for you personally tonight as a reward." Gideon didn't notice my abnormality, just kissed my cheek and said okay. I went to the kitchen, sent this photo to the family group chat, and added a message. "Is the person in this photo the same one you saw last time?" The group replied quickly. "Why hasn't Claire broken up with that man yet? They're totally mismatched! Claire is 5'5"; wearing heels, she's a head taller than him." "Yara, has your best friend been brainwashed by this man? What exactly is redeeming about him?" "Sis, look at his clothes, full of old-man vibes. He's probably wearing his dad's secondhand clothes!" Just in case I didn't believe it, my dad sent a solo photo of the man in the group. "Look, isn't this the same person from the photo you sent last time?" I examined this solo photo carefully. Still same time, same background, same pose, different person. Why are the photos I took and the ones they see not of the same person? Seeing I hadn't come out for a long time, Gideon knocked on the kitchen door. "Yara, why are you spacing out in the kitchen? Should I cook?" "No need, no need, it'll be done soon. You wait at the dining table first." I quickly finished two dishes and brought them out. As Gideon sat down, I caught a glimpse of the butterfly birthmark on his neck. That was unique to Gideon. I hurriedly pulled out the photos from my best friend and the family group to compare. I was dumbfounded instantly. The birthmark on that man's neck was exactly the same as Gideon's... 3 I picked at my rice absentmindedly, looking at Gideon beside me, and spoke cautiously. "Gideon... I have a question. Don't be angry if I ask." Gideon turned to look at me, smiling gently. "Okay, I won't be angry no matter what you ask." "Um... have people around you ever commented on your looks before?" He was silent for a moment. My heart thumped. Did I hit a sore spot? Did everyone think he was ugly? The next moment, he chuckled, grabbing my hand and placing it on his face. "Since I was little, everyone praised me for being handsome. Starting from middle school, I was voted the campus hunk every year." Afraid I wouldn't believe him, he took out his phone to show me photos from his college days. For four full years, Gideon's photos hung on the "campus gods" wall, winning by a landslide. Seeing my confused expression, Gideon flicked my forehead playfully: "What? Can't handle your hubby being naturally beautiful?" "Don't know what's going on in that melon of yours. You didn't doubt when we started dating, but now that we're meeting parents, you start suspecting. Are you looking for an excuse to break up with me?" Gideon pretended to look at me seriously, and I could only suppress my doubts. Eating distractedly, my eyes glanced at Gideon from time to time, trying to find anomalies. But found nothing in the end. Lying in bed, my mind started racing again. Looking at the sleeping Gideon beside me, a thought arose in my mind. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, how to explain height? Why does everyone see him as no more than 5'3", while I think he's 6'2"? I climbed out of bed lightly, afraid of waking Gideon. Walking to the entryway, I checked all of Gideon's shoes; there were no lifts inside. Unwilling to give up, I took a tape measure from the drawer and secretly climbed onto the bed to measure his height. If 6'2" was just his visual height, the data from the ruler would be accurate. But Gideon kept turning over while I was measuring, thwarting my attempts. Putting away the tape measure, I stared at his belly. The man in the photo had a beer belly, while Gideon had eight-pack abs. Could the abs be artificial, or something pasted on his stomach? Previously, I had seen videos of men faking abs. My hand gradually moved toward his abs. Unfortunately, just as I touched his abs, he grabbed my hand. Gideon opened his eyes with a teasing look. "Babe, feeling lonely at night and want it?" I broke out in a cold sweat instantly. Luckily, he didn't discover me measuring his height with the tape. "N-no, I was afraid your stomach would get cold... It's late, sleep early." I quickly lay back down, closing my eyes to feign sleep. But Gideon flipped over and pressed on top of me, his warm lips covering mine. "Babe, the fire you started isn't so easily extinguished." Discovered nothing all night, but got tossed around by Gideon all night. Big loss. Early in the morning, Gideon looked at me, limp in bed, with satisfaction. "Babe, when exactly are you taking me to see your parents?" "You're so cute, it really makes me want to lock you up and let you see no one." Gideon's reminder made me quickly take out my phone to check. The date agreed upon with my family to bring my boyfriend home was tomorrow. 4 I thought about how well Gideon treated me these three years—gentle, meticulous, considerate, and generous. Even if he was short and ugly, I accepted my fate. He couldn't be poor too... And in these three years, he spent at least a million on me. It couldn't be fake. "It's tomorrow. Happy now?" Gideon's eyes sparkled, and he kissed me happily. "Why didn't you say so earlier? I don't have time to prepare gifts for uncle and auntie." "Yara, stop sleeping. Get up and take me to pick gifts for them." I rolled my eyes at him grumpily. Look who wore me out last night. Gideon acted like he didn't see, picking out his globally custom-made suit from the closet and looking at me. "Yara, can I wear this to see uncle and auntie tomorrow?" I was in a daze. In my past life, my parents looked at him wearing this with disgust, almost beating him up. But I felt Gideon in my eyes was a clothes hanger; he looked good in anything. Not to mention this suit tailored for him could show off his perfect figure. After getting ready, Gideon called to book a top luxury mall and drove his Maybach to take me there. The sales associate at the jewelry store saw Gideon and bowed respectfully to guide us. "Sir, what do you need?" "88 pounds of gold bars, and pick the most expensive gold rings and earrings for the elders." The sales associate couldn't hide her smile. I couldn't help looking at him. "So expensive, isn't it too wasteful?" "They are my future mom and dad, how can it be wasteful? Mine is my wife's." Gideon also picked a Patek Philippe watch for my dad and bought out LV bags for my sister. Thinking he couldn't be poor, I took photos of the gifts he bought and sent them to my best friend. But received a questioning reply from her: "Yara, beware of pig-butchering scams! Many men who look human but act like dogs cheat huge funds through loans first, then let you bear huge debts, claiming it was all bought for you." "These men earn high interest fees by cooperating with unscrupulous loan agencies." I didn't believe it and sent photos of Gideon's luxury car and villa to her. "These can all be rented. Don't be so silly to believe it all." My originally joyful heart sank into dead silence instantly. The next day, I took Gideon home with a nervous heart. My family's eyes went from shocked disdain to forced smiles. Dad took Gideon's gifts. "Yara's boyfriend, right? Why buy so much and waste money? Sit down and eat." Mom dragged me aside. "So after all this time, the best friend's boyfriend you mentioned was your boyfriend. afraid of losing face so you didn't dare say it, huh?" My sister even covered her nose on the spot, sitting far away from Gideon as if he were a beast. The meal was finished in such awkwardness. Until I left with Gideon, I inadvertently saw the three of them making a "V" gesture together. I didn't think much of it, but didn't expect the group chat to explode as soon as I got home. "Yara, look at what he sent! Fake gold bars, fake watch, fake bags! Playing us like fools? Stuff worth less than a thousand bucks total! How can a person be so vain?" "Dad is putting his foot down today. If you don't break up with him, I'll disown you." "Sis, you don't know how bad he smelled at the dinner table. I almost threw up." I sneered, snuggling in Gideon's arms, and sent a message: "Stop pretending. I know why you all say my boyfriend is short, ugly, and poor."
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