The youngest son of the Sterling family and I had despised each other for eight years. Later, my family went bankrupt. I ended up riding a rusty bicycle and selling breakfast burritos from a food cart near Ethan Sterling’s university. One day, he walked by, surrounded by his usual entourage, his face the picture of calm arrogance. But the moment he saw me, his entire body went rigid. He frantically shoved the cigarette he was holding into the hands of the guy next to him. "I wasn't smoking! It's not mine! I quit a long time ago!" 1 "Hey, Ethan, isn't that Chloe Vance? Hahahaha! I heard her family went bankrupt. How did the little princess end up selling burritos on the street?" "Want me to get someone to flip her cart, Ethan? Maybe call campus security and play a little game of cat and mouse?" "Looking at her now, she’s not even a mouse. She's a rat." "Does it feel good to see her begging for scraps, Ethan?" ... I followed the sound of the voices. One glance was all it took for my mood to sour. Back when my family was rich and powerful, I had made it my personal mission to put these arrogant, spoiled brats in their place. They whispered among themselves, laughing as they strutted toward my cart. "This tortilla is burnt. Is it even edible?" The girl who was currently buying a burrito from me frowned, unhappy that I had spaced out. "I'm so sorry, let me make you a fresh one. Just give me one minute." I looked down and cracked a fresh egg onto the grill. Suddenly, a crumpled ball of trash hit my cart. "Selling burnt food? Looks like you don't want this cart anymore." The one speaking was Blake. He was the heaviest guy in their group, and in the past, I had beaten him black and blue more than once for bullying other students. When the girl saw Blake's menacing look, she waved her hands frantically and ran off. "Never mind, keep it!" Blake kicked the wheel of my cart. "Chloe Vance. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The tables have really turned, haven't they? I never thought I'd see the day." "You look like a stray dog. It's disgusting." "Ethan, I'll teach her a lesson for you!" The "Ethan" he was referring to was Ethan Sterling. My lifelong nemesis. He was standing a few feet away, walking over while surrounded by his posse. He was dressed head-to-toe in designer streetwear, his hair dyed a trendy ash-brown. I could smell his expensive oud cologne from a mile away. The youngest heir of the Sterling empire. Everything about him screamed pampered luxury and effortless perfection. He always looked so careless and lazy that it was hard to associate him with being a top-tier student at a prestigious university. Blake looked like a dog waiting for a treat, pausing until Ethan got closer. Then, rolling up his sleeves, Blake grabbed an entire carton of my eggs and smashed them onto the pavement. Yolk and shells splattered everywhere. I glared at the smug look on Blake's face, grabbed my scalding hot metal spatula, and pointed it directly at his face. His legs visibly shook. He stumbled backward in terror, hiding behind Ethan. "Ethan, save me!" The young man stood in front of me, half a head taller than I was. My gaze slowly moved downward, landing on the lit cigarette pinched between his fingers. I frowned. The very next second, Ethan's entire body went stiff. He rapidly shoved the cigarette directly into Blake's mouth and held up his empty hands. "I wasn't smoking! He was!" "I quit a long time ago!" 2 With the cigarette dangling awkwardly from his lips, Blake looked at Ethan in utter confusion. He mumbled around the filter, "E-Ethan, this isn't yours..." Ethan clamped a hand over Blake's mouth. "Smoke your cigarette and shut up." The other guys in the group sensed something was off. They exchanged bewildered looks and started whispering. "What's going on? Doesn't Ethan want revenge?" "Someone said they saw Chloe running a cart here this morning, and he sprinted over faster than anyone. Wasn't he coming here to gloat?" "Why does it feel like Ethan is... terrified of her?" "I'm not gonna lie, one phrase comes to mind: whipped." "Shut up, it's probably PTSD!" 3 Ethan and I grew up together. But we couldn't stand the sight of each other. Ethan was the ultimate rebellious rich kid. Skipping class to street race, spending days at internet cafes playing games—no one could control him. But even though he slept through class and gamed all night, his grades were always at the very top of the class. Whenever the rankings came out, he would lean over with a punchable smirk and say: "You need to study harder, Chloe. Otherwise, you'll just have to settle for inheriting your family's billions." The feud was cemented right then and there. Starting in middle school, every time he skipped class, I snitched on him. Then, armed with the "royal decree" from Mr. Sterling, I would personally drag him home by his ear. I didn't spare his little gang of rich friends, either. Anyone who talked back got pinned to the ground until their parents came to pick them up. Ethan couldn't beat me in a fight. He could only watch helplessly as I drove away in his favorite sports car, unplugged his internet router, and used jet-black hair dye to cover up whatever neon colors he had put in his hair. We hated each other's guts. The year we graduated high school, I finally received a confession letter from my crush. But before I could read it, Ethan snatched it right out of my hands. When I went to find my crush later, he shook his head frantically and denied the letter ever existed. I stormed over to Ethan's to settle the score, only to overhear him talking to his friends: "Chloe Vance is practically a barbarian. Any guy who likes a girl that violent must be completely blind." I walked right up and slapped him across the face on the spot. 4 Ethan shot his friends a death glare, and the boys finally shut their mouths. I looked up at them, my tone perfectly calm: "If you aren't going to buy anything, please step aside. You're blocking my customers." "Also, you're paying full price for the eggs you smashed. Two dollars each." Hearing this, Blake got defensive. "Customers? You call this a business? Are your burritos even fully cooked? You just wait, I'm calling campus security to kick you out—" I raised my heavy spatula, ready to chase him off. Instantly, the tall guy next to Blake stepped in to protect him. Blake looked down his nose at me. "Don't think I won't touch you. Do you honestly still think you're the untouchable Vance heiress?" "Touch her and see what happens." A freezing voice dropped like a hammer. Blake froze. He turned to look at the man who spoke, his eyes wide in disbelief. "E-Ethan... what did you say?" "Was I not clear enough? I said—" Ethan enunciated every syllable with lethal precision, "Touch her and see what happens." Blake snapped his mouth shut and backed away in shame. Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets, took a step forward, and let his gaze fall on me. "I'm buying. How much?" "Eight dollars for a regular. Ten if you add bacon." Ethan paused. "Add bacon." I expertly cracked an egg onto the hot grill and poured a ladle of batter. When I glanced up, I caught Ethan secretly taking off his flashy earrings and silver chain. He was even using his hands to aggressively flatten his meticulously styled, gelled hair. I let out a short laugh and wiped the stray batter off my hands with a towel. "You don't need to do that anymore. The Vance family is gone. Your nightmare is over." Two months ago, a massive project my family's company invested in collapsed. After liquidating all our assets to pay off debts and severances, my father had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. Overnight, I went from being a pampered heiress to a girl flipping burritos on the street. I was used to it by now. My family went from a massive, five-story luxury mansion to a cramped, 600-square-foot apartment. We went from eating Michelin-star meals every day to eating leftover rice and cheap bread. Right now, my only thought was working hard, making money, and surviving. As for Ethan Sterling, we were no longer from the same world. I wrapped up the bacon breakfast burrito, handed it to him, and lifted my chin toward the printed sign on my cart. "Venmo or CashApp. Show me your screen when it's done." Ethan frowned. After transferring the money, he held his phone up for me to see. "One hundred and fifty dollars? You sent too much." Ethan turned his head, looking at my surroundings with a complex expression. "Are you out here every single day?" I glanced at him. "Not always." Ethan muttered a quiet, "Oh." The environment here really wasn't great. Even though we were right next to the university and there were other food carts around, my spot was pretty deserted. That girl they scared off earlier was my very first customer of the day. This business really wasn't easy. Ethan showed no signs of leaving. He took a bite of the burrito, his frown deepening. "My birthday is next month. Are you free?" In the past, he was forced by our parents to invite me to his birthday parties every year. The result was always me turning his party into a chaotic disaster. I couldn't believe he was actually inviting me now. "I can be. But you know my situation. I won't be bringing any fancy gifts." Ethan scratched the back of his head. He still looked incredibly arrogant and aloof as he spoke. "Oh, whatever. It's just that Coco misses you." Coco. The little Pomeranian I had given him for his eighteenth birthday. (I had originally named her "Little Chloe" to annoy him, but it stuck). "Alright. I'll bring some extra bacon for her." The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence again. Ethan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else. Suddenly, a girl in a white tennis skirt came jogging over, puffing her cheeks out like an angry blowfish. "Ethan! Where have you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you!" She was incredibly cute and sweet-looking, petite but curvy. Even I couldn't help but stare for a second. When she noticed me, she looked slightly surprised, but offered a polite nod. "Hi there!" Ethan kept his hands in his pockets, looking down at her. "What are you doing here?" The girl looked away from me, stood on her tiptoes, and glared up at Ethan. "Don't give me that! The professor told us to meet to discuss the math modeling competition. Did you forget again?" Ethan nodded, looking like he just remembered. The girl pointed at his earlobe. "When did you take your earrings out? I told you to take them out ages ago, otherwise your dad is going to get mad again." When Ethan's gaze flicked toward me, I tactfully looked away. "I know." The girl stared at me intently for several seconds. I was getting a little confused, and our eyes met. She finally asked, "Do you guys know each other?" Ethan looked past me. "Yeah. We know each other." Serena playfully swatted Ethan's arm. "You didn't even introduce us! Hi, I'm Serena." I took in all their little intimate gestures. "I'm Chloe." Serena thought for a moment. "Chloe Vance? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before." "It's a beautiful name!" "Since you guys know each other, do you want to come to our birthday party next week? Ethan and I have the exact same birthday! Our families talked about it for ages and actually decided to host a joint party!" "Not that I wanted to share a party with him! Boys' parties are always so loud and obnoxious." "But, will you come?" Serena put her hands behind her back, tilting her head adorably. My tone was flat. "Sure, if I have the time." Serena enthusiastically grabbed my hand. "That would be perfect!" The moment she said that, she immediately spun around, feigning anger at Ethan. "Okay, okay, the professor is waiting. Mr. Sterling, can we go now?" Without waiting for his answer, she grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the campus gates. I slowly lowered my eyes. Right then, Ethan suddenly turned his head and raised his voice. "Chloe, are you trying to cut ties with me?" I forced a smile. "No. Our relationship is exactly the same as it's always been." 5 After Ethan left, Blake stared at their retreating backs and sneered. "See that, Chloe? That is Ethan's true match." "Equal social standing, a match made in heaven!" Serena was a head and a half shorter than Ethan. To keep up with him, she had to walk incredibly fast. But Ethan had unconsciously slowed his pace to match hers. I looked away from them and smirked. "They do look good together." "Chloe, the only reason Ethan didn't mess with you today is because he's a nice guy. He pities you. He doesn't want to stoop to your level." "If you're smart, you'll pack up this trash cart and roll as far away as possible." I smiled and casually picked up my heavy metal spatula. Blake flinched, terrified. "Just scaring you. Blake, do me a favor and stop barking in my presence." Blake desperately tried to reclaim his dignity. "You wouldn't dare! If you harm a single hair on my head, the Blake family will destroy what's left of the Vances. When that happens, your dad—the former CEO—will have to lick my shoes to apologize—" Before he could finish his sentence, I stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and cleanly flipped him over my shoulder. "Wipe your mouth. It smells like you've been eating shit." Blake hit the pavement hard, groaning in pain and crying for his mother. I dusted my hands off. "You're more than welcome to try me." Blake scrambled up, clutching his face, and stumbled away. "You just wait!" I watched him run, then silently pushed my food cart a little further in the opposite direction. Looks like I'll have to find a new spot to sell burritos tomorrow.
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