My high school nemesis, Lucas Vance, became my younger brother's direct supervisor. He recognized my brother and frequently asked him about me, both intentionally and unintentionally. My brother knew perfectly well that Lucas and I hated each other's guts back in school. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire and facing Lucas's wrath, my idiot brother panicked and told him I died in a car crash. That entire day, Lucas took the elevator to the wrong floors, burned himself pouring hot water, and stapled his own hand. He practically had "distracted and terrified" stamped on his forehead. My brother saw right through it. "Sis, he's just scared you're gonna haunt him tonight." Yet, that very night, a message from him popped up on my long-abandoned Facebook account. [If there's a next life, I will definitely tell you I love you sooner.] Me: "?" Is he insane? 1 When Leo got home from work, he was holding my favorite strawberry shortcake. Seeing me mopping the floor, he eagerly rushed over. "Sis, let your little bro handle this. You rest." He snatched the mop from my hands and started vigorously mopping the floor. He hadn't even taken off his briefcase yet. I leaned against the wall, eyeing him suspiciously. After he finished mopping, panting heavily, and put the mop away, I dashed forward and put him in a headlock. "Tell me the truth, kid. What kind of lies have you been feeding Lucas about me now?" Leo patted my arm, his eyes rolling back. "Let go, Sis, let go first." I released him. Leo took a massive gasp of air. Then, under my intense glare, he dropped to his knees with a loud thud. I jumped, startled. Just as I was about to speak, I heard his incredibly soft voice: "Sis, for the sake of your brother's future career, could you maybe... die for a little bit?" Me: "?" Leo's direct supervisor, Lucas Vance, was my high school classmate. But not just any classmate. We were sworn enemies, completely incompatible. We couldn't stand the sight of each other. In high school, we had a minor argument every three days and a major blowout every five. Everyone knew it. Leo looks a lot like me, and since he's only a year younger, we went to the same high school. He came to find me for lunch every day, so most of my classmates had seen him at some point. Therefore, the moment Lucas was transferred from headquarters, he recognized him immediately. He constantly asked Leo about me. Even though I explicitly forbade Leo from revealing a single detail. But my idiot brother let everything go in one ear and out the other. To suck up to his boss, he sold me out a long time ago. And over time, he figured out a pattern. Lucas and I didn't get along, so naturally, hearing that I was doing poorly would put him in a good mood. The last time I caught him, I overheard Leo talking to Lucas on the phone. He thought I wasn't home and had him on speaker. "My sister has been in a terrible mood lately." Lucas's interest peaked. "Oh? What happened?" "Ah, it's hard to say, but it's you, Lucas, you're not an outsider." Leo feigned hesitation, then let out a long sigh. "My sister broke up with her boyfriend." The other end was silent for a few seconds. His tone couldn't hide his curiosity. "Oh? How did that happen?" "My sister has terrible taste in men. The guy she was dating was absolute trash. They hadn't even been together a month, and he cheated on her. She caught him in bed..." He really knew how to spin a tale. When I pushed the door open and glared at him, he still had a smug look on his face. The result was entirely predictable: I beat him so badly he couldn't get out of bed. So this time, the moment I saw Leo's sycophantic behavior, I knew he had definitely done something to wrong me. Under my relentless interrogation. Leo's head almost touched the floor. "Sis, my brain short-circuited... I said you died... in a car crash." Pfft— I spat out a mouthful of water. My eyes went wide as I turned to look at him. Leo scrambled two meters away. "Sis, I'm sorry! But don't get mad yet! There are two sides to every story! Lucas thinks you're dead, so he won't ever ask me about you again! And..." His eyes darted around. "Maybe in the dead of night, he'll feel so guilty about bullying you that he'll slap himself!" I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Lucas? If he didn't pop champagne at midnight to celebrate, it would be a miracle. 2 In high school, Lucas and I were the perfect storm: I was the tomboyish troublemaker, and he was the fist-swinging school bully. My feud with Lucas started on the very first day of freshman year. Back then, I had short hair, wore the unisex school uniform, had a slightly deep voice, and an overly energetic personality. I was popular with both the guys and the girls. But sometimes, being too energetic can make you seem like a... well, a real creep. On the way to the cafeteria, I spotted my childhood best friend. Without thinking, I sneaked up behind her and smacked her butt. My friend let out a startled yelp. She turned around to look at me, but before she could say a word, I was violently kicked to the ground by a flying foot. A guy stood over me, looking down with pure disgust. "Where did this little pervert come from? Disgusting." I lay on the ground, completely stunned. My friend stood nearby, frozen in shock. Two seconds later, I snapped back to reality, jumped up, and kicked the guy hard in the leg. "Are you insane?!" The guy instinctively started defending himself and fighting back. We started brawling, and my friend couldn't even pull us apart. And so, on the very first day of school, Lucas and I became famous. Because it was lunchtime, there was a huge crowd, and the incident had a terrible impact. We were forced to make a public apology at the first school-wide assembly. That day, two new names were added to the disciplinary record book for the new semester at Skyline High: Lucas Vance and Chloe Price. For the next three years, we had countless arguments and tried to trip each other up countless times. If he didn't pour vinegar in my water bottle, I'd put a fake cockroach in his textbook. I made friends with everyone Lucas hated. When Lucas played in basketball games, I brought a megaphone to cheer wildly for his opponents. Though harmless, it was incredibly annoying. He and I were like two opposing magnets; the moment we got close, there was a violent clash. All these years later, that reaction hadn't weakened one bit. Otherwise, Lucas wouldn't be constantly asking Leo about me. Hearing that I was unlucky or doing poorly probably made him eat an extra bowl of rice that day. Well, this is just perfect. Leo told him I was dead. I took two deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down. Furious, I demanded, "And that idiot actually believed you?!" From what I knew, Lucas wasn't easily fooled. "He didn't believe me at first." Leo didn't quite dare to look at me. "But you know that family in the building next to ours is having a funeral, right? When I was at work today, I heard the mourning music, got a little sentimental, and posted a status update..." I froze, grabbing my phone to check. His latest status update: [Life is unpredictable. May the departed rest in peace. ?️] I laughed out of sheer anger. Talk about perfect timing and location. Exhausted, I asked my final question. "Is that bastard gloating right now?" "Actually, no." Leo perked up, leaning in closer. "On the contrary, Lucas has been acting really weird all day." "He had a meeting this morning, got in the elevator, hit the top floor, then went from the top floor down to the basement. He was totally spacing out." "During his lunch break, he burned himself in the breakroom. He poured boiling hot water right onto his hand without even blinking." "This afternoon, while organizing files, he stapled his own hand." "Tsk, tsk, tsk. He basically has 'distracted and terrified' stamped on his forehead." I was surprised. "Because of me?" "Most likely." Well, that was truly bizarre. My death hit him that hard? Leo thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh. "I got it, Sis!" I gave him a side-eye. Leo: "Lucas is definitely scared! He's afraid that now you're dead, you'll turn into a vengeful ghost and come after him!" My temple throbbed. Unable to hold back any longer, I smacked him upside the head. "Get lost!" 3 After giving Leo a good scolding, I went back to my room. Maybe it was because Lucas's name had been brought up so many times today. The moment I lay down on my bed, my mind uncontrollably started replaying my high school years. But for some reason, almost all the memories I could recall prominently featured Lucas. Undeniably, he truly left a "heavy, colorful stroke" on my high school life. But there was a brief period when our relationship actually softened. It was the second semester of our junior year. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Yang, was diagnosed with cancer and was in his second week of hospitalization. While I was getting some fresh air on the roof, I heard a group of guys smoking and chatting in the corner. "Did you hear? Old Yang has terminal cancer." "Really?" His tone was gleeful. "Serves him right!" "He confiscated three of my phones! He even called my parents to complain, and I got the beating of a lifetime!" "Exactly, he's done so much petty, annoying crap, he finally got his karma." "I hope he dies soon, I can't wait." My face darkened, and I started walking toward them. Mr. Yang was strict, but he was a genuinely good teacher. He would use his own money to buy school supplies for students struggling financially. When a student was facing domestic abuse, he did home visits every single day for a month to protect them. On snowy winter mornings, he was always the first to arrive at school, turning on the heat in the classrooms, and clearing the snow from the hallways by himself... So, a good teacher like him shouldn't be cursed so viciously. But before I could even reach them, I heard a scream. Rounding the corner, I saw the guys brawling. Lucas was taking on three of them by himself, and he was clearly winning. He shoved a filthy, stinking rag into one of the guys' mouths. "Your mouth is so dirty, I'm cleaning it for you!" Right. Lucas was one of the underprivileged students Mr. Yang had sponsored. The commotion eventually drew the attention of nearby teachers. There were no security cameras on the roof, so as a witness, I was called to the office too. The guys' faces were bruised and swollen. I stared quietly at Lucas for a few seconds, then raised my hand and pointed at the others. "Teachers, they started it, and they were insulting Mr. Yang." Lucas looked up in shock. I didn't meet his gaze. Because I was terrible at lying, my hands were shaking nervously behind my back. Lucas couldn't help it; he let out a laugh. For a long time after that, our relationship was actually okay. At most, we'd exchange a few sarcastic remarks when we saw each other. It was practically harmonious. But later, our relationship deteriorated rapidly again... Ding-dong. A sudden notification sound pulled me from my thoughts. I picked up my phone to check. It was a Facebook notification. [You haven't been here in a while! Come see who sent you a message!] I froze, and as if possessed, I clicked on it. I hadn't used Facebook in a long time. Most of my friends on there were from middle and high school. After refreshing for a few seconds, a flood of messages popped up. Over the years, quite a few classmates had actually sent me messages. Most were generic holiday greetings, with a few scattered ones asking how I was doing. I scrolled through, picking a few to reply to. Just as I was about to exit, a red notification dot suddenly appeared at the very top. I froze. Who is sending me a message right now? I scrolled to the top, and Lucas's name jumped out. The message he sent... was a little creepy. [If there's a next life, I will definitely tell you I love you sooner.] I let out a shriek and practically threw my phone across the room. Either my phone was possessed, or Lucas had suffered a traumatic brain injury! What kind of garbage is he sending?! Still shaken, I grabbed my phone again. I clicked into the chat, frowning and thinking hard for a long time. Then, it hit me. He probably still doubted Leo's story, so he decided to use this disgusting, cheesy line to test if I was really dead. Realizing this, I couldn't be bothered to reply to him. 4 I scrolled on my phone for a bit and was just about to go wash up when Leo sprinted out of his room. He slid on his knees right in front of me. "Sis, save me!" I stared at him blankly. "Lucas said he wants to come over to our house and pay his final respects to you." I continued to stare blankly. "Sis, could you please hide for a bit? Just help me get through tonight! My probation evaluation is the day after tomorrow! Once I'm a permanent employee, I'll clarify everything immediately, I promise!" I sneered. "What does that have to do with me?" "Clean up your own mess." With that, I turned and headed for the bathroom. Leo lunged forward and hugged my leg. "Sis, I'll buy you the newest tablet and phone! And that trip to Hawaii you've been wanting? I'll book it for you!" He said those words as if his heart was physically breaking. I stopped walking and looked down at him. Three seconds later, I crouched down and affectionately patted his head. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Look at this misunderstanding." "Get up, the floor is cold." "Tell me, where do you want your sister to hide?" "The toilet? The rice cooker?" Leo's mouth twitched, clearly shocked by how fast my attitude changed. He pointed to my bedroom. "Just don't come out." "You got it." I walked into my room, put my phone on silent, and started playing games. Half an hour later, there was a knock at the front door. I paused my game, crept out of bed, and pressed my ear against the door to eavesdrop. Who could resist being curious? Certainly not me. "Lucas, you're here." "Yeah." Lucas's voice was deep. "Leo, your sister..." Leo: "We already shipped her back to our hometown." Even though I knew he was lying, hearing it still felt incredibly weird. I clenched my fists and kept listening. "My condolences." "I know, Lucas. Time heals all wounds." The two of them sat outside chatting, their voices dropping low. I couldn't really hear what they were saying. "Your sister's... photo..." "In her room... afraid it would trigger bad memories..." What are they saying?! Mumble, mumble, mumble. A surge of inexplicable annoyance flared up inside me. Just then, there was another knock at the door. Leo paused, then got up to answer it. "Hello, delivery." Leo went to the door to get the package. But why did I hear... another set of footsteps heading straight for my bedroom? I panicked and instinctively started looking for a place to hide. The closet? No room. Under the bed? Couldn't squeeze in. I looked at the wide-open window, my eyes narrowing in determination. When Leo returned with the package and saw what was happening, his soul almost left his body. He sprinted over at record speed and grabbed Lucas's arm, his voice trembling. "Lucas, what are you doing?" Lucas already had one hand on the bedroom doorknob. His voice was heavy, carrying a faint sadness. "You said her memorial photo was in her bedroom. I just wanted to see her." As he spoke, he turned to look inside the room. The light was still on. Leo said stiffly, "My sister was afraid of the dark." "You're very thoughtful." Lucas walked in naturally. "Oh my, why is this window still open?" Leo said as he walked briskly to the window. He made a show of closing it, leaned out, looked down, and instantly gasped. I was crouching on the small balcony outside, mouthing words to him. [Get him out of here!] Leo slammed the window shut. He turned and pushed Lucas's shoulder. "Lucas, let's go back out. Being in here really makes me want to cry." "I didn't see your sister's photo." "The photo editors made her look too ugly, so I sent it back to be redone. I forgot." "...Is that so?" "Yeah!" Click. The door was shut. I waited quietly for a few seconds, then pushed myself up on the windowsill and agilely flipped back into the room. After graduating high school, I went to the police academy. Now, I'm a police officer. I never stop training, which is the only reason I have this kind of agility. I was supposed to be on vacation for a few days, but then this ridiculous mess happened. Lucas didn't stay much longer. After he left, Leo knocked on my door. I threw the door open, but before I could start yelling, he shoved his phone in my face. "Sis, I've already picked out the newest phone model. You just need to choose a color."
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