When my brother started dating a wealthy heiress, her older sister ruthlessly tore them apart. The eldest sister, with her nose in the air, called my brother a scheming gold digger. Furious, I created a fake account, determined to give her a taste of what it's like to want someone you can't have. We dated online for six months. This supposed "iron lady" was calling me "baby" left and right and begging to meet. With a cold smirk, I blocked her and vanished. I thought our paths would never cross again. But after a series of twists and turns, my brother actually ended up marrying the heiress. At the wedding banquet, hearing that familiar, commanding voice, I didn't even dare lift my head. Then, I watched my brother and sister-in-law walk over and call that woman... "Auntie." Auntie?! I was so shocked I dropped my chopsticks. 1 While I bent down to pick up my chopsticks, the tablecloth hid my panicked expression. How could it be the aunt? That voice clearly belonged to the woman I had been online dating for six months—Maya's older sister, Sarah! Six months ago, my brother and Maya were dating and met the family, but Sarah ruthlessly broke them up. That crazy sister-complex insisted my brother wasn't good enough for Maya, calling him a scheming gold digger who was only after the family's money. My brother came home devastated and broke up with Maya. When I found out, I was furious. I couldn't just let this go. Sarah, you crazy sister-complex. How dare you insult my brother and make him so miserable! Just wait and see how I deal with you. I created a fake account posing as a seller of handcrafted goods, added Sarah's contact info, and showered her with daily attention and care until she was completely hooked. Sarah seemed like an arrogant, strong-willed businesswoman. At first, she was incredibly hard to approach, but eventually, she fell right into the web I wove, calling me "baby" constantly. Until recently, when she suggested we meet in person. I played the insecurity card, saying I wasn't good enough for her and didn't deserve her. Sarah replied that she didn't care about any of that; she just liked me. What a hypocrite, Sarah! When it comes to yourself, "just liking" someone is enough, but when it's Maya, you demand a perfect match in social status! If that isn't a double standard, what is? She was specifically targeting my brother. Infuriated, I mocked her relentlessly, then blocked her and ran. I thought after messing with Sarah and making her suffer, the whole thing would be over. Who knew that after all the drama, Maya and my brother would still end up getting married. I was here at the wedding banquet, sitting at the head table for the groom's family. Right next to the table for the bride's family. From the moment I sat down, I didn't dare lift my head, let alone sneak a glance. I even faked a sore throat from a cold and played mute the whole time. I had sent "Sarah" photos, but they were heavily edited—my face was slimmer, my eyes deeper, my nose bridge higher. As long as I didn't speak, comparing me to that photoshopped picture my own brother wouldn't recognize, she definitely wouldn't figure it out. Trembling with anxiety, I made it to the second half of the reception when the bride and groom came around to toast each table. "Wishing you a hundred years of happiness." Hearing that familiar, commanding voice, I practically buried my head in my bowl. But my brother and Maya both called her "Auntie"! No, no, no, something must have gone wrong. Maybe I heard it wrong? After she sat down, I sneaked a glance over and only saw her back. She was wearing a custom sapphire-blue tailored suit skirt. Her attire was incredibly luxurious, her posture straight, but a thick aura of low pressure surrounded her. After the newlyweds toasted and left, an older relative at the table teased her. "Your little niece is already married. When do you, as her aunt, plan to tie the knot?" "Don't bring it up, Second Sister." A young woman beside her, seemingly a friend, said sympathetically, "Elena had finally opened her heart, but the guy turned out to be a scammer selling crafts. He blocked her and ran. She's still furious about it..." "Third Lin." The owner of that voice sounded displeased, seemingly warning her friend to stop. What Elena?! I whipped my head around, cold sweat pouring down my back. This person really wasn't Sarah. That night was the family dinner with the bride's family. My brother prepped me by showing me photos of everyone. My internal despair finally reached its peak. I'm screwed. I seduced the wrong person! 2 During our six months of online dating, "Sarah" had sent me countless sexy photos and left countless voice memos. Towards the end, she became incredibly clingy, even wanting to stay on voice calls while we slept. I would recognize that voice even if I turned into a ghost. Seeing the time was right, I had told her I fell for someone else, someone much better than her. I said she was old and probably didn't understand young people. I said she was fierce, which is why she always had a resting bitch face. I even said her figure obviously looked like it was rigidly built in a gym. And! I even said she had a terrible temper... After feeling thoroughly refreshed from insulting her, I blocked her and ran. The more I thought about it, the paler my face became. I was completely screwed now. Not only did I fail to get revenge, but I also brought massive trouble upon myself and my brother. My brother had told me that the bride's family, the Sterling family, was a massive, wealthy clan. The patriarch had three children, and his absolute favorite was his youngest daughter, Elena Sterling. She was the current CEO of the Sterling family's enterprise, "Apex Group," and held immense power within the entire family. If she found out I was the one who played her, my brother's life in the Sterling family would definitely become difficult! I paced around anxiously, but I couldn't tell my brother. I had done this whole thing behind his back. Plus, telling him wouldn't help anyway; it might even expose the secret. After our parents passed away, my brother and I depended on each other in the orphanage. It wasn't that there weren't families who wanted to adopt us separately, but we refused to be parted, so we both stayed. My brother had always been so good to me. Now that he was an engineer and had such a wonderful family, I absolutely couldn't ruin it for him. I absolutely could not let Elena find out that I was that guy. At the family dinner, I finally saw Elena's full face. One word: Beautiful. Two words: Stunningly beautiful. I actually played such a beautiful woman, and now I've made an enemy out of her. I just hoped she wouldn't recognize me. I played the role of the quiet, obedient, mute little brother perfectly. Elena's cold gaze swept over me briefly, then retracted. She didn't recognize me. I breathed a sigh of relief, sat safely in my seat, and didn't dare look up again. Since I was the only relative on the groom's side, Maya's family was quite attentive to me. Learning that I was still a senior in college, Maya's mother asked: "Have you found a company for your internship? "How about coming to our Apex Group?" Apex Group? Isn't that the company where Elena is CEO?! No, no, no! But Maya's mother was looking at me so brightly, I couldn't exactly give my brother a warning look. I opened my mouth, almost forgetting my "mute" persona. "That sounds great." My brother immediately agreed, smiling brightly: "Thank you, Mom." NO! How is this any different from delivering myself straight to the slaughterhouse?! At the table, Elena, the CEO of Apex, just watched and tacitly agreed. When the dinner ended, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, deciding to avoid the Sterling family as much as possible from now on. Before leaving, my brother pulled me aside, looking serious. "You were acting weird today. What's going on?" I continued playing mute, waving my hands and typing on my phone that I was just sick and didn't feel well. My brother looked relieved and told me to go back and rest. I finally managed to bluff my way through and got back to the dorm. The problem was, my brother had secured an internship spot for me at Apex. Apex is an industry leader. Having an internship there would undoubtedly be a massive boost to my resume. If it weren't for the whole Elena situation, I would have gone without hesitation. But what if Elena recognized me... After agonizing over it for days, I finally made up my mind. It was just a three-month internship. Apex is so huge. How could a lowly intern possibly run into the CEO? I just needed to lay low for three months, then vanish without a trace. 3 Having connections made things easy, and I quickly integrated into the company. At first, I was on edge for a few days. But later, exactly as I expected, as a lowly intern, I only had to complete tasks assigned by my mentor. The highest-ranking boss I usually saw was the department manager. Forget the CEO, I didn't even see the General Manager. I relaxed. However, surviving in an industry leader company was no walk in the park. In just a few days, the workload was staggering. Proposals were constantly rejected, the department head was reprimanded, and the work atmosphere was incredibly tense. While eating in the cafeteria, my lunch buddy gossiped with me in a low voice. "Do you know why things have been so rough lately?" He was an intern who joined in the same batch as me. "Why?" I was genuinely curious. "Because..." My lunch buddy looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper. "The CEO went through a breakup." My spoon clattered onto my plate. I offered a dry chuckle: "Really?" "I heard it was an online relationship too, and she got scammed." I looked down and drank my soup, hiding my expression. "Where did you hear that?" "The CEO had her special assistant investigate an account. Word travels fast; everyone knows." My lunch buddy looked incredibly puzzled: "With her wealth, she could have any man she wants. I can't believe she'd actually online date. "And getting scammed on top of that? If the guy knew who she was, he'd probably regret it so much his intestines would turn green." My intestines are already turning green! I blamed my own carelessness when looking for contact info. I didn't find Sarah, but ended up bothering this absolute titan instead. I asked cautiously: "Did the special assistant mention what the CEO plans to do if she finds the guy?" "Call the police, obviously. That craft-selling guy must have milked a lot of money out of the CEO. With the cumulative amount, he's probably looking at serious jail time." Absolute nonsense! When I first approached Elena, my motives were indeed impure. I put on the persona of someone selling crafts and harassed her every day asking if she wanted to buy some. It just so happened a friend's family made handcrafted items. Who knew she would actually buy them, and insist on paying ten times the price? Aside from that, I returned all the other money she gave me when we broke up. I told her I had found a new girlfriend who was very possessive and wouldn't let me spend other women's money. Even though the Sterling family is rich, I was genuinely terrified that Sarah's cheapskate tendencies would flare up and she'd sue me to get the money back, causing unnecessary trouble. Anyway, as long as my goal of breaking Sarah's heart was achieved, that was enough. Good thing I had already deleted that account. Elena shouldn't be able to trace it. As long as I can just survive these three months... "Leo, go deliver this file to the CEO's office." I took the file from the senior colleague in my department, wanting to cry without tears. Why is there another hurdle?! Taking the elevator to the top floor, I secretly hyped myself up. It's just delivering a file, what's the big deal? Just keep playing mute. Trembling with fear, I reached the top floor, only to find the main office empty. Elena wasn't there. A secretary in the CEO's office asked which department I was from. Since she wasn't there, I didn't need to play mute. I answered obediently, the secretary made a note, and that was it. After a few times, I felt completely at ease. Once again, I took a file to the top floor. I had just greeted the staff in the secretary's office when a familiar voice came from the inner office. "Let him in." Me: "..." My heart leaped into my throat again. Looking like a man marching to his execution, I walked into the office and handed the file across the desk. Elena reached out a slender hand to take it, then lowered her eyes and began flipping through it, staying silent for a long time. As the minutes ticked by, I calmed down slightly. I emboldened myself to look up, only to lock eyes perfectly with Elena's raised phoenix eyes. I quickly looked back down. After a suffocating silence, Elena finally spoke: "How are things at the company lately?" I had just spoken to the people in the secretary's office outside; I couldn't play mute now! I squeezed my vocal cords and replied in a small voice: "Pretty good." I glanced up at her and added the proper title: "Ms. Sterling." "Good?" Elena didn't seem to notice anything amiss, letting out a cold laugh: "Having you deliver files shows they clearly know the relationship between you and me. You call that good?" What relationship? Don't talk nonsense! I was so panicked I forgot to squeeze my voice. "What relationship do we have..." Before I could finish, seeing her inexplicable expression, I realized she was talking about her connection to my brother. "Hehe." I caught on. "I didn't tell them anything..." I finally managed to be a nepotism hire, yet I felt so guilty about it. I wished no one knew. But it turned out they had me deliver the files because they knew I was a connection hire, using me as a meat shield against her anger. Elena frowned slightly, studied me for a long moment, and said: "Call your manager up here." I felt like I'd been granted amnesty and fled at top speed. I don't know what Elena said to the manager, but no one ever asked me to deliver files to the top floor again. Another hurdle passed! 4 On the last shift before the holidays, I was mentally planning where to eat that night while waiting for the elevator. With a ding, the elevator arrived. I looked up and ran straight into Elena, wearing a tailored suit skirt. What the...?? Why isn't she taking the executive elevator? Why is she taking the employee elevator? Elena, inside the elevator, stared at me intently and asked, "Are you not coming in?" I braced myself and stepped inside. The elevator doors slowly closed and continued downward. The person beside me was tall, making the already cramped space feel even smaller. A pleasant, cool fragrance wafted into my nose. It seemed to be her scent. The risqué photos she had sent me in the past were dragged up from the depths of my memory. At first, it was just hands, arms. Later, it was sexy collarbones and waistlines. And even later... Recalling the scenery I saw then, and her question: "Do you like it?" The more I thought about it, the redder my face got. I felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in this narrow space. Why is this elevator so slow? I looked up at the flashing red numbers. "Leo." "Huh?" I answered instinctively, turning my head to meet Elena's probing gaze. She half-narrowed her eyes. "You seem... very afraid of me?" "I..." I tried my best to sound calm: "You are the boss, and my elder... I respect you." Beside me, Elena said flatly: "Then don't act like you have a guilty conscience." "Have we met before?" Hearing this, my back broke out in a sweat, and all my hair practically stood on end. "N-no." "Oh." Elena replied faintly, her expression normal, as if it was just a casual question. With a ding, the elevator stopped on a floor, and a crowd of people poured in. Good news: I finally didn't have to face Elena alone. Bad news: I was pushed into the furthest corner, forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Elena. Heavens above, why must you torture me like this? I once again mentally cursed the person who gave me the wrong contact info a million times. After a grueling, agonizing wait, the elevator finally reached the first floor. "Goodbye, Ms. Sterling." Once the people in front cleared out, I prepared to slip away. But the moment I took a step, my waist jerked tight—the metal buckle of my belt had somehow hooked onto the decorative chain on the side of her skirt! I was yanked off balance, almost performing a spin move on the spot. "Don't move." Elena's voice rang out. She frowned and bent down to untangle the mess. The distance was so close it made my scalp tingle. The buckle was quickly freed, but because of the sudden jerk earlier, the collar of my shirt was pulled askew, and the top button popped completely off. Right below my collarbone, that red mole was exposed for all the world to see. 5 When I was online dating "Sarah," aside from using heavily photoshopped pictures, I didn't try too hard to hide my physical features. First, we often had voice-only or faceless video calls. Second, I figured that since my brother and Maya had broken up, we probably wouldn't have any interaction in the future, so I was completely reckless. Besides, even if I got caught, I had nothing to fear. The thought of Sarah knowing it was me playing her would be even more satisfying, better revenge for my brother! But I never expected that I played the wrong person, and my brother still married Maya. Heaven really wants me dead! I don't remember how I walked out of the elevator, nor did I notice what expression Elena had on her face. I only remember that when I snapped back to reality, I had already stumbled my way home in a daze. Elena knew about the red mole near my collarbone. Back then, she even said that when we met, she would kiss that mole until it was even redder. Did she see it? Probably not. If she had seen it, she would have asked right then and there. But what if she really did see it? I lived in fear for several days, only to discover... Absolutely nothing happened! I let out a massive sigh of relief and went back to slacking off at Apex. In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and the weather started getting chilly. After finishing a busy day of work, I received a message from my brother. "Leo, Maya has a hot spring villa and is planning to invite a few friends over for a party. Do you want to come?" A hot spring villa? I eagerly said yes. I thought I was going to have a beautiful weekend, but when I arrived, I saw a figure I never expected. Elena! Like a rabbit seeing a tiger, my hair stood on end. "Um, bro, I actually have something to do, I'm going to head out." Maya noticed my apprehension towards Elena and comforted me: "Leo, this isn't the company. My aunt doesn't eat people. Why are you so scared?" Her voice was quite loud, and I could feel several people looking our way. Maya and my brother had an older woman/younger man relationship. She was an upperclassman at my university. She was always very outgoing, and we were in the same club, so we got along decently. Later, she happened to see my brother coming to campus to drop something off for me, fell in love instantly, and launched a fierce pursuit. As soon as she graduated, she pestered my brother to meet the parents, all the way until they got married. In all the time I'd known her, this was the first time I found Maya so annoying. "Haha." I let out two awkward laughs and had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down. My brother whispered an explanation, saying Elena decided to come at the last minute, and he had just found out too. I looked at the person in the corner. She was wearing casual clothes, unlike her usual formal attire, but her posture was still perfectly straight. Every movement exuded a mature, calm aura. Staring at her, I couldn't help but feel a bit resentful. My happy weekend was going to be spent in constant fear and anxiety because of her presence. And also. Did she even know how to play young people's party games?! 6 The facts proved that Elena knew exactly how to play. Over several rounds of games, she completely dominated, forcing many people to drink penalty shots. The party lasted late into the night until everyone, arms draped over each other, stumbled back to their rooms to sleep. Maya was just about to help her brother-in-law upstairs when her aunt spoke up. "Go get some rest. I'll take him to his room." "Okay." Maya replied with a slurred voice, swaying as she went back to her room. In the spacious living room, only Elena and the boy curled up asleep on the sofa remained. Leo... She rolled the name over on her tongue a few times. She put aside her work and came here to hang out with a bunch of kids, all for him. To verify if she had seen clearly that day, to see if he was really that guy. The guy who had whispered sweet nothings to her when they were deeply in love, only to later claim he loved someone else, curse her out, and block her. Elena stood up and stood silently beside him for a moment. She closed her eyes, feeling contempt for her own actions. After hesitating for a long time, she reached out and gently pulled aside the fabric at Leo's collarbone. The moment her gaze locked on, she frowned slightly. There was... Absolutely nothing. It wasn't him. She must have seen wrong that day. It was hard to say if it was disappointment or something else, but Elena stared at his fluffy head in a daze for a while. In the end, she still leaned down, helped him up, and took him to the guest room. ... When I woke up the next day, Elena was nowhere to be seen. Maya said her aunt had official business to handle and had left. Everyone present breathed a huge sigh of relief. Yesterday, Elena had practically crushed everyone at the games. If we had to do it all over again today, there wouldn't be any fun left. I touched my collarbone, my heart finally settling back into my chest. Thank goodness. When I found out Elena was here yesterday, I took emergency evasive action and borrowed my sister-in-law's concealer to cover up the mole. Even though I was drunk last night, I wasn't completely out of it. I was just resting with my eyes closed. Who knew Elena actually intended to test me, and I ended up blind-guessing her move correctly. Now I was completely cleared of suspicion. Even if she later realized our voices were similar, if the mole didn't match, she still couldn't be sure, right? I was finally completely relaxed.
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