When the reality show Tracking Down My Teenage Crush went viral, I found myself getting dogpiled by fans during my live stream. Curious, I clicked on the link to the show. My live stream was suddenly flooded with thousands of viewers, their fingers flying across their keyboards. "Do you regret ruining his life?!" I couldn't help but laugh. I turned and yelled toward the hallway: "Hey hubby, my followers want to know if you regret marrying me." 1 It was just a normal day. I was doing my usual makeup live stream, showcasing the brand I was sponsored by. One of my long-time followers asked: "Hey Chloe, have you been watching that reality show that blew up recently?" I paused mid-blending. "I've been pretty busy lately, so I haven't really been keeping up. You guys will have to fill me in!" The chat kept rolling: "Yeah right, she's just a lifestyle influencer who streams for four hours a day. How busy could she possibly be? There's no way she hasn't seen it online." "Hey, chill out in the chat. If you're not here to buy, just leave." "Chloe, it's a show called Tracking Down My Teenage Crush. It's all about finding normal people's high school crushes and revealing what happened to them and their romantic rivals." I read the chat while finishing my makeup. "Sounds interesting. I'll definitely check it out when I have some free time." My phone buzzed on the table beside me. It was a link sent by one of my top moderators in my VIP fan group. "Chloe, you need to watch this. The 'romantic rival' in the latest episode sounds exactly like you. It's causing a massive controversy." "Yeah, it's blowing up. It's trending number one on Twitter right now, and a lot of people are saying the person they're talking about is you." Curiosity got the better of me. I told my stream I was taking a quick break and clicked the link. The guest on this episode did look faintly familiar. In the video, she was introducing herself: "Hi everyone, my name is Sarah. I'm from Seattle, and right now I'm just a corporate drone." The host laughed and complimented her: "You're too modest! The producers looked at your resume. You were the valedictorian of the entire Seattle school district, and you currently hold a senior position at a major tech firm." Sarah winked playfully. "Just a high-level corporate drone." The live chat on the screen exploded with likes and praise. "Omg, the valedictorian is so humble! I love her!" "Turns out valedictorians are corporate drones just like us. The only difference is she's a senior drone." The host continued: "So, what is the crush story you brought for us today?" Sarah's face fell, her expression turning somber. "If he had taken his SATs that year, I wouldn't have been the valedictorian of Seattle." That single sentence instantly captivated the entire audience. 2 According to Sarah's story, she had a childhood friend who lived next door. "I won't say his name, so let's just call him Mr. L. He was an incredibly brilliant guy. Straight A's in everything, but he was always very cold and distant with people." Sarah smiled shyly at this point. "Of course... present company excluded." "He once asked me what my dream was, and what college I wanted to go to. Back then... we were at our absolute best." The host offered a knowing smile. "That doesn't sound like a crush! That sounds like two childhood sweethearts who had mutual feelings. Looks like our show might have a happy ending today!" But Sarah shook her head. "No, I wasn't the female lead in his story. He fell in love with a girl who went to the vocational cosmetology school next door. Her last name was Ev..." "Oh, I'm so sorry, I accidentally slipped her last name. Could the editors please bleep that out?" The host comforted her: "It's fine, don't worry about it. There are a million people with the last name Evans." The live chat was going crazy. "This is the classic trope of the aloof genius falling for the absolute lowest-tier trash, abandoning his equally brilliant childhood friend." "He threw away a diamond for a piece of gravel~" "Sigh, he was young and stupid. I bet he regrets it so much now." "Oh, definitely. A vocational cosmetology school? Everyone knows the academics there are a joke. Parents only send their daughters there to keep them off the streets." "God, what did the genius even see in her? Just her face?" "Where are the internet sleuths at? We already have the school and the last name. Go find this trashy rival who can't even compare to our valedictorian!" I was watching the screen intently, completely unaware that at that exact moment, a massive wave of viewers was flooding into my own live stream. 3 On the show, Sarah continued her story. "Later on, on the day of the SATs, Mr. L abandoned the exam. He chose to go find Miss Evans, simply because she was throwing a tantrum and refused to reply to his texts." The host looked absolutely stunned, and the chat was speechless. "Oh my god, this isn't just a regular test, it's the SATs! Was he insane?! Going to find his girlfriend during the biggest exam of his life???" "Seriously! Just because she didn't text him back, this idiot threw away the most important test of a student's life." "After watching this show, I'm going to watch my son like a hawk. Finding the right girlfriend is crucial." "Exactly! I'm keeping a close eye on my kid too. If Mr. L had ended up with Sarah, they would have been a power couple. But he got involved with some vocational school dropout and ruined his entire future." I watched this with a blank expression until the episode abruptly ended. The next episode hadn't aired yet; the screen showed it would premiere live tonight at 7 PM. My phone rang. It was my assistant, Tara. I put in my wireless earpiece and answered, keeping my voice low: "What's up? I'm streaming right now, can't really talk." Tara was frantic on the other end. "Chloe! Chloe, look at your stream! You've broken 100,000 viewers! You're going viral!" I paused for a second. "That's great." Tara was exasperated. "Great?! It's a hate-raid! Everyone is here to attack you!" Only then did I snap back to reality and look at my stream. She was right. The chat was flooded with thousands of viewers, their fingers flying across their keyboards. "Are you kidding me? This is the girl? She's just an influencer?" "Oh my god, she can't even compare to Sarah. Sarah is so elegant and classy. Look at this girl's face, she looks like a homewrecker. She was destined to be a high school dropout and a parasite." "Is it you? Did you intentionally give him the silent treatment on the day of his SATs? Did you not know he had an exam, or did you do it on purpose because you're too stupid to take it yourself?!" "Lol, this is what happens when you don't go to college. You end up streaming online trying to snag a sugar daddy." Many of my casual followers turned into haters because of the reality show. Only a few of my hardcore fans were trying to defend me. "That's not true! Our Chloe only appeals to female fans." But they were immediately drowned out by the haters. "Everyone knows women's money is the easiest to make. And how do you know she only makes money from women?" "She only streams for four hours a day. Who knows what she's doing for the other twenty hours." As the hate escalated, a verified account with millions of followers popped into my stream and left a comment. It was a highly influential college admissions counselor. The Endless Sea of Knowledge: "Do you regret ruining someone else's life?" I couldn't help but laugh. I turned and yelled toward the hallway: "Hey hubby, my followers want to know if you regret marrying me." 4 Liam walked into the room wearing an apron, carrying a bowl of soup. "Wifey, what are you talking about? We're just waiting on one more dish and then we can eat." Liam probably guessed that people in the chat were asking about him. This happened occasionally. But I preferred to keep him off-camera, so he had never actually shown his face on stream. Setting the soup down, Liam added: "Wifey, I am incredibly grateful that you agreed to marry me. I made your favorite chicken soup today." I felt my face heat up. This guy... why is he saying all this while I'm live? Once Liam left the room, I made sure the door was shut tight. "Did you guys hear that?" The chat was still flooded with hateful comments. "I feel so bad for Sarah. She's sitting there feeling regretful, while the person who caused the trauma is living happily ever after." "This is what happens when you don't study. You end up being a house husband cooking for a woman." "A real man stays out of the kitchen. He was destined to be a high-level executive at a major tech firm!" "What is Sarah going to do? My poor Sarah baby. Sob" "Hmph, even if this guy regrets it now, we don't want our Sarah to take him back. She needs to thrive on her own." I was about to explain when I received a text from my boss, who was also my best friend. "Save the engagement for tomorrow afternoon. It's the weekend. Don't respond to anything right now, just end the stream." The boss's word is law, especially since she's my absolute best friend. "Copy that, boss! (≧▽≦)" Amidst a sea of insults, I gave a quick "See you tomorrow" and abruptly ended the stream. 5 Someone knocked on the door. I ran over to open it. Liam, having just brought out the final dish, let out a soft huff. "The freeloader is here again." I opened the door, and my best friend, Mia, immediately tackled me in a hug, kissing me all over my face. "You poor thing! You poor thing! Mwah mwah mwah!" I shoved her away in disgust. "You got your spit all over me." Mia held up my favorite boba tea as a peace offering. "Tomorrow, we're launching the new company lip gloss! I want you to do a full face of gorgeous makeup, put on the new gloss, and then explain everything." Liam walked over and snatched the boba tea away. "No drinking that. We're having soup today. Boba isn't healthy." Mia rolled her eyes. "If I had known, I never would have approved of you two getting married." "You monopolize my Chloe every single day." I dragged Mia to the bathroom to wash her hands. "Hurry up and wash so we can eat." Once we were in the bathroom, Mia whispered to me: "I watched that reality show too. It's huge right now. Did your Liam actually have a thing for Sarah back then?" Liam, seemingly with supersonic hearing, immediately appeared and pulled me into his arms. "You want to know? Tune into the live stream tomorrow." Mia rolled her eyes again. "I've lost my appetite. I'm leaving so I don't interrupt your PDA." I laughed and walked Mia to the door. I knew she had a lot of work to do tonight. If we utilized the hate and vitriol directed at me effectively, it could drive a massive wave of traffic to our new product launch. Mia wasn't actually mad; she was just rushing back to buy bot farms to control the comment section. But Liam was genuinely angry. "Just for a spike in traffic, you're letting them say those horrible things about you? I never had any relationship with Sarah." I ruffled his hair. "The internet isn't entirely wrong, you know." "You really did abandon your SATs for me." 6 Liam held me tight and let out a long sigh. "You know perfectly well that I didn't want to take that exam in the first place..." I buried my face in his chest. We didn't say anything more, but the corners of my eyes felt slightly damp. After dinner, I received the info packet Mia sent over. It contained all the details for the product I'd be selling tomorrow. Mia: "Tomorrow is probably going to be your last stream, huh?" "Even though it breaks my heart to see you go, after all these years of being ride-or-die besties, I want you to finally achieve your dream." I smiled warmly. "I promise I'll crush it on this last stream." "Oh, by the way, that reality show is airing again tonight. You should watch it with your handsome hubby." "He is your childhood neighbor, after all." I nudged Liam, who was sitting next to me. "Turn on the TV. Your childhood friend is about to make an appearance." Liam looked completely lost. He only knew that someone was maliciously doxing me and leading an online mob against me. He had no idea that the catalyst was his former neighbor, Sarah. "Sarah? I barely even remember her." Liam queued up the show and lazily rested his head on my shoulder. "I don't remember anything from back then. My heart only has room for you." I playfully punched him, and we cuddled up with a bag of chips to watch the show. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since we watched reality TV together. The narratives on these shows flip so fast nowadays, it's impossible to tell what's real and what's scripted. Sarah appeared on screen almost immediately. Because the last episode was such a massive hit, the network had clearly given her professional styling this time. The chat was scrolling wildly: "She's so gorgeous! Sarah, baby, who are you trying to kill with those looks?" "If her ex sees this, he's going to regret it so much." "Uh, I don't think he counts as an ex." "He's definitely going to regret it! I already checked out that influencer's stream. She's so trashy. She can't even hold a candle to our Sarah." I gently pinched Liam's arm. "Your ex?" Even though I knew Liam had absolutely nothing to do with Sarah, jealousy rarely listens to logic. Liam rubbed my hand, his expression darkening. "Are we really just going to let them slander you like this?" 7 I knew Liam was hurting for me, but I also wanted to use this opportunity to give Mia's launch a massive boost. Back in the day, Mia had helped Liam and me out tremendously. "This is all free traffic for tomorrow's stream! We can't let it go to waste." I playfully kicked Liam off me. "If you can't handle it, go wait in the bedroom." The tips of Liam's ears turned bright red. "No. I'm staying right here with you." I focused back on the show. But Liam was entirely focused on me, gently pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I'm sorry. Because of me, you're dealing with all this hate." "I'm going to make a quick phone call downstairs." I was too engrossed in the show to look away. "Grab me a bag of spicy duck claws while you're at it." Right then, the recap of the previous episode ended, and the new segment began. The host asked: "Do you know what happened to Mr. L after he walked out of the SATs?" Sarah bit her lower lip, tears shimmering in her eyes, before letting out a bitter laugh. "I have no idea. He... he deleted my contact info a long time ago." The host looked shocked. The live chat exploded. "I bet a hundred bucks Mr. L didn't delete her himself." "It was definitely Chloe, that stupid, jealous, pathetic woman." "Who is Chloe?" "Bro, are you living under a rock? Mr. L fell for the 'beauty queen' of the vocational school. She's a streamer now named Chloe. Go search her up, she's verified." The host sighed and handed Sarah a tissue. "Perhaps... deleting you wasn't what he truly wanted." Obviously, the host also assumed that I was the one who deleted Sarah from his phone. Sarah shook her head, but a tear managed to escape and roll down her cheek. "He probably hates me." "That day, I tried to stop him from leaving the testing center, but he wouldn't listen. He told me to stay out of his business." At this point, Sarah offered a brave, resilient smile. "That was when I realized you have to respect other people's destinies." 8 This season of the reality show utilized an innovative live-streaming format. The viewers, furious after watching the segment, stormed straight to my social media accounts. Even though I wasn't currently streaming, the comment sections on my regular videos were open to the public. My phone was vibrating non-stop with notifications, all of them insults and hate directed at me. The host was about to ask another question when a producer suddenly stepped into the frame and whispered in the host's ear. The host's eyes lit up instantly. Once the producer stepped off-camera, the host turned to Sarah: "Sarah, we are going to add a special live segment to your episode." Sarah looked momentarily confused. "But I've already finished sharing my story." The host smiled. "Yes, and normally, the next phase of the show involves us tracking down your crush and your rival to interview them." "But coincidentally, the person you want to see was watching the show and actually called us! He requested to speak with you face-to-face. Would you be willing to do that?" Sarah immediately looked panicked, but quickly composed herself. "Ah... oh, of course! I have a lot I want to say to Mr. L too." The chat erupted again. "Yes, Sarah! We're rooting for you!" "My hands are shaking I'm so excited! This is going to be epic! I love a good confrontation. What is he going to say?!" "But Chloe is his actual wife." "Whoever said that is delusional. That influencer is no 'wife.' Not everyone deserves that title." Liam walked back through the door at that exact moment. "I got your favorite spicy duck claws." I immediately jumped up, hugged Liam, and snatched the duck claws from him. "Love you!" Liam smiled as he opened the packaging for me. "Don't eat too many, or you'll complain about breaking out again." I shoved a duck claw into my mouth without a second thought. "Did you call the producers?" Liam froze instantly. "I'm sorry..."
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