After the "innocent" girl stole my boyfriend, I furiously went to confront her. She was in full makeup and begged me not to hit her in the face. I clapped my hands together in a prayer pose: "Sister, please tell me your secret. How did you get that cheapskate to buy you designer bags and clothes, when I couldn't even get him to buy me a coffee?" She let out a long breath and proceeded to teach me how to hook a sucker. Later, I brought a man to show her my progress. She stuttered, "B-b-brother? You... you're the sucker?!" 01 Lately, my best friend and dating coach has been exhibiting signs of a split personality. She has two completely different attitudes toward the exact same behavior. This all started when she and I both entered the dating scene at the same time. My boyfriend's name is Lucas Hayes. He's a shy, introverted, gentle, and rational guy. As for my best friend Chloe's brother, I had never met him. But based on her descriptions, he sounded like a petty, hot-tempered, and stupid guy. Chloe was incredibly frustrated. Her stupid—but undeniably wealthy—brother had been entangled by a high-level gold digger. "Can you believe it? This girl literally sends my brother links to gifts she wants him to buy her." When I saw that message, my eyes widened. After all, my birthday was just two days ago. I had asked Chloe for advice, and she specifically told me to just send my boyfriend links to the gifts I wanted. Me: "Um, Chloe, but I did the exact same thing." Chloe replied instantly: "Girl, how can you even compare yourself to that bitch?" I stared at my phone screen, seriously questioning where Chloe's loyalties lay. When Valentine's Day arrived, I went out on a date with Lucas, and Chloe started blowing up my phone. "You've only been dating for three months! DO NOT go back to his place! "I'm begging you, you're going to ruin everything, ahhhh!" My phone kept buzzing non-stop. Lucas looked down, holding his knife and fork. Suddenly, the sound of him cutting his steak seemed deafeningly loud. On a Valentine's Day date, having your phone blow up with messages makes it look suspiciously like you're juggling multiple guys. I hastily explained, "It's a girlfriend of mine. She might have an emergency and needs me to go back and help." Under Lucas's scrutinizing gaze, I awkwardly grabbed my phone and fled the rooftop restaurant. As I walked away, I sent a voice memo to Chloe: "Babe, I promise, I'm sleeping in my dorm tonight. I'll FaceTime you later, okay?" Just as Lucas drove his car past me, he happened to hear that exact sentence. His hands paused on the steering wheel. His expression wasn't great, but he kept his composure. "I'll drive you back." A few days later, Chloe was gossiping with me again. "Oh my god, my brother is so pathetic. He spent so much money on that girl, and she actually cheated on him on Valentine's Day. "This girl is playing 4D chess. She takes his money and his heart, but she won't sleep with him." I was staring at my phone, sighing heavily. I had zero interest in Chloe's unlucky brother; I was far more concerned about my own situation. "Chloe, ever since you made me leave on Valentine's Day, my guy has been ignoring me." Chloe sent a shocked emoji sticker. "Tsk, what a tasteless man." She tried to comfort me in every way possible, claiming that men who expect girls to just throw themselves at them and then throw a fit when it doesn't happen are completely typical. "Just dump him. The next one will be better." Huh? Just dump him? We hadn't even been dating that long. 02 The only reason I even knew Chloe was thanks to my ex-boyfriend, Ryan. When Ryan and I were dating, he insisted on splitting the bill down to the last penny, even for two cups of boba. My friends all mocked me for being blindly in love. Right when I was planning to break up with him, he actually dumped me first. He had found "true love," and it was Chloe. I heard he bought her designer bags, clothes, and even maxed out his credit cards to buy a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet for his "goddess." Ryan broke up with me because Chloe said she wouldn't accept advances from a man who had a girlfriend. Good news stays home, but bad news travels fast. I became the biggest joke on campus. This little homewrecker Chloe had absolutely destroyed my reputation. Fuming with anger, I stormed into a nightclub to find her. She was leaning toward the bathroom mirror, touching up her makeup. She was wearing a Chanel suit, smelling of camellia perfume. Even a single strand of her hair looked exquisitely maintained. She looked incredibly expensive. "Sister, I'm Ryan's ex-girlfriend." Chloe frowned slightly, took a moment to remember, and parted her lips: "Ah, you mean that grad student from the university?" She turned off the faucet, stared straight ahead at the mirror, and lazily asked what I wanted. I didn't say a word and slowly walked toward her. Chloe was petite and delicate. In a fight, she definitely wouldn't be a match for me. She backed into the corner, covered her face with her hands, and slowly slid down the wall. "Sister, I swear I didn't lead him on! If you're gonna hit me, please don't hit my face." Uh, why was she so easily scared? I grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She leaned against the wall, stunned. I clapped my hands together in a prayer pose, looking at her with desperate eyes. "Sister, please tell me your secret. How did you get that cheapskate to buy you designer bags and clothes, when I couldn't even get him to buy me a coffee?" Chloe bent over and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Girl, why didn't you say so? That's it?" "Wuuuu, I seriously want to know so badly!" 03 Chloe and I hit it off immediately, like we had known each other our whole lives. She taught me everything she knew. She said this kind of thing could only be understood, not easily explained. But since I was her very first apprentice, she would personally supervise and guide me through the whole process. She told me to go find an experimental subject first. "Sister, is there any specific requirement for the subject?" A confident smile appeared on Chloe's face. She shook her head mysteriously: "As long as he's handsome. The more handsome, the better." A task this good actually existed? I added Chloe on social media and headed back to find my test subject. I had barely walked out the door when I saw the perfect candidate. He stepped out of a car—tall, with perfect posture, a detached gaze, and an impatient expression. Seeing him from afar, the words "the more handsome, the better" instantly echoed in my mind. This was a match made in heaven. I rushed over and blocked his path. "Hey, can I get your number?" Hearing me call out to him, he was already frowning. He said he didn't give out his number, then tried to walk away. I quickly grabbed his arm. I couldn't let him escape. "Then since you have a mouth, can I kiss you?" I tried my best to squeeze out a harmless, innocent smile. His eyes widened, looking like he doubted his own hearing. "Uh, actually, you can have my number." He seemed to be in a rush. While repeatedly apologizing, I obediently scanned his QR code to add him. He actually laughed at me. "It's fine. Take your time." He was surprisingly gentle. I couldn't help but blush, feeling a bit dizzy. Getting the handsome guy's number was step one. That evening, I started texting him. "Hi! Did you have fun tonight?" A long time passed before he replied. "I wasn't out having fun. I was looking for my sister." My silence was deafening. This guy sounded like a total creep. Although maybe it was true, it's generally not recommended to be so blatantly direct. But I replied instantly anyway. "Did you find her?" "Of course I found her. I took her home." I hesitated for three seconds, then blocked him. This one wouldn't work. Good-looking on the outside, totally messed up on the inside. 04 The next morning, I saw this creepy handsome guy at my campus gate. He stood there in a tailored suit, sticking out like a sore thumb among the college students passing by. Girls walking past kept sneaking glances at him, but he was completely oblivious, just muttering to himself repeatedly. "Remember, looking for my sister, not a sister." When he spotted me in the crowd, I turned to run, but he dashed in front of me and blocked my path. "I'm so sorry. I misspoke yesterday. I was looking for my sister. My biological, same-parents sister." He tapped his phone screen, pulling up our chat history. "You blocked me. I thought about it for a long time and asked my sister. She said you probably misunderstood. Now, could you please unblock me?" I blankly pulled out my phone and removed him from the blocked list. His eyes lit up. He told me to keep in touch, then turned to leave. I was speechless. He came all the way to my campus early in the morning just to tell me to "keep in touch"? I called out to him: "Um, it's almost lunchtime. Do you want to grab food?" I suddenly realized I didn't even know his name. "My name is Olivia. What's yours?" "Lucas Hayes." Lucas had seen the background of my social media profile, which happened to be the iconic clock tower of my university. He offered to take me to lunch and asked if I preferred sushi, Korean BBQ, Thai, or American. I took him to a hotpot place. Chloe taught me this: Take rich guys to eat cheap food, and take broke guys to eat expensive food. It's all about creating a contrasting experience. Judging by his suit, Lucas was definitely not broke. I ordered the spiciest beef tallow broth and looked at Lucas expectantly. He pursed his lips and looked back at me. Under my eager gaze, he carefully picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks, rinsed it in his glass of water three times, took a bite, and immediately started coughing uncontrollably. I hadn't realized he couldn't handle spicy food at all. I watched helplessly as he coughed so hard his stomach issues flared up, and I ended up taking him to the hospital. While paying his medical bill at the nurse's station, I unexpectedly ran into Chloe. Her brother was also admitted here. Chloe asked me secretively, "Wasn't that guy from last time a creep? My brother is still single. Should I introduce you so you can practice on him?" What kind of sister throws her brother under the bus like that? And why practice on him? Chloe sighed helplessly: "My brother has more money than brains, just a bit older. But he's a great catch. Better to let you have him than some stranger." I rejected Chloe's offer: "Never mind. That handsome guy from last time wasn't a creep. It was a misunderstanding." Chloe looked extremely puzzled: "A creep can be a misunderstanding? Did your brain break again?" "Sister, I really think this guy is different." After all, when Lucas was clutching his stomach in agonizing pain, he still insisted on paying the restaurant bill before we left. Chloe sternly criticized me, then demanded I take her to see this "creep." "Olivia, you're a lost cause. I need to see what kind of handsome guy has you this bewitched." I was exasperated. "Shouldn't you go check on your brother first?" Chloe smiled and gestured for me to lead the way: "He has chronic issues, he's not dying. I'm much more worried about your situation. Lead the way." Unable to argue with her, I led her to see Lucas. "Just look from a distance. Please don't scare him, he's very introverted." "Olivia, feeling sorry for a man is the quickest way to ruin your life." I brought Chloe to the door of his room, and she peeked inside. Suddenly, she gasped: "Holy crap, that's my brother!" 05 Chloe instantly shrank back in terror and hid to the side. I was curious what her brother looked like too, but there were four people in the shared hospital room. Which one was her brother? Lucas was sitting on his bed, holding a thermos, quietly drinking water. Ah, he's so cute. Meanwhile, Chloe was crouching on the floor, muttering, "What's wrong with him? Why is he in a shared room?" Hearing that, I looked toward the patient in the farthest corner. He looked much older and was loudly complaining about something. He was so loud he even startled Lucas, who began to look uncomfortable. I glanced at Chloe. "Aren't you going in to calm your brother down? He looks really irritable." "You think he's irritable too, right? If I go in there, I'm just asking to get yelled at. Just pretend I was never here." Chloe was about to bolt, but I had no intention of leaving. I rolled up my sleeves, ready to teach her brother a lesson. What an uncultured jerk. Chloe whispered frantically to stop me: "No, don't! My brother absolutely hates it when people make noise in public places." Are you kidding me? There are people like that? What a hypocrite! I raised my foot, kicked the door open, and marched in. Chloe looked horrified. She let out a small shriek and bolted down the hallway. I pointed straight at the older man: "You! Yeah, you! If you don't like shared rooms, pay for a private one! What are you yelling about? Everyone else is fine, why can't you handle it?" Dead silence. After a long pause, the older man said weakly: "I wasn't yelling. My IV infiltrated, I was trying to call the nurse." Lucas was also staring at me, stunned. To be precise, the entire room was stunned. Well, this is awkward. Blame the soundproof doors. I pursed my lips, squeezed out an awkward smile, and marched over to the man's bed. He looked so scared he shrank back. I reached out and pressed the call button. "It's fine, sir. Just press this button." The man swallowed hard, hid under his blankets, and mumbled, "Thank you." I turned around. SWISH! Every single patient violently pulled their privacy curtains shut. Except Lucas. I looked at him. He held up his thermos, hesitating: "You must be thirsty. Do you want some water?" I wanted to cry. I took a few deep breaths: "I'm so sorry, I misunderstood. I thought he was complaining about the shared room..." Lucas looked uneasy, avoiding my gaze: "I think right now, no one would dare to complain." I sighed, took the thermos, and took a sip. The hand Lucas used to hold the paper cup froze in mid-air. I started coughing violently. 06 Ever since the hospital incident, my relationship with Lucas became even more awkward. There was zero romantic tension. But he definitely had some interest in me. The food street near campus was noisy. Lucas sat across from me, eating his noodles with extreme elegance. This was the third time this week he had come to eat with me. And today was only Wednesday. He came every day, but he barely spoke. Even when he did, our conversations never clicked, and our food tastes were completely different. But he was wealthy and handsome, making us a perfect match. I sighed. He was just too hard to make progress with. Right then, someone pushed open the restaurant door, walked straight up to our table, and slammed two cups of boba tea down. I looked up from my noodle bowl in shock. It was my recently-dumped ex, Ryan. I started coughing violently again. Who understands this fatal level of secondhand embarrassment? Ryan was the kind of ex-boyfriend whose very existence made me feel deeply ashamed. Before Ryan could say a word, I grabbed him by the arm and sprinted for the door. Lucas froze, his brow furrowing slightly. As I peeked back to observe Lucas's reaction, Ryan said from beside me, "Olivia, let's get back together." I waved my hands frantically: "Absolutely not. Do me a favor and never show up in front of me again. You don't have to feel guilty, it was a mutual breakup. If you don't have anything else to say, please leave." Ryan followed my gaze and saw Lucas, dressed in a sharp suit, paying the bill. He sneered: "Olivia, you dumped me and immediately found a rich guy, didn't you? You never loved me. You hated that I didn't have money to buy you gifts. It must have been so hard for you to pretend." Obviously, Ryan had failed in his pursuit of Chloe and wanted to come crawling back. I normally wouldn't bother wasting my breath on him, but his sarcastic tone and victim-blaming instantly set me off. "Ryan, I'm giving you an out and you won't take it? What the hell are you pretending for? You liked Chloe—was it not because she was rich? Stop playing the victim. I don't like you because you're a hypocrite. When we dated, you made us split the cost of boba, and we took turns paying for meals. Did you really think I was an idiot?" "So what? You agreed to it. I didn't force you. At the end of the day, being broke is my original sin, right? You're only having dinner with him every day because he has money!" Ryan started spiraling into impotent rage. I immediately fired back: "Tsk tsk, triggered? I do like rich guys. Do you think I give a damn about what a barking dog like you thinks?" When Lucas walked out, he happened to catch that last sentence. His footsteps halted, and he looked deeply thoughtful. Ryan looked triumphant: "Well, now you have to explain yourself to your ATM machine." Crap. My relationship with Lucas had barely begun, and now his impression of me was plunging. We walked down the tree-lined path in silence. Lucas kept glancing at me, looking like he wanted to say something. I accepted my fate: "Mr. Hayes, just say whatever is on your mind." "Do you really like wealthy men? Roughly what net worth? Do you have specific requirements? Could you tell me what you're looking for in a partner?" I thought I was hallucinating. I stared at him blankly. What did he mean? Lucas avoided my gaze, looking completely out of his element: "I'm not incredibly wealthy, but I have a bit. I don't know if that falls within your acceptable range?" This time I understood. He was doing some bizarre form of confessing his feelings. Or more accurately, an awkward mating dance. I had never seen anything like it. If I said I didn't like rich men now, he would be heartbroken. "Uh, I think your net worth is perfectly fine." God knows what his net worth actually was. I was entirely focused on his face anyway. Lucas's eyes lit up: "So we're officially together now?" I held my cheeks, nodding furiously, my face burning red. He's so cute, ahhh—I'm dead.
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