My roommate’s livestreamed confession to the campus belle was a total train wreck. To save face, he swiped my phone and confessed to her again. Her reply came in a flood: 【Babe, I’m already head over heels for you. How much more do you want me to like you?】 【Can we go public? Please? I’m so tired of sneaking around.】 【Some other loser just confessed to me, and I shut him down so fast!】 【You’re the only one for me, babe. The only one!】 My roommate stared, dumbfounded. The live chat went into meltdown. And I just froze. 1 My roommate, Ian, was live again. He’s a minor influencer, with a couple hundred thousand followers on a popular streaming platform. To keep them engaged, he spends a few nights a week live, just hanging out. For him, it’s just business. For me and our other two roommates, it’s a nightmare. A dorm room is supposed to be a private space. In the sweltering summer heat, walking around shirtless isn’t exactly a rare occurrence. But after we accidentally wandered into his stream once, we all started dressing like we were heading into a blizzard, even in our own room. But even fully clothed, you can’t avoid pajamas. And no one wants to be an unintentional background character in someone else’s content. The three of us sat Ian down and gently suggested he be a little more careful. He got all self-righteous. “Come on, guys. My whole brand is the ‘college guy’ lifestyle. My fans watch me for an authentic look at my life, you know?” “If I stream from behind my bed curtain, what’s the point? Are you guys going to cover the ad revenue I lose?” “Besides,” he added, “I’m doing you a favor. Do you have any idea how much I make a month from this? A little screen time could make you guys famous, too.” My other two roommates and I just stood there, speechless. Then he turned on me. “And you, Leo!” “You were wearing those gray sweatpants and walking behind me on purpose last time, weren’t you? Do you know how many DMs I get asking for your number? Seriously, if you’re that desperate for clout, just say so. Don’t pull cheap tricks like that.” I was about to lose it. The next day, he had the nerve to go on stream and complain to his fans that his roommates were bullying him. He even worked up some tears, his eyes red as he sobbed about being an outcast. His fans, of course, went on the attack. In that unhinged comment section, I was called things I’d never even heard before. A regular person’s voice is no match for an influencer’s. We were branded as bullies overnight. Our new motto became: If you can’t beat him, avoid him. Today, the other two guys were out. But I was stuck with a last-minute group project, forced to sit at my desk, a prisoner in my own room. Even with noise-canceling headphones on, Ian’s voice cut through. “Two hundred thousand followers! You guys asked for a special stream, and the number one request was to watch me confess to my crush.” He feigned a blush. “So, I guess today’s the day. I’m going to confess to Miss C.” “And yes, it’ll be live. This is a huge moment for me, and I want all of you to be here for it!” Ian was a master at crafting his online persona. He was cute, and he filled his feed with photos of himself paired with angsty captions about his secret crush. It had a very old-school, sentimental vibe. The contrast of a good-looking guy nursing a secret love was catnip for his audience, and he quickly became a minor celebrity in the online romance niche. A live confession was guaranteed to pull massive numbers. I had to admit, the guy would do anything for views. Ian added, almost shyly, “And I guess I can stop calling her Miss C. Her name… it’s Chloe Reed. Yeah, the Chloe Reed.” He smiled into the camera. “So, yeah. I’m about to confess to Chloe Reed.” My head snapped up. What the hell?! The girl he’s confessing to is my girlfriend? 2 Even though she’s not a celebrity, Chloe has her own online following. Unlike Ian, who meticulously curated his content, Chloe’s fame was a complete accident. It started with a campus news interview. A breakfast spot near the university was embroiled in a scandal—someone claimed they found a dead rat in a meat bun. To salvage their reputation, the shop arranged for a reporter to interview customers out front. By sheer luck, they flagged down Chloe. She was half-asleep, a carton of soy milk dangling from her lips, holding a massive bag of meat buns. The reporter was thrilled. “You bought so many! These buns must be amazing, right?” “Nope,” Chloe said, deadpan. “We’ve got a mouse problem in our dorm. I heard these buns are so bad they could kill a rat. Figured I’d buy a few and see if the rumors are true.” The reporter started sweating. “Haha, well, you don’t need that many, do you?” Chloe replied, “My roommate said she wanted to taste the legendary bun that could take down a rodent. I’m getting some for her.” Desperate, the reporter changed tactics, pointing to her soy milk. “You seem to be enjoying that! Their soy milk must be delicious, at least?” Chloe paused for a beat, then delivered the final blow. “I got this from the place next door.” The interview ended there. Someone uploaded the clip, and it went viral. Chloe’s stunning looks, her status as a student at a top university, and her dry, deadpan humor earned her a legion of fans overnight. Her actual social media account was incredibly boring. A few everyday videos, a couple of photos. Normally, an account that inactive would fade into obscurity. But then, on a popular talk show, the award-winning actress Claire Reed casually mentioned that the viral “rat-bun girl” was her little sister. Her actual, biological sister. And just like that, Chloe Reed was a name everyone on the internet knew. I discreetly opened Ian’s stream. The viewer count was already over ten thousand, a massive jump from his usual numbers, and it was still climbing fast. Ian was beaming. “Yes, I’m really doing it! No clickbait. If you want to see it happen, stick around.” The chat was exploding with comments about Chloe. 【Is he really confessing to her? Why am I so excited about this!】 【Claire Reed’s fan here! This guy is cute, hope it works out!】 【Our new brother-in-law, lol. Our new brother-in-law, lol. Our new brother-in-law, lol.】 【Hey, back off my man!】 【Chloe’s fan reporting in! I love a gorgeous girl with a deadpan sense of humor!】 【Is it just me, or does Chloe seem totally different from the ‘Miss C’ Ian always talks about? I pictured Miss C being more of an ice queen.】 【@ a few comments up, you know Chloe personally? Maybe she is an ice queen in private.】 【The interview proves she can’t be an ice queen!】 【Who knows her better, Ian or you guys? You all act like one viral video is the gospel truth.】 【But Claire also said her sister is a total goofball…】 Ian bit his lip, pretending to be nervous. “She is a little cold to me sometimes. Maybe I shouldn’t do this?” His fans rushed to comfort him. 【NOOOO! Ian, all your stories about Miss C are so sweet! There’s no way she doesn’t like you!】 【And you guys have ‘run into each other’ so many times! That’s not a coincidence. I’ll eat my hat if she wasn’t doing it on purpose!】 【I bet you a bag of chips she’s just playing hard to get in front of the guy she likes.】 【That fits the ice queen persona perfectly, lol.】 【So the little minx was leading our Ian on this whole time, just to make him confess publicly? What a schemer!】 【Go for it, Ian! You got this!】 Buoyed by his fans’ encouragement, Ian pumped his fist. “Okay!” 3 I scrolled through Ian’s profile, skeptical. He had a whole series of videos about "Miss C." Ian had a knack for making ordinary events sound magical, which was probably how he’d gotten so many followers in the first place. But the more I watched, the more I doubted this "Miss C" was actually Chloe. It wasn't that I blindly trusted my girlfriend not to cheat. It was that the Chloe he described was a complete stranger to me. My Chloe was childish. She was proud, immature, incredibly competitive and possessive, loved to be coddled, and was super clingy. Ian’s "Miss C," on the other hand, was a character straight out of a romance novel. Giving him an umbrella in the rain, a hand-warmer in the winter, guiding him through a library blackout, a shared, meaningful glance across a crowded concert hall… even the stories sounded like fiction. I frowned and went back to the stream. The viewer count had skyrocketed past one hundred thousand. They were all here for Chloe. 【I wish he was doing a video call. I want to see her face again.】 【Didn’t her student ID photo leak a while back? Still gorgeous.】 【This has to be a publicity stunt, right? Are they going to launch a couple’s channel next?】 【Please, Chloe doesn’t even ride her own sister’s coattails for clout. Why would she care about some streamer’s numbers?】 【She’s not even active online.】 【Conspiracy theory: what if he’s the one using her for clout?】 【Anyone saying he’s clout-chasing needs to go watch his ‘Miss C’ series! It’s so obvious they both have feelings!】 On screen, Ian opened his contacts list, found the profile picture labeled "Chloe Reed," and tapped it. As if to prove it was really her, he even scrolled through her feed for the camera. I was stunned that they were even connected. And since Claire had posted a few chat screenshots with her sister before, Chloe’s profile picture was instantly recognizable to her fans. The entire chat held its breath. For some reason, I felt a knot of anxiety tighten in my stomach. Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from the source of all this chaos. 【Babe, are you still mad at me?】 【Please don’t be mad?】 【I really didn’t mean it, I just lost control for a second…】 【Babe, please answer me. You’re scaring me.】 【Leo, I’m begging you.】 【{Crying}{Kneeling}.jpg】 【Hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby!】 I meant to just hide the notification, but my thumb slipped and hit "Delete and Clear History." The entire chat log vanished. Even more annoyed, I tossed my phone aside. But I couldn’t just ignore the live confession. My roommate was broadcasting from five feet away. Even with my headphones cranked up, his voice bled through between songs. He was telling the story of how they first met. I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed my pajamas and headed for the shower. I had no idea that when I came back out, my entire world would be turned upside down. 4 Ian was still streaming. And it seemed to have gone well. He was grinning from ear to ear, thanking viewer after viewer for sending him expensive virtual gifts. The donations were pouring in. I was confused. A live confession, and people were sending him this much? Did Chloe actually say yes? No way, I thought, as I started searching my desk for my phone. It had been right there before my shower, but now it was gone, as if it had grown legs and walked away. I checked my bed, my closet, even the trash can. Nothing. A drop of water from my wet hair trickled down my neck. Ian’s triumphant laughter echoed in the room. I forced myself to calm down. The phone was gone, but then I remembered: I was logged into my messaging app on my laptop. I clicked it open. The number of unread messages made my heart pound. From my roommate, Sam: 【Leo, is that your phone Ian is holding?】 【Why did you let him use your phone?】 【HOLY SHIT! You and Chloe are dating???】 From my other roommate, Mark: 【You finish that group project yet?】 【Man, Ian is really making a big deal out of this. I heard about his live confession to Chloe all the way over at the library.】 【LMAO of course he failed. Serves him right!】 【Wait, why did he just grab your phone?】 【DUDE, get your phone back! Why did you give it to him?!】 【WTF!】 【You’re dating Chloe Reed?】 【And she’s your secret, lovesick girlfriend?!】 A wave of panic washed over me. It wasn’t until I clicked on my chat with Chloe that I understood what had happened. The chat log I’d accidentally erased was now filled with new messages. The first two were even from "me." 【I like you.】 【Do you like me?】 Chloe’s reply was instantaneous. 【Babe, I’m already head over heels for you. How much more do you want me to like you?】 【Can I just rip my heart out and show you? I love you so much! Mwah mwah mwah~】 【Can we go public? Please?】 【I’m so tired of sneaking around.】 【Sometimes I feel like your dirty little secret, crying QAQ】 【Some other loser just confessed to me, and I shut him down so fast!】 【You’re the only one for me, babe. The only one!】 Ian had finished his stream at some point. With a loud clatter, he threw my long-lost phone onto my desk. He leaned against his bedpost, arms crossed, a smug look on his face. “Thanks for the help.” 5 “You used my phone to confess to her?” I asked, my voice shaking with disbelief. Ian shrugged, the picture of innocence. “Hey, as long as it makes for a good stream, right? Everyone thinks it’s my phone now anyway.” He flashed me a grin. “Why didn’t you tell me you and Chloe were dating? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have wasted all that time trying to get her number.” “I thought you guys were just acquaintances. Turns out it’s a little more than that, huh?” “That was my phone!” I yelled, my anger boiling over. He rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. It’s yours. So what? The entire internet thinks it’s mine. Are you going to go out and correct them?” Ian took a step closer. “Besides, you’re the one who wanted to keep it a secret, right? Now her public boyfriend is me. Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?” He clapped me on the shoulder. “You should be thanking me.” I slapped his hand away. Just then, the door opened and our other two roommates walked in. Sam took one look at the scene, immediately stepped in front of me, and glared at Ian. “Your own confession failed, so you stole Leo’s phone to do it again? How can you be so shameless?” Mark backed him up. “We’ve put up with enough of your crap! You think you’re so special just because you have a few followers?” Ian just smirked. “Actually, yeah. Having followers is pretty special.” He casually checked his phone. “And thanks to tonight’s stream, I’m up to three hundred thousand. So, Leo… how about you let me have your girlfriend?” I stared him down. “You’re not afraid I’ll expose you online?” He looked completely unfazed. “Go ahead. Let’s see who they believe. You, or me.” “Have you already forgotten what happened last time?” he said. “You tried to clear your names. Did anyone listen? Did anyone care? But all I have to do is cry a little, and my fans will believe anything I say. So go on, trash me online. My three hundred and forty thousand followers are ready for a fight.” He glanced at his phone again. “Oh, wait. Make that three hundred and fifty.” My fists clenched. My other roommates were stunned into silence by his sheer audacity. They looked at me, their eyes asking, What now? The false bullying accusation had been a painful lesson. I still remembered how helpless we’d felt. All Ian had to do was cry on camera, and we were suddenly the villains. The online hate from strangers was one thing, but the looks we got from other students on campus were worse. I took a deep breath. Just as I was about to retort, my phone lit up on the desk. The caller ID read: Chloe Reed. I met Ian’s triumphant gaze. “You’re right. No one will listen to me. No one will believe me,” I said, picking up the phone. “But what about Chloe?” The color drained from Ian’s face.
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