My mom has a brain tumor. My dad just got laid off. Meanwhile, the billionaire trust-fund baby I’m dating is pretending to be broke, making me DoorDash to support him. I overheard him joking with his friends: "The delivery girl is the best kind. She puts out on the first date without costing me a dime." "You act a little pathetic, and she feels sorry for you. She’s practically paying me to date her." My heart shattered. But then, a notification chimed in my ear: [Congratulations, Host. You have bound the "Pretend Poor, Get 100x Cashback" System.] [From now on, every cent you spend on Julian will be returned to your account 100x.] That night, I bought him a $1,500 tie. As my bank balance exploded by the millions, I overheard him complaining to a friend: "So annoying. I lost a $150,000 watch at the golf course this afternoon." 1 I was delivering an order to an exclusive private members' club when I saw my boyfriend sitting in the center of the VIP booth. He waved his hand and popped a bottle of vintage wine worth $50,000. That was two years of my salary. I desperately wanted to convince myself that it wasn't Julian. But he was wearing the cheap, clearance-rack shirt I had bought him. Someone looked him up and down, laughing. "Julian, you've been playing the 'starving artist' game with that delivery girl for two years. Aren't you bored yet?" "You don't get it." He swirled his wine glass, looking every bit the arrogance prince he was. "These girls who’ve been single since birth are pure. They’re naive, clean. She gave it up without me spending a penny." "She actually feels bad for me. She rushes to spend her own money on me. She's not like those gold diggers who only want cash." He paused, the corner of his lips curling up. "Honestly, after a while, it gets kind of addictive." The people around him burst into laughter. "That’s hilarious. She’s cheaper than a hooker!" "Julian talks a big game, but he was ruthless when he fired her dad." "Yeah, her mom’s sick, her dad’s laid off, and Julian’s pretending to be unemployed while she feeds him. Isn't that a bit cruel?" I trembled. I never realized that Julian was that Julian—heir to the Sterling Group. My dad had worked at a Sterling subsidiary his whole life. Six months ago, he was fired for no reason. My dad aged ten years overnight. I felt a sting in my nose. I didn't understand why Julian would do this. But Julian, sitting on the velvet sofa, just laughed lightly. "If I don't make her life hard, how can I test how much she loves me?" The room roared with laughter again. "True. Poor people are used to suffering anyway. A little more won't kill them." "So Julian is just building her character. Did the delivery girl say thank you?" The laughter was piercing. Julian’s mocking expression was the knife. My heart ached violently, and then, a mechanical voice rang in my brain: [Congratulations, Host. You have awakened the Pretend Poor 100x Cashback System.] [From now on, every penny you spend on Julian will be legally returned to your account at 100 times the value.] [Please confirm binding.] I looked at Julian in the booth. Someone asked him, "Of all the women you've tested, this delivery girl has lasted the longest, right?" "For real. You think this gutter rat might actually fly up the branch and become Mrs. Sterling?" Everyone looked at Julian. He just scoffed. "Who would be stupid enough to take a game seriously?" His tone was lazy, indifferent. "When I get bored, I'll toss her a few bucks and dump her." My heart died right there. [Beep. Countdown: 3 seconds. Please choose.] I didn't hesitate. I gritted my teeth. "Bind the system." 2 The moment I stepped out of the club, my parents called. "Chloe, honey, don't send so much money home..." "Keep it for yourself. If you starve, Mom and Dad will be heartbroken." I looked down at the takeout orders hanging off my scooter. "It's okay, Mom, Dad. I'm working on a big project recently. The company loves me. I have plenty of bonuses." A guilty sigh came from the other end. "It's all my fault. If I wasn't so useless, if the company hadn't fired me, you wouldn't have to work so hard." I held back tears. My dad worked hard his whole life. Julian treated his livelihood like a game, a prop for his twisted amusement. Why do the poor deserve to be played with like this? I clenched my fist, hatred burning in my chest. On the other end of the line, I heard a suppressed groan of pain. "Mom, is your head hurting again?" She was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor years ago. Not immediately fatal, but agonizing. She needed imported painkillers just to function. The only cure was surgery. Surgery that cost a fortune—at least $150,000 to start. My mom tried to hide it, but her voice was shaking. My eyes were wet, but my voice was steady. "Mom, don't worry. I will cure you." After hanging up, I called Julian immediately. "Jules, where are you?" The background noise on his end was loud, but he didn't skip a beat. "I'm waiting for an interview. Is it urgent?" My voice smiled, but my eyes were cold. "Come home early tonight. I have a surprise for you." 3 When Julian came home, he hugged me from behind. He tilted his head. "What surprise?" I smiled, acting mysterious, and told him to close his eyes. Gently, I tied a tie around his neck. A niche luxury brand. A tie worth five figures. When he opened his eyes, he was genuinely surprised. He knew that spending $1,500 on a tie was an impossible luxury for someone like me. He stared at me, hesitating. His eyes asked, Why did you buy me something this expensive? I smiled innocently, rubbing his face. "Because you deserve the best." Julian had once put this tie in his online cart, and I had accidentally seen it. Back then, he stammered, "I've never worn anything this nice. Just putting it in the cart to dream." Julian seemed dazed. "Just because I mentioned it once?" I looked at him with total devotion. "If you say it, I take it to heart." His gaze softened. The emotion on his face didn't look fake. "Chloe." He buried his face in my neck, murmuring. "You are so good to me." I smirked, feeling satisfied. Because at that exact moment, the notification chimed in my head: [Congratulations, Host. $150,000 has been deposited into your bank account.] 4 Julian couldn't stop touching the tie. He took a dozen selfies in the mirror before finally taking it off to shower. He left his phone wedged in the sofa cushions. I slid the screen open. I saw the message he sent to his "The Boys" group chat. He posted ten photos of the tie. "See this? The hillbilly bought it." The group responded immediately: "Not bad. The delivery girl finally has some taste." "She really spent it all, huh? That's gotta be months of her wages." "Running thousands of deliveries just to buy a tie. She’s obsessed with you, Julian." Julian’s replies were smug. "I mentioned it once, and she remembered." "Ask yourselves, which of your women would do that for you?" The group chimed in with envy: "I’m actually jealous. Maybe I should pretend to be poor to find a girl." "I’m tempted. I’m tired of fancy meals; maybe I need a taste of something plain." Nausea rolled in my stomach. I used to trust Julian so much I never checked his phone. If I had, I would have seen he had two accounts. One with monthly bills in the hundreds of thousands, posting luxury cars and parties. The other, pretending to be broke, posting only about me. I scrolled up. It got more disgusting. Julian pretended to be unemployed, eating my food, living in my apartment, faking sympathy: "Baby, I'm sorry I'm a burden. I'll try hard to find a job so you don't have to work so hard." In reality, his "interviews" were just parties at high-end clubs. A single bottle of wine he opened for fun cost more than I made in years. He’d come home satisfied, pretend to be depressed about the "failed interview," and test me: "I'm sorry, I'm useless. I don't deserve you." And stupid me, fresh from delivering orders under the scorching sun, would comfort him softly. Julian played me like a fiddle. All for that one line: "I want to test how much she loves me." I put the phone down, disgusted. Julian walked out of the bathroom in a towel. He scanned the room. "Babe, have you seen my watch?" I shook my head. He frowned, cursing under his breath. "Damn it, must have lost it outside." Julian loved reading watch magazines. I used to look at them with him. Once, I pointed at the watch on his wrist and a Patek Philippe in the magazine worth $150,000. "These look so similar." "Dummy, it's a high-quality fake." He tapped my nose, smiling sweetly. "If this was actually worth a hundred grand, I'd pawn it immediately." "I'd pay for Mom's surgery so you wouldn't have to work." It was a lie, but it sounded sweet at the time. Now, it was just a joke. Who knew the watch was actually worth $150,000? Wait. $150,000? My heart skipped a beat. The System chimed in right on time: [Host is clever! You guessed right.] [The System is law-abiding. We don't print money.] [The money returned to your account is actually drained from Julian's assets.] 5 Julian lost a $150,000 watch. But he just shrugged it off. "Whatever, it's just a watch. I'll buy another one later." I froze. $150,000. That was my mother's life. I worked 9-to-6, delivered food at night, and did odd jobs on weekends. Three jobs. Six hours of sleep. I worked myself to the bone, and I still couldn't scrape together the surgery fee. To him, it was a toy he didn't mind losing. I stared at his back and smiled bitterly. Julian, oh Julian. You love pretending to be poor and playing me like a monkey? Since you love acting so much, I don't mind making you actually poor. I started treating Julian like a king. Whatever he mentioned, whatever he wanted. I bought it. The System had reminded me: [Only money spent on items Julian actively requests or mentions will trigger the 100x return.] Maybe I was too good to him. His eyes started to change. He would often stare at me and ask seriously, "Chloe, why are you so good to me?" I would cup his face, faking pure adoration. "Because I love you 100%. I'd do anything for you." He didn't even realize he was falling for me. When my earnings hit $5 Million, the System unlocked a reward: Remote Monitoring. I could now see and hear Julian whenever I wanted. In the private club, Julian was back in the VIP seat. His bros were staring at the new watch on his wrist. "Julian, I thought you wouldn't wear anything less than a Patek?" "Don't remind me. I lost that thing." Julian glanced at his new watch—a $5,000 piece I bought him—and actually smiled. "But honestly, after wearing flashy stuff for so long, something simple isn't bad." His friends weren't stupid. Julian would never buy a "cheap" $5,000 watch. Someone bought it for him. They started mocking him. "It's a cheap watch. Don't tell me you're falling for the delivery girl over some small favors?" "Exactly. Buying you gifts isn't a real test. You need a big test!" "Poor people value money over life. If she's willing to give you her mom's surgery money, that's true love!" Some people felt uncomfortable. "Come on, that's too much. She saved that money for years. You want to ruin her family?" "Joking about her mom's life is low." "Chill," someone laughed. "Does Julian need her pennies? It's just a test. He'll give it back." "Yeah, if she passes, maybe Julian will actually reward her." Julian twisted the watch on his wrist and smirked. "Fine. If she passes this test, I'll reward her by making her my official girlfriend." He scanned the room, his tone turning sharp. "And you'll all have to call her Sister-in-law." "If I hear anyone call her 'delivery girl' again, I'll cut out your tongues." Silence filled the room. When Julian left to pick me up from work, they started whispering again. "Julian is actually catching feelings for the delivery girl." "He's been living in a rental with her for two years instead of his mansion. It's obvious." "Maybe the hillbilly really will become Mrs. Sterling." I laughed. Mrs. Sterling? If Julian keeps this up, he won't be inheriting an empire. He'll be inheriting an electric scooter to deliver noodles.
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