Chapter 2

I was dead set against joining the group order, leaving Gillian with no choice but to team up with Sabrina and keep wearing me down.

"It's honestly so convenient, Hannah. We'll handle both placing the order and picking up the packages. How does that sound?"

I got annoyed by all the badgering and looked over at Sabrina. As far as I could tell, she had nothing against me and was completely oblivious to what Gillian had planned in my past life. She only tried to convince me to join the group order because Gillian asked her to.

I had intended to leave her out of this, but she kept pushing herself into it. She might not have been the mastermind, but she was still an accomplice in this whole situation.

I turned to Gillian and suggested, "If you're really that desperate to find someone to join your group order, you can ask your best friend right here. It's just a couple of dollars, so you can just get her to buy a few things to hit the discount threshold, Gillian."

"Ugh, whatever! We only tried to include you because you looked so lonely, but you clearly don't appreciate our kindness!

"We shouldn't bother with her anymore, Gillian. We'll place the order ourselves and let her waste her money!" Sabrina angrily took out her phone and pulled Gillian over to sit somewhere else, where they started working out their orders to reach the discount threshold.

Gillian was obviously distracted. She responded to Sabrina offhandedly while fixing me with a dangerous look.

I glanced up at her, meeting her gaze with an innocent expression, as if I hadn't noticed a thing.

…

Two days later, I received a call from the delivery guy. He sounded slightly off as he asked, "Is this Hannah Shaw? I have a package for you. There are quite a few items, so you have to come pick it up yourself."

I was momentarily confused. I hadn't ordered anything online, but judging by the delivery guy's strange tone and the timing, I had a pretty good idea what was going on.

I had figured Gillian would find some other way to make trouble for me after I said no to the group order, yet I never expected she still hadn't given up on framing me with those adult toys.

I had already made preparations, though. I thought inwardly, "Let's settle all our scores, past and present, one at a time, Gillian!"

On the phone, I said in confusion, "I'm sorry, but I haven't bought anything online. I'm sure you've got the wrong person."

Upon hearing that, the delivery guy asked with a sneer, "You're Hannah Shaw, right? Your name is right on the package. Whose package could it possibly be if it's not yours? You're just chickening out because you bought something shameful, aren't you?"

I could faintly hear several other students whispering in the background on the other end of the line.

"Whose package is this? How embarrassing! She actually bought so many—and they're all unboxed as well!"

"If I were in her shoes, I'd deny it too!"

"Your personal information is literally printed right on the delivery label, so there's no point denying it."

"Do you think the delivery guy will drop it off outside her dorm? Why don't we tag along to see who the recipient is?"

"She's way too promiscuous. She actually had all that sent straight to campus. How can someone like that even be a student here?"

"It's Hannah Shaw, right? I've already posted about it on the campus confessions page. I seriously can't believe this! I just came to pick up a package and got front-row seats to all this drama!"

"Isn't this a bit much? What if she's just selling them as a side hustle?"

"I mean, I'm just posting it on the campus confessions page. If she's really selling them as a side hustle, then I'm doing her a favor by promoting it for her for free."

"Exactly! She can make it a door-to-door service then!"

I was rendered speechless. I sneered and set my book down, saying, "I already told you that I didn't order anything online. There are so many scams online these days. You're not trying to scam me, are you?"

Upon hearing that, the delivery guy lost his temper entirely and snapped, "Who the hell wants to scam you? You're the one who bought these things, and now you're ashamed of it? Hurry up and pick up your package! I'm already at the campus mailroom. If you don't show up, I'll drop it off right outside your dorm!"

"I'll go to the campus mailroom and sort this out myself," I stated flatly.

There were plenty of people at the campus mailroom at that moment, so if I didn't set the record straight face-to-face, I couldn't imagine what kind of nasty gossip would circulate once the delivery guy dropped the package off at my dorm.

When I stepped into the campus mailroom, everyone's eyes immediately locked onto me as they pointed and whispered.

"That's her, huh? She looks like bad news!"

"It really is Hannah, huh? Who knew she was so wild behind closed doors? These toys are pretty intense!"

"Huh? What's going on? Did something juicy happen?"

"Do you need some company? I'm always available! You're so pretty; you shouldn't waste your time on those adult toys!"

Gillian stood in the crowd with Sabrina, pretending she had nothing to do with any of this. She then spoke up in an innocent tone, though her expression was full of malice. "It really is you, Hannah! I thought it was someone else who happened to have the same name!"

She looked genuinely baffled as she said, "I know you have a high sex drive, but you shouldn't purchase so many toys out in the open like this! How do you expect your boyfriend to keep his dignity after this, Hannah?"

She pretended to suddenly recall something and exclaimed, "Hold on! That can't be right! Is there some kind of mistake here? You're always spending the night with different guys. Why would you even need these adult toys?"

Then, she acted as if she had let something slip. She feigned shock and covered her mouth, saying, "Oops! I'm so sorry! I was just rambling! She definitely doesn't spend nights out with other guys!"

Gillian spotted a figure at the entrance of the campus mailroom and immediately doubled down her act. Her clumsy attempt to retract what she'd said only made the allegations against me more convincing.

Everyone gasped, their gazes becoming even more lecherous.

"She already has a boyfriend, yet she still spends the night with other guys!"

One of the more brazen guys spoke up, yelling, "How much do you charge per night, sweetheart?"

"I was totally wrong about you!" Samuel had heard Gillian call my name loudly and seen her over-the-top act just now. He forced his way through the crowd. Once he saw the unboxed adult toys and heard the surrounding chatter, his face turned beet red.

"I thought you were just conservative because you wouldn't sleep with me, but it turns out you were afraid I'd find out just how slutty you are!"

Without even making an effort to learn the truth, Samuel immediately started accusing me.

"I guess there's no point in hiding it now since things have come this far! I stay in the same dorm with her, and the whole dorm smells absolutely rancid because of her. I felt like I was being tortured just staying there. I seriously have no idea how many guys she has slept with for it to smell this bad!"

Gillian continued to fan the flames and spread rumors about me.

Quite a few people were recording the whole thing on their phones.

Samuel said, "I'm breaking up with you, Hannah. You'd better not go around telling people we ever dated. I seriously can't handle that kind of disgrace."

I looked at Samuel, the same guy who'd bailed on me in my past life after people started spreading rumors. Even in this life, he was choosing to walk away from me.

In the midst of the chatter, I held up my phone and announced, "I've recorded every bit of your slander, Gillian. I'll also be suing every single person who spreads these rumors. I'll say this one more time—these do not belong to me. I suspect this package may be part of a scam or a potential safety hazard.

"I've already called the police, so everyone should stay put until they arrive to sort this out. I have reason to believe there could be something dangerous in this package—if it leaks or spreads, it could affect everyone here."