Chapter 4

I might have looked delicate. But I could run.

By the time Jake came looking for me, I was already long gone.

I slipped into an old fitness room behind the gym and pulled out my resistance band.

I set my phone on a small tripod and started filming another workout vlog.

Today's video was a simple after-school conditioning routine.

I'd edit it and upload it later that night.

In today's social media world, extraordinary beauty could be turned into an opportunity almost overnight.

I'd been posting fitness content, training routines, and snippets of my daily workouts for months.

My accounts had already grown to over 600,000 followers.

My followers liked to joke that I was the daughter they wished they had.

They loved watching a sweet, hardworking teenage girl chasing her athletic dreams one workout at a time. Who wouldn't want a daughter like that?

Among countless fitness influencers who relied solely on looks, I’d managed to build something different. Nearly ninety percent of my followers were women. Before long, I’d somehow collected an army of internet moms.

At first, I had only wanted to test a theory.

In Emily’s mind, beauty existed to win a man’s attention. A beautiful woman was supposed to be chosen, protected, and lifted into a better life by someone powerful.

But as more and more girls and women followed my account, encouraged me, defended me, and waited for every new video I posted, I began to understand something Emily never had.

Love did not only exist between a man and a woman.

Affection was affection. Genuine support was genuine support.

As long as it was real, the Beauty System recognized it.

Once the system paired extraordinary beauty with the image of a diligent high school student, that beauty no longer felt threatening. It felt inspiring.

Sometimes I’d catch my reflection in the mirror and wonder how one face could change so much.

My inbox was flooded with messages from modeling agencies and talent scouts. They all insisted I belonged in Hollywood and should become the next big star.

In my previous life, Emily had briefly entered the entertainment industry as well. But her popularity disappeared almost as quickly as it came. The wealthy men obsessed with her preferred to keep her out of the spotlight.

Later, after the Beauty System abandoned her, gossip accounts constantly posted side-by-side photos comparing her "before" and "after," lamenting how badly she'd aged.

Aged? She'd only been thirty-two.

This time around, I no longer possessed extraordinary athletic talent. I was physically no different from anyone else. Throwing myself into the brutal world of elite sports simply wasn't the right path for me anymore.

But I wasn't planning to rush into show business either.

An ordinary person who worked hard could still earn admission to a great university.

And in today's creator economy, beauty could quickly become a profitable advantage.

Still, living off my appearance alone would never be enough.

While my online presence continued to grow, Emily's performance began to slip.

One afternoon, she angrily demanded, "I have the Elite Athlete System. So why are there still skills I can't master?"

The system answered in its usual cold, mechanical voice.

"I can enhance your physical potential. I cannot train for you."

Emily had never been someone with much patience. Making her practice every day was practically torture.

But after losing her spot as the school's top athlete, she had no choice but to start training seriously.

With the system's enhancements, improvement came much more easily.

Before long, she climbed back to the top.

Our parents couldn't have been happier. Everyone loved a successful child. Especially our parents.

Progress meant everything to them.

One evening, Dad looked at me and frowned.

"Olivia, why can't you be more like your sister? Emily's the best athlete in school. And you're barely average."

Tilting my head, I smiled. "But Dad, I've improved a lot too."

"My coach says I have a real chance of earning an athletic scholarship."

Mom frowned even harder. In my previous life, she'd become increasingly suspicious of Emily as she grew more beautiful. She always assumed attractive girls attracted trouble.

This time, those suspicions had shifted onto me.

"I've heard you've been hanging around boys with bad reputations."

"Olivia Brooks, don't embarrass this family."

Emily watched with obvious satisfaction.

After our parents finished lecturing me, she walked over with a smile and pulled me toward the hallway mirror.

"See, Olivia? What good is beauty?"

"This time, I'm the one Mom and Dad really love."

I looked at her and quietly sighed.

Even after living through an entire lifetime, she was still obsessed with winning their approval.

The truth was that our parents didn't truly love either of us.

They loved whichever daughter brought the family the greatest pride.

In my previous life, after I became a world-famous Olympic champion, they were constantly dragging me to charity galas, alumni events, and community functions just so they could introduce me as their Olympic daughter.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have parents who love their children unconditionally.

Sometimes, even a parent's love comes with a price.

But that was all right. No life is ever completely perfect.