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The Gift and the Ghoul
The Gift and the Ghoul
Autor: The Sign

Chapter 1

Autor: The Sign
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”

With a loud bang, the door flew open. My best friend, Zoe Walker, walked in holding a cake with lit candles. Only then did the rest of our roommates realize it was my birthday.

“Oh my god, Zoe! You’re so thoughtful!”

“I’m so jealous Maisie has a best friend like you.”

Zoe suppressed the smug look on her face and pretended to be shy. “Oh, it’s nothing. Of course, I should treat Maisie well.”

She handed me a gift box and asked me to open it. Inside was a gold lock-shaped good-luck pendant.

Everyone gasped. “That must have cost a fortune!”

In my previous life, I was pleasantly surprised that Zoe even remembered my birthday. Seeing such an expensive gift moved me even more. However, I had not known then that the pendant was a cursed one! Once worn, it would swap my fate with her boyfriend’s!

Back then, I ran a high fever for an entire week. There was no warning, no explanation. Even the doctors were helpless.

After I recovered, everything in my life started going wrong. I fell into poverty and constant misfortune. I could barely even afford food.

Meanwhile, her husband began living a charmed life—finding money on the street, winning the lottery, and enjoying endless good luck.

I only managed to live ten more years before I was hit by a car.

As I lay dying, a fortune teller who had once read my fortune happened to pass by. He said my fate should have been one of unimaginable wealth and prosperity. How could it have ended so tragically?

That was when I finally realized the truth. My fate had been stolen the moment Zoe put that lock on me when I was 20.

A ruthless gleam flashed across Zoe’s eyes, but she gently held out the lock.

“Maisie, let me help you put it on. I spent so long picking out this gift. It’ll definitely suit you.”

My heart jolted. The lock had been specially crafted and fitted. Once it was on, I would never be able to take it off for the rest of my life.

I quickly stepped aside to avoid her.

She froze for a moment, then immediately looked hurt. “Don’t tell me you don’t like the gift I got you? I saved up my allowance for half a year just to buy it.

“Forget it. I’m used to people not liking me anyway. My gift is probably trash too, so, of course, you’d reject it.”

As soon as she said that, our roommates immediately felt sorry for her and started criticizing me.

“Maisie, she put so much thought into that gift! How heartless can you be to ignore her like that?”

“I seriously misjudged you. In that case, we won’t give you any gifts either.”

Left with no choice, I said I appreciated both the gift and her intentions, but I was already wearing a necklace.

Zoe’s eyes reddened. “The one I'm giving you is more expensive than that. Doesn’t it deserve a place around your neck?”

Just then, Miles Gray's rough voice came from downstairs. “Maisie! C-Come down!”

It was my brother.

Only then did I remember that my family had planned to take me out to celebrate my birthday. I used that as an excuse to slip away downstairs.

However, Zoe followed me and grabbed my arm. “Maisie, just try it on. I promise you’ll like it!”

Even though I had already accepted the gift, she looked determined not to give up until she personally put it on me.

Miles’ eyes widened, and he suddenly shoved Zoe aside.

“She already said she doesn’t want to wear it. Stop bothering her!”

Zoe was startled for a moment and stood there frozen.

I quickly made an excuse that I had something to do and pulled my brother away.

However, I never expected her to make a post about my brother on the campus' online forum. The photo attached was taken by a passerby.

It captured the moment my brother pushed her away. Her face was full of shock and panic.

The caption read: [I was just trying to give her a gift out of kindness, but her brother yelled at me. Am I really the one in the wrong here?]
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  • The Gift and the Ghoul   Chapter 9

    With a click, the clasp came undone, and the pendant fell to the floor.In a flash, Zoe’s eyes widened. She grabbed my collar like a madwoman.“Y-You… You didn’t switch fates? You lied to me?!”I looked at her in surprise. “What are you talking about?”Miles suddenly exclaimed, “Ow, Maisie. My neck feels itchy.”He pulled down his collar, exposing his collarbone, and clearly revealed who was actually wearing the demonic fate-swapping lock.Zoe almost lost her mind and screamed hysterically, "You did this on purpose! How can you be so vicious?!”My roommates were startled.“Zoe, what’s wrong with you?”Late pregnancy was not a time for strong emotions. Her shock and breakdown quickly turned into pain. She clutched her belly and began screaming. Warm liquid streamed down between her legs.“Your water broke!”My roommates rushed forward. Some called an ambulance, while others helped to support her. Meanwhile, I simply took Miles’ hand and strolled leisurely to the side where I

  • The Gift and the Ghoul   Chapter 8

    Money was getting tighter and tighter.Zoe went to her parents for money, but they were long past disappointed in her. After all, she had secretly gotten together with Lucas, gotten pregnant out of wedlock, and even dropped out of university without telling them. They cut ties with her and started ignoring her completely. After all, they still had another daughter in middle school, and she excelled in her studies.Zoe, heavily pregnant, could not work. She could not even afford a caregiver. Lucas could not even buy food, and panic was slowly creeping in. However, he was too proud to ask his family for help. Therefore, he went out to look for work himself.However, he had been coddled too much at university and had no idea how harsh the job market could be. Our university was a top-tier one. Graduates could normally find a job paying at least 5,000 dollars a month. Yet, Lucas had disciplinary records and had dropped out. Who would hire him?Left with no choice, he ended up a

  • The Gift and the Ghoul   Chapter 7

    Lucas watched my back as I walked away.By now, he had racked up tens of thousands in debt on the loan platforms. Even if he postponed the repayment until next year, the calls from debt collectors kept coming. Not to mention Zoe still needed money for the abortion.Hence, he resolutely borrowed another thousand dollars, hoping to turn it around.At the casino, the dealer realized he was a new player and went easy on him. That thousand turned into 10,000. It was enough to cover the abortion.He thought about quitting.Then, I said, “Why stop so early? That 10,000 might turn into over 100,000.”Just like that, he started gambling again.This time, he lost everything. He wanted to curse me, but I said, “Wasn’t it your own choice to gamble?”I spotted a lottery store and dragged him inside.“Two bucks. Why not give it a try?"“Try? I don’t have a single penny left!” I shrugged. “There’s always a way. Even though Zoe and I aren't friends anymore, I still think you’ve got poten

  • The Gift and the Ghoul   Chapter 6

    “I’d rather die with dignity than live a meaningless life! I was in so much pain those days!”Controlled by his genetics and crushed by his emotions, he was powerless. He could only watch himself become a burden to my family.Tears streamed from Miles’ eyes, and our family embraced each other, crying our hearts out.At that moment, I was grateful I had been reborn. I had completely changed both my fate and Miles’. This time, our family would not end up broken like it did in my previous life……In this world, anyone who had experienced the thrill of unearned wealth or sudden windfalls rarely wanted to work steadily to grow rich. Lucas and Zoe were exactly like that.After spending 30,000 dollars in a single day, who would care about the 3,000 in student aid disbursed over a whole semester? They even looked down on a 30-dollar-an-hour job now.“This kind of small money isn’t even worth my time.” I heard Zoe say.Since they were convinced they would strike it rich next year, the

  • The Gift and the Ghoul   Chapter 5

    Soon enough, the police started keeping an eye on them. They were taken to the station for questioning. That was when they finally found out the money they had taken was dirty money!How dirty was it?It had been hidden there by a group of scammers. That 500,000 dollars had already caused a death.However, Lucas could not explain who had told him about the money. He could only stammer that he dreamed about it.Since the two of them had already spent most of the cash, the police ordered them to repay the victims’ family in full within two years.They were completely dumbfounded. Even if they sold off their luxury items, they could only get about 100,000 dollars back.Before even graduating, they were already saddled with nearly 400,000 dollars in debt.Outside the police station, Lucas exploded in anger.“Is this what you call 'fated to be wealthy'? What's with all these troubles? This is all because you insisted on swapping fates! What are we supposed to do now? You dragged me

  • The Gift and the Ghoul   Chapter 4

    Soon, Lucas was discharged from the hospital. They thought the fate swap worked. Hand in hand, they happily walked down the street.From the second floor, I dropped a brick right onto Lucas’ head. He yelped as a bump immediately formed, and just as he was about to lunge at me, Zoe shouted, “Honey, look! It’s money!”Both of them held their breath. They looked down and saw a thick stack of cash. There was more than 30,000 dollars.Lucas’ face lit up.“The fortune teller was right! After the life swap, even money is falling from the sky into my hands!”Zoe pouted a little. “That damn woman. How does she always get so lucky?”Perhaps her greed was first sparked when the fortune teller revealed my fate.Lucas planted a heavy kiss on her cheek. “Honey, this life is all yours now. I’ll make sure we get rich!”They quickly stuffed the money into their bag and dashed into a store. Lucas bought two latest phones.He was a poor student, living off financial aid, and he would have to pay

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