LOGINOn the very first day of college, I became Kingsley University's infamous jerk magnet. It didn't matter whether it was the polished upperclassman everyone adored or the rebellious campus bad boy; any guy who went on even one date with me would dump me the very next day for my roommate, Lucinda Lane. Lucinda quickly became the untouchable dream girl every elite guy was obsessed with, effortlessly managing her ever-growing roster of admirers. She'd hand me another carefully curated list of perfect dating prospects every single day. "Girl, don't be afraid of getting hurt. There's always a better one waiting. You have to be brave enough to chase true love." I believed her. So, I kept going after the next guy. This time, I had gotten a sweet younger student with puppy-dog charm. Then, he dumped me, too. For Lucinda. Just when I was at my lowest, a stream of floating comments suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. "The heroine is incredible. She's stolen so many men already! I've hated that evil supporting girl forever. Why does some country bumpkin get to have all these guys falling for her?" "I wish I had the heroine's Affection Transfer System. That way, my ex wouldn't have been stolen by that woman." "I can't wait to see what the next male lead is like. I'm literally just sitting here and waiting for her to steal another man." That was when it finally clicked. I'd been working unpaid as stocking labor for her dating pool this whole time.
View MoreLucinda's face went stark white.I stepped closer and leaned in, speaking in a voice only she could hear."Perhaps it is true that they fell in love with the mask I wore. Yet, you can't deny that the mask was still Shanon, was still me. I'm a person with substance, talent, and something worth valuing. "As for you? Well, there's nothing behind that mask once it's been ripped away. No, my mistake. What's left is a crude, lazy, and shallow woman. We were never the same."Then, I turned and walked away, leaving her frozen in place."Holy crap... Shannon just made me reconsider.""That was a revelation. She's right. Even pretending takes actual substance.""So, those men never loved any of them. They loved the fantasy of a perfect woman who fulfilled every projection they had. It didn't really matter whether it was Shannon or Lucinda.""I get it now. Completely. Why are women out here performing for men at all? Why are we not working to better ourselves just for our sakes?"The ti
Kingsley University descended into complete chaos over the next few days.Ryder publicly condemned Lucinda for academic misconduct within the department and ordered her to retake three core classes. Arthur froze every bank card and supplementary card he had given her. Then, he sent people to collect every designer bag and piece of jewelry he had ever bought for her. Julian posted a thread under his real name on the school forum, basically exposing the girl he used to love as a complete fraud.He never mentioned Lucinda by name, but after the screenshots of extravagant spending records attached? Everyone knew just who he was referring to.William was the most ruthless of all. He used his authority as student council president and uncovered multiple falsifications in Lucinda's scholarship and academic award applications. He then reported them to the university's student conduct office.Lucinda's fall from grace was spectacular.Every honor she'd received was revoked, and she w
I ran up to Julian, panting as I pointed at a discarded water bottle a few feet behind him. I even deliberately played up my greed as I asked, "Julian, can I have that bottle? I-I want to collect it and sell it for cash."The air froze. Julian and his crew stood there with their mouths hanging wide open.This was the exact kind of version of me he used to be obsessed with.The poor but resilient girl.The girl who worked part-time jobs, handed out flyers, and worked in the campus cafeteria to help pay her way through university.To him, I had been heartbreakingly beautiful. I was akin to a wild rose swaying in the wind, fragile-looking but impossible to crush.But now? Now, I was standing barefoot in front of the entire school, trying to pick up an empty bottle to sell for pocket change.This was no longer resilience. This was just shameless."Fatal Error! The "Poor-but-Plucky Heroine" persona module has detected excessive behavior! The target's acceptance threshold has exceede
The next day, I headed to the campus library wearing the same greasy hair I hadn't washed in three days. My hair was now slicked into shiny ropes, and I was wearing a T-shirt that read, "We Fix Clogged Drains."This was Arthur's territory.As the literary golden boy of Kingsley University, Arthur loved nothing more than spending entire afternoons in the third-floor classics section. He could usually be found curled up with some crumbling old book, looking like he'd stepped out of an oil painting.What he admired most about me was my supposedly quiet intellectual elegance. I was talking about that cool, bookish aura.Naturally, the system had repackaged all of that and gifted Lucinda the image of an untouchable artistic muse.She could barely fake her way through a basic poem. Yet, Arthur still saw her as some ethereal dream girl.When I found him, he was exactly where I expected. He was seated by the window with afternoon sunlight catching in his hair, looking as though he was in












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