Chapter 3 Going Off the Rails

If I got up early every day to study and kept my spot at the top of the class, the male leads would think that Lucinda was the academic genius.

If I worked part-time every day and maintained that poor-but-resilient innocent-girl image, the male leads would see Lucinda as some sweet, lovable angel.

If I ate neatly, moved with grace, and acted like the picture of refinement, they would call Lucinda's crudeness refreshingly authentic.

Everything I worked for, every good quality I built in myself, was all for naught because the system sucked it all away from me like a vacuum before turning it into Lucinda's halo.

So, that was the ploy all along.

Lucinda was never my competition. No, the real enemy was the system that was leeching off me to feed into her harem fantasy.

I would be feeding the system as long as I kept being perfect. It would leech off me as long as men fell for me. Then, she would stay the untouchable campus darling everyone loved to please, while I would stay the villainess everyone loved to hate.

I slowly stepped out from the corner and looked at Lucinda's face, marked with acne scars from poor sleep hygiene.

I couldn't help but wonder what she really was like without me "supporting" her behind the scenes.

I sneered and stalked toward the dorm.

'Got it. If your halo depends on stealing my charm, if my perfect image is the filter making you look good, then I quit.'

The second I got back to my dorm, I swept every expensive skincare product and makeup item off my desk and straight into the trash.

I yanked the curtains shut and smashed my alarm clock to pieces.

Starting today, I was done grinding.

…

The next morning, I didn't get up at 6 a.m. to claim a study spot in the library like usual.

I slept until noon and only dragged myself out of bed when my stomach started growling.

I didn't wash my face and didn't brush my hair. I rotted in my stained pajamas and eventually looked like a completely feral beast instead of a woman. I also ordered the greasiest, spiciest fried chicken on the delivery app.

I completely let myself go for the next week.

I skipped class, blew off my part-time job, and definitely stopped playing the attentive coffee runner for Ryder in the lab.

I stayed holed up in my dorm every night, gaming until dawn and cursing like a maniac through my headset.

When I was hungry, I subsisted off of instant noodles, fried chicken, and barbecue. When I was thirsty, I only chugged ice-cold cola to quench my parched throat.

Due to my new lifestyle choices, several huge pimples erupted across my once-prized porcelain skin within a week.

There were dark circles under my eyes. My hair was so greasy that it had all clumped together. My whole body carried that sour, washed-up smell of complete burnout.

The image of the beautiful, disciplined, resilient poor girl was officially dead.

…

Ryder's lecture was held on Friday afternoon.

I dragged myself into class in flip-flops right as the bell rang, yawning the whole way.

However, the entire class immediately turned toward Lucinda, their faces full of shock and disgust.

"Oh, my God, isn't that Lucinda? The campus belle? What the hell happened to her?"

"She reeks. Has she not showered in a week?"

"That's revolting. I used to have a crush on her. What the hell was wrong with me?"

"This is bad! Shannon's destroying her image! The male leads' affection for Lucinda is definitely going to drop!"

"System alert: Warning! Warning! The target affection source is rapidly deteriorating! The system is unable to extract valid charm points! The transfer channel is facing imminent disruption!"

The smug look Lucinda always wore fell just like that.

At the front of the room, Ryder's usual warm gaze toward her shifted into stunned disbelief.

The next second, he slammed his teaching notes onto the lectern.

His voice was cold enough to freeze the room. "Lucinda! Look at yourself! You're disheveled, half-awake, and dressed so inappropriately. What do you think a university classroom is? A landfill?"

I lazily lifted my head, scraped a crusty clump from the corner of my eye, and casually flicked it onto the floor.

Ryder physically recoiled. "Lucinda! Are you not even listening to me?"

Lucinda's face went stark white. "Professor... I... No... It's her! It's Shannon!"

She grabbed my arm, panic written all over her face. "Shannon! What are you doing? Why aren't you wearing makeup today? Why didn't you wash your hair? Why would you make yourself look like this?"