Chapter 2

I turned around and saw a man and a woman getting out of a luxury car. They were both rushing toward me in a panic.

“Lorraine!” A wealthy-looking, elegant lady whom I knew as Mrs. Jung hugged me. Her face was full of concern. “Why are you at the police station? Did something happen?”

“Who are you?” I looked at them, completely bewildered.

Mrs. Jung paused for a moment. Then, she began to cry even harder. “I’m your mother! You silly child, have you been scared out of your wits?”

I was stunned. After that, they picked me up from the police station.

I followed them into the car. The whole way, they asked after my well-being, afraid I might be the slightest bit uncomfortable.

The car slowly pulled into the villa. As soon as I got out, Mrs. Jung took the clothes a maid had handed her and draped them over my shoulders.

Her tone was anxious as she said, “Quick, call the family doctor! Lorraine has a delicate constitution. Don’t let her catch a chill!”

I was escorted back and was surrounded by everyone like a star in the center of a constellation.

They all remembered my preferences—what I did not like to eat and what I did. It was as if I had been living there for years.

The record I bought yesterday appeared in a drawer of the luxurious villa.

The clothes I bought the day before yesterday appeared in the enormous walk-in closet.

“This is a reality TV show, isn’t it?” I grabbed Mrs. Jung. My eyes brimmed with hope. “It’s ‘Families Swap,’ right?”

I pointed at the wall as I fought back the tremor in my hands. Then, I managed a strained smile.

“They did a great job with the editing. My photo on the wall looks just like the real thing!

“I had no idea AI technology had advanced this much! The backdrop of Varis city looks just like the real thing.”

I picked up another piece of clothing. “It actually fits perfectly. They even found out my size. They’re really pulling off this act convincingly!

“Why does my agent keep booking me for all these shows without even telling me? I get it now. She wants this kind of genuine, caught-off-guard reaction, right?”

I kept talking to hide my panic and started frantically searching the room. “Where’s the camera? Where’s the surveillance feed? Where is it? You must be live-streaming this, right? Let me see the livestream!”

“Lorraine!” Mrs. Jung looked at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

Then, she held a photo up in front of me.

“This photo was taken by my father when you went to Varis after your high school graduation. It’s not some AI-generated image!”

“You’re joking. You must be joking!” I pointed at her and suddenly burst out laughing. “I’ve never even left the country in my life. How could I have gone on a vacation?”

Just then, a maid handed me stacks after stacks of plane tickets.

“Miss, between your study abroad programs and vacations, you’ve visited dozens of countries! You’re fluent in more than a dozen languages. How could you possibly have never left the country?”

I took the tickets. On every single one, my name was written in various languages. They were even in Orienese, Anglaise, and Varisian.

“I don’t even know Varisian or Orienese. How could I possibly have traveled to those countries?

“Besides, I don’t even know any of you!” I looked at them and burst into tears in anguish.

“I beg you, please stop filming. My life right now is great, but I have parents and a boyfriend. My boyfriend and I love each other deeply, and we’re getting married next month!”

“Lorraine!”

The next second, a gentle male voice suddenly rang out from behind me.

I looked up to see Cylan Graham, the man I recognized from a finance magazine. He was handsome, wealthy, and gentle. All these years, he never had a girlfriend.

Mrs. Jung let out a sigh of relief and walked toward him. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Lorraine today. She keeps saying she doesn’t know Varisian, and that she doesn’t even know us!”

“Is that so?” Cylan walked over to me and gently lifted me up from where I was kneeling on the floor. “Lorraine, the floor is cold. Don’t sit there.”

He carried me back to my room, but my body began to tremble even more violently.

As we passed by, I overheard a maid say that Cylan and I had grown up together. He was the one who was going to marry me next month.

However, I had never even met him.

He walked into the study, wrote a line, and placed it in front of me. “Lorraine, can you read this?”

I looked at the words and blurted out without thinking, “It says that you love me, that we’re getting engaged next month, and your best wishes.”

“Exactly!” He said, patiently reassuring me. “I wrote it in Varisian. Don’t you know Varisian?!”

Right, it was Varisian. I did know Varisian!

He played a video clip showing me at an awards ceremony, facing the camera and speaking fluently in Varisian.

“No, that’s impossible. I’ve never studied anything but Anglaise my whole life!” I reached tremblingly for the Varisian book lying nearby.

However, as soon as I opened it, I recognized every single Varisian word and could easily translate them into my native tongue, Sommersettese.

I stumbled back to my desk and picked up the Orienese, Gaulese, Andalan, and Nulsan books. I had no trouble reading a single word in any of them and could translate them effortlessly.

Just a moment ago, I did not understand them. All of a sudden, I understood them all.

It was strange. So strange. It was as if a DLC language pack had suddenly been downloaded to my brain in an instant.

“How could I possibly know so many languages?” I looked at Cylan as my body trembled.

Cylan gently patted my back. “You’ve received an elite education since childhood. It’s no surprise that you know multiple languages!”

“Haven’t you always been single?” I looked at him, my fingers trembling.

“Entertainment headlines reported that you weren’t married by the time you were 28. You’re so wealthy. Were you tricked into participating in a reality TV show, too?”

This time, I desperately wanted him to nod. However, he simply opened the photo album and handed it to me.

“We’ve been childhood sweethearts since we were little. We grew up together. You’ve always been by my side!”

I watched as he flipped through the photos. In the pictures, Cylan had replaced Albert in the spot where he should have been.

We were posing intimately, just like old friends, with not a trace of photo editing.

“I’m not doing this anymore!” I grabbed Cylan’s hand. “Please, can you ask the director to stop filming?”

Cylan looked at me. His eyes were filled with confusion.

I cried until I could barely breathe. In the end, I did not even realize I had fallen asleep.