Cerita Pendek & Novel Face Slapping Imagination

On the day Dad made me draw lots to choose a wife, I was about to draw a number when comments started flashing past. [Don't do it! The whole thing is rigged. You’ll only end up married to a hideous woman and be stuck in a cold, heartless marriage alliance with the Wests!] [You’ll end up the target of enemies of the West family even before you marry their daughter. You’ll fall into their devious trap and get burned to ashes in a fire!] [Your childhood sweetheart Mindy Sullivan has a bark that’s worse than her bite. Her disdain and disregard is just a farce. She really loves you. Marrying her is the right move!] My hand froze in midair. I told my dad that I wanted to marry Mindy. On my way to fetching Mindy on our wedding day, someone kidnapped me and threw me into a fire. Mindy, on the other hand, inherited her grandfather’s inheritance of 50 thousand dollars because she married me. Her ulterior motive was to transfer all that money to my adopted brother. Before I died, I heard the mocking laughter of Mindy and my adopted brother. That was when I realized they had written all the fake comments I saw. At this second chance at life, I saw the same comments as I was drawing lots again.

At the base entrance, the guard stopped us for the usual inspection. “Your infection test came back negative, right?” I nodded. The guard was just about to let me through when Ethan Cross, the team’s new medic, suddenly spoke up. “Wait, Captain. What about that scratch on your arm from the mutated rat?” The air froze. The guard’s expression changed at once. “Captain Hale, is that true?” I gritted my teeth. “It is. But the wound has already been treated, and I have antibodies.” “I’m carrying a top-level mission. I need to enter the base immediately.” The guard hesitated, his hand already moving toward the gate controls. But Ethan stepped across my path and blocked me. “Captain! You were coughing badly on the way back. What if you’re a carrier?” Then he turned to the guard, his voice firm and absolute. “I request immediate quarantine for Falcon Squad and a full screening for Captain Hale.” The guard’s eyes sharpened. He raised his weapon. “I’m sorry, Captain Hale. You’ll need to come with me to isolation first.” I froze where I stood. A full screening would take at least forty minutes. But the zombie king in the base laboratory would awaken in thirty. I had to lead my team in and stop it before it broke free.

I can see how much time people have left to live, so I warn my wife, Kayla Jebb, that her first love, Sebastian Miller, is about to die. She calls me a jinx and knocks my teeth out herself, making sure I'll never speak again. With my mouth full of rotting flesh, I beg her to help me, but she walks away, satisfied with the outcome. Instead, she heads to the hospital to take care of a sickly Sebastian. A month later, Kayla returns to the villa with a fully recovered Sebastian, as if to prove how foolish I was. When I see that Kayla has only one day left to live, I say nothing and simply smile.

When the extreme-heat apocalypse arrived, surface temperatures reached 158°F, and the first group of people began moving to Frostpoint Base. As a scientist, my wife had two spots to bring family members with her. Everyone thought she would take me without hesitation. But in the end, she put the name of her graduate student on the application. "He's my student, and he doesn't have his parents with him. I can't bear to leave him alone in a place this hot." She submitted the application without a second thought. Her next words chilled me to the bone. "Ethan, you're different. You've been tough since you were a kid. I know you can survive until the second group is evacuated." I forced a bitter smile and said nothing. That night, as I watched the temperature continue to rise, I calmly made a phone call. "You once told me you would grant me one wish, no matter what it was. Does that promise still stand?"

I drove rideshare for five years to support my girlfriend. Then a car put me in the hospital, and she pointed at me and said: "We're just friends." Overseas, hanging off her rich new boyfriend, she looked down at me and said, "Blake didn't mean to hit you. Quit while you're ahead, take the money, and get lost." I smiled, grabbed him by the hair, and put his head into the wall. After they deported me, the Ride-to-Real-Estate System woke up in my head. A few years later I was the richest man in the world, living off rent, and the gold digger came crawling back. "You got even more handsome." My new little sister laughed out loud. "Honestly, I'm jealous of her complexion. She lays it on so thick."

I was diagnosed with stage-two stomach cancer. A lie from my wife had caused me to miss the best window for treatment. “You’re saying I was diagnosed with early-stage cancer six months ago, and my wife knew about it?” The doctor pulled up my old test results and turned the monitor toward me. “We repeatedly told your wife that early-stage cancer has a very high cure rate. One of our physician assistants even called to follow up. She told us you’d already started treatment at another hospital.” I felt as though the ground had vanished beneath my feet. Six months ago, my wife had assured me that my physical exam showed nothing wrong. The doctor looked at me sympathetically. “Fortunately, it hasn’t progressed to the final stage yet. With aggressive treatment, you still have a chance.” I stumbled out of the hospital in a daze. Then I suddenly remembered the strange charm I’d stumbled upon by chance. Could cancer be transferred, too?

Our SAT results came back, and our parents booked a private room at a Michelin-starred steakhouse to celebrate. Over dinner, they began discussing how we should apply to the same university so we could keep looking out for each other. I looked across the table at Derek and asked politely, “Derek, which university are you planning to apply to?” The moment the words left my mouth, comments suddenly flashed across my vision. [Here she goes again. Is this desperate side character going to apply to the same university as the male lead?] [I feel so bad for him. Just to keep the close ties between the families, he has to be okay with her clinging to him for three whole years!] [Don’t worry. He’s promised the prom queen, Eliza, to go to Columbo University together. He's definitely going to name a school thousands of miles away just to brush her off. I can’t wait to see her breakdown!] Derek stared at me, his brow furrowed as he sneered. “Sofia, what business is it of yours where I go? I’m applying to Southwest University, all the way to the South. Could you please stop following me around?” I met his gaze and nodded calmly. Then, I turned my attention toward the quiet young man standing near the entrance of the private room, holding the heavy coats and car keys for Derek’s family. He was the driver’s son. “Julian, which university are you going to?” I asked. “I’d like to go to the same one as you.” The sneer on Derek's face froze, and both of our parents stared in utter disbelief. None of them had any idea that the humble, quiet boy wearing a cheap hearing aid, whom Derek mocked as “the deaf boy” day in and day out, was actually the long-lost son of New City’s wealthiest tycoon, missing for eighteen whole years. And all those years I spent shamelessly dropping by the family's estate had nothing to do with clinging to Derek. I had only done it so that I could catch a few extra glimpses of Julian.

On the same day, my older sister, Kelsey Shaw, and I marry into the Coyle Clan, a powerful clan of serpent shifters. Kelsey wants the prestigious title of Lady of the Clan, so she chooses to marry Zane Coyle, a powerful black serpent shifter. What she doesn't realize is that Zane cares about nothing but his own ambition. He neglects her, shuts her out, and even tries to hand her over to someone else in exchange for power and status. Meanwhile, Mike Coyle, the sickly white serpent shifter I marry, turns out to be fiercely devoted. His dormant power erupts in a second awakening, and during the Clan Trials, he slays Zane—who by then has risen to Clan Alpha. The day I become the new Lady of the Clan, Kelsey looks at me with resentment burning in her eyes and plunges a silver hairpin straight into my chest. When I open my eyes again, we're both back on the day we choose our husbands. This time, Kelsey beats me to it and chooses the white serpent shifter with limitless potential. I smile, completely unfazed. The truth is, neither the black serpent nor the white serpent is any good.

I had been able to see the labels above people's heads ever since I was little. When I was three, my grandpa held a family dinner at his house. Dad showed up with his secretary, Vivian Clarke. The moment she walked through the door, she went straight to Mom's seat. She rubbed her lower back and smiled sweetly. "Mrs. Lincoln, I hope you don't mind. Mr. Lincoln and I have been working on a project all day, and we're exhausted." I looked around the room. Above Eric's head was a glaring label. "Cheater." Above Mom's head was a dull gray label. "Loser." And above Vivian's head was a brightly shining label. "Ultimate gold digger." I immediately tugged on Eric's sleeve and asked loudly, "Dad, what do ‘cheater’ and ‘gold digger’ mean?"

Everyone was having a blast on the yacht for Valentine’s Day when my boyfriend, Ethan Hayes, asked me to go tell his uncle I fancied him. “Go on, tell him. You’re a lucky girl if he actually takes a liking to you! Next time we meet, I might even have to call you auntie!” Vivian Lawrence, his childhood sweetheart, was by my boyfriend’s side, smiling triumphantly. Just a few minutes ago, they had shared a glass of cocktail. I clutched the watch in my pocket—bought with two months of my savings to make peace—my heart riddled with holes. Suddenly, a line of live comment lit up before my eyes: “I’m sick of this jerk. Girl, go for the uncle. He’s the real big shot. He’s fancied you for a long time, even gave up everything abroad to come back to you!” Looking at the sneering Ethan, I took a deep breath, pulled up my skirt, revealing my long, straight legs. “Fine, I’ll give it a try! “If he returns my affection, you’ll have to call me your aunt soon.”

Synopsis The ink on the $50 million breakup check was barely dry. I walked straight into the clinic, ready to end it. I was still sitting in the waiting room when some translucent words floated right in front of my face. [Oh no. Those are literally the only two kids Julian Brock will ever have!] [That idiot surgeon messed up during the kidney donation. Julian saved his precious ex, but he walked out completely sterile!] [She’s sitting on a multi-trillion-dollar empire and she's about to flush it down the toilet? Is she insane?] I froze right at the door. I turned around and bolted for the exit. Abort? Hell no. Meet my two little golden tickets.

The day my ex cheated on me, I cried for about ten minutes before digging out the jewelry box he gave me. I sold everything valuable inside for four hundred dollars and used the money to buy a huge box of black candles. Today, I crouched outside his apartment complex, arranging the candles in a circle and lighting them one by one. “You crazy woman! Why are you lighting black candles? Are you trying to curse my son?” His mother stormed out and jabbed a finger in my face. The other woman hid behind my cheating ex and spoke in a choked voice: “Don, I’m scared… What if she still hasn’t gotten over you? What if she does something terrible?” The onlookers shook their heads and concluded that the breakup had driven me insane. Then a ding rang inside my head. [You lit two dollars’ worth of black candles. Ten-thousandfold cashback triggered. Twenty thousand dollars has been credited to your account!] I reached for the remaining candles and lit them one by one.

On my first night after moving into Building 4 of Hawthorne Lane Apartments, the elevator stopped at the nonexistent thirteenth floor. My younger brother, who had been missing for three months, was kneeling outside the doors. An old apartment-number plaque hung around his neck. It read 1204. I was just about to call out to him when the red light above the elevator doors came on. A building manager in a blue uniform suddenly appeared behind me and pushed a report form into my hand. His lips lifted into a frozen smile. “No talking under the red light. If you want to live, write down a neighbor’s apartment number.” Only later did I learn the truth. The most terrifying thing about this building wasn’t the thirteenth floor. It was that behind every door lived someone waiting for me to speak.

My mother, Aileen Stuart, leaves me a bronze mirror upon her death. One day, I suddenly hear its thoughts. It says exasperatedly, "My naive child, Zara hid her brooch and blamed you for stealing it. And your stepmother? Her tricks are so banal. She rubbed pollen on your clothes, hoping you'd have an allergic reaction and become disfigured. They really are the perfect pair in household scheming. "Dead mother, philandering father, vicious stepmother, wicked idiot of a sister… What an unfortunate deck of cards you have been dealt with." With the mirror's guidance, I manage to carve out a place for myself in this household. One midnight, it wakes me from my sleep. "Jemima, your chance to change your fate has arrived! The assassin who just entered the study next door is the crown prince. Save him, and you will secure a bright future!" Summoning my courage, I push open the study door.

My best friend, Eleanor Fitzroy, and I both transmigrated into an era of turmoil, where we happen to become students of a legendary seer. I am born with an uncanny gift for divination. With nothing more than three coins, I can read the signs of fate and predict what is yet to come. Eleanor, meanwhile, possesses an extraordinary mind for strategy. She can decipher the most complex military tactics and, with a single formation of her own design, turn the tide against thousands of soldiers. After leaving Ravenvale, our mentor's secluded valley, we join forces to support the disgraced Seventh Prince, Alexander Wyndham, and help him rise to the throne. Alexander soon falls deeply in love with Eleanor. He marries her in a lavish royal wedding, making her the queen of the realm. 15 years into their marriage, they are still as devoted to each other as ever. They have eight sons together. Then, last night, the palace receives joyous news—the empire of Arden has welcomed its first princess since its founding. Overjoyed, Alexander rides through the night with his eight sons and arrives at the gates of Ravenvale, begging me to come out of seclusion and divine Matilda Wyndham's fate. Of course, I agree. I hurry to the royal palace that very night. I place a dab of vermilion on Matilda's forehead and bestow a blessing of peace and safety upon her. With my task complete, I prepare to leave. But on a whim, I toss my coins one more time, intending to divine Eleanor's fate and see what the rest of her life holds in store. The moment the coins hit the ground, however, the signs turn ominous. The reading reveals chaos, death, and a fate that has been sealed long ago. My blood runs cold. If Eleanor has already been dead for some time, then who is the woman lying on the queen's bed, smiling at me so warmly?

The day my scholarship money was deposited, I was about to transfer it to cover my grandmother’s hospital bills. Then, I suddenly heard a voice. [The Transfer System says that as long as someone eats or drinks something I give them, I can secretly transfer their money to myself without them ever knowing.] [Perfect. Claire just received her scholarship money, so I’ll use her to test it.] [If the transfer works, I can use the money to buy that dress I’ve been wanting.] The voice clearly belonged to my roommate, Mia Parker. Confused, I was about to turn around to confirm it when a bottle of water was suddenly placed on my desk. Mia smiled warmly and said, “Claire, thanks for picking up my package yesterday. Have some water.” The next second, her excited thoughts rang out again. [Drink it. Go on, drink it. Once you finish this bottle, your money will be mine!] I stared at the anticipation and greed she could barely hide in her eyes, and anger surged through me. She knew perfectly well that this scholarship money was my grandmother’s lifeline. I calmly picked up the bottle. "So, you want to transfer my money? "Fine. "I’ll let you transfer as much as you want."

I've just booked a restaurant for my seventh wedding anniversary with my wife, Melanie Rowland, when several lines of text suddenly appear across my vision. "Would you like to take part in a loyalty test? "We'll randomly give your wife a system. If she tells you about it, you win, and the two of you will receive one million dollars." After seven years of marriage, I have no doubt Melanie loves me. As far as I'm concerned, that million dollars is already in the bag. Still, I'm curious enough to ask one question. "What if we lose?" "If you lose, it proves your marriage has failed. In return, you'll receive a mystery prize big enough to let you start your life over. "The price of participating is allowing people from another dimension to watch you. Choose carefully." I couldn't care less about the mystery prize. I'm already planning to use the million dollars to buy Melanie the condo she's had her eye on for ages. After I agree to join the game, I hurry home. The moment I walk in, I catch a flash of panic on Melanie's face. She brushes me off with a few vague excuses and hurries into the study. Through the closed door, I hear her talking to Hayden Locke, the guy she grew up with. "Hayden, I just got an apocalypse system. It says the end of the world is coming. I'm going to find somewhere to build a safe house, and I promise I'll keep you safe. Don't worry. I won't tell Alex a word. "When the world ends, it'll be you and me together." I freeze. Her apocalypse system is fake, but the countdown to my mystery prize has probably already begun.

"On results day, I'll have a way to turn back time and take us all back to the exam room!" Lily Parker, the prettiest girl in our class, stood at the front of the room, threw up an arm, and shouted it at the top of her voice. "Sign up with me! Just $999. If it's a scam, I'll pay you back ten times over! "You'll even get a polished answer key for the college entrance exams. Guaranteed not to get flagged for cheating!" The classroom erupted. In the corner, I didn't even look up. I'd found the same method three days earlier. And I'd decided against it. For one simple reason: time inside that exam room was completely broken. Thirty seconds for English. Twelve hours for math. And between papers, three days and nights of hunger and thirst you couldn't survive twice.

The night before our exam scores came out, the fake heiress said it to my face, in front of everyone. "Claire, I hear you're supposed to be some kind of star student. Why don't we compare?" What she didn't know was that I'd known for a long time she was bound to a score-transfer system. In my last life, she set the terms of the bet and had our scores read out in front of that whole room. I became the joke of the city, and the mob online finished me off. "Let's compete fairly. Only the best of us deserves the Bennett name." "When you lose, you give up climbing for good — and I might still find you work as a cleaner." I frowned and waved her off. She only pushed harder. "Unless the scores were fake. Guilty conscience? Afraid to find out?" "Either you take the bet, or you go public and admit you're a fraud." "On your knees in front of all these people, apologizing until I'm satisfied, and then you get as far away from here as you can." I sighed. "And if you lose?" She made a small contemptuous sound. "If I lose, the same terms. I'll never set foot in the Bennett house again." Inside, I smiled. As you wish.

I was attending my daughter Wendy's autumn camp when I overheard her whispering to her best friend, "Don't be picky with your food, or Ms. Adams will kill you. That's why she killed Carl." Shocked, I scooped her up in my arms and ran to Carl's mother. However, she pointed at a healthy Carl who was hopping around, grinning, "What? But Carl is no longer a fussy eater. He eats everything I cook these days!" Relieved, I was about to turn and scold my daughter when she hissed, "That's not Carl! Carl is allergic to shrimp!"