Waking Up Shadow The Hedgehog Novels & Stories

During the college entrance exam, everyone else is writing on their exam sheets nonstop. Meanwhile, I'm all cooped up in a toilet stall while playing games on the phone. When faced with the reporters who are posted outside the exam venue, I tell them confidently, "I'm definitely getting into a prestigious college." Upon hearing my answer, my parents, who have just accepted me back into their elite family, can't help but grin from ear to ear. Even the fake heir, Charles McKinnon, is unable to suppress his elation. I just smile without saying anything else. Then, I sign the guaranteed admission confirmation form that my teacher has fought hard to secure for me before the start of the exam. In my previous lifetime, my parents had bound a score-swapping system to me and Charles. Charles replaced me as a student in Yarvyn College. But I couldn't even get into a regular community college. Just like that, I became the laughingstock of my previous high school. Charles even took the lead in slandering me for cheating in my previous exams. Unable to handle the pressure, I jumped off a school building and died. In this lifetime, I'll give Charles a taste of what it feels like to come last in the entire city!

During the holiday, I come across the wedding announcement of my son, Howard Miller, online while recuperating overseas. To my shock, his fiancee is a woman in her 60s! I rush home immediately, only to find that my adopted daughters are gathered around my adopted son, William Miller, and fussing over him. When they see me, they each have something to say. "Ethan, Howard says he likes older women. We've tried talking him out of it, but he won't listen." "Don't worry, Ethan. After Howard marries Ms. Holloway and joins her family as a live-in son-in-law, we'll help him manage all of the Miller family's businesses." "No matter which one of us William chooses to marry in the end, we'll respect it. The most important thing is to produce an heir for the Miller family to carry on the bloodline." As I look at Howard, who is already numb from all the torment, my entire body trembles with rage. The young women who are supposed to become my future daughter-in-law think they can steal everything away from my son. Dream on!

"Whose illegitimate child are you pregnant with?" My parents demand to know, looking crazed. They want to know whose child I'm carrying. I look at them and laugh. "One of the kidnappers, of course." My parents and brother are stunned, and they turn ashen. I continue softly, "Don't you guys remember? The kidnappers asked for a ransom, but you guys were only willing to save your other daughter. You wanted to teach me a lesson." Mom collapses on the couch. "That can't be. We wanted to teach you a lesson so you would stop bullying Eden. I didn't… We didn't…" I crouch before her. "You guys never expected the kidnappers to violate me, right?" I don't wait for an answer. "Do you think a few kidnappers would have morals and ethics?" She parts her lips to speak, but I don't give her the chance. "I was covered in injuries when I got home. Why didn't any of you ask me about them? "You guys took Eden away without bothering to save me. You didn't return for a day, for two days, for a month… Did you think the kidnappers would think that they could still receive the ransom?" They should be happy now—I'm about to die.

To scrape together enough money for tickets home on New Year’s Eve, I took on a part-time job and accidentally entered a livestream where money was being thrown around. The boy on screen had fair skin and wore a high-end knit sweater, with a luxuriously decorated villa behind him. “It’s too boring being kept here. My sugar mommy gives me more money than I can spend. Let’s do some giveaways.” Excited, I grabbed several large cash drops in a row. The money for my girlfriend’s and my tickets was almost enough. Then the boy suddenly leaned close to the camera. “She keeps saying the tear mole under my eye looks like her boyfriend’s. What bad luck, sharing the same feature as some poor loser.” My fingers trembled. I had a tear mole in the exact same spot. A comment floated by: [How could a sugar mommy’s boyfriend be poor?] The boy sneered, running a hand through his hair. “She’s just playing around. Told him she’s a million in debt, and he’s dumb enough to work and help her pay it off.” My heart went cold. My girlfriend was also supposedly a million in debt. “The funniest part is, she just spent three days with me. When she left, I asked if she still had the energy to go be with him. “She said as long as she tells him she’s going to wash dishes at a barbecue place, that idiot will feel bad and go deliver food to make some extra money overnight.” Another big cash drop came in. I had enough now. My phone rang. Wren’s voice sounded tired as she said, “Aran, the ticket money isn’t enough… I made a little over two hundred dollars washing dishes. I’ll head home now.”

As floodwaters rushed into the garage, I called my boyfriend. "Wade, help me... I'm trapped in here! The emergency exit's locked!" He sounded annoyed. "Tia, stop. Mandy's cat is stuck in a tree—we're handling it!" Then he hung up, taking the rescue team with him. My last hope was gone.

On a rainy day, I gave my pregnant neighbor a ride home since it was on my way. As a result, she became clingy and started insisting I drive her home every day. When I refused, she teared up and accused me of lacking compassion. Her husband even showed up at my door, demanding, "Why won't you take my wife to and from work? Are you looking down on us?" In the end, I sold my car and moved to a new place. If I couldn’t afford to offend them, at least I could avoid them!

The day my husband's first love, who was my sister, died, he sent me into the wilderness, all because I was not a match for the kidney transplant she needed. "Make sure Lisa can’t leave. For pretending to be Emma’s little sister, it’s time she learns her lesson," he ordered. I was abandoned in the dense forest, trapped, and left to fend for myself. Desperate, I sought shelter in a cave, trying to survive. However, wild animals soon picked up my scent and surrounded the cave. In the end, they tore me apart, and I died a brutal, painful death, with my body left exposed and torn in the wilderness. When Benjamin finally saw what was left of me, he lost his mind.

On the eve of my wedding, I was run over by my fiance's childhood friend. My life was in danger. My best friend tried to call my fiance, but he hung up directly. He sent her a text message. "Ruth is sick. I don't have time." My best friend then called her boyfriend who happened to be a well-connected celebrity. However, he said, "Ruth is sick. She needs me by her side right now." After a night of resuscitation, we looked at each other in the ward and spoke at the same time. "I don't want to get married." To our surprise, both our fiances went crazy when they found out we called off our weddings.

Shortly after my boyfriend dies, I prepare to join him in the underworld. However, I'm saved by a rich man who passes by. He's worried that I'll do something rash again, so he stays by my side for three years and helps me move past my trauma. Before Benjamin Zoller's birthday, I receive a call from the hospital and learn that he's been diagnosed with cancer. I head to his company to look for him when I hear his smug voice. "I've always suspected that Cherilyn is still hung up on her ex, so I made up something about being sick to test her. I'll believe that she loves me if she's willing to take her life for my sake." I play along and fake my death before him. He loses his mind after witnessing everything.

An unscrupulous company discharges toxic wastewater into the river, causing my whole family to be poisoned because we rely on that river for survival. Everyone in my family, including my aunts and uncles, lives in the same village. We're all waiting for an urgent antidote delivery to save our lives. My boyfriend is Harrison Somers, and his company is the only one with the antidote. So, I ask him for it. He agrees to come but doesn't show up after a long time. Ultimately, my family members die after being tormented by the toxic wastewater because they don't have the antidote. Meanwhile, Harrison shows up at the hospital with his childhood sweetheart because she accidentally sliced her finger while peeling a fruit.