board.
By the time I found out, it had already spread. Countless explicit photos were everywhere.
Someone marked my pictures with red pen, writing “town bicycle,” “public toilet,” and other insulting names on my face.
Walking from the school gate to the classroom, I felt strange, contemptuous, gossipy stares the entire way.
The situation got worse until finally the grade director stepped in, severely reprimanding those who spread the rumors most aggressively.
Each wrote a self–criticism, lost all chances for honors, and received disciplinary actions. Only then did thin- gs gradually calm down.
The messages became chaotic:
“I can’t believe this. How could the boyfriend do this? How is she supposed to live at school after this?”
“Well, he was really angry. It’s partly her fault for bringing water to his opponent, and she never apologized. His anger is understandable.”
“What’s wrong with her? Why get involved with other guys? A perfectly sweet relationship turned bitter. She deserved it. The boyfriend was right – she has no self–respect.”
“Girl, just apologize! He’s only with the freshman to make you jealous. If you’d just take the initiative, he’d dump the freshman immediately and be your loyal dog. You’re killing me here!”
I opened social media.
Sure enough, Lily had posted many updates.
Movies, hiking, swimming.
The latest, based on the background, was at her place. They were embracing, in a deep French kiss.
The video was crystal clear. Jake looked dazed, his hand sliding inside Lily’s collar, with moaning sounds in
the background.
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Chapter 2
Lily’s caption read:
“Three boxes tonight, how about that?”
Jake replied instantly: “Not enough. You can buy five more.”
Lily responded with a shy emoji.
I thought I’d already been hurt enough, but seeing this video still took my breath away.
Jake and I had dated for three years, from sophomore to senior year.
We’d shared countless sweet, happy days and nights. Even this time with the water, I was just trying to play
his own game.
But I never expected Jake’s reaction to be so extreme, so absolute.
It was as if our three years together were a joke, making me feel worthless.
If that’s the case, let’s end it completely.
I no longer wanted to wonder if he was just being stubborn or prideful. I only knew that loving someone sho-
uldn’t be like this.
After that day, Jake kept lingering at the bottom of my dorm building.
He brought Lily, kissing her in front of me, feeding each other snacks, even sharing a single bubble tea.
The messages turned gloomy:
“Why did it turn out like this? At the beginning, she just needed to apologize for being late. How did they end up not reconciling at all?”
“He still can’t let go. Bringing the freshman to deliberately provoke her. Poor thing. On the surface he’s saying ‘look how well I’m doing without you,‘ but he’s dying inside, just wanting her attention.”
“What he did before was over the line, but it’s because he loves her so much. That’s why he got jealous and lost it. If she wasn’t so stubborn, if she’d softened a little, things wouldn’t have gone this far.”
“So sad, he’s so pitiful. Why doesn’t she show some compassion? She’s so cold and heartless.”
At first, Jake and Lily were frequently intimate, embracing and kissing every time I came downstairs, with
him giving me challenging looks.
But later, he noticed I completely ignored them, walking past without a glance.
Jake couldn’t stand it. One day, he cornered me on the road.
This time he was alone, without Lily.
His eyes were red, his tone harsh:
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Chapter 2
“Emma, you’re really heartless. How can you be so cruel?”
I almost laughed. Who started this madness? Who was cold and cruel first?
And now he was turning it around on me.
Jake’s eyes slowly filled with tears. For the first time in his life, he lowered his head and asked for reconcilia-
tion:
“Emma, let’s stop fighting, okay? You know I only truly love you.”
“Lily and I are using each other. I just wanted to make you jealous, to make you react.”
I asked:
“What about those bedroom photos on social media? Also to make me jealous? You really didn’t use all five boxes?”
Jake fell into an eerie silence.
I found my answer in his silence.
Even though I’d moved on, my heart still ached.
Was this Jake’s idea of pretending turned real? Because he wanted to make me jealous, he actually slept with another woman?
In that moment, I realized with absolute clarity that Jake and I had no future together.
“Don’t look for me anymore. You make me sick. Does your girlfriend know you’re clinging to me like this?”
Jake hastily defended himself, as if proving his loyalty:
“She’s not my girlfriend. It’s just for show. You’ve always been my girlfriend.”
I was getting irritated. I took out my pepper spray and sprayed it at Jake:
“If you come looking for me again, I’ll call the police and report you for sexual harassment. You don’t want to lose your diploma, do you?”
Jake’s family was strict. His diploma was his weakness.
He didn’t say anything more, until I had walked a few steps away.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind:
“Remember that video?”
My body froze as I instantly understood which video he meant.
Our first time was at a hotel outside school.
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Chapter 2
I was so shy that when I came out of the bathroom and unbuttoned my clothes, I closed my eyes.
Later I found out Jake had recorded that night.
I was furious, and he promised never to do it again.
He swore he deleted it in front of me, but apparently he kept a backup.
I looked up sharply, hatred in my eyes for the first time.
Jake couldn’t bear my gaze and looked away. His voice lowered, sounding dejected:
“I… I don’t mean anything by it. If you get back together with me, I promise I’ll delete it completely this time.”
He paused, then added:
“Otherwise I’ll release it, confirming your reputation. This time it won’t be photoshopped.”
I lost control, smashing my thermos against him.
Jake had no time to dodge and was hit, his head bleeding.
Full of hatred, I said slowly, emphasizing each word:
“Jake, you are truly an animal.”
The messages flowed frantically:
“I can’t take this anymore! I’ve held on until now, but I can’t continue. How could the boyfriend do this?”
“This is infuriating! I hate this kind of plot. The boyfriend is an animal, no, worse than an animal.”
“Well, he had no choice. She was so firm this time, and he really didn’t want to give up on their relationship. Can’t blame him.”
“Exactly. If she’d just reconcile, everything would be fine. I don’t understand why she’s being so proud.”
Back in my dorm, I sat for a long time until I finally calmed down.
I took out my phone and messaged Jake:
“You think you can blackmail me like this? Ridiculous. You’re the one who made the mistakes, never me.”
“If you really make it public, then prove the person in the video is me.”
“If you can prove it, you’re violating privacy; if you can’t, it’s slander and extortion. Either crime, I’ll hire a law yer and pursue it to the end. You’ll end up in jail either way.”
“Jake, I didn’t regret dating you before. It was my poor judgment of character, but people need to move for ward. Now, though, I’m completely disgusted. I wish I could go back in time and stab you the first time I saw you.”
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Chapter 2
I didn’t do anything wrong, and I shouldn’t feel ashamed.
Jake is the one who should go to hell.
After completely letting go, I actually felt lighter.
My major required lab work. I already had many courses and high pressure.
04:21 @
Jake would start cold wars with me every few days, threaten to break up, making me take time to comfort him.
Thinking about it now, men really do slow down my experiment progress.
After finishing classes in the afternoon, I went to the basketball training court alone.
I didn’t expect to run into Jake and Lily as soon as I opened the door.
Lily was sitting on Jake’s lap, kissing him intimately, the sounds unmistakable.
“The boyfriend is killing me! As soon as he heard the main girl was heading to the gym, he dragged the fres- hman over to make out, just so she’d walk in on them.”
“The main girl must be furious, right? Girl, if you just cried a little, he’d give you his life. He loves you so much, he just can’t show it.”
If I had stumbled upon this before, I would have been heartbroken. But now, I admired my own calmness.
I walked past them as if I hadn’t seen them at all.
Jake broke first: “Stop.”
He indirectly scolded his teammates:
“How do you let just anyone in? Don’t you know this is the team’s training area? Be more careful from now
- on. No strangers allowed.”
I tried to hold back but couldn’t: “Then why is Lily allowed in? She’s not a team member either.”
Lily giggled, seeming triumphant:
“Senior, you forgot? I’m the team assistant, plus a team member’s family. Of course I can come.”
She emphasized the word “family“:
“As for you, why are you here?”
As if remembering something, she covered her mouth with a laugh:
“Oh, I forgot. Senior has such thick skin. Last time you snuck in without a ticket, and now again. I guess thick skin really is useful.”
I calmly listened to Lily’s mockery.
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Chapter 2
Looking over, I noticed Jake staring at me intently. He suddenly said:
“The school added another assistant position. If you take it, you can come in anytime.”
Lily’s expression changed: “Jake…”
But Jake didn’t look at her, still focused on me: “Be our team’s assistant. Same benefits as before, enough fo
next semester’s tuition.”
So Jake knew all along. He knew I needed the assistant’s wages for tuition, yet he still gave the position to Lily.
The messages went wild:
“Oh my god! My perfect couple is getting back together! I knew he couldn’t be that cold. He’s just acting tou- gh but soft inside. So sweet, running around getting her a position. That’s true love.”
“Right! Giving the position to the freshman was just to make her apologize. But she didn’t, so he couldn’t help himself and laid out the red carpet for her.”
“I love this! This is so good! Girl, just accept it! Once you accept, you can get back together. The other girl can step aside. Only our main couple belongs together!”
I glanced at Lily’s ugly expression.
Her eyes were angry, like knives, as if she wanted to cut me into pieces.
She said sarcastically:
“Yes, Senior can be assistant and watch games for free, even in the front rows. She can enter team practice areas without sneaking around like a rat.”
Jake crossed his arms, looking confident:
“That’s enough. If you want the job, come with me now to register. Keep this up, and I’ll call security, say someone’s trespassing and disrupting practice. Might even tell the counselor to scold you.”
I interrupted him:
“Who says I’m trespassing? I’m here to see my boyfriend.”
Jake was stunned, his expression softening a bit. He coughed awkwardly:
“I haven’t agreed to get back together yet. Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself by acting like my girlfriend?”
Lily finally lost it, jumping out to curse at me:
“Have you no shame? Jake and I haven’t broken up, and you’re openly flirting. Emma, are you doing this on purpose? I’ve never seen someone with such thick skin. Saying anything to avoid being kicked out…”
I looked at Lily strangely:
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Chapter 2
“Who said my boyfriend is Jake?”
She treated garbage like treasure, being the other woman, thinking everyone else was the same.
Jake was stunned, his expression immediately darkening:
“What do you mean? If I’m not your boyfriend, who is?”
Lily’s voice was mocking:
“That’s not how you save face. Let me tell you, lying won’t help. Everyone here knows each other. Any name
you make up will be exposed quickly.”
I ignored them.
Looking past them, I saw someone carrying a jacket from not far away.
I smiled, waving at him: “Over here.”
Then, politely to Lily and Jake:
“Could you move aside and not block the way?”
I pointed behind them:
“You’re in my boyfriend’s way.”
Behind Jake stood Mike with his defiant face.
Jake froze, then his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, his face turning black with rage:
“Mike, what do you mean by this?”
But Mike ignored him, only walking to my side and asking if I was hot.
I nodded, then shook my head.
He seemed helpless:
“I told you to wait after class so I could pick you up. Why did you come looking for me? The sun is so strong
outside. You should have waited in the classroom.”
After I stopped being the team assistant, the school found me another position.
Working at the library for work–study. The pay was less but more flexible and relaxed. With my scholarship, it was enough for next semester’s tuition.
That’s where I started running into Mike frequently.
He wouldn’t say anything, just quietly reading books. When it was almost closing time, he would help me
organize the shelves.
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Chapter 2
His sister is a lawyer who heard about what happened at school.
The two of them gathered evidence and sued everyone who photoshopped and spread rumors about me or
the campus forum.
These people were expelled, with permanent marks on their records. This served as a warning, and the goss ip about me gradually subsided.
I felt awkward and would treat Mike to meals. He would return the favor. Coming and going, we became
close.
Later Mike confessed to me, I accepted, and that’s how we got together.
Mike gave me some water. Only then did he seem to hear Jake’s words.
He smiled: “What do you mean? Do I need to report to you when I date someone?”
Jake was so angry his eyes turned red, his voice rising:
“You knew Emma was my girlfriend before…”
Mike looked at him strangely:
“Why else would I be friends with you? I’m not a garbage collector. You’re bad at school, bad at basketball, have a terrible temper, and are a complete jerk in relationships. Unfaithful during dating, publicly flirting on
social media.”
“You’d even ask how many boxes to use with any random girl who approached you.”
Mike thought for a moment, as if finding the right description, suddenly realizing:
“Are you paving the way for your future? Since you’re bad at school and not smart, you’ll likely end up as a
male escort. That’s actually a viable path.”
Mike blinked, his voice sincere:
“But I don’t think you’d be good at it either. Even that profession has standards. They check medical reports before starting.”
“With your messy private life, flirting everywhere, who knows what diseases you might have.”
“Oh, I’m joking. But if I’m right, don’t take it personally.”
Jake immediately exploded, his eyes bloodshot with anger:
“Say that again to my face! Mike, you dare steal my girl.”
But before he could reach Mike, he was firmly held back by the surrounding team members.
Everyone had long disliked him, and several people took the opportunity to kick him while restraining him.
Mike protected me behind him, his earlier casual demeanor gone.
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Chapter 2
His gaze became sharp as he coldly looked at Jake:
