Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
In the second month of your roommate catfishing someone with your photos, the sky suddenly filled with a flood of floating comments.
[The female lead has already turned down the male lead’s invitation to meet three times!]
[She can’t help it. She’s been using her roommate’s pictures for the online dating thing. She’s plain-looking and insecure in real life, so there’s no way she’d dare meet him in person.]
[Don’t worry, girl! Once she explains the truth face-to-face, the male lead will definitely forgive her, and then the sweet romance can begin! Friendly reminder: he’s a rich, gorgeous trust-fund heir.]
Before the comments had even finished rolling by, Vanessa Cole leaned halfway down from the top bunk and waved her phone at you, smugness practically glowing off her face.
“Chloe, my boyfriend sent me money again.”
She paused, then added in a voice so self-satisfied it was almost unbearable, “Honestly, having a boyfriend this rich? I’m scared you guys are going to get jealous.”
Your brow lifted.
Using your photos?
Then starting now, he was your boyfriend.
Vanessa’s phone swayed in front of your face, and you saw everything clearly. On the screen was a $1,400 transfer, with a note attached:
[For my sweet little wife—go order yourself something good.]
Only after making sure you’d seen the amount did Vanessa pull the phone back. She accepted the transfer at once, then sent a voice message in a syrupy tone.
“Thanks for feeding me, babe.”
The floating comments exploded again.
[Wow, the male and female leads are so adorable together! They haven’t even met in person yet, but this whole rich CEO type and clueless college girl dynamic is insanely sweet!]
[It’s already been two months. When are they finally going to meet?]
[Honestly, the female lead doesn’t need to stress so much about her looks. The male lead might be shocked at first, but he’ll accept it soon enough.]
[Relax, relax. Isn’t she dieting right now? She’ll go meet him after she loses another ten pounds.]
Another ten pounds?
You looked up at Vanessa’s back as she lounged on the top bunk, eating snacks.
Two months ago, she’d suddenly declared to the whole dorm suite that she was going on a diet. For the first few days, she barely ate at all, and every evening she went out to run laps around the track until she was bent over, gasping for air.
The determination lasted exactly three days.
One night, starving and shaky, she gave in to the lure of fried chicken and devoured an entire meal. That was the end of the diet. Worse, the rebound from binge-eating put three more pounds on her. She’d blown past one hundred fifty without even slowing down.
You changed into a white dress. The belt drew in your slim waist, and the girl in the mirror looked graceful, almost luminous.
As if asking casually, you said, “So… have you and your boyfriend met in person yet?”
The floating comments turned sharp in an instant.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
What’s so special about that villainess side character? She’s just pretty.
Exactly. So what if our girl used her photos? The male lead isn’t some shallow guy who only cares about looks. Inner beauty matters.
The comments streamed so fast and so thick that understanding hit you all at once.
You were the villainess side character in a fluffy wish-fulfillment romance.
In the original story, Vanessa had used your photos to start an online relationship with the male lead. When they finally met in person, he’d been surprised that she looked nothing like the girl in the pictures—but he accepted it almost immediately, and the two of them went on to have their perfect, sugar-sweet romance. To prove that what he loved was Vanessa’s inner beauty, not her face, he had even destroyed your family’s company with his own hands.
At the end of the story, you died penniless in a cramped attic rental, starving to death alone.
Meanwhile, the hero and heroine’s love survived every test and only grew sweeter, steadier, more unshakable.
No one cared about the stepping stone crushed under their romance.
But if looks really didn’t matter, then why hadn’t Vanessa sent her own photos?
The figure on the top bunk stiffened. “We haven’t met in person yet,” she said vaguely, “but we’ve exchanged pictures.”
Then she looked at you with sudden suspicion. “Chloe, you’re not jealous because I landed such a rich boyfriend, are you?”
She let out a sigh, but there was no hiding the smugness in her voice. “Honestly, it’s kind of a shame. You’re prettier than I am, and your family has money too, but you still don’t have a wealthy boyfriend.”
Facing the mirror, you gathered your long hair and tied it back, your tone light. “Why would I be jealous? If you actually brought this boyfriend out someday and let everyone in the dorm suite meet him, that would be something worth envying.”
Vanessa choked on that.
She didn’t answer. She just looked you up and down, and a flash of jealousy slipped through her eyes.
After a pause, she said, “Chloe, send me a selfie.”
Afraid you might refuse, she hurriedly added, “I—I just want to keep a photo of my roommates, that’s all.”
You agreed at once. “Sure. I’ll take one now.”
After you sent it, you saw Vanessa curled up on the top bunk, almost hunched into herself, decisively forwarding your photo to someone in her chat window.
Along with it, she typed:
Just took a new selfie. Do you like it?
Vanessa’s phone kept chiming nonstop, one notification after another. Whoever was on the other end was obviously excited.
So much for not caring about looks.
I flicked my eyes to the floating comments one last time.
When is our heroine finally going to stop being so insecure? She sent the villainess side character’s selfie again.
The male lead really doesn’t care what you look like. You’ll see once they meet in person!
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
I remember what happens later. After the villainess finds out the truth, she can’t stand the thought of giving up such a high-quality boyfriend, so she runs to him and says, “I’m the girl in the photos.”
And guess what? She jumps all over the place trying to get between them, jealous and totally cracking, and only ends up making the main couple even more solid.
LOL. He’s the only heir to Sterling Group. How could he possibly be shallow enough to care only about a face? Serves the villainess right when he puts her in her place and she ends up starving in a crappy rental, just a stepping stone for their love.
One phrase jumped out at me at once.
The heir to Sterling Group.
I memorized the name.
As for who would end up being whose stepping stone… that was far from decided.
It was Saturday, and there were no classes. I packed my things and got ready to head out when Vanessa casually asked, “No class today. Where are you going?”
A smile tugged at my lips.
“I met a pretty great guy a few days ago,” I said. “I’m going to see him.”
Sterling Group’s headquarters was easy to find.
On the way over, I’d already looked up Adrian Sterling online. There were only a handful of photos, and the resolution was awful, but even blurry pixels couldn’t hide the clean line of his jaw or the sharp bridge of his nose. Rich, handsome, and every inch the trust-fund heir.
My fingertip drifted lightly over his smiling face on my phone before I set it down and tapped my knuckles against the table. The coffee beside me was already going cold.
The campus café sat directly across from the Sterling Group building, and the floating comments seemed to be locked onto Vanessa. They had no idea where I was or what I was doing.
Right now, they were buzzing with excitement.
[He’s so busy, and he still makes time to text her? I’m obsessed with this clingy, doting romance.]
[It’s already getting late. He’s probably about to go to dinner, or they could’ve kept chatting longer.]
[Can they please meet in person already? I can’t wait.]
I straightened at once, my eyes fixing on the front entrance of the Sterling Group tower.
A stream of sharply dressed men and women soon poured out of the building. Then I saw him.
Adrian stood out instantly.
The moment he appeared, a few girls nearby stole glances at him, unable to help themselves.
I had to give Vanessa credit—her taste really was excellent. She’d practically found me the perfect “boyfriend.”
I got to my feet and left the café. Just as I was about to pass Adrian, moving briskly with the crowd, I deliberately clipped his shoulder.
My body tipped backward as if I’d lost my balance completely.