Ficorpio
Chapter 1
I was the designated rival and unreachable first love in an explicit dark-romance web novel, the girl a group of villainous young men could never have.
Because the chosen heroine looked like me, they bullied and humiliated her, tormenting her until she cried every day.
But after I returned home, they came running to warn me not to hurt her.
I was already planning to stay away from them.
To stay away from everything.
Then one of them cornered me against the wall, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“Do you know why they all like her?” he murmured. “Because Vivian Whitmore is only cute when she can be corrupted.”
“Someone they can hold, kiss, and…”
He leaned close to my ear and whispered the final word.
I was the designated rival and unreachable first love in an explicit dark-romance web novel.
They treated me as Vivian Whitmore, placing me high above them while secretly yearning for my mercy.
Then I went abroad to study, and they found a poor, fragile girl who looked somewhat like me.
She was timid, soft-tempered, and came from a desperately poor family.
It was as if they had discovered a new source of entertainment. They poured every dark impulse and every hidden cruelty they had kept buried for years onto her.
But at some point…
When had cruelty and affection begun to blur together?
…
I woke from the dream drenched in cold sweat.
This time, I had finally dreamed all the way to the ending.
Tomorrow was the day I would return home.
After I came back, those young men would waver between Lily Carter and me, yet they would never stop tormenting her.
Until the designated male lead finally took pity on the poor girl, using threats and enticements to abduct her and keep her hidden in luxury.
Only then would the villainous young men understand their own feelings.
Only then would they begin to regret everything.
And everyone would place the blame on me.
Later, the Bennett family would go bankrupt.
I would fall seriously ill.
Thinking they might lend me enough money for treatment out of consideration for our past, I went to them for help.
“I never wanted to disturb any of you,” I swore. “I’m just… dying.”
But they refused from their lofty position.
“If it weren’t for you, we never would have lost her.”
Then one of them closed his hand around my wrist, which had grown so thin it felt boneless. His eyes turned dark.
“You want money? Then trade yourself for it.”
After a pause, he bent close and murmured,
“After all… Vivian Whitmore is only cute when she can be corrupted.”
But I could not make out the face of the boy who held me captive at the end.
I had no idea which of the four he was.
In the silent night, the only sound was my heart pounding in my chest.
Then my fully charged old phone chimed with a notification.
Chapter 2
I lowered my head and opened it.
Messages were pouring through the group chat.
[The little shorty’s birthday is tomorrow. What are you guys getting her?]
[Obviously, I’m rewarding her with a whole day out with me.]
[What the hell? You’re insane. Back off. You think you can keep her all to yourself? Do you take us for dead?]
[She’s been avoiding me for days. I’m taking her to Nightfall Club tomorrow. A disobedient little kitten needs to be taught a lesson.]
[Tsk. Don’t break her. Though I have to admit, she’s pretty damn entertaining when she cries.]
A while later, someone suddenly sent another message.
[Claire Bennett is coming back tomorrow.]
The lively chat fell silent for a long moment before someone finally replied.
[Then you guys take the little shorty out tomorrow.]
[Shit, I’ve been having too much fun messing with her these past few days that I completely forgot. I want to see Claire too. Can I make it up to the shorty with a birthday celebration later?]
[…]
[But with how sensitive and teary she is, won’t she be hurt?]
[God, she’s such a pain. I’ve never met anyone with so much drama.]
[Enough. I’ll tell Claire we’ll throw her a welcome-home dinner in a few days.]
The moment that message appeared, my other phone received a text from Ethan Sterling.
[Claire, you’re finally coming home. I’ve missed you like crazy. But we have to compete in a tournament these next few days. We’ll throw you a welcome-home dinner once it’s over, okay?]
I replied instantly.
[Sure.]
As soon as I sent it, the group chat started moving again.
[Okay, Claire agreed. We can relax and spend tomorrow with the little shorty.]
[Fuck, I gave up the chance to see Claire for her. She’d better give me a proper hug and let me touch her tomorrow.]
[Don’t scare her. She’s such a coward.]
With only a second left before the plane took off, I turned off my connection.
Unable to receive any new messages, I scrolled back through the chat history.
Two months earlier, their messages had still revolved around me.
[I miss Claire so much… I just got her photo dirty. Does anyone have any others?]
[You’re a sick bastard. Claire’s unfortunate enough without you liking her.]
[She’ll be back in two months.]
[Oh, right. I’ll try to hold out a little longer. Once she’s back, I’m having my dad approach the Bennetts about a strategic marriage alliance. I swear, I dream about her calling me “husband” while she’s in my arms.]
[You? You think you’re worthy of her? Forget a strategic marriage alliance. If you got hit by a car tomorrow, she’d be better off leaving flowers at your grave.]
The argument had quickly spiraled out of control. Every filthy word imaginable had been thrown around, and eventually they had even arranged to meet and fight.
Not long after that, though, the focus of their conversations shifted to a nickname.
The little shorty.
Chapter 3
At first, they complained that Lily Carter was stupid, always crying, and nothing but a troublesome nuisance. They said they could not stand the sight of her.
They mocked her for having a face so similar to mine while doing nothing but foolish things.
They said they were going to teach her a lesson.
But later…
Something about it changed.
Like immature boys tormenting the girl they liked every day just to get her attention.
My heart sank as I read.
I began calculating how to keep them from wavering between Lily and me. How could I make them choose her without hesitation?
As long as they did not hurt Lily because of me, then the entire regret-and-pursuit trope that came later would never happen, would it?
A strategic marriage alliance.
If I married someone else, they would finally give up on me for good.
After getting off the plane, I called a car.
The other phone began ringing furiously again.
Bored while I waited, I opened it to take a look.
Ethan Sterling had tagged Sebastian Ashford.
Not cool, man. You’re really not going to Shorty’s birthday? She likes you best of all.
Yeah.
Don’t tell me you’re planning to sneak off and see Claire Bennett without telling the rest of us?
Something came up.
Fine, fine. Tsk. Shorty’s giving you all that affection for nothing. I’m going to make sure she knows who likes her best. Maybe then she’ll stop throwing herself at you every day.
Sebastian didn’t reply.
There were five people in the group, counting me.
This account had been Ethan’s alternate WeChat account back in high school, the one he used to hide from his parents and play games. For a while, his parents had kept such a close eye on him that he couldn’t get his hands on his phone, so he’d begged me to complete his game quests for him.
Then he’d simply handed me the account details so I could log in whenever I needed to.
Aside from a gaming group, the account only had this five-person chat. The group owner was Ethan’s main account, and I knew the other three members as well.
I hadn’t intended to pry into some kids’ private conversation. Then a message popped up.
Claire looks even prettier today. I’m in love.
My eyelid twitched. Before I could stop myself, I opened the chat.
What I found was page after page of… fervent declarations.
Ethan was the most enthusiastic of them all.
I silently scrolled through several pages of messages.
My feelings were strangely complicated. I couldn’t decide whether Ethan had forgotten this group was attached to his alternate account or whether he had done it deliberately.
Whether he had wanted me to see it.
I had only been managing the account for a few days when I found the most levelheaded person in the group, Sebastian, and sent him a voice message. I kept my tone as normal as possible.