My dad bought me a massive mansion. I thought it was way too flashy and would ruin my image as the down-to-earth, minimalist "campus goddess." So, after visiting it once, I just left it sitting there empty. A month later, a freshman girl joined our college club. She claimed the mansion was hers. She also claimed her dad was a billionaire. Looking at this tacky, awkward freshman, I fell deep into thought. 1 I am the president of the Art Society at our university. Art is supposed to be about talent. I didn't want people thinking I was just a rich kid buying my way in. So, I never told anyone that my dad is actually a billionaire. Originally, I planned to keep my identity under wraps, enjoy being the "campus goddess," and date my handsome, ambitious boyfriend. Then one day, a tacky, awkward freshman walked into the club room, surrounded by a group of eager students. She announced that her dad was a billionaire! My first thought was, Did the Forbes list change overnight? Until she pulled up a photo of my dad, Richard Sterling, on her phone, held it next to her face, smiled sweetly, and said, "I take after my dad." I was stunned. I immediately called my dad, demanding to know when I got a sister! My dad swore on our ancestors' graves that I was his one and only daughter, and only then did I believe him. "Your dad is Richard Sterling?" I asked her, sounding skeptical. "That's right. I'm his only daughter, Chloe Sterling," she said, without a hint of shame. I felt a surge of anger rising in my chest. Does Richard Sterling know he has a daughter like you? But I decided not to expose her right away. I wanted to see what she was trying to achieve by stealing my identity. "Aria, let Chloe join the club. She said she might let us have a BBQ at her mansion this weekend," said Liam, a club member, happily shaking Chloe's arm. "Sure, let me see your student ID so I can register you." I held my hand out to Chloe. Chloe hesitated for a moment but handed over her ID. I flipped it open and looked at her birthplace. It clearly said: Omaha, Nebraska. I was confused. "Isn't the billionaire from New York? Why does your ID say Omaha, Nebraska?" Chloe was quick on her feet and smooth: "My family's roots are in Nebraska, we just live in New York now." What Nebraska?! Our family has been in New York for generations! She was banking on the fact that no one would actually check, so she felt confident spewing lies. My dad values privacy and has always kept our family's information strictly confidential, which gave Chloe the perfect opportunity to exploit. "Did you say you're taking everyone to your mansion for a BBQ this weekend?" I asked, looking up from the registration form. A flash of pride crossed Chloe's eyes. "Yep. My dad bought me a mansion in Beverly Hills, not far from campus, so I can stay there whenever I want." A bad feeling flashed through my mind. Could the mansion she was talking about be the one my dad bought me a month ago? I had checked it out once. It was grand, sure, but it was too big. I felt creeped out thinking about living there alone, and the decor was way too ostentatious for my taste, so I just left it empty. How did it suddenly become hers? The club members excitedly crowded around Chloe: "A billionaire's mansion! Can I really go?" "Chloe, count me in! I want to go too." ... Chloe didn't turn anyone down, smiling generously: "Anyone who wants to come is welcome." She was met with unanimous cheers from the club. I sneered internally. The front gate of the mansion requires facial recognition and a fingerprint scan. The system only has my information in it. I'd love to see how Chloe plans to get past the front door. 2 My boyfriend, Ethan, asked me to meet him for lunch at the dining hall. Ethan is the president of the Student Government. He comes from an average background, but he's handsome, capable, driven, and accommodates me 100%. We've been dating for two years. I was incredibly satisfied with him and had decided that after a little more time, I'd bring him home to meet my parents. "Ethan, do you know about Richard Sterling's daughter?" I was planning to slowly reveal my identity to him. He took a bite of his food and looked at me, surprised: "You mean the freshman, Chloe?" I choked, almost inhaling my food. Ethan quickly patted my back, scolding me affectionately: "Why are you still eating like a kid? You always choke." I didn't expect even Ethan to have heard this fake news... This put me in a very passive position. I thought for a few seconds and decided that before exposing Chloe, I shouldn't reveal that I am Richard Sterling's daughter, lest Ethan think I'm joking. "Yeah, that Chloe." "I haven't interacted with her, I don't know her well." I figured as much. Ethan is a straightforward guy, why would he know anything about Chloe? So, I dropped the subject. Ethan was busy and left in a hurry right after eating. I didn't have anything planned for the afternoon, so I stayed seated, eating slowly. While I was eating, someone suddenly sat down in the seat across from me. I thought it was Ethan coming back. I looked up, and it was Chloe. "Aria, so President Ethan is your boyfriend?" Chloe sat down, offering a haughty smile, and said, "I've got my eye on him. You should step aside gracefully. Name your price." My upbringing told me: keep a low profile, never show off. As the actual daughter of a billionaire, I have never said anything this arrogant in my twenty years of life. Today, I heard it from the mouth of a fraud. I let out a cold laugh, full of malice: "Oh? Tell me, what kind of price can you afford?" Chloe said haughtily: "You're a junior, right? When you graduate, I can recommend you for a job at Sterling Enterprises." Chloe held up seven fingers. "Your annual salary will have this many figures." "That's it?" I laughed. "So you're saying you can't offer anything tangible right now, and you just want to make empty promises?" Chloe didn't back down. "Aria, I hope you can look at the bigger picture and not just focus on petty, short-term gains." Her condescending attitude disgusted me. I looked her up and down, scrutinizing her from head to toe, and then said quietly: "You say you're the heiress of the Sterling family. I don't believe you." I saw her pupils contract sharply, but she quickly regained her composure. "Whether I'm the Sterling heiress or not, you'll see for yourself when I take you to the mansion this weekend." "Who says having a mansion proves you're Richard Sterling's daughter?" I scoffed. "Maybe you rented it." I stood up, walked behind her, and twirled a strand of her hair. I whispered: "Your hair was just done. You got a gloss treatment, it looks shiny, but your hair texture is actually terrible. You haven't taken care of it much in the past, have you?" I dragged my index finger across the back of her hand: "You got a manicure, and you even put foundation on your hands to make them look refined. But your fingers are thick, like someone who does manual labor constantly. Does the Sterling heiress usually do heavy lifting?" I pinched her shirt: "Your clothes and jewelry are designer, carefully curated, but they completely clash with your vibe. Your whole look is just awkward. Could it be... you stole these clothes?" Chloe, who was already feeling guilty, completely snapped at the word "stole." She threw out a "You're crazy!" and fled without looking back. I laughed. Could she really be a thief? 3 Ethan's family wasn't well off. When we first got together, he was skinny and pale. Later, I accompanied him to the gym and took him out to eat better food. I even personally bought his daily necessities, clothes, and accessories. Watching him transform into a suave, handsome guy, mistaken for a rich kid by our classmates, and secretly crushed on by other girls, filled me with a sense of accomplishment. I was confident that Ethan only had eyes for me. Not to mention this fake Chloe was tacky and awkward, and her lies couldn't stand up to scrutiny. Even if she were the real billionaire's daughter, I was confident Ethan would choose me over her. Therefore, I didn't take Chloe's provocation seriously at all. After all, this clown would be exposed once the weekend arrived. Why bother getting upset? That night, a video of my conversation with Chloe in the dining hall was posted on the campus forum. "Campus Goddess vs. Billionaire Heiress: Cast your vote! Who will win the handsome president?" The post was pinned, and the number of votes skyrocketed in a short period. To my absolute shock, the number of votes for Chloe far exceeded the votes for me. I scrolled through the comments. Someone said, "Given the choice between a beautiful girl and saving 30 years of hard work, I choose the latter." Another said, "In the face of capital, beauty is worthless." ... Are people really this materialistic? It made hiding my true identity feel incredibly stupid. And are people really this blind? Chloe's disguise was obviously fake. Why couldn't anyone see it? I refused to give up and kept scrolling, finally finding a rational comment. ID, Caleb: "Based on Chloe's age, and calculating the timeline of Mrs. Sterling's pregnancy, the dates don't match up at all. Mrs. Sterling's schedule was packed that year, with photos released year-round, showing no signs of pregnancy." Attached: "Mrs. Sterling's Year-Round Photos" A sharp-eyed and logical youth. I immediately hit "like" on his comment. I didn't care much about the comments from random students. I went to the Student Government office to find Ethan as usual. As soon as I walked in, I saw Ethan being pestered by Chloe. I was genuinely furious. Using my identity to interfere with my relationship. Could Chloe be any more shameless? "Fake heiress, wasn't playing thief enough for you? Now you want to be a homewrecker?" I swore that was the ugliest thing I had ever said in my life. Chloe was already guilty. The resounding "fake heiress" made her tremble with anger. "Aria! Who are you calling a fake?" Chloe scowled. I scoffed: "Do I need to say it again? You're tacky and awkward. Who gave you the confidence to pretend to be a rich girl?" I finally said what was on my mind. I thought Ethan was the one being harassed, so I naturally assumed he would stand by my side. I didn't expect the slap in the face to come so quickly. Ethan stepped in front of Chloe, frowning at me: "Aria, stop it. Chloe isn't what you think." Excuse me? During the day he tells me he doesn't know her, and at night he's calling her "Chloe"? "She's not what I think? Then what is she?" I stared into his eyes, demanding an answer. I'm usually a very easygoing person, but in a relationship, I demand blatant favoritism. I need my boyfriend to stand by my side, right or wrong. If he can't do that, then I'll kick him to the curb. I was willing to listen to his explanation, but he just kept trying to push me away: "I'll walk you back to your dorm first. I'll explain on the way." I shook off Ethan, pointing at Chloe: "No need. Explain it right here, in front of her. We have plenty of time. Explain." Ethan stammered, unable to speak. Seeing this, Chloe smiled smugly and grabbed Ethan's hand: "The truth is, I confessed my feelings to Ethan, and he agreed to give me a chance to pursue him." Ethan's face looked terrible, but he didn't let go of Chloe's hand. The hand he used to hold Chloe's was wearing the birthday gift I had given him—a watch I had my cousin bring back from Europe, worth tens of thousands of dollars. 4 To describe how I felt at that moment, "thunderstruck" would be an understatement. It wasn't that I was deeply in love with Ethan. I just couldn't accept two things: First, my terrible judgment in picking a spineless opportunist. Second, that this opportunist gave up on me for a clumsy, tacky fraud. He hadn't even reaped the benefits Chloe promised, yet he defected so easily! If he bothered to check the prices of the gifts I gave him over the past two years, he wouldn't be acting so smug! I turned and walked away. I knew Ethan and I were done. I have relationship OCD. I cannot accept a scumbag who keeps his options open. Ethan chased after me. On the way, he desperately tried to explain. "Aria, listen to me. When Chloe asked if she could pursue me, what was I supposed to say? I just said it was her freedom, nothing else. Please don't be mad. I won't accept her, I only love you." Ethan pulled on my arm, dragging me all the way from the admin building to the academic building. "Let go! Let go!" I was furious. Did this scumbag think I was in kindergarten? Did he think a few sweet words would trick me into coming back? I yanked my arm, which he was pulling painfully tight, but I couldn't shake him off. Just then, someone walked out of the academic building. He walked right up to us, grabbed Ethan's wrist, and with a swift internal rotation, pinned him down. "Ow! Who the hell are you?!" Ethan, pinned and his arm in pain, screamed wildly. The guy didn't let go. Instead, he turned and asked me: "Are you okay?" Only then did I get a good look at him. He had clean, short hair, wearing a white lab coat over a hoodie. A pre-med student. His face looked familiar. Wasn't he the guy who defended me on the campus forum? "Caleb!" I blurted out. He paused, seemingly surprised I knew his name. Then he nodded at me, glanced at Ethan pinned under his grip, and asked: "What should we do with him?" I looked at Ethan. Ethan quickly pleaded with me: "Aria, trust me, I'll explain everything clearly, okay? What happened earlier was really a misunderstanding. Tell him to let me go first!" I felt a deep sense of sorrow. Did this two-faced man always think I was an easy mark? I didn't plan on letting him off easily. He dared to play me, I'll make sure he regrets it. I pulled out my phone and recorded Ethan looking pathetic. As I recorded, I said: "Ethan, we've been dating for two years, and I still have feelings for you. If you repeat what you just said on camera—say that Chloe is harassing you one-sidedly, that you have no feelings for her, and that you will absolutely never accept her—if you say it, I'll forgive you." "Ethan, do you dare say it?" I pushed the phone closer to his face so he could see his humiliated state in the video. His expression went from red to pale, and pale to red. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He was currently pinned down, stripped of all dignity and grace. If he actually said those words, forget about the "billionaire's daughter," no girl with any self-respect would ever go near him again. And he didn't want to miss out on the "billionaire's daughter." "Aria! There's nothing to say." Ethan looked away. "Let's break up." Finally getting the expected result, I scoffed and calmly stopped recording. "Let him go," I said coldly. Freed, Ethan, probably too ashamed to look at me, kept his head down and ran off. Actually, I wasn't as calm inside as I looked on the outside. In that moment, I really wanted to rush over and kick him to the ground. And scream at him: Idiot!! I'm the actual heiress you're trying to climb up to! You were one step away from the opportunity of a lifetime, but now you've missed it forever! But I didn't. My "campus goddess" persona couldn't shatter. I told myself to look on the bright side. Seeing his true character before my feelings got too deep was a blessing in disguise. I turned around, intending to thank Caleb, but a gust of wind blew sand into my eye. I couldn't help but rub it. Caleb mistakenly thought I was crying. "Don't cry, he's not worth it," Caleb said suddenly. His voice was slightly hoarse, but inexplicably pleasant to listen to. "He'll regret losing you." Heh. I thought to myself, this guy looks cold, but he's actually quite caring. "I know," I said. 5 The next day. Ethan and Chloe were officially together. When I ran into them in front of the art building, Chloe was ignoring the gossiping students, clinging tightly to Ethan's arm. Chloe was acting high and mighty, her smile full of a victor's smugness: "Aria, we meet again." I sneered: "A fake heiress and a cheater. A match made in heaven." Every time I said "fake heiress," Chloe's face changed color. I enjoyed watching her face turn pale and asked her: "Fake heiress, have you checked out his family background? Throwing yourself at him so desperately, be careful you don't end up with nothing." Chloe subtly glanced at the watch on Ethan's wrist and curled her lip disdainfully: "You don't recognize quality, but I do. I know Ethan's worth better than you." "Great!" I really wanted to see the look on her face when she realized it was all for nothing. "Then I'll be looking forward to the mansion trip this weekend." Chloe wanted to argue more, but an arm suddenly wrapped around my shoulders. A strong arm steered me around and toward the building. I followed the arm. The person holding me was Caleb, who had helped me yesterday. I whispered: "What are you doing here?" Caleb blinked: "Just passing by. Didn't want to see you lose, so I helped you out." I understood the subtext. Running into an ex right after a breakup, the more pathetic you look, the worse it is. He was helping me save face. I nodded and said softly: "Thank you!" I let him hold me, walking forward without blushing or my heart skipping a beat, despite the stares from the crowd. Today was the day of the Art Society's club meeting. A massive crowd of students packed the large lecture hall. I had gathered all the members because I had something very important to announce— Sterling Enterprises' "Artisan Village" had issued invitations for fifty Art Society members to visit and study at the village for a month. The origin of "Artisan Village" goes back two years. During my freshman year, I ran for and won the presidency of the Art Society. I was so happy I impulsively called my dad to share the good news. To my surprise, that very afternoon, the university received a massive investment from my dad, specifically earmarked for the Art Society. If I hadn't strongly objected, my dad even wanted to fly a helicopter to the school to present me with a medal of honor. To secure my position as president, my dad invested in a massive cultural and arts hub on the south side of the city, naming it "Artisan Village." The village brought in over two thousand fashion enterprises and gathered hundreds of top domestic and international designers. Because I didn't want to reveal my identity, my dad signed a talent acquisition agreement with the university under the company's name. Publicly, it was billed as: a university-enterprise partnership, driving employment through innovation, and building a talent hub for the fashion industry. Every year, the university regularly sends Art Society members to intern at Artisan Village. Over time, others assumed this was stipulated in the contract. What they didn't know was that all the spots were directly assigned by me, having nothing to do with the agreement. Seeing that the members had arrived, I began roll call: "Sarah, Jessica, and Emily from the Fine Arts Department... Michael and David from Product Design... In total, 50 students. Tomorrow morning at 10 AM, gather at the school gates to take the university bus to Artisan Village for a one-month internship." The students whose names were called cheered happily. After all, getting to intern at Artisan Village was a fantastic opportunity for college students, and it would be a powerful advantage when job hunting later. After I finished the roll call, I was about to go over some details. Chloe's little sidekick, Liam, suddenly jumped out and interrupted me. "Aria, you're being way too biased! Why did you only choose people you're close to?" 6 Saying I only chose people I was close to was pure slander! First of all, the most basic requirement for a president is fairness. Otherwise, if these high-achieving college students felt I was being unfair, who would respect me? Secondly, I care about my reputation too. Artisan Village is my family's business. The higher-ups all know me. If I send a bunch of talentless people just because I'm close to them, it's my own face that will be lost! I didn't even need to defend myself; the members did it for me. "What makes you say Aria is being unfair?" "Exactly! Everyone on this list has proven talent, and most of them are seniors who need internship opportunities. You're a freshman who doesn't know the rules, what are you babbling about?" The sidekick backed down and immediately pushed Chloe forward. He tugged at Chloe's sleeve and whispered: "Chloe, this is way too unfair. Why does Aria get to decide everything?" Chloe, who had been simmering with anger after I hit her sore spots repeatedly, took the opportunity to pick a fight: "Liam is right. The Art Society isn't a dictatorship. I propose we select the candidates again." I didn't even bother looking up. "Isn't Artisan Village owned by Sterling Enterprises? Who gets to intern there is entirely up to the Sterling heiress, isn't it?" Chloe immediately realized something was wrong and quickly declined: "My dad handles company affairs. I won't interfere." "Arranging an internship is hardly interfering, is it?" I said coolly. "Is there anyone else who wants to intern? Just ask the Sterling heiress, wouldn't that solve everything?" The sidekick's eyes lit up as he looked at Chloe. I chuckled internally. This is what you call shooting yourself in the foot. Ignoring the scowling Chloe, I went over the details with the interns, announced recent activities and competitions, and then dismissed the meeting. After the meeting, Caleb asked me out to dinner. A woman's sixth sense told me he was interested in me. After interacting with him twice, I didn't dislike him. I was hungry anyway, so we went to get sushi near the campus gates. While eating, I waited for him to confess, but he kept rambling about random things, unable to get to the point. I asked: "Do you like me?" Caleb's face froze. After a moment, he nodded: "I've liked you for two years." I was a bit surprised: "Then why haven't you ever confessed to me before?" Caleb lowered his head. The usually stoic guy looked a bit forlorn: "When I was getting ready to confess, I found out you already had a boyfriend." "Oh..." I felt a bit sorry for him. But I had just gone through a breakup and didn't want to jump into a new relationship so quickly. I was just about to reject him when he suddenly looked up, our eyes meeting. "Don't reject me yet. Hear me out." He looked at me and said: "I'm a year older than you, a senior pre-med student. My family's financial situation is decent, my parents are reasonable people. I know my own feelings, and I'm definitely not acting on impulse. I've liked you for two years, and I plan to love you for the rest of my life." "This..." I didn't know what to say for a moment. Honestly, hearing him say that, I was quite moved. Maybe the old saying is true: someone who's just gone through a breakup needs warmth the most. I was very grateful for the warmth he offered. However, I'm sorry, but I still had to decline. "I..." am sorry. Before I could finish, Caleb's face tightened, and he quickly interrupted me: "You don't have to decide so quickly. Give me a chance. Let's try spending some time together first. Is that okay?" I suddenly found him quite endearing. Thinking about it, every time he appeared, I felt pretty happy. If that's the case, why not give it a try? "Okay." I smiled: "I'll give you a chance."
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