After the college entrance exams, the most popular guy in school, Seth, decided to throw a qipao party to help everyone relax. When I saw the dangerously low necklines and thigh-high slits on the dresses, I tried to stop the entire class from going. My girlfriend, Sandra, just raised an eyebrow. “Jealous that Seth is hotter than you?” The whole class laughed and walked away. Only my childhood friend, Riley, listened to me. That night, everyone at the party was arrested for indecency. They were all detained. Riley looked at our classmates behind bars and shook her head. “Thank God you warned me. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it to college either.” After graduation, Sandra and Seth were released from prison. The first thing they did was get engaged. Riley, who had been waiting outside the prison gates with me, turned and plunged a knife into my stomach. Again and again. “Why did you stop me? Don’t you know how much I love him? If I had been there with him that night, if I had gone to prison with him, the person he’s marrying now wouldn’t be someone else!” Only then did I realize she had been in love with Seth all along. When I opened my eyes again, I gave Riley and Sandra a gentle push forward. “No problem. Go ahead.” 1 “Hayden, I’m throwing this qipao party for everyone’s sake. You think this is easy for me? Are you trying to slander me and say I have some ulterior motive with the girls?” I had just opened my eyes to find Seth, the most popular guy in school, with his arm draped over my girlfriend’s shoulder, looking at me with disdain. The other students nodded in agreement, especially the girls. “Yeah, Hayden. Qipaos are a cultural treasure. Are you just upset because Seth has better looks and a better body than you? Worried you won’t get any attention if you go?” “Hahaha, don’t worry, class president. We were never interested in you anyway. You could be naked and we still wouldn’t look twice.” My girlfriend, Sandra, let out an ill-timed chuckle. But this time, I didn’t look at her. I turned to my silent childhood friend, Riley, who stood beside me. In my past life, everyone thought I was just jealous of Seth. Even my girlfriend teased me about it. Only Riley, after my desperate pleading, stayed behind. Later, she even went to the same university as me, and we were in the same research group until we finished our master’s degrees. I thought she was the only one who saw clearly. But I never imagined that all those years of studying, she was just waiting for Seth to get out of prison. Her love for him was so perfectly hidden that even I, her closest friend, never noticed. “I get it,” I said, nodding. I grabbed my backpack and took a couple of steps back. “I’m going home.” “Hayden.” Riley suddenly grabbed my hand. I froze. Her gaze was complicated. “You should take your girlfriend with you.” In that instant, it felt like an electric current shot through me. Riley… she was reborn too? There was a hint of defensiveness in her eyes as she looked at Sandra. Of course. In our past life, she and Sandra were the two girls closest to Seth. If Sandra went to the party this time, Riley couldn’t be sure that Seth would still choose her in the end. “Mind your own business,” Sandra said, shooting me a disgusted look. “I haven’t had a chance to relax since I started studying for the exams. It’s just a qipao exhibit. Don’t be so dirty-minded.” “Did I say it was dirty?” I seized on the flaw in her logic. “I just said it wasn’t a good idea. Why would you assume I meant that? So you already know there’s something wrong with this party?” The girls’ and Seth’s expressions instantly turned cold. Sandra’s face stiffened. It was Riley who came to my defense. “Sandra, you’re Hayden’s girlfriend. A party like this isn’t really appropriate for someone who’s in a relationship.” Sandra was unfazed. “It’s just a party. Besides, if Hayden really can’t handle it, we can just break up for a day, right?” She shot me a challenging look. 2 I was always sensitive to her jokes. Every time she mentioned breaking up, I would force her to take it back. But now, I just smiled. “Sure.” And then I really did turn and walk away. Sandra’s smile froze on her face. Before she could say anything, Seth stopped me. “Alright, alright, don’t make it seem like I stole your girlfriend. Hey, you guys, bring the class president along.” A few guys came over and grabbed me by the arms. I struggled frantically. “I’m not going! Let me go!” “Come on, class president, stop playing hard to get. You were just waiting for us to invite you, weren’t you?” “You’ll see for yourself whether it’s a decent party or not when you get there.” Sandra and Riley tried to say something to Seth, but he just looked at them smugly. “If I don’t make you go, who knows what kind of rumors you’ll spread about me stealing your girlfriend. I can’t be bothered with people like you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you slander me.” Sandra and Riley hesitated, then slowly lowered their hands. “Alright, Hayden, you’ll see Seth’s good intentions once you’re there. Stop making a scene,” someone said. Others chimed in. “Yeah, and with you there to watch your girlfriend, I’m sure Sandra won’t do anything out of line.” “We broke up! I’m not going!” I thrashed, but Sandra just laughed. “It’s just for a day. Don’t be dramatic.” With that, everyone eagerly started heading toward Seth’s house. I struggled violently, but more students held me down, forcing me into the car. In desperation, I grabbed onto Riley’s clothes. “Riley! If we go, we won’t be able to come back! You know this isn’t just a qipao party! The police will come and we won’t even be able to apply for college!” “You’re being ridiculous again!” Riley frowned. My breath caught in my throat. Wait, wasn’t she reborn too? Why was she so calm about her fate? “I know what’s going to happen,” she whispered, her voice low enough for only the two of us to hear. “But Seth isn’t that kind of person. Someone must be trying to frame him. I have to find out who.” “No one is framing him! He’s doing this on purpose—mmph!” A rag was stuffed into my mouth. The arts committee member looked annoyed. “You’re interrupting the music. Be quiet!” My hands and feet were tied to the seat. I stared at Riley, hoping my eyes could convey my meaning. But she stood up and moved to a seat in front of me where she could see Seth, and she didn’t look back. When we arrived at Seth’s house and everyone saw the qipaos, they couldn’t help but gasp. 3 The dresses had impossibly low necklines and dangerously high slits. The boys’ eyes were practically popping out of their heads. The girls’ faces were flushed with a mix of excitement and embarrassment. Only Riley frowned. She hadn’t expected the photos she’d seen in her past life—the dresses that looked more like lingerie—to have actually been prepared by Seth. Seth locked the door and tossed the key to Riley. “Beautiful, right? I searched for a long time. There’s one for every girl! Who wants to go first?” The girls exchanged glances. One of them tentatively raised her hand. “Me!” That was all it took. Soon, other hands shot up. Many of the girls had crushes in the class and were eager to show off. I broke free from my restraints and grabbed Riley’s arm. “Do you see now?” She turned to look at me. I tried to convey the wrongness of it all with my eyes. “Give me the key. We can still leave. Before the police—” “He must have his reasons,” Riley said, pushing me away and tucking the key into her pocket. “If you’re not going to participate, then don’t slander him.” The incense burning in the room had a strange scent. I felt my heart start to race. I rushed forward and kicked over a dozen mannequins dressed in qipaos. “Can’t you smell that there’s something wrong with the incense? Someone is going to call the cops, and when they get here, none of us will be going to college!” Someone sniffed the air and seemed to notice something was off. But then Seth pulled back the curtain of the dressing room. A purple, high-slit, form-fitting qipao clung to Sandra’s curves. She leaned against the wall, perfectly showcasing her impressive figure. “Hayden, you’ll say anything to go after Seth, won’t you? He just wanted to throw a party to help everyone relax. Why can’t you just let it go?” The moment she appeared in that purple dress, the few boys who had seemed wary a moment ago were now staring, mesmerized. One of them turned on me, furious. “Will you just shut up? All you ever do is make malicious assumptions about Seth!” “You’re just jealous because he’s better looking than you! It’s a fact! Even your girlfriend thinks so!” The scent of the incense was making my vision blur. Looking at the girls’ figures made my face flush inexplicably. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I stayed here any longer. I gritted my teeth, lunged for the door, and started kicking at the lock. Seth jumped back in alarm. A few of the guys dragged me away. Sandra stepped in front of Seth. “He’s lost his mind! Lock him in the storage room! Don’t let him ruin Seth’s party!” Seth subtly put his arm around Sandra’s shoulders and gave me a condescending smirk. Sandra stiffened. Seeing the desperation in my eyes, she gently pushed Seth’s hand away and touched my face. “Be good. Everyone is tired from the exams. It’s just an art exhibit. When it’s over, I’ll come get you myself.” “No!” I shook my head frantically, kicking and thrashing, but the boys, their eyes already glazed over, dragged me into the storage room and locked the door from the outside. “No! Let me out! You’re ruining your own lives!” I pounded on the door until my hands were raw. But the deafening music from outside drowned out my cries. Soon, I could hear other, unspeakable sounds from outside. The incense had taken effect, and along with the music, there were other, more disturbing rhythms. “What are you doing?!” A sudden shout cut through the music. I froze. The police? 4 “You sluts! What are you doing?!” By the time my parents got me out of there, the scene was beyond words. All the girls were in qipaos, entwined with different boys. My mom grabbed Seth by the hair. “You’re the one who organized this party and dragged my son here?” “I was wondering why he wasn’t home yet! So this is what you’re all doing!” My dad slapped Riley across the face. “You’re his childhood friend! Not only did you not stop him, you let him get locked up and didn’t even send us a message! What is wrong with you?” “I…” Riley was speechless. Her appearance at that moment was anything but respectable. She had thought she was above it all, that she could listen to Seth’s reasons for throwing the party. But when the incense filled her lungs and Seth wrapped his arms around her waist, she had completely given in. She let her clothes be torn to shreds and joined the orgy. My mom slapped Sandra too. “You’re Hayden’s girlfriend, and you’re fooling around with other guys like this? Have you no shame?” They both looked embarrassed, but seeing Seth being held by the hair, they instinctively pulled him behind them, protectively. “Uncle, Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. It’s not what you think.” “The police will find out what we think!” Just then, sirens wailed outside. The students scrambled to get dressed, but the police had already broken down the door, taking control of the scene. “Nobody move!”
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