After my parents kicked me out, I overheard the school’s notorious bad boy and the straight-A genius making a bet: whoever got a nude photo of me would win ten grand. I stormed into the bad boy's house and started stripping. "Fifty-fifty split! I want five grand!" Later, they made another bet: whoever dated me first would get the coveted spot at the corporate partnership summit. I immediately found the genius. "Tutor me for a semester, and I'll say 'I love you'!" The bets ended. I got into Stanford. But then, they cornered me at the campus gate, demanding I pay up. Looking at the new cute guy I just added on Snapchat, I tilted my head, confused. "A bet's a bet. Why are you guys being sore losers?" 1 My mom always called me a leech. Said I drank her milk and ate her rice but was useless because I couldn't carry on the family name. When my little brother was born, her milk dried up. She blamed me for sucking it all dry and tried to force me to drop out of high school to work and buy formula for him. I refused. So she cut me off completely. "If you're so tough, don't spend a dime of my money! I feed you, clothe you, and raise an ingrate!" Fueled by spite, I stayed in school. But being broke is brutal. I slept through morning hunger pangs. At lunch, I scanned the cafeteria like a hawk, ready to swoop on leftovers. Dinner was the free bone broth soup. Standing in front of the soup pot, I held my breath and scooped deep. My eyes watered. It was a huge bone! Thicker than my leg! Jackpot. "Put that down! That's for the manager!" a staff member yelled. I skulked away with a bowl of radish water. But hey, radish is food. As I sat down, I heard two guys whispering behind me. "Wanna bet? Ten grand to whoever gets a nude of Scarlett Shen." I almost choked on my radish. Me? Scarlett Shen? My mom says I'm worthless, that I wouldn't even fetch a $3,000 dowry. But my nudes are worth ten grand?! Is this divine intervention? I was about to turn around and ask where to sign up when the other guy spoke. "Not interested. Play by yourself. But how did Scarlett piss off Princess Chloe?" Chloe? I scanned my memory. Chloe Xie. The richest girl in school. Her family donated two buildings so the school would open an international program just for her. I've never even spoken to her. Why is she interested in my body? Is she... into girls? Just as I was considering taking one for the team, a familiar voice answered. "Bad luck. She wore the same outfit as Chloe. But Chloe is too high-class to talk to trash like Scarlett, so she hired us to handle it." Ah. So that's it. When they left, I turned around. It was Jax Huo, the school bad boy, and Ethan Gu, the top scholar. 2 For seven days, I slept with my window open. Neither of them showed up. Fine. I'll do it myself. After evening study hall, I tailed Jax. He spent thirty minutes eating a late-night snack, two hours playing basketball, and took a three-mile detour before finally entering a rundown bungalow in the city's slums. Before the door could close, I rushed up and shoved it open. Under Jax's shocked gaze, I started stripping. "Quick! Take the pic! Fifty-fifty, give me five grand!" Jax froze for three seconds, then scrambled to pick up my clothes and throw them back on me. "Holy sh*t! Lady, who are you?! Why are you stripping in my house in the middle of the night? I'm a minor!" I paused, shirt half-on. "What does your age have to do with anything? Aren't you trying to get my nudes?" Jax looked even more shocked. Moonlight hit my face. He finally recognized me. "Scarlett Shen?" Just then, the lights flicked on. A couple walked out of the bedroom, rubbing their eyes. They saw us and their eyes bugged out. "Jax! Why are you undressing a girl?!" Me and Jax stared at each other. Yeah, it looked bad. Before we could explain, the man grabbed a belt and started whipping Jax. "I'll beat you to death, you animal! Bullying girls!" Jax jumped around like a monkey. "Dad! Listen! It's a misunderstanding!" Jax's mom stood behind, wiping tears and signing frantically with her hands. It took thirty minutes to calm them down. I lied to his mute mom that I was here for tutoring. Jax used sign language to explain to his deaf dad that he was innocent. His dad didn't believe him until his mom explained it again. Then he glared at his son, embarrassed. 3 After sending his parents back to bed, Jax dragged me into his room. Clean concrete floor, two boxes for clothes, half the window taped up with newspaper. The only intact furniture was the bed. The desk looked like it came from a dumpster, missing a leg. Jax sprawled on a chair, returning to his usual bad-boy vibe. "Didn't know you were this wild. delivering yourself to my door? Aren't you afraid your photos will be plastered everywhere?" I didn't answer. I just started taking my shirt off again. Jax panicked. He jumped up and grabbed my arm. "Sister, I'm begging you! Stop stripping! Do you want my dad to kill me?" I looked him dead in the eye. "Ten grand. Five each." "F*ck!" Jax cursed, rubbing his temples. He looked down and saw the burn scars on my arms and shoulders. "What happened?" "Are you blind? Burns." "I mean who did it?! Did you call the cops?" I shrugged, adjusting my tank top strap. "My dad. When he drinks, he smokes. When he smokes, I'm the ashtray." I grinned. "But every time he burned me, Mom gave me an extra bowl of rice! Count 'em up, that's a lot of full meals! Pretty smart, huh?" Jax looked at me, eyes complicated. His Adam's apple bobbed, veins popping on his forehead. He sucked in a breath. "F*ck his life." The window was broken, and the wind was freezing. I shivered. "Are you gonna take the picture or not? Hurry up. Money doesn't wait." "Even if I was a bastard, I couldn't take that picture!" He paced around the room like an ant on a hot pan. Finally, he opened a drawer, threw $200 at me. "Get out!" Two hundred vs five thousand? No deal. "Can I borrow your phone? I'll take it myself. You can claim the reward from Princess Chloe." Jax sat down, head in hands, slamming the table. "How many times do I have to say it? I can't do it!" 4 "Why?" I genuinely didn't get it. "It's ten grand! Don't you want it? You agreed in the cafeteria!" Jax shook off my hand. "I changed my mind." "No! Nobody stops me from making money!" We were at a stalemate for hours. I wouldn't leave; he wouldn't shoot. In the middle of the night, a pained groan came from next door, then silence. I frowned. "Shouldn't you check on them? Your dad sounds bad." Jax turned pale. "Old problem. He hates me seeing him weak. It embarrasses him." He looked even more conflicted. Finally, he gritted his teeth. "Fine! Shoot!" I stood up straight, ready for my close-up. But he threw my clothes at me. "Shoot me!" "What?" I thought I misheard. Jax's ears turned red. He looked mortified. "You're flat anyway. My chest is bigger than yours! I'll pose! Keep the face out of frame, who can tell the difference?!" Before I could process the insult, Jax took his shirt off. He handed me his phone. "Make it look good... artistic..." He groaned, covering his face. "My reputation is ruined..." I poked his arm. "How do we split the money?" "Fifty-fifty. Five grand each." With that promise, I put my clothes back on. Money without nudity? I'd be an idiot to say no. I went to the bathroom, took off my bra, and handed it to him. "Wear this. Girls wear these." Jax looked at the ceiling like he wanted to die. He picked it up with two fingers like it was radioactive waste. I rolled my eyes, snatched it back, went behind him, and hooked it on. The fabric touched his skin, and he shuddered like he'd been electrocuted. "My reputation... my reputation..." he whimpered. Everything ready. I opened the camera app. I frowned at the screen. "Squeeze them together. Cleavage." "Huh?" Jax looked confused, squeezing his legs together. "Not that! Your chest!" Whatever! I reached out with my cold hands and shoved his pecs together. Jax shrieked, then clamped a hand over his mouth. Much better. I took like fifty shots. I handed the phone back. "Good enough?" Jax's eyes were red with shame. "Yeah." Mission accomplished. I dusted myself off to head home. High school was busy, but Mom wouldn't let me live in the dorms. It cost $300 a semester. I walked two hours home every night after study hall ended at 9:50 PM. And I couldn't sleep when I got home. I had to chop wood, wash clothes, and mix pig feed for the next day. After getting kicked out, I lived in my uncle's warehouse in town. Rent was tutoring his daughter in math. It was 4 AM. Might as well go back to school for morning study. As I stepped out, Jax called out. "Eat breakfast before you go." I froze and turned around. He was dressed, lying on his desk. "I can sleep for an hour here. You take the bed." He closed his eyes, looking exhausted. I hesitated for a minute, then tiptoed past him to the window. I lay down on the bed. "Thanks."
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